10 Intriguing MLB Free Agents Nobody Is Talking About
This upcoming free-agency news cycle will be dominated by the most highly touted available baseball player of our lifetime.
Where Shohei Ohtani lands—even while recovering from Tommy John surgery—will garner much deserved attention from fans, media and industry insiders alike.
However, the MLB free-agency list goes deeper than a unicorn who hits better than most hitters he faces, and pitches better than most pitchers he faces from the batter's box.
There are more intriguing free agents who may not generate major headlines on their own but are sure to make a team better if added this offseason.
Let's look at 10 intriguing and impactful free agents who may not be on the top of fans' wish lists.
1B C.J. Cron
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While this past season was a far cry from his 2022 All-Star campaign, C.J. Cron is still going to contribute somewhere next season.
He battled injuries for much of 2023, ending the season on the injured list with lower back inflammation. The Colorado Rockies traded him to the Los Angeles Angels, who were still hoping to make a postseason push at the trade deadline.
It did not work out that way, and Cron posted a .248/.295/.434 slash line with 12 home runs and 37 RBI through 278 plate appearances in an injury-plagued season.
Cron turns 34 in January, and despite a forgettable year, he provides infield depth with power at a reasonable price.
His last contract with the Rockies was for two years, $14.5 million, and he should cost less than that this time around. Expect him to play on a one-year "prove it" type deal.
IF/OF Whit Merrifield
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Whit Merrifield has a mutual option for $18 million with the Toronto Blue Jays and is almost a lock to be on the market. He is already reportedly drawing interest from at least one other team interested in signing him long term.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported the Chicago White Sox have discussed trading for long-time Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez and signing Merrifield in free agency.
The White Sox are familiar with the 34-year-old from his seven seasons as a teammate of Perez with the Royals. It also makes sense due to the hole Chicago has been trying to fill for years at second base.
Merrifield plays above average defense at second base and is passable in left field. The positional versatility alone will be worth exploring, even if his .272/.318/.382 slash leaves more to be desired.
LF Tommy Pham
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Tommy Pham is known just as much for lightning-rod headlines like slapping Joc Pederson over a fantasy football dispute as he is for playing baseball.
The outfielder will be 36 next season and has spent the past two seasons on four different teams. At least five teams were interested in him at the trade deadline, and the New York Mets ended up sending him to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He hit a home run for Arizona this postseason in the three-hole, and his career postseason slash line of .310/.333/.476 is enticing for any contender.
Pham can split time between the corner outfield spots and DH, as he's done the past couple of seasons. Of left fielders with at least 400 plate appearances this season, he ranked 13th in wRC+.
Pham is average defensively but good enough to play regularly.
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DH/OF Joc Pederson
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An All-Star season in 2022 was rewarded with a qualifying offer to Joc Pederson from the San Francisco Giants.
His $19.65 million salary this season was his biggest payday yet, but unlike previous years, the Giants played him mostly at DH rather than in the outfield.
The 31-year-old is not known for his glove by any stretch, but that is a lot of money to pay for a platoon DH who is not typically in the lineup against lefties.
While close to $20 million is not happening in 2024, there should still be a fairly robust market for a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. Pederson still has the power to hit 20-plus home runs and 70-plus RBI in a season, as he did two seasons ago for the Giants.
Teams like the Texas Rangers, who have shown a willingness to spend big in recent years, and the Boston Red Sox, who have impending free-agent outfielders, are ones to keep an eye on for Pederson as he enters his age-32 season.
CF Michael A. Taylor
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Michael A. Taylor was traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Minnesota Twins in the final season of a two-year, $9 million deal.
The 32-year-old enters free agency as a well-regarded defensive center fielder who doesn't offer much from the plate. There was value in that this season for the Twins, who played Byron Buxton exclusively at DH when he was healthy.
Taylor tied for sixth among center fielders in outs above average this season. Only two outfielders have more defensive runs saved than Taylor since 2020.
Any team looking to upgrade its outfield defense and willing to sacrifice some offense to do it should be interested in signing Taylor, whether it be for depth or to play every day.
It would make sense for the Twins to bring Taylor back, considering he provides insurance in center field and may allow for Buxton to move to the corner outfield spots, which could strengthen their defense immensely.
