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2023-24 MLB Free Agents

The Top Unsigned Third Basemen

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Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about three weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. MLBTR already took a look at the catchers, shortstops, center fielders and first basemen still available and will now take a look at some notable third basemen.

  • Matt Chapman: One of the best defensive third basemen in the league, Chapman leads the league in Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating since the start of 2017. In terms of Outs Above Average, he’s second, trailing only Nolan Arenado. Offensively, he’s strikeout prone but takes his walks and hits home runs. His 2023 season ended up a bit below his previous work, though that may have been caused by a late-season finger injury. His 17 home runs were his first time below 24 in a full season. Chapman’s .240/.330/.424 batting line and 110 wRC+ were a bit lower than his career pace, but through August 13, when he hurt his finger in a weight room incident, he had 15 homers and was sitting on a line of .255/.346/.449 with a 121 wRC+. A down year by his standards, he still produced 3.5 fWAR, his lowest in a full season. He’s had interest from plenty of clubs this offseason but remains unattached as Spring Training nears. Chapman turned down a qualifying offer from the Blue Jays, thus tying him to draft pick compensation.
  • Gio Urshela: Going back to his 2019 breakout with the Yankees, Urshela has hit .291/.335/.452 for a wRC+ of 115. He’s generally considered a sure-handed defender, though the advanced metrics are split on his work at the hot corner. Urshela has been credited with 10 Defensive Runs Saved and a grade of 13.5 from Ultimate Zone Rating in his career work at third, but Outs Above Average gives him a dreary -18. He’s coming off a rough platform season, as he hit just two home runs in his 62 games with the Angels and walked in only 4.4% of his plate appearances. His .299/.329/.374 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 92. He then suffered a season-ending pelvic fracture in June. Despite that rough year, he’s the best shot at an everyday third baseman apart from Chapman. There should be a huge difference in terms of their earning potential, which could make Urshela attractive to those who won’t come close to Chapman’s asking price.
  • Justin Turner: He won’t be relied upon as an everyday option at the hot corner or any other position, but Turner can still hit and isn’t entirely limited to a designated hitter role just yet. With the Red Sox in 2023, he appeared in 41 games at first, 10 at second and seven at third base. The Dodgers gave him 66 starts at the hot corner in 2022 and 135 the year before that. He’s now 39 years old and his time in the field will likely keep dwindling, but the bat still plays. He hit 23 home runs last year and slashed .276/.345/.455 for a wRC+ of 114. A one-year deal seems likely.
  • Evan Longoria: One year younger than Turner, Longoria still managed to head out to third base in 41 contests in 2023, with solid metrics for his work out there. Unfortunately, his work at the plate wasn’t as strong. He had never struck out in more than 24% of his plate appearances in any season of his career until 2022, when that number jumped to 27.9% and then to 30.8% in the most recent campaign. His .223/.295/.422 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 92 last year. But just the year prior, he hit .244/.315/.451 for the Giants, leading to a 116 wRC+. He won’t be considered an everyday option, having not played 90 games in a season since 2019.
  • Josh Donaldson: Detractors might say Donaldson is washed, and there are 2023 stats they can point to, such as a .152 batting average. He also made multiple trips to the IL and only played 51 games on the year. But he hit 13 home runs in that limited action and drew walks at an 11.6% rate. His .115 batting average on balls in play wouldn’t be sustained over a longer stretch of playing time, particularly given his 92.1 mph average exit velocity and 51.3% hard-hit rate, so perhaps there’s still a potent bat in there if the baseball gods quit messing with him. His defensive grades at the hot corner have stayed strong, even as he’s now 38 years old. Donaldson said in November he’d like to play for one more year and go out on a high note rather than the down season through which he struggled in 2023. He should be available on an inexpensive one-year contract.

Honorable mentions: Brian Anderson, Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas

The Top Unsigned First Basemen

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In recent days, MLBTR has taken a position-by-position look at the remaining free agent class (catchers, shortstops, center fielders). We’ll turn now to first base. There’s some overlap at the very top of the market.

