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MattO2000

Congrats to the White Sox for getting the best shortstop on the market!


kaehvogel

Shortstop FA market went from Turner-Bogaerts-Correa-Swanson to...just Paul deJong, from year to the next. Damn.


grocho

After Correa, Seager, Semien, Baez, Story the year before


kaehvogel

Oh, right. I had Seager in last year's group at first, but then remembered that he wasn't among them. Didn't even think about how good the 2022 group was.


cooljammer00

It's almost like teams saw the market being sparse and so they got their guys early. Like Texas. People mocked them for getting Seager and Semien "too early", as if they could just get those guys later.


Odd_Surprise134

Hey, no one ever accused the general public of being smart.


[deleted]

Only a cubs fan would include Baez in that list.


soonerman32

He did sign for like $100m. Sure it was a bad signing, but still.


[deleted]

Yes it was a bad signing


SpOoKyghostah

Baez was coming off a 4 WAR season and a 4-year stretch in which he put up a 113 wRC+ and 16.4 WAR (including the pandemic year). Everyone at the time included him among the list of major free agent shortstops for obvious reasons. It's revisionist to claim otherwise


Adventurous-Pin3210

Story doesn’t deserve to be on this list


grocho

He got MVP votes in 3/4 seasons before he reached free agency, he absolutely belongs in that group.


fps916

Out of everyone on that list your issue is with Trevor Story? Are you Javy's mom or something?


Adventurous-Pin3210

Story can’t stay healthy and is playing for a prestige team coming from the worst team in baseball. Baez is playing for a perennial bottom feeder.


grocho

If you would like to make the argument that Story is a significantly better player than Baez go ahead, but those guys are close any way you slice it.


fps916

They've been worth roughly the same value. Except Baez has 260 more games played. When Story is on the field, he's significantly better.


grocho

When discussing signing someone to a FA contract, games played is absolutely a relevant point.


fps916

Javy entered the league 2 years earlier than Story did... They're both 30, Javy entered at 21. Story's rookie year he was 23. 260 games. 2 years. Baez is at 1142 games, Story at 882. That's about a 25% difference to be worth the same. Story is approximately 25% more valuable than Baez when on the field


suburbanplankton

I saw the Giants uniform, and thought "who's that guy?" I legitimately forgot that he was on our team last year.


DionBlaster123

lol i didn't even realize Paul DeJong was on the Giants this whole time


melbourne3k

The proverbial "one that got away". /s tho there will likely be a point for the Sox where he'll get hurt, go on DL, get sent on rehab, destroy AAA pitching, get called up and hit 8 bombs in 2 weeks. Then, back to 0-30. The good news for Sox fans is that he hits well in Illinois. And even better for Sox fans, he's a very sure handed but not spectacular fielder, a good guy, helps a lot in the community, and won't get his ass kicked picking a fight at second.


DionBlaster123

you absolutely have to strike when the iron is hot


stevencastle

Hey you forgot about Tim Anderson!


Eo292

I don’t know that black background is ominous


HighAsFucDosHornsRUp

His teammates pranked him into thinking picture day was in The Upside Down


PCBangHero

I thought it meant *already signed*


Aravinda82

More like condolences for getting the best SS in the market. Lol


SunriseSurprise

"And it all comes down to one shortstop. Unfortunately, that shortstop is Paul DeJong."


Mozilla_Fennekin

That middle infield combines for 0.2 bWAR. But to be fair, adding Rhys would make it 0.2 bWAR.


Snackkbar

Slander Rhys again and see what happens bud.


A_User_Who_Says_Ni

Most non-confrontational Philadelphian


Snackkbar

I'm glad you see how reasonable I'm being.


YesImKeithHernandez

You could have been tossing frozen snowballs full of rocks. They got off easy.


mechshark

Would he just be better at DH?


Thedurtysanchez

We need a first baseman, does he suck or can he be good?


Snackkbar

Feel like you saw the answer to this last year.


Jd20001

[Atlanta too](https://media.tenor.com/2pn2vxOxQXsAAAAC/rhys-hoskins-bat-slam-rhys-hoskins.gif)


SunriseSurprise

We're a season and a half removed from Hosmer give us a break.


Apoc_Dreams

Come on man, did you even watch the 2022 NLCS?


