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. Ages listed are for the 2026 season.
Previous entries in this series: catcher
The Top Guys
- Pete Alonso (31)
Alonso is signed through 2026 but he has an opt-out and has already said that he will use it, so he’ll be back on the open market for a second year in a row. That’s the outcome he and his representatives at the Boras Corporation were hoping for. Last winter, he couldn’t find a satisfactory long-term commitment, so he pivoted to the short-term, opt-out path. The hope with that strategy as that a better platform year and a lack of qualifying offer would lead to a more robust market.
The lack of QO is already assured, as a player can only receive one in his career. Alonso also held up his end of the bargain by having a better walk year. His home run total went from 34 to 38. His batting average climbed from .240 to .272 and his on-base percentage from .329 to .347. His strikeout rate dropped as his batted ball data at Statcast improved. That led to a wRC+ jump from 121 to 141. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 3.6 wins above replacement this year, almost double last year’s 2.1 tally.
That improvement should help him in free agency but it’s still unknown if a long-term contract will be out there for him. In the past seven years, Freddie Freeman is the only free agent first baseman to get a deal longer than three seasons. There have been some long extensions, including for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Matt Olson, but those players were still in their 20s. Alonso’s defense has never been strong and has been especially poor in the last two years. Now that he’s about to turn 31 in December, teams may be wary about how he will age into his mid-30s.
Concerns aside, Alonso will be one of the best bats available. The Mets seemed genuinely willing to let him depart last winter, so the teams outside of Queens should have a legitimate shot at getting him.
- Josh Naylor (29)
Naylor doesn’t quite have the offensive ceiling as Alonso but he’s pretty solidly above average at the plate. He hit 20 home runs this year, his fourth straight season of getting that number to at least 17. He doesn’t walk a ton but doesn’t strike out either. His 13.7% strikeout rate this year was barely half of the 22.2% league average. His .295/.353/.462 line translated to a 128 wRC+, indicating he was 28% better than the league average hitter overall. That makes four straight seasons for Naylor with a wRC+ between 118 and 128.
Like most lefties, he’s better against right-handed pitching, but his splits aren’t extreme. His wRC+ against southpaws has been between 104 and 126 in each of the past three seasons, perfectly acceptable production.
He also has other intriguing qualities. The reviews on his glovework are mixed but not awful. He has 12 Outs Above Average at first base in his career. Defensive Runs Saved has him at -5 overall but that includes a -6 grade in 2024 which looks like an outlier. He’s been close to par in every other season of his career.
He’s not a burner on the basepaths, with Statcast crediting him with second percentile sprint speed, but he has shown a knack for stealing bases regardless. He swiped six to ten bags in the three prior seasons coming into 2025. This year, he cranked that way up to 30, including a shocking 19 steals after being traded to the Mariners at the deadline.
On top of his skills, Naylor’s market should be helped by his relative youth and the fact that he can’t receive a qualifying offer as a player traded midseason. As mentioned in the Alonso section, big league teams haven’t given many long deals to free agent first basemen recently, but Naylor’s reliability and relative youth could help him buck that trend.
- Ryan O’Hearn (32)
A few years ago, O’Hearn looked like a lost cause with the Royals. However, he’s now coming off a strong three-year run as an above-average regular, mostly with the Orioles but also with the Padres after a deadline trade.
He hit 17 home runs this year and slashed .281/.366/.437 for a 127 wRC+. Going back to the start of 2023, he has a .277/.343/.445 line and 121 wRC+. Like Naylor, he doesn’t have Alonso’s huge offensive upside but he’s been a consistently strong contributor. Similar to Naylor, he’s a lefty without strong platoon concerns. O’Hearn had a 108 wRC+ against southpaws in 2023. That dipped to 74 last year but he brought it up to 135 this year. Overall, he has a .261/.326/.442 slash and a 116 wRC+ against lefties over the past three years.
