In the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR took a have a look at the Prime 50 Free Brokers for this offseason. There have been a handful of gamers that we thought of for the record however who simply missed, getting relegated to the Honorable Mentions part. A kind of was Max Kepler.
Kepler, 32 in February, is a man who does a whole lot of issues nicely however doesn’t actually stand out in anyone specific space. On offense, he has a little bit of pop however not an excessive amount of. He did hit 36 dwelling runs in 2019, however in hindsight, he might have been one of many beneficiaries of the juiced ball season. His profession excessive aside from that’s 24. His strikeout charge often finishes someplace within the neighborhood of 20%, with a profession charge of 18.6%. League common is often within the 22-23% vary on this period of baseball. His 9.7% stroll charge can also be a bit higher than par, which is usually 8-9%.
Put that every one collectively and Kepler has a .237/.318/.429 profession batting line and 102 wRC+, indicating he’s been 2% higher than league common total. He’s been a bit higher over the previous six seasons, with a .240/.320/.436 line and 107 wRC+. He might maybe get these numbers up if shielded from lefties extra usually, as he has hit .243/.326/.452 towards righties in his profession for a 111 wRC+, in comparison with a .221/.292/.363 line and 78 wRC+ towards lefties.
Defensively, his contributions have been fairly robust. In over 7,000 proper discipline innings, he has accrued 48 Defensive Runs Saved and 57 Outs Above Common. From 2016 to the current, he’s truly the MLB chief in Outs Above Common in proper discipline with 57, simply forward of Mookie Betts and his 54. DRS likes Betts much more, giving him 129 for that very same time-frame, however Kepler is fourth behind Betts, Aaron Choose and Jason Heyward.
Kepler additionally has over 1,000 innings in middle discipline with optimistic rankings there as nicely. No membership goes to signal him as a major middle fielder now, given his age and that he hasn’t performed there since 2022, however maybe some groups would take into account him an emergency choice there.
These numerous elements mix to make a man who doesn’t overwhelm but in addition not often disappoints. FanGraphs has by no means given him greater than 3.9 wins above alternative in a season, which was his aforementioned 36-homer season. In any other case, his profession excessive is 2.8 fWAR. However he has 9 straight seasons of being price no less than 1.0 fWAR, with seven of these 1.5 or greater, six price no less than 1.8 and 5 price no less than 2 wins.
What’s working towards Kepler is that he simply wrapped up a poor stroll 12 months. His missed time as a consequence of points in each of his knees, moving into simply 105 video games and hitting solely eight dwelling runs. His 5.5% stroll charge was a profession worst by just a few share factors. His nonetheless racked up 4 OAA however DRS had him at precisely league common. On account of that tough platform, the MLBTR workers felt Kepler could be restricted to a one-year deal within the $6-10MM vary.
What might work for Kepler is that the market isn’t overflowing along with his mixture of abilities. Trying on the lefty-swinging free brokers, Juan Soto is clearly miles above the sector. Change-hitters Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar are each coming off good years on the plate however each are thought of poor defenders. Joc Pederson is a lefty who crushes the ball however he’s additionally dangerous within the discipline and was restricted strictly to designated hitter duties in 2024. Hyeseong Kim is anticipated to be a light-hitting utility man on the MLB stage. Michael Conforto is probably the closest free agent to Kepler in the marketplace, although barely inverted. Conforto’s offense and protection have each been near league common in recent times, however along with his bat barely extra enticing than his glove.
For golf equipment on the lookout for a lefty-swinger who can play the sector with out destroying the lineup, there aren’t too many choices. On high of that, Kepler shouldn’t value an excessive amount of. His 2024 was tough however the 12 months prior noticed him hit 24 dwelling runs and slash .260/.332/.484 for a 123 wRC+ and a pair of.8 fWAR. He might maybe enchantment to contenders or rebuilding golf equipment that might hope for him to bounce again and switch himself right into a commerce candidate. Groups just like the Mets, Mariners, Blue Jays, Padres, Pirates, Rockies, Marlins and others are attainable touchdown spots.