Top 40 MLB Free Agents
A potentially-stronger trade market might impact free agency more this season than in years past, but lets take a look at the class of 2025-26.
This year’s free-agent crop is mid-tier overall, but offers a few plus corner bats, lefty starters, and a handful of high-leverage relievers.
There is something for nearly every club in the Top 40.
It can be argued several left off here deserve mention, including Justin Verlander, who will be 43 in February, Luis Arraez, Zach Eflin, Zack Littell, Marcell Ozuna, Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassitt, Paul Goldschmidt, Jon Gray, and a slew of relievers, but the line has to be drawn somewhere, and I used position scarcity, both general and in this market, trend of underlying metrics, injury history with recent issues carrying a lot of weight, and age-based projections to determine the rankings.
It’s also worth noting the difference between No. 15 and those left off the list entirely may prove to be little or even backward. These 40 just happen to be where I’d put my risk and trust as a big-league club.
Also: This is not a ranking of how much WAR a player has posted or is most likely to push out in 2026 and beyond. Market demand matters, position scarcity matters, and there’s risk coming from a lot of angles, including injury. It’s also important for many clubs to maintain payroll agility, making shorter contracts more attractive, even if it means getting less of a player with a bit less probability.