O’Hearn’s glovework seems acceptable as well. He has four OAA at first base in his career. His -12 DRS total isn’t pretty but most of that came earlier in his career. He was credited with 4 DRS here in 2025. He can also play a corner outfield spot in a pinch.
Due to his late breakout, O’Hearn is older than both Alonso and Naylor. That will limit his market to shorter deals but he should be helped by a lack of a QO. Since he was traded midseason, he’s ineligible to receive one.
Everyday Players
- Luis Arráez (29)
The book on Arráez is well known at this point. He hardly ever walks but he’s also almost impossible to strike out. There’s not a ton of power but he’s the best contact hitter in the league. His 3.1% strikeout rate this year was easily the best in the majors among qualified hitters. Jacob Wilson came a distant second with a 7.5% rate.
However, Arráez’s overall production has been trending down lately. In 2022 and 2023, he had a combined .335/.384/.445 batting line and 131 wRC+. He had a .347 batting average on balls in play but that actually wasn’t too high for him personally. His swing seems perfectly designed to drop singles in between the infield and the outfield, so he has regularly had BABIPs in the .320 to .370 range, even though league average is usually around .290.
Over the past two years, he’s dropped down to a combined .303/.337/.392 line and 107 wRC+. The cause of that could be debated. He was playing through a torn thumb ligament last year and only hit four home runs. He’s never been a huge power guy but he’s usually good for eight to ten long balls a year. This year, this thumb has presumably healed and he hit eight homers, but his BABIP dropped to .289. That’s probably not all luck, as his average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate have all dropped in recent seasons.
He’s not a burner on the basepaths and isn’t especially well regarded on defense. He does have 2 DRS at first in his career but his -14 OAA mark is dreadful. His best trait is the ability to put the bat on the ball. He’s still doing that but with lesser results over the past two years. Put it all together and it’s one of the tougher markets to predict, but some team will find a lineup spot for him.
- Josh Bell (33)
Bell is one of the most hot-and-cold bats in the majors, but he always seems to find his way to a solid season in the end. He signed a one-year, $6MM deal with the rebuilding Nationals coming into 2025. His first half was rough but he finished strong. The end result was a .239/.326/.421 line and 109 wRC+ over 533 plate appearances.
It’s been a long time since he was an All-Star, but Bell has never been on the injured list for more than a few days. He has appeared in at least 140 games in every full season going back to 2018. He hasn’t been a flashy player for a few years now but has still been solid. In the past three seasons, he hit between 19 and 22 home runs with respectable strikeout and walk rates. His wRC+ finished between 101 and 109 in all three of those campaigns.
His defense isn’t great and he hasn’t stolen a base since 2018. But for clubs who want a plug-and-play first baseman/designated hitter who should be in the lineup and contributing from time to time, Bell will be there and won’t be expensive.
- Rhys Hoskins (33)
Hoskins had a strong run with the Phillies as one of the most consistent power hitters in the league. However, his recent career has been more tumultuous. He suffered a torn ACL during spring training in 2023 and missed that entire season. He became a free agent and signed a two-year, $34MM deal with the Brewers, with an opt-out chance halfway through.
Both Hoskins and the Brewers were likely hoping for him to rebound after his lost year and then return to free agency. It hasn’t played out that way. His 2024 started strong, but he faded later in the year and finished with a .214/.303/.419 line and 101 wRC+. After that tepid year, he decided not to opt out and returned to the Brewers for 2025. He was a bit better this year on a rate basis, with a .237/.332/.416 line and 109 wRC+.
Unfortunately, a thumb sprain put him on the IL in July. While he was out, Andrew Vaughn took his job and ran with it. Hoskins was reinstated from the IL with about three weeks left in the season but hardly played, with Vaughn at first base and Christian Yelich in the DH spot most days. Hoskins was not included on Milwaukee’s NLDS roster. He’ll head into free agency without a lot of juice since his recent seasons haven’t been great, but he’s still been an above-average hitter on the whole. His deal has a mutual option for 2026 but it’s been more than a decade since a mutual option was picked up by both sides.
