After spending the last four seasons with the New York Yankees, outfielder/first baseman Nick Swisher found a new home Sunday as he signed a four-year, $56 million deal with the Cleveland Indians, the New York Daily News' Mark Feinsand is reporting.
According to Feinsand, the club has a fifth-year vesting option of $14 million in Swisher, 32. If the Indians decided to pick up the option, it would make the deal worth close to $70 million.
The contract is one of more lucrative deals of the offseason, as only pitcher Zack Greinke, outfielder Josh Hamilton, pitcher Anibal Sanchez and outfielder B.J. Upton signed bigger deals.
Swisher is coming off one of his worst seasons of his eight-year career as he hit .272 with 24 home runs and 93 RBI. The switch-hitter had 141 strikeouts and a .364 on-base percentage.
His biggest struggles, however, came in the 2011 postseason, where he hit .235 with 10 strikeouts in 30 at bats.
Yet, despite his struggles, Swisher was consistently in the lineup, as he's played in nearly 150 games for seven straight seasons.