As we all know, past performance — especially, long-past performance — is no guarantee of more in the future. Teams are looking at more than Baseball-Reference career totals. That said, track record does generally reflect a high degree of skill. And there’s always value in a respected veteran.
Much of the offseason’s work is obviously complete at this point, but the leftover slate of free agents is somewhat more interesting than usual. Whatever one might think about their outlook for the future, there’s no denying the past accomplishments — and sheer name value — of quite a few players that are still available on the open market …
Seriously, the mass of talent would’ve made for an unbelievable roster just a few years back. Just for kicks, and to highlight the point, here’s a 26-man roster of remaining free agents, based upon career accomplishments and star power:
Starting Lineup
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF: He hasn’t even been on the field in some time, but let’s not forget that Ells once turned in a 9.5 fWAR season.
- Melky Cabrera, LF: In his prime, the Melk Man was one of the game’s best pure average hitters. Heck, he still hit (a rather shallow) .280 in 2019.
- Hanley Ramirez, DH: We’ll keep guys in their current positions, so no cheating by plugging HanRam in at short. Dude could rake in his prime.
- Mark Reynolds, 1B: We’re going old school with a big ol’ first bagger slugger in the cleanup spot. The twist? It’s a 3-man platoon.
- Yasiel Puig, RF: The best present-day talent from this group, the enigmatic outfielder is still waiting for an appealing opportunity to open.
- Scooter Gennett, 2B: Though he has had more middling seasons than really good ones, Gennett had a heckuva two-year stretch with the Reds.
- Jung Ho Kang, 3B: Another player that had a pretty strong ceiling but couldn’t sustain it. There’s no word yet on Kang’s future plans.
- Russell Martin, C: Still a useful part-time catcher in recent years, Martin was long a somewhat underrated workhorse. Perhaps he could still add to a 55 fWAR career.
- Tim Beckham, SS: He’s not going to lead this lineup, but the former top overall pick has been good enough for long stretches to serve as a plausible semi-regular shortstop for a contender.
Bench
C – Jesus Sucre
1B/OF (!) – Lucas Duda, Mark Trumbo
INF – Devon Travis, Addison Russell
Rotation
- Matt Harvey: It remains hard to believe how far Harvey has fallen.
- Clay Buchholz: If only we could presume health.
- Andrew Cashner: Never reached his ceiling but has had some strong campaigns out of the rotation.
- Marco Estrada: For a stretch, Estrada was a quietly sturdy and useful mid-rotation pitcher.
- Jason Vargas: The soft-tossing southpaw is the ultimate #5 starter. He has only once topped 3 fWAR in a season … yet has accumulated more fWAR in his career than any of the guys listed above.
Bullpen
- Danny Salazar: I’ve got my eyes on an alternative universe where Salazar stays healthy and dominates for a decade as a Josh Hader-type high-leverage flex reliever.
- Aaron Sanchez: Ditto!
- Luke Gregerson: Long one of the most reliable late-inning arms in baseball.
- Pat Neshek: And another.
- Fernando Rodney: Are we getting a whole lot of misadventures or the absurd dominance of 2012? Couldn’t tell ya; finding out is all part of the Experience.
- Zach Duke: The re-made reliever version of Duke was a beast in 2014.
- Jonny Venters: Ah, what could have been. The Braves rode Venters hard in 2010-11, when he mowed down hitters with both strikeouts and groundballs.
Manager
Ben Zobrist (reportedly set to retire)
Holy Mother of Goddess and Gravy Cheetos, is that Hanley Ramirez?!!!!!
Best comment of the entire thread below. lmao
Seattle should be all over these starting pitchers better then what they have now
Untrue but nice try.
Do you watch the mariners much, if not then ya nice try
Only 2 on that list should be Danny Salazar and Clay Bucholtz.
Salazar to thw pen would be nice.
Bucholtz could be a decent reclamation project if he can stay healthy. Both could net Seattle a prospect if they’re healthy and productive.
Think Salazar was topping out at 85 last time on the mound. He’s done
Didn’t he have a groin injury at the time though? Not crazy to think he could at least get over 90 again.
Salazar has no velo anymore. Also he’s lazy
Critiques of players’ performance and skills are one thing. When someone attacks their personality and character with no justification, that’s BS.
I hear players have the ability to heal.
Being lazy is not a personality or character flaw, just a decision, which is always followed by an observation.
@lysander (and mathblaster) – If you’re calling someone lazy, you’re attacking their character. Unless you have significant observations to support this claim, there’s no justification to make such a claim.
someone like Vargas is perfect for about 25 teams out there . a solid run preventer and inning eater .
I’ll take a hard pass on that one.