Platoon and Part-Time Bats
- Wilmer Flores (34)
Flores battled knee troubles throughout 2024 and put up awful numbers. He bounced back somewhat in 2025, with production close to league average, though he didn’t get a ton of playing time in the second half as San Francisco’s acquisition of Rafael Devers squeezed Flores into a short-side platoon role with Dominic Smith. A right-handed hitter, Flores has been better against lefties in his career but had reverse splits this year. He finished the season with a .241/.307/.379 line and 95 wRC+.
- Ty France (31)
France had a strong run from 2020 to 2023 but he’s now had two straight years of subpar offense. He signed a one-year deal with the Twins coming into 2025 and got flipped to the Blue Jays as part of the Louis Varland deadline deal. France finished the regular season with a .257/.320/.360 line and 92 wRC+. He finished the season on the IL due to an oblique injury and was left off Toronto’s ALDS roster.
- Paul Goldschmidt (38)
The Yankees signed Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5MM deal in the offseason. He got out to a hot start but quickly ran out of gas. He had a .338/.394/.495 line and 148 wRC+ at the end of May but then slashed .226/.277/.333 for a 69 wRC+ the rest of the way. As he struggled, he got bumped into the short side of a platoon, with Ben Rice starting against most righties and Goldschmidt mostly facing lefties. Goldy had a 74 wRC+ against righties this year but a 169 wRC+ against lefties. Based on his track record, he could still get an everyday job somewhere. But considering his age and widening platoon splits, he might fit best as a veteran mentor and lefty masher/bench bat.
- Carlos Santana (40)
Santana has defied the aging curve by remaining a solid player into his late 30s, but 2025 wasn’t his best year. He slashed .219/.308/.325 for a wRC+ of 82. The Guardians released him in late August. He latched on with the Cubs but didn’t play much. Santana consented to an optional assignment late in the year and wasn’t on the club’s playoff roster. He’s still a great defender and the plate discipline is still good, so he could garner interest even as a 40-year-old coming off a rough year at the plate.
- Dominic Smith (31)
Smith spent the first few months of the season with the Yankees on a minor league deal. He opted out of that pact in the summer and signed with the Giants. He finished his season strong with a .284/.333/.417 line and 111 wRC+ in 63 games with San Francisco. Almost all of that production came against righties. The Giants only let him face southpaws 27 times and he had a .200/.259/.280 line in those matchups.
- Donovan Solano (38)
Solano has been a pretty solid big league hitter going back to 2019 but is coming off a down year. He was released by the Mariners in September and briefly latched on with the Rangers. Between those two clubs, he hit .247/.291/.337 for an 82 wRC+. He is capable of playing other positions but only got very brief looks at second and third base this year.
- Rowdy Tellez (31)
Tellez also split his time between the Mariners and Rangers in 2025. He hit a combined .228/.276/.443 for a 101 wRC+. He finished with a bit of momentum, as he slashed .259/.315/.457 with the Rangers down the stretch for a 115 wRC+ with that club. Still, it’s been two straight years with poor plate discipline and overall production around league average.
- Justin Turner (41)
Turner has been staying away from Father Time throughout his late 30s but seems to finally have been caught. He signed a one-year, $6MM deal with the Cubs but hit .219/.288/.314 for a 71 wRC+ this season. He is on the Cubs’ playoff roster but hasn’t played much. His deal has a mutual option for 2026, but that won’t be picked up.
- LaMonte Wade Jr. (32)
Wade had a strong run with the Giants from 2021 to 2024 but just had the worst season of his career. He slashed .167/.271/.254 in 242 plate appearances in 2025. He was designated for assignment by the Giants in June and landed with the Angels, but the latter club released him in early August. He didn’t sign anywhere else in the final two months of the season.
