MLBTR Originals News & Rumors

With the League Championship Series having kicked off tonight, we’re moving ever closer to the offseason. With free agency approaching, MLBTR has taken a position-by-position look at the options who’ll be available on the open market.

Today, we turn our attention to the corner outfield. Essentially all of the center field-capable players on the market could presumably cover the corners if necessary. (Starling Marte, for instance, has already shown himself to be more than capable of handling left field). Still, we’ve already covered the center fielders in-depth, so we’ll look only at players who have recently spent a significant amount of time in the corner outfield for purposes of this post.

Everyday Options

Kris Bryant (30 next April): Bryant has shown enough athleticism to handle both corner infield positions and cover anywhere on the outfield, although he’s better suited in a corner than in center field. Advanced defensive metrics suggest he struggled to adapt to the spacious right field at Oracle Park after a midseason trade from the Cubs to the Giants, but he’s generally rated as a fine outfielder over the course of his career.

Wherever he were to play, teams will be in on Bryant this winter for his bat. He broke into the majors with five consecutive elite hitting seasons, including a 2016 campaign in which he won the NL MVP award. Bryant struggled in last year’s shortened season, but he bounced most of the way back in 2021. Over 586 plate appearances, the 29-year-old hit .265/.353/.481 with 25 homers, drawing walks and hitting for power at above-average rates. The midseason trade renders him ineligible for a qualifying offer.

Kyle Schwarber (29): Bryant’s former Cub teammate, Schwarber’s time in Chicago ended a year early when he was non-tendered last winter after a down 2020. The former top five pick rebounded with a career-best showing at the plate in 2021, combining for a .266/.374/.554 line between the Nationals and Red Sox. Schwarber popped 32 homers in just 471 plate appearances (he missed more than a month midseason because of a hamstring strain), backed up by batted ball metrics that are among the most impressive in the sport.

Schwarber’s not a strong defender. He’s played almost exclusively in left field over the past few seasons, picking up a bit of time at first base down the stretch in Boston. Defensive metrics have pegged his range as well below-average in left — although he’s offset some of that with a strong arm. And Schwarber does strike out a fair amount, but his combination of power and patience makes him one of the more impactful bats available this winter. Like Bryant, he’s ineligible for a QO by virtue of a midseason trade.

Michael Conforto (29): Conforto entered the season as one of the top players in this winter’s class. With a typical season, he’d have had a very strong case to land a nine figure deal. Instead, Conforto posted his worst numbers since 2016, hitting .232/.344/.384 over 479 trips to the plate. That’s a far cry from his .261/.365/.478 line between 2018-20.

Conforto’s down year comes in spite of a career-low strikeout rate, a typically strong walk percentage, and batted ball metrics not too dissimilar from prior seasons. That disconnect between his seemingly still-strong process but his far less impressive results makes Conforto one of the tougher free agents to pin down this winter. The Mets are reportedly planning to offer him a QO.

Chris Taylor (31): Taylor has moved all over the diamond for the Dodgers, spending the bulk of this season in center field and at second base but also appearing at both corner outfield spots and third base.

Taylor has been a bit unheralded on a Dodgers’ roster loaded with superstars (at least until his heroics in last week’s Wild Card game), but he’s been a consistently above-average hitter with passable defensive marks virtually everywhere he plays. He strikes out a fair amount, but he also hits for power, walks and consistently runs high batting averages on balls in play. His bat cooled off in the second half after a scorching start to the season, but Taylor’s track record and versatility make him a likely qualifying offer recipient and candidate to land a strong three or four-year contract. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently broke down Taylor’s impending free agency at greater length.

Mark Canha (33): Canha has been an underrated, quality performer for the past few seasons. He’s not a particularly flashy player with eye-popping tools, but Canha’s well-rounded game leads to quietly strong results year after year. He draws plenty of walks, strikes out at a league average clip and hits for solid power despite playing in a pitcher-friendly home ballpark. Canha has been at least fifteen percentage points above league average offensively in each of the past four seasons by measure of wRC+. He had a very strong first half, although his batted ball metrics and power results cratered following a late-June hip injury.

Canha’s age — he turns 33 in February — and late-season power outage figure to have an adverse effect on his earning power. But Canha’s a quality offensive player, a good hitter without obvious drawbacks at the plate. He’s not a great fit in center field, but he can cover the middle in a pinch and typically rates as a fine option in the corners. Teams that don’t want to play at the top of the outfield market could view Canha as a strong fallback, particularly since it seems highly unlikely the low-budget A’s would make him a qualifying offer.

Jorge Soler (30): Soler’s overall results the past two seasons are underwhelming. He’s a bat-only player with a .224/.319/.435 line since the start of 2020, and both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference pegged him as below replacement level this past season. But that two-year sample ignores a 2019 campaign in which Soler mashed a league-best 48 home runs, and he’s looked reinvigorated since a deadline day trade to the Braves.

In 242 plate appearances with Atlanta down the stretch, Soler hit at .269/.358/.524 clip with fourteen homers. He’s slashed his strikeout rate to just 18.6% with the Braves after a dismal start to the year in Kansas City. Soler’s also relatively young, turning 30 in February, and annually has among the league’s top exit velocities and hard contact rates. Teams could see Soler’s second half resurgence as an indicator he’s rediscovered his peak form, but his 2020 and first half struggles raise some questions as well.

Tommy Pham (34): Pham was one of the game’s more underrated players for a few seasons with the Cardinals and Rays. He combined power, elite patience and enough athleticism to play a strong left field into a quality overall profile. Those underlying skills are still in play, as Pham almost never chases pitches outside the strike zone and continues to make hard contact at an above-average clip. That said, Pham’s results in San Diego haven’t matched those of prior seasons. He’s hitting .226/.335/.370 over the past two years, although it’s fair to wonder whether he’s been fully healthy. Pham missed a month last season after fracturing the hamate bone in his left hand, and his offseason and Spring Training routines were disrupted this year after he was stabbed in the lower back last October.

