Buster Olney’s top 10 for 2022: The best MLB infielders

The intrigue surrounding the best class of free-agent shortstops boils down to one final duo. Shortly after the next collective agreement is agreed, Carlos Correa Y Trevor Story they’ll sign big deals, and then much from the transactional focus of the sport will shift to another position: third base, including the guy who is ranked No. 1 in our top 10 players there.

A year ago, it looked like there would be six premium shortstops on offer this offseason, and their respective trips have generally lived up to the hype. Francis Lindor he landed with the Mets and signed the biggest contract in history for a shortstop. Corey Seager became a Texas Ranger for the sweet sum of $325 million, along with Marcus Semien, who permanently switches from shortstop to second base for a guaranteed $175 million. Javier Baez signed with the Tigers. After Correa and Story find deals, those six shortstops will have landed contracts worth about $1.5 billion.

Not as much money will be spent on third base, but there is likely to be plenty of talent on the move. Some of the many questions that need to be answered in the coming months:

1. How long will the Cleveland Guardians last Jose Ramirez? He is widely appreciated for the ruthlessness and fight in his plate appearances, in the same way that he is justin turner with the Dodgers, and for his variety of skills. He’s a really good defender, gets on base a lot, hits hard, is a switch hitter and can steal bases (averaging 22 a year since the start of the 2016 season). In four of the last five years, Ramírez has finished in the top six in American League MVP voting.

But Guardians will soon have to decide if and when to trade him to maximize the potential reward on a trade, just like they did with CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, and Lindor. As Ramirez nears the end of his contract, the deal is absurdly team-friendly, with no risk. Cleveland exercised his option for 2022 for $12 million, and Ramirez has another club option for 2023 for $13 million.

The Guardians’ performance-per-dollar on Ramirez is so extraordinary that sources within the organization speculated last year that getting the same return for Ramirez in a trade is virtually impossible, as teams increasingly hang on to their top prospects in these days.

But for any team that switches to win mode now, Ramirez would be a very, very attractive player. The Red Sox have quietly delved into the infield market this winter (more on that later) and Ramirez would be a perfect fit. Toronto’s front office, with its roots in Cleveland, knows Ramirez well, and the Blue Jays have to fill the production void created by Semien’s departure. Plenty of other contenders, from the Mariners to the Dodgers to the Giants and others, would likely happily find a spot for Ramirez, if they could get him out of Cleveland.

The Guardians have strong pitching and could try to compete, again. If they struggle in the first half of the 2022 season, it would make sense for them to listen closely to Ramirez’s offers at the deadline, or no later than next winter. It’s always possible, given how favorable his deal is for the team, that the Guardians and Ramirez could explore an extension that would pay him sooner. Ramirez is 29 years old.

Go to rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B

2. Will the Red Sox trade the All-Stars rafael devers to another place, and if so, how will they do it? Devers is a top-tier offensive player and his defense is erratic at best. The fact that Boston explored the shortstop market this winter is a hint of what could be on the horizon, perhaps a change of Xander Bogaerts to third, with Devers moving elsewhere, like first base, or even second (where his defensive problems could be more easily masked with changes, and where he’d have more time to make less difficult pitches). Alex Cora could use Devers as the Dodgers deploy Max Muncy, with a mixture of entries in first, second and third. But it’s hard to imagine that the composition of the left side of Boston’s infield will be the same for much longer. The Red Sox ranked last in defensive efficiency last season (66.4%).

3. Where will the Gold Glove land? Matt Chapman in a swap? It is taken as a fait accompli among other teams that when the business of baseball resumes, the A’s will execute a massive sell-off. Chapman played injured in 2021 and had a poor offensive season, and any team that acquires him would have to bank on a comeback performance at the plate: Chapman generated a .716 OPS last season, with 202 strikeouts and 27 home runs. Chapman turns 29 in April.

4. Who will pay a lot of money to Chris Bryant? MLB Trade Rumors projected a $160 million contract for Bryantjust a few months ago, but there was very little buzz about the former Cub before the lockout went into effect, other than the news that the Giants were generally disappointed in what he contributed after they traded him in July. He got off to a great start in Chicago last year, but after June 4, he hit .233/.326/.404 for the Cubs and then for the Giants.

Evaluators generally see it this way: He gets on base, will hit his share of home runs and has shown he can play multiple positions, but there are concerns about how his swing will translate as he ages and loses bat speed.

So who will pay him?

5. How long will the Pirates keep Ke’Bryan Hayes?

The future star has a year and 75 days of service time, and if Pittsburgh is going to invest in him for the long term, as they did with Andrew McCutchen, it will probably happen next year, or never. And it’s highly unlikely the Pirates will win in the next two years.

Hayes is among the Top 10 ranked infielders and catchers at his position, based on input from industry evaluators as well as leaders Paul Hembekides of ESPN and Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

.

We want to say thanks to the writer of this article for this awesome material

Buster Olney’s top 10 for 2022: The best MLB infielders