If general managers had ranked clubs at the All-Star break according to how conservative they are in trade talks, the Cleveland Indians might’ve won the title as The Most Conservative. As a small-market team with very limited resources, they have typically clung to their prospects the way a 3-year-old clutches a security blanket.
But the two trades they have executed in the last 48 hours are win-now deals, unquestionably. With the addition of catcher Jonathan Lucroy, if he approves the trade, and reliever Andrew Miller, the Indians have probably become the team to beat in the American League moving forward.