The long-running but less-than-dynamic market situations of Manny Machado (now resolved!) and Bryce Harper (not so much) have captured much of the public attention this winter. But the evolution of free agency has most notably impacted mid-level veterans. We’ll wait to see how things settle out before attempting to make any conclusive market observations. Still, it’s interesting to see how many prominent players have thus far remained off the radar entirely.
Here’s a list of the ten most notable free agents who have yet to be connected to specific teams on MLBTR’s pages this winter:
- Jose Iglesias, SS: It’s a bit stunning that Iglesias has yet to draw publicly reported interest. He’s still just 29 and is one of the game’s premium defensive players. He’s also coming off of a good-enough season at the plate (.269/.310/.389; 90 wRC+) for a player with his immense talents with the glove. Over the past four seasons, Iglesias has reliably produced about 2 WAR annually while serving as a semi-regular player (480 plate appearances per season).
- Ervin Santana, SP: While we have heard some discussion of the veteran righty, we’ve yet to see him connected via firm reporting to a single club. Sure, his 2018 season was a total disaster, as he struggled mightily after a nagging injury robbed him of much of the season. In the two prior campaigns, though, Santana spun 392 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball. While his peripherals never suggested those sparkling results fully reflected his contributions, they still painted him as a quality rotation piece.
- Denard Span, OF: The glovework just isn’t there anymore, but Span can still hit and run the bases. He turned in a .261/.341/.419 slash last year, good for a 112 wRC+, while grading as an above-average baserunner. It’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t at least make for an upgrade as a fourth outfielder for quite a few teams.
- Logan Morrison, 1B: After settling for a one-year deal following his breakout 2017, Morrison’s injury-riddled 2018 effort represents Exhibit A as to why free agents generally seek to maximize contract length when they hit the open market. Now, Morrison is looking for a bounceback opportunity … and he seems like an interesting buy-low candidate. After all, his .196 BABIP is sure to rise, and he still managed a .182 isolated power mark and 15 home runs in his 359 plate appearances last year.
- Carlos Gomez, OF: The 33-year-old looked like a possible bargain last year, but turned in a dud of a season for the Rays. But he was a quality performer just one season prior, slashing .255/.340/.462 and contributing 17 long balls and 13 steals over 426 plate appearances with the Rangers.
- James Shields, SP: No, he’s not a very exciting pitcher anymore. But the 37-year-old is as durable as they come and would make for a respected member of any staff. He gutted out 204 2/3 innings of 4.53 ERA pitching last year, but might be somewhat more effective if utilized in a more limited capacity.
- Hanley Ramirez, 1B: We all know the story here. HanRam was unceremoniously dumped by the Red Sox early last season and was never picked up thereafter. The 35-year-old wasn’t great in the season prior, either, and hasn’t always had the smoothest relationships with his teams. Still, he was a highly productive hitter in 2016 and for years before that. Ramirez also just turned in a productive showing in the Dominican Winter League.
- Jose Bautista, OF/3B: While the power probably won’t fully return, Bautista still managed to walk at a 16.8% clip and turn in a .348 on-base percentage last year. He also popped 13 long balls in 399 plate appearances. Bautista is a limited player at this stage of his career, to be sure, but still does some worthwhile things on the ballfield.
- Matt Holliday, OF/1B: It’s even harder to know what to make of Holliday, who sat out most of 2018 but returned with a bit of a vengeance late in the year with the Rockies. In 65 total plate appearances, Holliday slashed .254/.415/.434 with a pair of dingers. It’s hard to know what he’d look like over a full season, but there surely aren’t many guys sitting around out there that could reach base at that kind of clip after joining a team in the middle of the season at 38 years of age.
- Tyler Clippard, RP: There are plenty of candidates for this last spot, but the 34-year-old Clippard takes it based upon his overall body of work in the majors. He has now topped sixty innings in ten-straight seasons, a remarkable run for any reliever, and was still capable of posting a 3.67 ERA with 11.1 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 last year. Clippard has lost some zip on his heater but still generated swings and misses at a 14.3% rate. He also continues to draw loads of infield flies (16.3% last year). While he’s now much more susceptible to dingers than he was in his prime, Clippard has remained a durable and useful reliever. SIERA, at least, is a believer, crediting him with a 3.42 ERA equivalent mark in 2018.
