The hot stove is warming up, and we're here to bring you all the coverage! Today, we bring you our rating service's top 10 free agents of this offseason. Overall, it's a fairly weak class of free agents, but there are still a few solid players out there that can turn around franchises. Let's get to the top 10!
SEASON 16 Top 10 Free Agents
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10. P.T. Wiggins, 30, 1B/DH
No Designation
Key Stat: Solid Ratings Across the Board
Possible Destinations: Santa Fe, New York (AL), Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $8 million
Signed with Atlanta - 2 years, $3.8 million
Wiggins has never really gotten a shot in the bigs, coming off the bench for Sioux Falls for a few seasons before being traded to Hartford last season and demoted to AAA. This guy deserves a spot as someone’s 1B or DH. He’s got great splits and batting eye, and very good power. His contact isn’t great, and he can’t field very well. But with that kind of bat, he should be in someone’s lineup – we think he could hit .275 with 30-35 HR if given a full time opportunity.
9. Pete Brantley, 32, C
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .814 Career OPS
Possible Destinations: Santa Fe, Richmond, Charlotte, Trenton, Chicago
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $10 million
Wiggins has never really gotten a shot in the bigs, coming off the bench for Sioux Falls for a few seasons before being traded to Hartford last season and demoted to AAA. This guy deserves a spot as someone’s 1B or DH. He’s got great splits and batting eye, and very good power. His contact isn’t great, and he can’t field very well. But with that kind of bat, he should be in someone’s lineup – we think he could hit .275 with 30-35 HR if given a full time opportunity.
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9. Pete Brantley, 32, C
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .814 Career OPS
Possible Destinations: Santa Fe, Richmond, Charlotte, Trenton, Chicago
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $10 million
Signed with Seattle - 1 year, $1.855 million
Brantley is a very average defensive catcher, but has such an excellent bat, that some team will likely give him a shot to be their everyday backstop. He has great splits and contact, and a pretty good batting eye, to go with decent power. Age is a concern, more so defensively, as he may only have a few seasons left as a serviceable catcher. As a 1B/DH, he loses a lot of his value.
8. Gregory Rivers, 36, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.32 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Charlotte, Santa Fe, Atlanta, Wichita, Tacoma
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $11 million
Signed with Richmond - 3 years, $24 million
Rivers has outstanding peripherals across the board, ranking as having the best control, splits, ratios, velocity, and pitch combo in the class by a wide margin. But durability, stamina and age bring his value down quite a bit. He should be an excellent reliever for a few more seasons. It’s hard to justify signing a 36 year old type A free agent, but Rivers is so good, we think someone will bite, despite durability concerns.
7. Del Haney, 29, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.31 Career ERA, Age
Possible Destinations: Cleveland, Anaheim, Atlanta, Jackson, Nashville
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $20 million
Signed with Santa Fe - 1 year, $4.45 million
In a free agent class that doesn’t feature many quality relievers, Haney’s value soars. He has great durability and stamina for a reliever. Control and splits are good, but not great, he can really keep the ball down, and has some very nice pitches. He could close or be a great setup guy. The next Kirk White he’s not, but in this class, he’s one of the best relievers.
6. Bosco Simon, 30, LF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .833 Career OPS
Possible Destinations: New York (AL), Trenton, Vancouver, Santa Fe, Richmond
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $36 million
Signed with Vancouver - 1 year, $7 million
Simon is an outstanding contact hitter with nice power, good splits, and a nice batting eye. He’s coming off a solid season with Toronto, and would fit nicely as a team’s #2 hitter, possibly even a #3. He’s never really had the breakout season that his ratings indicate he may be capable of. In the right lineup, it could happen.
5. Greg Young, 32, 1B/DH
No Designation
Key Stat: 310 Career HR
Greg Young is a tremendous power hitter, with excellent contact, splits, and batting eye. He’s put up some spectacular numbers in past seasons, although last season was a disappointing one for him, putting up the worse numbers of his career. We think he’ll bounce back. He hasn’t declined much, and should be able to add a lot of value to a lineup. If he goes to a hitter’s park, look out. And he won’t even cost you a draft pick, which is a definite plus.
