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Cleveland Indians: Best landing spots for departing players

By Aaron Gershon

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 13: Relief pitcher Brad Hand #33 of the Cleveland Indians delivers a pitch in the fifth inning of an intrasquad game during summer workouts at Progressive Field on July 13, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 13: Relief pitcher Brad Hand #33 of the Cleveland Indians delivers a pitch in the fifth inning of an intrasquad game during summer workouts at Progressive Field on July 13, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /
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ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: Tyler Naquin #30 of the Cleveland Indians hits a double off of Austin Pruitt of the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on August 30, 2019 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: Tyler Naquin #30 of the Cleveland Indians hits a double off of Austin Pruitt of the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on August 30, 2019 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

OF, Tyler Naquin (29)

When the Indians selected in the first round of the 2012 Draft out of Texas A&M, the hope was for him to be a star in the outfield for years to come. While the 29-year old has shown flashes of living up to his first round status, injuries have plagued his career.

In his rookie season of 2016, Naquin hit .296 with 14 home runs, 43 RBIs in 116 games as he helped guide the Indians to the World Series. The following season however he was held to just 19 games due to injury and played just 61 games in 2018 and 89 in 2019.

He played 40 games for Cleveland during the shortened 2020 season but hit just .218, which led the Indians to the decision to non-tender their former first round picks’ contract and let him hit the free-agent market.
With a reunion in Cleveland unlikely, Naquin has been linked to teams such as the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, but the best fit for the former first-rounder would be the Texas Rangers.

Naquin is a native of Harris County, Texas and played his college baseball in College Station at Texas A&M. Thus, landing in the Lone Star state with the Rangers would be a homecoming for the 29-year old outfielder.

The Rangers are also a team in need of help in the outfield. They have slugger Joey Gallo who can play either corner spot but could use help in center and on the opposite corner of Gallo, making a Texas homecoming for Naquin a perfect fit.

Best Fit: Texas Rangers 

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