The Cleveland Indians outfield is not exactly what they imagined it’d look like heading into 2016. Michael Brantley expected to miss April and possibly May with a shoulder injury. The rest of the Indians outfield Abraham Almonte, Rajai Davis, and Lonnie Chisenhall aren’t exactly everyday players.
The Indians need to add an outfielder and I believe that outfielder is Alex Rios. In 2o15 Rios hit .255 with 4 homeruns and 32 RBI in 105 games with the Kansas City Royals. The former All-Star Rios spent some time on the disabled list with injuries in 2015, but he fully expects to bounce back in 2016.
Rios a career .277 hitter in his 12 major league seasons since being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1999 amateur draft. Rios is a reliable outfielder and a solid everyday hitter when healthy. The Indians should take a chance on Rios because they need an outfielder and the rest of them are too expensive or not as good as Rios. The Indians probably don’t want to pay Dexter Fowler 12-15 million a season like he wants. They’d rather sign Rios to a one year contract and go with what they have. This seems to be a good fit for the Indians and for Alex Rios in 2016.
