Which MLB Suitor Needs Each Top 25 Offseason Target Most?
Rarely is there only one team vying for the services of each of the top players on the market, and often times it comes down to who is willing to spend more in free agency or offer up more in a trade to determine where a player winds up.
With front-line starting pitching and power bats in short supply on the free-agent market this offseason, the top available players will have no shortage of teams after them, and if any marquee players do wind up hitting the trade market, the asking price will be huge.
Keeping that in mind, here is a look at the top 25 players on the market right now, both in free agency and through trades, and which team needs to acquire them the most.
C Brian McCann: Texas Rangers
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After Mike Napoli skipped town for Boston last offseason, the Rangers wound up signing A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year, $7.5 million deal to fill the void behind the plate.
While the 36-year-old Pierzynski hit 17 home runs and drove in 70 runs, his .297 on-base percentage was the worst of his career and he was average at best defensively.
So it comes as no surprise that the Rangers are hot on the trail of the market's top backstop in Brian McCann. Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston tweeted last week that the Rangers were "knocking his door down" in their pursuit of him.
The Rangers have one of the top catching prospects in the game in Jorge Alfaro, but the 20-year-old is still at least a couple years away after spending most of 2013 at Class-A Hickory. McCann could bridge the gap to Alfaro, then move to either first base or DH once he arrives.
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Boston Red Sox
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With Carlos Ruiz re-signing with the Phillies and Brian McCann likely to cost at least $75 million, the Red Sox's best option behind the plate looks to be re-signing Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
The 28-year-old has served as the Red Sox's primary catcher the past three seasons, and he is coming off the best offensive year of his career, as he hit .273/.338/.466 with 14 home runs and 65 RBI.
His 3.6 fWAR was tied for eighth among all catchers, and while he remains a below-average option defensively, he did a solid job handling the Red Sox's veteran staff and is by no means a liability behind the plate either.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Red Sox have made a two-year offer to Saltalamacchia that is believed to worth less than $10 million per year. This after the team decided against extending him a qualifying offer earlier this month.
1B Mike Napoli: Boston Red Sox
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Figuring out the catcher position is certainly on the Red Sox's to-do list, and they will also need to decide how the outfield aligns with Jacoby Ellsbury all but certain to sign elsewhere, but as of now bringing back Mike Napoli is their top offseason priority.
That according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, who pointed to the 32-year-old slugger as the team's No. 1 target.
After originally agreeing to a three-year, $39 million deal last offseason, Napoli failed a physical due to a degenerative hip condition and wound up having to settle for a one-year, $5 million deal that included up to $8 million more in incentives.
He wound up earning all $8 million, as he played in 139 games and finished second on the team in home runs (23) and RBI (92). With right-handed power becoming harder and harder to find, and little in the way of impact options behind him as far as first basemen on the free-agent market go, it's no surprise the Red Sox are so set on bringing him back.
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1B/OF Mark Trumbo: Arizona Diamondbacks
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The Angels don't want to trade Mark Trumbo, but it may wind up being a move they have to make for the good of the team as they continue to look for ways to improve their starting rotation.
As Jon Heyman of CBS Sports points out, the Angels have already drawn a ton of interest from teams looking to swing a deal for Trumbo, and while they are reluctant to move him, it still remains a possibility.
The 27-year-old slugger hit just .234/.294/.453 last season, but did set career bests with 34 home runs, 100 RBI and 85 runs scored. He's spent time at third base and in both corner outfield spots, but he remains best-suited as a first baseman.
Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers told Fox Sports back in September that the team will be looking for a power bat to protect superstar Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of its lineup.
Trumbo certainly fits the bill, and he could be plugged in as the team's starting left fielder. The Diamondbacks have a wealth of good young pitching and could stand to make a deal for Trumbo without really hurting the team's long-term outlook.
2B Robinson Cano: New York Yankees
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The premier free agent on the market this offseason, Robinson Cano, has yet to come down from his 10-year, $310 million asking price, and he and the Yankees remain roughly $150 million apart according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
At this point, it looks like the Yankees are going to be willing to spend more on Cano than anyone else on the market, though they have been kicking the tires on a handful of other second-base options just in case.
