Power Ranking The Ten Best Remaining MLB Free Agents

The Super Bowl is over. Pitchers and catcher report on Wednesday. Spring Training is about to start and there are quite a few game changing free agents still out there. I love baseball as much as anyone and I'll be the first to call this off-season absolute dogs hit. We were told that the market was slow because of Ohtani. When he signed, it was slow because of Yamamoto. When he signed, it was because of the cable money being stalled because of the Diamond bankruptcy. When that got cleared up, they didn't even bother with new excuses.

I'll rank the top ten remaining free agents below but there are more than ten that could help so many teams in some fashion. Michael A. Taylor is a nice defensive center fielder. Mike Clevinger could fit into the starting rotation of nearly every team in baseball. Michael Lorenzen threw a no-hitter last year! None of those guys are even in the top 10 of guys remaining here on February 12th. That's how much the market has stalled.

Here are my Top 10 remaining free agents:

10. Tim Anderson, SS

Ron Schwane. Getty Images.

Tim Anderson was fucking horrible last year. It's not good when having a -1.9 WAR on a 101 loss team isn't even your lowlight for the the year. That had to be when Jose Ramirez knocked him the fuck out. I'm not going to pretend Anderson didn't suck in 2023.

But he was a very good player even a year earlier and an All-Star both in 2022 and 2023. He's only 31 and certainly worth a one year make good deal from someone. The Marlins or Giants could easily use Anderson.

9. Whit Merrifield, 2B/OF

Merrifield is pretty old (entering his age 35) but he was an All-Star (undeserving but still!) last year. He's certainly a competent player that is perfect in a utility role. He has good contact skills and if you keep him away from LHP, he is still a decent enough bat in a lineup. Every single team in baseball would benefit having Merrifield on their bench.

8. Amed Rosario, SS/2B

Ron Schwane. Getty Images.

Rosario is very similar to Merrifield as he would be a good contact hitter to have on the bench that can play multiple positions. The difference is that Rosario is only 28 years old. He certainly hasn't lived up to being overhyped as a Mets prospect but while he's not a superstar, he's a decent major leaguer who can pinch run for you as well.

7. Adam Duvall, OF

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This is a guy who had over 20 home runs in under 100 games as well as led the league in RBI's in 2021 and can even play center field. He was pretty good for the Red Sox before getting hurt last year. Why Boston isn't re-signing him makes no sense. He's exactly the type of player that could help them (outside of any and all starting pitching). Duvall is not exactly an Iron Man when it comes to durability but when he plays, he's been really good.

6. J.D. Martinez, DH

Alexander Gallardo. Shutterstock Images.

I want the Mets to either sign him or the next guy on the list so badly. Martinez has never been the most durable player but he's also always hit the ball really well. He had 33 home runs last year in only 113 games while playing his home games in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium. Why a team hasn't signed him to a 1 year/$10 million or so deal by now is mystifying. The Mets only DH options are either Mark Vientos or DJ Stewart. What the fuck are they doing? Which leads me to…

#5 Jorge Soler

Gordon Donovan. Shutterstock Images.

It came out today that Solar is holding out for a three year deal. He's so up and down that I do understand some resistance to committing long-term to him. He's like an episode of The Office. When he's good, he's awesome. But when he's bad, you're getting Robert California. 

Even with his inconsistency, he's the perfect player for a bunch of teams including the Mets. He hit 36 home runs last year (in the pitcher's heaven that is Marlins Park) and still had a decent .341 OBP. 

4. Matt Chapman, 3B

Mark Blinch. Getty Images.

I feel like Matt Chapman gets a bad rap because offensively, he does everything well but nothing particularly great. Defensively, he's awesome which you'd think would help a number of teams who need a third baseman. He's not insanely old (about to be 31) so I don't really understand the holdup.

Or maybe I do. His agent in Scott Boras. Chapman and the last three guys on this list are all Boras clients. I understand the intent on waiting for the best possible deal but at some point as it gets closer to March, does this actually help the player?

3. Cody Bellinger, CF/1B

Quinn Harris. Getty Images.

Which Bellinger are you getting? The Silver Slugger who was 10th in NL MVP voting or the guy that hit .193 from 2021-22? I'm shocked the Cubs haven't tried to re-sign him. Maybe they are waiting for an offer to really counter? Or maybe Boras is playing hard to get? Whatever it is, the Cubs desperately need some offense. 

2. Jordan Montgomery

1. Blake Snell

Let's just talk about these guys at the same time because they are both starting pitchers. Montgomery is the safer guy. He's more consistent and more durable. He's made 30+ starts each of the past three years. He's not going to win a Cy Young (like Snell) but he's going to be a perfect 2nd option in a rotation. The ideal team for him is the Yankees with Gerrit Cole already there as an ace.

Snell has the higher ceiling. He's the fucking Cy Young Award winner and still doesn't have a job. That's nuts. He led the NL in ERA (2.25) and was unstoppable in the second half (1.54 ERA in 14 games). The Cubs, Yankees, Reds, Twins among others could get a huge leg up on their divisions by signing Snell. 

Now we wait until Scott Boras decides these guys should sign.