Top Ten Free Agent Outfielders
by Tigerdog1 on Oct 30, 2011 11:26 AM EDT
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PrintNot that Tigers will be looking for outfielders this off season, after a strong playoff performance from Delmon Young, solid defense from Austin Jackson, and another pair of solid half seasons from Brennan Boesch and Ryan Raburn, but Mike Ilitch did say that he would like to have another “big bat” in the lineup, and there aren’t a whole lot of them among the class of free agent infielders. More to the point, the Tigers might be looking for a No. 3 hitter with a bit of pop and some on base ability to replace a big chunk of what they got from Magglio Ordonez before the power outage zapped Magglio in early 2009. So it’s worth a look at what might be available should they decide to go shopping for a bat, rather than moving around the guys that they have, such as, ohhh, hitting Avila third or something. My list of the top ten free agent outfielders this winter:
1. Nick Swisher; The Yankees hold a $ 10.25 million club option on Swisher, with a $ 1 million buyout. Figures he’d be back after a strong season, but you never know with the Yankees. Swisher hit .260 .374 .449 .822 with 23 homers and 83 RBI. He’s a switch hitter, and 11 of his 23 HR came on the road. He’s a switch hitter and gets on base from either side of the plate, and would slot very nicely into the 2 slot in the Tiger lineup. He is also a Type A free agent, bit it seems unlikely that New York would decline his option, then offer arbitration. He’s 30 years old, but went to Ohio State, so that kills the deal.
NOTE: The Yankees have just picked up Swisher's option, but he may be available in a trade should New York go after another outfielder, such as Beltran.
2. Carlos Beltran, A switch hitter, still a solid defender, hit .300 .385 .525 .910 with 22 homers and 84 RBI playing for the Mets and Giants in 2011. Beltran is a Type A free agent, and it always hurts to give up a first round pick if he is offered arbitration. The Giants figure to make a push to keep him although at a reduced salary. He has made $ 18.5 million each of the past four seasons, and would be looking at a big pay cut, but will be looking for a multi year deal. His biggest issue has been health, as he played half a season or less in 2009 and 2010.
3. Josh Willingham; One of last year’s real free agent bargains (whom I wanted the Tigers to sign), and a true power hitter. Josh hit 29 homers in that cave in Oakland, and had a stat line of .246 .332 .477 .810. He hits RHP’s just as well as lefties even though he is a right handed batter. He’d be a No. 3 hitter with three year splits of .257 .360 .479 .839. Put that in front of Cabrera and watch the runs pile up! He is also a Type A free agent, and the A’s have said they’d like to have him back, so they may offer arbitration. If not, get him and let the other guys figure out how to get playing time.
4. Michael Cuddyer The arch enemy of the Tigers hit a respectable .284 .346 .459 .805 on the worst team in the league (love saying that) and added 20 homers and 70 RBI. Those numbers have been pretty consistent over the past few years. The Twinkies would like to have him back, so I’d like to steal him, even if we trade him to Buffalo.
5. David DeJesus; DDJ is coming off a bad season in Oakland. He has been a good hitter that kills right handed pitching, a solid outfielder, and a guy that gets on base at .350 or better in his career. In 2011, he was reduced to ..240 .323 .376 .699. He still hit RHP’s at a .265 .357 .430 .787 pace, and that works at the top of the lineup, no problem.
6. Grady Sizemore; The Tribe holds an $ 8.5 million club option on Grady with a $ 500 K buyout. Could we get them to pay his whole salary and send him over? Wouldn’t it be cool if the Tigers signed him and then he didn’t have any more back spasms? How about Inge, Iorg, Brad Thomas, David Purcey, and Raburn for Grady, and we’ll pick up half of his contract?
NOTE: The Indians have declined to pick up Grady's option, but they may be interested in signing him for a lesser amount.
7. Raul Ibanez: The Phillies lefty outfielder seems to be finally fading, after hitting just .245 .289 .419 .707 this season. He still managed 20 homers and 84 RBI in that lineup, in that park. He’d be on a short term contract, and I’m not even sure that the Tigers need another outfielder with power that doesn’t get on base a lot.
8, 9, 10. Ryan Ludwick, Cody Ross, Juan Rivera; Barely worth mentioning. Not much of an upgrade, if any, from what the Tigers have already. Just an indication that this year’s free agent outfield crop is not all that bountiful.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bless You Boys writing staff.
