Jim Bowden Predicts Where MLB’s Biggest Free Agents Could Sign This Offseason

Jim Bowden Predicts Where MLB’s Biggest Free Agents Could Sign This Offseason

Jim Bowden who just put this out. Top 50 MLB free agents this off seasonason. Contract predictions, team fits for Tucker Schwarber and more. So, right now we’re going to go 1 through 50. We’ll do one minute each. I’m totally kidding. We’re just going to pick some standouts here, JB. But let’s start at the top. Kyle Tucker is going to get the most money in the off season. That’s accurate, right? Yeah, I think so. I mean, he’s 28 years old. He’ll play next year at 29. So, you know, I think realistically he gets a 10-year deal. Um, you know, the thing that Tucker does is he’s 30 homers, he’s 30 steals, he’s plus defense in right field, he’s a really good base runner, he’s a complete player. Now, he’s not the franchise player, right? You don’t want to sign him as the face of your franchise. You want to put him on the team where he’s going on a team that’s got a loaded lineup and then there’s real value there, right? I mean, if you put him on the Dodgers, you put him in right field, move Tio to left, and now you got a plus defender in right field that you haven’t had all year and another 30 homer, 30 steel guy in that lineup. He’s a perfect fit for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s a good fit for the New York Yankees. Put him in left field. And that short porch in right field, let him eat. Let him eat. Um, you know, I also like him with the Phillies, the Mets, and the Giants, but I I I think the best spot for him is Dodgers or Yankees. But yeah, he’s he’s going to get paid. I originally thought before the season started he might get 500. I don’t now. I’ve got him at 10 years 427 million um o o over 10. Um but really good player and a complete player. I mean, I’m digging through this list. I looked at earlier. There’s some there’s some names on here to me that are are that are very interesting. Brandon Woodruff who you have way down the list, right? He showed he could do a lot of things and then he goes and gets hurt. What’s he going to get? Right. Some of these some of these other names are are bigname guys like especially even I’ll go to your top 10 that you have on here. I mean obviously Tucker Schwarber, you know, Pete Alonzo, but what’s he going to get again, right? Because he went through it last year and now he’s and then the one that pops out to me though is your number four guy from Valdez. Are the Astros gonna pony up and keep him? You put San Francisco, he seems like the perfect guy to compliment Logan Webb right at the top of that rotation, but are the is Buster Posey into the the whole catcher where he crosses up his catcher on purpose, although he didn’t do it on purpose, right? And then there’s the up and down. Like there’s so many things with him like he should get if you just go off talent a huge contract, but then there’s so many things where people are like, “Ah, I don’t know.” Yeah, great. You threw a lot at me again. I love that AJ. So, let’s start with Woodruff. It all depends on the medicals, right? I mean, what he gets paid is going to all depend on what does the MRI say? What is the health risk? Is it a one-year prove it deal, right? Or is it a two-year with an opt out kind of deal? Um, kind of like Jack Flity, uh, Flareity signed, uh, John Flair with the uh, the Tigers. So, you know, Woodress a tough call. Like Zack Allen’s a tough call, right? Does he get a Baldi’s three at 75 or the way he pitched in August, does he get better? Uh, getting back to your your Pete Alonzo. Yeah, I think he’s going to get the long-term deal this year. And if the Mets are going to do short term again, I think he leaves. I do. Alonzo plays every day. That’s what he does. He plays 15. He played 162 this year, but he he plays he posts. He hits 40 homers every year. And it’s okay to give him a six-year deal, even if he’s your DH, right? I mean, it’s okay to pay that. Um he he’s a differencemaker, right? Um and and he’s a good teammate. So I think so. The Valdez one’s fascinating. I overshot Valdez on purpose just because I think pitching so hard to get by. I think the San Francisco Giants is a great spot for him. I do. I I think that um what happened with the catcher is something that you’re gonna have to explain and you’re gonna have to have us understand it. But at the same time with that kind of sinker and that track record and being able to pitch the big games in October, you know, there’s just only so much pitching out there. I mean, it’s him, it’s Ranger Suarez, it’s Dylan CE, it’s Zack Gallon, you know, there’s only so many starters out there and every GM you talk to, what are they looking for? A starting pitcher. So yeah, he he’s going to get paid. And I do love the fit with the Giants. And I know one thing, as much as I think the Giants need one more bat, Buster Posie is making it clear to agents and to GMs that pitching, pitching, and pitching is what his goal is this off season. All