My guess is the two sides meet somewhere in the middle, as Cano won't be able to find more money elsewhere and the Yankees can't afford to lose their top offensive threat.
2B Brandon Phillips: Kansas City Royals
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The Royals made a solid under-the-radar move in August to acquire Emilio Bonifacio from the Blue Jays, and the speedster proved to be a significant upgrade at second base, hitting .285/.352/.348 in 158 at-bats and stealing 16 bases.
Despite that, Jim Bowden of ESPN tweeted earlier this month that the team's biggest offseason priorities are starting pitching and second base.
Bonifacio has thrived as a super utility player in the past, so it makes sense that the team would want to return him to that role. As for second-base options, the free-agent market is thin behind Robinson Cano and Omar Infante, but there are options on the trade market.
It would all depend on how much of the $50 million Phillips is due over the next five years the Reds are willing to eat, but it's certainly not far-fetched to see Phillips being a fit in Kansas City.
3B Chase Headley: Los Angeles Dodgers
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Though he did not have overwhelming career numbers by any means, given his plus on-base skills and the fact that he played a premium position in third base, Chase Headley was expected to have a decent amount of trade value if the Padres decided to shop him.
After a ho-hum first half to the 2012 season in which he hit .267/.368/.413 with eight home runs and 42 RBI, Headley exploded in the second half for a .308/.386/.592 line with 23 home runs and 73 RBI as he went on to lead the NL in RBI.
That was enough for the Padres to hold onto him, though they decided against extending him as well, as he had two years of team control left heading into 2013. He battled injuries to open the season and never quite got things going, finishing with a .250/.347/.400 line and 13 home runs.
With Headley now set to hit free agency at the end of 2014, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported earlier this week that the growing sentiment" is that he will be traded this offseason.
He'd be an upgrade at third for a number of teams, and it remains to be seen if the Padres would be willing to ship him to a team in their own division, but the Dodgers could certainly use him as much as anyone.
SS Elvis Andrus: St. Louis Cardinals
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It's no surprise the Cardinals are in the market for a shortstop, as that ranked as the one hole in what was an otherwise stacked offensive attack.
All told, the team got a .222/.280/.303 line and just four home runs from the position, as rookie Pete Kozma provided plus defense but was among the worst everyday players in the NL offensively.
The free-agent market is relatively thin at shortstop, with Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta ranking as the only two legitimate starting options, but there are some intriguing names on the trade market.
As the Rangers continue to try to sort out their middle infield logjam, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that a trade of either Ian Kinsler or Elvis Andrus is "starting to look inevitable" in order to free up a spot for Jurickson Profar.
The Cardinals have a wealth of young talent with which to put together an attractive trade package, and while Andrus is due $126.475 million through 2022 on his current deal, he would solve the Cardinals' shortstop issue long-term and is looking more and more reasonably priced after Stephen Drew turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer.
SS Stephen Drew: New York Mets
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After hitting .289/.333/.351 over 464 at-bats in 2012, Ruben Tejada looked like a potential long-term answer at shortstop for the Mets. He struggled this past season, though, hitting just .202/.259/.260 in 208 at-bats and spending a good deal of time in the minors.
All told, Mets shortstops hit a combined .215/.285/.276 with a position-low three home runs last season, and without a clear in-house option at this point, it's a clear area of need this offseason.
Stephen Drew signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Red Sox last offseason and likely turned that into a multi-year deal this winter, even turning down a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox to pursue a better deal on the open market.
Drew is a plus fielder and is coming off of a season in which he hit .253/.333/.443 with 13 home runs and 67 RBI. The price of shortstops continues to climb, but it would be worth the money for the Mets to bring Drew aboard.
CF Shin-Soo Choo: New York Mets
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The Mets' outfield situation was a disaster last year and would have been even worse had it not been for the surprise season Marlon Byrd turned in prior to being dealt to the Pirates.
Incumbents Juan Lagares, Matt den Dekker, Eric Young and Lucas Duda will all be in the mix for playing time in 2014, but the team will almost certainly look to add to that group in free agency and could look to make a splash with one of the market's top names.