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RE: Beltran
If I’m not mistaken, when Beltran was traded to SF, a clause was triggered in his contract that would not allow SF to offer him arbitration. So he would be available without draft pick compensation.
NIce catch, Tony
Cot’s contracts says in the fine print below the numbers:
“club agreed to not offer arbitration after 2011 season”
Not giving up the draft pick would help, and with Swisher’s option being picked up, that makes Beltran the No. 1 free agent outfielder on the market this winter, IMO.
Realistically, the only way that I see the Tigers adding an outfielder is if they have to trade one of their current OF’ers to fill another position. Not that the Tigers OF is anything to get excited about, there are several clubs where I’d trade any one of our outfielders for any one of their starters, but I think we’re good with what we’ve got between the five guys, plus Kelly.
"King of Minutiae"
If the Tribe declined a 8.5 mil option
then the Tigers could probably get him for somewhere around 7.5 mil for one year. I’d do that all day… if someone like Boesch gets injured in the first half you’d have Dirks as your starting right fielder (unless Raburn cures his allergy to the first half). Sizemore has the potential to have the same WAR as Jose Reyes who everyone wants to spend 100 mil on…
unless he gets injured like his last 4 or so years
by jonathan.onne on Oct 30, 2011 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Reyes isn't a model of health either.
He’s missed 191 games in the past 3 years.
Right...it's the post-roid era
32 is the new 40.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
neither was ordonez
the past doesnt always predict the future…. I love grady’s upside
I've said this before, but he's gone; kiss him goodbye
He’s a former 5-tool guy that is down to one tool. It doesn’t make any sense to look at some of the good things he did two knee surgeries ago and one elbow surgery. He’s no longer a good speed guy, good defense, or good arm guy. He’s never hit for much average so we’re just hoping for power. Not a good gamble for the money he’ll get.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
He'll probably end up on the Red Sox
and put up MVP type numbers……again.
You are overstating the severity of some of the injuries
2009:
- Groin injury: kept him from playing in World Baseball Classic.
- Left elbow: MRI showed no structural damage. Inflammation/pain. He had arthroscopic elbow surgery to clean out loose tissue.
- Sports Hernia surgery, which was related to groin injury.
2010
- Left Knee : micro-fracture knee surgery. This is the major one. He missed most of 2010 season and his rehab had him miss the very beginning of the 2011 Season.
2011
- Right Knee : MRI showed no structural damage. It was a Contusion/Bone Bruise. Had arthroscopic surgery, a minor procedure, to help the bone bruise fully heal.
- 2nd Sports Hernia surgery.
He was a 5 tool player, but obviously he wasn’t during this 3 year stretch of injuries. What does his future hold? I think when he’s fully healthy, he should be a solid 4 tool guy. I just don’t expect 20+ SB’s from him again, but the speed will still be there.
Some team will gamble on him bouncing back. It won’t be the Tigers because we seem to be set in the outfield.
The fact that you have 6 bullets in 3 years isn't good
And the five tools are speed, hitting for avg, hitting for power, defense, and throwing arm.
He’s never really hit for much average, so was four-tooled to begin with. I think, if you’ll concede the knee as a major surgery, it also takes away from defense and baserunning.
If you want, I’ll say that he’s got a good arm (although I have zero evidence that says he does and an elbow surgery that says he doesn’t). I won’t give him a plus on the bases, especially with Leyland calling the shots.
Perhaps power, perhaps plus-defense from a corner, perhaps a good arm (but not better than Boesch or Raburn).
The team that has the doctors that know him best wouldn’t pay 8.5M for him in 2012. He’ll get 6M+ from somebody. I hope it’s not the Tigers.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
We won't get him, we know that already.
Because we’ll have Delmon Young in LF. My main argument was that I’d take Grady over Delmon Young.
Grady had a .279 career batting average before the injuries hit him. That’s actually pretty good. Not great, like his other stats were.
From 2005 -08, in 2,557 AB’s, he had a .281 AVG, .372 OBP, .496 SLG, .868 OPS. Per season, he averaged 116 runs, 27 HR’s, 81 RBI’s, and 29 SB’s. That’s a total package of awesomeness.
Sizemore was great from 2005 - 2008
You’re right.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
Sizemore is no longer the 5-tool player that people remember
His appeal has always been as a guy that can hit for power and average, steal bases, and play good defense with a cannon. Five tools.
