Cleveland Indians: A holiday gift in free agency for 2019

The Cleveland Indians need some help in the outfield. One current veteran free agent could be a short-term answer to the problem.

We are in the part of the Cleveland Indians offseason news cycle when things go from slow to insane in a matter of moments.

Deals can happen at any moment, whether it be in the form of a major free agent signing or a blockbuster trade. For now, we wait.

While we sit and wait, it’s time to look at another list from MLB.com. Wild stuff!

The latest list, written by Will Leitch, goes through every MLB team and looks at one free agent who could be a good fit in every city. It’s the holidays, so each player is considered a Christmas gift. Did I explain too much?

Leitch picked Nick Markakis for the Indians, which is actually an intriguing option.

The veteran made his first All-Star Game last season as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He also won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger. This came after playing in all 162 games at the age of 34.

Markakis is an odd player. He has some impressive career numbers and could be someone who reaches 3,000 hits if he sticks around until he is 39 or 40. He is already at 2,237 entering his age-35 season.

It all depends on what his value is on the open market. He earned just over $11 million with the Braves last year, and answered with a career year. But MLB general managers don’t seem to get as caught up in such years by veteran players as they did in the past. Look at what happened to Mike Napoli after the 2016 season.

Yet Markakis is very consistent and could be a nice veteran option in the outfield. He may even double the WAR projection for the current group of outfielders.

I simply don’t know what the outfield plans are for the Indians. Michael Brantley is in Houston, Lonnie Chisenhall is in Pittsburgh and Leonys Martin is the starting center fielder. At least for now.

What are your thoughts on Markakis? Would he make a good fit in Cleveland?