What about Clay Buchholz? Hardly a peep about him. IMO, maybe a better bet than any of these guys.
Has to be a physical issue with Buck. Or he wants too much, which is hard to believe since he signed a minor deal last year.
Too bad; he was a lawn mower for the d-backs at certain times last summer.
I think it’s a combination of his most recent injury & his injury history. In mid-September, he was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right arm, a similar injury to the one that bothered him off and on for years before eventually requiring surgery in 2017. He may or may not be fully healed. And the injury may possibly signal further injuries down the road.
Sure thing, I totally agree with ya. Just meant that, even then, he is still a better bet than a bunch of these guys. Bautista, Holliday, Morrison, Ramirez, are all basically replacement-level players or worse… Certainly could see a dead cat bounce with any of them but, probably just veteran presents. That’s all I mean, I feel like it’s not all that surprising there is no interest with them.
I realize that there was a rumor a month ago about Texas contacting Buchholz but I would have expected more given his 2018 performance. Not saying he deserves a big deal, at all.
Given that Carlos Martinez is on the shelf for two weeks (and counting) an innings-eater like Shields could be a fit there.
Others? I think Span still has some gas in the tank for sure. Might be better in the AL where he could pinch-hit/corner OF/DH mix for oh, 300 ABs.
Iglesias, I don’t get at all. Still a plus defender and plus with the bat as well and just 30.
Iglesias is a Boras guy. He wasn’t awful last year and needed to sign for a bottom feeder contract, so Boras probably thought he could get some kind of decent multi year deal, which I don’t think he had any chance of getting for decent money.
Figure myself iglesais is worth 4-5m tops of a 1y deal, but since Boras dragged his feet? May end up with w-3m now. Possibly some kind of Milb deal if the wait until half way thru ST. He just doesn’t get it with non star players sometimes.
Excellent post. If Boras has a flaw, it’s that he tries to turn “meh” into superstar quality.
Iggy’s a good guy to have around, but he’s not 4M good. Not when there are a multitude of AAA players whose skill set are not that much lower.
For most GMs, there’s a HUGE difference between 2M and 3M; a million dollars. GMs have been fired for less than that.
Iglesias should be a Yankee and to me it shows how the Bombers like other big market clubs will spend (they certainly did this year), but there is a limit. The Yankees were looking for a bargain to hold down Didi’s spot.
The Red Birds have too much depth to go after Shields. How is he better than Poncedeleon? And no on Span, his defense is suspect. Marwin Gonzales still makes sense, but he wants an everyday job and the Cards cannot assure him of that, but I bet they could get him 400 ABs, even if Fowler rebounds, which is suspect.
Agreed on Shields, but how are the Cardinals supposed to give Gonzales 400 PA (you mean those, not ABs, right?) when they’ve already got Gyorko and Martinez as two of the best bench bats in the league?
The Tigers gave up on Iglesias and signed Jordy Mercer. Iglesias is a far better player than Mercer as Mercer has committed 60 errors in the same time as Iglesias who has 36 errors. but the Tigers are so cheap no a day they would rather not field a better team just so they can get higher draft choices. They released James McCann and have no back up catcher and all McCann signed for was $125,000 more per year. I think everyone should boycott the Tigers and do not attend their games. If they do not want to put a winning ball team on the field they deserve to draw fans like Miami where the stadium has an echo it is so empty..
I wasn’t going for “hardly a peep,” so much as “no peep.”
Peep: mlbtraderumors.com/2019/01/rangers-rumors-clay-buc…
Maybe time for a top remaining free agents update?
As all of them are forgotten at this point..
Who’s out there, like Keuchel,,, I don’t even know.. Adam Jones.. kimbrel..
Need some help
Lots of signings haven’t been updated, for sure.
I don’t know how long Buchholz would have to sustain success to make me trust him again and want him on my team. I remember him on the Red Sox as being the most frustrating type of pitcher. There were streaks of brilliance — sometimes even for the better part of a season… but then there were long, long stretches where he looked entirely lost on the mound. The prototypical pitcher who clearly has great stuff, but who can’t stay out of his own head long enough to be consistent or reliable.* The kind of guy that makes you want to scream while watching the game. No thanks, let someone else deal with those headaches.
