Detroit Tigers: 3 Free Agent First Base Options They Could Pursue

Luis Valbuena

We discussed Valbuena at length here, but here is a recap: Valbuena had 613 at-bats in his last two seasons with the Angels, roughly a season’s worth. In that time, he mashed 31 home runs, 24 doubles and collected 98 RBI. However, he also struck out 206 times and posted a meager .199/.277/.390 slash line with an 81 OPS+.

Valbuena was a solid part-time player in 2017, posting a 12.0% walk rate and hitting 22 home runs in 117 games. Those numbers slipped in 2018, when he hit nine home runs in 96 games along with a 6.6% walk rate and a very ugly 34.7% strikeout rate.

Valbuena is your typical three true outcomes hitter, with 44.1% of his plate appearances in the last two years resulting in a walk, strikeout or a home run. Unfortunately, 29.9% of those were strikeouts.

However, Valbuena is a solid enough defensive first baseman who also has plenty of experience at third base and even second base, if needed. He swings from the left side and has posted better numbers against right-handers in his career.

Ultimately, Valbuena is probably the cheapest first base option on the market. He is more of a platoon option than anything, meaning he would platoon with John Hicks. Valbuena would be useful in that role, although likely not useful enough to merit much on the trade market.

Lucas Duda

After spending the first seven years of his big league career with the New York Mets, Duda has now played with four different teams in the last two seasons. In that time, he has mashed 44 home runs and 42 doubles while racking up 114 RBI and slashing .228/.318/.462.

Duda has always posted high strikeout numbers, but he normally cuts that with big power and walk numbers as well. Last season was a down year for the slugger, as he only managed 14 home runs and a career-low 7.5% walk rate, while also posting a career-high 27.8% strikeout rate.

He got off to a slow start with the Royals, but things did pick up for Duda in the second half, a promising development for the free agent. He hit .252/.329/.458 with a 10.1% walk rate and a 108 wRC+ in the second half. If he is able to bring that kind of production to the Motor City, he would be a great candidate to start for the Tigers at first base – and likely get traded at the deadline for the third consecutive year.

Duda would be more expensive than Valbuena, who could probably be had as a minor league free agent. Duda signed for $3.5 million last offseason, although he was coming off a 30 home run year. If the Detroit Tigers can get him for 2-3 million, he would be a very solid investment.

Logan Morrison

Morrison and Duda are similar in a lot of ways. Both posted 30+ home run seasons in 2017, both signed cheap one-year deals ahead of 2018 and both disappointed with their new teams.

Morrison had the best season of his big league career in 2017 with the Rays, blasting 38 home runs and driving in 85, both career highs. He parlayed that into a one-year, $6.5 million dollar deal with the Twins.

However, his first (and likely only) season in Minnesota did not go as planned. The left-handed hitting Morrison slumped to an ugly .186/.276/.368 line with 15 home runs. While it’s easy to see that line and brush it off, a lot of what happened to Morrison was bad luck. His .196 BABIP is freakishly low, particularly when considering his hard-hit rate and line drive rate stayed about the same as his career norms.

Morrison is probably never going to hit 38 home runs again (his previous career-high was 23) but he is not nearly as bad as his numbers from last season show. He will probably be the most expensive of the free agent first baseman on this list, and he certainly comes with a fair amount of risk.

However, there’s also no doubt he has the potential to be the best of the group by quite a bit – which also means he could net the Detroit Tigers a pretty prospect or two if he is hitting well when July rolls around.

The Detroit Tigers should pursue the bargain bin for left-handed hitting first basemen this offseason. The above three options represent the best options to outperform their perceived contracts, and could net the Tigers a prospect or two at the trade deadline.