MLB Free Agents: Top 5 available players and best fits
By Clint Manry
Despite such an active offseason so far, there are still several MLB free agents left on the market that can give teams a boost in 2020.
The hot stove hasn’t disappointed this offseason, as eight of the ten top-ranked MLB free agents (via FanGraphs) have been signed already and we’re still a week away from Christmas, meaning there’s still time for teams to lock up those last two players.
This year has been a pleasant surprise, once again giving baseball fans an actual hot stove this offseason, rather than a slow and miserable dead period that we had come accustomed to since at least the winter of 2016-17. The top-tier players are quickly coming off the board, which has created urgency, resulting in excitement.
Looking at this offseason’s activity in terms of position, the catcher and starting pitcher market have garnered the most demand, as 15 of the top-20 WAR producers (via Baseball-Reference) at those two positions combined have signed contracts thus far.
For teams still looking to improve upon its catching and starting rotation situation, the available MLB free agents are beginning to get rather slim, especially considering four of the top-5 starting pitchers from 2019 are taken.
Which leads to the next phase of the sport’s offseason: the trading season, which was unofficially kicked off this past Sunday when the Cleveland Indians traded starting pitcher Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers for prospect reliever Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. — the first trade this winter involving such a household name.
With so many bigtime signings in the early portion of the offseason, several teams will now turn to the trade market to fill any lingering holes, as payrolls have begun to swell and the assortment of FA options have dwindled; though, there are still several MLB free agents market that could certainly move the needle.
As we enter what perhaps could be the last 5-7 days of transactional activity before the Christmas holidays, let’s examine the top-5 free-agent players currently left on the market.
Using FanGraphs’ 2020 Top 50 MLB Free Agents ranking, I have compiled a list of the five most highly ranked players currently left unsigned, including each player’s current age and projected contract.