MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
By Phil Watson
There were dozens of MLB players that changed addresses across the league, including former major award winners, but these are the 10 most significant.
Seven MLB players who were on the roster for last summer’s All-Star Game at Progressive Field in Cleveland changed teams this offseason. There were also two former MVPs and five former Cy Young Award winners who switched addresses.
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The list of MLB players that changed teams included two of the top 10 position players in terms of Wins Above Replacement in 2019 as well as one of the top 10 pitchers on MLB’s list of WAR leaders. Both league leaders in earned run average are on new teams, with one of them in a new country.
The American League leader in runs scored is now in the National League. The major league leader in doubles was fitted for new threads. Three of the top 10 base stealers in both the American and National leagues ran off to new cities. So did the major-league leader in RBI.
We’ve reached a point where pitching wins really shouldn’t be considered all that big a deal, but half of last season’s 20-game win club changed teams (yeah, one of the two, but still … doesn’t “half” sound like a much more significant thing?) The same player also led all of baseball in strikeouts per nine innings.
Back to the list of award winners on the move, there were two former World Series MVPs and three former NLCS Most Valuable Players that will be playing for different teams. The guy who kick-started the Washington Nationals’ rally from a 2-0 deficit in Game 7 of the World Series last October with a one-out solo homer off Zack Greinke won’t be back to defend the title.
And unlike last offseason, when several of the top free agents on the market remained unsigned well into spring training (and beyond), it appears most of the dust has settled, with veteran starting pitchers Andrew Cashner and Jason Vargas perhaps the most attractive MLB players still remaining without contracts.
Breaking it all down, these may be the 10 most important old faces in new places this spring.