He’s had major injuries to both knees and his throwing arm. And I don’t think he’s ever hit for a very high average. He was .289 in 2005 and .290 in 2006. After that, he’s looked a lot more like a .270 hitter at best.
The average was never really there, the defense will be hindered by the knees, the throwing arm has had surgery, and the knees (and Detroit’s manager) would rob him of his baserunning prowess. What we have here is a former 5-tool player that is really just a one-tool player that has the upside of being adequate in the other 4 areas. And the one tool (power) is probably in question if his injuries affect his power.
Somebody will gamble on Sizemore for more than he’s worth. I’d much rather have Willingham or DeJesus.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
sizemore would be a better fielder than either of the current corner fielders. he still has first to third speed if not still a base stealing threat in leyland’s system. his power would offset the lower average in the 3 slot. i think grady woulld be a slam dunk if the tigers had a classic number 2 hitter a la polanco. imo
Hm
If we can sign one of these guys on the cheap (incentives to Sizemore perhaps?), then by all means. I personally don’t have a lot of faith in our outfield, but I doubt the FO is worried too much about it.
Would love, Love, LOVE
to see Willingham in RF and Boesch in LF for the Tigers next season. Yes, Delmon was a nice addition. But he ain’t Willingham. Of course, Delmon won’t cost as much either.
If Boesch pulls his second half nosedive, we’ve got Raburn there to pick up the slack. And even so, LF is probably the easiest position to fill on the fly.
Then, we would have to find a way to talk JL into believing in OBP, and bat Boesch, Avila, and Willingham in front of Cabrera/Victor.
Justin can now let the fungus grow back on his shower shoes.
Not a priority
I voted no because I don’t think it should be a priority, but I really like Josh Willingham (even if he looks dumb in a batting helmet), and if the Tigers traded an outfielder or let Delmon walk I think he would be a GREAT pick up.
Although the Tigers should look to strengthen other areas...
I really wouldn’t mind Grady… for cheap, at least.
I don’t really know why…
(Un)Official President of the Team Jacob Turner Fan Club
Yet Another Movie Blog
by DetroitTigersGeek on Oct 30, 2011 9:06 PM EDT reply actions
haha.
well…
he was a great player from ‘05-’08, then injuries derailed him, but if he could recapture at least some of that magic he once had, he’d be a nice addition for a low, incentive based contract.
(Un)Official President of the Team Jacob Turner Fan Club
Yet Another Movie Blog
by DetroitTigersGeek on Oct 30, 2011 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions
We seem...
…to have good luck with ex-Indians. It would be really fun to rub it in Cleveland’s face again.
He's a platoon player, at best, at this stage in his career.
I would rather stand pat than pay Jones.
I have a grand idea: let's win a game.
Let's focus...
… on 2B, 3B and middle relief, and find a valid fifth starter first. Then we can revisit this discussion. Please?
Offense is not our problem: it’s infield defense and the back end of the pitching staff we need to fix.
Matt Murton and Kosuke Fukudome.
Reasonable options that should come cheap and are better than Delmon Young.
Fukudome
He might not have a “lot” going for him, but he’s a good OBP guy. You can pretty safely expect .350+ with moderate power. He’s not an upgrade over anything we have now, but if we were to trade Boesch or Raburn to improve another area, Fukudome could be signed and would be a decent #2 hitter.
That being said, Detroit is not exactly a destination for Asian players. I doubt he would sign cheap in Detroit as opposed to heading back to Japan.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
Fukudome better than Delmon?
I think not
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
Delmon blows
"You, on the other hand, make Eeyore look like Rainbow Brite." -johnmoz
"I think of you more as the blue book style essay of sports journalism."-Kurt Mensching
Contributor, Bless You Boys
by David Tokarz on Oct 31, 2011 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions
so does Fukudome
and the dude is 2 years removed from what, top 5 in the MVP race? relatively young and relatively cheap… we could do much worse.
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
Delmon can rake
His percentages were down, but he was a run producing machine for us. I like those RBI guys.
Depends what we need
Delmon might have potential, but if we’re looking for a solid OBP guy at #2, Fukudome is a better, and probably cheaper bet.
If it’s simply a Delmon vs. Fukudome battle in the context of this team, I think our lineup produces more runs with Fukudome at #2 and Boesch at #3 than Boesch-Young
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
I don't agree with that at all
if we can get an entire year out of Delmon how he played for us after the trade and in the playoffs, it’s Delmon over Fukudome all day. I don’t care who’d cheaper. Delmon isn’t someone who’s going to break the bank… and it’s not my money anyways
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
How about Fukodome + 4M to work with?
