Report: Tribe making serious run at Encarnacion

CLEVELAND — The Indians continue to wait out the market for power hitters, hoping one of the available premier sluggers will fall into their price range. The club has targeted free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion, but it may have to wander outside its monetary comfort zone to get a deal done.

Along those lines, the Indians have been “pulling out all the stops” in their pursuit of Encarnacion, according to a report by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, citing multiple sources. There is a logjam of first basemen on the open market with only a handful of teams having a clear need at that position. Cleveland is one of those clubs, considering its first baseman from last year, Mike Napoli, is also a free agent.

Last season, Napoli provided leadership off the field and power on it, slugging 34 homers with a team-high 101 RBIs for the American League champions. The Tribe has maintained an interest in bringing Napoli back on a short-term contract, but has also looked at alternatives. Among the free agents, Encarnacion fits a need perfectly, should the financial aspect align with the club’s payroll parameters.

Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti declined to comment on Wednesday night.

During the Winter Meetings earlier this month, Antonetti said: “We are being exhaustive in exploring options to improve our position-player club. That is where we are spending most of our energy.”

Per Heyman’s report, Encarnacion’s agent, Paul Kinzer, noted that his client has three- and four-year offers from at least five teams, with two clubs being “very aggressive” in talks. Kinzer reportedly indicated that both AL and National League teams are in play, though Encarnacion’s …

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