Playing Matchmaker with MLB's Best Remaining Free Agents
As mitts pop and bats crack at spring training sites in Arizona and Florida, a few MLB players are still home hoping to hear the phone ring.
The question is: Who should be calling them?
Let's take this question and run with it by playing matchmaker for the eight best free agents who still remain on the market. This consists of picking out the best fit for each of them and practically begging those teams to make the call.
On this list are five pitchers and two hitters, who are arranged in alphabetical order.
RHP Kyle Gibson
1 of 7
Age: 37
2024 Stats: 30 G, 30 GS, 169.2 IP, 161 H (23 HR), 151 K, 68 BB, 4.24 ERA
Best Fit: Detroit Tigers
This fit is debatable. The Tigers did sign Jack Flaherty and Alex Cobb, after all, and are thus in a good spot with their starting pitching depth on paper.
In real life, however, Cobb is already questionable for Opening Day because of inflammation in his right hip. That effectively nixes the possibility of a six-man rotation, and even the current five-man mix is short on sure things for innings.
Innings, of course, are Kyle Gibson's primary trade as a starting pitcher.
He's been racking 'em up in bunches ever since 2014, notably crossing the 160-inning threshold in each of his last six full seasons. He had only six starts last year in which he failed to go at least five innings.
The righty is a good fit for Comerica Park simply by virtue of being a pitch-to-contact type. It's a good pitcher's just in general, with a specialty of stifling the long ball.
Gibson is otherwise typically a ground-ball pitcher. And in this case, he would join a team that had the seventh-best infield by Outs Above Average in 2024.
Potential Contract: 1 year, $6 million
LHP Andrew Heaney
2 of 7
Age: 33
2024 Stats: 32 G, 31 GS, 160.0 IP, 159 H (23 HR), 159 K, 41 BB, 4.28 ERA
Best Fit: Milwaukee Brewers
It was a challenge for the Brewers to get innings from their starters in 2024. They logged only 794 to rank fifth from the bottom of MLB.
As such, it qualifies as an inauspicious start to 2025 that Brandon Woodruff isn't ready to return from shoulder surgery and that DL Hall has been shut down with a lat strain.
Things could still get worse, for in Milwaukee's projected rotation are Nestor Cortes and Aaron Ashby. The former had shoulder issues in 2023 and an elbow issue in 2024. The latter missed all of 2023 after shoulder surgery.
If nothing else, Andrew Heaney would be an insurance policy. He's pitched 307.1 innings over the last two seasons, not landing on the injured list even once.
Though Gibson would also work as an insurance policy, Heaney would come with a bit more upside. He has more swing-and-miss in his game, which is surely of use at a homer-friendly stadium like American Family Field.
The lefty can also work out of the bullpen as needed, and the Brewers are likewise somewhat deficient there after trading Devin Williams in December.
Potential Contract: 1 year, $7 million
RHP Lance Lynn
3 of 7
Age: 37
2024 Stats: 23 G, 23 GS, 117.1 IP, 113 H (16 HR), 109 K, 44 BB, 3.84 ERA
Best Fit: Boston Red Sox
Plot twist! Because in this context, we're talking about Lance Lynn as a closer.
Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, this concept interests "several clubs" around MLB. And it makes some sense. Lynn had one of the best fastballs of 2024 even though he only sat at 92.3 mph. It could be even better with an extra tick or two of velocity.
Plus, nobody can say Lynn doesn't have a closer's mentality. Never mind the mound. The dude treats the entire field as if he owns it.
What makes the Red Sox an interesting fit for Lynn is that they're one of the only contenders in MLB that lacks a clear answer at closer.
Kenley Jansen was that guy in 2023 and 2024, but he's in Anaheim now. The role is basically up for grabs, with Liam Hendriks, Aroldis Chapman and Justin Slaten among those vying for it this spring.
There's no downside to throwing a wild card into the mix, least of all one with as much upside as Lynn.
Potential Contract: 1 year, $5 million
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DH J.D. Martinez
4 of 7
Age: 37
2024 Stats: 120 G, 495 PA, 16 HR, 0 SB, .235 AVG, .320 OBP, .406 SLG
Best Fit: Cincinnati Reds
The Reds had a decent enough offense in 2024, but it was weak at DH. In the end, the guys they used there were 39 percent worse than average.
