Who needs Springer the most? We rank 'em

"George Springer's bat is even better than you think," read a headline here on MLB.com for a story by Matt Kelly on Nov. 18, which is pretty high praise, because we already thought his bat was very good. Consistent, too, because in parts of seven years in the Majors, his OPS+ (where 100 is "average") has been between 114 and 150 each season. (Or "between 14% better than average and 50% better than average.")

Now, of course you can't talk about any recent Astros hitter without talking about the cheating scandal, yet beyond it not being terribly clear how much it actually helped -- morally wrong as it obviously was -- the fact that Springer was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 Draft and has been consistently good before, during, and after the cheating period should alleviate any concerns about how he'll perform elsewhere.

What that leaves you with is a 31-year-old hitter who has been one of the 15 most valuable players over the last five seasons, and who is one of only two viable starting center fielders on the market. He's likely to require five years and north of $100 million, but it's also easy to see him spending much of that time in right field, if circumstances require. (He's played more right than center over his career, though he's got plenty of time in both spots.)

Given his status as by far the best outfielder available on this year's market, Springer will have no shortage of suitors. But where are the best fits? As we recently did with J.T. Realmuto, let's count them down, 30-1.

The team that has Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, and A.J. Pollock

30) Dodgers

Yes, fine, Bellinger could play first base, which would make second base some kind of combination of Max Muncy, Gavin Lux, and Chris Taylor, and ... no, stop. This would be an embarrassment of riches for a team that already has an embarrassment of riches. You might also remember what he did in the 2017 World Series. It won't be Los Angeles.

The teams that don't really need outfielders

29-24) Angels, Twins, Padres, Yankees, Reds, Rays

Wouldn't it be fun if the Angels signed Springer to play right field next to Mike Trout, letting Jo Adell and Justin Upton fight it out in left? What if the Twins blocked Alex Kirilloff to use Springer to fill Eddie Rosario's spot next to Byron Buxton and Max Kepler? Or if the Padres benched one of Tommy Pham, Trent Grisham, or Wil Myers? Or if the Yankees tried to fit him into an outfield/DH mix with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Clint Frazier, and Aaron Hicks? Or if ... well, you get the idea.

It's not that the punchless Reds couldn't find improvement over their outfield collection of Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama, Nick Senzel, and Aristides Aquino, but they won't. Not like this. That's sort of true in Tampa Bay as well, since they need to find at-bats for Kevin Kiermaier, Austin Meadows, and Brandon Lowe, plus they obviously have to see what Randy Arozarena really is. Springer's not going there.

The non-contenders he's not likely to go to

23-16) Orioles, Rockies, Tigers, Pirates, Rangers, Mariners, Marlins and D-backs

Fortunately for us, we just recently looked at the biggest holes on contending teams, and that required us to identify who "contenders" even were. We drew a line at 77 projected wins in 2021, which left eight teams below the line. You may not totally agree with each of these, though only one (the 31-29 Marlins) even got to .500 in 2020.

Either way, it's all but impossible to see Springer landing with any of these clubs. A few won't be interested in a contract at the level he'll command, and a few are so far away from winning that a big contract for a 31-year-old doesn't make a ton of sense. One team, Seattle, probably would rather improve other areas and leave the outfield to Kyle Lewis, Mitch Haniger, Braden Bishop -- and soon enough Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez and Taylor Trammell.

Also, the Royals

15) Royals

Kansas City just barely snuck above our "contending" line, even though we don't really expect to see them making noise next October. Though the Royals have been surprisingly active so far -- they've signed pitcher Mike Minor, first baseman Carlos Santana, and outfielder Michael A. Taylor -- Springer isn't really their kind of move. That's partially also because they just added Taylor ... and because Santana's addition may give Hunter Dozier more outfield time ... and because they still have Whit Merrifield, Franchy Cordero, Edward Olivares and occasionally Jorge Soler as options, too.

The unlikely contenders

14-9) Brewers, Cubs, Braves, Indians, Cardinals, A's

OK, so, from an on-field perspective, each of these fits is incredible. The Brewers' lineup badly needs help, and it's hard to know what to expect from a 35-year-old Lorenzo Cain after a missed season. Even if Cain is back, Avisaíl García is hardly irreplaceable. For the Cubs, Springer could play center for the remaining three years of Jason Heyward's contract, then shift to right. The Braves need a corner outfielder, with Marcell Ozuna, Nick Markakis, and Adam Duvall all unsigned. Cleveland hasn't had a solid outfield in years; St. Louis simply didn't replace Ozuna in 2020, and their lineup suffered for it. But for various reasons, mostly financial, it's really difficult to see a fit.