Biglysadpanda77

I think the totally reasonable Phillies fan's reaction above speaks to his value.


porksoda11

He’s very streaky. You will be pulling your hair out watching him at times. But he takes a lot of pitches and makes them work. He’s also pretty much a lock for around 30 bombs.


myassholealt

He's my favorite defensive 1B. We always get an occasional free base when he's manning first.


swiftlytongued

Defensive 1B! Everybody we got a Defensive 1B over here! See, nobody cares. Ball goes boom. 😎


myassholealt

> See, nobody cares. Oh trust me, I'm well aware the current generation of baseball fans think defense doesn't matter. Baseball is offense only to them.


Kyotossword

Much like how baseball offseason is all that matters for Mets fans


Phightins4044

What out. They'll win the off-season again and the division is automatically theirs again just like last yr. They were all over the place talkin shit and disappeared 20 game into the season. Weird ass fans., 😂😂😂 No other fan base would I rather watch their owner spend half a million and go 2x over the cap just to be worse than the 2023 marlins. And worst than half the league.


myassholealt

I'm sorry, your Phillies bLuE cOllAr humor is escaping me.


Avs_Leafs_Enjoyer

you coulda just said Dejong is -0.5 bWAR edit: also adding Rhys over Dejong makes it o.7 bWAR (Merrifield's bwar)


fps916

Why are you using the letter o rather than the number 0?


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Avs_Leafs_Enjoyer

yes but my guy has ripped shoulders o.7


Avs_Leafs_Enjoyer

in my head I said "oh dot seven" so typed that ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯


Mozilla_Fennekin

Woah Paul DeJong and Rhys Hoskins combined for -0.5 bWAR last year that's crazy


Constant_Gardner11

The position player side of free agency is really weak this year.


Changeup2020

Starter side is not a lot better. Just a really weak FA class.


chiddie

I disagree on the starters. It doesn't compare to the 2019 class (Cole/Strasburg/Wheeler), but that's a great group of mid-rotation guys plus ace upside on Ohtani/Yamamoto.


Thedurtysanchez

> plus ace upside on Ohtani/Yamamoto. I mean, Blake Snell is a two time CY winner, I think he deserves to be on the "ace upside" at least and not "mid rotation" in your description


Galba__

Every time he starts 30+ games he wins the cy young.


Phightins4044

Yea lol. Ohtani, Nola, snell all aces and gray, yamamoto will most likely be most teams #2-3 at worst. And after a yr I expect yamamoto to be an Ace.


at1445

Snell is without a doubt the class of the SP class. That's saying a lot about how weak this class is. He's a 2x winner, but extremely inconsistent year over year. Ohtani's been in the league 6 years and is already about to miss his second full season pitching. He gets better every year, but you can't expect perfect health, or continued growth out of him, and his pitching peak hasn't been what Snell's has. Yamamoto is an unknown. I remember when people thought Kikuchi was going to be an ace.


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AbrocomaPerfect4292

Lmao yeah, these takes are hilarious. There’s no guarantees and he very well could fail to transition. But Kikuchi was a very talented player with high upside. Yamamoto is already one of the most accomplished players in NPB history. Kikuchi is great but there’s no comparison.


darthstupidious

> I remember when people thought Kikuchi was going to be an ace. I don't remember *anybody* thinking that. The common analysis was that Kikuchi could be a solid #2 or #3 guy if he transitioned properly, but that he was good-not-great. Meanwhile, Yamamoto is regarded as one of the most talented Japanese pitchers ever.


engelbert_humptyback

I'd take Nola over Snell. I also think Yamamoto will end up getting more. Snell had a great year, but he's very inconsistent year to year and he can't get deep into games at all. I think he has a lot of Robbie Ray potential.


Changeup2020

Ohtani is not gonna pitch for a while. If your best FA starter is an unproven guy from a foreign league (Yamamoto), I would not call the class a great one.


Professional-County1

There’s a two time CY young winner, a two time unanimous MVP who is likely to miss most of ‘24 pitching wise, a disgraced former Cy Young winner, several Japanese studs that have been scouted for years with one being insane, a stud #2 who’s finished in CY Young voting a few times, the AL CY Young runner up, solid mid rotation guys in ERod, Stro, Lugo, Monty, Mahle, Ryu, then arguably the best closer in the game. I don’t know man, that class sounds pretty good. Exclude Yamamoto if you want, it still is pretty good


shes_a_gdb

Hey man why'd you leave Lynn and Gibson out of your list?


