Looking to fill a left field vacancy? Obviously this is where you'll find the mashers and the big bucks. Here's a look at the free agent market…
- OBP leaders: Manny Ramirez (.418, player option), Matt Holliday (.391), Jason Bay (.385), Gary Sheffield (.371), and Johnny Damon (.366). Last year's left field OBP leaderboard looks very similar, except Sheff played only 47 innings in the field. Bobby Abreu, mainly a right fielder, has a .398 OBP.
- SLG leaders are the same: Manny (.552), Bay (.534), Holliday (.525), Damon (.497), and Sheffield (.457). Marlon Byrd, more of a center fielder, checks in at .477.
- Carl Crawford is probably the best defensive left fielder, but no one expects the Rays to turn down his $10MM club option. Reed Johnson, Holliday, and Damon made John Dewan's top ten list heading into the season. UZR/150 likes Rick Ankiel, Randy Winn, Jerry Hairston Jr., Mark DeRosa, and Endy Chavez in limited left field duty this year.
- Players such as Abreu, Sheffield, DeRosa, Byrd, Winn, Ankiel, Hideki Matsui, Andruw Jones, Jermaine Dye, Brian Giles, Vladimir Guerrero, and Xavier Nady could be considered left field candidates despite more time spent at other positions recently.
- Bay, Abreu, Damon, Guerrero, Dye, Holliday, and Manny currently project as Type A free agents. Nady, Byrd, Matsui, Giles, Garret Anderson, Winn, Fernando Tatis, Johnson, and Sheffield project as Bs. Of course not all of these players will be offered arbitration.
- Anderson, Damon, Holliday, Manny, Ankiel, Jones, and Nady are Scott Boras clients.
- Wily Mo Pena, Holliday, Ankiel, and Austin Kearns (club option) are the youngest available left field candidates.
