Building An MLB Lineup Using The Best Remaining Free Agents
Time to have some baseball fun on a Monday night as we wait for Spring Training to arrive...
We’re nearly there, everyone. Spring training is rapidly approaching and we’ll soon have actual baseball games to discuss and dissect.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait. The 2023 season was the shot in the arm baseball needed thanks to the innovative rule changes and another insane, historic season from Shohei Ohtani. Given that Ohtani is now a Dodger, Juan Soto is a Yankee and everyone has had a year to get used to the pitch clock, bigger bases and the banning of the shift, I’m pretty confident that 2024 is going to be one hell of a year too.
However, there is still some pretty important outstanding business to contend to before teams begin to report to Florida and Arizona. There’s still a bunch of big-time players hanging out there and twisting in the free agency winds, including stars like Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell and Matt Chapman.
Given that pitchers and catchers will be getting ready to report to camps over the coming days, I would expect the last of the remaining notable free agents to start putting their foot on the gas and get things moving in terms of picking a landing spot before Cactus and Grapefruit League games begin. We did see some movement over the weekend with OF Kevin Pillar signing a deal with the White Sox, 1B / DH Carlos Santana going to the Twins and reliever Shintaro Fujinami agreeing to a deal with the Mets. There were some other moves, too.
It goes without saying, though, that all eyes will be on Bellinger, Snell, Chapman and Jordan Montgomery the closer we inch to spring training officially starting. They’ve been some of the biggest prizes available all winter, and it will be fascinating to see where all four eventually end up.
So, with that said, I thought I’d try something different tonight. I’ve seen this exercise done in a couple of other places, and it inspired me to try and build my own MLB lineup using only the free agents that are still available at each position. There’s no rules or caveats.
Let’s face it; we all think we can be the GM of our favorite teams when we’re sat at our desk daydreaming rather than actually working, so I decided to put myself to the test by putting on my general manager’s hat and building a lineup from the pool of free agents still available. And, you know what, I think that’s a lineup that could do a hell of a lot of damage. As for my ace and my closer? Other teams won’t stand a chance.
See for yourselves…
C: Gary Sánchez
This is an easy one. In what was a razor thin catchers market anyway, Gary Sánchez remains the best option available. Once regarded as a future star with the Yankees, he was part of the Baby Bombers with Aaron Judge, Sánchez never quite lived up to his potential in New York and he suffered from his fair share of struggles behind the plate. However, after playing three games with the Mets in 2023, Sánchez finished the year on a heater with the Padres, hitting .218/.292/.500/.792 with 19 homers and 46 RBIs. The righty bat finished with his highest batting average since 2019, while he took over as Blake Snell’s personal catcher in San Diego. A power hitter his entire career, with 173 career home runs, Sánchez would be a big bat in the middle of the lineup and he has improved behind the plate over the past couple of years. The Pittsburgh Pirates have interest in Sánchez, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, and that appears to be a pretty good fit for both player and team.
1B: Joey Votto
If you go on 2023 stats alone, then Brandon Belt would appear to be the best first baseman left available. However, I’m a baseball romantic and I’d love to see Joey Votto end up on a team with a decent chance of making the postseason. After all, the first-time free agent has only made the playoffs four times in his 17-year career, and I think all of baseball would love to see one of the best characters in the game get one more kick at the can when it comes to contending for an elusive World Series. Shoulder injuries impacted Votto the past couple of years, and he hit just .202/.314/.433/.747 with 14 homers and 38 RBIs in 2023 (Belt hit .254/.369.490/.858 with 19 dingers and 43 RBIs). However, Votto did mash 36 homers as recently as 2021, and he’s still an above-average defender at first base. I just really want to see Joey Votto play baseball again, so that’s why he’s on this list. It’s nothing personal, Brandon Belt.
2B: Whit Merrifield
Whit Merrifield was an All-Star in 2023 after slashing .286/.342/.392/.734 during the first-half of the season with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, his play fell off a cliff after the All-Star break, and he hit just .256/.286/.370/.656 with six homers and 29 RBIs the rest of the way. To hammer home the point just how cold Merrifield went at the plate, he hit just .181 with a .472 OPS over the final 20 games of the season as the Blue Jays missed the postseason by a single game. However, a career .284/.330/.420/.750 hitter, Merrifield has always been productive and he can play second base and both corners in the outfield. That kind of versatility and flexibility would be a plus for any winning team looking to make the postseason in 2024.
