On the heels of the two best seasons of his career, journeyman Eduardo Nunez ranks as one of the top infielders available in free agency. Nunez, 30, played for a pair of teams in each of those seasons, so landing a multiyear contract would presumably give him some stability going forward.
Pros/Strengths
Nunez made his major league debut with the Yankees in 2010, but it took him until 2015, when he was a member of the Twins, to truly break out at the plate. While no one would call Nunez an offensive force, the right-handed hitter did post an above-average .296/.332/.443 line with 28 home runs in 1,290 plate appearances over the previous three seasons. Nunez was at his best in 2017, slashing .313/.341/.460 with 12 homers in 491 PAs between San Francisco and Boston. And when he got on base from 2016-17, Nunez was a legitimate threat, with 64 stolen bases (40 in ’16) and a 4.9 BsR.
Although strikeouts have become more and more prevalent over the years (there were a record 40,104 Ks in 2017), Nunez hasn’t really contributed to the trend. His lifetime strikeout rate is a meager 13 percent, and he only fanned a career-best 11 percent of the time last season. The rest of the league went down on strikes in 2017 at an average of 21.6 percent, and it made contact at a 77.5 percent clip. Nunez logged a much stronger 83.8 percent contact rate and sits at 85.5 percent for his career. He clearly excels at putting the ball in play, which is especially important for someone whose game is largely predicated on speed.
On the defensive side, Nunez’s value comes from his versatility. Most of his career has been spent at shortstop (270 games) and third base (255), but he played a personal-high 26 contests at second base with the Red Sox last season. He also has 49 games’ worth of outfield experience on his resume.
Weaknesses/Cons
While flexibility in the field is an obvious asset, Nunez isn’t really a well-regarded defender. His stint at the keystone in 2017 didn’t yield great results (minus-4 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-9.1 UZR/150), nor has he been a plus fielder at any other position during his career. In fairness to Nunez, though, he was hardly unplayable from 2016-17 at his primary spot – third base – combining for minus-2 DRS and a minus-0.3 UZR over nearly 1,100 innings.
Offensively, despite Nunez’s respectable output of late, there are some concerns. He seldom walks, for one, with a career rate of 4.9 percent. He checked in at 3.7 percent this past year, ranking seventh last among hitters who amassed at least 400 at-bats. And though Nunez still managed to finish 2017 with a .348 weighted on-base average, easily bettering the .321 league mean, Statcast’s xwOBA metric suggests it was far from legitimate. Among 183 hitters with at least 400 ABs, Nunez had the greatest disparity (a 73-point gap) between his wOBA and xwOBA (.275). The latter figure ranked eighth worst in the majors. Additionally, Nunez carries a weak .133 ISO for his career and registered a .148 in that category last season, falling well below the .171 league average. Of course, Nunez’s speed somewhat helps make up for the fact that he doesn’t pack a wallop, as he posted the league’s 23rd-highest infield hit rate last season (10.5 percent; league average was 6.6 percent). For his career, Nunez has reached via the infield single at a 9.6 percent clip.
Even if Nunez sustains his production over the next couple years, history suggests his availability could come into question. Nunez spent time on the disabled list in four of the five prior seasons, including in 2017 when he missed parts of June and July with a hamstring injury and most of September with a sprained PCL in his right knee. Nunez returned for the playoffs, but he left Game 1 of Boston’s ALDS matchup against Houston after aggravating that knee, causing him to miss the remainder of the series.
Background
Nunez is a native of the Dominican Republic who signed with the Yankees as an international free agent in 2004. Since then, he has been part of three trades – going from the Yankees to the Twins in 2014, the Twins to the Giants in 2016 and the Giants to the BoSox last season. A client of ISE Baseball, Nunez has collected more than $8.75MM in his career, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Market
Nunez hasn’t been part of any rumors early this offseason, but a return to the Red Sox could make sense with starting second baseman Dustin Pedroia likely to miss the first couple months of 2018 after undergoing knee surgery. But if Nunez is looking for a season’s worth of full-time work, he might be able to find it with several teams that should be on the hunt for a second baseman and/or a third bagger, including the Giants, Mets, Braves, Angels, Brewers and Blue Jays.
Expected Contract
MLBTR predicts Nunez will land a two-year, $14MM deal, which would represent a nice raise over the $4.2MM he earned in 2017.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
He should get more than that- there isn’t a team in baseball that can’t use him, I’d guess at least a 3 year deal.
Theres plenty of teams that dont need him.
Big difference between “need” and “can use”
Go get him Braves. Would be a great stopgap while the farm catches up!
What? He will blow out 2-3 times in the next couple of years and miss 150 gms
I’ve for awhile thought he’d be a good fit for the Royals if Moose migrates somewhere else. If they resigned Dyson for CF & platooned him with Burns from the right side, signed Nunez and then throw Merrifield in the mix with all the team speed, that could be a legit weapon KC could employ in 2018 and be an advantage in an area where there are few on the surface with the Royals….
The Royals will not be spending money on any free agents besides potentially our own. We have Cheslor Cuthbert and/or Hunter Dozier to play 3B and we’re not going to give Dyson a multi/year deal.