  • Cody Bellinger: Bellinger is more of a center fielder, but he logged over 400 innings at first base for the Cubs last season. Playing him there regularly isn’t ideal — a good portion of his value lies in his ability to play an above-average center field — but a signing team could rotate him through first base on occasion. Bellinger, 28, is coming off his best season since his 2019 MVP campaign. He hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs across 556 plate appearances. His batted ball metrics (a 31.4% hard contact rate, 87.9 MPH average exit velocity) aren’t as impressive as one might assume from his 25+ homers and early-career power impact. Yet his 15.6% strikeout rate last season was a career low, a marked improvement after he fanned in a quarter of his plate appearances between 2020-22. Bellinger declined a qualifying offer from the Cubs. Chicago has been linked to him throughout the offseason, while he’s been tied to the Blue Jays, Giants and (more loosely) Angels as well.
  • Carlos Santana: Santana remains a capable veteran option even as he approaches his 38th birthday. He has posted roughly league-average offensive numbers in each of the last two seasons. Santana split the 2023 campaign between Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, running a combined .240/.318/.429 slash with 23 home runs through 619 plate appearances. He has walked in over 10% of his plate appearances in every season of his career. It’s not eye-popping offense for a first baseman, but Santana continues to play strong defense. Defensive Runs Saved graded him 11 runs above average in more than 1100 innings last season; Statcast put him two runs above par. Santana is also a respected clubhouse presence, evidenced by reported interest from his former teams in Seattle and Pittsburgh. The Brewers had also kept in touch with him this offseason but agreed to a two-year deal with Rhys Hoskins this week.
  • Brandon Belt: As he has been for most of his career, Belt was a very productive hitter against right-handed pitching last season. He signed a $9.3MM contract with the Blue Jays and turned in a .254/.369/.490 slash with 19 home runs through 404 plate appearances. While he struck out at a career-high 34.9% clip, he also drew a walk more than 15% of the time. Toronto used him almost exclusively in favorable platoon situations. That helps the overall batting line, but Belt remains effective in the role he was asked to play. He’ll be 36 in April and has battled knee injuries throughout his career. He’s likely to take one-year deals at this stage. His camp should look to beat last year’s salary, perhaps seeking something in the $12.5MM range which Joc Pederson recently landed from the Diamondbacks.
  • Joey Votto: After 17 seasons with the Reds, Votto will soon join the second organization of his career. Cincinnati has sufficient infield depth to move on from the former MVP, and president of baseball operations Nick Krall has publicly confirmed that as of now, the team plans to do just that. Votto wants to continue playing as he enters his age-40 season. He has been a replacement level performer over the past two years, hitting .204/.317/.394 since the start of 2022. That’s at least partially related to shoulder injuries, as he underwent rotator cuff surgery in ’22 and missed time last summer with shoulder discomfort. Votto still has excellent awareness of the strike zone. He won’t break the bank, but he could find a major league offer to mix in at first base and serve as a veteran clubhouse voice. The Blue Jays have been tied to the Toronto native, as have the Angels.
  • Garrett Cooper: A right-handed hitter, Cooper is a first-time free agent. He’d been a quietly productive offensive player for a few seasons with the Marlins. He was amidst an uncharacteristically middling season (.256/.296/.426) when Miami shipped him to the Padres at the deadline. The 33-year-old hit .239/.323/.402 over 41 contests in San Diego. His .251/.304/.419 platform showing wasn’t particularly impressive, but he ran a .274/.350/.444 slash between 2019-22. While Cooper drew reported interest from the Brewers last week, that’s probably off the table with Milwaukee signing Hoskins.

Honorable mentions: C.J. Cron, Donovan Solano

The Top Unsigned Shortstops

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Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about three weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. MLBTR already took a look at the center fielders and catchers still available and will now take a look at some notable shortstops.

