Poll: Top 2015 Free Agent Third Baseman
MLBTR’s first edition of the 2015 free agent power rankings featured one prime position player at the top (Hanley Ramirez) and a group of pitchers to round out the top five. (Charlie Wilmoth already asked our readers to rank those arms.) Things get somewhat murkier at that point, with a host of players who have fairly significant question marks making up the rest of the list and the group of players worth keeping an eye on.
What is clear, however, is that the third base market contains two top targets: Chase Headley of the Padres and Pablo Sandoval of the Giants. (While Ramirez could hypothetically sign to play the hot corner, it’s fair to assume that he would be out of the league of these two regardless.) The pair of switch-hitters are each off to slow starts and have a history of inconsistent production, but have registered 6+ WAR seasons at their best. Sandoval will hit the market at a youthful 28, while Headley is hardly old for a free agent (he just turned 30). Their career production has been rather similar on the whole.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams prefers Headley to Sandoval, arguing that he has a higher floor. But it is hard to ignore Sandoval’s age advantage, and clubs will be intrigued at the possibility of unleashing his bat (especially from the left side) in a more hitter-friendly home park.
So, let’s see what the consensus is among MLBTR readers: Who is the better 2015 free agent target?
New Poll
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Chase Headley 53% (3,403)
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Pablo Sandoval 47% (3,069)
Total votes: 6,472
Red Sox Considering Third Base Upgrades
The Red Sox are considering potential upgrades, including trades, at third base, WEEI’s Rob Bradford writes, citing a source within baseball. With Will Middlebrooks currently out with a fractured index finger, the Red Sox currently have Brock Holt at third. The Red Sox were struggling at third base this season even before Middlebrooks’ injury, with Middlebrooks hitting .197/.305/.324 in 82 plate appearances.
Bradford notes that the Red Sox have not recently had discussions with Scott Boras about free agent shortstop Stephen Drew. One potential reason for that, as the Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber notes, is that they are uninterested in moving Xander Bogaerts to third — they want a full season to evaluate Bogaerts at shortstop before considering moving him elsewhere. “We don’t have any reason to believe he can’t play short,” says GM Ben Cherington. “You’ve got to keep going in the right direction, but he looks, to me anyway, a little more comfortable out there making the routine plays. And that’s all he needs to do.”
Minor Moves: Osvaldo Martinez, Angel Sanchez
Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball.
- The Braves have acquired infielder Osvaldo Martinez in a trade with the Dodgers and assigned him to the Gwinnett Braves, who announced the move. Martinez, 26, played in parts of the 2010 and 2011 seasons with the Marlins, hitting a combined .258/.300/.348 in 71 plate appearances. This season, he had been hitting .176/.242/.269 with Double-A Chattanooga, where he played mostly shortstop and third base.
- Infielder Angel Sanchez has signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the independent Atlantic League, the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff tweets. Sanchez has collected 630 career MLB plate appearances, the overwhelming majority of them with the Astros in 2010 and 2011, with a line of .254/.303/.307. He appeared briefly for the White Sox in 2013.
Week In Review: 5/11/14 – 5/17/14
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Signed / Agreed To Terms
- Astros — P Kyle Farnsworth (link)
- Marlins — P Randy Wolf (link)
Trades
- Athletics — acquired OF/1B Kyle Blanks from Padres for OF Jake Goebbert and a PTBNL or cash considerations
- Angels — acquired P Greg Billo from Royals for cash considerations
Claimed
- Athletics — P Jeff Francis (from Reds — link)
- Blue Jays — OF Kenny Wilson (from Twins — link)
Designated For Assignment
- Royals — OF Justin Maxwell (link)
- Yankees — P Bruce Billings (link)
- White Sox — INF Jeff Keppinger (link)
- Marlins — RP Carlos Marmol (link)
Outrighted
- Athletics — 1B Daric Barton (link)
- Marlins — P Henry Rodriguez (link)
- Rangers — P Justin Germano (link), P Scott Baker (link) and INF Josh Wilson (link)
- Blue Jays — INF Chris Getz (link)
- Angels — P Buddy Boshers (link)
- White Sox — P Maikel Cleto (link)
- Padres — P Hector Ambriz (link)
- Indians — C George Kottaras (link)
- Mets — INF Omar Quintanilla (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Orioles — RP Heath Bell (link)
- Marlins — INF Miguel Tejada (link)
- Rays — INF Jayson Nix (link)
- Nationals — 1B/3B/OF Greg Dobbs (link)
MLBTR Originals
A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:
- Steve Adams issued a Free Agent Stock Watch on Nick Markakis and believes the Orioles outfielder could be well-positioned for a multi-year contract, if he, as expected, hits the open market this winter.
