On Monday, the Arizona Diamondbacks welcomed back into their fold Eduardo Escobar. The switch-hitting third baseman is now marked as the first free agent off the eligible board this offseason. Likewise, he becomes the first free agent not to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason.
Here’s what the Cardinals will miss out on by not signing Escobar: a triple slash of .272/.334/.489 at third in 2018. That said, this was a positive year for Escobar whose last five years have averaged .261/.312/.433. He is marked as league-average in OPS.
While Escobar carries a decent amount of promise, and while he came to the Diamondbacks in a trade from the Twins in middle of 2018, he reminds me much of a former St.