Catchers
1. Yasmani Grandal (2020 Age: 31)
2019: 28 HR, .246/.380/.468, 5 SB, 121 wRC+, 5.2 fWAR in 153 games
We all know Grandal is good, but the Brewers got a complete bargain when they signed him for $18.25 million last offseason. He set career highs in virtually every category, totaling 5.2 fWAR that was enough to place him ninth in the National League and second among all catchers behind only J.T. Realmuto's 5.7. Grandal hits for power, gets on base due to a high walk rate (17.2% in 2019), and plays excellent defense behind the plate, giving a serious argument for being the second best catcher in baseball behind Realmuto at a position that's looking shallower and shallower. This offseason should go much better for him. For his career, the former Miami Hurricane has 141 home runs, a .241/.348/.446 slash line, and 32.6 fWAR over 879 games since 2012.
2. Robinson Chirinos (2020 Age: 35-36)
2019: 17 HR, .238/.347/.443, 1 SB, 113 wRC+, 2.3 fWAR in 114 games
It might be because he has spent most of his career as a back-up catcher with the medium market Texas Rangers, but Robinson Chirinos has flown under the radar as one of the game's more productive catchers over the last half decade. Despite topping out at 114 games in 2019, Chirinos has reached double digits in home runs in five of the past six seasons while drawing enough walks to keep his on-base percentage at at least .314 in each of the past five. Like Grandal, he set a lot of career highs in 2019, and he brings power, decent on-base ability, and solid defense at a shallow position. He might not be good enough to be a full time starter on a contending team, but he produced this year for the Astros and would make a very good back-up on a contender or a starter on a worse team. For his career, the Venezuela native has 85 home runs, a .234/.329/.439 slash line, and 6.1 fWAR over 576 games since 2011.
3. Travis d'Arnaud (2020 Age: 31)
2019: 16 HR, .251/.312/.433, 0 SB, 98 wRC+, 1.6 fWAR in 103 games
When healthy, Travis d'Arnaud is one of the better catchers in the game, inning for inning. He's got pop, gets to it regularly, and plays solid defense. However, he hasn't stayed on the field for any kind of regular basis, topping out at 112 games in 2017 and only topping 75 games three times in his seven year career. He played just four games in 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery then slashed just .087/.160/.087 in ten games with the Mets before being designated for assignment. He lasted all of five days with the Dodgers before being sold to the Rays, where he was finally healthy and caught his stride, slashing .263/.323/.459 with 16 home runs in 92 games. The thing is, that's d'Arnaud's true talent level, and if he can just stay healthy, he could be a 20+ home run guy annually. Health will be the big gamble for whichever team picks him up for 2020, but the upside is big. For his career, the Southern California native has 63 home runs, a .246/.307/.412 slash line, and 10.3 fWAR over 500 games since 2013.
Others: Jason Castro (13 HR, .232/.332/.435, 1.6 fWAR, age 32-33)
Yan Gomes (12 HR, .223/.316/.389, 0.8 fWAR, age 32-33)
Martin Maldonado (12 HR, .213/.293/.378, 0.8 fWAR, age 33)
First Basemen
1. Jose Abreu (2020 Age: 33)
2019: 33 HR, .284/.330/.503, 2 SB, 117 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR in 159 games
I know that RBI aren't an accurate way of tracking success, but it's at least correlated with success, and Jose Abreu is fourth in all of baseball with 611 since 2014, when he debuted, behind only Nolan Arenado (682), Edwin Encarnacion (636), and Nelson Cruz (630). He's hit at least 22 home runs and 32 doubles in each of his six major league seasons, his on-base percentage never falling below .325 and his slugging percentage staying at at least .468 in each season. His lower walk rates (5.2% in 2019, 6.3% career) eat into his offensive value a bit, but he's a classic #5 hitting run-producer who could fit into any lineup, contending or non-contending. However, he provides little to no value on defense, so you're buying the bat and the bat only. For his career, the Cuban has 179 home runs, a .293/.349/.513 slash line, and 17.9 fWAR 901 games since 2014.