  • Tim Anderson: It’s no secret that last year was a disaster for Anderson, a stunning drop-off from his previous performance. From 2019 to 2022, he hit .318/.347/.473 for a wRC+ of 123. Last year, his line was just .245/.286/.296. His wRC+ of 60 was the lowest of all qualified hitters in the league. His defense also seemed to take a step back. Despite that rough year, his prior track record and a weak free agent class should get him a chance somewhere. Optimists could perhaps point to an April knee injury as the culprit for 2023, with better health perhaps leading to better results. Anderson has expressed a willingness to move to other positions going forward, but the lack of better alternatives should work in his favor.
  • Amed Rosario: Like Anderson, Rosario also experienced a big drop-off in 2023, though not quite as precipitous. He hit .282/.315/.412 from 2019 to 2022, leading to a wRC+ of 101. The reviews on his glovework were mixed. Last year, he hit just .263/.305/.378 between the Guardians and Dodgers, leading to an 88 wRC+. The latter club, after acquiring him in a trade, had him spend more time at second base than at short. It’s unclear whether clubs around the league will consider him a proper shortstop or more of a second baseman that could play there in a pinch. The offense has been uneven but he’s always had good numbers with the platoon advantage, even in his poor 2023 campaign. The righty hitter slashed .282/.326/.442 against southpaws last year for a 112 wRC+.
  • Gio Urshela: Going back to his 2019 breakout with the Yankees, Urshela has hit .291/.335/.452 for a wRC+ of 115. He’s also considered a strong defender at third base but has only had brief glimpses at short. While he’s had over 4,600 innings at the hot corner, he’s tallied just 359 at the six hole. His numbers there haven’t been especially strong either. He’s also coming off a season that was ended by a pelvic fracture suffered in June. He may be the most reliable bat in this bunch but he’s probably not considered an everyday shortstop. Then again, the dearth of attractive options may tempt some club to give it a shot.
  • Elvis Andrus: The ceiling may not be too exciting with Andrus, but he has more reliability than the names ahead of him on this list. He played 112 games for the White Sox last year, missing a few weeks due to an oblique strain but otherwise staying healthy. He’s only had one full season in his career where he didn’t top that mark, getting to just 97 games in 2018. His .251/.304/.358 batting line translated to a wRC+ of just 81, not far below his career production, but he stole 12 bases and was still considered good in the field. His 1.1 fWAR on the year was easily the highest of anyone else in this post and he’s never been lower than that in a full season. Due to the aforementioned players dealing with rough years and injuries, none of these other guys even got to 0.5 fWAR.
  • Adalberto Mondesí: The flip side to Andrus, Mondesí is not reliable at all but comes with a more enticing ceiling. Health has been a constant issue with him, as his 2019 season was the only time he got into more than 75 games, suiting up for 102 contests that year. Most recently, he suffered a torn ACL in April of 2022 and hasn’t appeared in a game since. But he had a strong run with the Royals from 2018 to 2021 when he was able to take the field. He hit 35 home runs in 1,103 plate appearances, though a 4.3% walk rate kept his on-base percentage low. His .261/.293/.445 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 92 but he paired that with strong defense and 114 stolen bases in 271 games. He produced 7.4 fWAR in that time, not even two full seasons’ worth of contests. The health issues will give clubs plenty of pause but he’s still just 28 years old and is almost two years removed from his ACL surgery at this point.

Honorable mentions: Brandon Crawford, Nick Ahmed, Yu Chang

The Top Unsigned Catchers

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Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about three weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. MLBTR already took a look at the center fielders still available and will now take a look at some notable catchers.

  • Gary Sánchez: Sánchez has always had big power in his bat, having launched 173 home runs already in his career. But he’s often paired that with low batting average/on-base numbers, strikeouts and questionable defense. He wasn’t able to secure a major league deal last offseason, signing a minor league pact with the Giants and then opting out and signing another with the Mets. The latter club added him to their roster but quickly put him on waivers, with the Padres putting in a claim. From there, he went on to have a terrific season. He hit 19 home runs in just 75 games, keeping his strikeouts to a palatable 25.1% clip before a wrist fracture ended his season in September. His glovework has also improved lately, relative to earlier in his career. His joining the Padres coincided with Blake Snell completely turning his season around and eventually winning a second Cy Young. Snell spoke positively of his relationship with Sánchez during the year, as relayed by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, perhaps suggesting his game-calling could be viewed as a plus. There are warts on his profile but he’s clearly a strong player and should be able to find a better deal than he did a year ago. He’s going into his age-31 season.
  • Yasmani Grandal: Grandal has long been a strong backstop on both sides of the ball, but he has tapered off lately. He hit .240/.355/.451 from 2012 to 2021, combining power with a keen eye at the plate, but that batting line has dropped to .219/.305/.306 over the past two seasons. He’s still a strong framer and was good against lefty pitchers as recently as 2022. The switch-hitter slashed .257/.409/.365 against southpaws that year but just .186/.265/.241 against righties, though that split evened out last year. Now 35 years old, he may not be able to get a job as a club’s primary catcher, but his defense, framing and switch-hitting ability should make him a fit somewhere.
  • Curt Casali: Casali has never been more than a part-time player, but he’s been a solid one. He’s appeared in each of the past 10 MLB seasons, though never in more than 84 games in any individual campaign. He has popped 47 home runs in 1,454 plate appearances while walking at a 10.7% rate, leading to a .220/.314/.380 batting line. His 89 wRC+ is below average overall but pretty close to par for a catcher. He’s generally considered a capable defender as well. He’s coming off a disappointing season wherein he hit poorly in 40 games for the Reds before landing on the injured list in July due to a foot contusion and not returning. He’s now going into his age-35 season.
  • Manny Piña: Similar to Casali, Piña has long been a serviceable part-time catcher. He has appeared in 10 MLB seasons, only twice playing more than 76 games. He’s hit 43 home runs in his 1,255 plate appearances and slashed .243/.312/.410 for a wRC+ of 91. He’s only played nine big league games over the past two years, primarily due to wrist issues. He underwent surgery in May of 2022 while with Atlanta, then was flipped to the A’s going into 2023 as part of the Sean Murphy deal. The wrist issues lingered into last year and he was released in August. He’s now going into his age-37 season.
  • Mike Zunino: As recently as 2021, Zunino showed off his huge power at the plate, launching 33 home runs for the Rays. But the year after, he required thoracic outlet surgery and wasn’t able to bounce back. The Guardians gave him a one-year, $6MM deal for 2023 but he was nowhere near his previous self. Strikeouts have always been a problem for him even when he was at his best, as evidenced by his career rate of 35.1%. However, that rate was all the way up to 43.6% last year as he hit just .177/.271/.306. Zunino was released in June and didn’t sign with anyone else after that. His defense is considered strong, so he could be a useful player if his offense improved with a bit more remove from his surgery. He’ll be 33 in March.

