Everybody loves Black Friday. Or at least the concept of it, if not the actual mad dash to the malls (in non-Covid years, anyway).
In that spirit, I offer a list of the best potential free-agent bargains in the marketplace, which is to say far from the big-ticket aisle where teams will be shopping for Trevor Bauer, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto, D.J. LeMahieu, etc.
The good news for Mets’ fans is that their team is not limited to the discount rack with Steve Cohen writing the checks. However, considering that Sandy Alderson wants to add much-needed depth as well as star power, they’ll be looking for bargains as well.
Same for the Yankees, who are expected to be frugal, other than trying to re-sign LeMahieu.
Often that means gambling on bounce-back seasons for players returning from injuries or an off-year. Or it can mean betting that a fading star can return to form in a new environment, holding off old age a little longer.
So, with insight from scouts and executives, here are nine potential value signings, with a guess as to where each will land.
1) Kirby Yates
Perhaps the most intriguing buy-low candidate on the market, Yates will be coming back from surgery in August that removed bone chips in his pitching elbow, an injury that ended his 2020 season with the Padres after only 4 1/3 innings in 2020.
However, there should be plenty of interest in him, thanks to brilliant seasons in 2018 and ’19, when he developed a split-finger pitch that made one of the top relievers in the majors.
Yates turns 34 in March, but the bone-chip surgery is considered relatively minor, so if he still has that devastating splitter, which was largely responsible for his 101 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings in 2019, multiple teams should be bidding on him.
Who Signs Him? Mets. Steve Cohen’s money should be an advantage on more than the high-priced free agents. A few extra million on a two-year deal to get Yates could pay off in a big way.
2) Trevor Rosenthal
He seemed headed for the scrap heap a year ago after an ugly 2019 season, and had to settle for a minor league deal with the Royals. But Rosenthal re-discovered his lost command and still had the 98 mph fastball that made him a sensation as a young closer for the Cardinals several years earlier.
The right-hander pitched well enough for the Royals to warrant a trade to a contender, and then dominated down the stretch for the Padres, allowing no earned runs in nine appearances spanning 10 innings. The Dodgers roughed him up in his one NLDS appearance, but at age 30, Rosenthal is going to attract considerable attention.
Who Signs Him? Yankees. Their bullpen wasn’t as dominant as expected, so look for Brian Cashman to add a low-cost reliever or two this winter.
3) Andrelton Simmons
Once considered the hands-down best defensive shortstop in baseball, Simmons seemingly has slipped with the glove the last couple of seasons. However, scouts believe a severe ankle injury in 2019 continued to linger in 2020, limiting him to 30 games with the Angels, as he posted a negative DRS (defensive runs saved) number for the first time in his career.
He’s only 31, so if the ankle doesn’t limit him, Simmons could return to the form that earned him four Gold Gloves. He’s not an impact hitter but does enough with the bat to have considerable value if he’s shining defensively again.
Who Signs Him? Indians. They’ll need a shortstop when they trade Francisco Lindor (unless it’s to the Mets for Amed Rosario or Andres Gimenez) and with most teams well-stocked at the position, Simmons can be had on a short-term deal.
4) Corey Kluber
Does Kluber, at age 35, have anything resembling his two-time Cy Young winning form left? The gamble is that injuries have pretty much wiped out his last two seasons -- he took a line drive off his pitching forearm in 2019, his last season with the Indians, and then went down with a shoulder injury in 2020 after pitching only an inning for the Rangers.
The tantalizing part? In his most recent healthy season, 2018, Kluber went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA, pitching 215 innings.
Who Signs Him? Angels. They need to take chances like this on starting pitching and hope they get lucky.
5) Marcus Semien
Was his spectacular 2019 season that earned him a third-place finish in the AL MVP voting a fluke? That’s what any team considering signing him will be trying to come to grips with after the A’s shortstop slipped badly, posting a .679 OPS over 53 games in 2020, compared to .892 in 2019.
Problem is he’s been closer to the 2020 Semien than the 2019 version for most of his career, but at age 30, he could have a big bounce-back season ahead and could be amenable to a one-year deal in the hope of rebuilding his value.
Who Signs Him? Angels. They might be willing to gamble on the higher offensive ceiling Semien offers rather than re-signing Simmons.