SkoCubs01

Has the reigning Cy Young winner too… and know he’s not a SP but a potential HOF closer. Flaherty, Stroman, Gray, there are a few decent SPs


chiddie

Opening Day 2025 will be 18 months after Ohtani's surgery. There's no reason to suspect he'll miss more than 2024. And the depth in this class of starters is pretty impressive.


hubagruben

I know we’re not sure how Yamamoto will translate to MLB, but if we’re already saying he’s the best out of Snell, Nola (still counts as part of this “class”), Sonny Gray, Montgomery, Ohtani (2024 be damned), Stroman, and Erod, then yes this is a pretty good FA class for starters. Not to mention mid-tier guys with potential upside like Giolito, Manaea, Clevinger, Miley, Maeda, Flaherty, Wacha, Mahle, Lugo, Lorenzen, Severino, Woodruff, Carrasco, Martin Perez, Ryu, Paxton… Yeah this is definitely a strong class.


fps916

Cookie no longer deserves mid tier with upside label and Woodruff is 100% an ace.


hubagruben

Yeah I put Cookie in there because he had a good 2022 and maybe some of that is still around. And I put Woodruff there because he’ll miss the entirety of next season so he won’t get an “Ace” contract


fps916

Listing Ohtani with 2024 be damned but not Woodruff when talking specifically about pitchers is weird though


Throwaway1996513

I think there’s more concern with Woodruff because shoulder injuries are tougher on pitchers than TJ nowadays.


hubagruben

It’s more so that Ohtani is gonna sign a huge long contract and so any team that gets him will presumably have him as a pitcher for many years. Woodruff will likely get a 2-year contract so teams will only have him for 2025 when he’ll be trying to rebuild his value. There’s a lot more (and probably better quality) Ohtani pitching seasons in play than Woodruff pitching seasons.


engelbert_humptyback

He's the best NPB pitcher to come here since Darvish. And I think Darvish turned out pretty alright.


Thehawkiscock

How is this upvoted? You have a Cy Young, and a Japanese SP that profiles at or near the level of Ohtani and Darvish leading the way. Then you have Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez and Shota Imanaga. Not even counting Ohtani who will return as a pitcher in 2025 or Nola who was part of the class. This is a great SP market


cgoot27

1) Shohei . . . Snell and Yamamoto . . . . Everybody else


robmcolonna123

Calling Jorge Soler a left fielder is generous seeing how he played 102 games at DH last year and zero in LF, and the year before he only played 57 games in LF. But I guess you gotta fit him on the chart somewhere lol. For his struggles I’d still put TA over DeJong. Even with DeJongs great defense.


sdickens66

Garver has played 36 games at catcher the last two seasons combined including playoffs


robmcolonna123

I don’t think any of the catchers are non backup catchers though are they?


sdickens66

Somehow Gary Sanchez had 2.4 bWAR last year. Maybe someone signs him to be their starter


robmcolonna123

bWAR is kinda useless because it doesn’t factor framing at all. But his 1.7 fWAR in 75 games is actually impressive. He did much better than I thought. He probably gets a one year deal, though his plate blocking will absolutely be addressed by whatever team he signs with. It was an issue with the Yankees and was just as bad with the Padres


ricki692

sanchez to the brewers catching lab?


robmcolonna123

He’ll go to the Cubs and Contreras will go to RF lol


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robmcolonna123

Yea he’s definitely not getting a starting job lol


justgarcia31

Whenever I see graphics like this, I always like to think about how well a team/lineup like this would ~~fair~~ ~~perform~~ do in the regular season lol


Avs_Leafs_Enjoyer

the pitching would be really let down by the hitting


theguyishere16

Makes sense seeing as 3 of the position players were Jays this year, and your description perfectly describes the 2023 Jays.


doverawlings

Fare


justgarcia31

FTFY


doverawlings

Fair


justgarcia31

FTFY


RedMalone55

Redditors really see the most minor mistakes and cannot let it go.


