There has been some action taken by both MLB teams and overseas players that may impact the upcoming Winter; some sad, some exciting, some unknown as of yet. None of these players can sign with a team until the end of the World Series, and there could be more added to the long list of Free Agents.
Japanese Players
Adam Jones, formerly of the Baltimore Orioles, spent his final years in Professional baseball with the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB and other teams, and his former teammate, Masataka Yoshida, had a fantastic rookie season for the Boston Red Sox in ’23. Another of his teammates, 25-year old Pitching phenom, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, could be posted by the Buffaloes as he looks to make a splash in a class low on Aces this offseason. In 2023, he has a career 1.84 ERA, while having a 14-6 record in 2023 and league best 1.32 ERA over 150 innings.
His athleticism has been compared to that of Marcus Stroman, while carrying the frame of Pedro Martinez at 5’10. Even though he may not be the most imposing Pitcher as far as height, he comes with an upper 90’s Fastball that has pinpoint accuracy, and several off-speed pitches including one called the “Yo-Yo” Curveball (look it up, it’s truly a nasty pitch) that he almost quite literally throws like a yo-yo. He may not be able to hit, but being the Japanese Pedro Martinez is the next best thing someone could add to their teams rotation.
Recent Free Agents
C Anthony Bemboom, C Chad Wallach, C Chris Okey, INF Harold Castro, INF Jared Walsh, INF Chris Owings, INF Edwin Rios, OF Brett Phillips, OF Bligh Madris, OF Henry Ramos, RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, LHP Alex Claudio, RHP Jaime Barria, RHP Carson Fulmer, RHP Matt Carasiti, LHP Lucas Luetge.
The above named players are mostly fringe players who have been outrighted by their 2023 teams, some former all-stars, top prospects, and more. The biggest names to focus on are Luetge, Walsh, Claudio, Barria and Rios. Luetge had a good 2021-22 stretch in New York with the Yankees as a Relief Pitcher throwing almost 130 Innings with a 2.71 ERA posting an ERA+ of 153, but unfortunately, he’ll be going into his age-37 season. Rios was a top 10 prospect in the Dodger system just a few years ago, but never really panned out; three of his five seasons in the MLB, he’s shown great power from the left side of the plate, but unfortunately has little consistency with a career batting average of .205 in 130 Games. Luckily, time is on his side as he will only be turning 30 this upcoming season, wherever he decides to sign, if anyone decides to sign him. Jared Walsh was an All Star as recent as 2021, landing in the top 10 of the ROY voting the year prior; He’s averaged 29 Doubles and 26HR a season over five seasons, going into his age 30 season in 2024. Alex Claudio is probably the biggest gamble as far as Pitchers go, only showing in 4 Games the last two seasons, throwing less than an inning in 2023 in one appearance with the Brewers; His highs, however, can be very high, appearing in a league leading 83 Games in 2019 and starting his career with an ERA of 2.66 from 2014-2017 with the Texas Rangers. He’ll only be turning 32 next season, a bit younger than Luetge if someone wants to gamble on a Relief Pitcher for their team in 2024. Jaime Barria could slot in as a number four or five for a team in need of Starting Pitching, boasting a career 22-32 record with a 4.38 ERA and slightly below average ERA+ of 99 (league average being 100) in 6 seasons, he’s also the youngest of the bunch, only turning 27 next season. The right pitching coach and staff could help Barria turn from a Starter turned Longman in ’23 back into a serviceable Starter.