The Top Unsigned Center Fielders

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We’re less than three weeks from pitchers and catchers beginning to report to Spring Training. While the offseason is theoretically winding down, there are still a number of noteworthy players on the open market. The top unsigned position player headlines the group of remaining center fielders.

  • Cody Bellinger: Bellinger rejected a qualifying offer from the Cubs at the beginning of the offseason. That was an easy call as he sought a long-term deal after a successful rebound campaign in Chicago. The 28-year-old is coming off his best season since his 2019 MVP campaign. He hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs across 556 plate appearances. Bellinger’s batted ball metrics (a 31.4% hard contact rate, 87.9 MPH average exit velocity) aren’t as impressive as one might assume from his 25+ homers and early-career power impact. That said, he seemingly made a concerted effort to put more balls in play. His 15.6% strikeout rate last season was a career low, a marked improvement after he fanned in a quarter of his plate appearances between 2020-22. The Cubs are most often linked to Bellinger, who has also been loosely tied to the Blue Jays and Angels at points this offseason.
  • Michael A. Taylor: Taylor is a solid glove-first regular. Even as he nears his 33rd birthday, he continues to post well above-average defensive grades. Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast estimated he was between five and seven runs better than the standard center fielder in a little under 1000 innings for the Twins last year. Taylor paired that with one of his better offensive showings. He hit a career-high 21 home runs and swiped 13 bags in 129 contests. That came with a subpar .220 average and .278 on-base percentage, as he struck out more than a third of the time. The whiffs are part of the package with Taylor, but he has enough power to profile as a bottom-of-the-lineup regular so long as he continues to defend at this level. The Angels, Padres, Pirates and Red Sox are among the teams that have been linked to Taylor.
  • Adam Duvall: It’s debatable whether Duvall qualifies as more than an emergency option in center field. He’s been a left fielder for the majority of his career. The Red Sox moved him more frequently into center last year, an odd choice for a player in his age-34 season. Duvall’s defensive grades in 478 innings of center field work were predictably below-average. He’s still a solid defender in left who can moonlight up the middle, however. More importantly, Duvall had a rebound year at the plate. He blasted 21 homers in only 353 plate appearances, running a .247/.303/.531 slash. As is the case with Taylor, teams looking at Duvall will have to live with some strikeouts and a low OBP. He has a trio of 30-homer seasons on his résumé and might have gotten a fourth last year had he not missed a couple months with a wrist fracture. The Angels and incumbent Red Sox have been tied to Duvall this offseason; Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggested last week the bidding may come down to those two clubs.
  • Aaron Hicks: By late May, it wasn’t clear how much longer Hicks would remain in the big leagues. He was released by the Yankees as he seemed en route to a third straight poor season. The Orioles somewhat surprisingly added him on a big league deal. From that point, the switch-hitting Hicks had a resurgence. He closed the year with a .275/.381/.425 slash over 236 plate appearances in Baltimore. Hicks walked at a massive 14.8% clip while striking out only 20.8% of the time. That won’t erase the memories of his struggles toward the end of his tenure in the Bronx, but it should land him a guaranteed MLB roster spot again. He’d be essentially a free pickup for whatever teams signs him. The Yankees are still on the hook for next year’s $9.5MM salary and a $1MM buyout on a 2025 option. A signing team would only pay Hicks at the $740K league minimum rate for whatever time he spends on the MLB roster, which would be subtracted from New York’s obligations.
  • Travis Jankowski: The lefty-swinging Jankowski had a nice year as a role player for the World Series champion Rangers. He hit .263/.357/.332 and stole 19 bases in 20 attempts over 107 games. That should be enough to land him another MLB deal on a low base salary. Jankowski’s offensive upside is limited by bottom-of-the-scale power. He has excellent contact skills, a patient approach, and enough speed to factor in on the bases and at all three outfield positions. He’s a solid bench piece.

