Adam LaRoche

2012 Stats: 154 Games, .271 BA, 33 HRs, 100 RBIs & .853 OPS

The Washington Nationals re-signed 1B Adam LaRoche to a two year contract with an option for a third season. LaRoche had a career year in 2012, winning a Gold Glove as well as a Silver Slugger. LaRoche will bat in the middle of a batting order that boasts players like Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper. The Nationals made the playoffs last season and there is no reason to think that they won't make it again this upcoming season.

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Mike Napoli

2012 Stats: 108 Games, .227 BA, 24 HRs, 56 RBIs & .812 OPS

Mike Napoli signed with the Boston Red Sox this off-season. Napoli will spend most of his time playing 1B with the possibility of an occasional game as catcher. Napoli's deal was originally a 3 year contract worth $39 million but due to a hip injury they reworked the deal to be for only one year worth $5 million. Napoli has never hit more than 30 HRs in a season but has had great success at Fenway Park.

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Nick Swisher

2012 Stats: 148 Games, .272 BA, 24 HRs, 93 RBIs & .837 OPS

Nick Swisher signed with the Cleveland Indians this off-season. He's a high energy guy who will bring a good leadership quality to a rebuilt Indians team. He will play mostly at 1B where his career Fielding % is .994. Batting in the middle of the lineup Swisher should get 100 RBIs in a season for the first time in his career.

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Kevin Youkilis

2012 Stats: 122 Games, .235 BA, 19 HRs, 60 RBIs & .745 OPS

The New York Yankees signed Kevin Youkilis to a one year deal worth $12 million. Youk spent 2012 with the Red Sox & White Sox. He will play 3B to start the season as Alex Rodriguez will be out for a large portion of the season. Although he only batted .235 last season he still had a .336 OBP. Look for him to play well this year and get a big time contract next off-season.

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Josh Hamilton

2012 Stats: 148 Games, .285 BA, 43 HRs, 128 RBIs & .930 OPS

Josh Hamilton signed a 5 year contract with the Los Angeles Angels worth $125 million. Last off-season the Angels signed Albert Pujols & C.J. Wilson and the signing of Hamilton should help the team immensely. Hamilton will play in an outfield that includes Rookie of the Year Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos. If Hamilton repeats his homerun and hits numbers this year he will reach the milestones of 200 HRs and 1,000 Hits.

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Zack Greinke

2012 Stats: 34 Games, W-L: 15-5, 3.48 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 200 Ks

The top free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke signed a 6 year contract worth $147 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2012 Greinke started the season with the Milwaukee Brewers and finished it with the Los Angeles Angels. Greinke is 9 career wins away from 100 and has a strikeout-walk ratio of 3.5. In 2009 he won the Cy Young Award while leading the AL in ERA and WHIP. Greinke joins a rotation which includes Clayton Kershaw, Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley. The Dodgers are definitely going "all-in" and expect to see them playing in October.

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Shane Victorino

2012 Stats: 154 Games, .255 BA, 11 HRs, 55 RBIs, 39 SBs, .704 OPS and 72 Runs Scored

Shane Victorino spent the 2012 season between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Victorino signed this off-season with the Boston Red Sox for $39 million over 3 years. Victorino had a down year in 2012 but will look to rebound in a lineup that will include Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz & Jonny Gomes among others. Victorino will have the ability to bat in the lower part of the lineup and alleviate some of the pressure he felt in the first half of last season in Philadelphia. Victorino has been in the top five in the NL from 2008-2011 in triples and look for him to have a solid amount of triples this season as he will be playing in Fenway Park.

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Dan Haren

2012 Stats: 30 Games, W-L: 12-13, 4.33 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 142 Ks

The Washington Nationals signed Dan Haren to a 1 year deal worth $13 million. Haren will join a rotation that already includes Stephen Strasberg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman and Ross Detwiler which helped lead the Nationals to the AL East title. Haren's 2012 numbers may not seem too good, but he will bring a veteran presence to a very young rotation. Look for Haren to have more wins and a lower ERA in 2013 and maybe even lead the Nationals back to the playoffs for a second straight season.

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B.J. Upton

2012 Stats: 146 Games, .246 BA, 28 HRs, 78 RBIs, 31 SBs & .752 OPS

The Atlanta Braves signed OF B.J. Upton to a 5 year $75 million contract. In 2012 the Braves made the playoffs but lost in the Wild Card round to the St. Louis Cardinals. Upton will play CF and can bat in a few places in the lineup and he is 90 hits away from 1,000 in his career. With the retirement of Chipper Jones look for the Braves to either go after a 3B or LF with Martin Prado filling in the other position. 

