Around Baseball 2024

[Brownie19]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/five-things-i-liked-in-yesterdays-mets-braves-doubleheader/

 

I thought that was a nice little summary of some awesome things that happened during the Mets/Braves double header yesterday.

[Brownie19]

Astros leave Verlander off the WC playoff roster.

 

Do we normally start a playoff thread(s) for this type of info?

[Brownie19]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/3088733/d-backs-owner-shoulders-blame-for-montgomery-signing-our-biggest-mistake

 

Owner pushes GM to sign Jordan Montgomery and then goes on to suggest it was a horrible decision to invest that money in a guy who performed so poorly. This of course is a player who can exercise a $22.5M offer to stay in Arizona next year. He must feel so welcome within the org.

[Laika]

Jordan should pitch better if he wants to feel good

[Terminator]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/3088733/d-backs-owner-shoulders-blame-for-montgomery-signing-our-biggest-mistake

 

Owner pushes GM to sign Jordan Montgomery and then goes on to suggest it was a horrible decision to invest that money in a guy who performed so poorly. This of course is a player who can exercise a $22.5M offer to stay in Arizona next year. He must feel so welcome within the org.

 

Seems like a pretty overt attempt to get him to decline his option

[Terminator]

Astros leave Verlander off the WC playoff roster.

 

Do we normally start a playoff thread(s) for this type of info?

 

I'd consider Verlander on a one year deal. Make Yariel the long man to start the year.

[Brownie19]

Jordan should pitch better if he wants to feel good

 

He doesn't have to. He can just accept his $22.5M option and pitch however he feels like pitching. I'm just saying it's uncommon for an Owner to just say it was a mistake to sign a current player because he sucked. They also signed and paid Eduardo Rodriguez essentially the same amount this year and he was equally as s***** and is signed for 3 more years. Why does he get a free pass?

 

Who wants to play for an Owner who will publicly call you out as a "mistake" if you have a down year?

[connorp]

I'd consider Verlander on a one year deal. Make Yariel the long man to start the year.

 

Depends on his confidence level but if he signs a one year deal and isn’t good, it’s going to be long season of shame for him. I guess he could retire mid-season but that’s a shameful way to go. Better if he called it quits this off-season

[BTS]

I missed this - why was the final Houston/Cleveland game cancelled? Was it rained out? Feel bad for JRam not getting his shot at 40/40.

 

Rained out and they didn't play it because it had no possible impact on the standings. Really s***** for J-Ram.

[BTS]

Depends on his confidence level but if he signs a one year deal and isn’t good, it’s going to be long season of shame for him. I guess he could retire mid-season but that’s a shameful way to go. Better if he called it quits this off-season

 

Hopefully we don't get a 2023 Waino situation with Verlander next year. Last thing anyone wants is to watch him get nuked repeatedly for 20+ starts.

[Stangstag]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/3088733/d-backs-owner-shoulders-blame-for-montgomery-signing-our-biggest-mistake

 

Owner pushes GM to sign Jordan Montgomery and then goes on to suggest it was a horrible decision to invest that money in a guy who performed so poorly. This of course is a player who can exercise a $22.5M offer to stay in Arizona next year. He must feel so welcome within the org.

 

Lol yeah what an oddly candid article.

 

Also owners really need to stop acting like they know s*** when it comes to roster decisions, but I suppose that comes with the over inflated ego of being a billionaire

[G-Snarls]

Let's make a GDT for each round to discuss the games - I'll start it and move the relevant posts

 

And keep around baseball for more general stuff like roster moves and trades and signings etc

[John_Havok]

He doesn't have to. He can just accept his $22.5M option and pitch however he feels like pitching. I'm just saying it's uncommon for an Owner to just say it was a mistake to sign a current player because he sucked. They also signed and paid Eduardo Rodriguez essentially the same amount this year and he was equally as s***** and is signed for 3 more years. Why does he get a free pass?

 

Who wants to play for an Owner who will publicly call you out as a "mistake" if you have a down year?

 

i know it's not really a comparable, but If i'm working for someone paying me 20+ million a year, I could give two rat shits what he thinks, and i'd probably be very tempted to take the option out of pure spite. Then I'd hire connorp to go s*** on the owner's car hood.