SS: Amed Rosario
The fact that Amed Rosario remains unsigned can probably be traced back to his awful 2023 season. The veteran infielder struggled both at the plate and in the field, posting career-low numbers across the board. Rosario hit just .263/.305/.378/.683 with six home runs and 58 RBIs in 142 games for the Guardians and Dodgers, while he posted a career-low -14 OAA at shortstop. Not what you want in your final year before hitting the open market. However, there is some hope for any potential interested suitors. Rosario is still just 28-years-old and he actually finished the 2023 season with an 18.2% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate - the highest walk-to-strikeout ratio of his career. All of his underlying numbers didn’t exactly fall off a cliff either, which suggests that Rosario just had a bad year. Nothing less and nothing more than that. Still boasting 95th-percentile speed, and a career .272/.308/.400/.708 hitter with 60 home runs, 334 RBIs and 96 stolen bases, Rosario would be a low-risk, high-reward kind of player for most teams. He’s due a big bounce-back year in 2024 and, at a team-friendly cost, the shortstop is worth taking a risk on.
3B: Matt Chapman
This one is easy. One of the best players available in this year’s free agency class, Matt Chapman should have a home by now. The fact that he doesn’t is somewhat surprising, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t have a team by the time spring training is in full swing. I’ve always loved Chapman as a player, mainly because he looks and plays like he should belong in a bygone era, like the 70’s or 80’s. He’s a pure throwback to the vaunted old school baseball player, but his retro style can still translate to modern baseball. The righty bat has been one of the best power-hitting third baseman in baseball over the past few years, and he’s an absolute master of his craft when it comes to the defensive side of the game. Chapman has won four Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves while playing the hot corner, while he led the league in defensive WAR in both 2018 and 2019. Sure, he lost some power in 2023 after hitting just 17 home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays, and he also drove in just 54 RBIs. Both his 17 homers and 54 RBIs were the lowest total of his career since his rookie season in 2017 (not including the Pandemic-shortened season). However, the 31-year-old still got on base at a very high clip (.330), and he hit 39 doubles, the second highest total of his career. That suggests that the drop in power may have just been a temporary issue. Incredibly durable, he’s appeared in at least 140 games five times in his seven-year career, Chapman owns a career 31.2 WAR and would be a hell of a pickup for a slew of teams, including the likes of the Blue Jays, Cubs and the Giants. He should have a home by the time spring training hits full swing.
LF: Tommy Pham
It has been an interesting few years for Tommy Pham. He really has aged like a fine wine, playing some of his best baseball in his mid-to-late thirties. That includes a stellar 2023 season in which, as a 35-year-old, he hit .256/.328/.446/.774 with 16 home runs and 68 RBIs to help the Arizona Diamondbacks make an improbable run to the World Series. Pham slashed .421/.429/.737/.1.165 with three doubles, one homer and two RBIs in the World Series against the Texas Rangers. The veteran righty bat has been ultra-productive for a while now, and he probably doesn’t get enough credit for being a respected leader in the room and on the diamond. For teams in need of an everyday starting left fielder, not to mention a productive bat in the middle of the lineup, Pham would be the perfect candidate and he’ll come at a very decent price too.
CF: Cody Bellinger
Why Cody Bellinger is still twisting out in the wind as a free agent actually blows my mind. Easily the best position player available in this year’s free agency class, outside of DH Shohei Ohtani, of course, Bellinger resurrected his career in Chicago with the Cubs and guaranteed himself a blockbuster payday as a result. The former league MVP and two-time All-Star bet on himself by way of a one-year, $17.5 million deal with the Cubs in 2023, and it was a gamble that paid off handsomely to say the least. Bellinger slashed .307/.356/.525/.881 with 26 home runs, 29 doubles, 20 stolen bases, 40 walks and 97 RBIs. It was his best season from an offensive production standpoint since he won the MVP in 2019. The lefty bat also lowered his strikeout rate from 27.3% in 2022 to 15.7% in 2023, and his walk rate also increased a tick to 7.2% last year. All signs that the same Cody Bellinger who emerged as a slugging star in Los Angeles was well and truly and back. Named a Silver Slugger and the NL Comeback Player of the Year, Bellinger reminded the baseball world of just how dangerous he can be at the plate when fully healthy, and he’s still pretty good defensively too, both in the outfield and at first base. I would be stunned if Bellinger hasn’t signed somewhere by the time spring training gets underway fully, and I’d be even more stunned if he doesn’t return to the Cubs. After dating pretty intensely for a year, it seems a perfect marriage for both player and team.
