Major League Baseball’s hot stove has been broken for most of the offseason and there’s no rush to fix it. A perfect storm of factors has led to the bizarre reality of a boon crop of unsigned free agents on the market as pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.
The pool of available talent is so deep that it got us wondering what it would look like if one used it to create a team. Perhaps like this:
Catchers: Jonathan Lucroy, A.J. Ellis
Infielders: Eric Hosmer, Eduardo Nunez, Mike Moustakas, Yunel Escobar, Neil Walker, Logan Morrison
Outfielders: J.D. Martinez, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez, Jon Jay, Colby Rasmus
Starting Rotation: Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, Jason Vargas, Lance Lynn, A.J. Griffin
Bullpen: Tyler Clippard, Greg Holland, Francisco Liriano, Tony Watson, Trevor Rosenthal, Jason Motte
Projected Lineup:
- Carlos Gomez CF
- Carlos Gonzalez LF
- Eric Hosmer 1B
- J.D. Martinez RF
- Logan Morrison DH
- Mike Moustakas 3B
- Eduardo Nunez SS
- Neil Walker 2B
- Jonathan Lucroy C
On first blush, that’s a lineup that can go toe-to-toe with any other. But the starting pitching definitely leaves something to be desired. The lack of a true shutdown ace would likely prove problematic.
Still, it’s striking that so many big bats are out there just waiting for a place to mash. They’ll find a home soon, with actual meaningful baseball looming over the horizon. And not a moment too soon as the above hypothetical clearly illustrates.
Comments