Kuzul

One of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ biggest weaknesses last season was their bullpen.

It was no secret, and the numbers didn’t lie. Los Angeles relievers in 2014 surrendered more earned runs than 18 other bullpens in the majors, and only four other relief corps finished the year with a higher walk rate.

While the Dodgers have revamped their roster in a myriad of ways this offseason, the bullpen could still use some shoring up considering its main additions this winter have been Joel Peralta, Juan Nicasio and Chris Hatcher. None of those names represent what most teams would consider lockdown arms out of the pen.

The previous Los Angeles front office under the guidance of former general manager Ned Colletti also took some heat for the failed former closer experiment he initiated by signing Brian Wilson and Chris Perez prior to the 2014 season.

Although both right-handers are no longer part of the team, President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and new general manager Farhan Zaidi should not completely avoid adding former closers if they are available—especially if they have a relatively consistent track record of success.

Casey Janssen

A former closer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Casey Janssen could be a solid free-agent signing for the Dodgers as a potential late-inning option in advance of closer Kenley Jansen. 

The right-hander emerged as a reliable option for the Blue Jays from 2011-2013, during which time he averaged a 2.77 ERA and 3.04 xFIP.

He continued to perform well as closer through the first half of 2014 before a bout with food poisoning derailed his season and likely caused his value on the market to plummet. During Janssen‘s first 22 innings of 2014, he turned in a pristine 1.23 ERA. Following the July sickness, he coughed up a 6.46 ERA in roughly the same number of innings.

Janssen lost exclusive closing duties as a result of the implosion and finished the season with a 3.94 ERA and 4.22 xFIP. Los Angeles may have a buy-low opportunity with the 33-year-old, as he still has not been scooped up on the open market and would not be required to close games for the Dodgers.

Rafael Soriano

A reliever who has found himself in a similar position to Janssen is free agent Rafael Soriano, formerly of the Washington Nationals.

During his two-year stint with Washington, Soriano posted a 3.15 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and saved 75 games. His consistency is illustrated by the fact that he has recorded an ERA north of 3.19 just once since 2006.

However, the 35-year-old also experienced struggles halfway through 2014. He had five blown saves following the All-Star break and seven overall, which was a career high. The younger Drew Storen eventually supplanted him as closer by the end of the season.

Soriano continued to struggle in the late-inning relief role, allowing at least one run in more than half of his September appearances.

Although free-agent relievers like Andrew Miller, David Robertson and Luke Gregerson received hefty offers in free agency this offseason, Soriano should expect a pay cut from the $14 million he made during each of the past two seasons.

The Dodgers will most likely use Soriano in the seventh or eighth inning if they bring him aboard. Giving him $10 million per year might be too much for Friedman and Zaidi considering how a similar deal with Wilson backfired last season.

Something in the range of two years and $10-12 million might make more sense. Whether or not Soriano agrees to that type of deal is a different story.

Francisco Rodriguez

While Soriano is due for a pay cut, veteran right-hander Francisco Rodriguez is expecting a raise this winter.

That’s because he looked like the K-Rod of old last season, notching 44 saves for the Milwaukee Brewers and finishing with a 3.04 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and a 9.7 K/9 ratio. It’s safe to say he has re-established himself on the market and will not accept anything less than the $3.25 million he made in 2014.

Rodriguez’s resurgence stemmed from the .216 BABIP he induced, the lowest mark since his electrifying rookie year with the Angels more than a decade ago. Over the course of his 13-year career, Rodriguez has posted an ERA above 3.16 just twice.

His 69 appearances last year highlighted noteworthy durability as well.

However, there are some red flags the Dodgers may have already noticed. His 4.50 FIP in 2014 was nearly a run-and-a-half higher than his ERA and the 14 home runs he coughed up were a career high.

Rodriguez will turn 33 later this week.

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise linked/noted.

Follow @NickOstiller

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There’s no other way to put it: The MLB offseason market for bats is looking bleak. 

While the offensive options are extremely limited, there are still some prominent pitchers up for grabs on the free-agent and trade fronts. Max Scherzer headlines the class of remaining free-agent arms, and aces like Jordan Zimmermann and Johnny Cueto have been the subject of trade buzz. 

