Tribe Targets: Delmon Young

It is early in free agency, but already the market is thinning in one position of interest for the Tribe. With one of the weaker offenses in baseball, a power hitter, even one without a position, is in high demand. With most of the line-up set, including Carlos Santana at first and Lonnie Chisenhall at third, what they could use most is actually a DH. While Nick Swisher is already slated to be the starting DH as a negative WAR player, even if the Indians are unable to unload his contract, he should be relegated to a part time role.

As was already mentioned, a few free agents have already found a home. Victor Martinez, the top hitter on the market, re-signed with Detroit for a price well out of the Indians range (four years, $68M). In addition, Michael Cuddyer has signed with the Mets for a price out of any same team’s budget (2 year, $21M). As usual, the Indians will be looking at the lower tier of free agents, trying to find an under valued player for a low price. With this in mind, everyone can throw the dreams of Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval and Nelson Cruz out the window, but one player who could be worth a flyer is Delmon Young.

At first, the former hot tempered, hot prospect may not seem like a great addition, but there are a few bright spots. To start, he should be cheap. Compared to a similar player on the market, Mike Morse (Morse had a 1.0 WAR in 2014, Young had a 0.8 in 48 less games) made $6M last season and will likely get a World Series increase on his next deal. On the other hand, Young has been paid near the league minimum each of the past two season and likely could be had for a similar price in 2015. In addition, unlike many players like Morse, Chase Headley and Kendrys Morales, Young is still young. Because he began his career at age 20, he is now a free agent for the third time at 29 years old (keep this in mind for those who want Francisco Lindor to make an early debut).

Last year, Young was a part time player for the Orioles, getting into 83 games, the lowest in his career. This is not necessarily a negative however, as he would be potentially be splitting time with Nick Swisher at DH and David Murphy in right field. In those limited at bats, there were a few positives to take note and a few negatives. On the positive side, Young batted above .300 for the first time since his rookie year, but this was largely bolstered by his .359 BABIP. Of course, Young is still one who strikes out slightly more than would be ideal, but since he has already proven he can be effective in a part time role, this shouldn’t hurt the team as much as if he was in a full time role. Having him on the bench would give Terry Francona an option of a player who could hit a home run in any at bat, something the team was sorely missing in 2014.

A final positive about Young is that he is right handed. As can be seen from the chart above, his numbers are fairly even across the board against pitchers of either hand, although he played considerably less against left handed pitchers. With the Indians, that would likely be flipped as the majority of the Indians line-up is left handed or switch hitters. With both Santana and Swisher hitting both ways, his best use would be as a kind of platoon mate for David Murphy, making both players better by hitting against mostly pitchers of the opposite hand.

Of course, there is another player even cheaper than Young who could provide equal production. Like Young, Zach Walters is an all or nothing, big swinging hitter who can play outfield, but is better suited as a DH. Also like Young, Walters hit seven home runs in 2014, although he did it in just 30 games and batted just .170. Hurting that average was the opposite of Young’s BABIP at just .163 for Walters. Since Walters is already with the organization and can also play second base, the Indians would only go for a signing of Young if they don’t feel Walters is ready.

There doesn’t appear to be room on the roster for both, but due to the discount expected with Young, the Indians could start 2015 with Young, then eventually transition to Walters. While no rumors have come out of the Indians camp to this point, it does seem that Young could fit within their strategy of free agent signings in recent years and that he could be a small complimentary piece that would improve the offense. Until proven otherwise, Delmon Young is the exact type of player fans should expect the Indians to sign this off-season.