Platoon/Time-Share/Depth Options

Corey Dickerson (33): Dickerson has a long track record of above-average offense, carrying solid numbers between a few different spots. He’s only been around league average at the dish over the past two years, though, likely setting him up for a one-year deal this winter. Dickerson makes a lot of contact and hits for high batting averages, but it comes without a ton of walks and his power numbers have dropped off recently. He had one outlier season with elite defensive marks that earned him a Gold Glove award, but Dickerson typically rates as an average left fielder.

Joc Pederson (29): Pederson was a middle-of-the-order caliber bat during his best days with the Dodgers — at least against right-handed pitching. But he’s posted below-average offensive numbers in each of the last two seasons, and his career numbers against lefties are very poor. Pederson has been solid for the Braves since they picked him up at the trade deadline, and he’s popped a couple key postseason home runs. He brings power from the left side, but Pederson’s lack of production against southpaws probably limits him to a corner platoon role this winter.

Eddie Rosario (30): Rosario has had a Soler-esque turnaround following a midseason trade to the Braves. He hit just .254/.296/.389 over 306 plate appearances with the Indians, but turned things around to post a .271/.330/.573 mark in 106 plate appearances with Atlanta. Rosario’s general track record falls somewhere in the middle, as he typically posts slightly above-average production at the plate. The left-handed hitter doesn’t walk much and he’s not a great defender, but he has a strong combination of bat-to-ball skills and power.

Yoshi Tsutsugo (30): Tsutsugo didn’t live up to expectations with the Rays, who inked him to a two-year, $12MM deal following a starring career in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. However, the left-handed hitter popped eight homers in just 144 plate appearances after latching on with the Pirates late in the season. That strong couple months could make him an intriguing buy-low power bat this offseason. Tsutsugo’s primarily a first baseman, but he also lined up in both corner outfield spots this year and has a bit of experience at third base.

Dexter Fowler (36): Fowler lost almost the entire season after tearing his left ACL in April. He still reached base at a strong clip (.238/.346/.409) during his last extended run of play in 2019, but he’ll be 36 years old by next Opening Day and is coming off a significant knee injury.

Juan Lagares (33): A former Gold Glove winning center fielder with the Mets, Lagares got quite a bit of action with the Angels this season across all three outfield spots. He’s probably looking at minor league offers this winter after hitting just .236/.266/.372.

Gerardo Parra (34): Parra made a late-season return to the Nationals, hitting just .237/.292/.351 in 107 trips to the plate. He’s a respected veteran clubhouse presence, but he hasn’t had an above-average hitting season since 2015.

Abraham Almonte (32): Almonte has gotten brief looks at the big league level in each of the past nine seasons, never serving as a true regular. He drew plenty of walks this year with the Braves but only hit .216 and rated poorly in his limited showing defensively. He was outrighted off the roster last month.

Josh Reddick (35): Reddick earned a big league shot with the D-Backs in May after signing a minor league deal over the winter. He hit a career-worst .258/.285/.371 over 158 plate appearances with Arizona before being released. Reddick signed a minor league deal with the Mets thereafter but didn’t get back to the majors. He’s likely limited to minors offers again this winter.

Matt Joyce (37): Joyce was a productive lefty bench bat as recently as 2020, but he didn’t hit at all in a limited showing with the Phillies this year before being released. At his best, he offers a little bit of pop and draws plenty of walks.

Gregory Polanco (30): Polanco looked to be emerging as a star in 2018, but he’s struggled mightily over the past three seasons. The Pirates released him in late August. He went on an absolute tear (.374/.436/.747 over 101 plate appearances) with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal but couldn’t crack a loaded Toronto lineup. Polanco will be an interesting offseason flier, presumably on another minors pact.

Mike Tauchman (31): Tauchman still drew plenty of walks this season, but he struck out at a huge 30.4% clip between the Yankees and Giants. His big power numbers from 2019 now look like an outlier.

José Marmolejos (29): Marmolejos had a great season with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, but that didn’t carry over to the big leagues. The first baseman/corner outfielder hit just .160/.262/.311 over 122 MLB plate appearances before being outrighted.

Adam Eaton (33): Eaton split this season between the White Sox and Angels but hit only .201/.282/.327 in 288 cumulative plate appearances. He was eventually outrighted off both teams’ rosters.

Nomar Mazara (26): The Tigers’ dart throw that Mazara could yet unlock his offensive potential didn’t pan out. He hit .212/.276/.321 before being released. Mazara’s a household name and one-time top prospect, but he’s simply never hit at the level many anticipated.

Jason Martin (26): Martin was once fairly well-regarded as a prospect but his bat stalled out in the high minors. A strong Triple-A showing this year earned him his most extended MLB look with the Rangers, but he hit just .208/.248/.354 at the highest level and was outrighted off the roster.

Utility Infielders/Outfielders

Josh Harrison (34): Harrison initially looked to be tailing off as he entered his 30’s, but he’s played quite well two years running. Over 558 plate appearances between the Nationals and A’s, he hit .279/.341/.400 with a tiny 13.4% strikeout rate. He earned Oakland’s regular second base job down the stretch and might have earned himself an everyday role somewhere on the diamond this offseason. Harrison doesn’t walk or hit for much power, but he puts the ball in play, can cover multiple positions and would bring a respected veteran presence to a clubhouse.

Brad Miller (32): Miller bounces all around the diamond, spending most of this year on the corners. He’s a bat-first player who hit a solid .227/.321/.453 with 20 homers in 377 plate appearances for the Phillies. He’s a nice left-handed power bat to have off the bench.

Leury García (31): García has had a nice few seasons on the South Side of Chicago. He’s a switch-hitting utilityman who can cover any non-catcher position on the diamond. García doesn’t hit for power or draw many walks, but he makes a fair amount of contact and has been right around league average offensively over the past couple seasons.