[jaysblue]

I'd consider Verlander on a one year deal. Make Yariel the long man to start the year.

 

Not sure Verlander would want to sign in Toronto.

 

Also, he looked completely toast this season. Like BTS said, he could very well get nuked every start kind of like Wainwright in his last season.

 

Mad Max wouldn't be a bad target. He actually pitched decently in his 9 starts with the Rangers. But yeah think he prefers to re-sign with the Rangers. Not sure he would come to Toronto.

[Terminator]

Not sure Verlander would want to sign in Toronto.

 

Also, he looked completely toast this season. Like BTS said, he could very well get nuked every start kind of like Wainwright in his last season.

 

Mad Max wouldn't be a bad target. He actually pitched decently in his 9 starts with the Rangers. But yeah think he prefers to re-sign with the Rangers. Not sure he would come to Toronto.

 

I think Verlander almost signed with Toronto before. You guys might be right that he's cooked though but his xERA wasn't bad. It was really only his final 30 innings of the season after returning form injury.

 

If he wants to keep pitching I'm talking 1 year 10 mil with incentives. Something like that. Don't forget that Sportsnet cameras will shamelessly pan to his wife a dozen times every game he starts.

[Laika]

I think Verlander almost signed with Toronto before. You guys might be right that he's cooked though but his xERA wasn't bad. It was really only his final 30 innings of the season after returning form injury.

 

If he wants to keep pitching I'm talking 1 year 10 mil with incentives. Something like that. Don't forget that Sportsnet cameras will shamelessly pan to his wife a dozen times every game he starts.

 

His stuff+ (while still above average) fell off a cliff in 2023

and his xFIP was s*** in 2023 as well, he was probably lucky on flyballs that year

[Terminator]

Baseball America

MLB Free Agency: Ranking The Top 50 Position Players Available For 2025

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-free-agency-ranking-the-top-50-position-players-available-for-2025/

 

Spanky can you help?

[Omar]

Baseball America

MLB Free Agency: Ranking The Top 50 Position Players Available For 2025

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-free-agency-ranking-the-top-50-position-players-available-for-2025/

 

Spanky can you help?

 

Today, we’re launching our series early free agent previews featuring a blend of numerical and observational analysis that will help frame the upcoming free agent season in a robust, informational manner. As more clarity emerges with respect to specific players, we’ll update this list accordingly.

Our list leverages work from MLB Trade Rumors for the list of free agents, as well as FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Reference for player win values above baseline, Baseball Savant and Baseball Prospectus for defensive data and FanGraphs for all other data. We encourage our readers and subscribers to consider subscribing to FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus as well.

Read on below the table for a tier-by-tier breakdown of available position player free agents.

NOTE: All Data Through September 29th and all ages as of April 1, 2025. 2024 Wins are an average of totals pulled from FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Reference.

[TABLE=width: 936]

[TR]

[TD=colspan: 10]Reset

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=align: left]RANK[/TH]

[TH=align: left]NAME[/TH]

[TH=align: left]POS.[/TH]

[TH=align: left]AGE[/TH]

[TH=align: left]2024 WINS[/TH]

[TH=align: left]AVG[/TH]

[TH=align: left]OBP[/TH]

[TH=align: left]SLG[/TH]

[TH=align: left]WRC+[/TH]

[TH=align: left]HR[/TH]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1[/TD]

[TD]Juan Soto[/TD]

[TD]RF[/TD]

[TD]26.4[/TD]

[TD]8.2[/TD]

[TD].288[/TD]

[TD].419[/TD]

[TD].569[/TD]

[TD] 180[/TD]

[TD] 41[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2[/TD]

[TD]Willy Adames[/TD]

[TD]SS[/TD]

[TD]29.6[/TD]

[TD]3.6[/TD]

[TD].251[/TD]

[TD].331[/TD]

[TD].462[/TD]

[TD] 119[/TD]

[TD] 32[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]3[/TD]

[TD]Alex Bregman[/TD]

[TD]3B[/TD]

[TD]31.0[/TD]

[TD]3.8[/TD]

[TD].260[/TD]

[TD].315[/TD]

[TD].453[/TD]

[TD] 118[/TD]

[TD] 26[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]4[/TD]

[TD]Pete Alonso[/TD]

[TD]1B[/TD]

