Skip to content

Building the best teams with MLB's top remaining free agents

Reuters / Getty

With less than a week to go before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, there's no shortage of free agents still looking for a contract.

In an effort to showcase the top remaining players available on the market, MLB editors Jonah Birenbaum (Team A) and Bryan Mcwilliam (Team B) each drafted a 25-man roster, and projected which team would have a better shot at winning a one-game playoff.

Team A

STARTING LINEUP

Order Player Position
1 Angel Pagan LF
2 Franklin Gutierrez CF
3 Mike Napoli* 1B
4 Ryan Raburn RF
5 Justin Morneau DH
6 Dioner Navarro C
7 Aaron Hill 3B
8 Chase Utley 2B
9 Alexei Ramirez SS

*Napoli signed with Rangers after published

BENCH

Player Position
Steve Clevenger C
Billy Butler 1B
Gordon Beckham IF
Drew Stubbs OF

ROTATION

ORDER PITCHER HAND
1 Colby Lewis RHP
2 Jorge De La Rosa LHP
3 Jered Weaver RHP
4 C.J. Wilson LHP
5 Tim Lincecum RHP

BULLPEN

ROLE PITCHER HAND
CL David Hernandez RHP
SU Luke Hochevar RHP
SU Charlie Furbush LHP
MID Joe Blanton RHP
MID Tommy Hunter RHP
MID Seth Maness RHP
LR Yusmeiro Petit RHP

Operating under the presumption that Team B would start de facto ace Travis Wood in the one-game playoff, I privileged position players who excel against left-handed pitching (e.g. Ryan Raburn, Franklin Gutierrez, Alexei Ramirez), and tried to load up on switch-hitters to gain as many platoon advantages as possible should it turn into a bullpen game early. Speaking of which, I did my best to gobble up the best relievers available - David Hernandez, Joe Blanton, and Luke Hochevar each had a strikeout rate above 24.8 percent in 2016 - as opponents have managed an .809 OPS off Colby Lewis, one of the top starters still on the market, when facing the 37-year-old right-hander for the third time in a game throughout his career. - Birenbaum

Team B

STARTING LINEUP

Order Player Position
1 Michael Bourn CF
2 Coco Crisp RF
3 Matt Wieters C
4 Chris Carter* 1B
5 Pedro Alvarez 3B
6 Adam Lind DH
7 Nolan Reimold LF
8 Kelly Johnson 2B
9 Erick Aybar SS

*Carter signed with Yankees after publication

BENCH

Player Position
A.J. Pierzynski C
Ryan Howard 1B
Daniel Descalso IF
Jeff Francoeur OF

ROTATION

ORDER PITCHER HAND
1 Travis Wood LHP
2 Doug Fister RHP
3 Jonathon Niese LHP
4 Jake Peavy RHP
5 Mat Latos RHP

BULLPEN

ROLE PITCHER HAND
CL Jonathan Papelbon RHP
SU Tom Wilhelmsen RHP
SU Kevin Jepsen RHP
MID Javier Lopez LHP
MID Chris Capuano LHP
MID Anthony Bass RHP
LR Carlos Villanueva RHP

When drafting this team, three factors were taken into account: best player available at the time, speed, and power. While the free-agent crop wasn't bursting with top-tier talent, there were plenty of players with wheels and pop. Despite being on the wrong side of 30, Bourn, Crisp, and Aybar can still swipe a bag (the three combined for 28 last season), while the heart of this lineup - Wieters, Carter, Alvarez, and Lind - smashed a combined 100 home runs last season. With a bullpen consisting of three former closers throwing in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, if Team B can establish an early lead heading into the late innings - which is certainly doable with this kind of production potential in the lineup - a wild-card win appears to be a given. - Mcwilliam

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox