Andrew's Top 10 Most Intriguing MLB Free Agents
I'm ranking the uber-talented players on the open market that most excite me this winter. No. 1 is beyond obvious...
Hot Stove season is my favorite time of year.
I mean, what isn’t to love? We see a flurry of movement as some of the best players in the game switch teams, while franchises spend a boatload of money in Free Agency in order to bolster their rosters.
We also witness organizations use the Trade Market in order to swing for the fences and make a move that they hope will put their teams over the top.
The offseason is just the best.
Of course, there are sizable expectations linked to this offseason because of the biggest prize available…
Shohei Ohtani.
The two-way unicorn should make history in more ways than one during Free Agency, and the entire sports world is anxiously waiting to see where the superstar lands.
Once that sparkling domino falls, expect what has been a slow Hot Stove season to date really pick up. Outside of Ohtani, there are a handful of big-time free agents available that should command big dollars on the open market. Sure, this year’s Free Agent class isn’t the deepest, or most talent-laden, but there are still a slew of high-profile studs that will earn a handsome payday.
There are some names already off the board, however. Starting pitcher Aaron Nola returned to the Phillies with a seven-year, $172 million contract. Veteran starter Sonny Gray inked a three-year, $75 million deal with the Cardinals. And the Mets signed former Yankees Luis Severino to a one-year, $13 million contract on Monday. Oh, and the Reds signed RHP Nick Martinez to a two-year, $26 million deal.
Come this time next week, I fully expect that Hot Stove season will be really cooking.
With the heat in the kitchen really expected to rise once the Winter Meetings get underway in Nashville next week, I thought now was the perfect time to run through my Top 10 most intriguing Free Agents in Major League Baseball.
I’ve listed the 2023 stats for each player.
We’re starting with the man who is the talk of the entire sports world right now…
1. Shohei Ohtani, SP / DH
2023 Stats (Hitting): 135 G, 599 PA, .304/.412/.654/.1.066, 44 HR, 95 RBI, 26 2B, 8 3B, 20 SB, 91 BB, 151 H, 184 OPS+, 10.0 WAR
2023 Stats (Pitching): 23 G, 10-5, 3.14 ERA, 167 K, 132 IP, 1.061 WHIP, 10.4 BB%, 31.5 K%
There was simply no other choice. Shohei Ohtani is the biggest and most notable star to hit the open market in a considerable amount of time. Players like Ohtani are once in a generation, and his Free Agency should reflect that given the high and understandable demand for the best player on the planet.
Granted, the prospect of Ohtani becoming the first $500 million man in North American sports took a battering with the news that the two-way superstar needed to undergo a second elbow surgery after suffering a torn ACL late in the 2023 season. However, Ohtani is expected to pitch again in 2025 and he offers tremendous value as a hitter, so it is feasible to suggest that the unicorn could still command a deal worth north of $400 million over a long-term deal.
Whoever is lucky enough to win the Ohtani sweepstakes will be gaining one of the most uber-talented, freakishly gifted, special players we’ve ever seen play the wonderful game of baseball. It no longer feels right to keep comparing Ohtani to Babe Ruth. Ohtani has etched out his own place in his very own stratosphere when it comes to being one of the all-time greats already.
I mean, you can already make the case that Ohtani is a Hall of Famer just six years into his Major League career.
That’s just how absurdly dominant he has been in North America.
Speaking of dominance, Ohtani was the only real candidate for American League MVP after putting up historical numbers and producing a slew of jaw-dropping performances throughout 2023. The finished product would have been even more eye-popping were it not for that UCL injury which ended Ohtani’s season in September.
He finished the year with a stellar line of .304/.412/.654 to go along with an AL leading 44 home runs. Ohtani was equally great on the mound, posting a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings pitched. When you consider the kind of insane, all-time stretch Ohtani has been on since 2021, you can’t really overstate how significant a deal it will be for the team that wins arguably the greatest prize that’s ever been available in Free Agency.
Ohtani is doing un-human like things, and he deserves every single dollar he’s going to get this offseason. Even without being able to pitch in 2024, Ohtani should be able to hit between 40-60 homers, drive in a ton of runs and also hit double figures in stolen bases next year.
