Editor's note: Now that free agency has started, Keith Law picks out possible best values, worst values and trade targets across every position group. He started with the catcher position Sunday, and now continues the annual series with a look at the corner infielders who have hit free agency, as well as some potential trade targets.
For the top 50 free agents across every position, click here.
The corner-infield market in free agency is atrocious this year, with only two first basemen in my top 50 -- Chris Davis and the semi-free agent Park Byung Ho -- and no true third basemen. If a team is looking for corner help, it probably would be better served looking for trades or coming up with a platoon solution.
Free agents (non-top 50)
David Freese, 3B: Freese's 2012 season was a high-water mark for him, offensively and in terms of playing time. He has hit .260/.328/.394 in three seasons since then, one with the Cardinals and two in Anaheim, with fringy to below-average defense at third base. He is now 32, has had back problems (in 2013) and is probably better suited to some kind of platoon/job-sharing arrangement that sets him up to start 110-120 games rather than 150, though even that assumes his defensive decline the past few years isn't going to continue.
Mike Napoli, 1B: The part-time options at first or third base are unappetizing, to be kind. Napoli is probably the best of that group, salvaging some hope for a major-league contract with a brief surge in performance after Texas acquired him this summer. He's a platoon-only guy who should be used to face left-handed pitching -- he hit .278/.391/.563 against southpaws in 2015 and has a .278/.390/.527 line against them in his career -- but never right-handers, and despite what the Rangers tried, he shouldn't be allowed to play the outfield. He'll probably get a major-league deal, but how much is 200 at-bats maximum of platoon duty worth when they cost a roster spot and don't bring any defensive flexibility?
John Jaso, DH: I won't have a separate guide for designated hitters because there aren't any pure DHs on the market -- there are some guys who probably should be DHs, but that's another story -- so I'll lump Jaso in here. He's an emergency catcher only at this point and didn't catch at all for the Rays in 2015, but he's a strong OBP option against right-handed pitching and in theory gives you a third catcher on the roster or someone who can play poor defense in an outfield corner.
Trade targets
Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies: Hear me out: I have no information at all to say Arenado is available in trades. I'm saying the Rockies could do more to boost their franchise in the long run by trading Arenado than with any other move they could make this offseason. Arenado has become an elite defensive third baseman since he reached the majors and has power that will play in any park, so even if he drops to just a .300 or so OBP, he'd be a huge upgrade for most MLB clubs at third base. I also think his perceived value might slightly exceed his actual value because we don't know exactly how his bat will translate away from Coors -- I don't buy the "just double his road numbers" argument, since MLB hitters in general fare better at home, but I wish he had better than a .291 career OBP on the road -- and because there's some disagreement on just how valuable that glove of his is.
Arenado is first-time arbitration eligible this winter as a super-two, so he has four years of control remaining, just as Josh Donaldson did last winter, but at a somewhat higher cost. This could be a franchise-altering move for the Rockies, a trade with which they could get three or four prospects or young pieces and could acquire more of the young pitching they're going to need to be competitive anytime soon.
Brandon Moss, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals: Moss was traded midyear to the Cardinals, who had a pressing need with Matt Adams hurt, but he is likely to earn $7.5-8 million through arbitration and just isn't worth that kind of coin. He's a left-handed hitter but has never shown much of an overall platoon split, with more power against right-handers but often more average and OBP against lefties. While he is below average defensively at first or in an outfield corner, he can fill in on a short-term basis in any of those spots. If he's non-tendered, he'd be a good target for a one-year deal at a $2-3 million base salary, but I wouldn't want to take him to arbitration in January.
Chris Carter, 1B/DH, Houston Astros: Carter is about to get squeezed out of a job, perhaps along with DH-only Evan Gattis, by the imminent arrival of top prospect A.J. Reed and minor-league performer Tyler White, who could easily be the Astros' first baseman and DH, respectively, in 2016, with no loss of production for a lot less money. Carter and Gattis are both set to earn more in arbitration than they're likely worth, more so for Carter, given that he earned $4.5 million in 2015 and will be second-time eligible this winter. Carter's a Rob Deer sort of player -- awful contact rates, a ton of raw power and just enough walks to keep you interested in giving him one more shot. You could do worse than giving Carter a year at first and hoping he hits 35 homers again, though I wouldn't bet his likely arbitration salary of $6 million on that happening.
Pedro Alvarez, 3B/1B, Pittsburgh Pirates: Alvarez can't really play third base -- he was never very good there, but it's become unplayable -- and he's now entering his last year of arbitration, which sets him up for a $7 million-plus payday that makes little sense for a Pirates club that has better options at third and could fill in more cheaply at first while they wait for first base prospect Josh Bell, who hit .317/.393/.446 this year between double-A and triple-A, to arrive. Alvarez has grade 70 power and actually hits right-handed pitching reasonably well, with a .246/.320/.473 line in his career. I don't see any physical reason he can't become an average defender at first, but he isn't there yet. If you can pay him an appropriate salary for a guy who should never, ever face a left-handed pitcher, he's worth the one-year shot, but for the Pirates, it makes sense to move on and see if they can put that money somewhere else.