What follows are the predictions for where the top 10 available MLB offseason targets will be playing when Opening Day 2015 rolls around. The ranking criterion is simple. The players who are expected to contribute the most to their new employers next season land the top spots on the list. 

While it’s been a quiet winter for the Washington Nationals, there’s still plenty of time for the club to make a big move or two before next season gets underway. 

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Nothing marks the dawn of a new year quite like listing good and bad things from the previous year.

Maybe everyone just thinks too much about Santa Claus’ naughty or nice lists around December because the Internet devolved into a wasteland of “best” or “worst” of 2014 lists. Much like baseball’s first- and second-half splits, the calendar’s arbitrary endpoint sends everyone into reflection mode.

By the way, this is another one of those articles. Most moves don’t fall into either extreme, as there is always risk and reward to juggle with any decision. But it’s simple math that some teams will thrive while others falter due to the choices they made. Everyone can’t win at the same time.

Now that 2015 is underway, let’s look all the way back to the past two months to identify the offseasons’s major booms and busts.

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While James Shields is a very good starter who can handle pitching at the top of a rotation, he’s not quite the prize that fellow free-agent right-hander Max Scherzer is. That’s why for all the intrigue, guesswork and speculation over where Shields might wind up, everything in that realm is much more compelling when it comes to Scherzer.

As Richard Justice of MLB.com points out: “In the last three seasons, Scherzer’s 55 victories are the most in baseball. He’s first in strikeouts, too, and 11th in innings [in that span]. By almost any definition, he’s a true No. 1 starter. The Tigers [were] 65-23 when Scherzer gets the ball and 205-192 with anyone else on the mound.”

Tack on the fact that the 30-year-old Scherzer, who took home the 2013 American League Cy Young Award, is represented by agent Scott Boras, and, well, this has all the makings of a free-agent frenzy.

And yet there hasn’t exactly been a Scherzer sweepstakes set up, as Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes:

The best player on the MLB free-agent market not only doesn’t have a team yet, he doesn’t even have a rumor.

No team has declared or even admitted serious involvement, but everyone believes star right-hander Max Scherzer…will easily surpass the six-year, $144 million deal he turned down last spring.

And most think it won’t be by only a little, either.

So what are the key factors that will determine where Scherzer ultimately signs?

The Massive Money

Scherzer’s camp has made it known that he is seeking a contract worth $200 million, if not more, according to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports.

That’s, uh, a lot of scratch. Even if the ultimate price tag is shy of that figure, Scherzer is going to get at least the $155 million that Jon Lester landed from the Chicago Cubs during the winter meetings in mid-December.

In other words, only teams with the financial fortitude need apply.

The Big-Market Teams

Speaking of those clubs possessing proper payrolls…

For this drawn-out speculation and eventual negotiation tactic to work out, Boras needs a market to develop around Scherzer in order to grab some leverage in any talks by playing interested teams against each other.

Which teams might that include?

The New York Yankees, who have been active this offseason without having gone after any top-tier, big-money players and instead playing it safe by re-signing third baseman Chase Headley, inking lefty reliever Andrew Miller and trading for shortstop Didi Gregorius.

Various reports have popped up that indicate the Yankees could jump into the Scherzer mix at some point toward the end, including one from Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. But so far, general manager Brian Cashman has held steady in his oft-repeated winter plans not to spend big, according to Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.

Maybe, however, the loss of right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, the most durable and consistent member of an intriguing but injury-prone rotation, will force the Yankees’ hand on Scherzer. (On Monday, the news broke that Kuroda would return to Japan, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.)

“The Yankees need [Scherzer],” Justice wrote. “He might be the difference between making the playoffs and missing out for a third straight year. As long as Scherzer is still on the market, the Yanks have to be considered a contender.”

The other teams that have the funds and could make sense as a fit? The Giants, Angels and Red Sox each have a need at the top of their rotations and the money to make a very bold move.

And while the Nationals, Dodgers, Cardinals and Tigers, with whom Scherzer spent the past five seasons, seem to have enough arms at the moment, they simply might get greedy and stock up on as much talent as possible in their respective quests to get to the World Series.

Then again, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said in mid-December, “I guess anything can happen, but we’re not in active pursuit of that situation at this time,” via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press.

