Best Potential Bargain Signing at Each Position in 2025-26 MLB Free Agency
It's the star players and $100 million contracts that grab headlines during the offseason, but the upgrades teams make on the margins with bargain signings can also move the needle over the course of a long season.
Teams are always hunting for value, hoping a player will outperform his contract, and ahead we've highlighted the best potential bargain signing at each position on this year's free-agent market.
All of these players have flaws, but there is also reason to believe that each of them can be a positive contributor to a contending team who provides value beyond his modest cost.
Catcher: Reese McGuire
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Age: 30
Stats: 44 G, 140 PA, .226/.245/.444, 11 XBH (9 HR), 24 RBI
WAR: 0.3
With Miguel Amaya sidelined for most of the 2025 season, the Cubs turned to Reese McGuire to fill the backup catcher role behind Carson Kelly, and it ended up being a better-than-expected tandem for a 92-win team.
McGuire slugged a career-high nine home runs in only 140 plate appearances, while also doing a solid job behind the dish, throwing out 8-of-31 base stealers and allowing zero passed balls.
Anything beyond the role he filled in 2025 would likely lead to him being overexposed, but he is the rare backup catcher with legitimate two-way value as a solid defender with playable pop.
First Baseman: Michael Toglia
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Age: 27
Stats: 88 G, 337 PA, .190/.258/.353, 27 XBH (11 HR), 32 RBI
WAR: -1.7
Getting demoted to the minors and then designated for assignment by a Colorado Rockies team that lost 119 games is not a great look, but Michael Toglia still has some upside.
While he struggled mightily at the MLB level in 2025, he is just a year removed from a 25-homer, 2.2-WAR campaign where he posted some loud batted-ball metrics. He also hit .331/.401/.624 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI in 42 games at Triple-A after he was optioned to the minors.
He is always going to strike out a bunch, and he's a poor defender at first base, but it's not impossible to believe a change of scenery could lead to something similar to what Rowdy Tellez has provided for teams in recent years.
If Toglia does turn things around, he is controllable through the 2029 season, which further adds to his buy-low appeal.
Second Baseman: Brendan Rodgers
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Age: 29
Stats: 43 G, 128 PA, .191/.266/.278, 6 XBH (2 HR), 11 RBI
WAR: 0.0
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft and the NL Gold Glove winner at second base during a 4.3-WAR season in 2022, Brendan Rodgers has not lived up to lofty expectations, but he has shown flashes of being an impact player.
The Astros signed him to a one-year, $2 million deal last offseason after he was non-tendered by the Rockies, and he was the starting second baseman on Opening Day, but injuries ended up limiting him to only 43 games.
His offensive numbers don't give much reason for a second look, but a peek at his batted-ball metrics reveals he posted career-best marks in average exit velocity (90.5 mph), hard-hit rate (48.6 percent), barrel rate (14.3 percent) and launch angle (10.8 degrees).
Add to that the fact that he is still only 29 years old, and he has more upside than his 2025 season suggests.
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Third Baseman: Andy Ibáñez
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Age: 32
Stats: 91 G, 193 PA, .239/.301/.352, 12 XBH (4 HR), 21 RBI
WAR: 0.6
Andy Ibáñez is not a viable everyday option at the hot corner, but he has been an extremely valuable bench piece for the Detroit Tigers the last two seasons while seeing sporadic action at first base, second base and third base.
He led the majors with 12 pinch hits in 2025, and tied for second in with 10 in 2024, doing the bulk of his damage against left-handed pitching with a .280 average and .778 OPS in 548 career plate appearances against southpaws.
The Tigers non-tendered him as a result of their glut of infield options and a roster crunch on the bench, but he can be an excellent final piece of the bench puzzle for a contending team.
Shortstop: Jorge Mateo
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Age: 30
Stats: 42 G, 83 PA, .177/.217/.266, 5 XBH (1 HR), 3 RBI
WAR: -0.6
Jorge Mateo is not far removed from being the Orioles' starting shortstop during the 2022 season, when he filled up the stat sheet with 25 doubles, 13 home runs, 50 RBI, 63 runs scored and an AL-leading 35 steals in a 3.7-WAR season.
In the three years since posting those career-best numbers, he has filled more of a utility role due to the emergence of guys such as Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday, and injuries limited him to 110 games the last two seasons.
