A number of teams (and their fanbases) have already turned their attention towards the offseason. Identifying free agent targets is a big part of that prep work, so it’s worth taking a look at the players who’ll be available at each position. We’ll start things off with catchers. Ages listed are for the 2026 season.
Starting Catchers
J.T. Realmuto (35)
Now in his mid-30s, Realmuto is no longer the all-around superstar he was at his peak. Still, he remains a perfectly solid starting backstop who is as reliable in the lineup as any in baseball. Realmuto led the majors with 132 starts and 1151 1/3 innings behind the plate. He’d also logged the heaviest workload of any catcher in 2022-23, and only a five-week absence for a knee sprain kept him from doing the same in 2024.
Realmuto is still an exceptional athlete for the position. He’s an elite catch-and-throw defender, leading the league with an average pop time of 1.86 seconds on throws to second base. He cut down almost 30% of attempted basestealers at a time when the league average is around 22%. Statcast has increasingly soured on his pitch framing and blocking metrics, but the former might not be quite as valued a skillset with the forthcoming strike zone challenge system.
The righty-hitting Realmuto put up a .257/.315/.384 slash across 550 trips to the plate. He hit 26 doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs. It’s technically his first below-average offensive season since his 2015 rookie year. It’s nevertheless solid production, and he took a .266/.321/.403 line into September before slumping in the final month.
Realmuto has a good shot at a two-year deal as he enters his age-35 season. He’s now in year seven in Philly. Extending that arrangement makes the most sense. If that doesn’t come to pass, he could fit on the Angels, Padres or Rays. The Nationals arguably have the biggest need at the position of any team, but his age might not align with a Washington club that has yet to pull out of the rebuild.
Potential Regulars/Timeshare Options
Victor Caratini (32)
Caratini has been a high-end backup for most of his career. While he has never gotten to 400 plate appearances or 100 starts in a season, he’s a switch-hitter with serviceable career numbers from both sides of the plate. Caratini hit .263/.329/.406 in 660 plate appearances while splitting time with Yainer Diaz in Houston over the last two seasons. He’s a capable receiving catcher and adept at blocking balls in the dirt. Caratini’s biggest weakness is a below-average arm that makes him vulnerable in the running game. Opponents were successful on 57 of 64 stolen base attempts (an 89% rate).
This is Caratini’s second trip to free agency. He commanded a two-year, $12MM deal last time around. He has done enough to get another two-year contract at a slightly higher annual value this winter. Kyle Higashioka landed two years and $13.5MM last offseason, and he’s three years older than Caratini.
Danny Jansen (31)
Jansen was one of the more quietly productive two-way catchers in Toronto early in his career. His tenure with the Blue Jays was marred by injuries, and while he’s been mostly healthy over the past two seasons, his numbers have dropped. His defensive metrics have been up and down for the past couple seasons. He had a terrible second half in 2024 that left him to sign an $8.5MM pillow contract with the Rays. Jansen hit .204/.314/.389 over 73 games with Tampa Bay and was traded to Milwaukee this summer.
There’s not much playing time available when you’re backing up William Contreras, so Jansen only made 16 starts with the Brew Crew. He has impressed in that time (.254/.346/.433 with three homers in 78 plate appearances) but hasn’t rebuilt the value it seemed he’d have when he was out to an excellent start to his walk year in ’24. He’s probably looking at a two-year deal at most, ideally with a team that can offer semi-regular playing time.
Backups
Elias Díaz (35)
Díaz was an All-Star with the Rockies a couple seasons back. His production has trended down the past two years, and he’s coming off a .204/.270/.337 slash over 283 plate appearances with the Padres. He has an excellent arm but has gotten mixed grades for his receiving skills over his career.
Mitch Garver (35)
Seattle will pay Garver a $1MM buyout on a mutual option to conclude a disappointing two-year free agent deal. Garver had been a key contributor to the Rangers’ championship team in 2023. The Mariners hoped he’d carry that power into T-Mobile Park, but he hit just .187/.290/.341 across 720 plate appearances with Seattle. A primary DH with Texas, Garver started 42 games and logged almost 400 innings behind the dish while backing up Cal Raleigh this season.
Austin Hedges (33)
Hedges is probably the worst hitter in MLB, but his defensive reputation is so strong that he continues getting opportunities as a backup. The Guardians have signed him to $4MM deals in consecutive offseasons.
Luke Maile (35)
Maile signed an offseason minor league deal with the Royals. He spent a good portion of the season on the big league roster but only got into 25 games. He hit .244/.346/.356 across 54 trips to the plate. Maile is a career .209/.277/.320 hitter but has a strong defensive rep.
Martín Maldonado (39)
There’s been speculation about retirement for the 39-year-old Maldonado, who finished the season on the Padres’ playoff roster with Díaz nursing an oblique injury. A former Gold Glover and World Series champion on the 2022 Astros, Maldonado has built a career off his rapport with pitching staffs and game-calling ability.
