The World Series is complete, the Milwaukee Brewers are first-time champions and MLB's offseason is already underway. It won't be long until the hot stove sizzles. To get the winter started, CBS Sports has ranked the top 50 MLB free agents for the 2026-27 offseason.
These rankings are compiled through statistical and video analysis, past market research, plus vibes and general hunches. We have included players expected to make the leap from Japan's NPB and South Korea's KBO to the big leagues, but not non-tender candidates or unexpected option decisions. Of course, this is no normal offseason.
With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1, a lockout is all but certain. What will baseball -- and for our purposes, contracts -- look like on the other side? Will teams and players rush to make deals before the work stoppage or delay everything until it's over?
These are the ultimate questions of the winter, and how they get answered is up to the owners and the players' union. The two most important things to know about these rankings: First, free agency is forward-looking. What you've done in the past counts for only so much.
More than ever before, teams pay players based on what they expect them to do in the future, not what they've done in their career to date. These rankings are intended to reflect that. And second, the least important part of this exercise is the potential landing spots listed for each player.
There are more than three suitors for almost every player, and it's not intended as a snub if your team isn't listed here. Here now are our top 50 free agents. Excluding Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was a special case as a Japanese star with no MLB track record, Skubal is the best starting pitcher to hit free agency since Gerrit Cole in 2019.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
