A total of 137 MLB players became free agents Monday. The full list is available here courtesy of ESPN's Adam Rubin.
Teams will have an exclusive five-day window (through 12:01 AM EST on Saturday morning) to negotiate with their free agents, at which point they will officially hit the open market.
The aforementioned list also includes players with options for 2013, and many of those are already being exercised as teams officially begin the offseason.
Options Picked Up
Carlos Ruiz, C, PHI ($5 million) -- Ruiz will turn 34 in January, which makes his career year in 2012 even more surprising as he hit .325/.394/.540 with 16 homers over 372 at-bats. Throughout his career, Ruiz has made steady contact on pitches inside of the strike zone (94.0 Z-Contact|PERCENT|), but one area of concern going forward is his increasing tendency to chase outside of the strike zone (32.8 O-Swing|PERCENT|). The 16 home runs exceed his total from 2010 and 2011 combined, and was fueled by a 15.1|PERCENT| HR/FB (career - 7.6|PERCENT|). Ruiz's walk rate has dipped in each of the last two seasons, although his move up the lineup is likely playing a role in that after he spent large portions of 2010 batting in front of the pitcher as the Phillies' No. 8 hitter. By most indications, he'll have a difficult time repeating his 2012 performance, but his three-year OPS (.842) and steady defensive skills are well worth the option price for a likely 3.0-4.0 WAR behind the plate.
Robinson Cano, 2B, NYY ($15 million) -- It's hard to imagine a scenario where the Yankees fail to work out a long-term deal with Cano over the span of the next year. In standard 15-team, 5x5 mixed leagues with a $260 budget, Cano's .313/.379/.550, 33 homers and 94 RBI at age 29 (he turned 30 last week) were worth $32 last season, ranking him first among second basemen (Aaron Hill at $28 was second) and tying him for eighth among hitters with San Diego's Chase Headley. Cano's consistency and durability (just 12 games missed since the start of the 2007 season) should plant him firmly in the first round of most drafts this spring.
Curtis Granderson, OF, NYY ($15 million) -- Interestingly enough, Granderson has failed to earn $15 million in three of the last four seasons, but his monster 2011 campaign was worth $31.7 million, according to Fangraphs. Perhaps the most troubling trend in his profile is the steady rise in his strikeout rate since 2008 (17.6, 19.9, 22.0, 24.5, 28.5|PERCENT|). The increased strikeout rate has followed a steady rise in pitches chased outside of the strike zone during that span (19.8, 20.1, 25.6, 25.7, 29.5|PERCENT|). Only 21 hitters delivered more 5x5 value than Granderson in 2012, so there's still a great deal of value here given his park and raw power (84 homers over the last two seasons).
Grant Balfour, RP, OAK ($4.5 million) -- After losing the closer's role in May, perhaps in part because the A's were looking to build up the value of Brian Fuentes for trade purposes (he was 8-for-10 in save chances at the time of the demotion), Balfour rallied during the second half to convert all 17 of his save chances while carrying a 40:10 K:BB and a 1.71 ERA over his final 31.2 innings. At $4.5 million, Balfour could still be on the move at some point between now and the end of the 2013 season, as the A's have Ryan Cook (9.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9) and lefty Sean Doolittle (11.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9) available as potential replacements.
Others: David Aardsma ($500,000)
Options Declined
Stephen Drew, SS, OAK ($10 million) -- The A's are still believed to be interested in retaining Drew, but assistant general manager David Forst said the A's simply weren't comfortable bringing him back for the $10 million option. Drew is represented by Scott Boras, so it will be interesting to see if he's willing to take a one-year deal to re-establish his market value and potentially get a bigger long-term contract next winter. Drew looked rusty with the D-Backs in his return to the big leagues this season, but started to produce at his previous levels with a .275/.342/.451 line along with five homers and 14 RBI in September. As he gets further away from the gruesome fractured ankle that ended his 2011 season, perhaps Drew's speed will return to the point where he will once again be an asset on the basepaths as a source of extra-base hits (35 triples from 2008-10).
Scott Baker, SP, MIN ($9.25 million) -- Baker missed the entire 2012 season after requiring surgery to repair a damaged flexor tendon in his right elbow. The injury was supposed to sideline him for six months (from mid-April), but it was revealed that Baker underwent Tommy John surgery instead. There have been no indications of a setback to this point, so it would appear as though he'll be ready to start games again soon after the regular season begins. Around elbow trouble in 2011, Baker had a career-high 8.2 K/9, and there's reason to believe he will be a nice value as a mid-rotation starter (the Twins are believed to be interested in re-signing him) as long as he regains his pre-surgery control (career 2.1 BB/9).
Others: Placido Polanco ($5.5 million), Juan Rivera ($4.5 million), Ty Wigginton ($4 million), Jose Contreras ($2.5 million), Todd Coffey ($2.5 million), Matt Treanor ($950,000)
Notes of Intrigue
Tyler Flowers, C, CHW -- A.J. Pierzynski is a free agent after a monster age-35 season, and new White Sox general manager Rick Hahn recently said that he believes Flowers will be a quality everyday catcher in the big leagues. Over three seasons at Triple-A Charlotte, Flowers has a .244/.358/.456 line in 673 at-bats (including 33 homers). In terms of offensive upside, Flowers might be able to deliver something in line with Jarrod Saltalamacchia's 2012 numbers with the Red Sox if the White Sox are in fact comfortable using him as their primary catcher. It's hardly a guarantee in late October, but this is certainly a situation worth monitoring over the winter.
Bartolo Colon, SP, FA -- Colon was hit in the mouth by a line drive Sunday while pitching in a Dominican Winter League game, but fortunately he did not suffer any fractures in the incident. With five games remaining on the 50-game suspension he received for testing positive for testosterone in August, any team willing to give him a look in their rotation to begin the season could slot him into the No. 5 starter spot and use a long reliever or minor league starter to take his first turn in the rotation. Colon's strikeout rate fell to 5.4 K/9 last season, but he became a strike-throwing machine with an excellent 1.4 BB/9 and could find work before his 40th birthday in May.
Omar Infante, 2B, DET -- Infante suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal on his left hand in the Tigers' season-ending loss to the Giants on Sunday night. While Infante should be ready to go for the start of spring training, he's already under contract for 2013 (two-year extension with Miami in 2011) after hitting .257/.283/.385 with four homers, 20 RBI and a 7-for-9 mark on the basepaths over 64 games with the Tigers. Keep an eye on where he lands in the lineup next spring, as an opportunity to bat ahead of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder could lead him to exceed expectations with his extreme contact skills and ability to steal bases as needed (17-for-20 in 2012).
Mark Buehrle, SP, MIA -- If you look closely at the four-year, $58 million contract that Buehrle signed with the Marlins last December, you'll notice that he received just $6 million in 2012. With $11 million due in 2013 and $37 million ($18 and $19M) in 2014-15, it should come as little surprise that the Marlins are shopping the veteran left-hander and his heavily backloaded contract. Buehrle provided a slight bump in strikeouts (5.6 K/9) with the move to the National League, but it's hard to envision a scenario where Miami will get much in return for him in a trade despite the lack of quality arms available in free agency. As the Marlins showed in the Heath Bell deal, and recent firing of manager Ozzie Guillen, there is a clear willingness to dump contracts even if they are forced to eat a portion of the balance owed.
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