Can You Build A Winning Team Just From The Free Agents Still Remaining?
It’s February 10, and you could still build a 25-man roster just from the free agents that are still remaining. But could you build a winning team? Let’s take a look.
1B: At first base, the decision came down to Justin Morneau and Pedro Alvarez, and we’re going with Alvarez. Morneau hit .310 with a .458 slugging percentage in 49 games for the Rockies last year, but I don’t trust Coors Field numbers. Alvarez played in 150 games for the Pirates in 2015 and only hit .243, but he’s coming off a 27 homer season and has averaged 28 home runs over the last four seasons, including an NL-leading 36 homer season in 2013.
2B: It’s thin at second base with Jonathan Herrera, Alberto Callaspo, Rickie Weeks, and Clint Barmes. I don’t even think I’d want to put Jimmy Rollins over there. Pretty much everybody sucks, and the best available option is Callaspo, who got released by the Dodgers in August after hitting .260 in 60 games. So that’s why we’re putting Juan Uribe there, who has almost 1,700 innings at second base, but hasn’t played the position much in recent years. Gotta do what ya gotta do. Clubhouse needs some character, too.
SS: This one’s a no-brainer, and a perfect example of why the qualifying offer is terrible. Ian Desmond is still a free agent, and is the best available shortstop and arguably the best available free agent in general. Desmond’s 2015 campaign was a far cry from his All Star season in 2012, but he’s still averaged 22 HR and 76 RBIs over the last four years.
3B: Third base is another no-brainer. We’re going with 2011 World Series MVP David Freese. Freese played in 127 games last year for the Angels and hit .257 with a .743 OPS. He wins by default, since there aren’t really any other free agent third basemen out there, but a decent pick nonetheless.
LF: No pun intended (totally is), but this pick is going to be out of left field. I’m going with Ryan Raburn. Raburn is a utility guy, but the dude can hit. He’s coming off a season where he hit .301 with a .936 OPS in 82 games for the Indians. He’s played all over the diamond, but has the most experience in left field and we need some guys to get on base. His .393 on-base percentage last year would indicate he’s capable of doing that.
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CF: Yet another example of why the qualifying offer sucks — Dexter Fowler is still a free agent. Fowler plays an above average centerfield and has a career on-base percentage of .363. He’s a great table-setter, and he can play for me any day.
RF: In right field, your options are David Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Domonic Brown, Alex Rios (still pisses me off that they called him Alexis Rios in MVP ’05), Delmon Young, and Shane Victorino. I suppose you could even throw Austin Jackson in there, too. We can scratch Young off the list, since it appears he’s busy strangling and threatening to kill people now. I think I have to go with Jackson out of position here. Centerfielders usually make decent transitions to spacious right fields, and Jackson’s played 22 games out there with only one error. The 29-year-old hit .267 with a weak .696 OPS last year between the Mariners and Cubs, but we’ll take the defense and relatively young age over some of these other washed up bums.
C: According to MLB Trade Rumors’ free agent tracker, there are literally zero remaining free agent catchers, so it looks like I’ll get behind there and be a player/manager. Take one for the team.
SP: Our rotation is going to suck. Yovani Gallardo is the best available free agent starter at the moment (until he signs with the Orioles), and he’s no ace. The good thing is that you know he’s going to take the ball every fifth day, averaging 32 starts, 194 innings and 164 strikeouts over the last five seasons with a 3.65 ERA. After that, you’ve got Mark Buehrle, who said he isn’t retiring but isn’t signing with a team right now (AKA you’re retiring), Kyle Lohse, Chad Billingsley, Aaron Harang, Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, and Jeremy Guthrie, who allowed the most home runs in the league last year. Give me a rotation of Gallardo, Lee, Lincecum, Buehrle and Harang (literally the ugliest dude on the planet). We’ll be hoping for a lot of bounce-back seasons, limbs not to fall off mid-start, and guys not dying of old age during the season, but these are the guys we’re rolling the dice with.
RP: Our bullpen is going to be ass, too. The free agent field for relievers looks like Joe Nathan, Joe Beimel, Randy Choate, Neal Cotts, Franklin Morales, Eric O’Flaherty, Matt Thornton, Burke Badenhop, Rafael Betancourt, Tommy Hunter, and Casey Janssen. We’ve got a bunch of shitbums and Burke Badenhop, who is a ground ball machine and can get you a ground ball double play during the zombie apocalypse if he had to. Joe Nathan’s still alive? That’s great. He can close for us, even though he hasn’t pitched a full season since 2013. Beyond that? Who cares. Our bullpen is a disaster.
So to answer the question of being able to build a winning team with the remaining free agents, no. No, you can’t. But I think it speaks volumes about MLB’s qualifying offer that some of these guys are still without a job, as some players, who actually have a job, have already started showing up at spring training.