2023-24 MLB Free Agents

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The following players are currently free agents.  Each player’s 2024 age is in parentheses.  The cutoff for this list is typically 50 plate appearances or 20 innings pitched in the Majors in 2023.

For a free agent list that can be filtered to signed or unsigned players, position, age, handedness, and much more, check out our MLB Contract Tracker.  The Contract Tracker is only available to Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.

Updated 3-27-24

Catchers

Manny Piña (37)

First Basemen

Brandon Belt (36)
Wil Myers (33)
Darin Ruf (37)
Donovan Solano (36)

Second Basemen

Hanser Alberto (31)
Jonathan Schoop (32)
Jean Segura (34)
Donovan Solano (36)

Shortstops

Adalberto Mondesi (28)

Third Basemen

Evan Longoria (38)
Jean Segura (34)

Left Fielders

Corey Dickerson (35)
Austin Meadows (29)
Tommy Pham (36)
AJ Pollock (36)
Raimel Tapia (30)

Center Fielders

None

Right Fielders

Wil Myers (33)

Designated Hitters

Kyle Lewis (28)
Austin Meadows (29)

Starting Pitchers

Matthew Boyd (33)
Mike Clevinger (33)
Johnny Cueto (38)
Zack Greinke (40)
Rich Hill (44)
Noah Syndergaard (31)
Julio Urias (27)
Vince Velasquez (32)

Right-Handed Relievers

Anthony Bass (36)
Brad Boxberger (36)
Codi Heuer (27)
Mark Melancon (39)
Zach Neal (35)
Alex Reyes (29)
Nick Wittgren (33)

Left-Handed Relievers

Jarlin Garcia (31)
Brad Hand (34)
Aaron Loup (36)

Zack Greinke Preparing To Pitch In 2024

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The representatives for free agent right-hander Zack Greinke are telling teams that he is preparing to pitch in 2024 and open to contract talks, per a report from Jon Morosi of MLB.com. He was reportedly still undecided on his future as recently as last month but it now seems he has tilted towards returning for another season on the mound.

Now 40 years old, Greinke is no longer the ace he was for most of his career, but he’s still a serviceable veteran capable of logging some solid innings. In each of the past two offseasons, he has signed one-year deals with the Royals, the club that gave him his start. Kansas City drafted him in 2002 and he pitched for them at the big league level from 2004 to 2010. He then went on an odyssey around the league, jumping to the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Astros, before returning to Kansas City last year.

The 2022 campaign saw Greinke throw 137 innings with a 3.68 earned run average. He only struck out 12.5% of batters faced but limited walks to just a 4.6% clip and kept 41.3% of balls in play on the ground. His ERA jumped up to 5.06 this year, though his peripherals actually improved, with a 16.4% strikeout rate, 3.9% walk rate and 43.1% ground ball rate. But his strand rate went from 72.9% to 68.7% as a few more fly balls went over the fence, leading to a 4.74 FIP and 4.57 SIERA that paint a more flattering portrait.

It’s unclear how much interest Greinke would have in pitching for teams other than the Royals at this stage. He reportedly turned down similar offers from the Tigers and Twins prior to 2022, preferring to return to where his career began.

The Royals agreed to a deal with Seth Lugo today, adding him into the rotation mix alongside Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Jordan Lyles, with guys like Daniel Lynch IV, Alec Marsh, Ángel Zerpa and others also in the mix.