Options
- Salvador Perez (36)
Perez is primarily a catcher but has been spending more time at first base in recent years. It’s a fairly moot point for the free agent market, as Kansas City isn’t going to let its captain go. He is a franchise legend and he can be kept around for 2026 via a $13.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout, making it a net $11.5MM decision. Royals general manager J.J. Picollo has already essentially said Perez will be back in next year, so it seems the Royals will either pick up the option or work out a new extension.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bigig, Imagn Images
I would LOVE for the Rockies to take a shot with Luis Arraez on a three or four year deal. Maybe even longer. His game ages well. They need someone that can put the ball in play. They strikeout WAY too much. Putting the ball in play in Coors is the key to success. I don’t care where he is in the field or if he is just a full time DH, but the Rox need his offense.
I mean, it’s kinda already not aging well. 28 and put up his worst BA, OBP, OPS, first time he’s ever had a sub-100 OPS+. If he’s not hitting .310+, he’s not getting on-base enough unless he starts walking more again.
The past two years he has been worth a whopping 2.0 fWAR and 2.2 bWAR.
If the game was who can make contact with the crappiest pitch he’d be king.
The Rockies giving him a five year deal checks out.
@padrepapi A 5 year deal to a one-tool player who’s one tool already looks like it’s in decline unless he makes a change in his approach is totally a Rockies move.
His WAR is low only because WAR overvalues the walk compared to the hit.
“His WAR is low only because WAR overvalues the walk compared to the hit.”
It’s also because he has almost zero power. “Overvaluing the walk” would only makes sense if Arraez had some pop. Many of his hits have the same effect as a walk. He is also bad at defense and plays first base because you can’t really play him anywhere else. WAR appropriately rates him, imo. I don’t think anyone is going to offer him more than a two year deal because no one wants to pay big money or long years for a league-average bat at first base. Three, four, or five years for Arraez is nuts.
@rtc I agree. I only see him getting a one year deal with a player option, maybe two years at most. He only has a 103 OPS+ the last 2 years, and his “chase at everything” sort of approach is starting to get completley picked apart by good pitchers. Look at his spray charts. In 2022 and 2023, he had an exit velocity around 88-89 MPH and was actually driving the gaps. When he was drawing walks at a respectable rate and had a solid chase rate, he hit pitches he could drive the into the gaps. Now it’s just hit swing at any pitch and hope to flare it for a hit.
True, but with the massive OF that is in Coors a lot more of his balls in play will become hits. I would much rather depend on a guy like Arraez over a guys that walks a lot just because a pitcher with good control can easily defeat a walker, but not a contact hitter. There is a reason that guys like Maddux and Glavine did so poorly against guys like Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs. I don’t know if Arraez belongs in that category, but he is probably the closest thing in the current game to Gwynn.
Yeah but Gwynn could actually walk some. I’m not saying Arraez has to be Juan Soto 2.0, but having an 8-9% walk and strikeout rate is probably a better approach than a 3-5% walk and strikeout rate.
I would agree with you completely if we are talking about a smaller park like Cincinnati or Boston. But the vast area of Coors (and KC and a couple others) means that balls in play are far more important.
Coors Field won’t just automatically make him a good hitter again. His approach with the Twins was much better, and he was still hitting .310+, even if it meant a few more K’s.
Both Gywnn and Boggs (and Ichiro as well) also had real raw power. They chose not to use it in favor of contact. I’m confident to say that they could have pop 20+ HR perennially whilr sacrificing hits and batting average. Arraez is not in their same category.
They could drive the gaps at least, and had the speed to make up for the weak grounders. Arraez’s exit velocity went from 88.3 MPH from 2019-2023 to just 86.2 MPH, and hasn’t been above the 30th percentile of sprint speed since 2022.
Also, most of his hits aren’t taking advantage of Coors’ vast outfield. Most are flares into shallow or mid-depth in the OF this year. Being more selective may mean more K’s, but it also means that he walks more, and hits the pitches he can get good wood on.
