We’re not fans of the offseason at Pitcher List. Five months of cold, harsh winter is bad enough. But five months without baseball is something else, and with looming CBA negotiations threatening our spring training plans, we are already missing the front-door fastballs and back-door breakers.
Our respite comes in the form of Jeff Passan notifications. Free agency officially opens on Nov. 2, and teams are expected to make moves early and often before the owners shut the sport down in December.
In that time, names should come flying off the board; no bigger than two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. He’s the lone superstar of the free-agent class, but he’s far from the only storyline. There’s right-handed power to be had, a surplus of mid-30s starting pitching, and an intriguing crop of international postings to keep us busy as we analyze and hypothesize our way through this lockout.
Ultimately, this offseason features a weak free agent class. Just about every signing comes with red flags—big-ticket free agency is risky business—and after the first few names, there are a lot of short track records and bounce-back candidates. As teams wrestle with risk profiles and a new CBA, we tried our hand at stacking the free agents you need to know about this winter.
As signings happen throughout November (and eventually in 2027), follow along here with our Free Agent Tracker as we break down and grade every signing.
Top 100 MLB Free Agents
1. Tarik Skubal, SP
Skubal is in line to earn the largest contract ever handed to a non-Ohtani starting pitcher, and it’s hard to argue against the resume providing such leverage. Skubal pitched a sub-2.50 ERA en route to back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2024 and 2025, and after becoming the namesake for bone spur surgery in 2026, he was just as dominant, logging 5.2 fWAR in just 26 starts.
There are risk factors, of course. He’s a pitcher, and pitchers break all the time. Skubal has gone under the knife once for Tommy John and missed parts of 2022 and 2023 with flexor tendon surgery. Skubal will turn 30 before taking the mound again, too.
There are red flags abound, but flags fly forever. Skubal thus figures to have a similar market to Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gerrit Cole before him, and the short-term rewards are inarguable. With Scott Boras on his side, it’s easy to pencil him in to a record-breaking winter.
2. Seiya Suzuki, RF/DH
There may be no more consistent bat in this crop of free agents than Suzuki, who has played 130+ games in each of the last four seasons while never straying far from his career 128 wRC+.
Suzuki posted a career-best 4.6 fWAR last season, backed by a remarkable defensive renaissance. With that tailwind assuring he’s more than an expensive designated hitter, Suzuki looks like one of the safer bets of the offseason.
His blend of plate discipline and power should buy him potency into his mid-30s, and if this year’s defensive gains are real, he has multiple paths to producing more 3-WAR seasons. Defensive jumps should be viewed with some skepticism, especially as his athleticism wanes, but the bat isn’t on the precipice just yet. He’s never had a whiff rate north of 22.2% against pitches above 95 mph, nor has his bat speed started to decline.
Even if 2026 turns out to be peak Suzuki, there is plenty of room for him to be an above-average contributor for the next few seasons.
3. Randy Arozarena, LF
Arozarena had the most productive contract season by fWAR (5.5) of any 2026 free agent. That makes him the preeminent stateside slugger of this class.
Subsequently, he’s likely to land a nine-figure deal and all the expectations that come with it, so let’s start with the good. Arozarena boasts remarkably consistent 20-homer power and tapped into just enough of his bat-to-ball skills to post a .281 batting average and 151 wRC+ in 2026. He remained whiff-heavy in the zone, but his 67.4% O-Con% was easily the best mark of his career. Arozarena turned those extra batted balls into hits, cut his strikeout rate by over five points, and continued to outperform his xBABIP.
This version of Arozarena makes a lot of sense for a win-now roster in need of a righty bat, but traditional warning signs should limit his suitors. He’ll turn 32 before his next plate appearance, is a negative defender, and has seen both his bat speed and sprint speed decline in each season since 2023. Those losses were even steeper this past season, and while it didn’t hinder his performance, it clouds his mid-to-long-term projection.
In the meantime, Arozarena has the pull-side power to deepen a lineup and a knack for producing in October. Expect him to man left field for a contender come April.
4. Teruaki Sato, 3B/RF (NPB)
Sato enters the winter as the top hitter heading stateside. Still, it feels impossible to divorce the looming sweepstakes from Munetaka Murakami’s experience last offseason.
Murakami, projected by FanGraphs’ crowdsourcing for six years and $132 million, earned a two-year, $34 million deal, a bet on himself that also shows the league’s hesitance.
Teams were wary of swing-and-miss issues with little defensive value, and I’m not sure Murakami’s 2026 season changed that math for Sato.
Sato is a year older than Murakami and comes with similar bat-to-ball concerns. He offers more (but modest) defensive value and additional versatility, albeit without quite as high an offensive peak.
Regardless, he figures to bring an above-average bat to third base or a corner outfield spot. His raw power grants him serious upside, and his ability to tap into it regularly should smooth over some bumps in his transition to MLB.
5. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B/3B
It was a rough year for Jazz Chisholm Jr., whose attempt at a 50/50 season ended with a 98 wRC+ and a benching in New York’s final playoff game.
There are two ways to view his down season. A pessimist might point to the decline in production as a red flag for teams looking to hand out a nine-figure deal. Chisholm’s bat-to-ball skills are poor, his strikeout rate is similarly scary, and his SLGCON fell short of .600 after peaking at .707 in the Bronx. There are safer—and cheaper—bats available on the open market.
However, Chisholm’s worst season as a Yankee still produced 3.5 fWAR, good for eighth among second basemen.
Chisholm’s fielding and baserunning give him a higher floor as a ballplayer, even as his presence in the batter’s box fluctuates. With the ability to play multiple spots on the dirt and experience in center field, there are ways for him to generate wins when the bat isn’t going right.
He’s a WAR machine with a volatile offensive profile, and that variance could suit a team looking to launch itself into contention.
6. Brandon Lowe, 2B
Lowe had just about the best contract year imaginable during his first season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was traded from Tampa as an average starter with loud power. He’ll leave Pittsburgh with that same potency and a defensive renaissance to boot.
Lowe’s 121 wRC+ ranked fourth among qualified second basemen. Out of nowhere, his Fielding Run Value ranked third (min. 500 innings). In 2025, his defense ranked dead last amongst that same cohort.
FRV, DRS, and DRP were unanimous in their assessment of Lowe as an elite second baseman. It’s still a hard improvement to trust long-term, given his age and unimpressive defensive track record, but it’s one that fundamentally changes the conversation ahead of free agency.
Some team could realistically talk itself into Lowe as a star manning second base. With an off-ramp as a righty-mashing designated hitter, his market has expanded significantly in 2026.
7. Michael King, SP
Michael King ended his Padres tenure with a heroic act of relief, keeping San Diego alive with more guts than stuff.
“I know that I have bullets in my arm that I don’t want to save,” King said. “I felt like it needed to be the right time.”
Just how many bullets King has left could decide the success of his next contract.
During his three years in San Diego, the converted reliever seesawed between a mid-career breakout and an arm halted by injuries. Shoulder and knee issues curtailed his 2025 season, and an elbow fracture shelved him for a couple of months in 2022. Prior to that, a stress reaction in his elbow and a finger contusion had cost him time.
Those medical flags likely range from yellow to red, depending on the team. And while his days as a starter have largely been productive, non-elite stuff gives him less room for error in his mid-30s. Whoever signs King is banking on him having plenty of bullets left. Perhaps the intangibles he flashed in October could help him age gracefully.
8. Trevor Rogers, SP
Trevor Rogers is pretty easily one of the best pitchers on the market this winter. But his path to getting there—leaning on elite command—might earn him some skepticism.
