Season 20 is under way, as teams stock their rosters in offseason free agency, here's our preview of the top ten free agents!
1. Allan Blackley, 31, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.22 Career ERA
Salary/Over Under: 5 years, $80 million
Possible Destinations: Pawtucket, Rochester, Syracuse, St. Louis
Signed with Pawtucket - 5 years, $100 million ($85 million guaranteed)
Overlooked by many Awards lists over the course of his career, Blackley will not be skimmed over here, as he ranks as this season's top Free Agent. Granted, he is coming off a major shoulder injury last season, he looks good to go going forward. He has elite control and pitch arsenal, excellent velocity and RH split, and keeps the ball down fairly well. If he stays healthy, he can be one of the best pitchers in Kenny Powers.
2. Mo Ferguson, 31, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .822 Career OPS
Salary/Over Under: 4 years, $60 million
Possible Destinations: Rochester, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Oakland
Signed with Tampa Bay - 5 years, $56.5 million ($46.8 million guaranteed)
Ferguson is
a very good hitter who also has solid defensive skills with plus glove and arm strength. He is above average at the hot corner. Hitting wise, he has very good contact and splits, a decent batting eye and above average power. He has averaged 33 HR 109 RBI over the last two seasons, and has made the All-Star team 4 out of the last 5 seasons. Mo will be a nice boost to some team's lineup for sure!
3. Tony Bonifacio, 32, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 296 Career SB
Salary/Over Under: 3 years, $33 million
Possible Destinations: Syracuse, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Toronto
Signed with St. Louis - 3 years, $25.5 million
Bonifacio remains an elite-fielding 3B at Age 32, although his range is below what would be needed to play SS. He is a good contact hitter, is excellent vs. LHP, with a solid batting eye, and a decent RH split. His power is about average. He has excellent speed and baserunning skills, stealing 296 bases while only being caught 65 times. Although he doesn't stand out offensively, his all-around skills make him a very valuable player.
4. Max Acevedo, 26, RF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 217 Career HR
Salary/Over Under: 5 years, $60 million
Possible Destinations: Pawtucket, Boston, Oklahoma City, St. Louis
Signed with Helena - 5 years, $86.5 million
Acevedo is an elite power bat with excellent splits and a decent batting eye. He will strike out a lot, but his bat will be a plus to any lineup. He can play a pretty solid RF with plus arm strength and accuracy, although his glove isn't the best. He has good speed, but his baserunning skills are average. He's averaged 40 HR 120 RBI the past two seasons, and is only 26, making him an attractive FA.
5. Jim Forbes, 30, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.46 Career ERA
Salary/Over Under: 5 years, $60 million
Possible Destinations: Boston, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Cleveland
Signed with Durham - 5 years, $69 million ($57.8 million guaranteed)
Forbes is a workhorse righty with plus-plus control, elite velocity and is excellent at keeping the ball down. His splits are good, but not great, and his pitch makeup isn't the best, but a look at his stats show he has thrown on average 255 IP over the last 4 seasons with excellent stats. Hard to imagine any staff who couldn't use this type of pitcher.
6. Cy Sanders, 31, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.17 Career ERA
Salary/Over Under: 5 years, $55 million
Possible Destinations: Rochester, St. Louis, New Britain, Durham
Signed with Chicago - 5 years, $92.7 million
Sanders, although not seen frequently on the Awards list, is rock solid across the board ratings wise with strong control, splits, pitch arsenal, and excellent velocity. He is also durable, throwing 210+ innings each of the past three seasons. Sanders will be a strong add to any rotation for the next several seasons, as he is 31 years old as of the start of the free agency period.
7. Matty Posada, 36, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 2.66 Career ERA
Salary/Over Under: 3 years, $42 million
Possible Destinations: Pawtucket, Seattle, Oklahoma City, Atlanta
Signed with Oklahoma City - 4 years, $31 million
Posada is still amongst the ranks of the best pitchers in Kenny Powers at age 36. He has very few weaknesses in his arsenal. The main concern with the sure-fire future Hall-of-Famer is how the effects of age will take its course. He probably has at least 1 or 2 very good, possibly even Cy Young worthy, seasons left, but after that it's a bit of a question mark.
8. Clarence Leach, 33, 3B
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 155 Career HR
Salary/Over Under: 2 years, $15 million
Possible Destinations: Seattle, Las Vegas, New Britain, Cleveland
Signed with Syracuse - 2 years, $6.7 million
Leach is still an excellent fielding 3B with a good speed/baserunning combo that has resulted in 229 SB and only 57 CS. He's serviceable at the plate, with good splits and contact, decent power, but just an ok batting eye. He had his best season just 2 seasons ago, then was inexplicably sent to the minors last season. He definitely still deserves a major league spot and can help out some team.
9. Allan Farquhar, 33, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 405 Career HR
Salary/Over Under: 2 years, $14 million
Possible Destinations: Syracuse, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Durham
Signed with Tampa Bay - 2 years, $14.5 million
Farquhar has a well-established history of success at the plate topping the 400 career HR mark this past season. He still has excellent power, good splits and a decent batting eye. He's going to strike out a lot, but the power makes up for it. He's still capable of playing 3B in the field and has nice speed that's led him to over 300 career SB.
10. Aramis Martinez, 25, LF
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 133 Career HR
Salary/Over Under: 5 years, $54 million
Possible Destinations: Boston, Seattle, Oklahoma City, Atlanta
Signed with Rochester - 5 years, $77 million ($64.2 million guaranteed)
It's not often that a talented 25 year-old hits the free agent market, but that's just what Martinez is. At the plate, he has plus power and batting eye, good contact, and decent enough splits. Fielding wise, he'd be a stretch at 2B, meaning likely a defensive liability, and is probably more suited to LF. His plate presence make him well worth acquiring, particularly at age 25.
