OK, this is completely hypothetical, but let's assume that we don't land Cliff Lee in free agency. What is our contingency plan? I've seen some interest in Carl Crawford, and there would be at least a few pitchers to look at in the trade market. Who would you want?

Ill assume that we would be looking for help at first, utility, two outfielders, a bullpen guy and a starter.

First - Adam Dunn
Utility - Andres Blanco (I honestly don't have any problem with him)
Outfield - Carl Crawford
Outfield - Anyone that can play center well
Bullpen - I would rather use a young guy from our system
Starter (assuming Lee isnt in the picture) - Brandon Webb

The free agent class doesnt really seem to be that great and I wouldnt really be thrilled about any of these guys except for Crawford and Dunn.

Here's a list of players who should be available during free agency this off-season:

Catchers:
Type A: Victor Martinez, A.J. Pierzynski, Ramon Hernandez, Miguel Olivo
Type B: Bengie Molina, Jason Varitek, John Buck, Gerald Laird, Yorvit Torrealba, Rod Barajas
Others: Jose Molina, Josh Bard, Ramon Castro, Brad Ausmus, Gregg Zaun, Henry Blano

1B/DH/OF:
Type A: Albert Pujols, Jason Werth, Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Carl Crawford, Jason Kubel, Vladimir Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez, David Dejesus, Derek Lee
Type B: Johnny Damon, Paul Konerko, David Ortiz, Hideki Matsui, Lance Berman, Carlos Pena, Scott Podsednik, Adam LaRoche, Aubrey Huff, Jose Guillen
Others: Jim Thome, Jorge Cantu, Austin Kearns, Nick Johnson, Russell Branyan, Lyle Overbay, Coco Crisp, Andruw Jones, Ty Wigginton, Pat Burrell, Troy Glaus, Jason Giambi, Mike Sweeney, Eric Hinske

2B/3B/SS:
Type A: Derek Jeter, Adrian Beltre, Orlando Hudson, Miguel Tejada
Type B: Mark Ellis, Brandon Inge, Mike Lowell, Jhonny Peralta, Felipe Lopez, David Eckstein, Aramis Ramirez, Orlando Cabrera, Juan Uribe, Alex Gonzalez
Others: Omar Vizquel, Julio Lugo, Cristian Guzman, Cesar Izturis, Wilson Betemit, Nick Punto, Jose Reyes, Omar Infante, Adam Kennedy, Pedro Feliz, Melvin Mora, Edgar Renteria, Jerry Hairston, Geoff Blum

SP:
Type A: Cliff Lee, Andy Pettitte, Carl Pavano, Javier Vazquez, Bronson Arroyo, Ted Lilly, Jon Garland
Type B: Kevin Millwood, Rich Harden, Jorge De La Rosa, Kevin Correia, Vicente Padilla, Brett Myers
Others: Erik Bedard, Freddy Garcia, Bruce Chen, Jeremy Bonderman, Ben Sheets, Livan Hernandez, Aaron Harang, Jamie Moyer, Brad Penny, Doug Davis, David Bush, Brandon Webb

RP:
Type A: Rafael Soriano, Billy Wagner, Mariano Rivera, Matt Thornton, Arthur Rhodes, Takashi Saito, Matt Guerrier, Darren Oliver, Scott Downs, Frank Fransisco, Dan Wheeler, Jason Frasor,
Type B: Grant Balfour, Kevin Gregg, Jon Rauch, Brian Fuentes, Joaquin Benoit, J.J. Putz, Randy Choate, Jesse Crain, Koji Uehara, Kerry Wood, Chad Qualls, Octavio Dotel, Pedro Feliciano, Trever Miller, Trevor Hoffman, Aaron Heilman, Chad Durbin, Guillermo Mota
Others: Mark Hendrickson, Chad Gaudin, Bobby Seay, Jamey Wright, Ron Mahay, Sergio Mitre, Scot Shields, Jose Contreras, Tyler Walker, Kyle Farnsworth, Joe Beimel, Dennys Reyes, Jeff Weaver

Keep in mind that some of these FA's have options (like Darren Oliver). Free Agent compensation level was calculated on 8/22/2010 according to the Elias Sports Bureau rankings formula.

