 The Mets were prepared to offer Traber a contract worth $1.3 million, but after an MRI showed some damage to his pitching elbow, he signed a contract worth only $400,000.In 2001, the Mets traded Traber to the Cleveland Indians along with Matt Lawton, Alex Escobar, Earl Snyder, and Jerrod Riggan for Roberto Alomar, Mike Bacsik, and Danny Peoples.In , Traber was runner-up minor league pitcher of the year, going 17-5 for the Akron Aeros (Double-A) and Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A), and was voted by "Baseball America" as having the best control and curveball in the league.