There still has been little movement on the free agency front while teams await players decisions on whether or not to accept the qualifying offers. I would suspect after all those are decided today that the market will pick up in what would be a cool hot stove if not for the Angels making a splash yesterday. Here are my predictions for the free agents I have ranked 26-50:
26. Ian Kennedy – Padres. Three years, $36MM. Still think there is a good chance he takes the qualifying offer to try and build his value back up.
27. Gerardo Parra – Nationals. Three years, $30MM. Nats need an outfielder who can play in center field and left field that bats left-handed.
28. Joakim Soria – Tigers. Two years, $18MM. Detroit brings back Soria to help out a bullpen that had a 4.38 ERA last year and get the second best option on the market.
29. Denard Span – Indians. Three years, $30MM. Cleveland outfield is very weak right now and even more so with Michael Brantley expected to miss the start of the season.
30. Brett Anderson – Dodgers. Three years, $36MM. A player I think should accept the qualifying offer but will still look for the multi-year deal instead.
31. David Freese – Brewers. Two years, $20MM. Milwaukee doesn’t seem likely to spend much money but have a gaping hole at third base. Freese is in a good position as one of the top players in an extremely weak 3B free agency class.
32. Doug Fister – Angels. One year $10MM. Fister could turn out to be the bargain of the offseason after struggling last year with an undefined role. Los Angeles needs some rotation help and are getting a guy one year removed from 2.41 ERA and 1.079 WHIP.
33. J.A. Happ – Pirates. Two years, $20MM. The shocking turnaround for Happ occured under the tutelage of Pittsburgh pitching coach Ray Searage which is enough to get him a multi-year deal for sure.
34. Austin Jackson – Tigers. Two years, $18MM. A reunion with Detroit seems possible with the Tigers needing some outfield help and Jackson is still just 28-years old. Maybe he can return to his 2012 Tigers form. The Mets did show some interest during trade deadline but he makes little sense as platoon partner for Juan Lagares.
35. Shawn Kelley – Rangers. Two years, $12MM. Texas is another team that had a weak bullpen last year and Kelley was great sporting a 2.45 ERA with a 11.1 K/9 for San Diego in 2015.
36. Tyler Clippard – Dodgers. Two years, $12MM. Los Angeles is looking to bolster their bullpen and I think they miss out on the top options.
37. Tony Sipp – Mets. Two years, $10MM. The Mets need a lefty in the bullpen and Sipp is one of the best available coming off two straight good years including a 1.99 ERA while striking out 62 batters in 54.1 innings in 2015. Over the past two years lefties have a .599 OPS (15′) and .503 OPS (14′) against Sipp.
38. Mike Napoli – Orioles. Two years, $14MM. With Baltimore possibly losing Chris Davis they are going to need someone with punch to play first base.
39. Justin Morneau – Astros. One year, $7MM. I thought the Astros could possibly spend more money on a lefty bat but that changes with Colby Rasmus accepting the qualifying offer.
40. Bartolo Colon – A’s. One year, $8MM. Would love to have Bartolo back with the Mets but he is looking for the opportunity to be in a rotation. Something the Mets can’t guarantee him.
41. Ryan Madson – Mets. Two years, $10MM. New York needs some help at the back end of the bullpen and they found out in the playoffs that Madson has returned to form.
42. Mark Lowe – Yankees. Two years, $9MM. The Yankees are looking for middle relief help and Lowe had a career year with a 1.96 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 55 innings.
43. Alexei Ramirez – Mets. One year $7MM. I don’t see this as highly probable but Ramirez is a better defensive option than Ruben Tejada and Wilmer Flores. He also hit .277/.325/.432 in the second half last year and only struck out 68 times in 583 at bats.
44. Asdrubal Cabrera – White Sox. Two years, $18MM. Could be a placeholder until Tim Anderson is ready. Also see the Padres interested if they miss out on other shortstop options.
45. Steve Pearce – Rangers. One year, $8MM. Texas need a righty option at first base and left field.
46. Mark Buehrle – Blue Jays. One year, $10MM. For the first time since 2000 Mark failed to pitch at least 200 innings in a season, he narrowly missed with 198.2 despite leading the league with four complete games.
47. Antonio Bastardo – Twins. Two years, $12MM. Minnesota is looking for a lefty and someone to pitch at the back end of the bullpen. Bastardo had his lowest BB/9 (4.1) in four years and only gave up 39 hits in 57.1 innings.
48. Marlon Byrd – Orioles. One Year, $8MM. Baltimore needs a right fielder and Byrd has continued to be solid since being traded by the Mets.
49. Mike Pelfrey – Phillies. Two years, $15MM. Big Pelf is coming off his best season since leaving the Mets while allowing only 11 homeruns in 164.2 innings. Still had a 1.476 WHIP though, buyer beware.
50. Chris B. Young – Red Sox. Two years $10. Boston is looking for a veteran outfielder to pair with the young guns and you have think his swing will be a nice fit for Fenway.
50. Chris Young – Royals. One year, $7MM. Could get a multi-year deal after a strong season for Kansas City. Royals are going to be losing Cueto and need someone to eat up some innings.
Maybe the Mets don’t sign Madson specifically but I would bet they sign a righty reliever from this list as the bullpen is one of their biggest needs. Madson could also be one of the riskier relievers on this list but he certainly looked healthy last year.
Notably missing from my Top 50 predictions is the Mets signing someone capable of playing center field which doesn’t mean I don’t think they ignore that spot. I think the Mets would rather find a center fielder that mashes right-handed pitching through the trade market.
Seems like it is a no-brainer to bring back Jerry Blevins on a minor league deal as well after having a fantastic start to his Mets career before the unfortunate injury. Here you can read my predictions for the Top 25 free agents.
