It’s been a chaotic offseason. We’ve had player turn down MORE money, players signing that haven’t played a game of major league baseball, and we’ve had a questionable decision by Hyun-Jin Ryu. It’s not that I HATE the Blue Jays, it just, well, the White Sox were in pursuit. Dang Scott Boras! Anyway:
Josh Donaldson
You look at his batting ans say ‘What’s the big deal?’. You go to his K% and say ‘What’s the big deal?’. And then you look at the OBP, HR, fielding, SLG, and OPS, and you ask yourself ‘What have I done?’. Yeah, he’s good. He’s very good.
In 2019 he hit .259, with a .379 OBP and 37 home runs. He was playing with the Braves, so it gets you thinking. Could a reunion happen? There are no better landing spots for Rendon, so you never know. You never know.
Prediction: Braves
Nicholas Castellanos
Castellanos could have the most upside of any free agent. He has hitting down, now it’s time for fielding. He just hasn’t done ANYTHING in RF. That’s the only position he can play, besides DH. With the Cubs, he played RF, but I say AL is the best fit.
In 2019 Castellanos hit .289 with 27 home runs, but only 73 RBIs. In 100 games with the Tigers, he only batted in 37 runs. This can be attributed to 1 of 2 things, 1 he was slumping. And 2 the Tigers were just so gosh darn awful that no living person could ever want to play for them. I say the latter. The White Sox were the worst RF team in the MLB, and now that Nomar Mazara is gone from the Rangers, it could lead to a surprise signing.
Prediction: Rangers
Marcell Ozuna
Boy oh boy Marcell Ozuna has a wacky haircut. Just, just look on baseball reference and you will see. Anyway, on to the real part. He is a great fielder as he has taken home a gold glove, and he is a decent hitter. He could possibly fill a hole at DH, but with his fielding accolades, I don’t think so.
Ozuna hit .241 with a .328 OBP and 29 home runs in 2019. The Reds would be a great fit for him. The Reds weren’t especially good in LF with Jesse Winker filling the hole, and in a wacky NL Central where they could possibly contend, Ozuna would be a perfect fit. Another possibility is the Tigers, who were just bad at every position. But they are in rebuild so a signing wouldn’t exactly help them.
Prediction: Reds
But wait! As I was researching stats, I stumbled upon a rumor. It said:
St. Loius is on the hunt. We will see which one of two it will be, Cardinals or Rangers.
And then the even better second part:
My first option will be St. Louis. If they step it up, I will stay, if not I will find a new home.
New Prediction: Cardinals
Aside from these 3, there aren’t many others of note. Yeah, you will have players like Yasiel Puig and Brock Holt, but they just weren’t good. Holt is, but health issues could linger. Aside from that, nothing special to watch.