VJ Edgecombe surely spoke for just about everyone in the cramped visiting locker room at Madison Square Garden when he paused during the middle of his media scrum with an admission.
“I don’t even know what today is,” Edgecombe said.
Whatever the day — Saturday, it turns out — Edgecombe’s first long NBA road trip ended in fun fashion. No one minded thinking about the Sixers’ road ahead, too.
The 19-14 Sixers concluded their five-game trip with three straight wins. There was minimal daydreaming required for those inclined to picture a best-case playoff scenario where the Sixers’ stars are healthy, their backcourt a youthful, joyful powerhouse, their role players ready and able to do valuable, unglamorous jobs.
It’s no coincidence that only Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) have been sidelined lately.
“I think for three games in a row, we’ve had the same lineup,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said postgame. “You’d have to check your notes, that might be a record for us. … I really don’t remember that happening for a long time. So we’ll take that, and we can hopefully get to four on Monday (vs. the Nuggets).”
Both Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey made many special plays on both ends of the floor in Saturday’s victory over the Knicks. They also appeared tireless and sometimes even immune to misses. The pair totaled 62 points on 24-for-38 shooting. Joel Embiid joined them in the highly efficient department with 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting.
“I think the main thing is we see how good we can be when we’re gelling,” Edgecombe said, “when everybody’s touching the rock, when everybody’s playing hard, when everybody’s bought into their role. I think we see how good we can be.”
Embiid was in a tongue-in-cheek mood after the game. The seven-time All-Star’s final make was his first dunk all season, an unguarded flush with 24.9 seconds left. He raised his arms, grinned and ran down the floor with one finger in the air.
“Feels good,” Embiid said. “Easy one. I wish it would’ve been one off the backboard. That’s the next step.”
“It’s always good to be here and talk back to the fans,” he said. “They were quiet today, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re losing the whole game. But I always have fun going back and forth with them. Sometimes it’s good to be liked, sometimes it’s good to be hated.”
As Embiid himself would acknowledge, nothing is ever set in stone for him and the Sixers. He’s played very well during the team’s three-game streak — 27.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists per contest — but sustained health has been elusive since Embiid suffered a left knee lateral meniscus tear in late January of 2024. Going back much further, he knows all about strange, sad plot twists that have derailed promising seasons.
That doesn’t mean the Sixers are foolish to like how they’re playing and believe they can keep improving.
After enduring a nightmare of a season, they’re on track to win far more than 24 games.
“It’s super rewarding, given the season we had last year and everything we had to deal with — the injuries, new players, just gaining rhythm with one another,” Paul George said. “This year we’ve still been battling injuries and have still had some unfortunate luck on that side, but I think the biggest difference is we just feel better as a group. We trust in the process of this team. … You just naturally gain camaraderie and I think it’s carrying over.
“I think it’s safe to say everyone in this locker room is starting to enjoy being out on that floor, playing on both ends. We’re just gelling. … Everything that we’ve been trying to connect, it’s translating on the court.”
Does Nurse find the recent success satisfying after a year full of hardship exception signings and undermanned, outmatched nights?
“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “I told you at the start of the season that we were in a big hole we had to dig out of. We’re still digging. Still, conditioning, rhythm, health can get a little better. I think we just build on that.”
With the holidays in the rearview mirror, the NBA slate has a more familiar look in Week 12. There are three days, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with double-digit games, with Thursday being the light game day. Unfortunately, fantasy managers have a lot of injuries to navigate, including Denver’s Nikola Jokić and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama. As is always the case, availability and scheduling will affect how managers craft their rosters for what they hope will be a successful week. Let’s look at the Week 12 schedule and some of its key storylines.
Thursday is the only game with fewer than six games on the schedule, with it being a four-game night. Three of the eight teams in action, Charlotte, Chicago and Utah, will be dealing with a back-to-back. All three have some availability concerns. The Hornets have been hit hard by injuries in the frontcourt, with Ryan Kalkbrenner, Moussa Diabaté and Mason Plumlee all missing the team’s final game of Week 11. Plumlee underwent surgery and is looking at a long-term absence, but fantasy managers will be more concerned about Kalkbrenner and Diabaté anyway. PJ Hall has made a few starts, and he may have value in deep leagues given the injuries and the Hornets’ four-game Week 12 schedule.
As for Chicago, their most significant injuries have occurred on the perimeter, with Josh Giddey and Coby White sidelined. Giddey will be re-evaluated in two weeks after straining his left hamstring, while White’s right calf injury will keep him out for at least one week. With those two off the board, Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter will all have increased fantasy value in Week 12, and the Wednesday/Thursday back-to-back should not be an issue for any of them, provided they get through Chicago’s first two games of Week 12 unscathed.
Lastly, there’s Utah, which has not needed the excuse of a back-to-back to sit key players in the past. Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkić have been sidelined on multiple occasions, and Keyonte George missed the team’s New Year’s Day loss to the Clippers. It isn’t the “silly season” yet, but players like Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh and Isaiah Collier stand to take on added importance during Week 12.
– Be ready to move on from fringe Lakers at the end of games on Friday.
Not only do the Lakers play just three games in Week 12, but they won’t be active on either Saturday or Sunday. While the absences of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura may complicate things for some fantasy managers, others are likely to conclude that they’re better off scouring the waiver wire for value during the final two days of Week 12 than holding onto Marcus Smart or Jake LaRavia. The Lakers’ three games are against New Orleans, San Antonio and Milwaukee, beginning with a Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back.
– Miami, Minnesota and San Antonio end Week 12 with Saturday/Sunday back-to-backs.
These three teams may prove most valuable to fantasy managers at the end of the week since they’ll be active on Saturday and Sunday. While a player like Minnesota’s Mike Conley won’t be great to have, since he hasn’t been playing both games of back-to-backs, some intriguing options should be available in most leagues. Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jović, and San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie are three who may have added value toward the end of Week 12, due to both their production and injuries to other rotation players.
– How long will the Spurs be without Victor Wembanyama?
Regarding the Spurs, will Wembanyama be available at all during Week 12? And if so, how many games will he play? While San Antonio is scheduled to play four games, it has two back-to-backs, which may limit the 7-foot-4 phenom to two games at most if he can play to begin the week. After escaping severe damage to his left knee during Wednesday’s win over the Knicks, Wembanyama is considered day-to-day and will travel with the team to Tuesday’s game in Memphis.
That’s followed by games against the Lakers (Wednesday), Celtics (Saturday) and Timberwolves (Sunday) to conclude Week 12. Luke Kornet was outstanding in Saturday’s loss to the Trail Blazers and will be a starter as long as Wemby is out. How much he plays when allowed to start depends on how well he and Kelly Olynyk play. Olynyk was better on Friday against the Pacers, so he played more, and the roles reversed the following night against Portland.
– Brooklyn won’t play its first game of Week 12 until Wednesday.