Rogers does a great job of getting swings and misses out of the zone without top-end stuff, and he was able to decrease his walk rate while pitching in the zone less often in 2026. He is also entering his age-29 season, which bodes well for his hopes of earning a long-term deal.
The likelihood that Rogers is a serviceable mid-rotation starter into his mid-30s feels pretty high. Still, he’ll get paid like a top-end arm. Posting 7.3 fWAR across two seasons and 279.1 innings tends to do that.
However, 169.2 innings in 2026 was a career-best mark for Rogers, who has a non-negligible injury history. He’s also just two years removed from 124.1 innings of well-earned 4.92-ERA ball.
Rogers will be faced with finding ways to limit damage without exorbitant strikeout rates, and the hurdles that come with that as his stuff declines make acehood a moving target.
9. Freddy Peralta, SP
The defining question of Peralta’s free agency will be the validity of his second-half improvements. Things didn’t go well for Peralta in Flushing, where the New York Mets floundered and struggled to get the most out of his fastball-heavy approach.
The Rays, however, tinkered and found moderate success. More changeups and a few mechanical tweaks helped his surface statistics improve. Still, the underlying peripherals remained unconvincing, and his K-BB% was a little worse in the second half.
I don’t know if Peralta found something sticky late in the summer, and I’m not sure teams know, either. As a result, Peralta is a good candidate for a 1+1 pillow contract. He lost untold millions with his struggles in 2026, but his proximity to acehood is tantalizing, and he won’t turn 31 until June.
Pitching scarcity could very well drive Peralta’s market and make him a winter winner. It’s just harder to see him making a splash after such a discouraging contract year.
10. Adrian Morejon, RP
Despite not closing for the Padres (Who can blame them?), Morejon has an outside shot at setting a new record for a free-agent reliever. However, much of that math comes from the chance that a team sees him as a starting pitcher.
Morejon is a former starter whose medical red flags ushered him into relief work. But he’s stayed relatively healthy over the last three seasons and has shot fewer bullets than many of the big arms on the market. With that said, an NLDS shoulder issue could complicate his market, especially if a larger workload is waiting for him in 2027.
Morejon doesn’t need to perfectly follow Garrett Crochet’s footsteps to be a successful signing. Teams less bullish on his starting potential still figure to be interested in a high-leverage lefty with October experience.
Morejon’s newfound four-seamer velocity rejuvenated his whiff rates, and his sinker-heavy approach has kept both his K% and GB% in the top decile of relievers. Whether he is promoted to closer, asked to start, or handed another set-up role, Morejon offers as much upside as any non-Skubal arm in this class.
11. Kaima Taira, SP (NPB)
There are legitimate questions in Taira’s profile, but he checks two very important boxes: a unique delivery and a big-league fastball.
As for the former, Taira manages to create elite extension from a low arm angle and a 5’8” frame. That alone might be enough to pop on some stuff models. But Taira also has the velocity (95 mph) to beat MLB hitters, helping him post the seventh-best K% in NPB.
He’ll bring a sinker, cutter, splitter, and a couple of breakers with him. Although it isn’t immediately clear how he’ll deploy those offerings in 2027, it’s emblematic of his arsenal’s potential and the tools his next team has to play with.
The knocks on Taira’s game largely revolve around his command and workload. Taira had the fifth-highest walk rate in NPB last season—the lowest mark of his career. Taira was a starter in just one NPB season (2023) before this one, and while his production has remained stellar, there are questions about his ability to make 30 starts in 2027. He’s never surpassed 150 innings, and if walk issues persist, he could quickly find himself running out of bullets.
Entering his age-27 season, Taira remains one of the most intriguing starting pitchers available. There’s some relief risk here, but it’s baked into his projected contract.
12. Ryan Jeffers, C
Ryan Jeffers’s 2026 was interrupted by his hamate bone fracture, but his offensive production set him up nicely for this winter (or spring, or… you know the deal).
Jeffers had this season before in 2023, when he played 96 games and posted a 136 wRC+ with 2.3 fWAR. He was healthier over the next two seasons but trended back toward league average before this past year, generating 128 wRC+ and 2.6 fWAR.
This time around, the breakout is a little more believable. He outperformed his xBABIP by 16 points, not 84, while also boasting the best Process+ and DRC+ of his career.
Subsequently, Jeffers is a borderline top-10 catcher and a pretty safe offensive profile. Expect him to get paid like one this offseason.
13. Shota Imanaga, SP
If the baseball gods are real, they’d send Shota Imanaga to a team whose stadium wasn’t prone to home runs. In a world where players have agency, and the Chicago Cubs are at least a little interested in retaining him, that may not come to fruition.
Imanaga has made nearly every start over his three years in the Windy City. He doesn’t walk anybody, and he has never posted an ERA north of 3.80. In two of his three big-league seasons, he’s generated enough strikeouts to offset damage concerns and keep the peripherals at bay.
Even so, the long ball has always dampened Imanaga’s impact, and it’s a problem that could rightfully scare off pitcher-needy teams.
Imanaga ended his age-32 season with a 91.6 mph fastball that he’s throwing 40% of the time. His command is strong, and an assortment of secondaries helps keep guys off the heater, but a timeline in which his velocity dips might be one where he isn’t a mid-rotation starter.
Imanaga has proven that he’s more than his velo. But given his propensity for giving up fly balls and the line he’s forced to toe with mediocre stuff, it’s an increasingly difficult profile to trust.
14. Hiromi Itoh, SP (NPB)
Hiromi Itoh is admittedly less exciting than Taira. But after six consecutive seasons of 145+ innings, including 170+ frames in each of the last three years, his floor remains enticing.
From a stuff perspective, Itoh has a wide-ranging arsenal with a plethora of secondaries. He’s not very flashy, nor is he likely to rack up strikeouts stateside. Even so, Itoh can get guys to fish, which should help generate soft contact.
Itoh doesn’t walk anyone, and he has fewer durability concerns than most free-agent starters. If his fastball plays up a bit, Itoh can exceed expectations in 2027.
15. Sonny Gray, SP
Gray pulled off a magic trick in Boston this past season, watching his K/9 drop from 10.01 to 7.93 while improving his ERA from 4.28 to 2.72. The peripherals weren’t as kind—his xERA, FIP, and xFIP all saw slight declines—but it was an impressive age-36 season nonetheless.
As Gray descends back to his low-K days, his consistency gives him breathing room. Gray is crafty and commands each of his pitches well. This is especially true for his fastball, which earned a 5.25 PLV despite an 84 Stuff+ (by our model).
Gray projects as a mid-rotation starter who can reasonably start games in October. As long as his velocity remains playable, it’s easy to trust the rest of Gray’s repertoire to fight off Father Time.
16. Kevin Gausman, SP
Since the turn of the decade, Kevin Gausman has epitomized consistency. In each of the last six seasons, he has logged between 31 and 33 starts. Only in 2026 had his ERA ticked north of 4.00.
Even so, the peripherals like Gausman more than the surface-level stats. His FIP and xFIP resemble the No. 2 starter he has settled into, and his K-BB% improved slightly in his age-35 season.
He was burned by BABIP and home run luck this past season, the latter of which is a familiar foe. And while his fastball isn’t going to get better in his late 30s, elite command and enough competent breaking pitches should continue to give him breathing room.
There’s always some level of risk with an older pitcher, especially as his fastball velocity declines. But Gausman’s profile and track record bode well for any contender in need of 170 quality innings.
17. David Bednar, RP
For teams looking to boost the back of their bullpen without much risk, David Bednar figures to be the best reliever available. The only blemish on Bednar’s resume is an outlier 2024 season. He continues to churn out K/9s north of 10 and ERAs south of 2.70, without much reason for skepticism.
