The MLB offseason is well underway as some teams have already made some moves on the free agent market and/or with trades.
The New York Mets, for example, have already re-signed their closer Edwin Diaz to a five-year deal. The Dodgers re-signed Clayton Kershaw to a one-year deal. The Pirates traded for first baseman Ji-Man Choi. The Rangers and Braves swapped starting pitchers (Jake Odorizzi to Texas and Kolby Allard to Atlanta).
But Thursday was the deadline for most clubs to issue their team options to players and to offer the qualifying offer, which is for one year and $19.65 million.
Entering Saturday, November 12, 2022, here are the top 25 free agents remaining on the market along with our predictions for what the players will get and some teams that may be interested in them. The rank that they have is based on what they are likely to get in free agency, so some older players (who will get smaller contracts) may not be as high as you’d think because their contract will not be as long.
Top 25 MLB free agents in the 2022-2023 offseason
1) OF Aaron Judge – Giants – Eight years, $320 million
Aaron Judge will win the AL MVP and, perhaps, it will even be unanimous … and for good reason. He led the American League and/or the major leagues in nearly every offensive category. His 62 regular season home runs is the new American League record.
He will turn 31 years old shortly after Opening Day so, despite his phenomenal season, he’s not going to get a huge deal in length, such as Bryce Harper’s 13-year deal that he signed when he had just turned 26 years old.
This doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t get a huge deal, though. An eight-year deal would, essentially, cover the rest of Judge’s career and he would average $40 million per season, which would be the most for any position player in MLB history.
The Yankees are the odds-on favorite for him and both sides have expressed an interest in a deal … but the Yankees might not give Judge enough in years or money. Look for teams with a lot of money to spend this offseason to be linked to him. This includes the Giants, Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, Rangers, Mets, and Padres. However, not all of these teams may be willing to go to $300+ million.