Corey Hart’s free agent market has decreased

When Corey Hart is healthy and is on his game, he’s one man you won’t be looking forward to stepping into the batters box if you’re pitching or managing against him.

Ever since his debut in 2004 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Hart has managed to hit 20+ home runs in five of his nine seasons in the league with over 508 runs driven in. That’s not too bad, but this season he didn’t play at all.

Hart has dealt with some serious knee problems which kept him out of the 2013 regular season. What makes things somewhat worse, is he’s in the final year of his contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Now that they lost Ryan Braun for awhile, what do they do?

Before Hart went down with these injuries, he smacked 30 long balls with 83 RBI’s on a batting line of .270/.334/.507 through 149 games in 2012.

He never really became an elite outfielder or first baseman, but he provided the Brewers with a lot of offense and was valuable to the team when he was healthy.

Hart will turn 32 years old in March and could see a little interest from teams if the Brewers decide to let him walk.

You never know how many teams will be interested in a 32 year old utility player with a history of knee problems. So with all these issues, his open market has more than likely decreased.

I’m not saying he won’t get signed, but with all these teams moving forward with youth (White Sox with Abreu), some risks are being avoided. When Hart is healthy, power is clearly his strong point.

Teams like the Cleveland Indians, Miami Marlins and the New York Mets could possibly take a look at Hart if the Brewers pass him up.