*See also Tim Lincecum’s final few seasons, from 2012 onward. He had 2 no-hitters(!) in there, but look at his overall numbers for those last seasons. 654 innings with a 4.94 ERA.
One of my favorite SPs. There were times I would laugh, knowing how utterly futile batters looked against him. When on, imho, about as good as anyone since vintage Gooden. But then he’d get hurt. Then it would take time to get his stuff straight.
Then he would take 30 between pitches, an especially awful habit for a guy who should never think about what he is going to throw.
And then throwing over to 1st three times, you know, because Albert Pujols might steal 2nd.
Loved him but didn’t want to keep him.
Injuries killed.Clay. Same with Pomerantz more recently. I hadn’t heard Clay wasn’t ready but that probably explains why he’s not in a camp.
Could be a roster problem. Do you want to devote a roster spot to a guy that might not be ready?
OTOH, on rosters like BA or Miami, half those guys make sense. If I were Miami, I’d be handing out $2M contracts like they were Pez dispensers. Win a few games, maybe get some veteran leadership, and maybe get lucky and have a couple of trade chips for July.
I want to see the pirates get him!
Bucholz right?
How about Keuchel?
CB is NEVER a good bet, for any result. Completely unpredictable.
Iglesias to the Pirates makes a lot of sense, given their young middle infield group
How do you know they didn’t approach him? Dominican guys often don’t want to sign in cold weather cities.
As a Pirate fan I don’t really want another meh SS. I’d rather see what Gonzo/Newman/Kramer, allow for possible Kang ABs there if he and Moron hit. and keep position nimble since Cole Tucker really could be there soon.
On a short term no more than 2 years guaranteed at 6m or less/year, Jose makes A LOT of sense for the pirates. ++ defense, Okay bat. would be a nice upgrade over 2018. As insurance for 2nd, SS and 3rd. and If Hayes or Tucker make a splash.. they have some trade bait.
BUT Mercer signed for 2y/10.5M + performance bonus and Jose is better. getting him for 6M might be hard.
Tigers were foolish signing Mercer early. Mercer was smart in taking it. Jose probably turned it down and will be lucky to get as much. Galviz was better than both and will now be utility.
eh, i dont’ disagree with anything there other than Galvis being better than both. Jose is clearly better at short.. Freddy does seem to have more (proven) versatility. where as Mercer and Jose have really only played short in their MLB careers.
Gonzalez/Kramer makes more sense than adding another non-answer.
Agree 100%. Should Newman not be ready…still…then look for a fill in like Iglesias. No advantage to sit the young guys.
As a Pirates fan I’m sure you can confirm that Pittsburgh during baseball season is anything but cold.
Yep. Laughed at that.
Baseball isn’t played in winter.
Pittsburgh has nice weather all year,, just semi-harsh winters.
Or better said,
Pittsburgh is very Seasonal.
Brisk fall, cold winter, warm spring, hot summer
Detroit isn’t cold?
Back with the BoSox, Iggy was a third baseman too. IF he is willing to sign a low-cost contract, he would be a great veteran influence on a young team.
Only way Jose fits in Boston is if there are injuries. Sox are set at positional players with a returning Marco Hernandez or Lin the likely next man up. Brock Holt is so valuable especially if the team trades a catcher and keeps another pitcher (I hope not).
Erik is essentially the same player as Iglesias.
Pirates main need is still 3B.. hoping Chisenhal can still play there , and melky/Frazier can hold down RF while Gregor is out.
Ideally as so, if Newman bursts through at 2B, clunky glove Frazier to RF/CF role, and Chisenhal at 3B; if not only to extend the lineup.
I just don’t think that either Moran or Kang should be handed the starting 3B job..
Chisenhal hasn’t played third in years and he like Alex Gordon once they moved to the outfield their offense got a lot better
Chis has played 2 innings of 3B since 2016. I don’t think he’s an option on an everyday or even semi regular basis. In a pinch I imagine he could play there but I think Kang is a fully capable starter. When Kang has been on the baseball field he’s been highly productive. I like him more at 3B than I like Frazier or Newman at 2B.
Iglesias is already the player Gonzalez will be if he hits his upside, which is far from guaranteed. Why not sign him for a year and ensure you get that quality player? He and Moran/Kang will be suitable for this year until Hayes and Tucker are ready to come up. I don’t trust Newman at all and Gonzalez not much more.
