Welcome to Season 35 of Cobbfather! Let's kick off this season's blog coverage with a recap of the biggest free agent signings of the Off-Season!
1. Red Collins, 36, SP
Previous Team: Cheyenne
Signed with Florida - 5 Years, $92.3 Million
Analysis: After a one season absence, the two-time Cy Young Award winner returns to Florida on a monster deal. The back end of the contract is a bit risky given his age, but it's a risk Florida was willing to take to bolster its chances this season. It never hurts to add a starter with a 2.97 career ERA to your rotation.
2. Ryan Fisher, 37, SP
Previous Team: Dover
Re-signed with Dover - 3 Years, $36 Million
Analysis: The 37 year-old lefty returns to Dover after winning the NL Cy Young Award last season. Even at his age, he still looks primed to have at least a couple of more excellent seasons. The length of the contract and amount seems to be just about right.
3. Tony Cassevah, 32, 3B
Previous Team: Salem
Signed with Houston - 4 Years, $39 Million
Analysis: Houston was quite active in Free Agency, and this is the first of their big signings. Cassevah is a solid hitter and as a plus defensive 3B, with outstanding speed and baserunning ability. It's kind of a surprise that he didn't get a bigger contract. Perhaps age was a concern, but he should still be a major asset for at least the next few seasons.
4. Derrek Wells, 31, 2B
Previous Team: New York
Signed with Boston - 4 Years, $37.2 Million
Analysis: Wells is a plus fielder at either 2B or CF and has excellent contact, batting eye and speed. He isn't always the wisest on the base paths which results in some CS's, he doesn't have much power and his splits aren't great. We'll see how this signing ends up for Boston over the next few seasons.
5. Sam Becker, 34, 2B
Previous Team: Sioux Falls
Signed with Salem - 3 Years, $25.9 Million
Analysis: Becker is another excellent fielding 2B, who is solid at the plate with plus power and batting eye. Age is a slight concern with Becker, he could see some age-related decline soon, but looks like he will definitely help Salem this season.
6. Wilmer Ortega, 27, 2B
Previous Team: New York
Signed with Kansas City - 5 Years, $42.1 Million
Analysis: Ortega landed a nice 5 year deal with Kansas City. At only 27, he should be solid throughout the length of the contract. He has an excellent batting eye and nice speed, and the rest of his hitting ratings are solid as well. He is a plus fielder at 2B or 3B too. Nice signing.
7. Wiki Unamuno, 31, RF
Previous Team: Montgomery
Signed with Houston - 5 Years, $42 Million
Analysis: Unamuno is a great bat that has posted a .915 career OPS to date. He has an excellent batting eye and tends to own lefties, while still doing well against RHP. He has an impressive speed and baserunning combo which will allow him to steal some bases without getting caught too many times. Very nice signing, especially for the price, despite some age concern at the end of the deal.
8. Thomas Hutchinson, 38, SP
Previous Team: New Orleans
Signed with Baltimore - 3 Years, $23 Million
Analysis: The 3-Time Cy Young Award winner is winding down a tremendous Cobbfather career, but definitely still has some gas left in the tank. He arguably still has the best ratings of any pitcher on the Free Agent Market this off-season and could be a Cy Young contender. Not bad at all for the price, although some age-related decline is certain to come.
9. Jose Corcino, 29, SP
Previous Team: Fargo
Signed with Charlotte - 5 Years, $37.7 Million
Analysis: Corcino has a 4.00 career ERA, with upside for better numbers over the course of his new contract, as his only glaring weakness is a mediocre LH split. The ratings seem to be a bit better than his career numbers. At a little over $7.5 mil per year, it's worth the risk to see if he can reach his potential.
10. Hod Haynes, 29, 3B
Previous Team: Oklahoma City
Signed with Albuquerque - 4 Years, $30 Million
Analysis: Haynes is a versatile fielder with solid hitting ratings across the board, other than low contact, which will result in a high strikeout rate. Despite that, he's still solid at the plate, posting an OPS above .800 every season he's been in the majors. That, along with his defense, makes him a pretty good investment at what Albuquerque signed him for.
11. Cyrus Stottlemyre, 31, SS
Previous Team: Kansas City
Signed with Baltimore - 4 Years, $29.2 Million
Analysis: Stottlemyre is a plus fielding shortstop with an above average bat for the position and is a strong base runner. Such a combination is not easy to find, for sure. The only question is, with shortstop such a taxing position, will he meet the fate of early age related decline? He should be a solid SS for a few more seasons, so this signing looks to be a good one.
12. Terry James, 30, DH
Previous Team: St. Louis
Signed with Montgomery - 5 Years, $35 Million
Analysis: James is a gifted slugger with elite power, solid splits and a good batting eye. His numbers were fairly mediocre for St. Louis last season, but he definitely has upside beyond what he did last season. He can play catcher as well in a pinch, although his pitch calling abilities are a bit below average for the position.
13. Maikel Banuelos, 31, SP
Previous Team: Nashville
Signed with Minnesota - 2 Years, $13 Million
Analysis: The 31 year-old Dominican lefty is a control specialist with plus pitches. His durability is a bit low, although he did go 193 innings in a nice campaign for Nashville last season. He has good, not great splits and is slightly weaker against RH batters. All in all, he's a good middle to back-end of the rotation type who should help the Minnesota staff.
14. Preston Graves, 25, RP
Previous Team: New York
Signed with Philadelphia - 4 Years, $25 Million
Analysis: The 25 year-old lefty reliever with outstanding ratings, other than a slight vulnerability vs. RH batters, and a great durability/stamina combo for a reliever, couldn't quite live up to the hype in New York, with 2 rocky seasons after a great rookie campaign. Philadelphia nabbed him in Free Agency and if he can turn it around and post numbers like his rookie season, will be a great add to their bullpen.
15. Oswaldo Gil, 32, RP
Previous Team: Dover
Signed with Monterrey - 5 Years, $28 Million
Analysis: Gil has an interesting Durability/Stamina combo where he can probably pitch 2+ innings every few days or so. He has outstanding control and great splits, but lacks a strong out pitch. He only pitched 29 innings last season, but posted some outstanding seasons for Dover in the past. There's no reason he can't do the same in Monterrey.