Vladimir Guerrero worked out in front of Indians scouts at the team's Dominican Republic academy, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes Los Angeles. A club representative declined to confirm that the workout took place, but sources tell Rojas that Guerrero was fit and that the Tribe has "a genuine interest" in the veteran slugger.
Guerrero has received little interest from Major League teams this offseason but his agent Fern Cuza recently said his client wanted to play in 2012 and would even explore playing in Japan. Cleveland is known to be looking for a right-handed bat to help balance out its lefty-heavy lineup, but Guerrero is a defensive liability in the outfield and thus would be limited to being a part-time DH or as a pinch-hitter.
As I wrote last month for Roto Authority, the Indians are already juggling a number of options between their DH, first base and left field slots. Signing Guerrero to be part of a righty-lefty DH platoon with Travis Hafner would limit the playing time for Shelley Duncan and Matt LaPorta, but if Guerrero is able to recapture a bit of his old form, I think that's a sacrifice the Tribe would happily make. Guerrero is a career .322/.400/.572 hitter against left-handed pitching.
LaPorta wont be in the majors.
good luck to Vlad
Another player whose career has been cut short because of astroturf.
I wondered when this would come out. Spanish radio (according to my relatives) had talked about this last week. If he is truly healed from his 2009 injuries in LAA then he can platoon both in LF and DH. Good luck to all, the team and him.
I always liked him as a player.. i hope u comes back to play this year somewhere and think that this would be a good move for the indians because he would def fit in with their budget and their needs
This could be good for the tribe. But It could end up being another “strikeout” situation because the Indians need a hitter with power and average with good fielding percentage. Hard to come by those players anymore. Haha.
I hope people remember what a GREAT outfielder Vlad was until a few years ago.
Vlad would be the most feared hitter in Japan.
Quite possibly the most famous, but it’s not like I know many MLB guys who went to Japan late in his career.
Too bad we don’t know what Vlad’s weight is, if he’s closer to 220 than 250 his knees may be in a lot better shape. Maybe.
How about Damon or Ordonez to the Mariners after the team returns from Japan w/ Gutierrez injured?