Big baseball names still roaming free
Spring training is in full swing, yet several of Major League Baseball’s biggest stars remain unsigned.
Blake Snell, whose Cy Young Award in 2023 marked the second such honor of his standout career, remains ready to transform the top of a contender’s rotation — at the right price.
There’s also Cody Bellinger, a former National League MVP fresh off a resurgent season who would fit neatly into the middle of any number of MLB lineups.
Every team could similarly use a dependable left-handed starter such as Jordan Montgomery, who just starred as a postseason hero during the Texas Rangers’ World Series run. And then there’s Matt Chapman, the power-hitting, slick-fielding third baseman who boasts four Gold Gloves.
Beyond their impressive résumés and unsigned statuses, that fearsome foursome shares another key commonality: They’re all represented by Scott Boras.
Excruciating displays of patience are nothing new for Boras, the no-nonsense agent known for securing the absolute top-of-market deals for his clients. But with every team having now reported to spring training and exhibition games mere days away, it’s especially notable that so many premium players remain on the free-agent market.
“These are extremely talented players that impact winning outcomes,” Boras told The Athletic this week. “If owners value winning as their primary goal for their cities and fans they will continue to make every effort to acquire elite talents.”
Another Boras client, 36-year-old JD Martinez, likely won’t command a cumbersome commitment like the others, though he, too, seeks a nice payday after delivering 33 home runs and 103 RBI during an All-Star season with the Dodgers.
Snell, Bellinger, Montgomery and Chapman each offer a big boost on paper to whomever ends up signing them, though all four come with question marks complicating their pursuits of lofty long-term contracts.
In the four seasons between his Cy Young honors with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 and the San Diego Padres in 2023, the left-handed Snell failed to reach 130 innings in any year and pitched to a 3.85 ERA.
Even in last year’s celebrated campaign, Snell averaged fewer than six innings per start and led all MLB pitchers with 99 walks — a dubious distinction he overcame thanks to a nasty four-pitch mix highlighted by a put-away curveball.
Snell, 31, understandably wants to cash in after an award-winning season, though reports suggest teams are unwilling to come close to his sky-high asking price. Some of those reports paint differing pictures as to whether the Yankees, who possess minimal pitching depth, remain in on Snell.
Bellinger, meanwhile, offers a lefty power bat who hit .307 with 26 home runs during an All-Star season for the Chicago Cubs last year. Bellinger, who offers versatility as a center fielder and first baseman, won NL MVP in 2019 with the Dodgers, though he slipped into a three-season spiral from there, culminating in Los Angeles non-tendering him in November 2022.
Montgomery, 31, pitched to a career-best 3.20 ERA last season between the St. Louis Cardinals and Rangers, then immortalized himself with the latter by going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA against the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
Montgomery dramatically increased his sinker usage in 2023 compared to most of his six-year Yankees tenure and had much more success with the pitch, offering reason to believe he can continue his upward ascent.
Still, teams may be wary of handing a nine-figure deal to a pitcher with a 38-34 record and a 3.68 ERA over seven MLB seasons. A Rangers return seemed logical after last season’s posttrade-deadline marriage yielded a championship, though uncertainty around the team’s recently finalized TV deal hung over much of the offseason.