The Athletic's Top 50 Free Agents

[mmc]

Plenty of intriguing names to keep an eye on.  Full article is behind a paywall. https://theathletic.com/3751518/2022/11/02/top-50-mlb-free-agents-predictions/

1. SS - Carlos Correa (28)

2. SS - Trea Turner (30)

3. SS - Dansby Swanson (29)

4. OF - Aaron Judge (31)

5. SS - Xander Bogaerts (30)

6. C - Willson Contreras (31)

7. OF - Brandon Nimmo (30)

8. RHP - Jacob deGrom (35)

9. LHP - Carlos Rodon (30)

10. RHP - Jameson Taillon (30)

11. OF - Jurickson Profar (30)

12. RHP - Taijuan Walker (30)

13. RHP - Justin Verlander (40)

14. LHP - Martin Perez (32)

15. OF - Andrew Benintendi (28)

16. 1B - Josh Bell (30)

17. LHP - Tyler Anderson (33)

18. RHP - Kodai Senga (30)

19. RHP - Zach Eflin (29)

20. RHP - Edwin Diaz (29)

21. LHP - Clayton Kershaw (35)

22. RHP - Noah Syndergaard (30)

23. LHP - Jose Quintana (34)

24. RHP - Chris Bassitt (34)

25. C - Gary Sanchez (30)

26. OF - Mitch Haniger (32)

27. C - Christian Vazquez (32)

28. RHP - Ross Stripling (33)

29. DH - Michael Brantley (36)

30. RHP - Nathan Eovaldi (33)

31. 1B - Anthony Rizzo (33)

32. RHP - Kyle Gibson (35)

33. RHP - Drew Rucinski (34)

34. 1B/DH - Jose Abreu (36)

35. OF - Kevin Kiermaier (32)

36. RHP - Michael Wacha (31)

37. SS - Elvis Andrus (34)

38. 3B - Justin Turner (38)

39. OF - Joey Gallo (29)

40. RHP - Rafael Montero (32)

41. OF - David Peralta (35)

42. 2B - Jean Segura (33)

43. RHP - Corey Kluber (37)

44. RHP - Jake Odorizzi (33)

45. 2B - Kolten Wong (32)

46. UT - Jace Peterson (33)

47. LHP - Andrew Heaney (32)

48. 3B/1B - Brandon Drury (30)

49. OF - Michael Conforto (30)

50. RHP - Shintaro Fujinami (29)

[mmc]

Wonder if something like Profar, Senga/Bassitt, Drury, and Montero might be feasible?

[BTH]

12 minutes ago, mmc said:

Wonder if something like Profar, Senga/Bassitt, Drury, and Montero might be feasible?

Probably not.

Profar: $8M-$12M AAV

Senga/Bassitt: $14M-$18M AAV

Drury: $6M-8M AAV

Montero: $8M-$10M

That’d be between $36M-$48M AAV total, and it’d be very difficult to backload the contracts so much that you only have to pay $20M-$25M in 2023.

The Angels’ 2023 payroll is ~$20M below the 2022 payroll

[Docwaukee]

6 minutes ago, Trendon said:

Probably not.

Profar: $8M-$12M AAV

Senga/Bassitt: $14M-$18M AAV

Drury: $6M-8M AAV

Montero: $8M-$10M

That’d be between $36M-$48M AAV total, and it’d be very difficult to backload the contracts so much that you only have to pay $20M-$25M in 2023.

The Angels’ 2023 payroll is ~$20M below the 2022 payroll

agreed.  Also think Senga and Profar are going to get more than you stated.  

and also, anyone who's gonna get more than 1yr should be off our wish list.  Maybe a second year.  Maybe.  Probably has to be a club option.  Unless of course it's for a low AAV player like a Drury type.  The problem with that is you can't push out an AAV into the future.  

 

[gurn67]

Carlos Correa has missed over 230 games in the last 6 years. He's only played in more than 136 games twice in his entire career. Dude is injury prone, and it's not going improve as he gets older.

On the other hand, Bogaerts has played in at least 136 games 9 straight years except for the covid year when he only missed 4 games.

Trea Turner has missed less than 60 games total in the last 5 years, and Dansby Swanson has missed 2 games in the last 3 years. He's played in 382 out of 384.

Edited November 5, 2022 by gurn67

[m0nkey]

Not reading the article but perhaps Perry should go after Taillon, since he'll be a more of an asset than someone like Verlander

[Second Base]

Perry should start the rebuild in earnest so that the Angels might be good in five years. 

[BTH]

20 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Perry should start the rebuild in earnest so that the Angels might be good in five years. 

Perry Minasian's path to keeping a GM job is by getting the Angels to the playoffs in 2023 before new ownership takes the full reigns.

He's not gonna essentially show himself the door by starting a rebuild.

[Erstad Grit]

Drury, Abreu, and Stripling are guys I could see us getting and helping a lot

[Vlad27Trout27]

1. Rizzo or Myers at 1st. 

 

[Taylor]

I thought we don't like The Athletic here.

[Taylor]

Also Judge being at #4 makes it seem like nobody expects him to come close to his 2022 numbers ever again.

[mmc]

13 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Also Judge being at #4 makes it seem like nobody expects him to come close to his 2022 numbers ever again.

He’s also older than the rest of the top 5

[Angel Oracle]

I could see something like Montero and Conforto (taking a flyer), along with re-signing Lorenzen and signing another reliever like Mychel Givens.

Not sexy, but given the ownership uncertainty, what else can they do?

[wopphil]

I would target Nimmo, Rodon, Bassitt, Stripling, Tyler Anderson, Rizzo, and Segura. 

[BTH]

1 hour ago, wopphil said:

I would target Nimmo, Rodon, Bassitt, Stripling, Tyler Anderson, Rizzo, and Segura. 

Better hope the new owner is named like tomorrow then

[jsnpritchett]

44 minutes ago, Trendon said:

Better hope the new owner is named like tomorrow then

Yep.  I really hope people rein in their expectations until we see how the ownership situation shakes out.  If not, we're gonna have a lot of disappointed people when the Angels sign like Austin Romine and Chase Anderson and call it a day.

[Tank]

How in the world did Andrew Heaney make the top 50?!?

[jsnpritchett]

8 minutes ago, Tank said:

How in the world did Andrew Heaney make the top 50?!?

It's a bad year for free agents--and there are also some folks who still look at his K-rate and other peripherals and think he can still be good.  Of course, he's more likely than not to get injured, so if you want a guy who will give up a shitload of HR and strike out a bunch of guys over 40 IP next year, then he's your guy!

[mmc]

38 minutes ago, Tank said:

How in the world did Andrew Heaney make the top 50?!?

3.10 ERA, 3.75 FIP in 14 starts

[Tank]

1 hour ago, mmc said:

3.10 ERA, 3.75 FIP in 14 starts

His health and consistency should be major concerns for every GM in the league. 

[mmc]

1 minute ago, Tank said:

His health and consistency should be major concerns for every GM in the league. 

It is, though with that bringing his pricetag down, you can then make the argument he has higher upside than most starters that sign cheap one year deals

[Angelsjunky]

Correa, Judge, DeGrom, Rodon, and Diaz, and call it an offseason.

[OhtaniSan]

Senga and Conforto would be great

[Taylor]

23 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Correa, Judge, DeGrom, Rodon, and Diaz, and call it an offseason.

Arte should say F it and bankrupt himself before he goes.