So I'm just at the end of the first week of the Spring Training exhibition season schedule and I started thinking about this thread and decided to check and see what free agents remained unsigned.
Here are the top rated as of yet unsigned free agents:
The two catchers- Spencer Wilson and Kevin Curtis- are both very fine players and should be signed by someone soon I would hope. (I may be a bit biased as they both formerly played for my team in this league, but they both are particularly strong defensively and while Wilson is a high work ethic, low greed guy Curtis has in the past been a Fan Favorite with great leadership and work ethic.) The second baseman, Rob Bello, is a Fan Favorite and an excellent defensive player, but a weak hitter. The older players here (Nick Haran, David Beane) are probably a bit over-rated due to past exploits. There is a great defensive shortstop with little bat in Jimmy DeWing and a decent bat, no field shortstop in Danny Denison.
There are certainly a few other players a bit lower on the list (not shown) who could play roles on clubs and will likely eventually get signed.
What surprises me is the lack of premium relief pitchers who have gone into Spring Training still unsigned. That seems to be a common thing in OOTP (as it is, at least somewhat, in MLB) but this year none of that at all in my fictional league.
Anyway, just sharing this with you Charlie Hough in case it is interesting to you at all. Just one league, just one season, but it matches what I've been seeing in this fictional league. Which is to say that I'm not seeing the rather concerning pattern you have in your league.
EDIT: And the very next day Haran signs a 1-year deal with our arch-rival.
