S55 Free Agent Watch

Jack Torrance - contributing reporter    

Are you looking to make a splash this off-season? Here are a few names we'll be tracking. There are quite a few of our big spender teams with wiggle room in their budgets. Will Santa Fe adjust to a rebuild now that they have such a high pick? It's been clearly noted on the blog how much Columbus cleared in payroll and I'd expect them to be major players. New York is always a team willing to spend money and they seem to have some cap space remaining. San Juan is another that isn't afraid to hand out the hefty contract, will they take this chance to add a major piece? If a team has a need on the right side of the infield, a cool $60M could net them two players who combined for 115 HR and 290 RBI! Players are listed by age but ones in BOLD are key to watch.

(editor note - I pulled some names before website locked so I'm likely missing a couple of names)

• Felipe Hernandez (28 yr old SP)
• He had a career year at age 27, a 1.06 WHIP and a 2.67 ERA over 31 starts. No doubt he'll find an owner willing to give him the extra year on his contract. He'll be the youngest player on the market that shows some good value to a team. 
• Sherman Hawkins (29 yr old RP)
• Another player to put up career numbers in S54, 38 appearances, 41 1/3 innings, 0.87 WHIP and a 1.74 ERA. I don't imagine he'll keep that up, but something in the 1.25 WHIP, 3.50 ERA range is definitely within reason for the next couple of season. Low stamina and low durability really keep him from being used often and will likely help keep his contract lower.  
• Vic Chavez (29 yr old C/1B/DH)
• He will be an interesting one to watch, a .280ish hitter who struggled some seasons as a pitch hitter and lacks the defensive to really play the field. I could see him landing a cheap contract with an AL team or as a backup to rest someone's catcher where he'd offer some offensive. 
• Nefi Brogna (29 yr old SS)
• We've seen defensive specialists get paid pretty decent in recent years, so this might be the year for Brog who hits somewhat well versus lefties. He was only a role player his last two seasons in New Orleans, winning a Ring this season; but his best season to date was S51 where he hit 14 HR, stole 22 bases, and made 21 plus players. He's a step behind Christian Seung who signed a near 5/$30M last off-season. Deven Acesves, another former NOOF, has a far worse bat and slightly less glove could be had for at least 1/10th of what Brog likely gets. 
• J.O. Avila (30 yr old SS)
• His glove is a little weak for Short, but if you are looking for a bat first Shortstop then Avila is your man. He's been a near .290 hitter the last three season with 10-15 HR. What your paying for is .285 and 12 HR from the shortstop position without sacrificing much on the defensive side. 
• Omar Gonzales (30 yr old 1B)
• Omar's S54 was head and shoulders above everyone else, yet somehow he was cheated on the NL MVP. He had a career year hitting in Hartford and will likely want to return but I imagine 62 HR, 156 RBI and a near .320 AVG isn't going to come cheap for anyone. 
• Shea Crowe (30 yr old 2B)
• The player that ended up being the NL MVP is also a Free Agent this season. After hitting 53 HRs last season and knocking in 134 runs with an above .300 batting average, he will definitely be getting paid! At his age, there should be concerns with giving a 5 yr deal to; it just comes down to will he get a max 5/$120M deal. 
• Del Alvarez (30 yr old SP)
• Likely one of the better and younger pitchers available in free agency if NY doesn't lock him up to an extension in the off-season. He seems to struggle a bit versus righties, but sits around his career mark of 1.33 WHIP and a 4.01 ERA. An older market that lacks talent could be the key to a larger contract for Alvarez. 
• Del Viciedo (30 yr old SP)
• Didn't quite recover from his injury this season, but went 20-3 just a season ago, S53 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Young pitcher with a slight injury concern, will be interesting to see what kind of contract the owners are willing to give him. 
• Sidney Houston (31 yr old LF)
• Had a bit of a crazy year where he was traded from Montreal to Atlanta then traded to Tokyo and released only to be picked back up by Montreal. After all that moving he must have been tired as he didn't receive a ton of at bats. But he's a career .288 hitter with 10-15 HRs and would fill a spot for a team rebuilding if the contract can stay cheap. 
• Jayson Roof (31 yr old RP)
• S52's Fireman of the Year struggled a bit this season but was finally able to get things together. In 61 appearances he went 3-8, saving 27 of 37 chances. A career worse 1.58 WHIP and 5.78 ERA. Those numbers might keep some owners away but his age still favors a longer term contract. 