They are hoping that Gonzo breaks out with more playing time. He is younger and cheaper also. Higher risk maybe he wont play as well but the reward is definitwly higher because of the unknown.
“Hoping” isn’t a word I’d like to be associated with moves meant to help a team planning to contend. Hoping for a non-rookie to breakout in a starting role is something that tanking teams do.
I was thinking Pirates as well for Iglesias. I feel like that signing makes the most sense by far.
Big if true
I’d like to forget Harper as a FA.
Honestly Iglesias is very surprising he is still a very good ss. I’m a Brewer fan but why the Cubs dont jump on him is beyond me
Odd reply to a comment on Harper…
There are really only about 3 guys on this list worth signing anymore. Most are vets that are barely worth a shot if you are in completely tear down mode and need to fill spots. I think Santana to one of the New York teams would make a lot of sense.
Completely agree. 90% are “aging, declining baseball players”…..and they may have Something left in the tank.
But the article was Titled Perfectly when it says…”Forgotten Free Agents”.
THAT is the whole purpose of the article……LOL
Mets already have Vargas. No more aging players please.
The Mets have ZERO depth. They need to sign one of: Kuechel/Buchholz/Santana/Gio and bump Vargas to swingman/mop-up. I figure Kuechel at 2-3yr or Buchholz at 1yr or maybe 1yr + team option.
Has baseball thought about expanding to 32 teams? seems like the reason a lot of these guys are losing jobs is because they want to be paid 5-20 million per year to do what a younger player making 700,000 can do. why would teams pay all these contracts when they have a whole farm system of guys with more upside.
If they produced they wouldn’t be looking for jobs AND would be getting paid …
They do produce. Several of those guys are major league average type players.
Sure if you want to add 2 more teams to the “tanking” category every year.
They seriously need to add “at least 2 teams”……..possibly 4.
Currently: 750 Active Roster Spots
1. Players are staying in better shape than ever, and playing longer than ever.
2. International signings are “off the chart” compared to just 6-7 years ago.
3. Extremely Talented Young Players are graduating from the minors at an incredible rate…..and they are “good enough to start” as soon as they arrive now.
All this means….is that there are “More Players Than Spots”….and it’s a bigger problem than it ever was before.
Adding 2 Teams means that 50 more of those guys would have jobs.
That would make the older players a little more valuable, and probably improve the off-season signing process.
The 25 man roster is obsolete in today’s game. It should be increased to 28.
I would love to see two new TEAMS (one in each leaque) as I agree with kbarr888 on his issues ..
They could dump at least two, Florida being the most obvious…
Why?
2-team expansion, realignment, additional playoffs, elimination of arbitration, Free Agency as a function of signing date instead of service time, growth to a 2M minimum wage. All coming to MLB in the NEAR future, BEFORE the CBA.
Then they can do what they do best, negotiate meal money.
And eliminate daily inter league
Need a bottom cap too, not just a luxury cap.
@ kbarr
Disagree with no. 3. Young players are arriving, and starting, due to contract levels and tanking, not because they are ready. If these players were ready, we would not be seeing such high strikeout rates.
You’re seeing high strikeout rates because of 98 mile an hour fastballs coupled with a launch angle, all or nothing approach at the plate.
Not sure adding 2 teams makes sense when you already have 20 not trying to compete and at least two teams that either need to move or contract.
I like what the other guy said: 28 man rosters
Your math doesn’t check out. If there were 20 teams not trying then we might as well just not play the regular season because there’s 10 teams left for 10 playoff spots. In reality, there’s only a handful of teams not going for it this year; KC, Baltimore, Miami, Toronto, Detroit and Texas. Every other team is at least in the mix for a wild card spot, even if they aren’t a bona fide championship contender.
I’d add the White Sox to that list (even if they sign Harper), while teams like Pittsburgh, Arizona, and Seattle aren’t trying as hard as they could be to put out a winning team, while others like San Diego, Cincinnati, and Minnesota could surprise but are most likely at least a year away from contending.
I will admit that we have fewer non-contending teams than the past year or two, though.