For a stretch before he was traded to the Phillies, he was the Mets’ best performing starter not named deGrom. Before that stretch he was pretty awful and fighting with reporters is not helpful. I had to hold my son back from getting in the face of a clerk at the DMV yesterday and he’s an average sized 18-year-old. I could only imagine trying to hold Vargas back.
Jeff Todd’s right. In 2015, this roster would’ve been pretty special. Now, they’re the 1962 Mets.
I’ll pass to not have to look at him chomping a wad of gum with his mouth wide open coupled with that disgusting greasy hair
I really hope this is sarcasm…
Yeah 25 is a major stretch. But I could see Vargas being useful depth or a #5 to about 5-10 teams.
Look on the bright side. 26-man roster and there’s always the Orioles.
First comment
you had one job
Did Dan Quayle spell tomatoes for you?
If you thinks its cheating to put HRam at SS, then it’s just as much cheating to put Ellsbury in CF and batting leadoff.
Ellsbury last played CF before being released. Hanley as been a full-time DH for years. That’s the difference.
Speaking of cheating…this article mentions Melky Cabrera in his prime…
why in the world hasnt baltimore/Detroit/ Seattle called Harvey or Buchholz or half the other guys yet? They are all a clear upgrade.
Cost
Exactly. Harvey got 10 million to suck for the Angels last year so he’s probably not ready to have to settle for a minor league deal and have to earn his spot.
Sitting on his couch doesn’t pay anything at all.
But $10mm makes it a lot easier
Why would Seattle want them? Harvey is garbage. They have Walker and Graveman off of injury do don’t need another in Buckholz
Watch mariner games then the beat pitcher they hd was tommy malone last year, people can say what they want but no one knows what walker and graveman are gonna do ya today was a spring training game but marco didnt make it out of the first and he had the same troubles last year
I dearly want my Tigers to sign Russell Martin so they can maximize those young pitchers with him and Romine calling games. Also why isn’t Billy Hamilton on this list? I want him for a Tiger too. A lot!
Billy is with the Giants.
Love the new dark mode for iPhone app
What happened to Hanley Ramirez
He got old and declined.
All great players decline. Hall of Famers decline slowly. The rest basically fall off a cliff. Hanley Ramirez was a great player and COULD have been a HOFer. Instead he fell off the cliff.
By fell of a cliff you mean stopped his “vitamin regiment.”
Give them all league minimum, create a team of misfits, then send them to Miami…. might actually produce results down there. We can even give them a ridiculous name, like the Marlins…
Can’t wait for the Marlins to stick it to the Braves this year. How many World Series championships for each again?
No team managed by Mattingly is going to stick anything to anyone, especially not the Marlins.
Didn’t want to spend the extra $20 on four hands Chief? Good luck this season but don’t underestimate a good young pitching staff in Miami.
Dude, I’m not made of money.
Good stuff brother.
Since 1993 when the Marlins were created, the marlins have two WS vs the braves 1. However, since 1993, the marlins have only had 6 winning season. 6!!!! Lol. To compare, the braves have had only 6 losing season. The marlins in their entire franchise history has only had 6 winning seasons. I’ll gladly take my 1 World Series ring with years of winning vs just 1 extra WS and years of brutal season. A lot of those losing season for the marlins were sub .400… which is really bad. Braves don’t have a single season like that in the same timeline.
Well known, but most also well past their prime. The one exception is Puig. His antics aside, there has to be another reason he is unsigned. Is he just asking too much, too many years? He is young enough at 29 someone should want him to play for them. He also does not have a QO attached to him.
It’s his attitude. Not worth it for the production and that’s pretty shocking. I’m guessing he believes he’s worth more than anyone’s willing to pay and once the season starts his price will come WAY down. A little humility never hurt anyone and once he finds it he’ll be signed.
Some of these guys never had a prime.
Good veterans arent gonna put up with it, and teams dont want him influencing young players
Collin McHugh?
Was wondering that myself
I considered but ultimately cut McHugh, Sam Dyson, and Addison Reed.
Dyson is a legitimate health question mark and we haven’t really seen much out of Reed in years but Mchugh should’ve made the list.
Johnny Venters is cooked. And Mchugh’s resume the last few years knocks Gregerson’s out of the ballpark.
Unless Mchugh is also suffering from a serious injury. He was shut down at the end of last year.
Hanley? More like HAM-ley amiright?
Pitchers, catchers, outfielders and all at bargain basement prices. You’d think the Pirates or O’s would be all over a lot of these guys.
Addison Russell is being blackballed due to his domestic violence situation.
Uh, yeah?
blackballed or simply avoided? its not worth anyone’s time to collude against a bad player who’s also a bad person
Yolmer Sanchez is better than Addison Russell, and he only got a minor league deal.
