MLB free-agency rankings 2025-26: Kyle Schwarber joins top 3 behind Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman in latest edition
Notes: Whenever you see a number, a slash and another number, that's a reference to contract years and total earnings. For instance, the shorthand for Bryce Harper's 11-year, $330 million deal would be '11/330.' Ages listed below are for the 2026 season.
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1. Kyle Tucker, Cubs OF, age 29 (June rank: 1)
Tucker has hit just one home run since July 1 amidst what has been an extended cold stretch for the class' top player. It's a much bigger deal for the Cubs, who now trail the Brewers by 3.5 games in the NL Central, than it is for Tucker's wallet. Given his track record and age, he's still a lock to eclipse the $300 million mark in free agency. But a deal in the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. range (14/500) is starting to feel more and more out of reach.
2. Alex Bregman (opt-out), Red Sox 3B, age 32 (2)
Bregman missed a month and a half due to a hamstring issue but has looked like himself since returning in early July. He rarely chases or whiffs, and he elevates the ball often enough to the pull side to make the most of his good, not great, raw juice. One big thing to monitor with Bregman is the health of his lower half. That hamstring injury was not his first lower-body injury, and there's no doubt that Bregman's mobility has declined in recent years. His sprint speed, for instance, is at a career-low 20th percentile. That matters only as much as it impacts his defense at the hot corner, which remains stellar.
3. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies DH, age 33 (6)4. Pete Alonso (opt-out), Mets 1B, age 31 (3)
Schwarber vs. Alonso will spark a fascinating debate this winter. There's a legitimate argument to put either above the other. Alonso — who recently cranked his 251st career home run, putting him one behind the Mets' franchise record — is two years younger than Schwarber and plays a defensive position. But Schwarber is (1) a left-handed hitter, (2) producing a tier above Alonso offensively and (3) considered one of the few elite clubhouse presences in the game. I'm leaning toward Schwarber for now because he might hit 60 home runs.
5. Framber Valdez, Astros SP, age 32 (4)6. Dylan Cease, Padres SP, age 30 (5)
Only three pitchers have a chance to reach 175 innings this season for the fourth straight year: these two dudes and Logan Webb. As Gerrit Cole's and Aaron Nola's injuries have reminded us this year, past durability does not guarantee future durability. With that said, teams value arms such as Valdez and Cease quite highly. Valdez's 3.02 ERA across this four-year stretch makes him flat-out one of the best arms in the league. Cease's surface-level numbers this year are ugly, but the combo of strikeout stuff and availability will earn him a nice deal.
7. Bo Bichette, Blue Jays SS, age 28 (8)8. Cody Bellinger (opt-out), Yankees OF, age 30 (10)
Neither Bellinger nor Bichette made the All-Star team, but both are having All-Star-type seasons as they approach free agency. Bichette has completely bounced back from a down 2025. He has the second-highest expected batting average in baseball and has recovered enough over-the-fence juice to pop 15 home runs so far. Bellinger has an alluring $25 million team option for next year, but based on his 2025 performance, it's looking likely that he'll test the open market. There aren't many players with his combination of contact skills and center-field defense.
9. Trent Grisham, Yankees OF, age 29 (16)
I'm fully buying into Grisham's 2025. The list of every-day center fielders with this combo of pop (on pace for more than 25 homers) and patience (his 13.7% walk rate is 12th in baseball) is extremely rare. Grisham has always had raw juice and a good eye, but he has meaningfully improved his contact quality this year. Players like this, hitting the market this young, get paid.
10. Munetaka Murakami, Yakult Swallows 3B, age 26 (17)
The highly touted Japanese slugger was sidelined for the first four months of this season due to an oblique issue but returned, fully healthy, on July 29. And now Murakami looks like a man on a mission. He has already homered three times in 29 plate appearances, including an opposite-field moon shot in his first NPB at-bat back off the shelf. If Murakami can go on a tear over the next two months, he'll put himself in position for a nice MLB pay day.
