MLB Hot Stove: These 15 players would've made free agency a lot more interesting

We rank the 15 players who missed out on 2016-17 free agency and estimate their forsaken paydays

The current free-agent class is one of the weakest we've seen in quite some time. There are a few power bats (Yoenis Cespedes, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista) and some dynamite relievers (Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, Mark Melancon), but very little star power beyond that. Heck, there aren't even many average regulars in this free-agent class. It's bleak.

As always, this free-agent class would have been much deeper had several players not signed contract extensions earlier in their careers. Clubs like to sign their top young players long-term not only to keep costs down, but also to control the player for more of his prime. The player takes the contract for the guaranteed money. It's nice to get that first big payday.

Last offseason, Andrew McCutchen and Wade Davis were the best players who would have qualified for free agency had they not signed extensions earlier in their career. This year's crop of "would-be" free agents is much more star-laden. Much, much more.

A total of 15 players would have qualified for free agency this winter -- that means they reached six years of service time during the 2016 season -- had they not signed long-term. Here are those 15 players, ranked in order of general awesomeness at baseball.

The White Sox smartly signed Chris Sale to a five-year contract during spring training 2013, following his first season as a starter. He's since established himself as one of the game's most dominant pitchers and a perennial Cy Young candidate. Assuming his two options are exercised, Chicago will pay their ace $57.5 million from 2013-19. Peanuts.

The bidding war for Chris Sale this offseason would have been insane. USATSI

What would he get this offseason? He'd get the largest pitching contract in baseball history. That honor currently belongs to David Price. Price signed his seven-year deal worth $217 million last offseason at age 30. Sale is only 27. He's every bit as good as Price, if not better, and he's three years younger. Yep, Sale would have received the largest pitching contract ever this winter had the White Sox not locked him up four years ago. Something like seven years and $32 million per year ($224 million total) would have been within reach.

Moreso than any other position, great catchers rarely hit free agency. They're so very hard to find that teams act quickly and sign these guys long-term as soon as possible. A few months after he was named 2012 NL MVP and helped the team to their second World Series title in three years, the Giants rewarded Buster Posey with a nine-year contract that figures to keep him in San Francisco the rest of his career. It's the second largest catcher contract in history, behind Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184 million pact.

What would he get this offseason? Posey is still only 29 and he remains insanely productive at the hardest-to-fill position on the field. An eight-year deal worth $23 million annually ($184 million total) seems possible, even with the understanding he'd likely end that contract as a full-time first baseman (or even full-time DH).

Because one bonafide ace in Sale isn't enough, Madison Bumgarner also would have been a free agent this winter had the Giants not signed him to a five-year deal back in April 2012. Between the guaranteed portion of the contract and the two option years, San Francisco will pay their ace $59 million from 2013-19. There's been talk the Giants may approach Bumgarner about a new contract, one that will allow the team to keep him beyond 2019 while paying him something more commensurate with his production.

What would he get this offseason? As with Sale, I think Bumgarner would have eclipsed Price's record contract had he hit free agency this offseason as scheduled. Sale and Bumgarner are basically the same age -- Sale is four months older -- so that seven-year deal worth $224 million I mentioned for Sale also applies to Bumgarner. Perhaps MadBum's postseason reputation would earn him a few extra bucks.

The star power just keeps coming. Giancarlo Stanton, baseball's preeminent power hitter, would have hit the open market this winter had he not signed that record contract with the Marlins two years ago. Usually these early-career extensions come with a discount, but there was no discount here. Stanton's $325 million guarantee is the largest in baseball history by $50 million.

Baseball's most prolific power could have been a free agent this winter. USATSI

What would he get this offseason? There is still 11 years and $309.5 million left on Giancarlo's deal. Would he get that as a 27-year-old free agent this winter? I actually think the answer is no. Don't get me wrong, he'd still get an insane contract, but I wonder if it would be closer to, say, eight years and $30 million annually ($240 million total) than what's left on his current deal. The injuries the last two years have dropped Stanton's stock a bit. Still, power pays. And it pays big.

Did anyone have a more quietly excellent season than Freddie Freeman? He hit .302/.400/.569 with 34 home runs in 2016, and he had a 30-game hitting streak late in the season that no one seemed to notice. Blame the Braves for being so bad. Atlanta raised a few eyebrows when they gave Freeman an eight-year deal back in spring training 2014, but it's worked out marvelously so far.

What would he get this offseason? Although he's relegated to first base, Freeman has established himself as a dominant offensive player, and he would have hit the market at age 27. Chris Davis got seven years and $161 million at age 29 last offseason. That would have been Freeman's absolute floor, I think.

The current free agent class is very thin on pitching -- Rich Hill is the best available starter, so yeah -- yet Stephen Strasburg took himself off the market by agreeing to his seven-year contract with the Nationals back in May. Not often you see one of the top impending free agents take himself off the market a few months before free agency, but Strasburg did it. It was unexpected, to say the least.

What would he get this offseason? Exactly what he received from the Nationals, seven years and $175 million. Historically, when a player signs an extension less than a year away from free agency, he gets paid like a free agent, and Strasburg did. His contract comes in under what I said Sale and Bumgarner would get because he's a year older than two, plus he has Tommy John surgery in his history. Strasburg's late-season elbow injury would have given teams pause, no doubt about it, but ultimately I think someone would have stepped up and paid him handsomely.

The Brewers signed Jonathan Lucroy to a five-year contract way back in spring training 2012, before he broke out as one of the top catchers in baseball. It's worth noting the deal included escalators based on whether Lucroy qualified as a Super Two after the 2012 season, but he did not, so his two teams (Brewers and Rangers) will combine to pay him a mere $16 million from 2012-17. Golly. One of the best bargains in baseball.

