Indians rumors: Cleveland discussing trade scenarios for outfield help

According to Jon Morosi, the Indians are in preliminary discussions with several teams to acquire outfield help.

#BlueJays, #Dodgers, #Yankees among the teams to have at least preliminary trade talks with #Indians, sources say. (1/2)

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 18, 2015

For each of 3 teams mentioned, #Indians would obtain everyday OF and part with a starting pitcher. Many scenarios in play for CLE. (2/2)

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 18, 2015

Cleveland was likely going to enter the market for an outfielder when the offseason began, and with the unfortunate news that Michael Brantley needed shoulder surgery, their need increased dramatically. If the season began today, their outfield would be comprised of Abraham Almonte, Lonnie Chisenhall, Jerry Sands, and Jose Ramirez.

For a team with hopes of making the playoffs, that simply isn't good enough. Their GM, Chris Antonetti, will undoubtedly need to add at least one outfielder, if not two in case Brantley's shoulder prevents him from returning as quickly as they hope.

While Morosi doesn't list any specific players from the aforementioned teams, it's not hard to make some educated guesses. Brett Gardner has already been linked to several teams, and could slide into center field in Cleveland. As for the Dodgers, either Andre Ethier or Yasiel Puig would make sense, as both players have been brought up in trade discussions previously. However for Toronto, it's much more difficult to predict who they might offer, but Ben Revere could be an option as he's controllable for two more seasons.

Morosi notes that the Indians would have to part with a starting pitcher, which would seemingly point to either Danny Salazar or Carlos Carrasco being moved. There doesn't appear to be a timetable for how these discussion might progress, but as we've already seen this offseason, trades have come together quickly.