The Perfect Landing Spot for Blake Snell and Top MLB Free Agents Still Unsigned

Slowly but surely, Major League Baseball's game of free agency dominoes is falling into place.

Save for the big Juan Soto trade, the winter meetings from earlier this month were exceptionally uneventful. But now that the Dodgers have spent more than a billion dollars to land Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it's about time for the other 29 franchises to open up the checkbooks for the likes of Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger and Josh Hader.

For each of what we're classifying as the 10 best free agents still available, we've identified the perfect landing spot.

In some cases, that ideal landing spot might be with the team that has been recently rumored to be in aggressive pursuit of said player. However, we're approaching it from a "best roster/budget fit" perspective rather than a "most likely to happen" perspective.

That said, we will make a note of the latest rumors surrounding each of these players. We've also included contract projections from ESPN, MLB Trade Rumors and Spotrac as a gauge of what it might cost to acquire that player.

Top remaining free agents are presented in alphabetical order.

2023 Stats: .307/.356/.525, 26 HR, 97 RBI, 20 SB, 4.4 bWAR

Contract Projections: Five years, $112.5 million (Spotrac); Seven years, $147 million (ESPN); 12 years, $264 million (MLB Trade Rumors)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Blue Jays emerging as the favorite

Perfect Landing Spot: Chicago Cubs

The contract projections for Cody Bellinger are all over the map, but much more so from a length perspective than an AAV perspective. All three projections put the 2019 NL MVP in the $21-$22.5 million salary range. It's just a question of how many years teams are going to want to invest in the 28-year-old Comeback Player of the Year.

Heading into the offseason, the most logical landing spot for Bellinger was the Yankees, and it wasn't even close. They needed an outfielder, and they had the money to make it happen. But after trading for Juan Soto, Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo, the Bronx Bombers suddenly have too many outfielders and no longer have a need for Bellinger.

After the Soto/Grisham trade went down, the Giants seemed like the best landing spot for Bellinger. But then they signed Jung Hoo Lee to a $113 million deal, creating something of a two-horse race between the Cubs and Blue Jays as the teams both in need of an outfielder and theoretically able to afford Bellinger.

Maybe a desperate Blue Jays team will win that bidding war, but a return to Wrigley Field is probably the best option for him.

The Cubs are already paying $21 million next season to each of Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ. Might as well add Bellinger to that list.

2023 Stats: .240/.330/.424, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 4 SB, 4.4 bWAR

Contract Projections: Four years, $100 million (ESPN); Six years, $103.5 million (Spotrac); Six years, $150 million (MLB Trade Rumors)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Giants have their sights on Chapman

Perfect Landing Spot: Toronto Blue Jays

Sooner or later, the Blue Jays are going to win one of these bidding wars.

Perhaps it'll be for this familiar face at the hot corner.

Two other teams very much in the market for Chapman's services are the Cubs and Giants. The former currently has Patrick Wisdom penciled in at third base, but that hasn't worked out too well over the past two years. The latter still has one more year of J.D. Davis, but it's not like he has a great glove or that they're even desperate to keep his .738 OPS in the lineup.

But now that the Blue Jays have missed out on Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they can make the type of long-term offer to Chapman that they perhaps weren't willing to make before he reached free agency.

Chapman provided a lot of value at the hot corner over the past two seasons in Toronto, earning yet another Gold Glove for his defensive work in 2023. After all the emphasis the Blue Jays put on upgrading their outfield defense last offseason, you have to think they'll be motivated to not let third base go from their biggest strength to possibly their biggest weakness on defense.

While he didn't hit particularly well in home games last season, Chapman hit 19 of his 27 home runs in 2022 in Toronto. Maybe he can get back to those slugging ways over the duration of a new, much pricier contract.

