Tribe hoping Cabrera will help boost offense

Veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera will soon be getting his chance to add some punch to the Indians’ struggling offense.

On April 24, the 33-yearold veteran of 13 big-league seasons agreed to a minorleague deal with the Indians. Various reports had Cabrera signing for $1 million with another $1 million in incentives.

Cabrera, a switch hitter and native of the Dominican Republic, has a lifetime average of .286 with 131 home runs and 768 RBI. Last season, playing for Kansas City and the Chicago White Sox, he batted .285 with 17 home runs and 85 RBI.

He had his best back-toback seasons for the Royals in 2011 (.305, 18 home runs, 87 RBI) and 2012 (.346, 11 home runs, 60 RBI). With the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014, he batted .301 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI.

Indians manager Terry Francona described Cabrera as an “amazingly consistent” hitter.

“Sometimes you see him in April and he has an April like some guys can have, then you look up and he has 85, 90 RBI. He’s been a good hitter for a long time,” Francona said.

Cabrera will report to the Indians extended spring training in Goodyear, Arizona.

”He’ll be there for seven to 10 days-ish,” Francona said.

“By all accounts, he’s been working pretty hard,” Francona added. “Especially with a veteran guy, let’s let him get his legs under him. Send him right to Triple-A and you’re asking for a sore arm or something. Rather than rush, we want to do it right and give him a chance to get in really good playing shape. I think he understands that. Then we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Francona said he was surprised Cabrera was still there for the signing nearly one month deep into the season. He was one of a number of veteran free agents who were not signed by big-league clubs during the offseason, spring training or the early stages of the 2018 regular season. The ranks of the still unsigned include infielder Mark Reynolds and pitcher Matt Garza.

“It was a weird winter, surprising on a number of levels for a lot of guys,” Francona said.

Francona said Cabrera will be used as a corner outfielder when he joins the Indians.

The Indians could use Cabrera in typically productive form in their everyday lineup. Going into the inter-league game on April 25 against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field, the Indians had a team batting average of .218. That was the second-lowest average in the 15-team American League.

Production issues have been especially acute in the outfield. The five outfielders on the active roster for the game against the Cubs had produced three home runs and 17 RBI.

The only outfielder holding up his end of the bargain with the bat is Michael Brantley. He came into the finale of the inter-league series against the Cubs batting a team-high .320 with one home run and eight RBI in the 12 games he had played since coming off the disabled list on April 6.