His lack of on-base ability limits his appeal as an everyday option, but his plus speed, solid glove at shortstop and added ability to play center field make him an attractive bench piece with Jon Berti-type upside.
Outfielder: Lane Thomas
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Age: 30
Stats: 39 G, 142 PA, .160/.246/.272, 6 XBH (4 HR), 11 RBI
WAR: -0.6
Lane Thomas was one of the biggest breakout stars of the 2023 season, hitting .268/.315/.468 with 36 doubles, 28 home runs, 86 RBI, 101 runs scored and 20 steals in a 3.3-WAR season for the Washington Nationals.
His production dipped the following season, but he still brought back a high-ceiling pitching prospect in Alex Clemmey as part of a three-player package when he was traded to the Guardians at the 2024 deadline.
Expected to be the team's everyday center fielder in 2025, he instead played just 39 games and missed the entire second half of the season after undergoing surgery to address nagging plantar fasciitis.
Now, Thomas profiles as one of the more intriguing reclamation projects on the market, likely to be available on a one-year deal.
Designated Hitter: Wilmer Flores
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Age: 34
Stats: 125 G, 463 PA, .241/.307/.379, 26 XBH (16 HR), 71 RBI
WAR: 0.3
With 16 home runs and a career-high 71 RBI, Wilmer Flores showed he still has plenty left in the tank while serving as the primary designated hitter and occasional first baseman for the San Francisco Giants.
His run production numbers were pumped up by an impressive .333/.395/.546 line over 124 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and that alone should be enough to land him a big league deal this winter.
At the very least, Flores could fill a role similar to the one Justin Turner did with the Chicago Cubs last season, pairing with a left-handed hitting first baseman or designated hitter who does not fare well against lefties.
Starting Pitcher: Anthony Kay
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Editor's note: Article was written prior to Kay signing a two-year, $12 million contract with the Chicago White Sox
Age: 30
Stats (Japan): 24 G, 1.74 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 41 BB, 130 K, 155.0 IP
Once upon a time, Anthony Kay was the No. 31 overall pick in the 2016 draft, a top prospect in the New York Mets farm system and one of the prospect pieces traded to the Blue Jays to acquire Marcus Stroman at the 2019 deadline.
However, he struggled to carve out a role in the big leagues, posting a 5.59 ERA in 85.1 innings over parts of five seasons before heading overseas and joining the Yokohama Bay Stars in the Japanese League for the 2024 season.
A strong 2024 (148.1 IP, 3.28 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 129 K) and even better 2025 have set him up for a stateside return, and while he is not generating the same level of buzz as Tatsuya Imai, Cody Ponce, Kona Takahashi and others poised to make that same jump, he could be a solid low-cost option at the back of the rotation.
Swingman: Sean Newcomb
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Age: 32
Stats: 48 G, 5 GS, 2.73 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 31 BB, 91 K, 92.1 IP
WAR: 1.6
Sean Newcomb was a Top 100 prospect prior to the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, and during that time, he was traded from the Los Angeles Angels to the Atlanta Braves as part of the deal that sent Andrelton Simmons the other way.
After flaming out as a starter and navigating a variety of injuries, he resurfaced last spring and won a spot in a banged-up Boston Red Sox rotation out of camp, posting a 3.95 ERA in 41 innings over five starts and seven relief appearances.
Once the rotation got healthy, he was traded to the Athletics for cash considerations, and he was fantastic out of their bullpen with a 1.75 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 8.8 K/9 in 36 appearances.
Newcomb will generate interest as both a starter and reliever who has a real chance to outperform his contract, and his best fit might be in a swingman role where he does a bit of both as needed.
Relief Pitcher: Tyler Kinley
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Age: 34
Stats: 73 G, 14 HLD, 3.96 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 33 BB, 73 K, 72.2 IP
WAR: 1.4
One of the better under-the-radar trade deadline pickups of the summer was the Atlanta Braves acquiring Tyler Kinley from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for 26-year-old minor league reliever Austin Smith.
In 24 appearances after the trade, Kinley logged a 0.72 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 7.9 K/9 with six holds, but the Braves opted for a $750,000 buyout rather than exercising his $5 million club option at the start of the offseason.
With 21 career saves, including a team-high 12 during the 2024 season, Kinley has some late-inning experience and flashed the potential to be an impact bullpen arm once he finally got out of Colorado.
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