2023 Stats: 184.1 IP, 4.88 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 1.7 bWAR

Contract Projections: Two years, $44 million (MLB Trade Rumors); Four years, $47.5 million (Spotrac); Four years, $68 million (ESPN)

Latest Scuttlebutt: "The Red Sox, Royals and Dodgers are in on Lucas Giolito, and the Mets have checked in, as well."—Jon Heyman, New York Post

Perfect Landing Spot: Baltimore Orioles

Lucas Giolito isn't the biggest name still available, but he might be the most intriguing player still on the market.

Had Giolito hit free agency two years ago—after three consecutive seasons receiving AL Cy Young votes—he would have gotten an outrageous sum of money. If we could use a time machine to put that version of Giolito in this year's class, he likely gets something close to the seven-year, $172 million contract Aaron Nola signed.

But after back-to-back years with an ERA just a shade under 5.00, Giolito has become a reclamation project; a guy who is probably looking for a one-year deal (or maybe a two-year deal with a player option for the second season) so he can re-prove himself in 2024 before re-entering free agency as a more coveted arm.

Jack Flaherty was in a similar boat and ended up signing a one-year contract with the Tigers. It would make a lot of sense for both Giolito and the Baltimore Orioles to strike a short-term deal.

The O's need to add at least one starting pitcher this offseason, but they're not going to want to pay top dollar for that starter. Giolito could be the ace of what they hope is another AL East-winning team, and they might be able to get him for around $20 million.

2023 Stats: 56.1 IP, 1.28 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 13.6 K/9, 33 Saves, 2.4 bWAR

Contract Projections: Five years, $88 million (Spotrac); Five years, $105 million (ESPN); Six years, $110 million (MLB Trade Rumors)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Dodgers eying Hader

Perfect Landing Spot: Texas Rangers

Save for a two-month stint in the middle of 2022 in which he couldn't get anyone out, Josh Hader has been a force of nature over the past six seasons.

It's almost a foregone conclusion that he is going to eclipse Edwin Díaz's five-year, $102 million contract from last season, both in terms of total value and AAV.

But which team will end up signing the southpaw who is elite for up-to-three-but-never-four outs per save chance?

Since the beginning of the offseason, the four likeliest candidates to sign Hader have been the Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers and Yankees, with the Dodgers gaining steam after the deferred nature of Shohei Ohtani's contract gave them the ability to continue spending more than expected.

From the jump, though, signing with the World Series champions has made the most sense.

The bullpen was undeniably Texas' biggest weakness last season, and it lost Aroldis Chapman, Will Smith and Chris Stratton from that shaky group.

If the Rangers enter 2024 with Josh Sborz as the primary set-up man and José Leclerc as the preferred closer, it might be the most questionable eighth/ninth inning combo in the majors.

Signing Hader would fix that problem in an instant.

2023 Stats: .258/.305/.435, 26 HR, 93 RBI, 7 SB, 2.1 bWAR

Contract Projections: Three years, $52.5 million (ESPN); Four years, $66 million (Spotrac); Four years, $80 million (MLB Trade Rumors)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Red Sox and Angels interested in Hernández

Perfect Landing Spot: San Diego Padres

Even before trading Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees, Teoscar Hernández to the Padres made roster sense.

They weren't going to be able to afford him while trying to shed roughly $50 million in payroll, but they were certainly in the market for an upgrade at DH—even better if it was a DH who could occasionally give Soto or Fernando Tatis Jr. a day off in the outfield.

Now that Soto's gone, though, not only is San Diego's need for an OF/DH much, much greater, but it also now has the room in the budget to sign one who figures to command a salary in the $17-20 million range.

Over the past five seasons, Hernández has averaged 33 home runs and 102 RBI per 162 games played. His OBP won't come anywhere close to matching Soto's, but that pop would be a welcome addition in left field. (And while Hernández's glove isn't anything special, the Padres were used to that with Soto.)

Going to the Angels could also be a good fit for Hernández, as they desperately need a slugger—and he has a career .901 OPS in 23 games played at Angel Stadium. However, San Diego is more likely to actually be a postseason contender in the next few years, making Petco Park the more attractive option.

