Filling the void created by Gerrit Cole’s elbow surgery, free agent Max Fried has helped the New … More
When the calendar hits April 27 Sunday, it will mark one month since the start of the regular season – and a good time to evaluate the hits and misses of the latest free-agent class.
Not surprisingly, the two teams that got the best return on their investment – at least at this point in the season – were those that spent the most money.
Both the New York Mets and New York Yankees sit in first place entering play this weekend, the former leading both leagues with an 18-7 record built upon a 12-1 mark at home.
Soto’s Haul
The Mets not only won the off-season’s biggest prize by giving Juan Soto the largest and longest contract in baseball history (15 years at $765 million) but also kept incumbent first baseman Pete Alonso from finding a new home with a two-year, $54 million extension.
Providing perfect lineup protection for Soto, Alonso jumped off to a hot start that materialized after he began to make better contact – especially with runners in scoring position.
Juan Soto, given a record 15-year, $765 million contract by the New York Mets, has formed a potent … More
The left-right tandem of Soto and Alonso allowed the Mets to complete a homestand this week with a 7-0 record. It ended with a four-game sweep of their top divisional rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Although the Yankees had hoped to keep Soto, who hit 41 home runs for them last summer, they used their unspent free agent funds to finance Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, and trade acquisitions Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams.
New League For Fried
Fried, the winning pitcher for Atlanta in the decisive sixth game of the 2021 World Series, started his American League tenure with a 4-0 record and 1.42 earned run average. He even flirted with a no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays, a divisional rival.
The owner of a winning record in every season since becoming a regular starter in 2017, Fried has ably filled the No. 1 spot that opened when erstwhile ace Gerrit Cole went down with Tommy John elbow surgery.
Signed on Dec. 30, the 31-year-old Fried is in the first season of an eight-year, $218 million deal that is the largest and longest ever given to a left-handed pitcher.
Goldschmidt, also a veteran with a glittering National League resume, filled the team’s huge first base hole with a strong start at age 37 after inking a one-year pact for $12,500,000. The former National League MVP hit .383 in his first 25 games in pinstripes.
The Yankees were 15-10, tied with the Detroit Tigers for the best record in the AL, when play began Friday.
But three teams in the National League West – all powered by free agent signees – were even better.
San Diego was 17-8, a hair better than the Giants, at 17-9, and Dodgers, 16-9.
NL West Dogfight
Pushed in part by new free agent signees Nick Pivetta and Jason Heyward, the Padres are also powered by previous acquisitions Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts, both heavy-hitting infielders lured to sign by long-term deals. Pitcher Yu Darvish, acquired in a 2023 trade, inked a six-year extension that precluded his pending free agency.
The Dodgers, seeking to become the first team with consecutive world championships since the 2020 Yankees took three in a row, were the biggest spenders of the three NL West titans.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell was supposed to be the No. 1 pitcher for the Los Angeles … More
They added nearly a dozen free agents, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, Japanese leagues standout Roki Sasaki, star left-handed closer Tanner Scott, jack-of-all-trades Enrique Hernandez,and slugging outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Michael Conforto. Snell started well but has since been sidelined with shoulder issue.
San Francisco, which lost Snell, tried to keep pace by signing hard-hitting shortstop Willy Adames (seven-years, $182 million) and extending fancy-fielding third baseman Matt Chapman (six years, $151 million). Both are probably headed for the All-Star Game in Atlanta July 15.
That won’t happen for Justin Verlander, despite his determination to reach 300 wins. The 42-year-old right-hander went 0-1 with a 5.47 ERA over his first five starts – hardly justifying the Giants’ decision to guarantee him $15 million in a one-year deal.
Perhaps the most significant signing in the division was made by Arizona, which surprised the baseball world by giving Corbin Burnes, like Snell a former Cy Young Award winner, six years and $210 million. The D’backs started 14-11 but that record was three games off the pace Friday, just ahead of the one-month milestone approached.
Even with Burnes and Zac Gallen at the top, the Arizona rotation has been erratic (4.38 combined earned run average) and could prompt more moves at the mid-season trade deadline. The D’backs also hope to extend Gallen before he tests free agency this fall.
Windy City Wonder
Perhaps the surprise of the Senior Circuit is the Chicago Cubs, whose 16-10 record tops the Central Division by three games. Although the trade that landed slugger Kyle Tucker from Houston made more headlines, the off-season signing of free-agent catcher Carson Kelly has also been helpful. In his first 14 games, he hit .342 with six home runs and even hit for the cycle.
Veteran free agents helped turn two American League clubs into divisional contenders. The Boston Red Sox signed pitcher Walker Buehler and third baseman Alex Bregman, while the Detroit Tigers brought back Jack Flaherty, who finished last season as Buehler’s teammate with the World Champion Dodgers. Bregman ($120 million) got three years, Flaherty ($35 million) two, and Buehler ($21 million) one.
In the AL West, the Seattle Mariners gambled and won on their decision to give free-agent infielder Jorge Polanco a one-year, $7.75 million deal following a down season in 2024. Suddenly a superior hitter this season, he’s helped boost an offense that’s not much more than ordinary – and kept the pitching-rich team near the top of the AL West with a 14-11 mark through 25 games.
Other teams, however, discovered that free agency isn’t always beneficial.
After losing Burnes and slugging outfielder Anthony Santander, who jumped to Toronto, the Baltimore Orioles brought in ancient right-hander Charlie Morton, whose pitching quickly matched the calendar (at 41, he’s the oldest man in the American League). The O’s also signed Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, former Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, and outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Things got so bad in Baltimore during the first month that Sanchez was actually deployed as a mop-up relief pitcher.
Morton, like Verlander, has yet to justify his one-year, $15 million contract. The former was a major contributor to the bloated 6.08 Baltimore team ERA.
Another free-agent pitcher whose performance imploded since signing is Jordan Romano, who jumped from Toronto to Philadelphia with a one-year, $8.5 million pact. Expected to replace closer Carlos Estevez, who rode free agency to Kansas City, Romano had a horrendous first month, pitching to a 13.50 ERA (that’s no typo).
The biggest flops among the free-agent hitters who found new homes have been Joc Pederson of the Texas Rangers and Jurickson Profar of the Atlanta Braves.
Pederson, a left-handed slugger who helped two teams win world championships, went to Texas on a two-year, $37 million contract but delivered nothing memorable beyond an 0-for-41 April slump.
But that was better than Profar, who played only four games before his 81-game suspension for violating baseball policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The switch-hitting outfielder, given three years for $42 million, vacated Atlanta’s left-field job in favor of Alex Verdugo, a late-signing free agent (one year, $1.5 million) who’s superior defensively.
Profar, an All-Star last year with San Diego, is due to return in July.