Ehire Adrianza (32): Adrianza’s a capable glove-first utilityman. He’s worked in a reserve capacity for essentially his entire career, posting decent strikeout and walk numbers with little power.

Marwin González (33): González hit just .201/.281/.285 before the Red Sox cut him loose. He popped three homers in 36 plate appearances since re-signing with Houston, but he only posted a .222 OBP in his second stint as an Astro. That’s two consecutive miserable seasons for González, who followed up an outstanding 2017 campaign with back-to-back league average seasons before dropping off substantially since the start of 2020.

Jake Lamb (31): Lamb was a productive regular with the D-Backs from 2016-17, but his production has dipped since he underwent shoulder surgery in 2018. He split this past season between the White Sox and Blue Jays, playing all four corner positions while hitting .194/.306/.368.

Players With Options

Nick Castellanos (30): Castellanos seems all but certain to opt out of the remaining two years and $34MM on his current deal with the Reds. He’ll have a real case for a nine figure contract on the open market after a huge season in which he hit .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs in 585 plate appearances.

Castellanos perennially rates among the league’s better hitters in terms of average exit velocity and hard contact rate, and he struck out in a career-low 20.7% of his trips to the dish this year. He’s a subpar defender whose market would be aided by the adoption of a designated hitter in the National League, but there’ll be plenty of demand for a hitter of Castellanos’ caliber.

Avisaíl García (30): García tallied enough plate appearances to vest the right to test free agency this offseason. He’s likely to do so, forgoing his end of a $12MM mutual option with the Brewers. García has long intrigued teams with huge physical tools and flashes of productivity. His performance has been up-and-down over the course of his career, but he’s coming off one of his best years.

García hit .262/.330/.490 with 29 homers over 515 plate appearances with Milwaukee. He typically posts above-average batted ball metrics, and his production this season (unlike that of his personal-best 2017 campaign) wasn’t driven by an unsustainably high batting average on balls in play. García presents a challenging evaluation for teams, since he’s an obviously talented player coming off a very good showing but with an inconsistent career resume.

J.D. Martinez (34): Martinez is primarily a designated hitter, but he still moonlights in the corner outfield on occasion. Regardless of his defensive limitations, it’s tough to downplay his impact on an offense. Martinez was one of the sport’s best hitters over a six-year stretch from 2014-19. He’s no longer quite at that level, but Martinez bounced back from a down 2020 to hit .286/.349/.518 with 28 homers in 634 plate appearances. That sets up an interesting decision, as he’ll have to determine whether to return to Boston on a $19.35MM salary in 2022 or trigger an opt-out clause and test free agency.

Andrew McCutchen (35): The Phillies have a $15MM club option on McCutchen’s services for 2022. There’s a $3MM buyout figure, making that a net $12MM decision. It wouldn’t be shocking if the Phils picked it up, but that seems unlikely. McCutchen’s a respected veteran who’s had an illustrious career, and he still has points in his favor. He popped 27 home runs and walked at a massive 14.1% clip en route to slightly above-average offensive numbers. His batting averages have dipped as he’s gotten more pull-heavy, though, and McCutchen rates as a well below-average defensive left fielder at this stage of his career.

Kole Calhoun (34): The D-Backs hold a $9MM club option on Calhoun’s services for 2022. That comes with a $2MM buyout, meaning it’s a $7MM call. That’ll probably prove too pricy for an Arizona team that’ll want to get looks at some younger players after a disastrous 2021 season. Calhoun popped 16 homers and slugged .526 in last year’s shortened schedule, but he struggled offensively (.235/.297/.373) this year while dealing with a seemingly recurring left hamstring issue.

Brett Gardner (38): Gardner has a player option valued at $2.3MM. If he declines, the Yankees have a team option valued at $7.15MM with a buyout of $1.15MM. It seems unlikely the Yankees would exercise their option after Gardner hit at a slightly below-average level (.222/.327/.362) this season. But Gardner still draws plenty of walks, and he’s one of the better defensive left fielders of his generation and a capable if imperfect fit in center field at this stage of his career.

It’s difficult to imagine the career-long Yankee playing elsewhere, although it remains to be seen if he considers the player option salary enough of an upgrade over the buyout figure he’d collect if the Yankees don’t exercise their end.

Kevin Pillar (33): Pillar’s contract with the Mets contains a $2.9MM player option for 2022. If he declines, the Mets would have to either exercise a $6.4MM club option or buy him out for $1.4MM. The question for Pillar, then, is whether he wants to lock in $2.9MM or take his chances with the buyout and hope to make up the $1.5MM on the open market.

Pillar’s no longer the elite defender he was at his peak, but he’s still capable of playing all three outfield spots. He hit for a decent amount of power this season, popping 15 homers in 347 plate appearances, but he only walked 3.2% of the time and reached base at a paltry .277 clip.

Charlie Blackmon (35): Blackmon has already gone on record to say he’ll exercise his $21MM player option for next season. He returns to Colorado on the heels of a .270/.351/.411 showing.

Jurickson Profar (29): Profar surprisingly landed a three-year, $21MM guarantee from the Padres last winter on the heels of a strong 2020 showing. He didn’t managed to follow-up on that success, though, hitting just .227/.329/.320 through 412 plate appearances. It’s hard to envision Profar opting out after this season, particularly since his contract allows him to opt out at the end of next year too.

Previous installments in this series: catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, center field

As the offseason creeps closer and closer, we’ll continue our position-by-position look at the upcoming free agent class. We’ve already covered catchers, first basemen, third basemen, second basemen and shortstops. Next up, center field.

Everyday Options

Starling Marte (33 years old next season): There are some other great players on this list who can play center field a bit, but Marte is your best bet if you’re looking for an everyday center fielder who can help you on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he’s been an above-average contributor for nine of the last ten years, with 2017 being his only dip. (He missed 80 games that season after testing positive for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid.) Over the 1,134 games of his career, he has hit 126 home runs, stolen 296 bases and has a slash line of .289/.345/.451. All that adds up to a wRC+ of 118 and 30.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. And he’s coming off his best offensive season to date, as he slashed .308/.381/.456, with 47 stolen bases, the most in the majors by a significant margin. (Whit Merrifield was second with 40.) His wRC+ on the season of 133 and his 5.4 fWAR were both career highs.

