Adam LaRoche’s top five likeliest offseason destinations
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Adam LaRoche posted another strong season, making him one of the most consistent members of the Washington Nationals infield since 2012, when he finished sixth in the MVP voting. In those three seasons, LaRoche has played in all but 40 games. He has an on-base percentage of .346, and an OPS+ of 118 (league average is 100).
Beyond his offensive abilities, LaRoche is one of the better defensive first baseman in baseball. He won a Gold Glove in 2012 and was just named a finalist for 2014. His ability to play defense, rather than just swing the bat, will set him apart from other first base options should he hit the free agent market.
The Nationals are hoping to have Ryan Zimmerman back for the 2015 season, and they will likely move him to first base with his shoulder ailment. This will likely put Zimmerman on the outside looking in, as his contract has a mutual option with a $2 million buyout. If the Nats decide to pick up his option, Zimmerman has said he wants to stay with Washington, but it looks like he will hit the market.
With teams looking for offense, he will have a number of suitors, and here are the top five that could be bidding for the Nats first baseman.
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5. Detroit Tigers
Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter of this era. He had a down season but still hit well over .300, had over 50 doubles and was jut nine hits shy of 200. He is the most feared hitter on a team that has made the playoffs each of the last four seasons. But he can’t realistically stay in the field much longer.
This season, the Tigers had Victor Martinez as a designated hitter, which kept Miggy at first base for 126 games. Cabrera’s defense is not that bad, but is costing him his health. The Tigers should at least make an effort to move Miggy to DH this season if they fail to bring V-Mart back this winter.
Adding LaRoche would help offset the loss of Martinez, who put together a career year at age 35, posting a line of .335/.409/.565 in 151 games, totaling a career-high 35 home runs and driving in 103 runs. Despite his age, he is expected to receive several strong multi-year offers this offseason, which could prompt him to leave Detroit.
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4. Miami Marlins
Not surprisingly, the Marlins went with a low cost option this season at first base (and pretty much every other position). The brought in Garrett Jones from the Pirates off of what could only be described as a bad season. He hit .233 in 2013 with an OBP under .300 and slugged just .419.
But the Marlins brought him in anyway. He improved his average and on-base this season, but his slugging percentage dropped, probably due to a much larger ballpark. The 33-year-old hit 15 home runs and drove in 53 runs, narrowly missing his career-high in doubles, coming in just one shy with 33 on the year, but his bat still left a lot to be desired as he batted just .246/.309/.411 – a far cry from his career bests that came with Pittsburgh back in 2012.
The Marlins looked like they might have a chance to compete last year, and this year they will have Jose Fernandez back, young players growing into their games and potentially the final year of Giancarlo Stanton. They may spend in an attempt to convince Stanton to stay, and LaRoche may be the guy getting the money. Regardless of money, however, whether or not the 35-year-old wants to play for a questionable contender at the tail end of his career is a question worth asking.
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3. Milwaukee Brewers
Ever since Prince Fielder left in 2011, the Milwaukee Brewers have had a black hole at first base. Corey Hart filled the void in 2012 with a 30-homer season, but since then, the Brewers have been among the league’s worst at first base in terms of offense.
This season, a platoon of Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay produced the third-worst slugging percentage, the second-worst on-base percentage and the second-fewest runs batted in in all of Major League Baseball. Reynolds, notorious for his strikeout-prone tendencies, slashed a disappointing .196/.287/.394 with 22 home runs and 45 RBIs across 130 games, managing just nine doubles.
Overbay appeared in 121 contests for the Brewers, a team that looked poised to make a postseason run early on, batting .233/.328/.333 with four home runs and a mere 35 RBIs at age 37.
Both players will be coming off the books this offseason, which will free up $3.5 million in payroll. Some around the game feel LaRoche could fill the left-handed, power-hitting first baseman that the Brewers have been missing for the last three years, although he would command a much more hefty sum, as MLBTR projects him netting a two-year deal in the neighborhood of $30 million.
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2. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners made the splash of the offseason last year by landing Robinson Cano. In their first season since the blockbuster signing, they came up just one game short of the playoffs. They were eleventh in runs in the American League this season, which was majorly affected by a dead zone at first for most of the season. Logan Morrison came on strong at the end of the season, but he could easily be moved to DH if Kendrys Morales moves on after this season.
Morrison, as noted, was red-hot down the stretch, hitting .302 in August and .342 in the season’s final month after posting averages of .150, .262 and .180 in the first three months of the year. Morales, who began the year in Minnesota, was abysmal offensively, batting just .218/.274/.338 with eight home runs and 42 runs batted in between the Twins and Mariners.
The only thing keeping the Mariners from snatching up LaRoche is their left-handed heavy lineup. LaRoche would make it seven lefties of the nine regular hitters.
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1. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates were among the teams looking to improve at first base in 2014. Travis Ishikawa was the Opening Day first baseman for the Pirates, but after just 15 games, he was replaced by Ike Davis. As the season wore on, Gabby Sanchez and Pedro Alvarez took tuns at first, but they never found any consistency to go along with the offensive production from the outfield and Josh Harrison.
Davis, who was in his first season in Pittsburgh this year after spending the beginning of his career as a member of the New York Mets, provided decent production, hitting 10 home runs and driving in 46 runs for Pittsburgh, while Alvarez took a step backward from his 2013 All-Star production of 36 home runs and 100 RBIs, batting just .231 with 18 homers and 56 runs batted in.
LaRoche would be returning to the team that he played for from 2007-2009. If the Pirates can get some production from the first base position if could cushion the blow that they are anticipated to suffer when Russell Martin moves on as a free agent, as he is expected to do this winter.