The lingering Carlos Correa saga hangs over the free agency market, but beyond him the bulk of the free agents have found new homes for the 2023 season and beyond. While we won’t be seeing any monster deals from here, there are still a handful of players that could still have a positive impact on a new team. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the best (in this writer’s view anyway) remaining free agents at each position.
For a full list of the remaining free agents, go here.
Starting Pitcher: Johnny Cueto: 158 1/3 innings pitched, 3.35 ERA, 5.8 SO/9, 1.9 BB/9. Cueto enjoyed something of a resurgence last year for the White Sox, putting together his best campaign since 2016. His strikeout rate declined considerably but he offset that by displaying some of the best control of his career. He’ll turn 37 in February, so likely will only command a one-year deal but teams in need of a veteran arm to stabilize the backend of the rotation could certainly do worse than adding Cueto. The Padres, Marlins, Blue Jays and Reds have all had reported interest in the veteran right-hander at various stages of the off-season, while teams like the Angels have shown recent interest in adding another starter.
Relief Pitcher: Andrew Chafin: 57 1/3 IP, 2.83 ERA, 10.5 SO/9, 3.0 BB/9. Chafin’s been a quality left-handed reliever for the past few seasons now, the last of which came with the Tigers. He’s effective against both left and right-handed hitters, and should fit in as a late-inning arm wherever he winds up landing. Control was an issue earlier in his career, but he seems to have tidied that up and posted a mark below 8% for the second-straight season. That figure came with a quality 27.6% strikeout rate. After declining a $6.5MM option on his contract with the Tigers, he should be able to top that on the open market on a multi-year deal.
Catcher: Gary Sanchez: 471 plate appearances, .205/.282/.377, 16 home runs. The Yankees flipped Sanchez to Twins last winter after growing frustrated with his performance over the previous few seasons. Sanchez undoubtedly has talent, as evidenced by the 53 home runs and 143 wRC+ he compiled between 2016-17. He’s not come close to replicating that in the years since, slashing .202/.295/.427 for a below-average wRC+ of 96 between 2018-22. Sanchez has never been regarded as one of the top defensive catchers, but did post his best framing numbers per Fangraphs’ metric since 2018, and gave up the fewest wild pitches of his career (excluding the shortened 2020 season and 2016, when he didn’t play a full year). While a number of teams have filled their vacancy at catcher, the likes of the Red Sox, Tigers and Marlins could be among the teams interested.
First base: Trey Mancini: 587 PA, .239/.319/.391, 18 HR. Mancini split time between the Orioles and Astros in 2022, putting together a solid enough campaign at the plate. His 104 wRC+ in the past two seasons indicates he’s just four percent above the league average at the plate. For a first base/corner outfielder that’s unlikely to command a significant guarantee in free agency, but Mancini could still land a multi-year guarantee. There’s certainly an argument to be made that Mancini belongs in that outfield group of such an article, but any acquiring team would surely have him splitting time between first base and the outfield. Mancini was worth 2 Outs Above Average in 323 innings at first in 2022, the best mark of any of the positions he played.
Second base: Josh Harrison: 425 PA, .256/.317/.370, 7 HR. The 35-year-old Harrison recovered from a slow start to finish with a respectable season for the White Sox, finishing with a slightly below average 98 wRC+. That came after he was hitting just .167/.248/.255 on June 2. He doesn’t offer much in the way of power, but he provides a solid contact bat who can play all over the infield. Harrison logged most of his defensive time at second base, where he was worth 3 Defensive Runs Saved. He was also worth 3 DRS at third base, and can fill in at short and the corner outfield spots at a pinch. Teams in need of a veteran utility player could do worse than adding Harrison on a one-year deal.
Shortstop: Elvis Andrus: 577 PA, .249/.303/.404, 17 HR. Andrus started the year in Oakland, but was released in August and finished the season with the White Sox. The 34-year-old has a bit of pop in his bat, and grades out well defensively at shortstop, where he was worth 3 Outs Above Average in 2022. He may very well be the best infielder left on the open market, yet it’s been a quiet winter for Andrus, with little reported movement in his market. Obviously Correa has not officially signed a contract, but for the purposes of this article we’ll assume he’s heading to the Mets in which case Andrus would be the next best option for teams on the hunt for a shortstop.
Third base: Brian Anderson: 383 PA, .222/.311/.346, 8 HR. Anderson put up the worst offensive numbers of his five full seasons with the Marlins in 2022, finishing up with a 90 wRC+. That was the second-straight season of offensive decline for the 29-year-old, who put up a 115 wRC+ between 2018-20. He’s split time between third base and right field in recent times, grading out well in both until 2022. Last year, he was worth -4 DRS after picking up 12 DRS over the previous three seasons at the hot corner. The decline was enough for the Marlins to non-tender him this winter ahead of his final year of arbitration, but he could make sense as a buy-low bounceback candidate for any number of teams.
