The MLB Winter Meetings wrapped up earlier this week, and it was quite a hectic time for the league. Several big name free agents came off the board, and the landscape of the league changed as a whole. The fireworks came early and often, and when the dust had settled, the MLB looked to be completely different than it was just a few days earlier.
Despite the fact that many of the top players are off the board, there are still a lot of really good players left available on the market who will now draw a ton of attention over the next few weeks. The Winter Meetings certainly ushered in some change to the league, but there’s still a lot to be done throughout the final few months of the offseason.
With that in mind, it seems like a good time to turn our attention from what happened at the Winter Meetings to what could end up happening over the remainder of the offseason in free agency. Let’s look at five of the top remaining free agents after the MLB Winter Meetings and pick out potential landing spots for them as they begin to draw more interest across the market.
Kodai Senga to the New York Mets
The New York Mets have already made some major moves this offseason, as they have re-signed Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo to big deals, while also adding Justin Verlander and David Robertson to their pitching staff. Even with the addition of Verlander, it looks like they could still be looking to add some pitching help in Kodai Senga.
Senga is exploring a potential move to the MLB from Japan, and while he isn’t confirmed to be making the jump, his interest in a move has made the Mets quite interested in his services. Senga was dominant last season (11-6, 1.89 ERA, 159 K, 1.04 WHIP) and given the Mets still need another starter or two, they will make a big push to add another impact player in Senga.
Chris Bassitt to the Minnesota Twinss
The other option the Mets could take would involve re-signing Chris Bassitt, but it seems like they have turned their attention to Senga for the time being. Even with Verlander and Jacob deGrom off the market, Bassitt hasn’t drawn a ton of attention, which makes his market a bit of a question mark. But it seems like he could be a perfect fit for the Minnesota Twins starting rotation.
Minnesota wants to add more top end talent to their rotation, and while Bassitt isn’t necessarily a front of the rotation guy (15-9, 3.42 ERA, 167 K, 1.15 WHIP) he’s extremely consistent and could slot in seamlessly behind Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray for the Twins. Minnesota has money to spend, and Bassitt could be the perfect option for them.
Dansby Swanson to the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox just lost their longtime shortstop in Xander Bogaerts to the San Diego Padres during the MLB Winter Meetings, and they would be wise to try to invest in a replacement immediately on the free agent market. Trevor Story is technically a shortstop by trade, but even then, if he plays there, they still need a second baseman. They could fix that roadblock by making a push to sign Dansby Swanson instead.
Swanson has been widely overlooked by many teams this offseason, but that’s what happens when you hit the market at the same time as Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Trea Turner. Swanson is arguably just as good as all of them (.277 BA, 25 HR, 96 RBI, 18 SB, .776 OPS) and will be a year younger than Bogaerts by the time the season starts. Adding Swanson would help make up for Bogaerts’ crushing departure, which makes this deal even more necessary for Boston.
Carlos Correa to the New York Yankees
Speaking of star shortstops, Correa is easily the best remaining hitter left on the market at this stage of the game. And while many top teams are pursuing him, it sounds like the New York Yankees have begun to emerge as a serious suitor for his services.
Correa is set to cash in again this offseason just one year after signing with the Twins, and it’s not hard to see why. He’s the epitome of consistency among this star shortstop market (.291 BA, 22 HR, 64 RBI, .834 OPS) and he doesn’t really have a weakness in his game. The Yanks just blew a bag on Aaron Judge, and they could be set to hand out another massive deal to Correa soon as well.
Carlos Rodon to the Baltimore Orioles
That brings us to our final prediction, which may just be the most shocking. With Verlander and deGrom off the market, that leaves Carlos Rodon as the top starting pitcher on the market, and while there are many big name clubs looking to land him, the Baltimore Orioles will shockingly outbid everyone to land Rodon’s services.
Rodon had the best season of his career in 2022 with the San Francisco Giants (14-8, 2.88 ERA, 237 K, 1.03 WHIP) and proved he can be the ace in a starting rotation. The Orioles desperately need pitching, and were making a push for Rodon before Verlander and deGrom were even off the board. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that will lead Baltimore to make the most shocking addition of the offseason.
.