MLB Free Agency: Biggest Bargains Left on the Market
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
There’s always a lot of focus on the players who rake in the most money in MLB free agency. But what free agents who are still unsigned provide the best value?
Yoenis Cespedes, Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman, those names were the main focus of the early portion of MLB free agency, and rightfully so. However, as the new year comes closer, the free agent market starts to shift to guys that they may be a bit more under appreciated. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t provide a good bang for a team’s buck.
There’s already been some under-the-radar deals that have been struck that look like steals for those respective clubs. Here are some of the players that I feel got less money than they deserved this offseason.
All of these players got short-term deals that will be them $8 million or less per season. This blows my mind because relief pitcher who get three outs are making double the amount of players that are playing daily. That’s not to say that a Mark Melancon or Aroldis Chapman aren’t elite players for their position, but it just seems to be all the rage to sure up the bullpen by investing heavily in players who don’t get on the field as much, which leaves little money leftover for solid players like the Welington Castillo and Matt Joyce’s of the world.
This leaves some MLB free agent bargains out there in the next couple months, and here are some available players still left who club’s might get for less than what the player actually deserves.
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There seems to be a common theme with the top catchers on the MLB free agent market this winter. After Jason Castro got a generous 3 yr, $24.5 million deal to things off, backstops have had a rough go of it in finding teams that will invest heavily in the position.
Wilson Ramos was arguably the best offensive catcher in the MLB in 2016 and he had to settle for a two year, $12.50 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. However, this was mostly due to the torn ACL he suffered at the end of the regular season.
Welington Castillo signed for a modest two year contract with the Baltimore Orioles, and the man that he is replacing, Matt Wieters is struggling to find a suitor for the price tag Scott Boras is putting out there.
However, while Wieters may be the most talented catcher out there, Nick Hundley represents the best value. For the past two years in Colorado, the 33 year-old hit .301 and .260, respectively. His walk numbers increased from 2015 to 2016, and he was able to hit 10 home runs in each season in a part-time catching role. Granted, playing for the Rockies can provide a reasonable boost to your offensive production, but Hundley has put up solid offensive numbers earlier in his career, albeit he did struggle with the bat at times.
Defensively, his pitch framing is below average according to StatCorner, and suffered a 20 percent drop off in caught stealing numbers over the past two seasons.
Still, for his defensive liabilities, Hundley’s ability with the bat, especially for a backstop will give a team a solid option behind the plate for a short-term contract.
1B/OF Brandon Moss
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A major storyline developing in MLB over the offseason is the lack of movement in the power hitter department. Premier sluggers like Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo, Mike Napoli and even to a lesser extent, Chris Carter, have had trouble finding front offices to meet their price tags over the past couple two months.
Brandon Moss fits well into this group. He can be overshadowed by all-stars like Encarnacion and Trumbo, but Moss should come at a great value for a team looking to add home runs to their lineups for 2017, especially with the way the market is shaping up so far.
Having turned 33 in September, Moss still has a couple of solid years left as a MLB ballplayer. Since 2012, the veteran hitter has only had one year in which he finished with less than 20 home runs in a single season (19 in 2015). He hit 28 in the 128 games that he appeared in during the 2016 regular season. This shows that even as Moss gets older, he still is a pretty safe bet to continue putting up good power numbers, which is a value separate from just pure power potential.
However, like most long ball hitters, Moss falls into the trap of having a high strikeout rate, averaging over one K per game last year, and a low batting average. But with the expected money that a team is looking to invest in him, a club should be able to swallow some of his downfalls.
In a market that is saturated with corner infield sluggers, Moss is being a little bit overlooked. That should bode well for clubs that snatch him up after some of the upper-tier MLB free agents fall.
1B James Loney
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James Loney is unique for his position in that he doesn’t subscribe to the usual batting tendencies of first baseman. While many people expect that a corner infielder is supposed to add power to a batting order, this 32 year-old (33 in May) is a player that relies more on line drive contact.
After remaining an MLB free agent through opening day, Loney finally caught on with the New York Mets when Lucas Duda went down with an injury. The former Los Angeles Dodger and Tampa Bay Ray was brought into Queens as a measly stopgap. However, he performed much better than Terry Collins probably expected. In 100 games as the primary starter at first base, Loney finished 2016 with a solid .265 average, while adding nine home runs. He also put pressure on the pitcher by only striking out 37 times in those 100 appearances.
The reason for this boost could potentially be the uptick in hard contact from his 2015 campaign. According to FanGraphs, Loney went from hitting the ball hard at about a 19 percent clip to just under 30 percent of the time this past season. He also sprays the ball over the field with his pull, center, and opposite side of the field numbers being fairly even in 2016.
His name doesn’t seem to be mentioned as a viable first base option because he doesn’t offer the normal power numbers that front offices expect to come from a first baseman, but Loney does provide value in what he does in terms of creating consistent hard contact.
He’s not expected to get anything more than a one-year deal, and just like he did for the Mets last year, he could be a surprise contributor for a team that snatches him up late in the MLB offseason.