With a protected first-round pick, they may be more willing than most to go after guys who received qualifying offers, and Shin-Soo Choo would be a great fit.
He could wind up costing north of $100 million over six years, but he'd give the Mets a much-needed boost atop the lineup with his superior on-base skills. With Lagares ranking as one of the better defensive center fielders in the game, Choo could also move back to his natural position of right field with the Mets.
CF Jacoby Ellsbury: New York Yankees
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Assuming the Mets sign Shin-Soo Choo and the Yankees are also able to bring aboard Carlos Beltran to provide some much-needed pop in the middle of the lineup, Jacoby Ellsbury would seem like a great addition as a table-setter in center field.
The Yankees were expected to spend big this offseason, and a big piece of that spending was to come in their pursuit of Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka. However, changes to the posting process have stalled, and there is a chance Tanaka could be staying in Japan for at least one more season as a result.
While pitching remains a key area of focus for the Yankees this offseason, the opportunity to steal Ellsbury from their rivals may be too good to pass up.
The Yankees have already met with his agent and are said to be among the teams with serious interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.
CF Curtis Granderson: Chicago Cubs
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While their first-round pick is protected, the Cubs may still be hesitant to give up their second-round pick in order to sign any of the players who received qualifying offers this offseason.
However, Granderson would be a great fit on a short-term deal to help bridge the gap to Albert Almora in center field. He'll no doubt be had for cheaper than the likes of Shin-Soo Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury, and a three-year deal could be a possibility as well.
The slugger managed just 61 games this past season, as a pair of hit-by-pitches landed him on the DL, but those injuries should not be a concern moving forward.
After hitting 41 and 43 home runs the previous two seasons for the Yankees, he could provide a boost in the middle of the Cubs lineup. He also has a .340 career on-base percentage and decent speed, should the Cubs decide to use him in the leadoff spot as well.
CF Matt Kemp: Seattle Mariners
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Injuries kept it from being an issue this past season, but heading into 2014, the Dodgers will have four starting-caliber outfielders vying for three spots.
That has led the team to shop veterans Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Rookie phenom Yasiel Puig remains more or less untouchable, given his reasonable salary and years of team control.
Kemp looks to be the most attractive trade chip, despite the fact that he has six years and $128 million left on his contract and is coming off an injury-plagued season.
The 29-year-old played in just 73 games last season and just 106 in 2012, but was arguably the game's best all-around player in 2011. That season, he hit .324/.399/.586 with 39 home runs and 40 steals, finishing second to Ryan Braun in a controversial NL MVP vote.
There is no reason to think a healthy Kemp can't return to that same dominant form, and for a Mariners team looking to add an impact bat to what is a slowly improving offensive attack, Kemp could be the perfect fit.
RF Jose Bautista: Texas Rangers
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The Rangers' biggest offseason focus target seems to be Brian McCann, but the team also has a hole to fill in left field with David Murphy gone in free agency and Craig Gentry better suited as a fourth outfielder.
There has been no link between the Rangers and Jose Bautista to this point, and it remains to be seen if the Blue Jays would even be willing to move him. However, according to a tweet from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, teams are inquiring about the slugger's availability.
It was reported last week by Howard Eskin of Fox 29 that the Phillies were involved in "serious talks" to acquire Bautista, and while nothing has come of that to this point, it shows that the Blue Jays are at least willing to listen.
If the Rangers could somehow land both McCann and Bautista, they could slot those two alongside August acquisition Alex Rios and Adrian Beltre for what would be a deadly middle of the lineup once again in Texas.
RF Carlos Beltran: New York Yankees
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The two-year, $26 million deal that the Cardinals gave Carlos Beltran prior to the 2012 season wound up being a great one, as the slugger proved he still had plenty left in the tank and made a pair of All-Star teams in the process.
As the 36-year-old continues to put together an increasingly convincing Hall of Fame resume, it looks like his time with the Cardinals is over, as the team will either move Allen Craig to right field to open up a spot for Matt Adams or give top prospect Oscar Taveras a crack at everyday at-bats.
There is no shortage of teams in the running to sign Beltran, who is reportedly looking for a three- or four-year deal, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, to finish out his career.
