MLB Free Agents: Top 5 hitters set to test the market in 2021, ranked

Today, let’s take a look at 5 hitters that have the potential to sign huge deals as MLB free agents following the 2020 season.

A few days ago, we looked at five starting pitchers that could sign big deals as MLB free agents during the 2021 offseason. Today, let’s take a deep dive at the crop of hitters that could also test free agency following the 2020 season.

The interesting thing about the upcoming offseason is that many of the elite hitters that could become available have either a player or a club option attached to their deals. In fact, of the five players listed, only two don’t have an option attached to their contracts.

The reason for this is because both of these players will be testing free agency for the first time in their respective careers. The first of these players just so happens to be the fifth-ranked player on this list…

George Springer – Houston Astros

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George Springer emerged as a member o the Houston Astros in 2014. That season, in just 78 games, Springer hit 20 HR while slashing a respectable .231 / .336 / .468.

Since then, Springer has turned into a regular All-Star and MVP candidate. In his best season, 2019, Springer hit a career-high 39 home runs, 96 RBI, while also posting a career-best slash line of .292 / .383 / .591 in just 122 games.

As a result, the Astros rewarded Springer with generous 1-year, $21M deal in order to avoid arbitration.

Unfortunately, Springer is embroiled in the never-ending sign-stealing scandal which has taken the world of baseball by storm. With a recent study showing that Springer heard the second-most trash can bangs of any player on that 2017 Astros team, he’ll have plenty to prove this coming season.

If he can sustain the level of play he produced last season, there’s no question that he will be a legitimate candidate for a monster contract. He’ll have to prove that he can do it fairly though.

MLB Free Agents: 5 hitters set to test the market in 2021

Anthony Rizzo – Chicago Cubs (Club Option)

Anthony Rizzo continues to be one of the underrated players of his generation. It’s not that people don’t recognize his talents or what he means to the Chicago Cubs, it’s that he doesn’t have the gaudy numbers, a flashy style of play, or even the name recognition outside of the sport.

If anything, Rizzo compares to guys that can be the cornerstone of an organization without even being the best player on his team. I’m talking about guys like Derek Jeter and Dustin Pedroia.

For his career, Rizzo has a slash line of .273 / .373 / .488. His career-high home run total stands at 32 while his career-best RBI total is 109.

Now, unfortunately for Rizzo, unlike J.D. Martinez, his contract includes a club option, which takes all control away from the club. At the same time, however, there are a set of sweeteners in the deal, like

• $2M 2020-21 escalators if he wins 1 MVP, or 2 Top 5 MVP votes during deal (Exercised)
• Hotel Suite on the Road

Conversely, the most Rizzo will probably make regardless of whether the club option is exercised is what he’s already set to get ($16.5M AAV). Why? Well, because if he outperforms his deal, the Cubs will certainly keep him.

However, if he underperforms and starts to show a bit of a decline, teams will be less inclined to offer him a monster free-agent deal. He’s in a tough position and all he can do at this point is to continue doing what he’s already doing: being consistent.

MLB Free Agents: 5 hitters set to test the market in 2021

Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees (Player Option)

Giancarlo Stanton is in a difficult situation currently. After being traded to the New York Yankees after his 2017 NL MVP season, he has failed to live up to the hype.

In 2018, though he carried the Yankees to a 100-win season, he wasn’t quite the player he was in Miami. Then in 2019, he simply just couldn’t stay healthy.

So, the 2020 MLB season couldn’t be more important for a guy like Stanton and I happen to believe that he will have a monster season, especially after missing out on all the fun with the juiced baseballs.

It will be Stanton’s third season in the Bronx, so he should start to become familiar with it’s intricacies: hitting to murderer’s row, the deepest part of the ballpark, the fans are unforgiving, and playing for a very (un)popular Yankees team.

Also, it will be the first time since signing his 13-year, $325M deal that he will have an opportunity to play for more money.

If Stanton can return to the 50 HR-hitting, .600 SLG hitter, who leads the Yankees to prominence again, he can turn his remaining 8-years, $218M ($27.25M AAV) into Anthony Rendon money (7-years, $245M).

MLB Free Agents: 5 hitters set to test the market in 2021

Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers

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Finally, we have come to one of the most highly anticipated MLB free agents in a generation. Unlike Mike Trout, who is most certainly the games best player, Mookie Betts — the games 2nd best player — wants to see what he’s worth in the market, and, frankly, so do we.

After reportedly turning down a 10-year, $300M offer from the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2019 MLB season, the writing was on the wall in terms of Betts’ future with the Red Sox. As a result, one year later, he and David Price were sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Alex Verdugo and some shortstop named Jeter.

Now, what exactly is a player of Mookie’s caliber worth?

Well, according to Spotrac’s market value tool, he should receive somewhere along the lines of $35.1M AAV. Other tools, such as FanGraphs’ value graph had Betts’ value at $53M last season alone.

My prediction is that he gets somewhere between the two largest contracts in the game:

• Mike Trout – 12 years, $426.5M
• Bryce Harper – 13 years, $330M

Specifically, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mookie Betts got something like 10-years, $375M. In doing so, he’d land just beneath the best player in baseball cumulatively. In terms of annually, however, he’d place above Gerrit Cole, who tops all of baseball at $36M AAV.