The market for free agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain is starting to pick up.
A source tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, the Texas Rangers are ramping up their efforts to land the former All-Star, while Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the Milwaukee Brewers have also expressed interest in Cain’s services.
The 31-year-old has spent the majority of his eight-year big league career with the Kansas City Royals. In 2017, he was good for 5.3 WAR, while hitting .300/.363/.440 with 15 homers and 49 RBI across 645 plate appearances.
Cain logged 1,275 innings in central last year and was good for five defensive runs saved and a 1.6 UZR.
On Wednesday, David Schoenfield of ESPN predicted that the best bet is that Cain will end up with the San Francisco Giants, but said to not be surprised if he signed with the Mets.
“The Giants are the obvious fit for need, though they might end up with a cheaper option such as Jarrod Dyson or trading for Billy Hamilton,” Schoenfield wrote. “Those two, however, don’t provide the offensive production of Cain, and the Giants need big improvements — not incremental adjustments — to contend.
“The Mets have an elite defender in Juan Lagares, but his career OPS+ (on-base plus slugging percentage adjusted for league and park factors) is an anemic 84, and if the Mets actually operated like a big-money team, adding Cain and receiving better health in the rotation would make them wild-card contenders.”
