Headlines

  • Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez
  • Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2014 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

By Tim Dierkes | May 14, 2013 at 1:00pm CDT

About 23% of the 2013 MLB regular season is complete.  It's been almost a month since our last power rankings, and the list has changed quite a bit.

1.  Robinson Cano.  The spokeswoman for Cano's foundation, Sonia Cruz, was connected to Biogenesis late last month.  While MLB will investigate the connection, Cano's long-term value seems unaffected at present.  There's nothing new to report on the idea of the Yankees extending Cano midseason.

2.  Shin-Soo Choo.  Choo ascends to second on the list, as his .451 OBP leads all of baseball.  He has a decent chance of topping his career high of 22 home runs, set in 2010, and the Reds' leadoff hitter could also score 120 runs.  A qualifying offer is looking very likely for Choo after the season.

3.  Jacoby Ellsbury.  Ellsbury was amazing in 2011, and good in 2008-09.  He's healthy now, and he won't turn 30 until September.  He even leads the American League with 12 steals.  Still, I had to drop him a spot on the list, because he's still not hitting much.  WAR rewards him for his baserunning and for playing center field, but if he finishes anywhere near .257/.311/.365 offensively, a megacontract is not in the offing even with Scott Boras making the pitch.

4.  Chase Utley.  Utley has played in every game this year, and may be able to reach 150 for the first time since 2009.  He may also return to his 30 home run, 100 RBI days, and his timing is excellent.

5.  Hunter Pence.  Pence holds steady on the list, despite his worst walk rate since '07.  OBP-centric teams won't be drawn to him, but the 30-year-old should finish with solid numbers and earn a respectable contract.

6.  Brian McCann.  McCann made his season debut on May 6th, returning from shoulder surgery, and he jumps two spots on this list.  His first six games have gone well, and if he remains healthy and hits at his pre-2012 level for the remainder of the season, he'll be a hot commodity in free agency.

7.  Tim Lincecum.  Lincecum also jumps up two spots, despite erratic work this year.  He's healthy and striking guys out.  The skills demonstrated in his first eight starts, walks and all, suggest a 3.72 ERA moving forward.  If he ends up with a 3.80 ERA on the season and 200+ strikeouts, Lincecum will be a solid 29-year-old free agent starter.  Given Lincecum's superstar past, however, it's difficult to predict what kind of contract is appropriate.

8.  Matt Garza.  Garza's fourth minor league rehab outing will take place Thursday, as he recovers from a lat strain.  In theory, he could make his season debut May 21st in Pittsburgh.  If that happens, he could make 13 starts prior to the July 31st trade deadline before the Cubs have to decide whether to make a deal.  If they do, the removal of a potential qualifying offer would boost his free agent value.

9.  Mark Reynolds.  Reynolds is a new addition to the list, with his blazing .279/.368/.598 start.  He's tied for the AL lead with 11 home runs.  He's looked more like the Reynolds of old in May, but the second 40 home run season of his career remains possible.  Age is on his side as well, as he turns 30 in August.

10.  A.J. Burnett.  I was initially going to give the #10 spot to Josh Johnson, who at one point was ranked as high as #3.  But even though he'll turn 37 in January, I can't ignore the fact that Burnett has a 3.34 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 0.73 HR/9 in 258 1/3 innings for the Pirates since the beginning of the 2012 season.  He still averages a healthy 92.3 miles per hour on his fastball, and he's basically everything we hope Johnson can be, except seven years older.

Johnson lost his spot on the list, as he's currently on the DL because of soreness in his right triceps muscle.  The injury will keep him out of commission for over a month.  Roy Halladay has been removed as well, as he'll undergo surgery tomorrow to remove a bone spur and clean up fraying in the labrum and rotator cuff.  Neither pitcher should be written off, but they've lost their top ten spots to healthy players.  Among those vying to break into the top ten at some point this year: Nelson Cruz, Nate McLouth, Mike Napoli, Curtis Granderson, the resurgent James Loney, Paul Maholm, Ervin Santana, and Hiroki Kuroda.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

2014 Free Agent Power Rankings

Texas Notes: Postolos, Ryan, Lewis, Lowe
Main
AL East Notes: Jurrjens, Orioles, Yankees, Blue Jays
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Recent

    Yankees Moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. Back To Second Base

    White Sox Reinstate Luis Robert Jr.

    Gary Sánchez Likely To Miss 8-10 Weeks

    Mets Designate Zach Pop For Assignment

    Red Sox Select Isaiah Campbell

    Royals Select Cam Devanney, Transfer Cole Ragans To 60-Day IL

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Chicago Cubs

    Dodgers To Recall Alexis Díaz For Team Debut

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Nationals Name Henry Blanco Bench Coach

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version