Still, that doesn’t mean owner Mike Ilitch, who has a history of signing Boras clients and has been chasing a World Series title for the past handful of seasons now, won’t find a way to pony up to keep Scherzer around.

Timing and Desperation

If Shields signs first, Scherzer’s status on the open market would certainly be affected. 

On one hand, if Shields comes off the board before Scherzer does, then that makes Scherzer the very last prize among free agents. That’s not a bad position to be in, especially when a team or three is likely to be desperate after missing out on Shields.

Depending on how long Boras and Scherzer let this play out, desperation also could set in if a club gets bad news about one of its pitchers between now and the start of spring training in mid-February. Should anything happen to a key arm on a contending team, the circumstances would change immediately.

The Alleged Arms Race

One of the biggest storylines of this busy offseason has been how many great pitchers are available between free agency and trades.

Well, aside from Scherzer and Shields, the free-agent well has just about dried up, what with the likes of Ryan Vogelsong, Aaron Harang and Roberto Hernandez looking like the next-best arms on the open market. Remember: Japanese star Kenta Maeda isn’t going to be posted, news that broke before Kuroda’s decision. 

On the trade front, however, there are still a handful of big names that have been mentioned, including Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann and Zack Greinke, the latter two of which could be replaced by Scherzer were the Washington Nationals or Los Angeles Dodgers actually to make such a move.

It could very well be, though, that those very top arms actually won’t change teams. So far, the best pitchers to be traded are more of the No. 2- or No. 3-starter caliber like Jeff Samardzija, Mat Latos, Rick Porcello, Shelby Miller and Wade Miley.

That makes Scherzer look more attractive, especially since he costs only money as opposed to money and talent, which would be the price for, say, Hamels or Cueto.

Contenders over Pretenders

Dollars appear to be driving Scherzer’s search for a team, as is often the case when Boras is involved.

That said, Scherzer undoubtedly wants to win after reaching the playoffs the past four years, but ultimately falling short of the World Series each time. 

Therefore, an in-his-prime ace like Scherzer is not going to sign with the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies or any other team that isn’t already a contender, or at least on the very precipice of being one.

As much as money matters, winning while at the top of your game, like Scherzer is right now, also presents a powerful pull.

Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Let’s be honest: New Year’s resolutions almost never work out. Of course, that’s no reason not to make them in the first place. 

Looking around the big leagues, there are resolutions—both big and small, bold and not so bold—that all 30 MLB clubs need to be making. 

For teams like the Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers, it’s resolving whether it’s time to part with a free-agent-to-be ace. For other teams, like the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Phillies, it’s a matter of resolving to ditch an underperforming and high-priced veteran who’s nothing but dead weight. 

There are also clubs, like the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, who should be resolving to end their playoff-less streaks. Plus, there’s even a dark horse or two who should be resolving to make an unexpected October run.

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If you happen to have sneaked a peek at the position players still available in free agency lately, you probably noticed something right away—there’s not much left out there worth getting excited about. Except for Yoan Moncada, the next Cuban phenom.

Hanley Ramirez? Off the board to the Boston Red Sox. Pablo Sandoval? Ditto.

Russell Martin? Now a Toronto Blue Jay. Yasmany Tomas? Welcome to America and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Victor Martinez? Re-signed with the Detroit Tigers. Chase Headley? With the New York Yankees.

Those hitters who remain free agents include the likes of—no drum roll needed—Asdrubal Cabrera, Colby Rasmus, Stephen Drew, Everth Cabrera, Rickie Weeks, Mike Carp, Juan Francisco, Jonny Gomes, Ryan Ludwick and Emilio Bonifacio, among other even lesser players.

So with all of the big-name free-agent position players signed, sealed and delivered, the top target hitting option on the open market heading into the new year is none other than—drum roll, please—Mr. Moncada.

By now, you should be at least a little familiar with the 6’0″, 210-pound, 19-year-old switch-hitting infielder who possesses plus tools and an all-around skill set.

Moncada hit .273/.365/.406 for Cienfuegos in Cuba’s top professional league, Serie Nacional, from 2013-14, which is especially impressive for a teenager.