Bednar’s fastball-splitter combination allows him to mitigate damage within the zone while racking up whiffs outside of it. He has toed that line without falling into walk trouble, too.
The only cause for concern here is Bednar’s fastball velocity. In his age-31 season, it dropped a full tick, dropping its plvStuff+ from 109 to 103. He got away with it this past season, and may be crafty enough to do it again, but teams may be wary of handing him an especially long deal for a reliever.
Bednar’s track record is impressive, and it has carried into October—he has allowed just one earned run in nine playoff innings. Having already done it on the sport’s biggest stage, there’s little reason to doubt his effectiveness in 2027, wherever he lands.
18. Jake Bauers, 1B/LF
Bauers is an incredible story and an integral part of Milwaukee’s magical run to the World Series. I’m not sure that makes him all that great of a free agent.
There is probably some signal in five forward-thinking organizations giving him big-league playing time before his breakout. Some of the underlying trends are promising, too. He finally outperformed his xSLG, trading pop-ups for hard grounders and a slight uptick in line drives and fly balls. He hits the ball hard in the air, ran a 29.5% HR/FB rate in 2026, and hardly chases.
The quality of contact is real, as is the plate discipline. But his bat-to-ball skills make his 34% strikeout rate from 2023 and 2024 a warning sign of a not-so-distant future. With minimal defensive value to slow his slide, Bauers’ long-term market is murky.
19. Ian Happ, LF
Chicago stalwart Ian Happ lived a baseball life in Wrigley, ascending from utility man to one of the most dependable corner outfielders in the sport. After his most admirable defensive season to date, Happ will enter free agency with a contrasting set of signs.
The good news is that Happ is yet to show much athletic decline, at least by the proxies of sprint speed and bat speed. He’s drawn walks at a double-digit clip seven times in 10 seasons and has never dropped below 9.0%. Happ has flashed 20-homer power nearly as frequently and has the arm strength to buoy his defensive profile.
However, there were cracks in the foundation of his 2026 production. He fell off the face of the earth against lefties (36 wRC+), and his average dropped 25 points while outperforming his xBABIP by as wide a margin.
We can attribute this slide to a significant drop in contact rate, both in and out of the zone. Paired with a few more chases, his strikeout rate jumped to a treacherous 29.7%, explaining his dip in production and potentially scaring off long-term suitors.
20. Luis Arraez, 1B/2B
No matter where he lands or how many zeroes are on his next contract, Luis Arraez is going to create discourse. He’s the face of small ball, a hero from yesteryear, and a not-so-simple projection.
Only three free-agent hitters posted more fWAR than Arraez last year, although his 110 wRC+ was in line with the prior two seasons. The jump came from moving up the defensive spectrum. Ron Washington worked his magic, and Arraez’s Fielding Run Value ranked in the 91st percentile while playing second base.
However, half of that value came in March and April. Likewise, neither DRS nor DRP was as high on his defense. He projects as a below-average defender as he enters his 30s, without the kind of pop we’re used to at first base.
Arraez has a superpower. Some team will pay for it, though he lacks the offensive upside for a long-term deal. Given how ugly things could get if the bat-to-ball skills wane, Arraez’s contract might fall short of his 2027 utility.
21. Hiroto Saiki, SP (NPB)
Saiki’s arsenal comes with a little more reliever risk than the other international free agents, but his performance was just as impressive. He led NPB in K% (28.3%) and K-BB% (23.4%), and he was one of two pitchers to strike out over 10 batters per nine innings.
Paired with a 2.51 ERA and 2.24 FIP, he’s certainly given teams a lot to like while surpassing 150 innings in three consecutive years.
Saiki has a fastball-heavy approach to set up his arsenal-headlining splitter. However, that approach lends itself to questions regarding glove-side breaking balls and the fragility of his arsenal if the fastball doesn’t translate.
There are reasonable outcomes where Saiki is a mid-rotation starter or a north-south reliever. Ultimately, that upside should earn him real interest.
22. Casey Mize, SP
Mize’s contract year quickly became a tale of two halves, particularly after being traded to San Diego at the deadline. His K-BB% shrank from 19.4% to 5.3% while his batting average against increased from .209 to .296. It was an abject disaster down the stretch, so much so that a pillow contract isn’t out of the question.
Still, Mize offers a lot to like, has first-pick pedigree on his side, and may have some arsenal optimization ahead of him.
Mize commands his slider particularly well, and his sinker blossomed in 2026. It wouldn’t be surprising to see it take an even bigger role against right-handed hitters to further hide his four-seam fastball.
Ultimately, Mize feels like a low-variance option to insulate someone’s rotation without having to pay a premium.
23. Dustin May, SP
May is an interesting test case in how teams will value peripherals compared to traditional results.
The first order of business is that May is finally healthy, or at least the healthiest we’ve seen him in the bigs. After five years with fewer than 60 innings pitched, May missed all of 2024. In 2025, he set a new career-high in innings (132.1) before an elbow injury ended his season. A year later, he made 31 starts and threw 145.2 innings.
May was also more effective in 2026, even if his 4.70 ERA leaves much to be desired. His 3.63 FIP helped highlight his improved K-BB%, and he was burned by batted-ball and left-on-base luck.
Leaning on his feel for spin and a new cutter allowed May to encroach on his potential as a mid-rotation starter. Now, he figures to be paid like one.
24. Clay Holmes, SP
Clay Holmes’ New York Mets tenure was an example of how right a risky free agent contract can go. David Stearns took the discount Holmes’ reliever “risk” provided and gave him the chance to expand his arsenal as a starter.
It worked. Holmes made over 30 starts in 2025, sporting a 3.53 ERA and an arsenal that inspired confidence, even if his peripherals weren’t as bullish. His 2026 campaign was shortened by a Spencer Jones line drive to the leg, but progress was made. He threw 101.1 innings in 18 starts and produced nearly as much fWAR (1.8) as his entire 2025 (1.9).
Thus, Holmes was one of the more expensive pitchers dealt at the deadline, and he’s surpassed the value of his $12 million player option. From afar, it was an easy choice to opt out. As a mid-rotation starter, he’ll likely get more cash and term this winter.
25. Ty France, 1B
France’s 141 wRC+ ranked 11th among hitters with at least 500 plate appearances in 2026. He fueled San Diego’s playoff push after pulling the ball in the air far more than the two years prior.
Tapping into power, specifically to the gaps, allowed France to raise his slugging percentage by 142 points. His slugging on contact also increased by 223 points. He probably won’t outperform his xBABIP by as wide a margin next season, but better spray and a propensity for hitting the ball hard help his case.
Like Bauers, there’s some flukiness to France’s production to scare teams off; France hasn’t posted a wRC+ over 120 since 2022, and in the prior two seasons he was below average. To his credit, excellent play at first base helps insulate his profile.
26. Foster Griffin, SP
Griffin turned a strong 2025 in NPB into an opportunity with the Washington Nationals, and after a midseason trade to the Cleveland Guardians, he’s turning his stateside surge into a payday.
Griffin’s a command-first pitcher, headlined by his cutter but admirably followed by his four-seamer and sweeper. Pitch diversification has helped mitigate the risk from otherwise mediocre stuff, and while he’s not a high-strikeout arm, he was plenty effective.
Entering his age-31 season with just one “real” MLB season to his name complicates Griffin’s market; some teams may be hesitant to offer him length, especially after slightly outperforming his peripherals.
Despite running into homer issues, Griffin doesn’t allow much hard contact in the air. Paired with an excellent walk rate and the reliability to surpass 170 innings, Griffin could provide value, even if 2026 turns out to be his peak.