On the defensive side of things, Marte played primarily in left field for the first half of his career, as the Pirates had Andrew McCutchen in center. But since McCutchen’s departure, Marte moved over to center and has hardly moved off it since. Over the past four seasons, he has played exactly one game in left field, logging just three innings. Other than that, he’s been exclusively in center. According to Statcast, he has been worth 17 Outs Above Average in that span, which is the 15th-highest tally among center fielders league-wide. Although Marte just turned 33 and is older than many center fielders in the league, he was still worth 4 OAA, 20th-best among center fielders this season.

Marte is reaching free agency a little bit later than most players due to the extension he signed with the Pirates way back in 2014. As a 33-year-old, that could put a cap on how long teams are willing to commit to him being a regular in center. But the Blue Jays just gave George Springer a six-year contract to cover his age-31 through age-36 seasons. Regardless, Marte is the best option available for any team that needs a center fielder now. He won’t be eligible for a qualifying offer because he was traded midseason.

Kris Bryant (30): Bryant was already written about in the third basemen post linked above. He’s not really a center fielder, only playing 29 games there over his career so far. But his versatility will be a big part of his appeal to clubs in free agency this winter. That said, he’s likely to be considered a third baseman/corner outfielder and only an emergency option in center.

Bryant will command a huge contract because of his offensive track record and strong platform season. His line this season is .268/.356/.496, wRC+ of 123, producing 3.6 fWAR.

Mark Canha (33): If you don’t regularly watch Oakland games, you might not realize how good Mark Canha has been over the past four seasons. From 2018 to 2021, he hit .249/.366/.441. That amounts to a wRC+ of 126, which ranks 39th among all qualified hitters over that time. That’s buoyed by a 12.1% walk rate, 19th among qualified hitters over those years. His 10.4 fWAR over that span is the 18th highest tally among all outfielders.

In 2018 and 2019, he played 62 and 56 games in center, respectively. But in the shortened 2020 season, it was just 9. This year, it was 23. He’s more of a corner outfielder who can cover center in a pinch than a true center fielder. However, Statcast considers him a competent defender, crediting him with 3 OAA this season overall. And given his late-bloom career, he’s reaching free agency for the first time at a somewhat advanced age. That makes it unlikely for a team to consider him a long-term solution up the middle. But for any team that needs a corner outfielder that could slide over when needed, he’s a great option.

Chris Taylor (31): Taylor has already been discussed in the aforementioned MLBTR posts about second basemen and shortstops. While not a true everyday center fielder, he’s one of the most intriguing options on this list by virtue of his versatility. This season, he’s played 61 games in center field, and at least eight games at second base, third base, shortstop, left field and right field. In other words, he’s a proper super utility player.

2021 was his fifth-consecutive season with a wRC+ of 106 or higher. His 2021 line is .254/.344/.438, for a wRC+ 113 and 3.1 fWAR. That bat and that defensive versatility makes him a fit on just about every team in the league, meaning he should garner plenty of interest this offseason and will be one of the more fascinating markets to watch.

Utility/Platoon/Bench Types 

• Delino DeShields (29): DeShields bounced around in the minors for a few organizations this year, eventually seeing a bit of big league action with the Reds. He had a good showing in a small sample size of 25 games, slashing .255/.375/.426. That’s much better than his career slash line of .246/.327/.342.
• Jarrod Dyson (37): Dyson returned to the Royals this year on a one-year deal and hit a paltry .221/.256/.311 before being put on waivers. He was claimed by the Blue Jays, who used him primarily as a late-game defensive replacement and pinch runner. He could potentially fill a similar role for a team in 2022.
• Leury Garcia (31): 2021 was the best full season of Garcia’s career, as he hit .267/.335/.376. His wRC+ of 98 was bested only by his 107 in the shortened 2020 season, where he played only 16 games. His 2.0 fWAR in 2021 almost doubled his previous high of 1.2. The most he’s ever played in center field was 2019, where he got into 80 games there. But this year, it was just 26. He’s more super utility guy than proper center fielder, which is why he was already featured in MLBTR’s posts about second basemen, third basemen and shortstops.
• Billy Hamilton (31): Signed by the White Sox to a minors deal in March, he cracked opening day roster and has managed to hold down his spot all year. With Luis Robert getting most of the playing time in center when healthy, Hamilton was used primarily off the bench as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. In parts of 71 games this year, he hit .220/.242/.378 and stole nine bases without getting caught.
• Ender Inciarte (31): Inciarte has always been revered more for his defensive skills than his bat, but his offense has slumped to new lows over the past couple seasons. This year, in 52 games, he hit just .215/.276/.316 and got released by Atlanta in July. He signed a minors deal with the Reds but opted out of that in September. He’ll probably have to settle for another minors deal this winter.
• Danny Santana (31): Signed by the Red Sox to a minor league deal in the offseason, Santana has gotten into 38 games for them, including 13 in center. On the season, he hit .181/.252/.345 for a wRC+ of 58. He’s now two years removed from his excellent 2019 season and will probably be looking at another minor league deal this winter. He’s played second, third and shortstop in the past, but over 2020 and 2021, he’s only seen time at first base and in the outfield.

Players With 2022 Options

Jackie Bradley Jr.(32): Bradley has had a dismal season at the plate, hitting .163/.236/.261, for a wRC+ of 35. He has a player option valued at $11MM, which he will certainly take instead of heading back to the open market with that kind of platform.

