Top 5 Remaining Free Agents and Guesses On Where They Will Land
The free agent market is still flush with plenty of big bats and names that are recognizable. As the offseason pushes forward and team executives return to their office with bellies full of eggnog and cookies, the market will continue to develop and distinguish itself. Until then, here are the top remaining free agents and where they are most likely to land.
1. Mark Trumbo - Boston Red Sox: Trumbo is most likely to land with an AL team given his defensive struggles at both first base and in the outfield. While a team like the Colorado Rockies would be a perfect landing spot, ultimately it seems like Boston is still in the market for a big bat to fill it's DH role although Dave Dombrowski won't come out and exactly say that. Boston is in a win-now mode and if they want the best chance to win, then they need a big bat like Trumbo's to fill that spot. As it slated right now, Hanley Ramirez would be the full time DH with Mitch Moreland platooning between 1st base and DH. Boston could always sign Trumbo, hope that Sandoval or Ramirez have a strong first half and then trade them at the deadline if needed, but regardless they would have plenty of different depth options if they were to take on Trumbo.
2. Jose Bautista - Tampa Bay Rays: Since Joey Bats is going to likely sign a one-year deal to regain value and prove to other clubs that he can remain healthy over the span of an entire season, Tampa Bay would be a terrific landing spot for the 36-year old. The possibility of this has been mentioned by other sources and is often considered a longshot, but some including myself could see it happening. Not only does Bautista reside in Tampa Bay during the offseason, the Rays also have a first round protected draft pick meaning that they wouldn't have to sacrifice anything to sign him. Bautista could easily fit in nicely out in right field with Corey Dickerson over in left field, Kevin Kiermaier aka The Outlaw in center, and Steven Souza Jr. serving as a platoon rightfielder. In addition, Bautista could give the Rays a legitimate everyday DH option instead of having to rely on Corey Dickerson or Brad Miller entirely for that role.
3. Matt Wieters - Washington Nationals: Wieters has been connected to a number of different clubs over the past few weeks including the Orioles who are no longer interested after signing Welington Castillo and the Atlanta Braves. Although the Braves are a strong possibility to sign Wieters, the Washington Nationals look like the best landing spot for him. As it stands right now, Washington currently has Derrick Norris as their primary backstop, but could end up flipping him if they were to sign Wieters or holding onto him entirely and making him a backup catcher. Add to that, Jose Lobaton along with Pedro Severino and the Nationals have quite a few depth options within the catching department. While it is more likely that Norris would get traded if the team signed Wieters, you could also make an argument that if the Nationals kept all four catchers they would have the best catching staff in the National League. In addition, Wieters can provide plenty of offense to an already potent lineup and would be a nice compliment to go along with Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth, and Daniel Murphy.
4. Jason Hammel - Texas Rangers: The Texas Rangers are still in desperate need of some starting pitching especially since it is Yu Darvish's last year with the team and the fact that they are in their prime window to win right now. Hammel would fulfill that need and would bring some much needed stability to the middle or back end of the Rangers rotation. Hammel could slot into the rotation behind Cole Hamels and Darvish and would give Texas a starting pitcher who could pitch at least 160 innings or more next season. Given the current market value for starting pitching and how much Texas has emptied it's farm system over the past year in deals for Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress, and Carlos Beltran, it would be best served if the Rangers looked at the free agent market and Hammel is likely the best remaining starter available. The last thing Texas wants to do is trade someone like Joey Gallo, Ryan Rua, or Jurickson Profar, which they would likely have to do in any deal for starting pitching, as it would hurt them on the depth chart and would give them even more questions at certain positions around the diamond.
5. Chris Carter - Colorado Rockies: Chris Carter is yet another big bat still on the free agent market and can provide any team with a significant amount of pop within it's lineup. Carter is still only 30-years old and could benefit from a deal that is 3 or 4 years long in the range of $8-$12 million dollars a year. Carter could slot into first base for the Rockies, but it will be a challenge now that the team has signed Ian Desmond and stated that he would be their everyday first baseman. However, the team could always trade Charlie Blackmon, move Desmond to centerfield, and open up first base for Carter which is definitely a legitimate scenario. If that were to happen, Colorado would have another 30+ home run bat to add to it's already potent lineup that includes DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story, Nolan Arenado, and Carlos Gonzalez. Talk about another sequel of the Blake Street Bombers!
