Jean Segura came off the board last week on a two-year deal with the Marlins. That removed the top remaining free agent middle infielder, leaving clubs with very few possibilities for help either at shortstop or second base.
Of course, Carlos Correa lingers over the entire market. Until he officially puts pen to paper somewhere, there’s at least a chance for another twist in that saga. Various reports have suggested Correa’s focused on hammering out his deal with the Mets in spite of their concerns about his physical, and that was essentially confirmed yesterday by Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. We’ll set Correa aside and look at the best options remaining for teams outside of Queens.
Here are the still-unsigned free agent middle infielders who tallied at least 150 plate appearances in 2022:
- Elvis Andrus (34): Andrus is arguably the top unsigned free agent infielder. The 14-year veteran still brings a high-contact bat and quality baserunning to the table. Public defensive metrics have been divided on his work recently, with Statcast’s Outs Above Average generally rating him as an above-average shortstop despite less enthusiastic reviews from Defensive Runs Saved. Andrus looked like a glove-only player after hitting .255/.302/.360 from 2018-21, but he bounced back with a solid 2022 campaign. He hit .249/.303/.404 with 17 home runs (the second-highest total of his career) last season. That included a very strong finish, as Andrus hit .271/.309/.464 in 43 games with the White Sox after the A’s released him in mid-August in a move seemingly motivated by a desire to keep him from vesting a $15MM option in his contract for the 2023 season.
- Josh Harrison (35): The final couple months of the season saw Andrus and Harrison overlap on Chicago’s South Side. The latter played the entire season there after signing a one-year free agent deal during Spring Training. Harrison appeared in 119 games, mostly split between second and third base. He hit .256/.317/.370 with seven home runs across 425 trips to the plate, overcoming a slow start to finish the year with roughly average offensive numbers. The veteran had posted similar numbers in each of the previous two seasons. He doesn’t draw many walks or hit for significant power, but he’s a respected clubhouse presence who consistently puts the ball in play. Harrison still earns solid grades from defensive metrics for his second and third base work; he’s not an option at shortstop, however.
- José Iglesias (33): Iglesias spent the 2022 season as the primary shortstop in Colorado. He hit .292/.328/.380 through 467 plate appearances, right in line with the production he’s managed over the past four seasons. Igleias is very difficult to strike out and hits for consistently high batting averages, albeit without much else to drive the offensive profile. He rarely walks or hits home runs, though he’s a threat for 25-plus doubles annually. That offense sufficed when paired with the excellent defense that defined his early MLB tenure. He’s drawn less favorable reviews from public metrics the past two seasons though. Statcast has pegged him as a league average shortstop in each of the last two campaigns, but Defensive Runs Saved has rated him a staggering 26 runs below average since the start of 2021. How teams feel about Iglesias’ glove at this stage of his career figures to determine whether he’ll get semi-regular playing time again or have to assume more of a utility role in 2023.
- César Hernández (32): Hernández suited up 147 times and tallied 617 plate appearances with the Nationals last season. He was a durable presence in the lineup for manager Dave Martinez but had a rough season. Just a year after popping a career-high 21 home runs, the switch-hitter mustered only one longball in the nation’s capital. Hernández is limited to second base and has posted subpar defensive metrics in each of the last two years. He might be limited to minor league offers.
- Rougned Odor (29): Odor spent the 2022 campaign in Baltimore, his third team in as many seasons. The production was similar as it has been at each of the previous two stops. Odor has enough left-handed power to connect on 10-15 home runs with fairly regular playing time. Yet he also makes plenty of outs thanks both to consistently low walk rates and a propensity for infield pop-ups. Odor is almost strictly a second baseman — he has intermittent experience at third base as well — and posted below-average defensive numbers last year.
Utility Types/Bounceback Fliers
- Hanser Alberto (30): Alberto brings a high-contact righty bat to a bench. He never walks and has only once topped three home runs in a season but has plus bat-to-ball skills and is well-regarded as a clubhouse presence. Alberto hit .244/.258/.365 in 159 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2022.
- Johan Camargo (29): Camargo spent the 2022 season with the Phillies, hitting .237/.297/.316 through 166 plate appearances. The switch-hitter had a pair of productive years with the Braves to open his MLB career but has since had four straight well below-average seasons. Camargo’s most natural fit is at third base, though he played more shortstop with Philadelphia.
