We’re now more than halfway through the month of February, and yet, despite the fact that pitchers and catchers report will begin to report this week, there are a surprising number of starting-caliber players available on the free-agent market. While that can, in some ways, be attributed to what was a very deep crop in terms of outfielders and starting pitchers, that was never true of third base. And yet, David Freese finds himself lingering on the open market and without a team to which he has recently been tied in any sort of convincing manner. Earlier this winter, Freese reportedly talked to the Angels about a reunion, but the team has since acquired Yunel Escobar to handle third base. The White Sox represented an on-paper fit back in November, but their trade for Todd Frazier eliminated the need for a third baseman.
Freese has been a league-average or better bat throughout his career according to both OPS+ and wRC+, and he’s coming off a pair of seasons in Anaheim where he batted a combined .258/.322/.401 (106 OPS+, 108 wRC+). Overall, he’s a lifetime .276/.344/.417 hitter that has averaged 15 home runs per 162 games played. Durability has, at times, been an issue for Freese, but he’s been the victim of a pair of pretty fluky injuries over the past two seasons, twice fracturing a finger in his hand when he was hit by a pitch. Ultimate Zone Rating pegs him as a roughly average fielder, which is better than what a lot of teams will trot out in 2016. A slightly above-average bat and an average glove aren’t necessarily exciting, but there’s value there.
While those are all reasons to consider Freese, there are also reasons to pass. UZR may be fine with Freese’s glove, but Defensive Runs Saved has him quite a bit below average. He’s also 32 years old and set to turn 33 in late April, so he’s entering a stage of his career at which it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see his bat decline. An average player at a premium position certainly holds value, but his limited ceiling means that there are probably several potential suitors that feel they have an in-house option capable of putting up comparable numbers. Realistically, some of them are going to end up being correct in that assessment.
I’d be surprised to see Freese land more than a one-year commitment at this stage of the winter. That, it would seem, creates the potential for a bargain add for a team in need of some infield help. He’s not someone that will take a fringe team and make them a contender, but he can add a couple of wins to a contending club with a questionable option at third base or potentially develop into a trade chip for a rebuilding team come July. And, on a one-year deal, if things go south, it’s relatively easy to cut ties.
That said, let’s take a look around the league to see where Freese might best fit as Spring Training games approach…
- Indians: Cleveland third basemen batted a collective .228/.273/.356 last season, and the team has moved former third-baseman-of-the-future hopeful Lonnie Chisenhall to the outfield. That leaves the defensively gifted but offensively questionable Giovanny Urshela and Jose Ramirez as the favorites for at-bats at the hot corner. Realistically, either could be considered an upgrade over Freese with the glove, but both players contributed to that dismal batting line I just referenced in 2015, and Ramirez could arguably better serve the Indians by bouncing around the infield in a utility capacity. Money is tight in Cleveland, as is so often the case, but they’re considering a run at Juan Uribe, according to multiple reports, and Freese would fill that same need.
- Angels: They might have one of baseball’s highest payrolls, but money also hinders the chances that Freese will return to the Halos, as owner Arte Moreno seems dead set on not exceeding the luxury tax threshold of $189MM. If the Halos clear some money in some form of Spring Training trade, though, it stands to reason that Freese could return and push Escobar from third base over to second base. Angels second basemen hit .250/.295/.352 last season, and incumbent starter Johnny Giavotella has a limited track record at the plate and poor ratings in the eyes of defensive metrics.
- Astros: Luis Valbuena is a capable enough third baseman with the bat, as he showed in 2015 when he blasted a career-best 25 home runs. Valbuena, though, can handle multiple positions and saw 200+ innings at first base last season. He could slide across the diamond to first base early in the year while A.J. Reed finishes developing (and, perhaps, avoids Super Two status), leaving third base open for Freese, whose right-handed bat would mesh well with the Astros’ short porch in left field. Houston third basemen batted just .223/.298/.412 last season. GM Jeff Luhnow knows Freese well from the pair’s days together in St. Louis.
- Brewers: There’s a case to be made that a rebuilding team needn’t spend money on a veteran free agent, as it behooves the team to free some at-bats for younger players (and losing games only strengthens the team’s draft the following season, anyhow). However, Milwaukee will probably be giving a fairly substantial amount of at-bats to fellow veteran Aaron Hill at third base, and Hill could be relegated to a platoon role with Scooter Gennett, clearing the way for a hitter with much more recent success. Manager Craig Counsell spoke about the importance of adding the veteran Hill and his experience to the Milwaukee clubhouse following that trade, and Freese could do the same while providing a better bet to serve as a summer trade chip.
- Braves: Much in the same way that the Brewers could potentially benefit from Freese, the Braves currently project to have a combination of Adonis Garcia and Kelly Johnson at third base now that Hector Olivera is in the outfield. Atlanta has quite a few options there already, as Gordon Beckham can also man third base if needed, but Freese seems a more reasonable bet to produce like a regular at the hot corner.
