When you look through our list of available free agents, two players stand out as surefire future Hall of Famers: Manny Ramirez and Trevor Hoffman. Manny has been involved in his fair share of rumors this offseason, but all has been quite on the Hoffman front. The 43-year-old told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that he still wants to pitch, but “the offers are sparse.” There was some thought that he could return to the Padres if they trade Heath Bell, but that obviously hasn’t happened yet.
Hoffman, baseball’s all-time saves leader, lost his job as Milwaukee’s closer during the 2010 season, though he finished the year with a 2.67 ERA in his final 30.1 innings. His fastball velocity, never anything special to begin with, has been trending downward the last few years. If Hoffman can’t find a job to his liking before Spring Training, he could opt to retire with 601 career saves to his credit and over $80MM in career earnings (according to Baseball-Reference.com).
Considering the multiyear, big dollar deals handed out to relievers this offseason, it’s not crazy to think that Hoffman could end up being a bargain on a low-salary, one-year contract. But will anyone give it to him?