- Harold Castro (29): A left-handed hitter, Castro makes a decent amount of contact. He’s a career .284 hitter but rarely walks or hits for power. He’s played extensively throughout the infield and even logged a fair bit of center field work but rated poorly defensively at every stop. The Tigers non-tendered him at the end of the season.
- Yu Chang (27): Chang bounced around the league via waivers in 2022, suiting up for four teams. He hit .208/.289/.315 in 190 combined plate appearances. Chang had been a prospect of some regard during his time in the Cleveland farm system. He hasn’t hit in limited MLB looks in any of the past four seasons but can play all four infield spots.
- Didi Gregorius (33): Gregorius was an above-average shortstop as recently as 2020. Unfortunately, a two-year free agent deal to return to the Phillies over the 2020-21 offseason didn’t pan out. Gregorius struggled offensively in both seasons, including a .210/.263/.304 line in 232 trips to the plate last year. The Phils cut him in early August and he didn’t sign elsewhere before year’s end.
- Josh VanMeter (28): VanMeter is primarily a second baseman who has some experience at the corner spots. He hit .187/.266/.292 with a trio of home runs through 192 plate appearances with the Pirates last season.
- Jonathan Villar (31): Villar has excellent speed and has stolen more than 35 bases on three separate occasions. He’s intermittently been a productive hitter, posting above-average offensive numbers as recently as 2021. Last season was a disappointment, however. Villar hit .208/.260/.302 in 220 plate appearances between the Cubs and Angels. He spent the final couple months of the year in Triple-A.
First , the tigers need to get someone
A deal can be worked around Gleyber Torres for Austin Meadows.
@Joe says… Oh please no Austin Meadows! His defense is really horrible out there in the outfield. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I’d rather have a platoon of Cabrera and Florial out there in left field then Austin Meadows. Smh.
He’s a bit below average but not terribly and his bat more than makes up for it.
@Joe says… say it ain’t so Joe! I see you’ve given up on the pursuit of Bryan Reynolds? Lol. Man, I think I’d rather keep Gleyber now, and trade for Max Kepler and take my chances that he can play left. If not we’ll just have Cabrera and Florial platooning out there. Maybe the Twinkies will take back Hicksy back if NY pays $15 mill of the $30 mill left on his contract along with German/Schmidt.
What do you expect for Gleyber Torres, whose defense is so bad he couldn’t catch a cold if he was naked in Norway?
@Ketch- Gleyber’s defense is that bad at 2nd base? Really? Someone’s not paying attention. When you start talking this way, it makes me want the Yankees to keep Torres.
I don’t want them to sign any of those guys. I prefer going with the young guys. The upcoming season is lost anyway. However, if you put to my head, I’d choose Elvis.
Can the Giants circle back to Carlos Correa and Arson Judge? Or is it too late for that?
Looking at what’s left for what dollars….happy the Phillies don’t have to dip in this pool….
I’m sure you’re happy they can jump in the deep end…unlike about 20 of the teams in MLB.
Two WS victories in my lifetime……before that in the history of the franchise, none -none-
Went to 2 games in 1980 thanks to my pop being in the biz….
Living in Honolulu for the 2nd time and got to watch all the playoff games in a near beachside bar…so yeah…happy….
As for the other 138 seasons…not so much…?
But hey, YOU be happy in the win you think you snarkilly achieved since the couple hours you posted this….and find a happy place man….
Slim pickings but that’s where team are at this time of year. A few of these players on the right team playing utilityman duties could pan out and add to a team’s infield depth.
How was Iglesias rated so poorly since 21? I really didn’t see him last year but the last two weeks in 21, he was great for Boston at second. Moreover, his bat has been excellent. I’m thinking teams have offered him a utility slot while he’s still looking to start. Boston could do far worse than adding him back. I’m still not sold on Story and Arroyo staying healthy.
Its has nothing to do with his talent level. The issue is Iglesias’ attitude. He has been reportedly a club house cancer most of his career. The Tigers have enough problems not to deal with that drama.
Iglesias was anything but a cancer for Boston in 21. They don’t make the playoffs without him and he showed his mettle by still helping the team as a fan in the dugout when he was unable to be eligible to play in the playoffs. Maybe it was the uniform as he was hurt when they traded him in 13.
