MLB: 5 best free agents who aren't Bryce Harper or Manny Machado

MLB: 5 best free agents who aren’t Bryce Harper or Manny Machado

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 14: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox delivers the pitch during the ninth inning against the Houston Astros in Game Two of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park on October 14, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

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PHOENIX, AZ – SEPTEMBER 25: AJ Pollock #11 of the Arizona Diamondbacks scores a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field on September 25, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

2. AJ Pollock

AJ Pollock has been underrated for most of his MLB career, and he’s flying under the radar right now as an outfield free agent. He’s one of the better position players available but has yet to find a new team.

Pollock has spent the entirety of his seven-year career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, slashing .281/.338/.467 with 74 home runs and 264 RBI. Those are highly respectable numbers. But like everyone else on this list, Pollock to comes with some red flags. The most glaring of which is his injury history. He sat out for most of the 2016 season after breaking his elbow. In 2017 he was forced to miss time due to a groin strain. And in 2018 a broken thumb kept him off the field for a while.

Health shouldn’t be an overly critical concern, though. Broken bone injuries fall more into the “freak accident” category. Those kinds of setbacks don’t warrant the “injury prone” label. At least, they shouldn’t.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the 31-year-old outfielder heading into the 2019 season. Before his injury, he hit .285 in the first half of the 2018 season. In that same year, he also hit a career-high 21 home runs. Combine that with his speed on the base paths and his Gold Glove-caliber defense and you’ve got yourself a well-rounded player.

The Braves seem like the ideal situation. They’ve already added Josh Donaldson to a lineup that got Atlanta into the postseason last year. If Nick Markakis ends up signing elsewhere, the Braves will have an outfield vacancy. Pollock would be a near perfect fit for them.

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