• Brooks Bonilla (32 yr old RP)
• A solid addition to Hartford this past season, who doesn't use a dedicated closer. Which means Bonilla pitched in more games and innings than he had any other season. He should be your standard 1.20-1.30 WHIP, and 4.00ish ERA in a standard season. With the right pitch calling catcher I could see him doing slightly better. 
• Dane Castilla (34 yr old LF)
• The career .251 hitter had a bit of a down year, hitting the fewest HRs and lowest batting average since his early years. With a new owner coming to down, I don't see him being resigned. Considering the focus of his production at the plate is around his power, the second that starts to drop his average will hit rock bottom. A one year contract is likely best for him. 
• Al Munson (34 yr old 1B)
• Definitely your atypical first baseman, he's a career .272 hitter but offers a TON of speed, stealing 70+ bases each of the 6 seasons he played for Minnesota. If he can secure one, it will likely be the last multi-year contract he signs of his professional career. he is currently #3 all-time in stolen bases. 
• Chuck Brinson (35 yr old 1B/DH)
• Had a great year in Boston, hitting 30 HR, 125 RBI, on a .313 AVG; though we started to see some drop in ratings. His off-season regime will be key.  
• Trey Scharein (35 yr old SP)
• An innings eater up until this past season, but hasn't had a sub 4 ERA the last two seasons. His .500 win percentage might damage his value a bit as well. But he'd be a solid back of the rotation, similar to what he was for Hartford.  
• Tomas Gomez (35 yr old SP)
• The former diamond in the rough will be looking ahead to his 12th ML season; sporting a career mark of 1.28 WHIP and a 3.93 ERA. Not known to keep the ball down he'll want to be a little pickier when it comes to the ballpark he signs into. 
• Maicer Francho (35 yr old SP)
• His ratings have taken a bit of a dip due to an injury he couldn't quite recover fully from, but still offers good control and a fancy 1-2 pitch. Solid back of the rotation arm on a shorter contract. 
• Troy Houston (35 yr old RP)
• A key piece to the NOOFs title but age is starting to catch up to him. His decline has been slow but enter his age 35 season it could go south at anytime with Father Time. Even with the ratings drop he still put up his second best season numbers; 1.10 WHIP and a 3.15 ERA, going 6-1 with 5 of 7 saves in 59 appearances. 
• Harry Padilla (36 yr old 2B)
• Speaking of speed, Padilla ranks #2 all-time on the stolen base list but he stole a career low, 29 bases and caught a career high 12 times. Perhaps his speed days are over and not likely to catch the #1 spot on the all-time list. His average took a HUGE drop from the .295-.315 he was the previous 4 seasons to .240 last season. Depending on how he looks in the off-season, he could find himself on a cheap contract for a rebuilding team looking for some experience to lead their team. But either way, it will be far removed from the max contract he was playing on this season. 
• Mac Inouoe (37 yr old SP)
• Between an early season injury and father time working against him, he's likely looking at another 1 year contract, similar to what he signed last year with Dover. 
• Rico Bonilla (38 yr old SP)
• He hasn't seen a ratings drop since S52 and it was only 1 OAV, in fact not a single drop in ratings over the course of his age 37 season; so we'll see what his offseason looks like. He has been a staple of the NOOFs rotation, making 187 starts in 5 seasons with a 3.85 ERA; winning a Cy Young in S52. Might be able to squeeze another good season or two out of him.
• Antonio Zhang (38 yr old RP)
• Imagine saving 40+ in three straight seasons and winning the S53 Fireman of the Year award, only to have your option declined before the start of the S54 season! That was Zhang, but mostly due to a new owner taking over and moving to Seoul; who wanted to clear contracts. Luckily he signed a new deal with Montreal close to his option value and appeared in over half the games his team played. Now Montreal did not do so well this season, but can you blame Zhang? Right at the end of the season he started to show a little slip in ratings, we'll see how he does this off-season. 
• Gregor Lopez (41 yr old SP)
• Will he hang 'em up or push on for another season? We saw a HUGE drop in his ratings, by 5 OAV; and this writer hopes he chooses to retire and maintain some of his career leading marks rather than risk hurting them. A career 1.01 WHIP, .203 OAV, and 2.46 ERA. While nobody expected much out of his age 40 season, he was moved back to the rotation for 22 starts (38 appearances) and still managed a 16-2 record and a 2.49 ERA. He chooses to play again, I hope it's still for Buffalo; even if it's a league minimum contract. 

Whose ready for the off-season to get under way?