While the Lakers are the team to avoid at the end of Week 12, the Nets won’t offer much value at the beginning of the week. Brooklyn won’t play its first game until Wednesday, the first of three games on the team’s slate. And the last, Sunday in Memphis, is the first of a back-to-back with Brooklyn visiting Dallas the following night. The back-to-back could loom large for Michael Porter Jr., Nic Claxton (who’s currently away from the team for personal reasons), Cam Thomas and Terance Mann. The “silly season” isn’t here yet, but players like Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf may have added fantasy value at the end of Week 12. As for its beginning, that won’t be the case.
For the second time in the last four games he played in the Chase Center, Draymond Green was ejected.
With a couple of minutes left in the first half, Green was frustrated that there was no call (3 seconds or travel) on Utah’s Kyle Filipowski — and he let the baseline official know it. That led to the first technical, but Green could not let it go (as has happened before). Eventually, he was handed a second technical and an ejection.
With this latest ejection, Green has nine technicals this season (in just 29 games), putting him more than halfway to the total of 16 and an automatic one-game suspension.
The Warriors won the game 123-114, behind 31 points from Stephen Curry. Green had eight points and three rebounds prior to his ejection.
Draymond Green was unhappy with a non-call on Saturday. Thirty seconds later, he was out of the game.
The Golden State Warriors star was ejected from a game against the Utah Jazz in the second quarter, when he took issue with the officials not calling three seconds on Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski. He was so incensed he walked out of the paint to berate umpire Simone Jelks — which gave Jazz star Lauri Markkanen a path for an easy dunk.
Jelks hit Green with a technical foul after the play. He kept going and soon received another tech and an automatic ejection.
The two techs give Green nine on the season, putting him in a tie with Luka Dončić for second-most in the NBA this season (Dillon Brooks leads the pack with 12). Green is the only player in the league to be ejected twice this season.
Green has done all of this while averaging some of his lowest numbers in years, and the Warriors have been outscored with him on the court in 10 of the past 11 games he’s played. That might be part of the reason they’ve begun a make-or-break season with an 18-17 record.
Green is certainly no stranger to turbulence both inside and outside the Warriors’ building, but the fact that a three-second non-call was all it took to get him ejected here might be an unflattering reaction of where things are at with an always-mercurial player.
Draymond Green was unhappy with a non-call on Saturday. Thirty seconds later, he was out of the game.
The Golden State Warriors star was ejected from a game against the Utah Jazz in the second quarter, when he took issue with the officials not calling three seconds on Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski. He was so incensed he walked out of the paint to berate umpire Simone Jelks — which gave Jazz star Lauri Markkanen a path for an easy dunk.
Jelks hit Green with a technical foul after the play. He kept going and soon received another tech and an automatic ejection.
The two techs give Green nine on the season, putting him in a tie with Luka Dončić for second-most in the NBA this season (Dillon Brooks leads the pack with 12). Green is the only player in the league to be ejected twice this season.
Green has done all of this while averaging some of his lowest numbers in years, and the Warriors have been outscored with him on the court in 10 of the past 11 games he’s played. That might be part of the reason they’ve begun a make-or-break season with an 18-17 record.
Green is certainly no stranger to turbulence both inside and outside the Warriors’ building, but the fact that a three-second non-call was all it took to get him ejected here might be an unflattering reaction of where things are at with an always-mercurial player.
The Houston Rockets got 64 seconds from Alperen Şengün on Saturday. They can only hope they don’t get even less in their next several games.
The All-Star center exited Saturday’s 110-104 loss to the Dallas Mavericks after rolling his right ankle while rebounding, roughly one minute into the first quarter. He soon limped to the bench then left for the locker room.
The Rockets initially announced him as questionable to return with an ankle sprain, then downgraded him to out.
The Rockets lost the game 114-110, with back-up center Clint Capela posting 8 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks.
The injury could interrupt a career year for Şengün. After making his first All-Star Game last year, he entered Saturday averaging career highs in points per game (22.6), while leading the Rockets in rebounds (9.3) and assists (6.7). He is a major reason why Houston is off to a 21-11 start, good for fourth in the Western Conference.
Şengün has a history of injuries with that ankle, as his breakout 2023-24 season ended early due to a grade 3 sprain sustained in March. The Rockets will likely know more about this injury on Sunday, if imaging is needed.
The Houston Rockets got 64 seconds from Alperen Şengün on Saturday. They can only hope they don’t get even less in their next several games.
The All-Star center exited Saturday’s 110-104 loss to the Dallas Mavericks after rolling his right ankle while rebounding, roughly one minute into the first quarter. He soon limped to the bench then left for the locker room.
The Rockets initially announced him as questionable to return with an ankle sprain, then downgraded him to out.
The Rockets lost the game 114-110, with back-up center Clint Capela posting 8 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks.
The injury could interrupt a career year for Şengün. After making his first All-Star Game last year, he entered Saturday averaging career highs in points per game (22.6), while leading the Rockets in rebounds (9.3) and assists (6.7). He is a major reason why Houston is off to a 21-11 start, good for fourth in the Western Conference.
Şengün has a history of injuries with that ankle, as his breakout 2023-24 season ended early due to a grade 3 sprain sustained in March. The Rockets will likely know more about this injury on Sunday, if imaging is needed.
The injury took place early in the fourth quarter, with the Knicks holding a 102-96 lead. Wembanyama appeared to injure his knee when landing after securing a rebound. He fell to the floor in pain and needed to be helped up.
He then limped to the locker room.
Victor Wembanyama just went down holding his leg after what looked like a hyperextension on the replay. He limped off the court against the Knicks and has headed to the locker room. All eyes now on the Spurs’ medical update. pic.twitter.com/qBexO85I4x
Wembanyama didn’t return to the game, but he walked to the bench in his warmups with 1:20 remaining and stood while cheering on his teammates.
“He finished the game on the bench with this teammates,” said Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson. “That made me feel good. I have no idea know what to say. But it was good to see him walk back out and be able to finish the game on the bench with his teammates.”
Following Saturday’s game with Portland, the Spurs have a busy week with a pair of back-to-backs. They travel to Memphis on Tuesday and will return home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. They then begin a three-game road trip next Saturday in Boston, followed by a date in Minnesota next Sunday night.
Wembanyama missed 12 games earlier in the season due to a left calf strain before returning for the Dec. 13 NBA Cup semifinal.
There is still quite a ways to go in the 2025-26 NBA season, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are off a great start.
Though they’ve fallen off their scorching pace to start the season, they still could threaten the Golden State Warriors’ single-season wins record of 73.
Only two teams in league history have won more than 70 games in a single season. The first was the Chicago Bulls during the 1995-96 campaign, when they won 72 games. The Warriors broke that record by one in 2016. The Bulls won the NBA championship in their record-breaking season, while the Warriors ultimately fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers during their Finals run.
