Hunter, Sosa, Guillen, or Jenkins?

In recent days, the Royals are rumored to be interested in a number of big hitting free agents: Torii Hunter, Sammy Sosa, Jose Guillen, and Geoff Jenkins seem to be generating the most buzz. Let's take a look at each one of them:

Torii Hunter (age 32, CF)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
2007	160	600	94	172	45	1	28	107	18	.287	.334	.505
Career	1234	4492	672	1218	259	26	192	711	126	.271	.324	.469

The positives: Hunter played in 160 games last year. So, he's healthy. He hit 28 home runs, which is far more than any other Royals player hit. In fact, David DeJesus and Mark Teahen led our outfield with seven home runs each and they both played the majority of the season. Hunter drove in 107 runs. Our team leader last season was Emil Brown was 62. Enough said. Hunter stole 18 bases, which is more than any Royals player last season. He's a positive, upbeat guy who plays hard.

The negatives: Hunter is 32 and said to be seeking a five year contract worth as much as $90 million. There's talk about Hunter having lost a step in center field already and the idea of paying that sort of money for a player who is on the way down probably isn't all that appealing to Dayton Moore. But he knows that you have to overpay in the free agent market and he's shown that he's willing to do it when he thinks it'll fill a weakness.

Sammy Sosa (age 39, DH)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
2007	114	412	53	104	24	1	21	92	0	.252	.311	.468
Career	2354	8813	1475	2408	379	45	609	1667	234	.273	.344	.534

The positives: Simple. He still has power and the Royals don't. He still drives in runs and the Royals don't. His OBP and SLG are slipping. He's nearing 40. And he's a short term stop gap, but he'll be affordable if no other options are available, he's a possibility.

The negatives: His age.

Jose Guillen (age 31, RF)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
2007	153	593	84	172	28	2	23	99	5	.290	.353	.460
Career	1268	4485	597	1230	233	22	166	673	27	.274	.325	.447

The positives: Power, the ability to drive in runs, and an impressive OBP last season are good reasons to give Guillen a serious look. He still seems to be improving and he's been reasonably healthy in recent years, playing at least 148 games in three of the past four seasons.

The negatives: Bob Dutton reported recently that bidding on Guillen will start at $30 million over three years and "where it goes from there is anyone's guess." And do we really need to get into his attitude problems? So, it depends on how desperate Moore is for a power-hitting corner outfielder.

Geoff Jenkins (age 33, LF)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
2007	132	420	45	107	24	2	21	64	2	.255	.319	.471
Career	1234	4407	661	1221	287	22	212	704	31	.277	.347	.496

The positives: Jenkins appears to be the poor man's version of Torii Hunter. He's played in the same amount of games as Hunter. He's hit more home runs, has just slightly fewer career RBI, has a much higher OBP and SLG. The Brewers declined a $9 million option on Jenkins for 2008, which means he could probably be had for less.

The negatives: He hits left-handed and with Teahen and DeJesus already hitting from the left side in the outfield, the need for another lefty in the line up isn't high. And you have to wonder about his age. His OBP dipped a ton in 2007.

Conclusion:

Taking everything into consideration, I'd choose Jose Guillen over the other three players. The price is going to be high, but that's just the market we are in right now. Guillen seems to be the only one of the four who is still improving. At 31, he's young enough to give us a good few years and I like the fact that he's seeking a three-year deal vs. Hunter who is a year older and seek a five-year deal.

My biggest concern is Guillen's attitude. His altercation with Mike Scioscia a couple of years ago and then his follow up comments about him were extremely low class. Low enough to make me wonder if all his talent is worth putting up with.