As we prepare for free agency to begin, the league is once again gripped by the familiar emotions of the offseason: excitement that every owner is about to land “their guy,” disappointment that the class is somehow even thinner than advertised, and the creeping realization that several of these contracts will look like radioactive waste by the trade deadline.
Still, hope springs eternal. Every winter, someone talks themselves into a career year, a change-of-scenery candidate, or a player who was “misused” by his previous club. This year’s class has plenty of those. It just doesn’t have many stars.
C – Darrin Fletcher
The fact that Fletcher is the best catcher available says more about the market than it does about Fletcher.
That’s not meant as an insult. He put up nearly 3 WAR for Toronto last season and remains a perfectly useful veteran. The defense has slipped, and left-handed pitching turns him into a pumpkin, but if you’re looking for a platoon catcher who won’t embarrass himself, he’s your guy.
And in this market, competence is practically an All-Star trait.
Honorable mention: Jim Leyritz, Brad Ausmus
1B – Orestes Kindelán
The annual “mystery box from Cuba” award goes to Kindelán, who unlike some previous imports, doesn’t seem to come with a giant warning label attached.
The bat looks legitimate: good contact, good eye, and plenty of power. He profiles as a middle-of-the-order hitter from the jump, which means at least three owners are currently convincing themselves they’ve discovered the next international superstar.
One of them might even be right.
Honorable mention: Danny Tartabull, Fred McGriff
2B – Wil Cordero
Woof.
This is the baseball equivalent of showing up to a potluck and finding out everyone brought napkins.
Cordero gets the nod because somebody had to. The bat is interesting enough to dream on, and he’s technically capable of standing at second base, even if he hasn’t really done it in the majors.
Some general manager is going to sell this as “positional flexibility.” The rest of us will call it what it is: desperation.
Honorable mention: Jerry Browne, Alex Arias
3B – Dave Magadan
This is the guy every analytically inclined front office will fall in love with.
Seventeen contact. Sixteen eye. Those ratings practically demand a comeback story.
Unfortunately, reality has intervened in the form of two dreadful seasons in 1996 and 1997. Still, plate discipline ages well, and someone is going to talk themselves into a bounce-back campaign.
The good news is he’ll probably be cheap. The bad news is there’s usually a reason for that.
Honorable mention: Chris Brown, Carlos Quintana
SS – Kevin Stocker
I briefly considered leaving this spot blank.
Instead, we have Kevin Stocker.
The defense is playable, and he won’t completely disappear against right-handed pitching. That’s about all the brochure has to offer.
He’s not a full-time starter, but he is a shortstop, and scarcity is a powerful drug.
Honorable mention: Robby Thompson, Billy Ripken
LF – Ray Lankford
An easy selection.
Lankford put up 5 WAR for Kansas City last season and is exactly the kind of player teams convince themselves they can re-sign for a discount.
Spoiler alert: they can’t.
He shouldn’t be playing center field anymore, but as a left fielder, just let him hit and enjoy the production. This is one of the few genuinely good players on the market, which means his asking price is probably climbing by the hour.
Honorable mention: Darryl Strawberry, Jeffrey Hammonds
CF – Eric Davis
Thirty-three home runs. Forty-seven stolen bases.
The bat still plays.
The glove, however, is sending increasingly urgent requests to move to a corner.
Should he still be playing center field? Probably not. Will someone put him there anyway because they fell in love with the offensive numbers? Without question.
Defense is often treated as a problem for future management.
Honorable mention: Chuck Carr, Jeff Kunkel
RF – Derek Bell
Every free-agent class has one player who signs a contract that makes everyone else’s owners immediately check their budgets.
This year’s nominee is Derek Bell.
The ratings look terrific: contact, enough power, solid defense. The production… less so. He’s topped 0.9 WAR in only two of six seasons.
He’s the kind of player who inspires phrases like “untapped potential” and “change of scenery candidate,” both of which are often code for “we’re hoping the numbers on the back of the baseball card finally match the ratings screen.”
Somebody is going to pay him like an everyday cornerstone.
Everybody else is going to wonder what they missed.
Closing Thoughts
This free-agent class doesn’t have many stars. It doesn’t even have many sure things. What it does have is possibility, and every winter that’s enough.
By February, every signing will be hailed as a masterstroke. By July, several of these players will be available for a low-level pitching prospect and salary relief. And by next offseason, we’ll all do this again, convincing ourselves that this time the market is different.
It never is.