James McCann (36)
McCann was playing on a minor league deal with Atlanta when the Diamondbacks offered him an MLB opportunity on June 22. They expected the veteran to be a temporary fill-in while Gabriel Moreno was on the injured list. McCann played well enough to stick around and push previous backup Jose Herrera off the roster once Moreno was healthy. He finished the season with a .260/.324/.431 line over 42 games and might’ve earned himself a big league deal in 2026.
Gary Sánchez (33)
Sánchez landed an $8.5MM contract from the Orioles last winter. He won’t come close to that this time around, as wrist and knee injuries limited him to 29 games. Sánchez hit .231/.297/.418 across 101 plate appearances. He missed the entire second half with a right knee sprain.
Christian Vázquez (35)
Minnesota’s signing of Vázquez on a three-year, $30MM deal did not work out. He hit .215/.267/.311 during his time in the Twin Cities, falling behind Ryan Jeffers on the depth chart early into his tenure. He’s coming off a .189/.271/.274 showing and probably looking at a minor league deal, though he remains a quality defender.
Club Options
Tom Murphy (35)
Murphy missed the entire season with a back injury. In late August, he told Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle that the team misdiagnosed what turned out to be a herniated disc as an oblique strain. The interview is worth a read in full for more context, but Murphy also blasted an outside spinal clinic that the team recommended for what he called “100% malpractice” after they treated the wrong disc. Murphy said at the time that he’d had no contact with the front office since suffering the injury in Spring Training and called his injury-riddled two seasons with the Giants “an absolute nightmare.” Suffice it to say, he won’t be back in San Francisco. The team will pay him a $250K buyout.
Salvador Perez (36)
Perez almost certainly won’t make it to the market. The Royals have a $13.5MM club option. General manager J.J. Picollo has more or less confirmed that Perez will stick in Kansas City, though they could work out some kind of multi-year deal rather than picking up the option. Picollo said they’ve already begun those conversations with the franchise icon.
Third/Fourth Catchers
- Austin Barnes (36)
- Jason Delay (31)
- Jose Herrera (29)
- Sandy León (37)
- Omar Narváez (34)
- Tomás Nido (32)
- Austin Nola (36)
- Jacob Stallings (36)
- Matt Thaiss (31)
What a pool to pick from of you really need a C. The best option is 35! The younger (a few) guys were never good enough in their prime.
As for the comment that SD is a possible landing spot for JTR if he somehow fails to extend in Philly, I see no possibility there for the simple fact that SD has Fermin who looks more than capable of taking on the starting role and even (for now) Campy as a back up / last shot with upside – both costing about $2 mil total. With Salas in the wings for 2027, no chance of a 2 year contract for JTR.
SD needs a 1b / DH but JTR while he could be that guy, isn’t nearly the best available for the money that he will command (I’ll take a Naylor reunion).
We could all just get a “free space” on our mlb FA contest cards for a return to Philly. Similar to Nick Martinez taking the QO returning to Cincy last year (1 of my only 5 correct!)
Campusano might be a non-tender candidate
Votto – I agree that he fits the mold but they need a back up C, could use a RH DH and he has tak n reps at 1b so maybe some value there. His upside is good – check out AAA stats so, I have to say overall not all non-tender.
Now, could he be traded for a fresh start? I’d say yes, that may be on the horizon since SD didn’t seem to want to see him in 2025 in September for a look.
I think campy is a dfa candidate as they don’t trust him to catch at all.
Salas who knows when he will be up. 2027 at some point in the season is possible but with Fermin there is likely not rush. He could be traded before he even is called up.
It wouldn’t shock me at all if the padres just brought back Diaz.
Backup catcher isn’t going to be a huge priority for the padres this offseason. 1b/dh, starting pitching and Bench will the focus this offseason for the padres.
I think the biggest thing will be changing hitting coaches. That would require shildt adapting a more slug philosophy. The Padres lack of pulling the ball for power was their biggest issue this season in my eyes.
We have no idea how much they will spend this offseason but my guess is the biggest contract will go to a starter. One bat, one starter and this team will be in the mix again next year. Barring some bad injuries.
Salas is nowhere close to coming to majors in 2027. He has barely played and when he has he has been bad. Might want to check out stats not rely upon two year old hype.
What would Captain Kirk get if he hadn’t signed that big ticket earlier this year
5/100
oh yeah and the halos have some guys named ohoppe and darnaud set to catch next year but sure theyre a realmuto fit
Especially the way he has crushed the last few games!
Anthony, why are you guys beating the demise-of-framing drum? Tim said much the same a few days ago about Realmuto.
“Statcast has increasingly soured on his pitch framing and blocking metrics, but the former might not be quite as valued a skillset with the forthcoming strike zone challenge system.”
