MLB: Building the Most Overrated Team in Baseball
By Jason Reed
Outfield:
While only one of these men earned all-star honors in 2016, Jay Bruce, they are all often times regarded as spectacular players. Bautista in particular seems to value himself at more than he’s worth, reportedly asking for a four-year 100 million dollar contract. Sure, injuries took away about 40 games from Bautista, but that is absurd.
The fact of the matter with Bautista is that he is already 36 years old and is only on the decline. His 1.4 WAR ranked 43rd for qualified outfielders, which was a huge drop off from his previous numbers. Injuries occur more often when you get older, and even when was on the field it wasn’t worth 100 million dollars. Bautista has been a notoriously bad fielder his entire career, however his bat always made up the difference. This year he slashed .234/.366/.452. His .234 batting average was the lowest he has had in a season in which he had over 100 plate appearances.
Adam Jones still provided a good amount for the Baltimore Orioles, but was nowhere near the level that he is usually at. Many still regard him as an elite defender with superstar potential. Yet, in 2016 his fielding took a dramatic hit and was actually regarded as below average by Fangraphs. His batting average was the worst it’s been since he played in Seattle; Jones is no longer the spectacle we know him to be.
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Jay Bruce, being the only all-star, is a very expensive asset. The Mets seem to be recognizing this, as they are looking to shed the 13 million dollars owed to Bruce in 2017. Bruce’s fielding has always been awful, and outside of power metrics his hitting isn’t great. He is a career .248 hitter that strikes out nearly 24% of the time. He is very similar to a regressing Ryan Howard, who was once the next big thing and now is a washed up veteran. Bruce may take a very similar path to Howard, yet he is still sought out by fans as one of the best hitters in baseball.