- Charlie Wilmoth asked MLBTR readers to rate the top 2015 free agent starting pitchers. More than 75% of you ranked Max Scherzer number one with Jon Lester a distant second.
- Tim Dierkes was the first to report left-hander Mike Zagurski has a June 1 opt-out date in his minor league deal with the Indians.
- Zach Links broke the news the minor league contract Greg Dobbs signed with the Nationals contained an early June opt-out date. The opt-out became moot when the Nats added Dobbs to the 25-man roster Friday.
- MLBTR was the first to learn left-hander Brian Burres, currently pitching for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League, has received interest from a few MLB teams.
- Zach reminisced about the brief four-game tenure as a Met for Yogi Berra, who was released by the club 49 years ago this week.
- Steve hosted this week’s live chat.
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Zach assembled the best of the baseball blogosphere for you in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
NL West Notes: Dodgers, Giants, Quackenbush
Ten years ago today, the Diamondbacks’ Randy Johnson tossed a perfect game against the Braves. The Big Unit was fairly blunt when asked to reflect upon his gem by MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. “That’s the one thing that I’ve noticed since I’ve stopped playing baseball is that I’m getting older, because time just doesn’t stop,” Johnson said. “Next thing you know we’re having a 10-year anniversary for the World Series and now a 10-year anniversary for my perfect game. It just doesn’t seem that long ago that I threw that perfect game. Although it does feel like 10 years as far as me remembering details of it, because I don’t remember many of the details of the game.” Johnson (owner of 303 wins, five Cy Young Awards, and second place on the all-time strikeout list) will be on his first Hall of Fame ballot next year and is keeping busy in retirement with photography and traveling in support of the USO.
In news and notes from the National League’s West Division:
- The Giants discussed the idea of hiring Tony LaRussa, but there wasn’t a fit since the team is happy with their baseball decision-makers and the Hall of Fame manager wasn’t interested in a strictly advisory role, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Sulia).
- The Dodgers will face a roster crunch when Hyun-jin Ryu is activated from the disabled list Wednesday, writes MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Paul Maholm, who replaced Ryu in the starting rotation, will shift to the bullpen, so the Dodgers may have to keep 13 pitchers because their current relievers either have guaranteed contracts and cannot be optioned to the minors (Brian Wilson, Chris Perez, J.P. Howell, and Jamey Wright) or have prominent late-inning roles (Kenley Jansen and Chris Withrow).
- Corey Brock of MLB.com chronicles the travels of Padres reliever Kevin Quackenbush, who has shuttled back-and-forth between San Diego and Triple-A El Paso five times since April 25. “This is where I want to be, so every time I’m up here, it’s a blessing,” the 25-year-old right-hander said. “It is something to laugh about a bit, I guess. But it’s still exciting.“
Injury Notes: Abreu, Gonzalez, Venters, Fielder, Yanks
Here’s the latest on the injury front:
- The White Sox have placed Jose Abreu on the 15-day disabled list with posterior tibial tendinitis in his left ankle, reports MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Abreu returned to Chicago today for an examination and was placed in a boot to immobilize the ankle and help facilitate the recovery process. He also will undergo further tests, such as another MRI, and further treatment for at least another day. The rookie sensation is paying early dividends on his six-year, $68MM contract, batting .260/.312/.595 with a MLB-leading 15 home runs and 42 RBIs in 189 plate appearances.
- The Nationals placed Gio Gonzalez on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation, but the left-hander’s enhanced MRI exam revealed no further damage and confirmed he will only require rest, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- The Braves‘ Jonny Venters threw batting practice Wednesday and the session was cut short after he reported soreness in his left elbow, writes the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien. “It was just a little sore, so they shut him down and didn’t continue,” said manager Fredi Gonzalez. “They didn’t seem concerned, they made it sound like it was part of the process – first time he’s faced hitters and that kind of stuff.” Venters is just over a year removed from his second Tommy John surgery.
