We are only a few short weeks into MLB free agency and already major waves are being made relative to a few big name teams and players.
Different teams have varying attitudes regarding how a roster should be established. One would think that, since Boston just went from worst to first via a salary dump that enabled them to tighten up their rotation, many more teams would follow suit and at least attempt to avoid the crippling long term deal that could negatively alter the course of their franchise.
Just ask the Angels, Mets, Yankees and Phillies as to how loading up a payroll with massive and immovable deals worked out for them. While there is probably no “right” way to enhance a roster, there are clearly some “wrong” ways to attempt it. We’ll try to sort through the news to date and tell you who is doing a good job of upgrading their roster right now and also identify teams who may need to revamp their front office before touching player personnel.
New York Yankees:
I commend the Yanks for not paying Robinson Cano the ridiculous amount of money he was provided. Seattle can’t objectively believe that deal gives them a chance to be flexible moving forward.
But the Yanks turned around and gave out a few deals with the money they saved on that one. Brian McCann received $85M/5YR while Carlos Beltran will get $15M per for three years in addition to the Jacoby Ellsbury contract.
Ellsbury is 30 years old and isn’t a good enough player to command $20M+, but he does upgrade their outfield and provide excellent speed on the bases for the leadoff position. Beltran is a productive veteran yearning for a ring and should pair with McCann to give them proven commodities in their hunt for another crown.
I like the players New York opted to acquire, but felt like they overpaid some for each. That is in their nature as an organization, but you have to wonder if they will ever understand the importance of the farm system.
Detroit Tigers:
The Tigers have been active from the get go as they traded for Ian Kinsler and moved Miguel Cabrera to first base. They added Joe Nathan to a bullpen that could use some depth and are rumored to be heavily involved in the Shin-Soo Choo running.
21 year old top prospect Nick Castellanos might be the key to it all. He will be moved to third base and could become a really nice piece to the top of the order behind Choo. The potential to have Choo-Castellanos-Kinsler-Cabrera leading things off is something no team wants to have to face, and it could make Detroit even more formidable.
Baltimore Orioles:
Baltimore publicly dismissed the idea of investing in high priced arms when Dan Duquette was interviewed about the ongoing Ervin Santana negotiations. Some are questioning Duquette’s tactics as he has appeared a bit to tentative thus far.
Nate McClouth and Scott Feldman are not players who are going to make a massive impact, and the overall lineup of the Orioles is pretty solid. Still, at a minimum, the back end of this pitching staff needs bolstered if Baltimore is to ever get to the playoffs.
Duquette seems uninterested in pieces like Ubaldo Jiminez and Jeff Samardzija as he expects them to come with too big of a price tag. They are apparently intrigued by the aforementioned Choo, but I’d be more interested in placing stud Manny Machado into the leadoff role once he is healthy and saving my money for perhaps a one year deal on a guy like Bartolo Colon or A.J. Burnett.
You would expect to get motivated production from either player this season and would still have financial flexibility beyond 2013, an essential factor for this young club.
Philadelphia Phillies:
The recently announced retirement of Roy Halladay gives this team more financial flexibility, but many fans are wondering aloud as to how it will be utilized.
This team clearly needs to get younger given the injury issues with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in recent seasons. Yet, they just gave the aging Marlon Byrd a two year deal worth $16M total based off a decent playoff run while with Pittsburgh.
Dominic Brown provides a nice centerpiece for the future outfield, but they need versatile, young and athletic base runners. They placed only three players into the top 100 for stolen bases in 2013. Relying on the home run ball is fine if Utley and Howard are in the prime of their careers, but that is not the case here.
Acquiring a piece like Rajai Davis would go a long way toward bolstering the speed of this offense and making it more balanced.
Atlanta Braves:
The Braves made a quick exit from the playoffs, but have also made some good strides in overtaking Washington at the top of the division. In order to stay there, they will need to effectively cope with the loss of Tim Hudson and Brian McCann.
Atlanta always seems to find a way to get quality pitching, and the Hudson loss won’t be a major factor with Alex Wood expected to take on a bigger rotation responsibility in 2014. But adding depth to a lineup that fizzled out offensively in the postseason should be the critical concern here.
Whether or not Dan Uggla is traded, this will be a big year for B.J. Upton. The Braves don’t have a ton of needs right now, but they have to determine if Upton is an adequate role piece to support the top of their lineup. The realization that he is not could force their hand in trying to acquire a piece like the aforementioned Davis who could play centerfield and give this team a fourth quality baserunner.
San Francisco Giants:
The Giants are such an oddity because what was such an important strength in their World Series titles has quickly become a shocking weakness. Matt Cain’s ability to bounce back from a poor 2013 will be the utmost of factors in this teams’ recovery.
Signing Tim Lincecum to a two year deal for a reasonable price keeps their critical pieces together, and adding Tim Hudson on another two year deal essentially finalizes their rotation for that time period.
But you have to wonder about this team’s lineup. They are not bad at any particular position, but they can’t reasonably expect to have enough offense to compete with Los Angeles at this moment.
Angel Pagan was unable to stay healthy a season ago and it hurt this offense badly. Pagan is 32 and under contract for another three seasons. They will need him at the top of this lineup to perform along with Marco Scutaro, their other key acquisition from last season’s free agency session.
