Signing Predictions for the 21 Best MLB Free Agents Still Available

Of our original ranking of the league’s top 50 free agents, 29 have found homes. Here are some revised predictions for where the remaining 21 will land.

Flaherty helped the Dodgers win the 2024 World Series after being acquired from the Tigers midseason. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The first two months of the offseason featured quite a bit of action. Juan Soto joined the New York Mets on the richest contract in sports history, the Los Angeles Dodgers landed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Corbin Burnes turned heads by choosing to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Now that the calendar’s flipped to 2025, there’s still much to be settled. The trade market will likely stay busy, with big names like Nolan Arenado, Luis Castillo and Dylan Cease consistently being mentioned in rumors. And while some major difference makers have already signed with new teams, impact free agents are still available.

Of our original list of top 50 free agents, 29 have found new homes. As spring training draws nearer, here are some revised predictions for where the remaining 21 will land.

1. Roki Sasaki, SP

Age: 23 | Former team: Chiba Lotte Marines (NPB) | New prediction: Padres
Original rank: 4

The wait for the most intriguing free agent in years to choose his next team continues. Sasaki continues to meet with teams and listen to pitches. Since he’s not yet 25 years old and doesn’t have six years of service time, the right-hander is subject to MLB’s international amateur signing bonus pool rules, severely limiting the cap of his contract. The upside here is massive, as Sasaki has a 2.02 career ERA in Japan, averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings. The deadline for Sasaki to sign with a team is Jan. 23, when the posting window closes.

2. Jack Flaherty, SP

Age: 29 | Former teams: Tigers/Dodgers | New prediction: Tigers
Original rank: 6

Four seasons plagued by injury and ineffectiveness forced Flaherty to settle for a one-year, $14 million deal last winter. He’s set himself up for a much bigger payday this time around after going 13–7 with a 3.17 ERA and 3.48 FIP over 28 starts, even if he ran out of steam in the postseason—especially since he was not eligible for a qualifying offer, meaning teams won’t have to give up draft compensation to sign him.

3. Pete Alonso, 1B

Age: 30 | Former team: Mets | New prediction: Mets
Original rank: 8

The free agent market has devalued lumbering sluggers of Alonso’s ilk in recent years, but the Polar Bear is a rare breed when it comes to power. His 226 home runs since his 2019 debut trail only Aaron Judge’s output (232 HRs). Still, many teams looking for first base help have addressed that issue over the last couple of months, meaning it may make sense for Alonso to return to Queens despite all signs pointing to a departure at the offseason’s outset.

4. Alex Bregman, 3B

Age: 31 | Former team: Astros | New prediction: Red Sox
Original rank: 9

The Astros appear to have ruled out a reunion with their longtime third baseman by trading for Isaac Paredes and signing Christian Walker, and there are precious few teams with a hole at the hot corner willing to shell out the sort of contract Bregman is looking for. The longtime Astro hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2019, when MLB’s juiced ball enabled him to launch a career-best 41 home runs he hasn’t come close to matching again. Bregman isn’t likely to sniff an MVP runner-up finish again, but he settled in as a 4 WAR, mid-20 HR threat during his last few years in Houston.

Santander was one of just four players with 40 home runs and 100 RBIs last year. The others were Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

5. Anthony Santander, RF

Age: 30 | Former team: Orioles | New prediction: Blue Jays
Original rank: 11

Since 2022, Santander has hit 105 home runs, sixth-most in the major leagues. He’s sort of a switch-hitting Pete Alonso who plays the corner outfield, though he’s likely better suited as a DH going forward. Teams will always splurge for power, and while Santander is far from a well-rounded player, his production in the batter’s box should ensure him a nice payday, though it seems unlikely he’ll be able to latch onto a contender at this point.

6. Tanner Scott, RP

Age: 30 | Former teams: Marlins/Padres | New prediction: Red Sox
Original rank: 14

A first-time All-Star this year, Scott led all relievers with 4.0 WAR over the past two seasons after improving his once dismal control. The hard-throwing lefty excels at inducing soft contact when he isn’t racking up whiffs, positioning him to be the highest-paid arm in a deep class of free agent relievers.

7. Jurickson Profar, LF

Age: 32 | Former team: Padres | New prediction: Mariners
Original rank: 16

The former top prospect who debuted at age 19 in 2012 earned his first invitation to the All-Star Game 12 years later while setting career highs in home runs (25) and all three slash line categories (.280/.380/.459). However, he isn’t rated well as a defender by most metrics—his magnificent NLDS home run robbery of Mookie Betts notwithstanding.

8. Jeff Hoffman, P

Age: 32 | Former team: Phillies | New prediction: Orioles
Original rank: 21

A failed starter for the Rockies and Reds early in his career, Hoffman became an All-Star reliever for the Phillies in his two years in the City of Brotherly Love and produced many career-best marks in 2024, including strikeout rate (33.6%), walk rate (6%), ERA (2.17) and FIP (2.52). The season ended on a sour note as he took the loss in two of the Phillies’ three defeats to the Mets in the NLDS, but the former top-10 pick will nevertheless be aiming for a multi-year deal with an eight-figure salary on the open market—and reports indicate some teams may be looking to convert Hoffman back into a starter, as the Mets plan to do with Clay Holmes.

Kim averaged 3.8 WAR and 135 games played in his four seasons with the Padres. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

9. Ha-Seong Kim, SS

Age: 29 | Former team: Padres | New prediction: Padres
Original rank: 17

The four-year, $28 million deal Kim signed with San Diego ahead of the 2021 season ended up being a steal for the Padres. Teams value elite up-the-middle defense quite highly, and Kim has leveled up offensively, averaging 13 homers and 24 stolen bases over the past three seasons. Kim looked poised to cash in during a down year for free agent shortstops, but an October shoulder surgery that will likely push back his 2025 debut appears to have limited his market.

