CHICAGO — Trades were the order of the day throughout the big leagues on Friday and the Indians were not shy about joining the frenzy before the 4 p.m. ET deadline.
“I’ll try to do my best to summarize a busy day,” said Chris Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations.
First, here are the three trades the Indians made Friday:
* Injured outfielder Eddie Rosario (right oblique) along with $500,000 was sent to Atlanta in exchange for infielder-pinch hitter Pablo Sandoval. The Indians released Sandoval before he even pulled on an Cleveland uniform. The Kung Fu Panda was included in the deal to balance the estimated $3 million still owed Rosario on his one-year, $8 million deal.
* Right-hander Phil Maton and minor-league catcher Yanier Diaz were traded to Houston for center fielder Myles Straw. This was the biggest deal of the day for the Indians. Straw will be their everyday center fielder and could hit leadoff.
The Astros in the last several days have rebuilt their bullpen and the talented Maton is part of the rebuild. Diaz had good numbers at Class A Lynchburg, but he’s eligible for the Rule 5 Draft in December and the Indians weren’t sure they could protect him on the 40-man roster.
* Outfielder Jordan Luplow and right-hander DJ Johnson were sent to Tampa Bay for minor-league right-hander Peyton Battenfield as the Indians continue to collect college pitchers who profile as starters.
On Thursday, the Indians sent second baseman Cesar Hernandez, and his 18 homers, to the White Sox. They received left-hander Konnor Pilkington. Battenfield and Pilkington, from Mississippi State, will join the rotation at Class AA Akron.
In the just-completed MLB draft, the Indians selected 22 players, including 18 college pitchers.
Antonetti said the trades of outfielder Rosario and Luplow, who was activated from the injured list Friday, were made to create more playing time for other outfielders and add talent to the minors. Those outfielders include Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, Daniel Johnson, Harold Ramirez and, occasionally, Franmil Reyes.
Now Straw has been added to the list.
Antonetti made it clear that Straw will be the starting centerfielder. He said Zimmer, Mercado, Johnson and Ramirez will get most of their playing time in left and right field.
“We have a complement of outfielders to play out there and we want to see how they do,” he said.
The Indians have been pursuing Straw, 26, over the last year.
“He’s a premium defender in center fielder and elite base runner,” said Antonetti. “We’re looking forward to him coming over and playing center field for us.”
Straw could join the Indians on Saturday. In 98 games for the Astros he hit .262 (85-for-325) with 13 doubles, two homers and 34 RBI. He scored 44 runs and has stolen 17 bases in 22 attempts.
“He was playing every day for team with one of the best records in the American League,” said Antonetti. “No one is expecting him to be a power hitter. He brings value to a team in another way. He can really impact the game with his defense and when he’s on the bases. He can steal a base, he can go first to third.”
The Indians added infielder Owen Miller from Class AAA Columbus to replace Hernandez. In another move, first baseman Bobby Bradley was placed on the bereavement list and is expected to rejoin the team on Sunday.
Antonetti added that right-hander Eli Morgan would be added to the team as the Indians return to a five-man rotation. Morgan will start Monday or Tuesday against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Hernandez started at second base and hit second for the White Sox on Friday.
The number of big-name players that switched teams before Friday’s deadline was staggering. The Cubs, for example, sent Kris Bryant to the Giants, Javier Baez to the Mets and Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox. Asked if he’d ever seen a deadline with so much activity, Antonetti said, “I think activity was down last year with the pandemic so maybe there was some pent-up demand. I haven’t had a chance to process to see how it stacks up. I sure felt busy.”
Antonetti said the Indians made three trades on Friday, but had the opportunity to make several more.
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