CLEVELAND — It’s been awhile since the Indians were buyers at Major League Baseball’s trading deadline. But with the club in first place and nearly half the season complete, general manager Chris Antonetti hinted that this might be the time.

“The plan has always been to win games, get to the postseason and win championships,” Antonetti said. “We’re in first place in July, so we’ll continue to explore ways to improve the team and improve our level of competitiveness.

“We’re open to anyway we can improve the team, whether that be externally or internally. External options are so difficult to predict, but I can tell you we’re going to explore all those options.”

This being the low-budget Indians, money will likely be an issue where any potential trade is concerned. But Antonetti said Tuesday that ownership has signed off on exploring moves outside the organization, as long as it doesn’t mortgage the future.

“It’s always going to be a factor economically,” Antonetti said. “We have to be mindful of what expense it has to the long-term development. (President/CEO Paul Dolan) has encouraged us to continue to explore ways to improve the team.”

If the Indians do make a move outside the organization, it is expected to come in the position-player department to assist a sporadic offense that is without a key cog in injured right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

Outside of poor performances from starters Fausto Carmona and Mitch Talbot, pitching hasn’t been a problem for Cleveland.

“The nature of the job is to be concerned with everything,” Antonetti said. “What might be a strength now, might not be two weeks from now. But our pitching staff has done a very good job. Our bullpen has been consistent throughout the season. The offense has been the one area that’s been the least consistent.”

With a wealth of teams still in contention, the Indians won’t be the only ones looking to improve for a postseason run. It has affected the atmosphere leading up to the July 31 deadline.

“It’s slowed down the process,” Antonetti said. “But the dialogue between teams has picked up as we approach (the deadline). There’s been a lot more activity than there was a week ago.”

Few figured the Indians would be in this position this far into the season. But thanks to a fast start, contending isn’t such a long shot — certainly not in a mediocre Central Division.

“We had expectations at the beginning of the season,” Antonetti said. “We expected to compete and I think there was a collective belief within the clubhouse that we had a talented roster and that we could compete if we played well.”

Now, Antonetti’s job is to see whether there is anything out there that makes them play even better.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.