MLB Free Agents Who Could Become Superstars on New Teams in 2026
The MLB free-agent market could be less than a week from opening, and there actually are players who should stick right where they're at if they can help it.
For one example, Cody Bellinger need only look at his .909 OPS at Yankee Stadium to know that he should want to remain in pinstripes. For another, Josh Naylor was a tremendous fit as a Seattle Mariner, and he might be the only hitter alive who actually likes T-Mobile Park.
There are other free agents, however, who absolutely should look elsewhere for not only greater riches, but potentially greater star power.
This is not so much about guys who will be stars no matter where they land, such as Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber or Alex Bregman. It's about guys who need a new ballpark or other change of scenery, or perhaps different coaching. Some guys just plain need a new vibe as well.
These are the guys we're interested in talking about today, so let's look more closely at eight in particular. We'll check them off in alphabetical order.
RHP Zac Gallen
1 of 8
Age: 30
2025 Team: Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 Stats: 33 GS, 192.0 IP, 176 H (31 HR), 175 K, 66 BB, 4.83 ERA
Obviously, Gallen is not a nobody. As recently as 2023, he was an All-Star and a Cy Young Award finalist for a Diamondbacks squad that went to the World Series.
Yet Gallen has had a rough go of things over the last two years, and especially so this season. Though he did recover somewhat in the second half, he still ended up with the eighth-highest ERA among qualified starters.
Gallen's fastball velocity is holding relatively strong at 93.5 mph, but walks and home runs are much bigger problems for him than they used to be. He also failed to contain left-handed batters in 2025, as they had a career-high .748 OPS against him.
One can only go so far on pinning any of these issues on the Diamondbacks or Chase Field, but the latter does lean hitter-friendly. Further, somebody in the organization probably should have figured out what was wrong with his knuckle-curveball before it went from his greatest strength to his biggest liability.
Best Fit: Texas Rangers
The Rangers are facing "financial uncertainty" this winter, but they also have a ton of salary coming off their books and are very much in need of a starter. Simply to these ends, they and Gallen are a match.
Otherwise, Globe Life Field is more forgiving than Chase Field, and pitching coach Mike Maddux is coming off a season in which he guided Rangers starters to a league-best 3.41 ERA. He's just the guy Gallen should want to work with.
CF Trent Grisham
2 of 8
Age: 28
2025 Team: New York Yankees
2025 Stats: 143 G, 581 PA, 34 HR, 3 SB, .235 AVG, .348 OBP, .464 SLG
As good as Trent Grisham was this year, there's only so much anyone can stand out when sharing a lineup with Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Simply on that account, he stands to raise his profile by leaving the Yankees this winter. And while you would think it would be a bad move given how well his offensive approach — i.e., few swings but lots of pulled fly balls — profiles at Yankee Stadium, there's a twist.
Whereas Grisham had a .904 OPS and 21 homers on the road this season, he only had a .702 OPS and 13 homers at home. It's totally counterintuitive, though it's possible that the short right-field porch got in his head a little.
Grisham was indeed a little too pull-happy at Yankee Stadium, whereas he used more of the whole field on the road and benefited accordingly. As such, he may fit better at a home park that is also power-friendly, but in a more neutral way.
Best Fit: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have to switch things up with their roster, and they would do well to start with an outfield that produced only 2.1 rWAR this year. With Harrison Bader looking at free agency and Nick Castellanos likely on the outs, they certainly have a window to do so.
Grisham would fit nicely in center field in Philadelphia, and Citizens Bank Park needs no introduction as a hitter's haven. For lefties in particular, it's the best home run park in the league.
RHP Zack Littell
3 of 8
Age: 30
2025 Teams: Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds
2025 Stats: 32 GS, 186.2 IP, 174 H (36 HR), 130 K, 32 BB, 3.81 ERA
Given how many home runs he gave up, it's amazing that Zack Littell had as good a year as he did in 2025. Yet to be fair, he had a good excuse.
In pitching for the Rays and Reds this year, both of the parks he called home were among MLB's 10 most homer-friendly stadiums. And he felt that, as he gave up a long ball every 19.1 at-bats at home compared to every 20.4 at-bats on the road.
If Littell were to go to a place where he wouldn't be under constant threat of the long ball, it figures that his other qualities would play up.
Consistency is one, as he narrowly missed out on this year's top 10 for innings pitched. The other is his command, as he's finished near the 100th percentile with his walk rate in each of the last three seasons.
Best Fit: San Francisco Giants
Littell already knows the Giants well, as he played for them in 2021 and 2022 before bouncing around and ultimately making something of himself with the Rays.
They need another solid starter to put behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, and Oracle Park could only help get Littell's home run issues under control. Per Statcast, he would have only given up 26 homers this year if San Francisco had been his home base.
.png?w=256)
RHP Dustin May
4 of 8
Age: 28
2025 Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox
2025 Stats: 25 G, 23 GS, 132.1 IP, 132 H (21 HR), 123 K, 56 BB, 4.96 ERA
Even after all the hell he's been through physically, Dustin May still throws in the mid-90s with a sinker and sweeper that are the stuff of GIF legend.
How does a guy like this put up a 4.96 ERA in 2025? You can start with how he was owned by left-handed batters, who got to him for a .852 OPS and 15 of his 21 home runs.
May lacks a reliable pitch against left-handed batters, which needs to change. He does have a changeup that he only breaks out on rare occasions, yet an enterprising pitching coach might be able to make something of it.
Otherwise, a new home ballpark wouldn't hurt either. May called Dodger Stadium and Fenway Park home this year, and neither is very forgiving for guys who lack swing-and-miss like he does.
