Dixie Flatline
Moderator
- Jun 3, 2005
- 36,648
- 37,980
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Cartagena C.F., NYJ, A's
- Moderator
- #1
The 2024 MLB season is now in the history books, with the Los Angeles Dodgers claiming their eighth title in franchise history by defeating the New York Yankees 4-1. They will enjoy a parade on Friday in Los Angeles (Saturday morning, Australian time).
But for the other 29 clubs, work has already begun on preparations for the 2025 MLB season, with pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training in mid-February 2025 (dates are yet to be confirmed, but could be as early as 12 February 2025). Obviously there will be a lot of player movement through the off-season, with some big ticket free agents looking to sign some big contracts in the off-season.
This off-season, the biggest free agent available is RF Juan Soto, who enjoyed a stellar 2024 with the New York Yankees, but is no lock to return to the Bronx Bombers. There will be a number of clubs interested in signing Soto, who at the age of 26, is probably still yet to reach the peak of his career, despite being in the majors since he was 19 years old, but is on a Hall of Fame trajectory with his hitting. To put the accomplishments of Soto in perspective, his (former) teammate, catcher Austin Wells, was a rookie in 2024 for the Yankees and just completed his first full big-league season, and he's just 260 days younger than Soto.
For those looking for help on the pitching side of the roster, there are plenty of options available, with RHP Corbin Burnes headlining the list of free agent pitchers, although there are some question marks on whether Burnes has already peaked and is on the downward slide of his career, given that his strikeout rate has declined in each of the past four seasons and his in-zone contact rate is on par with Kyle Gibson, Chris Flexen and Carson Fulmer, none of whom are aces in their respective rotations.
An interesting scenario is the future of third baseman Alex Bregman. The Astros have a long history of letting players go and replacing their output with younger, more cost effective options (see, for example, Jeremy Pena replacing Carlos Correa). Bregman, however, has been one of the more productive third basemen for much of his career. His teammate, Jose Altuve, has publicly backed the Astros to re-sign Bregman to a long-term deal, but it is still a question on whether Bregman will remain an Astro in 2025 and beyond.
Blake Snell was one of the so-called "Boras four" who remained unsigned in 2024 until well into Spring Training. He eventually landed a deal with the San Francisco Giants (which contains a player option that Snell will almost certainly decline) and pitched poorly in the first months of the season. However, he bounced back to record a no-hitter and the fourth best ERA+ of his career. He is hoping that his second consecutive trip through free agency lands him a long-term deal.
For those looking for a little bit of thump to add to their lineup, they will be hard pressed to go past long-time Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. The Polar Bear hits free agency for the first time in his career at the age of 30. He's never hit less than 30 homers in a season in the big leagues, but his strikeout rate has increased in the last two seasons consecutively, and he's fallen short of the generational talents at first base such as Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera.
Top free agents in this year's class include:
But for the other 29 clubs, work has already begun on preparations for the 2025 MLB season, with pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training in mid-February 2025 (dates are yet to be confirmed, but could be as early as 12 February 2025). Obviously there will be a lot of player movement through the off-season, with some big ticket free agents looking to sign some big contracts in the off-season.
This off-season, the biggest free agent available is RF Juan Soto, who enjoyed a stellar 2024 with the New York Yankees, but is no lock to return to the Bronx Bombers. There will be a number of clubs interested in signing Soto, who at the age of 26, is probably still yet to reach the peak of his career, despite being in the majors since he was 19 years old, but is on a Hall of Fame trajectory with his hitting. To put the accomplishments of Soto in perspective, his (former) teammate, catcher Austin Wells, was a rookie in 2024 for the Yankees and just completed his first full big-league season, and he's just 260 days younger than Soto.
For those looking for help on the pitching side of the roster, there are plenty of options available, with RHP Corbin Burnes headlining the list of free agent pitchers, although there are some question marks on whether Burnes has already peaked and is on the downward slide of his career, given that his strikeout rate has declined in each of the past four seasons and his in-zone contact rate is on par with Kyle Gibson, Chris Flexen and Carson Fulmer, none of whom are aces in their respective rotations.
An interesting scenario is the future of third baseman Alex Bregman. The Astros have a long history of letting players go and replacing their output with younger, more cost effective options (see, for example, Jeremy Pena replacing Carlos Correa). Bregman, however, has been one of the more productive third basemen for much of his career. His teammate, Jose Altuve, has publicly backed the Astros to re-sign Bregman to a long-term deal, but it is still a question on whether Bregman will remain an Astro in 2025 and beyond.
Blake Snell was one of the so-called "Boras four" who remained unsigned in 2024 until well into Spring Training. He eventually landed a deal with the San Francisco Giants (which contains a player option that Snell will almost certainly decline) and pitched poorly in the first months of the season. However, he bounced back to record a no-hitter and the fourth best ERA+ of his career. He is hoping that his second consecutive trip through free agency lands him a long-term deal.
For those looking for a little bit of thump to add to their lineup, they will be hard pressed to go past long-time Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. The Polar Bear hits free agency for the first time in his career at the age of 30. He's never hit less than 30 homers in a season in the big leagues, but his strikeout rate has increased in the last two seasons consecutively, and he's fallen short of the generational talents at first base such as Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera.
Top free agents in this year's class include:
- Juan Soto (RF)
- Corbin Burnes (RHP)
- Alex Bregman (3B)
- Blake Snell (LHP)
- Max Fried (LHP)
- Jack Flaherty (RHP)
- Sean Manaea (LHP)
- Nathan Eovaldi (RHP)
- Pete Alonso (1B)
- Max Scherzer (RHP)
- Shane Bieber (RHP)
- Ha-Seong Kim (SS)
- Anthony Santander (OF)
- Joc Pederson (OF)
- Teoscar Hernandez (OF)
- Christian Walker (1B)
- Luis Severino (RHP)
- Yusei Kikuchi (LHP)
- Gleyber Torres (2B)
- Blake Treinen (RHP)
- Clay Holmes (RHP)
- Jeff Hoffman (RHP)
- Jurickson Profar (OF)
- Walker Buehler (RHP)
