MLB Free Agents 2025 Rumors, Predictions Before AL, NL Wild Card Games
The MLB playoffs are upon us with the beginning of the AL and NL Wild Card games and while the best teams remaining are chasing a World Series, other squads shut out of the postseason are looking to the future and the free agents who they hope can carry them to the promised land.
This year's class is not brimming with as many superstars as in recent memory, but there are a few hot commodities who teams will have their eyes on as they look to build a championship-contending squad.
What is the latest on impending free agents and what position figures to see the most action?
Find out with this collection of insider reports.
Seattle Will Try to Re-Sign Josh Naylor
1 of 3
The American League West champion Seattle Mariners traded for Josh Naylor earlier this season and benefited exponentially. The first baseman tallied 58 hits in 54 games, blasted nine home runs, drove in another 33, and finished the season with a .295 batting average.
Above all, he helped the team build momentum and win its first division crown in 24 years, with a legitimate shot at competing for a World Series title.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that "The Mariners will make every attempt to sign Naylor as a free agent this winter."
Rightfully so. Not only is he a solid hitter, but he also managed to steal 19 bases in his time with Seattle and was not caught once. His timing at the plate and on the bags has been fantastic.
Nightengale noted that the Cincinnati Reds were close to pulling off a trade for Naylor before Seattle got the deal done and the Reds, back in the playoffs and looking to make it an annual occurrence, would almost certainly be in the hunt for the 28-year-old this offseason.
Depending on how deep the Mariners go in the playoffs, and Naylor's success with the squad, it would be difficult to imagine him not wanting to run it back with a team that has some of the best young pitching in the game, a superstar in Julio Rodriguez, and the great Cal Raleigh behind home plate.
Prediction: Naylor stays in Seattle
Orioles Will Aggressively Pursue Pitching
2 of 3
The Baltimore Orioles missed the playoffs in 2025, a feat that can be attributed to an injury list a mile long and the same starting pitching woes that have plagued them for years.
Dean Kremer was the ironman of the Orioles' rotation, pitching 171.2 innings and accumulating a 4.19 ERA. Tomoyuki Sugano was so-so in his first season with a 4.64 ERA, Zach Eflin was injured more than not, and Cade Povich did Cade Povich things by allowing 65 earned runs.
Trevor Rodgers proved to be an ace in his 18 appearances, throwing 109.2 innings for an ERA of 1.81, but also faced injuries.
The team may have its star in Rodgers but it still badly needs another starter to go along with Kremer and Sugano, even more so considering Eflin is a free agent this offseason.
Nightengale reported that the Orioles "will be the most aggressive team looking for pitching this winter."
As they should be.
The team has a young nucleus in the form of Sam Basallo, Gunner Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holiday, Coby Mayo, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg, and Dylan Beavers. Adding a piece or two to the rotation, or improving the bullpen, would go a long way in re-establishing the O's as a legitimate title contender.
Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, and Zac Gallen headline the free agent market this offseason and while any of them would be welcome additions in Baltimore and the type of player that would inspire excitement within the fan base, Mike Elias and the Orioles' front office tend to like to look toward the second or third tiers to find their answers.
Chris Bassitt of Toronto, Tyler Mahle or Merrill Kelly of Texas, or Nestor Cortes of Milwaukee would fit their tendencies, as we saw last offseason with the signing of Charlie Morton.
Prediction: Orioles land a new starter and two bullpen pieces
Other Teams in on Starting Pitching
3 of 3
The busy Nightengale also noted that the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers will also be seeking starting pitching in the offseason.
Cease is the most intriguing player on the market. He had a down season, for sure, but he can still throw some absolutely filthy stuff, as evidenced by his 215 strikeouts. He is not the Cy Young-caliber pitcher he was a season ago, or at his peak in Chicago, but the tools are there for him to rekindle that level of play and become an elite thrower again.
With the Mets badly in need of a starter, he would seemingly fit the bill. The Braves, too, as they look to shake off two uncharacteristically bad seasons and get back to playing playoff baseball.
The most intriguing landing spot for Cease would be the Cubs, if for no other reason than Chicago still feels like it is a starter away from being a legitimate World Series threat.
Considering the senses of urgency in both New York and Atlanta, though, and the desperate need for starting pitchers in both of NL East clubhouses, one would assume other organizations would have to work hard to wrestle him away from them.
Valdez and even Lucas Giolito are options for other pitching-needy teams.
Prediction: Cease signs with Atlanta and attempts to rejuvenate his play and their playoff chances
.png?w=256)
.png?w=480)
