Once again, I failed to keep up with monthly updates to my catcher defense rankings, although I did get a couple of installments done during the season. The Gold Glove awards are coming out later tonight, so let's see if they get it "right." (ahem)

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Both of the remaining NL teams have already been represented in the post-2011 NL Central All Star team, but I wouldn't dare ignore all of those losers other teams. Today we'll get through the NL East, and I'll make sure to get through the others soon. I swear we'll be done by January. I just gotta go through those darn offseason positional previews.

LINEUP

Catcher: Brian McCann, Atlanta (3.7 fWAR)

Still the best given his prowess as abilities as a hitter, but he may get some surprising competition soon from the likes of Nationals backstop Wilson Ramos. Another solid year from Carlos Ruiz in 2011, too.

First Base: Gaby Sanchez, Florida (3.0 fWAR)

You weren't expecting Ryan Howard, were you? Mike Morse would actually go here if I didn't desperately need him in another spot (you'll see below), so we'll go with Sanchez, who played nearly as well as Morse this season. Sanchez didn't hit like Morse in 2011, but he hit enough and he's an above-average defender, so his 3.0 WAR figure isn't too far off from Morse's.

Second Base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia (3.9 fWAR)

Utley is going to have to give up his title as the division's best second baseman one day, but it didn't happen this season even while the 32-year-old played just 103 games. Still a plus-plus defender and a very good hitter, Utley's one of the game's elite players when he's healthy, although he's missed significant time in consecutive seasons. 

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We're continuing our in-depth look at this winter's positional markets today, and as you can tell from the title we're moving on to shortstop. We've already covered the other infield positions (first base, second base, third base) and catchers, and after today we'll move on to outfielders, designated hitters and then we'll finish the whole shebang with pitching.

THE FREE AGENTS

Possible starters: Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Clint Barmes, Alex Gonzalez, Nick Punto

It's actually a pretty stout market for shortstops this winter, led by Reyes and Rollins. Those are the two impact names, but there's a solid second tier of options as well with the likes of Barmes and Gonzalez. We've already heard a whole lot about Reyes' durability and Rollins' age, but both of them should still command long-term deals worth at least $10 million per season. And while people like to give Punto a hard time, he's a plus defender that just posted a .350 wOBA in his first stint in the NL; he'd be a nice, cheap stopgap for a bunch of teams.

Possible back-ups: Jamey Carroll, Orlando Cabrera, Jerry Hairston Jr., Cesar Izturis, John McDonald, Edgar Renteria, Ramon Santiago, Jack Wilson

You can basically split this group into two: the aging veterans and the glovemen. Cabrera, Izturis, Renteria and Wilson were all once full-time shortstops, but I highly doubt that any team would give any of them a full-time gig primarily on name value. Carroll's a nice bat but he's probably stretched playing shortstop regularly. Guys like McDonald, Izturis and Wilson are still quality defenders, but they're all pretty miserable hitters, too.

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Okay, so earlier this week I mentioned that I was going to work on some post-2011 All Star teams to reflect on the best players of the year. I'm finally getting to that now, and to be clear these are merely based on my opinion, which is obviously greatly influenced by statistical analysis and such. Here's the NL Central team, and I'll do my best to get through these over the next couple weeks, along with my positional previews for the offseason.

LINEUP

Catcher: Yadier Molina, St. Louis (4.1 fWAR)

An easy pick given Geovany Soto's disappointing season. Ramon Hernandez played well for the Reds this year, but didn't get on the field nearly as much as Yadier.

First Base: Joey Votto, Cincinnati (6.9 fWAR)

Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols are obviously some sturdy competition, but Votto is the top dog given his defensive advantages over Fielder and El Hombre's down year.

Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati (6.0 fWAR)

Pretty easy pick here. Easily the best second baseman in the NL according to fWAR, partially given how much more he played than injury-prone peers like Rickie Weeks. And although people given Darwin Barney a hard time, it's worth noting that his 2.2 WAR number really isn't too bad.

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We've only got a few days left in the season, which has become shockingly interesting over the past couple weeks, but that doesn't mean that we'll stop looking ahead towards the future yet. Today we're moving on to the market for third basemen, which is expected to be pretty weak this winter. 

Let's take a look at exactly what that weakness looks like, though. If you want to sort through the other previews, we've already covered catchers, first basemen and second basemen. After this, we'll move on to shortstops, center fielders and corner outfielders over the next week or so.

THE FREE AGENTS

Possible starters: Aramis Ramirez, Omar Infante, Wilson Betemit

Ramirez has a $16 million mutual option for 2012 with the Cubs, but his agent has already told reporters that the third baseman will decline his side of the option and hit free agency. Without a clear replacement in-house, Chicago may still want Ramirez around, but he's likely a goner after telling ESPN Chicago that he'd like a multi-year deal with a contending team. Betemit is the most obvious alternative to Ramirez at this point, although he's regarded as a poor defender. Omar Infante would presumably have been considered a good alternative to Ramirez as well, but the Marlins signed a two-year deal with him earlier today.