He's already been pointed to as one of the Yankees' top targets, and if he were to split his time between right field and DH, there is no reason to think he couldn't continue playing at a high level for at least a couple more seasons.
RF Nelson Cruz: Baltimore Orioles
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Last season saw Orioles' designated hitters combined for just a .234/.289/.415 line to go along with 21 home runs and 69 RBI, and the bulk of that production came from Danny Valencia in the second half of the season.
Valencia will likely slide to third base until Manny Machado returns, leaving a void at the DH spot once again this season. Left field is also an area that needs to be addressed should the team decide not to bring Nate McLouth back in free agency.
Adding Nelson Cruz would mean surrendering the their first-round pick after he received a qualifying offer from the Rangers, and the Orioles may be wary of doing that when starting pitching remains their biggest area of need.
However, Cruz would give them the veteran power bat they've been looking for to join Chris Davis and Adam Jones in the middle of the lineup, and he should come relatively cheap compared to the rest of the outfield market, and on a shorter deal.
SP Bartolo Colon: Oakland Athletics
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Out of baseball altogether in 2010, Bartolo Colon turned in a solid season for the Yankees in 2011 before joining the A's the following season on a one-year, $2 million deal.
He was 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA as a 39-year-old in 2012, but his season was cut short by a 50-game PED suspension, and that allowed the A's to re-sign him to another one-year deal with a small raise to $3 million.
That proved to be one of the best contracts handed out last winter, as Colon went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA in 30 starts and finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting as the ace of the Oakland staff.
With Jarrod Parker, Sonny Gray, A.J. Griffin, Dan Straily, Tommy Milone and Brett Anderson all in the running for rotation spots, the A's don't necessarily need to re-sign Colon. However, he's been a steadying force at the front of that young group the past two years, and if he can be had on a reasonable, short-term deal, he'd be well-worth re-upping with.
SP Matt Garza: Washington Nationals
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The last two seasons, the Nationals have filled their No. 4 starter spot with a veteran on a one-year deal, as it was Edwin Jackson in 2012 and Dan Haren this past season.
Neither pitcher wowed in his one year with the team, as Jackson went 10-11 with a 4.03 ERA and Haren was 10-14 with a 4.67 ERA. Granted, those are decent numbers from a back-of-the-rotation arm, but the Nationals could be looking for more this time around.
Two of the market's three top arms in Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana will cost whoever signs them a draft pick, but Matt Garza comes without the shackle of having received a qualifying offer.
He won't come cheap, but the Nationals are serious about winning now, and a rotation of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Matt Garza and someone from the trio of Ross Detwiler, Taylor Jordan and Tanner Roark could be awfully formidable.
SP Ubaldo Jimenez: Cleveland Indians
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Coming off of a disastrous 2012 season in which he went 9-17 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.613 WHIP, there was some question as to whether or not the Indians would even exercise their $5.75 million option on Ubaldo Jimenez for 2013.
It was a good thing they did, as the 29-year-old did a complete 180 and emerged as the ace of the Indians' surprisingly effective staff. He finished the year 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA, and he was particularly dominant down the stretch, going 6-4 with a 1.72 ERA in his final 12 starts.
The right-hander declined his end of an $8 million mutual option for 2014, and then passed on the team's $14.1 million qualifying offer, but that does not rule out a return to Cleveland. It just means it's going to cost the Indians to keep him.
With Scott Kazmir also a free agent and likely to sign elsewhere, re-upping with Jimenez becomes the Indians' No. 1 priority this offseason, and given his age and how well he finished last season, they should do whatever it takes to get a deal done.
SP Hiroki Kuroda: New York Yankees
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How valuable was Hiroki Kuroda for the Yankees last season? The 38-year-old went 11-13 with a 3.31 ERA in 32 starts. The rest of the Yankees' starting pitchers combined to go 44-50 with a 4.29 ERA in 130 games started.
His numbers would have been even better were it not for him going 0-3 with a 6.62 ERA over his final three starts, raising his ERA from 2.99 to 3.31 in the process.
The right-hander made $15 million on a one-year deal last season and will likely either re-sign with the Yankees or return to Japan to finish up his professional career. For the Yankees' sake, they had better hope he decides to spend at least one more season stateside.
