Nick Swisher to Visit Cleveland

The Cleveland Indians are among the teams still in the bidding for free agent outfielder Nick Swisher. The switch-hitter is expected to check out the town in person next week visiting Progressive Field Tuesday or Wednesday according to Paul Hoynes of the The Plain Dealer.

Swisher is the top hitting free agent still on the market now that Josh Hamilton has signed with the Los Angeles Angels. He hit .272/.364/.473 last season with the Yankees in 624 plate appearances with 24 home runs. The Indians may be the top bidder for his services right now, as reports have them aggressively pursuing the 32 year old outfielder.

The Rangers could be interested in his services as well, now that they have lost out on Hamilton and he has been connected to the Boston Red Sox for most of the off-season, though in the wake of the Shane Victorino signing, Boston appears to have cooled on him.

The Indians have the newly acquired Drew Stubbs and Michael Brantley in the outfield at this point and Swisher would be a good fit for the final spot. The Indians were one of the worst offensive teams in baseball last season, scoring the second fewest number of runs in the American League. Adding Swisher’s bat would help them a great deal as they look to improve for 2013.