The Cleveland Indians have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with free agent outfielder Will Venable, as according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports on Friday morning.
As according to a report from Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, the 33-year-old is scheduled to take his physical today at the club's spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona, while Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com notes that it is in fact a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training.
Rosenthal had earlier reported that Venable was seen in camp which gave off the likely hint of which the two sides were nearing a contract agreement.
As reported by Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, Venable can earn a total of $1.5MM to go alongside an additional $2MM with performance bonuses included.
Venable will be fighting for a spot in the outfield alongside guys such as Collin Cowgill and Joey Butler and could very well end up as the club's opening day starter in left field as Butler specifically has been up and down though he is a strong performer majority of the time. Butler landed with the Indians back in after being sent out by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Venable came up with the San Diego Padres back in 2008 after being drafted by the club in the seventh round of the 2005 amateur draft. He later signed in June of that season and made his MLB debut three years later.
Could a fresh start do the trick for Venable heading into 2016?
This could very well spark the start of something new for Venable as he looks to join a talented ball club with high hopes of heading to October ball with leader Jason Kipnis being that key player in making it happen behind a rotation filled with guys such as Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer and perhaps a recent acquisition in veteran right-hander Tommy Hunter.
Venable was traded to the Texas Rangers in August which sent minor league catcher/outfielder Marcus Greene and right-hander Jon Edwards the other way alongside a player to be named later. Michael Choice was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot.
Looking at the year as a whole, he finished with a slash line of .244/.320/.350 to go alongside 6 home runs and 33 RBI's in a total of 135 games played and 390 plate appearances. Moving to Anaheim, one of the any things he will look to get more of will be playing time which will be figured out based on the result of how he performed during the spring.