Hot Stove: Under the radar MLB free agents who could pay off

For teams like the Braves, Cubs, and Yankees, the Hot Stove season is off and running. For others, MLB free agents signings seem more like chilly meat lockers.

While most of the news has been about big-name MLB free agents that nearly every team wants – like Bryce Harper, Patrick Corbin, and Nathan Eovaldi, there are several under-the-radar free agents who could pay off in the right spot.

Consider what happened in 2018 with Steve Pearce who has moved up and down the Eastern Seaboard as a free agent. As an under-the-radar free agent in 2016, he signed with the Blue Jays and was traded in June 2018 to the Red Sox. This unlikely hero led the Red Sox to the World Series and was justly awarded the MVP trophy.

It’s expected that Manny Machado, Michael Brantley, and Andrew Miller will help take a contending team to the next level. But, what about the players like Pearce. Those guys who are in the MLB for a reason, but their names don’t carry that special cachet – yet.

The 2018-2019 free agent class has an unprecedented amount of talent. Every position is filled with All-Stars, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger winners. The teams that could be built from just free agents could be post-season contenders. But, at every position, there is at least one free agent who could change the course of any team. They might not get the attention of the national media, but they could deliver just like Steve Pearce did just a few weeks ago.