10. Carlos Estévez, RP

Age: 32 | Former teams: Angels/Phillies | New prediction: Diamondbacks
Original rank: 23

Estévez was on the wrong end of one of the postseason’s defining moments, giving up a grand slam to Francisco Lindor in the NLDS. But don’t let that fool you: this is a top-end closer. Getting out of Colorado did wonders for Estévez’s career, as the righthander posted a 3.22 ERA with 57 saves over the past two seasons with the Angels and Phillies.

11. Nick Pivetta, SP

Age: 32 | Former team: Red Sox | New prediction: Guardians
Original rank: 28

Over the past four years, Pivetta has been a safe bet for an ERA in the low- to mid-4’s over 150 innings. He’s been prone to giving up hard contact but has put up shiny strikeout and walk rates to raise his production floor. Teams can never have enough pitching depth, and Pivetta is a solid mid-rotation caliber arm—though it must slightly concern him that the peers we originally grouped him with (Nick Martinez, Walker Buehler, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino) have all already secured their 2025 teams.

12. Kenley Jansen, RP

Age: 37 | Former team: Red Sox | New prediction: Rangers
Original rank: 32

Jansen recorded his 15th straight season of averaging double-digit strikeouts per nine innings in 2024 and has shown no sign of slowing down. With 32 more career saves, the former catcher will pass Hall of Famer Lee Smith for third on the all-time leaderboard (assuming Craig Kimbrel, who trails Jansen by seven, has run out of chances to close). One has to imagine Jansen will only sign somewhere he’s the undisputed closer so he can seal his entry to Cooperstown with that accomplishment. 

13. Kirby Yates, RP

Age: 38 | Former team: Rangers | New prediction: Cubs
Original rank: 33

It was a long road back, but Yates rediscovered the form that once briefly made him baseball’s best closer. After notching 41 saves with a 1.19 ERA in 2019, elbow injuries cost Yates basically all of the 2020 to ‘22 seasons. He put up a solid year in ‘23, with a 3.28 ERA over 61 games for the Braves, before a dominant ‘24 campaign as Texas’s closer. Yates had 33 saves with a 1.17 ERA and 1.81 xERA in 61 games, posting a 35.9% strikeout rate that validated the return of his dominant stuff.

14. Andrew Heaney, SP

Age: 34 | Former team: Rangers | New prediction: Angels
Original rank: 35

His 5–14 record notwithstanding, 2024 was a solid year for Heaney, who made a career-high 31 starts with an ERA, xERA and FIP all sub-4.50. His strikeout rate dipped but so did his walk rate, down to a career-low 5.9%. Signing the lefthander might not win any press conferences, but he’d be a welcome addition for clubs in need of pitching depth.

15. Jesse Winker, LF

Age: 31 | Former team: Mets | New prediction: Pirates
Original rank: 37

Winker had a nice bounce-back season in 2024. He set a career high with 145 games played after missing 101 in ‘23, with his highest on-base percentage (.360) since ‘21. The lefty hitter could be the strong half of a platoon in a contending team’s corner outfield, though those spots are quite scarce at this point in the offseason.

Scherzer recorded his worst strikeout rate (8.3 K/9) since 2011 in nine starts for the Rangers last year. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

16. Max Scherzer, SP

Age: 40 | Former team: Rangers | New prediction: Braves
Original rank: 39

Scherzer finally started to show his age in a campaign riddled with injuries that featured his lowest strikeout rate (22.6%) since 2011 in the nine games he did manage to toe the rubber. If he can regain good health, however, you can bet most hitters still wouldn’t relish facing down Mad Max. 

17. Clayton Kershaw, SP

Age: 37 | Former team: Dodgers | New prediction: Dodgers
Original rank: 41

Kershaw has maintained that he plans to pitch in 2025, and the Dodgers expect he’ll do so for them. The future Hall of Famer made just seven starts in ‘24, so he and the team will surely hope for improved help in his 18th season.

18. J.D. Martinez, DH

Age: 37 | Former team: Mets | New prediction: Royals
Original rank: 43

Martinez saw his three-year All-Star streak come to an end after posting his lowest wRC+ (108) for a full season since 2013. As a right-handed hitting DH-only bat, his next contract will likely be a pay cut from his ‘24 salary of $12 million. But clubs will value his veteran presence and dependability.

19. Alex Verdugo, LF

Age: 29 | Former team: Yankees | New prediction: A’s
Original rank: 50

Verdugo’s worst season at the dish (83 wRC+) came at an unfortunate time ahead of his first foray into free agency. But the man once traded for Mookie Betts still provides solid defense in left and is on the right side of 30. Verdugo reached base at a 34% clip from 2019 to ‘23, and should at least get a look as a strongside platoon partner somewhere.

20. A.J. Minter, RP

Age: 31 | Former team: Braves | New prediction: Giants
Original rank: 45

Atlanta’s longtime fireman didn’t have an ideal platform year, as early issues with keeping the ball in the park preceded a nagging hip injury that resulted in season-ending surgery in August. But Minter did still post a 2.62 ERA in 39 games, and his track record of success in the bullpen provides hope he could be a bargain signing.

21. José Leclerc, RP

Age: 31 | Former team: Rangers | New prediction: Marlins
Original rank: 46

A disastrous start to 2024 saw Leclerc quickly lose his closer role in Texas, but he posted a 3.50 ERA and 3.09 FIP over his final 59 games. His 30.9 strikeout rate ranked 18th among relief pitchers with at least 60 innings, so he still looks capable of pitching high-leverage innings.