Jonathan Lucroy will have to wait one more year before being showered with cash. USATSI

What would he get this offseason? The contracts signed by Russell Martin (five years, $82 million) and Brian McCann (five years, $85 million) seem like good benchmarks to me. Maybe Lucroy could have pushed it up to $90 million thanks to inflation.

Geez, imagine if Craig Kimbrel were a free agent this offseason along with Chapman, Jansen, and Melancon. Best free agent reliever class in history? I'd have to think so. The Braves signed Kimbrel to a four-year deal prior to the 2014 season, and he's since been traded to the Padres and Red Sox. Saves pay big through arbitration, so between that and his general dominance, Kimbrel likely would have established new reliever salary arbitration records.

What would he get this offseason? Well, there's talk Chapman and Jansen could get $100 million this offseason, and it's safe to assume Kimbrel would have been in that conversation as well. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but Kimbrel would have easy topped Jonathan Papelbon's reliever record $50 million contract. Five years at $15 million per year ($75 million total) strikes me as possible.

The Indians signed Michael Brantley at exactly the right time. They agreed to the four-year deal during spring training 2014, the year he broke out as one of the best all-around hitters in baseball. Had they waited six months, Brantley's asking price could have tripled. The Indians started this trend of signing young players to long-term extensions way back in the 1990s, and they continue to do it to this day.

What would he get this offseason? Brantley's free agency would have been really, really interesting. He was limited to only 11 games in 2016 by a pair of shoulder surgeries, and it's not 100 percent certain he will be ready for the start of spring training either. Part of me thinks Brantley would take a one-year deal and look to rebuild value before going back out on the market next winter. Another part of me thinks Brantley would take the largest contract possible following the shoulder scare. I really don't know what he would have gotten had he become a free agent this offseason. This is a tough one.

Like I said, the Indians are very aggressive when it comes to locking up their top young players to multiyear extensions. Carlos Santana signed his five-year deal in the early weeks of the 2012 season and his switch-hitting power bat has been worth every penny.

Carlos Santana is one of several Indians signed to a multiyear contract. USATSI

What would he get this offseason? Santana hit a career-high 34 home runs this past season and he's only 30, so he'd be hitting the open market at a good time. I don't think he'd get $100 million given his defensive limitations -- his best position is DH, really -- but power and on-base ability pays well. I could see four years and $15 million annually ($60 million total) for sure. That might be a little light.

Like Strasburg, Francisco Cervelli opted to sign an extension only a few months prior to becoming a free agent. He signed his three-year deal back in May. I'm not surprised he took the money. Cervelli's had an up-and-down career with lots of injury problems. He jumped at a life-changing contract. I don't blame him one bit.

What would he get this offseason? About the same, three years and $31 million. Cervelli's had one great season as a starter (2015), one OK season as a starter (2016), and a lot of injury-riddled seasons as a backup. He wouldn't have Lucroy's earning potential given the lack of track record, but with catching so in demand, Cervelli wouldn't have had any trouble landing $10 million or more a season.

Starlin Castro was the first young Cubs player to come up through the farm system and help spur their rebuild. The team handed him a seven-year contract in the middle of the 2012 season, just a few months into the Theo Epstein era, but Castro wasn't around for the 2016 World Series title. Chicago traded him to the Yankees last winter.

What would he get this offseason? Starlin would have been a fascinating free agent. He's so obviously talented and is still only 26, but he's yet to show any sort of consistently at the MLB level. With more than 4,400 plate appearances under his belt, it's fair to wonder if that consistency will ever come. My guess is Castro's age and ability to play up the middle would net him $10 million or so per year across four or five years.

Unlike the other players in this post, Josh Tomlin did not sign a long-term deal. He signed a little two-year deal prior to 2016 that bought out his final season of arbitration eligibility and one-year of free agency. Tomlin's not a young guy; he's already 32, and he's had some injury problems throughout his career. The Indians offered him a couple million bucks and he took. Can't blame him for that.

Josh Tomlin delayed free agency in exchange for financial security. USATSI

What would he get this offseason? Would Tomlin's postseason performance (1.76 ERA in his first three starts) translate into a larger contract? History says no. Teams don't get caught up in the moment and pay for playoff performance. Tomlin is the quintessential No. 5 starter and he would have been paid accordingly. These days, that means a one or two-year contract at maybe $6 million per year.

Another player who signed an extension within the last few months. The Blue Jays deemed Justin Smoak so irreplaceable that they gave him a two-year extension during the All-Star break. This one was a bit of a head-scratcher considering first basemen of Smoak's caliber aren't hard to find, but hey, to each his own.

What would he get this offseason? I have a hard time thinking Smoak would have found two guaranteed years in free agency. That's why he took the extension. He's been barely league average at the plate during his two years in Toronto (.222/.306/.430) and first base is a position with big offensive demands. A one-year deal in the $2.5 million range -- that's Chris Carter/Mark Reynolds money -- seems most likely to me.

The Pirates signed both catchers to extensions this year. A few months prior to locking up Cervelli, Pittsburgh gave Chris Stewart a two-year contract that put some guaranteed cash in the 34-year-old pitch-framer extraordinaire's pocket in exchange for not having to worry about a backup catcher for a few years.

What would he get this offseason? Pitch-framing is not the most lucrative skill. That doesn't make it any less valuable, but teams are not willing to pay big for it yet. Stewart may have had to settle for a minor league contract and a chance to compete for a roster spot in spring training had he been a free agent this winter.