4. Victor Gandarillas, 32, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.99 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Cleveland, Charlotte, Tacoma, Santa Fe, Seattle
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $34 million
Gandarillas is a solid righty, coming off a tremendous season with Sioux Falls, where he posted a sub 3.00 ERA and posted 15 wins. He has outstanding control, velocity, and keeps the ball down. His pitches are solid, but not spectacular. He is a bit vulnerable to lefties, but we don’t see that as much of a concern. He hasn’t declined much, even though he’s 32, so he should have several more solid seasons ahead of him.
3. Bernie Almonte, 29, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.84 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Seattle, Richmond, Santa Fe, Wichita, New York (AL)
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $44 million
Signed with New York (NL) - 5 years, $29.2 million
Almonte, another Sioux Falls pitcher, features superb control, has great splits and throws with a lot of velocity. His pitch quality is decent, but doesn’t impress, and he generates a lot of fly balls. He worked mostly as a reliever last season, after starting the previous three seasons. He has borderline stamina for an SP, which is probably why he has gone back and forth between the rotation and the pen. Given his young age, we feel he can still be a starter for several more seasons, and would be a plus for most rotations.
2. Jerry Ross, 32, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.71 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Tacoma, Florida, Wichita, Cleveland, Charlotte
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $48 million
Brantley is a very average defensive catcher, but has such an excellent bat, that some team will likely give him a shot to be their everyday backstop. He has great splits and contact, and a pretty good batting eye, to go with decent power. Age is a concern, more so defensively, as he may only have a few seasons left as a serviceable catcher. As a 1B/DH, he loses a lot of his value.
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8. Gregory Rivers, 36, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.32 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Charlotte, Santa Fe, Atlanta, Wichita, Tacoma
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $11 million
Signed with Richmond - 3 years, $24 million
Rivers has outstanding peripherals across the board, ranking as having the best control, splits, ratios, velocity, and pitch combo in the class by a wide margin. But durability, stamina and age bring his value down quite a bit. He should be an excellent reliever for a few more seasons. It’s hard to justify signing a 36 year old type A free agent, but Rivers is so good, we think someone will bite, despite durability concerns.
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7. Del Haney, 29, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.31 Career ERA, Age
Possible Destinations: Cleveland, Anaheim, Atlanta, Jackson, Nashville
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $20 million
Signed with Santa Fe - 1 year, $4.45 million
In a free agent class that doesn’t feature many quality relievers, Haney’s value soars. He has great durability and stamina for a reliever. Control and splits are good, but not great, he can really keep the ball down, and has some very nice pitches. He could close or be a great setup guy. The next Kirk White he’s not, but in this class, he’s one of the best relievers.
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6. Bosco Simon, 30, LF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .833 Career OPS
Possible Destinations: New York (AL), Trenton, Vancouver, Santa Fe, Richmond
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $36 million
Signed with Vancouver - 1 year, $7 million
Simon is an outstanding contact hitter with nice power, good splits, and a nice batting eye. He’s coming off a solid season with Toronto, and would fit nicely as a team’s #2 hitter, possibly even a #3. He’s never really had the breakout season that his ratings indicate he may be capable of. In the right lineup, it could happen.
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5. Greg Young, 32, 1B/DH
No Designation
Key Stat: 310 Career HR
Possible Destinations: Chicago, Santa Fe, Richmod, Vancouver, New York (AL)
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $11 million
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $11 million
Signed with Anaheim - 4 years, $25 million
Greg Young is a tremendous power hitter, with excellent contact, splits, and batting eye. He’s put up some spectacular numbers in past seasons, although last season was a disappointing one for him, putting up the worse numbers of his career. We think he’ll bounce back. He hasn’t declined much, and should be able to add a lot of value to a lineup. If he goes to a hitter’s park, look out. And he won’t even cost you a draft pick, which is a definite plus.
