NL FAAB Factor: April Update

Normally, this would be the second or third column of our weekly look at National League free agents. But as we all know, we are not in normal times. First and foremost, I hope you and all of your loved ones are safe and well and remain that way. 

To provide you some fresh reading material during this mandated hiatus, this article will look at some interesting NL players to draft and/or add off waivers. The LABR and Tout Wars NL-only leagues are our starting point for the column. Players drafted late or reserve picks are the main focus, though I probably will touch on others whose values I think will exceed their costs. My plan is to cover a handful of names each week, hopefully saving several over for the following column, allowing a new population of players to be covered weekly.

To make this somewhat interactive, as always, if there is a player that was not discussed in the article that you would like to know about, feel free to ask in the comments and I will touch on those the following week. We will see how many weeks this lasts, and hopefully by the time we exhaust all the names we want to cover, we will have baseball or an idea when games will resume, enabling a resumption of the normal column.

Starting Pitcher

Steven Matz/Rick Porcello/Michael Wacha, Mets: Heading into spring training, the Mets looked to have three starters for two spots. Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman were inked into the rotation. Porcello and Wacha signed one-year, incentive laden deals this offseason with the view that at least one would replace the departed Zack Wheeler, who signed with the Phillies. Matz was the wild card; since he likely would fill the fourth starter spot, but the possibility existed that he would be shifted to the bullpen despite a solid second half of the 2019 campaign. All three pitchers had solid spring trainings, which would have made the decision difficult. Unfortunately, Syndergaard tore his UCL, creating a gulf in the rotation, likely resulting in all three arms earning starting spots. 

Relief Pitcher

Tony Watson, Giants – Watson likely would have opened the year on the injured list due to his ailing shoulder if the season had started on time. As that is clearly not the case, the additional time off, presuming the shoulder issue is minor, should allow him to be ready when the bell rings. This view is augmented by Watson progressing toward a spring debut when camp was suspended. Given Watson's experience in the late innings, he is probably the best bet in this bullpen to get save chances when the season gets underway, especially since Shaun Anderson was being stretched out as a starter and optioned to the minors. 

Catcher

Jacob Stallings, Pirates: Stallings is set to open the season as Pittsburgh's starting catcher with Francisco Cervelli now in Miami, Elias Diaz non-tendered and Stallings out of options. As RotoWire noted in its update on Stallings, he hit .291 (in 523 at-bats) over his last three minor-league campaigns with nine homers and two steals and batted .262/.325/.382 with five doubles, six home runs and 13 RBI in 210 plate appearances last season with Pittsburgh. Stallings led all major league catchers in DRS per inning (minimum 450 innings), finishing with an overall plus-14 DRS in 463.1 innings played. His top priority remains his defense, but he's shown an ability to hit for a higher batting average than he posted in 2019 and should see most of the action behind the plate for the Pirates. 

First Base

Logan Morrison, Brewers: Morrison is end-game flier at best in NL-only leagues. Not drafted in either LABR or Tout Wars, Morrison might not even break camp with Milwaukee when spring training resumes or the season begins immediately. Morrison's contract permits him to seek opportunities elsewhere if he does not break camp with a spot on the Brewers' big-league roster, and he made it clear he will do that. He struggled mightily the last couple seasons, but he was making a good case for a spot when play was halted, going 9-for-30 (.300) with three home runs and seven RBI in 12 games this spring. If he makes the team, look for Morrison to back up Justin Smoak and see the occasional game in the outfield.

Second Base

Asdrubal Cabrera, Nationals: Cabrera, who finished 2019 with the Nationals, produced substantially more than was anticipated when he joined the squad, batting .323/.404/.565 with six home runs and 40 RBI in 38 games. He signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with Washington in January and entered spring training battling for playing time at second base with Starlin Castro, while possibly starting at third base following Anthony Rendon's departure if Carter Kieboom wasn't ready to handle a starting role in the majors. The latter looked to be the case this spring, as Kieboom struggled both at the plate — .233 with nine strikeouts in 30 at-bats — and with his defense after moving from shortstop. Cabrera wasn't doing any better offensively in camp, going 3-for-22 (.136) without an extra-base hit, but his 13-season track record in the majors and .969 OPS in 38 games for the Nats at the end of last season carry a lot more weight, so look for him to open the season as the starter with Kieboom probably in the minors. 

Third Base

Alec Bohm, Phillies: Bohm spent his offseason working on his defense, though that wasn't readily apparent this spring as he made two errors in 10 games. The third pick in the 2018 draft, Bohm Bohm hit .311/.379/.513 with 23 home runs, a 10.2 BB% and 14.8 K% in 147 games across stops in the South Atlantic, Florida State and Arizona Fall leagues last season. With Rhys Hoskins entrenched at first base, Bohm will need to show he can handle the hot corner to be promoted. If his defense is passable in at Triple-A, a promotion could be forthcoming early in the season.

With the new MLB-MLBA agreement, I did some due diligence with a few industry sources to see the impact on service time in a shortened season. Players will gain full service if they are active or on the injured list for a season of any length. Normally, a player is credited with a full service year with 172 days active or on the major league injured list. So if a season is 90 days and the player is active or on the IL for all 90, he would be credited as if he had 172 days. It is prorated beyond that — a player active for 45 of the 90 days would get half of 172 days (86 days). This is important as it relates to Super-2 status and team control in the future. 

Based on the above, teams might be less motivated to bring up top prospects because 60 days of actual days in the majors could equal 120 service days for 2020 and could result in that Super 2 designation down the line. Faced with that, particularly if you're a rebuilding team, you might just kick the can until April 15 next year to bring a player up. In the case of Bohm and the Phillies, however, the team might be inclined to promote him sooner because Philly should contend.

Shortstop

Mauricio Dubon, Giants: Dubon is penciled in as the Giants' starting second baseman but could see time at shortstop and especially in center field to keep his bat in the lineup. Last season, he played 22 games at second base and 10 games at shortstop in the majors after playing 19 and 100, respectively, at those spots in the minors, so check your league rules for eligibility. Dubon might cede some starts at second to Wilmer Flores, which is why manager Gabe Kapler is looking to use Dubon at other positions. Don't look for big numbers from Dubon, though he should be a decent source of speed and runs.

Outfield

Yasiel Puig, free agent: This is a prospective bid as Puig has yet to sign. Early this spring, rumors said Puig might sign with the Rockies, but that proved to be wishful thinking. The delay in starting the season might aid Puig in finding a team when action resumes, as all squads will be starting from ground zero, so Puig won't need much time to catch up. San Francisco and Miami are two teams that come to mind immediately that could use Puig in their outfield.