There’s definitely room for expansion and there are quite a few untapped markets : LasVegas (51’s) , Carolinas (Durham Bulls) , Nashville, Indiana, New Orleans, and, of course, there had been talk of Mexico City.
I don’t know that most of those cities could support an MLB team, though. There’s a big difference between filling up a stadium for 8 home games in the NFL versus decent attendance for 81 home games in MLB, as well as the TV and radio markets for 16 vs. 162 games.
Wow, definitely the scratch and dent bin. Better check the expiration dates. I will say that Santana is likely to make the team that signs him happy if he gets in a solid spring to strengthen his arm.
Dont forget Josh Harrison
He has been tied to several teams this winter.
None of which have made him any offers as far as we know. I realize this list is somewhat arbitrarily restricted to ten players, but it seems Harrison could have been on it just as well as some who are 35+ years of age and might very well have reached the ends of their careers. Not much reason to think Harrison is anywhere close to that point at age 31.
Yes, but this list is specifically for players with a lack of rumors surrounding them.
Poor Josh can’t even make the forgotten list.
His “I should be traded to a contender” take last spring didn’t age well. Evidently, they were not exactly lining up for his services.
But if you want to know why veteran players aren’t being paid any more…
Would you rather have Josh Harrison or give Adam Frazier a shot at 2B? Would you rather have Josh Harrison or give Pablo Reyes a shot at the utility job?
At this point, I’d rather see if Frazier and Reyes have higher upsides than Josh, even if the money were the same. And I like Josh as a player and person, but…why pay more when you can pay less and potentially unearth a better player any way?
He didn’t make the forgotten list because he hasn’t been totally forgotten.
Bingo
exactly. Honestly I was hoping the Reds would bring him home in a utility role, though they have several prospect middle infielders knocking on the door and his contract is probably a bit rich for their books now
Well you must have reminded someone. Lol he just got signed I’m pretty sure.
Josh I agree with your assessment.I do not think that Harrison realized his real value last spring.The shame of it all is that he is a great guy,was a fine Pirate,and one would think would have a new utility job by now as he can still play a number of positions reasonably well.
My guess is that he and his agent probably thought that he was still a starter and deserved at least close to starter’s money.
That has to have been a problem for many of these unsigned players as there are so many out there still.Teams are looking at it as you have illustrated with the the other two players that you have mentioned.
Many have backed themselves into a corner that they may not get out of with a reasonable contract as they have not realized that time is of the essence.
Bautista and Holliday should probably retire.
Why? They still put up respectable numbers that many MLB bench players would be proud of. Someone just needs to give them an opportunity.
I probably wouldn’t mess with any of them outside of Iglesias. Maybe Clippard to take the final spot in a deep pen.
Just signed with CLE
most of those guys I wouldn’t even sign on a minor league deal…just go away and enjoy your life after baseball
They may need to wait until injuries in Spring Training. It’s not just the money, it’s the 40-man roster spot
Forgotten?
Or forgettable?
I’m surprised by isgales. I’d figure some team would have taken a flyer on him. Os, marlins, rangers cinc etc
They’re all still way better at baseball than I am, so I won’t bad mouth any of them.
I can think of worst RFers than an platoon of Denard Span/ Adam Jones. And both are, per reports, amazing in the clubhouse.
The dollars likely don’t work. I’d go 3M a piece, but not above that. And Jones seems to want more.
Jones was great in Baltimore’s clubhouse but didn’t want to go elsewhere for a shot at a ring, he can stay there…
Philly had no shot of a ring last year, let’s take it easy pal.
And he vetoed that deal so Baltimore gave up looking at other deals elsewhere. He preferred to stay with a horrible team and block ABs for people in their future plans. He. Also turned down the trade because he felt it interfered with cashing in in free agency, so how’d that work out?
“Jones said he blocked the Orioles’ potential trade to the Phillies because he believed playing a less significant role — albeit with a playoff contender — would hurt his free-agent stock this offseason. It’s a decision he doesn’t regret.” I bet he does now…
I doubt he regrets anything. If he wanted to be a part time player he would’ve went. Instead he used the right he earned to veto the deal and he was able to stay in his own home the rest of the season. It’s not like Philly would’ve suddenly wanted him back this year to be an everyday player. He’s going to have to settle for a part time Gig somewhere now but not taking a trade has nothing to do with that reality.
