By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia Phillies icon Chase Utley’s rather strange free-agency took another twist Wednesday. According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Cleveland Indians have some level of interest in the six-time All-Star:
The Cleveland Indians, who have already made some surprising moves this winter, are said to be intrigued by free agent second baseman Chase Utley, though there would appear to be some impediments to a deal.
This is far from a logical fit, as the Indians have a star left-handed-hitting second baseman in Jason Kipnis, but the Indians could still consider Utley for a possible utility role, if he’s interested.
If the Indians and Utley ever did sign a contract, Utley would be signing to be a bench piece. Perhaps last year was an indication that he can’t start six or seven days a week, but he still seems to be an ideal fit for a team where he could play three or four days per week. As Heyman mentioned, the Indians have Kipnis at second base and both first baseman Carlos Santana and third baseman Jose Ramirez would be unlikely to lose any playing time to Utley. The club also signed slugger Edwin Encarnacion this offseason to be their DH, so that role is filled. The Indians don’t really need a starting outfielder either, but even if they did, it seems next to impossible that Utley would make any sort of transition to the outfield at this advanced stage of his career.
Heyman reported last week that Utley had multiple offers and could sign soon. There may not be another team in the sport that could give the 38-year-old a better shot at winning his second World Series, but there’s likely multiple who could give him a bigger role. It still seems more likely that Utley will choose a team that gives him a chance to start at least a few times a week, knowing that if he plays well for a lesser team the chance still exists that a contender could trade for him late in the summer.
