2026 MLB Free Agents Rumors and Predictions for Tarik Skubal, Randy Arozarena & More

The baseball gods are preparing to ignite the burners for the 2026 iteration of the MLB hot stove.

With playoff eliminations adding to the list of franchises already in offseason mode, a big chunk of the league's focus has shifted over to free agency.

It appears a more mysterious place than normal given the impending expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, but it's still where teams will go to target potential upgrades. No one knows exactly how things will play out, but our crystal ball has some hunches based on the latest rumor-mill rumblings.

AL Suitor Emerging for Seiya Suzuki?

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Seiya Suzuki has spent all five of his MLB seasons with the Chicago Cubs. It's possible he'll spend his sixth elsewhere.

A reunion hardly feels impossible, but the Cubs have plenty on their offseason to-do list. Their pitching staff needs attention, and both of their corner outfielders, Suzuki and Ian Happ, are headed to free agency. Suzuki is worth bringing back, but it wouldn't be cheap. Not after he tallied 58 homers and 189 RBI over this season and last.

External suitors have taken note. Per The Athletic's Mitch Bannon, the Toronto Blue Jays "are expected to pursue...Suzuki." They certainly won't be alone in that effort.

Toronto could use more thump in its lineup, but so could other win-now teams. The Seattle Mariners, for instance, might need a Randy Arozarena replacement (more on that in a minute), and Suzuki could be a great get for that gig.

Prediction: Suzuki signs with the Seattle Mariners.

Nine-Figure Contract Incoming for Randy Arozarena?

Save for the possible labor stoppage, free agency could not be coming at a better time for Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena. Not only is he coming off of a career campaign, he's also entering a market featuring few rivals for the No. 1 spot among free agent position players.

As for that career efffort, it was a pretty monstrous one. He scored an AL-best 113 home runs, posted his best OPS in a full season (.865), launched the second-most homers of his career (26) and swiped his third-most steals (26). Altogether, he wound up with a 151 wRC+, per FanGraphs, putting him behind only MVP favorites Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

For Arozarena to post this kind of numbers in a contract year can only mean good things for his paycheck. Per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, "multiple MLB sources believe that Arozarena will get at minimum a four-year, $100 million deal. And most believe it will likely be five years of somewhere around $110 to $125 million."

A contract that rich and that long figures to come from someone other than the Mariners, which might work for Arozarena, since he reportedly "has always preferred to play on the East Coast," per Divish. With a number of big-spending East Coast clubs needing more oomph in their offense, Arozarena's list of potential landing spots is not a short one.

Prediction: Arozarena signs with the Atlanta Braves.

Tarik Skubal Has Top Tier to Himself?

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The following two things are somehow both true about this year's free agent crop: It features perhaps the most dominant pitcher in baseball, and it looks incredibly light on star power.

Tarik Skubal, who punctuated the past two seasons with AL Cy Young honors, is a certified superstar. He'd be the top-ranked ace in just about any free agent class he populated.

In this specific set, though, he might head, shoulders and a torso above the rest. As The Athletic's Will Sammon relayed, "multiple executives from different clubs...said that this free-agent class doesn't feature a no-doubt playoff starter outside of Skubal."

Teams in need of an ace, then, might feel as if Skubal is a must-have, which perhaps will drive his contract cost to record-setting heights. That could restrict his market to only baseball's biggest spenders, perhaps setting up a showdown between the New York Mets and his current club, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Prediction: Skubal re-signs with the Dodgers.