[TD]30.3[/TD]

[TD]2.7[/TD]

[TD].240[/TD]

[TD].330[/TD]

[TD].462[/TD]

[TD] 123[/TD]

[TD] 34[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]5[/TD]

[TD]Teoscar Hernandez[/TD]

[TD]LF[/TD]

[TD]32.5[/TD]

[TD]3.9[/TD]

[TD].272[/TD]

[TD].339[/TD]

[TD].501[/TD]

[TD] 134[/TD]

[TD] 33[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]6[/TD]

[TD]Tyler O’Neill[/TD]

[TD]LF[/TD]

[TD]29.8[/TD]

[TD]2.9[/TD]

[TD].241[/TD]

[TD].336[/TD]

[TD].511[/TD]

[TD] 131[/TD]

[TD] 31[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]7[/TD]

[TD]Jurickson Profar[/TD]

[TD]LF[/TD]

[TD]32.1[/TD]

[TD]4.2[/TD]

[TD].280[/TD]

[TD].380[/TD]

[TD].459[/TD]

[TD] 139[/TD]

[TD] 24[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]8[/TD]

[TD]Anthony Santander[/TD]

[TD]RF[/TD]

[TD]30.5[/TD]

[TD]3.2[/TD]

[TD].235[/TD]

[TD].308[/TD]

[TD].506[/TD]

[TD] 129[/TD]

[TD] 44[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]9[/TD]

[TD]Christian Walker[/TD]

[TD]1B[/TD]

[TD]34.0[/TD]

[TD]2.9[/TD]

[TD].251[/TD]

[TD].335[/TD]

[TD].468[/TD]

[TD] 119[/TD]

[TD] 26[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]10[/TD]

[TD]Marcell Ozuna[/TD]

[TD]DH[/TD]

[TD]34.4[/TD]

[TD]4.7[/TD]

[TD].304[/TD]

[TD].381[/TD]

[TD].552[/TD]

[TD] 156[/TD]

[TD] 39[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]11[/TD]

[TD]Cody Bellinger[/TD]

[TD]CF[/TD]

[TD]29.7[/TD]

[TD]2.3[/TD]

[TD].266[/TD]

[TD].325[/TD]

[TD].426[/TD]

[TD] 109[/TD]

[TD] 18[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]12[/TD]

[TD]Eugenio Suarez[/TD]

[TD]3B[/TD]

[TD]33.7[/TD]

[TD]3.1[/TD]

[TD].256[/TD]

[TD].319[/TD]

[TD].469[/TD]

[TD] 115[/TD]

[TD] 30[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]13[/TD]

[TD]Ha-Seong Kim[/TD]

[TD]SS[/TD]

[TD]29.5[/TD]

[TD]2.2[/TD]

[TD].233[/TD]

[TD].330[/TD]

[TD].370[/TD]

[TD] 101[/TD]

[TD] 11[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]14[/TD]

[TD]Brandon Lowe[/TD]

[TD]2B[/TD]

[TD]30.7[/TD]

[TD]2.2[/TD]

[TD].244[/TD]

[TD].311[/TD]

[TD].473[/TD]

[TD] 123[/TD]

[TD] 21[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]15[/TD]

[TD]Gleyber Torres[/TD]

[TD]2B[/TD]

[TD]28.3[/TD]

[TD]1.7[/TD]

[TD].257[/TD]

[TD].330[/TD]

[TD].378[/TD]

[TD] 104[/TD]

[TD] 15[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]16[/TD]

[TD]Rhys Hoskins[/TD]

[TD]1B[/TD]

[TD]32.0[/TD]

[TD]0.1[/TD]

[TD].214[/TD]

[TD].303[/TD]

[TD].419[/TD]

[TD] 100[/TD]

[TD] 26[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]17[/TD]

[TD]Paul Goldschmidt[/TD]

[TD]1B[/TD]

[TD]37.6[/TD]

[TD]1.3[/TD]

[TD].244[/TD]

[TD].300[/TD]

[TD].411[/TD]

[TD] 98[/TD]

[TD] 22[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]18[/TD]

[TD]Joc Pederson[/TD]

[TD]DH[/TD]

[TD]32.9[/TD]

[TD]2.8[/TD]

[TD].275[/TD]

[TD].393[/TD]

