#free-agency

#free-agency

Not often does a 32-year-old designated hitter become one of the most sought-after players in free agency, but Kyle Schwarber isn't your typical 32-year-old. Coming off a career year with the Phillies, he hit 56 home runs, drove in 132 runs and started all 162 games. He also posted a personal best 4.9 fWAR while serving as Philadelphia's full-time DH. A three-time All-Star, World Series champion and Silver Slugger, Schwarber has built one of the most impressive résumés in the league.

Iglesias, 35, is a right-handed pitcher from Cuba who has pitched at the backend in the backend of the rotation for years. Over his 11 big league seasons, Iglesias has a 2.90 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 736 innings pitched, picking up 253 saves in 291 opportunities. His most recent season was with the Atlanta Braves, where Iglesias posted a 3.21 ERA and 3.31 FIP in 67.1 innings pitched, with a 27.4 K% and 6 BB%.

Among the center fielders available in free agency, Harrison Bader stands as the best option in terms of defense. In 2025, he tied for 7th-best among qualified outfielders with 13 Defensive Runs Saved. Indeed, Bader has been worth a staggering 67 DRS along with 77 Outs Above Average dating back to his debut 2017 season. In 2025, Bader paired his typically excellent defense with a career-best offensive performance.

Still, the Blue Jays are certainly in the market for a high-leverage reliever, with Seranthony Domínguez reaching free agency. There'd be immense upside by signing Díaz, who's coming off another sensational performance in 2025, where he logged 28 saves in 31 attempts and pitched to a dominant 1.63 ERA (second-lowest among qualified major-league relievers) as well as a 2.28 FIP, striking out 38 per cent of his batters faced (second-highest among MLB relievers).

Baltimore's baseball ops leader candidly acknowledged this week that he's hopeful of adding a starter who can give his team "innings and front-half-of-the-rotation stuff" as well as a reliever "who has closer experience" (links via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner and Jake Rill of MLB.com. Just as notably, Elias voiced that he is "fully prepared" to forfeit draft pick(s) to sign free agents who have rejected a qualifying offer.

General manager Jeff Greenberg said at this week's GM Meetings that the Tigers "are going to prioritize pitching" in the months ahead, even after Jack Flaherty's decision to exercise his $20MM player option filled one rotation spot next season ( link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Greenberg added that the Tigers are open to further rotation additions and "certainly" need to address their bullpen.

The Pirates are desperately in need of offense to support an excellent young pitching staff. General manager Ben Cherington said yesterday that the front office has "more flexibility than they've had in [any] other offseasons" since he was hired going into the 2020 season. That might enable them to make multiple additions from the middle tiers of free agency. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Bucs could commit between $30-40MM to their 2026 payroll.

The Los Angeles Dodgers invested heavily into their bullpen last offseason, signing Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, who were widely considered the top-two relievers available on the free agent market and across baseball overall. Despite their additions, the bullpen was a major issue for the Dodgers throughout the season, both due to injuries and players underperforming. Scott, Yates, Michael Kopech, Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart and Blake Treinen all missed time due to injuries.

The Dodgers have 40 players under team control for the 2026 season and seven who are currently free agents. The Dodgers recently added prospects Robinson Ortiz and Ryan Ward to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from the upcoming MLB Rule 5 Draft. To make room for those additions, the Dodgers outrighted Justin Dean and Michael Grove to Triple-A Oklahoma City while designating Tony Gonsolin for assignment.

Finally, a descriptor that just might work. Finding terms to describe those of us who don't have kids is challenging. We're usually referred to as what we're not (non-moms, unparents, people without kids). Cumbersome, clunky, and not very respectful. Beginning with Major League Baseball in the mid-1970s, free agency gave professional athletes the flexibility to develop their careers after their contracts expired. The practice gradually spread to other professional sports and is now well-accepted by sports organizations and fans around the world.

On the surface, Valdez looks deserving of the large term and dollar amount he's likely to receive in free agency. The two-time All-Star ranks sixth among all starting pitchers in fWAR (20.6), fifth in innings pitched (973), tied for first in wins, and 10th in total strikeouts (951) since the start of the 2020 season as a member of the Houston Astros.

It's been just under a week since Shane Bieber decided he wanted to have a second shot at winning in Toronto and exercised his contract option to remain with the Blue Jays in 2026. The $16 million deal will get the 30-year-old through the 2027 season on a team friendly deal, in the hopes that he can cash in big time the following year.

The club has multiple areas for improvement, but is unlikely to address those needs via lengthy free agent deals, general manager told reporters this week, including Scott Merkin of MLB.com. "Free agency is an avenue to bring in players to help in the win total," Getz said. "But to go beyond this upcoming season I think would be a little premature considering the state of our club right now and the development of these young players."

During his time at Triple-A, Roa relied on a sinker-slider combination, with the former accounting for 39.7% of his pitches and averaging 95.6 mph. He used the slider 31.2% of the time, while his 96.0 mph four-seamer was his third-most used pitch at 21.1%. Across 60 1/3 innings over 50 appearances, Roa posted a 2.83 ERA with a solid 26.1% strikeout rate.