|Baseball Prospectus
- Prospectus Hit and Run: The Heavyweight Infield by Jay Jaffe Armed with a plan to play Prince Fielder at first base and Miguel Cabrera at third, the Tigers might field one of the worst defensive infields in recent memory.
- The BP Broadside: Who Cares if the Tigers Got Fat? by Ste... Dour commentary on the Prince Fielder deal is harshing Steve`s buzz. Plus: Alan Trammell`s peak value defined.
- Transaction Analysis: Cody Ross to Boston by R.J. Anderson Cody Ross to Beantown, Keppinger signs with Tampa, Jeff Francis inks a minor league deal in Cincy, the Nats take a gamble on Lidge, and Houston buys backstop insurance in Chris Snyder
- Collateral Damage: Rounding Up the Usual Suspects: Abdomi... Are oblique strains on the rise? The shocking truth awaits within!
- BP Unfiltered: Marking My Debut by Max Marchi Introducing our newest analyst and author, and our first regular contributor from across the pond.
ESPN.com - MLB
- Crasnick: Seattle's road to recovery M's didn't land a Prince, but they've got a plan -- and they're going to stay the course
- Source: Oswalt likely to sign with Cards 'soon' It seems free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt has elected to remain in the National League and is likely to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals "soon," a major league source said late Friday night.
- Lincecum passes physical, inks Giants contract San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum has passed his physical and officially signed his $40.5 million, two-year contract.
- Source: Dodgers begin cutting ownership bids Ten potential ownership groups hoping to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers have advanced to the second round of bidding, a source close to the situation said Friday night on condition of anonymity.
- Selig expects extra wild cards to start this year Commissioner Bud Selig expects baseball to expand its playoffs this season.
MLB - Scoop Du Jour - Yahoo! Sports
- Red Sox not close to deal with Edwin Jackson The Boston Red Sox fell apart down the stretch last season and ended up just one game short of being tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League wild card. With a new manager, new GM, and a few new players, the team is trying to start fresh in 2012. One addition that is still expected to be made is the addition of a starting pitcher. The rumor mill has had the team interested in free agents Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson. Spring training will soon be upon us and the Boston Globe reports that, as of late Thursday night, Jackson and the Sox weren't close to any deal. ESPN has reported that Oswalt is Boston's first choice, but if he says no, the team will try to trade for Chicago White Sox hurler Gavin Floyd before making an offer to Jackson. According to the site, the White Sox "are looking for prospects in return, not necessarily Boston's top prospects, but two or three players with at least one having a high ceiling." Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.
- Yankees focused on Raul Ibanez? The New York Yankees are looking for a bat to add before the season gets started and the most recent word is tht the team is focused on former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez. Industry sources tell the New York Post reports that the 39-year-old Ibanez is of interest to the team and that the Yanks aren't expected to pursue recent Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. He batted .245 last season for the Phils, hitting 20 homers and knocking in 84 runs. "Ibanez recently had a productive workout with hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo and believes he has corrected flaws in his swing," the Post reports. Since coming up to the big leagues in 1996, Ibanez has hammered out 254 homers and earned a career batting average of .280. Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.
- Ryan Theriot on Phillies’ radar? The Philadelphia Phillies traded away a fan favorite Thursday, utility infielder Wilson Valdez, a man who ably filled in for Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Placido Polanco during the two seasons with the team. He even pitched an inning last season when the Phils were short on relievers and ended up getting the win. Now the Phils have sent Valdez packing to the Cincinnati Reds for a young lefty reliever, Jeremy Horst and ESPN has it that people shouldn't "be surprised if the Phillies look to add a utility man who can add a little more pop than Wilson Valdez--somebody like Ryan Theriot." The 32-year-old Theriot spent last season with the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, hitting .271 with one homer and 26 doubles. However, the Philadelphia Inquirer points out that whatever the Phillies do next will depend on what happens with right fielder Hunter Pence's next contract. The two sides are currently $2.8 million apart, and as the paper points out, "that's a big chunk." Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.
- Mets seeking lefty outfielder The New York Mets have a troubling financial situation, mostly thanks to the fact that owner Fred Wilpon was grossly swindled by his old pal Bernie Madoff. That hasn't given them any room to seriously go after any kind of big-dollar free agents, including their former shortstop Jose Reyes, who is now, of course, with the division rival Miami Marlins. ESPN has it that the team is on the hunt right now, though, as the free-agent marketplace starts to dry up (and the dollar requirements start to fall) for a left-handed hitting outfielder. The team is monitoring the situation of such folks as Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez, Kosuke Fukudome, Rick Ankiel, and Juan Pierre, the site notes. So far in 2012 , the Mets have signed six free agents: shortstops Ronny Cedeno, Sean Kazman, and Omar Quintanilla, pitchers Miguel Batista and Fernando Cabrera, and right fielder Scott Hairston. Don't forget to follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.
- Roy Oswalt aims to join Rangers or Cardinals? Free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt turned down an offer from the Detroit Tigers recently and has been pursued by the Boston Red Sox, but he's finally settled on the two teams that he might actually sign with, according to Fox Sports. The two teams just happen to be the ones that just faced off in the World Series, the site notes: the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals. The Rangers already have an overstuffed rotation but are thought to be the favorite, Fox reports. It likely doesn't hurt that Oswalt is pals with team president Nolan Ryan and pitching coach Mike Maddux, the site notes. The Cardinals also don't have room in their rotation for Oswalt right now and the two sides aren't even in contact, Fox reports. Other teams that have expressed interest include the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers. The 34-year-old Oswalt went 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA for the Philadelphia Phillies last season but also had two stints on the disabled list with back problems. Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.
ESPN.com - Jayson Stark Blog
- Three Strikes: Prince-ly Edition Strike One: Fresh Prince Dept. Now that Prince Fielder is taking his act to Detroit, we have all sorts of fascinating stuff to contemplate. Such as … • The Tigers are now a team that has assembled three guys who have finished in the top three of an MVP election: Prince, Miguel Cabrera and your reigning MVP, Justin Verlander. So how many other teams currently employ more than one player who has done that? Here they come: Yankees: 5 (Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano,...
- Breaking down the Hall of Fame voting Well, the ballots are in, and the Hall of Fame voters have spoken. I'm not sure what they said, exactly. But that's what this blog is here for. We don't have George Stephanopoulos or Chuck Todd around to help us sift through another year of fascinating Hall of Fame election returns. So let's turn this over to our very own election team:• Clearly, these voters agreed that Barry Larkin was a great player. What's hard to make sense of is how many of them needed three years to figure it...
- Baseball, not NFL, still the king of parity Uh-oh. Here we go again. That NFL propaganda chorus is grinding again, singing its usual tune:Six of the 12 teams in this season's playoffs are teams that didn't make the playoffs last season. Whoop de doo.And for the 16th season in a row, at least five teams have made it into the NFL postseason that were not in the playoffs the season before. Hey, isn't that special?Well, let me just say, for the official record, I'm so proud of the NFL for its parity, its "unpredictability" and just its general...
- Three Strikes: Pujols' comfort zone Strike One: Albert's Zoning Shift Life in the Comfort Zone can be an awesome experience. Life out of the Comfort Zone can be harder than it seems, even for Albert Pujols. It's been fascinating to read and listen to all the analysis of Pujols' Richter scale signing with the Angels over the past day or so. We've heard all about how this move will affect the Angels … and how it will affect the Cardinals … and how Albert is likely to perform over the back end of...