OF Adam Duvall
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Adam Duvall is one of the better run-producing outfielders in baseball, and there won't be a shortage of demand for his services.
Among center fielders with at least 350 plate appearances, he ranked 13th in wRC+ in 2023. It feels like forever ago, but he was part of the crew of outfield acquisitions that helped lead Atlanta to a World Series in 2021.
Atlanta seemed to catch lightning in a bottle that season, and Duvall was a big part of it. His 2022 season, his last at Truist Park, was underwhelming. Yet he bounced back in 2023 with the Boston Red Sox, slashing .247/.303/.531 with 21 home runs despite a lengthy stint on the IL with a wrist fracture.
It did not quite touch his 2021 season, when the 35-year-old hit a career-high 38 home runs and 113 RBI between two teams. But Atlanta reportedly had interest in another reunion around the trade deadline.
The New York Mets, who might not actually be trying to contend next season, are also a potential landing spot for Duvall, Michael A. Taylor and their own reunion with Tommy Pham, according to SNY's Danny Abriano.
RHP Johnny Cueto
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Johnny Cueto's lone season with the Miami Marlins fell flat as the veteran struggled with injuries and underperformance.
The 37-year-old was supposed to provide depth to the Marlins' already impressive rotation, but he was pulled from his debut April 3 after just 30 pitches with a biceps injury that dated back to spring training.
When Cueto returned from the 60-day injured list, the Marlins put him in the bullpen as a soft landing spot. He also dealt with an ankle sprain and a viral infection that caused him to miss time.
The result was an ugly 6.02 ERA and 7.02 FIP in 10 starts and three relief appearances. But it's easy to charge this to poor injury luck, considering just the season before he was a stabilizing force in the Chicago White Sox' rotation.
Whoever signs Cueto is hoping they get the 2022 version: 3.35 ERA, 3.79 FIP.
RHP Jack Flaherty
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Things didn't go exactly as planned after the Baltimore Orioles traded for Jack Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals.
He was supposed to be the kind of acquisition to fortify Baltimore's rotation and make them an even stronger contender down the stretch. Instead, he was demoted to the bullpen once the Orioles nixed their sixth-man rotation late in September.
The 28-year-old pitched two innings of relief in the Wild Card Round against the Texas Rangers, giving up one run on two hits with three walks.
It will be interesting to see how his decline after the trade might impact his free-agent market. He does not appear to be the same pitcher who was named second-team All-MLB in 2019.
There have been noticeable dips in both velocity and movement, but Flaherty is still a quality enough pitcher to fit into the backend of a rotation. And he's still young enough to give teams hope they can turn his career around.
LHP Wade Miley
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Wade Miley has a mutual option for $10 million. He was solid and reliable in his reunion with the Milwaukee Brewers last season, posting a 3.14 ERA and 4.69 FIP in 23 starts.
At 36, he should be expecting another big payday to help solidify a contending rotation the way he did for Milwaukee in 2023.
It would actually make sense for the Brewers to bring him back, whether it be on the mutual option or a new deal.
Brandon Woodruff underwent shoulder surgery and could miss all of the 2024 season. There is also that lingering possibility they could trade Corbin Burnes. In this case, reaching a deal with Miley is not only ideal, but maybe even necessary.
Miley is still elite at getting soft contact and ground balls, even if he's not getting a ton of swings and misses.
RHP Lucas Giolito
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It was an interesting year for Lucas Giolito as he made at least six starts for three different teams. What started as a hopeful season for the Chicago White Sox became a fire sale by the trade deadline.
The Los Angeles Angels brought him with hopes of making a postseason run, but they waived him when that effort failed. He ended the season with the Cleveland Guardians and now looks to cash in with free agency.
For the past two seasons, Giolito has not been able to replicate his run from 2019-2021.
It looked like he was having a bounce-back season with the White Sox, posting a 3.79 ERA over 21 starts. But he faltered after the trade to the Angels, where his ERA was 6.89 in six starts and then up to 7.04 in six starts with the Guardians.
Giolito finished 2023 with a 4.88 ERA and 5.27 FIP, his worst marks since 2018.
A general manager might be able to excuse the poor performance later in the season and lean more into the 29-year-old being a former All-Star who pitched a no-hitter just three years ago.
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