MLB free-agent frenzy: Catch up on flurry of moves as Javier Báez, Marcus Stroman, more find new homes

The stove heated up ahead of the CBA's expiration on Wednesday night

By Matt Snyder

, Mike Axisa

& Stephen Pianovich

Dec 2, 2021 • 1 min read

The Major League Baseball hot stove heated up this week ahead of a lockout. MLB's current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired on Wednesday night at 11:59 p.m. ET, and the owners announced a lockout a few minutes later. The work stoppage means all free-agent activity will be halted until the players' union and the league can come to a new agreement -- a process that could take months.

But many players and teams rushed to get deals in place after Thanksgiving and before the lockout, leading to a hectic free-agent frenzy. As of Wednesday, seven of the top 10 free agents have signed:

SS Carlos Correa: Unsigned
SS Corey Seager: 10 years, $325 million with Rangers
3B/OF Kris Bryant: Unsigned
IF Marcus Semien: 7 years, $175 million with Rangers
1B Freddie Freeman: Unsigned
LHP Robbie Ray: 5 years, $115 million with Mariners
RHP Max Scherzer: 3 years, $130 million with Mets
RHP Kevin Gausman: 5 years, $110 million with Blue Jays
RHP Marcus Stroman: 3 years, $71 million with Cubs
OF Starling Marte: 4 years, $78 million with Mets

The Rangers and Mets have been the most active teams in free agency and it's not particularly close either. In addition to Seager and Semien, Texas also signed righty Jon Gray and outfielder Kole Calhoun. The Mets signed infielder Eduardo Escobar and outfield Mark Canha in addition to Scherzer and Marte. The two clubs have committed over $800 million to free agents.

Although free agency has been very active the last few days, the Marlins have been one of the few active teams on the trade market. The Marlins acquired catcher Jacob Stallings from the Pirates and infielder Joey Wendle from the Rays this week and sent catcher Jorge Alfaro to the Padres.

Miss any of the action? Here's a look at the notable deals that were signed ahead of MLB's lockout:

Notable hot stove deals

Corey Seager and the Rangers have agreed to a 10-year, $325 million pact (full story here).
Max Scherzer and the Mets have finalized a three-year, $130 million deal (full story here).
Robbie Ray agreed to a five-year, $115 million deal with the Mariners (full story here).
Marcus Stroman reached a deal with the Chicago Cubs, he announced on Twitter (full story here).
James Paxton and the Red Sox agreed to a unique one-year deal for the left-hander (full story here).
Marcus Semien agreed to a seven-year, $175 million deal with the Rangers (full story here).
Javier Báez agreed to a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers (full story here).
Chris Taylor reached an agreement to return to the Dodgers (full story here).
Corey Knebel signed a one-year deal with the Phillies (full story here).
The Marlins and Avisaíl García agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal (full story here).
Kevin Gausman and the Blue Jays agreed to a five-year, $110 million deal (full story here).
Jon Gray and the Rangers agreed to a four-year, $56 million deal (full story here).
Rich Hill signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Red Sox.
Leury Garcia signed a three-year deal with the White Sox, per MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
Corey Kluber signed a one-year deal with the Rays after spending 2021 with the Yankees (full story here).
Reliever Kirby Yates signed a two-year, $8.25 million deal with the Braves, the team announced.
Reliever Daniel Hudson is nearing a one-year, $7 million deal with the Dodgers, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Catcher Yan Gomes agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal, reports Craig Mish.

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Live updates

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Jays also in on Kikuchi

In addition to the Mets (see below), the Blue Jays are also interested in free agent starter Yusei Kikuchi, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Kikuchi, 30, made the All-Star team last season after a pretty great run of starts in a stretch in mostly May and June. Through his first 15 starts of the season, Kikuchi was 6-3 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 93 strikeouts in 93 1/3 innings. Things were a bit more rough the rest of the way, but he still finished with a 4.41 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 157 innings.

The Blue Jays currently have a rotation that looks something like José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alek Manoah and Nate Pearson with Ross Stripling providing depth. Kikuchi would just give them more depth in case Pearson either doesn't pan out or needs more time in the minors.

Mets aren't done, eye more starting pitching

The Mets are interested in free agent starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, according to Andy Martino of SNY.

Now that the Mets have a pair of aces in Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, filling out rotation depth makes a lot of sense.

In addition to Scherzer and deGrom, the Mets also have Taijuan Walker, Carlos Carrasco, Tylor Megill and David Peterson, so Kikuchi might even have to compete for starts or move to the bullpen, should an agreement happen here.

Mariners finalizing deal for Cy Young winner

The Mariners are finalizing a deal for 2021 Cy Young winner Robbie Ray that will be worth five years and $115 million, confirms Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ. (Full story here)

Ray, 30, has flashed ace upside for years but had trouble putting it together consistently. Through some mechanical adjustments with the Blue Jays in 2021, he reached the potential. He was 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA (154 ERA+), 1.05 WHIP and 248 strikeouts against 52 walks in 193 1/3 innings.

