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The arrival of Major League Baseball's offseason means that, among other things, it's now the time of the year when we're going to be ranking all kinds of things -- free agents, prospects, and so on. The process got underway last week, when we rolled out our annual free-agent rankings. This year's list ran 60 deep, a nod toward the bloated free-agent class that resulted from teams declining affordable club options in a fiscally conservative response to the pandemic.

Continuing today, we'll be taking the next step with our free-agent rankings, breaking things down on a position-by-position basis. That process carries on with our top five first basemen.

Free-agent first baseman rankings
1
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Mitch Moreland San Diego Padres 1B
(No. 42 overall) The Padres declined Moreland's absurdly cheap ($3 million) option for next season, making him the last player to join the list. It wasn't the low cost alone that made it a surprise move; he's coming off a career-best season that saw him post a 139 OPS+ and hit 10 home runs in 42 games. Obviously Moreland isn't going to repeat his 2020, but he's a solid little second-division option who'll reach base 32 percent of the time and swat 15-plus homers. There are worse ways to spend a couple million.
2
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C.J. Cron Detroit Tigers 1B
(No. 43 overall) Cron played in just 13 games before he required season-ending knee surgery. He's still one of the top first basemen on the market, a statement that says more about the paucity of good options available than it does about him. Cron is a serviceable option, mind you, one who can deliver 20-plus homers and an OPS+ in the 100-110 range. Alas, "serviceable" first basemen tend to change uniforms frequently. Cron sure has, as he's played with four teams the past four years. Expect that to become five in five soon enough, and then six in six, and then.
3
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Brad Miller St. Louis Cardinals 2B
(No. 44 overall) Miller is a dilemma. There's no doubting his bat, or his ability to provide value as a most-days DH. Dating back to the start of the 2018 season, a period that has seen him suit up for five teams, he's amassed a 112 OPS+ with 27 home runs in 595 plate appearances. There's some downside to his stick -- he swings and misses a lot, and he's ineffective against left-handed pitching -- but micromanage his plate appearances and he'll reward you with enough pop and walks to make it worth the hassle. What makes Miller's situation complex is that, unlike most DH types, he's a solid athlete who can serve as an emergency option around the infield. Unfortunately, he isn't a good defender by any definition, in part because of his inconsistent throwing mechanics. Whichever team employs Miller has to find the sweet spot between overexposing him defensively and wasting the versatility that separates him from his peers.
4
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Carlos Santana Cleveland Indians 1B
(No. 45 overall) Santana is a limited defender who'll turn 35 early next season and who just had the worst offensive campaign of his career, as judged by OPS+. What keeps him rankable is the belief that he underperformed. In addition to walking more than he struck out for the second time in three years, he hit the ball 95 mph or harder as frequently as Michael Brantley did. Santana also tied Fernando Tatis Jr. with more than 20 "hard outs" -- that doesn't mean he's on Tatis' tier, obviously, but it does suggest he might have better results in 2021 if he can just maintain.
5
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Jake Lamb Arizona Diamondbacks 1B
(Unranked in top 60) This is not an overreaction to Jake Lamb's impressive 13-game stint with the Athletics that saw him deliver seven extra-base hits in 45 at-bats. Rather, it's a direct response to his ball-tracking data, which is a good deal better than you'd expect from someone with a 74 OPS+ since 2018. Lamb hit the ball 95 mph or harder on more than half of his batted balls, putting him 23rd in the majors among qualified hitters -- just ahead of Bryce Harper , Jorge Soler , and Gary Sanchez , among others. He did that while hitting the ball in the "sweet spot" launch angle range (10 to 30 degrees) as frequently as the likes of Francisco Lindor , Andrew McCutchen , and Aaron Judge . That's good company. You don't want Lamb facing lefties, but he looks like a decent (and cheap) bet to be a tolerable, if not good most-days platoon option at either corner-infield position.