By: Ryan Bode

5/27/14
Building a team off of free agents is not a bad way to run a ball club. Free agents are players that have
Major League experience that can help build a better baseball club. Some of the free agents even have
some all-star experience, even if it is just once or twice. This past class of free agents included some big
names such as Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, and Masahiro Tanaka, and some of these players
werent even the best deal when the season started. The following are the best and worst free agency
deals that teams got in the class of 2014.
Here is the grading scale:
A Superior
B Slightly above Average
C Average
D Below Average
F On the Chopping Block
2B Robinson Cano Seattle Mariners, 10 year for $240 million
Grade: C
This is what we expected of Robinson Cano coming into the year. He is
batting over .300 but he only has two home runs so far this season
with only 28 RBIs. He has only made two errors in the field and has
been solid running the base paths(meaning no stupid mistakes made).
The low power numbers exhibited by Cano are the reason he stands at
a C, and he is not living up to that part in his contract.

OF Shin-Soo Choo Texas Rangers, 7 years for $140 million
Grade: B
Of course this guy is going to get on base. He exhibits a .441
OBP which is over his average all of last year and an average
over .300. The Rangers got Choo so that they could get a
man on base which they have struggled with in the recent
past. The Rangers just need him to stay healthy, where he
currently hits DH due to a sore ankle which hinders his
performance.

OF Nelson Cruz Baltimore Orioles, 1 year for $8 million
Grade: A
Who could have seen this coming. The expectation of the
Orioles was that he would provide just enough power(ie: 20
to 25 home runs) to back up Chris Davis. He is currently out
playing Davis and has 16 home runs and 44 RBIs, both leading
the AL in their respective categories. Not to mention he has a
batting average of .295 and OBP of .360. He is currently the
driving for behind the Orioles offense, something that wasnt
expected of him when he signed.

OF Curtis Granderson New York Mets, 4 years for $60 million
Grade: D
I cannot fathom how bad the Mets are doing. Granderson is contributing to this mess, sporting only a
.216 batting average with an OBP of .320(which is just average). The reason why he is a D instead of an
F is because of 6 home runs he has, which is average for a power player in this point in the season. But
again, the Mets brought him in to be able to bring some runs in, and he only has 22 RBIs to this point in
the season. At this rate, by the end of the season this grade could change from a D to a F.
2B Omar Infante - Kansas City Royals, 3 years for $30.25 million
Grade: D
Simply to put it, he had a career year last year, batting well above the .300 mark while playing solid
defense for the Tigers. His 10 homeruns last year were a plus as second basemen, who arent known for
hitting it out of the ball park. He currently has a .267 average and has only 2 home runs and by the way
his swing looks, he wont hit the 10 home run mark like last year.
C A.J. Pierzynski Boston Red Sox, 1 year for $8.25 million
Grade: F
Poor batting average, not helping the pitchers out(ie: Clay
Buchholtz), and rumors that he is not getting along with John
Farrell is a pretty big reason that the Boston Red Sox are
under performing this year. He was supposed to be a better
version of Saltalamacchia due to his veteran experience. He is starting to turn out to be one of the
biggest busts of the season.