Brett Gardner (38): Gardner has a player option valued at $2.3MM, but if he declines, the Yankees have a team option valued at $7.15MM, with a buyout of $1.15MM. Gardner was thrust into everyday duty this season after Aaron Hicks went down with wrist surgery and wound up playing 105 games in center. Overall, he hit .222/.327/.362 for a wRC+ of 93 and 1.4 fWAR. The Yankees may be motivated to keep him around given the uncertainty surrounding Clint Frazier, but $7.15MM would be a big raise on this year’s $2.85MM salary. They previously declined club options on Gardner in 2018 and 2020 but subsequently agreed to new contracts, which seems like a distinct possibility for this winter as well.

Odubel Herrera (30): In July of 2019, Herrera was suspended for the remainder of the season for violating the MLB-MLBPA joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. He was designated for assignment after that season and cleared waivers, being outrighted to Triple-A. He made his way back to the roster in April 2021 and got into 124 games this season, hitting .260/.310/.416 for a wRC+ of 93. The Phillies can retain him for another year by picking up his $11.5MM option, but it seems more likely that they will buy him out for $2.5MM. However, if they do pick up the option, they’ll be able to control him for 2023 via another club option, this one valued at $12.5MM.

Jake Marisnick (31): Between the Cubs and Padres this year, Marisnick played 99 games, 52 of those in center field. He was passable at the plate when with the Cubs, slashing .227/.294/.438, but slumped after being traded to San Diego, hitting .188/.264/.208. The one-year deal he signed with the Cubs came with a $4MM mutual option for 2022. Mutual options are almost never exercised, meaning the Padres will likely just give him the $500K buyout.

Joc Pederson (30): Pederson played over 90 games in center in each season from 2015-2017, but it’s been much rarer since then: 32 games in 2018, 2 in 2019, none in 2020 and 26 in 2021. Similar to Canha, he’s more of a corner outfielder who could play center field if you really needed him to. However, his defensive prowess was below Canha’s in 2021, at least according to Statcast. Whereas they valued Canha as 3 OAA, Pederson is -5. Pederson has also seen his offensive numbers slide in recent years. After he logged a wRC+ of 116 or higher in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, his slash line over the past couple seasons is .227/.304/.416, wRC+ of 93. His one-year deal that he signed with the Cubs for 2021 has a mutual option valued at $10MM, which is likely to be bought out by Atlanta at $2.5MM.

Kevin Pillar (33): Pillar signed a one-year deal with the Mets this offseason that came with a 2021 salary of $3.6MM, as well as an option for 2022. It’s a $2.9MM player option with no buyout, but if he doesn’t pick it up, the team has a $6.4MM club option with a $1.4MM buyout. In 124 games this year, Pillar hit .231/.277/.415 for a wRC+ of 90, while playing all three outfield positions. It seems unlikely that the team would pick up the club option, meaning Pillar will have to decide whether he would rather take the $2.9MM contract or turn that down in favour of the $1.4MM, then try to make up the difference in free agency.

Jurickson Profar (29): Profar was already written about in MLBTR’s posts about first basemen and second basemen. He can opt out of the remaining two years and $14MM on his contract, but seems unlikely to do so, given his meager .235/.335/.336 line on the season.

The quality of the 2021-22 free agent shortstop class has been discussed for years at this point. We’re just a few weeks away from that group actually hitting the open market, with a handful of young stars at the top of the class offering shortstop-needy clubs plenty of options.

Stars at the Top of the Class

Carlos Correa (27 years old next April): A former first overall pick and top prospect, Correa has long been on a trajectory towards a free agent megadeal. He was in the big leagues by age 20 and immediately a middle-of-the-order caliber hitter, a true franchise shortstop. Correa has never had strikeout problems, has always drawn walks, and hits for power. He was dinged up a bit early in his career — leading to some whispers about his durability — but his only IL stint of the last two seasons has come for feeling COVID-like symptoms in July.

Correa only hit at a league average level during last year’s shortened season, but he’s put that behind him with a huge 2021. Over 640 plate appearances, he posted a .279/.366/.485 line (134 wRC+) with 26 home runs. After some mixed results on defense early in his career, he’s rated as one of the league’s best with the glove for the past few seasons. Correa’s an impact player on both sides of the ball, the #1 position player by Baseball Reference WAR this season (#8 by FanGraphs WAR). Because he got to the majors so quickly, Correa’s hitting free agency in advance of his age-27 season, so he’ll have a few prime years to market.

Corey Seager (27): As with Correa, Seager’s a former top prospect who starred from Day One. He’s been a decidedly above-average hitter throughout his career, posting four seasons with a wRC+ of 125 or above. There aren’t any nits to pick in Seager’s offensive profile, either. He’s a left-handed power bat who rarely strikes out and draws a fair amount of walks. Seager consistently places near the top of the league in average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard contact rate, and few hitters have been better over the past two years.

Seager fractured his right hand on a hit-by-pitch in May, costing him more than a month. That kept his counting stats down a bit this year, but on a rate basis, Seager was as good as ever. He hit .306/.394/.521 (147 wRC+) over 407 plate appearances. Going back to the start of 2020, he ranks eighth leaguewide in wRC+, and that’s without accounting for a massive playoff run last season that culminated in World Series MVP honors. Defensive metrics have generally pegged Seager as average or a bit below in recent seasons, but there aren’t many more impactful offensive players at any position around the league.

Marcus Semien (31): Semien spent the bulk of this season manning second base for the Blue Jays in deference to Bo Bichette. He was a shortstop up until this year, and he rated as one of the game’s premier defenders at the keystone in 2021. Teams might be split on where they prefer Semien, but it seems likely there’ll be at least a few who’d consider moving him back to shortstop depending upon their current roster situation.

Semien led MLB with 724 plate appearances, and he hit a whopping .265/.334/.538. He popped 45 home runs, the fourth-highest total in the league, and stole fifteen bags. Semien completely regained his peak offensive form after an average 2020, and he took to his new position with ease. Semien’s age will keep him from landing the length or total guarantee of the market’s younger stars, but he’s wrapping up his second elite season in the past three years and leads all position players in FanGraphs WAR since the start of 2019. There’s no doubt at this point Semien’s an elite player, and a five or six-year deal that easily eclipses $100MM should be on the table with how well he’s performed.

