Re-Grading MLB Free Agency's Biggest Contracts From Last Offseason
So far this offseason, Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, Ranger Suárez and Dylan Cease have all signed massive contracts in free agency, with Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez still on the board.
Obviously, when teams make these major investments, they hope to get a massive return. As we know, though, the success rate on major free-agent deals is far less than 100 percent.
To that end, let's regrade some of the biggest contracts from last year's free agent cycle, which are all over the map in terms of early returns.
Max Fried, New York Yankees
1 of 10
Contract: Eight years, $218 million
Grade: A-
Despite getting shelled to the tune of seven earned runs over just three innings pitched against the Toronto Blue Jays in ALDS Game 2, Max Fried's first season in pinstripes was overwhelmingly successful.
Fried was an All-Star for the third time in his career, won his fourth Gold Glove Award and finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting after going 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA across a career-high 195.1 innings pitched. In a year where the Yankees didn't have Gerrit Cole because he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, Fried stepped up and had a Cole-esque season.
The only reason this is an A- as opposed to A or A+ is that Fried is entering his age-32 season and still has seven years left on his contract. There's a chance that the end of this pact doesn't go great, though the first season was tremendous.
Jurickson Profar, Atlanta Braves
2 of 10
Contract: Three years, $42 million
Grade: C-
When Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games on March 31 following a failed performance-enhancing drug test, it appeared that his deal with the Braves was destined to be a disaster.
To his credit, he still put up good numbers over 80 games, with all but four of those contests coming after he served his suspension. In 371 plate appearances, the switch hitter clubbed 14 home runs, drove in 43 runs, walked 48 times and posted a .787 OPS. If you project those numbers out over a full season, they're really good.
Profar was, in a weird way, bailed out by the Braves missing the playoffs, as he would have been ineligible for the postseason despite returning for nearly half the regular season after serving his 80-game suspension.
However, if he hits how he did when he was available this past season, Atlanta will have a strong chance to return to the playoffs in 2026.
Corbin Burnes, Arizona Diamondbacks
3 of 10
Contract: Six years, $210 million with player opt-out available after 2026
Grade: D
In today's game, if you sign a pitcher to a long-term contract, you know there's a good chance at some point during the deal, they are going to need a major surgery. It's not ideal when that procedure has to take place after just 11 starts, though.
Burnes may not have been pitching like he did in 2021 when he won the NL Cy Young Award as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, but before his right UCL blew out, he had a 2.66 ERA and 3.94 FIP. He was pitching pretty well, and when you consider that the Diamondbacks nearly made the playoffs even after selling at the trade deadline, it's fair to think the Snakes might have stayed alive longer if Burnes was healthy.
Alas, Burnes underwent Tommy John surgery in June, which not only ended his 2025 campaign, but will cost him much (if not all) of 2026. Right now, the only certainty that the Diamondbacks have with the four-time All-Star is that he won't be exercising his opt-out clause next winter.
Pete Alonso, New York Mets
4 of 10
Contract: Two years, $54 million deal with player opt-out available after 2025
Grade: C
There's two ways to look at this.
On one hand, the Mets paid Alonso $30.2 million in 2025 and got excellent production, as he led the NL with 41 doubles, homered 38 times, drove in 126 runs and posted an .871 OPS. He also broke the franchise's all-time home run record in August.
On the other hand, Alonso opted out of his contract in the winter, and bolted for a five-year, $155 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles, leaving the Mets empty-handed because he wasn't eligible for the qualifying offer after being saddled with it the prior offseason.
By all accounts, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns didn't want to make a long-term investment in Alonso, who is probably headed towards being a DH in the future.
But there are only a handful of players who hit 40 home runs and drive in 100-plus runs just about every year, and the Mets just let one walk out the door. They clearly don't believe this, but giving Alonso six years last winter probably would have been their best long-term path.
Teoscar Hernández, Los Angeles Dodgers
5 of 10
Contract: Three years, $66 million
Grade: B-
It's hard to be negative when Teoscar Hernández has two World Series titles in as many seasons with the Dodgers. He hit a crucial NLDS Game 1 homer against the Philadelphia Phillies, and does have quite a bit of value as a run producer on a team with so many stars hitting in front of him.
Still, Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported in December that the Dodgers were "kicking the tires" on a trade of Hernández. While his OPS did drop 102 points from .840 in 2024 to .738 in 2025, the biggest problem is he really doesn't fit their lineup defensively.
Hernández did post one defensive run saved in over 1,100 regular-season innings in right field last season, but minus-nine outs above average. If you watched Hernández in the outfield, you're inclined to say the second metric is more indicative of what he is in right field.
The problem is that there's not an obvious spot to move Hernández. Shohei Ohtani is entrenched at DH, as is Freddie Freeman at first base. Dave Roberts did acknowledge the Dodgers might use Hernández in left field in 2026, although he has minus-14 DRS and minus-19 OAA at that spot in his career.
Moving forward, the Dodgers are relying on Hernández to be so valuable offensively that he overcomes his defensive shortcomings.
