Thin MLB free-agent class could spell trouble for Blue Jays

Baseball's free-agent season begins Tuesday. 

And with what is viewed as a thin free-agent class compared to past years, the few big fish could find themselves with big offers from multiple teams.

• Jays make qualifying offers to Bautista, Encarnacion

Yoenis Cespedes, who became a free agent after opting out of the final two years of his deal with the Mets, could be this year's prize, along with the Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion. Closers Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen headline the relief pitchers available, but beyond those four, the market lacks superstars.

Justin Turner, Dexter Fowler, Mark Trumbo, Ian Desmond and Jose Bautista headline the next tier of free agents, with starting pitchers topped by Rich Hill and Jeremy Hellickson.

Only 10 players were extending qualifying offers on Monday, and they have until by Nov. 14 to decide if they will accept those one-year, $17.2 million packages. Players who decline become free agents, with draft-pick compensation going to their former teams if they sign elsewhere.

Power prevalent, speed and youth missing

The one thing this free-agent market seems to be over-saturated with is aging power. Players like Mike Napoli, Kendrys Morales, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Howard and Brandon Moss present teams with players who can hit the long ball, but come with low batting averages and lack of speed.

You can add Matt Holliday, Pedro Alvarez, Adam Lind, and even Trumbo and Bautista to that list.

The similarities between these players should be able to keep all their prices down, and most of them may need to look for short-term offers.

On the flip side, speed and young franchise-building blocks are almost non-existent.

Cespedes, Fowler and Turner present teams with the best everyday options, but bidding wars could make their prices skyrocket and scare off many teams.

Coco Crisp, Rajai Davis and Angel Pagan have played everyday roles in the past, but all are more than 35 years old and don't inspire much confidence in teams looking for players to contribute for a longer-term deal.

Pitching market barren

With no front-line starters up for grabs, teams will need to turn their attention to back-end bandages to fill any rotation spots.

Besides Hellickson and Hill, Brett Anderson, Edinson Volquez, Bartolo Colon and Hisashi Iwakuma may be the top targets available. Players like Doug Fister, Jason Hammel, R.A. Dickey and Ivan Nova may also be able to provide short-term relief for some teams.

The relievers market is a little better, with three elite closers — Chapman, Jansen and Mark Melancon — along with solid-but-aging players such as Santiago Casilla, Fernando Rodney, Koji Uehara and Sergio Romo.

Chapman and Jansen should easily eclipse Jonathan Papelbon's record contract for a reliever, which is $50 million US over four years signed in 2012, and Melancon could push to do the same. 

But with the lack of youth at both the plate and on the mound, teams looking for long-term difference-makers may need to turn their attention to trades in order to fill their needs.

Weak class could affect Blue Jays

The lack of quality free agents could spell trouble for the Toronto Blue Jays, who generally stick to a budget and don't go to the financial lengths teams such as the Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers do.

Toronto's 2016 payroll was just below $160 million, which ranked 11th in the majors. The payroll is expected to rise, giving president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins a little more wiggle room, but how much it will go up is still unknown.

The Blue Jays already have about $108 million tied up in just nine players for next season after exercising Jason Grilli's one-year option earlier in the week. Unless the payroll goes up significantly, that makes it difficult to go after the more expensive players available.

This means if Encarnacion wants to stay in Toronto, he will likely need to take a hometown discount. However, his agent told TSN Monday he expects offers to be around for $125 million over five years, and there are rumours the Boston Red Sox, having lost David Ortiz to retirement, are suitors.

Bautista is also not expected to be back, with Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com reporting Toronto is "ambivalent" about retaining him.

If one or both of those players leave the Blue Jays, Toronto may need to go bargain-hunting, or be willing to give up draft-pick compensation, to find replacements.

A full list of available free agents can be found at spotrac.com.