Playing Matchmaker with MLB's Top Remaining Free Agents
Spring training games will get underway on Friday, but that doesn't mean the MLB offseason is officially over. And that's good news for free agents who still need work.
Though the open market has been picked clean of star-caliber talent by now, there are still dozens of players who can fill important roles for teams. Included among them are big-name starting pitchers like Lucas Giolito and Max Scherzer.
Between those two and six others, we've picked out eight players for our latest game of "Free-Agent Matchmaker." Relevant reporting was helpful in some cases, but this was mostly a case of looking for speculative fits.
Let's count 'em down according to where they landed on our last free agent big board.
8. LHP Patrick Corbin
1 of 8
2026 Age: 36
2025 Team: Texas Rangers
2025 Stats: 31 G, 155.1 IP, 161 H (21 HR), 131 K, 51 BB, 4.40 ERA
Best Fit: Athletics
It would be a reach to say that Patrick Corbin had a successful stint with the Rangers last year, but it was definitely a nice palate cleanser.
Corbin's last five years with the Washington Nationals were a disaster, consisting of a 5.62 ERA over 137 starts. To go from that to providing decent bulk as a back-end starter counted as a win for the erstwhile two-time All-Star.
The bulk should appeal to the A's, who ranked 25th in innings from their starters in 2025. Corbin would have ranked third on their staff in innings, with 44 more than JP Sears—who left the organization at last year's trade deadline.
Granted, the A's did sign up for some semi-reliable innings when they inked Aaron Civale. But when he's the No. 3 starter in your likely rotation, that's how you know you need more starting pitching depth.
7. 1B Rhys Hoskins
2 of 8
2026 Age: 33
2025 Team: Milwaukee Brewers
2025 Stats: 90 G, 328 PA, 12 HR, 2 SB, .237 AVG, .332 OBP, .416 SLG
Best Fit: Colorado Rockies
For a team that plays half its home games at Coors Field, the Rockies sure were a dismal offensive club last year.
There were many reasons for that, but the ones that stand out the most concern home runs and walks. There weren't nearly enough of either, as the Rockies ranked 25th in homers and 30th (i.e., dead-last) in walks.
And thus, we have two things that make Hoskins a good fit for Denver. With a 162-game average of 28 home runs, he had decent pop even in his disappointing two years with Milwaukee. He's also never had a year with a walk rate below double digits.
Further, the Rockies have left-handed hitters slated for everyday action at first base and designated hitter. The right-handed-hitting Hoskins, who has a career .882 OPS against lefties, could platoon at both spots.
6. OF/DH Starling Marte
3 of 8
2026 Age: 37
2025 Team: New York Mets
2025 Stats: 98 G, 329 PA, 9 HR, 7 SB, .270 AVG, .335 OBP, .410 SLG
Best Fit: San Francisco Giants
After a solid first season as a Met in 2022, Marte spent the next three years aging out of his prime. He's a former All-Star who is now a part-time player.
And yet, he posted a respectable 107 OPS-plus across 2024 and 2025, largely because of how well he hit against lefties. He had a .781 OPS against them, compared to a .699 OPS against righties.
As a team, the Giants ranked 29th in MLB with a .635 OPS against lefties last year. Oracle Park had a hand in that, but it was mostly a function of their offense leaning overwhelmingly to the left.
They did address that by bringing in Harrison Bader, but he looks more like an everyday center fielder than a platoon bat. Marte is an ideal fit for the latter role, specifically in tandem with Jung Hoo Lee (right field) and Bryce Eldridge (DH).
5. RHP Max Scherzer
4 of 8
2026 Age: 41
2025 Team: Toronto Blue Jays
2025 Stats: 17 G, 85.0 IP, 87 H (19 HR), 82 K, 23 BB, 5.19 ERA
Best Fit: Toronto Blue Jays
The obligatory disclaimer on Max Scherzer is that he won't necessarily sign before Opening Day. He told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic in January that he's willing to wait for the right situation.
Could he return to the Blue Jays, a la fellow future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander returning to the Detroit Tigers?
