Top 20 MLB free-agent position players

With the offseason underway, we rank the top 20 free-agent position players (ages at start of 2025 season).

1. Juan Soto

Dec. 8: Signed 15-year, $765M contract with Mets

Age: 26
Bats: Left
Position: OF
2024 salary: $31M
Qualifying offer: Yes

The biggest paycheque of the offseason will end up in Soto's pocket. The 25-year-old is expected to sign one of the most lucrative contracts in baseball history after a tremendous campaign with the New York Yankees, which included career highs in homers and runs scored. Soto is a generational superstar who will immediately transform any lineup, and the bidding wars for his services will be the offseason's top story.

2. Willy Adames, Giants

Dec. 7: Signed 7-year, $182M contract with Giants

Age: 29
Bats: Right
Position: SS
2024 salary: $12.25M
Qualifying offer: Yes

Adames' career season has him poised to secure a huge multi-year deal after he posted the fifth-highest fWAR among shortstops in 2024. The seven-year veteran also comes from a winning culture, as he was a key member of Brewers teams that won the division title in 2021, 2023, and 2024.

3. Alex Bregman

Age: 31
Bats: Right
Position: 3B
2024 salary: $30.5M
Qualifying offer: Yes

Bregman's been a model of consistency and a proven winner throughout his career. Since debuting in 2016, the two-time World Series champion ranks third among qualified third basemen in fWAR and wRC+ and fifth in runs scored. He's a steady defender at the hot corner, recording 27 defensive runs saved and winning his first Gold Glove this season.

4. Pete Alonso

Age: 30
Bats: Right
Position: 1B
2024 salary: $20.5M
Qualifying offer: Yes

Any club looking for a middle-of-the-order power bat should come knocking on Alonso's door. The four-time All-Star's 226 homers are second to only Aaron Judge since 2019. Alonso also collected 586 RBIs with an .854 OPS over six years with the Mets. A long-term pact for a first baseman entering his 30s doesn't come without risk. However, Alonso's put together a resume as one of baseball's top sluggers while playing in a high-pressure market.

5. Anthony Santander

Age: 30
Bats: Both
Position: OF
2024 salary: $11.7M
Qualifying offer: Yes

"Tony Taters" should cash in nicely after finishing second in the AL in homers (44) and ninth in RBIs (102). The Venezuelan has hit 28-plus homers in three consecutive seasons and has twice slugged over .500. He doesn't offer much defensively and could wind up as a DH in the later years of his career, but interested teams are paying for the pop he provides now.

6. Teoscar Hernández

Age: 32
Bats: Right
Position: OF
2024 salary: $23.5M
Qualifying offer: Yes

Hernández bet on himself by signing a one-year deal with the Dodgers. Now he's primed to secure a multi-year contract after winning the World Series following an All-Star campaign in which he hit a career-high 33 round-trippers. Hernández has gone deep a combined 167 times since 2018, which is the fifth-highest total among MLB outfielders.

7. Christian Walker, Astros

Dec. 20: Signed 3-year, $60M contract with Astros

Age: 34
Bats: Right
Position: 1B
2024 salary: $10.9M
Qualifying offer: Yes

Walker may not attract the same kind of spotlight as Alonso, but he's been terrific over the last three campaigns. Since 2022, Walker ranks third among qualified first basemen in homers and isolated power while sitting sixth in runs scored and RBIs. He'll be a more affordable Alonso backup plan for teams hunting for a first baseman.

8. Tyler O'Neill, Orioles

Dec. 7: Signed 3-year, $49.5M contract with Orioles

Age: 29
Bats: Right
Position: OF
2024 salary: $5.85M
Qualifying offer: No

O'Neill has some major pop, posting two seasons with 30-plus homers in the last four years. However, he's struggled to stay on the field, playing in a combined 281 games since 2022. He also struck out 159 times in just 411 at-bats. There's a certain level of risk tolerance required to sign O'Neill despite the outfielder's tantalizing power.

9. Ha-Seong Kim

Age: 29
Bats: Right
Position: SS
2024 salary: $8M
Qualifying offer: No

Kim missed the final two months of the season with a shoulder injury that needed surgery, and he's expected to miss the beginning of the 2025 campaign as he continues to recover. When healthy, the middle infielder was solid last season for the Padres, with 30 extra-base hits and 22 steals. He's also an elite defender who's amassed 24 defensive runs saved since 2021.

