Since we last checked in on the 2019-20 free agent class, seven more potential free agents came off the board: Chris Sale, Paul Goldschmidt, Xander Bogaerts, Justin Verlander, Matt Carpenter, Khris Davis, and Ryan Pressly. This came after Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Aaron Hicks, and Nolan Arenado had already decided to eschew free agency. Meanwhile, pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are still without teams, serving as a warning for those thinking of testing the market.
In theory, the open market should always generate the best offers, even if the potential loss of a draft pick enters the equation. Still, for many players it isn’t worth enduring a potentially brutal free agency process in an attempt to squeeze out that last $20MM at the risk of a Keuchel/Kimbrel debacle, when you’re signing for generational money regardless. That’s why this list keeps getting less and less impressive each time we do it. As always, these players are ranked by my estimate of their 2019-20 open market earning power. To view the entire list of 2019-20 MLB free agents, click here.
1. Gerrit Cole. Cole jumps to the top of this list simply by virtue of the Red Sox locking down Sale and Bogaerts. Cole, 28, has been homer-prone in his first six starts, but it’s really just one rough outing in Texas that has thrown off his ERA. Sale is a comparable worth considering. Sale’s new contract takes him through the age of 35, one year short of David Price, Max Scherzer, and Jon Lester and two years short of Zack Greinke. Cole’s argument is that he, too, should require a commitment through age 35, which would necessitate a seven-year deal. For all that went wrong for free agents in the 2018-19 offseason, Patrick Corbin still got a strong six-year contract with a shorter track record than Cole. In the end, Cole needs a good old-fashioned bidding war to develop, and teams have become increasingly reluctant to enter into those. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote on March 22nd that the Astros were discussing extensions with both Cole and rotation-mate Justin Verlander, and shortly after that they inked Verlander to a two-year, $66MM extension. I’d say that decreases the chances of the Astros extending Cole.
2. Anthony Rendon. Rendon, 28, got off to a blazing start this year for the Nationals before a Jose Urena fastball struck his elbow on April 20th and ended a 17-game hitting streak. He’s played in one game since that HBP but seems to have avoided significant injury. Jose Altuve’s five-year, $151MM extension with the Astros, signed about a year ago, lines up well with Rendon. Nolan Arenado’s deal further cemented the idea that teams are mostly willing to pay through age 34 rather than 35. The x-factor might be Paul Goldschmidt, a player perhaps inferior to Rendon who was extended through age 36 by the Cardinals. So look for Rendon to try for a six-year deal, though he could end with five. The last we heard on extension talks with the Nationals was from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on April 18th, who tweeted that “there’s believed to be a decent-sized gap remaining” between the two sides.
3. Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna, 28, fell short of expectations last year after the Cardinals acquired him from the Marlins. It’s possible shoulder soreness was to blame, with Ozuna undergoing surgery to address the issue after the season. The shoulder doesn’t seem to be affecting his hitting early on in 2019, as Ozuna has 10 home runs in his last 79 plate appearances. With a season more like Ozuna’s 2017 campaign, he should have a good chance at a five-year deal. It’s worth noting that the three potential free agents currently topping this list are all clients of the Boras Corporation.
4. Madison Bumgarner. Despite a 4.30 ERA across six starts, Bumgarner’s early results for the Giants have been promising. After last year’s career-worst walk rate, he’s issuing free passes to a career-best 3.3% of batters in the small 37 2/3 inning sample. A vintage 200 inning campaign from Bumgarner should set him up nicely for a strong four-year deal in free agency. He’ll also be one of the best trade chips on the market in July, and a trade would remove the qualifying offer issue that has partially plagued Keuchel.
5. Zack Wheeler. Wheeler, 29 in May, has come on strong in his last three starts after a seven-walk outing on April 7th. The hard-throwing righty is now four years removed from Tommy John surgery, though he did go two and a half years between MLB starts as he recovered. The goal has to be a five-year deal through age 34, but he may have to settle for four. It’s all about staying healthy for these next 25 starts. The Mikolas/Nathan Eovaldi deals, at four years and $68MM, could be a marker for Wheeler. Unlike Eovaldi, Wheeler may be dealing with a qualifying offer.