- Three Strikes: Mr. Bud's Wild Ride Edition Strike One: This Bud's for Who Dept.Bud Selig continues to tell people he's "hopeful" of adding two wild-card teams to the postseason menu next year. Well, it's a fun idea. But increasingly, the reaction we get when we ask folks around baseball about that possibility can be summed up in one word: How? Now normally, when the commissioner of Planet Baseball wants something, he tends to get his wish. So this could very well happen. But if it does, it won't be as simple as the commish has been...
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- ‘Hold me, Slider’: Manny Acta’s tender mascot hug The first instinct is to make fun of Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta and his way-too-sincere embrace of Slider, the team's whatizit mascot. But after further review, I can't ascertain that this isn't the moment that Acta first learned of Prince Fielder's signing with the Detroit Tigers. You'd react the same way, too, upon remembering that Drew Pomeranz and Alex White are now members of the Colorado Rockies organization. There's a live Create-a-Caption going on right now so we're not going to make this an official contest. But feel free to entertain the rest of us with your own lines in the comments while we consider making this the official Twitter avatar for @bigleaguestew. Want more Big League Stew all winter long? Follow 'Duk on Facebook and Twitter!
- Photo: 1908 Cubs protect their mascot’s back This photograph proves why the Chicago Cubs had a mascot in 1908 but don't anymore. Because such a beast could easily be mistaken for a giant squirrel, or Frank from "Donnie Darko." What's great about this shot of the most recent World Series winner in Cubs history (aside from the taxidermy project gone wrong in the foreground) are the looks on the faces of a couple of players. Notably (I believe) outfielder Del Howard, the only person in the photo actually acknowledging the mascot's presence. He's standing fifth from the right, with his hands crossed, looking amused. The other funny face is that of Hall of Famer Johnny Evers, who is behind the bear cub and just to the left of its head. He's obviously very excited to pose for the photo. And if you're wondering where Joe Tinker and Frank Chance are (as in "Tinker to Evers to Chance"), look out below: About eight years after this photo was taken, the Cubs experimented with a real, live bear cub mascot. He was called Joa and his tenure lasted three months at Wrigley Field before being traded to Lincoln Park Zoo in September for (the story goes) $20. The real question is: Whatever happened to that bear suit from 1908? Big BLS h/t: @uniformcritic Follow Dave on Twitter — @AnswerDave — and engage the Stew on Facebook
- Dallas Braden’s newest tattoo features Rollie Fingers r... Quick! Rollie Fingers riding a dolphin under a rainbow can currently be seen ... A ... in the tropical home run display at the new Marlins ballpark B ... during the reoccurring nightmares of Big League Stew's own Dave Brown C ... as a tattoo on the left arm of Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden If you selected "C" ... congratulations for reading the headline and looking at the photo! Is the tattoo real? Well, the perfect game pitcher did tweet a view of his tattoo artist, a few hours before his team's official Facebook page posted a picture of the final product. And he really does have a tiny tattoo of Rollie's trademark mustache on the side of one of his fingers. (Get it?) Unfortunately, Braden was also filming a commercial with Mr. Mustache himself on Thursday, which would suggest a pretty fun — albeit temporary — storyline. The ink is a little too shiny and the right side of the rainbow also looks like it's wearing off already. But even if it's not as real as the 209, Fashion Ump is scoring this as a solid gapper as it reminds him of the vision that once appeared to him after eating a bad hot dog and falling off the BART platform near the Coliseum. It's also way less scary than this effort (which is definitely very real). Big BLS H/N: @MLB Want more Big League Stew all winter long? Follow 'Duk on Facebook and Twitter! Other popular content on the Yahoo! network: • Wetzel: Rob Lowe's tweet sparks feud between Peyton Manning and Colts owner • Cagewriter: Hackers target UFC boss Dana White for supporting SOPA • ThePostGame: George Clooney's bewildering Olympic ticket dilemma • The Ticket: GOP rivals spar over immigration in Florida
- Create-a-Caption: Prince Fielder lands in Detroit Thursday was Prince Fielder day in Motown as the newest member of the Detroit Tigers met with the media. Brew Crew Ball has a good transcript of the press conference if you're wondering what Fielder said about all that money, his relationship with his father and what he thinks about making Miguel Cabrera move over to third. So have at it, amateur Internet copy editors of the world. How should this caption read? Follow the jump for winners from the last C-a-C featuring Clayton Kershaw: Clayton Kershaw visits the NYSE 1st — Al. "That's not Wall Street. It's the inner sanctum of Sabermetrics." 2nd — Baseball Furies. "Don't worry...theres another screen full of zeros to show how much more the average salary is over here." 3rd — Can't Believe It: "See for yourself. Mr Kershaw your ERA is actually higher than your portfolio gains for 2011."
- Want to help Mark Buehrle fight Miami’s pitbull ban? Si... When it comes to offseason baseball stories on Big League Stew, few have generated the type of interest and reaction that the plight of Mark Buehrle and his family pitbull has produced. As you'll recall, Slater Buehrle and his owners were forced to choose a residence somewhere outside of Miami-Dade County when Mark signed a four-year, $58 million deal with the Miami Marlins in December. The 18-month-old dog is an American Staffordshire terrier, a breed that falls under a pitbull ban the county began in 1989. Fast forward a few weeks: Though Mark and Jamie Buehrle have found a home in Broward County for their two children and four dogs, they're still engaging in the animal activism that made Mark such a popular pitcher with the Chicago White Sox. Not only did they film the 30-second commercial embedded above, but they've launched a change.org petition to rally support for legislation that would end the ban. Writes Jamie Buehrle: It is time to put an end, once and for all, to canine discrimination in Florida and make the Sunshine State a model of humane public policy. Please join me, Mark and our family in standing up for Slater and the dogs [in] Miami-Dade. Help save lives and keep families together by supporting the legislation that will repeal Miami's inhumane breed-discriminatory law. The Buehrles are looking for a total of 7,500 signatures and have collected almost 5,500 at the time of this posting. Judging from the response our first post about Slater got, it doesn't seem like they'll have much of a problem reaching that goal. Big BLS H/N: Sun Sentinel Want more Big League Stew all winter long? Follow 'Duk on Facebook and Twitter!
FanGraphs Baseball
- Phillies Procure Pierre Taking a look at Juan Pierre, who signed a Minor League deal with the Phillies, and what it means for Domonic Brown.
- Brandon Morrow’s Left On Base Blues Has it ever happened to you where one number — just one measly stat — throws your mind on a complete tangent, and results in you wasting a half hour of your life? This happens to me more often than I should admit. For instance, I was taking a stroll this morning through the FanGraphs leaderboards when one [...]
- Are Teams Benefiting From Relievers Pitching Less? Yesterday, Brian Kenny and I spent a few minutes talking about relief pitchers on Clubhouse Confidential, and specifically, about the differences in the role of a middle reliever versus a closer. Both Kenny and I believe that the idea of a “closer mentality” is mostly a myth, but we do spend some time talking about [...]
- Does WAR Treat Jorge Posada Fairly? Jorge Posada's retirement has spurred discussions of whether the long-time Yankee catcher is worthy of induction in the baseball Hall of Fame. Metrics like Wins Above Replacement say "no," but are they unfair to catchers?
