The next segment of TOC’s free agent primers will move onto position rankings. We’ll have a post going up each day this week ranking the top players available at each position, with each post focusing on a different group of positions. Today, we’re going to look at catchers, first basemen, and third baseman. It’s worth noting that the viable DH options on the market, most notably Billy Butler and Victor Martinez, will be grouped with the first basemen.
The catching market is ridiculously thin this year, but that’s about par for the course these days. Russell Martin might get a 2015 salary higher than the other nine catchers on this list combined.
1. Russell Martin. He’s the cream of the crop, at a relatively young 32. In addition to being an above average hitter (though his 2014 at the plate was quite good), Martin is a fantastic defensive catcher and a solid pitch framer. You’re not just getting a productive catcher with Martin – you’re getting a guy that can be a mentor to your young catchers. Something like five years and $75 million seems to be in the cards for Martin, and he’s already scheduled meetings with the Cubs, Blue Jays, Pirates, and Dodgers. If this turns into a bidding war between the Cubs and Dodgers, hold on to your hats.
2. Nick Hundley. Talk about a dropoff. Hundley is the consolation prize out there for a team that loses out on Martin, and while he’s not a great hitter, he’s an average framer and blocks the plate pretty well. I’d be wary about signing him as a primary backstop, though.
3. David Ross. The veteran Ross is the quintessential backup catcher, and he was also an above average hitter before struggling at the plate during his two years in Boston. Injuries have also plagued Ross in 2013 and 2014, and retirement could be awaiting him. Nevertheless, you know what you’re getting out of him at this point.
4. Geovany Soto. Remember when this guy was the NL Rookie of the Year? Now, he’s becoming a journeyman after falling out of favor in Chicago. He can still swing an adequate stick, and is decent enough behind the plate. Soto is a guy a team will sign if they need a caddy and/or platoon partner for a younger catcher.
5. A.J. Pierzynski. Retirement could also be in the cards for Pierzynski after an awful year in Boston and later St. Louis. At this point in his career, Pierzynski has one thing going for him – durability. He logged at least 500 plate appearances in nine of ten years from 2003 to 2013, falling just three short in 2005. In fact, he probably would have crossed that mark once again this year if he didn’t sign with the depth-craving Cardinals following his release by the Red Sox. Quite frankly, he looked cooked this year, but if he wants to keep going, some team will probably bring him to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee to try to earn a backup role.
6. Gerald Laird. When you get to this point in the catcher rankings, you’re really just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. Laird was fine for the Braves offensively in 2013, but was a horror show in 2014. Combining that offense with shoddy framing, shoddy defense, and his age (35 this week), it could be tough for Laird to catch on with a contender.
7. Wil Nieves. Can’t hit much. Decent enough defensively. At 37, he may have reached the end of the road.
8. J.P. Arencibia. Do not let J.P. catch. Man, just don’t do it. The only thing he can do at the plate is hit homers, but when that comes with next to no walks, a bucket load of strikes, and iffy (at best) defense behind the plate…is it really worth it?
9. Chris Gimenez. Gimenez is actually a decent backup/AAA depth option for a club. He performed adequately for the Rays as their backup in 2012, and did well enough for the Rangers in 2014.
10. John Buck. I didn’t even know John Buck was still playing. He apparently is.
Victor Martinez is by far the best DH/first base option on that market. However, for those that lose out of him, or simply want a full-time first baseman, there are also some other good options.
1. Victor Martinez. Even when Martinez is a full-time DH with no defensive value, he’s a valuable player because of how damn good of a hitter he is. In 2014, Martinez hit an incredible .335/.409/.565 with 32 homers and only 42 strikeouts. He was worth 4.4 fWAR despite playing just over 300 innings in the field. He’s the best DH option on the market, and his skillset is one that should age well, even though he’ll be 36 in December. Remember, Edgar Martinez hit a ton as a full-time DH until falling off a cliff in 2004 – at 41. I’m not saying Edgar and Victor are at all comparable aside from playing the same position, but it’s silly to assume that Victor will immediately struggle because of his age.
2. Adam LaRoche. Washington’s lack of desire to bring LaRoche back in 2015 has less to do with him and more to do with Ryan Zimmerman’s contract and growing inability to play third base. LaRoche is 35, but still produced in 2014 with a .259/.362/.455 line and 26 homers. However, his inability to hit left-handers is becoming a problem, and whoever signs him might need a platoon partner for him at the position.
3. Billy Butler. What the hell happened here? Butler could always hit the ball throughout his career, and the issue was always about his defense. Now, the offense has evaporated too, as Butler hit just .271/.323/.379 with a full season low nine homers in 2014. His best role is probably part of a platoon with a player that can’t hit left-handers, as Butler smashed southpaws to a .321/.387/460 mark last season, but I think some team is going to give him more money than he’s worth to play every day.
