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Archives for December 2022

The Opener: Marlins, Mariners, Middle Infield

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With the new year fast approaching, here’s three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around baseball throughout the day today:

1. Does the Segura signing signal more moves for Miami?

The Marlins have long been considered a likely participant in the trade market this offseason, with plenty of holes in the lineup and a deep rotation from which to deal. This speculation is sure to increase with last night’s signing of Jean Segura to a two-year, $17MM contract. While Segura seems like a good bet to improve Miami’s offense, he’s a curious positional fit for a team that already has Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Miguel Rojas up the middle. Barring a position change on Segura’s part, it seems likely that Rojas will join fellow infielder Joey Wendle on the trading block. Rojas didn’t hit much in 2022 (72 OPS+) but could be attractive to teams looking for help at short as a glove-first, veteran option thanks to his strong defensive metrics last season that made him a finalist for the Gold Glove award. The Red Sox are known to have previously checked in on Rojas already this offseason, though the Marlins are said to have rebuffed Boston’s advances at the time. It’s possible Miami’s tune changes with the acquisition of Segura, though, particularly given the sides have since discussed Wendle in trade talks as well. Speculatively speaking, the White Sox could also make sense as a trade partner for one of Miami’s infielders given their hole at second base, while it’s possible the Angels could look to add a stronger glove to their shortstop mix than the current top options of Luis Rengifo and Gio Urshela.

2. Will the Mariners add a bat?

At the beginning of this offseason, there was something of a logjam in Seattle’s outfield, which was only exacerbated by their acquisition of Teoscar Hernandez from the Blue Jays. Since then, however, the Mariners have shipped out Kyle Lewis and Jesse Winker in separate deals, leaving them in a position where it could behoove them to add another bat to their outfield/DH mix. As things stand, Jarred Kelenic, Dylan Moore, and Cooper Hummel appear to be the primary internal options set to mix and match between left field and DH, and the addition of another bat could solidify that mix considerably. That could come through free agency, as Jurickson Profar remains on the market as an everyday option, while the likes of David Peralta and AJ Pollock could be added as more complementary options. It would be no surprise, though, if the Mariners decided to explore the trade market, given the thinned out market for starting pitchers and Seattle’s willingness to deal one of Chris Flexen or Marco Gonzales to improve other areas of the roster. Should they choose to go this route, striking a deal with the Cardinals or Orioles could make some sense, as both teams have an excess of position player talent and could benefit from the addition of an arm like Flexen or Gonzales.

3. Where does the infield market stand now that Segura’s off the board?

With Segura joining the Marlins, the infield market has lost its best remaining bat. There are still plenty of teams in need of an infielder, though, even in addition to the aforementioned Red Sox, White Sox, and Angels. The Dodgers, Braves, and Twins could all stand to add an infielder after losing their starting shortstops to free agency earlier this offseason, while the Giants and Tigers could also stand to upgrade their infield mixes. Elvis Andrus, Josh Harrison, and Evan Longoria represent the best options remaining across the infield, though players like Matt Duffy, Brian Anderson, and Cesar Hernandez could also be worth a look as potential bounce-back candidates. Shifting focus to the trade market, in addition to Miami, Baltimore could be another club to watch, as they could look to deal an infielder like Jorge Mateo or Ramon Urias to make room for their incoming infield prospects like Joey Ortiz, and it’s possible the Mets could look to deal Eduardo Escobar if the Carlos Correa deal makes it past the finish line.

Braves Acquire Eli White From Rangers

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The Braves announced they’ve acquired outfielder Eli White from the Rangers in exchange for cash. Infielder Hoy Park was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot. Texas had DFA White last week.

White, 28, has appeared at the MLB level in each of the last three seasons. A former Oakland draftee who landed with the Rangers in the Jurickson Profar swap before the 2019 campaign, he debuted with Texas the next year. White played a sporadic role for the next few seasons, suiting up in 130 games. He owns a .185/.260/.295 line over that stretch, hitting nine home runs but striking out at a massive 31.6% clip.

