Here are the best remaining MLB free agents originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Big-money deals are being handed out left and right in 2022-23 MLB free agency.
There have been a pair of $300-plus million deals struck, with Aaron Judge returning to the New York Yankees for $360 million and Trea Turner jumping from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for $300 million.
Xander Bogaerts, meanwhile, got $280 million to leave the Boston Red Sox for the San Diego Padres and the Texas Rangers lured Jacob deGrom away from the Big Apple with a $185 million deal.
And then there’s the $162 million Brandon Nimmo got from the New York Mets, the $102 million Edwin Diaz got from the Mets, the $90 million Masataka Yoshida got from the Red Sox, the $87.5 million Willson Contreras got from the St. Louis Cardinals and the $86.6 million Justin Verlander got from the Mets.
RELATED: Full list of 2022-23 MLB free-agent signings
But even with all that talent coming off the board, there’s still value to be had in the free-agent market.
Here’s a look at the best remaining free agents.
Correa figures to have a good shot at joining Judge and Turner in this offseason’s $300 million club. A change of scenery didn’t prevent Correa from enjoying another superb season in 2022. The 28-year-old hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in 136 games with the Twins.
Swanson has gotten overshadowed a bit in what’s an insanely deep free-agent shortstop class. But the former No. 1 overall pick won’t be without suitors on the heels of the best season of his career. Swanson, 28, hit .277/.329/.447 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs while playing all 162 games for Atlanta (he appeared in 160 games the season prior as well). Swanson posted the 11th-best fWAR among all MLB hitters while earning his first All-Star nod and Gold Glove.
With deGrom and Verlander locked up, Rodon has taken center stage among the remaining starting pitchers. The 29-year-old southpaw is coming off his second consecutive All-Star season, going 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA, 237 strikeouts and an MLB-best 2.25 FIP over 178 innings with the Giants.
The Houston Astros won the 2022 World Series despite being down one of their better hitters. Brantley’s season ended after just 64 games due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. The five-time All-Star has been one of baseball’s more consistent producers over the past several years and was enjoying another Brantley-esque season before being shut down (.288/.370/.416 batting line). Brantley will turn 36 in May.
J.D. Martinez, DH, Boston Red Sox
Martinez’s power numbers dipped in 2022, with his slugging percentage below .500 (.448) and his home run total below 20 (16) for the first time in a 162-game season since 2013. The 35-year-old still had an All-Star season at the DH spot though, hitting .274/.341/.448 over 139 games.
Also still available: SP Chris Bassitt, SP Nathan Eovaldi, SP Koudai Senga, SP Michael Wacha, 2B Jean Segura, 3B Justin Turner, OF Andrew Benintendi, OF Michael Conforto, OF Kevin Kiermaier, OF Jurickson Profar