Persona non grata
Not true, but good if it were true.
i swear dipoto is trying to put togethor thee worst team ever. People can say rebuild all they want and trying to restock the farm but geez at least give the fans some kind of teason to come to games. That starting staff is gonna get pounded.
What’s the point of a competitive team for the Mariners? When the rest of their division is a lot better
Yeah, why bother developing your younger talent at the MLB level when you could just lose instead with decaying, overpriced veterans?
Shocking concept to some of you people but many baseball fans are interested in seeing a watchable, competent team on the field so they can go to these events called “games”, during which all the data points some of you love to jerk off to are produced right there on the field.
I’d rather lose 100 games than win 72. Not sure why you think the staff is so bad to be honest. I’m more worried about scoring runs busy mostly care about players developing.
Why the staff is so bad? Really. How many mariner games do you watch? I live here in washington and if i wanna watch baseball everyday then i have to watch the mariners. Yes the staff is improved but inly because felix is no longer on the team.
And exactly who are you watching, none of the current players will be on the team if and when seattle ever does get back to trying to be a wild card
They surrendered 893 runs, 798 of them earned, that is really bad and on the other hand, they scored 758, which isn’t great, but pretty good.
Is “teason” season or treason?
Does anyone else think Harvey’s decline is because he went against doctor’s orders and pitched deep into the post season in 2015?
Honestly , I think it was mostly mental, the guy really lost it after Adriana Lima left him for Julian Edelman.
“Free Agent Market Still Stocked With Yesterday’s News.”
It’s a bit crazy to me that Puig isn’t signed.
Is it, though? He’s a serious butthead, and all of MLB knows that.
He seemed pretty well liked in Cincinnati last year.
He really wasn’t very good last year. Is it that surprising that teams aren’t going crazy for someone that was 1.2 win player? I’d be curious to see if he’s willing to accept a minor league deal or if he’s holding out for a ML one.
@Scottn59c only racist sportswriters and homer fans hate Puig. He’s been a stellar teammate and person for years.
Stop it! He was loved and hated in L.A. and hit had nothing to due with race.
Or because he has the lowest baseball IQ in baseball you moron
SF: I don’t think anyone is saying they are one in the same, but if they are, that has nothing to do with race, rather it’s talent / performance / injury history.
You are inordinately obsessed with race, as if there is some internal guilt manifesting itself in projection at anyone who brings up a non-white player. Nonetheless, they are making a legitimate comparison and nobody feels guilty when you accuse them otherwise, especially when you do it to an African-American, who has experienced more discrimination than anyone else in America. So stop talking about that which you have not experienced.
Reference: Experience
I’m really surprised guys like Puig, Gennett, Gregerson, Salazar and Sanchez haven’t caught on with a club yet. My guess is they’re being stubborn and won’t take a minor league invite to camp.
I really feel like the O’s could add most of these guys, hope for bounce back years and potential Italy move them at the deadline for pieces.
Gregerson threw 20 innings in 2 seasons,
and both seasons the results looked questionable
Gregerson’s stay in St. Louis was horrifying. Rarely was able to pitch and when he did he was lit up. Finally was released during the regular season.
Someone should be signing scooter that dude was fun to watch as a red
He sure biffed it as a Giant, though. He’d need to rebuild value in someone’s minor league system.
Indeed
Or, just go back in the juice machine that had him jacking HRs.
I am surprised that Vargas hasn’t been signed by anyone yet. He may throw slow, but he is reliable and a bulldog. I wonder if he is waiting for a MLB contract to pop up from a contender once someone gets hurt or underperforms in Spring Training. My first thought though is the Angels, like right now.
Surprise Puig is still out there
Puig is still out there because Puig is still out there…..
Why is Melky now having such a hard time staying in the big leagues?? Always had a good bat.
He’s old now. And the stigma of a former PED bustee looms large.
35 isn’t insanely old for a player of his type. A PED suspension 8 years ago shouldn’t even be a problem anymore. Most importantly, he’s still managed to put up a league average stat line despite late starts and inconsistent playing time for the past two seasons.
League average or below hitting outfielder (he was not league average last year) who plays bad defense….not really a hot commodity.
Simple, why pay a 35 year old OFer when you can go with youth for much cheaper.
Because he’s been at or below replacement level since ’16 and his bat isn’t good enough for a DH.
Hope White Sox sign Zobrist as a solid utility and terrific clubhouse presence.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the updated version of 1962 New York Mets!
The ’62 Mets didn’t have anyone as good as Puig. Otherwise, it’s not a bad comparison.
The Tigers should release and trade everyone and have this be their team.
I think the Yankees should really consider Martin for back up catcher and Harvey in the rotation.
