Kyle Schwarber, 33, DH, 4.7, 19.9: Schwarber is a premier slugger with 187 home runs in four seasons with Philadelphia, where he also was an exceptional clubhouse leader. He is pretty much restricted to designated hitter and is approaching an age where offensive production might decline. He still merits a lucrative multi-year deal, although going longer than four years at a $30 million average annual value (AAV) might be inviting buyer’s remorse in 2030.
Kyle Tucker, 29, OF, 4.5, 27.3: Although his 2025 bWAR was lower than that of Bellinger and Schwarber, Tucker might have the highest sticker price in this free-agent class. The average of projections from 20 ESPN experts is 10 years and $391.5 million for a $38.8 million AAV. The Dodgers are considered a prime suitor because of their deep pockets and need for a productive corner outfielder.
Eugenio Suárez, 34, 3B, 3.6, 26.8: A drop of nearly one win above replacement from the top three free agents — Cody Bellinger, Schwarber and Tucker — still puts Suárez in an enviable position. Splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, Suarez tied a career high with 49 home runs and drove in 118 runs.
Alex Bregman, 32, 3B, 3.5, 43.1: Even though Bregman’s bWAR was slightly lower than that of Suárez, he should command a larger deal because he’s younger and more well-rounded. Bregman missed 44 games because of injury in his single season in Boston but still put up solid numbers. His average bWAR over his 10-year career is 4.3.
Trent Grisham, 29, OF, 3.5, 14.6: Grisham is an enigma, a first-round draft pick who blossomed with the Padres only to crater and bat under .200 three years in a row. But in 2025 he rebounded, swatting a career-high 34 home runs with the Yankees in 2025. Grisham also has two Gold Gloves in center field. Still, he’s a bit of a gamble.
Bo Bichette, 28, SS, 3.4, 20.8: Bichette showed his toughness by playing effectively in the World Series despite a lingering knee injury. Bichette can flat-out hit, accumulating more than 175 hits in four of the last five seasons with above-average power. He also plays a premium position and will turn only 28 in March, meaning he could command a contract exceeded only by that of Tucker.
Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette hits a three-run home run during Game 7 of the World Series, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto.
(Ashley Landis/AP)
Pete Alonso, 31, 1B, 3.4, 23.3: Alonso was disappointed by the tepid interest in him as a free agent last offseason, re-signing with the Mets on a one-year, $30-million deal with a player option. He’s expected to test the market again after once again posting the glittering power numbers that have made him a fan favorite in New York for seven years.
Josh Naylor, 28, 1B, 3.1, 8.4: The 5-foot-10, 235-pound left-handed slugger produced well in 2025 while splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, batting a career-high .295 and hitting precisely 20 home runs for the third time in five seasons.
Gleyber Torres, 29, 2B, 2.9, 18.7: Torres needed to restore his value after taking a one-year deal with the Tigers following a ho-hum 2024 season with the Yankees. He did so incrementally and should land a measured multi-year deal this time around.
J.T. Realmuto, 35, C, 2.6, 38.8: Realmuto is recognized as one of the top-hitting catchers in baseball, and he’s clearly the top free-agent backstop, proving in 2025 that he can still catch upward of 130 games while putting up solid offensive numbers. Still, he will be 35 on opening day and his .700 OPS was his lowest in a decade.
Jorge Polanco, 32, 2B, 2.6, 20.7: Polanco hit 26 home runs and posted an .821 OPS, the switch-hitter’s best season since 2021 when he hit 33 homers and drove in 98 runs. Chronic knee problems have put his shortstop days behind him and cut into his range at second or third base, but the bat still plays.
Mike Yastrzemski, 35, OF, 2.6, 16.8: Although the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski posted his best OPS (.839) since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he might be entertaining only contract offers of one year at $10 million or so.
Ryan O’Hearn, 31, 1B/DH, 2.4, 3.1: O’Hearn is an accomplished left-handed hitter coming off a season split between the Orioles and Padres. He can expect a large raise from the $3.5 million he made in 2025, perhaps tripling it.
