Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: ESPN Releases Free Agent Rankings

Free agency started Friday night and ESPN has begun their prognostication by ranking the various values of what looks to be a very strong free agent class. Los Angeles Dodgers fans will be interested to see what kind of cash the team might have to put forth and where their free agents might wind up.

The question heading into the article: Where would Zack Greinke land on said list?



You don’t have to wait too long to find Greinke on the list, he comes in at second behind only Jason Heyward, who most recently played right field for the St. Louis Cardinals.


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Quick tangent: if the front office can somehow shed Carl Crawford and/or Andre Ethier’s salaries, Heyward would be absolutely the kind of player Andrew Friedman and his team would like. He’s developed a more consistent contact swing and is at or near the top of any defensive outfield ranking. I just can’t see how the Dodgers find a way to rid themselves of those contracts. *sigh*

Anyway, back to the list. Here’s what Law had to say about Greinke – he’s a fan.

Greinke’s command, control and understanding of how to set up hitters are all at or near the top of the sport, and as much as long-term deals for any pitcher frighten me, I’d probably give Greinke whatever number of years he wants. (I could see him saying he wants a 2?-year deal, just to have some fun.)

He is a pitching precisionist, very likely to give his employer 20-plus WAR over a five-year deal with a good shot at more.

It’s hard – if not outright impossible – to argue Law’s points here. Greinke could very easily win a Cy Young this year thanks to his 1.66 ERA and would be a shoe-in if not for his teammate (that Clayton Kershaw guy and his 300 strikeouts).

Law is basically saying “give him the money and years he wants and work everything else out from there” – a sentiment I’m sure fans would agree with.

Also on the list: Howie Kendrick, who comes in at 14. The questions here are defensive, according to Law. Kendrick has always been about an average starting second baseman, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Dodgers simply bring him back (he’s reportedly open to returning) or try to develop a prospect at that position.

Rounding out Dodgers in the top 25 is Brett Anderson, who did pitch well as a back-end starter in 2015.

Chase Utley is the only other Dodger on the list. He’s ranked at 37 and is the only Dodger listed whom the Dodgers would not receive a compensatory pick in return for.

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