While While hasn’t hit much at the MLB level, he’s shown flashes in other areas. He’s stolen 17 bags in 22 career attempts, including a 12-for-13 success rate this year. The Clemson product has demonstrated that athleticism on defense, with Defensive Runs Saved pegging him 11 runs above average through 890 career innings of outfield work. He’s rated as nine runs better than par by Statcast’s Outs Above Average, with most of his time in left and center field.

White’s 2022 season was cut short in June when he fractured his right wrist in an outfield collision. The injury required surgery, but there’s no indication it’ll have any lingering effects on his 2023 preparation. Assuming he holds his 40-man roster spot all winter, he’ll compete for a bench job in Spring Training. Atlanta has Marcell Ozuna, Eddie Rosario, Jordan Luplow and Sam Hilliard all jockeying for left field playing time alongside Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. No one in the left field mix — White included — can be optioned to the minor leagues, so Atlanta may wind up dropping one or two of those players from the 40-man roster before the regular season kicks off.

Park landed in Atlanta less than two weeks ago. The Braves acquired the left-handed hitting infielder from the Red Sox for cash or a player to be named later. He’d just been claimed off waivers by Boston from the Pirates, and he’ll head into DFA limbo for a third time this winter.

The 26-year-old has a .201/.291/.346 line in 210 MLB plate appearances with the Yankees and Bucs in the past two seasons. He’s shown solid plate discipline but hit for below-average power and struck out at a slightly elevated rate. The South Korea native is a .255/.384/.417 hitter in parts of two Triple-A campaigns. He’s played each of second, third base, shortstop and all three outfield spots in his limited MLB time. Park has two minor league option years remaining, so another team willing to devote him a 40-man roster spot could keep him in Triple-A for the next couple seasons. He’ll be traded or waived yet again in the next seven days.

Braves Acquire Lucas Luetge From Yankees

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The Braves announced they’ve acquired reliever Lucas Luetge from the Yankees. Minor leaguers Caleb Durbin and Indigo Diaz are headed back in return. To clear a spot on their 40-man roster, Atlanta designated first baseman Lewin Díaz for assignment.

New York surprisingly designated Luetge for assignment last Wednesday. That opened a one-week window for them to trade him or place him on waivers, but the former outcome always seemed likelier. The veteran southpaw has been a productive piece of the New York bullpen over the past two years, so it’s no surprise to see a team part with some minor league talent to keep him off waivers.

Luetge, 35, pitched two seasons in the Bronx after signing a minor league deal during the 2020-21 offseason. Over his time in pinstripes, he put together a 2.71 ERA through 129 2/3 frames. That included a sub-3.00 mark in both years, with Luetge topping 55 innings in each season. His 2022 campaign saw him put together a 2.67 mark across 57 1/3 frames, striking out a solid 23.9% of opponents against a better than average 6.8% walk rate.

The veteran has held left-handed opponents to a .229/.281/.324 line in 185 plate appearances since joining the Yankees. Righties have a .268/.320/.395 slash that’s better but not overwhelming, meaning Luetge doesn’t have to be leveraged solely against same-handed hitters. He doesn’t throw hard but he’s been excellent at staying off barrels. Only 23.5% of batted balls against him this past season were hit hard, per Statcast; that’s the lowest rate of any qualified pitcher in the game.

Luetge has between four and five years of major league service. He’s arbitration-eligible for the next two seasons, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $1.7MM salary in 2023. He’ll add a third southpaw to what should be a very strong Atlanta relief corps, with A.J. Minter and Dylan Lee on hand for higher-leverage work.

The acquisition bumps Lewin Díaz off the 40-man roster and back into DFA limbo. That’s familiar territory for the 26-year-old first baseman, who has changed organizations four times this winter. He’s gone from the Marlins to the Pirates to the Orioles via waivers, and Atlanta just purchased his contract from Baltimore last week.

The Braves will now have a week to deal Díaz or try to pass him through waivers, so it’s possible he changes teams again in the coming days. A left-handed hitter, he’s a .181/.227/.340 hitter through 112 MLB games. Díaz has a more impressive .250/.325/.504 mark in just under 700 Triple-A plate appearances, though. He’s also regarded as a plus defender at first base, with public defensive metrics very bullish on his early-career work at the position. That’s led to a decent amount of interest around the league, though Díaz hasn’t yet stuck on a 40-man roster very long this winter.