Left/Right field: Jurickson Profar: 658 PA, .243/.331/.391, 15 HR. Profar is arguably the top remaining free agent available. The 29-year-old (30 in February) puts the ball in play plenty, as evidenced by his quality 15.7% strikeout rate. He also takes plenty of walks and has a bit of pop in the bat. A former middle infielder, the Padres played him exclusively in left last year and he picked up 2 Defensive Runs Saved. He turned down an $7.5MM in favor of a $1MM buyout this winter to hit the open market in search of a multi-year deal. The Rangers and Yankees make sense as teams looking for left field help, while the Marlins and Rockies could also make sense.
Center field: Albert Almora: 235 PA, .223/.282/.349, 5 HR. The center field market was not deep to begin with, and is now largely limited to glove first options. Almora doesn’t pose much of a threat with the bat, as evidenced by his 71 wRC+, but he was worth 8 Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield for the Reds, with four of those coming in center field. He’s unlikely to be a starting option for teams but would make sense as a glove-first bench option.
Designated Hitter: Nelson Cruz: 507 PA, .234/.313/.337, 10 HR. After a number of years of elite production at the plate, 2022 was the first below average year for Cruz since 2007 (per wRC+). He’s now 42, so betting on him bouncing back is a risky one, but he mashed 89 home runs and compiled a 146 wRC+ between 2019-21 so it’s not like this has been a steady decline over a number of years. With that being said, he hasn’t played the field at all since 2018 so is exclusively limited to DH duties. It was reported a few days ago that he has received offers for the 2023 season though, so it seems he will be back for a 19th big league season.
Chafin to Texas
Very surprised he hasn’t been signed by any team. Could he be looking for too much $$$?
Still hoping the Rangers re-sign Matt Moore
Command issues, though, may be why there is a gap between asking price and offering price.
There may be some value, but this is closer to the “day after” sale at Macy’s.
This is kinda like the sale table of what people returned after Christmas.
But if you needed something specific, and found it on that table, you buy it and are surprised and happy that you got it for so cheap.
bhambrave – In Boston it’s not a table, it’s what we like to refer to as the “Bloom Bargain Bin”.
I thought it was called Filene’s Basement…
nah this Goodwill for sho
You really need to shorten both words or neither.
Fo sho
Yawn
Take a nap
so we have bots in the chat now?
Hmmmm…I think if Kim Ng was smart, she would sign that Brian Anderson guy. I can’t imagine what kind of idiot would have let him go unless they have a stacked team
They do really need a real GM.
I agree. We haven’t had a real GM since Dave Dombrowski left in 2001.
You would currently have a bunch of 40 year olds making $30,000,000 per year and a string of 90 loss seasons. It’s what dombroski does…
Felt good muting that degrom rangers clown. I ain’t gonna lie.
I guess you’re just not enough of an alpha male
Good thing these weirdos feel the need to chime in so I can add ‘em to the list.
He’s alright. I’m not sure if we really want to bash any new fan of a team that has been stoking the bandwagon flames. With all the new Rangers fans, we also have the new Mets fans and Padres fans and O’s fans and Blue Jays fans and etc. new fans of certain teams.
Been following since 2010…
Posting more recently tho
Living in your head rent free. Muted but they’re still on your mind.
You know you could have just muted them without telling us you muted them right.
But then you wouldn’t have been able to use that tired “rent free in your head” comment. I wouldnt wanna deprive you of that.
Call it like I see it. Tried and true. It’s as true as it ever was. Why did you feel the need to post that you muted them exactly?
“ha I muted someone annoying me so ill post about how much they annoyed me!”
Why do you need to know?
Call it a social experiment. Curious what level of butt hurt did they experience to publicly admit someone annoyed them so much they muted the person. My guess is a lot.
It seems now that I’m in your head. You’re very concerned about why I did something. Ah how the tables have turned.
Asking a question based on your response you willingly posted isn’t the same as an unprovoked declaration that you muted another user cause they upset you with words on a screen. Nice try though.
Really grinded and maxed out those last 2 brain cells together to come up with that one huh Bubba. Thanks for the laugh.
Some kind of weird fetish of yours Bubba? You can Google most stuff you know you don’t have to post what you’re into on here man.
No mention of Andrus performance in Chicago. He was one of the most productive players in the American League after joining the White Sox. If he can continue with the changes he made, he could be extremely valuable. It probably won’t happen but definitely worth mentioning.
