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

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.