Rays reliever Grant Balfour opted to roll the dice this winter when he declined the club's offer for arbitration. Roughly one month later, Balfour remains on the open market. Earlier this week, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that the right-hander isn't being shut out because of his Type A status because 21 of the 30 teams could not do worse than have to give up a second-rounder. Rather, it seems that the Australian-born hurler is still available because he is after a multi-year contract.
Chances are, he will get job security that he is after, says Rosenthal. Teams that finished in the bottom half of the standings cannot lose their first-round picks for a Type A free agent. Teams that have already lost their top selection for a Type A like the Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, Nationals, White Sox, and Phillies, would only lose a second-rounder. The price for Balfour could even be as low as a third-rounder if any of those clubs opt to sign one of the other available Type As.
Even though several attractive relief options are now off of the board, there are still plenty of interesting names available. Did Balfour misjudge the market, or will he land the multi-year pact that he's after?