As for the Yankees, they’ll bring in some minor league talent. Indigo Diaz was a 27th-round pick in the 2019 draft. He entered the 2022 campaign as the #21 prospect in the Atlanta system, according to Baseball America. The 24-year-old spent the whole season at Double-A Mississippi, posting a 3.08 ERA through 49 2/3 innings of relief. The 6’5″ righty struck out nearly 30% of opposing hitters but walked batters at a huge 14.6% clip. Diaz went unselected in this offseason’s Rule 5 draft and adds some non-roster bullpen depth to the upper minors in New York.

Durbin went in the 14th round in the 2021 draft. He split this past season between two A-ball levels, hitting .241/.352/.372 across 450 plate appearances with matching 10.9% strikeout and walk rates. A right-handed hitter, Durbin split his time between second, third base and shortstop. He turns 23 in February and won’t be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the 2024 campaign.

Pirates Designate Bryse Wilson For Assignment

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The Pirates announced they’ve designated Bryse Wilson for assignment. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Jarlín García, who has officially signed his one-year deal with a 2024 club option.

A fourth-round draftee of the Braves out of a North Carolina high school in 2016, Wilson developed into one of the sport’s better pitching prospects a few seasons later. The right-hander ranked among Baseball America’s top 100 minor league talents in advance of the 2019 season after debuting with three MLB appearances late in the prior year.

Despite that lofty prospect pedigree, Wilson never got much run in the Atlanta starting staff. He’d start just six of 12 outings the next two years before picking up eight starts in the first half of the 2021 campaign. Wilson pitched fairly well at the Triple-A level but managed only a 5.90 ERA through 23 appearances in an Atlanta uniform. In advance of the ’21 trade deadline, the Braves dealt him and minor league pitcher Ricky DeVito to Pittsburgh for reliever Richard Rodríguez.

That trade didn’t pan out as either team had envisioned. Rodríguez struggled down the stretch and was non-tendered at the end of the season. Wilson has spent a season and a half in Pittsburgh but didn’t seize a permanent rotation spot. Since landing with the Bucs, he’s posted a 5.37 ERA across 156 innings in 33 appearances (28 starts). Wilson struck out a below-average 15% of opposing hitters while allowing a .279/.330/.484 line in just under 700 plate appearances.

Wilson did demonstrate the quality control for which he was credited as a prospect. He walked only 6.2% of opponents as a Pirate, including a 6.3% clip through 115 2/3 frames this past season. He induced grounders this year at a roughly average 43.3% rate, the highest of his career.

The Pirates squeezed Wilson out of the rotation in recent weeks with free agent additions of Vince Velasquez and Rich Hill. That duo figures to join Roansy Contreras, JT Brubaker and Mitch Keller in the season-opening starting five. They’ll now have a week to trade Wilson or attempt to run him through waivers.

While Wilson hasn’t yet found much MLB success, he could attract the interest of a pitching-needy club. He just turned 25 this month and had a strong prospect pedigree in the not too distant past. Wilson’s velocity has backed up in recent years, dropping from the 94-95 MPH range to roughly 91-92 MPH this year. He’s shown above-average control and mixes six pitches, however, so another team with some uncertainty at the back of their starting staff could look into a claim. Wilson is out of minor league option years, so an acquiring team would have to keep him on their active roster or again make him available to other clubs.

Which Free Agents Remain For Teams Seeking Rotation Help?

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With the holiday slowing down what had become a very rapid offseason, it works as a natural point to take stock of what players clubs could target in the coming weeks. On Monday, MLBTR looked through the remaining free agent relievers coming off the best 2022 campaigns (one of whom has since signed a major league deal). Now we’ll take stock of the rotation options who are still out on the open market.

There aren’t as many starting pitchers for clubs to sort through as there were bullpen targets, with 19 remaining hurlers who tallied at least 20 rotation innings this past season. We’ll look at the top half of that group by various metrics to determine who teams figure to prioritize as they seek starting pitching depth.

