Report: Indians have checked in on Encarnacion

The Cleveland Indians are the latest team to be included in the Edwin Encarnacion sweepstakes.

Without a doubt, Encarnacion is the most coveted player available on the free-agent market, though his price tag is, unsurprisingly, extremely high.

Cleveland, a team searching for a heavy-hitting designated hitter, has checked in on the slugger, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan. He notes Encarnacion would be a perfect fit for the Indians, adding a right-handed power hitter to a lefty-heavy lineup.

As the offseason has progressed, a flurry of teams have been in on Encarnacion, not limited to the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers.

The issue, however, is that Encarnacion's agent, Paul Kinzer, may have waited too long to get a lucrative deal done. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, word is circulating around the winter meetings that Kinzer "overplayed his hand after rejecting the Blue Jays' initial four-year, $80-million offer."

Since that offer, teams interested in the slugger have appeared to move on, signing legitimate players to smaller deals.

For their part, the Blue Jays signed Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce, while the Yankees signed Matt Holliday, and the Houston Astros brought in Carlos Beltran.

And while nobody in free agency comes close to Encarnacion's value, there's still a number of impact players available for much cheaper, including Mike Napoli, Chris Carter, and Pedro Alvarez.

However, with Encarnacion's asking price potentially dropping, previous suitors could re-emerge.

The Colorado Rockies, who are said to be interested in Mark Trumbo, could throw money at Encarnacion. The baseball flies out of Coors Field, and a lineup that includes Encarnacion, Carlos Gonzalez, and Nolan Arenado is daunting.

Also in the conversation is the Texas Rangers, whose only major signing has been Andrew Cashner, to a one-year, $10-million contract. Rosenthal's report also indicated the Astros may not be done yet.

Houston could realistically still sign Encarnacion and stick him at first base, allowing Beltran to play full-time DH, while moving Yulieski Gurriel to the outfield.