Thought this was interesting. He ranks them according to talks with agents, scouts, and execs.
FIRST BASEMEN
- Tony Clark (35) - Not a good sign when the best of the bunch spent last season in a platoon.
- Sean Casey (33) - Still can hit. Just not for power (four homers in 454 at-bats).
- Doug Mientkiewicz (33) - Slugged .440 last year and is still a defensive whiz
- Ryan Klesko (36) - Nice bat off the bench.
- Mark Sweeney (38) - Needs 50 more pinch hits to pass Lenny Harris for first all-time.
- Greg Norton (35) - After 17 homers in '06, hit just four last year.
- Eric Hinske (30) - Pretty sure he won't be getting a $14.75 million deal this time around.
- Robert Fick (34) - Could help in a utility role.
SECOND BASEMEN
- Kazuo Matsui (32) - Big postseason means big payday.
- Luis Castillo (32) SIGNED - Completed deal with Mets for $25 million, four years.
- Tadahito Iguchi (33) - Could be a bargain.
- Mark Loretta (36) - Still gets on base and doesn't strike out.
- Marcus Giles (29) - Two years ago, he'd have been in the top 20.
- Jose Valentin (38) - Coming off an injury, he'll get a flyer somewhere.
- Damion Easley (38) - SIGNED Re-signed with the Mets for $950,000 over one year.
- Tony Graffanino (35) - Versatile, and a bat with some pop.
- Miguel Cairo (33) - Intangible guy, not much more.
SHORTSTOPS
- David Eckstein (33) - Could be substantially overpaid because of waif shortstop class.
- Chris Gomez (36) - Repeat: Chris Gomez is the second-best free-agent shortstop.
- Chris Woodward (31) - Somehow, entering his 10th season.
- Royce Clayton (38) - Could sign with his 12th team.
- Ramon Martinez (35) - Only 29 home runs in nearly 2,000 career at-bats.
- Neifi Perez (34) - Officially the worst player in the class of '08, and he's still got time left on his amphetamine suspension. Could this be the end of the Neifi Index?
THIRD BASEMEN
- Alex Rodriguez (32) - SIGNED One more record contract - this time $275 million - will take him to the end of his career in pinstripes.
- Mike Lowell (34) - SIGNED Agrees to $37.5 million, three-year deal with Red Sox.
- Mike Lamb (32) - Just watch. The most underrated player of the class could flourish with full-time at-bats.
- Pedro Feliz (32) - Should have won NL Gold Glove and can hit homers. If only he knew how to take a walk.
- Geoff Blum (34) - SIGNED Versatile glove, clutch bat goes home to Astros in a one-year, $1.1 million deal.
- Aaron Boone (35) - Yeah, he's still playing.
- Abraham Nuñez (32) - Never could match breakout '05 season.
- Russell Branyan (32) - Couldn't even crack the Mendoza Line last year.
- Jeff Cirillo (38) - May just retire.
OUTFIELDERS
- Andruw Jones (30) - One bad season does not a career make. He should pass 400-home run mark this year and - most important - has Scott Boras on his side.
- Torii Hunter (32) - SIGNED Signed a five-year deal worth $90 million with Angels.
- Barry Bonds (43) - Love him or hate him, the old man can still rake. UPDATE: Don't think anyone's going to be signing him anytime soon.
- Kosuke Fukudome (30) - Former Central League MVP will cash in big-time, as teams don't have to pay a posting fee for him.
- Aaron Rowand (30) - Picked the right time to have a career year.
- Mike Cameron (35) - Picked the wrong time to test positive for amphetamines.
- Jose Guillen (31) - So, how much of it was the steroids?
- Brad Wilkerson (30) - If he can remember how to walk, he's got all the talent to be a star.
- Milton Bradley (29) - Would be higher if he hadn't blown out a knee acting like a tough guy to an umpire.
- Corey Patterson (28) - Still doesn't get it, and probably never will. But some team will sign him long term.
- Geoff Jenkins (33) - Never had fewer than 17 home runs in a full season.
- Shannon Stewart (34) - Make-good year was just OK. Certainly not up to his 2003 season.
- Kenny Lofton (40) - Aiming for team No. 12, too.
- Luis Gonzalez (40) - Looked halfway decent before the Dodgers' youth movement.