- Top 15 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates The organization has some true star power at the top of its minor league depth chart but things begin to peter out after the Top 3 prospects and the cupboard is rather bare by the end of the Top 15. The downside to the system is that the majority of the high-ceiling talent is currently [...]
MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
- Quick Hits: Playoffs, Dodgers Owners, Padres, Floyd It was on this day in 1982 that the Cubs acquired Ryne Sandberg and Larry Bowa from the Phillies in a trade for Ivan De Jesus. The Bowa-for-DeJesus component ended up being pretty even, but needless to say, Chicago won that trade --- Sandberg went on to a Hall Of Fame career as one of the greatest Cubs of all time. Sandberg eventually returned to the Phillies organization in 2011, managing the team's Triple-A affiliate to an 80-64 record. Here are some news items as we enter the last weekend of January... Bud Selig told reporters (including Ronald Blum of...
- AL East Notes: Kuroda, Blue Jays, Camp, Selig Some news from the AL East... Hiroki Kuroda's one-year, $10MM deal with the Yankees includes a full no-trade clause, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). Kuroda said he received offers from five or six Major League clubs and he eventually narrowed his choices down to the Yankees and the Hiroshima Carp, his former Japanese team, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Kuroda's desire to play for a contender led to his Yankee contract, as he turned down some more expensive offers to sign with New York. MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm doesn't think Manny Ramirez is a fit with the...
- Cards Close To Deal With Oswalt; BoSox, Astros In Mix The Cardinals are close to a deal with veteran right-hander Roy Oswalt, reports Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). The Red Sox and, surprisingly, the Astros are still contenders for Oswalt's services. Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald (via Twitter) confirms these three teams are in the mix and says it could be "another day or two" before a decision is made. We heard two days ago that both the Cards and Red Sox had made Oswalt offers, with the St. Louis offer worth roughly $5MM. Oswalt has long expressed a desire to pitch for the Cards, so...
- NL East Links: Nats, Mets, Morrison, Cespedes As the Phillie Phantic hangs out with Tina Fey and the gang on 30 Rock, here's the latest from the NL East... Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told media (including Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post) that the Nats are still "not done with our bullpen," even after signing Brad Lidge. Rizzo said he is still looking to improve the rotation if possible but said the Nationals will stick with internal options for the center field job. ESPN New York's Adam Rubin looks at the difficulties facing the Wilpon family as they try to keep ownership of the Mets. The Mets...
- Bay Area Notes: Nady, Lincecum, Manny, Jackson Moneyball received six Academy Award nominations on Tuesday, joining Pride Of The Yankees and Field Of Dreams as the only baseball-centric movies to ever be nominated for the prestigious Best Picture Oscar. While I'm not sure if I'd call Moneyball one of the very best films of the year, it's definitely a well-made, entertaining movie, as outlined in my review from last September. Here are some non-cinematic notes from both the Athletics and the Giants in this roundup of Bay Area news... Xavier Nady and the Giants share a mutual interest on a minor league contract, tweets Henry Schulman of...
Experts Archive - smcneal.tsn (%2)
- Split vs. Yanks leaves questions for Rangers Stifling temperatures aren't all that's been in the air at Rangers Ballpark. So has a playoff atmosphere.
- Three H's: Health, heat and home will shape baseball's st... Hyped for a heck of a homestretch? You should be.
- Back by the Bay: A's building another stellar rotation The Giants have Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Barry Zito. The A's have a bunch of young starters who rarely are mentioned on SportsCenter unless they pitch a perfect game.
- MLB Week Ahead: Little fanfare, lots of anxiety surrounds... Five things to watch this week and beyond:
- Big week for several contending teams as they match up in... If the regular season ended today, only one team that reached the playoffs last year—the Yankees—would be returning.
Baseball America
- Dodgers Give Minor Leagues A Sneak Peek Don Mattingly, entering his second year as Dodgers manager, likes the team's tradition of holding a weeklong development program for top minor leaguers at Dodger Stadium each January.
- Cardinals' Tyrell Jenkins Gets A Taste Of The Future During the Winter Meetings in Dallas, new Cardinals manager Mike Matheny sat with farm director John Vuch and mapped out the number and names of the non-roster invitees they wanted to bring to major league spring training. Some would have a chance to win a job. Others would get an opportunity to leave an impression. A few were just getting an invite to their future.
- Astros Hire Of Mejdal Signals A New Direction Since coming on board late last year, the data-driven CEO George Postolos and general manager Jeff Luhnow have revolutionized the thinking of a club that was never all that pioneering in the world of 21st-century statistical analysis.
- Angels' C.J. Cron Is Rehabbed And Ready The Angels are optimistic that last year's first-round draft pick, C.J. Cron, will not be hampered in 2012 by the knee and shoulder injuries that clouded his professional debut last summer.
- 2012 Seattle Mariners Top 10 Prospects Chat With Conor Gl... Conor Glassey discussed the Mariners' farmhands for a Jan. 27 chat.
SI.com: Tom Verducci
- Tom Verducci: Fielder gives Tigers a title shot but deal ... You have to admire the gusto of 82-year-old Tigers owner Mike Ilitch. When Ilitch wasn't happy with patchwork contingency plans about replacing Victor Martinez, he said he turned to GM Dave Dombrowski and said, "You know, I think we should go after Prince."
- Tom Verducci: Were it not for V-Mart's injury, Fielder mi... If Victor Martinez had not blown out his knee working out in Florida, Prince Fielder might have been a Dodger. Los Angeles ran a stealth recruitment of Fielder for two months, beginning immediately after the December winter meetings, only to be trumped when Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, concerned about contingency plans to replace Martinez, told his general manager, "I think we should go after Prince."
- Tom Verducci: Aging Rockies got even older this offseason... At first glance it's a fix-it strategy bound for disaster: take an 89-loss team that quit last year and make it . . . older. In this age when older impact players practically don't exist, Colorado Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd added age at second base, third base, rightfield, closer and possibly in his rotation. It begs two questions: What is O'Dowd's plan, and does the Joint Drug Agreement list Metamucil as a banned masking agent?
- Tom Verducci: Rangers, Nationals have much to offer Field... Prince Fielder still doesn't have a team, but already he is almost assuredly about to set a record this year. No free agent ever has signed a nine-figure contract this late in the offseason.
- Tom Verducci: Year-After Effect could hit several playoff... Innings limits on young pitchers have become standard operating procedure with most organizations. The young pitchers who were shut down last year as a precautionary measure included Danny Duffy of Kansas City, Michael Pineda of Seattle and Jordan Zimmerman of Washington, a club that already has a governor on the 2012 workload of Stephen Strasburg.
SI.com: Albert Chen
- Albert Chen: Even without Fielder, Rangers face difficult... One afternoon a few years ago, Josh Hamilton was sitting in the video room at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, talking about his return to baseball after a four-year hiatus. "I'm surprised that [my] body has done as well as it has, the way I treated it all those years, the hell I put it through," he told me. "I'm surprised that I haven't been hurt more than I have been. Hopefully I can play 150 [games] or so every season."
- Albert Chen: Rangers can't be counted out in Game 7, even... ST. LOUIS --- Nolan Ryan walked down a long hallway deep inside Busch Stadium moments after Game 6 of the World Series. His head was down. He was wearing a long black overcoat. He looked like he was going to a funeral.
