MLB: The most valuable left fielders of 2019
By Bill Felber
10. Brian Goodwin, Los Angeles Angels, $6.077 million value; $584,000 salary
Goodwin’s story is predicated on Justin Upton’s story. Injured running into a wall in March, Upton missed the MLB season’s first two and one-half months, then played poorly when he returned. So poorly in fact that he ranks at the bottom of the list of 33 left fielders, a tough pill for the Angels to swallow given his $18 million salary.
Anyway, Upton’s injury gave Goodwin a chance at regular playing time, and if he didn’t smack that opportunity out of the park, he at least established his competence. Goodwin, picked up on waivers from Kansas City following the 2018 season, batted .262 with 17 home runs in 458 plate appearances. All those figures were better than Upton, by the way, and he did so for pennies more than the league minimum.
His 2.1 WAR worked out to $5.118 million in on-field value, close to 10 times what he was actually paid.
Defensively, Goodwin was just average. He had 1.81 chances per nine innings, 16th best at the position, valuing at $464,000. Despite his split-time status with Upton, he managed to get in a representative 925 innings, ranking 13th overall and valuing out to $495,000
Since the Angels remain on the hook to Upton for $21 million to $28 million through 2022, the question is what becomes of Goodwin? For the moment, the plan is to shift him to right field, where the incumbent, Kole Calhoun, has been lost to free agency.