Ryan Theriot Rumors: Braves, Rays, Mets Interested

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Mets are among teams interested in free-agent Ryan Theriot. It was reported earlier in the week the Colorado Rockies had interest in Theriot's services, as well.

• Twitter / @JonHeymanCBS - "Braves, rays, mets among teams looking at ryan theriot"

The Cardinals non-tendered the 32-year-old Theriot earlier in the month, which made the veteran a free-agent. Theriot earned $3.3 million last season with St. Louis, but likely won't cause as much going forward. Theriot's a below-average hitter with well below-average power, evident with a .271/.321/.342 slash line last season. It'll be interesting to see how teams value Theriot's services, because of his below-average production at the plate.

In addition to below-average production at the plate, Theriot isn't exactly a good defender either. In the past two seasons, Theriot's cost his team 10 runs on defense. Sure, he offers versatility, but the value isn't there anymore.

I don't expect Theriot to get much more than a one-year, $1 million contract. He's essentially a replacement-level player, and there's no reason for a team to pay for production they can easily find in an internal option, which would also be cheaper.