We are inclined to spend a lot time through the winter speaking in regards to the prime free brokers available on the market, however there are dozens of gamers nonetheless on the lookout for jobs as we method the top of the primary week in January.
That features some doubtlessly impactful bats, so let’s check out the place a couple of of these sluggers stand.
“I believe they’re all a bit of totally different, so it in all probability relies upon what you’re on the lookout for in that spot,” a Nationwide League govt stated. “If a membership wants so as to add energy, Soler is fairly scary. If you need the veteran, skilled man, J.D. in all probability matches finest. If you need a extra well-rounded man who can play some protection whereas additionally supplying you with his at-bats, Teoscar may be the perfect match.”
Hernández is the one pure outfielder of the group. Soler is best-suited to separate time between the nook outfield and designated hitter, and Martinez is basically a full-time DH, having performed solely three video games within the outfield final season.
Soler has had some damage points throughout his profession, however is he the perfect energy choice left available on the market? Soler had hassle staying on the sphere early in his profession, taking part in greater than 100 video games solely as soon as from 2015-18. Since 2019, he has performed a minimum of 137 video games in three of the 4 full seasons. (He performed 43 of 60 within the COVID-shortened 2020 marketing campaign.) Soler has averaged greater than 30 residence runs a season throughout that point, excluding ’20.
Soler, who hit 36 homers for the Marlins final yr and led the American League in residence runs with 48 in 2019, is the perfect pure energy bat available on the market. He additionally has a knack for drawing walks, boasting a double-digit stroll price in every of the previous eight seasons.
Soler will flip 32 in February, seemingly making him a extra interesting choice for golf equipment trying to signal a slugger to a multiyear deal.
Martinez has earned greater than $140 million throughout his profession. Is his largest precedence attempting to win one other World Sequence? That may be a logical conclusion, although the 36-year-old received’t have an opportunity to complete the job with the Dodgers following Los Angeles’ signing of Shohei Ohtani.
Martinez had a superb season for the Dodgers in 2023, hitting 33 residence runs with an .893 OPS. At 36, Martinez isn’t taking a look at a long-term contract, so his market figures to incorporate contenders with a necessity at DH.
One factor contenders certainly will take discover of is Martinez’s postseason observe report. Martinez owns a .294/.386/.588 slash line (.974 OPS) with 10 residence runs and 31 RBIs in 33 video games (140 plate appearances). He excelled throughout Boston’s 2018 World Sequence run, slashing .300/.403/.520 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 14 video games en path to the lone championship of his profession.
Hernández was thought-about probably the greatest up-and-coming gamers within the recreation in 2021, beginning in left discipline for the AL All-Star workforce. How a lot of a priority for potential suitors was his 2023 season? Hernández had a disappointing season in his first yr with Seattle, hitting 26 residence runs with a .740 OPS in 160 video games, although the spacious dimensions of T-Cell Park may need performed a job in these numbers.
“Quite a lot of gamers take a step again in Seattle as a result of the ballpark is so huge,” an NL govt stated.
Ballpark dimensions didn’t impression Hernández’s career-high 211 strikeouts, a complete that trailed solely teammate Eugenio Suárez within the American League final season. Based on Statcast, Hernández ranked close to the underside of the league in chase proportion (thirteenth percentile), stroll price (thirteenth percentile), strikeout price (ninth percentile) and whiff proportion (third percentile) — swing-and-miss figures that might trigger some golf equipment to hesitate.
However Hernández presents a defensive element that neither Soler nor Martinez do, taking part in a strong proper discipline whereas main the AL in assists on the place for a second straight yr.
Which groups are in on these three hitters? The Mariners, who’re set to lose Hernández from their lineup barring an sudden reunion, are among the many groups which have curiosity in Soler, who would deliver some much-needed energy to Seattle’s lineup. The 2021 World Sequence MVP has additionally drawn curiosity from the D-backs, Blue Jays and Pink Sox, per sources, giving Soler a wholesome market.
Martinez would appear to be a logical match for the Angels, who wish to substitute Ohtani at DH. However given Martinez’s age and want to win, it stays to be seen whether or not a transfer down Interstate 5 to Anaheim is within the playing cards. The Mets, Tigers and Blue Jays are additionally believed to have some curiosity in Martinez. A reunion with the D-backs, for whom Martinez had an enormous 62-game stint in 2017, would additionally make sense.
As for Hernández, the Angels, Dodgers and Pink Sox look like the frontrunners for the two-time Silver Slugger winner. Some have speculated that Hernández will watch for Bellinger to signal earlier than inking his personal deal, however the three aforementioned groups don’t look like within the Bellinger combine, which may open the door for one in every of them to make an aggressive transfer for Hernández.