The reigning NBA champion Thunder were on a good pace, but a quick string of losses, including three to the San Antonio Spurs, have left them behind pace to hit the mark.
It’s still early. A lot can change between now and April. But the Thunder’s campaign is definitely something to keep an eye on. Here’s everything you need to know about the Thunder’s quest to set the NBA’s single-season wins record.
OKC’s current pace: 70.3 wins
OKC’s last game
Most wins in NBA history, single season
73: Golden State Warriors, 2015-16 72: Chicago Bulls, 1995-96 69: Chicago Bulls, 1996-97 69: Los Angeles Lakers, 1971-72 68: Oklahoma City Thunder, 2024-25 68: Boston Celtics, 1972-73 68: Philadelphia 76ers, 1966-67
Thunder vs. ‘95-96 Bulls vs. ‘15-16 Warriors
Record after 34 games ‘25-26 Thunder: 30-5 (.857) ‘95-96 Bulls: 32-3 (.914) ‘15-16 Warriors: 33-2 (.943)
SGA vs. MJ vs. Steph Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 32.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.4 APG (35 games) Michael Jordan: 30.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.3 APG (82 games) Stephen Curry: 30.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 6.7 APG (79 games)
OKC’s upcoming schedule
Jan. 4: at Suns Jan 5: vs. Hornets Jan 7: vs. Jazz Full schedule
Tracking Thunder’s historic start
Largest average margin of victory in a season ‘25-26 Thunder: 15.3 ‘24-25 Thunder: 12.87 ‘71-72 Lakers: 12.28 ‘70-71 Bucks: 12.26 ‘95-96 Bulls: 12.24
Highest net rating in a season ‘25-26 Thunder: 15.0 ‘95-96 Bulls: 13.4 ‘24-25 Thunder: 12.8 ‘96-97 Bulls: 12.0 ‘25-26 Rockets: 11.9
We’re about halfway through the MLB offseason, and about half of the top available free agents are still looking for their next home.
The reliever market heated up first this winter, with Edwin Diaz, Devin Williams and other top arms landing big contracts with new teams. Dylan Cease signed a megadeal with the Blue Jays before Thanksgiving, but otherwise the starting pitcher market had been relatively quiet until Tatsuya Imai signed with the Astros before the end of his posting window. Among position players, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso found the big paydays they were looking for, but many of the top hitters remain available, including our No. 1 free agent, Kyle Tucker. Four players accepted qualifying offers: Trent Grisham (Yankees), Shota Imanaga (Cubs), Gleyber Torres (Tigers) and Brandon Woodruff (Brewers). And the NPB posting windows reached their end, and Munetaka Murakami, Imai and Kazuma Okamoto found their MLB homes.
As the calendar turns to 2026, there’s still a lot of offseason business yet to be done. Here’s a look at the 2025-26 free-agent class, headlined by Tucker and full of fascinating cases of star players at a variety of positions.
Note: An asterisk indicates a player received a qualifying offer. Ages listed are for the 2026 season (age on June 30, 2026). You can find a full list of free agents here.
The best player
1. *Kyle Tucker, OF, 29 years old
Tucker is the consensus No. 1 player in this free-agent class and should command a contract north of $350 million. That’s a product of his age — he doesn’t turn 29 until January — and long track record of offensive impact. Since 2020, Tucker’s first full MLB season, he is one of just six hitters to post an OPS above .800 every year. The others are all well-paid superstars: Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, José Ramírez and Juan Soto. Based solely on the bat, Tucker undoubtedly belongs in that group. Hitters like this don’t hit the open market often, and when they do, they make a killing.
That said, the low-talking Floridian is reaching free agency after an oddly paced walk year with the Cubs. Tucker was dealt from Houston, where he’d spent his entire career, to Chicago in a blockbuster deal last offseason. He got off to a scorching start with the Cubs, was named an All-Star starter and looked like a legit MVP candidate. As late as June 28, he sported a .933 OPS.
Then things got weird. Tucker’s power production cratered in July and August, as he managed just four homers across 211 plate appearances. It turned out he was playing through a hairline fracture in his hand for most of the summer. Just as he appeared to be shifting back into gear, he suffered a calf strain that kept him sidelined until the final week of the regular season.
It marked the second straight year Tucker was significantly limited by injuries, a development that raises a yellow flag or two for a player expected to command a gargantuan contract. Tucker also tends to employ a more laid-back pregame routine that prioritizes preserving energy. That less-is-more approach has helped him ascend to All-Star status, but it raises a few concerns around the league about how he might age and how he’ll adapt if his body starts to need more maintenance. Signs of that physical decline have popped up in Tucker’s sprint speed and defensive metrics, areas in which his skills have dwindled precipitously over the past few seasons.
Then again, that’s probably much too nitpicky. Some very rich team is going to give Tucker gobs of money to rake in the middle of its lineup. His sauceless personality, injury concerns and defensive limitations will combine to make his sweepstakes less of a frenzy than Soto’s were last winter. But don’t get it twisted: This dude is a big prize.
Great hitters with flaws
2. Alex Bregman, 3B, 32
A free agent last winter, Bregman ended up in Boston on a three-year, $120 million deal with opt-outs after each season. And now, after a productive season at Fenway, he’ll reenter the market. A quad issue robbed him of two months over the summer and intensified concerns about Bregman’s gradually deteriorating lower half, but the offensive profile remains incredibly strong. From a swing-decision standpoint, he’s about as good as anybody in the sport. And while the contact quality has dropped off since his MVP contender days, it’s more than good enough to make this version of Bregman an All-Star-level player.
So where does he end up? The Red Sox will certainly be gunning for a reunion; Bregman was heralded for his influence on Boston’s bevy of young players. Perhaps the Tigers, silver medalists for his services last winter, reengage after a disappointing October exit. One could see the Phillies moving on from Alec Bohm via trade and making a play for Bregman. Most contenders have somebody entrenched at the hot corner, but nobody saw the Red Sox moving Devers to DH and snagging Bregman. That’s a good reminder that everything is on the board for a player such as this.
What a season it was for one of the best true power bats of his generation: 56 home runs, 132 RBI and a .928 OPS. Sure, Schwarber is a flawed player — he’s limited to DH, strikes out a ton, doesn’t offer much on the bases and turns 33 in March — but it’s not worth overthinking this. The guy went deep 56 times. People don’t do that too often. For what it’s worth, Schwarber is also regarded as one of the few game-changing locker room presences in the sport. The Phils were front-runners to retain Schwarber’s services and ultimately got it done.
4. *Bo Bichette, SS, 28
A knee sprain kept Bichette on the shelf from early September to the World Series, for which he came back and batted .348. Late-season injury woes aside, 2025 was an extremely successful campaign for the sweet-swinging shortstop. Bichette rebounded from a disastrous 2024 to post numbers more in line with his career norms, swatting 18 homers to go with a .311 batting average that ranked second in baseball.
