MLB Free Agents 2012: 7 Best Free Agents the Boston Red Sox Should Not Sign

Most fans go into free agency excited about the team's next big signing. And why shouldn't they? There are elite talents for the picking that could change the face of a franchise.

But considering the recent history of the Boston Red Sox with big contracts (John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Mike Cameron for starters), I'm more concerned about who the Red Sox will not sign. Here's the list of seven elite players the Red Sox should not sign this offseason.

1./1A.: Albert Pujols/Prince Fielder

This one's a no-brainer...or at least it should be.

The Red Sox already have an elite first baseman in Adrian Gonzalez. He just won a Gold Glove, which he actually deserves, and he's making over $20 million a year. If the Red Sox were to acquire any other first baseman, they would be the one who should move to DH. The only problem is, they won't cost DH money.

Both Pujols and Prince figure to make in the neighborhood of $20 million a year which is hard to justify considering the Red Sox scored the most runs in baseball last year. There's the option of trying either player out at third base, but that would make for one very expensive experiment.

2. Jonathan Papelbon

What makes even less sense than a $20-million-a-year DH? A $14-million-a-year reliever who pitches 65 innings a year.

Sure, there could be a case made that Papelbon is the best closer available and should be paid accordingly. But I have a hard time buying it considering it's Papelbon meltdowns that marked the end of the 2009 and 2011 seasons. With the money Papelbon will cost in free agency, the Red Sox could acquire two or three quality guys to set up for Daniel Bard.

Plus, if Papelbon is offered arbitration and signs elsewhere, he'll net us a slick two draft picks in next year's draft.

3. Yu Darvish

I took a bit of liberty here and assumed Darvish will be posted by his current team, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Note, that's Nippon-Ham Fighters, not Nippon Ham Fighters. As entertaining a name as Ham Fighters would be, Nippon-Ham is the owner and Fighters is the team.

Now that we've got that out of the way, here's why Darvish would be a terrible idea:

There's no reason to believe he won't be Daisuke Matsuzaka II. Darvish tops out at 96-97 mph, only one mph faster than Matsuzaka when he was in Japan. The baseballs Japanese pitchers use are more dense and travel at faster speeds and the two days of extra rest for Japanese starters also has a lot to do with their added velocity.

Darvish also has a history of nibbling at the strike zone.

Don't believe the hype that he's the best Japanese pitcher of our lifetimes; we heard the same thing about Matsuzaka. The amount of money it costs just to talk to premium Japanese pitchers is hard to justify considering they're playing in a league the caliber of AAA, pitching on seven days' rest and facing hitters with no power.

4. Jose Reyes

Whoever signs Reyes will be paying a premium for a base-stealing leadoff hitter and we already have arguably the best one of those in the American League. Then there's the issue of Reyes' below-average defense at one of the most important defensive positions in baseball.

Plus there's a history of injuries and offensive struggles that one good year doesn't erase. And last but not least, on the last game of the 2011 season he bunted for a base hit in his first at-bat and then removed himself from the game so that he could not lose the batting title. That just rubs me the wrong way.

I grew up admiring how Ted Williams was given the option of sitting out the last two games of his 1941 season after having wrapped up a .400 average but instead played in both and went 6-for-8.

5. Jimmy Rollins

Anyone who signs Jimmy Rollins will be paying extra for his previous performance. The former MVP has really fallen off a cliff the last two years. Over that span, he has hit only .255/.316/.403. His above-average defense makes up for some of that, but his offense would likely get even worse if he was facing American League starters who he is largely unfamiliar with.

To be honest, we're better off paying millions of dollars less per year for Marco Scutaro. He is a proven commodity in the American League East and according to WAR was only worth about one fewer win than Rollins last year.

6. Heath Bell

To some, he may be an interesting alternative to Jonathan Papelbon. He'll certainly cost less in free agency, but he's also a Type-A free agent for whom we would have to surrender two draft picks. That's two fewer draft picks than we'd have to surrender to have Daniel Bard as the closer.

Bell's also 34 years old and has pitched the last five years of his career in the most pitcher-friendly park of the most pitcher-friendly division in baseball. Pitching in the AL East is a different animal, as we learned the hard way with reliever Rudy Seanez.

7. Erik Bedard

When he's healthy, his numbers are always impressive. And 2011, which saw him post a 3.62 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 129 innings, was no different. But when has he ever been healthy?

A major issue with the pitching staff in 2011 was injury and inconsistency. And with Bedard, we're virtually guaranteed that we will see more injuries and sixth- or seventh-starter backup options filling in on a regular basis. That kind of inconsistency appeared to be contagious last year.

The position players' at-bats tend to suffer when they're routinely playing from behind and the bullpen tends to suffer when it's leaned on for three or four innings every night.