- Shawn Green (35) - Remember when he was a star?
- Cliff Floyd (35) - Plays like someone five years older.
- Bobby Kielty (31) - Never has lived up to potential.
- Rob Mackowiak (31) - Super-utility guy can help any team.
- Reggie Sanders (40) - In 17 seasons, has never played more than 140 games.
- Rondell White (36) - Injuries wracked his promising career as well.
- Preston Wilson (33) - Speaking of injuries, coming off a 64-at-bat season.
- Darin Erstad (33) - And in that vein, Erstad likewise looked washed-up last year.
- Trot Nixon (33) - While we're at it ... you get the picture.
- Jeff DaVanon (34) - How is Jeff DaVanon older than Trot Nixon?
- Orlando Palmeiro (39) - Old pro just keeps trucking, even with .613 OPS last year.
- Jerry Hairston Jr. (31) - Two straight years of near-.200 batting average.
CATCHERS
- Jorge Posada (36) - SIGNED Yankees paid him $52.4 million over four years on the eve of free agency. Story
- Michael Barrett (31) - Perhaps someone can show him being a knucklehead isn't the way to go through life.
- Paul Lo Duca (35) - Getting by more on reputation than talent these days.
- Yorvit Torrealba (29) - So how much was that swing in the NLCS worth? At least $5 million.
- Rod Barajas (32) - Hit 21 homers two years ago.
- Ramon Castro (32) - SIGNED Re-signed with the Mets for $4.6 million over two years.
- Jason Kendall (33) - SIGNED Signed a one-year deal with an option for 2009 with the Brewers.
- Damian Miller (38) - And yet he's ahead of this guy, and a dozen (!) others.
- Mike Lieberthal (35) - So, how do you rate backup catchers? This guy has hit double-digit homers seven times.
- Raul Casanova (35) - And this one hit six in 79 at-bats last year.
- Jose Molina (32) - His OPS was over .600 last year.
- Gary Bennett (35) - So was his!
- Doug Mirabelli (37) - And he can, uh, catch a knuckleball.
- Paul Bako (35) - These are backup catchers. This is getting tough.
- Mike DiFelice (38) - Actually, DiFelice was the backup to the backup to the backup for the Mets last season.
- Josh Paul (32) - He hit .190. It is extremely difficult to be that bad.
- Jason LaRue (34) - SIGNED The .148-hitting LaRue signed a one-year, $850,000 deal with the Cardinals.
- Kelly Stinnett (38) - Don't forget him! A robust .159.
- Sandy Alomar Jr. (41) - The best yet, with a .136 average!
- Sal Fasano (36) - Super Mario - pulling up the rear at .178 - will always have a place in our heart
DESIGNATED HITTERS
- Sammy Sosa (39) - Wants $7 million to swing and miss at breaking balls.
- Mike Piazza (39) - Coming off worst season of his career. Does he have one more in him?
- Mike Sweeney (34) - If he stays healthy ... oh, who are we kidding?
STARTING PITCHERS
- Andy Pettitte (35) - If he plays - and that's a big if.
- Hiroki Kuroda (33) - Might be the most sought-after pitcher this offseason, even if his 1.85 ERA in Japan came two years ago.
- Carlos Silva (28) - Impeccable control. Not $10 million-a-year control, but the market - and not talent - will dictate that.
- Livan Hernandez (33, allegedly) - Nine of 10 years pitched at least 200 innings. The other year: 199 2/3.
- Freddy Garcia (32) - Surgery, shmurgery. If he's healthy, he's a legit No. 2, and he can be had at a bargain for the risk-taking types.
- Tom Glavine (42) - SIGNED He returns to Atlanta for one-year, $8 million contract.
- Kenny Rogers (43) - How much is left?
- Kyle Lohse (29) - Were these rankings on potential salary instead of accomplishment, he'd be in the top 10.
- Bartolo Colon (35) - Seems like more than two years since he won his Cy Young.
- Jason Jennings (29) - Is he the magician who spun a 3.78 ERA in Colorado two years ago or the bum who couldn't keep his ERA under six in Houston?
- Randy Wolf (31) - On his way to a solid season until injuries ended it. Heard that one before?
- Jeff Weaver (31) - That one-year deal didn't work out so well.