6. Didi Gregorius. Gregorius is currently recovering from October Tommy John surgery. His recovery is going smoothly, though there’s no public timetable on his return. In the meantime, it’s mostly been Gleyber Torres holding down the fort at shortstop for the Yankees after Troy Tulowitzki strained his calf on April 3rd. With Bogaerts off the board, Gregorius will be the best available shortstop if the Yankees don’t lock him up prior to free agency. A four-year deal seems plausible if he comes back strong, though Gregorius will likely receive a qualifying offer.
7. J.D. Martinez. Martinez has been one of the game’s best hitters over the last two years. He’s off to a strong start this year, though he’s missed a few games of late due to back spasms. Martinez is, of course, limited in that he primarily serves as a designated hitter. The players union continues to advocate for the National League to get the DH, so we’ll see whether the owners agree in the near future and vastly open up Martinez’s market. Later this year, Martinez will be 32 when he’ll be faced with deciding whether to opt out of the remaining three years and $62.5MM remaining on his contract. The safe move is to just stick with his current deal, especially since the Red Sox could saddle Martinez with a qualifying offer if he opts out.
8. Josh Donaldson. After an injury-marred 2018 season, Donaldson signed a hefty one-year, $23MM deal with the Braves. A 30 home run, 80 walk type season in the middle of the Braves’ lineup would likely result in some solid multiyear offers for the former MVP. However, Donaldson will turn 34 in December, so the offers may top out at two years with a strong AAV. Another complication is that Donaldson could receive a qualifying offer from the Braves.
9. Yasmani Grandal. Like Donaldson, Grandal inked a significant one-year deal in free agency this past winter. However, Grandal turned down multiyear offers from the Mets, White Sox, Twins, and Angels, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic. The catcher explained in January at his Brewers press conference, “I had a lot of good deals. One of my responsibilities as a player is also to respect the guys going through this process before me like Brian McCann, Russell Martin, Yadier Molina, to mention a few of them.” Grandal reportedly turned down a four-year offer from the Mets in excess of $50MM before ultimately landing his one-year, $18.25MM deal with Milwaukee. If Grandal’s strong start to the season continues, his gambit just might pay off, as even something like three years and $42MM would get him past $60MM for 2019-22. This time around, he won’t be saddled with a qualifying offer.
10. Yasiel Puig. In the first month of his Reds career, Puig has lived up to his Wild Horse nickname by, as Deadspin described it, attempting to “fight all of Pittsburgh.” He’s here on this list because of his abilities as a hitter, which have decidedly not manifested themselves through 96 plate appearances. His strikeout and walk rates are career worsts in the early going, but he has five months to turn it around and earn a multiyear contract in free agency.
Honorable mentions: Nicholas Castellanos, Rick Porcello, Kyle Gibson, Michael Pineda, Cole Hamels
I feel like Castellanos deserves to be on this list given how young he will be upon reaching free agency. But honestly I have no clue how free agency will treat a player of his skill set, especially if he has a QO attached to him.
I think there’s a good chance the Tigers trade him this summer so in that case he won’t have the QO
I think Castellanos would be a reasonable pick for #10 on the list. Kind of depends on how close of a player he is to last year’s production.
I feel if Castellanos were to get a QO he would take it. Didi also.
I too am curious to see who ponies up for castellanos.
If the NL goes to the DH next year, which I believe they will. He’ll have a lot of suitors. If they don’t,, not too many. He can’t play defense.
There’s no way on Gods green earth the NL is going to the DH so soon.
I hope you are wrong, as a Mets fan I really really hope you are wrong. Between Cano and Cespedes…the Mets probably wish there were 2 DH spots available for them.
I wish you were right, but alas I fear you are wrong.
Oh I think the NL is definitely adopting the DH but I think it’s more like 2021 or 2022
Yeah, 50 years of the DH isn’t a big enough sample to prove that pitchers shouldn’t hit.
Without contributions from the pitchers, how will the Mets score runs?
Really? I haven’t heard much about that possibility. I know a lot of people who would loath that idea.
But and maybe it’s just me it just seems I’ve seen castellanos’ name pop up a lot on here in the past several months, more so than others. Maybe all the PR swirl willl help his cause
You haven’t heard much about it? That’s surprising. It’s going to happen, my guess is sooner rather than later.
it wasnt in the package of rules they previously announced were coming in 2020, so i dont see it happening. I dont imagine they’d make such a major change less than a year ahead of time.
The Players want it, so if not 2020, then 2021. It’s coming.
macstruts…….
Actually, in a poll done by The Athletic the players polled were against it by a slim margin…I believe it was 52% or 54% .
