Major League Baseball By John Ryan Free Agency Alert November 8, 2010 Well, midnight came and went without too much fanfare as Major League Baseball enters into the free agency phase of their calendar ahead of the Winter meetings. There are some very big names on the ballot, but are going to command very big dollars and multiyear commitments. Let’s take a look at some of the key positions that will see the greatest interest from many teams looking to improve through free agency. OUTFIELD The Philadelphia Phillies Jason Werth and the Tampa Bay Rays Carl Crawford are the two best non-pitching free agents on the market and both will get more than $100 million. Jason Werth, who is 31 years old, stands 6-5 and weighs 222 pounds, was hardly a name you would have known about just 4 years ago. He was drafted 22nd overall in the 1997 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles as a catcher. His first MLB team was the Toronto Blue Jays. He played in just 41 games for the Blue Jays spanning the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He then was moved to Los Angeles where he played 89 games, hitting .262 with 16 home runs and 47 RBI for the Dodgers. He struggled mightily in his second year with the Dodgers playing a then career high 102 games, but batted .234 with seven home runs and 43 RBI. He really came on during his last four seasons all with the Phillies averaging a .282 batting average, 24 home runs and 75 RBI. This past season was perhaps his best batting .296 with a .921 OPS, 27 home runs, 106 runs scored, and 85 RBI. He is a career .272 hitter with 120 home runs, 406 RBI, and 433 runs scored in 775 games played. He certainly benefitted from hitting behind two of the best left handed bats in the National League in Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. So, when those players were on base, Werth saw a ton of hittable fastballs. Any team taking him must consider that they need to place him in a lineup where he will once again be behind a slugger and get to see more fastballs than off speed pitches. Other than returning to Philadelphia, who certainly does not have the money available for a multiyear deal, the Boston Red Sox are the best fit. The Red Sox had struggles with the outfield due to injuries. Mike Cameron was derailed by an abdominal injury that required surgery and Jacoby Ellsbury was limited to just 18 games after breaking ribs. Werth can hit to all parts of the field and has extraordinary power to the opposite right center field area. He has the potential to be a .300+ hitter with Fenway as his home base. Carl Crawford Crawford has similar stats to Werth, but has tremendous speed. This season he batted .307 with 107 runs scored, 19 home runs, 90 RBI, and 47 stolen bases. He is a physical specimen at 29 years of age, 6-2, 215 pounds, and blinding speed. For his career, the left handed batter from Houston, Texas, has batted .296 with 765 runs scored, 104 home runs, 592 RBI, and 409 stolen bases. He absolutely destroyed right handed pitchers batting .332 with 15 home runs this season. He struggled a bit against left handed pitchers batting just .256 with four home runs. His month of September was just one example of just how could Crawford has become and he will just keep getting better over the next several seasons. In September he batted .376 with 18 RBI. Crawford is drawing attention from the Angels, who need a big left handed bat in their lineup. Anaheim ranked 18th in team hitting batting just .248, 19th in runs scored, and 11th in stolen bases. Anaheim swiped 104 bases on the season, but trailed the Rays with 172 by a large margin. Crawford is going to add the complete game and will make players around him better with any team giving him employment. Other free agent outfielders There is a big drop off in talent after these two star players. The remainder of the free agent outfield pool includes Andruw Jones, Manny Ramirez, Eric Hinske, and Pat Burrell. None of these guys are youngsters with Jones and Ramirez significantly past their prime. Still, Ramirez will land somewhere and I honestly have no clue which team will take a chance on him, but it will be fun to follow.
 

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