The team he just left

8) Astros

It does seem like the Astros get forgotten somewhat in this discussion, but don't forget that they have an entire outfield to rebuild, because Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick are all free agents. It seems likely that Kyle Tucker will man one of the corners, but they simply don't have an in-house option for center.

Jackie Bradley Jr. would seem to be an option here. There's no shortage of corner outfielders available, like David Dahl, Kyle Schwarber, Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson, Brantley, and on and on. But since the lineup will still have Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel, why not give them back their center fielder, too?

Those inscrutable Phillies

7) Phillies

When we wrote about contending teams with big holes, we noted that the Phillies somehow had three such spots to fill -- catcher, second base, and center field. At catcher, a return engagement with J.T. Realmuto seems the clear path, especially if the Mets are really going to land James McCann. At second, you might just have to roll with Scott Kingery again. But in center? Right now, they're projected to have the third-weakest center fielders in 2021, mostly because Roman Quinn, Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak are backups at best.

There are only two starting-caliber center fielders out there, though. One is Jackie Bradley Jr., a better defender than Springer but not nearly the hitter. He'd be an option, sure. Springer would be a better one.

Intriguing National League options

6-5) Giants, Nationals

In the winter of 2017-18, the Giants tried to get Giancarlo Stanton. In the winter of 2018-19, they took a shot at signing Bryce Harper. In the winter of 2019-20, we all figured they'd be a huge player for an upcoming outfield free agent star, Mookie Betts, before the Dodgers traded for and signed him. So why not Springer? Yes, they have Alex Dickerson and Mike Yastrzemski and would like to see Mauricio Dubón take over center. None of these names is reason to not acquire a marquee free agent and jump-start that already-intriguing rebuild.

It's different for Washington, which is trying to build any sort of offense -- really, any -- around Trea Turner and Juan Soto. There's some urgency here because they're running out of time with a rotation anchored by Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, each 31 or older. Putting Soto and Springer in the outfield corners would certainly go a long way toward helping that.

The team that should have but won't

4) White Sox

We weren't big fans, to be honest, of the White Sox reuniting with Adam Eaton. It's not that a league-average outfielder isn't an upgrade over their previous right-field situation, because he is, and will be. But after trading for Lance Lynn, this is clearly a go-for-it-right-now team, especially with Cleveland looking likely to take a step back in the AL Central. Imagine an outfield of Eloy Jiménez, Luis Robert and Springer? Imagine a White Sox lineup with Tim Anderson and Springer at the top, ahead of Jiménez, José Abreu, Yoán Moncada and Robert?

Imagine, indeed. There's a case to still do it, but it doesn't seem possible anymore.

The two really good fits

3-2) Blue Jays, Red Sox

Toronto keeps saying they'll be very aggressive in free agency, and Springer is just a perfect fit. Randal Grichuk is OK in center but profiles better in a corner, or possibly allows for a trade of Teoscar Hernández or Lourdes Gurriel. For all the noise about how the new-look Blue Jays are going to win with that young core of sons of famous ballplayers, that group can't do it alone. Adding Springer would prove how serious they are about contending, now, just like signing Hyun Jin Ryu did last winter.

As for the Red Sox, much will be made about how Springer is from Connecticut, grew up a Red Sox fan, and is good friends -- and former college roommates -- with Boston reliever Matt Barnes. There's a lineup need here, too, of course; with Bradley in the wind, the Sox are short an outfielder, and Andrew Benintendi could play either left or center. It's not going to be Michael Chavis, anyway. Signing Springer wouldn't, to be clear, solve the largest Sox problem, which is pitching. It would sure make the lineup a lot stronger, though.

The "you better get him now" fit

1) Mets

When news arrived that the Mets were very close to signing McCann to catch, it set a few other wheels in motion. McCann is better than Wilson Ramos was, but he's not anywhere near Realmuto's level. So if they were settling for the second-best catcher, the thinking went, it must be because they were going to get one or more of the other top free agents -- Springer, DJ LeMahieu or Trevor Bauer.

Perhaps so. But if they're out on Realmuto, the pressure to get one of the other Big Names is only getting higher. More importantly, Springer makes a great deal of baseball sense, in part because they had the most left-handed offense in baseball in 2020. Considering that outfield options Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Dom Smith and Jeff McNeil all hit lefty, that would seem to rule out the left-handed Bradley as a center-field option, and leaving the out-of-position Nimmo there isn't ideal either.

Instead, Springer could come on board as the badly needed righty bat they've desired. He's not an elite defensive center fielder, but he's better than Nimmo, and he could slide to a corner if one of Conforto (a free agent after 2021) or Nimmo (after 2022) end up departing. This was a good fit before. Now, it's almost a necessary one.