- Albert Chen: Rangers' Washington about to be either World... Every offseason Ron Washington returns home, to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, to the same modest house where he and his wife, Gerry, have lived since he was a back-up middle infielder two decades ago. No one bothers him there. "Some don't know who I am," he says, of his neighbors. "And I like it like that. Because I like to cut grass. I like to wash my cars. I like to do stuff outside. People just pass and wave and keep going. And that's good."
- Albert Chen: Unpredictable World Series makes another str... ARLINGTON, Tex. -- It was quarter past six o'clock in the Metroplex, and the opening act was nearly over. The exodus from "Jerryworld" was beginning, with the Cowboys-Rams game in its waning minutes, and a crowd streaming out of the east end of the football palace walked across a parking lot and over a bridge and toward the redbrick ballpark. Fans in Cowboys jerseys and fans in red and blue Rangers t-shirts converged on Nolan Ryan Expressway. A "Let's Go Ran-gers" chat broke out.
- Albert Chen: World Series Five Keys: Little separates Car... And so it comes down to this: a storied franchise seeking its 11th World Series championship (and second in six years) against a a long-suffering organization that's never won a title in its mostly dreadful 51-year history. The 107th World Series should be a dramatic and entertaining final act to a thrilling October. There are two juggernaut offenses and two great bullpens. There's the greatest player of his generation, Albert Pujols, and the player having an October for the ages, Nelson Cruz. There's the great mad professor, Tony La Russa, and the great dugout dancer, Ron Washington. There's Jason Motte's beard and Derek Holland's moustache.
SI.com - MLB
- Oswalt, Cardinals reportedly close to agreement
- Selig expects expanded playoffs to start this fall NEW YORK (AP) -- Commissioner Bud Selig says he expects baseball to expand its playoffs this season.
- Torre, Magic groups still alive in Dodgers bidding NEW YORK (AP) -- Hedge fund head Steven Cohen and groups including Joe Torre and Magic Johnson have survived the first round of cuts in bidding for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Lincecum passes physical, signs $40.5M contract SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum has passed his physical and officially signed his two-year, $40.5 million contract.
- Selig to decide compensation for Red Sox, Cubs CHICAGO (AP) -- Commissioner Bud Selig will decide what compensation the Boston Red Sox will receive for Theo Epstein's move to the Chicago Cubs.
ESPN.com - Buster Olney Blog
- Detroit's defensive dilemma Prince Fielder will give the Tigers plenty of offense, writes Buster Olney, but their defense will be an issue.
- The dire fate of B-list teams Buster Olney writes that with Prince Fielder's deal with the Tigers, it's becoming clear that the new labor agreement didn't address a major issue -- with rich teams getting richer, small-market clubs have little chance of securing elite talent.
- The ripple effects of Fielder's deal Buster Olney writes that the Detroit Tigers' surprising deal with Prince Fielder feels a lot like Pujols' deal with the Angels, which is to say an impulse buy. But regardless, it will transform Detroit's lineup and have ripple effects throughout the AL.
- Frank McCourt's lasting legacy Buster Olney writes that Frank McCourt won't be remembered just for running the Los Angeles Dodgers into the ground, but for how he used his failings to end up selling the franchise for more than a billion dollars more than he paid for it.
- A culture change at Coors Buster Olney writes that the Colorado Rockies have undergone a substantial culture change this offseason by adding multiple veterans to the clubhouse, including Michael Cuddyer and Marco Scutaro. Will this return the Rockies to the top of the NL West?
Joe Posnanski
- Hochuli In Verse NFL Referee Ed Hochuli’s 57-second explanation of the new NFL overtime rules … in verse. With the score tied at the end of regulation we will go into overtime There are special overtime rules in the playoffs Both teams get an opportunity to possess the football with one exception That one exception is a touchdown [...]
- Ali Turns 70 Muhammad Ali turned 70 on Monday, and it prompts this question: Who among today’s sports stars will be the toughest to explain to future generations? Who will be the athlete who, years and years from now, will have us spluttering and shouting at some young and clueless kid, until finally we are left only with, [...]
- Offense First The New England Patriots are trying to do something that, best I can tell, has never been done in NFL history. They are trying to become the first outdoor team to win a Super Bowl with a great offense and a lousy defense, at least by the statistics. I have no idea if they can [...]
- A Playoff Is Coming So here’s a little peek into how things work in the real world. For a long time, big-time college football fans from all over have been protesting, screaming, complaining and railing against the establishment because there is no playoff. Columnists have written screeds. Authors have written books. High-profile coaches have given speeches. Fans have expressed [...]
- A Long Hall of Fame Review My predictions so rarely come true that I find it comforting, when I actually get one right, to pause and be awed by the sheer unlikeliness of it. This time around, I predicted that Jack Morris would take a huge jump forward in the Hall of Fame voting in 2012 — I said that his [...]
SI.com: Ben Reiter
- Ben Reiter: Ravens outplayed, outmuscled by Texans, but m... BALTIMORE -- The ball tumbled toward the earth, to a spot nearly 70 yards from where Sam Koch, the Ravens punter, had put his foot to it. Jacoby Jones, the Texans returner, allowed it to hit the turf. Then he thought better of it and tried to catch it mid-carom. Almost immediately, he would wish that he hadn't.
- Ben Reiter: Texans defense stifles Bengals to make rookie... HOUSTON -- J.J. Watt, the 11th overall pick in last April's draft, had 48 tackles and 5.5 sacks during the regular season and was a central reason the Texans were able to sustain the Week 5 loss of star pass-rusher Mario Williams. For most of the first half of the Texans' first-ever playoff game, though, Watt was quiet, and as Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton dropped back to pass with a minute left in the second quarter and the game tied 10-10, it seemed as if he would remain that way. Mike McGlynn, Cincinnati's right guard, was yielding to him no ground. Dalton zipped a pass toward fellow rookie star A.J. Green, and that pass happened to be directed in the airspace above the 6'5", 288-pound Watt's head.
- Ben Reiter: NL West Hot Stove Preview: Giants look poised... This week, SI.com will analyze the offseason plans for each team in a division-by-division format. Wednesday will preview the National League and Thursday the American League. Teams are listed in order of finish in 2011.