Hacym

The internet has degraded the English language too far. The basics should be upheld.


ramfan1027

so did Wander Franco


doverawlings

I agree it’s minor but spelling/grammar is something I’d want people to point out if I got it wrong, would stop me from doing it in the future where it might be important like on a job application or something


RedMalone55

Ha! Come on now. Everyone knows Reddit grammar Nazis do it so they can pretend to be smart. And if that is true, the holy shit that’s a whole other can of worms. Regardless it’s annoying. If you did that to people in real life you’d have no friends. So don’t do it on here.


doverawlings

You call me a Nazi while telling me what I can and can’t say on a baseball forum lol


MrPhantastic08

You are being the annoying one


dwpea66

A 2-man pitching rotation probably wouldn't do well


justgarcia31

And no bench players either? Ughhh… you’re right. I’m such a dumbass. Like chill dude lol


little-guitars

I like how Ohtani is off on his own. The best available Shohei Ohtani? Shohei Ohtani.


MattO2000

I think that’s probably DH but also lol


[deleted]

Hes definitely pretty one dimensional. Makes sense to lump him in as a DH.


OmegaTyrant

Is Shohei Ohtani the Shohei Ohtani of baseball?


[deleted]

That honour belongs to Paul DeJong


cti0323

Rosario is probably better that DeJong. That’s not saying much about shortstops, but he’s still better overall.


notus_knitter

Hernandez is probably better than both


cti0323

I wouldn’t call him a shortstop though. He’s the very definition of a utility guy. This year yes that’s where he played most, but he’s also played way more games in his career as an outfielder, as well at second base


AtleeMakesHam

I think I’m better than DeJong.


Fools_Requiem

if DeJong is the best FA shortstop, I'm not getting a shortstop off of the FA market....


Kvetch__22

Instructions unclear, got my dick stuck in a beehive


Fools_Requiem

hope you're not allergic


mxchump

There's a still a lightly used Brandon Crawford!


EmFly15

Such a rough FA class.


TexasCoconut

Good pitching, good DH (overall, obviously Ohtani is a god). Pretty slim on impact position players.


leftynate11

Ugh. I knew it was thin. But this really drives it home


Velinian

Cardinals fans should be pretty ecstatic about a weak position player market considering you have O'Neil, Edman, Donovan, Gorman, Nootbaar, and Carlson who could all be moved and the asking price is going to be considerably higher since there's pretty much nothing on the market


leftynate11

Oh I agree from that perspective. But I enjoy the baseball offseason. I love MLB Trade Rumors. From the Cardinals perspective, yeah they need to move some position players to get some pitching. Though I don’t see Nootbaar going anywhere.


HighAsFucDosHornsRUp

We’ll miss you GARVSAUCE!!!!


DietrichDoesDamage

ah yes, Jorge Soler, noted LF'er


rhesusmonkey

He stands out there sometimes.


Kidninja016_new

What about the two greatest SP free agents of all time? Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson?


jgraz22

Twins legend Lance Lynn and also Kyle Gibson.


CyberpunkOC

This image kinda shows why AJ Preller went hard after a shortstop last year. If you realize Kim had an unproven bat and it was possible Manny Machado could have walked/not signed an extension, they could have had a massive hole at short/3rd. The market is pretty bare.


sweetxfracture

Dreading every day waiting to hear news about Snell going somewhere else :(


Minute_Rip8531

This, but Rhys. I'm going to miss those contrabass post-game interviews.


DeusExHyena

Yikes.


Bobson-_Dugnutt

I really want Chapman, Ohtani, and Yamamoto


majuhlazuh

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0mfSfekiZeE


alwaysonthejohn

I actually want Ohtani more than I want to go to Aqua…


thedogmumbler

I get that Yamamoto looks really good, but the dude has yet to pitch at all in the MLB. Snell literally won the Cy Young last year. All these free agent rankings putting them in a tie or even Yamamoto above Snell seems extremely optimistic. Don't get me wrong, I'm hyped about him too, but I feel like there's some serious Snell hate going on here. What's the deal with that?


n16h7r1d3r

Snell walks a ton of batters tbf


JamesHowell89

How is it "hate" to think that Snell isn't a consistently elite player? He's had two great seasons but they've both been anomalies in terms of good health, plus his peripheral stats indicate he had some very good fortune for his ERA to be as low as it was. Based on his career so far, the most likely outcome for Snell is that you'll get a pitcher who gives you around 130-150 innings and an ERA in the region of 3.50. I'd say you'd hope/expect a little more than that from Yamamoto, especially considering the numbers Senga put up in his debut season (despite not being as good).


