Best of the rest remaining free agents
By Tom Covill
PA SportsTicker Baseball Editor
Major League Baseball’s “Hot Stove” season has reached the stretch run, and many free agents have yet to find homes.
With less than a month remaining until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, here are the biggest names left in limbo, and where they could end up:
1. Manny Ramirez, LF
Manny is the biggest fish left in the pond, the one player with a consistent track record of offensive production in the regular season and in the playoffs. Of course, Manny comes with a certain amount of baggage.
He and super-agent Scott Boras orchestrated a messy exit from the Boston Red Sox at the end of July, and not even a .396 batting average and 53 RBI in 53 regular-season games with the Los Angeles Dodgers could wipe away the blood.
Manny was unhappy with the fact that the Red Sox held club options on him at $20 million per season for the next two years, and he and Boras thought they could do better on the open market.
So far, it looks like they overplayed their hand.
The guess here is that Manny will wind up back with the Dodgers, but he certainly won’t be holding the four-year, $100 million contract he and Boras were dreaming of when he walks into the plush new spring training home of the team in Arizona next month.
2. Adam Dunn, OF/1B
Another player who has been hit hard by the market, Dunn was whispering to friends about a nine-figure contract last year. At the rate the market’s moving, the two-year, $16 million deal Pat Burrell got from the Tampa Bay Rays looks more likely.
Dunn is one of many players on the market of the “strong bat-weak glove” variety, and players like Burrell, Raul Ibanez, Jason Giambi and Milton Bradley seem to have capped the pay scale at around three years and $30 million.
Dunn also suffers as a player who has limited experience in pennant-race situations and propensity to strike out. A lot.
The Washington Nationals have been mentioned as a possible destination, though this one might play out all the way until spring training.
3. Ben Sheets, RHP
Sheets is clearly the most talented pitcher left on the market, and may have been the most talented at the start of the offseason as well.
The thing hurting the Louisiana native is the same thing that has plagued him for the past five years - injuries.
Sheets has not pitched 200 innings in a season since 2004 and only got close in 2008, when he reached 198 1/3 before breaking down with an elbow injury in September.
The 30-year-old started the All-Star Game for the National League in July and posted a 3.09 ERA and 1.150 WHIP for the Milwaukee Brewers, but could not make a start in the playoffs due to the injury.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Sheets to return to the Brewers, and the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees have all been mentioned as possibilities on a short-term deal.
4. Orlando Hudson, 2B
The “O-Dog” is still out there and has drawn a surprising lack of buzz for a second baseman capable of Gold Glove defense and an OPS above .800.
Hudson has spent his career in small markets like Arizona and Toronto and reportedly would like to see what the big-city spotlight feels like on his next stop.
The Mets seem like the obvious fit, but general manager Omar Minaya signed Luis Castillo to an inexplicable four-year, $25 million deal last winter. The Yankees don’t appear to be willing to sell-low on Robinson Cano, either.
Hudson played only 107 games last season with the Diamondbacks and missed the stretch drive due to an injured left ankle, making injuries a concern.
The Nationals have shown some interest, and as the price comes down, more teams should jump into the bidding for the best second baseman on the market.
5. Bobby Abreu, OF
Our third all bat-no glove outfielder on this list, Abreu was not offered arbitration by the Yankees and is looking at a steep pay cut from his days of making $18 million as one of many luxury items in New York.
Abreu offers more speed than Ramirez or Dunn, but much less power.
He has hit at least .283 with 100 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 15 homers in each of the past six seasons, but has watched Ibanez and Milton Bradley take the two most obvious landing spots for a player of his ilk, in Philadelphia and with the Chicago Cubs.
Abreu could fit in a corner with the Mets, though nothing has been mentioned. He is another player who may have to wait to see how the chips fall once spring training begins.
BARGAIN BASEMENT STARTERS: There are a few starting pitchers left who have drawn interest, mostly from National League teams, including Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Braden Looper - in descending order.
Perez is the big-ticket item in the group, though the incumbent Mets do not appear to be willing to meet his asking price.
Wolf has been mentioned with the Mets also, and a return to the Phillies would not be a horrible idea. Garland and Looper seem like perfect fits for the NL Central, where the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and Brewers could all use starters capable of logging big innings.
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? A few Hall of Famers are staring in from the outside of the market, with Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas and Pedro Martinez without jobs and seemingly not much interest.
Griffey and Thomas probably only make sense as designated hitter options with American League clubs, while Martinez profiles as a back-end starter for an NL team at this stage of his career.
Retirement could be in the cards for all three, making for a stacked Hall of Fame Class in five years which could also include Greg Maddux, Jeff Kent and Tom Glavine, who has yet to convince the Atlanta Braves he can make it to the mound in 2009.
FORMER ALL-STAR CATCHERS: Or, in the case of Jason Varitek, reigning All-Star catchers. His inclusion in the 2008 All-Star game notwithstanding, Varitek hit .220 last season and is no longer an everyday option for the Red Sox.
Varitek declined salary arbitration and his status as a Type A free agent - meaning any team that signs him would have to surrender its first-round pick in next June’s draft to Boston - has made him undesirable everywhere outside of Boston. The Red Sox will take him back in a reduced role at a reduced price.
Ivan Rodriguez, on the other hand, may be joining that group of Hall of Fame candidates on the outside looking in. The 14-time All-Star could wind up back in Florida on a minor league deal.