Trevor Story (29): It wasn’t a banner year for Story, who started off slowly at the plate. He turned things around a bit in the second half, but his overall .251/.329/.471 line was his worst since 2017. Story’s had fairly dramatic home-road splits, at least a moderate concern for a player in Colorado. Most of the damage he did this season came against left-handed pitching, as Story was a well below-average hitter (.234/.318/.417) against righties.

It’s clearly not the ideal time for Story to hit the market for the first time, but he’ll still have plenty of points in his favor. None of his batted ball metrics were much changed from recent seasons. Once one of the game’s highest-strikeout hitters, Story has consistently cut down on the swing-and-miss as he’s gotten more experience and now only punches out at a league average rate. He was plagued by a career-low .293 batting average on balls in play, which interested teams will likely count on bouncing back moving forward. And Story typically rates as one of the game’s best defensive shortstops (although metrics were more divided on his performance this year). Even in a relative “down” season, Story was worth around three-to-four wins above replacement, and he’s shown the ability to be a true impact player in prior years.

Javier Báez (29): Báez is one of the game’s toughest players to evaluate on the heels of an up-and-down couple of seasons. He had a disastrous 2020 with the Cubs and started slowly again in 2021. But he started to heat up in July, and he only got better after a deadline day trade to the Mets, hitting .299/.371/.515 over 186 plate appearances in Queens.

There are some obvious areas of concern in Báez’s profile. Of the 210 hitters with 500+ plate appearances since the start of 2020, nobody has swung and missed more. Only Salvador Pérez and José Iglesias have chased more pitches outside the strike zone. And what Báez did this season is somewhat unprecedented; he’s the only player (min. 500 PA) to have an above-average hitting season while striking out as often and walking as infrequently as he did this year.

Yet Báez has always had something of an alarming approach, and he’s continued to thrive in spite of it. He hits for power, runs the bases well and is regarded as an excellent defensive infielder. Aside from the abbreviated 2020 campaign, Báez has been a well above-average performer since 2018, and he’s one of the sport’s most entertaining and popular players. Unlike with the other top of the market shortstops, signing Báez wouldn’t cost a team draft pick compensation. The midseason trade makes him ineligible to be tagged with a qualifying offer.

Chris Taylor (31): Taylor hasn’t played a whole lot of shortstop over the past couple seasons, but he’s still capable of manning the position as needed. He’s moved all over the diamond for the Dodgers, spending the bulk of this season in center field and at second base.

Taylor has been a bit unheralded on a Dodgers’ roster loaded with superstars (at least until his heroics in this week’s Wild Card game), but he’s been a consistently above-average hitter with passable defensive marks virtually everywhere he plays. He strikes out a fair amount, but he also hits for power, walks and consistently runs high batting averages on balls in play. His bat cooled off in the second half after a scorching start to the season, but Taylor’s track record and versatility make him a likely qualifying offer recipient and candidate to land a strong three or four-year contract. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently broke down Taylor’s impending free agency at greater length.

Potential Regulars

Freddy Galvis (32): Galvis has carved out a solid career as a glove-first player who offers consistently below-average but passable offense. He’s a switch-hitter with some power who generally puts the ball in play. Galvis doesn’t walk much, leading to low on-base percentages, and his defensive marks have dipped a bit in recent seasons. Teams aren’t going to view Galvis as an impact addition, but he consistently does enough on both sides of the ball to be a regular who chips in one-to-two wins above replacement per season.

Andrelton Simmons (32): Simmons has a strong case as the best defensive infielder of his generation. He posts eye-popping Defensive Runs Saved totals year in and year out, with highlight reel plays a frequent occurrence. At his best, Simmons combined that incredible glovework with league average offense, driven by an ability to seemingly never strike out. That offense has fallen off dramatically over the past three seasons, though, and Simmons hit only .223/.283/.274 over 451 plate appearances with the Twins this year. He might have a hard time landing an everyday job coming off such a poor showing at the plate, but even as he’s entered his 30’s, Simmons remains one of the sport’s most electrifying and valuable defenders.

José Iglesias (32): Iglesias never quite matched up to Simmons, but he’s offered a broadly similar profile. A high-contact hitter with an elite glove, Iglesias has had his share of productive seasons. He posted a huge, albeit BABIP-inflated, shortened 2020 season, but his offense dipped back to its typical levels (.271/.309/.391) this year. Were Iglesias still an elite defender, that’d be more than enough to make him a productive regular. But his defensive numbers bizarrely plummeted, with Iglesias rating as a league-worst 21 runs below average at shortstop according to DRS. That’ll put a damper on his market, but a team that believes in his ability to bounce back from those uncharacteristic struggles might still give him an opportunity at an everyday job.

Jonathan Villar (30): Villar had a nice season with the Mets, bouncing back from a disappointing 2020 to hit .249/.322/.416. That’s slightly above-average hitting, and the former stolen base champ continues to provide additional value on the basepaths. Villar’s not a great defender anywhere but he’s capable of playing throughout the infield and has a bit of outfield experience. It’s possible he’s done enough this year to earn an everyday job somewhere, although it seems likelier first-division clubs would see him as a high-end insurance option off the bench.

Utility Types

Leury García (31): García has had a nice few seasons on the South Side of Chicago. He’s a switch-hitting utilityman who can cover any non-catcher position on the diamond. García doesn’t hit for power or draw many walks, but he makes a fair amount of contact and has been right around league average offensively over the past couple seasons.

Marwin González (33): González hit just .201/.281/.285 before the Red Sox cut him loose. He popped three homers in 36 plate appearances since re-signing with Houston, but he only posted a .222 OBP in his second stint as an Astro. That’s two consecutive miserable seasons for González, who followed up an outstanding 2017 campaign with back-to-back league average seasons before dropping off substantially since the start of 2020.

