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Which Free Agents Will Retire?
Jerry Crasnick has a piece up on ESPN.com regarding the remaining free agents. Specifically, he looks at the possibilities for Barry Bonds, Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez, Tony Clark, Sean Casey, Mark Sweeney, Kris Benson, Pedro Feliz, and Shannon Stewart.
These players have been talked about at length on MLBTR over the course of this off-season. The collective youth movement in MLB is really hurting these guys. Teams are beginning to replace them with younger, cheaper talent, and making vets work for their spots in the lineup and rotation.
True, many of the remaining free agents are going to catch on somewhere. Lohse, for instance, isn't going to begin the season unemployed. He'll end up taking what the market bears for his services. However, to me the most interesting part of Crasnick's article was a one-sentence paragraph:
Don't be surprised to see a few retirement announcements mixed in with the signings over the next few weeks.
So instead of looking at where each of the remaining free agents will land, let's talk about who might opt for retirement. I'll throw up my list, and you guys can add or subtract in the comments.
Damian Miller, Ryan Klesko, Corey Koskie, Luis Gonzalez, Reggie Sanders, Shawn Green, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Mike Sweeney, Sammy Sosa, Eric Milton, David Wells, John Thomson, Bob Wickman, Russ Ortiz, Antonio Alfonseca, Joe Table, Rudy Seanez, Aaron Sele, Ron Villone
I wanted to include Kenny Lofton, but I figure that some team will give him a shot at some playing time. Trot Nixon crossed my mind, as he's been not so good over the past couple of years. But he could bide his time and catch on when the inevitable injury strikes in Spring Training. I included Milton and Ortiz because while they're not at the typical retirement age, their performances over the past few years are poor enough that no team should even think about giving them a shot.
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Rudy Seanez is spelled wrong. I think you made a hybrid of Rudy Seanez and Olmedo Saenz. Might be a fun, obscure prospect if he did exist.
Posted by: Taye | January 24, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Bonds, Sosa, Piazza, Wells, and Wickman are done. And the first three, not because they can't play anymore--there just aren't any DH spots left. The others can play serviceably somewhere to at least earn a backup spot somewhere.
Posted by: FineHamAbounds | January 24, 2008 at 12:56 PM
I was ready to ask who the hell Joe Table is, but then I realized...
Any Julio Franco?
Posted by: gogopalehose | January 24, 2008 at 01:07 PM
I can definitely see Trot Nixon retiring. It is very unlikely that a team is going to offer a major league contract to a guy who's power has long since evaporated, is injury prone, no longer a defensive asset, and posted a negative VORP rating last season. He still gets on base at a decent clip, but I would have to think almost every organization has at least one low-ceiling minor league outfielder that could match Nixon's weak offense and add a little more athleticism in the outfield and on the base paths.
FWIW, I'd be surprised if Lofton and Gonzo didn't latch on somewhere.
Posted by: PrahaSMC | January 24, 2008 at 01:11 PM
Eric Milton probably could get a job with the Washington Reds.
Posted by: Bank Street Grounds | January 24, 2008 at 01:28 PM
Awwwww... someone sign Julio Franco, please? The guy just wants to play until he's 50, so why not give him a few AB's? :)
Posted by: FineHamAbounds | January 24, 2008 at 02:05 PM
I think Green should get a shot somewhere as a bench/platoon guy. I was actually surprised how well he performed pinch hitting and spot starting at the end of last season for the Mets.
Posted by: HoJo20 | January 24, 2008 at 02:15 PM
I think that somebody will give Sosa a shot to play DH/RF. He had fantastic power numbers and didn't play much the second half of last season.
Posted by: fatnickshow | January 24, 2008 at 02:26 PM
Any takers on Bartolo Colon? He hasn't thrown a 90MPH fastball this offseason and has been plagued by injuries the last couple seasons.
Posted by: bigcball | January 24, 2008 at 02:34 PM
Russ Ortiz is still owed $8.5 million by the Diamondbacks this season (worst free agent signing since the heyday of Dan O'Dowd) - would officially retiring affect his ability to collect that money? If so, there's no way he's hanging them up.
Posted by: gtsully | January 24, 2008 at 03:25 PM
If Jaret Wright can still find work, any of these guys can.
Posted by: miskolczi1 | January 24, 2008 at 03:39 PM
I could see Alfie signing on for another go-around with the Fish. Veteran leadership, bullpen, cheap, the Fish could use him.
Posted by: Dave | January 24, 2008 at 03:54 PM
Everything that I've read states that Mike Sweeney really does not want to retire, I don't think he will.
Posted by: HouseThatTeahenBuilt | January 24, 2008 at 04:01 PM
Alfie could be a huge bargain if he's healthy. Also on Sosa i read this on espn.com and it made a lot of sense to me.
Sosa's career had appeared all but over until the Rangers gave him a chance to revive it last season. Almost no one would have guessed that he would wind up leading the team's regulars in home runs (21) and slugging (.468) or that he would finish third in the American League -- behind only Alex Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez -- in RBIs per plate appearance.
Posted by: fatnickshow | January 24, 2008 at 04:02 PM
Hey Tim [or anyone].....we all hear about the major retirements, but on average, how many players retire on an annual basis?
Posted by: scatterbrian | January 24, 2008 at 05:56 PM
Gonzo and green will play for sure. They are still productive. Thompson and milton could sign minor league contracts with invites.Seanez will get something I could see pitsburg looking at him and villone. If wickman wants to play he could definetly find work. And sorry to say I really don't see bonds not playing. Yeah the situation is crazy but he is still very productive and he has a lot of milestones coming up, all it takes is one team.
Posted by: joemorgan=#1 | January 24, 2008 at 06:04 PM
Kenny Lofton is never going to retire LOFTON 4 EVER KENNY KENNY KENNY!!!!!
but seriously were is he goin 2 go? I think he'll prolly strike a deal with Seattle and maybe Oakland Chicago is a long shot.
Posted by: CUBBIES2008 | January 24, 2008 at 06:55 PM
Just wondering what everyone thinks about Doug Mientkiewicz... His defense is still stellar, but does he still have enough offense to justify giving him a shot?
Posted by: bbhd16 | January 24, 2008 at 08:20 PM
I see it like this. If any of these guys ren, they might head to the independent league. That is where Rickey Henderson play for a few years after he is finish in the majors.
The Cardinals will sign a outfielder. The question is which one. They have Shumarker (however you spell his last name) playing right field. A person like that should be on the bench. All they have is him, Duncan, Ankiel and Barton. Rasmus they want to leave in the minors for 1 more year. So the Cardinals have room for 1, or maybe 2 outfielders and Mo say he is not done yet.
Posted by: Knuffy | January 24, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Am I missing something on Wickman? I know he is old and gives up a ton of baserunners, but he's had an ERA under 4.50 each of the last 10 years and you know he can handle late inning pressure situations. As a Yankee fan I'd much rather see Wickman coming into a game in the late innings than Farnsworth. Put Wickman in (XXL) pinstripes for '08.
Posted by: BigScooter | January 25, 2008 at 12:19 PM
The entire San Francisco Giants batting order can make this list.
Posted by: slug214 | January 25, 2008 at 02:27 PM