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LAS VEGAS — There’s no Juan Soto in this free agent market, and certainly no Shohei Ohtani. The list is without an all-time great for the first time in three years, but it does contain a clear No. 1 guy (Kyle Tucker), an additional trio of interesting repeat positional free agents (Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman), a smattering of frontline starters (led by Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, and, assuming he’s posted, Tatsuya Imai) and a real strength at the back end (Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez, Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Kenley Jansen and more).
With the general managers meetings taking place here this week, these are our monetary predictions and some thoughts about potential landing spots for the top 40 free agents, too.
1. Kyle Tucker, OF
He’s an all-around type without weakness and one of five players to post at least 4.0 WAR four straight years (Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Juan Soto, José Ramírez). Two late injuries seemed to sour things in Chicago, even if he still had a 143 OPS-plus, so the Giants, Blue Jays, Dodgers and Phillies seem more likely. $375M, 11 years.
2. Tatsuya Imai, SP
After Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s heroics, this 27-year-old with big stuff and a 2.10 ERA over four years should be popular — if he’s posted. The Yankees like him, and the Dodgers like most Japanese stars, which could be a good start. $200M, 8 years.
