Former Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore is planning a comeback and is likely to sign a contract with an MLB club this offseason, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
MLB rumors: Grady Sizemore likely to sign with team this offseason
The former Indians center fielder is planning a comeback next season.
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Sizemore, 31, hasn’t taken the field in a big-league game since Sept. 2011, but should be able to land an incentive-laden contract if he can prove he is at least reasonably healthy.
The Next Yasiel Puig
Or not. But Jose Abreu will make a boring offseason less boring. Sizemore has spent this season rehabbing from microfracture surgery on his right knee, which he underwent last September. If all goes according to plan -- i.e. no more setbacks -- Sizemore should be ready to showcase his skills for interested clubs sometime this winter.
The lefty-swinging center fielder was the heir apparent to Kenny Lofton in center through his first five seasons in Cleveland, complementing elite defense with a .279/.370/.491 line and 111 home runs. When 2009 rolled around, however, the injury bug took ahold of Sizemore and just wouldn't let go.
A series of major elbow, back and knee injuries forced Sizemore to miss considerable chunks of time over the next four seasons, including all of 2012. He played in a not-too-shabby 106 games in 2009, but appeared in only 104 games over the next three seasons combined -- and when he was healthy enough to play, his numbers were nowhere near his career norms.
If Sizemore can work his way back onto an MLB roster, it would make for a great comeback story -- certainly more fun than the “what-might-have-been” narrative that envelops his career now.
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