Let’s get the elephant out of the way: Bichette is a bad shortstop. This year, he ranked as the game’s worst every-day glove at the infield’s most important spot. A prudent team would probably move him to second or third, but Bichette probably wants to stick at short. His defensive inadequacies don’t overwhelm the value of his bat — this dude rakes — but it adds a wart to the profile.
Still, Bichette’s track record of performance and his age will make him worth it for whichever team lands him. That he managed to return to Toronto’s lineup for the World Series despite not being 100 percent and contributed multiple meaningful hits, including his jaw-dropping blast off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7, lent further credence to his toughness and talent. Optimistically, he should have at least a half-decade of prime left; that’s worth paying for.
Last winter, the Polar Bear and the only club he’d ever known engaged in a protracted stare-down that included a public besmirching from Mets owner Steve Cohen. In the end, Alonso’s market never materialized, and he returned to Queens on a lucrative, two-year deal with an opt-out that everyone expected him to exercise.
Unsurprisingly, that’s what happened after Alonso posted an OPS nearly 100 points higher than his 2024 total. The underlying numbers also rebounded, particularly his average exit velocities and his optimal launch angle percentages. Was that enough to reorient his value as a free agent and earn him the longer-term pact he was looking for a year ago? The Orioles answered with a resounding yes.
Alonso remains a horrid defender at first and a real liability on the bases. Still, he’s generally underrated, the type of needle-moving bat that would make every roster — including Baltimore’s — significantly better.
An unbridled force-of-nature at the plate since he became an every-day player in NPB at age 19, Murakami entered the posting system after seven seasons of legendary slugging in Japan. In 2022, Murakami made history by smashing 56 home runs in 141 games, an NPB record that stands as the most in a single season by a Japanese-born player. Having set an unthinkable standard of Barry Bonds-esque dominance in that 2022 season, with a mind-blowing 225 wRC+, Murakami’s merely outstanding encores in 2023 (31 HR, 150 wRC+) and 2024 (33 HR, 155 wRC+) were viewed as minor disappointments, despite still ranking as some of the best offensive seasons in the league.
The spotlight grew brighter in 2025, as a potential move to MLB came into focus, but an oblique injury cost Murakami multiple months, shrinking the opportunities to scout him. Yet even in an abbreviated sample, Murakami put on a show, nearly returning to his 2022 power peak with a ridiculous .663 SLG% and a whopping 22 home runs in 56 games.
So what’s the catch? Why isn’t this left-handed slugger with prodigious power ranked closer to Tucker on this list? It’s simple: Murakami strikes out a lot. His 29% K rate over the past three seasons is exceptionally high relative to his NPB peers, and while that number might not stand out in MLB right now, it’s difficult for teams to be optimistic that he’s going to make more contact against superior arms stateside. If anything, the concern is that the opposite could occur, with the whiffs piling up to the point that Murakami’s power production is undermined, and he becomes a flawed slugger with volatile ups and downs, a la Joey Gallo.
It’s also entirely realistic to suggest that Murakami is young and talented enough to make the necessary adjustments to become a classic, power-and-patience superstar in the mold of Matt Olson or Max Muncy, with the high volume of walks and homers compensating for the sky-high strikeout totals. That Murakami is not considered especially likely to stick at third base adds even more pressure on his bat to live up to the hype in Chicago. His issues making contact likely spooked some teams in free agency, negating the upside of his youth and nearly unrivaled NPB résumé. As it turned out, there wasn’t a significant bidding war for his services, giving the White Sox an opportunity at a bargain in their rebuild.
7. Cody Bellinger, OF, 30
No matter how you slice it, glassy-eyed Cody was the second-best position player on the 2025 Yankees behind Aaron Judge. After the Cubs essentially contract-dumped him for nothing last winter, Bellinger responded with the best all-around season of his career since his 2019 MVP campaign. His offensive profile has changed quite a bit since then, but this version of Bellinger — allergic to strikeouts, hitting the ball in the air to the pull side just enough — is a really valuable player.
Add his superb defense in an outfield corner and his relative youth, and you’ve got a legitimate second or third option on a World Series team. Bellinger enjoyed his year in pinstripes, and the Yankees loved what he brought to the table. A reunion there makes a lot of sense, but it would put more pressure on Bellinger’s ability to play center field, where he’s more average than great at this point.
The Big Three arms
8. *Framber Valdez, SP, 32
You could make a strong argument that Valdez belongs in a category all his own, above this other group of arms. The dreadlocked lefty finished top-10 in Cy Young voting in 2022, ‘23 and ‘24. He’s also incredibly durable, as one of just two pitchers to toss at least 175 innings in each of the past four seasons (Logan Webb is the other). Then there’s the October experience: Valdez has 16 career postseason outings. The point is Valdez has been one of the more valuable starting pitchers of this decade. And while his numbers took a half-step back in 2025, he still boasted an elite groundball rate and kept hitters from squaring up the ball.
Valdez’s bizarre interaction with catcher Cesar Salazar in early September, in which Valdez appeared to purposefully cross-up Salazar with a fastball, amplified some previously held concerns about Valdez’s conduct as a teammate. That incident won’t tank his free agency, far from it, but it’s a data point worth noting.
9. *Ranger Suárez, SP, 30
Ranger’s sinker — his most used offering — averages a frosty 90.1 mph, firmly in the bottom 10% league-wide in velocity. Yet Suárez gets outs. A lot of ‘em. After missing the start of the year due to a back issue, the Venezuelan southpaw posted the best numbers of his career, finishing with a 3.20 ERA and just below a strikeout per inning. His postseason track record is notably robust, with a 1.48 ERA across 42 2/3 career innings. Do you feel excited about him starting Game 1 of a playoff series? Probably not. But Game 2 or 3? Definitely. There are some concerns about how he’ll age, particularly if the fastball velocity dips under 90 mph, as there simply aren’t many guys throwing this soft who get outs. But Suárez has been doing this schtick for a few years now, and at some point, the results have to mean something.
Unlike the southpaw groundball specialists such as Valdez or Suárez fronting their rotations, Cease represents an appealing alternative at the top of the starting pitching market. And a Toronto team fresh off a World Series appearance liked what it saw. While his run-prevention skills have fluctuated more in recent seasons than the two lefties in this tier, Cease has been one of the game’s premier strikeout artists for his entire career, thanks to a tremendous fastball-slider combo. His bouts of ineffectiveness are the product of too many walks and far more hard contact surrendered than you’d expect for someone with Cease’s swing-and-miss stuff, but Cease has been worth at least 3.0 fWAR for five consecutive seasons.
That consistency is rooted in nearly unrivaled durability: Cease leads all MLB pitchers in starts over the past five years and has never been on the injured list due to an arm injury. Pitcher health is fickle, of course, so there’s no guarantee Cease will remain uninjured for the duration of his Blue Jays contract; it’s also possible some teams viewed the mileage on his arm as problematic. But Toronto saw that longstanding reliability as worthy of committing heavily to him in free agency, and Cease’s demonstrated peaks — including top-four Cy Young finishes in 2022 and ‘24 — likely helped his cause.
