Outside of David Ortiz, there isn’t likely to be a lot of money made by pure DHs in 2012. Open spots are limited and teams seemed to have learned their lesson on signing aging DH-only types to lucrative deals.
1. David Ortiz (36) – Ortiz had a fantastic 2011 campaign in which he posted a line of .309/.398/.554 with 29 home runs. He also lowered his strikeout rate and posted the best BB/K ratio of his career (0.94). His age is a bit of a deterrent and he shouldn’t be in a position where he has to play the field everyday. Both factors will limit his market and possible contract length, but teams will certainly be interested in his bat.
2. Jason Kubel (29) – Kubel gets marked down a bit since he’s not much of a defender, at all. He should be limited to signing with an American League team where he can DH, maybe playing a few games in the outfield here or there. Kubel’s a solid enough hitter, capable of a line around .275/.335/.450 with 20-25 homers when healthy.
3. Johnny Damon (37) – Damon might not be finished quite yet. He put up a respectable .261/.326/.418 line in 2011 with 16 home runs and 19 stolen bases. While he still has decent range in the field, his arm is so poor that he might be better off kicking the ball to the cut-off man. That factor will limit him to an American League team.
4. Jim Thome (41) – Despite his age, Thome continues to do two things extremely well: Hit the long ball and draw walks. He could be a fit on any team looking for a left-handed platoon DH or a power threat off the bench.
5. Vladimir Guerrero (37) – These days, Vlad swings the bat like he runs, slow and sort of all over the place. He had a fantastic season in 2010, but declines can happen very fast at his age, especially given his propensity to chase pitches outside the strike-zone (he has held a 47 percent chase rate for two straight seasons). Vlad only walked 17 times last season (of the unintentional variety), hit only 13 homer runs and is detriment on the base paths. He’ll be hard pressed to find a deal anywhere close to the $8M he made in 2011.
Honorable mentions
Hideki Matsui (38) – Matsui’s OBP was precisely league average this past season and his SLG actually fell well below the league average. Given his age and fall off in production, he’ll be struggling to find a lucrative deal in 2012.
Jorge Posada (41) – Chances are good that we’ve seen the last of Jorge Posada. The Yankees have no need to bring him back and his production at the plate has declined for three straight years.