[Britton, Flores Jr. and Jennings]: Top 40 MLB free agents: Tarik Skubal headlines class light on star power

posted by u/TheAthletic · 2026-11-05 12:41 UTC

1 Tarik Skubal | SP

Compared to his back-to-back Cy Young seasons, 2026 was a slightly down year for Skubal, but even then, he was top 10 in basically all of the go-to markers of pitching dominance — ERA, WHIP, xFIP, fWAR, strikeout rate, walk rate, etc. — among pitchers with at least 150 innings. The workload was diminished, but the results were more or less the same.

Skubal missed six weeks after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, but his average fastball velocity was nearly identical to 2024, and his 4.4 percent walk rate was an almost perfect match for 2025. He threw only 158 2/3 innings — plus another 11 in the postseason — but he was healthy for the second half and delivered a 2.25 ERA in September and a 2.45 ERA in the playoffs.

There is no argument for any other free agent to be No. 1 on this year’s Big Board, and two of the past three players to hold this spot — Shohei Ohtani in 2023 and Kyle Tucker in 2025 — wound up signing with the Dodgers, the team that traded for Skubal just three months ago.

2. Randy Arozarena | OF

Amid a disappointing season for the Mariners, it was possible to lose sight of the fact their left fielder was enjoying a career year. Arozarena finished third in the American League in fWAR, and his 151 wRC+ was third in the majors behind only Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Defensive metrics have consistently pegged Arozarena as a negative defender, but he’s made up for it at the plate. Since becoming a fulltime player in 2021, he’s only once had a season worth less than 2.6 fWAR and he’s never finished with less than a 114 wRC+. Arozarena’s groundball rate spiked in 2026, but he otherwise avoids the extremes. He can run well enough to steal bases, he consistently hits 20-plus homers, and neither his walk rate nor his strikeout rate is problematic.

3. Seiya Suzuki | OF

Since 2022 — Suzuki’s first season in MLB after a decorated nine-year career in NPB — only nine outfielders have had a higher wRC+ than his 128. Half those players are left-handed hitters, illustrating the dearth of quality right-handed-hitting outfielders in the sport today. That part of his game has never been in question, as Suzuki has managed to pair power with above-average plate discipline. The part that has been in question, though, is his defense.

At 32 years old, Suzuki has seemingly found a glove, going from a net-negative in the field and potential liability to asset. He finished the 2026 campaign with 5 Outs Above Average and 14 Defensive Runs Saved; he’d never graded out better than 2 DRS in his previous four seasons.

In a free-agent pool that lacks elite hitters, Suzuki was already primed to get paid. That he can pair his bat with a glove makes him an asset to just about any team looking for corner outfield help.

## Top comments

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2. u/kissthelips · 2026-11-05 14:19 UTC

Skubal you have the chance to do the funniest thing ever

3. u/jaxLing3084 · 2026-11-05 12:53 UTC

我希望能有其中一人来守护者队