Buster Olney believes that Aaron Rowand will be the most popular free agent center fielder this winter, more so than Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter. Rowand will be more affordable at $10-12MM annually over five years. Beyond his above average offense and defense, he brings an intangible bonus as a good clubhouse guy. The 30 year-old hit .309/.374/.515 in 612 ABs this year. He set career bests in games played (161) and OBP.
Olney’s list of teams that may pursue a center fielder this winter: the Cubs, White Sox, Padres, Cardinals, Braves, Rangers, Nationals, Mariners, Pirates, and Mets. Rowand plans on testing the market, so the Phillies won’t get any kind of discount if they retain him.
To me, a free agent CF doesn’t really fit for the Cards or Mariners. As for the Mets, they should probably just exercise Moises Alou’s option and have a good fourth outfielder on hand.
