Free Agent Outfielders

Posted November 1, 2011

Last week, we previewed free agent starting pitchers, and one of the big names is already off the list. Now we’re moving onto the outfielders. The free agent market for outfielders is kind of slim. Two injury prone stars and a lot of mediocre players are in line for free agency this year. Some of these players may provide upgrades or depth for contending teams. But really, there aren’t many names that you would be excited about your team acquiring, unless you really like Juan Pierre for some reason.

Grady Sizemore(29 years old) and Carlos Beltran(34) still have the potential to contribute and be successful on any team in baseball. They each also have the potential to have their season end due to an injury, which each has had happen to them in recent years. Sizemore is still relatively young, so if he can produce similar to his 2006-2008 seasons in which he posted a 21.6 WAR, he could be a great acquisition. Beltran had good numbers last year before he fell off when he was traded to San Francisco, but he could be a decent pick-up as well.

The rest of the names are either decent 4^th outfielders, or should be moved to DH. Kubel and Cuddyer are very similar in that neither is particularly good in the field or on the base paths, but they both have some power and can provide that much sought after veteran presence. DeJesus didn’t have great home run or RBI totals in 2011, but he is a perfect fit for a team that values defense, base running, and plate discipline… which basically describes the A’s. And Johnny Damon is 277 hits short of 3,000 on his career. Is he a Hall of Fame candidate? No way, right?

Josh Willingham(32)