Best and Worst Landing Spots for MLB's Top 10 Free Agents of 2022-23 Class

When the 2022 Major League Baseball postseason ends in a few weeks, some of the game's best players will be on the open market.

Those players have some tough decisions to make in free agency, but it will ultimately come down to fit.

This is where we share thoughts on the best and worst possible landing spots for the top 10 free agents in this 2023 class.

To be considered in these hypotheticals, it has to be teams that could credibly make a play for a top free agent, which automatically eliminates certain small-market, cellar-dwelling teams.

Let's take a look.

Best: St. Louis Cardinals

Contreras has already considered replacing the retiring future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina in St. Louis. While he holds a special place in Chicago as part of the Cubs' 2016 World Series squad, jumping ship to the archrival Cardinals makes sense.

Contreras is coming off his best offensive season and would fit in seamlessly with a Cardinals lineup already built to win.

He's talked to former teammate and close friend Jose Quintana, who was traded to St. Louis at the deadline, and seems open to the idea.

Contreras' career numbers at the pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium aren't great, but he had at least one hit in five of the six games he played there in 2022.

Worst: San Francisco Giants

The Giants have a need at catcher and money to spend. But their priorities should be re-signing Carlos Rodon and pursuing Aaron Judge.

Of course, the Giants should have enough money to try a combination of each of these options.

Joey Bart had been tabbed as the Giants' catcher of the future with Buster Posey retiring after last season. But this was a rough year for Bart, who posted the highest strikeout rate (38.5 percent) of any catcher with at least 250 plate appearances. He also had the third-highest strikeout rate of any hitter with at least 250 at-bats.

But Contreras should look to St. Louis, where there is a clearer vision than in San Francisco. Contreras also posts some of his worst numbers at Oracle Park, albeit a small sample size. His slash line is .137/.228/.157 with no home runs and just one RBI in 51 at-bats there.

Best: Philadelphia Phillies

No offense to Minnesota, but Correa belongs somewhere with a little more flair and personality. That was really the only surprising part of him signing there before this season, that it felt somewhat dull and boring.

Correa is a big-market guy. How else would you explain his answer last month about his future with the Twins?

The Phillies are closer to contending than Minnesota, as evidenced by their current standing in the playoffs. They also need to shore up their middle infield, which has been a need for a while.

With commitments to Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, the Phillies have World Series aspirations. Correa will be one of the youngest shortstops on the market but also the most World Series-experienced.

Worst: New York Yankees

If the Yankees passed on Correa last offseason, when they really needed him and the market dictated he get a short-term deal, it will make less sense now with the cost presumably higher.

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Yankees were hesitant with Correa because they did not want the draft penalties that came with pushing further into the competitive balance tax.

It seems like weak logic for not pursuing one of the game's best players at one of the most important positions, and a need particular to the team.

Correa is better served staying far away from New York, where he is still a villain as the most outspoken member of the 2017 World Series Astros team.

Best: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers tried Craig Kimbrel as their closer, and that didn't work. While they piece together the situation through the playoffs, who ultimately fills the role held so long by Kenley Jansen is a longer-term question.

Díaz has a chance to become the first $100 million closer. Only a few places will be willing to make such a move, though. One is Díaz's current home with the Mets in New York, but the Dodgers have to be chief among his suitors.

Signing with the Dodgers is self-explanatory. They have a lot of money, a need for Díaz's services and the most successful track record of any team in baseball for the last decade-plus.

Worst: Boston Red Sox

Going to the Red Sox would be a competitive downgrade from his current situation. Boston has a lot to sort out this offseason after finishing with the worst record in the AL East.

There is also uncertainty about Boston's core, with Xander Bogaerts expected to opt out, their top two starting pitchers hitting free agency and Rafael Devers awaiting an extension.

Signing with a clear contender makes more sense for Díaz, unless the offer is just too much to refuse.

Fenway is also a hitter's ballpark where Díaz has rarely pitched. He's given up three runs on five hits and a .957 OPS in 17 at-bats at Fenway.

Best: Boston Red Sox

Bogaerts is the most synonymous current player with the Red Sox organization. He is an icon in Boston and makes the most sense there for identity reasons alone.

He's also been wildly successful with the Red Sox. That's where he's been part of two World Series teams and been an All-Star four times.

It also appears to be the place he truly wants to be, just at a more lucrative salary than the $20 million his current deal would pay in 2023.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has said extending Bogaerts is a priority.

Worst: Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have deep pockets and good reason to be in the market for a premier shortstop. As good as Nico Hoerner was this past season, the Cubs are expected to explore possibilities in an elite shortstop market.

But is 30-year-old Bogaerts the right fit?

Defensively, Carlos Correa and Trea Turner would be much better options for the Cubs. They are also both younger than Bogaerts.

And would Bogaerts leave Boston for a Cubs team that could still be a couple of years away from competing? This is another one where it only makes sense if neither side has a better option.

Best: San Francisco Giants

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Friday "there's mutual interest" between the team and Rodón, who pitched the best year of his career this season for San Francisco.

Rodón was second among all pitchers in FanGraphs' WAR (6.2) and posted the most strikeouts per nine innings (11.98) in baseball. Helped by playing in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park, he also gave up the sixth-fewest home runs per nine innings.

Re-signing Rodón is among the Giants' top priorities this offseason, which means it's likely they're willing to do much better than two years, $44 million with the opt-out in the second year.

Worst: Chicago Cubs

Rodón loved pitching in Chicago, according to Daniel Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago. He was drafted by the White Sox with the third overall pick in 2014 and pitched for their big league club for seven seasons.

