CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Indians on Thursday continued to add pieces to their outfield mix by agreeing with veteran fielder Billy Hamilton, according to a report by Venezuelan journalist Daniel Álvarez Montes.
Montes tweeted that Hamilton and the Indians have an agreement, pending a physical, on a minor contract with an invitation to spring training. The club is familiar with converting Hamilton, as the 30-year-old played 36 games for the Cubs and Mets last year but spent six seasons ahead of time with Cleveland’s Cincinnati (2013-18) training partners.
The Indians could not confirm the signing on Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, the club signed Ben Gamel, former Mariners and Brewers outfielder, for a minor deal with an invitation for spring. The moves give Cleveland several outfield options en route to training camp, including Oscar Mercado and Bradley Zimmer in the middle, with Daniel Johnson, Jordan Luplow, Josh Naylor and Jake Bauers on the corner.
The club signed former twins Eddie Rosario to a $ 8 million one-year contract last week.
Hamilton is likely to serve as insurance in midfield for Mercado, who ended spring training in March last year to nurse a sore wrist before the COVID pandemic camps closed. Mercado appeared in just 60 games in just 34 games and batted 0.128 with a .328 OPS.
From 2014 to 17, Hamilton stole at least 56 bases each season and finished second in the National League Newcomer of the Year, which voted for Jacob deGrom in 2014. A second round of Cincinnati in the 2009 series, Hamilton’s most productive season was 2016 when he struck a blow. .260 / .321 / .343 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 119 games as the club’s primary center player.
Hamilton was the no. 31-point prospect in baseball when he stole a record 155 bases for Class A Macon and hacked .311 / .410 / .420, but since 2016 he has been unable to maintain any consistency on the board. , who batted a combined .234 with a .611 OPS for four clubs.
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