Moncada left Cuba—legally—in June, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported. He then gained residency in Guatemala, where he held his initial showcase workout for all Major League Baseball teams in mid-November, as Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote:

Moncada took several rounds of batting practice from both sides of the plate, performing much better from the left side, consistent with what scouts who have followed him over the years have said. He showed excellent bat speed and plus raw power, though after a long day and a lot of swings so scouts could see him from both sides of the plate, he did seem to wear down.

He showed his plus speed by running the 60-yard dash in around 6.6 seconds, and he took groundballs at shortstop, second and third base. In Cuba’s 18U national league in 2012, Moncada played shortstop, though that’s mostly because he was the best athlete on the field. At junior national tournaments, Moncada has played third and second, and he’s been primarily a second baseman for Cienfuegos during his two seasons in Serie Nacional.

Scouts said Moncada looked uncomfortable at shortstop, which they expected, but looked more natural at third and second, the positions he’s most likely to play in pro ball, although he has plenty of speed to go to the outfield if a team sees him as a fit there. He has at least a plus arm, with some scouts giving it a 70 grade.

Back in November, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports speculated that Moncada could net upward of $30 million to $40 million despite the fact that he is subject to international bonus pool allotments. Passan did note, however, that spending over the amount available for international amateurs would incur a 100 percent tax, meaning a $30 million deal would “cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 million.”

Given the leftovers on the position player front, expect the price to be pushed toward the high end of any dollar amounts floated over the coming days and weeks—even with the built-in penalty.

Thing is, while MLB has declared Moncada a free agent, he has not yet been cleared by the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a necessary step to allow him to sign with a team.

Not that this is dampening the hype surrounding Moncada and his massive potential.

“In the end,” an American League team executive said via Jorge Arangure Jr. of Vice Sports, “someone is going to spend smartly to get the services of a player that can change a franchise.”

For now? The baseball world waits. If anything, the anticipation and speculation is only working in Moncada‘s favor.

Among the teams that have been mentioned as the primary suitors for Moncada are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, according to Badler.

But pretty much every team wants in on Moncada.

The chance to sign him appears to be nearing. He has made his way into the United States and is preparing to start private workouts with MLB clubs very soon, per Sanchez.

The interest and intrigue over Moncada is growing, both with each passing day and with each free-agent hitter that comes off the board.

Considering there are so few worthwhile players left, it’s no wonder the allure and potential of Moncada has made him the top free-agent position player. Even if he’s not actually available just yet.

Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.

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Max Scherzer and James Shields still need homes for 2015 and beyond.

The two starting pitchers remain untouched on MLB‘s free-agent market, waiting to select a new employer before Opening Day. While action predictably intensified once fellow ace Jon Lester made his decision, the other premium hurlers did not budge on expediting the process.

Not only are they the best unsigned pitchers, they’re the biggest available names at any position. Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi notes that they are the only lingering players who will cost someone a first-round amateur draft pick:

Each righty is also expecting a hefty contract, demands which are delaying the process. Top-shelf starting pitchers are kind of important, so they’ll have no trouble getting paid before Opening Day. Courtesy of The Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo, here’s the latest on each ace.

Max Scherzer

Scherzer is the grand prize here, and he knows it. Morosi reported his lofty demands weeks ago:

No Scott Boras client will ever take a discount, especially a power thrower who has notched 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings over the past three seasons. The 30-year-old will get paid, but likely not as much as he and Boras want.

While sources told Cafardo that Scherzer isn’t appraised at $200 million, recent moves make the Detroit Tigers more likely to pony up a sizable sum for his services:

The more you ask baseball executives about where Scherzer will end up, the more the answers come back Detroit. The Tigers know and like Scherzer, and the feeling is they need him after trading Rick Porcello to the Red Sox, and obtaining Alfredo Simon from the Reds and Shane Greene from the Yankees. The Tigers’ rotation is missing a significant pitcher (you can’t call Justin Verlander that anymore, and David Price may not re-sign). The executives we talked to think Scherzer’s deal will be north of Lester’s six years at $155 million, but well short of $200 million (unless option years are counted).

Losing Scherzer would turn Detroit’s major strength into a concern. After David Price, the rotation turns to Anibal Sanchez coming off an injury-laden year and a rapidly declining Verlander. Greene and Simon can hold down the final spots, but that staff isn’t ranking third in fielding independent pitching (FIP) like last year’s unit. 

After winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2013, Scherzer barely declined in 2014, seeing his FIP drop slightly from 2.74 to 2.85. Detroit’s window to win a title with Price, Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez won’t stay open forever. 

This is usually when the New York Yankees decide they’re done with frugality and swoop in for the steal. Don’t count on it. Team President Randy Levine dispelled that notion to ESPN.com’s Wallace Matthews:

The chances of us bringing in a guy for six [years] and $25 million or over in my opinion is virtually none. At the end of the day you have to be realistic in any organization.

Never say never with the Evil Empire, but they appear true to their word so far, ditching their usual histrionics for low-key yet efficient maneuvers. If that’s the case, the Tigers won’t have formidable competition for Scherzer, and they have never shied away from shelling out huge deals before.

Prediction: Scherzer signs seven-year, $175 million extension with Tigers 

James Shields

Even though nobody is putting out an eager front for Shields, somebody is expected to make him a rich man. Cafardo gave an estimate on his anticipated earnings:

The final Shields numbers are expected to be close to the five years and $110 million remaining (if the option is picked up) on the Cole Hamels deal, according to one major league source who was privy to Shields’s demands. The Giants and Red Sox are in the picture, and the Yankees may be another suitor.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, however, relayed a different tune from San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean regarding his club’s interest.

“Sabean said he continues to search for ways to deepen the lineup and get more offense after Friday’s trade for third baseman Casey McGehee,” Schulman wrote, “but reiterated that the Giants are not likely to get another big-ticket addition, such as pitcher James Shields.”

Boston GM Ben Cherington also sounds unenamored with Shields, per ESPNBoston.com’s Gordon Edes.

“We like the direction the team is headed in,” he said. “I think it’s more likely if we add anywhere, it’s the bullpen, between now and spring training.” 

Shields will be expensive, but perhaps not enough for the Yankees to bow out on him as well. With Hiroki Kuroda returning to Japan, per an ESPN.com report, they have nobody else on the roster who logged more than 20 starts for them last season.

The baseline doesn’t fit New York’s definition of breaking the bank, and Shields is as durable as they come. He’s thrown over 200 innings in each of the past eight seasons, hurling more frames than anyone since 2011.

That workload, along with declining strikeout rates, will scare squads from giving the 33-year-old a long-term commitment. At the very least, the bitter AL East rivals will drive up the price for the other. Since Boston has more pieces to acquire a younger ace on the trade market, look for the Yankees to ultimately pay up.

Prediction: Shields signs with Yankees for five years, $95 million

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Per usual, this MLB offseason is filled with interesting moves. Unlike seasons past, however, the amount of activity since the end of the World Series leaves much to dissect when analyzing the surprises and disappointments.

To be clear, we will stay away from individual contracts or trades. Instead, we will focus on things at the franchise level.

Which general managers, for example, have been surprisingly active even though their clubs finished well out of the playoffs? Conversely, which executives have been disappointingly quiet this offseason after reaching the MLB postseason in 2014?

Sure, every club could be included in one of those two sets. Frankly, some teams make sense in both. As a result, we will avoid honorable mentions and keep things pointed.

Here are two disappointments and three surprises two months into the frenzy of activity this offseason.

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Although the winter meetings allowed numerous MLB teams to cross some names off their holiday shopping lists, plenty of big gifts still await.  Even with superstars like Jon Lester and Pablo Sandoval signing with new teams, the league has yet to see a resulting domino effect, and other top-tier players have yet to find new (or old) teams.

Many free agents are still up in the air.  Plenty of season-changing talent, especially among starting pitchers, still exists for title-hungry teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and others to sweep up.  

Even though the pace of signings has slowed to a crawl, that does not mean the rumor mill is not constantly spinning.  Using information derived from The Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo in his invaluable “Sunday Notebook” series, let’s look at recent updates on some of the biggest available names and speculate where their ultimate destinations may be.

Giants and Sox in on Shields?

With Lester off the market, James Shields has established himself as one of the biggest names available, as the small-market Kansas City Royals are unlikely to retain the ace who spurred their surprising World Series run.  Cafardo suggests that a few big-market teams are still interested in Shields:

The final Shields numbers are expected to be close to the five years and $110 million remaining (if the option is picked up) on the Cole Hamels deal, according to one major league source who was privy to Shields’s demands. The Giants and Red Sox are in the picture, and the Yankees may be another suitor.