I guess the elephant in the room was censored. Better recognize it or someone will have to clean up some serious dung…
Even if he doesn’t replicate his numbers with Chicago, he could still be a solid bench/platoon infielder. Had an OPS of .827 vs LHP and .765 OPS from the start of July through the end of the year. Outs above average still loves his glove at shortstop too, so it’s not as if he can’t play the position anymore and needs to move to second baes fulltime.
The Sox should’ve kept Andrus and had him fill the gaping hole st second base, which he said he would play. Harrison was valuable too playing second and third when Moncada was on the IL. I don’t understand why they didn’t re-sign Cueto. He’s coming off his best season ever and could be counted in to pitch a solid performance almost every time out. None of them were making a lot of money, which fits the bill for Hahn. All of them look pretty good for a team that didn’t do anything (with the exception of Benitendi) to improve the team. If they brought in clevinger to replace Cueto, it shows Hahn really has no clue as to how to build a contender.
@avenger65: Not Cueto’s best season (see 2012, 2014, & 2016) but he’ a quality pitcher who can give a team a lot of good innings. Any team would be smart to sign him.
What about RF?
Fan – Rafael Furcal hasn’t played in 9 years.
That said, he would fit on this list…
So in what Bizarro World does Sanchez have both his best defensive and worst offensive season in 2022?
I still wouldn’t want him on my team.
He sounds like someone the Rays could make into an All-Star.
Andrus to the Braves makes so much sense…
Yes it does, up to a point. AA doesn’t want to give a 34 year old a 3 year contract.
Is Andrus really looking for a 3 year contract?
Someone will give him that, or two years plus an option. Either way, that’s not AA’s MO.
Never suggested Andrus should get a multi-year deal. One year, possibly an option, $6M per should suffice…
he’s a decent backup at this point
1 year 5.5 mil
Yikes…that list is awful.
They’d be better than the Nationals.
Higher payroll too
You would think Bauer would have been mentioned… too bad he doesn’t enjoy sex the missionary way. If he did, he’d be employed. This league will ban certain players for doing the same things others do, but they turn a blind eye to them.
He should have just done PEDs instead.
He may have.
BobGibsonFan;
Mr. Bauer will be difficult to sell to a teams fans.
Rest assured that the owners of the Padres and Mets have engaged people to figure out how to do that.
I’d take Bauer. I think the MLB is hypocritical and teams sign people to win not teach Sunday school. The multiple chances that guys like Odubel Herrera and Familia had in Philly alone are an example. Also in any sport if you can still play at a high level, your off the field stuff gets back seated. Just look at the dozens of NFL and NBA cases over the past 10 – 20 years. Joe Mixon KO’d a lady on camera. He played yesterday btw. And that’s just one story.
I’d take former dodger #27. Can’t say his name or the site might block you or not allow you to post. I think the MLB is hypocritical and teams sign people to win not teach Sunday school. The multiple chances that guys like Odubel Herrera and Familia had in Philly alone are an example. Also in any sport if you can still play at a high level, your off the field stuff gets back seated. Just look at the dozens of NFL and NBA cases over the past 10 – 20 years. Joe Mixon KO’d a lady on camera. He played yesterday btw. And that’s just one story.
If you do them, keep it off the front page, and all is well. He didn’t. MLB did its investigation and presented the facts (not known to us) to an arbitrator, who said the longest suspension in league history was appropriate. Please note that Bauer never disputed the facts publicly. I’m sure he does not want the public to know.
He’s poison now. I don’t know how many team would take a chance on him. It’s too bad that a guy coming off a Cy Young season with superior stuff and a contract that paid him $32m a year could destroy his career so fast.
I’m pretty sure it was the lady that agreed to doing what they did and even signed paperwork describing what they were going to do and then is on video asking to do it again… she’s the one that brought it to light. Bauer just provided evidence that she knew what was going on. That’s why no criminal action was taken. She was probably looking for some of that money.
She was in Tatis pants, and a couple of other Padres. I say that with regret, because I think Tatis is generally a pretty good kid. She explicitly agreed to everything THEY did together, and came back for more. Then she tried to blackmail Bauer. That’s the whole story. The salacious stuff is just #METOO ism. Nothing to do with justice, or right and wrong.
If they can do this to Bauer, they can do this to any other blackmailed MLB player.
Yeah.Watch feminists get this censored for hitting too close to home. I am sick of this censoring only stuff they disagree with.
@OldSaltUSNR – I will tell you which player this can’t be done to – a player who doesn’t sleep around. You might say these are young men with urges and I say, tough. That’s why they get the big bucks and the opportunity to do what they love for a living. If they want to live a normal life of a young man, they should do a normal job of a young man. Not professional sport.
