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2018 MLB Free agency rumors: January hitting gems still out there

By Bobby Mueller

J.D. Martinez set a franchise record with his 14th homer in September in Saturday's loss to the Miami Marlins. (Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
J.D. Martinez set a franchise record with his 14th homer in September in Saturday's loss to the Miami Marlins. (Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /
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2018 MLB Free agency rumors
2018 MLB Free agency rumors /

2018 MLB Free agency rumors: Second Base, Shortstop, and Third Base

  • 2B Neil Walker, 32 years old
  • 595 PA, 74 R, 22 HR, 78 RBI, 3 SB, .270/.347/.457, 2.6 WAR—Fangraphs
  • 470 PA, 58 R, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 3 SB, .265/.340/.443—Marcels

Walker has been linked this offseason to the three teams he’s already played for, the Pirates, Mets, and Brewers. He must be a good clubhouse guy if the three teams that have had him already are interested in bringing him back. He’s also younger than fellow free agent second basemen Brandon Phillips (37 years old) and Howie Kendrick (34 years old). Although to be fair, Kendrick doesn’t play second base much anymore.

The Fangraphs projection above has Walker with 595 plate appearances, which might be a bit steep considering he’s been in the 450-range the last two seasons and isn’t getting any younger. At the 470 plate appearances projected by Marcels, Walker would be roughly league average (2.0 WAR).

That would still be at least one win better than what the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Brewers currently have at second base, based on the Fangraphs projected WAR for second basemen.

SS Eduardo Nunez, 31 years old

490 PA, 60 R, 14 HR, 55 RBI, 20 SB, .288/.327/.442, 1.8 WAR—Fangraphs

505 PA, 62 R, 14 HR, 58 RBI, 24 SB, .288/.331/.444—Marcels

Nunez would be stretched playing shortstop for a significant amount of time. He only played 16 games there last year and never has played more than 75 games at the spot in a season. A team would be better off using him in the Ben Zobrist role from a few years ago when Zobrist played shortstop, second base, and the outfield. Nunez played those spots plus third base with the Red Sox last year.

As far as true shortstops go, the pickings are sparse. Alcides Escobar doesn’t have the defensive chops he once had and has never been much of a hitter, but he’s younger than Erick Aybar or J.J. Hardy, and he can still play every day. Unfortunately, he’s been barely above replacement level the last two seasons (0.5 WAR in 2016 and 2017).

  • 3B Mike Moustakas, 29 years old
  • 560 PA, 75 R, 30 HR, 82 RBI, 2 SB, .266/.326/.498, 2.7 WAR—Fangraphs
  • 510 PA, 63 R, 26 HR, 69 RBI, 1 SB, .269/.325/.494—Marcels

Moustakas failed to live up to the hype in his first four big league seasons but has been an above-average hitter in each of the last three years. He’s coming off his best power year (38 homers, 85 RBI) and is three years younger than his main free agent rival at third base, Todd Frazier. One of the highlights of last season was when Moustakas broke the Royals single-season home run record previously held by Steve “Bye Bye” Balboni.

That being said, there’s not much difference between Moustakas (2.7 WAR) and Frazier (2.4 WAR) according to Fangraphs and Frazier could be had on a shorter and cheaper contract. The Yankees could improve their outlook by about a win by signing either player, but they are committed to staying under the $197 million threshold so they can reset their luxury tax penalty clock.

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