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Miami Marlins, 3 years for $21 million
Grade: B
While having an above average OBP at .349, he has become a pleasant surprise for the Marlins. He
nearly has half of the total of homeruns (6) that he had all of last year (14) and it is only a little over a
quarter of the way into the season. His batting average is lower than last year, but the Marlins brought
him in as to help the young talent they already have. He has more than provided for them along with
helping the young pitchers from behind the plate.
OF Grady Sizemore Boston Red Sox, 1 year for $700,000
Grade: D
Struggling Grady Sizemore. One of the greatest stories to begin the MLB season has now come to one of
the most disappointing ones. After being out of action since the 2012 season, the Red Sox signed
Sizemore with no intention of him making the starting roster. Makes the opening day roster and hits a
home run in his first game back. Things were looking up for him at that point, but now is batting a
meager.220 average with a OBP of .293. His struggles at the plate have made him to no more than a
role player. The only reason why he is not getting an F is that he made the opening day roster and line-
up for the Boston Red Sox.
SP Masahiro Tanaka New York Yankees, 7 years for
$155 million
Grade: A
The Yankees struck gold with Tanaka. With Sabathia
being on the DL and the departure of Hughes to the
Twins in the off-season, Tanaka has become their best
pitcher on their staff. Currently 7-1, 2.29 ERA, and 79
strikeouts, Tanaka is virtually unhittable. He is currently
one of the front runners for the AL Cy Young along with
AL Rookie of the Year.
SP Ervin Santana Atlanta Braves, 2 years for $14.1 million
Grade: B
With Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor suffering injuries during Spring Training, the Braves starting staff
was in a debacle. Santana has filled in nicely for the Atlanta Braves, posting a 4-2 record with a 3.42
ERA. His strike outs per nine innings is up from last year so far as well from 6.9 last season to 8.2 this
season. He has keep the Braves competitive in every game he has pitched and that all they can ask for
him.
SP Ubaldo Jimenez Baltimore Orioles, 4 years for $50 milion
Grade: F
I get the feeling that Jimenez just does not want to pitch any more. He is currently at 2-6 with a ERA just
under 5.00. The Orioles provide nothing for him and he provides nothing for them in return. The
Orioles expected him to be the ace that they desperately needed, but he has turned out to be nothing
more than a below average starter for them.
SP Bartolo Colon New York Mets, 2 years for $20 million
Grade: D
Such a great year last year, no way he could ever regress!!!
Reality has hit Colon and the Mets. He is a 40 year old fat
man who has a 5.34 ERA and a 3-5 record. He has almost as
many losses(5) as he had all of last year(6). Colon is being
exposed for the man he truly is, just an average pitcher. The
only reason why he did well was because the As had a
fantastic line up to back him up, which gave him confidence.
It doesnt help his case that he has an under-achieving Mets team to back him up, but everyone
expected this, everyone gets old. That and his swing providing comedic relief are why he received a D
and not an F.

SP Scott Kazmir Oakland Athletics, 2 years for $22 million
Grade: A
Can we just hand Kazmir the Comeback of the Year Award. Pitching for Cleveland last year and
exceeding expectations was not enough for him. He has a 5-2 record with a 2.59 ERA and well on his
way to becoming an All-Star. He has become one of the staples in the Athletics pitching staff.
CP Jose Veras Chicago Cubs, 1 year for $3.85 million
Grade: D
The tough luck for the Chicago Cubs on finding closing pitchers continues with Jose Veras. High
expectations were held for Veras coming into the 2014 season. He was supposed to be THE closer. He
lost his job early in the season due to blowing too many games for the Cubs and went on the disabled
list soon after. In addition to this, he is posting an ERA north of 10.00 and still doesnt have a save in the
Cubs uniform. He was only brought into the organization to be the closer and at this point in the
season, he has been nothing but a 3.85 million dollar mistake. He is still on the MLB roster but that is
not saying much
CP Francisco Rodriguez- Milwaukee Brewers, 1 year for $3.25 million
Grade: A
K-Rods second stint with the Brewers is going a lot more smoother than his first. He took the closing
role from Henderson and currently leads the league in saves at 17. Rodriguez is also healthy for a
change, something that he has struggled with in the past. He is on pace to break his own record of saves
in a single season and is big part as to why the Brewers have surprised so many people.
SP Josh Johnson San Diego Padres, 1 year for $8 million
Grade: F
Already out for the year with an arm injury. Going to have Tommy John surgery. Can we say that this is
a Top 10 Free Agent Signing Mistake in all of sports?
SP Phil Hughes Minnesota Twins, 3 years for $24 million
Grade: A
This is a bounce back year for Hughes. After having a
dismal 2013 season with a record of 4-14 with the Yankees,
a change was imminent for Hughes. The Twins signed him
thinking that he would be a good be the second or third
guy in the rotation. He is now 5-1 with a 3.15 ERA and is
currently competing for a second All-Star appearance(never to early to start thinking about it).
SP Matt Garza Milwaukee Brewers, 4 years for $50 million
Grade: D
Started off hot for the Milwaukee Brewers but has drastically cooled down. He was expected to be
competing to be the ace of the staff with Gallardo, but now has dropped off the radar. He is posting a 2-
4 record with a 4.92 ERA. Along with his comments that he has made to the media(ie: Comments on Jeff
Samardzija) this year could turn out to be one of his worse in recent history. The Brewers better start
seeing some results from Garza, otherwise they will be very frustrated with him.
SP Scott Feldman Houston Astros, 3 years for $30 million
Grade: C
Eh, its the Astros. Expectations were not all that high for him coming into the organization. He was
expected to be the ace of a poor team, which he is. He is posting numbers that were expected of him
when he signed with the underwhelming Astros, thus the C grade. He can work his way out by pitching
better closer to the deadline(basically the same scenario that he had when he pitched for the Cubs).

All stats were provided by baseballreference.com and are up to date as of 5/27/14