Free Agency is Upon Us!!!

With Free Agency literally hours away, I figured it should only be fitting that I put my GM hat on again in a public forum rather than just being the Monday morning quarterback. So what I've done is taken the top 50 free agents and decided to try my hand at seeing where they will be playing next year, I'll also give a few ballpark figures as to what I think it would take to sign them. There is also a competition going on at one of my favorite websites mlbtraderumors.com, where you can do the very same.

Ready or not, here we go!

Albert Pujols- Cardinals. He is Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn and Mickey Mantle all wrapped in one. He has to play for one team his entire career because Albert Pujols in any other team's colors would seem like baseball treason. Pujols is still the most impactful player in the game of baseball and he will be looking for an unprecedented contract. 9 years 242 million.

Prince Fielder- Mariners. With Ichiro aging they are going to need a new face of the franchise, and they should want a winning face. Jack Zduriencik (Seattle GM) drafted Fielder in Milwaukee also, so this full circle renaissance is sort of what I was going for with this selection. This would make one of their younger core players expendable, Justin Smoak, but when you have the money to sign Prince Fielder you need to do it. 8 years 161 million.

Jose Reyes- Brewers. With Fielder gone, money to spend, and Yuniesky Betancourt standing at shortstop (notice I didn't say fielding, or playing or anything that would imply that). The Brewers seem like the most logical place for Jose Reyes, and after a disappointing loss to the Cardinals in the NLCS they will need something to lift the spirits up of Milwaukee. You can also move Corey Hart back into the middle of the order and have a legitimate table setter for Braun. 6 years 118 million.

CJ Wilson- Nationals. The Nats are so close to contention that the addition of CJ Wilson to be a number 2 behind Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper on the cusp of being a 30 homerun hitter in the majors could put them into the mix for the Wildcard next year. They have plenty of money to spend. 5 years 88 million.

Yu Darvish- Rangers. With Wilson Leaving they will want to replace him with someone who has Ace like potential. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll see I re-Tweeted a great piece of work by fangraphs on why Darvish is not Daisuke and he seems like just the kind of guy Nolan Ryan would like to mold. The posting fee doesn't count against the cap, and with the huge new television deal they signed essentially printing money in Arlington they will need to add the arm to stay ahead of the Halos in the AL West. 5 year deal should lock him up.

Edwin Jackson- Yankees. Let's face it, the Yankees had a horseshoe so far up their ass last year when the signings of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon actually panned out, they can't think that lightning will strike twice. They need to sign someone that is durable. Edwin Jackson is just that. He would slot in nicely in that 3-4 slot and would probably benefit from working under CC Sabathia so that he can learn to pitch instead of just throw. 3 years 29 million.

Jimmy Rollins- Phillies. Another player that would look really strange in another uniform. I think the Phillies will ultimately find a way to sign him. He isn't as good as he was 3 years ago, (hey, who is?) but he and the Phillies will work something out.

Aramis Ramirez- Angels. They need a third baseman and someone with more Pop and a track record of doing it for consecutive years.

Carlos Beltran- Red Sox. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting in Reddick for a 162 game season or Kalish coming off an injury. They need an OF that is either right-handed or someone that can switch hit so that they can bat right-handed against lefties. Beltran would be perfect to slot in the 6 hole in the Red Sox lineup and would pepper the monster. I wouldn't give him more than a 3 year deal. How about 3 years 37 million?

Jonathan Papelbon- Red Sox. Papelbon showed that he can still handle closing and most of all showed accountability when he didn't finish off a save. He had his most complete season as a closer and deserves to be paid top 3 closer money. I'd give him a 4 year deal in a heartbeat.

Michael Cuddyer- Braves. They have pitching up the wazoo, but when they needed someone to club a double they didn't have it consistently. Cuddyer is a great clubhouse presence and his versatility makes him a managers dream especially in the National league. 4- 5 year deal would lock him up.

Mark Buehrle- White Sox. A Gold Glove, left hander that throws 200 innings every year for the last 10 years sounds like he could fit in everyone's rotation and ultimately I think he signs back with Chicago.

David Ortiz- Rangers. They play 81 games a year in a hitter-friendly ballpark, have an opening at DH/1B, and money to spend. Why not spend it on someone that hits right handed pitching well which the AL West is full of them, (Weaver, Haren, Hernandez, Santana, Pineda etc.)

Ryan Madson- Phillies. With Papelbon off the market the Phillies might as well bring back a sure thing for smaller money.

Hiroki Kuroda- Dodgers. He has said he doesn't want to leave, and he won't.

Carlos Pena- Pirates. The Pirates could use a guy like Pena, very good defensive 1B, power and a leader in the clubhouse for a very young, up-and-comer in Pittsburgh.

Francisco Rodriguez- Marlins. This is a complete shot in the dark here. The Marlins are moving into a new stadium and may be looking to add some star power, with Ozzie Guillen and his Venezuelan roots I just threw it out there. Leo Nunez isn't really cutting it is he?