2. Howie Kendrick (2020 Age: 36-37)
2019: 17 HR, .344/.395/.572, 2 SB, 146 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR in 121 games
With the Nationals' big run to the World Series win, you've probably heard all about Howie Kendrick. After all, the 36 year old slashed .344/.395/.572 this year with 17 home runs and a low 13.2% strikeout rate. If there's one thing he does, it's hit the ball hard. His 48.3% hard hit rate placed him 23rd in baseball, and as someone who watched him all season long, it felt like he made hard contact every time he came to the plate. In other words, that .344 batting average wasn't the product of luck, but of just crushing the ball around the park. Unfortunately, he's certainly slowing down with age, with both his glove and legs losing a bit of value, and even he admitted that his body is no longer able to take the beating of playing every day. In that case, he becomes one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable, bench bats on the market as someone who can start against lefties and get spot starts here and there while providing real, middle-of-the-order caliber offense. For his career, the Jacksonville-area native has 125 home runs, a .294/.337/.431 slash line, and 31.3 fWAR over 1596 games since 2006.
3. Eric Thames (2020 Age: 33)
2019: 25 HR, .247/.346/.505, 3 SB, 116 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR in 149 games
Thames slashed just .232/.273/.399 in 2012 before heading to South Korea for the 2013-2016 seasons, but since he returned to the U.S. in 2017, he's been a very productive hitter for the Brewers and should continue to be in 2020. This past year, he knocked 25 home runs and slashed .247/.346/.505 over 149 games, giving him a third straight season with above-league-average production. He's a much better hitter against right handed pitchers (.254/.348/.529) than against lefties (.200/.339/.340 in a small sample), so Thames profiles much better as a platoon bat than as an every day guy, and he could fill that role successfully even for a contending team. For his career, the Pepperdine product has 93 home runs, a .244/.327/.478 slash line, and 4.8 fWAR over 564 games since 2011.
Others: Mitch Moreland (19 HR, .252/.328/.507, 0.7 fWAR, age 34)
Justin Smoak (22 HR, .208/.342/.406, 0.2 fWAR, age 33)
Neil Walker (8 HR, .261/.344/.395, 0.4 fWAR, age 34)
Second Basemen
1. Brian Dozier (2020 Age: 32-33)
2019: 20 HR, .238/.340/.430, 3 SB, 99 wRC+, 1.7 fWAR in 135 games
The second base class is more balanced than those at catcher and first base, with four players of almost equal caliber all available. Of the four, I give the slight edge to Brian Dozier, but you could make strong arguments for any and the most important thing here will be their fit on the roster. He lost some playing time to Asdrubal Cabrera during the regular season and to Howie Kendrick in the postseason, but Dozier has power and a professional approach at the plate that enables him to produce a satisfactory amount of offense for a second baseman. At the same time, he's a solid defender at the position, making him an overall average all-around player. His upside separates him from the other players on this list, as he's only a few seasons removed from crushing 76 home runs between 2016 and 2017 in Minnesota. For his career, the former Southern Miss Golden Eagle has 192 home runs, a .245/.326/.442 slash line, and 24.0 fWAR over 1137 games since 2012.
2. Starlin Castro (2020 Age: 30)
2019: 22 HR, .270/.300/.436, 2 SB, 91 wRC+, 1.3 fWAR in 162 games
Though not a star, Castro has been one of the more consistently average infielders over the past half decade or so. This past year, he set a career high with 22 home runs while slashing .270/.300/.436 over all 162 games. He's played over 150 games in seven of the past nine seasons and he's posted an OPS of at least .729 in eight of the past ten, though he's also never cracked .800. Defensively, he's solid if unspectacular, and together, he brings a similar end product to Dozier. He doesn't have as much power or as strong of an approach at the plate, but he's been more consistent and is a couple years younger. For his career, the Dominican has 133 home runs, a .280/.319/.414 slash line, and 18.2 fWAR over 1470 games since 2010.