Shallow and mid depth hits are EXACTLY what work at Coors. They become doubles if you run hard. Outfielders, especially outfielders not used to the stadium almost always play deep. This leads to a lot of area between the infield and the outfielder. Tyler Freeman was kind of a lite version of Arraez this year, but he was hurt and his defense was frankly not good at all. And he hit .281 with a .354 OBP. His slugging was not good, but he got on base and turned flares into hustle doubles. I just think that is the exact type of hitter the team should be chasing.
I’m looking at Tyler Freeman’s spray chart, and I don’t see the resembelance. He had a 90 MPH exit velocity, whereas Arraez was only around 86 MPH the last 2 years, and has more of a sembelance to 2022-2023 Arraez than 2024-2025 Arraez. Freeman also walked about 8% of the time. Sure, he struck out nearly 3x more often than Arraez, but that’s still only about a 12% K%. Again, I think Arraez can be good, but that’s only if he reverts back to his self from his time with the Twins and Marlins. A few more K’s, but a lot more walks, but still a good BA.
I don’t think this sort of “swing at everything and weakly flare every batted ball” is a good strategy in the long run. It’s pretty easy for pitchers to take advantage of, and it doesn’t really instill any sort of threat if they leave something over the plate. He has really leaned into it the last 2 years, and it’s resulted in probably his worst seasons at the plate in what should be his prime years.
And that ~4 MPH difference in exit velocity really changes how fielders play. A batted ball at 86-87 MPH in Coors Field has an average hit distance of 165 feet. A batted ball at 90-91 MPH in Coors has an average hit distnace of 188 feet. In this day in age, fielders know exactly where to best position themselves depending on the player at the plate, so I don’t think many fielders are all of a sudden going to be caught off guard by Luis Arraez in Coors Field.
Tony Gwynn had 97% voting in his first HoF ballot. Arraez is not even close to Gwynn.
Just because a guy doesn’t strike out often isn’t a reason to compare them to Mr. Padre.
On second thought, please let Colorado sign him!
@mlb1225 superb analysis I appreciate you spelling it out and helping us understand!!
YankeesBleacherCreature
Both Gywnn and Boggs (and Ichiro as well) also had real raw power.
=========================
I was going to mention the same thing. EVERY hitter needs to put some fear into the pitcher. If the pitcher doesn’t think you can go deep, they won’t care about getting behind in the count, and won’t mind throwing FBs right down the middle in a 3-ball count.
Wade Boggs does not approve of this comparison.
Why did you retire as a Ray HOFer? And how much did they pay you?
They paid me with silence. I’ve done things.
We should listen to your opinion why? When have you been correct about anything.
Who you talkin too 🧐
Did the chap post in the wrong thread?
Luis Arraez basically flanderized himself and it’s hurting his game. The sub-5% K% looks nice on paper, but he completley leaned into being that sort of hitter and is coming off a career-worst season at 28. He’s chasing outside the zone way too often, and pitchers are going to take advantage of that.
He was much more selective when he was with the Twins. Arraez still only struck out 8.3% of the time, but also walked at a solid 8.7% rate, and was still hitting .314. His chase rate constantly sat around the top 75th-80th percentile. Last two years, he has been below the 20th percentile of chase rate.
Just look at his 2025 compared to his 2021. Almost an identical batting average, and more slugging in ’25 to ’21. Yet he had an OBP of nearly .360 in ’21, and only around .330 in ’25. Who cares if he struck out 10% of the time instead of 3%. He also walked 9% of the time, which helped him stay valuable when his BA fell below .300.
Balls in play are almost always better than strikeouts. A strikeout is a 100% unproductive out. With a groundout or a flyout you can at least move up baserunners or even score runs. Striking out has become somewhat more tolerated in the modern game, but aside from a double play it is still the absolute worst thing you can do as a batter.
I’d still rather take a few more K’s if it meant a few more walks, while still having a .300 BA and a much better OBP.