I would love to see MLB conduct an old fashioned poll (no internet) at NL only stadiums. Paper ballots at the stadium, like they used to do for the AS Game, with one question. DH in the NL…Yes or No. I think you would find it to be a resounding NO.
Well, duh. most of the people that go to games are older people afraid of change
tharrie0820………
Well duh…do you believe that there is a massive age difference between AL and NL fans at the games? I ask only because I would wager that the same question asked at an AL stadium would get a different result.
Think next time before commenting.
The older AL fans wouldn’t even fill the thing out, the question has about as much to do with their league as a question about Premier League soccer does.
Think before commenting next time.
spinach………
I guess it’s only the really, really old players in they MLB who voted in The Athletic against the DH in the NL.
The question has more to do with what you grew up with, what you enjoy about the game, whether you believe a player should should be required to play the full game (run, hit, field, throw) than it does age.
The players wanted steroids to be legal in the late 90’s and early 2000’s….
The DH has been around for 47 years now, so most have grown up with it, and every player in baseball has grown up with it. The thing I least enjoy watching, when I go to a game, is watching a pitcher “unintentionally” walk the number 8 hitter to face a pitcher who can’t hit, and then watching an excruciating at-bat or bunt attempt, because bunts are stupid baseball.
Pitchers have never been able to hit. Ever. (Someone is going to mention one of the outliers, and that’s fine, but outliers are called that for a reason). Watching a pitcher bat is one of the most boring things in the game.
Babe Ruth could hit. Ohtani can hit. Several pitchers can hit. Some of us prefer the NL way of baseball not because pitchers should be able to hit but because it brings more strategy to the game. Double switches, pinch hitter hit and run etc that you just don’t see in the AL.
Pitchers can’t hit today because they never have to. Tell Bumgarner, Syndergaard and Ohtani that they can’t and wait for their response. Old school pitchers could hit. Right now, CATCHERS across baseball can’t hit, so let’s have 2 dh’s, maybe 3 for when someone goes into a slump.
Castellanos can play defense. Look at the stats… he improved last year and this year he’s middle of the pack on defense. He made a game saving catch at the wall last week and the week before he made a sliding catch. The guy is getting better. MLBTR said he was “unplayable” in the field last year and everyone is still believing it. Watch the game instead of reading about it. You will see.
I noticed Nick Castellanos has improved significantly in RF. He’s always had a good arm. Someone will acquire him before the deadline.
This is why the Angles signed so many one year contracts. With a new stadium deal looming, I fully expect the Angels to go hard at this market.
I expect the Angels to hard for a 3bman and a starting pitcher.
Too much money tied up in Upton, Pujols, and way too much in Trout.
Too much tied to Trout lol.
I could see where you might think that, but it’s not true. Adell will be the RF. The staff will be Ohtani, Canning, Skaggs and Heaney and they’ll be looking for a 3B and a pitcher.
The reason why they Angels didn’t sign people to multi year contracts was the 2020 offseason.
They could’ve saved about 22 more by not pissing it away to Harvey and Cahill. I won’t argue the Allen decision. It made sense to me at the time even if the guarantee was on the high side. He was a very good closer not that long ago. Overpaying two backend arms in this market was not very smart. Considering guys like Pomeranz, Gonzalez, Buchholz, etc. were out there as cheap rebound candidates. And the non tendering of a better pitcher, Matt Shoemaker. Sure he’s out for the year but that was a freak injury. That move just made no sense. Why you’d give Matt Harvey 14 MM bucks but you wouldn’t give shoe 4 is beyond me.
Why does it matter what they did with money this year? According to everyone, they weren’t going to compete no matter what. Not they have Harvey, Cahill, Allen, Calhoun, Lucroy, and a couple others coming off the books. That alone is roughly $40+ mil
You don’t think they could’ve spent that money next year? Those millions spend the same next season. It was just the valuation of the players that was off. Harvey was the worst one. I suppose Cahill wasn’t a terrible deal. It was high considering his injury history and lack of durability but not crazy like Harvey’s. That deal made no sense when they agreed to it. That’s just a lot of money tied up into guys with little to no return. It’s magnified considering the depressed FA market.
They were not going to compete? I fully expected the Angles to compete and I still do. Do I expect them to win that second wild card? NO. But I expect them to play meaningful games in Sept.
