This article was supposed to be about the biggest trades and free agent signings of the MLB offseason so far, but the events of this past Friday changed that.
You see, Friday night was the deadline for teams to either tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players or release them into the free agent pool, and I don’t remember a year in which so many quality players were non-tendered. Teams simply did not want to risk losing an arbitration hearing, which would force them to pay the player a salary that was too high for their liking. Most of the non-tendered guys are coming off highly disappointing seasons, but many of them have a track record of at least some success, which would have worked in their favor in arbitration.
But what does all of this have to do with fantasy? Well, a high percentage of those who were non-tendered on Friday are still mixed-league relevant heading into 2019. Let’s take a look at a handful of players who fit this description.
Jonathan Schoop
After enjoying a career year in 2017, slugging 32 homers to go along with 105 RBIs and a .293 batting average, Schoop was one of the biggest fantasy disappointments of 2018, registering a .233/.266/.416 slash line. He did post a respectable 21 homers, but that’s about the only remotely positive thing one can say about his 2018 campaign. An already subpar season got even worse following his midseason trade to the Brewers. However, it’s worth noting that he was finally starting to heat up in July before the Orioles sent him to Milwaukee, and his inconsistent playing time following the trade could not have helped matters.
Although it is very possible that 2017 will end up being an outlier, especially with respect to batting average, Schoop is still just 27 years old and has proven that he can be a strong offensive producer at the keystone position. I kind of like him as a buy-low candidate for 2019.
Billy Hamilton
In just one year, Hamilton has gone from surefire top-30 fantasy outfielder to unemployed. Hard to believe, I know. I’ve never been a fan of stolen base specialists, so I purposely avoided Hamilton in all of my drafts last spring, expecting him to be a major liability in at least three of the other four categories (his runs total might be decent if he was going to bat leadoff).
As it turned out, his end-of-season numbers were even worse than I thought they would be, and even his stolen base production (34 steals in 44 attempts) was way down. If Hamilton signs with a team that will hand him an everyday starting job, he could reward his owners with a positive return on investment in 2019. Personally, I’ll be staying away regardless of his new home. I just don’t like to build my roster in a manner that so heavily depends on one player to contribute in a certain category.
Justin Bour
Despite swatting 25 home runs in an injury-shortened 2017 season (108 games), Bour didn’t cost much in most 2018 drafts, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to draft him in multiple leagues at what I considered to be a discounted price. Unfortunately, things just didn’t work out. The home run output was decent but the batting average was terrible, and following his trade to the Phillies, he barely played.
The good news is that Bour stayed healthy, reaching the 500-plate appearance mark for the first time in his big league career. Don’t forget about Bour if he enters 2019 with a starting job. He could be a dirt cheap source of 25-plus homers, and being that he’s a career .260 hitter he certainly has the ability to raise his batting average to the point where he won’t be a drain.
Mike Fiers
Coming off two straight mediocre-at-best campaigns, Fiers quietly put together a solid bounce-back season in 2018, going 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. His 7.3 K/9 rate was a bit disappointing considering his career 8.3 K/9, but Fiers did whiff nearly a batter per inning after his trade to Oakland. While the 33-year-old righty isn’t necessarily someone to be overly excited about from a fantasy perspective, he has earned a spot in some team’s rotation to begin 2019 and is worth a late-round flier in deeper mixed leagues. If he’s able to maintain his strikeout rate improvement, Fiers could easily turn a profit.
Avisail Garcia
Alright, I think I’m now the only one left who hasn’t completely given up on Garcia. The former White Sox outfielder was a popular fantasy bust pick a year ago, with just about every pundit pointing out that his .330 batting average from 2017 was a total fluke since it was heavily aided by a .392 BABIP. And that was true, but as my drafts approached, I was becoming convinced that Garcia was so widely viewed as overrated that he might actually be underrated.
So of course, I bought him in Mixed Auction Tout Wars for $5. And 2018 was mostly a season to forget for Garcia, who battled injuries and batted a career-low .236. Still, I can’t help but notice those 19 homers in 93 games. It will be very tempting to take another chance on him in 2019. The White Sox didn’t want to pay him a raise, which is understandable. But the price for fantasy owners won’t be steep at all.
Zach Steinhorn is the 2016 Mixed Auction Tout Wars champion. Follow him on Twitter @zachsteinhorn.
