Tribe Targets: Pedro Alvarez

This week Pedro Alvarez, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chris Carter, formerly of the Houston Astros, were non-tendered by their respective teams and hit the free agency market. Almost immediately after word got out that they would be released, news came out that the Indians were interested in both sluggers. If you read yesterday’s piece, you are aware that the Indians are sorely lacking in the power department and either of these two mashers could help remedy the situation immediately. Should Pedro Alvarez be the primary target of the Indians search for a power hitter?

If there is one thing Pedro Alvarez could automatically bring to the table to improve the Indians it’s his home run power. Over the past four seasons Alvarez has averaged 27 home runs per season. When given full-time playing time, as was the case in 2012 and 2013, he notched a pair of 30 home run seasons. This type of power is wholly lacking from the Indians roster. While Carlos Santana has upper-20s home run abilities, it’s unlikely that he’ll have many (if any) 30 home run seasons in his career and he’s the best home run hitter the Indians have.

However, this obviously comes with a huge BUT…

There is a reason Pedro Alvarez hasn’t received regular playing time over the past two seasons, he’s a major defensive liability. The good thing about a potential Alvarez acquisition is that he would benefit from the designated hitter rule of the American League. This could increase Alvarez’ value immensely as he’s a very good hitter despite his defensive shortcomings. Over the past four seasons, Alvarez has posted wRC+ ratings of 112, 112, 103, and 114. The 103 wRC+ he posted came in 2014 and that season was cut short due to a foot injury so it’s quite possible that his lowered production was a product of that injury.

There is another downside to a potential Alvarez signing as he does not hit well against lefties. For his career, Alvarez has just a 68 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers while his wRC+ against righties is a solid 118. He also strikes out at a much higher rate against southpaws as his strikeout rate is 36% compared to his less awful 27% rate against righties. His power rates see similar dips as just 17 of his 131 career home runs have come off lefties, with his ISO against lefties is .129 compared to .228 against righties. The Indians will have to consider what Alvarez’ asking price will be before they invest money into what is assuredly going to necessitate a platoon situation.

Regardless, if the money is right, Alvarez could be a very good fit for the Tribe. It’s unlikely he will cost a fortune and he will bring power to a lineup desperately needing it. Not to mention he’s 28 years old so it’s less likely that we will experience a Brandon Moss-type situation, where it appeared age had caught up with the former slugger. Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the possibility of adding Chris Carter and compare the two boppers to see who would be a better fit.