CLEVELAND -- The free-agent market surely isn’t flooded with answers for the Indians. The Tribe needs an affordable second or third baseman, and options like Eric Sogard, Brian Dozier, Jonathan Schoop, Brock Holt, Asdrúbal Cabrera or Todd Frazier may not be what the club is looking for.

After The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the White Sox placed Yolmer Sánchez on outright waivers on Monday, curiosity grew as to whether the Indians would show interest. The team’s timeframe is limited in deciding if it would attempt to claim the infielder; however, because Sánchez has more than three years of service time, he could also opt for free agency if he clears waivers.

Sánchez plays second and third base, which would fill the hole in Cleveland’s roster. However, is the 27-year-old the perfect match the club is looking for? Let’s break it down.

Pros

Defense: Well, Sánchez certainly didn’t win an American League Gold Glove Award this season for nothing. After playing 141 of his 155 total games at third base in 2018, Sánchez made the move back to the other side of the diamond at second in '19 and led the AL with 11 Defensive Runs Saved and a 7.0 defensive WAR. What he and Francisco Lindor -- assuming the latter is still with the Indians in '20 -- could do up the middle has the potential to be quite impressive.

Flexibility: The Indians already have plenty of offseason flexibility thanks to José Ramírez. The Tribe’s current third baseman informed the club that he’d be fine with moving to second base next year or staying put at the hot corner, so long as he doesn’t move back and forth. If Cleveland acquires Sánchez, it could then choose exactly where it thinks the two feel most comfortable and would best help the team. Sánchez is entering his third year of arbitration and is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $6.2 million. Compared to what would’ve been Jason Kipnis’ $16.5 million in 2020, the Tribe would certainly take that deal.

Cons

The Indians need hitters: There is really no other way to put it. Cleveland is coming off a year that got off to a historically slow start offensively and its biggest need is a decent bat or two, at least. Last season, the Indians ranked in the bottom half of Major League Baseball in homers (16th), RBIs (17th), batting average of balls in play (25th), wRC+ (17th) and offensive WAR (17th).

Over the past two years, Sánchez’s numbers have gone in the opposite direction that the Tribe is looking for:

2017: .267 average, .732 OPS, 12 homers, 59 RBIs, 111 strikeouts, 95 wRC+
2018: .242 average, .678 OPS, eight homers, 55 RBIs, 138 strikeouts, 87 wRC+
2019: .252 average, .638 OPS, two homers, 43 RBIs, 117 strikeouts, 74 wRC+

According to Statcast, Sánchez had just a 1.0 barrel percentage in 2019, which ranked in the bottom 2 percent of the league. He also finished in the bottom 3 percent in expected slugging percentage (.320), the bottom 5 percent in wOBA (.281) and the bottom 4 percent in xwOBA (.276).

Verdict

It will come down to whether the Indians believe they can get a better replacement for Kipnis elsewhere -- via trade or the free-agent market -- than what Sánchez could provide. When the club made the decision to make Roberto Pérez the starting catcher, it often noted that it’d be willing to lose some offensive production to gain tremendous defensive production. But this may not be the same scenario.

The Tribe picked up Franmil Reyes in the Trevor Bauer deal at last year’s Trade Deadline, and that should help bring some life to the middle of the order. But the Indians are losing the other power hitter to free agency, Yasiel Puig, though he may not have displayed all of that power with Cleveland. The club has all the starting pitching it needs, it’s just a matter of making sure the offense can provide run support in 2020. That will require picking up bats. Sánchez’s defense would be more than welcome on the team, but do the Indians believe he has enough potential to be the best offensive contributor of anyone they could secure? Maybe not. They’ll have to quickly put their heads together to come up with that answer.