To each their own. That is the best part about judging players, there is more than one way to look at it. And neither approach is right or wrong, just different. If everyone looked at everything the same exact way, all 30 teams would be chasing the same players and life would just be dull.
It all depends. If he increased his strikeout % by 5% and that increased his walk % by more than 5% then perhaps he would be a better hitter.
Problem is I’ve seen nothing the last couple of years where that’s going to happen. The padres encouraged him to take more walks and that didn’t happen. With his ability to foul off pitches if he could just let balls be balls he would walk at 10% or greater.
He will likely have an improved batting avg next year as his babip will likely be a at least a little better next year. His other issue is playing first seems to be his best position and teams generally want some power from that spot. Especially when he doesn’t bring any speed to go with his lack of power. I can see him getting a 2-3 year deal in the 12-14m range per. His biggest issue this year is he didn’t hit lefty at all.
Does he create a lot of double plays?
11 this year so not bad.
I wouldnt read too much into the CBA. If theres a stoppage guys dont get paid.
The owners already know what they’d like to see in the CBA on their end. Anything that deviates from that due to MLBPA positions would only be to encourage higher spending and lower the penalties/taxes for doing so.
In essence, nothing the MLBPA would ever want in the CBA would make a club worse off for spending more money. I doubt it will be a factor, aside from *players* wanting front-loaded deals or bigger signing bonuses, if anything at all.
Any thoughts on putting Murakami on this list? I know he’s been primarily at third base the last few years but he has played first base in the past. From what I have read and seen, he’s not great defensively at 3B so he may end up at first base in MLB.
Luis arraez or Josh naylor or murakami are Mets and Yankees fallback options
Yankees could sign Pete Alonso which would be scary
They should have last year
Not really. They already have a lefty-swinging 26 y.o. Ben Rice – .255/.337/.499, 26 HR – for four more years.
That money is better spent addressing the bullpen.
Arraez needs to learn plate discipline .a walk is as good as hit . I was done with him when he said walking is not part of my game putting ball in play is.
Yeah, that’s good advice for a lot of hitters. It’s totally wrong-headed to discount walks. It shouldn’t be the choice of the hitter to walk or not, anyway. If the pitcher isn’t going to throw strikes, take the walk. Not taking the walk is swinging at pitches that aren’t strikes.
I know, sometimes a guy can get a big hit swinging at a pitch that isn’t a strike, but the odds are against the hitter that does that. The only way to get the pitcher to throw hittable pitches is by laying off the ones out of the strike zone It forces the pitcher to execute pitches on the corners. If they’re able to do that tip the cap. But at the least, if a hitter can force the pitcher to execute the great pitch, he’ll do well in the long run.
A walk isn’t as good as a hit but if he walked more and increased his walk + hit rate total then he would be a much better player.
Comparing walks to hits is apples to oranges. A hitter can’t walk if the pitcher throws strikes. And he shouldn’t be swinging at pitches that aren’t strikes trying to get a hit.
The problem with a guy with a lower than average walk rate is he’s swinging at pitches he shouldn’t be swinging at. But it’s not a choice of the batter to get a hit or take a walk. The best hitters take what’s offered.
Nathaniel Lowe?
He still has a year of arbitration left. but if MLB TR’s projection is accurate ($13.5 million), he’ll get non-tendered probably.
He’s gone.
Mariners have one job above everything else this off-season: re-sign Josh Naylor.
Good luck w that. Trading for a player then resigning them in offseason almost never happens
Bell just put up his best exit velocity since 2021, and his xwOBA and barrel rate since 2019. He is also a strong-side platoon bat. The only thing is he never seems to be able to be good throughout an entire season. Always a great half season, and a poor half season every year. But it’s definitley an adventure with him at first base.
Seattle I am begging you,, bring back Naylor. Get involved at whatever it costs.