- Ben Reiter: The Reiter 50: Ranking the top free agents in... The fourth annual Reiter 50 -- SI.com's ranking of the top 50 domestic players likely to be available on the free-agent market, which officially opens in full at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday -- is extremely top-heavy, even without the weighty presence of CC Sabathia. The big lefty, who would have been No. 2 on this list, signed a new five-year, $122 million contract with the Yankees on Monday night, which will keep him as New York's ace. But even if he had become a free agent, there was little chance that he would have ended up pitching anywhere but New York, just as the odds that Albert Pujols -- the Reiter 50's clear-cut No. 1 -- leaving St. Louis went from negligible to infinitesimal with the Cardinals' improbable World Series run. The real No. 1, then, is the Brewers' Prince Fielder, and he and Mets shortstop Jose Reyes are the only genuinely available free agents who look like possible future MVP's. There are no likely future Cy Young award winners and that is good news for the Rangers' C.J. Wilson, whose services will be in high demand. The market is saturated with good closers, outfielders and first basemen, but features few answers for those in need of someone who can play second base, third base or, certainly, catcher. Still, while there are few superstars who might by themselves spark a championship run, there are many productive regulars available who might bolster one. Teams will be hunting for the next Lance Berkman, who far outplayed the one-year, $8 million contract that the Cardinals gave him last December, winning Comeback Player of the Year honors, helping St. Louis to a title and earning a new, one-year, $12 million deal along the way. Below you will find the best 50 players who will be available to the highest bidder this winter. 1. Albert Pujols Age: 32 Position: 1B 2011 Stats: .299/.366/.541, 37 HRs, 99 RBIs, 9 SBs CURRENT TEAM: CARDINALS BEST FIT: CARDINALS That the world champion Cardinals will re-sign Pujols does not mean that they should. His production declined ever so slightly in 2011 -- he posted the worst OPS+ (150) of his 11-season career, and failed to bat .300 and drive in 100 runs for the first time -- and one shudders to think what his numbers might look like, and how his exorbitant salary will hamstring mid-market St. Louis, five years from now, let alone, potentially, 10. But Pujols, for better or for worse, will likely be a Cardinal for life, and he will continue to be the game's greatest hitter for at least a few more seasons. 2. Prince Fielder Age: 28 Position: 1B 2011 Stats: .299/.415/.566, 38 HRs, 120 RBIs, 1 SB CURRENT TEAM: BREWERS BEST FIT: CUBS Fielder didn't exactly bid adieu to Milwaukee after the Brewers' NLCS elimination, but there was a lot of past tense in his final press conference. "Playing here was awesome," he said. The burly young slugger could move to the Cubs, who are starved for offense -- their 654 runs in 2011 were their fewest since the strike-shortened 1994 season. Fielder would become the face of new GM Theo Epstein's top-to-bottom rebuilding effort. 3. Jose Reyes Age: 28 Position: SS 2011 Stats: .337/.384/.493, 7 HRs, 44 RBIs, 39 SBs CURRENT TEAM: METS BEST FIT: NATIONALS Reyes's recurring health problems are a concern -- he has not played more than 133 games since 2008 -- but his production is not. He won the NL batting title this season, and retains 50-steal potential. The on-the-rise Nationals could use a shortstop and top-of-the-order spark plug to go along with future stars Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. Team owner Ted Lerner -- baseball's richest -- can afford to pay Reyes to be just that for the next seven years or so. 4. C.J. Wilson Age: 31 Position: SP 2011 Stats: 16-7, 2.94 ERA, 1.187 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: RANGERS BEST FIT: ANGELS Two years ago, Wilson was a periodically effective reliever, but since then the lefty has transformed himself into the best starting pitcher who is likely to be genuinely available on the market. While his playoff struggles demonstrated that he is not a true ace, the Angels' new GM, Jerry DiPoto, could bring the Orange County native home, where he would make for a superior No. 3 man in a rotation topped by Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. 5. Jonathan Papelbon Age: 31 Position: RP 2011 Stats: 4-1, 2.94 ERA, 0.933 WHIP, 12.2 K/9, 31 SVs CURRENT TEAM: RED SOX BEST FIT: RED SOX There are an unusual number of quality and proven closers who will be free agents this winter, and that means that we will either witness a carousel, whereby they all assume one another's jobs, or a situation in which pretty much everyone remains where they are. The latter scenario seems more likely, and will become more so if Papelbon -- who was superb for the Red Sox despite suffering a stunning loss in Game 162 -- returns to Boston. 6. Heath Bell Age: 34 Position: RP 2011 Stats: 3-4, 2.44 ERA, 1.149 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 43 SVs CURRENT TEAM: PADRES BEST FIT: PADRES The consistent Bell saved more than 42 games, while blowing fewer than six opportunities, for the third straight season. While he will have other suitors, he seems perfectly happy to stay in San Diego, where he will likely be the Padres' lone All-Star Game representative -- as he was in 2011, when, memorably, he sprinted in from the bullpen and then slid into the mound when his name was called. 7. Carlos Beltran Age: 35 Position: OF 2011 Stats: .300/.383/.525, 22 HRs, 84 RBIs, 4 SBs CURRENT TEAM: GIANTS BEST FIT: GIANTS Beltran was excellent after the Mets traded him to the Giants -- in 44 games he hit .323 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs. But his overall .910 OPS was baseball's 15th-best, and he would be higher on this list if not for his age and fragility. Still, the Giants desperately need offense, and are said to want him back. 8. David Ortiz Age: 36 Position: DH 2011 Stats: .309/.398/.554, 29 HRs, 96 RBIs, 1 SB CURRENT TEAM: RED SOX BEST FIT: RED SOX Lost in the mess that became the Red Sox' 2011 season was Ortiz's bounce-back campaign. He hit .300 and had an OPS in excess of .900 for the first time since 2007, and showed a remarkably improved batting eye, striking out just 83 times after recording 145 the season before, despite making just one fewer plate appearance. Ortiz's suggestion that he might want to move on from Boston seems an attempt to create a market for himself, and while other teams such as the Blue Jays could be interested, new GM Ben Cherington will likely bring him back to Fenway. 9. Aramis Ramirez Age: 34 Position: 3B 2011 Stats: .306/.361/.510, 26 HRs, 93 RBIs, 1 SB CURRENT TEAM: CUBS BEST FIT: MARLINS At press time, the Cubs held a $16 million option on Ramirez, but Epstein seems likely to buy Ramirez out, especially if he's eyeing Fielder. The Marlins will move into a new ballpark this spring and are rumored to be contenders for bigger names like Pujols and Reyes, but they could settle for the consistent Ramirez, who would fill a hole, as no NL team's third basemen hit fewer home runs in 2011 than the Marlins' (six). 10. Jimmy Rollins Age: 33 Position: SS 2011 Stats: .268/.338/.399, 16 HRs, 63 RBIs, 30 SBs CURRENT TEAM: PHILLIES BEST FIT: GIANTS J-Roll's roll has slowed, and he is no longer nearly the player he was in 2007, when he won the NL MVP award. Still, he remains intelligent and effective both at the plate and in the field, and the Giants haven't had that type of player at shortstop in at least a decade. They could turn to Rollins, a Bay Area-native. 11. Carlos Pena Age: 34 Position: 1B 2011 Stats: .225/.357/.462, 28 HRs, 80 RBIs, 2 SBs CURRENT TEAM: CUBS BEST FIT: BREWERS Pena's batting average will always be disturbingly low, and his strikeout rate disturbingly high (he ranked in his league's top six in the latter category for the fifth straight season in 2011). In his one year with the Cubs, however, he did what he used to for the Rays, which was to produce runs and play a solid first base. He wouldn't come close to replacing Fielder in the Brewers' lineup, and he wouldn't protect Braun in quite the same way, but he represents the market's best option for Milwaukee. 