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Free agency is heating up in the MLB. David Price, the 2012 AL Cy Young winner, is staying in the AL East, migrating from Toronto to Boston, while erstwhile National Jordan Zimmermann will now be fanning American League hitters after signing with the Tigers.
Zack Greinke took his talents to the desert (singing with Arizona), while arguably the most coveted FA of all, Jason Heyward, inked with the Cubbies.
A huge crop of talent remains on the FA market, though, including Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen.
Where are these guys going to land? We’ve scoured the latest internet rumors so you don’t have to wait to find out. (The internet is rarely wrong, right?)
2015 MLB Free Agent Predictions:
Yoenis Cespedes: Chicago White Sox (Odds: 3/1)
There’s no clear frontrunner for Cespedes’ services. The Angels went after him last year, and his massive finish to the season should pique their interest. As the Blue Jays showed last year, you can’t have too many big bats in the lineup. Adding him to a lineup that already includes Mike Trout and Albert Pujols could turn the Angels order into the most feared in the league.
But the latest rumors are that the Chi-Sox are the front runner. The Orioles, who will likely lose the power stroke of Chris Davis, are also in the mix. Speaking of Chris Davis …
Chris Davis: Baltimore Orioles (Odds: 5/1)
No one is clamoring over Davis, despite his big power numbers. (Welcome to the age of advanced stats.) The Red Sox had been in the running for Davis, but dropping over $200 million on Price closed that door. The Cardinals have lost Heyward, meaning they’ll want to add a new, dangerous bat to their lineup. Davis isn’t the perfect fit, but you’ve got to work with what’s available.
I know I just said the O’s are “likely lose the power stroke of Chris Davis” – and they retracted their last offer to Davis off the table – but given the minimal interest from the rest of the league, if I have to pick one team that’s most likely to sign Davis (which I’ve decided I do), it’s still Baltimore.
Dexter Fowler: Kansas City Royals (Odds: 4/1)
The Royals are still trying to re-sign Alex Gordon, but I think they’ll be outbid for his services (possibly by the Giants). If and when that happens, they’ll have an outfield hole to fill and Fowler will look mighty enticing. Fowler had 17 homers last year – a career high – and would help replace some of the power Gordon takes with him. He’s also hit for roughly the same average as Gordon over their respective careers.
Justin Upton: Los Angeles Angels (Odds: 11/2)
Like Davis, there’s no clear frontrunner for Upton. The Angels have been linked to the outfielder multiple times this offseason, but deny that they’re making any sort of push. That said, the speedy 28-year-old would be a decent fit in the Halos outfield, and would be a cheaper option than Cespedes.
(Photo credit: Arturo Pardavila III on Flickr [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)