The Mets’ embarrassing collapse does not fall on Díaz’s shoulders, as the lanky Puerto Rican was brilliant once again this year. Now that Emmanuel Clase has effectively been banished for his gambling-related malfeasance, there’s a strong argument that Díaz is the undisputed best reliever in the game. After a catastrophic leg injury during the World Baseball Classic robbed him of his entire 2023 season, Díaz is, amazingly, all the way back to his rip-roaring best.
That’s why, despite having two years and $37 million left on his deal, Díaz opted out to become a free agent. A reunion with the Mets remained likely, but there was no reason for Eddie-D not to try to squeeze out every last dollar that he has earned over the past few years, and the Dodgers were willing to pay Díaz like the elite closer he is.
Tier 2 starter
12. *Zac Gallen, SP, 30
It has been a troubling and confounding decline for Gallen since his third-place NL Cy Young finish in 2023. His first-half struggles in the final year of his Snakes contract were bad enough that no team was willing to meet the price to trade for him in July, despite the right-hander’s widely reported availability, and considering his 5.60 ERA at the deadline, it was tough to blame them.
Funnily enough, once the trade rumors were behind him and Gallen knew he was going to remain a D-back for the rest of the season, he started to pitch much better, posting a 3.32 ERA in 65 innings over his final 11 outings and restoring some optimism that he could warrant a sizable payday in free agency. It’s not like Gallen’s stuff and velocity are markedly different than during his peak, but regression with his command has caused all five of his pitches to perform worse, a trend that will need to be corrected if he is to reestablish himself as a quality starter whom teams are excited to have on the mound in important games.
A franchise staple for one of the most prominent organizations in NPB, the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants, Okamoto’s prospects of coming to MLB had long been clouded by Yomiuri’s longstanding reluctance to post its players. But Yomiuri will honor Okamoto’s desire to make the jump to the big leagues now, enabling the team to receive some financial compensation for his departure, rather than likely watching him leave for nothing after the 2026 season, when he’d reach the requisite nine years of NPB service to become an unrestricted international free agent.
Okamoto has been one of the best hitters in Japan for a while — he homered against Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship — but he leveled up in a meaningful way in 2025. Although he missed two-plus months in the middle of the season due to a left elbow injury, Okamoto was tremendously productive at the plate when healthy.
He hit .327/.416/.598 with 15 HR in 293 plate appearances across 69 games, good for an astonishing 214 wRC+ that ranked first among NPB hitters with at least 200 plate appearances — yes, even ahead of Murakami (208 wRC+). Okamoto’s 11.3% strikeout rate and 90% in-zone contact rate were both career-best marks, and he is exceptionally adept at pulling the ball in the air, enabling his power to manifest regularly in games.
He’s also a better bet to stick at third base long-term than Murakami, and he has experience at first base and in left field, offering several paths for him to fit on the Blue Jays’ roster. He’s four years older, right-handed and doesn’t possess quite the eye-popping raw power of Murakami, but it’s entirely reasonable to suggest that Okamoto is more likely to succeed in MLB right away and possibly in the long term as well.
Joining Murakami and Okamoto in this winter’s class of Japanese stars making the jump to MLB is Imai, who was posted by the Seibu Lions following a monster season in which he led all NPB starters in WHIP (0.89) and strikeout rate (27.8%) while posting a 1.92 ERA in 163 ⅔ innings. Relative to nearly every other NPB pitcher who has come to MLB in recent years, Imai’s pitch mix is notably more shallow — for now, anyway. His 95-mph four-seam fastball (48%) and 86-mph slider (33%) accounted for more than three-quarters of his pitches thrown in 2025, with the changeup (9%), splitter (5%) and sinker (4%) usage lagging behind.
That’s not to say there aren’t successful MLB starters deploying a heavy dose of heaters and sliders — Cease, Hunter Greene, and Spencer Strider say hello — but it remains to be seen if Imai’s stuff is good enough at present for him to follow suit or if his arsenal will need adjusting once he arrives stateside. Age is on Imai’s side — he doesn’t turn 28 until May — but there are enough questions that the financial outlay is closer to what Kodai Senga got than Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Also of note: While Murakami is represented by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management (the same agency that represents Kyle Tucker and Kyle Schwarber), Imai and Okamoto are Scott Boras clients.
Traded by Cleveland last winter after his first All-Star appearance, Naylor raked for the D-backs before being dealt to Seattle at the deadline and becoming a key contributor during the Mariners’ postseason run. Don’t be fooled by his burly build and high-effort hacks into thinking that Naylor is a one-dimensional slugger; there’s a lot more finesse to his game than meets the eye.
That was most evident in his shocking success stealing bases in 2025, despite his third percentile sprint speed, but it’s also relevant in the batter’s box, where Naylor’s excellent contact ability keeps his strikeout totals low while enabling his power to play to all fields and against various pitch types. He has also turned himself into a rock-solid defender at first base. It appears Naylor’s relative youth and positive recent trajectory helped land him a deal longer than the three-year, $60 million contract Christian Walker secured last offseason as one of free agency’s top available first basemen. By getting Naylor into that fifth year, the Mariners got a manageable $18.5 million AAV.
16. *Trent Grisham, OF, 29
UPDATE: Grisham accepted the one-year qualifying offer from the Yankees at $22.025 million.
Arguably no player climbed these rankings more dramatically over the course of the season than Grisham, who exploded into relevance as a key member of the Yankees’ position-player group after being a virtual afterthought in his first season in the Bronx. To wit: Despite being on the roster for the entire season and every round of the postseason during New York’s run to the World Series in 2024, Grisham appeared in just 76 regular-season games and zero in October.
This year, Grisham’s 581 plate appearances marked a career high and ranked fourth on the team. Center fielders with Grisham’s power (34 HR) and patience (14.1% walk rate) are rare, and that he’s still just 29. It’s possible some teams viewed him in a fairly skeptical light, considering his timely career year follows a much longer major-league track record of mediocrity, but there are real skills to be excited about here for the Yankees.
17. *Gleyber Torres, 2B, 29
UPDATE: Torres accepted the one-year qualifying offer from the Tigers at $22.025 million.
Torres hit free agency last winter as one of the youngest position players available but ultimately settled for a one-year deal with Detroit, with hopes of bolstering his value with a stronger 2025 showing than in his last hurrah as a Yankee. He generally succeeded, exhibiting elite plate discipline while improving both his hard-hit and barrel rates. He was especially terrific early on for the Tigers (.284/.386/.437 in 72 games through the end of June) but notably faded as the season went on, a decline perhaps explained by a hernia Torres revealed he was playing through after Detroit’s season ended in October.