Rodón has talked about Chicago holding a special place in his heart, as the city in which he grew into adulthood with his wife and where they had two children.

Of course, absence makes the heart grow fonder. We get it, there's some nostalgia with Chicago and certainly a mystique associated with Wrigley Field.

That would still mean leaving a pitcher's ballpark for a more hitter-friendly one, and doing so with a rebuilding franchise.

Best: Atlanta

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported extension talks between Atlanta and Swanson opened in mid-August, and it would be surprising if the 2021 World Series champs don't lock down a hometown superstar like Swanson.

He tied with Trea Turner for second among shortstops in FanGraphs' WAR (6.3) and was fourth among the position group with 25 home runs.

Growing up just outside of Atlanta in Kennesaw, Georgia, Swanson was a childhood Braves fan who went from attending games at Turner Field to securing the final out in the World Series for his hometown team.

His life is like a movie script.

It also helps to have Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos publicly acknowledging Swanson's importance, both on the field and in the clubhouse.

Worst: Either Los Angeles team

The Angels are a mess right now. They somehow can't compete, despite having the best player of his generation (Mike Trout) and since adding another who is unlike anyone we've ever seen (Shohei Ohtani).

A place that can't even adequately serve Trout and Ohtani is no place for a budding star like Swanson, who to be clear, the Angels should definitely consider pursuing. The organization also faces uncertainty with the team for sale.

And could you imagine another Atlanta star (now represented by the same agency) bolting for the Dodgers in consecutive offseasons? Swanson in theory makes sense for the Dodgers, where he could join former teammate Freddie Freeman.

Atlanta's brass should try its best to keep that from happening.

Best: Houston Astros

Game 1 of the ALDS not withstanding, Verlander’s time in Houston has been an overwhelming success.

He won a World Series as a trade deadline acquisition in 2017, his second AL Cy Young Award in 2019 and re-signed last offseason after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

There won’t be a shortage of teams interested in Verlander at age 40, likely coming off his third Cy Young campaign. But he’s developed a close relationship with Astros owner Jim Crane over the past five years as they’ve consistently contended for the World Series, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

It would be wise for both parties to keep this good thing going.

Worst: Detroit Tigers

We talked about nostalgia earlier. That’s the only thing that would get Verlander to sign perhaps his final big-time, multiyear deal with the organization in which he was raised.

A year ago, the Tigers were thought to be on the rise under former Astros manager A.J. Hinch, but a 66-96 season was a massive step back in the rebuild.

This would be nothing like the Albert Pujols swan song in St. Louis.

All that said, Verlander has not ruled out the possibility of a Detroit reunion.

Best: New York Yankees

The Yankees curiously sat out the superstar free-agent shortstop sweepstakes last year, instead settling for Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

But Trea Turner wasn’t on the market at that time.

For as talented as last year’s group was, this one headlined by Turner is even better. The Yankees have younger in-house options with two of their top prospects being shortstops (Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza).

Turner is just so much better than what one could reasonably expect from a prospect and would improve the Yankees immediately. He ranked fourth among shortstops in wRC+ (128).

It also helps that Turner is partial to the East Coast.

Worst: San Francisco Giants

Leaving the Dodgers for the Giants after 2022 seems counterintuitive, unless San Francisco really pays up.

That seems unlikely, but would it even be worth passing up a chance to go back east with the Yankees, or if the Boston Red Sox or Philadelphia Phillies come calling, or even just staying with the Dodgers in L.A.?

The Giants have more pressing issues in the outfield, at catcher and re-signing Carlos Rodón.

Best: New York Mets

There is a mutual desire to keep deGrom as a Met for life. Mets owner Steve Cohen said in August the team would do whatever it can to make sure he stays.

The Mets made progress this season, even though it was a disappointing finish. Losing deGrom would be a notable setback.

He could go to the Los Angeles Dodgers and flourish. They have work to do with their rotation and have deep enough pockets to secure deGrom.

Cohen, however, is the richest owner in baseball. If he wants to keep deGrom and the franchise cornerstone wants to stay, Cohen should be able to make it happen.

Worst: San Diego Padres

Let's be honest, there is no bad landing spot for a pitcher of deGrom's stature.

However, signing deGrom would certainly be on-brand with the Padres' ethos. They just traded for Juan Soto and Josh Bell's expiring contract at the deadline.

The Padres also moved for Sean Manaea as the Oakland Athletics held a fire sale before the season, about a year after trading for Blake Snell from the Tampa Bay Rays and Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs.

Joining the team that just beat the Mets would not set well with all of his fans in Big Apple.

Best: New York Yankees

With Judge betting on himself this season and winning, it would seem he holds all the leverage in winter negotiations with the Yankees.

After the Yankees fizzled toward the end of the season, following Judge's historic run to Roger Maris' American League and franchise home run record became the most compelling aspect of the team. Not to mention the Yankees would not be nearly as good as the American League's No. 2 seed without Judge.

It's uncommon for the Yankees' homegrown stars like Judge to leave in free agency. It happened with Robinson Cano, but this is something entirely different.

The Yankees can't let Judge walk after breaking Maris' record and winning AL MVP, which he likely will.

Worst: Detroit Tigers

It's difficult to imagine the scenario in which Judge lands with the Tigers, given how disappointing they were in 2022.

But this does come down to money, and the Tigers are really only spending on Miguel Cabrera, Javier Baez and Eduardo Rodrguez. Each one of those players could be moved, especially if it helps free up money to sign Judge.

Given how poorly the Tigers competed in a lowly AL Central, it would have to be the best offer Judge sees to land him in Detroit, where he would be managed by former Astros foe A.J. Hinch.