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.
The group of right-handed relievers is a real mixed bag, as usual. There are established closers, guys looking for bouncebacks and plenty of other wildcards. Ages listed are for the 2026 season.
Previous entries in this series: catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, center field, corner outfield, designated hitter
Closers Expected To Opt Out
- Edwin Díaz (32)
Díaz has the ability to opt out of his deal and he should do so. He would be walking away from $38MM over two years but he should be able to beat that, even after rejecting a qualifying offer. The best relievers generally get around $20MM on multi-year deals. Díaz himself got $102MM over five years on his current deal, plus the opt-out. Josh Hader got $95MM over five. Tanner Scott got $72MM over four. Liam Hendriks got $54MM over three.
While Díaz isn’t quite as good as he was a few years ago, he’s still one of the best relievers around. He struck out 50.2% of batters faced in 2022 just before getting his last deal. He then missed the entire 2023 season due to right knee surgery. His 2024 and 2025 seasons have seen his strikeout rate down a bit below 40%, a big drop from 2022, but still with excellent results overall.
Over the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Díaz tossed 120 innings with a 2.48 earned run average, 38.4% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 46.4% ground ball rate. He earned 48 saves in that span. Among pitchers with at least ten innings pitched over those two years, only Mason Miller had a higher strikeout rate. Díaz allowed fewer walks and got more grounders than Miller. He missed time in 2024 due to a shoulder impingement and a sticky stuff suspension but he stayed on the roster throughout 2025 and posted a 1.63 ERA on the year. He’s a few years older than last time but still young enough to get a strong multi-year deal.
- Robert Suarez (35)
Suarez can also walk away from two guaranteed years and has a strong case to do so. He tossed 69 2/3 innings for the Padres this year with a 2.97 ERA. He struck out 27.9% of batters faced and only gave out walks at a 5.9% clip. He racked up 40 saves, his second straight year with at least 36.
His deal only pays him $8MM annually for the next two seasons, meaning he would be walking away from just $16MM by opting out. He should be able to beat that guarantee but might still be limited to two years offers on account of his age. It’s possible that the Padres won’t issue him a qualifying offer. $22.025MM on a one-year deal would be a lot for a closer who is pretty good but not elite. That’s especially true for the Friars, given their perennially tight payroll. Assuming he doesn’t get tagged with a QO, that will help his market.
Big Helium Guy
- Brad Keller (30)
Keller spent a bunch of years as a decent groundball starter for the Royals. Some of those years were okay. Others were not. He had surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome late in 2023. He didn’t do much in 2024 and had to settle for a minor league deal with the Cubs coming into 2025.
That deal worked out tremendously for both sides. Keller was used as a reliever and was able to average about 97 miles per hour on his fastball, up a few ticks from his time as a starter. He gave the Cubs 69 2/3 innings with a 2.07 ERA. His 27.2% strikeout rate was about 10 points higher than his earlier rotation work. He didn’t sacrifice any of the ground balls, as his 56.1% rate this year was actually a career high. His 8% walk rate was around average. He worked his way into a leverage role with the Cubs, earning three saves and 25 holds.
This is just one season after some time in the injury wilderness and with some mediocre results prior to that. However, pitchers have been able to ride this kind of momentum to nice multi-year deals before. Jeff Hoffman and Robert Stephenson are some recent examples of guys who didn’t pan out as starters before reinventing themselves as relievers. Both signed deals worth $33MM over three years.
Hoffman had two strong relief years, compared to Keller having just one. Stephenson was only good for about half a year before his deal but his level of dominance in that span was more extreme. The Stephenson deal has blown up on the Angels since he’s been hurt since signing, but Hoffman became Toronto’s closer and has just helped them to the World Series.
They are not perfect analogies but the point is Keller could have big earning power, even with just one really strong season. It’s also possible some clubs want to stretch him back out. Clay Holmes got $38MM over three years, with the Mets hoping his ground balls could help him eat some rotation innings. That bet largely worked out after one year, with Holmes posting a 3.53 ERA in 2025.
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Several of Vitello’s former players (including Missouri’s