We’re less than a month away from spring training. That’s always worth celebrating, even while a lot of the country is buried under snow. By this point in January, usually most of the top free agents have already signed. That’s not the case this year, as plenty of the best players remain available.
If Opening Day was today, there would be enough unemployed talent to comprise a competitive team, so here’s a 26-man roster of remaining free agents. We can look forward to them finding new homes over the coming weeks while we wait for pitchers and catchers to report.
1. 2B Whit Merrifield- The veteran second baseman/corner outfielder made his third All-Star appearance last season, but slumped in the second half. Even though Merrifield will turn 35 this month, he’s by far the best middle infielder remaining in a weak class after hitting .272/.318/.372 with 26 stolen bases for the Toronto Blue Jays.
2. CF Cody Bellinger- The consensus best position player in this winter’s free-agent crop (not counting Shohei Ohtani) is still on the open market. After the Los Angeles Dodgers released Bellinger a year ago, he hit .307 with 26 home runs and 20 stolen bases, winning a Silver Slugger with the Chicago Cubs. He could return to Wrigley, but the Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants are rumored to be in the mix as well.
3. 3B Matt Chapman- Chapman had a typically superb season in his walk year with the Blue Jays. He slashed .240/.330/.424 and won his fourth Gold Glove at the hot corner. He posted 4.4 WAR and has at least 3.2 WAR in every season of his career except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
4. DH J.D. Martinez- Martinez is 36 and can’t field a position anymore, but his bat hasn’t slowed down whatsoever. He blasted 33 home runs with the Dodgers in 2023 with a stellar .572 slugging percentage.
5. 1B Brandon Belt- Belt will be 36 in April, but he still draws lots of walks and hits for power. He amassed a .369 on-base percentage last season and his 19 home runs were the second-highest in his career—moving to Toronto after a dozen years in San Francisco will do wonders for any power hitter. He’s strictly a platoon bat though—he batted just .235/.308/.265 against left-handed pitching.
6. RF Jorge Soler- Soler was mostly a designated hitter for the Miami Marlins in 2023, but he earned his first All-Star nod in a 36-homer campaign. Even though he’ll only be 32 on Opening Day, his limited defense and injury history might make it difficult for him to secure a long contract.
7. LF Tommy Pham- After three seasons of mysteriously absent power, Pham’s slugging percentage climbed back into the mid-.400s in 2023. He collected 16 home runs and 22 stolen bases in the regular season, then batted .279 with three more homers and a pair of steals in the postseason for the pennant-winning Arizona Diamondbacks.
8. C Gary Sánchez- In a thin catching market, Sánchez is the only player who profiles as a starter, especially after Mitch Garver already signed with the Seattle Mariners. He couldn’t find a major-league contract in his last free-agent foray, but the San Diego Padres grabbed him off waivers at the end of May and he belted 19 homers for them over the final four months of the season.
9. SS Elvis Andrus- At this point in his career, the 35-year-old Andrus is not a starting-caliber ballplayer. He managed a .304 on-base percentage for the Chicago White Sox last year with only six home runs in 406 plate appearances. He’s technically the best shortstop left in free agency, but if a team needs an upgrade at short, they’ll need to trade for someone.
We’ll go with a five-man bench listed alphabetically.
C Yasmani Grandal- As recently as 2021, Grandal was arguably the best catcher in baseball, but his production fell of a cliff in 2022 and didn’t recover last year. Now 35, he’ll need to try to earn a job as a backup somewhere because a major-league contract isn’t guaranteed.
OF Adam Duvall- Duvall does one thing better than anyone else in baseball: pull fly balls to left field. That served him well with the Boston Red Sox as he enjoyed a .933 OPS at home in Fenway Park but a more pedestrian .745 OPS on the road. He would do well to find another employer with an inviting left-field fence.
IF Donovan Solano- Solano makes plenty of contact, even if he doesn’t hit for much power. He batted .282 last season for the Minnesota Twins and has a .296 batting average since 2019. That’s satisfactory if he can still handle second and third base, but at 36 he’s primarily a first baseman where his lack of pop is more problematic.