It seems possible. As recently as February 3, Jon Heyman of the New York Post said on MLB Network that the defending American League champs had some interest in bringing back Scherzer. This was when they were more so tied to Framber Valdez, who subsequently signed with Detroit.
The Blue Jays' need for a starter is more pressing than they would probably like to admit. Shane Bieber (forearm fatigue) and Bowden Francis (elbow surgery) are already on the sidelines, forcing José Berríos back into the rotation after a rocky 2025 season.
4. OF Randal Grichuk
5 of 8
2026 Age: 34
2025 Teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals
2025 Stats: 113 G, 293 PA, 9 HR, 0 SB, .228 AVG, .273 OBP, .299 SLG
Best Fit: Philadelphia Phillies
Between Nick Castellanos' release and Bryce Harper's discontent, there have been more pressing stories concerning the Phillies lately.
But weren't they supposed to be looking for a platoon outfielder? That was the case in January, and Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic specifically linked them to the right-handed-hitting Grichuk.
He had a rough one in 2025, with his OPS falling 201 points from where it had been in 2024. Yet his exit velocity and hard-hit rate actually went up, and he still had his longstanding knack for pulling the ball in the air.
Those strengths would play nicely at Citizens Bank Park, where Grichuk would supplant Johan Rojas as the primary platoon partner for Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford.
3. RHP Michael Kopech
6 of 8
2026 Age: 30
2025 Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
2025 Stats: 14 G, 11.0 IP, 6 H (0 HR), 12 K, 13 BB, 2.45 ERA
Best Fit: New York Yankees
Michael Kopech is purely an upside play at this stage of his career. Heck, even staying healthy in 2026 would count as a win after knee and shoulder injuries kept him sidelined for almost all of 2025.
And yet, Kopech sat at 97.5 mph on the fastball despite his physical issues last year. The hope must be that he can get back to his 2024 average of 98.7 mph, which helped make his heater one of the best in the game.
The Yankees, meanwhile, were reportedly interested in Kopech in January, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. This was before they re-signed Paul Goldschmidt, but his $4 million salary shouldn't be the last dollars they spend.
If anything, they need Kopech in a bullpen that has lost Devin Williams and Luke Weaver and gotten nothing in the way of new additions. And in this brave new world, Kopech wouldn't even have to worry about shaving his beard if he signed up to wear pinstripes.
2. RHP Zack Littell
7 of 8
2026 Age: 30
2025 Teams: Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds
2025 Stats: 32 GS, 186.2 IP, 174 H (36 HR), 130 K, 32 BB, 3.81 ERA
Best Fit: Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians pulled off an incredible comeback in the AL Central last year, and responded by… cutting payroll?
Yup, this is a thing that has happened. And not by a small amount either, as Cleveland's payroll is projected to open this year about $20 million below where it closed in 2025. That should have Guardians fans crying out for something.
Another starter wouldn't be a bad idea. Because even if Guardians starters did rank 10th in ERA last year, only Gavin Williams had a good year as an individual. There also isn't much in the way of certainty under him and Tanner Bibee.
To this end, Littell can provide plenty of bulk and the assurance that he isn't going to hurt his own cause by walking guys. And as a fly-ball pitcher, he'd fit nicely at Progressive Field, which is typically where fly balls go to die.
1. RHP Lucas Giolito
8 of 8
2026 Age: 31
2025 Team: Boston Red Sox
2025 Stats: 26 G, 145.0 IP, 131 H (17 HR), 121 K, 56 BB, 3.41 ERA
Best Fit: Atlanta Braves
This has to be the single most obvious fit out there right now, and that has everything to do with recent developments in Atlanta's rotation.
Injuries have quickly piled up on the Braves, with Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both slated to miss ample time after having elbow surgery. It's not an ideal development for a rotation otherwise headed by an aging Chris Sale and a diminished Spencer Strider.
Granted, Giolito's 3.41 ERA from last year doesn't hold up against a close examination. His Baseball Savant page is filled with blue (i.e., below average) bars, all of which point to an expected ERA over 5.00.
There was, however, a clear before and after that took hold when Giolito raised his arm angle in the middle of last season. That's worth taking a chance on, and no team needs to take a chance as much as the Braves.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