11. Gleyber Torres, Tigers 2B, age 29 (9)12. Luis Arraez, Padres 1B, age 29 (12)13. Josh Naylor, Mariners 1B, age 29 (11)
You could rank this 29-year-old trio in any order, but I gave the edge to Torres, for now, based on his defensive position. He's a poor second baseman, but that's still more enticing than a poor first baseman, which is what Arraez and Naylor are. Gleyber has cooled off a bit since leading off for the AL in the All-Star Game (!!!), but the underlying metrics remain strong. Arraez slots in ahead of Naylor because I think Arraez's high-contact schtick is going to age a bit better than Naylor's. One fun thing about Naylor, though: He has 19 steals, a mighty impressive accomplishment for a dude with third-percentile sprint speed.
14. Eugenio Suárez, Mariners 3B, age 34 (18)
In the lead-up to deadline day, Suárez was getting a lot of buzz as the sexiest rental bat. But as Seattle's good-not-great trade package proved, teams don't think the slugging third baseman is an elite player. His 37 home runs remain tied with Aaron Judge for fourth in MLB, but Suárez is a supremely streaky hitter. I think that dynamic, his age and his subpar defense at the hot corner will limit his market this winter.
15. Michael King (2026 mutual option), Padres SP, age 31 (7)
King hasn't pitched since May 18, sidelined due to a nerve issue in his right shoulder. He recently made his first rehab start and is expected back with the big-league club at some point in the next few weeks. If King reappears with the goods, he'll fly back up this list. He was one of baseball's best starters before he got hurt and will garner a ton of interest as a free agent because of his age, his relative newness as a starter and his 86th-percentile strikeout rate.
16. Ranger Suárez, Phillies SP, age 30 (21)
Suárez had a nine-start run from mid-May to early July in which he allowed just seven earned runs across 59 1/3 innings. He has looked a bit more human over his past few outings but remains one of the better second-tier arms set to hit the open market. Because he doesn't have big stuff — his sinker averages 90.2 mph — and relies on a kitchen-sink approach, there has always been an air of skepticism around Suárez. But at this point, I think he has performed well enough for long enough to be considered a legitimate mid-rotation starter on a good team, which is, essentially, what he has been for the Phillies over the past handful of seasons.
17. Brandon Woodruff (2026 mutual option), Brewers SP, age 33 (33)18. Lucas Giolito (vesting team option), Red Sox SP, age 31 (47)
Here we have a pair of former All-Star hurlers who started the season on the shelf but have either returned or rounded into form recently. Before last month, Woodruff hadn't appeared in the bigs since September 2023 as he battled through a significant shoulder issue. But in a five-start sample since then, the burly Mississippian has carved, despite a fastball that hasn't completely bounced back to pre-injury levels. Giolito got off the IL in late April and needed a month to shake off the rust. Across his past 10 starts, the thick-bearded vet has a 2.03 ERA, the seventh-lowest mark in MLB over that span.
19. Shane Bieber (opt-out), Blue Jays SP, age 32 (NR)
The 2020 AL Cy Young winner has yet to appear in a big-league game this year as he works his way back from reconstructive elbow surgery. That didn't stop Toronto from acquiring him at the deadline in hopes that Bieber can contribute to the division-leading Jays down the stretch. He has made four minor-league rehab starts over the past few weeks and will make a fifth this weekend. Given the lengthy layoff, Bieber is a total mystery box. But if he makes seven starts for the Jays and looks like Shane Bieber, he'll opt out and get paid. Worse pitchers have made money off less.
20. J.T. Realmuto, Phillies C, age 35 (23)
A strong July pushed Realmuto's full-season numbers toward league average. That served as a valuable reminder that though Realmuto isn't what he once was — one of the best backstops in baseball — he's still a valuable player. That's particularly true in a market devoid of catchers. Ultimately, I think Realmuto ends up back in Philly, where his game-calling acumen and leadership qualities are most appreciated.
