Updated 2025 MLB Free Agent Predictions on Top Stars Available
Some of the best hitters in the game headline the list of impending MLB Free Agents, including a current MVP contender, a fan-favorite, and a second-generation baller with a penchant for getting on base.
Who are they and where might they land this off-season, if they do, in fact, leave their current teams?
Find out with these predictions for top stars available in MLB free agency this year.
Pete Alonso, First Baseman, New York Mets
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Alonso is currently signed to a two-year deal with the Mets that carries an opt-out clause, one the Polar Bear is almost certain to exercise this off-season. The 30-year-old first baseman is hitting .271 with 37 home runs, 123 RBI, and an OPS of .866, all while on a relatively low $27 million per-year deal.
He will opt out and look for a better contract, be that with the Mets or elsewhere. He is on the older side, and is a right hander at first, but he has come through in the biggest moments of the season for New York, including a walk-off home run that halted a disastrous eight-game skid late in the season.
Synonymous with the Mets since his arrival in 2019, it would feel rather wrong for Alonso to call anywhere but Queens home, even if he would be a fit in Boston or San Francisco and would almost certainly get big offers from either of those two clubs.
Alonso has already expressed his desire to stay in the Big Apple. Considering the two sides were able to come to an agreement last year, and the Mets have the money to finish any deal they want, the former Florida Gator staying put feels like the eventual outcome.
Prediction: Alonso stays in New York
Bo Bichette, Shortstop, Toronto Blue Jays
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After an uncharacteristically mediocre 2024, Bichette bounced back in Toronto this season, hitting .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBI, and an OPS of .840. He created six runs per 27 outs and was a driving force behind the Blue Jays' playoff push.
More importantly, he is really the only notable shortstop hitting the market this off-season, increasing his value for teams in need at the position.
The question is whether Toronto, which already has invested 14 years and $500 million in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., will push the payroll to unforeseen levels, especially considering the need at starting pitching, where Chris Bassitt is a free agent this off-season.
Will Bichette even remain at shortstop, where he has struggled defensively, to put it lightly? Or will a team in need of a first or third baseman seize the opportunity to offer him a sizeable deal to switch positions?
On the one hand, it would seem rather unlikely that he leaves Toronto, given how important he was offensively to the team's rejuvenation this season. However, money and the potential for a positional shift could lead the second-generation player away from the Blue Jays.
Prediction: Bichette stays in Toronto, earns near Willy Adames' $180 million
Kyle Schwarber, Designated Hitter, Philadelphia Phillies
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The 32-year-old DH has dropped Schwarbombs on opponents all season, earning National League MVP consideration with 56 as of September 26. He has been a game-changing hitter, a player seeing the ball better than at any point in his career and aiding the Phillies in becoming a legitimate World Series favorite.
But will he remain in the City of Brotherly Love beyond the end of 2025?
Schwarber is a free agent after the season and, much like Alonso in New York, the idea of seeing the explosive hitter in another jersey is unfathomable. He has become as synonymous with the Phillies as Bryce Harper and may even be more valuable than the face of the franchise at this point.
The question is whether Philly will fork over the money, projected by ESPN insiders to be as much as $200 million, or let him walk?
If so, what other team may be interested?
Do not sleep on his former team, the Cubs, who may be interested in bringing the 2016 World Series champion home, especially if they cannot strike a deal with Kyle Tucker.
Prediction: Philadelphia retains Schwarber on a huge, potentially near-record deal
