This off-season for baseball has been one of the strangest in recent history. The Dodgers went out and signed the Avengers, adding over $1 billion to their future payroll and deferring almost all of it. Other than that, teams have been relatively quiet. Sure, there have been some moves, but most of the top free agents remained unsigned before pitchers and catchers are supposed to report. With that being said, here are my top three remaining free agents and where I think they’ll be playing in 2024.
Blake Snell, LHP
Coming off his second Cy-Young award in his career, Snell is looking for a massive payday and to be fair, he probably deserves it. Snell earned a 2.25 ERA, an ERA+ of 182 and a H/9 of 5.8, all of which led the entire MLB. However, there are concerns about his health and ability to go deep into games that make some teams hesitant. In 2023, he reached 180 innings which is the second most he’s had in a single season. Despite that, it was only the 24th best mark reached by a pitcher in 2023. Last year was also the first time Snell had pitched in over 30 games since his first Cy-Young back in 2018. Still, having two Cy-Young awards is a resume that not a lot of pitchers have and can be easily used as a bargaining tool.
As for landing spots, Seattle, Baltimore and San Francisco stand out to me. As a Seattle native it was reported that Snell might want to go to his hometown team, so I don’t want to rule it out. While they traded for Anthony DeSclafani to dump Robbie Ray to the Giants, they flipped him to the Twins for Jorge Polanco reopening a spot in the rotation. Baltimore has a new ownership group, one that came right in and dealt for Corbin Burnes on their second day. Improving the rotation is what they need to do, and Snell could be their guy. I still think he’ll end up in the Bay playing for the Giants. San Francisco acquired Jordan Hicks and Robbie Ray to strengthen their rotation, a guy like Snell (especially with Ray recovering from Tommy John) adds an ace to lead the team. San Francisco missed out on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto; Snell adds back the star power they didn’t get.
Cody Bellinger, OF/1B
Bellinger’s market seems a little more straight forward. The 28-year-old was the NL Comeback Player of the Year with the Chicago Cubs, also winning a Silver Slugger award and a top-10 finish in the MVP voting. His OPS+ drastically improved from 81 to 133 from 2022 to 2023 and his one-year prove it deal with Chicago could not have gone any better. On top of being young and his regular season success, Bellinger has the postseason experience that any team should want. In each of his first six seasons, Bellinger and the Dodgers made the playoffs. He won the NLCS MVP award back in 2018 and has played in three world series, winning in 2020.
A return to the windy city looks to still be in the cards, but don’t be surprised if the Philadelphia Phillies make a surprising move. Multiple outlets have determined the Phillies as a surprise team, having only added Aaron Nola this offseason. Bellinger could really bolster their defense in center field, an area they struggled in a season ago. Meanwhile, the Cubs would love to have Bellinger back in their everyday lineup, especially with the additions that they made. Returning Bellinger helps make their other acquisitions stand out and improve upon last year. Along with a new manager in Craig Counsell, Chicago went out and got Shota Imanaga, Michael Busch, Yency Almonte and Hector Neris. Ultimately, I think he’ll return to the Cubbies and the team will be back in the postseason because of it.
Jordan Montgomery, LHP
A pitcher who has been the model of consistency is none other than Jordan Montgomery. The lefty is entering his first free agency after winning a world series ring with the Rangers in which he played a vital role in. As for 2023, Montgomery finished with an ERA+ of 138 in 32 starts, the third straight season he earned above a 100 ERA+ and managed to get over 30 starts. That was all while playing for three different teams, being traded at the deadline twice. His consistent play along with his postseason performance poises him to receive a hefty contract.
The three teams that I think are in on him are the Rangers, Red Sox and Orioles. With Scherzer and deGrom out for some time, Montgomery can be a staple in the rotation along with Nathan Eovaldi. There’s familiarity there having just played for the Rangers which can play a role in his decision. Boston can fix a lot of their issues by signing Montgomery. The issue in Beantown lately has been the need for starters not going deeper into games. Signing Lucas Giolito, a known innings eater, is a good start, but Montgomery adds more consistent results to the front of the rotation that needs to be better in 2024. Baltimore is the other location based on the same thing I said for Snell. In the end, I see Montgomery going back to the Rangers on a five-year deal. Texas needs a stronger rotation if they want to defend their title, Montgomery has already proven to them that he can perform there. Boston hasn’t shown a willingness to spend on frontline talent which is why I think they’ll miss out. As for Baltimore, I think they’ll use their bank of talented prospects to acquire another starter.