MLBTR Polls

Five days after the World Series ends, free agents will be free to sign with any team.  Our current list is here, but often a few key names are plucked off the market early by signing an extension or new contract with their team.  For example, in October 2011, the Yankees were able to negotiate an extension with C.C. Sabathia prior to him opting out and reaching the open market.  Such deals could even happen now, like when the Astros added two years for Brett Myers in August 2010.  Below we've identified six players teams may want to retain before they hit the open market.  Let us know which will get a deal done!  You can choose multiple players.  You can view the poll results here.

29-year-old Cubs righty Matt Garza is almost certain to be traded this month.  He owns a 3.17 ERA in 11 starts this year, and hasn't posted an ERA above 4.00 since his rookie season.  He's a little home run prone, but his stats this year are in line with his recent work: a strikeout rate around eight per nine innings, and a walk rate comfortably under three per nine.  He's averaging 93.6 miles per hour on his fastball this month, according to BrooksBaseball.net.  Garza, who has never been signed to a multiyear deal, will have about $3.4MM remaining on his contract at the trade deadline before being eligible for free agency (and ineligible for a qualifying offer from a new team).  He missed a huge chunk of time due to a stress reaction in his elbow and a lat strain, with his 2012 season ending on July 21st and his '13 campaign beginning on May 21st.  Garza has been traded twice before in his career, each time for at least one very well-regarded young player, but he has never made an All-Star team or received a Cy Young vote.

Then there's 32-year-old White Sox righty Jake Peavy, whose availability is less certain.  He's had a decorated career for the Padres and White Sox, winning the 2007 NL Cy Young award and making the All-Star team in '05, '07, and '12.  He posted a 3.37 ERA for the Sox in 32 starts last year, but sits at 4.19 now and had a 4.77 ERA over 2010-11.  Like Garza, he seems good for at least eight strikeouts per nine and an ample amount of home runs allowed, but Peavy's control is notably better.  He recently returned from a 1.5 month layoff due to a non-displaced rib fracture.  It's incredible that Peavy's shoulder has held up as well as it has since May 2011, after he recovered from "experimental surgery to reattach a key tendon" to the rear of it (his surgeon suggested the procedure be named "Jake Peavy surgery.")  As with any pitcher, Peavy has lost some velocity since his 95 mile per hour heyday, working around 91-92 currently.  Peavy signed a team-friendly two-year extension last October.  He'll be owed around $4.8MM at the trade deadline, and then he'll earn $14.5MM in 2014 and would be eligible for a qualifying offer.

Two Chicago righties, perhaps the best available pitchers at the 2013 trade deadline.  Their abilities seem similar.  Garza has a more concerning recent injury history, while Peavy's July 2010 shoulder surgery was groundbreaking.  Garza is younger and throws harder, but Peavy comes with an extra year of control and the potential to recoup a draft pick in 2015.  This leads us to today's poll question…

Now that we've had some time to digest the results of last week's MLB amateur draft, and have begun to see team's signing strategies unfold, let's see how MLBTR readers view things. The poll below is simple: choose the team that, in your estimation, had the best draft.

"Best," in this case, does not necessarily imply "most talent," or even "most value." Let's define it this way: the team that best utilized the entire draft process (including the acquisition or sacrifice of picks, as well as the selections made with its picks) to improve its present and future capacity to win baseball games.

Here are a few resources you may want to consider in evaluating this question:

• Baseball America has a useful list showing the draft order, recommended bonus for each slot, and manner by which each pick was obtained.
• Check River Avenue Blues for a similar list that includes the draft picks that teams forfeited by signing free agents who had received a qualifying offer. (Scroll to bottom.)
• ESPN's Keith Law broke down the draft results in two segments: American League and National League. (ESPN Insider subscription required and recommended.)
• Likewise, Baseball America provided a brief narrative for each of the American League and National League teams, in addition to breaking down the draft destinations of BA's top 500 prospects.
• Minor League Ball's John Sickels assessed the draft on a team-by-team basis, broken out by division: AL East; AL Central; AL West; NL East; NL Central; and NL West.

Getting the second-biggest free agent contract of the offseason isn't a bad thing – just ask Josh Hamilton, Prince Fielder, and Jayson Werth.  But while those players all signed for more than $100MM, it's not clear yet if anyone in the 2013-14 free agent class will receive a nine-figure contract aside from Robinson Cano, who could reach $200MM.  That leads us to today's poll question…

Last summer, the biggest names traded were Zack Greinke, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante, Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino, Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm, Ichiro Suzuki, Wandy Rodriguez, Kevin Youkilis, Francisco Liriano, J.A. Happ, Jeremy Guthrie, Brett Myers, Kurt Suzuki, Joe Blanton, Brandon League, Marco Scutaro, Stephen Drew, Joe Saunders, Edward Mujica, and Chris Johnson.

As always, the vast majority of trades will take place in July and August.  Perhaps we'll see a handful of All-Stars dealt, and surely a slew of solid veterans (often in contract years) and decent prospects.  With over two months remaining until the trade deadline, several of the more interesting speculative trade candidates, such as Chase Headley, David Price, Giancarlo Stanton, and Cliff Lee, appear unlikely.  Weigh in with today's poll – check all the names you expect to be traded this summer.  You can click here to view the results.