Kenny Powers has kicked off season 18, and it's time for the first blog post of the season, the Free Agency preview. Overall, it's a pretty week free agent class, but there are still some solid players to be had. Here's a rundown of our top 10 Free Agents available this offseason. Good luck to those looking to land a player to get them over the hump this season!
1. David Frias, 30, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .816 OPS
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $65 million
Possible Destinations: Boston, Pawtucket, Salt Lake City, Burlington
Signed with Boston - 5 years, $45 million
Frias gets the nod as our top free agent this offseason, as he is a 5 tool player who would be above average in the field anywhere put shortstop, has good speed and baserunning ability and very good contact, power and splits to go with a decent enough batting eye. His overall makeup puts him on top of the board, rather than dominance in any one particular area.
2. Alving Machado, 30, CF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .802 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $40 million
Possible Destinations: Santa Cruz, Syracuse, Burlington, San Juan
Signed with Chicago - 5 years, $41 million
Machado's bat is solid, but not spectacular, with nice power and batting eye, good splits and decent contact. In the field, he has plus range, but his glove is a bit questionable. With his bat, you might stick him out in CF and see what happens.
3. Rodney Long, 3B, 29
No Designation
Key Stat: Ratings over past numbers
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $32 million
Possible Destinations: Tampa Bay, Boston, Memphis, Little Rock
Signed with Pawtucket - 1 year, $6.24 million
Long's career numbers at the plate do not particularly impress, but he has good contact, power and batting eye, although his splits are mediocre. In this free agent class that is lacking beyond 1B/DH types, his ability to play a good 3B along with potential for better offensive numbers gets him a high spot on our list.
4. Tommy Stoddard, 29, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.40 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: $4 years, $44 million
Possible Destinations: Rochester, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, Oakland
Signed with Syracuse - 5 years, $65 million
Stoddard is the top free agent pitcher on our board this offseason, thanks to his outstanding control and splits, and solid pitch selection. He has excellent velocity and keeps the ball down well. His only downside is limited stamina/durability which will limit him to 160-170 innings per season, but those should be quality innings that he contributes. His age, at only 29, is also a plus.
5. Achilles Sadler, 32, DH
No Designation
Key Stat: .951 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $21 million
Possible Destinations: Detroit, Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Orleans
Signed with Atlanta - 2 years, $7.8 million
Sadler has a nice combination of excellent power, splits, particularly vs. LHP, and an elite batting eye to go with decent contact. A slight decline in power, and a bit of a drop off in numbers last season are a bit of a concern, but his ratings indicate he still has an elite bat.
6. Carlos Mercedes, 30, C
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .852 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $20 million
Possible Destinations: Rochester, Burlington, New Orleans, New York
Signed with Honolulu - 4 years, $21.3 million ($16.65 million guaranteed)
Mercedes is another big power bat with plus splits and decent contact and batting eye. He'd make a serviceable catcher, although his zero range is of slight concern. Whether at catcher of DH, his huge bat will be a nice asset for any lineup.
7. Ron Wilkinson, 35, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.70 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $20 million
Possible Destinations: Syracuse, Memphis, Oakland, Louisville
Signed with Tampa Bay - 1 year - $8.5 million
Wilkinson is a solid righty who was put up multiple consecutive solid seasons, putting up an ERA below 4 while throwing over 200 innings. He's outstanding vs. right handed hitters, and has plus control. His pitches are good, but not elite, and age is a slight concern, but he should have a few more solid seasons left in him.
8. Butch Borland, 34, LF
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .921 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $17 million
Possible Destinations: Detroit, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Little Rock
Signed with Syracuse - 3 years, $20 million ($14 million guaranteed)
Borland is a pure power hitter with nice splits and a pretty good batting eye. His contact isn't great, but that hasn't stopped him from posting a most impressive career OPS. He is at the age where hitters start to decline, so a long term contract probably isn't in the works, but he should continue his great hitting for at least a couple of more seasons.
9. Enrique Rivera, 32, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.14 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $16 million
Possible Destinations: Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Tucson
Signed with Little Rock - 2 years, $9.2 million
Rivera gets the nod as the best reliever in this season's free agent class, thanks to his outstanding control, solid pitches, and very good splits. He was roughed up a bit last season, which is a concern, but we think he can bounce back and post decent numbers while working 100+ innings.
10. Javier Bonilla, 33, SP
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.98 ERA last season
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $26 million
Possible Destinations: Pawtucket, Santa Cruz, Vancouver, San Juan
Signed with Boston - 2 years, $12 million
Bonilla is a workhorse right-hander, with two excellent pitches and solid splits. His velocity and ability to keep the ball down are good. His control isn't that of an elite starter, but Bonilla will eat up a ton of innings and has the potential to post solid numbers like he did last season.
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