Possible Landing Spots for MLB Free Agent Outfielder Michael Brantley
After an impressive bounce-back season, Michael Brantley is on the MLB free agent market, and with plenty of teams looking to improve their outfields it won’t be long before someone snatches him up.
MLB free agent Michael Brantley is going to have a chance to define himself next season.
Right now the jury is still out on Brantley. In 2016 and 2017 he only played in a combined 101 games, and it seemed like his value might be permanently damaged by injury. In 2018 he bounced back, ending the year with 631 plate appearances and a strong OPS+ of 123.
It’s not entirely clear which one of these versions of Brantley we should expect in 2019. If he can return to his 2014 form, a year where he slashed .327/.385/.506 and came third in MVP voting, he will be one of the most valuable free agents in this year’s class. If he is bit again by the injury bug, he could be one of the biggest busts.
Complicating things is the fact that according to David O’Brien of the Athletic Brantley wants a pretty sizable contract despite his perceived injury risk.
I get impression that they’d like to have Brantley and might offer three years to him, but not at the $20M or so annually that it’s believed he’s looking for. I think it’d probably have to be significantly lower AAV for Braves to be in on him for deal that long. https://t.co/pVDhCBAb1d
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) December 6, 2018
It’s impossible to know how firm Brantley and his team are about this number until we see where he signs. His MLB free agent asking price certainly isn’t big enough to stop organizations from inquiring about him for 2019, and there’s plenty of teams who could use his great bat and solid glove. Let’s check some of them out.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves seem to be one of the teams most actively pursuing Brantley, which is why Dave O’Brien, who covers Atlanta sports for the Athletic, was tweeting about him.
The Braves are clearly a team that is trying to contend this year, and with a strong core of players under 30 it seems like that’s going to be the plan for a while. Brantley could be a huge asset in this pursuit.
Right now the outfield is where the Braves are spread the thinnest, with Ender Inciarte and Adam Duvall currently sitting at the top of the depth chart in center and right field respectively. Neither of these players are terrible outfield options, and both would be passable, but if Brantley could take one of their spots it would really help with the Braves depth, leaving them with more capable gloves and bats on the bench.
Much of the discussion around the Braves and Brantley talks about how if he joined the team he’d likely take over in right field pretty much as a direct replacement for Nick Markakis, the veteran who held down that position for the Braves last year in his first All-Star season.
Brantley and Markakis had pretty similar numbers last year, with Markakis slashing .297/.366/.440 compared to Brantley’s .309/.364/.468, so Brantley is certainly up to the task of filling that role.
New York Mets
Yoennis Cespedes will be on the DL for a bulk of the season and Jay Bruce has been shipped of to Seattle, so it’s in the Mets best interest to start exploring some outfield options. After a disappointing season offensively the team needs to add some bats to support their great pitching, and Brantley is someone who can definitely help them out on that front.
Right now the Mets depth chart has Juan Lagares starting in center, Brandon Nimmo in right and Michael Conforto in left. With Nimmo’s speed there would be no issue sliding him into center leaving the corner spots open for Conforto and Brantley. This might be a slight downgrade defensively, but it can easily be made up on offense and with time Nimmo can likely grow to be pretty strong in center.
Brantley’s .832 OPS last year would have been good for second best on the Mets behind Nimmo. If Conforto is able to roll his September success into 2019 the outfield trio of Conforto, Nimmo and Brantley would be one of the most formidable outfields in the National League.
After the Robinson Cano trade Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen has made it pretty clear that he plans on making a few more moves before the off season is over. Brantley might not be generating the same buzz as Bryce Harper, but his upside should be enough to satisfy a fan base disillusioned with their team and ownership. It would be a win now move, and proof that the front office is truly serious about building a contender.
Los Angeles Angels
Front offices across the league are already licking their chops in anticipation of Mike Trout’s free agency in 2021; if the Angels want to retain the cornerstone of their franchise they’re going to need to start winning games now, and Brantley can certainly help them with that.
Right now Justin Upton is the starting left fielder for the Angels, but he’s played a lot of right field during his time in the majors and shouldn’t have a problem switching over there if Brantley is added to the roster. This would send right fielder Kole Calhoun, who ended last season with a .652 OPS, to the bench and do a lot to strengthen the outfield offensively.
The addition of Brantley’s bat will bring the Angels one step closer to contention, but the team will also need to add pitching either through free agency or trade; if Brantley’s asking price is high enough where it would stand in the way of their ability to pursue aces, they’ll likely have to pass on him.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox rebuild is nearing its completion, and the team is looking to be a contender to win the AL Central in the near future. If prospect Eloy Jimenez makes his way to the big leagues this year and Yoan Moncada begins to play up to his potential the White Sox could be the bounce back team of 2019.
When Eloy comes up it would be good for him to have an experienced and offensively successful outfielder to learn from, so Brantley would be able to help the White Sox on both the mentoring and performance fronts. After spending his entire big league career with the Indians he is very familiar with the AL Central, which is another plus.
The White Sox are rumored to be going after both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado this offseason, so it doesn’t seem like they’ll be spending averse.
If neither Harper or Machado are acquired the team will probably want to wait until next year to make their big free agent signing, when players like Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt will become available, so the signing of a player like Brantley who make come a little cheaper is fairly likely.
New York Yankees
It’s not often that a 100 win team has to put serious thought into how to improve for their next season, but when you’re in the same division as the 108 win Red Sox you gotta do something to challenge them.
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If signed by the Yankees Brantley would probably get most of the playing time currently given to Brett Gardner, an older left handed left fielder with a worse bat. A small upgrade like this could go a long way in the playoffs, and increases the flexibility of an already stacked line up.
The addition of Brantely would also give the Yankees more flexibility at the trade deadline, meaning they could offload either him or another outfielder without much worry about super adverse effect on outfield production.
Last year many teams who obviously weren’t going to make the playoffs offloaded a lot of their talented players in hopes of a rebuild, leading to a pretty wild period around the trade deadline. For example if the Yankees are put in a position where they need another strong starting pitcher due to injuries having Brantley on the roster alongside Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier makes the trading of an outfielder to make salaries or a trade work a nonissue.
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So where do you think Michael Brantley works best? One of the teams mentioned or even one not mentioned? Regardless, he will be one MLB free agent to watch as his market develops.