Willy Adames, San Francisco Giants
6 of 10
Contract: Seven years, $182 million
Grade: C+
Willy Adames had a pretty concerning start to his tenure with the Giants, posting just a .680 OPS in his first half in San Francisco. However, he rebounded in a major way after the All-Star Break, posting an .828 OPS and becoming the first Giants player to hit 30 home runs in a season since Barry Bonds (!!) did so in 2004.
Still, the jury remains out on Adames' contract. He provided power production for the Giants, but hit just .220 with a .740 OPS. While he bounced back from a disastrous contract year defensively, the two major metrics were still torn on his work over 1,389.2 innings at shortstop, as he posted minus-2 defensive runs saved but five outs above average.
Give Adames credit, he played in 160 of 162 games. He brings an energy that's infectious. In the second half of the season, he was an All-Star level hitter. It's just that the Giants are paying him to be a borderline great player, and he didn't reach that standard when you account for his full season.
Anthony Santander, Toronto Blue Jays
7 of 10
Contract: Five years, $92.5 million with player opt-out available after 2027
Grade: F
If the Blue Jays could undo their deal with Anthony Santander, they would.
2025 was essentially a lost year for Santander, with a left shoulder injury limiting him to just 54 regular-season games. Santander hit just .175 with a .565 OPS in 221 plate appearances during his first season north of the border.
Santander returned during the waning days of the regular season, but ultimately had to be removed from the postseason roster when he sustained a back injury during the ALCS.
It's not that there isn't time for Santander to bounce back, but the margins were always so thin for him. Even when he hit 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, he still only posted a .308 on-base percentage. If he's not hitting at least 30 home runs and driving in 90-plus runs, he doesn't bring a ton else to the table.
Admittedly, Santander's deal wasn't one that we liked at the time, so this may be a bit of confirmation bias. But it's hard to feel good about the four remaining seasons on the former All-Star's contract.
Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers
8 of 10
Contract: Five years, $182 million
Grade: B+
This deal looked destined to receive a bad mark when left shoulder inflammation sidelined Snell for nearly four months during his first campaign with the Dodgers.
With that said, he was tremendous when he returned in early August. Snell obviously didn't expect to only make 11 starts during the regular season, but the two-time Cy Young Award winner made those outings count, posting a 2.35 ERA, 2.69 FIP and 10.6 K/9.
When the playoffs arrived, Snell did his best to make the world not associate him most with getting pulled early in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. He wasn't quite as good as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but Snell posted a 3.18 ERA over 34 postseason innings. He was especially dominant during three starts in the NL playoffs, allowing just six total hits over 21 innings.
Obviously, the Dodgers need more than 11 starts a season from Snell moving forward, but they wouldn't have a second World Series title in a row without having added him.
Juan Soto, New York Mets
9 of 10
Contract: 15 years, $765 million with player opt-out available after 2029
Grade: A
Pundits couldn't wait to bury Juan Soto when he didn't get off to a lightning fast start with the Mets.
But when you looked up at the end of the season, Soto had put together a monster campaign individually, with 43 home runs, 105 RBI and a .921 OPS. Not only did he lead the NL in on-base percentage (.396) and walks (127), but rather amazingly, stolen bases (38). Soto finished third in NL MVP voting in his first year in Flushing.
The Mets did go 28-37 after the All-Star Break, missing the postseason. There was also buzz that he and Francisco Lindor didn't have a great relationship during their first season as teammates. When you're given the largest contract in the history of the sport, you by definition are the face of the team, and therefore take on some responsibility when the team underperforms.
Still, Soto finished the second half with a .944 OPS. It's hard to blame him too much for a second-half collapse when he was one of baseball's most productive players over that period.
Alex Bregman, Boston Red Sox
10 of 10
Contract: Three years, $120 million with player opt-outs available after 2025 and 2026
Grade: C
Alex Bregman was an All-Star in what proved to be his lone season with the Red Sox, but there's much more context that goes into this grade.
To sign Bregman, the Red Sox surrendered draft-pick compensation and international bonus pool money because he had declined a qualifying offer from the Houston Astros. Ultimately, he played just 114 regular-season games for Boston, and they paid him $20 million in 2025, and still owe $2 million in deferrals every year from 2035-2044.
If that wasn't enough, signing Bregman displaced Rafael Devers, who they ultimately had to trade to the Giants in June after that relationship became unsalvageable. Devers probably could have handled things better, but he's a 29-year-old middle-of-the-order hitter whose departure created a lineup void for Alex Cora that's yet to be filled.
After all of that, the Red Sox let Bregman depart for a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, a pact that The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal says includes $70 million in deferrals. How well will that deal age considering Bregman will play next season at 32? It's fair to wonder, but if there's any team who should have been motivated to find out, it was Boston. Instead, they let him walk for nothing, because he wasn't even eligible for a qualifying offer.
The 2025 Red Sox got great leadership and strong production out of Bregman. But they paid an astronomical price for him to be this era's Adrian Beltre—a star third baseman repped by Scott Boras that ended up playing just a reset season with the Red Sox before getting his big deal elsewhere.
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