I still think he is guilty, but even if not, he is an idiot at finding himself in this position. And whether they rapists or idiots, I don’t want them on my team personally.
A real man is someone who can control themselves, not this rubbish:)
@rabidrabbit
Thats where youre wrong. It can happen to anyone, even those who have never slept with the accuser. All it takes is an accusation and they have already lost the court of public opinion. Accusations are always front page news, the backtracking or proof of innocence not so much.
@cuban Can’t happen if you’ve never been alone with the person. Just follow the Mike Pence rule, hehe:) plus here Bauer is not denying that it did happen, he just claims it was consensual and he is got a signed form in triplicate:P
I’m just frustrated with the narrative peddled by some that Bauer is some sort of an alpha male who has been undone by #Metoo PC culture. He is just not. He is a toxic entitled brat. That’s the last thing you want on your team 🙂
Even if you haven’t been alone, it can still happen with relationships and any interactions you have off camera.
It COULD but it never seems to happen that way, does it? If you look at most similar cases, there’s always some evidence:) And clearly in this case:)
LOL, honestly, there are way too many people in the world doing it tough. My sympathy is best spent elsewhere, other than on entitled athletes *shrug* 🙂
I’m guessing the social media sideline and the on field “look at me” stuff is more off putting to teams than his bedroom antics. The man is a high maintenance employee.
If he were gay, this would also never see the light of day. I think the violence is secondary in this ruling, as the sex mattered more. Idk why, but that’s how people think.
It wouldn’t surprise me for Bauer to lay low and let things cool off for a year since he gets paid either way. It might be best for him expecially since he still has pending lawsuits which will stir everything up again.
Lawsuits against the false accusers, though… that’s quite manly stuff there
Seriously, bro, why are you so obsessed with proving that he is an alpha male of some sort? 😛
Centerfield is just bad with Almora.
I much prefer John Fogerty’s rendition
I’d be stoked to land Chafin and/or Cueto.
I want Tapja as 4th outfielder too.
None will happen.
Anybody heard anything about how Brandon Belt’s recovery is going? Gotta figure a healthy Belt is better than Mancini.
Is Belt ever healthy?
I’d love for Nellie to go off one last time and reach the 500 club.
All these guys will eventually get contracts for millions of dollars. Some deserve it some dont
I like Almora for the Tigers in a weak side outfield platoon role and Phillips as the back up outfielder for the Angels.
Tigers don’t need him with Greene, Meadows, Baddoo, Vierling and Carpenter getting reps there.
Ack! I forgot about Vierling being recently acquired. The other four players you mentioned are all left handed batters so I thought one righty would be nice to back those four but Vierling does that. Thank you, Motor City Beach Bum. Lake St. Clair? 🙂
Nelson Cruz last played the field in 2021, 1B w/TB.
There’s so much sniping, hating and bad blood on some of these posts that it’s really kind of ugly. There are angry and stressed out people taking their anxieties out in these posts and it’s a drag that people who simply love baseball have to weed through all that BS.
Wilmer the Thrillmer;
True.
If one stays off Red Sox articles a good chunk of that is cut.
Red Sox fans are passionate. The hate is on posts for every team.
I could have swore that cueto signed last week???
I don’t know why the Red Sox don’t over Sanchez a one year deal. He’s better than what they have now. He’s always hit good at Fenway.
The Twins catcher duo at the end of the season are both still here, Sanchez and Leon. Vazquez signing is looking better everyday
What?
Chafin is actually pretty decent. Surprised he’s still available.
Agreed. Love to see the Tigers sign him to a multi year contract to take Sotos spot as the power lefty in the pen (maybe even as the closer). Detroit is still close to home for him and I think he is a great fit there on a multi year.
Him and Cueto have seemingly gotten little going on in the rumor department. Feels like there should be a lot more teams lining up for them.
I’d like to see Trey Mancini sign somewhere and get an opportunity. He’s situation with Orioles and what he had to overcome just play, would be a good story. When he’s healthy, Trey can help a team win both on and off the field.
Did they delete that guy’s question again? These guys are not grown-up enough to handle the real world.
The red Sox sound go after Andrus so when they wake up and realize Story can’t hit out of Denver and is injury prone they have some option at SS plus there’s no real 2nd base option thanks to the pos owner and a GM/prez doesn’t have a clue what talent is
Chafin back with the Cubs!! Get it done Hoyer!!
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Cardinals sign Andrus on a short term deal. Winn is still a year or two away. I do like Edman at second better than Donovan or Gorman. DeJong needs to be traded for a bag of balls or released unless he tears up spring training. I like Donovan roving the field giving people days off. Gorman is more of a DH than a second baseman.
DeGrom Texas Ranger is so manly, he muted me. Go figure.