FA outfielders who are not named Cespedes or Upton

[Mex17]

This is really a topic for another thread, but my personal opinion on Cespedes is that it's time to put the foot on the gas pedal with this team, which to me means that you write the check for that final piece that you got to be the centerpiece in the lineup whose presence changed the entire course of the season. That aside, I looked at who else is out there with the following criteria in mind. . .

-At a reasonable age (meaning preferably a few years under 30 or not too much above. . .there is one exception to this on my list which you will see)
-Is able to share CF with Lagares in a platoon situation or make Lagares a quality bench/depth player (and Nieuwenhuis an option to be stored in Las Vegas as opposed to the major league bench).
-Albeit not a superstar/"carry the lineup on his back"-type, is certainly able to be a quality piece to the puzzle offensively.
-Can be had for a reasonable amount in terms of $$$ and years (which is to say not dirt cheap or simply a one-year deal, but not a Cespedes sized commitment either).

These are the players that I came up with. Peruse, comment, and rank at your pleasure.

Gerardo Parra:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/29807/gerardo-parra

Alejandro DeAza:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/28728/alejandro-de-aza

Dexter Fowler:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/29252/type/batting3/dexter-fowler

Austin Jackson:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/29453/austin-jackson

Denard Span:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/29087/denard-span

Ryan Sweeney:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sweenry01.shtml

Will Venable:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/29224/type/fielding/will-venable

Edited November 3, 2015 by Guest

[Mex17]

The reason why I left Upton off that list is that he did not really fit the criteria that I described. If you want Upton, I think you would: a) have to pay a bit more, and commit in your mind that Granderson can go back to CF full-time. Certainly a discussion worth having (and please do if you want), but separate from the above.

[Lefty Specialist]

Of that bunch I like Parra best. Span is too fragile. Fowler played over his head with the Cubbies. DeAza/Jackson/Sweeney/Venable, meh.

[Edgy MD]

Ah-Seop Son:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=son---000ah-

[Mex17]

Ah-Seop Son: http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=son---000ah-

Can he play Centerfield?
How far do you think the drop-off would be from Korea to the bigs?

Shinjo and Kaz Matsui memories make me skeptical.

[Mex17]

I think that Parra, Fowler, and Span are the top three here.

[Fman99]

That's really a rainbow of meh with that group.

[willpie]

Overpaying Cespedes is starting to sound better and better.

[Centerfield]

Throw Colby Rasmus and Jason Heyward in as well.

Heyward is intriguing. Hasn't put up the power most expected of him, but he's still only 26 and has tons of upside.

If the Wilpons had money, I'd seriously give him some thought. Terrific defender too. Could no doubt play center.

[Mex17]

Rasmus was not on the list I used (from Cot's). Power but low average tells me he is Duda-esque streaky.

[Mex17]

It's also possible that I have a bias against Heyward because he did not turn out to be the mega-star that he was advertised as and left him off for that reason. That's my bad. It would be great if he can play center.

[Mex17]

So the seven guys that I listed plus Cespedes, Upton, Rasmus, and Heyward total 11 options to add to four solid outfielders that we already have. Given that there are 30 teams in MLB, that gives us about a 34-35% chance to land one, no?

[Mex17]

Fman99 wrote: That's really a rainbow of meh with that group.

But would you agree that all of them are an improvement over Kirk Nieuwenhuis?

[Frayed Knot]

Mex17 wrote: Fman99 wrote: That's really a rainbow of meh with that group. But would you agree that all of them are an improvement over Kirk Nieuwenhuis?

Sure but that's not a real high bar right now. Kirk was essentially a 5th OF much of the season and, with Conforto now ready for prime time, would be 3rd in line just among LH-hitting OFs.
But very few FAs who are at or near their prime and capable of playing CF -- even among the "non-superstar" part of your definition -- are going to sign a deal with their eye on snagging Kirk's 150 or so ABs, particularly not the likes of Heyward, Rasmus, Fowler, or Span who are going to command multi-year deals with a commitment that they'll be full-time players and not just platoon w/Juan vs RHPs.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Throw Colby Rasmus and Jason Heyward in as well. Heyward is intriguing. Hasn't put up the power most expected of him, but he's still only 26 and has tons of upside. If the Wilpons had money, I'd seriously give him some thought. Terrific defender too. Could no doubt play center.

At this point, you have to assume he's the player he's been, versus the one you think he'll be or may be. Which is a guy who's very good offensively, but who will give you Murphyish power... and may just have the defensive chops to handle center. Hell, he's handled it okay when pressed into service there before. (See: this.)

[seawolf17]

Put Alex Gordon in the mix?

[Mex17]

Frayed Knot wrote: Mex17 wrote: Fman99 wrote: That's really a rainbow of meh with that group. But would you agree that all of them are an improvement over Kirk Nieuwenhuis? Sure but that's not a real high bar right now. Kirk was essentially a 5th OF much of the season and, with Conforto now ready for prime time, would be 3rd in line just among LH-hitting OFs. But very few FAs who are at or near their prime and capable of playing CF -- even among the "non-superstar" part of your definition -- are going to sign a deal with their eye on snagging Kirk's 150 or so ABs, particularly not the likes of Heyward, Rasmus, Fowler, or Span who are going to command multi-year deals with a commitment that they'll be full-time players and not just platoon w/Juan vs RHPs.

That wasn't really what I was trying to say. What I actually stated in my criteria is that we need someone who can platoon with Lagares or make him a bench player. I am under no delusion that Heyward, Rasmus, Fowler, or Span would sign with a team to be a platoon player or a 5th outfielder and I would not dismiss pursuing them because I have penciled in Lagares for 500+ ABs due to him having the starting CF job uncontested (or because Nieuwenhuis has a guaranteed job in the major leagues).

In my ideal situation (which includes Herrera taking the 2b job by the horns and a Uribe re-signing to go along with a significant outfield signing), my dream 2016 bench would be Plawecki, Lagares, Cuddyer, Flores, and Uribe.

[Mex17]

seawolf17 wrote: Put Alex Gordon in the mix?

Only when he officially declines his player option (which to my knowledge he has not done, at least not as yet).

[Mex17]

Looks like Ryan Sweeney did not even play last year, my bad.

So get him on a minor league deal as an absolute last resort.

[Mex17]

I think that Cespedes and Upton would cost you $20 million plus annually for like seven years. Heyward/Rasmus/Parra/Span/Fowler probably a around $12 to 15-ish for less years, and the rest cheaper than that, agreed?

If anything, maybe Parra (and possibly Jackson) is a tweener between the second tier and the really cheaper options.