General manager J.J. Picollo previously stated that the club could have around $30MM to spend in the offseason. The deal for Lugo, along with deals for Will Smith and Chris Stratton, have resulted in $24MM spent on upgrading the 2024 club. That suggests the budget might be getting a little tight, but it’s possible they can stretch it a bit. Greinke was given a guarantee of $13MM last year and a base of $8.5MM here in 2023, but there was also $7.5MM available in incentives, with Greinke eventually unlocking $4.5MM of those.

Perhaps the two sides could find a similar incentive-laden deal for 2024, allowing the club to further strengthen their pitching depth for the coming season. For Greinke personally, his career strikeout total currently sits at 2,979, just 21 punchouts away from the 3,000 milestone that only 19 pitchers have reached.

Free Agent Notes: Imanaga, Fedde, Barnes

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Left-hander Shota Imanaga was officially posted by the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball late last month, kicking off a 45-day window during which he’ll be eligible to sign with major league clubs. While Imanaga only just officially joined the ranks of MLB’s free agents days ago, he’s long been expected to be posted this offseason. That’s allowed Imanaga’s free agency to develop considerable buzz in recent months.

While he’s largely been overshadowed by NPB superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who’s widely considered the top starting pitcher on this offseason’s market, Imanaga is an impressive pitcher in his own right who is expected to be a potential mid-rotation arm in the big leagues with a low-nineties fastball as part of a deep pitch mix that Brandon Tew of Sports Info Solutions recently profiled. MLBTR ranked Imanaga tenth (sixth among starting pitchers) on our annual top 50 free agents list and projected him for a five year, $85MM deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan suggests that Imanaga’s market may be even stronger than expected, noting in a recent article that while teams were initially hopeful the southpaw could be had on a deal similar to the five-year, $75MM pact Kodai Senga landed last offseason, his final deal figures to exceed that, potentially to the point of approaching a $100MM guarantee.

Should Imanaga’s contract ultimately reach the $100MM range suggested by Passan, it would be a major win not only for Imanaga but also the BayStars. Imanaga’s free agency is subject to the MLB/NPB posting system, under which the team that signs the left-hander would owe the BayStars a posting fee worth as much as 20% of Imanaga’s total guarantee, with the percentage going down as the price of Imanaga’s contract goes up. If Imanaga were to sign for $100MM guaranteed, the BayStars would receive approximately $16.9MM, or just over $2MM more than they would receive if Imanaga signed an $85MM deal in line with MLBTR’s projections. The Cubs, Red Sox, and Mets have all been connected to Imanaga so far this offseason, though it’s certainly possible more teams are involved in the bidding for the 30-year-old’s services.

More free agent notes from around the league…

  • Former Nationals top prospect Erick Fedde is among the most interesting free agents on the market this offseason after a dominant season with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization. Previous reports have indicated that Fedde, who sports a career 5.41 ERA across six seasons in the majors but altered his repertoire before dominating to the tune of a 2.00 ERA across 30 starts with the Dinos this year, has garnered interest from both the Dinos and MLB clubs. Su-eun Jeon of Baseball Korea (h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO) adds additional clarity to those reports, noting that Fedde has received interest from two MLB teams and a team in Japan’s NPB in addition to the offer he’s received to return to the Dinos. While it’s possible that Fedde could look to return to stateside ball this offseason, it’s worth noting that no former big leaguer returning from the KBO has secured a guarantee of even $10MM in the majors. That could lead Fedde to bet on himself by either remaining with the Dinos in hopes of a similarly dominant season in 2024 to further bolster his case for a more significant pact, or even consider a move to Japan in order to face NPB’s stiffer competition.
  • Fedde isn’t the only American-born player of note who could look to return to the majors this offseason, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi suggests left-hander Charlie Barnes is expected to garner MLB interest in free agency this offseason. Barnes, 28, was a fourth-round pick by the Twins in the 2017 draft and made nine appearances with the big league club in 2021. He struggled to a 5.92 ERA and 5.06 FIP in 38 innings of work for Minnesota across nine appearances. He’s spent the two years since then pitching for the KBO’s Lotte Giants, with a combined 3.46 ERA in 61 starts. Looking just at his 2023 season, Barnes struck out 20% of batters faced with a 3.28 ERA in 170 1/3 innings of work. In addition to the aforementioned MLB interest, Morosi suggests that the Giants are expected to have strong interest in retaining Barnes, who served as the ace of their staff this season.