3. Jason Kipnis (2020 Age: 33)
2019: 17 HR, .245/.304/.410, 7 SB, 82 wRC+, 1.1 fWAR in 121 games
Jason Kipnis has played a massive role on the strong Cleveland Indians teams of the 2010's, but at this point, it doesn't look like he's the impact player he was half a decade ago. In 2013, 2015, and 2016 he was worth 5.1 fWAR, 4.5, and 4.7, respectively, but he's slumped in recent years and was down to .245/.304/.410 in 2019. Still, he has a strong track record, strong plate discipline, and enough pop to keep pitchers honest, and he's still a good defender. That should fit the bill as a starting second baseman on a lot of teams, though he'd fit better into a lineup that wasn't set to win 95-100 games. For his career, the Chicago native who spent time with both Kentucky and Arizona State has 123 home runs, a .261/.333/.417 slash line, 135 stolen bases, and 22.8 fWAR over 1121 games since 2011.
Others: Jonathan Schoop (23 HR, .256/.304/.473, 1.4 fWAR, age 28)
Scooter Gennett (2 HR, .226/.245/.323, -0.5 fWAR, age 29-30)
Eric Sogard (13 HR, .290/.353/.457, 8 SB, 2.6 fWAR, age 33-34)
Shortstops
1. Didi Gregorius (2020 Age: 30)
2019: 16 HR, .238/.276/.441, 2 SB, 84 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR in 82 games
So much has happened over such a spread out period of time for Didi that it's hard to believe he's still only 29. He started with Cincinnati in 2012, was traded to Arizona that year and then to New York in 2014 in a pair of three team deals that included Trevor Bauer, Shin-Soo Choo, and Robbie Ray, took over for Derek Jeter at shortstop in The Bronx, posted three straight 20 home run campaigns, went down with Tommy John surgery in 2018/2019, and returned to play a pivotal role in getting the Yankees within two wins of a World Series berth. While his 2019 campaign, even after recovering from the surgery in June, wasn't the prettiest (.238/.276/.441, 84 wRC+), he's still one of the better hitting shortstops in baseball and certainly the best one available on the free agent market. Guys like Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Xander Bogaerts, and now Fernando Tatis Jr. have made the impact-hitting shortstop a bit easier to find nowadays, but they still don't grow on trees and Gregorius provides what a lot of teams, even contending teams, don't have. He can hit for some power, get on base fairly well, and play good defense at the toughest non-catcher position. As recently as 2018, when he slashed .268/.335/.494 with 27 home runs, he was worth 4.7 fWAR. For his career, the Netherlands-native has 110 home runs, a .264/.313/.429 slash line, and 17.5 fWAR over 851 games since 2012.
2. Jose Iglesias (2020 Age: 30)
2019: 11 HR, .288/.318/.407, 6 SB, 84 wRC+, 1.6 fWAR in 146 games
The juiced balls helped Iglesias get over the hump and start hitting for power in 2019, and his .288/.318/.407 slash line meant his highest OPS (.724) since 2013. Iglesias is so good with the glove that if he can hit at all, he's valuable, and his wRC+ marks of 89 in 2018 and 84 in 2019 fulfill the "at all" requirement. On a contending team, he would fit better as a slick fielding utility man, but he could certainly start on a non-contending team such as the Reds, where he played 2019. For his career, the Cuban has 32 home runs, a .273/.315/.371 slash line, and 11.6 fWAR over 802 games since 2011.
3. Asdrubal Cabrera (2020 Age: 34)
2019: 18 HR, .260/.342/.441, 4 SB, 98 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR in 131 games
Is Asdrubal Cabrera really a true shortstop at this point? Probably not, but he's spent a lot of time at second, short, and third over the past few seasons, and with shortstop being so shallow in this year's class, I'm including him over here. He's been so consistently average for so many teams for such a long time that he has kind of flown under the radar, but he's topped 130 games while hitting at least 14 home runs and 25 doubles in each of the past nine seasons, and that's enabled him to be worth at least 1.3 fWAR in each of those seasons. Set to turn 34 in November, I'm not sure how much longer he can keep this up, but Cabrera provides a solid bat with a flexible glove to whichever team chooses to pick him up. He was actually already a free agent once this season, as the Rangers released him after he slashed .235/.318/.393 with 12 home runs in 93 games for them, but the Nationals picked him up as bench depth and he caught fire, slashing .323/.404/.565 with six home runs in 38 games, effectively stealing the starting second base job from Brian Dozier. That's not sustainable, but it certainly helps his free agent value. For his career, the Venezuelan has 180 home runs, a .268/.331/.425 slash line, and 27.5 fWAR in 1660 games since 2007.