Really? Millwood and Harden are Type B FA? Amazing....

@Anthony: my mistake on Rich Harden. He is however, the highest scoring non-compensation FA.

On Millwood's compensation status, these are the numbers that Elias uses to determine the score for starting pitchers:

•SP: Total games (total starts + 0.5 * total relief appearances), IP, Wins, W-L Percentage, ERA, Strikeouts.

It's not like they just look at WAR and rank the pitchers based upon that. The biggest factor is getting on the mound and staying there. Midway through this season, Rich Harden was solidly in the Type B category. If he'd stuck in the rotation (even being terrible), he'd probably still have Type B status.

Pryor, I just have two quick points. First, If you read the post right above yours, you'll see that Rich Harden has the same compensation level as Brandon Webb: none. I made a mistake on that one. Second, Brandon Webb has exactly one appearance in the last two years. It would be silly to count on him for anything. I seriously doubt he'll get any more of a look this offseason than Harden and Ben Sheets got last year. He's probably going to get a one year deal similar to Rich Harden's. Now, I think he'll be the more productive pitcher next year, but there's a chance he'll never be the same.

By the way, I'd appreciate someone actually giving their input on the original question. Philly did an excellent job, and I really appreciate that, but if someone else is going to post on this, I'd like their opinion on the original question (FA/trade targets you'd go for if we fail to retain Cliff Lee).

My plan B if you don't sign Cliff Lee is simple. See if you can pry loose Zack Greinke away from KC. He has 2 years left on his contract and for the first time has grumbled about being stuck on a losing team. It would likely take a haul to get him, but from KC's perspective, it is likely their best bet to turn their franchise in the right direction (think the Mark Teixeira trade from the Rangers perspective).

I don't want to throw free agent money at back of the rotation fodder. I would rather trot out Scott Feldman, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison or Michael Kirkman than go after Jeremy Bondermans of the world. If you are trying to add pitching, go big or go cheap. Otherwise use the assets you have.

Ok, I'm not saying I'd do this, but here is my wild scenario(more of a fun fantasy musical chairs suggestion than a real-life possibility). Trade Josh Hamilton (his value after this MVP season is going to be at an all-time peak, his stock will only decline after this year) for a mega-haul which must include a long-term catching solution, that had already proven himself in the big leagues for a couple of years. Then with the money you're saving on not having Hamilton or Lee, you go sign Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre. OF is set with Crawford/borbon/Cruz with murph and Moreland as depth guys. Infield is Moreland/kins/Elvis/beltre with young at Dh. Then use whatever money you have left to sign a rotation piece, or use some of our prospects + some of the return from trading Josh to pick up a greinke or at the minimum a solid #2 guy. The only hole to fill then would be at 1b if Moreland slumps, so maybe you look into that market. Endless possibilities. More realistic scenario, keep what you have, add some depth in the rotation, 1b, catcher.

For a contract in the 4-5 million range with performance incentives and a larger team option for 2012 (maybe 8-9 million), I'd be interested in Brandon Webb or Brad Penny. I might actually want to try something like that even if we can retain Lee.

I understand your reasoning for trading Hamilton, Jake...but I just don't think you can do that. Huge fan fovorites like him need to be retained. If you trade Josh, you send a message to the rest of the team (and the league) that if you have a monster year, we will look to move you.

Without getting too specific, I think we need to go after a reliable front of the rotation arm and a 3B who can field then let Young DH.

I would love to see an outfield of Hamilton, Crawford, Cruz. WOW. That would be so dirty. But that's just what I would enjoy seeing. I don't expect it to happen but how cool would that be?