Michael Young wants an opportunity to be starter

Michael Young‘s versatility and ability to hit for average made him a hot commodity during the prime of his career. As the Texas Rangers struggled to find a spot for him, teams explored trades for the infielder. Ultimately the Rangers decided to hold onto Young and shuffle him around to various spots to find at-bats for him.

Now Young is a free agent, but at age 37 teams do not covet him in nearly the way they would have years ago. In fact, there appears to be little to no market for Young despite his perfectly acceptable 2013 campaign: splitting his time between starting for the Philadelphia Phillies and coming off the bench for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he batted.279/.335/.395 in 147 games. Part of the problem might be the fact that Young still wants a team to sign him as a starter.

For example, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports the following regarding the Colorado Rockies and their pursuit of Young:

Limitations in the field combined with an aging bat will likely make this impossible for Young. Teams can probably only afford to have him play first base in the field, but he does not have nearly enough pop to play that spot. He last hit more than 20 home runs in 2010 and has never hit more than 24 in his lengthy career. Still, his wRC+ of 102 (runs per plate appearance, with 100 being average) last season indicates he is still a competent big league hitter and can help a team.

Just not as a starter…