Every MLB Team's Toughest 2024-25 Free-Agency Decision

There are times when it's too early to talk about MLB free agency, but this is not one of those.

The doors to the 2024-25 market will open in just a few weeks.

There's no telling what will happen, but what's for sure is that every team in the league will be burdened with hard choices.

What we're going to do is drill down into which decision represents each team's biggest dilemma.

These cover how hard teams should pursue reunions and exterior upgrades, as well as which targets that teams with limited budgets should prioritize.

We'll check off three teams at a time and go in alphabetical order by city.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Whether the Rotation or the Bullpen Should Get Priority You can't put the blame for the Diamondbacks' failure to reach the postseason on their offense.

Nuh uh.

Not after it scored 5.5 runs per game.

And assuming Eugenio Suarez's $15 million option gets picked up, the gang will mostly be back in 2025.

But what of a pitching staff that ranked 27th in ERA? It's a safe assumption that Jordan Montgomery will show Ken Kendrick a certain finger by exercising his $20 million option for 2025, but that shouldn't necessarily rule Arizona out from adding a starter.

The club also needs to consider adding to a bullpen that could have been incorporated as Meltdown Town this year.

Atlanta: How Hard to Pursue a Reunion with Max Fried Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos expects payroll to rise yet again in 2025, which would seem to bode well for those who want Fried back in the rotation.

After a five-year run in which he was a multi-time All-Star, he's in the market for nine figures.

Then again, Fried could just as easily go the way of Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson.

Retaining Fried is indeed seen by David O'Brien of The Athletic as the "less likely" scenario for Atlanta.

That could conceivably change if the market suppresses Fried's earning power, yet even then Atlanta could hypothetically prioritize other needs at shortstop or left field.

Baltimore Orioles: Whether to Even Try to Keep Corbin Burnes Back in August, Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com pondered whether the Orioles' failure to trade for a controllable ace could make them more likely to try to re-sign Burnes as a free agent.

It may not be as impossible as it sounds.

The O's haven't been big spenders in the past, but they're no longer owned by a band of infighting cheapskates .

Maybe, just maybe , a $300 million deal for the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner is feasible.

It seems like a reach, though.

And even if it's not, there's a strong argument that such money would be better put toward extensions for the club's many homegrown stars and/or a new deal with slugging right fielder Anthony Santander.

Boston Red Sox: Which Major Need to Prioritize One would hope that, after so many years of cuts , the Red Sox will be willing to raise payroll again this winter.

After an 81-81 season, it would be a logical step toward getting the team back into the promised land of October in 2025.

Yet even if the Red Sox are willing to spend this winter, there's still the not insignificant question of how they should.

They have several major needs, including for impact arms in both the rotation and the bullpen and for right-handed hitting.

And the more they commit to one of these causesi.e., Corbin Burnes or Max Fried for the rotationthe less there will be for the others.

Chicago Cubs: How to Build the Projections Up Speaking of teams that should raise payroll, the Cubs were probably just one impact hitter away from making the playoffs.

They should want to get one on the winter market, be it Juan Soto or Pete Alonso.

Yet the goal, according to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, is to "get to a place where we can build our projections up," but without taking what he calls "wild swings." That sounds like a no on Soto and Alonso, in which case they'll be browsing lower shelves for a bat.

And a need for one bat could turn into two if Cody Bellinger opts out , which could be possible even after he made himself invisible for much of 2024.

Chicago White Sox: Which Players to Buy Low On "We are not going to be working heavy in free agency," said White Sox general manager Chris Getz in September.

I'm shocked.

Shocked .

Except not really, because no amount of spending is going to successfully polish the you-know-what that the White Sox very much are after a 121-loss season.

The best they can hope for is more Erick Fedde-style signings that ultimately result in respectable hauls at the trade deadline.

To throw a few ideas out there, it would be interesting if they went after Max Kepler, Spencer Turnbull or Jose Leclerc.