10. Gleyber Torres

Age: 28
Bats: Right
Position: 2B
2024 salary: $14.2M
Qualifying offer: No

Torres is coming off a down regular season, but the second baseman finished the 2024 campaign strong, posting an .859 OPS in his final 25 games. The 27-year-old has hit 24-plus homers four times and is usually good for 25 or more doubles per season.

11. Jurickson Profar

Age: 32
Bats: Both
Position: OF
2024 salary: $1M
Qualifying offer: No

Profar heads into free agency as an All-Star after what's easily the best season of his 11-year career. His days in the majors looked numbered following a minus-1.6 fWAR 2023 campaign, but everything clicked this year for the former top prospect. Teams will have to decide if his 2024 campaign was a mirage or if he's a late bloomer worthy of a multi-year deal.

12. Joc Pederson

Age: 32
Bats: Left
Position: DH
2024 salary: $9.5M
Qualifying offer: No

Pederson became a free agent after declining his end of a mutual option with the D-Backs. His bat should be sought after thanks to a .908 OPS (151 OPS+), which included a healthy .281/.392/.531 slash line with 22 homers against righties.

13. Paul Goldschmidt

Dec 21: Signed 1-year, $12.5M contract with Yankees

Age: 37
Bats: Right
Position: 1B
2024 salary: $26M
Qualifying offer: No

Goldschmidt enters free agency on the heels of a career-worst campaign where his OPS+ fell below league average for the first time. He still provides defensive value and is only two years removed from winning NL MVP, but he appears to be declining at this point in his career.

14. Jesse Winker

Age: 31
Bats: Left
Position: OF
2024 salary: $2M
Qualifying offer: No

Winker put up a nice bounce-back campaign after a pair of disappointing seasons with the Mariners and Brewers. His 118 wRC+ was the highest mark since his 2021 All-Star year with the Reds. The eight-year veteran also owns a career .367 on-base percentage.

15. Jorge Polanco

Age: 31
Bats: Both
Position: 2B
2024 salary: $10.5M
Qualifying offer: No

Polanco is coming off the worst season of his 11-year career, thanks in large part to a .606 OPS over 58 games at Seattle's T-Mobile Park. The former All-Star is three years removed from a 33-homer, 98-RBI campaign with a 4.0 fWAR for the Twins. He also posted a combined 120 wRC+ over three campaigns prior to 2024.

16. Michael Conforto, Dodgers

Dec. 8: Signed 1-year, $17M contract with Dodgers

Age: 32
Bats: Left
Position: OF
2024 salary: $18M
Qualifying offer: Ineligible

Conforto isn't the same player he was earlier in his career with the Mets. However, he can still contribute as a solid everyday major leaguer. He posted a 112 wRC+ but had the worst defensive rating of his career, according to FanGraphs. The veteran outfielder also reached the 20-homer mark for the first time since going deep 33 times in 2019.

17. Danny Jansen, Rays

Dec. 6: Jansen signed 1-year, $8.5M contract with Rays

Age: 29
Bats: Right
Position: C
2024 salary: $5.2M
Qualifying offer: Ineligible

Jansen is one of the top catchers available in free agency, and his bat is his best asset. Since 2022, the 29-year-old ranks in the top 10 among backstops with 200 plate appearances in isolated power and slugging percentage. He's never played more than 107 games in a season, but he should be a reliable platoon partner for a club that needs catching depth.

18. Carlos Santana, Guardians

Dec. 21: Santana signed 1-year, $12M contract with Guardians

Age: 38
Bats: Both
Position: 1B
2024 salary: $5.25M
Qualifying offer: No

Santana still looks smooth heading into his 16th year. He led the Twins with 23 homers in 2024 and posted the third-best fWAR of his career in his age-38 season. He also became the oldest player in MLB history to win their first Gold Glove after leading all first basemen with 14 outs above average.

19. Max Kepler, Phillies

Dec. 19: Kepler signed 1-year, $10M contract with Phillies

Age: 32
Bats: Left
Position: OF
2024 salary: $10M
Qualifying offer: No

Two of Kepler's last three campaigns have been disappointing, but he showed signs of his old self in 2023 when he hit 24 homers and posted an .816 OPS in 130 games. He could be an affordable option for clubs looking to add some pop. Kepler hit 161 homers and 205 doubles during his 10 seasons with the Twins.

20. Anthony Rizzo

Age: 35
Bats: Left
Position: 1B
2024 salary: $17M
Qualifying offer: No

The three-time All-Star is coming off his worst season since his 2011 rookie year. He played with fractured fingers in the postseason after logging a combined 191 games since 2023. Yet he's got one of the best resumes on the open market with 303 homers, four Gold Gloves, and a World Series ring from his time with the Cubs.