I know this is too abstract for some people, but the way to determine if you are any good is run differential. The Angels have been 500 that last two years in spite of just about everything going wrong.
This year there #1 and #2 pitchers went down. They lost there #3 hitter and their #2 hitter still isn’t back. And their run differential is -6. Every team that is expected to be a 500 ball team can win enough games to compete for the second wild card.
Shoemaker was better? How is a pitcher that can’t pitch 50 innings better?
The last time Shoemaker had an ERA lower than 4.5 was 2016. and pitched 30 innings was 2016.
They gave Harvey and Cahill 20 million they could push a 500 team to a team that could push 90 wins and buy time for Ohtani and Canning. .
“I fully expected the Angles to compete and I still do”
That makes one of us….
Trout is likely underpaid, whether you gauge his WAR (which is the best ever for his age) or the marketing dollars he generates. LAA had to lock him up and they likely did so at a discount; he is likely worth $500m+ and he signed for much less.
What marketing dollars is he generating?
Are you an Angel fan? The Angels are about to sign a new Stadium deal. You don’t think Trout is important?
The Angels signed Pujols and IMMEDIATELY signed a 3 Billion dollar TV deal.
Like your NL DH comment you definitely seem to be way to optimistic on things.
Maybe. I actually believe the Angels can stay semi healthy. And lately, that has been extremely optimistic.
As far as the DH… we’ll see. I don’t have a dog in that hunt. I couldn’t care less. However, I am optimistic they will change the shift rules. I do have a dog in that hunt. I hate the shift.
Whether Trout is overpaid or not is irrelevant when the total money owed to him and Pujols ties up a huge portion of their payroll in just two players up until 2021.
This has nothing to do with Trout being overpaid or underpaid. It is all about staying below the Luxury Tax and holding onto money and picks. When a player like Trout takes up a big chunk nobody looks at WAR or other stats when there is a budget to adhere to.
Ditto on hating the shift,reminds me of playing softball back in the days. I know it kills some left handed hitters.
Castellanos won’t receive a QO. Tigers aren’t crazy. Even Boras would tell him to take it.
What a weak free agent class.
Very boring indeed.
GB85.. I’d rather have Rendon than any player who hit the free agent market last year.
I’d rather have Cole than any pitcher who hit the free agent market last year.
rendon over machado or harper huh? im not watching enough nats games then
Wow, you could build a 100+ win team with that free agent class.
well, no one is signing the entire class, so that’s a fairly irrelevant statement.
Yes and no. There is a lot of talent in that draft. And wasn’t that the point.
I’d rather have Rendon than Harper. I’d rather have Cole than Corbin.
What will MLBTRs do next off season? They won’t have the Yankees signing Corbin, Harper and Machado every other day.
Probably have articles on the Mets fire sale.
Who else thinks Cole will be asking for the moon and all of the stars next off season? He looks like the Pirates version of Cole this year instead of the Houston version of last season now. Not giving up a ton of runs but not getting any wins to show for it,. Not thinking he is going to get what he wants next off season.
Do you realize Cole is leading the league in Ks and Ks per nine? His WHIP is 1..128.
His K to BB ratio is better than last year. Are you just looking at ERA? Most people have learned that ERA after 36 innings is not all that meaningful.
I’d love to have him on my team.
I’ve been following Cole since his UCLA days. Would have loved to have seen him on the team that I watch.
That whip isn’t like super exceptional.
Yeah, it was odd adding his WHIP into those stats. That’s not a fantastic WHIP.
It’s not a fantastic WHIP. It’s just an elite WHIP. 7th in baseball last year. And if you think I put a lot of weight in one bad start, you’re crazy.
it confuses me why Cole suddenly became considered a stud after just one year. I thought he was a pretty solid 2/3 with ace potential in PIT, ans i still do, but i dont see him being all that he’s been made out to be in the past year.
Look at Cole again. FIP from 2013 to 2016 2.98. 3.23 ERA.
579 innings. I’ll take that guy every time..
145 innings per year isn’t that great. 3.23 era in the nl is definitely good but not exceptional.
That is true, it’s not. What he did after leaving Pittsburg was exceptional. Pittsburg isn’t known for developing pitchers.
Who cares if he doesn’t have too many wins to show for it? If Cole can lower his home run rate, he’ll be fine.
