With just over a month to go until pitchers and catchers report for camps across Florida and Arizona, this is the time of the year when Major League Baseball teams get serious about completing their winter shopping lists.
The promise of imminent activity is a good thing for fans who have found this offseason to be oddly paced. Blame it on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto's attention-dominating free agencies, or on a slow-moving trade market. Whatever the case, entering Monday five of CBS Sports' top 10 free agents remained unsigned. (You can click here to revisit the entire list.)
As a means of passing time until the moves start happening, CBS Sports has decided to play matchmaker for the 10 best remaining players on the market. Below, you'll find our guesses at where those players will land, along with some explanation on their situations and why we think those fits are sensible.
Bear in mind, as always, that this is for entertainment purposes only.
1. Cody Bellinger, CF/1B: Blue Jays
Bellinger's uneven career and unusual 2023 campaign makes him a difficult player to pin down in terms of expected value. Will he continue to look like a middle-of-the-order monster heading forward, or will last season be revealed as little more than a mirage? The Blue Jays, who missed out on adding an impact lefty bat in Shohei Ohtani, might feel obligated to find out as a means of bolstering their chances of hanging in the always imposing American League East.
2. Matt Chapman, 3B: Giants
We have reservations about how Chapman's bat will age -- particularly with respect to his weakness on pitches up in the zone -- but there's no denying that he's presently a high-quality defensive third baseman with above-average pop. The Giants could use the boost, in terms of slugging and starpower. It doesn't hurt that manager Bob Melvin is familiar with Chapman from their shared time with the Oakland Athletics.
3. Blake Snell, LHP: Yankees
It's not often a reigning Cy Young Award winner feels like an afterthought. Yet here we are. Snell's below-average command and lacking workloads have rendered him a consolation prize of sorts for teams who missed out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Yankees badly need to add another starting pitcher this winter. They could do worse than Snell, who has already proven that his stuff works in the American League East.
4. Marcus Stroman, RHP: Angels
Despite Stroman making his second career All-Star Game last season, his name has seldom popped up this winter. (Indeed, his most recent report-based appearance in MLB Trade Rumors' archives was to the Royals before they added Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha.) Might that suggest a reunion with the Cubs is more likely than it appeared at the start of the offseason? We're not so sure. As such, we're rolling with the Angels -- a club that has money to spend and an obvious need for veteran help.
5. Jordan Montgomery, LHP: Rangers
If the latest reports are any indication, Montgomery wants to return to the Rangers. Who are we to stand in the way of that?
6. Rhys Hoskins, 1B: Cubs
To state the obvious: Hoskins' situation seems very much intertwined with Bellinger's. The Cubs and Blue Jays -- two prospective Bellinger suitors -- as well as the Mariners and Nationals have been tied to the former Phillie at various points this winter. Since we have Bellinger bolting to Toronto, we're slotting Hoskins into the Cubs lineup as a short-term fit at the cold corner who can provide above-average production at a lower cost than Bellinger.
7. Josh Hader, RHP: Phillies
Hader, the best closer on the market, hasn't surfaced in many rumors this winter. The Orioles were suggested as a landing spot before they signed Craig Kimbrel, and the Phillies' presumed interest has long since been contested. In other words, who knows? We think that, the longer this drags on, the more likely a contender like the Phillies is to rethink their position and view Hader as a mighty fine finishing touch.
8. Jorge Soler, DH/OF: Angels
Soler not only launched 36 home runs last season while playing his home games in a park that suppresses right-handed power, he also posted new career bests in both strikeout and walk rate. As an added bonus, he's younger than some of his DH counterparts, including Justin Turner and J.D. Martinez. Soler has been linked to the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and Nationals this winter. We're going against the grain, then, by picking the Angels, a team not yet publicly connected with him. Mike Trout deserves a little happiness in his life, and adding Soler to a largely punchless lineup would help in that respect.
9. Joc Pederson, DH/OF: Astros
Pederson may not have had the same topline success he enjoyed in 2022, but his underlying metrics were strong. He continued to hit the ball with authority, and he walked more and struck out less often. That combination ought to bode well for his chances of remaining a middle-of-the-order threat heading forward. Pederson's market may be thinned by his defensive limitations, yet we could see a team like the Astros, who could use some additional left-handed thump, identifying him as a value play.
10. Justin Turner, DH/INF: D-backs
Turner celebrated his 39th birthday in November, making him the oldest member of this list. He has plenty of things working in his favor, however, including an 11-year streak of league-average or better offensive output. Turner also provides more defensive versatility than his bat-first peers. Last season, for example, he saw action at both infield corner spots and second base. We suspect his next team will be content to let him focus on hitting and hitting alone, but a little extra optionality never hurt anyone. We'll stick him with the Diamondbacks since they've had interest in adding him to their lineup in each of the last few winters.
