Early Predictions for 2014 Free Agency's Biggest Spenders in MLB

While most of us are watching the final stretch of the MLB season, I am sure that general managers are starting to draw up their budgets for the imminent free-agent class.

Naturally, some teams are preparing to spend enormous amounts of money to position themselves for a run at the World Series in 2014, and that is what I’m going to give you a little bit of a preview of through this slide show.

The five teams on this list each have definite reasons to spend heavily this winter, but I will say that each of these five will have very different motivations. Some are going to be worried about bringing their players back while others will be reaching out for new weapons.

Either way, the money will be flowing, and it is going to change the landscape of baseball next year.

New York Yankees

I bet you are not surprised to see them on this list, but the New York Yankees are going to need to spend a lot of money this winter if they want to retain their star second baseman Robinson Cano.

The perennial All-Star is arguably the best player on the free-agent market this winter, and while I do think that he will remain with the Yankees when the dust settles, there is going to be a lot of interest.

Second base is a rather thin position, and scarcity raises the price. When you add to that the fact that the Yankees might want to bring back veteran right-handed starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, you have the recipe for quite a bit of money flying out the door this winter.

Chicago Cubs

Theo Epstein made a number of strategic acquisitions to improve the Boston Red Sox when he was there, and I personally have to think that he will start making some more significant moves with the Chicago Cubs.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports mentioned that it might be an interesting fit to see Epstein chase after center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Obviously they were together in Boston, and that connection might help make this a possibility.

If the Cubs capture him and make a few other acquisitions, their bill will be rather high and near the top of the pack.

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers have a lot of free agents hitting the market. Matt Garza, Nelson Cruz and AJ Pierzynski have contributed a lot to this team so far this season, and in order to maintain the same level of performance, the Rangers will need to bring them back or look for comparable options.

In either situation, they will need to make a significant financial investment. There are other good outfield options like Shin-Soo Choo or Hunter Pence if they chose to replace Nelson Cruz, but that would still take quite a bit of money.

The Rangers have had a good run of success, and I am sure they want to maintain their current levels of production to continue having success. However, with such big pieces leaving, they will need to open up their wallet to make that happen.

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are not losing very many impact free agents, but it seems as if their name keeps coming up in regards to a few major targets on the market.

Buster Olney of ESPN suggested that Detroit might make a run at Robinson Cano. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports mentioned they might be interested in Brian McCann. Landing one of them would obviously launch them right to the top of the spending list.

However, even if they come up short on both counts, the Tigers are a team that does have money, and they are a team that needs their bullpen overhauled. There are a few decent options on the market like Edward Mujica and Javier Lopez. Even these seemingly minor acquisitions would pile up eventually into a large sum of money.

San Francisco Giants

For one thing, the San Francisco Giants are in the basement of the National League West. That will provide them incentive to upgrade over the winter.

On top of that, Tim Lincecum is becoming a free agent, which will open up a little bit of spending money. Even if they decide to bring him back (which I hope they do), there will be left over money that they can spend to get back to the top.

Hunter Pence will be a free agent, so they need to either bring him back or get another bat to fill in that production hole.

The Giants were on top of baseball last year, and after a frustrating season, I do not doubt they will attack the market and make some improvements.

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