He underwent surgery to address the issue, and that rehab is not projected to impact his availability to start 2026. Although his defense continues to rate as comfortably below-average, Torres gives an offensive boost at the keystone for Detroit.
Polanco entered free agency a year ago on a decidedly dour note, having just endured the worst campaign of his career in his first year as a Mariner before undergoing knee surgery at the outset of the offseason. Even still, Polanco’s longstanding track record of production before his injury-marred 2024 earned him a spot toward the end of our free-agent rankings, with the idea that a bounce-back could be in store if he could get healthy.
After staying in Seattle on a one-year deal, Polanco did exactly that, turning in an excellent regular season at the plate (26 HR, 132 wRC+) and delivering several of Seattle’s biggest swings during its run to Game 7 of the ALCS. That strong showing was enough to garner a multiyear deal from the Mets for Polanco in his second trip to the open market. Still, he is a poor defender with a troubling injury history, an indicator of why the deal was relatively short.
A breakout 2024 had King primed for a massive platform year in 2025, and his first 10 starts of the season (2.59 ERA in 55 ⅔ innings) suggested he was firmly on track to pitch his way into the top tier of free-agent starters. Then a shoulder injury put him on the shelf for all of June and July, and a left knee injury derailed him shortly after he returned to the mound in August. King was healthy enough to make four September starts and a one-inning relief appearance in the wild-card series, but with just one fully healthy season as a major-league starting pitcher on his résumé (2024), his durability remains a considerable red flag for the Padres, who nonetheless decided to keep him around.
20. *Shota Imanaga, SP, 32
UPDATE: Imanaga accepted the one-year qualifying offer from the Cubs at $22.025 million.
The complex, four-year contract Imanaga signed with the Cubs two years ago featured a crucial decision point following the 2025 season, when Chicago could opt to guarantee Imanaga three more seasons at $57 million or decline to do so, instead affording Imanaga the opportunity to exercise a $15 million player option for 2026. On Nov. 4, Chicago declined to extend Imanaga for three more years, and Imanaga then declined his own one-year option, briefly adding him to the intriguing pool of free-agent starting pitchers before he accepted his QO.
Brilliant as a 30-year-old rookie in 2024, Imanaga regressed in his second major-league season in terms of both durability and effectiveness, missing several starts due to a hamstring strain midsummer and seeing his ERA rise from 2.91 to 3.73. While Imanaga remains an elite strike-thrower who doesn’t allow a boatload of baserunners — his WHIP actually improved in his second season — he’s troublingly susceptible to opponents’ slugging, with a 1.93 HR/9 that ranked second-highest among pitchers with at least 100 innings thrown in 2025. That bugaboo proved costly in the postseason, when he surrendered two key long balls against Milwaukee in NLDS Game 2.
It’s an imperfect profile, but there is still a lot to like about what Imanaga brings on and off the field for the Cubs.
21. Lucas Giolito, SP, 31
Giolito was one of baseball’s most durable starting pitchers until elbow surgery wiped out the entirety of his first year with the Red Sox in 2024. He bounced back with a 3.41 ERA in 145 innings in 2025 but finished the year on a sour note when he reported elbow discomfort that made him unavailable for Boston’s wild-card series against the Yankees. The Red Sox didn’t rule Giolito out for future postseason rounds, but their early elimination left his status uncertain at the outset of the offseason.
By reaching 140 innings in the regular season, Giolito converted his $19 million team option for 2026 into a player option, which he declined. If he is fully healthy, Giolito remains an alluring option for teams searching for stability in the rotation, though without sizable upside.
22. *Brandon Woodruff, SP, 33
UPDATE: Woodruff accepted the one-year qualifying offer from the Brewers at $22.025 million.
Before shoulder surgery put him on the shelf for a year and a half, Woodruff was one of the best starers in MLB: His 2.93 ERA in 595 innings from 2019 to 2023 was fourth-lowest among qualified starters. But returns from major shoulder injuries tend to be more tenuous than returns from elbow surgery, and the results of Woodruff’s reacclimation to the Brewers’ rotation were extraordinary and unusual. Despite his fastball velocity averaging closer to 93 mph than the 96 he sat at pre-surgery, Woodruff was as dominant as ever, registering a career-high strikeout rate (32.3%) and career-low walk rate (5.4%) while posting a 3.20 ERA in 64 ⅔ innings. He ditched his slider in favor of a cutter, both his two-seam and four-seam fastballs continued to perform well even with diminished velocity, and his changeup remained an excellent swing-and-miss offering.
The catcher
23. J.T. Realmuto, C, 34
Thirty-one catchers compiled at least 1.0 FanGraphs WAR in 2025. Only two of them, Realmuto and Danny Jansen, are set to hit free agency. So despite Realmuto’s advanced age, he’s still far and away the best backstop available this winter. The muscled Oklahoman isn’t what he once was — the best catcher in the world — but he’s still a valuable player. He was essentially a league-average hitter this year and remained impressively durable, leading the league in games started behind the dish. A reunion with the Phillies feels like the most likely outcome here; he’s simply too valuable a cog in their pitching operation to let him walk. Realmuto will want a three-year deal, but he’ll probably end up with two.
Hitters with difficult markets to project
24. Eugenio Suárez, 3B, 34
Suárez hit 49 home runs in 2025 for the second time in his career and returned to the Mariners via midseason trade after a year-and-a-half as a D-back, enabling him to take part in Seattle’s memorable October run, which included one of the biggest swings in franchise history: his go-ahead grand slam in ALCS Game 5. For as feel-good of a story as the Suárez-to-Seattle reunion was, it’s difficult to ignore his sharp decline in production post-trade, and that sours some of the optimism for his market as he enters free agency for the first time.
Suárez’s issues making consistent contact likely aren’t going to magically improve as he enters his mid-30s, which puts immense pressure on his prodigious slugging to continue if he is to remain a viable every-day player, especially if his defense at third base continues to trend in the wrong direction. That said, Suárez’s overwhelmingly positive clubhouse reputation should earn him some additional interest from clubs looking for a quality veteran presence in addition to the high-end slugging he offers.
Kim played only 48 games this year — 24 each for Tampa Bay and Atlanta — after signing a two-year free-agent deal with the Rays last winter. Tampa left him on waivers, and the Braves pounced, despite being light-years out of contention, hoping Kim wouldn’t activate his opt-out and they could scoop up an every-day shortstop for 2026 on the cheap. The South Korean infielder declined his $16 million option to reenter the market. He ended up back with the Braves, but for a bit more money. Kim is the only true shortstop in this class, even though he projects to be a well-below-average hitter.
26. Luis Arraez, INF, 29
Arraez promises to inspire a wide array of opinions as one of baseball’s most unique players. Traditionalists might look at his multiple batting titles and microscopic strikeout rates as outstanding and appealing outliers in an era defined by swing-and-miss, but the modern game prioritizes players who are far more multidimensional than what Arraez currently offers. It’s not just that Arraez rarely produces extra-base hits; it’s that he barely reaches. His walk rates have plummeted recently, and his defense doesn’t seem to be getting any better.
