A look at the top five remaining free agents

The big names are coming off the board in free agency.

Juan Soto signed a record-setting contract with the New York Mets this week. The New York Yankees signed Max Fried. Blake Snell is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Francisco Giants landed Willy Adames.

However, there are still impact players remaining. Here is a look at the top five players still available with an educated guess of where they will sign.

Corbin Burnes

Burnes is a true No. 1 starter, having finished in the top eight in the Cy Young Award voting each of the last five seasons. He has also had a sub-3.00 ERA in four of the last five years and was 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA for the Orioles in 32 starts in 2024, his lone year with Baltimore.

Burnes figures to surpass Fried’s eighth-year, $218-million contract, dimming the Orioles’ hopes of a reunion. The Giants and Boston Red Sox appear to be Burnes’ most likely destinations.

Having played collegiately at Saint Mary’s, Burnes has an affinity for the Bay Area. The Giants have also opened their checkbook after missing the postseason three straight years and putting former star catcher Buster Posey in charge of their baseball operations.

The Red Sox’s urgency to sign Burnes has lessened after trading for Chicago White Sox for left-hander Garrett Crochet. The Toronto Blue Jays are lurking but thought to be a long shot.

Prediction: Giants

Roki Sasaki

The 24-year-old right-hander was posted this week by the Chiba Lotte Marines, his team in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. MLB teams have until Jan. 23 to sign him as he is subject to international amateur free agent rules and cannot receive a straight major-league contract.

All 30 teams could theoretically afford to sign Sasaki, and his agent Joel Wolfe said earlier this week that his client is open to anything. Of course, any agent would say that. Still, it makes it hard to predict where Sasaki will land.

One thing is certain, Sasaki is very talented, though injury prone. He had a 30-15 record and 2.02 ERA in four NPB seasons but was limited to 69 games and 414.2 innings.

The biggest buzz at the Winter Meetings was that Sasaki will sign with either the Los Angeles Dodgers—joining Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto—or San Diego Padres. Padres’ right-hander Yu Darvish has been a mentor to Sasaki and San Diego also employs Japanese legend Hideo Nomo as an advisor.

Prediction: Padres

Alex Bregman

Other than Jose Altuve, no player has been more closely associated with the Houston Astros’ renaissance than Bregman. He has been their starting third baseman since reaching the major leagues in 2016 and an All-Star and Gold Glove winner.

Bregman is 30 and beginning to show his age. He hit just .260/.315/.453 in 145 games this year, though he did pop 26 homers and win a Gold Glove.

Astros people told Draft Nation at the Winter Meetings that signing Bregman is their top priority. Houston freed up some money on Friday by trading right fielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs.

The Red Sox, Yankees and Detroit Tigers are all in the bidding for Bregman, who is willing to move to second base.

The Red Sox need another big bat and have been telling anyone who will listen that they will spend what it takes to reach the postseason for the first time since 2021. They could sign Bregman, move Rafael Devers from third base to first base then trade young first baseman Triston Casas for another starting pitcher.

Prediction: Red Sox

Pete Alonso

There hasn’t been a lot of buzz about the slugging first baseman, who hit 226 home runs with the Mets during his first six major-league seasons.

The 30-year-old Alonso hit .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs this year while playing in all 162 games. However, his 2.6 bWAR was his lowest in a full season and he had minus-3 defensive runs saved.

Mets owner Steve Cohen continues to say he would like to re-sign Alonso even after acquiring Soto. However, people familiar with the Mets’ thinking told Draft Nation that the front office isn’t as keen on the idea.

The Yankees need a first baseman after Anthony Rizzo became a free agent and could sign Alonso as a counterstrike to their city rival signing Soto. The Seattle Mariners are also lurking because they need badly need to upgrade an offense to take advantage of the game’s best starting rotation.

However, if Uncle Steve wants Alonso, you can be sure he will retain the Polar Bear.

Prediction: Mets

Anthony Santander

The switch-hitting right fielder hit 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs for the Orioles this season. Yet, like Alonso, there has been a dearth of rumors concerning Santander.

Some teams have concerns about Santander’s .307 on-base percentage over his eight-year career. He is also a poor fielding, finishing with minus-7 defensive runs saved in 2024.

Yet the 30-year-old has hit 105 home runs over the last three seasons and plenty of teams could use that kind of power. Three of the Orioles’ AL East rivals have been linked to Santander in recent days – the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays would love to make a splash after losing out on the bidding for Ohtani last year and Soto this week. There are worse consolation prizes than Santander.

Prediction: Blue Jays