Winners and Losers in the Free Agency Market
As any baseball person knows, the focus is building a team that plays in October. You will have expiring contracts, those that test the free agency market, those that want the big deal, and others that are just happy to suit up. Once free agency starts post-season all things are on the table. Now as we know, “Chicks dig the long ball but defense wins game.” So let us break it down a bit.
I think it is good for baseball when teams that have histories of winning are competitive. For example, it is good for the fan base when the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies, Mets and Astros are competitive in October. That being said, some of the big contracts this off-season went to those teams and some of them didn’t. The Dodgers landed Freddie Freeman, making every player in their starting line-up an all star, with four MVP’s. The Yankees and Red Sox are still working on landing bigger prospects, with the Yankees making room sending Voit to the Padres for pitching prospects. The Mets landed Max Scherzer giving them help on the mound and the Rangers landed a few infielders, including Corey Seager.
Teams like the Reds, the A’s, Rockies, and the Cubs… well, I haven’t been able to figure out just yet. For example, the A’s got rid of pitching and their two big bats in Chapman and in Olsen. The American League West will be competitive through the Astros and Angels, with the return of Mike Trout and Shohei Otani. The Reds did not re-sign Castellanos and have been trading away their talent for the equivalent of fungo bats and batting practice balls. The one that I don’t really understand is the Rockies. They traded Nolan Arenado last season to get rid of his big contract and aren’t looking to re-sign Trevor Story, yet they signed Kris Bryant to a long term big contract. So to me, the Rockies are looking to draw fans into the stand without being competitive for October.
Conclusion leads us to believe on paper, before any games that count are played, that the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, Braves, and possibly the Mariners, are winners in the free agency market and have a great shot to play in October. Where the losers seem to be the A’s, Reds, Diamondbacks, and possibly the Cubs. But, of course, this is all on paper before we play any games.
Contributed by Bill Perkins, TFR Owner