The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Snell, Bellinger among top remaining free agents
MLB pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks — but some still don’t know where they’re headed.
Big names remain unsigned in what’s been a slow-developing free-agent market, offering teams opportunities to make last-minute additions as they gear up for spring training.
A reigning Cy Young Award winner, a former MVP and a recent World Series hero headline the list of available options — just as they did a month ago — rhough lower-profile players can help fill out rosters, too.
Here are the top remaining MLB free agents at the beginning of February:
Blake Snell
The left-hander seems determined to cash in after his excellence this season with the Padres yielded his second Cy Young Award, though Snell’s market hasn’t materialized how he hoped.
Snell, 31, turned down his only formal offer — a six-year, $150 million pitch from the Yankees — after it didn’t come close to his nine-year, $270 million asking price, USA Today reported last week.
Few pitchers boast a repertoire comparable to Snell’s nasty four-pitch mix, highlighted by his put-away curveball. His strikeout numbers were excellent in 2023, as was his MLBbest 2.25 ERA.
But there are obvious concerns. Snell is largely a five-inning pitcher who led the majors with 99 walks. His ground-ball rate of 43.7% is unspectacular for someone who walks so many batters, and those extra baserunners would become even more worrisome if Snell’s swingand-miss stuff began to slip over a long-term deal. In the four years between his Cy Young wins, Snell failed to reach 130 in
nings in a season once.
That said, he’s clearly the best starting pitcher available and could transform a contender’s rotation in time for Opening Day.
Cody Bellinger
The marker is apparently even bleaker for Bellinger, whom USA Today reported hasn’t received a single formal offer.
Bellinger, a lefty-hitting center fielder and first baseman, turned in a resurgent 2023 season in which he batted .307 with 26 home runs and 97 RBI for the Cubs. Teams may be wary of giving him big money, though, after his brutal 2021 and 2022 campaigns caused the Dodgers to non-tender him.
Still only 28, Bellinger won NL MVP in 2019. A return to the Cubs makes sense, as does a deal with the offense-needy Giants. Bellinger’s reported asking price of more than $200 million may be proving too steep.
Jordan Montgomery
A reunion with the Rangers, with whom Montgomery just won the World Series, feels like the natural fit. Texas starters Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are recovering from surgeries, while Nathan Eovaldi has a lengthy injury history of his own.
But the left-handed Montgomery, 31, remains unsigned and, after pitching to a careerbest 3.20 ERA last season, appears poised for a nine-figure deal.
Matt Chapman
There’s plenty to like about the well-rounded Chapman, who just won his fourth Gold Glove at third base and has slugged at least 17 home runs in each of his five full, non-COVIDshortened seasons.
Chapman, 30, spent the past two years with Toronto.
Clayton Kershaw
The three-time Cy Young Award winner won’t be ready to start the year after offseason shoulder surgery, and the Dallas native is not expected to consider anything other than returning to the Dodgers or joining his hometown Rangers.
Kershaw, who turns 36 next month, pitched to a 2.46 ERA over 131.2 innings last season — right in line with his career 2.48 mark.JD Martinez