Marcell Ozuna, 35, OF/DH, 1.6, 29.5: Ozuna is a proven power bat who has exceeded 20 home runs in nine seasons and led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in pandemic-shortened 2020. After tremendous 2023 and 2024 seasons in which he totaled 79 homers and 204 RBIs, Ozuna slipped in 2025, batting .232 with 21 home runs while battling hip pain.
Luis Arráez, 29, 1B, 1.3, 16.5: Arráez doesn’t get much love from bWAR or fWAR, but he sure can hit, leading all major leaguers with a .317 lifetime average. He led the NL with 181 hits in 2025, but because he doesn’t hit for power or walk much, his OPS was a pedestrian .719. The three-time batting champion should continue to be paid about $14 million a year, with the question becoming for how long.
Paul Goldschmidt, 38, 1B, 1.2, 63.8: Goldschmidt boasts the highest career bWAR of any free-agent hitter and he has made it clear that he is not ready to retire. His productivity, however, is trending downward, especially his power. With only 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 534 plate appearances with the Yankees last season, Goldschmidt is no longer an elite hitter.
Victor Caratini, 32, C, 0.9, 4.3: Catchers are at a premium in this free-agent class and Caratini is one of the few with a potent bat and ability to play more than 100 games in a season. He most recently delivered decently on a two-year, $12-million deal with the Astros and could land a similar contract because of the scarcity of backstops.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Larson denied Denny Hamlin his first career championship when a late caution at Phoenix Raceway sent the title-deciding finale into overtime.
Hamlin was three laps from shedding the label as the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship when fellow title contender William Byron got a flat tire and hit the wall to bring out the caution.
Hamlin led the field down pit road and got four new tires on his Toyota; Larson only took two tires on his Chevrolet. It meant Larson was fifth for the two-lap sprint to the finish, with Hamlin back in 10th.
With so little time to run down Larson, Hamlin came up short with a sixth-place finish as Larson finished third. Ryan Blaney, who was eliminated from title contention last week, won the race.
It is the second championship for Larson, who won his first title in 2021 when he joined Hendrick Motorsports.
As Larson celebrated, Hamlin sat in his car motionless for several seconds, then wiped his face with a white towel, never showing any emotion.
“I’m just numb,” Hamlin said after consoling his crying daughters on pit road. “We were 40 seconds away from a championship. This sport can drive you absolutely crazy because sometimes speed, talent, none of that matters.”
Larson, who has been in a slump since his disastrous Memorial Day attempt to race both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, was also in shock.
“I really can’t believe it. We didn’t lead a lap and won the championship,” Larson said. “We had an average car at best and had the right front [tire] go down, lost a lap and got the wave around, saved by the caution with the wave around. It’s just unbelievable. What a year by this motorsports team.”
When Hamlin finally got out of his car he embraced his crew members but it was a scene of disbelief among the Joe Gibbs Racing crowd. Team members were crying, some sitting in shock on the pavement, Gibbs himself stood silent, one hand on his hip and a look of disbelief on his face.
It is the sixth shot at a title to slip away from Hamlin in his 20 years driving for Gibbs. He led 208 of the 319 laps and started from the pole.
“Nothing I could do different. I mean, prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend and my team gave me a fantastic car,” Hamlin said. “Just didn’t work out. I was just praying ‘no caution’ and we had one there. What can you do? It’s just not meant to be.”
He said crew chief Chris Gayle made the correct call with four tires, but too many others only took two, which created too big of a gap for Hamlin to close on Larson in so little time.
“Just numb. Feel like there’s still some racing left. I can’t believe it’s over but there’s nothing I can do but just suck it up,” Hamlin said. “I just needed 40 more seconds of green flag.”
Larson was OK during the race, but hasn’t won since early May, a slump that has now extended to 24 consecutive races.
Hamlin teammate Chase Briscoe finished 18th in his debut in the championship finale, while Larson teammate Byron was 33rd after his late issue. He felt awful for ruining Hamlin’s chance even though his Hendrick Motorsports teammate won the championship.
“I’m just super bummed that it was a caution obviously. I hate that. Hate it for Denny. I hate it for the 11 team,” Byron said. “I mean, Denny was on his way to it. I hate that. There’s a lot of respect there. I obviously do not want to cause a caution. If I had known what tire it was, known that a tire was going down before I got to the corner, I would have done something different.”