Five Non-Tendered Relievers To Keep An Eye On This Offseason

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Every year, MLB’s non-tender deadline sees club’s allow players under team control to head for the open market early, whether it be due to an increasing price tag in arbitration or a need for additional space on the club’s 40-man roster. While being cast aside in this manner is often a bad omen for a player’s prospect, the likes of right-hander Kevin Gausman and center fielder Cody Bellinger have gone on to find considerable success after being non-tendered.

Relief arms are among the players most commonly cut loose at the non-tender deadline. Though it’s elite players on the level of Bellinger and Gausman aren’t found among the relievers non-tendered each year, teams find quality bullpen pieces among the pile of discarded players fairly frequently. Rays right-hander Jason Adam, Orioles lefty Danny Coulombe and Phillies righty Jeff Hoffman are among the pieces non-tendered in recent years who went on to have strong seasons out of the bullpen.

Now that we’ve discussed five hitters and starters to keep an eye on this coming winter, let’s turn our attention to bullpen arms. Though this offseason’s crop of free agent relievers has plenty of interesting options, headlined by relief ace Josh Hader, all 30 clubs are constantly on the lookout for additional bullpen help, more so than they are for any other position. Without further ado, let’s take a look at five relievers who hit free agency following last week’s non-tender deadline and could be worth keeping an eye on throughout the offseason. Players are listed in alphabetical order, with their age for the 2024 season in parentheses.

Adam Cimber (33)

A ninth-round pick by the Padres in the 2013 draft, Cimber made his big league debut with San Diego during the 2018 season but was almost immediately shipped to Cleveland alongside Brad Hand in a deadline deal that sent catching prospect Francisco Mejia to the Padres. Cimber remained in Cleveland through the end of the 2020 season, acting as an adequate middle reliever with a combined 4.30 ERA (108 ERA+) and 4.70 FIP across 110 appearances. The sidearming righty had a breakout season in 2021, with a 2.26 ERA and 3.07 FIP in 71 2/3 innings of work between the Marlins and Blue Jays.

His excellence continued for Toronto last year, as he posted a 2.80 ERA with a 3.47 FIP while appearing in 77 contests, the most in the big leagues that season. Unfortunately, things came off the rails for Cimber in 2023 as he was sidelined for much of the year by multiple shoulder injuries. That being said, it’s easy to see how Cimber could positively impact a club’s bullpen in 2024 if healthy, given the late-inning potential he flashed in recent years.

Trevor Gott (31)

Gott was drafted by the Padres in the same year as Cimber, with San Diego selecting the righty in the sixth round of the 2013 draft. He didn’t stick in the Padres organization long, however, as he was quickly shipped to Anaheim before making his big league debut with the Angels in 2015. Though he posted a strong 2.85 ERA and 3.68 FIP across his first 57 big league appearances with the Halos and Nationals, the 2017-20 seasons saw Gott struggle with injuries and under-performance as he posted a ghastly 6.36 ERA and 5.18 FIP in 89 big league appearances. Those struggles saw Gott spend the entire 2021 campaign in the minor leagues.

Since then, however, Gott has fashioned himself into a solid middle relief option with peripherals that could hint at something more. Gott has been roughly league average by the results the past two seasons, with a 4.17 ERA across 103 2/3 innings of work split between Milwaukee, Seattle, and Queens. During that time, Gott has posted 23.7% strikeout rate against a 6.9% walk rate, both better-than league average marks. If Gott can replicate his 2023 campaign while getting his sky-high .343 BABIP under control in 2024, he could prove to be a valuable relief arm for a contending club.

Tim Hill (34)

The oldest entrant on this list, Hill was a 32nd-round pick by the Royals in the 2014 draft and made his debut with the club in 2018 at the age of 28. Hill was a steady if uninspiring left-handed relief option for Kansas City and San Diego from 2018-22, with a 3.88 ERA and 3.98 FIP that both clocked in slightly better than league average in that time. Unfortunately, his 2023 campaign saw him post a brutal 5.48 ERA and matching 5.49 FIP in 44 1/3 innings of work.

While Hill posted a well-below league average 12.9% strikeout rate and allowed a massive 1.033 OPS to right-handers this year, his fantastic 61.2% groundball rate in 2023 and strong .223/.302/.304 slash line allowed against lefties for his career suggest he could be a solid option against left-handers out of the bullpen next year for a club lacking depth in that area.

