Predictions on the New Teams for MLB's Top 10 Free Agents

The Hot Stove has been turned on, and the cast iron skillet that is the MLB free agency rumor mill is starting to smoke.  All the talk has focused on the two young superstars, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, but there are some other amazing players out there in need of a new (or old) home.  To that end, here are my predictions for where baseball's top 10 free agents will end up.

1. Bryce Harper- Los Angeles Dodgers
I see this race coming down to the Cubs, Dodgers, and Nationals.  I think Philly will get their man (see #2 on this list), and the Yankees will concentrate on pitching.  I don't think the Cardinals or Giants will offer the kind of money Scott Boras is looking for.  So, we then look at the Cubs, Dodgers, and Nats.  The Cubs have great fans, history, a great young team, and Bryce's buddy Kris Bryant.  That is one hell of a selling point.  However, if Harper was to take a decade-plus long deal, that means that a lot of money that could be used to keep Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez would suddenly be gone.  The Cubs have the resources to go over the luxury tax and be fine, but are they willing to?  The Nats are the hometown team, and I believe are willing to pay him the money, but I also think they see the other holes in the roster, and future extensions for Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner.  Plus, Juan Soto and Victor Robles have been groomed as "Bryce Insurance".  They can keep the team competitive or better, though maybe with less star power.  The Dodgers, on the other hand, love their star power.  It is LA, after all.  And they have money and aren't afraid to spend it.  They already have Bellinger, Puig, Hernandez, Peterson, and Kemp?  So what?!  Harper is the kind of star those LA fans come out for.  I, for one, will be heartbroken to see him in any other uniform than the Nats, but I am mentally preparing myself for the image of him, courtside at a Laker game on an off day, chatting with LeBron.

2. Manny Machado- Philadelphia Phillies
Now that Harper is gone, there is the other wunderkind.  The Phillies have wanted Machado so badly it could almost be called tampering.  They have a need at both 3B and SS, and Machado can play both.  They have boatloads of money they can throw at Machado as well.  And finally, Phillies president Andy McPhail drafted Machado, and has a great relationship with him.  I think that this may be the most slam-dunk move of the offseason.

3. Patrick Corbin- New York Yankees
The Yankees need pitching.  The Yankees have money.  Patrick Corbin is the best pitcher on the market.  The Bronx Bombers have solid young pieces in position that make signing Harper or Machado unnecessary.  They take all of that capital, and move it on to Patrick Corbin.  I could also see them trading one or two of their top young prospects, along with some lower down in the minors, for the likes of Corey Kluber.  The Red Sox just won it all.  The fans will demand the Yankees do whatever they can to make sure that doesn't happen in 2019.

4. Dallas Keuchel- Washington Nationals
As I mentioned in a previous post, the Nats could use the money they have after Bryce goes elsewhere to fill some major holes on their team, including a quality lefty for the rotation.  They will also need a player with a bit of a name to help ease the pain of the game's biggest star playing elsewhere.  Keuchel may not be Max Scherzer, but he is an upgrade over Gio Gonzalez, and could be the best #3 pitcher in baseball.  Penciling him in every 5th game behind Max and Stephen Strasburg will go a long way to solving one of the big issues from the 2018 season.

5. Craig Kimbrel- Atlanta Braves
The Vulture goes home.  The Braves shocked the world by winning the NL East, and have a solid young core of players in place to stay competitive for years.  Their only big issue?  Their bullpen.  They had major issues putting away teams last year.  They splurge, and bring back one of the game's premier closer in Kimbrel, who will help anchor a re-vamped bullpen, and those 20,000 or so Braves fans that actually exist will start thinking about another NL East dynasty.

6. Josh Donaldson- St. Louis Cardinals
This is another signing that has been rumored for a while, all the way back to trade talk last year.  The Cardinals need a star player with a big name that can produce for them at the hot corner, but doesn't demand the same amount of money as Harper or Machado.  Enter Donaldson, a former AL MVP who is still an MVP-caliber player when healthy.  He provides more lineup depth, and protection for Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna.  It is a good fit.

7. Nathan Eovaldi- Boston Red Sox
You come onto a great team, and turn it into an all-time great one?  You win a World Series?  That is the kind of performance that makes a mid-season trade acquisition worth keeping.  The Red Sox could repeat if they keep most of their stellar team intact.  I think they offer Eovaldi an extra year to stay in the AL East and compete for titles.

8. Michael Brantley- Atlanta Braves
Those pesky Braves make another signing, and bring in an experienced OF bat to replace the older Nick Markakis.  Brantley is a career .295 hitter, who can help solidify the power of that young Braves lineup with Freeman, Acuna, and Albies.

9.  AJ Pollock- Chicago White Sox
Call this more of a panic move than anything else.  The White Sox are ridiculously young, but they will need to show they are committed to winning in order to draw the quality free agents other teams can.  In order to do that, they take a chance on talented-yet-oft-injured AJ Pollock to man an outfield spot.  When healthy, he is clearly leaps and bounds better than the projected White Sox outfielders.  If he can stay off the DL, it could be a massive steal.

10. JA Happ- Los Angeles Angels
Has there been a more disappointing team over the past decade than the Angels?  Let me put it this way- Everyone rags on Bryce Harper and the Nats for not winning a playoff series.  Guess what?  Mike Trout's Angels have never even won a playoff game!  With Shohei Ohtani only hitting next year as he recovers from Tommy Johns, the Angels need a capable arm in their rotation.  Happ was great in Toronto and dominant in New York.  He can spend the final few years of his career in sunny So-Cal, as the Angels try to make one more push before Mike Trout takes his talents elsewhere.