Evaluating Free Agent Third Basemen

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

1. Adrian Beltre

2. Corey Koskie

3. Troy Glaus

4. Shea Hillenbrand

5. Vinny Castilla

6. Joe Randa

7. Tony Batista

8. Jose Hernandez

9. Shane Halter

10. Herbert Perry

 

Adrian Beltre posted the best year of any free agent, hitting .334 with 48 home runs in Dodger Stadium. Beltre has been inconsistant, but at 26 it is quite possible that his improvement is real. His most comparable player is Ron Santo, which is a good sign. I think Beltre is a good investment.

 

Corey Koskie battled injuries this season. He boasts a career 280/373/463 line. I would expect similar production for the next three or four seasons.

 

Troy Glaus has power, but his days of playing third are likely over. Glaus has never been a great defender, and injuries have limited him to 149 games over the last two seasons. As a hitter, Glaus will hit around .250, with plate discipline and power.

 

Shea Hillenbrand is a league average hitter, and slightly below average defender. He's young enough to make a decent fill-in for a few seasons, as long as he is not overpaid.

 

Vinny Castilla had a great year in Colorado. The problem is that he has never had a great year outside of Colorado. This season, he hit .218/.281/.493 on the road. He holds a career .256/.301/.443 pn the road. Castilla is a bad investment for any team which does not play half of its games in Denver.

[Kismet 0]

Would the Tigers go after any of them? They need to fill other positions for sure, but I dont see them going with Inge and Munson combo again....well...maybe Inge.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'm not sure what they have to spend, but I could certainly see a Joe Randa type ending up there.

[Stephen 0]

After Adrian Beltre, Corey Koskie and Troy Glaus it is basically a pickem.

 

I would rank Glaus ahead of Koskie though. I know the last few years Glaus has been battling injuries, but once he is fully healed glaus has the potential for a monsterious 40 hr 100+ RBI MVP season.

 

Koskie has a better OBP but trails in SLG and OPS career wise. Koskie hasn't been able to repeat his 26 HR 103 RBI .276 avg he had in 2001. He does have good speed and can get on base if there is 2 outs but that is about it.

 

Troy Glaus was the World Series MVP in 2002, while Koskie and the twins haven't gotten out of the first round of the playoffs.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I know the last few years Glaus has been battling injuries, but once he is fully healed glaus has the potential for a monsterious 40 hr 100+ RBI MVP season.

 

Koskie hasn't been able to repeat his 26 HR 103 RBI .276 avg he had in 2001.

 

Glaus hasn't repeated his 2000 either. Why does he get a pass, and Koskie does not? What it boils down to is that Koskie has had better seasons three of the last four years (according to Win Shares), and if you grab Glaus he might not even play third. I know he's productive when healthy, but that is a big if, and health counts as a performance variable.

[UZI Suicide 0]

I see Glaus as a DH before too long.