Ryan Freel had kind of a baffling season. At times he looked like a consummate lead off hitter, but then there were stretches where he absolutely killed the Reds with 0-fors.
He finished the season with a respectable line of .271/.363/.399 with 8 home runs and 37 stolen bases. Freel was incredibly streaky though and did little to dispell the thought that he isn't an every day player. Look at his OPS month by month:
April: .763
May: .649
June: .994
July: .963
August: .601
September: .613
It's hard not to think that he wears down easily when you see that. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with how hard he plays, but it seems like Freel is best as a super sub and not as an every day player.
Here are a couple of questions to get the ball rolling with Freel:
- Are you comfortable with Freel playing an outfield position or second base while leading off on an every day basis?
- What do you think about possibly dealing Freel? What do you think his worth would be on the open market?