MLB Free Agency Winners and Losers

Have you ever gotten to an airport only to find that your flight was delayed?  All there is to do is sit around and wait.  That's how I feel about Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Johnny Damon, and the rest of MLB's unsigned free agents.  While Holliday and Bay are the class of MLB's free agent hitters this year, both appear to be content to remain teamless as we ring in the new year.  While they continue to sulk and wonder why they aren't getting offers for more money, I'm going to consider some early winners and losers of free agency.


Winner: Boston Red Sox.  The signing of John Lackey (pictured) gives Boston four guys that can be a number one starter on many teams.  Pitching wins championships and Boston is in position to have starting rotation depth be a strength next season.  The Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro signings were a nice bonus, too.


Loser: Johnny Damon.  Damon wanted to come back to the Yankees but his price tag never came down.  Note to Damon and other veterans: the era of big, bloated contracts is over.  Maybe Bay and Holliday should read that line again.

Winner: New York Yankees.  It's hard to imagine that the Yankees' biggest splash in free agency is Nick Johnson, but if he stays healthy, he's a great #2 hitter that will get on base for guys like A-Rod and Mark Teixeira.  Yes, I am really resisting talking about the two big trades they made.

Winner: Washington Nationals.  They overpaid for Pudge, but when you're a team that contends for the #1 draft pick each year, that needs to happen in order to turn things around.  Pudge provides a veteran presence for the Nats your pitchers (read: Stephen Strasburg).  The signings of Matt Capps and Jason Marquis were even bigger for Washington.  When a team gets so accustomed to losing, I think it's important to bring in some new blood to try to change the attitude.  This is precisely what Washington has done and while these guys probably won't carry the Nats to the playoffs, it's a great first step.

Loser: Houston Astros.  Three years and $15 million to Brandon Lyon?  Brandon Lyon?!  I believe that a team should never spend money like that on a middle reliever.  Even if he ends up replacing Jose Valverde as closer, he's still BRANDON LYON.

Winner: Brandon Lyon.  See above.

Related Posts by Subject