The first portion of the free agent market — the sprint from the November 10 qualifying offer decision date to Thanksgiving — is now in the books. Next up, of course, will be the ramp-up to the upcoming Winter Meetings.
Before we get to round 2, let’s field opinions on round 1. Which early-market addition of a new talent do you believe to be the wisest?
- A.J. Burnett, Pirates, 1/$8.5MM
- Zach Duke, White Sox, 3/$15MM
- Michael Cuddyer, Mets, 2/$21MM*
- Adam LaRoche, White Sox, 2/$25MM
- Billy Butler, Athletics, 3/$30MM
- Russell Martin, Blue Jays, 5/$82MM*
- Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox, 4/$88MM + vesting/club option*
- Pablo Sandoval, Red Sox, 5/$95MM + club option*
*signing required sacrifice of draft pick
Standard disclaimer: I acknowledge that this poll asks for a prediction and that we won’t really know the answer for some time.
Non-standard disclaimer: because I forgot to include Victor Martinez’s re-signing with Detroit, but do not want to wipe out early votes, this poll will be about players who have found new teams.
Best Free Agent Signing To Date
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Russell Martin, Blue Jays 25% (8,318)
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Pablo Sandoval, Red Sox 23% (7,896)
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Adam LaRoche, White Sox 13% (4,425)
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Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox 12% (4,017)
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A.J. Burnett, Pirates 9% (3,078)
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Michael Cuddyer, Mets 8% (2,607)
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Billy Butler, Athletics 8% (2,551)
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Zach Duke, White Sox 2% (816)
Total votes: 33,708