Biggest Payrolls Could Get Bigger As Baseball Free Agency Begins

Kyle Tucker is one of three left-handed sluggers likely to land large contracts in the baseball free-agent market. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

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Off-season’s greetings!

The players have gone home but the executives of Major League Baseball are just getting started.

Like thoroughbreds at the starting gate, owners and general managers of the 30 big-league teams are already chomping at the bit to buy the biggest and best prizes from the new free-agent pool.

Though nobody is likely to land a $700 million deal – as players did in both of the past two winters – protracted bidding wars led by the richest teams should drive prices up for everyone.

Big Bidders Return

That’s especially likely if the two New York teams and the Los Angeles Dodgers again disappear into a League Of Their Own in convincing the top veteran players to take their offers.

Last year, the Mets plucked Juan Soto away from the Yankees with a 15-year, $765 million deal that was the richest and longest in baseball history.

The previous winter’s record went to Shohei Ohtani, who jumped from the Los Angeles Angels to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a 10-year, $700 million deal.

Both deals dwarfed the nine-year, $360 million extension the Yankees gave Aaron Judge as an advance Christmas present in 2022.

Thanks to Ohtani’s success and persuasion, Yoshinobu Yamamoto jumped straight from Japan to the U.S. majors in 2024 with a 12-year, $325 million contract that was the richest ever given a pitcher. He was joined last winter by fellow pitcher Roki Sasaki, giving the Dodgers a Little Tokyo to match the one already existing in Los Angeles.

Riding high on the strength of consecutive world championships, the Dodgers reel in reams of revenue from their high-priced but high-performing free agents. They are expected to continue that trend this winter with sluggers Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker, and Cody Bellinger all available for contracts they like in terms of years and dollars.

Hefty Dodgers Payroll

According to Roster Resource, the Dodgers lead the majors with a payroll pushing $400 million (actually $394 million). The Mets rank second at $340 million, followed by the Yankees at $294 million, the Phillies at $291 million, and the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays at $258 million.

With a possible lockout looming when the current labor-management Basic Agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2006, teams are anxious to line up top talent before negotiations freeze during a potential work stoppage. When that happened after the 2021 season, Freddie Freeman found himself unemployed because the Atlanta Braves – concerned he wouldn’t re-sign – instead traded for the younger, less expensive Matt Olson.

This time around, Tucker, an All-Star outfielder who spent 2025 with the Chicago Cubs, and Bellinger, another left-handed hitter, could command higher salaries than Schwarber, a one-dimensional player who played only eight games in the outfield while spending most of the year as a DH in hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. His 56-homer season makes a great calling card.

Also in this year’s market are Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman, infielders who opted out of their contracts; third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who hit four home runs in a game last year; three-time batting champion Luis Arraez; center-fielders Harrison Bader and Trent Grisham; veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto; bat-first shortstop Bo Bichette, who can also play second; and jack-of-all-trades Kike Hernandez, a key cog for the repeat world champions.

Pitching Market

Available pitchers range from Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, and Framber Valdez to closers Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez.

Two slugging corner infielders posted by Japanese teams are Munetaka Murakami and Kaz Okamoto.

Some signings turn out to be lightning in a bottle. Soto, still just 27, hit career peaks with 43 home runs and 38 stolen bases last season. And Ohtani had the only 50/50 season in baseball history.

Max Fried, the long-time Atlanta ace who signed an eight-year, $218 million Yankees deal that was the largest and longest ever given a left-handed starting pitcher, won a career-best 19 games, leading both leagues, while winning his fourth Gold Glove for defensive excellence.

The Yankees used unspent Soto money to sign Fried and acquire Bellinger, closer Devin Williams, and other players before the 2025 campaign began.

Now the Yanks could return the favor by pilfering Alonso from the crosstown Mets. The first baseman would also fit in Boston, Seattle, and several other cities.

One man who won’t be selling himself this winter is Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Toronto’s top performer in the post-season, he signed a 14-year, $500 million extension before testing free agency.

That deal, which runs through 2039, has an annual average value of $35.71 million and includes a $325 million signing bonus – to be paid over the life of the deal. Only Soto and Ohtani got more money when they signed.

The baseball world is still recovering from last winter’s intense Soto sweepstakes, which reportedly included both New York teams, Toronto, Boston, and the Dodgers. Although the Yankees bid 16 years – a record for any player contract – their final offer was said to be $5 million short and did not include use of a stadium suite.