10 places to find MLB free-agent Black Friday bargains

BY PAUL WHITE

PBJWhite

USA TODAY Sports

General managers are never off the clock this time of year, but odds are good none of them will be lining up before dawn on Black Friday.

Want bargains? They have plenty just waiting for the right offer and the right decision, players who can tilt the balance in a playoff race for a mere fraction of the mega contracts that dominate the headlines.

So, in honor of the day after dinner-table gluttony, here’s the free-agency version, 10 places to look for a potential bargain:

Brett Anderson, SP: Injuries are the most common contributing factor to potential bargains but the one-time Arizona and Oakland top prospect has an edge over others like Josh Johnson because his issues last year with Colorado with a broken finger and a disc issue in his back. And he’s still just 26.

Gavin Floyd, SP: Back-to-back elbow injuries scare off suitors, but only the first of Floyd’s was Tommy John surgery. He looked just fine for the Braves last season until another elbow injury. But that was a broken bone, which provides more dependable healing. Note his earned run average and walk-strikeout ratio in his nine Atlanta starts last year were better than in any of his five double-digit-win seasons with the White Sox.

Jason Grilli, RP: Sergio Romo also could fall into this closer-cushion category, but Grilli at age 38 is more likely to take a deal as short as two years as a fallback for a team hoping a younger option can take over the ninth-inning role. And Grilli is a good clubhouse addition.

Luke Hochevar, RP: The former No. 1 pick finally found his niche in the Kansas City bullpen, then came elbow surgery. He’s a 31-year-old who, when last seen, was allowing 5.2 hits per nine innings. He could be the best set-up man on the market.

Jed Lowrie, SS(AT): Defensive metrics will keep some potential bargain hunters cool to the chase here, but Lowrie is a solid producer in a year when plenty of teams need a shortstop. Lowrie also can play second base, probably better than shortstop. While big spenders will focus on trying to deal for Troy Tulowitzki, somebody gets a nice complementary player.

Franklin Morales, RP: He’s spent more than half of his eight major league seasons with the Rockies, which skew his numbers. As a lefty in the Red Sox bullpen for the rest of the time, he was versatile and effective enough to be a situational guy or a long man. There’s some exceptional value here.

Brandon Morrow, SP: The former Blue Jays starter showed enough flashes of brilliance that this won’t be the only time someone tries to crack the code to unlock some sort of consistency. Is it his arm, which has had its share of ailments? Or has he just never quite figured out how to harness his stuff? Someone just might find gold here as a bullpen option.

Alex Rios, OF: What’s this Scott Boras client doing on a list like this? How about a 33-year-old with just enough time left to take the one-year plunge to jump start his career and then get one more multi-year deal. He could even be a sign-and-flip guy who brings more value at the trade deadline.

Delmon Young, OF: Adam Jones was talking about the challenge of hitting consistently in the major leagues, talking about his Orioles teammates when he paused and said, “Except Delmon, he just rakes.” He could get overlooked thanks to his platoon situation but he also hit â(euro) “ raked, rather — a career-best .312 last year against the right-handers he’s been kept away from. He also had the best defensive rating of his career.

The non-tender list: Teams must decide by Tuesday whether to offer a contract to arbitration-eligible players. No offer means free agency. So, there’s more value waiting for teams that wait.

Nobody knows for sure who will become available, but among names that have been mentioned as possibilities around various teams are more potential bargains:

Jhoulys Chacin, Rockies SP; Ike Davis, Athletics 1B; Alejandro De Aza, Orioles OF; Dayan Viciedo, White Sox OF; Travis Wood, Cubs SP.