MLB's Top Free Agency Storylines to Watch After Brewers Win 2026 World Series Bracket

For the first time in franchise history, the Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions.

It's a win worth wild celebration—and a reminder for the baseball gods to ignite the flames on the MLB hot stove.

The 2026 offseason has arrived and brought with it loads more uncertainty than most iterations. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, and some type of work stoppage seems likely.

That could put an early rush on signings, as players and their agents might want to secure their contracts before activity is stalled. But with front offices not knowing how the rules they are governed by might change, there could be some hesitation from them to make major commitments.

It is, objectively speaking, a freaking bummer, since the world is best with baseball in it, but hopefully this all gets resolved faster than folks anticipate. Now that we've dumped that bucket of frigid water over the normal excitement of free agency, let's dig into the actual fun stuff with a look at some of the biggest, non-labor-related storylines to track.

The Tarik Skubal Sweepstakes

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This free agency class, as you may have heard a time or 20, looks light on star power. But there is one obvious exception: two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who heads into the open market after a season split between the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Contract projections for Skubal give him at least a shot at securing the richest payday ever handed over to a pitcher—with Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 12-year, $325 million pact currently topping the list. When ESPN's Kiley McDaniel surveyed industry insiders recently, 13 of the 27 projected Skubal will sign a deal worth at least $351 million.

The average projection, per McDaniel, was eight years and $355 million. If Skubal secures a pay rate even close to that, it figures to limit his market to only the biggest spenders in baseball.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez recently opined that "it's probably too early to handicap this as Mets versus Dodgers," but it feels like that's where this could be headed. Should baseball pull back on the high end of spending limits, though, maybe that would open things up.

Strong Pitching Depth Behind Skubal

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Teams who feel they have a realistic shot at signing Skubal won't want to hear about consolation prizes right now. There are, however, plenty of interesting options available.

When MLB.com's Mark Feinsand recently ranked the top free agents, the top three were all starting pitchers (Skubal, Michael King and Freddy Peralta). Feinsand's top 10 included two more starters (Clay Holmes and Trevor Rogers) and one reliever (Adrian Morejon).

The depth continues from there, so if teams want front-line options, rotation depth, impact relievers or anything between, there are candidates readily and widely available.

With volatility seen more in pitchers (in terms of both availability and performance), teams are sometimes hesitant to throw big dollars at free agent hurlers. With this year's player pool, though, that could change, since they look like the best impact talent on the market.

Best Bats Available

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There isn't a guaranteed superstar among the position player pool. Unless, of course, you'd like to drop that distinction onto Japanese star Teruaki Sato, who just captured the NPB's Triple Crown by hitting .306 with 39 homers and 106 RBI.

The lefty slugger has primarily played third base (and earned the NPB equivalent of Gold Glove honors there in 2025), but there's no guarantee he will stick there long-term. He also has experience in the outfield and could be a candidate to move to first base.

Otherwise, there are a lot of 30-something stars or near-stars topping the position player list. That includes outfielders Randy Arozarena (back-to-back 25-homer/25-steal seasons), Seiya Suzuki (26 homers and 86 RBI this season), second baseman Brandon Lowe (35 homers, 96 RBI) and World Series champion first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers (career-highs of 26 homers and 86 RBI).

Skubal is clearly the class-headliner overall, but it will be interesting to see how this market regards the best available hitters. This crop lacks a superstar presence, but it does offer middle-of-the-order pop, top-of-the-lineup contact skills and chaos-creating speed.