2023 Stats: DNP (ACL)

Contract Projections: Two years, $34 million (ESPN); Two years, $36 million (MLB Trade Rumors); Four years, $84 million (Spotrac)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Blue Jays, Cubs, Mariners and Nationals have reported interest in Hoskins

Perfect Landing Spot: Chicago Cubs

Rhys Hoskins is the ultimate wild card in what has been an uncommonly long free agency cycle.

From 2017-22, Hoskins had an .846 OPS—identical to Austin Riley, slightly behind Manny Machado (.851) and slightly ahead of Trevor Story (.841). Had he enjoyed a healthy and equally productive 2023 campaign, he almost certainly would have received nine-figure contract offers this offseason.

Instead, he suffered a torn ACL just before Opening Day, missed the entire season and is now to this offseason what Michael Conforto was to last offseason.

But last winter, the Chicago Cubs were all about signing buy-low candidates, scooping up Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, Eric Hosmer and Tucker Barnhart fresh off disappointing seasons. Now, they very much still need a first baseman. (Though, that could change if they re-sign Bellinger.)

The question is: Will they make Hoskins a one-year offer like they did with Bellinger, or will they bet on Hoskins returning to normal and immediately sign him to more of a long-term deal?

Maybe it's something creative like a one-year, $20 million deal which includes a three-year, $65 million club option, so they're at least protected to some extent if he just isn't the same on that surgically repaired knee. But after losing both Bellinger and Marcus Stroman to player options this offseason, the Cubs might be pretty aggressive here.

2023 Stats: 159.0 IP, 2.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 10.6 K/9 (with Yokohama Bay Stars)

Contract Projections: Four years, $68 million (ESPN); Five years, $85 million (MLB Trade Rumors); N/A (Spotrac)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox and Yankees among the teams interested in Imanaga.

Perfect Landing Spot: New York Mets

We can presumably remove the Dodgers from that list of suitors for Shōta Imanaga after they landed Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but quite noteworthy in that whole Thursday night ordeal were the reports that the Mets were the ones who initially offered Yamamoto a 12-year, $325 million contract before the Dodgers matched it.

Clearly, Steve Cohen is still willing to spend to win a title, and perhaps that will now trickle down to the next-best pitcher from Japan.

The Mets already signed Luis Severino to a one-year deal and recently traded for former Brewer Adrian Houser. Between that duo, Kodai Senga and José Quintana, their 2024 starting rotation is starting to come together nicely.

They still need one more quality arm to have any realistic hope of keeping pace with Atlanta and Philadelphia in the NL East, though, and Imanaga could be that arm.

By no means are they going to offer him what they offered Yamamoto. Imanaga is five years older and wasn't nearly as dominant. But he does hit free agency fresh off three consecutive seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and a cumulative WHIP below 1.00. He reasonably could be a left-handed second coming of Senga. Something on par with the five-year, $75 million deal the Mets gave Senga last winter is roughly the bar for Imanaga.

Pairing him with Senga would be great from an international marketing perspective, too. It's not nearly the Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani duo in Los Angeles, but a 1-2 punch of Senga and Imanaga would keep fans in Japan tuning in for Mets games on a regular basis for the next several years.

2023 Stats: 188.2 IP, 3.20 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 4.1 bWAR

Contract Projections: Five years, $106 million (ESPN); Six years, $110.5 million (Spotrac); Six years, $150 million (MLB Trade Rumors)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Rangers unlikely to bring back Montgomery

Perfect Landing Spot: Boston Red Sox

Though he hasn't had a ton of success at Fenway Park over the course of his career (0-1 in seven starts with a 4.00 ERA and 1.36 WHIP), there's no question that the Boston Red Sox are all-in on Jordan Montgomery now that Yoshinobu Yamamoto is off the market.

Upgrading the rotation was the first, second and perhaps third priority for Craig Breslow upon taking the GM job, but the Red Sox have yet to accomplish anything on that front.

