LDN - Sports

Reports: Bauer to Reds, Puig to Indians in three-team deal

[July 31, 2019] Right-hander Trevor Bauer was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night as part of a three-team trade involving outfielder Yasiel Puig, multiple outlets reported.

According to several reports, the Reds will get Bauer; the Indians will get Puig from the Reds along with outfielder Franmil Reyes and pitcher Logan Allen from San Diego; the Padres get outfield prospect Taylor Trammell from the Reds. Some outlets reported that the Indians also received left-handed pitching prospect Scott Moss, 24, from the Reds and 19-year-old minor league third baseman Victor Nova from the Padres, though others did not have those two players in their reports.

While neither team has yet to confirm the trade, Puig tweeted his thanks to the Reds, their fans and the city of Cincinnati.

Puig ended the message, embedded on a photo in his tweet, with: "To the city of Cleveland, I look forward to joining the Indians and contributing to a championship season!"

Bauer was 9-8 with a 3.79 ERA and 185 strikeouts for the Indians this season. Not a free agent until after the 2020 season, the 28-year-old is making $13 million this season. Since starting his major league career with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012, Bauer is 68-55 with 1,111 strikeouts and a 3.92 ERA.

Puig, who entered Tuesday's play batting .255 with 22 home runs and 60 RBIs for the Reds, was involved in a brawl during Tuesday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The brawl happened just minutes after the trade was first reported, and while teams were going over medicals on the players involved, according to reports.

With the trade deadline set for 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday and the Aug. 31 waiver deadline no longer in place, teams throughout the league spent the last couple of weeks on the fence as to whether they were still within close enough reach in the playoff hunt to be buyers, or should become sellers and build for next season.

All three teams could be considered in that conundrum, as the Indians entered the day just two games back of Minnesota in the American League Central. And while the Reds and Padres entered the day six games under .500, they were also just 6 1/2 games out of the second wild-card spot.

It will be the third team in little more than seven months for Puig, who was traded to the Reds after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A career .276 hitter with 130 home runs and 391 RBIs, Puig is set to become a free agent at season's end.

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Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer (47) watches the game against the Houston Astros from the dugout at Progressive Field. Following the game Bauer was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

In just his second big-league season, Reyes has flashed big-time power for the Padres with 27 home runs. But the 24-year-old is hitting just .253 and entered Tuesday with just 46 RBIs. Allen, 22, made his major league debut on June 18. In eight games (four starts) Allen is 2-3 with a 6.75 ERA. He has 14 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings, but also has walked 13 batters.

Trammell, 21, is the 28th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, but has struggled this season in Double-A with a .236 average and .688 OPS.

Part of the math being done by the Indians' front office in trying to make a deal involved the near imminent return of two injured starters: Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco.

Carrasco was placed on the disabled list on June 5 and later diagnosed with myeloid leukemia.

"I think we feel like the more he can do, one, it's better for his brain, his outlook, being around the team and keeping him going," manager Terry Francona said of Carrasco. "And then, if there is a time where everybody says that he can pitch, he won't have been that far off, because he's been throwing. So that's kind of the idea. To speculate I don't think is fair to him. We've just been trying to be supportive."

Kluber has just started throwing breaking balls and Francona said his recovery is advancing as Kluber works his way back from a May 1 fractured forearm.

Danny Salazar, an All-Star in 2016, will make his first start this season on Thursday as a "modified opener." Salazar is not stretched out after missing the start of the season and undergoing a scope on his shoulder, but could be back in the rotation for the stretch run if all goes well.

Bauer is making $13 million in 2019 and arbitration eligible for one last season in 2020.

--Field Level Media

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