Logan Morrison’s BABIP last year was so low because he hit weak ground balls and pop ups, etc. BABIP to me is almost useless statistic. Enlighten me?
Per Statcast
wOBA: .283
xwOBA: .340
Jeff do these numbers mean he should have had a better BABIP?
Theoretically? Yes
In actuality? No
That’s because almost all of his ground balls and line drives go to the 1B side of the infield. It’s only when he gets hang time that he opens up his spray chart
Being that predictable with contact is obviously going to lead to a significant drop in BAbip, and therefore a significant drop from expectations.
Unless the shift is banned, that will stay the case
His batted ball profile was exactly like it was the previous two years. Same Gb/Fb/hard hit % all of that. He’s not as bad as he was in 2018 and he’s also not as good as he was in 2017. But I’d be shocked to see him play that poorly again.
Thanks!
Those stats are over my head, sorry, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but Morrison will make a fine softball player this summer. He can really get a rise into those low soft ones.
Just for facts sake thought I would point out that Morrison at 33.5% basically tied (0.2% off) his lowest GB% of his career. (His career average is 42.0)
His Ground Ball rate was so low it ranked 23rd lowest in the game out of the 278 players with 300+ PA
His hard contact was also the highest of his career, while his weak contact was below his career average
A hitter generally maintains a personal range of BABIP aside from outside factors like playing hurt.. Of course, like everything else it will decline with age, but also like age-related decline it’s rare to see such a huge decline (unrelated to injury) in just a single season without it being some kind of fluke.
If you take Iglesias off this list then the title could be “9 Free Agents that Should Probably Just Retire”
We’ll said.
*well
Brandon Inge is available too, in case y’all forgot.
Iglesias to the Padres on a 1 year deal makes sense as a stop gap to Tatis. defensively that would be the best infield in baseball
Machado is a horrible ss from what can detect padres plan to use him there.
Except he’s not
Wrong! Padres already said he is playing the hot corner. Urias and a platoon will man SS until Tatis Jr. is ready. And Kinsler will man 2b.
They won’t use him at short. They will use him at third
No it doesn’t. They have urias lining up there with a mix in of Greg Garcia until they bring up tatis after super 2
From what I’ve seen over the last 2-3 seasons, it seems to me that Logan Morrison has attitude issues.
Iglesias may end up back in Detroit if the price is right. Super glove work, the plate is where he is lacking. He seldom strikes out, but he can’t buy a walk. He has been slashing 30 plus doubles, but slugging percentage is quite short of .400. Mercer at 2nd & Iglesias at ss might work nice. My thinking is he needs a different approach at the plate
Detroit already got Mercer for SS
They can move Mercer to 2nd if Iglesias returns.
Most of those dudes are worth forgetting about.
Very easy to see what these guys aren’t in high demand when you look at a case by case basis. In my opinion Clippard and Santana will definitely find deals before the end of spring training (although probably minor league deals with opt out dates included). Iglesias is probably the best of this bunch, but there just isn’t many SS positions open.
It’s a young man’s game now and becoming more so each off season. We are gonna start seeing more and more 32 year old players out of MLB, unless they start signing minor league deals with invites. When teams started spending more on analytics departments than their scouting departments, this was easy to identify.
So besides Iglesias he just cherry picked dudes who were good in 2010…. How about Marwin Gonzales? He’s actually a guy who will have a decent impact on his next team. These guys besides Iglesias will b lucky to play half a season if they get picked up at all.
It says forgotten about players
Marwin wasn’t forgotten but only had one great season. A former rule 5 pick
Really wouldn’t mind Gomez on a buy low deal. What’s his defense like nowadays?
Actually not too bad, if you watched him last year. And he excels at what I call “in game skills” and fundamental play; you’ll seldom see Gomez throw to the wrong base, e.g. or do anything stupid.
And he’s a hoot…..but the bat just disappeared last year. Minor league depth if he’s interested. If not, he’s done OK in his life; move along.
Why dont angels snag iglesias for 3rd or 2nd base god knows they havent had quality abs from those 2 positions for years.
I can’t see Iglesias being better than Cozart this year. As for 2B, good question
40% of those on the list spent time with the Minnesota Twins. Could that be why no one wants them?
Ouch!