27. Gleyber Torres, 2B
Torres had a promising first season with the Detroit Tigers, but his 2026 campaign was marred by athletic markers that suggest a more precipitous decline is coming.
He lost almost a full foot/second of sprint speed and two ticks of bat speed, while striking out more because of a decline in Z-Contact. When he did make contact, both his xSLG and xwOBA shrank considerably.
With the bat waning and the defense long gone, Torres may have to parlay his 109 wRC+ into a starting role for a second-division team. He’ll provide some value as long as he continues to get on base, but he needs to lift the ball more to take advantage of his elite plate discipline.
28. Bryan Abreu, RP
Bryan Abreu has a fastball problem.
He traded two strikeouts per nine for two walks per nine, crashing his K-BB% by 10 percent and suffering just about everywhere because of it.
More than anything else, relievers get paid because of raw stuff. And Abreu’s fastball, which he throws north of 40% of the time, crashed down to league average by plvStuff+. Despite not missing time to injury, his velocity fell by over 1 mph.
We didn’t love his new cutter, but Year 2 of the project could make his arsenal palatable. Even so, he’s not a lock for leverage innings in 2027.
29. Tyler Mahle, SP
The Kevin Gausman sweepstakes can only have one winner. I’d imagine one of the runner-ups will find themselves at Tyler Mahle’s doorstep.
Like Gausman, Mahle is a fastball-splitter aficionado whose command helps cover for a lack of potency, and while the glove-side pitches aren’t elite, they are often enough to keep righties honest.
Mahle has quietly stacked 235.2 innings over the last two seasons. He’s on his second elbow and has a history of shoulder issues to give teams pause, but otherwise looks to be a pretty safe bet for league-average innings. A PLV darling, he could reasonably exceed those expectations with better home run luck.
30. Robbie Ray, SP
Ray landed himself a nine-figure deal after taking home American League Cy Young Award honors in 2021. His next half-decade was far more tumultuous. Tommy John cost him nearly two full seasons, and he was traded south of Seattle twice in three seasons.
To his credit, Ray has stayed remarkably healthy over the past two years. He ranks 12th in games started since 2025 and 15th in innings pitched.
The problem is that all that volume has resulted in 3.1 fWAR, despite the flashy mid-3.00s ERA. His peripherals tell a different story, headlined by a 4.69 FIP and 4.91 xFIP this past season.
Ray’s fastball shape has deteriorated. Only his curveball has earned an above-average CSW%, and his changeup was his only offering with a PLA below 4.00. Ray’s strikeout and walk rates have trended in the wrong direction, and while he managed to suppress contact enough last season, it’s a hard arsenal to believe in going forward.
Ray should be seen as a durable back-of-the-rotation starter as he enters his age-35 season.
31. Tyler Stephenson, C
In a league that never has enough catching talent, Tyler Stephenson has emerged as a viable starter.
Stephenson is a poor framer, and he won’t catch many guys stealing, but he was a 97th-percentile blocker. It’s become his calling card as a catcher over the past two seasons.
Offensively, there’s more to like than his 99 wRC+ would suggest. Stephenson hits the ball hard and pulls it in the air, both of which bode well for an uptick in homers next season. Further, Stephenson has never been one to chase, and he’s a pretty safe bet to walk 10% of the time.
It’s an unremarkable profile, but one that makes him one of the planet’s 40 best catchers. With a little first base versatility to boot, Stephenson could choose to start or be one of baseball’s better Plan Bs behind the dish.
32. Michael Soroka, SP
It’s been a long road back to 100 innings for Michael Soroka. Even after tearing his Achilles, an assortment of arm injuries have landed him on the injured list in each of the last four seasons.
At last, Soroka stayed mostly healthy in 2026 and had his most productive season since 2019.
Soroka doesn’t have great stuff, but his arsenal is headlined by a slurve that generates plenty of out-of-zone whiffs without getting punished in the zone. His fastballs won’t pop any models, but he commands three of them well.
Durability or regression could reasonably land Soroka back in the bullpen, but Soroka’s 2026 campaign has earned him the right to begin 2027 as a starter—likely while being paid like one.
33. Nick Martinez, SP
Martinez is walking a tightrope. Being a successful pitcher is hard enough; doing it with a fifth-percentile strikeout rate minimizes the room for error.
To Martinez’s credit, he knows he can’t walk anyone, and no qualified pitcher limited the free passes better in 2026. That leaves his damage suppression as the key to preventing runs.
As good as one might feel about the walks, each of his peripherals suggested that the 3.10 ERA was a little fake. On contact, Martinez’s average, BABIP, and wOBA allowed were 15-35 points better than their expected counterparts.
Bouncing between roles over the past few years, he’s posted at least 100 innings in each of the last five years, with more volume in each season. It’s unlikely that Martinez remains just as fortunate with the long ball or balls in play, but teams should be interested in his dependability for the back of their rotation.
34. Matthew Boyd, SP
Boyd’s potential as a starter cannot be divorced from his injury history. We don’t know what his early 2020s would have looked like, but the damage was done to his career earnings.
Boyd put it all together in 2025, generating 3.4 fWAR off 179.2 innings of 3.21-ERA ball. He was less effective in 2026 when dealing with biceps and meniscus injuries and finished the year striking out fewer than seven hitters per nine innings.
With a fastball falling down the age curve and only one plus pitch in his arsenal, Boyd figures to insulate the back of someone’s rotation.
35. Shugo Maki, 2B (NPB)
Maki is the second-best hitter coming over from NPB this winter. He doesn’t offer quite as much raw power as Sato, and the fanfare has followed suit, but Maki has put together an impressive track record.
Topping out at 30 home runs in 2026, Maki broke out in 2026. He nearly doubled his 2025 homer total (16) and cut his strikeout rate by 1.5 points. This power helped boost his on-base percentage too; nearly all of his 38-point gain in OBP can be attributed to his walk rate doubling year-over-year.
If he can sustain his bat-to-ball skills, any gain in plate discipline figures to boost his game power in the bigs.
36. Luis Robert Jr., CF
It’s been a tumultuous few seasons for Luis Robert Jr., who was left to sell tickets on bad White Sox teams before a winter trade to the Mets.
Robert’s health issues followed him to the East Coast. A herniated disk kept him off the field for much of the year, and after a deadline deal to the Orioles, hamstring discomfort ended his season on a sour note.
It’s impossible to trust his health in a full-time role, but there are still some nice things going for Robert. For one, he still hits the tar out of the ball. He also improved his Z-Con% by nearly six points, getting him to league average after three years well below. Perhaps most importantly, Robert showed that he can be a competent left fielder in his limited playing time there late in the year.
37. Raisel Iglesias, RP
The writing was on the wall for Iglesias after the Braves signed Robert Suarez a year ago. That doesn’t mean his story is ending just yet.
Iglesias is virtually the same pitcher he’s been since landing in Atlanta. His stuff has gotten a little worse as he’s pitched through his mid-30s. His locations have done enough to compensate, and the results keep on coming.
Iglesias has stayed remarkably healthy and equally consistent. Neither his ERA nor FIP has surpassed 3.50 since 2019; he’s yet to lose much strikeout potency, and he continues to churn out 1-to-2-win seasons. Iglesias might just keep doing this until he gets bored.
38. Evan Phillips, RP
Evan Phillips was dealt a tough blow in 2025 when a rotator cuff strain preceded Tommy John Surgery, ending his season and threatening his 2026 campaign.
