There is no shortage of star power in this year’s MLB free-agent class.
David Price, Zack Greinke, Jordan Zimmermann and Johnny Cueto front an impressive class of starting pitchers, while Yoenis Cespedes, Jason Heyward, Chris Davis, Justin Upton, Ian Desmond and Alex Gordon make up the cream of the position player crop.
However, the more intriguing side of free agency is often the under-the-radar bargain signings. Those signings don’t dominate the headlines, but they can wind up being what pushes a team over the top.
A.J. Pierzynski, Mark Reynolds, Kelly Johnson, Nori Aoki, Jeff Francoeur, Chris Young, Mark Lowe and Joe Blanton were among the notable unexpected contributors who signed for peanuts last offseason, and teams will look for similar deals in this year’s free-agent class.
With that in mind, what follows is a look at the one guy from each position who could wind up being the best value this offseason, as well as a look back at the top bargain from a year ago.