Mark Derosa, one of the more versatile players in baseball is a free agent this off-season.  He does have value to a team looking for a player that can play anywhere on the field. This could be Derosa’s last chance to get a big pay day before he retires so I don’t see him coming cheap or settling for a one year deal. If it were my team I would be hesitant about giving him a multi year deal anywhere close of what he’s thinking he deserves.

He is going to be 35 when the season starts and is going to have wrist surgery this off-season. It can take a while for one to regain their power after having wrist surgery and Derrek Lee is a prime example of this. When Derrek Lee came back towards the end of the 06 season he was not quite the same player and it It took him a while to get his power back while we saw that in 2009. I could see this happening to Derosa.  Derosa had a down year in 2009 and he was not exactly not hitting into tough luck either. His batting average with balls in play was .286, where it was expected to be around .280. Derosa’s OPS dropped 105 points from his 2008 season and some of Derosa’s peripherals are not that appealing either as his walks decreased and his strikeouts increased compared to previous seasons.

While it is true that he can play different positions. The problem is that he does not play any one particularly well. His best positions according to UZR are third base and right field. I don’t think his offensive production is good enough to warrant significant there. I don’t think an OPS of  .752, which is what he produced in 2009 is not what I want out of my third baseman or right fielder. As much as I don’t think he’s an ideal fit at third or right field he can be a good fit on the right team such as the Phillies. I think he would be a good fit in Philadelphia playing third base replacing Pedro Feliz while being  used to spell Raul Ibanez in left. He would also be a part of a great lineup so you could live with a little less production out of  him playing third base. On most teams though you would need more production out of a third baseman or right fielder but the question is- where are the Phillies looking in terms of a replacement?