12. Ryan Madson Age: 31 Position: RP 2011 Stats: 4-2, 2.37 ERA, 1.154 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 32 SVs CURRENT TEAM: PHILLIES BEST FIT: PHILLIES Madson, formerly a top setup man, became a full-time closer for the first time in 2011, and he responded well, converting 32 of his 34 chances. That season makes him the third-best closer on the free-agent market -- but, like the two in front of him, he is likely to stay put. 13. Francisco Rodriguez Age: 30 Position: RP 2011 Stats: 6-2, 2.64 ERA, 1.298 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 23 SVs CURRENT TEAM: BREWERS BEST FIT: MARLINS K-Rod will not turn 30 until January, but he is already 24th on the all-time saves list. His climb up that list was stalled by the personal problems that ended his 2010 season with the Mets in August, and then by his trade last July to the Brewers, which made him an 8th inning man. In that role, however, Rodriguez dominated -- he had a 1.86 ERA and struck out 10.2 batters per nine innings -- and he showed that he is ready to close again, as he is desperate to do. The Marlins could use an upgrade on incumbent Leo Nunez -- not because he was proven late in the season to be an imposter with the real name of Juan Carlos Oviedo, but because he had an ERA of 4.06. 14. Josh Willingham Age: 33 Position: OF 2011 Stats: .246/.332/.477, 29 HRs, 98 RBIs, 4 SBs CURRENT TEAM: ATHLETICS BEST FIT: ROCKIES Willingham has posted an 800+ OPS in six straight years, a stretch in which he has averaged 22 home runs, and yet he has always been marooned in pitchers' parks, in Florida, Washington and most recently Oakland. A move to a hitters' haven -- like Colorado, where the Rockies could play him in leftfield and at first base -- would unleash his true potential. 15. Mark Buehrle Age: 33 Position: SP 2011 Stats: 13-9, 3.59 ERA, 1.295 WHIP, 4.8 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: WHITE SOX BEST FIT: WHITE SOX Buehrle has never been a truly dominant ace, but the lefty has been as consistent as they come: He has reached double-digit wins, and pitched 200+ innings, in each of the last 11 seasons, all spent with Chicago. A franchise that is in a state of flux could look to bring back their steadiest presence. 16. Coco Crisp Age: 32 Position: OF 2011 Stats: .264/.314/.379, 8 HRs, 54 RBIs, 49 SBs CURRENT TEAM: ATHLETICS BEST FIT: NATIONALS Crisp stayed relatively healthy in 2011, topping 118 games played for the first time since 2007 (he played 136), and as a result led the AL in stolen bases. His low on-base-percentage means that he should not be a leadoff hitter, but the Nationals won't need one should they sign Jose Reyes. What they will need is a centerfielder, and Crisp could help transform them into an exciting, fast playoff contender. 17. Michael Cuddyer Age: 33 Position: OF 2011 Stats: .284/.346/.459, 20 HRs, 70 RBIs, 11 SBs CURRENT TEAM: TWINS BEST FIT: TWINS Even as the Twins imploded in 2011, winning 31 fewer games than they had the season before (they finished 63-99), the versatile Cuddyer remained steady, making the All-Star game and posting an OPS of 805 while playing rightfield, first base, second base and DH. He even pitched a scoreless inning. He will likely spend the next several years of his career in the same place he has spent the first 11. 18. Rafael Furcal Age: 34 Position: SS 2011 Stats: .231/.298/.348, 8 HRs, 28 RBIs, 9 SBs CURRENT TEAM: CARDINALS BEST FIT: CARDINALS The Cardinals acquired Furcal from the Dodgers at the trade deadline. His solid shortstop play and mercurial bat helped them make their late season dash into the playoffs. While he didn't hit well in their World Series run -- he batted just .195, and Tony La Russa eventually dropped him from the leadoff spot -- he said repeatedly that he would relish a return to St. Louis. The Cardinals will likely decline his $12 million option, but would welcome him back at a reduced salary. 19. Edwin Jackson Age: 28 Position: SP 2011 Stats: 12-9, 3.79 ERA, 1.437 WHIP, 6.7 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: CARDINALS BEST FIT: MARINERS To this point in his career, Jackson has been good enough to be desired, but not so good as to make himself indisposable -- hence the face that he has been traded six times. Even so, Jackson is still only 28, making him the youngest starter on the market, and he throws a fastball that averages nearly 95 miles an hour and he probably hasn't yet peaked. That peak could come with the Mariners, and in their pitcher-friendly home ballpark. 20. Kelly Johnson Age: 30 Position: 2B 2011 Stats: .222/.304/.413, 21 HRs, 58 RBIs, 16 SBs CURRENT TEAM: BLUE JAYS BEST FIT: BLUE JAYS Johnson is the best free-agent second baseman, and production improved after the Blue Jays traded Aaron Hill to the Diamondbacks for him on Aug. 23. Johnson hit .209 with a .699 OPS in Arizona, but then .270 with an OPS of .781 in Toronto. He probably wasn't expected to be a six-week rental when he was acquired, which means Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos will likely try hard to extend Johnson's stay north of the border. 21. Grady Sizemore Age: 29 Position: OF 2011 Stats: .224/.285/.422, 10 HRs, 32 RBIs, 0 SB CURRENT TEAM: INDIANS BEST FIT: INDIANS The six-year, $23.45 million contract Sizemore signed in March of 2006 at one time looked to be among baseball's best bargains. Between 2006 and '08 he averaged 28 home runs, 81 RBIs and 31 steals, making the All-Star game and receiving MVP votes in each season, while playing a stellar centerfield. A number of injuries -- particularly the one that required him to undergo microfracture surgery on his left knee in 2010 -- then robbed him of his tools, and over the past three seasons he has hit a total of 28 homers, with just 17 stolen bases, and he has become a defensive liability. The Indians declined the $8.5 million option they once seemed certain to pick up, and now it will fall upon a team like the Brewers, in need of a productive outfielder and general lineup depth, to take a short-term chance that Sizemore will return to being the player he once was. 22. Roy Oswalt Age: 34 Position: SP 2011 Stats: 9-10, 3.69 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, 6.0 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: PHILLIES BEST FIT: RANGERS The Phillies declined Oswalt's $16 million option, and that could well mean that their four-ace rotation -- which failed, shockingly, to get them out of the NLDS -- will next season be reduced to a three-ace model. Oswalt could return to the Phillies, but the Rangers -- who were, arguably, a No. 1 starter short of their first World Series title -- could want him even more, and the Mississippi native might enjoy playing for a contender in Texas. 23. Jason Kubel Age: 29 Position: OF 2011 Stats: .273/.332/.434, 12 HRs, 58 RBIs, 1 SB CURRENT TEAM: TWINS BEST FIT: INDIANS A sprained foot limited Kubel to 99 games in 2011, making his final numbers look middling. But he is a proven power source -- he topped 20 home runs in each season between 2008 and 2010 -- and he remains relatively young, making him a potential bargin. The perenially bargain-hunting Indians need a good leftfielder -- they got just seven home runs from that position last season -- and Kubel could fit the bill. 24. Hiroki Kuroda Age: 37 Position: SP 2011 Stats: 13-16, 3.07 ERA, 1.213 WHIP, 7.2 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: DODGERS BEST FIT: DODGERS Kuroda had the best of his four strong seasons with the Dodgers last season, in terms of wins, ERA and innings pitched, and he would be a welcome presence on any staff. Just like last year, however, Kuroda has indicated that he desires to pitch only for the Dodgers or in Japan -- and the Dodgers are likely to do all they can to keep a quality player who actually wants to play for them from walking away. 25. Johnny Damon Age: 37 Position: OF/DH 2011 Stats: .261/.326/.418, 16 HRs, 73 RBIs, 19 SBs CURRENT TEAM: RAYS BEST FIT: DIAMONDBACKS Damon's decline has been gentle, and even at his advanced age he remains a relatively productive player. While he is best-suited to a DH role, in which he excelled in his first season with the Rays in 2011, the extremely young Diamondbacks could use a veteran leader and a leftfielder. Damon's defense wouldn't be much of a help, but his character and his bat would, as an upgrade over Gerardo Parra.
