3 Underrated Free Agent Role Players
Gary Sanchez of the San Diego Padres (The Athletic)
Gary Sanchez | 31 yo
Projected deal: 2 years | $18M
Gary’s hit .207/.293/.420 over the last three years, with 19-20 HR in 100 games or so a year. Sanchez has a reputation for being a terrible defender, but most of that stems from his poor blocking ability and high passed ball totals. As you can see in the graphic below, Sanchez rated as above average in framing and had a 1.90 pop time, which is borderline elite. The defensive problems are overblown and he has the power of the middle of the order bat from the catcher position. He’s gonna hit .200 ish and can’t block anything, but he’s got a great pop time and hits dingers. If a team like the Cubs or the Marlins need production from a catcher, I’d have my eye on Gary.
Gary Sanchez 2023 (Baseball Savant)
Travis Jankowski | 32 yo
Projected deal: 2 years | $8M
Jankowski had a great game 6 starting in place of Adolis Garcia, going 2-4 with a double and scoring two runs in a World Series game. Jankowski has a great reputation as a clubhouse guy and has the ability to play all three outfield positions. He posted a .357 OBP in 2023, which is very strong for a 4th outfielder. The negative for Travis is he has little to no home run pop, hitting only 1 HR in 107 games this year. He does, however, rank in the 89th percentile with 28.9 feet/second, which is very good speed.
His defense in 2023 finished at 5 OAA, which is far above average. If you’re ok with the lack of power, there’s a bargain here for a Steven Kwan-light type player. Chase %, whiff %, and K % are all very strong as well, similar to Kwan.
Travis Jankowski 2023 (Baseball Savant)
Michael A. Taylor | 33 yo
Projected deal: 2 years | $18M
Over the last three years, Michael A. Taylor only has a .678 OPS and an 86 wRC+, but still averaged 2.6 bWAR. He has some warts, such as a 33.5% K rate and a 33.6% whiff rate. He chases a lot, whiffs a lot, but also does carry a career 8.2% barrel rate ( MLB average is 6.9%). The high strikeouts limit Taylor to a .230 or .240 hitter, but he’s also an elite defender with pretty good base running as well. Michael A. Taylor is a gold glove winner, World Champion, and a pretty good base runner. Taylor can also run into a few HR, with a 15-20 HR pop over a full season.
Defense can really fall off going into the mid thirties, which will likely drive down bids for Taylor. Evenstill, Taylor’s defense was elite in 2023 and should be very good in 2024. The foot speed is still there as well (28.7 ft/sec), and he could be a steal for a team that needs a center fielder and can stomach the strikeouts.
Michael A. Taylor 2023 (Baseball Savant)
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/
*Stats are as of 11/15/23