Note: all figures cited, including league averages, are looking solely at pitchers’ outings as starters.

ERA (league average — 4.05)

  1. Johnny Cueto (RHP), 3.29
  2. Michael Wacha (RHP), 3.32
  3. Wade Miley (LHP), 3.34
  4. Bryan Garcia (RHP), 3.54
  5. Zack Greinke (RHP), 3.68
  6. Devin Smeltzer (LHP), 4.02
  7. Zach Davies (RHP), 4.06
  8. Aníbal Sánchez (RHP), 4.28
  9. Drew Hutchison (RHP), 4.52

Strikeout rate (league average — 21.6%)

  1. Chase Anderson (RHP), 24.6%
  2. Matt Swarmer (RHP), 22.4%
  3. Bryan Garcia, 20.2%
  4. Michael Wacha, 20.2%
  5. Chris Archer (RHP), 19.2%
  6. Wade Miley, 18.4%
  7. Zach Davies, 17.9%
  8. Chad Kuhl (RHP), 17.8%
  9. Mike Minor (LHP), 16.7%

Strikeout/walk rate differential (league average — 14.1 percentage points)

  1. Michael Wacha, 14.2 points
  2. Matt Swarmer, 13.1 points
  3. Dylan Bundy (RHP), 11.1 points
  4. Chase Anderson, 10.6 points
  5. Johnny Cueto, 10.5 points
  6. Wade Miley, 9.2 points
  7. Michael Pineda (RHP), 9 points
  8. Aaron Sanchez (RHP), 9 points
  9. Zach Davies, 8.8 points

Ground-ball rate (league average — 42.5%)

  1. Wade Miley, 54.2%
  2. Aaron Sanchez, 51.3%
  3. Chase Anderson, 50.9%
  4. Dallas Keuchel (LHP), 50.2%
  5. Jared Koenig (LHP), 47.2%
  6. Chris Archer, 43.7%
  7. Zach Davies, 42.9%
  8. Johnny Cueto, 42.5%
  9. Zack Greinke, 41.3%

FIP (league average — 4.04)

  1. Johnny Cueto, 3.76
  2. Wade Miley, 4.00
  3. Zack Greinke, 4.03
  4. Michael Wacha, 4.14
  5. Chase Anderson, 4.37
  6. Chris Archer, 4.49
  7. Aaron Sanchez, 4.61
  8. Dylan Bundy, 4.66
  9. Zach Davies, 4.83

Innings pitched

  1. Johnny Cueto, 153 1/3
  2. Dylan Bundy, 140
  3. Zack Greinke, 137
  4. Chad Kuhl, 137
  5. Zach Davies, 134 1/3
  6. Michael Wacha, 127 1/3
  7. Chris Archer, 102 2/3
  8. Mike Minor, 98
  9. Drew Hutchison, 89 2/3

Red Sox To Sign Corey Kluber To One-Year Deal

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3:55pm: The deal can max out at $27MM over the two years, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. In 2023, Kluber will get an extra $500K for starting 20 games, then $750K for getting to 25 and 30 starts. Those same figures will also be added to the value of the $11MM option, meaning it will escalate up to $11.5MM at 20 starts, $12.25MM at 25 and $13MM at 30. If the option is picked up, those same bonuses would be available to Kluber for 2024.

12:50pm: The Red Sox and right-hander Corey Kluber are in agreement on a one-year deal plus a club option for 2024. Kluber will be guaranteed $10MM on the deal, though there’s also $2MM in unknown incentives that could increase the eventual payday for the Wasserman client. The 2024 option is valued at $11MM, though with escalators and incentives for that season as well.

Kluber, 37 in April, was once one of the best pitchers alive, winning Cy Young awards in both 2014 and 2017. Those were part of a six-year run of excellence with Cleveland from 2013 to 2018, with Kluber posting a 2.96 ERA over that time along with a 27.7% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 44.9% ground ball rate.

