Is There Any Platoon Worth Left Out There?

I used to be fascinated by Rob Refsnyder not too long ago for 2 causes. First, I take into consideration Rob Refsnyder loads. I attempt to be skilled on this discussion board, however everybody has their very own sports activities fan nemeses, and Refsnyder is one in every of mine.

Again in 2012, Refsnyder — then a College of Arizona Wildcat — was the Most Excellent Participant of the Faculty World Collection, partly as a result of he went berserk within the two-game closing in opposition to South Carolina: 4-for-6 with two walks and a house run. He drove within the profitable run in Sport 1 and scored the profitable run in Sport 2. My beloved Gamecocks have been denied a 3rd straight nationwide championship and haven’t been again to Omaha since. I’ll die mad about this collection, and I’ll by no means forgive Refsnyder specifically.

I didn’t, nevertheless, anticipate to nonetheless be writing about Refsnyder — then a punchy, athletically unremarkable second baseman — in 2026. The earlier yr’s Faculty World Collection MOP, Scott Wingo, was an Eleventh-round decide; he by no means got here shut to creating the majors and has spent the previous decade as a university assistant coach. (He was most not too long ago within the information in 2024 because the House Run Derby pitcher for Alec Bohm.)

Extra related, in toodling across the web I’ve encountered some discontentment amongst Mariners followers over the quiet offseason their entrance workplace is having. Sure, they stored Josh Naylor within the fold on a five-year, $92.5 million contract, which is sweet, however coming off a near-miss on the World Collection, Jerry Dipoto’s males have carried out virtually nothing to strengthen the roster — and even tread water, with the departures of Jorge Polanco and (presumably) Eugenio Suárez.

I do know you’re all shocked that Mariners followers are cheesed off at Jerry for not placing whereas the iron is sizzling. It’s comforting to know that, on this age of upheaval and uncertainty, some issues won’t ever change.

That is related to Refsnyder as a result of he, and his one-year, $6.25 million contract, is by far Seattle’s greatest exterior free agent signing this winter. Clearly, signing Refsnyder isn’t as thrilling as signing Bo Bichette or Dylan Stop (and even, like, Harrison Bader). And I’m not suggesting that Mariners followers shouldn’t be tetchy about his being their group’s headline signing to this point. It’s a little bit of a drag, coming off an ALCS look like this.

However Refnsyder is, if not a very good participant, then at the least a helpful one. For the primary decade of his skilled profession — actually, till he lastly bounced round to Boston in 2022 — Refsnyder was the participant he projected as popping out of school. He’s now a slugging nook outfielder.

Over the previous 4 seasons, Refsnyder is hitting .276/.364/.440, which involves a wRC+ of 124. In 2025, he had a HardHit% of 52.3%, which was twenty first out of the 348 batters who recorded 200 or extra plate appearances. (A sampling of the gamers within the ensuing 10 positions: Kyle Stowers, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Junior Caminero, Nick Kurtz, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) The conventional-human-sized Refsnyder hasn’t grow to be any form of exit velo monster; his EV90 final yr was 105.7 mph, which was one hundred and twenty fifth amongst that very same pattern, and the second lowest of anybody within the high 50 in HardHit%.

Refsnyder simply hits the ball arduous, constantly, and particularly in opposition to left-handed pitching.

A brief-side platoon bat — even an unbelievable one, like Refsnyder — is a little bit of a luxurious participant. That goes double when the participant in query is caught on the decrease finish of the defensive spectrum. It’s not all the time simple to hold a man like that, not to mention spend money on a very good participant for that position.

And to be sincere, that’s what actually grinds my gears in regards to the explosion in reduction pitcher utilization within the twenty first Century. Sure, it may be a little bit of a drag to look at all these pitching adjustments. Sure, it stinks that we’re seeing extra of the sport performed by nameless, interchangeable pitchers and fewer performed by name-brand stars.