There’s only so much trust teams can put into his bill of health. But as a 32-year-old reliever, he was probably never meant for a long-term deal anyway. The good news is that he’s back, and while he wasn’t his best self, he was plenty good enough to pitch meaningful innings in 2027.
Phillips is a PLV darling whose fastball stuff returned after the injury. It was a small sample, but Phillips looked as potent as before, despite running into the long ball too often. Expect him to be viewed as a legitimate late-inning piece by multiple teams.
39. Trent Grisham, CF
The MLBPA might make Trent Grisham the face of the fight against qualifying offers. In 2025, the breakout arrived. He hit 34 home runs in pin stripes, posted a 128 wRC+, and set career-bests in just about every metric.
A year later, Grisham is limping into free agency. Even after making significantly more in-zone contact and striking out less, putrid batted-ball luck spoiled his season. Some of that was inevitable—his 33.7% HR/FB rate was entirely unsustainable—but it was still a brutal underperformance.
That misfortune might earn him some sympathy, but a year older and another year removed from quality defense, his 98 wRC+ will set the tone of his negotiations.
40. Alec Bohm, 3B/1B
Things didn’t go well for Alec Bohm in 2026, when a below-average wRC+ and declining defense turned him into a replacement-level player.
It’s sufficient to say that few players need a change of scenery more than Bohm, who dealt with off-field issues, a mid-season position change, and the ire of the fanbase in 2026.
To his credit, he’s always been a Process+ darling. With strong bat-to-ball skills and consistent plate discipline on his side, he’ll hope to manufacture a late breakout in his next home. Presumably, it will come as a regular on a second-division team.
41. J.P. Crawford, SS
Crawford’s days as an average shortstop are over. His days as a playable one are running low, too.
But Crawford still managed a 105 wRC+ this past season in Seattle. He’s a plate-discipline-first bat now—both his Decision Value+ and walk rate agree—but he also saw his Z-Contact% rebound in 2026.
From afar, it seems like Crawford is destined for a utility role where he can see more playing time at third, second, and short, in that order.
42. Emilio Pagán, RP
All things considered, things went pretty well for Pagán in 2026, locking down the Reds’ closer job, holding on for 25 saves, and posting a 3.37 ERA.
As with all relievers, the frontline stats are far from the full story. His peripherals were sour on him, and it’s possible his 56th-percentile HR/FB rate shielded him from additional damage. Pagán gives up more fly balls than almost anyone in baseball, but he doesn’t limit exit velocities on them.
Having lost a tick of velo on his four-seamer, Pagán is walking a tightrope that teams shouldn’t trust in the ninth inning.
43. Alex Vesia, RP
If Vesia’s career in Los Angeles is indeed over, he’ll go down as one of the underrated pieces of two Dodgers championships.
A dutiful mid-to-late-inning lefty, Vesia’s walks are the only thing stopping him from encroaching upon the best lefties in the sport. He’ll fight off some age concerns as he enters his age-31 season, but Vesia is likely to be the top lefty in a playoff-bound bullpen come spring.
44. Steven Okert, RP
There are a handful of reasons why teams could be skeptical of Steven Okert. He’s entering his age-35 season, has a 29th-percentile fastball by plvStuff+, and was “lucky” by BABIP, LOB%, and HR/FB% last season.
However, Okert has one of the best sliders in baseball, and he throws it two-thirds of the time.
Okert is unsurprisingly effective against left-handed hitters, but his performance against righties might separate him from other southpaws. He struck out over 30% of right-handed hitters in 2026 and kept their batting average below .200. That’s enough to earn him a significant payday this offseason, even if his age limits his earnings.
45. Taylor Ward, LF
Taylor Ward might be the most confusing bat in this class. He had put up between 3.0 and 3.7 fWAR three times between 2022 and 2025. In that final season, he hit 36 round-trippers, set a career-best in slugging percentage (.475), and posted a 119 wRC+.
Then he got traded to Baltimore (and eventually Seattle) and just… stopped swinging. Seriously. His 34.4% swing rate was a 0th-percentile mark, as was his 58% strike rate and 23.6% called strike rate. He didn’t chase because he didn’t swing, so he walked more often than almost anyone in the sport, but the sacrifice was essentially all of his power.
Ward’s barrel rate dropped from 13.5% to 4.3%, and in 56 fewer plate appearances, he hit 29 fewer home runs. It was an impossible adjustment to justify at the time, and it might cost him millions. Perhaps a team can convince themselves a three-win version of Ward is still in there, lost somewhere in his maddening approach.
46. Josh Bell, DH
Bell has more or less been the same exact player for four consecutive seasons. Since turning 30, his yearly wRC+ has ranged from 102 to 106. He’s hit between 19 and 22 home runs, run an OBP of either .319 or .325, and been worth a total of 0.9 fWAR.
Bell still hits adequately from both sides at the plate and can stand at first if someone needs half a day off. Whether it’s a DH, bench, or first base role, Bell should provide some pop at a discount in 2027.
47. Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
Perhaps a more volatile version of Bell, Lowe had a pedestrian season at first base for the Reds and Guardians. That’s still a win for the Ohio-bound Lowe, who (like Bell) has an incredibly tight spread on his power output.
Lowe rebounded well from a disastrous 2025 that forced him to sign a minor league deal last offseason. And if you’re looking for optimism, his SLGCON improved by 58 points year-over-year. It was his best mark since 2022 and suggests his ability to damage the ball in the air is intact.
48. Eugenio Suárez, DH
Teams were right to be skeptical about Suárez’s monstrous 2025 campaign. He hit 49 home runs, flirted with a .298 ISO, and ended the season with a 125 wRC+, but parlayed it into a one-year, $15 million deal.
Suárez was always walking a tightrope with bat-to-ball skills that made a 30% strikeout rate more likely than not. Indeed, strikeouts aren’t significantly worse than other outs for a hitter, but it’s awfully hard to be productive when a third of one’s plate appearances go up in flames.
Suárez hit 23 fewer home runs than in 2025 and saw his production slip down to league average. Such a fall might make him a platoon-neutral bench bat, rather than an everyday DH, in 2027.
49. Michael Conforto, LF
One of free agency’s biggest successes last offseason was Conforto, whose 83 wRC+ in 2025 could have ended his career.
Instead, he landed in Chicago and was worth nearly a full win above replacement as a part-time player. His strikeout and walk rates were nearly identical, but a 41-point increase in batting average put him back on the map, and he made the most of those batted balls. Conforto hit 15 homers and slugged .469, largely off better spray and launch angles.
Conforto pulled more line drives and fly balls than ever before and was rewarded for it. He won’t see much left-handed pitching, but he showed enough to be the long side of someone’s platoon on another one-year deal.
50. Mauricio Dubón, 2B/SS/3B
Dubon has earned the right to call himself the best utility player on the market. He’s long been an elite defender, flashing excellence at shortstop while looking totally fine just about everywhere else.
Dubon happened to hit a little bit in 2026, but there’d be a role waiting for him regardless. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back in Atlanta for another trip around the superutility sun.
51. Joc Pederson, DH
Pederson is betting on himself after yet another remarkable rebound. Pederson has now seen his wRC+ increase or decrease by at least 20 points year-over-year eight times since becoming a full-time player in 2015.
After cutting his production in half (152 wRC+ to 77) from 2024 to 2025, he rose from the ashes again in 2026, slugging his way to an .816 OPS.
Pederson has played fewer than 100 innings in the field over the last two seasons. He’s a true DH, which means he absolutely needs to hit to stick. For a team that needs thump and can afford to pivot quickly, he figures to get an opportunity to start in his age-35 season.