Best Fit: Detroit Tigers
A move to Detroit would at least solve the ballpark issue, as Comerica Park is tough on hitters of all stripes.
Otherwise, no team threw more offspeed pitches than the Tigers in 2025. A lot of that was Tarik Skubal and Tommy Kahnle, but they're just two of many Tigers hurlers who feature a primary offspeed pitch of some kind. As such, May could learn something both from them and from pitching coach Chris Fetter.
LHP Ranger Suárez
5 of 8
Age: 30
2025 Team: Philadelphia Phillies
2025 Stats: 26 GS, 157.1 IP, 154 H (14 HR), 151 K, 38 BB, 3.20 ERA
Ranger Suárez obviously did just fine in his eight years with the Phillies, yet even he got burned by Citizens Bank Park's hitter-friendliness:
- Home: 3.68 ERA
- Road: 3.09 ERA
This alone makes one wonder what he could do in a more forgiving home stadium, and then there's the potential for Suárez to really get the most out of his ground-ball style.
He was in the 76th percentile with his ground-ball rate this year, yet it was for a Phillies team that allowed the 10th-highest average on ground balls. Out of their primary infielders, only Trea Turner was above-average for Defensive Runs Saved.
Best Fit: Toronto Blue Jays
With Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt ticketed for free agency this winter, the Blue Jays figure to be in the market for at least one starting pitcher.
Having Suárez as a No. 3 behind Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage would give the Blue Jays an embarrassment of riches on paper, and the fit would be dandy on the field, too. Rogers Centre is more neutral than Citizens Bank Park, and losing Bo Bichette to free agency would be addition by subtraction for Toronto's infield defense.
2B Gleyber Torres
6 of 8
Age: 28
2025 Team: Detroit Tigers
2025 Stats: 145 G, 628 PA, 16 HR, 4 SB, .256 AVG, .358 OBP, .387 SLG
Gleyber Torres badly needed a fresh start away from the Yankees in 2025, yet the one he got with the Tigers only kind of worked.
He did make the AL All-Star team for the first time in 2019, and he was among the biggest gainers in xwOBA relative to 2024. Yet the results weren't really there at the end of the year, he only marginally improved over his previous season.
Despite Comerica Park's dimensions, Torres was actually a lot better at home (.829 OPS) than he was on the road (.664 OPS). And yet, he might have done even better with home cooking if he'd played somewhere else.
Torres' power profile was more up the middle of the field in 2025, which is a bad way to hit the ball in Detroit. The center-field fence is 412 feet away, and Torres knows now that this can result in even 400-foot flyouts.
Best Fit: Cincinnati Reds
It's never easy to count on the Reds to spend in free agency, but they should want to after their offense barely carried an outstanding pitching staff in 2025.
After producing just a .652 OPS, second base is crying out for an upgrade the likes of which Torres could provide. And he'd love hitting at Great American Ball Park, which is about as friendly as they come to sluggers.
RHP Luke Weaver
7 of 8
Age: 32
2025 Team: New York Yankees
2025 Stats: 64 G, 64.2 IP, 46 H (10 HR), 72 K, 20 BB, 3.62 ERA
In all fairness, Luke Weaver never came close to stardom until he joined the Yankees and pitched his way into the closer's role last year.
Yet he may have grander aspirations. He is specifically open to becoming a starting pitcher again, which he called "the best job in the big leagues." And if he does sign somewhere as a starter, he'd be the second ex-Yankees reliever to do so in as many offseasons.
What makes this such an interesting scenario is that Weaver has not been a righty specialist as a reliever. He learned to dominate left-handed batters, holding them to an OPS in the .500s in each of the last two years.
This was mostly a matter of aggressively attacking them with his changeup, an approach that should still work in a starting role. He would just need another look against righties, for which a new sweeper would be in order.
Best Fit: Athletics
This is perhaps a stretch, as we don't know if the A's are again positioned to make it rain revenue-sharing dollars like they did on Luis Severino last winter.
They are only a functional pitching staff away from being a contender, however, and Weaver could be their best hope at adding an impact starter on a price they can afford. And given that they led the league in sweepers this year, he'd have many people to turn to for tips on how to throw a good one.
RHP Devin Williams
8 of 8
Age: 31
2025 Team: New York Yankees
2025 Stats: 67 G, 62.0 IP, 45 H (5 HR), 90 K, 25 BB, 4.79 ERA
Devin Williams was arguably the best reliever in baseball between 2022 and 2024, posting a 1.66 ERA and allowing only 67 hits in 141 innings.
It wasn't until September that this guy showed up for the Yankees in 2025, as Williams ended the year with nine straight scoreless outings in which he struck out 12 and walked only two. Prior to that, he had a 5.60 ERA.
How much blame the Yankees deserve is hard to suss out, and the answer may well be none. He pitched fine at Yankee Stadium, and it's not as if the team had him doing anything outside his comfort zone.
What is true either way is that Williams got hit a lot harder this year, which is easy to trace back to how he used his signature "Airbender" changeup. He threw too many in the strike zone, whereas the strength of that pitch lies in getting hitters to expand.
Best Fit: Los Angeles Dodgers
Williams said this month that he's open to returning to the Yankees, though his preference is to sign with a team as a closer. Given the presence of David Bednar, that could complicate a reunion.
Instead, how about the superpower on the other coast? Unless the Dodgers are going to keep Roki Sasaki in their bullpen — which seems unlikely — they're going to need to fix what is still a shaky relief corps even now in the World Series.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
.png?w=480)
