Free agency; the offseason; payday. Those are three terms that define the downtime between the end of the World Series and before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.
Today, in the first of five parts, we take a look at the pitchers that could be looking to cash in. Though there are a ton of free agents, we’ll only be looking at seven to 10 in every part. Got to get the inches some way without boring you all, am I right?
Anyway, today we look at pitchers. Starters, middle relievers, and closers.
CC Sabathia, LHP
How can we talk about the big-name free agents without naming the biggest (literally) free agent available? Sabathia is a great talent, a past Cy Young award winner, and a perennial 20-game winner in either league. He’ll make Johan Santana money (six years, $137.5 million) or more.
A.J Burnett, RHP
Now, it’s true that Burnett won’t be a free agent unless he opts out of his contract (which is very likely), but he could be in line for a big payday. Burnett gets high strikeouts, he’ll eat six or seven innings, and he’s solid No. 2 guy. He’d be stupid to not opt out with the lack of big-time, free-agent arms on the open market.
Ben Sheets, RHP
The Boston Red Sox showed that it is logical to give disabled-list players big money, so why not Sheets? J.D Drew received big time money from the Red Sox, and Sheets is in line for much more than what Drew received (five years, $70 million).
If he’s healthy and efficient, he’s an ace. If he’s hurt or ineffective, he’ll get his brains bashed in. Nevertheless, some general manager will be dumb enough to throw a lot of money his way.
Ryan Dempster, RHP
Dempster is having a superb year. Remember, he was a closer for the Chicago Cubs for the past four seasons, and now he’s their No. 2 man. Dempster will make a lot of money, and with good reason. When he’s on, he’s tough; however, 2008 was his first year as a starter since 2003. He’ll break 200 innings this season, but there’s no telling how his arm will hold up.
Carl Pavano, RHP
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