Andrew Romine (36): Romine saw a decent amount of action with the Tigers between 2014-17, bouncing all around the diamond in a reserve capacity. He’s never offered much at the plate, though, and he only tallied four combined plate appearances between 2019-20 before returning for a 26-game stint with the Cubs this year.

Prior installments in this series: catcher, first base, second base, third base

As the regular season winds to a close, we’ll continue our position-by-position look at the upcoming free agent class. We’ve already covered catchers, first basemen and third basemen in greater detail, and we’ll slide over to second base this evening.

There’ll certainly be some overlap between second and third base, with plenty of utility options capable of handling either position who’ll be available. It’s also possible we see a team sign a shortstop with little or no second base experience to fill the position. Second is a less demanding spot to handle defensively, and teams with established in-house shortstops could certainly make a run at one of the top free agent shortstops on the market (Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story or Javier Báez) and move them to the keystone as a way of injecting an impact bat into the lineup. (The Mets, already rostering Francisco Lindor, have mostly deployed Báez at second after acquiring him from the Cubs at the deadline). For our purposes, however, we’ll treat that group as shortstops and cover them in-depth later in this series.

Marcus Semien already made that switch last offseason, when the Blue Jays signed the former A’s shortstop and moved him to second in deference to Bo Bichette. It’s plausible Semien moves back to shortstop in free agency this time around, but we’ll include him as a second baseman in this exercise, since 140 of his 154 starts this year have come at second base.

Semien, unsurprisingly, tops the class:

Everyday Options

Marcus Semien (31 years old next April): Semien settled for a one-year “prove it” deal with Toronto last winter after a disappointing showing in last year’s shortened season. The hope was he’d replicate his huge 2019 campaign — one in which he finished in third place in AL MVP balloting — before re-entering free agency in search of a big multi-year deal. He’s done exactly that.

Semien leads MLB with 697 plate appearances, and he’s hitting a whopping .268/.339/.543. He’s popped 43 home runs, the fourth-highest total in the league, and stolen fifteen bags. Semien has completely regained his peak offensive form, and he’s taken to his new position with ease. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average have pegged Semien as a plus defender at second base, and it seems likely teams would be comfortable installing him everyday at either middle infield position moving forward. Semien’s age will keep him from landing the length or total guarantee of the market’s younger stars, but he’s wrapping up his second elite season in the past three years and leads all position players in FanGraphs WAR since the start of 2019. There’s no longer any doubt Semien’s an elite player, and a five or six-year deal that easily eclipses $100MM shouldn’t elude him this time around. He’s a lock to receive and reject a qualifying offer.

Chris Taylor (31): Taylor’s a true super-utility type who has started games everywhere but first base and catcher this season. The bulk of his playing time has come in center field and at second base, and a club in need of keystone help could plug him in there more regularly moving forward.

Taylor has been a bit unheralded on a Dodgers’ roster loaded with superstars, but he’s been a consistently above-average hitter with passable defensive marks around the diamond. He strikes out a fair amount, but he also hits for power, walks and consistently runs high batting averages on balls in play. His bat has cooled off in the second half after a scorching start to the season. Still, Taylor’s track record and versatility make him a likely qualifying offer recipient and candidate to land a strong three or four-year contract. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently broke down Taylor’s impending free agency at greater length.

Eduardo Escobar (33): Escobar has spent the bulk of his time at third base this year, but he’s also logged 140 plate appearances as a second baseman. Teams could consider him an everyday option at either position, but his early-career days as a shortstop seem mostly to be behind him.

Escobar has had a nice season split between the D-Backs and Brewers. He owns a .249/.312/.465 line with 28 home runs and has popped 20-plus long balls in each of the last four full seasons. Escobar’s abbreviated 2020 campaign was a disaster, but that looks to be an outlier now that he’s posted his more typical production this year. He doesn’t draw too many walks, but Escobar’s a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate who’s a below-average but passable defender at a couple infield positions.

Potential Regulars/High-End Role Players

Josh Harrison (34): Harrison initially looked to be tailing off as he entered his 30’s, but he’s played quite well two years running. Over 545 plate appearances between the Nationals and A’s, he owns a .285/.347/.409 line with a tiny 13.4% strikeout rate. He’s earned Oakland’s regular second base job down the stretch and might have earned himself an everyday role elsewhere this offseason. Harrison doesn’t walk or hit for much power. But he puts the ball in play, can cover multiple positions and would bring a respected veteran presence to a clubhouse.

Jed Lowrie (37): Lowrie bounced back from a pair of lost seasons with the Mets to stay mostly healthy this year with the A’s. The veteran had an exactly league average .245/.318/.398 line in 512 plate appearances, split almost evenly between second base and designated hitter. His days as a regular look to be behind him, but Lowrie still gives teams a solid at-bat when healthy.

Donovan Solano (34): A light-hitting defensive specialist during his early days with the Marlins, Solano bounced around the minors for a few seasons before making it back to the bigs with the Giants in 2019. He’s been surprisingly productive ever since, posting three straight above-average hitting seasons by measure of wRC+. There’s a lot going against Solano; he doesn’t walk much or hit for power, and he’s been limited to almost exclusively playing second base. That makes him something of an imperfect roster fit, but he’s done nothing but hit over the past few years. He makes a lot of contact and owns the league’s third-highest line drive rate (minimum 500 plate appearances) going back to 2019. Teams will be wary of a player who is so reliant on ball-in-play results for his production, but Solano at least looks like a high-end role player who’ll give you good at-bats off the bench — particularly if leveraged against left-handed pitching (.325/.364/.472 in 306 PA against southpaws with the Giants).