At least 30% spent time with the Rays, too. This list contains several journeyman players who’ve bounced around the league filling out rosters for the past few years.
Haven’t seen many teams tied to Gio Gonzalez. He is serviceable at least.
Cleveland should be all over Iglesias with Lindor likely out to start the season.
Marwin…
Good point. But they may opt for Chang if he looks good during the spring.
I wonder if anyone else has a weird guilty feeling of obsessing over two players for this long that really aren’t superstars? After all the speculation and threats of strikes, they STILL get 300 million? They are entertainers. Are we going to make our entertainers billionaires within the next 20 years? If terrible defense and inconsistent Harper gets over 300M, then how much do Arenado and Trout go for when they are far superior players? 500M? They need an individual player salary cap badly. They can make owners spend 80% of their profitable bottom line, I don’t care as long as they take smaller markets into consideration. Every dad in the world should be spending 8 hours a day with his kid teaching him baseball. Even if he just makes one MLB roster he will be wealthy. Yes, minimum wage in baseball is wealthy. If they don’t make it, give him a hug and send him to college.
Many of those guys have involuntarily retired. They just don’t know it yet.
90WRC+ as a positive only using SERRIA in spots where it suits you. Not sure why they did this but there is a ton of cherry picking stats to make these ten seem worth talk here. It is little wonder they are afterthoughts with much better players on the market. Maybe need to wake up to the fact that there is little interest in the 34/35+ but where good in 2 or 3 years ago type player anymore. It is odd how slow coverage can be to catch up to the realities of what it happening. I guess it is similar to how MLBTR makes contract estimates and then claims deals successful or not based on nothing but there own thoughts on what the contract should be, all while ignoring last off-season like it didn’t happen (Mike Moustakas comes to mind twice). Now hurry and trash me because your favorite player was on the list or you’re just a fan boy and MLBTR does no wrong.
He didn’t say 90 wRC+ was a positive, just that it’s good enough for a excellent fielder, which is completely true.
How does Adam Jones not make this list? He has been more productive than virtually everyone else in here.
Cargo as well I haven’t heard much of anything in the way of interest for either of them
Because, unlike most on this list, Jones hasn’t been totally ignored.
Span’s defensive value was thrashed by a move to SAFECO. Either positioning or familiarity with the new environment hurt. In terms of sprint speed, he’s still average/above average for left fielders at 27.7 ft/sec.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/sprint_speed_leaderboard?ye…
2015 = 27.3
2016 = 27.9
2017 = 27.5
2018 = 27.7
Looking at Span’s previous seasons, it’s not obvious he’s lost much of a step. He’s certainly not a good option in CF anymore, but as a LF, his glove and range should be fine. His arm limits any value in RF.
Mostly players on the down slide of careers and owners reluctant to gamble on guys over 30 who are no longer stars.
Ervin Santana’s problems are a lot bigger than just the performance numbers last year. His fastball wasn’t reliably hitting 90mph. Losing 3-4mph off your pitches is guaranteed to keep teams away, even if the results weren’t so bad.
Add in the fact Santana said he expected to be playing winter ball but never showed up in the Dominican League this off-season, and there are obvious reasons teams aren’t interested.
The reason these are “forgotten” is that organizations prefer if they are signing utility player or middle relievers that they want players who are younger, cheaper and more versatile. With only 3 or 4 bench spots and one of these already filled by a back-up catcher, having an aging Holiday or a foot-slow Gonzalez on your bench makes little sense when I can have a 23 year old making the league minimum who can play the corner infield spots as well as the outfield instead.
Then maybe the issue is that teams are carrying too many relievers these days, while they yank their starting pitchers too early. There is value in teaching your guys how to work their way out of some of their own jams after all. The “opener” strategy shouldn’t be affecting this either, as the starter should be able to pitch (on average) the 2nd-7th innings instead of the 1st-6th. If 7 relievers were generally enough for Tony La Russa, then they should be enough for any manager.
Of course, that would make the market even tougher for relief pitchers, but they at least seem to be doing decently well on the free agent market these past couple offseasons.
James Shields HAHAHAHA, the Padres should give him a minor league deal just so he can get to know Tatis Jr, bring that trade full circle.
What about Buchholz and Harrison??