4M could get you a decent #5 SP or a helluva bullpen guy.
And what if Delmon performs more like he did for 65% of 2011 instead of 35%?
I’d sign Delmon as well, but it’s not an easy decision. It’s not a slam dunk.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
Russian Proverb
“Having said “A”, one must say “B”.
We acquired Delmon Young, and he played well for us. We know he’s had problems elsewhere and that’s a matter of concern but if those problems were enough for us to nontender him, we shouldn’t have acquired him in the first place.
Given what we have in the OF, it would be silly to buy another outfielder in the market, absent some unexpected development.
Of course, it IS Halloween, and long-time Tiger fans may remember a disasterous Halloween-caused injury. But assumming no Tiger OF dresses up as Frankenstein, we should be good there.
Willingham would be my choice
if they’re going to go after an outfielder. He’s better than Delmon, or anyone else we’ve got in the outfield for that matter, save for when Boesch is on fire. I like the fact that Willingham hits both lefties and righties well, and has some power in his bat as well as getting on base. He’d be a better fit than Delmon across the board. He made $ 5 mil with OAK last year, but can probably get a deal for two years, $ 16 million now.
"King of Minutiae"
I agree with this
Delmon would be the choice of convenience, but I hope DD sees that depsite Willingham costing more he’d still be a bargain for what we’re getting. Willingham in RF/Boesch in LF improves the defense. Now, there’d only be one spot(LF)in question, and at least Boesch has got an arm and more range than Delmon.
Willingham is a big upgrade over Delmon, and the cost is doable
Justin can now let the fungus grow back on his shower shoes.
by Singledigit on Oct 31, 2011 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Outfielders
A lot of talk about adding David DeJesus – wrong guy to go after. Sizemore might be worth a gamble – incentive laden contract dealing with number of games he plays. I would really like Melky Cabrera for CF. That would mean trading AJ to KC for him but what else would Kc need in such a trade? Do we have some SP that would interest them?
What do you have against DeJesus?
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
I bet he'd rather sign DeBarabbas
//thanks 6 years of Catholic school
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
Wow, you have to invent reasons to thank Catholic school.
I’m so sorry.
"You, on the other hand, make Eeyore look like Rainbow Brite." -johnmoz
"I think of you more as the blue book style essay of sports journalism."-Kurt Mensching
Contributor, Bless You Boys
DeJesus
.237/.321/.374 with 10 homers, 46 RBI and a .696 OPS over 502 plate appearances this season.
In Oakland
Can’t a brother have one down year? Look at the rest of his career.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
But WWDJD in Detroit?
Honestly, I don’t think the Tigers are looking for an outfielder unless they have to deal one of the guys that they’ve got, and in that case, DD would see who’s available during the after Christmas sale.
"King of Minutiae"
Agreed completely
There’s absolutely no reason to sign OF unless they deal somebody. Boesch probably has the most value in a trade. If you want Headley , Zobrist, or Phillips, Boesch might need to go.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
The main reason why I want DeJesus
aside from being a left handed bat with speed that can get on base, Is so that I have an excuse to post images of “Jesus” from Big Lebowski.
by NintendoPlaystationNumbers on Oct 31, 2011 3:38 PM EDT reply actions
Willingham's agent talks
says his client is looking for a three year deal and is not likely to resign with Oakland. He’d be a whole lot more attractive if he didn’t cost a first round pick to sign, but with his agent flapping his gums like that, the A’s have nothing to lose by making the offer, if he’s not going to accept it anyway.
"King of Minutiae"
That's plenty enough for me not to want Willingham
I didn’t like him much to begin with, but now being a Type A Free Agent I don’t want anything to do with him.
He’s 32 years old, so his best years are probably behind him.
His defense stinks. He’s one of the worst outfielders that I’ve ever seen.
His batting average stinks. Career .262 avg with .277 being his career high.
He strikes out too much and his contact rate is trending downward.
He'd be an upgrade from Delmon
Offensively and defensively. I wouldn’t give up a first rounder for him, but I’d give him Delmon’s money and make that swap any time.
"King of Minutiae"
I don't think so
I think Delmon has much more upside. A big career year ahead of him.
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