Injuries limited him to just eight total starts over 2019 and 2020, with a forearm fracture and teres muscle tear the primary culprits. He’s since been ramping back up, but as more of a back-end hurler instead of the ace he was with Cleveland, signing one-year deals with the Yankees and Rays for the past two seasons. He made 16 starts in 2021 with a 3.83 ERA and 31 starts in 2022 with a 4.34 ERA. His 34.7% strikeout rate in 2017 was down to 24% last year and 20.2% in 2022. He did still avoid the free passes, something he’s long excelled at, with his 3% walk rate this year coming in a few ticks below his career 5.4% mark.

Statcast pegged Kluber’s average four-seam fastball velocity at 88.9 mph in 2022, a significant drop from prior to the injuries, when he was in the 93-95 range. Nonetheless, he still found ways to generally be effective, as his average exit velocity was in the 80th percentile, his hard hit rate in the 75th and his barrel rate 57th. Given his age and checkered health history, MLBTR predicted him for a one-year, $12MM deal, with Kluber coming in just under that, though the incentives could potentially make up the difference.

For the Sox, adding another starting pitcher makes a lot of sense given the uncertainty with their current options. Nick Pivetta is probably the only solid member of their group right now, as Chris Sale and James Paxton have hardly pitched in the past three years. Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock are penciled into two spots, though they are young and only have 20 MLB starts between them. Kluber is a bit of a question mark himself, but adding him into the picture still reduces the likelihood that the club will have to rely upon depth options like Connor Seabold or Josh Winckowski throughout the year.

Boston had also been connected to various other starters throughout the offseason, including Zach Eflin, Carlos Rodón, Kodai Senga, Andrew Heaney, Seth Lugo, Tyler Anderson, Rich Hill and Nathan Eovaldi. Those players have all since found new clubs, with Eovaldi signing a two-year deal with the Rangers yesterday. Chad Jennings of the Athletic reports that the Red Sox offered Eovaldi a three-year deal earlier this month, though the guarantee on that offer isn’t known. Regardless, it seems that Eovaldi spurned it in favor of the offer from Texas and Boston then pivoted to Kluber.

Kluber had previously been connected to the Angels and Cubs, though the latter’s interest was prior to signing Jameson Taillon and Drew Smyly. If the Angels are still looking for rotation upgrades, some of the remaining free agents include Michael Wacha, Johnny Cueto and Zack Greinke.

This deal brings the Red Sox payroll up to $186MM and their competitive balance tax figure to $212MM, per the calculations of Roster Resource. That should leave them room for further additions if they so choose, as they’ve run a payroll as high as $236MM in the past, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, and they’re still more than $20MM shy of the $233MM luxury tax threshold.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Kluber and the Red Sox were in agreement on a one-year deal plus a club option. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe first reported the $10MM guarantee and later provided some details on the incentives. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the $11MM figure for the option and that the deal contained incentives.

Image courtesy USA Today Sports.

Giants Designate Tommy La Stella For Assignment

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The Giants have designated infielder Tommy La Stella for assignment, reports Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The move opens a roster spot for reliever Taylor Rogers.

La Stella, 34 in January, had an up-and-down career before coming to the Giants. After a couple of subpar seasons with the Braves and Cubs in 2014 and 2015, he seemed to find a good groove after that. Still with the Cubs in 2016 and 2017, he walked in 11.9% of his plate appearances and produced an overall batting line of .278/.372/.436. That production was 16% above league average, as evidenced by his 116 wRC+.

He had a swoon in 2018, as he hit just a single home run in 123 games and his walk rate dipped to 8.9%, leading to a batting line of .266/.340/.331 and a wRC+ of 87. However, he seemed to take a big step forward in 2019, hitting 16 home runs, more than his total over the previous five seasons. His walk rate dipped again but he only struck out in 8.7% of his plate appearances. 2019 was the “juiced ball” season, but he was still well above average at the plate. His .295/.346/.486 amounted to a wRC+ of 119, indicating he was 19% better than average that year, with wRC+ controlling for the offensive environment around the league.