I think Michael Wacha should be considered for at least honorable mention. Health questions abound, but he will be the youngest SP on the market and has been solid across his career and had flashes of brilliance at times.
i think he makes the honorable mentiom list by year’s end as long as he stays healthy and produces well enough. at the very least he should move past Gibson, perhaps past some of the other arms in that grouping as well.
Both Wacha and Ozuna are interesting cases for the Red Birds. They may let both go. They will offer qualifying offers, and probably extension offers, but I doubt if Ozuna takes it and Wacha might, but the Cards are rich in outfielders and pitchers so it is possible that neither are wearing birds on the bat come 2020.
Wacha will want to stay with St. Louis, hard to say about Ozuna. If the Red Birds go far in the play-offs,(assuming they get there), Ozuna might be re-signed.. But his defense hasn’t been an asset,(I have no idea how he won a GG), and it isn’t going to get any better with age, so I doubt if the Cards match other offers. If both play well by the All-Star game, there is a chance of extensions, but they are going to have to excel. Should be interesting.
As a Cards fan, I like Ozuna, love what he’s doing so far (obviously), and I’m nervous about handing an OF spot over to O’Neill full time because of his Ks. But there’s no reason to think Ozuna’s shoulder is going to hold up over the life of a $100 million contract, so unless he’s willing to take a short-term deal (which he shouldn’t unless he gets hurt/falls on his face this year), I don’t think the Cards should bring him back.
Wacha I’d like to see stay if he’s healthy all year because you don’t know what Waino’s going to do/give you and Wacha gives you some stability (notwithstanding health) in a very young rotation, other than Mikolas. But it depends on how the rest of the young starters perform this year in terms of results and health. There’s a good chance it won’t be worth the money to keep Wacha.
The Cardinals have no reason to keep Wacha after this year. They have so many talented young pitchers without rotation spots as it is that they don’t need to pay market price for a guy who gets hurt every other year.
As for Ozuna, it’d be nice to keep him, but I don’t think the Cards can afford him after shelling out for Mikolas and Goldschmidt. If O’Neill still isn’t ready for a full-time job, the Cards can always roll with a 2020 starting outfield of Martinez, Bader, and Fowler.
I must be the only one that would much rather sign Hyun-Jin Ryu than Madison Bumgarner.
Probably not. Bumgarner has fallen off hard. But for some reason no one wants to say it and instead point to Kershaw.
And there’s good reason why you would be the only one. Bumgarner may not be the pitcher he was, and certainly has some question marks, but no way Ryu is anywhere near what Bumgarner is worth.
First of all, a guy needs to be available to be worth something. Over his 6 year career, he pitched only 585 innings. Over the last 6 seasons Bumgarner has pitched 940 2/3. That’s 60 more innings per season. Bumgarner has struck out 414 more batters over that span. Bumgarners 127 ERA+ bests Ryu’s 118. In fact, Bumgarner’s numbers are better no matter which stat you look at, including age. Ryu is 3 years older.
Teams may not be happy with what they get from Bumgarner for 4 more years, but he’s a better gamble than Ryu.
Bumgarner is trending downward, and Ryu’s has injury issues. But for Ryu, not having thrown the innings that Bumgarner has means his arm has more life in it. When he’s healthy, he’s better than Bumgarner right now.
I just think for the money, Ryu is a better bet. I don’t see him getting nearly as much on the free agent market, and he’s the better pitcher. I also think the Dodgers have had the depth to be patient in bringing Ryu back into the fold. Not in his lost years to the shoulder, but more recently. No need to rush him back when you can throw Urias and lose almost nothing.
I’m curious what the salary projections will be for Ryu and Bumgarner.
Ryu didn’t start his career with the Dodgers. He threw 1,200+ innings in Korea. Over his career he’s thrown almost 1,900 innings, only about 150 innings less than Bumgarner, so that fresher arm theory doesn’t really apply. Plus, you give Ryu a pass for injuries, when Bumgarner’s injuries account his reduced numbers over the last 2 years.
Ryu is still 3 years older, and hasn’t pitched in 30 games since his first year in the league. He only pitched in 15 games last year, and hasn’t shown any capability of staying on the field.