Rather than find a solution for the problem during the winter, the Reds pretty much turned the DH spot into more of a question mark. The spot hypothetically belongs to Gavin Lux, but he'll surely fill more of a utility role.
So, why not call J.D. Martinez?
Yes, he's older. And yes, he endured a rough finish to 2024. Yet he remained capable of putting a jolt into the ball, ranking in the 94th percentile for his barrel rate.
The Reds are better positioned than most teams to harness Martinez's remaining power, and that has everything to do with Great American Ball Park. It is one of the great power paradises in MLB.
Martinez himself is mindful of park effects, so it might not take much to sell him on GABP if the Reds do reach out. As for selling him on the team, they should just reuse whatever pitch they made to Terry Francona.
Potential Contract: 1 year, $10 million
LHP José Quintana
5 of 7
Age: 36
2024 Stats: 31 G, 31 GS, 170.1 IP, 150 H (22 HR), 135 K, 63 BB, 3.75 ERA
Best Fit: New York Mets
If the Mets had a weakness coming into spring training, it was their starting pitching.
It's only projected to produce 11.2 WAR this year, and that is assuming 1.2 WAR on the part of $34 million signee Frankie Montas. He's already down with a lat injury that could potentially sideline him for the first month of the season.
With Montas out for the foreseeable future, the Mets are left to hope that Kodai Senga can stay healthy, that Clay Holmes' transition to the rotation goes smoothly and that they get literally anything from Paul Blackburn and Griffin Cannin.
It's a lot of uncertainty. Enough, even, to make the Mets realize it's not too late to bring back José Quintana.
He was the unsung hero of the Mets' surprisingly effective 2024 rotation, and there's no reason to think he can't keep it up. Though he's 36, he's been durable throughout his career and he remains capable of getting ground balls.
It is possible that Quintana will be more costly than the other starters we've covered so far, but that shouldn't deter the Mets from going after him. Even after $1 billion in offseason spending, their payroll is still down relative to 2024.
Potential Contract: 1 year, $12 million
RHP David Robertson
6 of 7
Age: 39
2024 Stats: 68 G, 72.0 IP, 53 H (5 HR), 99 K, 27 BB, 3.00 ERA
Best Fit: Detroit Tigers
The Tigers? Again?
Yes, but there's a reason we're prodding them again. It has to do with a January 23 report from Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, which stated that the Tigers were interested in signing a "high-leverage reliever with experience as a closer."
This was before Detroit signed Tommy Kahnle, but he lacks experience as a closer. He has eight saves in 10 seasons, or as many as Emmanuel Clase had before the end of April 2024.
Hence David Robertson, whose exploits perhaps don't need an introduction.
Assuming he eventually signs, he's heading into what will be his 17th major league season. And though the bulk of his 177 saves happened between 2014 and 2016, that does not reflect a decline in ability.
Robertson has been 44 percent better than average overall and he's still going strong. The .202 average he allowed in 2024 was right in line with his career norm of .205.
Potential Contract: 1 year, $10 million
LF Alex Verdugo
7 of 7
Age: 28
2024 Stats: 149 G, 621 PA, 13 HR, 2 SB, .233 AVG, .291 OBP, .356 SLG
Best Fit: Kansas City Royals
Offensively, at least, the Royals' outfield was a disaster in 2024.
It produced only a .222 average and was 21 percent worse than average on the whole. Left field was particularly hopeless, mustering a .212 average and finishing 25 percent worse than average.
It is possible that newcomer Jonathan India will be a solution in left field. But rather than put all their chips on that number, the Royals have nothing to lose by reaching out to Alex Verdugo.
He had a rough offensive year in his own right in 2024, but he at least landed in the 88th percentile for strikeout rate. He traditionally has a line-drive stroke that would play well vis-à-vis Kauffman Stadium's big outfield.
Verdugo is also still a capable defender in the outfield. He posted plus-2 Outs Above Average as a left fielder in 2024, and that catch in Game 1 of the World Series would loom a lot larger if it hadn't been for Freddie Freeman.
This is a lot more than can be said about MJ Melendez, who is among MLB's worst left fielders for the last three seasons.
Potential Contract: 1 year, $6 million
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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