- Ben Reiter: The Reiter 50: Ranking the top free-agents in... The Reiter 50 (cont.) 26. Derrek Lee Age:36 Position:1B 2011 Stats: .267/.325/.446, 19 HRs, 59 RBIs, 2 SBs CURRENT TEAM: PIRATES BEST FIT: TWINS A broken wrist limited Lee to 113 games played in a season he split between Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but after he returned from the injury he showed that he can still hit, batting .337 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs in 28 games as a Pirates. The Twins need someone who can DH and provide an acceptable back-up to Justin Morneau should Morneau's injury woes persist, and that player could be Lee. 27. Javier Vazquez Age:35 Position:SP 2011 Stats:13-11, 3.69 ERA, 1.183 WHIP, 7.6 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: MARLINS BEST FIT: MARLINS Vazquez seemed headed for certain retirement as late as June 11, when his ERA, after 13 starts, stood at 7.09. After that, though, he went on a tear, and allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his final 19 outings. Vazquez might still retire, but if he doesn't he should end up back with the Marlins, who will be playing in a new ballpark, will have their rotation bolstered by the return of injured ace Josh Johnson and who could contend in the NL East. 28. Erik Bedard Age:33 Position:SP 2011 Stats:5-9, 3.62 ERA, 1.284 WHIP, 8.7 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: RED SOX BEST FIT: ROYALS As his peripheral stats suggest, Bedard was better in 2011 than his 5-9 record indicates. Most importantly, he topped 125 innings for the first time since 2007. Though always an injury risk, he retains enormous upside, and could be this year's Melky Cabrera for the Royals -- i.e., an undervalued free agent steal. 29. Wilson Betemit Age:30 Position:3B 2011 Stats:.285/.343/.452, 8 HRs, 46 RBIs, 4 SBs CURRENT TEAM: TIGERS BEST FIT: DODGERS Dodgers manager Don Mattingly wants a hitter, and while the club is in no position to pay for a star to bolster a lineup that is weak aside from Matt Kemp, they could afford Betemit, a perfectly productive player -- and one-time Dodger -- who will benefit from an extremely thin third basemen market. 30. Paul Maholm Age:30 Position:SP 2011 Stats: 6-14, 3.66 ERA, 1.294 WHIP, 5.4 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: PIRATES BEST FIT: RED SOX Maholm had the best season of his career in 2011, but still it wasn't good enough for the Pirates to pick up his $9.75 million option. That put the lefthanded sinkerballer in line for an even richer deal, and the game's heavy spenders could be after him. One such team might be the Red Sox, who could use a quality lefty in their rotation besides Jon Lester. At press time, however, there was no word as to Maholm's taste for fried chicken and beer. 31. Aaron Harang Age:34 Position:SP 2011 Stats:14-7, 3.64 ERA, 1.365 WHIP, 6.5 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: PADRES BEST FIT: CARDINALS Harang had some rough years after finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young voting as a Red in 2007, and finally seemed to recapture something in 2011. To be fair, he took real advantage of the capacious Petco Park -- his ERA was 3.05 at home and 4.70 on the road. Still, that split will be no secret to suitors and will keep his salary down. The Cardinals will significantly benefit from the return from injury of Adam Wainwright, and adding a player like Harang would make their rotation far deeper and better than was the one that just won the World Series. 32. Vladimir Guerrero Age:37 Position:DH 2011 Stats:.290/.317/.416, 13 HRs, 63 RBIs, 2 SBs CURRENT TEAM: ORIOLES BEST FIT: ATHLETICS After a bounceback season with the Rangers in 2010, in which he ranked fourth in the AL with 115 RBIs, Guerrero flopped with the Orioles, setting full-season career lows in home runs and OPS. Still, he might have one more rejuvenation left in him, and the A's -- who ranked third to last in the A.L. in home runs, and who will likely lose four lineup regulars (Coco Crisp, David DeJesus, Hideki Matsui and Josh Willingham) to free agency -- are just the type of club to take a low-risk chance on him. He might represent this year's Lance Berkman. 33. Francisco Cordero Age:37 Position:RP 2011 Stats:5-3, 2.45 ERA, 1.019 WHIP, 5.4 K/9, 37 SVs CURRENT TEAM: REDS BEST FIT: REDS It's rarely pretty, but Cordero simply gets the job done year after year. In his four seasons with the Reds, he has averaged 38 saves, while blowing an average of six chances. While his age and cratering strikeout rate (it has declined in four straight years) will conspire to preclude another four-year deal, there seems little reason for the two sides to part ways. 34. Casey Kotchman Age:29 Position:1B 2011 Stats:.306/.378/.422, 10 HRs, 48 RBIs, 2 SBs CURRENT TEAM: RAYS BEST FIT: RAYS The Rays plucked Kotchman from the scrap heap last January, giving him a one-year, $750,000 deal. By season's end, he had proven yet another brilliant signing by GM Andrew Friedman, as he was eighth in the AL in batting average while playing his typically excellent defense at first. Kotchman will never develop the power most desire from a first basemen, but that should keep his cost low, and therefore make him affordable to the Rays. 35. Raul Ibanez Age:40 Position:OF 2011 Stats:.245/.289/.419, 20 HRs, 84 RBIs, 2 SBs CURRENT TEAM: PHILLIES BEST FIT: MARINERS The Phillies signed Ibanez to a 3-year, $31.5 million contract in December of 2008, and while his career in Philadelphia started off brilliantly -- he had 22 home runs and 60 RBI's by the '09 All-Star break -- his age seemed to catch up with him after that. He is now, simply, a terrible defensive outfielder -- the worst in baseball, according to fangraphs.com's Ultimate Zone Rating metric -- but he can still be a productive DH, and he could slide into the role that might be vacated by the similarly genial Johnny Damon with the Rays. 36. Rich Harden Age:30 Position:SP 2011 Stats:4-4, 5.12 ERA, 1.427 WHIP, 9.9 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: ATHLETICS BEST FIT: PIRATES Harden's 2011 season was strange. He was sometimes brilliant -- such as in the seven shutout innings he threw against Toronto on Aug. 19, in which he struck out 11 Blue Jays -- and sometimes awful, as in the 4 1/3 inning, six earned run outing against the Yankees he made six days later. Still, his strikeout rate would have ranked as baseball's third best had he qualified, and that stuff, combined with his still young age, will make him an attractive low-risk, high-reward signing, perhaps for an up-and-coming, low-payroll club like the Pirates. 37. Frank Francisco Age:32 Position:RP 2011 Stats:1-4, 3.55 ERA, 1.322 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 17 SVs CURRENT TEAM: BLUE JAYS BEST FIT: BLUE JAYS The Blue Jays sent Mike Napoli to the Rangers for Francisco last January -- whoops -- but even though Francisco swapped the closer's role with Jon Rauch several times, he ended up with a good ERA and strikeout rate, and converted 17 of his 21 save opportunities. Chances are he will be yet another free agent closer whose home does not change. 38. Darren Oliver Age:41 Position:RP 2011 Stats:5-5, 2.29 ERA, 1.137 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 2 SVs CURRENT TEAM: RANGERS BEST FIT: ORIOLES That Oliver allowed two crushing 10th inning runs in Game 6 of the World Series, after Rangers manager Ron Washington ill-advisedly removed his closer, Neftali Feliz, should not overshadow the fact that Oliver remains a very effective middle reliever six seasons into his career's second act as a lefthanded specialist. His ERA, in fact, represented a career low. While he is more or less equally effective against righties (who had an OPS of .594 against him) as lefties (their OPS was .587), the Orioles' bullpen is desperate for a good southpaw. 