After our “stellar” performance picking the baseball playoff teams, the Fire Brand staff turned their prognostication powers on the top 25 free agents of the offseason. Here is our sure to be correct list of the landing spots for each player. We’re off to a rousing start as no one predicted that Tim Hudson would sign with the Giants.
| Player | Evan Brunell | Jack Keller | Joe Reilly | Chip Buck | Ben Carsley | Brett Cowett | Josh Cookson |
| Robinson Cano | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | Giants | Mariners | Mariners | Cubs | Giants | Cubs | Red Sox |
| Masahiro Tanaka | Phillies | Yankees | Dodgers | Dodgers | Yankees | Angels | Dodgers |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | Nationals | Angels | Rangers | Phillies | Rangers | Indians | Nationals |
| Shin-Soo Choo | Tigers | Cubs | Mets | Rangers | Cubs | Mets | Astros |
| Ervin Santana | Dodgers | Nationals | Rockies | White Sox | Nationals | Rockies | Mariners |
| Ricky Nolasco | Cubs | Dodgers | Blue Jays | Brewers | Twins | Twins | Rockies |
| Brian McCann | Rangers | Rangers | Mariners | Rangers | Red Sox | Red Sox | Rangers |
| Stephen Drew | Mets | Cardinals | Red Sox | Reds | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| AJ Burnett | Pirates | Pirates | Pirates | Pirates | Pirates | Pirates | Pirates |
| Matt Garza | Blue Jays | Blue Jays | Braves | Angels | Orioles | Twins | Royals |
| Mike Napoli | Red Sox | Red Sox | Red Sox | Red Sox | Red Sox | Red Sox | Red Sox |
| Curtis Granderson | Mariners | White Sox | Mets | Mariners | Mets | Mariners | Mariners |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia | Phillies | Phillies | White Sox | Phillies | White Sox | Tigers | Red Sox |
| Bartolo Colon | Angels | Indians | Dbacks | Nationals | Angels | A’s | A’s |
| Jhonny Peralta | Marlins | Mets | Cardinals | Mets | Mets | Mets | Yankees |
| Carlos Beltran | Royals | Yankees | Red Sox | Tigers | Yankees | Yankees | Tigers |
| Scott Feldman | Twins | Orioles | Orioles | Mariners | Angels | Orioles | Orioles |
| Hiroki Kuroda | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Giants | Yankees |
| Scott Kazmir | Orioles | Mariners | Twins | Mets | Blue Jays | Royals | Twins |
| Tim Hudson | Indians | Braves | Cubs | Orioles | Royals | Braves | Indians |
| Dan Haren | Giants | Padres | Angels | Giants | Dbacks | Nationals | Giants |
| Nelson Cruz | Mariners | Rangers | Phillies | Mariners | Mariners | Rangers | Mariners |
| Juan Uribe | Phillies | Marlins | Rockies | Royals | White Sox | Dodgers | Red Sox |
| Kendrys Morales | Mariners | Mariners | Mariners | Rays | Mariners | Rangers | Mariners |
I’m the lone writer who thinks (hopes!) that Jacoby Ellsbury will wind up back with the Red Sox. Here are my thoughts on why.
First off, the money is there to re-sign him. The Sox have some guaranteed money on the books for this year and next, but by 2016 Dustin Pedroia has the only major team commitment. The Sox are a big revenue team who should be around the luxury tax threshold every year.
I hope we keep this guy in the Red Sox dugout. Photo by Kelly O’Connor
This financial muscle gives them the ability to sign (within reason) the players they want. Jackie Bradley Jr. may be a cheap replacement, but his offensive abilities don’t project to anywhere close to the peak Ellsbury has provided in his best years.
There aren’t that many up the middle stars in baseball right now, and the Red Sox certainly don’t have a prospect with Ellsbury’s upside.
Comparisons to Carl Crawford’s contract don’t do Ellsbury justice. Ellsbury has already shown he can handle playing in Boston, winning two championships already. His major injuries have been random chance, collisions with other players that couldn’t be predicted.
There are no sure things in free agent contracts. I’m hoping the Red Sox open their wallet to sign a player who has spent his entire career in the organization.