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David Ortiz

2012 Stats: 90 Games, .318 BA, 23 HRs, 60 RBIs & 1.026 OPS

The Boston Red Sox resigned DH David Ortiz to a 2 year 26 million dollar deal. Ortiz spent part of 2011 on the DL and that helped contribute to Boston's disappointing season and the firing of Manager Bobby Valentine. New Manager John Farrell will be happy to have Ortiz back in the lineup. Also Ortiz is closing in on 2,000 career hits as he is only 137 hits from the milestone.

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MLB Free Agency 2012

As the off-season is now upon us here is our list of 16 Free Agents that we will be keeping our eyes on. As players get signed we will let you know about it.

1. Adam LaRoche
2. B.J. Upton
3. Dan Haren
4. David Ortiz
5. Delmon Young
6. Ichiro Suzuki
7. Josh Hamilton
8. Kevin Youkilis
9. Kyle Lohse
10. Michael Bourn
11. Mike Napoli
12. Nick Swisher
13. Shane Victorino
14. Shaun Marcum
15. Stephen Drew
16. Zack Grienke

Prince Fielder

Prince Fielder signed a nine year deal worth $214 million with the Detroit Tigers; the team his father played for during a large portion of his Major League career. With the addition of Fielder the Tigers will now have to move Miguel Cabrera to 3B, a position that he hasn't played in quite some time. Look for Fielder to have a monster season, even though Comerica Park is known as a pitcher's haven.

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David Ortiz

The Boston Red Sox avoided arbitration with David Ortiz by signing him to a one year deal. Ortiz has been a big part of the Red Sox recent good play. Ortiz has 387 career HRs and has averaged 35.5 HRs per season that Ortiz has been a member of Soxnation (since 2003). Bringing back Ortiz was a good move for Boston as he is an excellent team leader and Jason Varitek retired.

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Jason Kubel

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Jason Kubel to a 2 year deal with an option for a 3rd year. Kubel had a career year in 2009 when he batted .300 with 28 HRs and 103 RBIs. In 2010 his numbers dipped a little bit and in 2011 Kubel suffered through some injuries. Kubel should help bring a solid left-handed hitting bat to a team with many RH batters.

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Carlos Beltran

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Carlos Beltran to a two year deal. Beltran spent the 2011 season with both the New York Mets & San Francisco Giants. Beltran was the Rookie of the Year in 1999 when he was a member of the Kansas City Royals. He's a six time All Star & three time Gold Glove award winner. Beltran is 83 hits away from 2,000 and has 302 career HRs & 293 SBs.

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Matt Capps

The Minnesota Twins re-signed closer Matt Capps to a one year deal with an option for 2013. With longtime closer Joe Nathan leaving for Texas, Capps will be the undisputed closer entering the season. Capps has 124 career saves, a career save percentage of 77% and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 301-80. If the Twins can rebound from the tough season they had last year then Capps' save numbers should be very high.

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Michael Cuddyer

Michael Cuddyer left the Minnesota Twins and signed with the Colorado Rockies. Cuddyer is expected to provide solid protection for Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez as well as the ability to play multiple positions although he'll be primarily playing in RF. Cuddyer's career numbers are not exceptional, but his consistency is what makes him the player he is.

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Jimmy Rollins

Jimmy Rollins re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for 3 years with a vesting option for a 4th year. Rollins has been an All-Star 3 times, a Gold Glove winner 3 times and won the NL MVP in 2007. Nine times in his career Rollins has been in the Top 10 in stolen bases. With 1866 hits, Rollins is 134 away from 2000, which he should attain if he can stay healthy.

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C.J. Wilson

Besides for Albert Pujols the Angels signed C.J. Wilson. Wilson joins Ervin Santana, Dan Haren & Jered Weaver in a very good rotation. Wilson started his career as a reliever and has only been a starter for the last two seasons in which he started a total of 73 games. His two seasons as a starter he ranked in the top 10 in Batting Average Against & E.R.A. Wilson hopes that he'll be pitching in the World Series for the third consecutive season.

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Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols signed with the Angels on a 10 year contract. Pujols is regarded as the best right-handed hitter of this generation and possibly of all-time. He had been with the Cardinals since 2001. Pujols is a 3-time MVP & 2-time Gold Glove winner. This past season Pujols batted .299 with 37 HRs & 99 RBIs, which is the first timke in his career that he batted under .300 and had less than 100 RBIs. He is at 445 career HRs and can reach the All-Time record by the time the contract is done.

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