EllisTheRimMan said:
I am on my mobile, any power hitting LF's available by trade or FA that would fit with this team?
Not really. The best available outfielders are Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo Choo, Nelson Cruz, David DeJesus, Jacoby, Curtis Granderson, Corey Hart, and Hunter Pence. I'd break them down like this.
Upgrades over Gomes/Nava:
Cruz has the PED cloud hanging heavy over his head. I'm not sure what to expect out of him next year, but maybe he's worth a one year flier to prove he's effective when clean. He may well get a longer offer, and Texas could decide to make a qualifying offer as their version of a "make good" deal, meaning the possibility of draft pick compensation.
Choo is a better player than Gomes and Nava will be in a platoon, but he's going to cost a draft pick to sign, plus a lengthy enough contract that you are likely going to pay for some decline. He has "old man" hitting skills which are supposed to age well (high OBP). I'm not sure I'd want to get into bed for more than three years, though, especially when you consider the loss of a pick as part of the price of acquisition.
Hunter Pence will be 31 next season, but fangraphs loves him. His fWAR is 4.1 but only 0.7 of that is his defense, so he's not terribly skewed by an unstable amount of innings in the field. If he would sign a 3 year deal, he'd be a solid addition, but he will more than likely also cost a draft pick.
Ellsbury is going to be worth more than a Gomes and Nava platoon. He'll require at least five years and somewhere between 15 and 20 AAV, though. I'm comfortable going up to five but not more. He obviously won't cost us a pick if he's signed, though we don't get one for him departing, either.
About as valuable/More Deep Depth:
Carlos Beltran is supposedly worth 2.0 fWAR this year. A big reason he's only worth 2 is that his defensive component is worth -14.2 runs. That's 1.42 wins. Since it's only a single season of data, though, that number isn't very trustworthy and his bat is still excellent. Plus, he'd be in left field where, even if he does suck defensively, it will hurt less. His last three years at the plate have yielded a 152, 124 and 142 wRC+. His ISO has been comfortably above .200 in all three. If he can be had on a 1 year deal, this might be a very good move for 2014 but doesn't address the need long term. He's making 13 million this year, so the Cardinals may make a QO, content to pay him a little more than that for one more year since they expect to be competitive next year.
Risky Investment:
Corey Hart is coming off of knee surgery and is going to be 31 next year. He doubles as an option for 1st base and would maintain the roster flexibility the team enjoys but it's tough to count on him returning to 120-130 wRC+ hitter he was before the injury. He wasn't a good defender before, so I doubt he'd be one coming back, minimizing his value a bit. He could well be better than the platoon we currently have, but he could very well be worse or even on the precipice of his physical decline. I'm not the Brewers might offer him a QO as well, since they could really use the pick and there's a decent chance a team will bite on a multi-year deal but they'd probably be okay with bringing him back on a one year deal to increase his free agent value, even if it's at 14 or 15 million.
Downgrades:
Both DeJesus and Granderson are unlikely to outproduce the Gomes/Nava platoon, but could be solid additions as additional pieces for the rotations through left field and first base. Both would free up either Gomes or Nava to play more in the infield though both go right out the window if they are given QO's. The chances are pretty slim with DeJesus, but the Yankees might consider it if they can keep under 189 million with him saying yes, or they feel the gamble is worth it and that he'd be likely to decline. I wouldn't like seeing resources used on either guy, though.
I'm a big fan of the approach they employed last winter where they avoided compensation players to protect as many draft related resources as possible. I would like to see that continue. The more draft picks they have, the more money they have to spend, and the better equipped they will be to land some of the tougher sign picks they like to make like Sheffield, Longhi and Boldt this year. They also proved that there is value to be found in non-compensation players and that they can build a contender without expending a pick. Obviously, if a good enough player comes along you should be willing to give up your first rounder to sign them, but I'm not sure any of the names above are good enough for that.
As for trades, that's a more complicated question. People keep talking about Stanton, but I'm not convinced the Marlins will be motivated to move him this winter. Even if they are, the cost will be prohibitive. I'm not parting with more than Cecchini, one of Webster, DLR, Ranaudo or Barnes and a mid range prospect like Marerro or Brian Johnson and that kind of package shouldn't get it done.
Andre Ethier is interesting, though expensive. He's a solid bat who isn't an awful defender yet, but is headed in that direction. He could slot in as a DH after Papi leaves, but still provide enough defensive value to spell people in the outfield and maybe even at first base. But again, he's expensive. The package to net him shouldn't be too bad, though, as the Dodgers will have some pressure to move him and he's not anywhere near a Stanton level asset.
I don't see a lot of other corner outfielders who might be available who are likely to be an upgrade on this roster, though.