Cleveland Indians: 3 free agents who could boost Tribe’s outfield

Cleveland Indians Free Agent Option #1: Yasiel Puig

It’s been almost two years since Yasiel Puig took the field in a major league game, but he still might be the best outfield option on the current free agent market. Since his last action came in 2019, Puig’s last team was in fact the Cleveland Indians.

Puig got a look from the Atlanta Braves before last season, but the club backed out of the deal after a positive COVID test for the outfielder. Fast forward to now and he still has yet to sign with a MLB team.

During his last season in 2019 Puig played in 149 games. The first 100 were with Cincinnati with the last 49 coming with Cleveland. While playing for the Tribe over those 49 games, Puig was able to put together a slash line of .297/.377/.423 with 15 doubles and 23 RBI along with two home runs.

Those numbers are a bit higher than his career marks with a line of .277/.348/.475, however, even that would be a big upgrade over the options the Tribe are considering in Naylor’s absence.

Of the three options here, Puig is the best defensively. Over 861 career games he’s been the DH just twice playing the rest of his 859 games in the field while maintaining a career .981 fielding percentage.

There might be some off the field concerns with Puig that the team would have to do some digging on, but if everything comes back clear he could be the best option out there for the Tribe.

Cleveland Indians Free Agent Option #2: Yoenis Cespedes

While health has been a concern over the last five seasons or so for Yoenis Cespedes, he’s still one of the better options on the free agent market. He hasn’t played over 100 games since the 2016 season and missed the 2019 campaign entirely, but that’s just how depleted the free agent market currently is.

Cespedes struggled through eight games during the 2020 season, so we have to jump back to 2018 to get some sort of sample and that was only 38 games. Anyway, those 38 games saw him slash .262/.325/.496 with six doubles and nine home runs. He’s also not that too far removed from the 2016 season that saw him as an All-Star and Silver Slugger.

The question for Cespedes would be if he can still play in the field. He was a Gold Glove outfielder in 2015, but with his missed time and injuries he hasn’t played outfield since 2018. Now, he still has a .980 fielding percentage, but that could be a far cry from what his ability might allow now.

Cespedes isn’t a great option, but there really aren’t any great options on the free agent market at this point in the season. If he would sign for a cheap deal, it might be worth exploring.

Cleveland Indians Free Agent Option #3: Matt Kemp

This probably isn’t an option, but it just goes to show how little there is on the free agent market. The third best option for outfield help is Matt Kemp. While he’s only a few seasons removed from an All-Star performance in 2018, Kemp only played one game in the outfield in 2020 and just 17 in 2019.

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Now, this wouldn’t be the first time that Kemp could come out of the woodwork. The 2018 All-Star appearance was his first since 2012, so there’s no telling when his career could either end or be revived.

The 2020 season wasn’t spectacular for Kemp at the plate with a slash line of .239/.326/.419 and just six home runs, but that might end up being better than the internal options of the club. Neither Oscar Mercado or Daniel Johnson have been able to eclipse those numbers in Triple-A, let alone the majors.

Being 36-years old, Kemp would most likely be a cheap option on the books. Statistically he isn’t great and who knows if he can still play the field, but there just aren’t very many free agent options to consider. Worst comes to worst, he could be a last resort, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that for the Cleveland Indians.