Free agency has been a hit so far. No, really, a hit.
Twelve free agents had signed major league contracts before Thanksgiving. One was a reliever in Zach Duke. One was a starter in A.J. Burnett, who essentially is a special case because he only wanted to play for the Pirates. The other 10 are hitters.
Maybe that is coincidence. Or maybe it is a sign what the mindset of the sport is right now. So much offense has been drained out of the marketplace that teams are going all Black Friday, rushing into the free-agent store and buying up as many hitters as possible.
But that means what already was in short supply is only more so. Yes, there is still a Nelson Cruz or a Melky Cabrera, perhaps a few others who are attractive. However, the chance to land a hitter is going, going …
Well, at least in free agency it is. So you know who is just about to become real popular — the clubs that have bats to trade.
The Braves, for example, already have turned Jason Heyward into two young pitchers. And they are not stopping. They are asking an even higher price for Justin Upton than the Cardinals gave for Heyward — Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins. Upton had the second-most homers by a righty hitter in the NL. The guy who had more, Giancarlo Stanton, just got $325 million. Did we mention that teams will do quite a bit to obtain and keep hitters these days?
And then there are the Cubs and Red Sox. Executives from other clubs say those organizations saw which way the game was shifting and decided to bulk up on position players — Chicago on prospects, the Red Sox on a combination of prospects and veterans.
“The Cubs used the fourth pick [in June’s draft] to pick a pure hitter [Kyle Schwarber] without a position at a time when they needed pitching badly, and they are in as deep on [19-year-old Cuban wunderkind] Yoan Moncada as any team,” one NL executive said. “That is not by accident. They want to have so many hitters when nobody else has them. That is a planned-out choice.”
Another NL executive said, “The Cubs and Red Sox have hitters, and both need pitching. No team that is moving pitching can do that without checking in with those teams.”
Thus, the Cubs and Red Sox are positioned to be the dominant clubs the rest of this offseason. Chicago is going to have to decide if it wants to move any of its bevy of enticing young hitters. There is no guesswork with Boston. Since July, the Red Sox have added Yoenis Cespedes, Allen Craig, Rusney Castillo, Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. They now simply have too many hitters — particularly outfielders — to occupy one roster. So whether it is Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels or Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto or Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma, clubs with starters to move are going to — at the least — call the Red Sox.
Besides free-agent hitters coming off the market, here are a few other trends we have seen:
Defense matters more than ever — except when it doesn’t: Clubs believe they are getting a better handle on defensive metrics and appreciating what a high-end defender could mean. And we have seen that expressed this offseason. The Cardinals put a premium on Heyward not just because he is a good lefty hitter, but because he is probably the majors’ best right fielder.
And, yes, Russell Martin has on-base skills and power for a catcher. But Toronto gave him $81 million for five seasons because he also excels at framing pitches, throwing and handling a staff.
However, here we are back at that pesky problem of dying offense in the game. So the Red Sox handed Ramirez four years for $88 million to play a position — left field — he never has before just to get his bat in the lineup. In theory, if butchers like Mike Greenwell and Manny Ramirez can handle the small terrain in front of the Green Monster, then Hanley Ramirez should be able to as well.
Billy Butler and Adam Lind had basically played themselves off first base to be DHs. But Oakland signed Butler for three years at $30 million and said he will play some first base. Lind has no choice. He was traded from Toronto to the DH-less NL in Milwaukee, and he will be the Brewers’ first baseman. The bats win in those situations.
Money, money everywhere: Yes, same as it ever was with the financial behemoth Red Sox signing the two biggest free-agent deals so far with Ramirez and Sandoval. However, the Marlins now have the largest contract ever with Stanton. The Mariners handed Kyle Seager a $100 million extension — the third straight offseason they have given a nine-figure contract.
The Diamondbacks landed Yasmany Tomas for $68.5 million, and the Padres were trying hard for him (and others). The Blue Jays got Martin, the White Sox Adam LaRoche and Duke. The A’s signed Butler.
Obviously, the deep-pocketed teams still can do more, and more often. But the money has been spread around enough that just about any organization could be a factor this offseason on a player or two or …