MLB Free Agency: Top 6 Non-Tenders the Cubs Should Look in to

With the Winter Meetings behind us, the time has come and gone for teams to make the call on retaining arbitration eligible and contract renewable players. Most were retained by their clubs, but 29 players didn't make the cuts with their respective teams. A few for questions about their potential salaries they could win in arbitration, some for their teams going in a new direction and most from a simple lack of production.

Listed here are six players new Cubs GM Jed Hoyer and president Theo Epstein should look into adding to the 2012 squad.

A Farewell to Koyie Hill

First and foremost, a tribute to Koyie Hill—the Cubs lone non-tender—is in order. While the Cubs made qualifying offers to Matt Garza, Ian Stewart, Blake DeWitt, Jeff Baker, Randy Wells and Geovany Soto, Koyie Hill didn't make the cut.

While this was a move many Cubs fans—including myself—felt was well overdue, the simple reality was that Koyie, in all his surgically re-attached finger glory, was somehow involved in more Cub wins than losses. While the "it" factor may have flown in the Hendry regime, Theo and Co. won't settle for it.

I wish Koyie all the best with whatever team signs him. He's a capable defensive catcher, has loads of heart and durability and somehow manages to have his teams be above .500 when he starts.

Ronny Paulino, Catcher

With Koyie Hill's departure, the Cubs will be in need of a backup catcher. While they could go in-house with either Steve Clevenger or Welington Castillo, Ronny Paulio's name easily springs to mind to fill the role. Should the Cubs be out of it come July, either Geo or Paulino could be dealt to a contender for a fairly significant return.

At the least, Paulino provides a quality bat at catcher, a strong arm behind the plate and a few years of experience in the NL Central. Owner of a career .273/.326/.379 career slash line, Paulino instantly makes the Cubs a better team.

Jeff Keppinger, Infielder

Depending on how the Cubs plans at first base take shape this offseason, Jeff Baker may find himself in a platoon role at either first or third base, with Ian Stewart already in the fold and the very real possibility of Bryan LaHair being the opening day first baseman. If Baker finds himself in that role, then the Cubs will be in need of a new utility infielder from the right side, especially with D.J. LeMahieu's departure.

Enter Jeff Keppinger.

Keppinger, who was acquired by the Giants from Houston in their failed playoff push, holds a career line of .281/.332/.388 and could easily fill a role on most teams. Keppinger earned $2.3 million in 2011, and, while he should be in for a raise, he's intriguing enough to at least kick the tires on.

Keppinger has spent most of his career in the NL Central, suiting up for Cincinnati from 2007-2009, and Houston from 2010 through the midpoint of 2011. His familiarity with the division's pitchers can only help his case on the North Side.

Jeremy Hermida, Outfielder

Jeremy Hermida is one of those guys that scouts and front office people alike have always thought highly of, and he's always received chances because of his potential "if he can just put it all together."

Heading into 2006, Hermida was ranked as the fourth-best prospect in baseball by the fine folks at Baseball America. Since then, he's bounced around, wearing five different major league uniforms.

What makes Hermida such an interesting case is that both Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have acquired him as general manager of their respective teams. During the 2009-10 offseason, Theo sent a pair of pitching prospects to Florida for the slugging outfielder, only to release Hermida at the end of August.

This year, Jed grabbed him off the waiver wire from the Cincinnati Reds, and Hermida stuck with the team as a back-of-the-bench player.

While his abysmal 2010 and 2011 seasons might have cost him a guaranteed MLB contract, Hermida is the perfect guy to offer a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training, and loaded with MLB incentives. If he so chooses, an opt-out clause could be in place if he's not on the MLB roster by a certain date.

Joe Saunders, Starting Pitcher

By far, Joe Saunders is the cream of the non-tender crop. A soft-tossing lefty who logged 212 innings for the surprising Diamondbacks, Saunders was non-tendered by Arizona. His pitching style very much conveys itself to sustained success for at least a few more years despite having his first season with an ERA below 4 at 29 years of age.

Saunders was expected to receive an arbitration salary of over $8 million, which is the generally accepted reason Arizona did not tender him a contract. Despite posting a losing record at 12-13, Saunders had an ERA of 3.69 in 33 starts for Arizona, and is arguably one of the best starting pitchers left on the market.

An ace by no means, Saunders can easily step in to the middle of the Cubs rotation for the next few years. A three-year deal worth roughly $20 million should secure his services for the prime of his career while easily bolstering the Cubs pitching depth.

For anyone such as myself who had the misfortune of watching James Russel flail about in his starts, Saunders should be welcomed with open arms.

Jo-Jo Reyes, Starting Pitcher

Jo-Jo Reyes is another member of the "if he can just put it together" club that was non-tendered. Formerly a top prospect in the Braves minor-league system, he was seemingly nothing more than a throw-in for Toronto in the Yunel Escobar for Alex Gonzalez deal.

Toronto finally had enough of his non-production in early August and waived him, when the Orioles grabbed him, and in Baltimore, he managed to do a little worse than in Toronto.

However, the Cubs do need pitching depth (again, James Russell, starting pitcher), and offering Reyes a minor league deal with a spring training invite would be a savvy move. If he fails, oh well, he's never succeeded at the show. If he figures it out, the Cubs have a hard throwing lefty with plus stuff who has been a strikeout-per-inning guy in the minors.

Micah Owings, Pitcher

Until this year, Micah Owings had always been a curious case. A mediocre-at-best starter with amazing offensive abilities, Owings has always been the perfect NL pitcher.

This year in Arizona, as a full-time reliever, Owings posted a solid 3.57 ERA, his first sub-5 ERA since his rookie year as a Red in 2007.

Even with a potential raise to $2-3 million, Owings could provide the Cubs with a solid swingman out of their bullpen, along with being able to hit for himself, helping not deplete Dale Sveum's bench.