That may get pretty pricey for a 1B. Taylor is in my opinion arguably the best 1B available this offseason, and should be pursued more aggressively than Alonso by a number of suitors.
He’s a high floor, low ceiling type of player. Every good team has a Josh Naylor, but nobody has paid through the nose to get him. I don’t think he’s going to break the bank. He’ll absolutely get a contract that’s generational wealth, but we’re not talking about a contract that only 3 times could afford.
Dude! Haven’t seen your name pop up in a long time. How you doing?
Actually I agree with ya…Owners gonna try to put an end to contracts like Ohtani’s being almost completely deferred. It defeats the purpose of a luxury tax. They are going to put a cap at least on how much someone can deferr. I don’t know if the MLBPA is going to agree on this. That’s 2027, I think owners gonna be smart and avoid huge contracts until they have a new CBA and know what rules they got.
It’s like the owners are borrowing your salary from you at about 4.5% interest. Why would the owners try to change that?
I don’t think the small market owners are in the mood to help big market squads avoid the luxury tax. The small market teams want the revenue sharing from a $300 million payroll. They get more back from that than the interest rate on deferred salary.
MLB revenues continue to rise. MLBPA is agreeable to almost anything which ensures that players collectively get their fair share percentage of that ever-growing revenue pie. Caps/floors, bigger signing and pre-arb bonuses, etc… it needs to scale to match revenues. Owners don’t want that.
He got some reg at bats vs lefties as a padres and generally looked pretty good. Though it’s still not a large sample size.
Good lookin class ! Pitching is deep this year too ! Gonna be a fun FA season !
Not exactly a deep buffet for the Red Sox to find a permanent 1B. Statements from the team are very non-committal to the status/future of Casas so that leads me to believe they’ll be open to adding to the roster. Or they continue to experiment with players from other positions (i.e. Campbell). Neither option looks terribly promising.
I wouldn’t object to a gamble that Hoskins returns to something close to form. Good character guy and wouldn’t be a long commitment.
Assuming Alonso is not an option…
Pirates looking at Arraez seems like a decent idea. they probably wont get him because he probably thinks hes worth over 15m/AAV. Based on ’24 and ’25 doesn’t really seem like it. he is a BABIP guy so highs and lows are expected
Pirates need people to put the ball in play and at least have a real shot of getting on base. Between him and Horwitz playing 1b/2b and if Nick is doing okay having him at SS or 2b at least until a better option comes around. would probably improve the offense.
If they can get him for 10mAAV or less for sure. under 15m AAV consider it.
I’d like to see Bell back but on a season his bat hasn’t average (+/-) and his defense had been rather.. um.. interesting. Watching him swing at pitches he had no business swinging yet still making contact was fun though.
Believe the Marlins will be very active in this market for everybody except Polar Bear. Dark horse pick to sign Naylor or bring Arraez back.
Alonso’s free agency market will be interesting to watch, Considering no team was interested in him on a long term deal last year, I wonder if he and Boras will try for fewer years with a higher AAV.
I don’t see him going back to the Mets unless there is no interest in him elsewhere. He is adamant about playing 1B and defensively, he’s not very good. Other than scooping errant throws, there is not much else to his game. Based on interviews, he feels otherwise. Granted, he is much improved from when he first came up, so there is that.
There are a lot of Mets fans who want him back. He’s a good fit if he agrees to DH and take a shorter contract. Otherwise, I see the Mets letting him walk, look for a glove first player, and hope that Vientos rebounds and provides 2/3 of Alonso’s offensive output.
jwt421, Probably too late to respond, but I will anyway.
I think more teams might be interested. He had tailed off in ’23, and ’24 from his peak in ’22, and I, probably along with others, thought he might be declining. But ’25 was near that ’22 peak season.
I doubt he and Boras are looking for a higher AAV. I think he’d be more than happy with the same, which I don’t think he’d get. He would doubtless be happy with a lower AAV if it meant more years with a greater overall value.
Otherwise I agree with everything else you wrote.