[TD].515[/TD]

[TD] 151[/TD]

[TD] 23[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]19[/TD]

[TD]Miguel Rojas[/TD]

[TD]SS[/TD]

[TD]36.1[/TD]

[TD]2.6[/TD]

[TD].283[/TD]

[TD].337[/TD]

[TD].410[/TD]

[TD] 111[/TD]

[TD] 6[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]20[/TD]

[TD]Danny Jansen[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]30.0[/TD]

[TD]0.8[/TD]

[TD].205[/TD]

[TD].309[/TD]

[TD].349[/TD]

[TD] 90[/TD]

[TD] 9[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]21[/TD]

[TD]Max Kepler[/TD]

[TD]RF[/TD]

[TD]32.1[/TD]

[TD]1.1[/TD]

[TD].253[/TD]

[TD].302[/TD]

[TD].380[/TD]

[TD] 94[/TD]

[TD] 8[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]22[/TD]

[TD]Ryan O’Hearn[/TD]

[TD]1B[/TD]

[TD]31.7[/TD]

[TD]2.1[/TD]

[TD].264[/TD]

[TD].334[/TD]

[TD].427[/TD]

[TD] 119[/TD]

[TD] 15[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]23[/TD]

[TD]Kyle Higashioka[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]34.9[/TD]

[TD]1.4[/TD]

[TD].220[/TD]

[TD].263[/TD]

[TD].476[/TD]

[TD] 105[/TD]

[TD] 17[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]24[/TD]

[TD]Carlos Santana[/TD]

[TD]1B[/TD]

[TD]39.0[/TD]

[TD]2.7[/TD]

[TD].238[/TD]

[TD].328[/TD]

[TD].420[/TD]

[TD] 114[/TD]

[TD] 23[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]25[/TD]

[TD]Gary Sanchez[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]32.3[/TD]

[TD]0.4[/TD]

[TD].220[/TD]

[TD].307[/TD]

[TD].392[/TD]

[TD] 96[/TD]

[TD] 11[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]26[/TD]

[TD]Harrison Bader[/TD]

[TD]CF[/TD]

[TD]30.8[/TD]

[TD]1.5[/TD]

[TD].239[/TD]

[TD].287[/TD]

[TD].378[/TD]

[TD] 87[/TD]

[TD] 12[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]27[/TD]

[TD]Alex Verdugo[/TD]

[TD]LF[/TD]

[TD]28.9[/TD]

[TD]1.0[/TD]

[TD].233[/TD]

[TD].291[/TD]

[TD].356[/TD]

[TD] 83[/TD]

[TD] 13[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]28[/TD]

[TD]Jesse Winker[/TD]

[TD]LF[/TD]

[TD]31.6[/TD]

[TD]1.8[/TD]

[TD].253[/TD]

[TD].360[/TD]

[TD].405[/TD]

[TD] 118[/TD]

[TD] 14[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]29[/TD]

[TD]Andrew McCutchen[/TD]

[TD]RF[/TD]

[TD]38.5[/TD]

[TD]1.1[/TD]

[TD].232[/TD]

[TD].328[/TD]

[TD].411[/TD]

[TD] 105[/TD]

[TD] 20[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]30[/TD]

[TD]Jorge Polanco[/TD]

[TD]2B[/TD]

[TD]31.7[/TD]

[TD]0.9[/TD]

[TD].213[/TD]

[TD].296[/TD]

[TD].355[/TD]

[TD] 92[/TD]

[TD] 16[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]31[/TD]

[TD]Paul DeJong[/TD]

[TD]SS[/TD]

[TD]31.7[/TD]

[TD]0.8[/TD]

[TD].227[/TD]

[TD].276[/TD]

[TD].427[/TD]

[TD] 95[/TD]

[TD] 24[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]32[/TD]

[TD]Kevin Newman[/TD]

[TD]SS[/TD]

[TD]31.7[/TD]

[TD]1.4[/TD]

[TD].278[/TD]

[TD].311[/TD]

[TD].375[/TD]

[TD] 89[/TD]

[TD] 3[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]33[/TD]

[TD]Yasmani Grandal[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]36.4[/TD]

[TD]1.3[/TD]

[TD].228[/TD]

[TD].304[/TD]

[TD].400[/TD]

