Dayn Perry of FOXSports.com recently posted his top 10 list of MLB free agents still available. Check out the original article for additional commentary, but here they are:
- Roger Clemens, SP
- Jeff Weaver, SP
- Richard Hidaldo, OF
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Bengie Molina, C
- Sammy Sosa, OF
- Raffy Palmeiro, 1B
- Pedro Astacio, SP
- Shingo Takatsu, RP
- Felix Heredia, RP
- Buddy Groom, RP
Talk about a drop-off. Clemens and Weaver aren't even in the same class of players, but at least Weaver actually has some decent fantasy value. I'll grant some fantasy owner out there will overpay for Hidalgo despite his horrible 2005 season, and Molina could be a respectable starting fantasy catcher if he signs with the right team. But Sosa? Palmeiro? --Gulp-- Astacio? Yikes. The available talent goes from potential starter to straight-up awful pretty darn quickly.
Top 10 remaining free agents [FOXsports.com]
Update [2006-2-6 21:6:2 by Watson]:: Well, I should have checked the wire before posting this -- turns out Bengie Molina signed with the Blue Jays this evening. The deal is basically worth $5 million for one year ($1.5M signing bonus, $3.5M salary, plus $500K buyout for 2007) -- there's a club option for 2007, but at the price of $7.5 million there's almost no chance that the Jays will seriously consider activating it.
Molina will push Gregg Zaun to a backup role, which is what he's best-suited for in the first place. Personally, I pin Molina's upside around .300-15-70, but I'm more confident in the run production than I am the average.