That said, you’re not wrong that Nunez fits in with the team philosophy. Just not right now.
And you’re title within the organization?
The first guy uses “our” then this guy goes with the speaking for the team route…
*the first time the guy
So resign Dyson
and platoon him? Why?
Though more than acceptable against righties, he’s brutal against lefties and is injury prone when overused!
I’m sure you’ve researched that correct?!?
I have long thought he was a Royals type thing player. But, with 2 cheaper and equally valuable 3B’s already on the roster, his signing seems very unlikely.
Angels should be on the hunt for a second baseman— Eduardo Nunez
“Nunez will land a two-year, $14MM deal”—-Angels could afford that sum
Although there are some other good options I️ think Nunez would be great if the angels could get him. He could potentially play 3B if they are able to get another 2B.
The Angels will be all in for Moustakas. Nunez would fit nicely at second and lead off.
i hope he lands with the angels.. second base has long been a need for the team, after they lost howie, and now phillips will most likely walk. even if he doesn’t, they could play him at third with escobar leaving.
I hate all these metrics used now… I’m a Sox fan, and watch them on a regular basis… I’d love for them to being Nunez back if he’s healthy, just don’t know where they would play him.
Agreed. People sight those defensive metrics like they are something other than subjective bias filled reports posing as objective facts. Sort like the lie detector tests.
Biased?
They are subjective, there is always going to be bias. It’s human nature.
He has no position and is dreadful in the field.
Sometimes I look at these salary projections and just go, “yeah right.”
As a Giants fan who watched Nunez every game, I promise you that the defensive metrics used on him are 100% misleading. First, I must get the obvious off my back: He’s getting more than 2 years and more than triple the salary projections. Recent similar players have received more money and years than you project for Nunez. When SF signed Denard Span, who also hit over .300, but was injury ridden for 2 years, he received 3 years and over 30 million, which was a steal at the time.. Nunez hit .314 with more power than Span, with better defense (especially range and arm) , AND he played a full season in 2017, basically injury free. His defense metrics for him are clearly wrong. Nunez, at least since I’ve watched him since 2016, has a well above average arm, average accuracy, and above average range. His backup with SF, Connor Gillespie, was a total DISTASERIOUS fielder at third. Yet metrics gave Gillespie better numbers.
Just saying, that the weaknesses you list for Nunez are all misleading and even incorrect.
Again, Denard Span, who had less speed, worse defense, limited to the outfield, injury prone, less power, etc, etc, and he got more money 2+ years ago than you expect Nunez to get now.
Not a joke: I predict Nunez will get between 3-6 years and betweeb 15-25 million annual.
Did I read you correctly? a range of $45M to $150? Nunez?
3 years will be his ceiling, definitely not 6. And whatever gm gives Nunez 25 million deserves to be demoted to a little league gm. That’s ludicrous. He’ll have trouble getting 12-15 million a season
Nunez has been mentioned in almost every teams want or so it seems. And with so many teams having platoons. Also teams could start valuing the ability to put the ball in play more after watching the Astros I could conceivably see him getting a better contract then 2-14 I see something in between 2yrs 18 million and 3yrs 30 million.
I don’t really get how playing multiple positions is useful if you’re terrible at all of them.
But can she hit. Also is she a switch hitter?
Rangers will pay for him to take over at 1st base
If I’m the Mets, id be paying a lot of attention to Nuñez. They have lacked speed on this team for years (and defense, but Nuñez doesn’t add that, except versatility).
They should be all over the Marlins, trying to acquire both Dee Gordon and Christian Yelich, and then for 3rd base sign Nuñez, Frazier, or Cozart, as each would be an upgrade over Asdrubal when you talk about having a complete game…
Then sign Lance Lynn and Jake McGee, or Tyler Chatwood and and top notch closer, like Wade Davis, and if RE Dickey doesn’t retire, sign him as a swingman…. almost all of these moves are unlikely, as they’ve already basically said they’re cutting payroll. But if they aggressively pursue these guys, and commit to a 155-170 million payroll, they can do it. A line up of Dee, Amed, Conforto, Cespedes, Yelich, Frazier/Nunez/Cozart, Dom Smith, and Darnaud/Plawecki is vastly improved on both sides of the ball as well as much improved speed on the basepaths. With the pitching, degrom, Thor, Lynn/Chatwood, Matz, Harvey with Familia, Aj Ramos, Davis/McGee, Dickey, Blevins, Sewald, and whomever earns the 7th spot, makes the 2018 Mets a deep, versatile, instant contender
I agree Nunez’s stats don’t always show what you saw in a Giant uniform. I saw him make on of the best catches in baseball in San Diego, running from 3rd to behind home plate for a ball Posey lost in the sun, and catching it as he turned and landed in a fan’s lap on the net! Unbelievable. His speed is great and he runs right out of his helmet, he is so quick. He is an adequate defender and the speed comes in handy, forcing infield hits and other team’s errors in their haste to catch him. He had the best smile and is always ready and willing. SF Giants love him and so do the fans. Just hope we snag him soon!! Boston fans whined about that trade until they saw him play. Great teammate.