Eddie Rosario, Cleveland near deal (source)

CLEVELAND – When the Tribe decided to trade Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets, Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said that the focus would be to reinvest some of the savings back into the 2021 roster. Now, he’s close to making that a reality. Sources told

CLEVELAND – When the Tribe decided to trade Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets, Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said that the focus would be to reinvest some of the savings back into the 2021 roster. Now, he’s close to making that a reality.

Sources told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Friday night that the Indians were closing in on a deal with free-agent outfielder Eddie Rosario. The news came just hours after the Tribe officially inked free-agent second baseman Cesar Hernandez to a one-year deal.

After a year in which the Tribe’s outfield crew logged the lowest slugging percentage in the Majors, it was clear the team could use another bat, and Rosario may have been the best fit of anyone on the free-agent market.

Cleveland has seen plenty of Rosario over his six years with the Twins, and the team will certainly welcome the idea of having his bat in the lineup as opposed to finding a way to pitch around him. In 45 games at Progressive Field, Rosario has hit .353 with a 1.031 OPS (his highest OPS in any road ballpark he visited at least seven times). Rosario’s 11 homers, 12 doubles and three triples in Cleveland are the most he’s had in any road ballpark, while his 25 RBIs trail only his 26 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

Rosario slashed .277/.310/.478 over six seasons with Minnesota while posting an OPS+ of over 100 in five of those six. Although the Indians have Jordan Luplow, Bradley Zimmer, Josh Naylor, Jake Bauers and eventually Nolan Jones to choose from in left field, Rosario would be the best fit the team could find.