For the seventh year, Keith Law breaks down the top 50 free agents, this time for the Class of 2012-13. Law's reports are based on firsthand observations. He has been the senior baseball analyst for Scouts Inc. since 2006. Before joining ESPN, Law served as special assistant to the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and was a writer for Baseball Prospectus.
This year's free-agent crop is very thin at the highest tier -- after the top player, everyone has a significant question mark in the short term, as well as questions over the long term -- but there's great depth further down the list, especially in relief pitchers, quality platoon or bench players, and even some back-end starters. There's a lot of money floating around in baseball right now, but throwing it at the best the free-agent market has to offer might be the worst strategy in a market in which players in the top 10 are riskier than normal.
Note: Ages are as of Opening Day 2013.
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