All-Free Agent Team: Lots of outfielders at closer and corner, harder to fill the middle

The offseason is designed for free agency. Our resident scout, Keith Law, top 50 free agents, and resident GM Jim Bowden ranked own top 45. A handful of our writers worked together to create a collective Big Board of the market’s top 40 free agents.

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But while the rankings provide insight into the best talent available, we need to retool these lists to better understand where the market is deep and particularly weak. That’s when a 26-man roster made up entirely of free agents shows a lack of options at the needed rotation, bullpen or outfield corner, and a relative lack of options at almost every position in the middle.

line up

Willy Adames, SS
Juan Soto, R.F.
Pete Alonso, 1B
Anthony Santander, DH
Teoscar Hernández, LF
Alex Bregman, 3B
Gleyber Torres, 2B
Travis d’Arnaud, C.
Harrison Bader, C.F.

power in the middle

If you’re looking to slack off, there are some options this offseason. Of the 18 players with more than 30 home runs this season, five are now free agents (Soto, Santander, Alonso, Hernández, Adames). Bregman also has some pop, and d’Arnaud ranked in the top 10 among catchers in slugging percentage. Among the free agents who didn’t make our starting lineup, Randal Grichuk, Joc Pederson, Tyler O’Neill and Kyle Higashioka hit at least .475 this year.

Depth in corners

Our Big Board has enough corner outfielders near the top that we had to stick one of them at designated hitter to fit them all into our lineup. Even then, there are enough daily options that a second string can make a lot of impact; Jurickson Profar (.839 OPS in 2024), Tyler O’Neill (.847) and Joc Pederson (.908) are also among our top 26. free agents. Another cornerback, first baseman Christian Walker (.803 OPS, three Gold Gloves), comes in at No. 15 on our list.

weak point

When Cody Bellinger He chose to stay with the Chicago CubsThe free agent market lost its best center field option. No other midfielder came particularly close to making our Big Board. We selected Bader (1.3 fWAR) for our Free Agent Team mets) other glove-first options are Michael A. Taylor and Kiké Hernández. Center field is the thinnest and weakest position in the market, but the market is not particularly deep in the middle sections.

Ranked 17th in our Free Agent Big Table, Jurickson Profar was named an All-Star for the first time in 2024. (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Bench

Christian Walker, 1B
Ha-Seong Kim, SS/2B
Jurickson Profar, OF
Danny Jansen, C.

Weak at home

Positionally, this isn’t a great way to build a big league bench. There’s no backup third baseman, there’s no backup center fielder, and we’re not sure when our utility man will be ready (or how ready he will be). shoulder surgery will affect your ability to play shortstop). However, options are limited, especially in the home field. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is ranked 29th, but there are no other outfielders on our Big Board not listed here. The closest ones are Carlos Santana, José Iglesias, Yoán Moncada and the Korean fielder Hye-seong Kimand there is reason to wonder about the daily role of each of these. Second baseman Jorge Polanco could be interesting as a returning candidate, and shortstop Paul DeJong is back on the map after a good season.

Options behind the license plate

There are no catchers on our Big Board, but d’Arnaud and Jansen are at the bottom of the list, and the free agent market also includes Higashioka, Carson Kelly, Gary Sánchez, Elías Díaz, Jacob Stallings and others who have been solid major league catchers in recent years. This market may not have a standout catcher every day, but they are few and far between in today’s game. For teams trying to create an intriguing duo, free agency could offer a few solutions.

left-handed bats

We selected the highest remaining name from the Big Board (Profar) for our backup outfielder, but there are enough left-handed options on the market that could be especially useful on a team. Joc Pederson (No. 26), Max Kepler (34), Alex Verdugo (38) and Michael Conforto (40) joined the Big Board, and Jesse Winker just missed. Jason Heyward also became a free agent after providing left-handed stability to several contenders ( Dodgers And Astros) last season.

rotation

Corbin Burnes, RHP
Maximum Fried, LHP
Blake Snell, Right HP
Jack Flaherty, Right HP
Sean ManaeaLHP

Effect initiators

The Big Board’s top 12 features six starting pitchers, but we didn’t include No. 3 Roki Sasaki in our All-Free Agent rotation because his situation is unique and part of his value will depend on his youth (he’s 23 years old) and having to actually sign relatively cheaply . This free-agent market of proven major league starters features four of the top 20 ERA players last season. Burnes is unquestionably the best player in the class, and the depth of players at No. 1 will depend on whether teams believe Flaherty and Manaea’s recent performances are sustainable.

next stage

Nearly half of our top 25 free agents are mid-rotation or better players: Nathan Eovaldi (13th on the Big Board), Yusei Kikuchi (14), Shane Bieber (20), Walker Buehler (21), Luis Severino (23) and Nick Martinez (25) – but they come with a wide range of questions, from age to health to recent inconsistency. It’s especially interesting considering Bieber is a Cy Young winner coming back from Tommy John surgery and won’t turn 30 until the end of May. Martinez is 34 years old but is coming off a career year in which he performed well as a full-time starter.

an age question

The bottom of our Big Board is filled with successful but obscure starting pitchers. Tomoyuki Sugano, Matthew Boyd, José Quintana and Max Scherzer are between 35 and 39 on our list, and they will all be between 34 and 40 next season. The first player to miss the cut for our Big Board was another state player, Charlie Morton, who turns 41 this month. A few spots below Morton was Justin Verlander, who was almost 42 years old. Sugano never played in the majors. Boyd has made 23 starts over the last three years. Scherzer made just nine starts this season. Which one can be trusted to carry the workload of a new starter next year?

bullpen

Tanner Scott, LHP
Jeff Hoffman, Right HP
Clay Holmes, Right HP
Carlos Estevez, RHP
Blake Treinen, RHP
Kirby Yates, RHP
Kenley Jansen, RHP
David Robertson, Right HP

upper effect

Six of those eight relievers became All-Stars over the past two seasons. The only exceptions are Treinen (a past All-Star and most recently ranked top of the Dodgers’ postseason bullpen) and Robertson (another former All-Star ranked along with Yates, Scott, Jansen, Hoffman and Estévez). in the top 20 of the season’s added Win Probability rankings). Four other free agents (Chris Martin, Hector Neris, Paul Sewald and Lucas Sims) ranked in the top 10 in Added Win Probability in 2023. There is potential for impact here.

closers for rent

This free agent class is particularly rich with pitchers with extensive closer experience. Eleven free agents — Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, Robertson, Will SmithNeris, Yates, Sewald, Estévez, Treinen and Holmes rank in the top 25 in saves among active players, and that list does not include Scott, who has made double-digit saves the last three years and made the All-Star team last year. . The ninth inning experience is ready this winter.

from left side

We picked our bullpen by selecting every reliever on our Big Board and the two closest to the cut. If we had wanted a second left-winger, Chapman and Danny Coulombe were surprisingly released. golden oriole – requires some consideration. AJ Minter, Tim Hill and Jalen Beeks are among other free agent lefties who could help stabilize the situation.

(Top photo of Pete Alonso: Harry How/Getty Images)