[TD] 95[/TD]

[TD] 9[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]34[/TD]

[TD]Michael Conforto[/TD]

[TD]LF[/TD]

[TD]32.1[/TD]

[TD]1.1[/TD]

[TD].237[/TD]

[TD].309[/TD]

[TD].450[/TD]

[TD] 112[/TD]

[TD] 20[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]35[/TD]

[TD]Kevin Kiermaier[/TD]

[TD]CF[/TD]

[TD]34.9[/TD]

[TD]0.5[/TD]

[TD].197[/TD]

[TD].237[/TD]

[TD].313[/TD]

[TD] 54[/TD]

[TD] 5[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]36[/TD]

[TD]Michael A. Taylor[/TD]

[TD]CF[/TD]

[TD]34.0[/TD]

[TD]0.6[/TD]

[TD].193[/TD]

[TD].253[/TD]

[TD].290[/TD]

[TD] 50[/TD]

[TD] 5[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]37[/TD]

[TD]Yoan Moncada[/TD]

[TD]3B[/TD]

[TD]29.8[/TD]

[TD]0.2[/TD]

[TD].275[/TD]

[TD].356[/TD]

[TD].400[/TD]

[TD] 117[/TD]

[TD] –[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]38[/TD]

[TD]Randal Grichuk[/TD]

[TD]RF[/TD]

[TD]33.6[/TD]

[TD]1.6[/TD]

[TD].291[/TD]

[TD].348[/TD]

[TD].528[/TD]

[TD] 139[/TD]

[TD] 12[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]39[/TD]

[TD]Jacob Stallings[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]35.3[/TD]

[TD]1.1[/TD]

[TD].263[/TD]

[TD].357[/TD]

[TD].453[/TD]

[TD] 114[/TD]

[TD] 9[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]40[/TD]

[TD]Elias Diaz[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]34.4[/TD]

[TD]0.9[/TD]

[TD].265[/TD]

[TD].313[/TD]

[TD].382[/TD]

[TD] 81[/TD]

[TD] 6[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]41[/TD]

[TD]Eloy Jimenez[/TD]

[TD]RF[/TD]

[TD]28.3[/TD]

[TD]-0.4[/TD]

[TD].238[/TD]

[TD].289[/TD]

[TD].336[/TD]

[TD] 78[/TD]

[TD] 6[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]42[/TD]

[TD]Brandon Drury[/TD]

[TD]2B[/TD]

[TD]32.6[/TD]

[TD]-1.4[/TD]

[TD].169[/TD]

[TD].242[/TD]

[TD].228[/TD]

[TD] 34[/TD]

[TD] 4[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]43[/TD]

[TD]Gio Urshela[/TD]

[TD]3B[/TD]

[TD]33.5[/TD]

[TD]1.0[/TD]

[TD].249[/TD]

[TD].285[/TD]

[TD].362[/TD]

[TD] 81[/TD]

[TD] 9[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]44[/TD]

[TD]Austin Barnes[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]35.3[/TD]

[TD]0.4[/TD]

[TD].264[/TD]

[TD].331[/TD]

[TD].307[/TD]

[TD] 86[/TD]

[TD] 1[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]45[/TD]

[TD]Austin Hedges[/TD]

[TD]C[/TD]

[TD]32.6[/TD]

[TD]0.2[/TD]

[TD].152[/TD]

[TD].203[/TD]

[TD].220[/TD]

[TD] 20[/TD]

[TD] 2[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]46[/TD]

[TD]Kevin Pillar[/TD]

[TD]CF[/TD]

[TD]36.2[/TD]

[TD]0.4[/TD]

[TD].229[/TD]

[TD].291[/TD]

[TD].377[/TD]

[TD] 88[/TD]

[TD] 8[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]47[/TD]

[TD]David Peralta[/TD]

[TD]RF[/TD]

[TD]37.6[/TD]

[TD]0.7[/TD]

[TD].267[/TD]

[TD].335[/TD]

[TD].415[/TD]

[TD] 115[/TD]

[TD] 8[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]48[/TD]

[TD]Josh Bell[/TD]

[TD]1B[/TD]

[TD]32.6[/TD]

[TD]0.3[/TD]

[TD].249[/TD]

[TD].319[/TD]

[TD].405[/TD]