52. Daulton Varsho, CF
At the peak of his powers, Varsho was a WAR-generating machine. However, the bat was only real for a stretch of 2025, and his defensive superpowers have been waning since his elite arm regressed past average.
Varsho isn’t the hitter of his heyday—or the athlete—but his range should give him ample run as a fourth outfielder.
53. Tyrone Taylor, CF
Taylor has likely aged out of his prime as an elite defensive center fielder, but he should find a second wind after his encouraging 2026 season.
For one, Taylor is still a toolsy outfielder who needed no time to translate to left field. With speed and arm strength giving his defensive bag more depth, versatility isn’t an issue.
Taylor also tapped into his pull-side power, making him a legitimate threat to lefties. He might not start, but plenty of playoff teams could use that skill set.
54. Lane Thomas, CF
Thomas shares many of the same traits as Taylor and figures to have a similar market. After all, there’s a reason a contender made him a mid-season acquisition in back-to-back years.
Another fast, strong-armed outfielder whose best center field days are behind them, Thomas didn’t pack quite as much of a punch with the bat in 2026 as Taylor. His 96 wRC+ was much more in line with his career norms than the 47 wRC+ he produced a season prior, giving teams a reason to buy in as a fourth outfielder.
55. Kenley Jansen, RP
Oops! All cutters.
As Kenley Jansen continues to search for his 500th save, he’s managed to cut out all the fat. He’s going to throw a bunch of decent cutters, and somehow, he’s going to get a bunch of outs.
Jansen managed a 28.3% strikeout rate and a 3.20 ERA last year. He also had his H/9 protected by a 99th-percentile BABIP (.173), walked 12.8% of batters, and is susceptible to hard contact in the air.
Expect him to land with a team willing to give him a couple of ninth innings. Given just about everything under the hood, that team probably won’t be in contention.
56. Zac Gallen, SP
It wasn’t all that long ago that Zac Gallen was viewed as a top-of-the-rotation starter ready to cash in on the open market.
His 2025 season, though, saw his stuff decline and results follow, setting him up for a pseudo-qualifying offer and the chance to rebound in 2026.
That didn’t happen.
Gallen continued to lose life on his fastball, and he was forced to curb his best pitch (his curveball) for an uptick in sliders. Both breakers are legitimately good pitches, and his command should have lifted all of his offerings to competence. Yet, Gallen struggled to the tune of a 6.07 ERA, 6.62 xERA, and 5.34 FIP.
You can squint and see the pitcher of yesteryear, but he is a buy-low at best until he can get outs with a diminished heater.
57. Cal Quantrill, SP
Quantrill was born to be a small-market starter who strikes out 6.5 guys per nine. He’s fulfilled that destiny, and after a flashy 2.86 ERA, he’s rightfully looking for more.
The frontline numbers are almost certainly obfuscated by batted-ball luck, but it’s worth entertaining the notion that Quantrill found something in 2026. His .240 BABIP was extraordinarily low, yes, but its expected counterpart was only 15 points higher.
This looks like a sinker-heavy approach that saw a skill jump in command. Subsequently, his market may hinge on the perceived stickiness of his spots.
58. Brandon Woodruff, SP
When healthy, Woodruff is one of the best pitchers in baseball and a cornerstone of Milwaukee’s pitching plan. But he’s not healthy, and that might be a non-starter.
Woodruff made it back in time for the World Series and sat at 91.2 mph in his lone outing. That’s a half-tick down from his 45.1 regular-season innings, two ticks down from 2025, and four ticks down from his healthy 2022 campaign.
If he decides to give it a go in 2027, he’ll have to show teams that there’s a little more juice left to squeeze before pitching his way into a steady role.
59. Si Hwan Roh, 3B (KBO)
Roh had a good age-25 season in the KBO, posting a 127 wRC+ while slashing .283/.360/.505.
For reference, that’s about the KBO production Patrick Wisdom had in 2025 before earning a short stint with the Seattle Mariners in 2026. We’d like to see Roh last more than the 19 games Wisdom did with the big-league club.
Roh offers some pop from the right side, but it’s hard to offer much certainty on his projection, including whether playing first base is a possibility.
60. Cedric Mullins, CF
It’s been a minute since Cedric Mullins was a productive Major League hitter, but 2026 should still be considered a win.
After last season, it looked like the only real tool Mullins had left was his baserunning. The Rays helped prove that wrong by getting him back in the green defensively. Playing exclusively center field, Mullins managed 1.1 fWAR despite a 76 wRC+.
That should be enough to land a fourth outfield gig.
61. Walker Buehler, SP
There are approximately 150 starting rotation spots handed out on Opening Day rosters. Buehler may have been the least likely of them all to make 30 starts this season. And yet, here we are.
After making 32 starts for the pitching-desperate Padres, Buehler has put himself back on the map. Harsh stuff limitations ensure he remains a back-end starter, but teams can do much worse than 150 innings of mid-4.00-ERA pitching.
62. Pete Fairbanks, RP
Command has never been Fairbanks’ game. Depending on your model of choice, stuff may not have been either in 2026.
The results were not kind to Fairbanks, although his strikeouts spiked back to the orbit of his prime (31.1%). His walks and BABIP rose significantly, too, resulting in a 6.31 ERA. Fortunately, the peripherals weren’t as disappointing, so there’s a place for his potency in the game, but high leverage probably isn’t in the cards.
63. Gregory Soto, RP
Soto is a mercenary lefty who is set for another ride on the deadline trade block. Before that, though, he has to find a seller to sign with.
With the Pirates in 2026, Soto managed to mitigate damage well, but he stayed true to form: lots of strikeouts, lots of walks, and a healthy amount of volatility.
Soto’s fastball is aging a bit, but plvStuff+ loves his slider, and its 89th-percentile whiff rate is enough of a reason to give him a one- or two-year deal this winter.
64. A.J. Minter, RP
Minter largely got away with poor performance in 2026. His FIP was nearly two full runs worse than his 2.56 ERA, and his 98th-percentile walk rate is probably unsustainable if he’s striking out a league-average share of hitters.
We still really like his cutter, but sitting at 89 mph is a tough way to live. Maybe there’s a Kenley Jansen arc waiting for him. Either way, Minter looks like a fungible lefty who cannot afford to sacrifice any command in his age-33 season.
65. Gary Sánchez, C
The Brewers’ proclivity for player development is a rising tide that lifts all boats. Sanchez, at 33 years old, nearly a decade removed from his peak, didn’t have to be here. Milwaukee brought him back for a second stint with the organization and got better production the second time around.
As a backup catcher (and sparse DH), Sanchez generated 0.8 fWAR by way of a 117 wRC+.
Most notably, this sets Sanchez up to be the short side of a catching platoon if not a typical backup. Strong defense won’t be a part of that equation, but good plate discipline and his .572 SLGCON will play.
66. Carson Kelly, C
In back-to-back seasons, Carson Kelly has flashed enough offensive prowess to earn more playing time. He’s now put up 420 plate appearances in back-to-back seasons and dutifully looked like an acceptable starter for Chicago.
Kelly is not a defensive game-changer (he’s a great blocker but an average framer), so his market may be limited. Likewise, his quality of contact took a step back from his 115 wRC+ peak in 2025.
That might turn him into a well-compensated backup. After the troughs of his production before 2024, he’s managed an impressive turnaround.
67. A.J. Puk, RP
Injuries have robbed us of nearly two full seasons from Puk. The last time we saw him, though, he was a high-profile acquisition for the Diamondbacks and striking out the world.
Puk’s 29.9% strikeout rate in 2024 was emblematic of his impressive stuff. His four-seam fastball, slider, and sweeper each generated plvStuff+ scores well north of 100.
