CLEVELAND — In 2014, the Cleveland Indians made one of their better trades in recent memory when they acquired Mike Clevinger from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Vinnie Pestano.
Nearly six years later, it appears the Angels want him back.
According to John Paul Morosi of MLB.com, Los Angeles has been aggressive in its pursuit of Clevinger after missing out on multiple high profile pitchers in free agency. Cleveland, however, is obviously in no hurry to part ways with the 29-year-old right-hander, who enters 2020 as arguably the team's top pitcher.
Nevertheless, the Indians' phone lines are open. And in order to even entertain parting ways with Clevinger, Cleveland is asking for the Angels' top prospect, outfielder Jo Adell.
With the 20-year-old Adell ranking as the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com, unless the Indians' asking price changes, Clevinger is likely to stay put.
"The Angels, when they heard the initial asking price was Jo Adell, who is the No. 5 prospect in the game according to MLBPipeline.com, plus one more player, the talks at that point in time failed to progress," Morosi said during an appearance on the MLB Network on Monday. "This is probably the Angels' best chance to add an ace level pitcher right now."
This isn't the first time that Clevinger's name has been linked in trade talks -- or even an apparent stalemate -- this offseason. Last month, it was reported that Clevinger's name had been included in trade talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which originally centered on Francisco Lindor.
In that case, Cleveland's asking price also appeared too high with the Indians reportedly unwilling to make a deal that didn't include the No. 2 prospect in baseball, infielder Gavin Lux. Instead, it appears Cleveland will enter the 2020 season with Clevinger not only on its roster, but also likely its Opening Day starter.