2012 MLB Free Agency: 10 Impact Relievers Still on the Market

This offseason has shown the hype that we all hoped for right after the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series back in October. Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Yu Darvish, Jimmy Rollins and plenty of other players signed new contracts, mainly with new teams. We also saw several trades involving some of the best young talent in all of baseball.

The market for relief pitching has also been interesting thus far. Jonathan Papelbon signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for four years and $58 million. Heath Bell signed with the revamped Miami Marlins for three years and $27 million. Ryan Madson, Joe Nathan and Frank Francisco all signed big contracts as well.

It may seem that a lot of the talent on the free-agent market is gone but there are still many impact relievers still available. Here's a look of 10 relievers that could prove to be steals late in the season.

Luis Ayala

The New York Yankees signed Luis Ayala last February to a one-year deal that paid close to the league minimum at $650,000. He ended up playing a huge role in their bullpen, appearing in 52 games. His 2.09 ERA was only the fourth best out of Yankees relievers behind David Robertson, Mariano Rivera and Cory Wade.

Ayala primarily pitched during the middle innings of games last season, appearing in the eighth inning the most. New York showed that they can still get a great reliever for cheap. Even though he isn't the biggest name on the market, he deserves some credit for the work he put in during 2011. A reliable reliever for under $1 million is a bargain these days and it would be stupid for a team not to give him a contract.

Shawn Camp

This former Toronto Blue Jays reliever had another consistent season in 2011. He appeared in 67 games for Toronto, finishing a career-high 23 of them. His ERA is not the best at 4.21 but he can still get the job done at the end of the game either as the seventh-inning guy or the setup man.

He dominated hitters during September, going 5-0 in 12 appearances and posting a sub-1.00 ERA. He only allowed four hits in the entire month and opponents only hit .133 against him.

Camp was making $2.25 million last season and will probably not get that kind of money on the current free-agent market. He is a Type B free agent but is more likely to get around $1.5 million in 2012. 

Mike Gonzalez

Mike Gonzalez spent most of the 2011 season with the Baltimore Orioles before he cleared waivers and was traded to the Texas Rangers on August 31st. Overall, Gonzalez appeared in 56 games, holding eight of the them.

He is a left-hander that will strike out a good amount of batters, moving down 51 batters by way of the K in 53.1 innings. He only had a 8.6 SO/9 last season but his career average is 10.3. 

It's unlikely that he receives another $6 million contract after earning that amount in each of the last two seasons with the Orioles. He would be great for a team needing a situational lefty that can also handle the late-game pressure.

Juan Cruz

Juan Cruz was another steal in the AL East last season after Tampa Bay signed him to a one-year deal of just under $1 million. He went 5-0 for the Rays in 56 appearances, compiling a 3.88 ERA. 

Besides a tough nine games in June, Cruz was great throughout the season. He posted sub-2.00 ERAs in April, May and September. At 33 years old, Cruz was pitching in many games with very little rest. He threw on back-to-back nights 13 times and with one day of rest 15 times.

Brad Lidge

The former closer only pitched in half of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery in 2011. His velocity is down under 90 mph and will most likely not see another closer role in his career but could still be used as an impact reliever.

According the Ken Rosenthal, Lidge has several suitors including the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Philadelphia Phillies. He has made $36 million in the last three seasons and won't see anything near that going forward. The most Lidge would get as a setup man or basic reliever would probably be around $3-6 million a season.

If the team that eventually signs Lidge can get his 2008 performance then they would have made an incredible signing, to say the least.

Damaso Marte

This left-handed reliever is in a tough position since he missed the entire 2011 season after he had shoulder surgery at the end of the 2010 season. MLB Trade Rumors says that at best, Marte could sign a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. 

Marte has been good in his career during the postseason, never allowing a run in 10 appearances from 2005 with the White Sox and 2009 with the Yankees. His $4 million team option was declined from New York back in October.

If he can rebound from the shoulder surgery then he could turn into a valuable reliever again. He was very good towards the beginning of his career but now at age 36, the best innings are most likely behind him.

Todd Coffey

The Washington Nationals got a bargain out of Todd Coffey last season, paying him just over $1 million and getting 69 quality appearances out of him. He won five games, posted a 3.62 ERA and stuck out 46 batters in 59.2 innings of work.

MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and New York Mets have all had interest in Coffey, who can be used in the seventh or eighth innings. He did hold 10 games for the Nationals and has been very durable over the course of his career. 

I think that if he is looking for another $1 million contract that he should easily get it. Boston would be a good fit since they are moving Daniel Bard and Alfredo Aceves to the starting rotation but there haven't been any rumors confirming this just yet.

Chad Qualls

Need a quality setup man? Chad Qualls is your guy. Despite pitching for a poor San Diego Padres team in 2011, Qualls held 22 games in 77 appearances, posting a 3.51 ERA. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has reported that Qualls has been on Boston's radar all offseason long.

The right-hander made $1.5 million in 2011 and his $6 million team option was declined by San Diego. Although he won't be getting $6 million in 2012, he could make around $2-3 million depending on how the team sees him. Qualls, 33, could be a solid piece to a bullpen that still needs work, much like Boston. 

Arthur Rhodes

Despite being 42 years old, Arthur Rhodes is looking to make it 21 years in Major League Baseball, according to MLB Trade Rumors. He has already played for nine teams, could he make it an even 10 with a new team in 2012?

Rhodes appeared in 51 games last season split between the AL champion Texas Rangers and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. His ERA was steep at 4.64 but did hold 11 games over the course of the season.

He is not overpowering, by any means, but somehow keeps getting the job done. I would expect him to get a minor league deal with a spring training invitation. To be realistic, how much longer can he keep playing?

Francisco Cordero

Francisco Cordero is the only "true" closer left on the free-agent market. MLB Trade Rumors has several reports of teams being interested including, but not limited to, the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 68 appearances with the Cincinnati Reds in 2011 he saved 37 games and posted a 2.45 ERA. 

Over the last five seasons Cordero has saved over 30 games while his career-high 49 came back in 2004. One concern for Cordero is that his strikeouts keep falling despite pitching in around the same number of games each season. In 2007 he struck out 86 batters while last season he only struck out 42. 

His WHIP is very good, sitting just above 1.00 and could be very valuable to a team still in search of a closer. He definitely won't be as cheap as many of the relievers on this list but is easily the most effective. A multi-year contract wouldn't be out of the question.