All Free Agent Team

Jason Michael Barker

I was going to write this article a week or so ago, but decided that not enough players had filed for free agency yet. With Thursday's filing of Ozzie Guillen, though, we can now fill out an entire roster -- in my book no club should have to go an entire season without the services of Mr. Guillen. That there is only one of him is both a tragedy and a problem scientists should get to solving as soon as possible.

In all seriousness, this off-season features one of the better free agent classes in recent memory -- and it could have been even better if players like Ken Griffey Jr., Armando Benitez and Craig Biggio hadn't signed long-term contracts. Still, when you're talking about Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Mike Mussina, Mike Hampton and Charles Johnson, that's quality.

The real question over the next month or so is: Can any team sign more than one of these guys? There's only so much money to go around, and it seems doubtful any team would shell out the $35M a year needed to get two of Rodriguez, Ramirez, Mussina and Hampton (and you can probably throw Juan Gonzalez in there as well). Johnson is "only" asking for $8M a year, so it is conceivable a team could sign him in addition to one of the other four.

In constructing this team, however, we're not bound by salary restrictions -- as of this paragraph, my fictional ballclub doesn't have a single player under contract, meaning no salaries to pay! Don't worry, we'll try to keep it reasonable. I'll also cheat a bit by not constructing a full 25-man roster, the assumption being that you can find roster filler in the form of six-year minor league free agents or waiver claims.

Catcher -- Charles Johnson
It's often said that players put up big numbers in their free agent year, and Johnson did nothing to disprove the theory. A .238 career hitter who had never hit better than .251 entering the 2000 season, Johnson hit .304 and set a career highs in nearly every offensive category. Coupled with his defensive prowess, this offensive improvement makes him one of the top catchers in baseball. It's not unreasonable to think he'll decline next season, but he's still the only qualified starting catcher on the market.

First Base -- Andres Galarraga
I would have liked to give this spot to Will Clark, who I think would be more productive than the Big Cat and probably come a bit cheaper, but The Thrill retired last week to spend more time with his family. I also considered Mark Grace, but you like to get at list a little power at this position. Galarraga is far from the feared hitter he used to be, but considering his age and that he missed the entire 1999 season, his 2000 campaign has to be considered a rousing success. A word of caution: Galarraga's decline could happen very quickly, as he doesn't draw many walks. If his power leaves him, he's done.

Second Base -- Luis Alicea
Given the alternatives, I don't think Alicea is a bad choice. Throw out his injury-riddled 1999, and you've got a guy who has posted OBP's over .360 six of the past seven seasons while playing solid defense. The one alternative who's likely to get some attention this winter is Bret Boone, who has a little pop in his bat but couldn't get on base to save his life and is brutal defensively. Somebody's going to pay Boone $15M over the next three years -- hope it isn't your favorite team.

Third Base -- Ken Caminiti
Caminiti's health is obviously a big question mark, but when the alternatives are Ed Sprague, Charlie Hays and Alex Arias, that's a chance I'm willing to take. Realistically Caminiti probably doesn't have a full season in him, and in that case we'll also sign a guy like, say, Dave Magadan and his .392 career OBP to split time at the hot corner.

Shortstop -- Alex Rodriguez
Who were you expecting, Mike Bordick? It's not often the best player -- perhaps the best player in the last 50 years -- is up for free agency. It's nearly unprecedented that a player this good and this young, with the best years of career still ahead of him, is a free agent. What's unfortunate is that the teams looking for a shortstop who don't get Rodriguez will ultimately wind up overpaying for the likes of Mike Bordick, Alex Gonzalez, and even -- gasp! -- Gary DiScarcina or Walt Weiss.

Left Field -- Juan Gonzalez
If he can play right, he should be able to play left, right? Not that he's here for his glove anyway. No, Gonzalez doesn't walk enough, but that's really the only flaw in his offensive game. He's a career .294 hitter and has hit 40+ homers in a season five times. I told Juan personally that we'll be moving in the fences at the new stadium, which coupled with several large bags of cash should be enough to convince him to sign.

Center Field -- Reggie Sanders
If you're going to sign the rest of these big-money players you've got to cut costs somewhere, right? Sanders is coming off a miserable year in Atlanta during which he was both injured an ineffective, so he's in no position to demand big money. When healthy he brings a nice mix of speed, on-base skills and power, and is a good defender to boot. Playing him in center might not be the best thing for keeping him healthy, though.

Right Field -- Manny Ramirez
Another Rodriguez-sized no-brainer. As good as Ramirez has been his entire career, he was even better this season, posting career highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage -- He nearly slugged .700 this season, and got on-base in roughly 47% of his at-bats. While right field isn't exactly on the difficult end of the defensive spectrum, it's still more impressive than a first baseman or designated hitter doing the same thing. He's not as young as Rodriguez, but at 28 Ramirez has a number of big years still to go.

Designated Hitter -- Todd Hundley
He can still hit, so why not? Without the rigors of catching, Hundley could DH 150 games and not be worn down at the end of the year, as happens to so many catchers. Last season he hit 24 homers in just 299 at-bats, and drew enough walks to turn his .285 average into a respectable .375 on-base percentage.

Tune in next time for the pitchers. Have a great weekend, and in the meantime I'll be out looking for venture capital to pay all these players.

about the author

Rest assured, loyal readers, our own Jason Michael Barker is years from free agency. Of course, on the off-chance you were hoping he'd be writing for the Topeka Gazette next season, don't mention it when you write to jmb@strikethree.com -- he tends to get upset about such things.

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