2025 Top 50 MLB Free Agents

The FanGraphs Newsletter, November 5, 2024 [READ IN BROWSER]( November 5, 2024 Welcome to the offseason! As is customary, FanGraphs’ annual top 50 free agent rankings come following the World Series. In recent years, we’ve rotated through the writers principally responsible for the list – first Dave Cameron, then Kiley McDaniel, Craig Edwards, and, more recently, Ben Clemens. Ben is back this year and he's brought help: the FanGraphs staff contributed mightily to this year's rankings. We've provided contract estimates and rankings of the winter’s top free agents, along with market-focused breakdowns for the top 25 players. That could be a quick discussion of where a player might sign, what a team might look for, or even statistical analysis masquerading as market analysis. Meanwhile, a combination of Davy Andrews, Michael Baumann, Jay Jaffe, David Laurila, Eric Longenhagen, Leo Morgenstern, Kiri Oler, Esteban Rivera, Michael Rosen, and Dan Szymborski supplied player-focused breakdowns, which are designed to provide some context for each player at this moment in his career. Special thanks to David Appelman, Jon Becker, Sean Dolinar, Jason Martinez, and Meg Rowley for their help behind the scenes. 1. Juan Soto, OF, Age 26 Ben’s Take In my previous career, I once interviewed for a job and asked about salary. “What do you think we should pay you?” was the response. That’s pretty close to how Soto’s negotiations will go this offseason. The best pure hitter in baseball hitting the free agent market mere weeks after he turned 26? We’ve never seen a bonanza like this before. Soto has the two things that big-market teams drool over: true superstar skills and youth. He’s the unquestioned top player on the market this winter. The Yankees are the front-runners to land Soto, but every team with a pile of money would love to have him. I think that 10 or so teams would be willing to pay Soto a record amount (in NPV terms at least — Shohei Ohtani’s contract last winter will almost certainly retain the raw dollar record) over a decade or longer. Basing Soto’s deal on precedent isn’t going to work – there just aren’t enough comparables. We’re talking Alex Rodriguez’s Rangers contract and nothing else – Bryce Harper is the only other player who feels particularly close, and Soto’s résumé is far more polished. He already has four five-win seasons, and he was easily on pace for another in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. In other words, his free agency is nearly unprecedented, and I think that the bidding will reflect that. [READ MORE]( [Wacha Won’t Walk: Michael Wacha Signs Three-Year Deal To Stay in Kansas City]( After arguably the best season of his career, Wacha will return to the Royals for at least three years are $51 million. A better writer would have figured out how to wedge a Fozzie Bear joke into the headline. | by Davy Andrews [The Best and Worst Baserunning Plays of the Postseason]( Let's look back at some of the most (and least) skillful examples of baserunning from the 2024 postseason. | by Leo Morgenstern [Ready for the Offseason? Too Bad! Angels, Braves Swap Canning for Soler]( These sickos are making trades when the World Series' body isn't even cold yet. | by Michael Baumann [The Dodgers Embellish Their Playoff Dynasty With a Second Championship]( Under manager Dave Roberts, Los Angeles has put together one of the greatest runs in baseball history. | by Jay Jaffe [Sunday Notes: Bryce Eldridge Wants To Crush Pitches In the Air]( Plus Colin Holderman's worst pitch, MLB history's two John Kennedys, Sawamura Award disrespect, Dwight Evans disrespect, facts and stats galore, and more. | by David Laurila 🎧 [Effectively Wild Episode 2240: We've Got Options]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [Only Juan Soto can decide if his future is with the Yankees]( by Jorge Castillo, ESPN ['Maybe the grass isn't always greener': Inside the Cole opt-out saga]( by Mark Feinsand, MLB [The case for — and against — each of the Classic Baseball Era Hall of Fame candidates]( by Tyler Kepner, The Athletic ($) [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2024 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 3017 N Underwood StArlington, VA 22213 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](