Cleveland has interest in free agent outfielder Nick Swisher after dealing Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds, Nick Camino of WTAM Newsradio reported Wednesday.
Swisher, 32, hit .272/.364/.473 (126 OPS+) for the Yankees last season, his fourth consecutive season with a 120 OPS+ or better and his sixth season of the last seven over that threshold. With B.J. Upton off the market, Swisher ranks third among available position players on the free-agent market according to the CBSSports.com free agent tracker.
Currently, Cleveland's projected starting outfield is Ezequiel Carrera, Michael Brantley and the newly arrived Drew Stubbs. Carrera owns just a .255/.306/.347 (85 OPS+) in 384 career plate appearances, and he appears unlikely to hold the starting job through spring training. Swisher would fit well in that spot.
Camino also noted Cleveland is looking to add starting pitching on top of Trevor Bauer (acquired from Arizona in the three-team deal). No names were mentioned, but with Zach McAllister (4.47 ERA in 143 career innings, 87 ERA+) projected as the third starter and other unimpressive pitchers like Corey Kluber, Jeanmar Gomez and David Huff behind him, Cleveland is unlikely to be picky.
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