It’s been a busy offseason for the Cleveland Indians, and even with spring training coming up fast, it seems general manager Chris Antonetti has no intentions of slowing down.
The newest move: signing Jason Giambi.
It was reported Saturday night on the Cleveland Indian’s Twitter account that the team has agreed to sign first baseman/DH Jason Giambi to a minor league deal, with an invite to spring training:
As MLB.com’s Dan Plesac reported, Giambi’s deal would pay him $750,000 if he makes the team’s major league roster:
Giambi heads to the Tribe with a career 429 home runs and 1,405 RBI. His .926 career OPS ranks 46th all time. This will be his 19th major league season.
The slugger has had major drop-offs in production since 2008, his last season with the New York Yankees in which he hit 32 home runs.
Over the last four seasons, Giambi has split time between the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies. In that time, he’s served predominately as a pinch-hitter or bench player.
In those same four years, he’s averaging less than 80 games and 10 home runs a season.
If Giambi does make the team, he’ll mostly likely become a DH candidate. As it stands, the Indians are lacking any serious contenders outside of Matt LaPorta and prospect Chris McGuiness.
At 42 years old, Giambi would instantly become the oldest member of the 2013 Indians roster. The next closest would be Nick Swisher and Brett Myers, both of whom are 32 years old.
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