With southpaw Ray at the top followed by righty Chris Flexen, lefty Marco Gonzales and talented young right-hander Lucas Gilbert, the Mariners have the makings of a really nice rotation.

They shouldn't be done spending, either, as they need at least one more big bat -- and probably more than that.

Braves sign O'Day for bullpen depth

The Braves have a decent number of free agents, but they still have postseason bullpen stalwarts Will Smith, Tyler Matzek, A.J. Minter and Luke Jackson under control. They've added a bit of depth to complement the big boys here, with Darren O'Day signing a minor-league deal (per Jon Heyman of MLB Network).

O'Day, 39, pitched really well for the Braves in 2019-20, though injury limited him to 27 appearances. Injuries (rotator cuff and hamstring) were again a factor for O'Day with the Yankees last season. He pitched to a 3.38 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 11 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.

Rangers pushing hard for Seager

A day after making a huge splash with a seven-year deal for Marcus Semien, will the Rangers go even bigger? Multiple reports, including from Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ, have the Rangers making a very strong push for free agent shortstop Corey Seager. A possible 10-year deal has been mentioned.

Seager is 27 years old while Semien got seven years from the Rangers at age 31.

Seager is a career .297/.367/.504 hitter, which is good for a 131 OPS+. He's one of the better players in baseball when he's been able to stay on the field, but injuries have been a problem at times. Thanks to a fractured hand suffered when he was hit by a pitch last season, he only managed 95 games.

The Rangers have also been connected to free agent shortstop Trevor Story, so it's clear they are driving hard to land two of the big-name free agent middle infielders this cycle.

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From the Bronx to Queens for Sánchez?

After parts of seven seasons, most of which as the Yankees' primary catcher, Gary Sánchez is a non-tender candidate (baseball's version of a release, in a way) this week. If that happens, it's possible the Mets would take a swing at grabbing him, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post.

Sánchez has had such an up-and-down tenure with the Yankees. He looked like a superstar in 2016, was a deserved All-Star in 2017 and 2019 but was rough in 2018 and 2020. Last year, he hit .204/.307/.423 (99 OPS+) with 23 homers and 54 RBI in 117 games. He has the offensive upside to be the most powerful catcher in baseball. He strikes out a lot and has only hit .201 since 2017. There are some fair questions on his defense, too, though probably overblown.

The Mets signed James McCann to a four-year, $40 million deal last offseason, but he was bad in 2021 and they have plenty of money.

I had Raley ranked as one of the top relievers available this offseason: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/top-50-mlb-free-agents-carlos-correa-max-scherzer-kris-bryant-among-big-names-available-this-winter/

Rays grab reliever Raley

The Rays have signed left-handed reliever Brooke Raley, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Raley had a 4.78 ERA last season for the Astros, but he's excellent at inducing weak contact and struck out 65 against 16 walks. His peripherals (the most basic being a 3.27 FIP) in addition to good numbers on things like exit velocity suggest he's a much better pitcher than the ERA showed and we know that isn't always the best measure for relievers anyway. We also know the Rays are pretty adept at shopping for relievers.

Scherzer deal done

Max Scherzer is going to the Mets on a three-year, $130 million deal per multiple reports. Full story here. We can probably take this tweet as the Mets essentially confirming as much:

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Scherzer approaching finish line

The Mets are creeping ever closer to landing their top free-agent target. Jon Heyman of MLB Network says the two sides only have minor details to iron out on a $130 million deal over three years.

Scherzer's AAV would set a record

If Scherzer does sign for something like three years, $129 million, he would set a record for the highest average annual value in MLB history. Here's a look at the current top 10, according to Cot's Contracts:

1. Gerrit Cole, $36,000,000 (2020-28)
2. Mike Trout, $35,541,667 (2019-30)
3. Stephen Strasburg, $35,000,000 (2020-26)
… Anthony Rendon, $35,000,000 (2020-26)
5. Francisco Lindor, $34,100,000 (2022-31)
6. Trevor Bauer, $34,000,000 (2021-23)
7. Justin Verlander, $33,000,000 (2020-21)
8. Zack Greinke, $32,500,000 (2016-21) (reduced for deferrals)
… Nolan Arenado, $32,500,000 (2019-26)
10. Miguel Cabrera, $31,000,000 (2016-23)

It's worth noting that Verlander previously joined the top 10 earlier this winter, when he re-signed with the Houston Astros.

The NL East likes Chris Taylor?

The market so far for Chris Taylor includes at least the Phillies, Marlins and Nationals, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Taylor, 31, has proven he can be productive playing pretty much anywhere on the field, so many more teams should be interested. He hit .254/.344/.438 (110 OPS+) with 25 doubles, four triples, 20 homers, 73 RBI, 92 runs, 13 steals and 2.6 WAR last season for the 106-win Dodgers. He also hit the walk-off homer to win the wild card game and has had several big playoff hits over the years.

We know the Phillies and Marlins are aggressively pursuing offensive help (see multiple entries below), so the fits are obvious. On the Nats? I'm not sure. A veteran leader to help bridge the gap with Juan Soto to the next contender?

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