Casual baseball fans are most concerned with the future homes of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, but Justin Verlander's Monday tweet addressed a broader concern -- about the many, many players who are unsigned.
100 or so free agents left unsigned. System is broken. They blame "rebuilding" but that's BS. You're telling me you couldn't sign Bryce or Manny for 10 years and go from there? Seems like a good place to start a rebuild to me. 26-36 is a great performance window too.
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) February 11, 2019
There are good, accomplished players and interested teams still apparently in a stalemate over what the clubs are willing to pay and what the players believe to be fair-market value.
Among them:
1. Clay Buchholz, starting pitcher. His career has been littered with injuries and he had more last year, but when he was on the mound, he threw well for Arizona -- a 2.01 ERA in 16 starts, covering 98⅓ innings. He allowed just nine homers and 22 walks, striking out 81. He'll never been mistaken for a plow horse, the sort of starter you can pencil in for 32 starts and 180-200 innings, but Buchholz does have value.
2. Martin Maldonado, catcher. The former Gold Glove winner was coveted leading up to the trade deadline because of his work behind the plate, and he's 32 years old. But this catcher who is capable of shutting down a running game -- in his 40 games for the Astros last season, opponents stole three bases in eight attempts -- remains unemployed.
3. Gerardo Parra, outfielder. He has a decade in the big leagues, with the versatility to play in different spots, and last year, he batted .284 for the Rockies. But last fall, the Rockies declined a $12.5 million option on Parra for 2019, and now, at 31, he's looking for his next gig. He might fit the Giants, who are in the market for two or three outfielders.
4. Carlos Gonzalez, outfielder. Over 2015 and 2016, Gonzalez bashed 67 doubles and 65 homers. But if you were looking for a model of the type of player who does not rate well under the recent shift in statistical analysis, Gonzalez might be your guy. He's over 30 (he turned 33 in October); he's a corner outfielder, among many corner outfielders; he's not adept defensively; and he gets demerits because his home numbers for the Rockies were markedly better than his road numbers. He was an All-Star in 2016, and now, after an OPS of .663 in road games last year, his career seems to have quickly moved to a steep downward slope.
5. Logan Morrison, first baseman-DH. Just a year ago, the Twins signed Morrison after the start of camp in the hope he could replicate his high OBP (.353) and power (38 homers) of 2017 -- and Morrison struggled last season. But he's just 31 years old.
6. Mike Moustakas, third baseman. Last year, he generated some nice old-school numbers, with 28 homers and 95 RBIs in 152 games for the Royals and Brewers, and he demonstrated in his short time in Milwaukee that he could bounce to a new spot; as a midseason acquisition/hired gun, he helped the Brewers reach the postseason. It's possible he'll go back to Milwaukee after another seemingly disappointing turn through free agency.
7. Derek Dietrich, utility man. He has had six decent seasons in the majors, batting .254 with a .335 OBP, and after Miami traded a bunch of guys before last year, he became a regular, hitting 16 homers -- despite the fact that, like a lot of Marlins, his offense suffered in home games. In road games last season, Dietrich batted .290, with a .363 OBP, in 278 plate appearances. He's 29 years old.
8. Josh Harrison, utility man. Less than two years ago, Harrison represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game, in a year in which he batted .272 and had a .339 OBP. But he struggled last year, at age 30, and remains on the open market.
9. Adeiny Hechavarria, infielder. Teams have demonstrated interest in his defensive play, which is at the root of his value, with the Rays, Pirates and Yankees all making moves last year to add him. But the longtime shortstop, who turns 30 in April, may have to settle for the sort of utility role he had in New York at the end of last season.
10. Adam Jones, outfielder. He's 33 years old, has 266 career homers and is coming off a season in which he batted .281, or just about what he has batted during his time in MLB. But because he's not viewed as an everyday center fielder anymore by some evaluators, he seems to have fallen into the mud bog of corner outfielder/DH types in free agency. Look, when Avisail Garcia signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Rays, at age 27, that was a really, really bad indication for those left on the corner outfield market. And Jones, a respected veteran and five-time All-Star, could be among those who feel the ripple of the industry change.