- The Rangers‘ injury woes continue with Prince Fielder undergoing a nerve-root injection for a herniated disc in his neck, reports Jay Jaffe of SI.com. Fielder, slashing only .247/.360/.360 with three home runs in 178 plate appearances, says his neck has bothered him since last season, but has worsened lately. Jaffe notes Fielder waited until last month to inform the Rangers of his injury, which has caused pain and stiffness in his neck and weakness in his left arm.
- Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda is still on track for an early-June return after a successful bullpen session Friday, according to ESPNNewYork.com’s Wallace Matthews (h/t: Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues).
- Yankees reliever Shawn Kelley could rejoin the team next Sunday, tweets Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network (h/t: Axisa). Kelley, nursing a back injury, will play catch Monday and Tuesday, throw a bullpen Wednesday, and make a minor league rehab appearance Friday.
Athletics Claim Jeff Francis Off Waivers From Reds
3:39pm: Savery will be optioned to Triple-A rather than simply being placed on paternity leave, tweets Slusser, with the idea of utilizing Francis as a long man.
2:47pm: The Athletics have claimed lefty Jeff Francis off waivers from the Reds, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). Francis had been designated for assignment on Friday.
Francis, 33, got just one start with Cincinnati before he hit the wire, allowing three earned over five innings. He had been working effectively at Triple-A, tossing 48 2/3 frames with a 3.33 ERA, supported by a solid 8.3 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
As Slusser explains, the A’s will place recently-promoted southpaw Joe Savery on paternity leave. Francis will take his place on the active roster, though the club’s plans from that point forward remain unclear.
Quick Hits: Mets, Feliciano, Drew, Rays
Saul Katz is denying reports that he wants to share his stake in the Mets but a baseball exec tells Josh Kosman of the New York Post that he wanted to do even more. Katz, according to the exec, tried to get Fred Wilpon to join in so that they could sell majority control. Wilpon said no in part because he wants to turn the team over to his son, Jeff. Here’s more from around the league..
- The Cardinals are close to a minor league deal with free agent left-hander Pedro Feliciano, a source tells Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (on Twitter). Steve Nations of KSDK Sports reported yesterday that St. Louis was giving the 37-year-old a hard look. Feliciano has seen time in nine MLB campaigns, returning to the bigs for 25 appearances (but just 11 1/3 innings) with the Mets last year, putting up a 3.97 ERA. His career mark stands at 3.33 earned per nine over 383 2/3 innings.
- Signing Stephen Drew would help the Red Sox‘s cause, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald. Drew, he argues, would give Boston some much needed competition by moving Xander Boegarts over to third where he’d fight Will Middlebrooks for playing time. The Red Sox are the one team that can sign Drew without surrendering a draft pick, but that window closes once the draft begins on June 5.
- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times looks back to reassess the Rays‘ offseason decisions. The three-team deal that brought Ryan Hanigan to Tampa Bay was still worthwhile, Topkin argues, despite having to eat the $5.5MM owed to Heath Bell. Meanwhile, the deal sending left-hander Alex Torres and right-hander Jesse Hahn to San Diego doesn’t look as good right now.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Towers, Rogers, Joba
On this date in 2004, at the age of 40, southpaw Randy Johnson became the oldest pitcher to ever throw a perfect game when the Diamondbacks beat the Braves, 2-0. Johnson joined Cy Young, Jim Bunning, Hideo Nomo, and Nolan Ryan as the only hurlers to throw no-hitters in both leagues. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Inside The ‘Zona reverses every trade made by D’Backs GM Kevin Towers.
- Baseball Hot Corner wonders if Esmil Rogers is still worth keeping around.
- The Beanball breaks down Joba Chamberlain‘s resurgence.
- Blue Jays Plus looks at Brett Lawrie‘s hitting mechanics.
- Rays Colored Glasses spoke with Gary Sheffield.
- Sports Injury Alert discusses the unfortunate timing of Matt Wieters‘ DL trip.
- A’s Farm caught up with Director of Player Personnel Billy Owens.
- Grab Some Bench asks if Jose Quintana is a top AL lefty.
- On Base Talk delves into the Super Two problem.
- Baseball Hot Corner brings us the best alternate minor league uniforms.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.