Cubs, Astros, Orioles among teams interested in Alex Gordon

The Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles are among the early teams to express interest in free agent outfielder Alex Gordon, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.

Hearing a lot of early #Cubs, #Orioles and #Astros chatter on free agent OF Alex Gordon at the GMs meetings.

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) November 10, 2015

Gordon, 31, is coming off of an injury shortened 2015 campaign. In 104 games for the Royals, Gordon hit to a .271/.377/.432 line with 13 home runs and 48 RBI's.

All three of the teams that have been linked to Gordon have a pressing need for an outfielder. The Cubs would be entering the 2015 season with Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler as two of their outfielders. If they are able to re-sign Dexter Fowler, then there won't be a major need.

The Astros are in a very similar spot, with Colby Rasmus being a free agent. Rasmus was a left-hander that hit for pop, and Gordon checks both of those boxes.

Baltimore is an interesting case. They had an outfield need throughout the 2015 season, and while they were still trying to compete for a playoff spot, they went out and acquired Gerardo Parra. He is also a free agent, at 28-years-old and is another high profile target for a number of teams.

These three teams have a similar need at outfield, and appear to have a target in mind. It will be interesting to see which one of these three teams (two of which are in the bottom half in total payroll) shell out the required money to lure Gordon out of Kansas City.