MLB

The best remaining MLB free agents with Yamamoto and Ohtani off the board

A reigning Cy Young winner, along with several former All-Stars, are still on the open market

NBC Universal, Inc. The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly have won the race for pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The top two MLB free agents are off the board. And they've both joined the same club.

The Los Angeles Dodgers shelled out more than $1 billion in contracts to secure Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Los Angeles first landed the two-time unanimous AL MVP thanks to a record-smashing 10-year, $700 million contract, which contained a staggering $680 million in deferred money. Then, with some recruiting help from Ohtani, the Dodgers reeled in Yamamoto, giving him the largest contract ever for a pitcher at $325 million over 12 years.

While the Dodgers' billion-dollar spending spree has been the story of the offseason, they're not the only team to make waves in free agency thus far.

The Philadelphia Phillies re-signed ace Aaron Nola, the San Francisco Giants brought in Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, the Arizona Diamondbacks added southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez and the St. Louis Cardinals picked up AL Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray.

So, who are the big names still on the market? Here's a look at the top remaining free agents.

Who are the best available MLB free agents?

Tim Anderson, SS

Anderson is a bounce-back candidate following a dismal 2023 season where he hit .245/.286/.296 with the Chicago White Sox. The 30-year-old hit above .300 in each of the four previous seasons, winning a batting title and making two All-Star Games over that span.

Cody Bellinger, OF/1B

In his first season away from the Dodgers, Bellinger enjoyed a stellar bounce-back campaign. After two consecutive years with a sub-.700 OPS, the 28-year-old hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 homers and 97 RBIs for the Chicago Cubs.

Matt Chapman, 3B

Chapman earned his fourth Gold Glove in 2023 while also hitting .240/.330/.424 with 17 homers and 54 RBIs. The 30-year-old has spent the last two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Josh Hader, LHP

Hader remains one of the most dominant bullpen arms in all of baseball. The 29-year-old posted a 1.28 ERA with 85 strikeouts and 33 saves over 56.1 innings with the San Diego Padres in 2023.

Rhys Hoskins, 1B/OF

Hoskins missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in spring training. The 30-year-old has hit .242/.353/.492 over his six big league seasons, all of which have been with the Phillies.

After the Dodgers spending spree this offseason, we couldn't help but wonder how many concessions we could buy with all that cash.

J.D. Martinez, DH/OF

Martinez continued to slug away in his first season with the Dodgers, hitting .271/.321/.572 with 33 homers and 103 RBIs. The 36-year-old has been in All-Star in each of the last five 162-game seasons.

Jordan Montgomery, LHP

Montgomery proved to be a nice trade deadline acquisition for the World Series champion Texas Rangers, boasting a 2.79 ERA over 11 regular-season starts. The 30-year-old southpaw has posted a sub-4.00 ERA in three consecutive seasons.

Blake Snell, LHP

Snell, like Hader, was a bright spot in a disappointing season for the Padres. The southpaw captured his second Cy Young -- and first in the NL -- with an MLB-best 2.25 ERA, along with 234 strikeouts, over 180 innings.

Jorge Soler, DH/OF

Soler helped power the Miami Marlins to their first postseason appearance in a full season since 2003. The 31-year-old hit .250/.341/.512 with 36 homers and 75 RBIs, earning his first All-Star nod in the process.

Marcus Stroman, RHP

Stroman looked like a Cy Young candidate when the calendar flipped to July, but he struggled mightily to close the season. Despite the uneven showing, the 32-year-old still managed to post his fourth consecutive season with a sub-4.00 ERA.

Justin Turner, DH/INF

The 39-year-old Turner keeps fending off Father Time. In his first season with the Boston Red Sox, Turner hit .276/.345/.455 with 23 homers and 96 RBIs.

Major League Baseball approved new rules for 2024 that include the widening of the runners lane and more changes to help speed up the pace of the game
Exit mobile version