- Jon Lieber (37) - Innings-eater went on a hunger strike last year.
- Josh Fogg (31) - Boston slew the The Dragon Slayer in the World Series.
- Kip Wells (30) - Still hasn't found his LaFawnduh.
- Kris Benson (33) - Coming off rotator cuff surgery.
- Matt Clement (33) - About $1.39 million per win for the Red Sox.
- Odalis Perez (30) - Decent stuff, poor work ethic.
- Byung-Hyun Kim (29) - Please, just make him a reliever again.
- Steve Trachsel (37) - If this baseball racket doesn't work out, he's got a ready-made TV show.
- Brett Tomko (34) - Still never pitched a full season with a sub-4.00 ERA.
- Eric Milton (32) - Last time he did this, received one of the worst contracts in the history of free agency.
- Rodrigo Lopez (32) - On the off chance that he can come back from a ligament and flexor tendon tears.
- Tony Armas (29) - Yeah, he's worse than a guy with a blown-out arm.
- Russ Ortiz (33) - Incidentally, he pitches like a guy with a blown-out arm.
- Mark Redman (34) - Will he get yet another bite?
- Aaron Sele (37) - Ditto.
- Jaret Wright (32) - Seems like the longest three-year deal ever.
- John Thomson (34) - Pitched 188 innings over three seasons.
RELIEF PITCHERS
- Mariano Rivera (38) - SIGNED Accepts Yankees' $45 million, three-year offer.
- Francisco Cordero (32) - Faltered in the second half, but in a weak class, he could get close to B.J. Ryan money.
- Masahide Kobayashi (33) - SIGNED Indians signed closer who had 20 saves seven straight years in Japan to a two-year, $6.25 million deal.
- Eric Gagne (32) - Lost himself $30 million over the last two months.
- David Riske (31) - Consistently one of baseball's best relievers, he posted a 2.45 ERA last year.
- Scott Linebrink (31) - Workhorse will log quality innings, and in this market, that's worth $7 million a year.
- Kerry Wood (30) - Doesn't hit 100 anymore. Sometimes doesn't even hit 90.
- Troy Percival (38) - Long gone are the days of blowing hitters away. Now he just gets them out with the same dominating regularity.
- Kazuo Fukumori (31) - He's a risk. Not because of the elbow surgery, but because any man who so enjoys emoticons is a little iffy.
- Ron Mahay (36) - If J.C. Romero gets $12 million for three years, Mahay deserves at least that much.
- Octavio Dotel (34) - Just stay healthy for one season.
- Bob Wickman (39) - Probably will retire, but just in case, he still can get hitters out.
- Matt Herges (38) - Reinvented himself and revitalized career in Colorado, of all places.
- Mike Timlin (42) - Could retire, too.
- LaTroy Hawkins (35) - How does a guy who throws 96 mph strike out only 29 in 55 1/3 innings?
- Armando Benitez (35) - Just when you think Captain Meltdown is over the hill, he comes back and surprises.
- Luis Vizcaino (33) - Been a reliable middle reliever four years running.
- Jeremy Affeldt (28) - Production finally met potential last season.
- Shawn Chacon (30) - On the every-other-year-he's-good plan, which is bad for whichever team signs him.
- Doug Brocail (40) - Amazing comeback could end in retirement.
- Trever Miller (34) - Lefties hit just .209 off him last season
- Ray King (34) - Even better: .187 vs. left-handers. But righties were .311
- Jorge Julio (29) - Million-dollar arm, bankrupt head.
- Rudy Seanez (39) - Set career high by pitching in 73 games last season.
- Arthur Rhodes (38) - If he comes back from elbow-ligament surgery.
- Antonio Alfonseca (35) - Now we're getting to the dregs.
- Mike Myers (38) - The quintessential one-out lefty.
- Brian Moehler (36) - Wasn't half-bad last year. Wasn't half-good, either.
- Ron Villone (38) - Never was all that great.
- Jay Witasick (35) - Best performance of 2007 was here.
- Jose Mesa (41) - Once was great. Now? Eek
- Chris Reitsma (30) - Health problems always dogging him.
- Elmer Dessens (37) - Hear hear, for Mr. Irrelevant!
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Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-freeagentrankings111207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
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