RF: Randal Grichuk
The former Yankee Killer, who has something like 18 home runs against the Yanks since 2018, or something crazy like that, is a solid option without being overly sexy or jaw-droppingly brilliant. That isn’t a knock on the player, it is just the God’s honest truth. Grichuk is going to be pretty productive, but he won’t steal any headlines while doing it. The veteran hit .267/.321/.459/.779 with 16 home runs and 44 RBIs for the Rockies and Angels in 2023, while his strikeout rate crept up to 21.6%. His play dropped off somewhat following a trade to the Angels, but a 120 OPS+ and 116 wRC+ with the Rockies underlines the fact that he’s still a solid hitter who can blast 20 or so home runs a year. His defensive metrics in right field are also solid, and Grichuk isn’t going to cost a ton, either, so that’s another positive for any potential interested parties.
DH: J.D. Martinez
I have one sports dream right now and that’s for the Mets to sign J.D. Martinez. They badly need a designated hitter, and that lineup really craves a spark plug to help support All-Star slugger Pete Alonso. At this point, I know it won’t happen because the front office seems to be in a state of delusional denial when it comes to addressing a very real need for more power, but you just need one quick glance at Martinez’s stellar resume to come to the conclusion that he would be beyond a perfect fit in Queens. Still mashing at 36-years-old, Martinez slugged 33 home runs for the Dodgers in 2023, while slashing .271/.321/.572/.893 with 103 RBIs. What gets lost is the fact that the DH also hit 27 doubles and two triples while drawing 34 walks. An All-Star in each of the past five full seasons, dating back to 2018, Martinez owned a 134 OPS+ plus in 2023, a point higher than his career mark, which proves that he’s still one of the best and most consistent power hitters in the game today. There is no doubt that most lineups, if not all, would be better for having Martinez’s big bat in the middle of the lineup, and one lucky team will land one hell of a masher sometime soon. Sadly, I don’t think it will be the Mets.
SP: Blake Snell
You’d think a two-time Cy Young winner would be signed by now, currently acclimating to his new surroundings before the grind of spring training begins. However, you’d be wrong in Blake Snell’s case. The lefty is coming off a stellar year with the San Diego Padres, in which he went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA to go along with 234 strikeouts in 180 innings pitched. Add that to a 1.19 WHIP, a 6.0 bWAR and a 29.7 K%, then you get a pretty good sense of just how dominant Snell was in 2023. He finished hot down the stretch too, posting a pristine 1.20 ERA over his final 23 starts, while he became just the seventh pitcher in history to win the Cy Young in both leagues after winning the AL Cy Young with the Rays in 2018. Reportedly seeking around $200 million in his next contract, Snell may have to lower his asking price a little bit if he wants to have his future decided before Opening Day. There is no doubt, however, that when healthy Snell is an absolute difference maker for any rotation in baseball.
By the way, you could build a pretty damn good rotation with some of the other notable starting pitchers currently available:
Jordan Montgomery
Clayton Kershaw
Brandon Woodruff
Zack Greinke
I’m no baseball GM, but I’d be pretty happy if I put together that rotation for the 2024 season. Would it be successful? Well, Woodruff is likely to miss most of the 2024 season, if not all of it, so he would be more of a long-term option. There are also sizable question marks over which versions of Kershaw and Greinke you would be getting, given that both men are in the back nine of their careers. However, those five starters boast 590 wins and 8,639 strikeouts between them, so I’d take my chance with that rotation any day of the week. There is a hell of a lot of experience and filthy stuff in that group, and I’m amazed Snell, Montgomery and Kershaw are still left unsigned. I’m sure that will change in the coming days.
RP: Liam Hendriks
A ton of relievers have come off the board in recent days, but there are still a few decent options left out there. The biggest name, and arguably the reliever with the most upside, is Liam Hendriks. The 2023 AL Comeback Player of the Year, following his heroic and successful fight against Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, made just five relief appearances during 2023 before undergoing Tommy John Surgery. While he won’t be available for the first-half of the 2024 season, at least, Hendriks could be a really nice addition post All-Star break and heading down the stretch run. Between 2019-22, the righty went 19-12 with 114 saves, an 0.883 WHIP and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He also finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting in 2020 and ‘21. Oh, he’s a three-time All-Star too. Sure, Hendriks did see his velocity drop from 97.6 mph to 95.4 upon his return from cancer, per Statcast, but that can always return. Plus, his filthy slider still proved to be an absolute lethal weapon, holding batters to a .167 average. If you are a contending team looking to make a strong push in the homestretch, just imagine being able to add Hendriks to your bullpen in the last couple of months of the regular season. That would be a significant advantage to have in your holster.
Overall, I’m pretty happy after my first outing as a major league GM. That potent lineup would cause a lot of damage, and there’s a few Gold Glove defenders in there too. Put Blake Snell on the mound, and then bring in Liam Hendriks to close out games, then I’m confident that is a group that could win a pennant and compete for a World Series.