- Pirates: Pittsburgh’s starting infield is filled in as it is, but adding Freese could allow them to ease Jung Ho Kang back into action and could also push Kang back to shortstop, where is offense would be an upgrade over that of Jordy Mercer, who could probably fill a utility role more aptly than Pedro Florimon. Financial considerations and an already crowded infield picture make this one perhaps a bit of a stretch, though there’s some logic to the fit.
Clearly, not every team listed is a perfect fit, but none of the six mentioned here has a concrete enough infield setting that Freese couldn’t perhaps serve as an improvement. Some other teams I debated listing that ultimately seemed a bit too much of a reach include the D-backs (Jake Lamb and Brandon Drury both represent possible regulars at the position) and Padres (Yangervis Solarte has been similarly productive from 2014-15). An injury in Spring Training, of course, could create further matches for Freese and other remaining free agents — especially those that are most likely limited to one-year deals.
I like Pittsburgh as a fit. Relying heavily on Kang to provide left infield offense is pretty risky. Shoring up with Freese could be a really good move.
I like it too. This would work!
Reports seem to be that Kang is progressing well from his injury. I would rather see any available financial assets remaining to be used to shore up the roster at the deadline and make do with in-house options in the infield for the time being.
Agree, honestly Pittsburgh has had a sneaky good offseason with some low risk pick-ups especially for the back of the rotation and the pen. With Nicasio, Niese, Feliz, Ohflarety, Luebke and Lobstien. All of those guys are really really good gambles and honestly if 2-3 of them can be close to what they were in the past then that is a huge plus for the Buc O’s.
got burned by freese last year in fantasy league. drafted him backup and my starter got hurt.
Wow, crazy story
Unless the take-out slides rule gets changed, I doubt the Pirates move Kang to short. Also, the infield is beyond filled, especially at the corners/2b with Kang, Rogers, Morse, Jaso, Harrison, and eventually Hanson. If anything, the pirates need a better backup short stop instead of relying on the all glove no hit P-Flo
I think he’d be a great fit for the Mets. He could back up Wright at third (which means 30-40 starts, or more if Wright’s back acts up again), get 20-30 starts against lefthanders at first, and be a RH threat off the bench. Flores could remain as the backup 2b-ss, and Matt Reynolds is available in Las Vegas as the callup should there be an injury in the middle infield. This would mean the release of Tejada, but I believe Freese makes the Mets a better team than Tejada.
I’d been thinking about that – but Freese hasn’t played anywhere but 3B since 2011 and only has 9 career games at 1B.
I’d rather play Reynolds at SS and Wilmer at 3B than Freese at 3B and Wilmer at SS.
Seems like a Braves type move. Cheap, one year deal to make the team a little more watchable, and they probably have the worst 3B arrangement in baseball right now. If it doesn’t work out, meh, who cares.
I thought this would be one of the moves ATL made before they brought in Beckham, then signed Johnson. To me, neither seems likely to play the hot corner if Adonis Garcia doesn’t work out.
I’m fully expecting a platoon of Garcia and KJ at 3B. As big of a surprise as Garcia was last year he had pretty huge platoon splits. Against LHP he was awesome hitting .328/.344/.638 but was pretty awful against RHP at .256/.270/.436. If KJ can hit as well as he did last year (.275/.321/.451 w/ ATL) then they could form a pretty good platoon that would be just as productive, if not more, than David Freese. As far as defense goes none of them are very good. Beckham is a solid glove man but his offense has never been there. I wouldn’t expect him to do much of anything.
I came here for a poll, and there wasn’t one, how disappointing
im sure you love poll, you mo.
now there’s a real democrat. hahahahahaha
The only good solution for Freese is to drop the hot corner job and switch to 1B. His defense would be much better. And his market would be much better. A cheap 1B with good pop. He should start working out at 1B
The problem is that he doesn’t have good pop.
Over the past three seasons, adjusting for ballpark, Freese has been about 6% better than overall league average. Not league average for 3rd baseman, but league average overall.
He’s not getting any younger. There is no reason to believe that his bat will magically improve moving across the diamond. Unless he turns out to be a gold glover at 1B, I don’t see the match. His bat plays much better at 3B than it would at 1B.
Agreed. His value comes from the fact that he plays an offensively-challenged position. At 1B he’s a worse Doug Mientkiewicz
3rd is an offensively challenged position? Off the top of my head Wright, Longoria, Donaldson, Machado, Carpenter, Beltre, Bryant, Frazier, Seager, Zimmerman, and Franco (if it wasn’t for Panda, Ramirez would probably be here too) are all 3rd baseman and one of if not the best hitters on their respective teams. I would think 3rd would be one of the more offensively laden positions.
What about the reds they don’t have an incumbent at third and they could use him as a trade chip in July
The Phillies on a 1 year pillow deal could be interesting.
