Free agency: Bottom of the barrel bargains

Johnny Damon is still looking for work.

With a month to pitchers and catchers, there are still some sensible bargains to be had in free agency. Here’s a list of some of the bargains still available and where they might fit best.

Edwin Jackson:  Red Sox. The Sox seem to be leaning towards Roy Oswalt, but they need a back-end starter with some durability and Jackson may only cost a little more than Oswalt.

Johnny Damon: Brewers. With the likely suspension of Ryan Braun, the Brewers could use a veteran hitter in left for the first 50 games and then have a quality bat coming off the bench down the road.

Derrek Lee: Braves. This didn’t produce rousing results a couple of years ago, but Lee would make a nice right-handed fill-in for Freddie Freeman and allow for him not to be over extended in the early part of his career.

Casey Kotchman: Twins. At this point, who knows if Justin Morneau will ever be the same player he once was. Kotchman provides some security at first base and will also allow Morneau to DH more.

Francisco Cordero: Rockies. Cordero is still a reliable closer even if he’s no longer dominant. He can push Rafael Betancourt back to the eighth and at least give the Rockies a deep bullpen while they bring some of their young pitching along.

Jeff Keppinger: Phillies. He could fill in all over the diamond for the aging, banged up Phillies infield.

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