In the shortened 2020 campaign, he added another five home runs and dropped his strikeout rate even farther to just 5.3%. He parlayed that into a three-year, $18.75MM deal with the Giants going into 2021. Unfortunately, La Stella’s seesaw career has been pointing straight down since that deal was signed. He made multiple trips to the injured list in 2021, getting into 76 games and hitting just .250/.308/.405 for a wRC+ of 93. He underwent achilles surgery in October, which was originally reported as occurring on his left achilles but was reported almost a year later to have been on both of them, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.

In 2022, things got worse, as he continued to make frequent trips to the IL. He only played 60 games in the most recent season and took the field for just 76 innings on the year. When in the lineup, he produced a slash line of just .239/.282/.350 for a wRC+ of 78. Though there’s still another year left on his contract, it seems the Giants have decided it’s time to move on.

La Stella’s deal was heavily backloaded, as he made just $2MM in 2021, $5.25MM this year and is set for a salary of $11.5MM next year. The Giants will now have one week to trade La Stella or pass him through waivers, though a trade will be difficult to accomplish. Given the past two years have seen him struggle both in terms of health and performance, there will be little appetite from other teams to take on that $11.5MM salary. On the defensive side of things, La Stella has previously been able to serve as a utility player, splitting his time between second, third and first base. However, he hasn’t been rated as especially strong at any of them and barely donned a glove in 2022.

Assuming he clears waivers, he has more than five years of MLB service time, which gives him the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining that salary. At that point, any club in the league could sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount being subtracted from what the Giants pay.

Giants, Taylor Rogers Agree To Three-Year Deal

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December 28: The Giants have officially announced the signing of Rogers. He’ll make $9MM in 2023 followed by $12MM salaries in the next two seasons, reports Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

December 23: The Giants and reliever Taylor Rogers are in agreement on a three-year, $33MM contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal for the Frontline client is pending a physical.

Rogers, 32, will now join his twin brother in the San Francisco bullpen, as right-hander Tyler Rogers is already on the club. The left-handed Taylor was one of the top relievers available in free agency this offseason and certainly one of the best southpaws. He came into the open market on a bit of a down note, as he posted a combined 4.76 ERA between the Padres and Brewers, having switched jerseys as part of the much-maligned Josh Hader trade.

Taylor Rogers | Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsHowever, it wasn’t quite as bad as that ERA might seem. His 30.7% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate were both much better than average and roughly in line with his career marks. His 42.4% ground ball rate was below league average but only by half a percentage point. A 63.5% strand rate may have been a culprit, as that’s roughly 10% below his 74.1% career norm and the 72.6% league average in 2022.

Advanced metrics were much more fond of Rogers in 2022, as he posted a 3.31 FIP, 3.26 xFIP and 2.64 SIERA. Those numbers are also more in line with his pre-2022 form. With the Twins from 2016 to 2021, he made 319 appearances with a 3.15 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 47.8% ground ball rate, with all of those numbers being a few ticks better than the league average hurler. Though the 4.76 ERA in 2022 didn’t look great, he has a lengthy track record as being a very effective big league reliever and that figure likely wasn’t deserved. MLBTR predicted he could secure a three-year, $30MM deal and he has come out ahead of that.

For the Giants, the signing of Rogers makes plenty of sense given their dearth of reliable southpaw relievers. Prior to this agreement, Scott Alexander and Sam Long were the only lefties projected to be in the bullpen. Alexander has had great results but is frequently injured, not reaching 20 MLB innings since 2018, and will be turning 34 next season. Long has just 40 games in the majors with a 4.55 ERA to show for it. Given those options, it makes plenty of sense that the club has targeted improvements in this area. Rogers should slot in behind closer Camilo Doval for some high-leverage work. For teams still looking for left-handed additions to their bullpen, the top options with Rogers off the board include Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore and Brad Hand.

