Indians Showing Interest in Sluggers Justin Smoak and Nicholas Castellanos
By Ryan Giglio
It's that beautiful time of year in Major League Baseball where a wide range of rumors will circulate throughout social media at rapid rates.
And for the budget-conscious Indians, we've seen a flip-flop in prerogatives early on Tuesday.
Reports are indicating that the Cleveland Indians, intent to keep Trevor Bauer, have shown interest in supplementing their offense with Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak and Detroit Tigers slugger Nicholas Castellanos.
Indians are among teams looking at Justin Smoak
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2019
Smoak, 32, could lengthen an Indians lineup that has struggled at times this year. Smoak's calling card is his ability to get on base, and his current OBP is a career-high .357. He has 18 home runs and 46 RBI, but sports just a .215 average.
Castellanos carries a .273/.329/.461 slash line, and is tied for the league lead with 36 doubles.
The #Indians, an AL-best 17-5 this month, have played well enough that they're exploring short-term offensive upgrades. One name they've considered, according to a source: Nicholas Castellanos of the division rival #Tigers. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2019
The Indians have mainly deployed Carlos Santana and Jake Bauers at first this year. Santana was starting first baseman at this year's All-Star Game and has 22 home runs, 57 RBI and a .926 OPS this year.
Bauers, however, has struggled this year, with a slash line of .237/.311/.386. A potential acquisition of Smoak or Castellanos may mean Bauers will see more time in Cleveland's outfield, or on the bench; after all, the Tribe can fill their DH slot with either potential new acquisition.
Smoak and Castellanos are both free agents after the year, so they no doubt are finanical fits for the budget-conscious Indians. The Indians are currently two games behind the Minnesota Twins for first place in the American League Central, but do hold the top Wild Card spot.