That would be well below the six-year, $155 million pact Lester inked with the Chicago Cubs, but one also commensurate with Shields’ level of performance.  Though Shields has eclipsed the 200-innings mark in a remarkable eight consecutive seasons, he has never checked in as more than a 4.5 WAR player, and his 2015 Steamer projection, via FanGraphs, projects him as a 3.0 WAR player.

Those numbers still make Shields a very valuable player, equivalent to Brandon McCarthy and Nathan Eovaldi last season.  But it spells more of a No. 3 starter rather than the ace that his contract demands would imply, and as Shields approaches his age-33 season, it is a given that the contract will sour in the end.

Of course, signing a big free-agent pitcher is about the present, not the albatross the contract will eventually become.  In that instance, the Giants look like a slightly better fit for Shields than the Red Sox, who already have innings-eaters but no top-of-the-rotation anchor.  San Francisco already has Madison Bumgarner, and when adding Shields to a rotation that includes Matt Cain, Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson, the Giants would trot out an extremely durable and consistent group that will almost surely produce above-average numbers.

Scherzer Staying Put?

Whereas Shields is in demand on the open market, the picture is murkier on Scherzer.  His $200 million asking price has thinned out the market and created a holding pattern.  Given that Scherzer is a Scott Boras client, it’s not difficult to envision this process dragging out.

However, unlike with Lester or Shields, no team has established clear interest in the Detroit Tigers ace.  ESPN’s Jim Bowden (subscription required) recently pegged the Tigers as 2-to-1 favorites to retain Scherzer, and Cafardo’s sources have echoed that sentiment:

The more you ask baseball executives about where Scherzer will end up, the more the answers come back Detroit. The Tigers know and like Scherzer, and the feeling is they need him after trading Rick Porcello to the Red Sox, and obtaining Alfredo Simon from the Reds and Shane Greene from the Yankees. The Tigers’ rotation is missing a significant pitcher (you can’t call Justin Verlander that anymore, and David Price may not re-sign). 

The Tigers have been unafraid to shell out huge long-term dollars to keep their own stars, as evidenced by the Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander deals.  Moreover, Detroit’s once-formidable rotation has collapsed amid Verlander’s decline, the trades of Doug Fister and Rick Porcello and Anibal Sanchez’s injury history.  Scherzer produced over 2.0 more WAR and pitched nearly 15 innings more than the second-best Tigers starter last year, effectively carrying a staggering Detroit pitching staff down the stretch.

Quite simply, the Tigers probably need Scherzer more than any other deep-pocketed contender, even the Yankees.  Until someone really gets serious about Scherzer, he’s Detroit’s free agent to lose.

Buzz on Asdrubal

Given the scarcity of well-rounded middle infielders, Asdrubal Cabrera would ostensibly be a very valuable commodity on the open market.  However, Cafardo reports that Cabrera has needed to market himself to teams, and the 29-year-old may end up taking a one-year deal:

There’s a lot of dialogue with teams, according to agent Alan Nero, but nothing has come together yet. Cabrera is willing to move to second base, which would be beneficial to him. There’s been speculation concerning the Yankees with Prado gone. Cabrera could take a one-year deal somewhere and reestablish himself.

It’s a puzzling development given that both Sports Illustrated and CBS ranked Cabrera among their 15 best free agents at the start of the offseason.  He’s unlikely to come close to ever repeating his 2011 power breakout, when he swatted 25 home runs and produced a career-high 3.6 WAR and 16.3 added runs on offense.  And Cabrera has also always had a negative glove, which will likely necessitate a move from of shortstop as he ages.

But he already possesses the versatility to handle second, as he demonstrated during his stint with the Washington Nationals last season, and his regular-season numbers make him an above-average bat.  The average slash line of major league shortstops last year was .251/.306/.363, almost exactly in line with Cabrera’s .251/.316/.397 career average.

Considering that playoff contenders were trotting out the likes of Jean Segura and Elvis Andrus last year, Cabrera seems like a nice replacement for most teams.  The Yankees or Phillies, both of whom lost franchise icons at shortstop this offseason, could represent future suitors for the ex-Cleveland Indian.

*All stats via Fangraphs.  

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