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MLB: Ranking the top 5 free agent shortstops

By Jennifer Rainwater

Oct 6, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez (13) catches a pop up by St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (not pictured) during the third inning in game three of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez (13) catches a pop up by St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (not pictured) during the third inning in game three of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 30, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Jed Lowrie (8) throws to first base during the 2014 American League Wild Card playoff baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 9-8. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Jed Lowrie (8) throws to first base during the 2014 American League Wild Card playoff baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 9-8. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Jed Lowrie, Oakland Athletics

Age: 30

2014 Statistics: .249/.321/.355, 6HR, 50RBI

Jed Lowrie is a good choice at shortstop and he will likely not end up with the Athletics in 2015. There is a question as to whether or not they can afford to re-sign Lowrie. He’ll likely receive a qualifying offer from his current team however whether or not he accepts it is highly questionable. No player has ever accepted a team’s qualifying offer. This did cause a lot of guys to be out of jobs and/or to miss time in the regular season because not a lot of teams like to give up their top prospect to sign a free-agent.

Lowrie is still coming off of a booming 2013 in which he hit .290 with 15HR, 70RBI and whopping 45 doubles. He tied the A’s franchise record for doubles in a season that year. A lot of this dropoff this season is due to injuries and injuries will certainly be considered by any interested teams. In seven years Lowrie has been with three different organizations and has accumulated a little more than two years worth of Major League at-bats, according to Eno Harris at FanGraphs. Injuries aside, he’s good defensively and proven that when healthy he can definitely hit. He’s also speedy, accumulating all those doubles in 2013. , Lowrie is likely the most well-rounded shortstop of the bunch.

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