Three up

Former White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo (right) has drawn interest from the Indians and other teams after being released by Chicago on Feb. 4.

(Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians are interested in former White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo, who could be the right-handed hitter they've been looking for this winter.

The White Sox released Viciedo on Feb. 4 after they designated him for assignment and were unable to trade him. Viciedo hit only .231 (121-for-523) last year, struck out 122 times and posted a .281 on-base percentage, while playing terrible defense in right field.

On the plus side, he hit 21 homers with 58 RBI.

In the last three years, Viciedo has hit hit 25, 14 and 21 homers for Chicago. He became expendable after the White Sox signed outfielder Melky Cabrera.

The Indians, with pitchers and catchers reporting to Goodyear, Arizona on Wednesday, will have to do a hard sell to get Viciedo in camp. They already have a lot of outfielders on the roster looking for playing time.

Viciedo, 26, might find a better opportunity elsewhere. Michael Brantley will start in left and Michael Bourn has center. Right field currently belongs to David Murphy, but only because the health of Brandon Moss, Nick Swisher and Ryan Raburn is a question.

Moss underwent right hip surgery in October. Swisher had both knees operated on in August. Raburn had his left knee operated on in September.

Viciedo, listed at 5-11, 240 pounds, is expected to get a big-league deal. He was eligible for arbitration at the end of 2014 and the White Sox signed him to a one-year, $4.4 million deal to avoid arbitration. The salary wasn't guaranteed and when Viciedo was released the White Sox had to pay him $733,000 or 1/6 of the $4.4 million.

It's unclear if the Indians are willing to offer Viciedo a big league deal, but if they're serious that's probably what it would take to sign him.