The Indians really need to make a few moves to improve the team by next Sunday’s trade deadline. The Indians should go after one of the following outfielders: Josh Willingham (A’s), Alfonso Soriano (Cubs), Ryan Ludwick (Padres), Carlos Beltran (Mets), B.J. Upton (Rays) and Coco Crisp (A’s). Those kind of outfielders would fill the Indians’ biggest need as they need to pump up the offense. But, they are really short two outfielders, so they should also target a second tier outfielder like Marlon Byrd (Cubs), Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs), David DeJesus (A’s), Jeff Francoeur (Royals), Melky Cabrera (Royals), Angel Pagan (Mets), Juan Rivera (Dodgers) or Corey Patterson (Blue Jays). The Indians need one outfielder who can play CF and another one that can play corner outfield. If it was up to me, I would deal for Alfonso Soriano (providing the Cubs pay most of the salary left on his contract) and either Corey Patterson or Angel Pagan. The Indians are also kicking the tires on starting pitchers like James Shields, Doug Fister, Jason Vargas, Jeremy Guthrie, Erik Bedard, Brett Myers and Chris Capuano. I would think that Shields and Myers are out of the Indians’ range either money wise or prospect wise. They don’t have a lefty in the rotation, so I think they should go with a lefty with Jason Vargas at the top of the list. The Indians need to make improvements on the roster next week if they are going to compete in the A.L. Central the rest of the year.

With the trading deadline quickly coming up I would trade Jake Westbrook. Sure the Indians say that they want him back in 2011. Well there’s nothing saying they can’t re-sign him because he’s going to be a free agent. The Mets are desperate for a starting pitcher so I would deal them Westbrook for 2B/SS Ruben Tejada, righty starting pitcher Kyle Allen and righty reliever Bobby Parnell. Then I would flip lefty reliever Rafael Perez to the Tampa Bay Rays for righty starter/reliever Andy Sonnanstine. Finally I would deal outfielder Austin Kearns to the San Francisco Giants for IF/OF Eugenio Velez and OF/1B John Bowker. These trades make perfect sense to the Indians as Sonnanstine would replace Westbrook in the rotation, Parnell would help the pen and Bowker and Velez would give them more versatility on the major league roster. Ruben Tejada and Kyle Allen are very highly thought of prospects and the Indians would be lucky to get them.

The Cleveland Indians are 33-49 on the season which has them in last place in the A.L. Central, 11.5 games behind the Tigers. The Indians are going to be sellers but they don’t have any big time players to move. Jhonny Peralta, Austin Kearns, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Rafael Perez and Kerry Wood will be the best trade chips the Indians have to offer up. The Indians wouldn’t hesitate to move Mike Redmond, Shelley Duncan, Anderson Hernandez and Andy Marte despite likely getting a small return for any of them. The Indians would like some team to take DH Travis Hafner off their hands but I don’t see that happening because of his contract. This will be another depressing July for Cleveland Indians’ fans.

I see the Indians having another fire sale sometime before the trading deadline as I see at least 9 players being sent packing by the Tribe. At least this year they won’t be trading a Cy Young Award winner. Here is what kind of trades I think could go down this summer for the Indians. I see the Mets wanting Jake Westbrook and Mark Grudzielanek and offering the Indians 1B/OF Daniel Murphy and righty Fernando Nieve for them. That is a trade even I would make. Backup catcher Mike Redmond will likely be sent packing to a team like the Dodgers for a C-level prospect or cash considerations. The Mariners might make a play for DH Travis Hafner if the Indians send them a ton of cash in the deal which could net the Indians lefty starting pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith and 3B Matt Tuiasosopo. The division rival Twins will probably come after Jhonny Peralta with a offer of Alexi Casilla and Kevin Mulvey. The Reds would probably have a huge interest in Kerry Wood and Jamey Wright if the Indians sent them a bunch of cash. The Indians would probably get something back like OF Chris Dickerson and SS Paul Janish. The Yankees might have a interest in Russell Branyan who would fit their stadium like a glove offering the Tribe reliever Mark Melancon. Austin Kearns might be moving to a team like the Giants for 1B Travis Ishikawa and IF/OF Eugenio Velez. I’m not a fan of Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro who almost never gets value back in these kinds of trades so Indians’ fans shouldn’t hold their breath.

The Indians could be willing to make a trade with the New York Mets. The Indians just can’t afford to have three soft tossing lefties in the starting rotation so with that in mind I would think that Jeremy Sowers would be the one they would want to move. The Mets would be interested in him and they also need a catcher which is where Kelly Shoppach comes into play. The Indians have enough depth at catcher to trade Shoppach and Sowers to the Mets. The Indians would likely want a return like 1B/LF Daniel Murphy, backup outfielder Jeremy Reed and infielder Argenis Reyes. This is the kind of trade that could help both teams but it would likely favor the Mets a little bit but Murphy definately has the potential to be the best player in the deal.