Enough about actual baseball. Sure, either the New York Mets or Kansas City Royals will end three decades of futility sometime in the next week. And great, the World Series will feature a cabal of young stars with bright personalities. And, OK, Jacob deGrom does have super dope hair.
But you know what else is super dope? Free agency. For 28 of the 30 MLB teams, that's all they have going for themselves at the moment. Just rapidly dropping temperatures, slightly ornery owners and the potential of grabbing superstar players on the market.
David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jason Heyward and Justin Upton lead a surprisingly start-studded class. The likes of MLB home run king Chris Davis, Mets hero Yoenis Cespedes and Royals all-around star Alex Gordon would lead most classes, but they're toward the bottom of most top-10 lists this year. With Zack Greinke and Ben Zobrist also hitting the open market, it's going to be a record-setting winter for contracts.
However, all those stars leave a number of players dipping into the market under the radar. Here's a quick look at a few who stand out as potential values and rumors on their potential destinations.
C Matt Wieters
The last two years have been a nightmare for Wieters. He's played in just 101 games due to injury, combined for 13 home runs and saw his defense fall off a cliff. After being consistently among baseball's most productive defensive catchers in the first half-decade of his MLB career, Wieters was barely above average in 2014 and 2015.
That makes Wieters a prime under-the-radar pickup. In most cases, we give pitchers one full season, and sometimes two, before expecting them to fully recover from Tommy John surgery. It's strange that Wieters hasn't been afforded the same leeway. Playing catcher takes a toll on a player's shoulder, and the constant wear and tear is a detriment to his ability to regain power.
"I think that's probably a test every free agent goes through," Wieters said, per Roch Kubatko of MASN. "They run you through a battery of tests. But I'm confident once I get home and get back to a normal offseason that I'm going to feel great for next year. I'm actually looking forward to a normal offseason and not having to do rehab after rehab for the whole offseason."
Folks may forget just how good Wieters was before the injury. He has been at least a two-win player in each of his four seasons with at least 100 games, peaking during a 4.4-win 2011 campaign, per FanGraphs. He was also well on his way to his best offensive season before going down in 2014, posting a .308/.339/.500 slash line with five home runs and 18 RBI in 26 games.
That is precisely the reason the Texas Rangers are interested in Wieters if he does not receive a qualifying offer, per CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. With a year to fully prepare, Wieters could very easily be a bargain on a short-term deal as he prepares to turn 30 in May.
SP Jordan Zimmermann
Zimmermann is no stranger to anyone who pays attention. He's been consistently rock-solid since his 2011 return from Tommy John surgery, posting quality numbers and avoiding the disabled list like a charm. He's made no fewer than 26 starts in the last five seasons and at least 32 in four of those campaigns.
"That's the word that comes to my mind, is consistency," former Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters. "Durable. Reliable. For a starting pitcher that's important and he's provided this organization that for a long time. It's always tough having Tommy John. He's responded from that. He's worked to become the pitcher he has become. I admire him for that and respect him for the way he goes about it every fifth day."
Durability and dependability aren't sexy traits. Zimmermann's never going to sell a ton of jerseys or be a foundational ace. He works best as a second or elite third starter, where the expectations are relatively low but the production is still high.
This is what makes him a secondary option behind the likes of David Price, Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto on the open market. It's likely he'll hang on the market a bit longer than the others, waiting until the dust settles before scoring his long-term deal.
Zimmermann nonetheless has a chance to be nearly as valuable over the length of his contract as any of that trio. This season was his worst since his Tommy John surgery, and he still posted a 13-10 record with a 3.66 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Only 10 other pitchers have a higher wins above replacement over the last five seasons, all of whom are considered among the true greats.
Zimmermann, for whatever reason, is viewed as a step down. If his contract reflects that, he'll be a real value. With the Dodgers having reported interest dating back to midseason, these two might be a solid pairing if Greinke heads elsewhere.
OF Austin Jackson
Traded twice in as many seasons, Jackson is not hitting free agency at the ideal time. He hit .236/.304/.375 with one home run and 10 RBI in 29 games after being traded to the Cubs at the waiver deadline. It mirrored his 2014 campaign, where Jackson's production fell off a cliff after a midseason swap to Seattle.
After posting 14.8 wins above replacement in his first four MLB seasons, Jackson has 3.2 in his last two. He was caught stealing a career-high 11 times in 2015, didn't get a single hit in eight postseason at-bats and was so shaky down the stretch it wasn't even certain whether he'd make the October roster.
Throw all that out the window for a second. Jackson is a 289-year-old outfielder with solid speed and power who has been a good-to-above-average defensive player since his MLB arrival. In 107 games with Seattle before the trade, Jackson was hitting .272/.312/.387 with eight home runs, 38 RBI and 15 steals. Those are right in line with the Jackson of Detroit, who was a player any franchise could have used.
While he finished dreadfully in Chicago, Jackson still posted a 2.3 WAR in 2015. He's truthfully had only one bad MLB season. Rob Rogacki of Bless You Boys even suggested a return to Detroit might be what Jackson and the Tigers both need: "While his recent numbers are concerning, Jackson has a strong track record in the Tigers organization and won't have a draft pick tied to his name. If Detroit is interested in a reunion, he could fill a versatile role in their outfield in 2016."
The key here will be cost, and Jackson hasn't done nearly enough in recent seasons to command a big contract. It'll all be a team banking on him returning to his Detroit form—and not getting traded somewhere along the way.
Advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments