This year's class of free agents is so deep that a number of established, successful MLB veterans have yet to sign with a team. One of those players is starter Yovani Gallardo, who pitched well for the Texas Rangers in 2015. Where will he end up in 2016?
Based on rumors and reports, we've narrowed down Gallardo's potential destination to three MLB clubs. The right-hander, who rejected the Rangers' qualifying offer and will have draft pick compensation tied to him if he signs with another team, finished 13-11 with a 3.42 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 121 strikeouts in 33 starts (184 1/3 innings) this past season.
Here's who might be looking to sign the 29-year-old this offseason:
Washington Nationals
The Nationals, despite being in one of the most lucrative markets in the United States, do not particularly spend like a big market team. Yes, their 2015 Opening Day payroll was $162 million, but that was the highest in the history of the franchise by $25 million and the Lerner's did not want to add more money to the payroll at this year's trade deadline, which arguably affected their chances in competing for an AL East title.
Aside from Max Scherzer ($210 million), Ryan Zimmerman ($135 million) and Jayson Werth ($126 million), the team doesn't have any other long-term commitments. They've signed Shawn Kelley (three years, $15 million), Daniel Murphy (three years, $37.5 million), Oliver Perez (two years, $7 million) and Yusmeiro Petit (one year, $3 million) this offseason and let Jordan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Doug Fister, Denard Span and others depart in free agency.
With Scherzer earning at least $22 million per season for the next six years, it's probable the team looks for the most cost-effective pitching options moving forward (and also because of Bryce Harper's potential future contract). That probably means not re-signing Stephen Strasburg (a client of Scott Boras) when he hits free agency after 2016.
Gallardo, who is expected to land a deal between $50- $60 million, seems to be a great fit here. With Strasburg likely gone after this season, Gio Gonzalez potentially heading out of town soon (team option for 2017 and vesting option for 2018) and the uncertainty surrounding Tanner Roark's status on the pitching staff, Gallardo could provide good stability at a decent price.
More veteran presence would be helpful as well since the team has prospects/youngsters Joe Ross, Lucas Giolito and A.J. Cole ready to make their mark on the MLB.
The Nats have not been linked to Gallardo, but they also weren't considered a suitor for Scherzer last offseason.
Baltimore Orioles
The O's managed to retain Darren O'Day and Matt Wieters, but those two probably weren't the duo th club was hoping to keep. Everyone knows they would have rather been able to stick with Chris Davis and Wei-Yin Chen, but it's simply not in the financials for Baltimore (at least as of right now).
With that being said, they are more than likely in danger of losing one of the best power hitters in the MLB in Davis as well as a consistent starter in Chen. General manager Dan Duquette already worked on replacing the loss of Davis by trading for Mark Trumbo. Obviously Trumbo will not replicate Davis' production, but it's at least a start.
As for finding Chen's successor, the team can get good value in Gallardo. Chen is seeking a $100 million deal and Gallardo is projected to be at least $40 million cheaper than the left-hander. The Orioles don't have a true No. 1 and they won't be able to get one, but Gallardo will help strengthen the current unit that consists of Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Ubaldo Jimenez, Kevin Gausman and Vance Worley.
Rumors have linked the Orioles to Gallardo for much of the offseason. The O's have over $25 million coming off the books after 2016, so it's likely they have room for Gallardo moving forward. If they're willing to pay Davis over $150 million, I think they can afford to give Gallardo, who has a career 3.66 ERA, at least one-third of that money.
Kansas City Royals
To me, this is the classic Royals signing. And by "classic" I mean just a typical Royals move within the past three years. Kansas City acquired James Shields (career 3.74 ERA) back in 2012, signed Jason Vargas (career 4.20 ERA) before the 2014 season and Edinson Volquez (career 4.29 ERA)/Chris Young (career 3.69 ERA) for the 2015 season.
All of those guys managed to produce well for Kansas City if you discount Vargas going down with a torn UCL this past season. Doesn't Gallardo seem like a reasonable fit here? The Royals have payroll restrictions so they can't go out and sign big ticket free agents, but if they're reportedly lowballing Alex Gordon with $50 million offers, why not stop wasting time doing that and instead give the money to Gallardo?
The Royals probably aren't going to keep Gordon unless something drastically changes in the coming weeks/months, so the team should start focusing on the rotation. The unit was not good in 2015 and the Royals still managed to win the World Series, but it's unlikely they'll be able to have such success again in 2016 with a lackluster cast of starters in addition to the losses of Gordon, Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist, Alex Rios and Ryan Madson.
It's really unknown what Yordano Ventura, Kris Medlen and Danny Duffy will bring to the table next year; Vargas won't pitch since he's recovering from Tommy John surgery; and the team traded some of their top pitching prospects for Cueto, so there's not much readily available in the pipeline.
Gallardo has also been linked to the Royals for much of the offseason and recent reports suggest the team was in contact with him as early as last week.
I really don't see a better destination for Gallardo. Unless Kansas City is keen on adding another lefty (which could explain their interest in Scott Kazmir and Wei-Yin Chen), Gallardo is probably the best fit in terms of value for the defending World Series champs.