Assuming an even distribution of the money in $11MM increments, Roster Resource now calculates the club’s payroll to just above $191MM and their competitive balance tax figure to be $208MM. That payroll is well beyond last year’s $155MM Opening Day number, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but they have gone above $200MM in the past. It’s unknown how much they plan on spending this winter, but they still have lots of room before reaching the $233MM base threshold of the luxury tax.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

The Top Remaining Free Agents

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The current offseason has been one of the busiest in recent years. Over the past few seasons, it wasn’t uncommon for a few of the top free agents to linger on the open market after the calendar had flipped over to a new year. That won’t be the case this year, as today’s agreement between Corey Kluber and the Red Sox means that 46 of MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents are off the board, including all of the top 32.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still some notable players still out there. Below is a list of some of the most intriguing names on the open market for clubs still hoping to make upgrades to their roster before Opening Day. The number next to the player’s name represents their placement on the MLBTR top 50 list.

Quick caveat that some of those free agents have reached agreements with clubs that are not official. This wouldn’t normally be worth mentioning, as those deals end up getting completed in the vast majority of cases. However, the Carlos Correa situation has shown that it’s not impossible for a deal to fall through after being agreed upon. He and the Giants agreed to a 13-year, $350MM deal but their physical examination raised concerns about the status of his right leg. Correa then agreed to a 12-year, $315MM deal with the Mets, whose physical raised similar concerns. The deal is still not official but the latest reporting suggests that Correa will likely still end up a Met, though perhaps with some extra provisions in the contract.

33. Jurickson Profar

Profar, 30 in February, has had a mercurial career but he’s coming off a solid season. He hit 15 home runs, walked in 11.1% of his plate appearances and struck out in just 15.7% of them. Outs Above Average wasn’t keen on his left field defense but Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating both thought it was above average.

Profar isn’t a superstar but he succeeds in enough different ways to be useful. FanGraphs pegged him as being worth 2.5 wins above replacement in 2022. It’s also possible that the upcoming shift limitations benefit his contact-based approach. He opted out of his deal with the Padres, which would have seen him make $7.5MM in 2023. By taking the $1MM buyout instead, he just needs to find $6.5MM in free agency to break even. MLBTR predicted he could secure a two-year, $20MM deal.

39. Andrew Chafin

Over the past six years, Chafin has been one of the best relievers in the sport, with his left-handedness only making him more appealing. He has a 3.05 ERA in that time, striking out 26.9% of batters faced, walking 8.8% of them and getting grounders on 48.7% of balls in play. That includes a nightmare 2020 season in which he posted a 6.52 ERA in 9 2/3 innings.

He could have stuck with the Tigers for 2023 on a $6.5MM salary but declined his player option and returned to free agency. MLBTR predicted that to be a wise decision, pegging him for a two-year, $18MM deal. He’ll turn 33 in June.

40. Jean Segura

Somewhat similar to Profar, Segura is a guy who does a lot of things well but isn’t really elite at anything. Over the last six seasons, his wRC+ has been between 105 and 111 in five of them, the lone exception being a dip to 91 in 2019. He hit between 10 and 14 home runs in the past five full seasons. Though he posted bigger stolen base totals earlier in his career, he’s been between nine and 13 in the past three full campaigns. He doesn’t walk much but doesn’t strike out much either. Defensively, he can play shortstop in an emergency but is essentially a full-time second baseman, with advanced metrics generally considering him above average there. He was predicted for two years and $18MM. He’ll turn 33 in March.

41. Michael Wacha

Wacha, 31, posted ERAs of 4.76, 6.62 and 5.05 in the previous three seasons but got that mark down to 3.32 in 2022. That was encouraging but might not be entirely sustainable. His .260 BABIP and 80.3% strand rate surely helped him offset a pedestrian 20.2% strikeout rate and 41% ground ball rate. He did avoid the free passes, however, limiting them to a 6% rate, and was in the 70th percentile in terms of hard hit rate.

Injuries have prevented him from cracking 130 innings in any of the past five seasons but he’s still capable of producing solid work at the back of a rotation. He was predicted for a two-year deal worth $16MM.

Honorable mentions

The bottom of MLBTR’s top 50 list also featured many “honorable mentions” that are still available. Those that are still free agents are listed below in alphabetical order.

HM: Elvis Andrus

Andrus, 34, was miserable at the plate from 2018 to 2021 but is coming off a nice bounceback. He hit 17 home runs in 2022 and finished with a batting line of .249/.303/.404 for a wRC+ of 105. He also stole 18 bases and was considered an above-average defensive shortstop by Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average.

