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Let’s say that you’re the GM of a major league baseball team. You’ve got an All-Star player, possibly a future Hall of Famer, who’s about to be a free agent. You’re not likely to be successful in re-signing him, so what is your plan to replace him?
That leaves you with a few options: find a veteran free agent, trade for a veteran, trade for a young player, or move someone within the organization up. These options are mentioned since that’s what the teams who lost All-Stars did during this off-season. So who has been the most effective so far? Its still early, but it seems that the younger players are the best bet, especially if you’re looking for bang-for-your-buck. Maybe at some point in the future a deeper look may needed by looking at the previous few seasons. To make the point, look at the top ten players lost from the 2001 season. This list is debatable in some respects, but its close enough to make a point. 1. Gary Sheffield, Left field, Dodgers No one in their right mind would expect Brian Jordan to replace Gary Sheffield, but Jordan has a .765 OPS. 2. Robbie Alomar, Second base, Indians Robbie Alomar is the best second baseman of our generation (with apologies to Craig Biggio). Only time will tell how well the Indians did in the trade when Traber and Escobar make it to the Show. But Ricky Gutierrez? .616 OPS so far. Is this worth a multi-year deal? 3. Jason Giambi, First base, A’s Pena is no Jason Giambi. This season, he has shown sign of being a great hitter and has played very well in the field, but his potential is so high that he could become a Jason-level player in a couple of years. Plus, he’s making rookie money for a cash-strapped team. 4. Billy Koch, Closer, Blue Jays Escobar has some talent. He has performed reasonable well in the closer role with opponent batting .217 against him.
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