Ranking MLB's 5 best outfields

With Yoenis Cespedes reportedly heading back to Queens after agreeing Friday to a three-year deal with the New York Mets, the list of outfielders still available in free agency is limited to the likes of Dexter Fowler and other similarly unspectacular veterans. Since none of the outfielders still looking for work will dramatically reshape whichever team they join, let's go ahead and rank the five best outfields in the majors as February looms.

5. Houston Astros

Though caveats apply regarding George Springer's injury trouble, Carlos Gomez's recent regression, and Colby Rasmus' unrelenting strikeout woes, there aren't many teams with three outfielders as capable of impacting the game so dramatically both at the plate and in the field. Since debuting in April of 2014, Springer has been worth 5.3 WAR in just 180 games, managing a 129 wRC+ with +5 defensive runs saved in right field. Gomez, an All-Star in 2013 and 2014, could easily rediscover his power stroke at Minute Maid Park this year, too, while Rasmus is poised for another fine season in left after demonstrating much improved plate discipline in 2015.

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4. Detroit Tigers

Al Avila overhauled his club's outfield this winter after watching Anthony Gose and Rajai Davis combine for 905 plate appearances in 2015, acquiring Justin Upton and Cameron Maybin in an aggressive offseason reload that should help Detroit distinguish themselves in a pretty wide open division. Upton, a three-time All-Star, will add reliable power and on-base skills to an outfield that already features J.D. Martinez, who won his first Silver Slugger award last season, and Detroit could boast the top outfield in all of baseball if Maybin can replicate the numbers he posted through the first half of 2015 (.358 OBP; 15 SB; .127 ISO).

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3. Chicago Cubs

Unwilling to watch Jason Heyward take away any more of their base hits, the Cubs lured him away from their venerable division rival this winter, adding the three-time Gold Glover to an outfield already loaded with talent and youthful exuberance. Though he isn't widely feared in the batter's box, Heyward's presence in center field will ease the defensive burden on Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler, allowing the two youngsters to concentrate on what they do best: smashing the baseball. In 2015, his first tour of the big leagues, the 22-year-old Schwarber managed an .842 OPS with 16 homers in 69 games; Soler, who turns 24 next month, boasts a 107 OPS+ through his first 125 games in the majors.

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2. Los Angeles Angels

Frankly, the Angels could start Betty White in left and still lay claim to one of the game's elite outfields. That's how good Mike Trout is. Since becoming a full-time player in 2012, Trout has averaged almost 9.5 wins above replacement per season, providing more value over that span than Jose Bautista and Bryce Harper combined. This past season, the 24-year-old silenced those who chided his defense and climbing strikeout rate the year before, too, improving markedly in both areas en route to yet another second-place finish in AL MVP voting. (Postscript: Kole Calhoun is pretty good, too.)

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1. Pittsburgh Pirates

Comprised of a former first-round pick and two precocious international signees, the Pirates' exceptionally dynamic outfield attests to the strength of the club's scouting and player-development departments. Andrew McCutchen, a perennial MVP candidate who took home the award in 2013, is quite possibly the best center fielder on the planet not named Mike Trout, while Starling Marte is only player in the majors to hit a least a dozen homers with 30 or more steals in each of the last three seasons. Though Gregory Polanco has yet to break out, even modest improvements from the 24-year-old should give Pittsburgh the game's top outfield this summer (and, possibly, for the foreseeable future).

2016 Steamer Projections