Utility Types Who Can Handle The Middle Infield

• Ehire Adrianza (32): Adrianza’s a capable glove-first utilityman. He’s worked in a reserve capacity for essentially his entire career, posting decent strikeout and walk numbers with little power.
• Matt Duffy (31): Duffy has had a decent season bouncing around the diamond for the Cubs. He makes contact, uses the whole field and hits a solid number of line drives. Duffy had to settle for a minor league pact after not appearing in the majors last season, but his .275/.346/.370 line over 295 plate appearances could be enough to land a guaranteed big league job this time around.
• Alcides Escobar (35): Escobar hadn’t played in the majors for three years before being called upon by a Nationals team dealing with a series of injuries. He’s held up surprisingly well upon being thrust into an everyday role, hitting .281/.329/.390 over 321 plate appearances and covering both middle infield positions. Escobar’s offense is still entirely dependent on hitting for a high batting average and he’s probably miscast as an everyday player, at least for teams with contending aspirations. But Escobar looks to have done enough to land a guaranteed big league deal this winter, something that seemed improbable just a few months back.
• Leury García (31): García has had a nice few seasons on the South Side of Chicago. He’s a switch-hitting utilityman who can cover any non-catcher position on the diamond. Garcia doesn’t hit for power or draw many walks, but he makes a fair amount of contact and has been right around league average offensively over the past couple seasons.
• Marwin González (33): González hit just .201/.281/.285 before the Red Sox cut him loose. He’s popped three homers in 28 plate appearances since re-signing with Houston, but he only owns a .250 OBP in his second stint as an Astro so far. That’s two consecutive miserable seasons for González, who followed up an outstanding 2017 campaign with back-to-back league average seasons before dropping off substantially since the start of 2020.
• Jordy Mercer (35): Mercer missed a good chunk of the year due to injury after earning a season-opening roster spot with the Nats in Spring Training. The former Pirates’ shortstop hit for a decent average and bounced around the diamond, but his overall .262/.319/.346 line might not be enough to earn a major league deal.
• Chris Owings (30): Owings posted huge numbers in 50 plate appearances with the Rockies this year but missed the majority of the campaign due to thumb injuries. The former Diamondback runs well and can play anywhere except catcher, but he’s a .243/.288/.372 career hitter despite playing almost exclusively in offense-friendly home ballparks.
• Joe Panik (31): Panik looks to be in minor league deal range thanks to a .203/.263/.281 line split between the Blue Jays and Marlins this season. The left-handed hitter was a strong regular early in his career with the Giants, combining elite bat-to-ball skills, patience and defense at second base. But his impact on contact has evaporated in recent seasons, so while he still tough to strike out, Panik has posted well below-average numbers in four consecutive years.
• Eric Sogard (35): Sogard hasn’t latched on elsewhere since being released by the Cubs in July. He stumbled to a .249/.283/.314 showing over 180 plate appearances with the North Siders, and that was marginally better than his work the year prior in Milwaukee. Sogard’s a quality defensive second baseman who has shown some signs of life at the plate in the past, but he’s squarely in minor league deal territory after back-to-back very poor seasons.
• Jonathan Villar (31): Villar has had a nice season with the Mets, bouncing back from a disappointing 2020 to hit .249/.323/.420. That’s slightly above-average hitting, and the former stolen base champ continues to provide additional value on the basepaths. Villar’s not a great defender anywhere but he’s capable of playing throughout the infield and has a bit of outfield experience. It’s possible he’s done enough this year to earn an everyday job somewhere, although it seems likelier first-division clubs would see him as a high-end insurance option off the bench.

Players With 2022 Options

César Hernández, White Sox, $6MM club option (no buyout): Generally a high-contact, low-impact hitter, Hernández has bizarrely morphed into a low-OBP power bat this year. The switch-hitter has easily set career marks in home runs (21) and ISO (.155) but it’s come with personal lows in batting average (.228) and on-base percentage (.304). Hernández still works the count and makes a lot of contact, and it doesn’t seem as if he’s completely revamped his approach. He’s just not hitting as many line drives as he usually does, resulting in a career-worst .262 batting average on balls in play.

Exercising a $6MM option on Hernández wouldn’t be outlandish. He’s a generally steady player who combines league average offense with solid glove work (although advanced metrics are split on his defense this season). But his bottom line production — .228/.304/.383, 89 wRC+ — is his worst in six seasons, and he’s had a dreadful couple months in Chicago followed a solid start to the season with Cleveland. Those factors could lead the ChiSox to let him go, particularly since his contract with the Indians didn’t contain any sort of buyout provision, but Hernández wouldn’t have much of a problem finding a job elsewhere in that instance.

Wilmer Flores, Giants, $3.5MM club option ($250K buyout): Flores has roughly the equivalent of one full season’s worth of playing time since signing with San Francisco over the 2019-20 offseason. He’s hitting .262/.325/.472 in that time, showing power and quality bat-to-ball skills. Flores can play multiple positions and has a long history of mashing left-handed pitching. For a high-payroll club, the $3.5MM option looks like an easy yes.

Jurickson Profar, Padres, can opt out of remaining two years and $14MM: Profar surprisingly landed a three-year, $21MM guarantee from the Padres last winter on the heels of a strong 2020 showing. He hasn’t managed to follow-up on that success, though, hitting just .227/.331/.324 through 401 plate appearances. It’s hard to envision Profar opting out after this season, particularly since his contract allows him to opt out at the end of next year too. Most likely, the 29-year-old returns to San Diego in hopes of a bounceback. If that happens, he can forgo the final guaranteed year of his deal and test free agency next winter.

Matt Carpenter, Cardinals, $18.5MM club option ($2MM buyout): Carpenter’s option is a lock to be bought out. A bit of a late-bloomer, Carpenter found his stride in his late-20’s and kicked off a seven-year run from 2012-18 as one of the game’s better offensive players. His work at the plate has fallen substantially since then, particularly over the past two seasons. With a .178/.314/.297 line since the start of 2020, Carpenter might be looking at minor league offers this winter. The 35-year-old is planning on giving it another go though.