I saw Iglesias stretch in 21 and he was fantastic. I was hoping the Sox would keep him this season. He didn’t do as well with Angels this season. He was such a perfect fit for the Sox. You wonder what GMs are thinking sometimes.
A bulletin has been put out on Carlos Correa, who can’t pass his physical for any major league team.
His bat is nowhere near excellent. He could only manage a 380 slugging percentage playing half his games in Coors. That’s far from being excellent I’m afraid.
Regardless of where he played, he hit over .290. Given his role, who expected more?
A good reason you shouldn’t sign players to long term contracts over 26. Look how most once got above 32 they went down hill. many of them were highly coveted players 5 years ago but now begging for a job.
I don’t understand why the teams are stupid enough to sign these players to more than a 6 year deal. Common sense dictates that a player starts declining after age 32, any year after that on the contract is a massive overpay with meager returns.
Miguel Cabrera is a classic case study! $35 million for production you could get from a rookie is outrageous.
Motor, in some respects it’s because they really are being paid more in the early years but by extending the deal, the average for tax reasons is less now. This allows for the team to spend more now and worry about 2030 in 2030. The Fish showed the way by signing Stanton and trading him to then sell the team. Now some owners don’t even care about baseball profits and are spending even more.
Cabrera deserves whatever he gets. He’s a sure Hof’er and his run to 500hr’s and 3000 hits should have been done nowhere else but in Detroit. To the Tigers, he’s worth every penny.
Camargo already signed with the Twins in November. He isn’t a FA
Last time Odor made solid contact it was with Batista’s face.
Johan Camargo is currently with the Twins.
Report earlier had wrong Camargo==Twins signed Jair Camargo
Without a shift against Odor – I can see him hitting .250ish with at possible 21-26 HRs – if he gets at least 400ABs. I can see a team checking on this for a DH 2B without a huge cost on a 1 year show me contract.
Detroit would be a good destination for Odor.
We need his bat.
These are going to be a rough next few years with Cashman still at the helm so I’m not going to put much hope in the development of any internal talent. But I do hope we find out what we have in our young middle infield depth this next season.
Hanser. More of a pitch hitter specialist? Late inning at bats against right-handers. And then that’s it?
Meant. “Left handers”
The Pale Hose need a 2nd baseman.
They’ve had all these guys at some point. Elvis or nope
They had one and let him go. Andrus did a great job at SS for the Sox this season and brought some much needed life into the unenthusiastic roster that was the Sox. At the end of the season he said he wanted to come back and would make the change to 2b. But, as they usually do, the Sox’ fo screwed up again and let him go.
Andrus/Iglesias to the Red Sox/Braves makes a lot of sense for both teams and players.
Texas is no longer paying Odor so whoever signs him next will actually have to pay him, which is probably why he is still a free agent. That said, the White Sox continue to have a gaping hole at 2B.
For whatever reason i have thought Cesar Hernandez to the Dodgers all winter.
Harrison would be a nice bench piece somewhere looking for some veteran leadership.
Anyone who signs Hernandez is going to be sorry. He was having a career year for the Indians (yes, they were the Indians in 2021) when the wsox traded for him. He hit two hr’s for the Sox, played below par at 2b and was a sure out at the plate.
There is no shame in retiring with dignity. Holding on past any reasonable expectation of skill or value smacks of pathetic desperation.
I don’t know if VanMeter is an answer. I remember what VanMeter was DFA’d Pirates fans rans through the streets as if they won the World Series.
I’m only 22, but I don’t think I’ve seen a more incompetent ballplayer get more playing time than VanMeter. No power, didn’t hit for average, mediocer defense, and the only thing of value he brought was the very occasional walk.
@mlb1225 You are experiencing a historical moment. Embrace the incompetency.
Harold Castro just signed a minor league deal somewhere. Don’t remember off the top of my head. I agree that someone should take a flier on Odor if they are a bad team,especially if they need a bat.
I believe that was Willi Castro that signed a minor league deal.
Maybe..so many Castros
I wish the White Sox would have resigned Elvis a month ago.
I also feel as though Josh lived up to expectations and never felt as though he gave less than his best effort.
Completely agree on both accounts.