The Cleveland Indians are searching for a big veteran bat to place in the heart of their batting order for next season, and it seems they're trying to land one of the free agents still on the market. After reportedly putting out an offer on Carlos Beltran only to watch the outfielder sign with the St. Louis Cardinals, it's clear the Indians aren't finished. Now they're reportedly in on Carlos Pena, the former Tigers/Rays slugger who played last season with the Chicago Cubs.
Pena is 33 years old and hit 28 home runs in his first year in the National League. He batted just .225 which is along the typical expectations for him, as Pena has always been an all-or-nothing slugger. The Cubs have also talked about bringing him back, and the Brewers are a strong possibility as well. Given the market for Prince Fielder, it's likely the team that misses out on him will fall back on Pena.
The Indians are going to have to likely make a strong bid in order to draw Pena to Cleveland.