Montgomery could be the durable arm that they have been lacking in recent years.

Not a single Boston pitcher logged enough innings to qualify for the ERA title last season—not that they would've had anyone close to winning that title anyway—and Nick Pivetta was the only pitcher to reach that 160 inning threshold in 2022.

But Montgomery has made at least 30 starts in three consecutive seasons, excelling regardless of whether he was pitching for the Yankees, Cardinals or Rangers.

When healthy, Chris Sale would still be Boston's ace, which is part of why this feels like a great fit.

Montgomery can be an elite No. 2 starter, four times in his career logging at least 150 innings with a sub-4.00 ERA. But he's maybe not quite an ace, even though you're going to have to pay him like one in order to get him. Boston is well-positioned to do that—able to give him more than $25 million per year without making him their highest-paid starter—and desperate to get at least one top-half-of-the-rotation starter.

2023 Stats: 180.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, 6.0 bWAR

Contract Projections: Six years, $144 million (Spotrac); Six years, $150 million (ESPN); Seven years, $200 million (MLB Trade Rumors)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Angels, Cubs, Giants, Padres and Red Sox linked to Snell

Perfect Landing Spot: San Francisco Giants

The whole "Giants no longer pursuing Yamamoto" narrative on Thursday felt a little forced, didn't it?

It was as if they were trying to get out in front of not landing the Japanese ace with a message of "Well, Blake Snell, you were our No. 1 priority all along," right?

But maybe it will work. And perhaps the two-time Cy Young winner should have been San Francisco's primary target all along, as he has both pitched masterfully at Oracle Park (1.59 ERA, 12.3 K/9 in four starts) and owned the Dodgers (2.59 ERA, 11.8 K/9 in 13 starts) over the course of his career.

The biggest selling point for the Giants is their cavernous stadium.

Snell has historically done a great job of not getting burned by home runs. Not only does he have a career HR/9 allowed rate of 0.92, but darn near two-thirds of the home runs he has allowed in his career were solo shots.

Get him pitching home games in San Francisco where home runs go to die, though, and it becomes even less likely that he pays dearly for the occasional innings in which he walks the bases loaded.

And, let's be honest, the Giants need to make a big splash after missing out on Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Shohei Ohtani and now Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Jung Hoo Lee was a solid, not cheap pickup, but signing Snell would be the type of home run they've been trying to hit in free agency over the past few offseasons.

2023 Stats: 136.2 IP, 3.95 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 1.6 bWAR

Contract Projections: Two years, $44 million (MLB Trade Rumors); Three years, $47 million (Spotrac); Three years, $63 million (ESPN)

Latest Scuttlebutt: Royals interested in Stroman

Perfect Landing Spot: Los Angeles Angels

2024 was quite the Tale of Two Stromans.

First half Marcus Stroman was a Cy Young front-runner. In 14 of his first 16 starts, he went at least six innings allowing two or fewer runs. That included a complete-game shutout of the then-mighty Tampa Bay Rays offense. After those 16 starts, he had a 2.28 ERA and sure looked like the best candidate to start the All-Star Game.

But second half Marcus Stroman was equal parts injured and ineffective, logging just 38.0 innings with an 8.29 ERA from June 25 onward.

Flip those halves around, and Stroman might be one of the most coveted free-agent pitchers on the market. But because he limped to the finish line for a few months, he maybe would have been better off just exercising his $21 million player option to stay with the Cubs for one more year.

Going to the Angels on a multiyear deal could be a great fit, though.

Los Angeles tried to improve its rotation in free agency in each of the past two winters, signing Noah Syndergaard in 2021-22 and Tyler Anderson last offseason, but that staff still needs a lot of help. Adding Stroman as the possible ace would help the Angels replace that half of Shohei Ohtani's game while giving them a better chance to contend in the loaded AL West.

That move alone wouldn't fix this team, but signing Stroman and landing maybe Teoscar Hernández or Jorge Soler would be big.