It goes without saying that so much missed time lends itself to uncertainty. If he is similarly potent, some team will have a high-leverage lefty on a discount, making for surplus value on a contender or a hefty prospect return for a seller. If not, it’s unlikely he gets the type of term that ends up burning teams.
68. Jonathan Loáisiga, RP
Another Arizona reliever with an injury history, Loáisiga earned his sub-3.00 ERA.
Despite striking out fewer than 20% of opposing hitters, Loáisiga’s walk rate was elite, and he mitigated damage without relying on unsustainable batted-ball luck. Loáisiga kept the ball on the ground, wasn’t burned by the long ball, and relied on an exceptional sinker.
At this point in his career, Loáisiga is relying on elite command to avoid barrels. It doesn’t necessarily lend itself to upside, but he could help several teams as a high-workload middle reliever, assuming his health works out like it did this past season.
69. Kevin Ginkel, RP
Ginkel needed a rebound in 2026 after 25.2 innings of 7.36-ERA ball. Walks were the primary culprit in 2025, as they were in 2020 and 2021, but his spots were better this time around.
Even so, bullpens are a stuff game now, and he’s throwing an 88 plvStuff+ four-seamer nearly half the time.
Ginkel’s leverage days could be behind him, although his track record and encouraging KPIs might make him a late-inning arm on a lesser team.
70. Brock Burke, RP
Brock Burke has cemented himself as a pretty consistent lefty out of the pen, although the shape of his production has fluctuated.
He popped in 2026, sporting a 2.30 ERA that could inflate his value this winter. His xERA and FIP, though, have been steadier, painting a picture of a middle reliever who can get both lefties and righties out.
Despite sitting at 96 mph, plvStuff+ doesn’t give much love to his four-seamer. Rather, his slider headlines the arsenal, and his changeup keeps righties honest.
71. Andrew Kittredge, RP
Kittredge is a funky sinker-slider righty in all the ways you’d expect. The breaker has better stuff, he commands both pitches well, and he relied far more on chases for weak contact than whiffs.
Kittredge did a good job of leaving the zone without walking guys this past season, but some quality-of-contact concerns persist. Hitters were able to pull balls in the air off him too frequently, and his mistake rate of 7.6% was untenable.
This profile works at low enough leverage. Yet, his age and declining stuff are minimizing his room for error, so his floor may be lower than similarly-priced relievers this offseason.
72. José Alvarado, RP
Alvarado offered a lesson in reliever volatility this past season. His xERA increased by 32 points from 2025; his FIP increased by 22 points. His ERA exploded to 5.86, more than two full runs worse than the year prior.
He got disastrously unlucky on balls in play, allowing a .380 BABIP and .303 xBABIP.
Assuming that comes back down to earth in 2027, Alvarado’s (essentially) two-pitch mix is enough to get outs. His turbo sinker actually fares worse by our stuff model than his 91.5-mph cutter, but the two are cohesive, especially when his command is running hot.
73. Jason Adam, RP
It has yet to reflect in his ERA, but the wheels seem to be falling off for Adam. Quad and shoulder injuries limited him to 34.1 innings in 2026.
In those innings, though, things got ugly. His K/9 fell to 5.77, and his HR/9 increased to 1.31. Adam’s FIP and xFIP (4.85 and 4.84, respectively) paint a truer picture than the box score.
This is most apparent with his stuff, as his four-seam fastball’s plvStuff+ dropped from league average to 85. He doesn’t command it well, either, which gave hitters the ability to tee off.
If the fastball doesn’t rebound, Adam’s unique arsenal might not be enough to keep him afloat. In fairness, that same proposition makes him an interesting buy-low candidate.
74. JoJo Romero, RP
As much as it seemed like Aaron Ashby pitched every inning for the Brewers’ bullpen, Romero did, in fact, find some playing time in the playoffs. He pitched well, allowing one run in eight innings and striking out 37.9% of batters.
Romero’s arsenal is headlined by his sweeper, which he also spots better than his sinker. It’s a repertoire that doesn’t often find itself in leverage, but makes a lot of sense as a type of Alex Vesia backup plan.
75. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
At this stage of Paul Goldschmidt’s career, he has one job: mash left-handed pitching. Even in his age-38 season, he made it look easy.
As the short side of a first-base platoon, the future Hall of Famer was otherworldly, posting a 168 wRC+ against southpaws. Goldschmidt also impressed in the field, albeit in a small sample size, essentially doing everything possible to earn another year in the Bronx.
Goldschmidt isn’t running on empty just yet, but his expected metrics took a hit thanks to declining exit velocities, and his plate discipline is no longer an asset. Goldschmidt’s bat-to-ball skills are failing him, too; his Z-Contact% was just 77.7% this past season.
It’s a lot harder to find a spot for his farewell tour without a standout tool or a good enough reason to pick a fight with Father Time.
76. David Peterson, SP
Peterson flashed with Chicago down the stretch after an early trade out of Queens, but that won’t guarantee him a starting role this winter.
For one, Peterson still looked his best in the 2024 postseason when he was doing an Andrew Miller cosplay for the Mets. Starting hasn’t been quite as fruitful, as each time he boasted a shiny ERA, his peripherals foreshadowed disaster.
Neither Peterson’s sinker nor four-seamer pop on stuff models, and his command is yet to compensate. He’s a ground ball pitcher whose fluctuating strikeout and walk rates leave him vulnerable to batted-ball luck, capping his upside.
77. Sean Newcomb, RP
Sean Newcomb ran out of gas for the White Sox, but that shouldn’t diminish what he meant to a team in desperate need of quality innings all summer. Similarly, it shouldn’t keep him out of conversations to start next season.
Newcomb has now logged back-to-back seasons with 90 innings and an ERA south of 3.10. He’s got an interesting fastball from a low arm angle, wins with a slurve, and has played around with enough pitches to inspire optimism for his next pitching coach.
78. Paul Blackburn, RP
Blackburn’s 1.59 ERA with the Yankees in 2026 was almost certainly a fluke. He doesn’t strike many batters out, earned a .230 BABIP out of nowhere, and nearly cut his HR/9 in half.
Yet, I am optimistic he has an outside shot at pitching leverage innings again in 2027. This makes more sense if a second-division team rolls the dice, but many organizations could find themselves in on this version of Blackburn, who is demonstrably healthier than in past seasons.
Adding 1.7 mph of velocity to his sinker fundamentally changes how we should view Blackburn. While he can provide length, his stuff is optimized in shorter bursts, making reliever-needy teams a better fit.
79. Antonio Senzatela, RP
Senzatela had a bit of a post-hype breakout in 2026. Years removed from his first quality season (2020), he battled injuries and a lot of bad baseball to get to this point.
He moved to the bullpen full-time in 2026 and saw his ERA, WHIP, xERA, FIP, and xFIP improve substantially. Part of that was his trade to Milwaukee (where he made the second October cameo of his career).
Regardless, Senzatela improved his strikeout rate from 11.8% to 19.3% and underwent a bit of a metamorphosis in Milwaukee. He added significant velocity in the bullpen, and the Brewers emphasized a sinker- and cutter-heavy approach that increased his potency (even if the results were messy in the second half).
This isn’t the same pitcher that left Colorado. His best baseball might be ahead of him.
80. Kris Bubic, SP
Bubic is an oft-injured lefty whose pedigree and flashes make him an interesting name to watch this offseason. In his last “full” season, he logged 116.1 innings in 2025, generating a well-deserved 2.55 ERA thanks to elite damage suppression.
It’s unclear how his stuff will look after another arm injury, but he figures to have suitors as a starter or reliever on a low-risk deal.