Brandon Hughes (28)

A 16th-round pick by the Cubs in the 2017 draft, Hughes began his professional career as an outfielder before converting to left-handed relief prior to the 2019 season. He posted solid numbers in the lower levels of the minors in that first season as a bullpen arm before breaking out in a big way during the 2021 campaign, with a 1.71 ERA in 42 innings between High-A and Double-A. After 16 2/3 scoreless innings of work at the Double- and Triple-A levels in 2022, Hughes got the call to the majors and fashioned a strong rookie campaign, with a 3.12 ERA and 4.64 FIP in 57 2/3 innings of work for Chicago while picking up eight saves.

Hughes appeared poised to be a key piece of the Cubs’ bullpen in 2023 after his strong 2022 debut. While he managed a strong 27% strikeout rate, he struggled badly with his control (12.7% walk rate) and surrendered 11 runs in 17 appearances before seeing his 2023 cut short by knee surgery. That said, he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training in 2024, and could be an interesting left-handed relief option for clubs thanks to his youth and recent late-inning success.

Penn Murfee (30)

Murfee stands out somewhat from the rest of the options on this list thanks to his consistently excellent results at the big league level. Initially drafted by the Mariners in the 33rd round of the 2018 draft, Murfee debuted in the big leagues during the 2022 season and fashioned an excellent rookie campaign with a 2.99 ERA, 3.10 FIP, and 27.9% strikeout rate across 69 1/3 innings of work. He followed that up with even better results in 2023, as the right-hander posted a sterling 1.26 ERA across his first sixteen appearances this year. Unfortunately, those would prove to be his only appearances in 2023 as he underwent UCL surgery in late June.

Murfee was cut loose by the Mariners but found himself claimed by both the Mets and Braves before being non-tendered by Atlanta at the deadline earlier this month. Though Murfee figures to miss most, if not all, of the 2024 campaign, the right-hander is under team control through at least the 2028 season. That long-term team control could make the late-blooming righty an interesting pickup for a team willing to take a chance on him as he continues his rehab process.

Details On Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Plan For Free Agent Meetings

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Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been officially free to negotiate with MLB clubs since last Tuesday, when the Orix Buffaloes posted the star pitcher.  The free agent courtship process looks to begin in earnest next week, as SNY’s Andy Martino reported on how Yamamoto and his representatives at Wasserman will approach the decision of picking the righty’s new team.

The first stage is a round of phone calls and Zoom meetings with all of the interested teams.  Yamamoto is then expected to arrive in the United States for a series of in-person meetings and further negotiations with however many finalists make this second and presumably last stage of talks.  The timeline for these in-person sitdowns is after baseball’s Winter Meetings (December 4-7), which will allow teams a better sense of the pitching market if some other top hurlers are signed or traded in the interim, and allows Yamamoto’s camp that same knowledge as well as perhaps extra negotiating leverage, if remaining suitors are even more desperate for pitching.

Though Yamamoto’s posting window extends until January 4, it “is not expected to require that much time” for the right-hander to decide on a contract, Martino writes.  Obviously there’s a lot of fluidity in this timeline depending on how many teams makes Yamamoto’s in-person shortlist and what types of offers end up on the table, but it would tentatively seem like he might have his decision made sometime between mid-December and Christmas Day.

Landing Yamamoto would undoubtedly make for a merry holiday season for any team or fanbase, given all of the hype that has surrounded the 25-year-old’s impending arrival in Major League Baseball.  With a 1.82 ERA and a long list of accolades amassed over his seven seasons with the Buffaloes, Yamamoto is one of the most intriguing players to ever make the jump from NPB to MLB, as well as something of a unique free agent in general due to his young age.  It is widely anticipated that Yamamoto will earn at least $200MM in his contract (MLBTR projects a nine-year, $225MM deal), and agent Joel Wolfe said earlier this week that 11-14 teams had already been in touch within the first day of Yamamoto’s posting.

Martino also adds a clarification to a statement made by Wolfe earlier in the week, as the agent told Japanese media during a conference call that his client would have no problem playing with another Japanese player.  Due to a translation error, this was incorrectly interpreted as Wolfe saying that Yamamoto was prioritizing teams that already had at least one Japanese player on the roster, which isn’t the case.

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