They dump Howard, move Franco to 1B for a year, and sign Freese. Flip him at the deadline.
why would they move a huge piece of their future to 1b, when they are trying to help him stay at 3b for as long as possible… for a season of David Freese? Freese could play 1b, though. Not sure he is much a difference than Ruf though.
Because Franco was awful at 3B
And their team is awful, leave him there for another year and see if he improves. If not then you slide him to first or left. This is the time to let the kids develop. If he doesnt improve then maybe sign the cuban.
Your replacing Howard with Freese. “Let the kids develop”
I like the thought of bringing him in on a 1 year deal as a possible option if Kang is not ready by April. But for the budget conscious Pirates, I don’t think they will want to offer anything more than a $2.0-$2.5 MM contract. Not sure if thats the kind of deal Freese is looking for.
go back to st louis. right handed batting first base platoon, spell carpenter at third or some days move carpenter to second, freese to third and free wong.
Why on earth would the Cardinals deliberately bench Matt Carpenter? He’s playing 150+ games depending on health.
I don’t know what the rookies coming up are like but on paper, getting Freese on STL isn’t a bad idea for one season…..IF the price is right and Freese is healthy. Adams, if he is healthy, can’t hit lefites to save his life. Giving Carpenter a rest now and then isn’t a bad idea—or Wong. It’s a long season. Don’t forget all the games they’ll need a DH as well.
ask kershaw and bumgardner?sp if adams can’t hit lefties.
That’s why they acquired Jed Gyorko, right handed bat that can play second & third and will be able to give Wong/Carpenter days off when needed especially against tough lefty’s.
he’s a career .197 hitter vs lefties…….basically a good hitting pitcher and every now and then they hit HR’s too.
Hmm, Gyorko is owed 33 million over the next 4 years and the padres are paying 7.5 million of that. So in your terms St. Louis is going to be paying 25.5 million for a guy who’s production is exactly what you would get from a pitcher at the plate? Dang.
Adams is a .197 hitter vs lefties. Obviously, he’s in the show because he hits righties well.
no one is benching carpenter, just giving him days off. the cardinals seem to like multiple players, playing multiple positions, and almost every day a different lineup. more flexibility. on days freese plays, carpenter could play 2nd, or even LF or RF. freese can play first and i think carpenter has played some at first. multiple possibilities.
His best fit by far is with the Angels. Asking price has got to be low this close to Spring Training. They should be able to land him for $5M or less. I’d slide Escobar over to 2nd base. Have Johnny Giavotella become your utility infielder and slot Freese at 3rd.
At $5M even if you go over the cap the penalty would be so incredibly low that it’s probably not even worth arguing over.
I think re-signing him has always been the best move for them to make. But it obviously hasn’t happened… Yet. And remember that the luxury tax isn’t calculated until the end of the season so they can go over the limit now and then she’d salary as they go. It just makes too much sense because they could use a player like him in the bottom half of their lineup right now, a player who you know what you’re getting out there every time he’s in the lineup. That’s the anxiety Angels fans are feeling. And I think bringing Freese back and shedding salary from there would ease a lot of whining and crying from a very spoiled fanbase.
I want him in San Diego but I think he will sign with ATL. Even though they have beefed up their minor league system with all the trades they have made in the last year and a half they still boost a veteran laiden Mlb squad with AJ/Flowers, Kelly Johnson/Aybar/Markakias/Bourn/Swisher/ etc.
Could see him signing here and getting flipped at the deadline for more prospects.
A team not listed that I think makes sense is the Tigers imo. Castellanos erases all offensive value he has with his inability to play a solid 3b or run the bases. Tigers are trying to go all in why not upgrade 3b. Let’s you use Castellanos in a utility rule mainly playing against LHP which is his strength. Makes sense to me but it seems the tigers are committed to letting Castellanos fail at 3b……
i see the logic but it won’t be Milwaukee now. With Hill, Villars ability to slide over and hopeful Ceccini all in the fold, a deal with Freese wouldn’t come until mid- Spring Training if it was clear Ceccini or Hill won’t cut it.
If milwaukee signs freese its to trade him at the deadline. Then those said players still have 3 months to showcase.
fair enough.
but if that’s the Brewers strategy, wouldnt ian desmond would provide more upside?
While I’d like to see the Brewers add Freese, I don’t see Stearns doing it. He doesn’t seem the least bit interested in making the 2016 team any better (just the opposite) or even finding vets that could occupy a spot and build trade value for later. He took Hill in the trade with Arizona, because taking his salary allowed him to get the Diaz kid. It wasn’t to make the 2016 any better. If Hill rebounds to his past success, he’ll be out of town quickly.
Unless the Brewers really think Freese could be a guy to help them contend for the playoffs, why add a salary? I know how how people have talked about “tanking” but there comes a point in time where a team has to be realistic about where they are and that adding that larger salary you would pay Freese instead of paying a rookie just doesn’t make economic sense. He’s really NOT going to make your team that much better. They dumped a lot of salaries so far and are still stuck with guys like Garza, Hill and Braun.