Possible back-ups: Eric Chavez, Mark DeRosa, Greg Dobbs, Jose Lopez, Felipe Lopez, Nick Punto, Jerry Hairston Jr., Craig Counsell, Jorge Cantu

There are some intriguing bats here and a couple of solid utility guys, which is about what you'd expect from the market for back-up third basemen. Punto and Hairston both had strong years as role players this season and could fill similar roles next year, and I imagine that some teams will still be intrigued by the likes of Jose Lopez or Chavez.

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When I started this series, one of the reasons that I gave for doing so was that the "season is getting a little dull" so we might as well look ahead to the future. If you haven't heard about those vermilion stockings that happen to really be dropping the ball lately, that prognosis of mine has really proven to be off base.

But either way, let's keep going through the bevy of players that should be available this winter. I'm doing so by position, and already I've covered the respective markets for catchers and first basemen, so today we've continuing our trip around the diamond. We're looking at second basemen today, with the usual array of free agents, trade candidates, sleepers and one big name that could shake up the market.

THE FREE AGENTS

Possible starters: Mark Ellis, Omar Infante, Kelly Johnson, Jamey Carroll

No stars here, but a few very helpful regulars. Ellis was brutal in Oakland earlier in the year, but he's been much better since getting traded to Colorado, including a .279/.320/.412 line in 251 PA's. Infante is a good defender with a decent bat, although some teams may prefer to use him in a utility role and the Marlins appear to be interested in bringing him back. Johnson has power and Carroll has contact skills; KJ obviously has the upside (remember last year?) but he's also likely to be more costly, too.

Possible back-ups: Orlando Cabrera, Alex Cora, Craig Counsell, Adam Kennedy, Felipe Lopez, Jose Lopez, Aaron Miles, Bill Hall

A fairly underwhelming bunch, although there's a smidgen of upside here. Cabrera, Counsell and Cora looked finished this year, but teams tend to gravitate towards veteran middle infielders. The other guys- Kennedy, Miles, Hall and los dos Lopez- are all somewhat younger, though none of them played well this season.

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I'm sure that most of you have already heard about some of the first basemen that will be on the market this winter. The two guys expected to command more attention, and presumably more money, than anybody else both happen to play the position. But not everybody will be able to afford Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, so let's take a look at the long list of alternatives that could be changing uniforms before next season. I've already previewed this winter's market for catching help, and as I delve through each position, you can expect me to cover the same topics: free agents, trade candidates, possible sleepers and one wild card player that I believe could shake up the market.

THE FREE AGENTS

Possible starters: Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Lance Berkman, Michael Cuddyer, Carlos Pena, Derrek Lee, Casey Kotchman

Obviously keeping up with the likes of Pujols and Fielder is hard, but you can see pretty clearly from this list that you're not acquiring an elite talent unless it's one of those two guys. Pena will give you 30 homers, a bunch of walks and good defense, but he'll do it while batting .230 on the year. Berkman and Cuddyer could end up spending most of their time in the outfield next season. Lee and Kotchman are cheaper alternatives that won't require long-term commitments, but obviously it's hard to gauge what either one will bring to the table next season.

Possible back-ups: Russell Branyan, Jorge Cantu, Ross Gload, Xavier Nady, Lyle Overbay, Brad Hawpe

A back-up first baseman is one of the most limited roles that a player can fill, given that these players are often simply glorified pinch-hitters. Most good first basemen are pretty durable, and it's hard to waste an ever-valuable roster spot on someone that lacks defensive versatility. Most of these guys can play another position, like third base or left field, but realistically none of these guys can be helpful players in the field.

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Okay. So this season is getting a little dull, to be honest. It's not that I'm not longer enjoying this season by any means, but when September consists of a single playoff race between the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels, it might be time to begin to turn our heads towards the future. It's like turning off the game when your team is up 6-1 in the ninth inning; you might see something crazy if you keep watching, but you'll probably see nothing special.

I'm sure we'll be doing loads of postseason-related stuff here over the next couple months, but for now I wanted to shoot ahead to this winter. It's always fun to speculate on where different players might go, who might be available and the like, so today I'm going to cover essentially all of the catchers worth knowing about that could be on the move this winter.

We'll start with the free agents, but we'll get through trade candidates, one big name to keep an eye on and even some possible sleepers. I'll be doing these for the other positions, too, over the next few weeks, and of course, let me know if you think I'm missing someone in the comments section.

THE FREE AGENTS

Possible starters: Ramon Hernandez, Rod Barajas

Hernandez won't be coming back to Cincinnati with Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Hanigan around, so presumably he'll be starting somewhere else in 2012. Barajas probably won't be returning to LA, and teams tend to be intrigued by his power production.

Possible back-ups: Henry Blanco, Ramon Castro, Jason Kendall, Gerald Laird, Jose Molina, Dioner Navarro, Ivan Rodriguez, Brian Schneider, Matt Treanor, Jason Varitek

There are some quality back-ups to be had here. Molina, Castro, Varitek and Blanco have all hit pretty well in part-time duty this season, although you can't really bank on more than 200-300 PA's from any of these guys.

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