Reese Kaplan -- Value Free Agents & Pillow Talk

This column is not a Wilpon-bashing diatribe about their refusal to spend money, but rather a look at the list of players who have filed for free agency and where underpriced value might exist.  Now if that lower price tag happens to float the Wilpons’ yacht, so be it. 

One third baseman flying pretty far under the radar is Korean import Jae-Gyun Hwang.  Never heard of him?  Join the club.  He was signed by the San Francisco Giants last year but really didn’t get much of a look.  He got a Gavin Cecchini-like 52 AB trial and didn’t exactly set the world on fire.  However, he’s no an unrestricted free agent with no posting fee.  As a result, he will be available for relatively little money and no compensatory draft picks either. 

Why should anyone consider him?  Well, it’s not often a player makes positive strides in his development as a conscious decision to work to overcome deficiencies.  For example, when he was criticized for not generating much power, he worked to improve his strength and health.  Consequently, he went from a 12 HR/76 RBI contact hitter into a 26 HR/97 RBI power hitter.  Of course, swinging for the fences caused a major spike in strikeouts. 

During the offseason he worked hard on this issue and he had a dramatic drop in strikeouts while generating 27 HRs and 113 RBIs while hitting .335.  No one paid much attention to him and the Giants got him for chump change.  He’s still just 29 years old and plays a position of need for the Mets.  He also has 1^st base experience and could provide a right handed complement to Dom Smith against tougher lefties.  Check out his highlight reel to see his power and some of his defense.

One pitcher the Mets may want to target include the now former Dodger Brandow Morrow who went from mediocre starter to sensational reliever while playing for $500K.  Yes, based upon his 45 games of 2.06 ERA in relief he’s going to get a substantial raise but it will still be in the high-value range.

A pair of former Mets have been working for their entire careers as successful relievers.  Joe Smith’s sidearm delivery would be a very different look coming out of the pen.  Yusmeiro Petit put up some awesome strikeout numbers.  Another former Mets is a free agent as well, but no amount of sugarcoating would make the fans welcome back Oliver Perez with open arms. 

Other successful middle relievers coming onto the free agent market include Jake McGee, Pat Neshek, Tony Watson, Anthony Swarzak, Matt Albers, Luke Gregerson, Pete Moylan, Koji Uehara, Bryan Shaw, Drew Storen, Brandon Kintzler, Craig Stammen and Seung-Hwan Oh.  Former closers on the market in the second tier of pricing would include Sergio Romo  and Steve Cishek. 

A few speedy outfielders worth considering for bench roles would include Craig Gentry, Rajai Davis and Ben Revere. 

I was interested to see former Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario wanting to come back to the USA but defense was never his strong suit and his only other position is 1B which is currently occupied by Dom Smith.  I don’t see a fit. 

One starting pitcher definitely on the lower end of the price spectrum worth considering is former Rockies and Padres hurler Jhoulys Chacin.  He’s not as sexy a name as Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish for sure.  For that matter, he’s no Alex Cobb or Lance Lynn.  However, unlike the much older and more expensive alternatives like Jason Vargas, Chacin is coming off a $1.5 million salary and delivered a 13-10 record for a bad San Diego team while achieving a 3.93 ERA for a career mostly spent in Coors Field.  He’s durable, healthy and could be that type of innings eater they’re seeking without breaking the bank. 

I’ve previously written about the enigma of Logan Morrison who had his best ever season by a wide margin for the Rays while earning a paltry $2.5 million.  For that he hit his usual .246 but upped the power output to 38 HRs and 85 RBIs.  Think of him as the poor man’s alternative to Jay Bruce.  He might be a good placeholder for Michael Conforto, but he’s probably going to want to cash in for what may be his last chance at a long term contract. 

There is another outfielder who might be interested in a pillow contract to reestablish his value.  The once feared Carlos Gonzalez had a miserable season for the Rockies.  A year ago he hit .298 with 25 HRs and 100 RBIs.  This year it was .268/14/57.  At age 31 it’s doubtful he’s lost it already.  Consequently he might entertain a one-year deal which would fit nicely with the Mets’ ongoing desire for payroll flexibility.  His last season in Colorado paid him $20 million.  If he was looking at half that then he would be a worthy gamble to play RF.  For a frame of reference, a few years ago when Adrian Beltre did a discounted one year deal with the Red Sox and delivered.  The same happened with Nelson Cruz and a one year deal with the Orioles.  Food for thought…

So who is less of a risk going forward – one year wonder Logan Morrison or established star Carlos Gonzalez coming off a lost year?