Nov. 11, deadline for free agents to accept or reject the qualifying offer. Only 6 players got a qualifying offer. Among these 6 players, there are 3 position players, Yankees’ infielder DJ LeMahieu, Phillies’ catcher J.T. Realmuto and Astros’ outfielder George Springer. Besides these three players, there are several good position players who are looking for a new contract.
J.T. Realmuto, a two-time All-Star catcher, will definitely draw a lot of attention and his agents will probably have a busy winter to receive lots of phone calls. Realmuto is hitting .266/.349/.491 this season and crushed 11 home runs. He also collected 32 RBI, that’s the same as George Springer.
Springer, 3-time All-Star outfielder and 2017 World Series MVP, batted .265/.359/.540 with 14 home runs in the 2020 season. Springer’s defense is also very good and he did not commit any errors this season. His power and defense will surely be a great fit for several teams.
Marcell Ozuna hit .338/.431/.636 in 2020. He posted a career high 1.067 OPS and crushed 18 homers, leading in the NL. There’s no doubt that Ozuna’s will draw a lot of teams’ interests. However, he mainly played as DH this season. We still don’t know whether the National League will use DH for the 2021 season. It will be interesting to see where Ozuna will land.
Marcus Semien finished 3rd in the 2019 AL MVP voting. Nevertheless, Marcus Semien had a disappointing 2020 season. He was hitting .223/.305/.374 this season and didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Oakland Athletics. Semien is one of the top FA shortstop and some teams might believe that he will bounce back.
The 40-year-young Nelson Cruz still crushes baseballs. He hit 16 homers this season and slashed .303/.397/.595. Since he’s already 40, he will probably sign a one-year or maybe a two-year deal.
DJ LeMahieu looked really good in pinstripes. He won his second batting title and slashed .364/.421/.590 this season. He can play every position on the infield but shortstop. His reliability and versatility are going to attract many teams. He signed a two-year deal with the Yankees in 2019 when he was a free agent. LeMahieu will surely receive a bigger deal than that.
Didi Gregorius was hitting .238/.276/.441 in the 2019 when he was in pinstripes. Injuries did really bother him when he was in the Yankees. However, Gregorius bounced back this season. He played all 60 games this season, hitting .284/.339/.488. He also hit 10 homers and collected 40 RBI this year. The bounce-back 2020 season shows that Didi is a top shortstop and can contribute.
Jonathan Schoop, Didi’s teammate in the Netherlands National Baseball Team, was an All-Star in 2017. He was hitting .278/.324/.475 and had 8 homers. He will draw attention from teams that need a second baseman.
Andrelton Simmons, a four-time Gold Glove winner, is probably the best defensive shortstop in the majors. Simmons batted .297/.346/.356 this season, but he didn’t have a homer. Simmons only played 30 games due to injury. His health might cause some concerns.
Justin Turner slashed .307/.400/.460 in this shortened season. The former NLCS MVP will turn 36 later this month. He might be able to secure a short-term deal this offseason. In particular, it will be worth watching whether the Dodgers will sign him back.
The MLB free-agent market has been a slow-moving market recently. With uncertainties under pandemics, we probably shouldn’t expect the market would move fast this offseason. We might not see too many signings before Christmas. It will be extremely important to see when these top free agents will sign and how big the deals will be.
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