Shohei Ohtani, a player who signed a $70 million contract is a bargain free agent in some capacity. Think about it. Thanks to all that deferred money (all but $20 million over the next 10 years), the Dodgers will pay Brusdar Graterol a higher salary this year at $2.75 million than Ohtani’s $2 million. It certainly makes for a debate if that was a bargain, but it’s not the best bargain of the offseason.
This offseason was made for this best bargain debate. A guy who played zero games last year, thanks to a gruesome spring training ACL tear, is in the mix. But the Milwaukee Brewers are confident in his power, plate process, health and he has a good OBP. There is a good chance that the biggest bargain of the winter hasn’t been signed, but these stood out as the best of the offseason.
Free Agent Bargain Winners
Jorge Soler, Three-Year, $42M- San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants haven’t had a hitter produce a 30-homer season since Barry Bonds in 2004. But, Jorge Soler will hopefully put an end to that. Soler is coming off an All-Star campaign with the Miami Marlins for whom he hit 36 home runs while batting .250/.341/.512 with a home 128 OPS+ over 137 games. It’s the type of power profile that the Giants have lacked in recent years. San Francisco ranked 19th in the league with 174 home runs, 24th in runs scored (674), 28th in average (.235), 24th in on-base percentage (.312) and 27th in slugging percentage (.383).
Héctor Neris, One-Year, $9M- Chicago Cubs
Best known for his time with the Philadelphia Phillies, Héctor Neris spent the last two seasons with the Houston Astros. Neris is another free agent coming off the best year of his career. He posted a 1.71 ERA over 68 1/3 innings out of the Astros’ bullpen, with a fantastic 28.2% strikeout rate. It’s fair to assume that some regression is in order, however, he still figures to bring value to Chicago’s relief corps in terms of results and durability. Neris has notched at least 70 games in each of the past three seasons, working at least 65 innings in each of those campaigns. He leads all relievers in outings (307), third in innings (297 1/3) and strikeouts (370).
Justin Turner, One-Year, $13M- Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays have a new designated hitter for the 2024 season. Justin Turner is 39 but didn’t show signs of his age when he slashed .276/.345/.455 with 23 home runs, 31 doubles, an 8.1% walk rate and a 17.6% strikeout rate with the Boston Red Sox. Turner brings consistency to the Blue Jays as he’s never batted lower than .275, posted an OBP under .339, slugged less than .439 or struck out more than 18% of his plate appearances in any of the past ten seasons. The need for a veteran bat has been clear. That belief has been shared around Toronto’s core players on how Turner can help the team improve.
Rhys Hoskins, Two-Year, $34M- Milwaukee Brewers
Rhys Hoskins is ready for his redemption tour. Hoskins was a fan favorite in Philadelphia before missing all of last season after tearing his ACL. From his major league debut in August 2017 through the end of 2022, Hoskins ranked among the National League leaders in home runs (fourth, 148), RBI (fourth, 405), extra-base hits (fourth, 304), walks (fifth, 388), total bases (seventh, 1,195) and doubles (eighth, 149). It’s that kind of production the Brewers were looking for when they considered first base options. Hoskins’ knee should be healed for Opening Day, but he might be off to a slow start after the long layoff.
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