4. Mark Reynolds. 2014 was such a typical Mark Reynolds season – 22 homers, 122 strikeouts, and a .196 batting average in 433 plate appearances. As that oh so sexy “right-handed power”, Reynolds still has some value, but probably just as a DH or part-time first baseman. He’s 31 and on the downswing of an interesting career, but he’ll land somewhere this winter.
5. Corey Hart. Hart will turn 33 in March, and this placement might be too high for him – he could be done. He missed all of 2013 following microfracture knee surgery, and played in just 68 games last year with the Mariners because of a strained hamstring and a knee contusion. He can’t play the outfield anymore, and first base might even be too much of a stretch for him. He can still mash lefties, so there’s always a chance he could catch on in a part-time role, but the knee gives me plenty of reasons to be worried.
6. Kendrys Morales. Morales is what happens when a marginal talent overplays his hand. He didn’t sign until after the MLB Draft (with the Twins, of all teams), and was awful in the 98 games he played with Minnesota and later, Seattle. Maybe a full Spring Training will get him back into game shape – after all, Morales is still just 31, and had back to back 20 homer seasons in 2012-13. He won’t get anywhere near the pro-rated $12 million he made last year, but there’s potential here for a great bargain.
7. Mike Carp. Carp was a hero for the Red Sox in 2013, but was a horror show in 2014. He was DFAed by Boston in August, picked up by the Rangers, and didn’t even last the month in Texas before getting DFAed again. Carp is only 28, and still posted a double digit walk rate in 2014. Who knows how much the foot he broke before the All-Star Break thwarted his attempts at rebounding in the second half?
9. Daric Barton. Barton’s bat never progressed like the A’s thought it would, and he turned into a defensive replacement at first base for them. He has his uses as an on-base machine and a guy who can hit lefties, and I’d imagine a team like Milwaukee or whoever signs LaRoche could bring in Barton for a look in a platoon role.
9. Lyle Overbay. Overbay was the platoon partner for Mark Reynolds in Milwaukee in 2014, and he put together his fourth straight below average season. He’s turned into a journeyman, and shouldn’t be getting regular playing time anymore. Overbay will be 38 this winter, and retirement seems like his most likely option this winter.
10. Carlos Pena. Remember when Carlos Pena was one of the best power hitters in baseball? Those 30 homer seasons with the Rays seem like so long ago. Over the last three seasons, including another stint with the Rays, Pena has hit just 28 homers in nearly 1,000 plate appearances. I don’t know if he has the desire to play anymore after getting turned into a part-time player (at best) over the last two years, but there’s not a lot of use for a 35-year old with declining power that can’t hit lefties.
The third base position is headlined by a pair of legitimate stars at the position – Chase Headley and Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval gets most of the attention nationally, but Headley turned his 2014 season around after getting traded to the Yankees. There are only five players ranked at the position because of the lack of other viable options on the market, aside from utility players.
1. Pablo Sandoval. Yes, Sandoval’s weight has been, and probably always will be, an issue. Yes, his defense will probably eventually force him to move across the diamond. But the guy is only 28, and owns a .294/.346/.465 career line in 869 games. He’ll probably never be the .300 hitter of old that he was, but there’s still value in the ..279/.324/.415 line he put together in 2014. I’d be hesitant to commit the six years he desires, but he’ll get it out there, given the weak market past him and Headley.
2. Chase Headley. Speaking of Chase Headley…remember when he finished top five in the NL MVP voting a couple seasons ago? That was fun. His offensive numbers dropped in 2013, and slogged through the first half of 2014 before he was dealt to the Yankees, where he magically began to hit again. Petco Park sure is terrible, huh? I don’t think he’ll come close to approaching the 31 homers he launched in 2012 again, but that .262/.371/.398 line he put together in the Bronx, along with his typically solid glove at third base, means that Headley is in line for a multi-year, eight figure contract. It won’t approach the heights it could have two winters ago, but he’ll be pleased with it.
3. Alberto Callaspo. Oakland had Callaspo masquerading as a second baseman during most of his tenure with the club, and that didn’t work out too well. Moving across the diamond, he goes from “putrid” defensively to adequate, or even downright good depending on how the numbers fall. He couldn’t hit a lick in 2014, but was a roughly league average hitter in nearly every full season of his career prior to last year. Even though he turns 32 in April, I think Callaspo could be a nice bounceback option in 2015.
4. Kelly Johnson. Johnson has played for all five AL East teams over the past three seasons, and I think we all know what we’re getting out of the 32-year old at this point in his career – decent pop, solid walk rate, a decent bit of strikeouts, and the versatility to hold down the fort at first, second, third, or in left. At this point in his career, Johnson is only a bench option, but a pretty valuable one, for whatever that’s worth.
5. Jack Hannahan. He can’t really hit, and missed a ton of time in 2014…but man, when he was going good, he could really pick it at third. Minor league deal, see if there’s anything left in the tank, and that’s that.