However when eight out of 26 roster spots are dedicated to the bullpen — when GMs need to be restricted to 13 pitchers by rule — you solely get 4 place participant bench spots in a league with a full-time DH. Some groups are going to have bother fielding a reputable emergency harm substitute for the defensive positions the place you possibly can’t faux it till you make it: heart area, shortstop, catcher. A man who’s cleanup hitter-quality twice per week however replacement-level in any other case and may’t play any of these powerful positions? That’s a tough promote.

My view is the sport is worse off due to this fashion of roster development, through which solely pitching will get optimized and open to technique, whereas the offense and protection are left to hold on by their fingernails. I want groups have been in a position to go together with shorter bullpens so they might carry extra platoon bats and pinch-runners, however I want for lots of issues I do know aren’t going to occur.

Nonetheless, the previous couple weeks have seen a lot of the remainder of the massive free agent bats come off the board, so marginal upgrades are going to be key for groups that missed the boat on their massive targets. Is there one other Refsnyder on the market, a participant who kills pitchers with the platoon benefit however suffers so badly with out that he appears nameless general?

RosterResource’s free agent tracker has 56 remaining unsigned place gamers who appeared within the majors in 2025. Of these, 42 recorded at the least 30 plate appearances in opposition to left-handed pitchers and 60 in opposition to right-handed pitchers. (I’ll concede that we’re chopping the pie extraordinarily skinny right here. But it surely’s the final week of January, what would you like from me?)

So it is a checklist of men who make Refsnyder seem like Willie Mays. A few them had massive platoon splits as a result of they really put up a unfavorable wRC+ in opposition to lefties. However there are a pair promising choices right here. A Paul Goldschmidt-Nathaniel Lowe first base platoon appears prefer it’d be fairly good should you had the roster room and will get each gamers to purchase in.

But it surely’s most likely a good suggestion to ascertain a typical of baseline competence. Alex Verdugo hit 66 factors of wRC+ higher in opposition to righties than lefties in 2025, as an illustration, however he nonetheless hit like a backup catcher on the entire. Who ought to groups truly be focusing on for part-time roles?

Even this checklist might use some pruning. Suárez is coming off a 49-homer season; clearly whoever indicators him can pay moderately massive cash and ask him to play every single day. Conforto and Hoskins each put up reverse splits throughout dangerous seasons general, after having posted conventional platoon numbers all through their careers. Smith, Ozuna, Lowe, and doubtless Arraez are first base-or-DH-only. Marte and Solano are outdated as hell. Goldschmidt and Turner are each first base-or-DH-only and outdated as hell.

Tauchman is 35, which for the needs of this train is merely regular outdated, relatively than outdated as hell, and I feel he’d truly be an honest discount signing as a fourth outfielder. Everybody remembers Tauchman going berserk for the Yankees for half a season in 2019. After that he was fairly dangerous in 2020 and 2021, earlier than heading to Korea for a season in 2022.

Nonetheless, since he’s been again, Tauchman has been fairly good for the 2 Chicago groups: three straight seasons of at the least a .356 on-base share and a 108 wRC+ in at the least 350 plate appearances. He made $1.95 million in every of the previous two seasons; if somebody signed him for that and used him as an on-base man in a nook outfield spot 3 times per week, that’d be a terrific use of a roster spot.

However from a platoon perspective, the massive title left on the board right here is Andujar, who was first rate as a 3rd baseman and nook outfield man for the Pirates and A’s from 2023 to mid-2025, then went ballistic (.359/.440/.544) for the Reds down the stretch final yr. However once more, there’s purpose to be skeptical. Earlier this week, I wrote about Bader exhibiting up close to the highest of each leaderboard that measures overperformance of batted ball information; Andujar is at the highest of these leaderboards.

So even should you’re solely in search of a part-time bat, it does seem like slim pickings at this level within the offseason. I assume that’s why you lock up Rob Refsnyder in December.