This year’s uber early morning signings were the Arizona Diamondbacks with Catcher Henry Blanco and the Los Angeles Dodgers with 1B/OF Juan Rivera. Since Blanco played for the D-Backs last year as their backup catcher it seems weird that he had to bother filing for free agency when only 15 minutes later they resign him. Weird. The Dodgers early signing of retread Rivera makes financial sense for them when they have immense monetary issues with the coming sale of the team. Also, Rivera has dominated left-handed pitching and is a perfect fit to back up James Loney at first base and Andre Ethier in right field. Both who were in the bottom ten OPS-wise versus left-handed pitching in the majors last year!
Now onto my top free agents list for this off season (you knew there would be a list somewhere!). I decided to go with the solid cliché top 10 list:
1 – Albert Pujols, First base, 31 years old
What has not already been said about King Albert? His career numbers and average season stats are off the charts. He is a once in a generation player. It would be a real shame to baseball if he left St Louis.
2 – Prince Fielder, First base, 27 years old
If Pujols is 1, then Fielder is 1A. A few baseball people might even argue he should be listed ahead of Pujols based on his being 4 years younger. Fielder is just entering the prime years of his career and he already has put up six solid if not monster years! For those who worry about his weight he has averaged over 159 games played a year over the past 6 years. Fielder is surprisingly athletic and agile for a man of his girth… er… width… er… size! He will probably never be able to change his body type enough to please most critics (have you met his father Cecil?), but he has proven to even the most skeptical baseball nerd that he can be relied upon to produce at a monster level offensively.
3 - Jose Reyes, Shortstop, 28 years old
Jose Reyes only has one problem. His legs. He just can’t seem to stay healthy for a complete year. Reyes is an amazing athlete that has been able to show that when he plays healthy, he is one of the best and most exciting players in all of baseball. His defensive range and arm are at the top of the charts. When he focuses on line drives, his gap power and his speed are just incredible. He can easily be a major piece for a team to build around for next 7 years.
4 – CJ Wilson, Starting Pitcher, 30 years old
After being stashed in the bullpen for several years, CJ Wilson has had 2 straight very solid years starting for the Texas Rangers. He has made me believe in him since if you can succeed there you should be able to succeed elsewhere too. I don’t think of him as a staff ace by any means, but as a strong number 2 or 3 starter he would be amazing! And CJ has proven he is far better than the likes of Mike Hampton, John Lackey, Carl Pavano, Barry Zito, Denny Neagle, AJ Burnett, Hideki Irabu… well you get the point. All those pitchers received huge free agent contracts but were colossal failures in my humble opinion.
5 – Aramis Ramirez, Third base, 33 years old
Let me state for the record that I am a huge Aramis Ramirez fan. At the end of last season there was talk of Aramis’ demise. His fielding range had disappeared, he lost his power and he was aging quickly. At the end of this season I am happy to announce that Aramis is still here! His 2011 stat line:
149 Games .306 AVG 80 Runs 35 Doubles 26 HR 93 RBI .871 OPS
While I don’t think any team should go past a 3-year contract, getting an experienced RBI man like Aramis who plays a prime position would be a smart move. (THAT’s GOLD JERRY, GOLD!)
6 – Roy Oswalt, Starting Pitcher, 34 years old
I am also a huge fan of Roy Oswalt. Some might say that targeting an older pitcher coming off of a back injury plagued season would be ludicrous. Oswalt has put up top tier numbers over the past decade while hiding in Houston. He also keeps himself in tiptop shape and knows how to pitch. Oswalt has averaged close to 15 wins a year, sports a lifetime WHiP of 1.19 and a lifetime ERA of 3.21! Be assured I will be drafting him in any fantasy league no matter where he ends up.
7 – Carlos Beltran - Right field, 34 years old
Speaking of old and coming off injuries… introducing Carlos Beltran, ladies and baseball fanatics! Carlos was smart to play as much as he could last year to show everyone that he can still play. Moving to right field was also smart since he wears a knee brace and has had like 52 knee operations (give or take). I would think he would do better to sign in the American League where Carlos could DH when he needs to rest his knees a bit. Carlos’ very respectable 2011 stat line:
142 Games .300 AVG 78 Runs 39 Doubles 22 HR 84 RBI .910 OPS
8 – Jonathan Papelbon, Closer, 30 years old
I would have bet dollars to doughnuts a couple of years ago that Papelbumb… er… Papelbon would never have lasted as a closer. But not only has he lasted, he has excelled. And after succeeding in the pressure cooker of the Boston market (mmmmmm, Boston Market) he should be able to close anywhere. He has gotten back to mixing up his outstanding pitches and every year his control seems to get a notch better. His ratio of 10 walks to 87 strikeouts in 64.1 innings last year is ill! Hard to think anyone can do better than his 0.93 WHiP.
9 – Jimmy Rollins, Shortstop, 32 years old
An outstanding defensive shortstop that has both great speed and solid power? Sign me up! Jimmy Rollins is a victim of his one amazing MVP season and his large market team, which has produced unrealistic expectations about him year in and year out. Jimmy Rollins also has been a bit miscast as the leadoff hitter in my opinion. I would personally have moved him to number two spot in the order to better take advantage of his power and let him drive some runs in. If Philadelphia didn’t have Chase Utley I might even bat him third. At 32 years old, I obviously wouldn’t recommend any team going beyond three or four years with him, but Jimmy would be a solid infield anchor for any team.
10 - Mark Buehrle, Starting Pitcher, 32 years old
With Mark Buehrle making my top ten free agent list several things can be gleaned (who actually says “glean” anyway?). One, stud starting pitching is on the light side for this free agent class. Two, I think starting pitching is very important in both real life and fantasy baseball. Three, I have respect for what Mark Buehrle brings to the table. Buehrle has made 30 starts and pitched at least 200 innings in 11 straight seasons! Yes, I said 11 straight seasons! In those 11 years he has averaged close to 14 wins a season with a lifetime WHiP of 1.28 and a lifetime ERA of 3.83. As a team’s number three starting pitcher he would provide innings and reliability almost unmatched in today’s game.
Some honorable mentions are Yu Darvish (The Japanese 25 year old superstar pitching stud), Hiroki Kuroda, David Ortiz, Ryan Madson, Grady Sizemore, Heath Bell, Carlos Pena and Javier Vasquez.
How many of these players will receive the coveted 100 million dollar contract? Where will these free agents land? How many of these players will resign with their original team? I can hardly wait to find out!
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