While there still will (and should) be an appetite for a player with one truly elite skill, it’d be misleading to suggest that Arraez’s hitting alone is worth a massive long-term contract. He’s an exceptionally fun and singular player but also a limited one. How his free agency unfolds will be one of the more intriguing storylines of the winter.
It was a tumultuous year for Williams, who was dealt to the Bronx last winter after spending the entirety of his career in Milwaukee. Handed the closer role out of spring training, Williams and his airbender changeup had a cataclysmic April, in which he was booed multiple times by the Yankees faithful and booted from the ninth inning by skipper Aaron Boone.
Things gradually got better over the summer, as Williams regained his manager’s trust and slotted back into a high-leverage role by the playoffs. In fact, he didn’t allow a run in 22 of his final 23 outings, postseason included. With Edwin Diaz leaving Queens, the Mets are likely paying Williams to close, and the airbender is still a special pitch, but Williams’ stock has fallen significantly since this time last year.
The flame-throwing Venezuelan had two years and $16 million left on his deal with the Padres, a nice haul for a reliever his age, but opted out. He got a higher AAV from the Braves after posting another dominant season for the Padres. That 2.97 ERA looks great, not spectacular, but if you overlook two disaster outings in which Suarez recorded one out and surrendered five runs, that figure drops to 1.70.
There are certainly concerns about whether Suarez’s elite fastball velocity (98.5 mph) will sustain as he creeps closer to 40, especially because of how much he leans on that pitch (60% usage), but this is one of the truly elite relievers in the game.
The first-time All-Star tailed off slightly after a deadline deal sent him from Baltimore to San Diego, but the overall numbers were unavoidably impressive for a guy who was left to rot on the waiver-wire scrap heap just a few years ago. O’Hearn’s peripheral numbers were strong for a third straight season and secured him a two-year deal with a Pirates team trying to upgrade this winter. After missing out on the upper crust of Alonso, Schwarber and Naylor, O’Hearn is a perfectly competent consolation prize for Pittsburgh. He also earns rave reviews for his clubhouse presence.
30. Harrison Bader, OF, 32
When Bader went from Minnesota to Philadelphia at the deadline, it wasn’t even the biggest Twins-Phillies deal of the week. But the luscious-locked center fielder energized the Phillies’ lineup, offering a much-needed contact-oriented profile. His groin injury in Game 1 of the NLDS turned out to have an enormous impact on that series, as the Phillies sorely missed his presence in the lineup. Given the likelihood that the team moves on from right fielder Nick Castellanos, Bader could make some sense as a versatile fourth outfielder. But a two-year deal might be in order for the 32-year-old, who just posted the best offensive season of his career. Bader will find a sturdy market for his services.
Having not debuted in the big leagues until age 28 with the Giants, Yastrzemski finally entered free agency at age 35 coming off a sneaky stellar post-trade run with Kansas City, during which he slugged .500 with more walks (25) than strikeouts (22) across 50 games. His raw power is modest, but Yastrzemski has a knack for pulling the ball in the air and just had a career year from a plate-discipline standpoint, making more contact than ever and drawing walks at a 12.9% clip. He remains subpar against left-handers, but Yastrzemski should be quite productive if deployed properly by the Braves.
Weaver was handed the ninth inning after his teammate Williams hit the schneid in April. He was magnificent through the season’s first two months, with just two earned runs to his name on May 26. Then he hit the shelf due to a hamstring injury that derailed his year. Weaver returned in late June but wasn’t the same, posting a 5.31 ERA the rest of the way before rough outings in AL wild-card Game 1 and ALDS Game 1 pushed him out of Boone’s bullpen trust circle. Just a year ago, this guy was the most trusted arm on a World Series team, so the Mets will be hoping that he bounces back and that his late-season struggles were injury-based, rather than a more concerning harbinger.
The hard-throwing closer had an ERA of 3.00 when he was traded from St. Louis to Queens on deadline day. Helsley had a multiyear track record of high-leverage success, built on one of the hardest heaters in the sport. But his Mets tenure will go down as one of the all-time reliever disasters, as Helsley posted an abhorrent 7.20 ERA in 22 outings in blue and orange. His late-summer implosion was crucial in the Mets’ shocking tumble down the standings.
Helsley compiled the second-most fWAR among relievers between 2022 and ‘24 — 5.7, with a 1.83 ERA in 167 2/3 innings — but his 2025 was so weird, bad and ugly that it might’ve scared some teams off. In the end, though, he got a two-year contract as projected, with a reported opt-out after the first year.
Mullins spent a decade in the Orioles organization before being dealt to the Mets at the deadline. His production had been closer to league average in the years since his star-level 2021 campaign, in which he hit 30 homers, stole 30 bases and finished ninth in AL MVP voting. His particularly poor showing with New York (.565 OPS including a brutal 6-for-55 skid to finish the season) pushed Mullins much further down these rankings than we expected him to be a few months ago.
35. Willi Castro, UTL, 29
An All-Star in 2024 known for his unrivaled defensive versatility, Castro was having another stellar season before he was shipped to Chicago as part of Minnesota’s epic fire sale at the trade deadline. And while he continued to provide value as a competent defender at multiple positions, Castro’s bat completely disappeared as a Cub, posting a paltry .485 OPS and not registering a single plate appearance across Chicago’s eight postseason games. His relative youth and flexibility with the glove should still make him a fairly alluring free agent.
That the Rangers were willing to send three solid prospects to Arizona for two months of Kelly suggests that he is still well-regarded within the industry, but free agency is a different equation, especially for a pitcher this old. Without plus velocity, Kelly gets by on great command of a six-pitch repertoire, headlined by an excellent changeup. Like most of the pitchers in this tier, he’s more likely to provide value in the regular season than as a no-doubt postseason starter, but that’s not something to sneeze at. Clearly, the Diamondbacks had enough faith in Kelly, based on his previous stint with the team, to bring him back on a two-year pact.
Mahle was absolutely brilliant through the end of May (1.64 ERA in 66 innings across 12 starts) before fading in June and landing on the injured list due to shoulder fatigue, which kept him out until mid-September. It was encouraging to see him finish the season healthy, but Mahle hasn’t thrown more than 100 innings since 2022.
Recurring back injuries limited Eflin to 14 ineffective starts (5.93 ERA) for Baltimore in 2025, but he was a mid-rotation workhorse the previous two seasons (3.54 ERA in 343 innings) and could prove to be a nice buy-low option for an Orioles team that needed rotation reinforcements. We’re only two years removed from Eflin finishing sixth in AL Cy Young voting — let’s not forget about this guy.