HM: Brandon Belt

Belt, 35 in April, produced a batting line of .285/.393/.595 over 2020 and 2021. That production was 62% above league average, as evidenced by his 162 wRC+. Only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper were ahead of him in that department, among hitters with at least 550 plate appearances.

2022, however, saw him battle knee injuries all season long and hit .213/.326/.350 for a wRC+ of 96. He eventually underwent season-ending knee surgery in September, the third knee surgery of his career. That makes him a high-risk, high-reward play, as he’s occasionally been one of the best hitters on the planet but injuries often derail his productivity.

HM: Johnny Cueto

Cueto, 37 in February, is coming off his strongest season in years. He tossed 158 1/3 innings for the White Sox in 2022, his highest such tally since 2016. His 3.35 ERA was also his lowest since that time, outside of a 3.23 mark over a nine-start showing in 2018. His 15.7% strikeout rate this year was well below average but he kept his walks to a 5.1% rate and was good at limiting hard contact.

HM: Shintaro Fujinami

Fujinami, 29 in April, is a real wild card in free agency. He debuted in Japan’s NPB as a teenager back in 2013 and seemed to be cementing himself as a star. He posted a 2.40 ERA over 199 innings in 2015 as a 21-year-old. However, serious control problems have derailed him since. In 2021, he walked 16.8% of batters faced, helping him produce a 5.21 ERA on the year. He made gains in 2022, getting his walk rate down to 7.6% and his ERA to 3.38. He was posted by the Hanshin Tigers and is eligible to sign with MLB teams, who would have to also pay a posting fee to the Tigers on top of what they pay Fujinami.

HM: Michael Fulmer

Fulmer, 30 in March, won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2016 by making 26 starts with a 3.06 ERA. His results slipped in subsequent seasons and Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2019 campaign entirely. He’s since moved to a bullpen role and thrived. He made 67 appearances in 2022 with a 3.39 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 35.4% ground ball rate. Those rate stats are all fairly underwhelming, but Fulmer’s best attribute is limiting damage. He was in the 91st percentile in 2022 in terms of barrel rate, 61st percentile in terms of hard hit rate and 55th in average exit velocity.

HM: Zack Greinke

Greinke is now 39 and isn’t the ace he once was, but he’s still got a knack for keeping runs off the board. He posted a 3.68 ERA across 137 innings and 26 starts in 2022. His 12.5% strikeout rate was barely half the league average but he kept walks down to a 4.6% rate and had a 60th percentile barrel rate.

HM: Evan Longoria

Longoria, 37, has slowed down with age, last reaching 90 games played in a season back in 2019. However, he’s still been productive at the plate when healthy enough to step up to it. In 589 plate appearances over the past two seasons, he hit 27 home runs and slashed .252/.333/.466 for a wRC+ of 118.

HM: Trey Mancini

Mancini, 31 in March, was excellent in 2019, hitting 35 home runs and producing a batting line of .291/.364/.535 for a 132 wRC+. A battle with colon cancer wiped out his 2020 but he was able to make an inspiring return in 2021. Over the past two years, he’s hit .247/.323/.412 for a wRC+ of 104. That’s a drop from his 2019 form but still above average, and he’s also considered an above-average defender at first base who can move to the outfield corners on occasion.

HM: Matt Moore

Moore, 34 in June, was once a highly-touted prospect and had a few good years as a starter for the Rays about a decade ago. That was followed by years marred by injuries and underperformance, but a full-time move to the bullpen led to an excellent 2022. He made 63 relief appearances with the Rangers, posting a 1.95 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, 12.5% walk rate and 43.9% ground ball rate.

HM: Gary Sánchez

Sánchez, 30, earned a reputation as a bat-first catcher when he hit 53 home runs over 2016 and 2017. His batting line over that two-year stretch was .284/.354/.568 for a wRC+ of 143. He’s since cooled off at the plate, posting a 96 wRC+ in the five seasons since, including an 89 in 2022. Despite that tepid platform year at the plate, his previous production should still lead to some interest. He also posted average or better numbers on the defensive side of his game in 2022.

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