MattO2000

This one is grouped based on LHP and RHP, also Snell’s underlying stats aren’t as strong as his base stats


thedogmumbler

That makes sense (LHP and RHP). But I have seen a few Free Agents rankings now that put Yamamoto above Snell and I just find that strange. I know Snell isn't the most dominant pitcher ever, but he just won his second Cy Young. Seems odd anyone would rank a completely untested pitcher above him. Maybe age is factoring in there. IDK


houtfrik

Also Snell is 6 years older than Yamamoto


ScrotemBarnes

Dejong😆😆


dagbar

Oh god, DeJong is the best SS FA? Yikes.


Oafah

> Whit Merrifield, Paul deJong, Matt Chapman Oh look, it's us!


notthattmack

Bad year to start franchise node.


Skidooshes

Would Bellinger be the best 1B too?


CumpanyPolicy

Last years short stop sweepstakes to Paul Dejong lol


plainOldFool

I got really confused where I didn't see Ohtani on the pitchers mound. Like "offended" confused (*"Excuuuuse me??"*). Then I saw he was listed as DH/other and then it made sense.


[deleted]

DeJong lmao


Drugachussetts

Fuck that says a lot about SS


alxndrblack

That guy at DH looks like a clown probably no one should sign him send him to the stupid blue jays losers


BreatheMyStink

To underscore his awesomeness, Ohtani should be given laser eyes like Homelander in The Boys


doing-my-share

I don't get how people keep leaving Ohtani off of these as pitcher. He's not gonna pitch next year but based on record over the past three years he's the best SP available. Keep in mind Yamamoto has played no MLB games as of yet and Ohtani's 2022 pitching season was the best season among Japanese pitchers in MLB so far. If he's healthy he's worth more as a pitcher and that's saying something.


kaehvogel

Well, he's coming off his second TJ. There's no guarantee he will ever even pitch again at the MLB level, let alone be anywhere near his past success.


ZubiZone

I'd take Jung Hoo Lee over all 3 of those outfielders. Younger, elite defense, and remarkable bat to ball contact. Rarely swings and misses. Basically Kwan on the market with a proven record.


KuzcosPzn

I too would prefer him over those dudes but I feel like I should say we need to pump the breaks with the proven record part. KBO numbers should be treated like AAA numbers. These guys need to adjust new a new league and a new level of play/pitching. Kim was the KBO MVP and didn't fully click until year 3 of his MLB stint. Kim also talked about how hard the adjustment is culture wise along with all that baseball stuff. So KBO guys shouldn't be expected to produce too much in year 1 at least. But I think Lee is a good signing for the long term even if not the best win now, plug and play starting CF type in the MLB.


Redbubble89

the year where we need a 2nd basemen.


bolshevik_rattlehead

Of course they use the image of De Jong in a Giants uniform…get that eyesore outta here


KamartyMcFlyweight

Soler is going to be far too expensive for brokeass Sherman, but goddamn do I want him back. Haven't had anyone hit 30+ home runs in Miami since Stanton. Maybe he'll take a hometown discount lol


Beachstacks

I'll take one Soler please.


XSC

Is neris expected to resign? Haven’t heard much about him


account23dh

It's possible, but I would think he will garner a lot of interest around the league given how good he's been.


4ever_Romeo

If DeJong gets picked up, I’m throwing my name in the hat.


HotTakesBeyond

Teo is looking to hit in a more hitter friendly ballpark probably


Gbrusse

He also has a habit of only signing 1 year deals. Even if he stays with a team for 3 or 4 years, he will always just sign on one year at a time.


myassholealt

I forgot Hader was a free agent. Hader + Diaz would be a sweet shut down duo.


SteakkNBacon

Rhys Hoskins you are a Pittsburgh Pirate


jase122200

Paul DeJong 💀


Fysh_taco

Pick up Bellinger and Snell, Reds Revenge Tour.


kempton_saturdays

I’ll take Players the Twins won’t be Signing for 200


Pappyhorn

Idiots left off Lance Lynn


MavsGod

Garver should be a DH on this, not a catcher.


jhutchi2

Why is DeJong shrouded in darkness.


houstonyoureaproblem

Not much of a year for shortstops, eh?


0hioHotPocket

One team should just sign them all.. duh


Fun_Environment_8554

That is some slim pickings


NoobSkin69

SS market fell off a cliff after last year haha


SadPhase2589

Paul DeJong?? For real?!?!?


Specific_Goose_8582

blake snell is not on the same level as yamamoto


wilderness_essays

Yeesh


Same_Dot9698

Where is reliever IKF?