Dexter Fowler endured a career campaign in 2015, only to have the Chicago Cubs replace him with Jason Heyward. On top of that, he's among the MLB's second-tier outfielders in this stacked free agent class that consists of Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton and Alex Gordon, which is a reason he's still unsigned.
However, there are a number of clubs - specifically the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants - that have a need in the outfield and could use a dynamic all-around player such as Fowler.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old was the leadoff man for the Cubs in 2015 and batted .250/.346/.411 with 102 runs scored, 17 home runs, 46 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 156 games. Many MLB experts (ESPN's Jim Bowden, Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com and Jon Heyman) believe he'll land a four-year deal in the $50 million range, which quite frankly isn't a bad price for a player of Fowler's caliber.
The teams we believe will make a push for him can easily afford that type of contract, so let's take a look at how Fowler fits in with the Cardinals, Nationals and Giants.
Cardinals
St. Louis lost Heyward to the Cubs and although that didn't necessarily leave a void in the outfield, those are still big shoes to fill. Heyward is arguably the best outfielder in the MLB and next up for the Cardinals are youngsters Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty and Tommy Pham.
Matt Holliday is slated to be the starting left fielder, but the Cards are likely thinking ahead because there's a good chance the team does not exercise his $17 million option for the 2017 season. In that case, signing Fowler to play center and then utilizing Grichuk and Piscotty on the corners could be a good future unit.
Earlier in the offseason FOX Sports' Jon Morosi speculated Fowler could be of interest to the Cardinals since his agent is also Heyward's agent, indicating the two sides are at least somewhat familiar with one another.
Fowler can also provide a solid bat atop the lineup and act as a replacement for Heyward in that sense as well. I mean, I'm not comparing the two as players of the same caliber, but their offensive numbers really weren't drastically different in 2015...
Fowler - .250/.346/.411 with 102 runs scored, 17 home runs, 46 RBI and 20 stolen bases
Heyward - .293/.359/.439 with 79 runs scored, 13 home runs, 60 RBI and 23 stolen bases
However, Heyward's 6.5 WAR was much superior to Fowler's 2.2.
Nationals
For some reason we've been getting the idea that Nationals aren't too keen on Michael Taylor. The team reportedly made a $200 million offer to Jason Heyward, who would have became the team's center field, thus making Taylor "expendable."
After that, one would figure Washington was just trying to reel in the big fish in free agency and then figure out what to do with Taylor after that. However, that wasn't the case at all.
On MLB Network Radio last week, Morosi said the Nats were "very involved in talks" with a free agent outfielder. He noted Fowler could be a possibility. In addition to that, Morosi added the team was working to add an outfielder and prefers someone who can take over in center.
The team may also be looking for a leadoff hitter since there's little chance they re-sign Denard Span. The team's No. 1 and No. 2 hitters batted .274 and .264 in 2015, which isn't exactly the production needed in those spots.
"Unless the Nationals acquire another hitter, Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth could be the best, although not ideal, options for the spot," writes James Wagner of the Washington Post. "The Nationals could also use another strong outfielder, someone who could play everyday should Werth, or others, suffer injuries or if Michael A. Taylor struggles in his second year. Maybe a solution to both of those concerns could be the same player."
Fowler could be a fit in center, hit leadoff and save the Nats about $140 million compared to the money they were going to pay Heyward. Then Taylor can be traded for more assets or used as a fourth outfielder until Werth hits free agency after 2017.
Giants
San Francisco has been linked to just about every available outfielder in rumors this offseason. However, we've gotten a better idea of what the team may want to spend after signing off on Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija - a combined $220 million expenditure.
Reports have suggested the Giants don't want to add another mammoth long-term deal to their payroll, with some stating $150 million as the specific number. Both Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton are looking for that type of deal while Alex Gordon is seeking a $20 million per year salary, which could mean at least a four-year, $80 million pact.
So doesn't Fowler sound good at four years and $60 million, or at least something in that ballpark?
Well, as we wrote earlier today, ESPN's Buster Olney implied the team might be considering it.
"The Giants probably don't have their starting left fielder for 2016 on their roster yet, but by the time spring training begins seven weeks from now, they presumably will have somebody else lined up -- and it's almost certainly going to be somebody really good, like Dexter Fowler, because of all the available choices," writes Olney.
"With [Angel] Pagan penciled in to play center field with [Gregor] Blanco as a backup, the Giants could target a corner outfielder to play left field. But they also could go after one of the free agents capable of playing center field, like Fowler, and either shift Pagan to left field or use Fowler in left and have him available for center field in the event that Pagan's past injury problems pop up again."
In fact, Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports' HardballTalk pointed out Fowler was in the Bay Area last night attending the Golden State Warriors game. Is it possible he's meeting with the Giants?
Who knows, but the Giants need an everyday left fielder following the departure of Nori Aoki. Gregor Blanco can play the position, but he's regarded as a backup option/fourth outfielder. Fowler's primary position is center field and Pagan has not played a position outside of center since 2010, so the Giants might be taking a risk in this scenario since neither is very familiar with left field.
However, Pagan is under contract for just one more season and it doesn't look like he's an entirely reliable option anyway based on his injury troubles over the past three seasons (300 games played).
The Giants still have some room to spend and it'll more than likely be on an outfielder. We'll just have to wait and see who it is.
