2012 MLB Free Agents: 3 Best Pickups Not Named Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols

Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols? Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder? That is the question of impending free agency in MLB.

Those two superstars will set the market for everyone else in 2012, and rightfully so. They're arguably the two biggest names in what's shaping up to be a pretty shallow pool, at least as far as real difference-makers are concerned.

That doesn't mean Fielder and Pujols will be the only ones swimming in money at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. These three All-Stars figure to find themselves living large with Robin Leach sooner rather than later.

CC Sabathia

So, if you're the Yankees, you probably figured that CC Sabathia would be decked out in pinstripes until at least 2015. After all, what's not to like about the seven-year, $161-million deal he signed with New York in December of 2008?

Apparently, being the highest-paid pitcher of all time may not be enough for Sabathia and, in purely economic terms, he's absolutely right to test the market once again. Sabathia has an opt-out clause in his contract that he's likely to exercise after this season.

The thinking goes, though, that he'll likely use it simply as a means of forcing the Yankees to essentially extend his current deal. He saw the sort of money they offered 32-year-old former teammate Cliff Lee (seven years, $148 million) and thought, "Gee, I'm two years younger than Cliff, so why shouldn't I get that kind of security?"

Not a bad line of thinking, considering what he's meant to the Yankees' starting rotation. Sabathia's won 59 games in three seasons among an amalgamation of arms that's dwindled in quality with each passing season. Without Sabathia, the Yankees wouldn't have had anything close to an ace in their rotation this season.

That is, unless anyone really thinks Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, AJ Burnett and/or Ivan Nova count in that regard.

Sabathia's opt-out may be dictated by dollars as much as winning sense. If he doesn't think the Yankees' rotation is good enough to win another World Series and doesn't want to be the only reliable option, he may choose instead to take (slightly) less money to join forces with a team stacked with arms.

Like, say, the San Francisco Giants, where he would be closer to his Northern California roots. With that sort of threat hanging overhead, expect GM Brian Cashman, or whoever is running the show, to double dip in the thin pitching market to keep Sabathia happy.  

CJ Wilson

Who better to satiate New York's (or anyone else's) need for starting pitching depth than CJ Wilson?

Another California lefty, Wilson finally put all the pieces together over the last two years and took a huge step forward in 2010 to become the Rangers' unquestioned ace in place of Cliff Lee.

Just in time for free agency, as it turns out. At 30 years of age, Wilson isn't exactly a spring chick as far as big-money signings go.

Nor does he come with a completely clean bill of health, not after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2003. There also remains concern as to Wilson's viability as a starting pitcher over the long haul. He spent most of his Major League career in relief before the Rangers moved him back into the rotation on a full-time basis in 2010.

Even with all of that, though, Wilson is still arguably the best starting pitcher who is absolutely certain to be on the market this winter. He's younger than Mark Buehrle, Chris Carpenter and Roy Oswalt and more durable than the latter two. He's also spent his entire career pitching in one of the greatest havens for hitters in all of baseball—the Ballpark in Arlington—so he knows how to survive amidst unfriendly circumstances.

Expect another Red Sox vs. Yankees bidding war, with the Rangers, Marlins, Cardinals, Orioles and even possibly the Twins throwing their hats in the ring.

Heath Bell

I'm hesitant to put any relief pitcher on a pedestal because A) their performance tends to swing rather dramatically from year to year and B) because there are just so many of them on the market.

Frankly, you could very well make the case that Heath Bell isn't even the best closer looking for a new deal. Jonathan Papelbon and Jose Valverde have longer track records of picking up (and blowing) saves, while Bell has only been an everyday closer since 2009.

However, in that span, nobody's been better than Bell, who's averaged 44 saves per year over the last three with an ERA comfortably under 2.50 in that span.

That being said, no relief pitcher, especially one approaching his 34th birthday, deserves a long-term deal unless his name is Mariano Rivera. Bell has already expressed his desire to stay in San Diego, as he's a native of nearby Oceanside.

Whether the Padres can afford to keep him is a different story entirely, though it's possible that he'll re-up with the Dads at a hometown discount.

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