Others: Adeiny Hechavarria (9 HR, .241/.299/.443, 0.7 fWAR, age 31)
Jordy Mercer (9 HR, .270/.310/.438, 0.6 fWAR, age 33-34)
Third Basemen
1. Anthony Rendon (2020 Age: 29-30)
2019: 34 HR, .319/.412/.598, 5 SB, 154 wRC+, 7.0 fWAR in 146 games
Over the past three years, Christian Yelich leads the National League in fWAR at 20.0, but Anthony Rendon is *right* behind him with 19.9. That mark leads all third basemen in either league, topping Alex Bregman (19.5), Jose Ramirez (17.9), and Nolan Arenado (17.4). He's grown tremendously as a ballplayer since slashing .270/.348/.450 with 20 home runs in 2016, jumping from 4.3 fWAR that year to 6.7 in 2017, 6.2 in 2018, and 7.0 in 2019. At this point, there are very few holes in his game, as he is the complete package at the plate with three straight seasons with at least 24 home runs, 41 doubles, and a .374 on-base percentage, and he topped out in all three with 34, 44, and .412 this year. Defensively, his exceptional reactions make him one of the best defenders in the league at the hot corner, and all together, he has a very strong argument against Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado as the best third baseman in baseball. That should net him nearly a decade on his contract and well north of $200 million, as he already turned down a seven year deal from the Nationals worth $210-215 million. For his career, the former Rice Owl has 136 home runs, a .290/.369/.490 slash line, and 32.7 fWAR over 916 games since 2013.
2. Josh Donaldson (2020 Age: 34)
2019: 37 HR, .259/.379/.521, 4 SB, 132 wRC+, 4.9 fWAR in 155 games
Donaldson slashed .246/.352/.449 with just eight home runs in 52 games during an injury-ravaged 2018 season, then took a one year, $23 million deal with the Braves as he bet on himself. As I, a big Josh Donaldson fan, figured, that turned out to be the right decision for both teams as Donaldson hit 37 home runs, drew 100 walks, and played great defense over at third base, looking almost like his old self. That should help him land a much larger deal this offseason as a middle of the order hitter with lots of defensive value, though teams will have to be cognizant that he turns 34 in December and has a bit of an injury history. Still, remaining healthy all year long in 2019 and playing in 155 games is a big help. For his career, the Auburn product has 219 home runs, a .273/.369/.509 slash line, and 41.4 fWAR over 1038 games since 2010.
3. Mike Moustakas (2020 Age: 31)
2019: 35 HR, .254/.329/.516, 3 SB, 113 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR over 143 games
Hopefully, the third time is the charm for Mike Moustakas. Two unlucky free agencies caused him to make much less than market value, but 101 home runs over the past three seasons as well as more leverage will help him fare better. Moustakas is a power hitter who also does a solid job of getting on base, and he proved some defensive versatility in 2019 by filling in at second base as well as playing his typical third base. He was young enough when he originally hit free agency after the 2017 season that he'll play most of the 2020 season at age 31, so he's still a solid, semi-long term piece who could hit near the middle of the lineup with some defensive value. For his career, the Los Angeles native has 182 home runs, a .252/.310/.441 slash line, and 16.1 fWAR over 1131 games since 2011.
Others: Todd Frazier (21 HR, .251/.329/.443, 1.9 fWAR, age 34)
Pablo Sandoval (14 HR, .268/.313/.507, 1.0 fWAR, age 33-34)
Jedd Gyorko (2 HR, .174/.248/.250, -0.7 fWAR, age 31)
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