When you think about free agency you think about how a player has his choice of where he wants to go play, but that's wrong. In baseball, if you're a valued player you get attached to a draft pick and in today's landscape that draft pick (and the money attached to said draft pick) is everything especially to teams that are rebuilding. So teams like the Cubs and the Astros aren't about to pay a player what he's asking for if he's attached to a draft pick because then they'd have to give up the draft pick which like I said is very valuable. There are teams that don't care about losing draft picks teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and the Orioles (who have given up two draft picks in signing both Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz this offseason).
Yet there are still some major names that are free agents because of the draft pick issue. Ervin Santana, Kendrys Morales, and Stephen Drew are all out on the open market. There has been countless of rumors about all of these players, but because teams overvalue these draft picks and they're not willing to sign a player that can help them win now. The Mets were rumored to be in on Drew, but they'd rather go with a draft pick than with Drew who could help them not end the upcoming season in last place in the NL East. Santana can help countless teams, but teams would rather take a flier on a high school or college kid who may or may not make it to the show. The one thing that the ever powerful baseball union hasn't been able to get rid of in all of the Collective Bargaining negotiations is draft pick compensation for players and until that happens there won't be any real free agency for the cream of the crop.
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