As long as it stays a challenge system, framing will be at least as valuable, if it is at all, as it has ever been. ANY unchallenged “miss” is a win for the framer/team and, now, the skill can affect not only umpires but also opposing players’ judgement, too.
As soon as the challenge aspect goes away (when MLB mandates full-time ABS-only), the skill is rendered useless. Until then, that guy can make a real difference.
I think the important part of this is “as valuable” it’s all relative.
They are honestly just trying to hit a word count.
While I may not agree w/ your post superstar – that was a brilliantly funny thought….
I think the Mets and Rangers will be in on Realmuto as well
Mets have no need or interest, too many other needs to spend money on a 35 y/o catcher, and they have Alvy who hit much better after his demotion.
What a debacle with Tom Murphy. I know it’s only one side of the story but there is precedence with the Giants and the Noah Lowry mess back in the day.
Bart not much of a defender but great vs LHP. Pirates won’t want to pay him and don’t need him. Ok back up.
A’s need pitching and shea langeliers probably is next best hitting catcher in AL after cal raeligh. Huge gap between although one could argue langeliers 2025 is 2024 raleigh without platinum defense. Also his agent is Scott boras so a extension unless overpaid is unlikely. I wonder what a langeliers for pitching deal could be
He’s not a free agent (ARB-3), but Reese McGuire has done a more than serviceable job as the #3 catcher for the Cubs with Miguel Amaya’s injuries. With Amaya presumably healthy this spring to job share with Carson Kelly and Moises Ballesteros around to DH and occasionally catch, McGuire is probably available before the Rule 5 deadline for a reasonable prospect.
Phillies probably will resign JT especially since they don’t really have another catcher in their system
If that somehow doesn’t happen, could they trade for Wilson Contreras or daulton rushing?
Contreras appears to be a 1B now.
I have no idea what the Phils are going to do at catcher in 2026. Are they going to offer JT a two-year deal at c? I don’t see Stubbs or Marchan as much help at catcher. Are they looking to make a trade for a catcher (Castellanos and mucho dinero)? Are they going to bring up Caleb Ricketts who appears to be their top catching prospect since they dealt O’Hoppe two years ago and Tait this summer.
I’ve never seen a market so full yet so bare at the same time…
Sweet line up to get a starting catcher that’s 33-39 lol – geez
Where are the under age 30 catchers?
Still in arbitration years?
On the Dodgers.
Brutal class. This is why trading Sean Murphy is both attractive and daunting, because he can likely fetch more than he’s worth yet there isn’t a backup they can go sign on this list that’s remotely as good. That’s full well acknowledging Murphy has really struggled at the plate. Catching is not deep on baseball right now and hasn’t been for near the last decade.
Wow, I literally thought “Hey! Forgot about D’Arnaud,” and then I double checked his contract and didn’t realize he’d been signed for two years…
I’m thinking Atlanta wants a change and will aggressively try to move Sean Murphy; rangers won’t be spending money and if they have to cut deep May make heim available. Mentioning JTR & Tampa in same sentence has to be a joke, right?
How do you sign Christan Vazquez to a $30M deal?
Vazquez was always hyped to be far better than he actually was. The big deal about him was his “framing”. And, take away his one good year at the plate (the juiced-ball year of 2019) and he’s barely better than Sandy Leon.
I’m a fan of the Giants Patrick Bailey, but he needs a decent backup – one who’s young enough and possibly still talented enough to have some upside – who could maybe even push Bailey into more of a 60/40-ish time-share.
I think Danny Jansen could be just that guy. I don’t know what the ask would be, but a 2 year guarantee (plus maybe an option) seems like it could be well worth the risk..
Jansen might be worth more to another team as a primary catcher
Sandy Leon???? Isn’t he eligible for SS this year??
Cardinals could use a 5th catcher on the roster!
Crew should resign Jansen for far less than the 12m option they have on Contreras, go with a Quero/Jansen duo and trade Contreras and Peralta this winter, also trade Vaughn while he has some rebuilt value, between the three that would free up some $27mil in payroll and obviously the prospect returns would be near astronomical, not to mention you’d then have a legit chance to potentially resign Woody for a 2-3 year deal if they believe he can contribute consistently, I have no idea really but perhaps he’d accept a two year $28-$30mil deal with opt outs…. Perhaps absorb a lil aav with a buyout on some option like the Crew so often do, but with his maintained effectiveness I’m afraid his market may be surprisingly high despite the recent injury concerns, even so they could make him a legit offer and still have $$ to fill “holes” or add value, and with Quero, Misiorowski, and all the young talent like Made and whatever youngsters they add via those trades, wow a team that won 97 games last year that is still stacked and would have so much young talent that spring training would be so much fun…. Whew Go Crew, God Bless!!