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Dex the haul: Fowler can make these 10 jolly
- Updated: December 2, 2016
CHICAGO — Well, you never know, do you?
Maybe the Cubs will wind up re-signing Dexter Fowler. They didn’t officially say goodbye when they signed Jon Jay, even if he became the sixth veteran outfielder on a 2017 roster that’s also expected to include Albert Almora Jr.
But come on. Lightning is not going to strike two years in a row. Not when Fowler has become the best outfielder on the free-agent market.
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The Cubs got lucky last year when Fowler surprised virtually everyone by signing with them, and his presence proved crucial when they lost Kyle Schwarber in the third game of the season. His leadoff homer in Game 7 of the World Series put an exclamation point on two highly productive seasons in Chicago.
But Fowler’s due to get paid, and Theo Epstein’s front office knows how to separate sentimentality from business decisions. The Cubs won’t commit four or five years to an outfielder entering his age-31 season when they have Jake Arrieta in his walk year and so many young players moving toward big paychecks.
Now that Yoenis Cespedes has re-signed with the Mets, Fowler tops a list of available outfielders that includes Jose Bautista, Ian Desmond, Mark Trumbo, Carlos Gomez and Michael Saunders.
He’s a switch-hitting leadoff man who played well in center field last season and would be a defensive upgrade for almost any team if he slid over to left field. He’s an unselfish clubhouse leader whose production has ascended since he joined the Cubs at the same time as manager Joe Maddon and Jon Lester — in other words, at the exact right time.
Using OPS+ as the barometer, Fowler has been better than the average player six years in a row, and he was at his best (126 OPS+) last season. He keeps himself in great shape and crossed the threshold of age 30 gracefully, delivering an fWAR of 3.3 in 2015 and 4.7 in ’16.
In a market where the Astros committed $52 million over four years to Josh Reddick, Fowler’s market would seem to start at $60 million over four years. It could grow from there if one of multiple teams looking for outfielders decide he’s the guy who will get them to the World Series or back to the postseason.
Here are 10 — yes, 10! — teams who could emerge as landing …
