Cleveland Indians: 3 realistic free agents Tribe could sign

2. Jake Marisnick

In a 16-game sample size with the New York Mets in 2020, Marisnick posted a .959 OPS. Unfortunately, that’s .293 points higher than his career average.

If the Indians are banking on the eight-year veteran to continue posting those types of numbers of a longer period of time, then sure, the singing makes sense.

Unfortunately, stats in baseball tend to work their way back to the norm, and the norm for Marisnick won’t be driving you to buy season tickets in 2021. He posted a career slash line of .229/.281/.385. But MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand listed him as a potential free-agent signing, so the potential connection can’t be ignored.

The Indians roster is loaded with “fourth outfielders” that could basically do the same job as Marisnick. Giving a younger player with upside such as Daniel Johnson would be the preferred decision.

That said, this is going to be an offseason of change. Tyler Naquin was given a chance and disappointed this past season. Bradley Zimmer is entering his age 28 season and we’re all still waiting for him to flash his first-round potential. Oscar Mercado just went through one of the worst cases of the sophomore slump as I’ve ever seen.

If the Tribe is looking to add bodies, Marisnick could certainly be in the mix, though.