If you’ve missed the previous free agent rankings and predictions, check out these articles:
**Keith Law Releases His Top 50 Free Agents
**MLBTR Projects Burnett and Byrd Will Return to the Pirates
Today there are three more lists that came out, with some predictions on where players will go, and some salary predictions. Below are the newest lists.
Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports
Passan’s list is a basic ranking, but it includes 200 players, rather than stopping at 50 like most lists. Here is a rundown of where the Pirates free agents rank.
16. A.J. Burnett
19. Marlon Byrd
24. Justin Morneau
93. John Buck
118. Kyle Farnsworth
119. Clint Barmes
164. James McDonald (became a FA before the season ended)
165. Jeff Karstens
R.J. Anderson, Baseball Prospectus
The rankings from BP include predictions, although just like the MLBTR predictions, they’re more for fun and probably not accurate. The one that probably is accurate is the prediction that Burnett will stay in Pittsburgh. Here are the notable rankings, along with the prediction of where the player will go.
6. A.J. Burnett – Pittsburgh
10. Kendrys Morales – Seattle
12. Carlos Beltran – St. Louis
18. Curtis Granderson – Pittsburgh
19. Stephen Drew – Boston
25. Tim Hudson – Atlanta
26. Josh Johnson – Houston
28. Jhonny Peralta – Miami
31. Corey Hart – Milwaukee
33. James Loney – Pittsburgh
36. Marlon Byrd – San Francisco
Again, the predictions are just for fun, so don’t read too much into them. I really don’t see Granderson being signed by the Pirates, since he will cost a draft pick, is coming off a down year where he missed time due to injuries. So he’s either going to cost a lot for uncertain future production, or he’s going to sign a short deal to re-establish value.
Jon Heyman, CBS Sports
I like Heyman’s list because it includes predictions on what the players could earn. There are three predictions per player: Heyman, an unbiased GM, and an unbiased agent. Here are the notable players and their predictions.
12. Carlos Beltran – Agent: 2 years, $26M. GM: 2 years, $37.5M. Heyman: 2 years, $40M
14. Kendrys Morales – Agent: 3 years, $36M.GM: 1 year, $14.1M (takes qualifying offer). Heyman: 3 years, $39M
15. Stephen Drew – Agent: 3 years, $37M. GM: 2 years, $25M. Heyman: 3 years, $38M
24. James Loney – Agent: 2 years, $14M. GM: 2 years, $15M. Heyman: 2 years, $20M
27. Marlon Byrd – Agent: 2 years, $17M. GM: 2 years, $15M. Heyman: 2 years, $18M
29. Jhonny Peralta – Agent: 2 years, $21M. GM: 2 years, $16M. Heyman: 2 years, $18M
37. Corey Hart – Agent: 1 year, $6M. GM: 1 year, $8M. Heyman:2 years, $14M
38. A.J. Burnett – Agent: 1 year, $13M. GM: 1 year, $12M. Heyman: 1 year, $12M
40. Josh Johnson – Agent: 1 year, $11M. GM: 1 year, $10M Heyman: 1 year, $12M
48. Tim Hudson – Agent: 1 year, $10M. GM: 1 year, $7M. Heyman: 1 year, $9M
The Burnett predictions are interesting. Right now a lot of people are worrying that the Pirates will lose Burnett and get no compensation because they didn’t offer him $14.1 M through a qualifying offer. However, all three predictions have Burnett costing $12-13 M on a one year deal, which is lower than the qualifying offer. MLBTR also predicted a one year, $12 M deal. The only person who has predicted higher than the qualifying offer was Keith Law, although his was less of a prediction and more of an assessment of what Burnett is worth.