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4. Victor Gandarillas, 32, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.99 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Cleveland, Charlotte, Tacoma, Santa Fe, Seattle
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $34 million
Signed with Santa Fe - 3 years, $26 million
Gandarillas is a solid righty, coming off a tremendous season with Sioux Falls, where he posted a sub 3.00 ERA and posted 15 wins. He has outstanding control, velocity, and keeps the ball down. His pitches are solid, but not spectacular. He is a bit vulnerable to lefties, but we don’t see that as much of a concern. He hasn’t declined much, even though he’s 32, so he should have several more solid seasons ahead of him.
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3. Bernie Almonte, 29, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.84 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Seattle, Richmond, Santa Fe, Wichita, New York (AL)
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $44 million
Signed with New York (NL) - 5 years, $29.2 million
Almonte, another Sioux Falls pitcher, features superb control, has great splits and throws with a lot of velocity. His pitch quality is decent, but doesn’t impress, and he generates a lot of fly balls. He worked mostly as a reliever last season, after starting the previous three seasons. He has borderline stamina for an SP, which is probably why he has gone back and forth between the rotation and the pen. Given his young age, we feel he can still be a starter for several more seasons, and would be a plus for most rotations.
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2. Jerry Ross, 32, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.71 Career ERA
Possible Destinations: Tacoma, Florida, Wichita, Cleveland, Charlotte
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $48 million
Signed with Richmond - 5 years, $82 million
Ross stands out because of his outstanding splits, to go along with excellent control. His Velocity and ability to keep the ball down are solid, and he has a very good pitch selection. Again, his stamina isn’t great for a starting pitcher, which is a slight concern, he was used in relief some in the past, but has mostly been a starter. The good news, is there is no signs of decline yet for him, so we think he has some good years left as a starter, where he should post excellent numbers.
1. Alex Presley, 28, 2B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: Last 3 Seasons averaged 35 HR 107 RBI
Possible Destinations: Santa Fe, Charlotte, Richmond, New York (AL), Vancouver
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $80 million
Signed with Charlotte - 4 years, $39 million
Presley gets the nod as the top prize in this year’s free agent class. He is an outstanding hitter across the board, putting up great numbers the past two seasons in a heavy pitcher’s park of Tacoma. He has upside for even better numbers. He is also a great fielder, who can be an asset at 2B, or he could play CF in a pinch. He is also still only 28, so he should be outstanding for the entire length of a 5 year deal. Get your checkbooks out now!
Here’s a few players that were considered, but didn’t make the top 10. These guys can helps some teams too:
Honorable Mention, Hitters: Luke Henley, Sam Lockwood, Santiago Matos, Brandon Miller, John Helms, Dude Barry, Ignacio Lopez, Roger Sanders
Honorable Mention, Pitchers: Ryan Kinney, Luis Gonzales, Luis Sosa, Phil Chang, Patrick Bullinger, Andres Quixote
Good luck in free agency!
Ross stands out because of his outstanding splits, to go along with excellent control. His Velocity and ability to keep the ball down are solid, and he has a very good pitch selection. Again, his stamina isn’t great for a starting pitcher, which is a slight concern, he was used in relief some in the past, but has mostly been a starter. The good news, is there is no signs of decline yet for him, so we think he has some good years left as a starter, where he should post excellent numbers.
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1. Alex Presley, 28, 2B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: Last 3 Seasons averaged 35 HR 107 RBI
Possible Destinations: Santa Fe, Charlotte, Richmond, New York (AL), Vancouver
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $80 million
Signed with Charlotte - 4 years, $39 million
Presley gets the nod as the top prize in this year’s free agent class. He is an outstanding hitter across the board, putting up great numbers the past two seasons in a heavy pitcher’s park of Tacoma. He has upside for even better numbers. He is also a great fielder, who can be an asset at 2B, or he could play CF in a pinch. He is also still only 28, so he should be outstanding for the entire length of a 5 year deal. Get your checkbooks out now!
Here’s a few players that were considered, but didn’t make the top 10. These guys can helps some teams too:
Honorable Mention, Hitters: Luke Henley, Sam Lockwood, Santiago Matos, Brandon Miller, John Helms, Dude Barry, Ignacio Lopez, Roger Sanders
Honorable Mention, Pitchers: Ryan Kinney, Luis Gonzales, Luis Sosa, Phil Chang, Patrick Bullinger, Andres Quixote
Good luck in free agency!
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