MLB Free Agency: Best Bargains This Offseason

It is often the huge deals that cost MLB teams their entire wallet that get most of the spotlight in free agency. Front offices get praised for bringing in the superstar, and filling a need. However, there were some pretty good bargains this offseason as well, some that didn’t get the recognition they deserve.

There are some pretty smart front offices in the game of baseball, there is no doubt about it. Especially with the new wave of sabermetrics, things such as launch angle and spin rate, MLB front offices are becoming more picky over players. Long gone is the high demand for power sluggers and in is analyzing a player’s worth using Wins Above Replacement. This is why Dexter Fowler, a 13 home run hitter, received a greater annual salary than home run leader Mark Trumbo.

Ten years ago, teams would not have batted an eye in throwing Trumbo whatever sort of money he wanted, as power hitters are also run producers. That’s the thing, the game of baseball has become so in-depth that teams cannot just look at run production to sign players. However, because of this pickiness within MLB, some teams got some killer bargains on key free agents this offseason.

None of these deals will necessarily catapult a team into contention. Instead, they serve as great bang-for-your-buck type of deals. Managing the payroll is a huge part of a general manager’s job, and that job becomes easier when you bring in great budget players. So with that being said, let’s take a look at the best bargains of this free agency pool.