21. Ryan Helsley, Mets RP, age 31 (19)
Helsley, dealt from St. Louis to Queens at the deadline, is the only top-shelf impending free-agent reliever who has improved his performance over the course of the season. He's on a heater right now, with just one earned run allowed in his past 13 appearances. Most importantly, Helsley's fastball has continued to tick up each month and is sitting triple digits since the beginning of July. Relievers, they are volatile, capricious things, but for now, Helsley looks like the best of this bunch.
22. Cedric Mullins, Mets CF, age 31 (22)
Mullins is ranked well below Grisham despite a superior track record for a number of reasons. The former Oriole is two years older and has much been more dependent on his legs (both on the bases and in the outfield) to create value. All of Mullins' peripheral numbers have been ticking down for years now, making it unlikely that a team will invest big dollars in him on a lengthy deal. That said, Mullins is still a nice piece, as evidenced by the Mets' move to acquire him at the deadline.
23. Jack Flaherty (opt-out), Tigers SP, age 29 (28)
After a bounce-back 2024, Flaherty's walk rate has nearly doubled this year. Even so, he has been quite good since July 1, with a 3.16 ERA across his past six starts. Flaherty has a $20 million option with Detroit for next year, but I think he'll opt out and try to get a longer-term deal. He had difficulty securing that type of contract last winter, but given his age and another year of decent performance, I think he'll find something more alluring this go-round.
24. Zac Gallen, D-backs SP, age 30 (26)
Somewhat surprisingly, Gallen wasn't dealt at the deadline as part of the D-backs' expiring contract garage sale. Why? Well, Arizona's former ace has the second-highest ERA among qualified starters this season. That appears to have made him too much of a question mark for teams in the playoff hunt. Over the past month, Gallen's peripheral numbers have been better, and there's a chance Arizona extends him a qualifying offer to try to recoup a draft pick if he departs in free agency. At this point, Gallen is a project, but one that many teams would be eager to undertake.
25. Ramón Laureano, Padres OF, age 31 (43)
Heck yeah, brother. I know this seems a bit heavy for Laureano, a dude who was non-tendered by the Braves last winter, but he's a 31-year-old outfielder with a .900 OPS and the underlying metrics to back it up. And it's not a platoon thing, either; the right-handed Laureano, who has traditionally crushed southpaws, is hitting better against righties than lefties this season. He still has a howitzer in right field and a fiery edge that some teams value. He's going to end up with a bigger deal than people suspect.
The next 25
Devin Williams, Yankees RP, age 31 (20)
Luke Weaver, Yankees RP, age 32 (27)
Robert Suárez, Padres RP, age 35 (24)
Merrill Kelly, D-backs SP, age 37 (NR)
Tyler Mahle, Rangers SP, age 31 (14)
Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays SP, age 37 (15)
Ryan O'Hearn, Orioles 1B/DH, age 32 (31)
Willi Castro, Twins UTIL, age 29 (34)
Harrison Bader, Twins OF, age 32 (44)
Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox RP, age 38 (38)
Germán Marquez, Rockies SP, age 31 (30)
Jose Quintana, Brewers SP, age 37 (37)
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers SP, age 38 (NR)
Mike Yastrzemski, Giants OF, age 35 (35)
Rhys Hoskins, Brewers 1B, age 33 (40)
Marcell Ozuna, Braves DH, age 35 (14)
Paul Goldschmidt, Yankees 1B, age 38 (41)
Dustin May, Dodgers SP, age 28 (32)
Zach Eflin, Orioles SP, age 31 (29)
Zack Littell, Rays SP, age 30 (49)
Aaron Civale, Brewers SP, age 31 (NR)
Walker Buehler, Red Sox SP, age 31 (47)
Griffin Canning, Mets SP, age 30 (20)
Jorge Polanco, Mariners IF, age 32 (NR)
Austin Hays, Reds OF, age 30 (50)
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