Major League Baseball

MLB Free Agency: The Best Signings That Won't Happen

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:57 p.m. ET

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Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

During the MLB offseason we see a good amount of free agent signings that help turn franchises around. Some of these signings are monumental, and others are key smaller moves to fill out the whole. However, there will be signings that should be happening, but likely won’t.

Recently, R.J. Anderson over at CBS Sports put together a list of free agent signings that should happen, but won’t. In this list, there were several signings that seemingly made a lot of sense, but for some reason won’t happen for the teams involved. In a similar fashion, I will take an approach in ranking the best deals that won’t happen, except ranking my top three. Every season we see players that seem to be the perfect mold for a particular system be passed on. This will rank these deals; they won’t be deals that we should expect to happen. Instead, they are deals that we should expect to not happen, to the displeasure of us all.

3. Mike Napoli – Toronto Blue Jays

Mike Napoli had a resurgence in 2016, a resurgence that nearly capped off with a World Series ring. Now, heading into his age-35 season, Napoli is worth more than recent memory. Despite that, the slugger has yet to ink a contract with a major league ball club. Most of the AL ball clubs have solid designated hitters, and the options for first base are limited. Perhaps not many teams are interested in Napoli because of this. One of these teams that likely isn’t interested, but definitely should be, is the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays looked to replace the electric bat of Edwin Encarnacion with slugger Kendrys Morales. Honestly, the move itself wasn’t the best. Although it did make them better, it didn’t fill the gap that Encarnacion left. Morales just isn’t the dynamic bat that Encarnacion is, and bringing in another bat in Napoli can help fill that hole. Adding Napoli’s 34 home runs would be huge for the Jays, although 25 is a more realistic output. Still, slotting Napoli at first and Morales at DH can match, if not exceed the amount of production that Encarnacion created.

However, this deal will likely never happen. The young Blue Jays likely don’t want to bring in yet another old slugger (looking at you, Jose Bautista!). Also, the Jays already have Justin Smoak at first base to platoon with Steve Pearce. Mike Napoli could have been a great addition, but the Blue Jays seem to already be going in a different direction.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

2. Henderson Alvarez – Atlanta Braves

Henderson Alvarez is a lot better than you would think – likely because he hasn’t pitched in MLB since May of 2015. Regardless, Alvarez proved to be one of the best young pitchers in baseball, and although he has had his setbacks with injury, his value is there. Recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery may scare teams, but with the risk to reward involved, it would be well worth it. Reports are suggesting that Alvarez should return to MLB in May of this season, making him a decent risk for any team.

My ideal spot for Alvarez is with the Atlanta Braves. Alvarez has excelled in the National League East, and can further do so with Atlanta. The Braves aren’t in a spot to win right away, and with the additions of R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon they have depth. Bringing in Alvarez could prove beneficial because if he does pan out, Julio Teheran will have a dynamic partner atop the rotation. Alvarez is still young, turning 27 this April, and has shown he can succeed at the big league level. In 2014, his last full season, he picked up an All-Star nod along with his 12-7 record and 2.65 ERA.

Alvarez’s ceiling seems too high to pass up, and with his youth he would fit perfectly into the Atlanta Braves organization. However, Henderson Alvarez would have to go through the arbitration process in order to make any move. The Athletics don’t seem to be too keen on him, so it is very possible that he does wind up somewhere else. However, because of the process that needs to occur, and his injury history, we likely won’t see Alvarez playing in Atlanta next season.

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

1. Matt Wieters – Los Angeles Dodgers

I know, you are probably reading this and wondering what in the world I am thinking, and sure, there is a bit of hometown bias going on. There are more fitting locations for Wieters – Anaheim, Baltimore and Milwaukee, to name a few. However, Matt Wieters potentially signing with the Dodgers and setting up a platoon with Yasmani Grandal could be the steal of the offseason. The Dodgers have had history of wanting a veteran backup catcher, and with Wieters’ ability to hit left-handed pitching, it seems inevitable.

Yasmani is a great power-hitting catcher, don’t get me wrong. However, Grandal is only a great power-hitting catcher when batting left-handed, while his numbers on the other side of the plate are lackluster. Bringing in another switch-hitting catcher in Wieters would make the Dodgers extremely deep behind the dish. Wieters, who would fill a desperate need for hitting left-handers, has a career .273 batting average from the right side of the plate. The Dodgers as a whole batted .213 against left-handed pitching last season. If they want to make a deep October push, they need more bats alongside Logan Forsythe to hit left-handers.

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The only problem is, the chances that this will happen are very slim. While I think it would be a great deal for both parties, I don’t see it happening. Wieters likely wants a starting role, and in Los Angeles he won’t get that. Also, he may be asking for too much money, hence why it has taken so long to find a deal somewhere. With so many other fits that would see him hold down the fort on a daily basis, it is hard to see Wieters in Los Angeles, as badly as I want to see it.

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