2010 MLB Free Agency: The 10 Most Overrated Players on the Free Agent Market
With the MLB offseason in full swing, big free-agent signings are on the horizon and many teams are already trying to get the best fits.
Each year there are some signings that work out very well for some teams, and there are other signings that contribute nothing.
The 2010 offseason should be no different, as there will be a fair share of undervalued and under-appreciated players available. On the other hand, there will be some overvalued or overrated players that will be there for the taking.
This offseason, it seems as if there is a high amount of overrated players that will be out in the open for clubs to scoop up to add to their teams.
10. Juan Uribe
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Uribe is coming off a career season which saw him hit 24 long balls and drive in 85 runs, as he helped lead his team to a World Series title.
However, not everyone should buy into the hype of the 31-year-old shortstop who owns a career average of .256 and who has been inconsistent at the plate throughout his entire career.
He also has a career.300 OBP and plays average defense at his shortstop position. Although Uribe is coming off a great season, he is still merely an average-to-just above average shortstop at the major-league level.
9. Jeff Franceour
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Francoeur, or "Frenchy" as many call him, is still young at 26-years-old and he is a solid defensive player. But he is nowhere near worth the $5 million that the Mets and Rangers paid him last season.
He is known for his defense, as he has a .984 career fielding percentage. But he is overvalued due to the fact that he is in a relatively weak free-agent outfield class this offseason. He is really no more than an average outfielder.
Owners might try to put up a good price for "Frenchy", but if they are smart, they will pass or wait to sign him near the end of the free agency period.
8. Carl Pavano
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Similar to fellow free agent Javier Vazquez, Pavano had a career year recently in an otherwise average career for the most part.
The only difference for Pavano was that he had his career year in 2010. Vazquez had his in '09, meaning that Pavano could be getting a large contract from a future team this offseason.
If you look at his career ERA of 4.34 and his rash of injuries, you will see that Pavano is one of the most overrated pitchers in this current free-agent market.
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7. Jason Varitek
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The 38-year-old former captain of the Red Sox never quite lived up to his status in the last few years that he played in Boston.
Varitek hit just .232 in 39 games in 2010 and he had a measly .209 average in the previous season.
Although he was a three-time All-Star in Boston, he was and is overrated due to the high number of votes he received from playing in Boston. Also, he has missed too many games to injuries to ever live up to his former captain billing.
6. Kerry Wood
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Wood is easily the most overrated closer in baseball.
He has blown save after save since becoming a closer years ago with the Chicago Cubs. He has blown 20 saves in 82 career opportunities and he is a liability for any team when handed the ball with the lead in the ninth inning.
Although he did finish the 2010 season strong with the Yankees, Wood is still not worth his $10 million price tag at all.
5. Carlos Pena
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Pena will hit his home runs, but that is about all that he will give you offensively.
He is skilled defensively, which should strengthen his value this offseason. But the fact that he hits for both a low average (.196 in 2010) and strikes out a lot (321 times combined in the last two seasons) makes him overvalued for his position.
He is a solid guy if you need power and defense, but you can't expect much else out of the former first-round pick.
4. Manny Ramirez
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"ManRam" has been overrated since he started doing his "Manny being Manny" routine, in which he would do something unusual in the middle of a game.
After he went to the Dodgers at the trading deadline of the 2008 season, many said that he was a big pick-up for a team on the rise.
I disagreed, as I see nothing but a washed-up former Performance Enhancing Drugs user who is past his prime and who has become one of the most overrated players in the game.
3. Jorge De La Rosa
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The 29-year-old De La Rosa has improved slightly each season over the course of his career.
However, don't be fooled by De La Rosa's ERA and relatively high strikeout numbers. He has also been known to follow a great outing with a poor showing the next time out.
He has also been known to get in a lot of jams due to the amount of hits he gives up (723 in 710 career innings pitched) and he can be very wild at times. Jorge is a decent pitcher, but nowhere near the type-A status that he has had heading into this offseason.
2. Javier Vazquez
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When Javier Vazquez was traded from Atlanta, some Braves fans claimed that the 2009 season was a fluke for Vazquez and that he would come back down to earth in 2010.
In fact, that was exactly the case when Vazquez went to New York and put on the pinstripes. His ERA ballooned from 2.87 to 5.32 and his win total decreased from 15 to 10.
Vazquez has merely been a slightly above-average starting pitcher over his career (4.26 ERA), and with the $11 million he made last season, he is arguably the most overrated pitcher in the market this offseason.
1. Adam Dunn
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Dunn is one of the most overrated players in the game right now, because of his lack of defense and high strikeout numbers during his career.
Although he has managed to hit 38-plus home runs in each of the last seven seasons, he has also struck out an average of at least one time for each game he has played.
Although Dunn has been a very consistent power hitter in the major leagues, his .967-career fielding percentage and one-dimensional style are too much of a risk for a GM. He is way overvalued at this point in his career.
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