Standing outside the batting cages at the Miami Marlins' spring training complex last spring, Dee Gordon talked about how excited he was about the trade to Miami and having the chance to play with Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich. But Gordon is the sort of person who would find a reason to be excited about any place he plays, no matter the circumstances.
Gordon naturally veers toward positivity, which would seem to be a trait that helped him improve so much over the past two years and ascend beyond the expectations of evaluators.
In the fourth part of our ongoing top 10 series -- we already ranked starting pitchers, relievers and first basemen -- here are the top 10 second basemen in baseball, based on the input of MLB evaluators and players.
1. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
Right after the Astros beat the Yankees in the American League wild-card game last month, Altuve disappeared from the Houston clubhouse for a time, for the sake of self-preservation. Altuve knew that if he showed his face among champagne-spraying teammates, the chances of his being drenched were probably about the same as if he were standing underneath Niagara Falls.
He is small in stature, listed at 5 feet 6 -- generously -- but is high in impact. In 2015, Altuve again reached 200 hits, including 59 extra-base hits, and he stole 38 bases and scored 86 runs.
Altuve also won a Gold Glove for his defensive work, ranking among the top 10 in defensive runs saved.
2. Dee Gordon, Miami Marlins
Gordon has spent his professional career working to get stronger, working to put on weight, knowing that opposing pitchers will hammer him with inside fastballs and effectively knock the bat out of his hands. For Gordon, adding strength and pounds has been a challenge. He reduced the amount of pickup basketball he played, ate better and took a big step forward as a hitter in 2014 -- then took one giant leap in 2015, leading the National League in hits despite dislocating his thumb in July and missing 17 games.
Gordon hit .333 with 88 runs scored and 58 stolen bases, and he improved markedly on defense. He wanted to get better on making plays to his backhand side, but infield coach Perry Hill mentioned during the season that he thought Gordon had gotten better at positioning and double-play feeds.
3. Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians
The Indians' infielder got a couple of fringy votes at the back end of the AL MVP ballot for his play last season, which he deserved; he put in a lot of work preparing for the 2015 season and had much success. Kipnis batted .303, with a .372 on-base percentage, and he led all major league second basemen in Fangraphs' version of WAR.
4. Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers
He finished No. 1 among second basemen in defensive runs saved in 2015, and it wasn't close; Kinsler accumulated 19, Gordon 13, and the Rays' Logan Forsythe was third with eight. Kinsler also led all second basemen in UZR/150 (ultimate zone rating per 150 chances). These metrics and others suggest Kinsler should have easily won the AL Gold Glove Award.
But Kinsler also had one of the better offensive seasons of his career, posting 185 hits and 94 runs scored, and his ESPN WAR of 6.0 was the highest of his career. He ranked fourth among major league second basemen in Fangraphs' version of WAR (4.2).
5. Ben Zobrist, free agent (previously the Kansas City Royals)
He wasn't really healthy until later in the season, after he was traded to the Royals, and in the postseason, Zobrist demonstrated what he could do at full strength, hitting .303 (including eight doubles) and scoring 15 runs in 16 games. Zobrist played a significant role in Kansas City's championship run, and for that and for what he could do moving forward, he will be paid big dollars soon. (More on that later in the column.)
6. Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners
Former Mariners coach Andy Van Slyke got a lot of attention for remarks about Cano made in a radio interview in which Van Slyke talked about how poorly Cano played. Cano's performance last season was not as good as in previous years, but in the end, he finished the year with 56 extra-base hits and had a .779 OPS, which was fifth among second basemen. And at the end of the season, Cano had surgery on a core muscle, a problem of which the Mariners were aware.
The Mariners' decision to sign Cano to a 10-year deal was never a good idea, and the 33-year-old second baseman has eight years left on his contract; toward the end of the deal, the situation could get ugly. But it's more likely that Van Slyke is guilty of overstatement than Cano is a terrible player. He continues to rank in the upper echelon of MLB's second basemen, and no critic can say he fails to get on the field: Over the past nine seasons, Cano has missed a total of 25 games.
7. Logan Forsythe, Tampa Bay Rays
At age 28, Forsythe got his first chance to play every day in the big leagues in 2015 and had a tremendous season, hitting .281 with 52 extra-base hits and an .803 OPS; he was fifth among all second baseman in WAR, according to Fangraphs.
8. Howie Kendrick, free agent (previously the Los Angeles Dodgers)
Kendrick has played 10 seasons in the major leagues and has never hit lower than .285, never higher than .322; he is an offensive metronome, and last season for the Dodgers, he batted .295 with a .336 on-base percentage. He also missed 45 games, mostly because of a hamstring issue.
Kendrick is a free agent, and after turning down a qualifying offer from the Dodgers, it's uncertain where he will land. But his next team can expect his usual: a batting average of about .290, with steady (if unspectacular) defense and a great clubhouse presence.
9. Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
Some of his numbers declined in 2013 and 2014, but "Dat Dude" had somewhat of a rebound year in 2015, batting .294 and racking up the most hits he has had in a season (173) since 2011. He also swiped 23 bases in 26 attempts, his most steals since 2009, and his defensive metrics remained solid. Phillips has had more than his share of hand and wrist injuries the past few years, but he's usually good for about 150 games (148 last season).
10. Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins
He was primed to have a really big year -- and land a lot higher on this list -- before a brutal second-half slump. Dozier actually ranked 18th among all players in Fangraphs' WAR at the All-Star break, but he hit .210 after the break, with a .280 on-base percentage.
In spite of that, Dozier still finished the year with 71 extra-base hits and scored 101 runs, and his improvement in and devotion to baserunning is perceived to be one of the reasons the Twins put themselves in contention into the final week of the regular season.
Toughest guy to leave off: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox. As written here before, rival evaluators love Pedroia; they love his passion, his preparation and how hard he plays. But they've also wondered for years about how well he'll be able to hold up because of the toll that his relentless style takes on his body.
Pedroia played 135 games in 2014, and in 2015 he played just 93. This is the most significant question that hangs over him at age 32: How much can he play? How often will he be in the lineup?
When Pedroia is in the lineup, he's among the best at his position. Some of his power came back in '15; he hit .291 with 12 homers, and his slugging percentage reached .441, his highest since 2012. Rival evaluators say Pedroia's defense has regressed, observations that are in line with what the metrics show.
Honorable mentions: Joe Panik was instrumental in the Giants winning a title in 2014, made the NL All-Star team in 2015 and was building a great season before getting injured. He finished with a .312 batting average and a .378 on-base percentage in 100 games, and would've been in the mix for Gold Glove; Rougned Odor of the Texas Rangers, who was sent to the minors in May with a .136 average before returning in June and batting .291, with power, the rest of the way; and 25-year-old Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong, who will be in the top 10 for years to come once he solves left-handed pitching. He hit .229 against lefties in 2015, with just six extra-base hits in 166 at-bats.
Blue Jays sign lefty starter Happ
The heavy lifting for the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason is probably over now that they've locked down their second veteran starter of the winter, agreeing to terms with J.A. Happ on a three-year deal. As Brendan Kennedy writes, this all but confirms that David Price won't be returning to Toronto (and among rival executives and agents, there was an assumption all along -- dating back to August -- that Price would not sign long-term with the Blue Jays).
Toronto's rotation will look something like this:
1. RHP Marcus Stroman
2. RHP R.A. Dickey
3. RHP Marco Estrada
4. LHP J.A. Happ
5. RHP Aaron Sanchez, RHP Jesse Chavez or RHP Drew Hutchison
Toronto will work on restocking a farm system that provided the talent for the win-now trades it made in 2015, and the signings of Estrada and Happ did not cost the Jays a draft pick.
Happ made an adjustment last season, as John Lott writes.
From ESPN Stats & Information: From Aug. 1 through the end of the season, Happ had a 1.85 ERA, the third best in baseball, trailing only Cy Young Award finalists Jake Arrieta and Clayton Kershaw.
Happ's $36 million deal, built heavily on those two strong months at the end of 2015, should be really good news for two other left-handers on the market, Wei-Yin Chen and Scott Kazmir. That duo has had more high-end success than Happ and could well get larger chunks of guaranteed money.
Notables
• The Mets believe that the strength of their pitching is a selling point to free agent Zobrist, because they have enough depth and quality to sustain an extended window of success. "It's not going away," one Mets insider said. The 34-year-old Zobrist is expected to get a contract of at least three years from his next employer, and the Mets have had some good results in investing in another older free agent, Curtis Granderson, who turned 34 last spring and had an OPS of .821 in the regular season and a great run through the postseason.
• Major League Baseball is investigating Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig. I wrote here last week about why the Dodgers shouldn't worry about getting maximum value for Puig in a trade.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Indians signed catcher Anthony Recker.
AL East
• Signing David Price would be the right move for the Red Sox, Peter Abraham writes. The Red Sox need to choose their starter wisely, Scott Lauber writes.
• The Orioles are interested in starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo.
• Roch Kubatko writes about the Orioles' pursuit of Chris Davis.
NL Central
• For the Cardinals, let the free-agent season begin, writes Derrick Goold.
• Bringing back pitcher Jeff Samardzija at the right price could be a good thing for the Cubs, Paul Sullivan writes.
• Here are some reasons the Cubs should be thankful.
• The Cubs are a long shot for Jason Heyward.
Lastly
• Larry Lucchino talks about walking away from the Red Sox.
• John Schuerholz says the David Justice trade was the hardest to make.
• Does Sammy Sosa deserve a vote for the Hall of Fame?
• Here are some more details on why the Marlins dumped radio analyst Tommy Hutton. A source in close contact with the Marlins said the team felt Hutton was too negative toward the team.
Look, all broadcasters effectively employed by teams or Major League Baseball walk a verbal tightrope on how far to go in criticizing their employers. In listening to Hutton for years, I always thought he did this very, very well, especially in light of how much disparagement the Marlins engendered with their ownership machinations. Hutton has always been direct in explaining how each game has been won and lost, how the crossroads in each game are reached and which path the players have taken and why. He has largely left alone the larger organizational issues, smartly, because that really is more of an issue for local talk shows and columnists, folks who are independently employed, rather than someone who works under the umbrella of the team.
He has been a pleasure to listen to, and his dismissal is nothing less than shocking, and the Marlins will probably be surprised at how difficult he will be to replace -- especially because the analyst who steps into Hutton's shoes, whoever that is, must now attempt to work upstream against the perception that he is a cheerleader.
• Here's the Padres' new hat, apparently.
• Vanderbilt faces Tennessee today.
And today will be better than yesterday.