NEWSLETTER
Throughout the course of this offseason, you’ve probably heard us – and everyone else – discuss the desire many teams share to get and/or stay under the luxury tax threshold, and/or just to save money generally, given the historically huge crop of free agents available next offseason. It is frequently being cited as a major factor in this year’s slow market.
And while you may already know that guys like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are set to be free agents, I realize that we haven’t exactly laid all the big names out for you before. Those two might land some of the biggest deals, but they are far from the only big-time players in that class.
So, we wanted to highlight some of the huge volume of notable players who are scheduled to hit free agency after this season. (For even more detail on all free agents, check out MLBTR’s running list here.)
These guys, among others, are due to be available in the same offseason …
Catchers
Tyler Flowers
Yasmani Grandal
Wilson Ramos
Matt Wieters
First Basemen
Matt Adams
Joe Mauer
Hanley Ramirez
Second Basemen
Brian Dozier
Logan Forsythe
Marwin Gonzalez
Ian Kinsler
DJ LeMahieu
Daniel Murphy
Shortstops
Elvis Andrus (has opt out on four years and $58M remaining)
Freddy Galvis
Adeiny Hechavarria
Jose Iglesias
Jordy Mercer
Third Basemen
Adrian Beltre
Josh Donaldson
Logan Forsythe
Chase Headley
Manny Machado
Luis Valbuena
Outfielders
Michael Brantley
Charlie Blackmon
Lonnie Chisenhall
Nelson Cruz
Bryce Harper
Jason Heyward (has an opt out … )
Adam Jones
Andrew McCutchen
Hunter Pence
A.J. Pollock
Starting Pitchers
Patrick Corbin
Gio Gonzalez
Cole Hamels
J.A. Happ
Matt Harvey
Clayton Kershaw (has opt out on two years, $65M remaining)
Dallas Keuchel
Brandon McCarthy
Charlie Morton
Drew Pomeranz
David Price (has opt out on four years, $127M remaining)
Garrett Richards
Hyun-Jin Ryu
Josh Tomlin
Adam Wainwright
Right-Handed Relievers
Cody Allen
Brad Brach
Jeurys Familia
Kelvin Herrera
Joe Kelly
Craig Kimbrel
Ryan Madson
Zach McAllister
Mark Melancon (has opt out on two years, $28M remaining)
Adam Ottavino
David Phelps
A.J. Ramos
David Robertson
Adam Warren
Left-Handed Relievers
Jerry Blevins
Zach Britton
Andrew Miller
Justin Wilson
Wowza.
Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, Marwin Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Andrew McCutchen, A.J. Pollock, and Bryce Harper is one CRAZY group of position players, and those aren’t even the only All-Stars on the list.
And then how about those starters?
Patrick Corbin, Gio Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel, Drew Pomeranz, David Price (could opt out … we’ll see), Hyun-Jin Ryu, and a ton of other interesting names can transform the pitching landscape in a single offseason. Even if Kershaw decides to stay in L.A. like many presume he will, there’s always a chance he dips his toes into free agency as a 31-year-old. Man I’d love to see that.
Even the bullpen options include some of the best names in baseball, like Craig Kimbrel, Cody Allen, Jeurys Familia, Kelvin Herrera, Mark Melancon, Zach Britton, Andrew Miller, and Justin Wilson. So many big-time arms, and given how quickly a reliever can break out, there could be more on the list by next year.
So, hopefully now you know that when we say next year’s free agent class is historically good, we’re not pulling your leg. There are MVPs, All-Stars, Cy Young candidates, and many of them. Here’s hoping the Cubs will be ready to slide past that luxury tax cap next year if the right opportunities present themselves.
