Indians sign Eddie Rosario to 1-year, $8M deal

Eddie Rosario is switching allegiances in the AL Central.

The free-agent outfielder agreed to a one-year, $8-million contract with the Cleveland Indians on Thursday.

Rosario spent his entire six-year career with the Minnesota Twins before he was non-tendered in December. He went unclaimed on waivers just before the Twins cut him.

In Cleveland, he'll add some powerful punch from the left side alongside AL MVP finalist Jose Ramirez and slugger Franmil Reyes. Rosario could also take over in left field every day while pushing youngster Josh Naylor to the other corner spot.

The 29-year-old should also enjoy hitting at his new home ballpark. Rosario owns a lifetime 1.031 OPS over 177 plate appearances at Progressive Field, while his 11 homers in Cleveland are the most at any stadium outside of Minnesota's Target Field.

Rosario was a big part of Minnesota's high-powered offense in recent seasons, as he crushed at least 24 home runs every year from 2017-19, including a career-best 32 in 2019. He slashed .257/.316/.476 last year with 13 homers, 20 extra-base hits, and 42 RBIs in 57 games while serving as the Twins' primary left fielder.

For his career, Rosario is a .277/.310/.478 hitter with 738 hits, 119 home runs, and 388 RBIs. He has experience playing all three outfield positions, but he's spent the bulk of his big-league career in left.

Cleveland beat out several teams for Rosario, who had also drawn recent interest from the San Francisco Giants. The Milwaukee Brewers were also targeting Rosario with an eye on him playing the infield, FanSided's Robert Murray reported Friday.