Bumgarner still has a lower career ERA+, better K/9, SO/W, WHIP, etc, so I don’t see how you can claim Ryu is the better pitcher. And saying he’s “better when healthy”, even if true, is a huge if. Just on health alone Bumgarner is a much better gamble.
right now start to start id rather stream ryu over bumgarner in daily fantasy. but this article is about free agents and their contracts. its not even close between the two. ryu is always hurt, yes bumgarner has been hurt last 2 years but getting hit with a line drive and a motorcycle accident or whatever it was are a lot different than the injuries ryu comes down with every other month of the season. i really dont even know how you can make a case that its even close until we see otherwise
If I could have a guarantee as to Ryu’s health, I’d take him over Bumgarner in a heartbeat, but Bumgarner is still worth more even as his diminished self just due to being much more likely to actually provide a decent amount of healthy innings.
I think rendon should be #1 based off earning power, to each their own
This list is why the trade market could be very weak this year. Bumgarner is the only big name on this list that could get traded.
Could see Rendon on the move if one or two of the Phils/Mets/Braves start to pull away from them. They were willing to trade Harper last year until the owner nixed it.
So is no one going to address the elephant in the room – saying that Goldschmidt is perhaps inferior to Rendon?
I love Goldy but Rendon is younger and has more defensive value. It’s not unreasonable.
It’s not unreasonable but I agree it should be questioned. At this moment I label Goldschmidt a future Hall of Famer and I would not label Rendon one (not that he doesn’t have a chance.) I don’t expect Goldschmidt to fall apart within two or three years (again, this is possible I guess); therefore, I would rather have Goldschmidt and consider him better.
Goldy’s age has little to do with current value, while his lesser defensive value (while keeping in mind that he’s a 3-time Gold Glove winner himself) is easily overcome by his much greater offensive value.
Would Rendon be worth more in free agency? Probably, but that’s not what the article was saying at that point. Right now, Goldschmidt is clearly the better player.
I should have been more decisive and left out the word “perhaps.” Rendon easily.
That just makes you sound even crazier. In current value, it’s Goldschmidt easily.
Goldy is, at best, a slightly better hitter. Their offensive projections for this year (133-139 wRC+) are close enough where you could call it a wash, but if you want to go slight advantage Goldy, sure.
Rendon plays above average defense at a premium position. Goldy plays…first base. That difference pushes Rendon ahead for sure. Rendon is also about 2.75 years younger, putting his decline further off.
Ludhow already said their priority first is Cole. That would have been Correa but he already turned them down once. Wonder if Kuechel wishes he took their offer.
I don’t see Correa staying an Astro. Dude’s wife is going to force him to a bigger market.
I’m really disappointed in Yasiel Puig. I was pulling for him to hit right out of the gate in that small Cincinnati park but it hasn’t worked out. The defense is there, the speed is there, the arm, power, talent, but jeeeeeezus, he hasn’t been able to put it together. He’s a fun player to watch when he is “on.”
Does anyone see Keuchel and Kimbrel remaining unsigned into the next offseason?I think that once the draft compensation goes away on 6/1 they’ll both at least sign with a team on a 1-year prorated deal which will put at least one of them back into free agency next winter.
Either way, they’ll probably feature on a future version of this list, as I highly doubt either of them gets a multi-year deal at this point.
Puig should also be on the list for his fielding abilities. He makes plays that few others can, and his arm causes baserunners to think twice if not three times about taking that extra base.
Wheeler will be an interesting one to watch. The kid had arguably the best stuff of the group when he came up, and flashes of that talent began to surface during the second half of last year. If he can put together a solid season, I’d wonder if the Mets don’t try to lock ‘him’ up and put Thor out on the market for a 3B. I don’t believe Wheeler would command the dollars that Thor would require, which could turn out to be the smarter play.
Jose Abreu should get an honorable mention at the very least
Absolutely! There is still a decent chance Jose Abeu remains with the White Sox in 2020 and beyond through a contract extension or by accepting a QO in November. He wants to finish his career on the South Side of Chicago and be a part of a winning team which looks promising as the White Sox put the finishing touches on their transition from rebuilders to contenders in the next season or two.
If Washington doesn’t resign Rendon before he hits FA, he’s a lock for the Dodgers to sign.
So Yasiel Puig’s main claim to be on this list is to fight all of Pittsburgh. Yeah, OK. The reality is he doesn’t play hard quite often, and if you throw him a curveball, he doesn’t hit all that often. He might be a top-25 F.A. Maybe.
Teams won’t be signing any Free Agents this winter, claiming they’re saving their money for Vlad Guerro Jr…….in 2026……
That’s if he even makes anything of himself. Because so far, he has looked very underwhelming in his short stint in MLB. I highly doubt teams are saving for that LOL