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It was widely known that the Blue Jays were entering a big offseason. Their top hitter, Edwin Encarnacion, was set to become a free agent. Jose Bautista, the team’s emotional leader for the past few years, was entering the MLB’s open market as well. The third piece of that puzzle was little known all-star Michael Saunders.
Surprisingly, all three players remain free agents as the calendar is about to turn to January. But the Jays have seemingly moved on by signing Kendrys Morales to fill the DH role and Steve Pearce to platoon with Justin Smoak at first. The only open spot that remains on John Gibbons‘ lineup card is a corner outfield spot. This keeps a Saunders or Bautista reunion still a possibility.
Even if Saunders doesn’t go back to his home country, there are still plenty of ballclubs that could use an outfielder. And the 30 year-old would come at much less of an annual price tag than the likes of Bautista and Trumbo.
Saunders was spectacular in the first half, which led to his first ever all-star appearance. He was hitting for a high average and on-base percentage, launching balls out of the ballpark more than in year’s past and truly showing a capability to hit in the middle of an elite Blue Jays lineup.
However, he suffered from a steep drop in production during the second half of the year. Still, he finished with a solid stat line and hit over 20 homers for the first time in his MLB career. He’s probably looking at a deal in the two-three year category with an $8 million-$11 million price tag. This is a good deal for a player that finished with the kind of numbers he did in 2016. The gruesome second half will certainly scare away some teams, but I think that a club willing to take a chance on Saunders continuing to progress as a hitter will be very pleased with the contract they sign him to.
OF Angel Pagan
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Unlike the Saunders signing, which is based more on offensive potential, the potential acquisition of outfielder Angel Pagan is more grounded in the realm of fielding and stability. Even at 35 years old, Pagan can still play all three outfield spots, albeit not as well as he once could, but he’s not a liability. He also had a solid offensive year, hitting for a solid line of .277/.331/.750. Pagan also surprisingly hit double digit home runs for only the second time in his MLB career.
In addition, his WAR was a solid 1.0 (Baseball Reference) and Pagan was steal able to swipe 15 bags as he continues to get more tread on the tires. All of this adds up to a player that could be very useful to any team, and a contending one especially. Pagan will probably only get a one-year deal as he will be 36 years old in July, but he could make for a good platoon option or even an elite fourth outfield option for a team looking for some veteran insurance on the bench.
He’s not the flashiest player on this list, but he does bring a sort of stability and versatility to an outfield as he looks like he will still be able to play at a fairly high level through the latter parts of his MLB career.
RHP Tyson Ross
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There is only one reason why Tyson Ross lands on this list instead of the best remaining free agent list. The season ending injury he sustained after just one start has many teams wary of giving the Padres non-tender a multi-year contract.
He”ll likely be looking for a one year, “prove it” type of deal, which to me is a steal for a pitcher with the capabilities that Ross possesses. In 2015, the 29 year-old pitched to a 3.26 ERA and an even more impressive 2.98 FIP because of his ability to miss bats. In fact, his career strikeout per nine inning rate is 8.5. This combined with his ability to keep the ball on the ground (61% GB rate in 2015), makes Ross a legitimate top of the rotation pitcher.
According to CBS Sports, Ross should be ready for opening day if his rehab in the offseason stays to plan. The electric right hander is a great gamble in a starting pitching market that is bare to say the least. He probably will not get a long-term deal like Rich Hill or Ivan Nova, so the best option for Ross is to prove that he’s healthy and cash in next winter.
There’s nothing better when looking for bargains than finding a player that has something to prove, and Ross fits that profile. But his stuff, numbers and potential make him an easy pick to be on this list, even if a one-year deal might come in the range of $13-$15 million.
LHP Boone Logan
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One may not think that a quality left-handed relief pitcher would be that much of a bargain because of the three-year, $19 million Mike Dunn just cashed in on. But the veteran pitcher may come at a lower price tag being that we are getting to a point in the MLB offseason when players start to reduce their contract demands.
More from Call to the Pen
With all things considered, Logan was an excellent bullpen piece in 2016. Pitching in Colorado is a tough task and the 32 year-old handled it extremely well. Finishing with a 3.69 ERA and a strikeout rate of over 11 per nine innings, Logan showed that he has what it takes to be an effective reliever late in the game, especially now that he’s likely to move on from Coors Field.
His numbers were actually much better at his home stadium than on the road in a pretty large sample size. He gave up four home runs away and not a single long ball when he pitched in Colorado. This is certainly unusual, but I’m willing to look at this more as a strength than a weakness because not giving homers in Coors is a pretty difficult task.
Logan’s FIP has been under 4.00 the past two seasons and he has steadily climbed in fastball velocity even as he approaches his mid 30s. This is rather impressive for someone seen as more of a lefty specialist, even though he was still effective against righties in 2016, giving up only a .211 batting average in 68 chances against opposite-handed hitters.
His low home run totals and his knack for putouts over the course of his career put me under the impression that Logan can be an anchor in the back end of the bullpen for a lefty-specialist price.
Who do you think are the biggest bargains on the MLB free agent market? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