Harvey at Yankee Stadium? Lol
The dark Knight will turn home games into the dark night every time he gets clobbered at Yankee stadium.
lol
No to this. But, I think a cheap signing of someone like Cashner for a team looking for pitching, or Gennett for a team that needs a veteran presence isn’t necessarily a terrible option while developing their young talent.
Puig wants a multi year contract and teams will give him a one year contract
Can’t wait for the Marlins to stick it to the Braves this year. How many World Series championships for each again?
Well known but not good w/ the exception of 1 or 2….most should retire
“ Well Known?” Yes. Worn out and done? Absolutely. Wouldn’t sign any of these.
Jeff Todd knows it’s 2020, right?
You read the article, right?
May as well add Shea Hillenbrand and Josh Beckett to the list.
Red Sox are cheaters.
Scooter and Puig can still play at a major league level
I’ll take Denard Span over Ellsbury. Played more recently too.
I agree, where is Denard???
Retirement
Good idea to make this a real team. They could play a third of their games in Ottumwa, Iowa, a third in Crabapple Cove, Maine, and a third in Mill Valley California.
You could call them the “Traveling Horse Hockeys’…..
There would be a dozen more if cubs didn’t already pick through em all
Jays should go after at least 2/3 of the following guys: Ellsbury, Martin and Salazar. Seems there would he mutual interest based on opportunity for playing time alone…
Puig deserves 2/30 at minimum and hopefully a contender will jump at the opportunity to sign a quality high ceiling everyday player.
lol
SF: You’re absolutely in love with Puig, like to the point of a stalker. No one likes him, but they would probably take a shot in him if he’d do one year contract. He’s a very valuable lesson for all the young players about the value of being a good teammate.
It’s scary how obsessed this guy is.
Puig, A Russell and Gennett I don’t know why they aren’t on teams. I guess A Russell cause of the whole beating is x thing.
Probably not accepting minor league deals or low $ offers…
How did Rodney look in 2019?
I like this guy. His numbers looked ok, but not at 4-5 million.
Manager should be Lou Brown
Lol if baltimore signed say puig, gennett, and then signed 2 of 3 starters harvey, buckholz or vargas and 2 of 3 relievers of neshek, gregerson or sanchez they might be good enough to make a push for 3rd place in the al east. Who knows if ny get injuries or tampa falters they might get lucky for 2nd place… shouldnt cost much at this point
That would be extremely pointless. They have a plan and are thankfully sticking to it.
There are very few players on this list worth more than an invite to spring training.
that team would win more game than the tigers
Lucas Duda
I don’t think half these guys could make it through a celebrity softball game without an injury.
If I’m an owner of an independent league team I’m making phone calls right now lol
Think I like this roster better than what the Pirates are rolling out in 2020.
This free agent list > My Tigers
I always thought Aaron Sanchez was going to be a stud. I just wonder what happened to him
same for Mark Trumbo
Injuries and Scott Boras.
the NL full time DH is needed
N it isn’t. The “full time DHs” need to learn how to play defense or go play softball.
Hiflew enjoys watching pitcher’s look like 4 years trying to hit 100mph pitches,, it excites him
MadBum, Syndergaard, Scherzer and some other guys are fun to watch, especially when they hit dingers!
Most pitchers are trash offensively, though. Also, NL DH will mean that pitchers will not get hurt on the base paths, so that’s a plus.
I would give Aaron Sanchez and Matt Harvey extended looks as starters for teams looking for a guy to eat up some innings. Both players have had flashes of brilliance in their careers.
j would do a minor league deals for Aaron Sanchez, Travis, Venters, and Gennett
Does anyone think the Red Sox will add another pitcher(SP or RP) before opening day? Or are they stuck with what they have til trade deadline?
I’d take Gennett and Puig on my bench any day of the week!
Half these guys will be employed by Memorial Day, especially Puig and Scooter. GMs know they are holding all the cards when it comes to this lot.
JMHO, but with the detritus the Giants played in their OF last year, save for Yaz, they should sign Puig. You know he’ll be sky high at least 19 times a year when the Giants play the Dodgers.
The Phillies could use Puig, as well. Only Harper is a sure thing. Cutch coming off his second ACL tear isn’t 100% as yet. CF is a crapshoot with Haseley and Quinn.
Can’t count on Haseley being an everyday guy with only a cameo of experience at AAA. Quinn? They could write a dozen episodes of Grey’s Anatomy just featuring his injuries.
Puig would be so high playing the Dodgers he may actually try to bang his bat in the on deck circle in stead of his usual make out scene.
I’m still trying to figure out how Gennett once hit FOUR home runs in one game.
I am glad that we all took the time to remember some guys.
Kershaw will write a letter of recommendation for Puig.
We Were Great Five Years Ago Club
Yankees need some arms