39. Zack Littell, SP, 30
The good: Littell’s 3.73 ERA ranks 17th out of 37 qualified starters over the past two seasons, his 1.65 BB/9 is bested only by Tarik Skubal over that same timeframe, and among free-agent pitchers, only Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen threw more innings in 2025 than Littell’s 186 2/3 frames.
The bad: Whiffs are hard to come by for Littell (17.1% strikeout rate ranked 47th out of 52 qualified starters in 2025), and he’s particularly susceptible to the long ball, making his next home ballpark a crucial variable when projecting his effectiveness moving forward.
40. Griffin Canning, SP, 30
After allowing the most earned runs in the American League with the Angels in 2024, Canning was enjoying a nice bounce-back season in his first year with the Mets, leaning heavily on his slider and changeup to keep hitters off-balance. But his season ended abruptly when he ruptured his left Achilles on a non-contact play in June, starting a rehab process that could stretch into 2026. A team that believes in Canning’s revamped form with New York and his ability to rebound from serious injury could target the right-hander as a low-cost rotation option.
Hitters who confuse us
41. Max Kepler, OF, 33
Kepler struggled badly out the gate in his first year as a Phillie but settled into being a useful contributor and finished the regular season strong, hitting .262/.322/.505 with seven home runs over his final 30 games. Kepler still exhibits decent power and plate discipline, but his earning potential will depend on whether teams view him as a viable every-day player or more in a predominantly platoon role, like Philadelphia did.
42. Miguel Andujar, OF/DH, 31
Albeit in a smaller sample, Andujar quietly posted one of the better offensive seasons of any free-agent bat available. Among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances in 2025, Andujar’s .318 average ranked second in MLB behind only Aaron Judge, and he was one of the most productive trade-deadline acquisitions in the league after being dealt by the A’s to the Reds. He remains a poor defender who doesn’t draw walks, but he crushes lefties and makes a ton of contact. He’s a sneaky target for teams on a tight budget looking for offense.
This isn’t just any platoon bat. The degree to which Refsnyder demolishes left-handed pitching puts him in some truly outrageous company. Among hitters with at least 250 plate appearances against southpaws over the past two seasons, Refsnyder’s .949 OPS ranks fifth behind Aaron Judge, Ketel Marte, José Ramírez and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. That’s ridiculous. He’s essentially unplayable against right-handers and a below-average corner-outfield defender, but his special skill still makes Refsnyder an appealing pickup for the Mariners.
An unremarkable starting pitcher for the first six years of his career, Keller broke out in a big way in the Cubs’ bullpen in 2025, throwing harder than ever and posting a sterling 2.07 ERA in 69 2/3 innings with underlying data that strongly supports his performance as legitimate. Keller cost considerably less than the top relievers who already have a boatload of saves on their résumés, but he could offer similar or even greater upside for the Phillies if he can sustain the gains he made in Chicago.
Iglesias had a catastrophic start to his season, allowing seven home runs across his first 25 appearances after allowing four total in 66 games pitched in 2024. That left him with an unsightly 6.75 ERA in early June, but after that, Iglesias got back on track and was generally the elite game-ender we’ve long known him to be, posting a 1.25 ERA over his final 43 1/3 innings, a dominant stretch that went somewhat unnoticed amid a lost Braves season.
Iglesias and Keller are our picks to squeeze into the end of our Top 50 among a deep free-agent class of accomplished righty relievers that also includes Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Emilio Pagán, Phil Maton and Tyler Rogers.
Veteran starters
46. Chris Bassitt, SP, 37
After another year of sturdy work in the rotation — Bassitt is one just seven pitchers to make at least 30 starts in each of the past four seasons — the 36-year-old right-hander made a successful transition to the bullpen for Toronto’s World Series run. He allowed just one run across his eight relief outings in October, demonstrating versatility that could prove valuable as teams project his role as he enters the latter stages of his career.
It’s also worth a mention that the Blue Jays’ clubhouse absolutely adores this guy, and Bassitt has not been shy in expressing his desire to stay put. Sentimentality and postseason bullpen cameos aside, Bassitt’s durability would seem to be his most appealing trait as a free agent for teams looking to solidify their rotations. Whether that leads him back to Toronto remains to be seen..
47. Jose Quintana, SP, 37
Quintana has delivered a better-than-league-average park-adjusted ERA in 12 of his 14 major-league seasons, including 2025, when he helped stabilize an injury-ravaged Brewers rotation. The stuff unsurprisingly isn’t getting any better — he just posted a career-low 16% strikeout rate — but he still seems to have the guile to get outs in a bulk role and thus deserves a nod toward the end of this list.
48. Justin Verlander, SP, 43
It took until mid-July for Verlander to record his first win as a Giant, but he managed to find his groove down the stretch, posting a 2.60 ERA in 72 ⅔ innings over his final 13 starts. Even at age 42 (his birthday is in February), Verlander is still innovating, adding an 80-mph sweeper to complement his traditional slider and curveball, a pitch that performed as his most effective by run value. While his goal of reaching 300 wins feels farfetched at this point (he’s at 266), he pitched well enough in 2025 to earn the chance to continue that chase.
A probably washed guy who used to rake
49. Marcell Ozuna, DH, 35
For the first two months of the season (.883 OPS), Ozuna resembled the impactful slugger he was the previous two years in Atlanta. But in early June, the burly Dominican revealed that he’d been battling a tear in his right hip. He never ended up on the injured list, but his performance plummeted as the season went on, with a .673 OPS after June 1.
While Ozuna’s overall offensive résumé should garner some interest, there are ample reasons for teams to find production elsewhere: He’s a full-time DH in his mid-30s with lingering injuries issues, and he has a history of multipleoff-field incidents.
A first-round draft pick by the Mets in 2016, Kay was dealt to Toronto in the Marcus Stroman trade in 2019 and appeared with the Blue Jays in parts of four seasons. After brief cameos with the Cubs and then back with the Mets in 2023, Kay took his talents overseas, where he became an impact starter for the Yokohama Bay Stars in NPB.
Kay was solid in his first year in Japan but really leveled up in 2025, adding an equally effective two-seamer to complement his 94-mph four-seam fastball and three solid secondary offerings (slider, cutter, changeup). Among qualified NPB starters, Kay ranked fifth in ERA (1.74), fifth in WHIP (0.98), and first in ground-ball rate (55.8%), a stellar résumé of dominance in the second-best league in the world that could earn him a much more significant opportunity stateside than he got earlier in his major-league career.
Kay is one of several pitchers with MLB experience who have blossomed overseas recently ahead of making a return to the majors. Right-hander Cody Ponce (1.89 ERA in 180 ⅔ innings with 252 strikeouts for the Hanwha Eagles in the Korean Baseball Organization) landed a three-year, $30 million deal with Toronto. And left-hander Foster Griffin (2.57 ERA in 315 ⅔ innings for the Yomiuri Giants the past three seasons) signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Nationals.