right, you brought up Pete Alonzo. Your prediction for Kyle Schwarber was five years 150 at 30 a year. Pete Alonzo who’s two years younger at six years 180 so 30 a year well you said 182 so you gave him an extra 2 million do you feel like they are comparable players even though there’s a two-year difference and you’re essentially getting more out of Alonzo yeah so I mean you had an extra year at 22 so you know I don’t you know I don’t know if you know you’re taking a lower AV but look I have Shorer ranked right behind Tucker ahead of Alonzo. That’s how I view it. I’ll tell you why I view it that way. I think Kyle Schwarber on a scale scouting scale of 20 to 80 is an 80 teammate. I think he makes everybody around him better. He makes rookies better. He makes veteran players better. He makes managers better. Everything he does, those intangibles is why he’s second on this list. Um it outside of the Dodgers who have Otani and the Yankees who have Stanton’s contract they’re stuck with. I think every other team in baseball should try to get Kyle Schwarber to be the guy. Now in terms of you know why I put the money where I put it. Everything I’m understanding is again this is information that I’m getting that it sounds like 5 years 150 to 170 is where this thing is going to land. That’s what I’ve been told by everybody. Now, with Scott Boris representing Pete Alonzo, um just knowing Scott over the years, um there’s certain plateaus that he looks for and if he gets a bidding war, he’s going to get that sixyear for Alonzo. And I think I think he’s proven enough. I mean, look, if you’re the Red Sox, how great would Alonzo look on that in that lineup, right? That power. If you’re the Seattle Mariners who are that close to the World Series, how are those 40 home runs look in that lineup, right? If I’m Texas, how great would he look at first base for them? Um, so I just think there’s a lot of fits there. And I think he’s been so consistent in playing and hitting homers. Um, that look, I’ll I’ll take Schwarber or Alonzo, either one. I love them both. I’m getting 40 homers from both of them. I just think Schwarber’s going to get five years and Alonzo is going to get six. Hey, we’ve told you about Hule’s new daily greens ready to drink can, but also we do not want to forget about the OG. Your favorite. We love that chocolate peanut butter flavor. You and Kratz love that chocolate peanut butter flavor. That’s my favorite one. Mhm. It’s so good. The vanilla also good, but when they sent me the chocolate peanut butter Oh, it’s like a dessert, but it’s not. 35 grams of protein, no added sugar, gluten-free for your boy, under five bucks per meal because it’s it’s a meal replace meal in a drink. Six grams of fiber, 27 essential vitamins and minerals. Fuel makes healthy eating simple. They also just launched into Target stores nationwide. Try both products today with 15% off your purchase for new customers with the exclusive code FO at hule.com/foul. Use that code, fill out the postcheckout survey to help support FT. My next question is again on this list, the relievers, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Pomearance, Brad Keller. I mean, Diaz is kind of in a different class in those, but what do you look at more if you’re you’re the front office, you’ve been through this before. Pomearance has done some good things. Devin Williams was many considered the best relief pitcher in baseball until this year, right? Luke Weaver had a great year last year, fizzled a little bit this year. What do you value when you go into free agency and you say, “All right, these are the best relievers out there. Who do I give my money to and how do I judge how much to give them to?” Yeah. So, I like getting relievers at the trade deadline. And I like developing relievers from within or trading for setup relievers that haven’t closed before. You know, in in my history as a GM, you know, I traded for Jeff Shaw and Jeff Brantley and I I just Dy Graves and all three closed and all three won rows for me. I like creating my own and not spending the money. You know, a lot of times when you get closers in the offseason, it doesn’t work out. Ask the Dodgers about Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates and ask them where they are right now when they got to the postseason, right? I mean, not that they, you know, and ask the Yankees about Devin Williams when they needed him most. I mean, unfortunately, the way, you know, the Mariana Riveras and the Trevor Hopkins were exceptions historically. Relievers are tough to tough to guarantee. Now, looking in this market, look, there’s two relievers that really stand out, right? You mentioned Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez. Th those are the two impact closers. I think they get paid. And I think, you know, if you’re the big market team that’s ready to win, right? If I’m the Yankees, I’m the Dodgers, I’d like to have those guys. Sure, let’s let’s go give it a shot. If it doesn’t work, it’s okay. We have enough money to, you know, o