81. Jack Flaherty, SP
Jack Flaherty has struggled since winning the World Series with the Dodgers in 2024, but it’s worth noting that he isn’t terribly far from relevance. He is yet to adjust to life without an average fastball, as its steady decline has lent itself to hard contact.
With that said, the bottom is yet to fall out on Flaherty, and he’s still striking out over 10 per nine innings. Some team will take a flier on that to insulate their rotation, perhaps while also looking to give him another pitch.
82. Jameson Taillon, SP
On its face, the 2026 season went about as poorly as possible for Jameson Taillon, culminating in a late-July DFA from the Cubs. Taillon pitched better with the Blue Jays (in just 10 innings) before an elbow injury ended his season.
He has reportedly undergone flexor tendon surgery, complicating his short-term plans. With any luck, those 10 Toronto innings will be enough to keep him on the radar after an otherwise lost season.
83. George Springer, RF/DH
George Springer quickly fell from a down-ballot MVP candidate on a pennant winner to an average bat with little defensive value.
We knew the contact would look bad at the end. Despite the incredibly fun detour, we’re back to wondering what’s next for Springer, who lost sprint speed and bat speed in his age-36 season. After two seasons of reverse splits, he looks like a part-time corner outfielder with some DH upside if he can get back to punishing fastballs.
84. Ryne Stanek, RP
Stanek is a stuff monster whose north-south approach should make him one of the high-octane leverage arms in our game.
The only problem is that the results haven’t reflected that since 2022. At some point that’s got to change, right?
85. Paul Sewald, RP
Paul Sewald is a remnant of a slightly earlier era of Major League Baseball, when vertical approach angle took fans by storm and we started emphasizing fastball shape as much as speed.
The game changes, though, and hitters have seemingly adapted to Sewald’s ludicrous HAVAA. No reliever allowed more home runs than Sewald in 2026. Doing that with a merely below-average HR/FB%, rather than an unbelievable one, is a cause for concern.
86. Enyel De Los Santos, RP
De Los Santos is a middle reliever who racked up 71.1 innings this past season. He’s not spectacular by strikeouts or damage suppression, but he has some interesting tools at his disposal.
That starts with a changeup, boasting a 29.6% putaway rate and an impressive ability to miss bats. He commands that and his four-seamer well and leans on his slider to generate soft contact.
He’s probably another pitch away from making waves, but there’s little stopping him from being a consistent middle-inning arm.
87. Austin Hedges, C
We can just pencil him back in for Cleveland, right?
Hedges has long been one of the game’s most beloved backup catchers due to his defense and ability to manage a pitching staff. This season, though, he doubled his 2025 wRC+ (50) to get to league average, flummoxing everyone in the process.
If not for giving back some of his defensive prowess, Hedges would be in line for even more recognition. The bat is unlikely to stick, but his intangibles alone could help plenty of clubs.
88. Ryosuke Tatsumi, OF (NPB)
Tatsumi underwent arthroscopic cleaning surgery in October, clouding his presumably low chance of coming to MLB. He tapped into his limited power a little more in 2026 (15 homers) but is now two years removed from the type of production that could have put him on teams’ radars.
89. Jordan Romano, RP
The box score has not been kind to Jordan Romano in recent years. Neither have the stuff models.
A two-pitch pitcher without an average fastball, Romano is asking too much of an otherwise mediocre slider. He doesn’t command either pitch particularly well.
Weirdly enough, he still managed a 70th-percentile K%, 87th-percentile CSW%, and 77th-percentile xwOBA. We’ll see if that earns him another opportunity as a fringe-rosterable reliever.
90. Tim Mayza, RP, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia already brought Mayza back, so we can be brief. He’s a sinker-slider lefty who gets ground balls and doesn’t walk many. After a successful 2026 campaign, he could have a shot at being the second lefty in that bullpen.
91. Shane Bieber, SP
Bieber is fighting for his baseball life. After his age-31 season, it looks like he’s losing.
He has logged just 96 innings over the last two years, and they’ve hardly been replacement-level frames. Shoulder and elbow injuries have taken their toll, sapping his arsenal and putting him behind the eight ball.
Big-leaguers are unforgiving. Right now, Bieber doesn’t have an answer for them, which means this offseason may be his last to prove he can still challenge guys in the zone.
92. Griffin Canning, SP
Canning struggled mightily in his return from a torn Achilles. Another offseason removed from the injury could put wind in his sails, but without great stuff to decline from, he can’t afford to lose any more potency.
It is unlikely he owns a rotation spot come Opening Day, although he could reasonably provide ample depth in a swing-man role.
93. Edmundo Sosa, 3B
Edmundo Sosa’s infield-outfield versatility and excellent speed make him a fit on many rosters around the league. He’s a utility man because he can play multiple spots, not because there is nowhere to put him, and his skills have staying power when the bat goes cold (as it did in 2026).
Sosa’s 110 wRC+ from 2025 should buy another opportunity, but with his 30th birthday behind him, a poor start could quickly make him expendable.
94. Amed Rosario, 2B
Rosario has entrenched himself as the second type of utility man: the one who can stand at multiple spots without playing any of them well.
Fortunately, he has speed on his side, which makes him a situational asset, and he offers more punch than many bench bats. He hit some speed bumps with New York but shouldn’t be short on suitors this winter.
95. Miguel Andujar, LF
Designated hitters with league-average production don’t last very long, especially without loud tools. Andujar has plate discipline on his side, but he’s struggled to turn that into game power, resulting in lots of weak contact.
If he’s not providing defensive value, there’s not much reason to roster him. As such, Andujar is closer to being AAA depth than a starting DH in 2027.
96. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
The bones of Hoskins’ production are still present. He barrels the ball frequently, doesn’t chase, and walks more than almost anyone in baseball. However, Hoskins lacks a defensive off-ramp, so his production is paramount.
In 2026, he struck out over 30% of the time and hit just 13 home runs, making for an empty-calories OBP. His platoon advantage has disappeared over the last two seasons, too.
97. Kona Takahashi, SP (NPB)
Takahashi is expected to test the waters of NPB and MLB (international) free agency. He’s far from a lock to be in the bigs, given his modest K% and 8.5% BB%.
Takahashi doesn’t have as lethal stuff as the Japanese pitchers being posted this offseason, stress-testing his pitchability and potentially giving teams pause.
98. Tyler Kinley, RP
Kinley is a slider-heavy reliever who is trying to stave off the aging curve by downplaying a bad four-seamer and playing the hits. He’s throwing his slider two-thirds of the time, even as it, too, deteriorates, and complementing it with a fairly new curveball.
There could be signal in his willingness to add pitches, but without a real fastball, it’s hard to imagine him posting another 3.45 ERA without a lot of luck. Neither his strikeout nor walk rates suggest a repeat is in the cards, and his approach has left his production up to the batted-ball gods.
99. Lance McCullers Jr., SP
McCullers has been unpitchable in each of the last two seasons, sliding down a spiral of walks and home runs. Without life on his fastball, he’ll need to get creative to earn big-league innings.
100. Mark Leiter Jr., RP
There’s an argument to be made that Leiter was underrated last year. He struck guys out, limited walks, and was hurt by BABIP more than most. However, Leiter also gave up fewer homers than expected given his fly ball rates and hard contact allowed.
He’s currently a sinker-splitter-curve righty who would benefit from ditching his four-seamer altogether. A hip injury tainted his season, and Sacramento certainly didn’t help, but quality middle relief isn’t out of the question in 2027.
Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Justin Redler (@reldernitsuj on Bsky/Twitter)