Where I Want To See Ohtani Land: Heart says the Mets, but I know that won’t happen. Therefore, I would love to see Ohtani sign with the Dodgers because going to LA would give him the best possible chance to win. He has been stuck on a garbage Angels team for six years now and hasn’t even come close to tasting the playoffs, which sucks for him and also for the rest of baseball given that we want to see Ohtani dominate on the biggest stage possible. A lineup featuring Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman would transform the Dodgers into the new evil empire, and that is a team that can also continue to surround Ohtani with more pieces. I think the Cubs would also be a fun fit seeing that they are going all out to win now.
2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP
2023 Stats (Pitching, NPB): 23 G, 16-6, 164 IP, 1.21 ERA, 0.884 WHIP, 169 SO, 28 BB
Outside of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is without question the most intriguing free agent in this year’s class.
Yamamoto has been the gold standard in Japanese baseball for a while now. To be more precise, the righty has been on a historic tear in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. He owns a stellar 1.44 ERA over a three-year stretch, and a 1.72 ERA in 967 2/3 innings over a seven-year career in Japan, while he became just the third player in history to win the Pacific League MVP Award in three straight seasons. Yamamoto has also won three straight Sawamura Awards - the Japan equivalent of a Cy Young Award - and three straight Gold Gloves.
Furthermore, the uber-talented stud hasn’t allowed more than a 6.4 H/9 ratio since his first-season in 2017. He’s allowed a grand total of just 36 home runs in 967 innings, and he cemented his status as a true NPB legend with 14 strikeouts in a complete game in Game 6 of the Japan Series. Able to blend power and command to perfection, incredibly durable and boasting an electric and deep pitch mix, Yamamoto has all the skills and the all intangibles needed to morph into a high-end ace in Major League Baseball.
The most attractive thing about Yamamoto, however, is his age. Still only 25-years-old, the starting pitcher should be the long-term ace of the future for any team he signs for. He won’t cost teams the kind of penalties that come with a qualifying offer, plus teams will have the luxury of locking up greatness over a multi-year deal. Yamamoto is expected to get a nine-year, $225 million deal, per MLB Trade Rumors, which would be the largest ever contract for a Japanese player coming to MLB. It would shatter the previous record currently held by the Yankees, who gave RHP Masahiro Tanaka a $155 million contract back in 2004.
Where I want To See Yamamoto Land: The Mets. While there are a slew of teams chasing the star, including the Yankees, Yamamoto landing in Queens makes a ton of sense. The Mets need starting pitching badly, and they now know it is a bad idea to fill your rotation with veterans who are at the end of their careers. By signing Yamamoto, the Mets would be able to pair him with Kodai Senga at the top of the rotation for years to come. Now that would be a deadly one-two punch. And owner Steve Cohen has the money to outbid every other team for Yamamoto’s services.
3. Josh Hader, Closer
2023 Stats (Pitching): 61 G, 56 1/3 IP, 1.28 ERA, 33 SV, 1.101 WHIP, 85 SO, 30 BB, 321 ERA+
The San Diego Padres were the definition of a head scratcher in 2023. They were an absolute dumpster fire, missing the postseason despite boasting a lineup full of stars, yet they also had some of the most productive players in the game.
File Josh Hader under that category.
After a down year in 2022, in which he posted a combined 5.22 ERA with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Padres, Hader rebounded in 2023 to reclaim his spot as one of the most elite closers in the sport.
Hader posted a sparkling 1.28 ERA over 61 appearances in 2023, converting 33 of 38 save opportunities and striking out 85 with a 1.101 WHIP and a 321 ERA+. The lefty ranked in the top 10 percent of the league in chase percentage, whiff percentage, strikeout percentage, barrel percentage, hard-hit percentage, xERA and xBA in 2023.
Stats aside, the eye test will also tell you that Hader was the best and most clutch closer in all of baseball last year.
Plus, with that long, flowing, well-groomed lettuce, Hader is just so damn cool to watch execute his filthy stuff on the mound. And, given that he’s about to become the highest-paid reliever in the game, Hader won’t be short of money to ensure that mane is kept beautiful.
Where I Want To See Hader Land: This is easy. The Baltimore Orioles. With closer Félix Bautista out for the entire 2024 season, I would love the O’s to go all out and do something they haven’t done in a long, long, long time: spend big money on a star free agent. Hader would tick all the boxes for the Orioles, and it would be a massive statement of intent from a team that won 101 games in 2023 before being swept by the Texas Rangers in the ALDS. Hader would give this Baltimore team the kind of star quality they need in order to take the next giant leap.