CLEVELAND — Once the MLB Trade Deadline passed at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, many Cleveland Indians fans were left disappointed that the team didn't do more to upgrade its offense.
It appears, however, the Indians' perceived shortcomings on Monday weren't the result of a lack of effort.
On Tuesday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal published a thorough breakdown of the MLB Trade Deadline that was. And in doing so, he revealed that Cleveland made a bid to acquire one of the bigger names on the trade market, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Starling Marte.
"The Indians made a run at Marte, but didn’t line up with the Diamondbacks," Rosenthal wrote. "Such a deal would have made their day a greater success."
While the New York Yankees reportedly also made an aggressive bid to acquire the 31-year-old Marte, it was the Miami Marlins who ultimately landed the 2016 All-Star selection, sending Arizona pitchers Caleb Smith and Humberto Mejía and a player to be named later. Cleveland, meanwhile, only made one deal on the day, sending starting pitcher Mike Clevinger and outfielder Greg Allen to the San Diego Padres in exchange for six players.
While newly acquired outfielder Josh Naylor possesses the potential to improve the Indians' struggling offense, his track record pales in comparison to Marte, who hit a game-winning home run in his first game with the Marlins on Tuesday. In 34 games this season, Marte is hitting for a .310 average (.841 OPS), to go along with 3 home runs and 15 RBIs.
At 22-14, the Indians enter Wednesday night's matchup with the Kansas City Royals tied for first place in the American League Central.