More players would be playing if they have a 28 man roster, with 25 for the game roster. It’ll help keep players healthy, along with tie games after 10 innings during the regular season.
you know, more players would be playing if they had an 80 man roster
How could you possibly not even put Adam Jones on this list? He’s better then any player you listed.
Maybe instead of picking up every middle reliever they can off the bottom of the dumpster, Hoyerstein can ask uncle Tommy for enough to sign Iglesias. It’s not like they don’t have a massive ? At SS.
Brad Brach and Xavier Cedeno aren’t exactly dumpster signings. And even if they were, a bullpen featuring Strop, Morrow, Edwards, Cishek, and possibly Montgomery is pretty darn good.
Yeah, color me underwhelmed by this list.
I see this list as an argument for roster expansion. Back when teams carried 7 man benches, every single one of the position players would have had a job.,
These guys should know when to retire, stop sitting around every year waiting on one year minor league deals. Leave the game with pride not because no one wants to sign you cause your washed up.
Maybe they just love playing, or maybe hoping for a WS ring or something.. But some haven’t been players for a while. Bautista has a 0.8 WAR over the past three years. Holliday has a 1.2 WAR over the past 4 years.. If someone were to throw $10M on the table, it’s hard to say no.
But hunting around for minimum wage jobs, or split minor/major league contracts?
Carlos Gonzalez is higher in my list a coupe of these guys
A lot of them are being retired by MLB.
Prediction: Iglesias signs a one year deal somewhere, and then the Red Sox sign him next season to a multi-year contract to replace Boagarts. Boston will re-sign Sale and then save up for a huge Betts deal in 2020!
With the remaining players of Free Agency, looks like The is going to be a lot of one year deals coming quick.
Pretty sure “either” doesn’t need a comma before it. Have you ever considered putting your modifiers/qualifiers after your points for more directness, as in: “SIERA is a believer at least, crediting him with…” Putting things like “at least” in the middle of points lessens their effectiveness.
Denard Span has a career 26.3 bWAR and still a bit left in the tank. One of the most underrated outfielders around.
Can’t believe nobody has offered Buckholz a chance to make a roster on a incentive contract after last years season.
Think they could have included an 11th forgotten FA .,.. Clay Buchholz
I’ve surprised that Detroit let Iglesias walk but then signed Jordy Mercer for 5.25m. I’m even more surprises Iglesias hasn’t signed unless his asking price is through the roof.
Rico.Perhaps the reason is that Scott Boras is telling him that he is worth a lot more money than he is,and that if he waits long enough,he will get it.
I think Detroit thought his asking price was too high. Signed Mercer as a quality stop gap. If Detroit gets a fair price on Iglesias, they can move Mercer to 2nd.
Mercer has never played 2nd before.I see that Detroit plans to sign Josh Harrison though.
The Pittsburgh tandem is reunited.
He has’nt played 2nd since 2013. The Harrison sign tells me the Tigers felt there was no chance on Iglesias. We will probably hear of Iglesias signing somewhere shortly.
Marwin Gonzalez is still out there, right ? Seems like a versatile guy that can help many clubs.
Where’s Dallas Keuchel at? Curious if the White Sox, Phillies, Yankees and others would be interested in Keuchel now that Machado is off the board.
Iglesias to A’s. That’s my bet.
Adrian Gonzalez, never know!
Inglesia is the best of the bunch. He deserves a two-year deal worth about 10-12 million. 2 War guys do not grow on trees. He had a better WAR than Harper. Span, Morrison, and Gomez deserve an MLB contract with incentives. Bucholtz and Harrison belong on this list. Hanley should signq1 a minor with the Marlins because of his history with them. The others at best deserve a minor league contract with a Spring Training invitation. A couple of possible bargains here with minimal costs.
Well Clipper just signed with the Indians so….
Clippard*
Carlos Gonzalez and Clay Buccholz
Now you know why they are forgotten they all stink and easy to forget
Would have liked to see the Orioles sign Iglesias as an option at short before they got Escobar.
There was a post about 2018-19 free agaent class being one of the biggest from 2016. Clearly that was hype as this class has been a bust. A lot of these players never lived up to their previous contracts. At best, one or two could be one year deal and traded at the deadline for better prospects. Sad commodity. Might as well add Jose Reyes to this list to complete the sarcasm.