CF Michael A. Taylor- Taylor has always been an exceptional defensive center fielder, but he set a new personal best with 21 home runs in 2023. Similar defense-forward outfielders Harrison Bader and Kevin Kiermaier both signed one-year, $10.5 million contracts.
IF/DH Justin Turner- Turner’s bat isn’t as prodigious as it used to be, but he was still an above-average hitter at age-38 for the Red Sox last season. He can play first base if necessary and fill in at second and third in a pinch, but he’s mostly a designated hitter looking for a one-year deal at this point in his career.
Two of this winter’s biggest arms remain available.
1. LHP Blake Snell- The 31-year-old ace won the Cy Young Award with the San Diego Padres last season, the second of his career. He also led MLB with a 2.25 ERA. Given his resume, he likely seeks a contract approaching $200 million.
2. LHP Jordan Montgomery- Montgomery posted a 3.20 ERA last year and a 2.79 mark after being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Texas Rangers. He threw 31 innings over six appearances in the postseason with a 2.90 ERA, culminating in a World Series championship. He started at least 30 games in each of the past three seasons.
3. RHP Michael Lorenzen- Lorenzen became a full-time starter in 2022 after eight years working mostly in relief. He was an All-Star for the first time in 2023, but struggled after a midseason trade to the Philadelphia Phillies. 153 innings last year was a career-high by far, so durability is a concern.
4. LHP Clayton Kershaw- After 16 seasons in Dodger Blue in which he won three Cy Youngs and an MVP, it’s hard to envision Kershaw in any other uniform. A reunion is possible, but he could be tempted to join his hometown Rangers. An injury will keep him out for the first few months of 2024, so he might not decide on a team until after the season starts.
5. RHP Brandon Woodruff- No matter where Woodruff signs, he won’t pitch at all in 2024 due to shoulder surgery. If he can get back to full health, he’s one of the best pitchers in the game, sporting a 2.76 ERA over the last four years. Expect him to sign a two-year contract that will allow him to re-establish his value in 2025.
Listed alphabetically, some flame-throwing relievers are still available.
RHP Ryan Brasier- Relievers are typically volatile, and Brasier exemplified that to an extreme degree in 2023. He had an unsightly 7.29 ERA through 20 appearances when the Red Sox released him on May 21. He then signed with the Dodgers and posted an incredible 0.70 ERA over 39 games in L.A.
LHP Aroldis Chapman- Even at 35 years old, Chapman’s sinker was still the fastest in MLB at an average of 101.1 mph. He was also one of just four pitchers to average 90 mph on a splitter as he struck out 103 batters in 58 1/3 innings.
LHP Josh Hader- Hader is without question the best left-handed reliever in MLB. He’s been an All-Star in every complete season of his career and had a 1.28 ERA last year with the Padres. He has 648 strikeouts in 388 2/3 career innings.
RHP Héctor Neris- Neris put up the best ERA of his career in his walk year—an exceptional 1.71 mark. The Rangers and New York Yankees are the frontrunners for his services according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
RHP David Robertson- Robertson was a desirable trade candidate at the deadline in July when he boasted a 2.05 ERA, but he faltered down the stretch after the Marlins acquired him. Still, the soon-to-be 39-year-old fanned 78 batters in 65 1/3 innings.
RHP Yariel Rodríguez- Rodríguez is one of the more interesting relievers in free agency. He played in his native Cuba from 2015-2020, then emigrated to Japan and pitched for the Chunichi Dragons for two years. He had mixed success as a starter but was excellent as a full-time reliever in 2022 with a 1.15 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. After pitching for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic, he didn’t return to Japan, instead opting to work out in the Dominican Republic. Now he’s a free agent looking to join an MLB club for a yet-to-be-determined role.
RHP Robert Stephenson- Stephenson’s 3.10 ERA last season was good, but his secondary stats were exceptional. He had a miniscule 0.88 WHIP and his 38.3 strikeout rate was third in MLB among relievers trailing only Félix Bautista (46.4%) and Aroldis Chapman (41.4%).
