Big Unit, Maddux head All-Free Agent Team

During the Hot Stove season it’s always fun, and in some cases even instructive, to look back at the best free-agent signings in MLB history. Will some of this winter’s moves, including Edwin Encarnacion to the Indians, Dexter Fowler to the Cardinals and Mark Melancon to the Giants, end up on a list like this someday?

Here’s the “All-Free Agent Team,” a selection of players at each position that represent the best acquisitions since the advent of free agency in 1976.

These players were selected based on Wins Above Replacement per 162 games (or per 32 starts in the case of starting pitchers) while playing for the team they signed with as free agents. In some case, where that number was close, we looked at postseason contributions, length of service with the club and cost per WAR to break the “tie.” Only players who signed a deal for three years or more were considered, as the goal was to identify players that a club made a major commitment to.

Left-handed starting pitcher: Randy Johnson to the D-backs in 1999 (8.1 WAR/32 starts over six seasons):

The Big Unit made a name for himself in Seattle, but it was in Arizona that the flame-throwing southpaw was at his best. Johnson signed a four-year, $52.4 million contract with the D-backs following the 1998 season.

It was the start of one of the greatest runs by any starting pitcher. Johnson won four consecutive National League Cy Young Awards from 1999-2002. He also helped the D-backs win their only World Series title in 2001, a victory over the Yankees for which he and rotation-mate Curt Schilling were named co-Most Valuable Players. Johnson posted a 1.52 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings that postseason.

Right-handed starting pitcher: Greg Maddux to the Braves in 1993 (5.8 WAR/32 starts over 11 seasons):

By the end of the ’92 season, Maddux was one of the premier starters in the Majors, having won his first NL Cy Young Award in his final season with the Cubs. He’d win three more over the next three seasons with his new club, the Braves.

The 26-year-old signed a five-year, $28 million deal with Atlanta in December 1992. In 11 seasons with the Braves, Maddux had a 2.63 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He pitched in three World Series (1995, ’96 and ’99), and posted a career 2.09 ERA in 38 2/3 innings in the Fall Classic.

Although Roger Clemens had a higher WAR/32 starts for the Astros from 2004-06 (6.5), Maddux’s postseason success over a longer period with the Braves gets him the nod.

Relief pitcher: Rich “Goose” Gossage to the Yankees in 1978 (3.1 WAR/162 in six seasons)

Coming off three straight All-Star selections, a 26-year-old Gossage donned the pinstripes in 1978, having signed a six-year, $3.6 million deal.

New York won the World Series in Gossage’s first season as the club’s closer. The right-hander led the American League with 27 saves and posted a 2.01 ERA in 134 1/3 innings. He earned the first of four All-Star selections in six seasons with the Yankees.

Gossage pitched in two World Series for New York — in ’78 and ’81, both against the Dodgers — and combined for 11 scoreless innings of relief. Overall, Gossage posted a 2.10 ERA in 308 appearances for the Yankees from 1978-83.

Catcher: Carlton Fisk to White Sox in 1981 (3.3 WAR/162 in 13 seasons)

Following 11 …

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