Roy Oswalt- Red Sox. The Red Sox need leadership in their rotation more than anything else. What better than a potential Hall of Fame pitcher. If they can be reasonably confident that his back will hold up through the rigors of a season I wouldn't hesitate giving a 2 year incentive laden deal.

Javier Vasquez-Retirement. Put a fork in him. He's done!

Heath Bell- Padres. If the Padres didn't think they could sign Heath Bell they would have dealt him instead of Mike Adams last trade deadline. He'll be back in Petco Park nailing down the 9^th inning for a few more years.

Coco Crisp- Giants. It's certainly not a big ticket move but I think it's one of 3 moves they make to re-vamp their outfield.

Hisashi Iwakuma- Athletics. There was news of a deal that fell through last year; I suspect the interest to still be there.

Kelly Johnson- Blue Jays. He just fits their mold, and seemed like a solid player after coming over from the D'Backs.

Josh Willingham- Cubs. Theo coveted him when he was with the Red Sox and I don't see that changing with the Cubbies.

Paul Maholm- Pirates. Mutual interest, not huge dollars.

Grady Sizemore- Giants. Classic Brian Sabean move. Ever since Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand have blown up in his face he has been taking reclamation projects and has-been's off the market like they were going out of style. (See: Burrell, Pat and Tejada, Miguel). Low risk, high reward. If healthy can be a game changer and table setter from the top of the lineup.

Bartolo Colon- Mariners. Since they traded Fister they are going to need an arm for next year. Not pitching in the launching pad that was Yankee Stadium can only help him ten-fold.

Erik Bedard- Royals. He's injury prone, but the Royals need someone with a rapport around their younger pitchers.

David Dejesus- Giants. He is a professional hitter that would look great hitting behind Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval.

Jason Kubel- Twins. They had to get rid of one or the other between him and Cuddyer and Kubel is the more cost-effective of the two.

Ramon Hernandez- Indians. A solid backup at this point in his career, would definitely benefit the Indians to have an older backup with Jimenez, Masterson and Carmona.

Jeff Francis- Padres. I believe that Harang is out the door and Francis is another pitcher that could really benefit from pitching in a cavernous ballpark.

Chris Capuano- Yankees. They need to build up depth at the Major League level for pitching and Capuano is the move. Especially if the Red Sox don't make a move for a right-handed bat he would be very useful.

Tsuyoshi Wada- Dodgers. They had a scout checking him out about a month ago, and he would certainly be an upgrade over what they already have at the back end of the rotation. It is also a bonus that there doesn't have to be a posting fee given all the financial woes of Frank McCourt.

Clint Barmes- Dodgers. Another low-cost move would allow them to get a little younger from Jamey Carroll but would essentially fill the same position.

Casey Kotchman- Rays. He hit for a high average (for him) and plays above average defense at a low-cost. I would assume there would be interest from Tampa.

Freddy Garcia- Mets. Just seems like a New York Mets kind of move.

Aaron Hill- Diamondbacks. The change of scenery seemed to really do him good, and the D'Backs have said they have mutual interest in bringing him back.

Johnny Damon- Rays. His production, stability, and leadership were great qualities for the Rays and I doubt that he priced himself out of town.

Aaron Harang- Royals. Like the Bedard pick (above) the Royals need veterans on their staff. Both of them have injury histories and can probably be had for cheap money.

Jamey Carroll- Nationals. I'm serious about the Nats contending and all contenders have guys like Jamey Carroll (think Nick Punto).

Rafael Furcal- Cardinals. He seemed to fit in really well there and he was a solid leadoff guy.

Juan Pierre- Padres. I feel like if I can't figure out where to put someone I should send them to SD, so that's what I'm doing.

Frank Francisco- Phillies. They need another quality arm at the back end of their bullpen.

Jason Marquis- Red Sox. This is a classic, low-risk/high-reward move. Marquis is an innings eater, is usually healthy. Last year fractured his shin on a fluky line drive, and then continued to pitch on it for the rest of the inning. This could be the steal of the year and I wouldn't hesitate giving him a 2 year deal with a vesting option.

Joel Piniero- Angels. Angels have a need for a 4/5 starter between Piniero and Chatwood they should be able to get it done.

Jonathan Broxton- Dodgers. I feel like the Dodgers will give it one more go with Broxton.

Joe Nathan- Twins. Twins have a need for a reliever at the back-end of their bullpen, would seem strange to see Nathan anywhere else.

Kerry Wood- Cubs or Retirement. He has said that he doesn't want to go anywhere else but the Windy City but is so beat up physically he could hang up the spikes.

Bruce Chen- Royals. Chen had a solid year for KC in '11 and at affordable dollars they would be fools to not bring him back.

There you have it, top 50 FA's just coming at you like a spider monkey. I'll recap it when every one has signed so that we can either bow to my omnipotence or mercilessly ridicule how poor my selections were.

Stay Tuned

Norton