By Josh:
One of the best parts of the MLB offseason is the Hot Stove. Teams can completely change who they are through free agency and trades. Predicting where some of the top free agents are going to end up adds some fun during the months without baseball.
Yu Darvish – Minnesota Twins – Two weeks ago had you asked me this questions I would have said the Dodgers without even a second thought and would have moved on to another free agent. However, now that the World Series is over and Darvish had a horrible series, there is no way he stays in LA. The Twins make the playoffs but still need to improve to do more. Darvish could really help them.
Eric Hosmer – Kansas City Royals – Of all the free agents that are coming out of Kansas City, Hosmer is the only one that I think could end up staying. Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hosmer get a lot of interest from a team like the Seattle Mariners.
Lorenzo Cain – Seattle Mariners – I wasn’t going to go with this idea because the M’s need pitching and a 1st baseman more. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized he would be a great fit. The Mariners do need two starting pitchers but a solid outfield can be encouraging for free agent pitchers.
Wade Davis – Chicago Cubs – If the Cubs want to get back to the World Series they need to have a solid bullpen and losing Davis would be a big step back. He may be a little expensive but paying for a solid bullpen has become the baseline for playoff contenders.
Alex Cobb – Seattle Mariners – Cob isn’t the best free agent pitcher on the market but is a reasonable price and the Mariners are DESPERATE. The Mariners don’t have a farm system to make trades worth anything so improving has to come from free agency. If the Mariners don’t go out and get a few solid free agents their season will be over before it even starts.
Carlos Santana – Cleveland Indians – I would love to see Santana join the Mariners but the Indians aren’t just going to let him walk away without making a solid push to keep him. The Indians want to make another World Series run and I think Santana is needed for that.
Logan Morrison – Boston Red Sox – I actually took this prediction from MLB Trade Rumors because I honestly couldn’t find a team that I thought would take Morrison. The one team that I feel needs a first baseman the most (Mariners) actually had Morrison already and they aren’t going to bring him back. He could be a great fit at Fenway, but I honestly am thinking this season was a one season high for him.
Todd Frazier – Kansas City Royals – With Moustakas moving on the Royals need a third baseman that can add some power to the lineup. I personally think Frazier would rather play for the Yankees or even the Mets but he will go where he is wanted.