The store is open
Sports Illustrated baseball writer Mark Bechtel looks at what each American League team might be shopping for in the free-agent market.
Posted: Monday November 30, 1998 12:00 PM
| AL EAST
| | Team | Possible free-agent
moves | | Baltimore Orioles
| The O's have money
to spend, as shown by the $16 million deal they gave closer Mike Timlin.
They have lost second baseman Roberto
Alomar and are likely to lose Rafael
Palmeiro. The Orioles need a catcher (Carlos
Hernandez or Terry
Steinbach) and are likely to make a run at anyone else on the market
they perceive as a good value. | | Boston Red Sox
| Vaughn is gone, so
that frees up a lot of cash to go after an outfielder like Albert Bell.
(The Sox just re-signed Darren Lewis
but they still need outfield help.) Boston could also use a middle of the
rotation starter like Tim Belcher or
New Hampshire native Bob Tewksbury.
If the Sox don't land a big outfielder and if he doesn't wind up with
Texas, Rafael Palmeiro would be an intriguing choice to take over for
Vaughn at first. | | New York Yankees
| Chemistry played
such an important role in the Yankees' 1998 World Series romp that it's
easy to see why the Bombers decided to bring everyone back. They re-signed
Scott
Brosius, David
Cone and Bernie
Williams, and they will probably come to terms with Darryl
Strawberry as well. |
| Tampa Bay Devil
Rays | The D-Rays
won't be doing much, except maybe trying to find a bargain No. 4 starter (a
Mike
Morgan-ish character) or a veteran with some life left in his lumber
(Geronimo
Berroa?). | | Toronto Blue Jays
| The Jays need a big
stick or two, so look for them to re-sign Jose Canseco.
Toronto could also use help at the hot corner, so they might go after Robin
Ventura. | |
| AL CENTRAL
| | Team | Possible free-agent
moves | | Chicago White Sox
| Should the Pale
Hose lose Belle and Ventura, they could make a strong case for being
baseball's most boring team. Losing crowd favorite Ventura would especially
hurt, so look for the Sox to make him their top priority. They could use
second-tier outfield help, someone like B.J.
Surhoff. | | Cleveland Indians
| The Indians hope
they have filled their bizarre infatuation with offensive second basemen by
signing Roberto Alomar. What the Tribe really needs, though, is a No. 1
starter. Cleveland may trade for Kenny Rogers,
but why in God's name would GM John Hart not break his sizable
bank for Kevin
Brown? | | Detroit Tigers
| After the fiasco
that was the Tigers' 1998 season, their expectations appeared to have been
tempered a bit. They wanted a third baseman to replace the disappointing Joe Randa, but
more than one eyebrow was raised when they shelled out $35 million for Dean
Palmer. | | Kansas City Royals
| The Royals have
four quality free agents of their own, which is troubling to folks in K.C.
because the team only has five good players. Palmer is gone and Belcher is
likely to command a lot of attention elsewhere, leaving first baseman Hal Morris and
stopper Jeff
Montgomery as the Royals' priorities. After losing Palmer, they might
want to take a run at Tim Naehring,
who missed all of last season and could likely be had cheap. |
| Minnesota Twins
| The Twins will be
cutting payroll, so shelling out money to re-sign any of their free agents
-- whose average age is around 63 -- isn't likely, nor is making a run at
anyone who could start for a decent team. |
|
| AL WEST
| | Team | Team Free Agent Needs
| | Anaheim Angels
| The Disney-backed
Halos have the money, and have shown they are willing to spend it by
signing Mo
Vaughn to the richest contract in pro baseball. Are they finished, or
is Big Unit on the way? |
| Oakland A's |
The A's wouldn't mind re-signing Rickey
Henderson, but it might be more fun to let him go somewhere else for a
few months so they can trade for him for like the ninth time. |
| Seattle Mariners
| The M's needed a
closer, and decided to roll the dice on ex-Indians star Jose Mesa. In
addition to a starter to replace the irreplaceable Randy Johnson,
the M's need a leadoff man and a third baseman -- but so do about a dozen
teams. | | Texas Rangers
| The Rangers were in
the Big Unit sweepstakes until the bitter end. They need to decide what to
do at first base. The most likely answer is to re-sign Will Clark, who
will be cheaper than Palmeiro. The Rangers also desperately need
middle-relief help, so look for them to go after someone like Mark
Guthrie. | |
Click here for
Mark Bechtel's look at National League teams' potential moves.
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