39. Ramon Hernandez Age:36 Position:C 2011 Stats:.282/.341/.446, 12 HRs, 36 RBIs, 0 SBs CURRENT TEAM: REDS BEST FIT: PIRATES This winter's market for catchers is so weak that a 36-year-old who failed to reach 300 at-bats or 85 hits last season is clearly the best of them. The Pirates appear certain to cut ties with all of their veteran backstops and could use a steady mentor for their young catchers and pitching staff. 40. Joe Nathan Age:37 Position:RP 2011 Stats:2-1, 4.84 ERA, 1.164 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 14 SVs CURRENT TEAM: TWINS BEST FIT: TWINS Nathan initially struggled to regain his form and command after undergoing the Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2010 season, but he improved significantly after the '11 All-Star break. His second-half ERA was 3.91 (it was 5.82 in the first half), and his strikeout-to-walk ratio improved from 2.33:1 to 4.40:1 -- the latter in line with his pre-injury career norms. Minnesota, his home since 2004 and the place in which he averaged 41 saves a year between then and 2009, declined his $12.5 million option, but a crowded closer market means that he will likely find few suitors, making a return -- at a lesser salary -- probable. 41. Aaron Hill Age:30 Position:2B 2011 Stats:.246/.299/.356, 8 HRs, 61 RBIs, 21 SBs CURRENT TEAM: DIAMONDBACKS BEST FIT: DIAMONDBACKS Hill was much better after his August trade from Toronto to Arizona -- in 33 games with the D-backs, he hit .315 with two home runs and 16 RBIs -- but his overall numbers were so poor that one wonders if his terrific 2009, in which he crushed 36 homers and drove in 108 runs, was a total fluke. Arizona didn't want to pay too much to find out -- they declined options for 2012 and 2013 that would have paid him a total of $16 millions -- butit still seems like a good landing spot for Hill, albeit at a lower salary. 42. George Sherrill Age:34 Position:RP 2011 Stats:3-1, 3.00 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 0 SVs CURRENT TEAM: BRAVES BEST FIT: YANKEES The re-signing of Javier Lopez by the Giants to a two-year, $8.5 million deal means that one type of pitcher that is often readily available in free agency -- the lefthanded one out guy, or LOOGY -- is in extremely short supply. After a rough 2010, Sherrill now seems to have transitioned from closer to lefty specialist -- his strikeout-to-walk ratio against lefthanded batters was 32 to 1 last season -- and the Yankees, with Pedro Feliciano's health uncertain, have long coveted a second LOOGY besides Boone Logan. 43. Alex Gonzalez Age:34 Position:SS 2011 Stats:.241/.270/.372, 15 HRs, 56 RBIs, 2 SBs CURRENT TEAM: BRAVES BEST FIT: TWINS That the Twins erred in trading J.J. Hardy to the Orioles last winter was confirmed when Hardy hit 30 home runs and drove in 80 runs, while Minnesota's shortstops combined for four and 48. Gonzalez's bat isn't Hardy's, but it's better than anything the Twins have at the position, and even at his age he remains a strong defender. 44. Brad Lidge Age:35 Position:RP 2011 Stats:0-2, 1.40 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 10.7 K/9, 1 SVs CURRENT TEAM: PHILLIES BEST FIT: METS Arm trouble kept Lidge from making his first appearance until late July, by which time he had permanently lost the Phillies' closer's job to Ryan Madson. If Lidge was a bit wild (he walked 13 batters in 19.1 innings over 25 appearances), he was ultimately effective, and his strikeout rate shows that he retains excellent stuff. The Phillies chose to buy out his $12.5 million option, and that should mean that he will move on from Philadelphia after four years there -- perhaps up the road to the Mets, whose bullpen ERA of 4.33 was baseball's third highest. 45. Bruce Chen Age:35 Position:SP 2011 Stats:12-8, 3.77 ERA, 1.303 WHIP, 6.3 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: ROYALS BEST FIT: TIGERS The crafty lefty posted what was probably his best season in 2011, and the Red Sox even considered trading for him to start a potential one-game playoff. That trade, and the game, never happened. Chen would look very good at the bottom of a deep Tigers rotation, at least until prospect Jacob Turner is ready. 46. Takashi Saito Age:42 Position:RP 2011 Stats:4-2, 2.03 ERA, 1.125 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 0 SVs CURRENT TEAM: BREWERS BEST FIT: ANGELS The man they call "Sammy" has played for four teams in his six big league seasons, and yet his ERA has never topped 2.83. At his age, he might not have many such years left, but the Angels should be in win-now mode, and are desperate for a quality righthanded setup man. 47. Juan Pierre Age:34 Position:OF 2011 Stats:.279/.329/.327, 2 HRs, 50 RBIs, 27 SBs CURRENT TEAM: WHITE SOX BEST FIT: ASTROS After leading the majors with 68 steals in 2010, Pierre's basestealing ability seemed to evaporate: He mustered just 27 in 2011, and was caught a league-high 17 times. The Astros could give him a one-year deal in the hope that he he will rediscover his speed. He would at least give them one offensive player, aside from Carlos Lee, who anyone has ever heard of. 48. Jerry Hairston, Jr. Age:36 Position:2B/SS/3B 2011 Stats:.270/.344/.383, 5 HRs, 31 RBI, 3 SBs CURRENT TEAM: BREWERS BEST FIT: BREWERS Casey McGehee's struggles meant that Hairston, acquired from the Nationals at the trade deadline, was their regular starter at third base during the playoffs, and their NLCS ouster could not be blamed on him: he hit .385 in 11 postseason games. While Milwaukee would like to upgrade at third, there are simply no available players that are likely to fall within their budget, and they could bring back Hairston, who, at the least, remains a capable utilityman. 49. Jon Garland Age:32 Position:SP 2011 Stats:1-5, 4.33 ERA, 1.389 WHIP, 4.7 K/9 CURRENT TEAM: DODGERS BEST FIT: PADRES Garland turned a solid 2010 season with the Padres, in which he went 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA, into a one-year, $5 million free agent deal with L.A. -- and was then lost for the season in June due to a shoulder injury. With his team option declined, Garland -- a 10+ game winner in every season between 2002 and 2010, and a solid middle-of-the-rotation man -- is free to return to the Padres, and start the cycle again. 50. Jonathan Broxton Age:28 Position:RP 2011 Stats:1-2, 5.68 ERA, 1.895 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 7 SVs CURRENT TEAM: DODGERS BEST FIT: METS The 300-pound Broxton was one of the game's premier power relievers between 2006 and '10 -- he averaged 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings during that stretch, with an ERA of 3.00 and 77 saves -- but arm trouble ruined his 2011, and he pitched in just 14 games, with very poor results. He might well never be the same. But none of the players this low on the Reiter 50 is a sure thing, and Broxton's age, potential and likely low salary would make him a better signing that a lot of the other players not on this list -- like Clint Barmes, Yuniesky Betancourt, David DeJesus, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada -- for a rebuilding, closer-needy team like the Mets.