Doubleplay Sports

By: Joshua Fleck

For some people the most exciting time of the MLB season is Spring Training. Others it is the trade deadline, and for most people, its playoffs. My favourite time of the year is free agent frenzy.

There is always the hope of your favourite team making a splash for one of the big name players that may take your team over the top and to the World Series.

This year there are several big name players who could alter the course of next season with who they decide to sign with.

The cream of this year’s crop has to be Albert Pujols.

The former Rookie of the Year, 9 time All-Star and three-time National League MVP will look to cash in on a record-breaking deal. It is not hard to believe that Pujols’s new contract could eclipse that of Alex Rodriguez’s (10 year, 275 million dollars). You are paying for production, and that’s exactly what Fat Albert will give you. A career .328 hitter, who has never hit less than 32 home runs. However, for the first time in his career Pujols failed to eclipse the 100 RBI mark (mostly due to the immense production of Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday).

With that being said, I don’t think Pujols will get a contract larger than that of A-Rods. A-Rod came off a 3-year span where he averaged .308/46 HR/136 RBI. Compare that with Pujols’s .313/42 HR/117 RBI and the numbers tell you that Pujols shouldn’t get a record-breaking contract.

With stiff competition at the position with fellow free agents, Prince Fielder and Carlos Pena the bidding should start out strong and go for a while. If Pujols was the only free agent 1B I would say the contract could get close to the A-Rod deal, but with consolation prizes in the form of Fielder or Pena teams may weigh their options. Teams in the run to make a splash at Pujols; Yankees (always a threat), Red Sox, and  Cubs. Look for the contract to be in the range of 8-10 years at about 23-27 million per year.

If Pujols is the gold medal prize, Fielder is a very close second. Being 4 years younger than Pujols more teams may look to Fielder for a longer term fix at 1B. The mammoth bomb swatting lefty would be a great fit at DH in Boston to fill the void of Big Papi. I can see it now, Papi Junior taking advantage of the short porch in right.

Look for more teams to go after Fielder from the American League in hopes of possibly using him as a DH. The Yankees and Red Sox will be in the hunt for all of the biggest free agents (as usual), so I would put it to the Orioles, Cubs, and Rangers. Don’t be surprised to see Fielder in the American League next year.

With Jonathan Paplebon signing with the Phillies there is a gigantic hole at the end of the Red Sox bullpen. A hole that would be filled nicely by the 6’3”, 260 lbs frame of Heath Bell. Bell is coming off 3 straight seasons of at least 42 saves with the Padres. If the Red Sox decide to not give the closer role to Daniel Bard, they will take a run at Heath Bell. Other suitors for Bell are the Blue Jays, who desperately need back-end bull pen help after failed attempts with Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco. The Dodgers may also make a run at him.

A pair of tremendous lead-off hitting shortstops are also up for grabs. Former NL MVP Jimmy Rollins is coming off a few down years in his career and could definitely use a change of scenery. Rollins has not come close to the numbers he put up during his MVP season, making it very likely he won’t come close to the $8.5 million per year he made over the past 3 years. The Rays, Brewers and Reds may look to Rollins to shore up the SS position.

A gigantic gamble this off-season will be on Jose Reyes. The oft-injured shortstop is coming off an All-Star year where he won the NL batting title with a .337 average. The speedster also swiped 39 bases. The Brewers, Phillies look to be front-runners in the Reyes sweepstakes.

The starting pitching this year is a very weak group, with the front-runner being C.J. Wilson of the Rangers. This one is wide open as he is the only All-Star starter in the free agent mix. Wilson took the Rangers to the World Series for the second straight year, carrying a 16-7 record with a 2.94 ERA and 206 strike outs in 232 innings pitched. He’s a work horse and with the lack of better options out there the bidding for CJ Wilson could become extreme. Look to the Yankees to make the biggest push, with the Red Sox, and Giants tossing offers in too. If the bidding remains low, the Blue Jays may even toss around some cash.