[TD] 101[/TD]

[TD] 19[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]49[/TD]

[TD]Enrique Hernandez[/TD]

[TD]3B[/TD]

[TD]33.6[/TD]

[TD]0.9[/TD]

[TD].229[/TD]

[TD].281[/TD]

[TD].373[/TD]

[TD] 83[/TD]

[TD] 12[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]50[/TD]

[TD]Whit Merrifield[/TD]

[TD]2B[/TD]

[TD]36.2[/TD]

[TD]0.5[/TD]

[TD].222[/TD]

[TD].311[/TD]

[TD].314[/TD]

[TD] 80[/TD]

[TD] 4[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[h=2]Tier 1 : Juan Soto[/h]Juan Soto is in a clear tier of his own, and as a preview of the upcoming positional deep dives, we’ll do a deep dive here for the future Hall of Famer.

Soto is the closest you can get to a sure-fire .400 OBP player with power. While he doesn’t provide a lot of value with the glove—being somewhere between 4-8 runs below average—his bat will likely carry him to the Hall of Fame. Let’s visualize how special of a talent Juan is:

Against breaking balls (curves, sliders, sweepers and cutters), he shows an incredible approach. He’s aggressive on pitches in the zone and rarely chasing pitches, which, once again, limiting his swings when the pitch is in the bottom third of the zone. We’ll have more to say about Soto in the upcoming positional deep dive.

[h=2]Tier 2: Power Hitters Galore[/h][h=5]Willy Adames[/h]Shortstops are always in demand, and Adames is clearly the best available in this free agent class, which is why we have him as the No. 2 position player available.

[h=5]Pete Alonso[/h]Alonso is perhaps the biggest name outside of Soto to enter free agency. Excluding 2020, he’s hit 30 home runs every year, including four seasons with 40 or more homer. Excluding, again, the pandemic season, he has played at least 152 games eery season and posted a wRC+ of at least 120. His production is as rock solid as you can get. Sluggers like Alonso may not age well in their latter years, but he’s very likely to be a middle-of-the-lineup producer for many years to come.

[h=5]Teoscar Hernandez and Tyler O’Neill[/h]Hernandez and O’Neill are broadly similar players, but the edge goes to Hernandez as we have more confidence in his ability to stay healthy.

[h=5]Alex Bregman and Jurickson Profar[/h]Both these players are elite contact hitters, though Profar added about three mph to pretty much all of his EV metrics, catapulting him into the top tier of free agency. Bregman doesn’t need his home ball park to succeed.

[h=5]Anthony Santander[/h]Santander is close to Hernandez and O’Neill, but we have him here as he’s a lesser defender who is somewhat over-reliant on hitting home runs.

[h=5]Marcell Ozuna and Christian Walker[/h]These dudes absolutely mash, but they are about 4-5 years older than Alonso. And you never know when that performance cliff will come for a 1B/DH.

[h=5]Cody Bellinger[/h]Bellinger is the one guy other than Profar in this tier that didn’t crack 30 HR, but he’s a very good all-around player, and only 30 years old entering next season. He’s now put together two consecutive seasons of high-quality production, so it feels likely that he’ll opt out and try to get a more favorable contract.

[h=5]Eugenio Suarez[/h]A good defender who hits a lot of home runs, Suarez will need to be on a team that can stomach the streaky nature of his production (likely ruling out intense markets like New York).

[h=2]Tier 3: Boring, But Valuable[/h]Ha-Seong Kim, Brandon Lowe and Gleyber Torres

Kim and Lowe don’t get a lot of hype, but are both extremely valuable baseball players. We’ve grouped these three players as we think they are the most likely to produce positive free agent value to the team that scoops them up.

Paul Goldschmidt and Joc Pederson

We worry that Goldschmidt may have hit an age-related performance cliff, and see limited value in a DH-only platoon bat. You could perhaps move Pederson down a tier, but the bat is really good, as he slugged over .500 in 2022 and 2024.

[h=2]Tier 4: Guys With Some Questions[/h]Miguel Rojas is probably the third-best shortstop available this off-season. Max Kepler had a bad year, but looks like an average player. Carlos Santana continues to mash, but he’s entering his age-39 season. Danny Jansen has struggled to stay on the field, while Kyle Higashioka is limited offensively. Ryan O’Hearn is a solid bat, but he’ll likely only be a 1-2 win player in the next few seasons.

