St. Louis Cardinals: Diamond in the Rough Free Agent Targets

Mike Girsch, general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals; Bill DeWitt Jr., managing partner and chairman of the St. Louis Cardinals; John Mozeliak, President of Baseball Operations of the St. Louis Cardinals and Mike Schildt, interim manager of the St. Louis Cardinals addressing a change in the manager during a press conference prior to a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium on July 15, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

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Mar 8, 2020; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Eric Thames (9) heads back to the dugout after flying out to deep right field in the third inning at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports /

The next player who I believe will come at essentially no cost while hoping to return to form is Eric Thames. In the past offseason, the Washington Nationals hoped to bring in any sort of offensive threat to offset the departure of Anthony Rendon. In doing that, they brought in Thames along with others. You many know Thames as the Milwaukee Brewers slugger with the biggest forearms baseball has seen since Matt Holliday. While he did struggle in the 2020 campaign, it was also a shortened season (small sample size). Even then, he did manage to finish in the 84th percentile in hard-hit percentage. For a team that finished the 2020 season 25th in that category, it is clear that is something that needs to be addressed. Thames seems to be the type of person who will succeed if you put him in the right scenario. He has also been known to play corner outfield so along with playing first base, he could be someone who could play in the outfield when you cannot keep his bat out of the lineup. He is someone who could absolutely be a huge factor for a team in the market for a cheap power hitting role player.

Thames is only a couple years removed from being an elite power hitter. He is still capable of being an quality bounce back candidate if you do keep him in his lane and put him in the correct situations. No, Thames is not an everyday player and probably will not be paid to be. But Thames is someone who can bring elite power and run creating ability by his ability to go deep anywhere at anytime.