overlook it if they get injured or all of a sudden can’t perform. And then you got to get creative. Look, I know I’d like to take a chance on Luke Weaver based on what I saw a year ago. You know, can can I get him back to there? But, you know, you really when you talk about relievers, you got to do your homework on medicals and MRIs and make sure that the arms are good because the way all these relievers are used, they’re being used to blow out, right? We’re taking the starters out early after they face the lineup twice. We’re pitching them all the time. We’re trying to break them and we are breaking them and we’re doing a good job of it as an industry. So, I think you got to be careful. I think, you know, as a GM, I think you’re better off concentrating double A, triple AAA on other teams. Where can I have guys where, you know, maybe they’re starting for them and I can trade for them and I can put them in the back end of the bullpen, but I I I’d rather spend my money on starting pitching and impact bats and try to find other ways to get relievers. I mean, you look at the Dodgers, the World Champions, and you know, at the end of the day when they got to the World Series, all those veteran relievers, you know, weren’t there. It was Robleski and it was EMTT Shien and you know they had signed Roki Sasaki in the offseason but I mean it wasn’t all the relievers they were planning on back in November, December, January, February and March. None of those guys were there. All right. One of the things you’ve said about almost everybody out there in free agency it’s uncertainty. We’re uncertain and as a GM I’m sure you go into it there’s uncertainty about this or that or health or whatever. So, is there more of a slam dunk than Alex Bregman to go back to the Red Sox? One, they took $300 million off their books. Two, there’s no uncertainty. You know, exactly. You’ve heard stories, but he came and played for you last year. You kind of undercut him with a little bit of, okay, maybe it was a good deal, not a good deal, opt out, whatever his feeling is. You saw it. Is there more of a slam dunk than him back to the Red Sox? Yeah, it’s not a slam dunk at all. Yeah, they’re they’re fine with putting Marcelo Meyer at third base uh with Story at shortstop. Um you know, I look, it’s not that they don’t want Bregman back. It’s not that they don’t want him at third base. It’s not that they don’t appreciate and respect the influence he had on Roman Anthony and all Meer and all the young players there because he did. I get it. He’s represented by Scott Boris, one of the best agents in the business who breaks records with contracts. And Bregman didn’t get that long-term deal he had last year. And he wants a long-term deal and he wants to be paid. So unless the Red Sox change their tune and are willing to go um you know, give him the six years, that long-term contract where he doesn’t have to worry about his next home, I think he can be out there for play. And if I’m the Detroit Tigers, I’m gonna make a run at him. If I’m the Phillies, I’m gonna make a run at him. If I’m the Yankees, I’m gonna make a run at him. I mean, Alex Bregman’s an October player, right? I I want Bregman on my team. So, I I think Boston’s a great fit. If I were Boston, I’d love to bring him back, but I get I don’t get the sense that that is the number one priority. I wouldn’t be surprised if starting pitching and first base ended up being the two biggest moves that Craig Brezlo makes. All right, Jim, time for one more question. It’s a yes or no question. Okay. Teroo a Detroit Tiger next year. No. No. And look, I I have to add something that I can’t just say yes or no. He won’t be because they won’t be able to sign him. The offer they made him was embarrassing. You have to know that Scooble is the second best pitcher in baseball to Paul Ske and he’s going to be the highest paid pitcher in baseball history. Your first offer has to make him the highest paid pitcher in baseball. And and you’re hundreds of millions off with your initial offer. And you can’t go into the season knowing he’s going to be free agent, have nothing for him. So, you got to be sitting here and spend the whole off season trying to find out who has the best farm system and who’s willing to make a run and trade their farm system for him and what team’s going to be able to step up and pay what it’s going to take to to get him. I find a hard time to believe that the Illich family is going to commit it to Scooble that. So, that being said, I think he’s going to be traded uh between now and the beginning of spring training.

Jim Bowden breaks down his Top 50 MLB free agents, sharing contract predictions and team fits for stars like Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, and Framber Valdez. He joins AJ Pierzynski, Erik Kratz, and Scott Braun to discuss which teams — including the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Francisco Giants — could make the biggest offseason moves.

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