Free agent classification
Jeff Passan has a column up about the bizarre and eldritch way free agents are classified in baseball. Normally I like Jeff Passan, and he’s fine here too — he’s pretty much on the money with most of what he says. Really, I just wanted to post this so I could poke fun at his very first sentence, where he complains that the free agent rankings say Josh Willingham is better than Ryan Howard. I get what you’re saying, Jeff, and you’re pretty much right; I just think it’s funny that, going by the numbers, this year’s Josh Willingham model is in fact better than this year’s Ryan Howard. Not by a lot — 146 to 134 OPS+, to use one easy stat — but better is better. And Willingham is a corner outfielder, where his defense is slightly more valuable than Howard’s 1B.
