MLBTR's Tim Dierkes kicked off the offseason by providing our Top 50 list of 2014 free agents (along with predictions for where each would sign). Since that time, 35 of the 50 free agents have come off the board, including each of the top four. Robinson Cano, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo and Brian McCann have all found new homes, leaving recently posted Masahiro Tanaka as the top remaining free agent from MLBTR's Top 50.
The remaining list features a mix of starting pitchers, infielders, outfielders and relievers, each of whom should still be able to add considerable value to a club. However, while most agreed that some combination of Cano, Ellsbury, Choo and McCann were the top four names on this year's market, opinions began to differ significantly after that point. In particular, there's a split as to which of Tanaka, Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez and Matt Garza is the best bet among free agent pitchers. Tanaka will almost certainly sign the largest contract, but that's largely due to his age (25) and his lack of draft pick compensation. Does that mean he's a better pitcher than the others? That's up for debate.
With all that said, let's open this up to MLBTR readership. Based purely on talent and expected contribution to a team, rank the remnants of our initial Top 50 list below.
Click here to see the results as they come in (apologies for including the wrong link initially — results should be working properly at this time).
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.
So 6.7% of people think Maholm is a top 5 free agent… and 6.8% for Hammel.
I’m not crazy about this polling system. you’re given too many details, I don’t really understand how the results are sorted and find it annoying that it requires you to both scroll up/down and also left/right.
Agreed. It should just be 1 through 15, with the players switching poll positions when the votes dictate it appropriate.
The scrolling is quite annoying.
The scrolling is so it works on both mobile and desktop versions of Internet browsers without the need for multiple entries.
Responsive design… CSS media queries…
It is a very clearly labeled chart showing which percentage of people voted each player at each ranking. The part that is confusing is the bold typeface which should display what you picked instead of the highest percent.
I ranked Matt Garza much lower because he’s injury prone and teams can’t count on getting a full season from Garza.
If were ranking on skill alone, Morales is way too low, and Jesse Crain is way to low on that list. He should be the topped ranked reliever. Also think Ubaldo should be number 2 after watching him dominate like he did in the 2nd half last year, but its definitely very debatable and I probably have some Bias as an Indians fan..
No love for AJ Burnett? Over the past 2 seasons he has clearly been better than all of these MLB pitchers. I’d take him on a 1 year deal over any of these guys on multi-year deals.
But he’s said he’s either gonna pitch with the Pirates or retire. It seems like he’s serious, that probably had something to do with him being left out.
Until he retires or signs, he’s still a FA. I think your right though that that played a big part in people dismissing him.
Mets need to go after Drew. I get that Boras is trying to get them involved just to get the Red Sox to pony up some more cash. But there really doesn’t seem to be any other teams involved. The Mets could get him at a good price, or at least take a shot. Is Drew great? No. But he’s a big upgrade offensively and defensively over what they have. Offer a 2 year deal with a 3rd year option and even if he bombs it won’t kill the team.
I’ve heard other Met fans say wait until next year when Hardy, Ramirez, Lowrie, Cabrera, and others could be on the market. The problem with that is teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles, and others could all be looking for SS help. The Mets can’t get into bidding wars with those teams. The Red Sox don’t seem like they want to go all out to get Drew. The Mets need to swoop in when they have the chance.
The Dodgers aren’t going to be pursuing Stephen Drew… Hanley, Guerrero and Gordon can all play SS (albeit below average). No need, plus costs a draft pick. The Dodgers need a utility infielder.
Wow 22 people voted Jason Hammel as the best remaining free agent
He has a large family…
Fans are biased. They remember the good without the bad. As an Orioles fan, I am trying to be realistic, he’s not the same anymore.
I put Jason Hammel as 16th
Hard to judge. Most of the remaining choices have only had 1 good season out of their last 5. Do we judge based on the most recent success? Or their potential impact to a team? On opening day all the teams are contenders and I don’t buy the rebuilding teams won’t be as deeply impacted by a free agent signing, so I for one think this poll needs better guidlines.
Morales is an option the Mariners should re-sign after losing out to Shin Soo Choo who signed w/ the Texas Rangers. Give him couple years w/ a third year option as he can provide offense for the team. He can help Cano, Felix Hernandez, and company to get back into the playoffs as a Wild Card.
i seriously don’t understand how you can rank a guy number 1 on this list if they haven’t thrown 1 major league pitch, he probably will get the biggest contract but that doesn’t mean he should,
The average ranking on Survey Monkey is wrong. The calculation should be 15 minus what they are showing for the weighted average. There is no clear cut second best FA, but Garza appears to be leading the 2nd best line.