[h=2]Tier 5: Everyone Else[/h]There will always be a gem or two that comes out of this group. If we had to pick a couple of names, it would probably be Jesse Winker and Jorge Polanco.

[h=3]Our Sources of Data[/h]This endeavor isn’t possible without the work being done inside our industry. We certainly understand the importance of subscriber revenue in today’s modern media landscape, and encourage our susbcribers to consider supporting the following resources

 

[*=left]MLBTR top 50
[*=left]FanGraphs
[*=left]Baseball Prospectus
[*=left]Baseball Reference
[*=left]Savant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[*=left]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Terminator]

Doesn't seem like a great crop of bats...

[Omar]

Doesn't seem like a great crop of bats...

 

Yup. The Jays need to add a net 50 home runs to their batting order to be competitive next year. No easy feat.

[Spanky__99]

Shouldn't be lost in the madness, is Ozzie Albies having maybe the best game of his life against RHP, two weeks after coming off the IL, still banged up, and becoming a full time righty hitter for the first time as a pro.

 

I wasn't aware of this, good news for my LOD team.

[Spanky__99]

 

Damn.

[jaysblue]

I think Verlander almost signed with Toronto before. You guys might be right that he's cooked though but his xERA wasn't bad. It was really only his final 30 innings of the season after returning form injury.

 

If he wants to keep pitching I'm talking 1 year 10 mil with incentives. Something like that. Don't forget that Sportsnet cameras will shamelessly pan to his wife a dozen times every game he starts.

 

Kate Upton definitely would be a plus haha.

 

I'd be okay with rolling the dice on him or Max for a one-year deal around that same AAV as you said. Could work out or could backfire, but if he struggles, don't want to see him making 25-30 starts with a 5+ ERA. Just would hope it doesn't tie down the Jays from making other moves. If the money is there and Jays don't care about going over the luxury tax, worth the gamble. If signing Verlander prevents the Jays from signing other guys, then meh not too crazy about it.

[Laika]

The Fangraphs 2025 Free Agent Tracker is finally up

 

Can't believe Jurickson Profar is going to be such a high profile FA lmao I wonder how much he actually gets

[Spanky__99]

The Fangraphs 2025 Free Agent Tracker is finally up

 

Can't believe Jurickson Profar is going to be such a high profile FA lmao I wonder how much he actually gets

 

Where, you have a link?

[Laika]

Chapman and Yimi are probably my favourite one year RP targets

 

Yimi didn't have the TJS right, just shut down with elbow inflammation and a setback?

 

Also, Paul Sewald...

 

hmmm there are actually A LOT of mid 30s or late 30s relievers so it's a good offseason to rebuild a pen, stop-gap pen. lots of guys should end up signing reasonable 1 year deals.

[Laika]

Not a good offseason to need an infielder, lmao

 

Paul DeJong or Kevin Newman are the #2 FA options at all of 2B/3B/SS based on 2024 fWAR

 

Gleyber Torres might get $80M after a dogshit season. Kind of just Benintendi his way into to much $$.

[AMS528]

I see Jeff Hoffman high up on that list. Jeff Hoffman elite reliever. Pretty impressed he stuck it through and got enough chances for long enough to turn his career around. Managed to have his velocity jump significantly after years. Didn't even produce 1 WAR in his first 7 years in the league. He's going to get a good contract.

 

There's probably a decent number of pitchers out there who may have become decent relievers given enough years and opportunities but didn't get those chances. Just a volatile role.

[Stangstag]

I think Verlander almost signed with Toronto before. You guys might be right that he's cooked though but his xERA wasn't bad. It was really only his final 30 innings of the season after returning form injury.

 

If he wants to keep pitching I'm talking 1 year 10 mil with incentives. Something like that. Don't forget that Sportsnet cameras will shamelessly pan to his wife a dozen times every game he starts.

 

Hard pass

[connorp]

The Fangraphs 2025 Free Agent Tracker is finally up

 

Can't believe Jurickson Profar is going to be such a high profile FA lmao I wonder how much he actually gets

 

Teams have gotten a lot better with “prove it”, probably looking at 3yrs if he wants good AAV