Where Will Jake Bauers Land In Free Agency?
· Yahoo Sports
Jake Bauers won the National League Championship Series MVP Award this year, but he will be a free agent after the year ends.
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Bauers signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers in free agency and made the team in spring training. He was expected to be the backup first baseman, but he dominated in spring training and had to fill in for Andrew Vaughn, who was injured in the first game of the year. Bauers led the Brewers in home runs and has set himself up for a payday. He is 31 years old, but just had a breakout year. Which teams could target him?
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers generally don't spend big in free agency, and Spotrac is giving Bauers a four-year, $57 million market value. Having Andrew Vaughn also likely limits how much the Brewers are willing to spend to keep Bauers, but they will certainly be in the mix.
Bauers made just $2.7 million this year, so to say it was a bargain would be an understatement. Bauers loves playing for the Brewers, and it's hard to imagine the Brewers reaching the World Series without him. They may break some of their own rules to keep him around, and he may be willing to take a slight discount to stay. However, he will want to secure a multi-year deal following his breakout season.
New York Mets
The Mets failed to replace Pete Alonso and had the third-worst OPS in baseball from first base. President of baseball operations David Stearns may be wary of paying a 31-year-old first baseman who has one good season in The Show. However, the Mets need to find answers at first base, and they need to find them in a hurry.
Whether or not the Mets sign Bauers will come down to whether Stearns thinks he can have the type of year he did with the Brewers again. If the Mets see his 2025 season as a fluke, they will surely pass on him. If Bauers ends up settling for a one-year deal to prove his season was not a one-off thing, the Mets will undoubtedly make a push. However, if he ends up settling for a one-year deal, it's hard to imagine the Brewers would not land him.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks had the worst OPS in all of baseball from first base last year. Like the Mets, they moved on from their first baseman recently and did nothing to replace his production.
Bauers would be a massive upgrade for them, but the fact that he's a lefty could be a problem. Adding Bauers could make the lineup too left-hand dominant, but they might not care if they get good production out of Bauers. He was able to hit southpaws and right-handers well this year.
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