SP Ricky Nolasco: Los Angeles Dodgers
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The Dodgers have been linked to a number of pitchers this offseason, and Peter Gammons of ESPN even laid out a scenario in which the team goes after both Masahiro Tanaka and David Price, but bringing back Ricky Nolasco may be its best option.
With a staff that already features Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Kershaw set to earn a record-breaking extension in the very near future, shelling out two more $100 million deals just because they can may not be in the Dodgers' best interest.
Nolasco was 8-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) after joining the Dodgers in July, and the 30-year-old has already indicated that he would prefer to stay with the Dodgers, according to Buster Olney of ESPN (insider required).
He's not quite the splash addition that Tanaka and Price would be, but he's a plus option as a No. 4 starter and should come substantially cheaper.
SP David Price: Chicago Cubs
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Due to receive somewhere in the neighborhood of $13 million in arbitration this season, according to MLB Trade Rumors, David Price is quickly pricing himself out of Tampa Bay and could very well be moved before the season begins.
Price has more or less accepted the idea of being traded at some point, telling Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Tribune: “If you go with what's been done in the past, I guess you're going to have to think you're going to get traded."
It's not often that a player of Price's caliber becomes available, so there would no doubt be a number of teams hot on his trail, but for a Cubs team that is looking to make a legitimate run at contention in the near future, he could be the missing piece.
With a farm system loaded with high-end offensive talent but still lacking in front-line arms, the Cubs have the pieces to pull off a deal without mortgaging the future. It would be a huge move that could shape the future of both organizations, but one that could push the Cubs over the top.
SP Ervin Santana: New York Yankees
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The Royals acquired Ervin Santana from the Angels last season in what was essentially a salary-dump move, as Kansas City took on $12 million of the $13 million left on the final year of his deal and sent the Angels a 28-year-old minor league reliever in return.
It proved to be a great move for the Royals, as Santana went just 9-10 but posted the best peripheral numbers of his career, with a 3.24 ERA and 1.142 WHIP in 211 innings of work.
Santana turned down a qualifying offer, and while the Royals are still interested in bringing him back, he may wind up out of their price range as arguably the top starting pitching option on the free-agent market.
With only CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova under contract from last year's rotation, the Yankees will be looking to add at least one arm and potentially two if Hiroki Kuroda decides not to return, and Santana would give them a big boost.
SP Max Scherzer: Detroit Tigers
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While David Price is all but certain of finding a new home before the 2014 season comes to a close, AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer is by no means a sure thing to be dealt.
However, the Tigers are shopping him this offseason and are open to trading either him or Rick Porcello, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Trading a pitcher coming off the type of season Scherzer had may seem crazy on the surface, but the right-hander is a free agent at the end of the upcoming season and, as a Scott Boras client, is unlikely to talk extension at this point.
Considering the money the Tigers already have tied up in Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez, adding another $20 million-plus annually to that may not be a viable option for Detroit.
However, given the fact that their core is already nearing the back end of their prime, it's clear the Tigers' window of opportunity is right now if they are going to win a title. Scherzer will be a big part of winning it all if they do, and the team needs to do whatever it takes to keep him around.
RP Joe Nathan: Detroit Tigers
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Coming off of one of the best seasons of his impressive career, it came as no surprise that Joe Nathan opted to decline his $9.5 million option for 2014 to become a free agent, as he'll almost certainly earn a multi-year deal and eight figures annually.
The 38-year-old saved 43 games for the Rangers last year, posting a career-low 1.39 ERA and picking up his 300th career save early in the season. With Mariano Rivera retired, his 341 career saves make him the active leader.
Spending big on closers is always a risky proposition, especially one who is rapidly approaching 40 years old, but Nathan has been one of the best in the business for so long that he's a safer bet than most in his situation.
The Tigers bullpen was a mess last season before Joaquin Benoit slid into the closer's role, and with Benoit now a free agent, the team stands to be in a similar situation entering 2014. Flame-thrower Bruce Rondon remains the closer of the future in Detroit, but if Nathan can come in on a two-year deal and allow him to establish himself as a setup man, it would make the Tigers better in the short- and long-term.
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