Cincinnati Reds: How to Add Star Power for Terry Francona Whoever you expected to replace David Bell as the Reds' manager, it probably wasn't a future Hall of Famer.

Yet that is the situation, and now the question is how they can give Francona what he needs to take the Reds back to the playoffs.

It's complicated, but more star power is the in-a-nutshell version of what these Reds are missing.

Yet Cincinnati's budget is perennially limited, and maybe even more so now in relation to their broadcasting predicament .

Yet is a Christian Walker too much to ask? How about a Jack Flaherty? One would hope not.

Cleveland Guardians: Whether to Re-Sign Shane Bieber The Guardians and free agency? Yeah, those two things don't tend to go together.

And especially not recently, as Cleveland spent only $4.8 million in free agency last winter.

Still, you have to wonder if there's a way the Guardians might bring back Bieber.

The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner likely won't be back from Tommy John surgery until midway through 2025, so signing him will come with both risk and a wait time.

But unless another team is particularly high on his recovery, a Brandon Woodruff-style reunion seems possible.

Colorado Rockies: How to Fix Their Offense At 4.21 runs per game, the Rockies just had their worst offensive output in their history.

It's a shameful turn of events, given that Coors Field still exists and is still, well, Coors Field.

Frankly, it's hard to fathom this problem getting fixed overnight.

Maybe if the Rockies score Juan Soto and Pete Alonso and a time-traveling Barry Bonds, but such notions are little more than bad fan fiction.

They should nonetheless at least try for a splash or two, even if it means taking a chance or two.

As examples, Gleyber Torres and Alex Verdugo are two buy-low options who would suit them.

Detroit Tigers: Whether It's Time to Go Big Again Way back when the Tigers were still stuck in the murky depths below .500, president of baseball operations Scott Harris basically hemmed and hawed when asked if the team would be raising payroll any time soon.

Well, now they're a playoff team.

That means they have to spend again, right? It seems possible, and it's not hard to point out areas that would benefit from a cash-infused talent upgrade.

The left side of the infield is the big one and, just sayin', either Alex Bregman or Willy Adames would fit nicely there.

Houston Astros: How Hard to Pursue a Reunion with Alex Bregman Speaking of Bregman, Jose Altuve seems confident that the two of them will keep being teammates in 2025 and beyond.

And according to Astros GM Dana Brown, the effort to keep him will be there: Then again, this is the same guy who more recently spoke about having to " get a little bit creative " in allocating money this winter.

That could involve doing a nine-figure deal with Bregman and cutting elsewhere.

Or, it could involve letting him go and finding someone else to play third base.

It feels like a situation that could go either way.

Kansas City Royals: Which Offensive Position to Upgrade There's a strong "2022 Yankees" vibe to the offense the Royals have this year, as it's basically one great hitter (Bobby Witt Jr.) amid a veritable sea of mediocrity.

The Royals should want to address this during the winter.

But it won't be easy, and not just because a second straight nine-figure splurge on free agents is a lot to ask for in the face of the club's past spending habits.

There's also the question of which need should take precedent.

Second and third base both qualify, as do all three outfield spots.

So even if they an afford, say, an Anthony Santander or a Teoscar Hernandez, there could be sense in spreading the money around instead.

Los Angeles Angels: How to Realize Arte Moreno's Vision There's a long road from 99 losses to a winning season and the playoffs.

But Moreno, the Angels' owner, has it in mind for his club to traverse it between now and the end of 2025.

"Yeah, right," say I, you and all rational people of Earth.

But if the Angels want to try, then more power to them.

And it's not as if they're short on needs to address.

They certainly need outfielders and offense in general, but the Royals model suggests their best hope is loading up on pitching and figuring the rest out.

It's a feasible plan, but only if Moreno is willing to put money in the general vicinity of his mouth.

Los Angeles Dodgers: How Hard to Pursue Starting Pitching As dire as things look right now, it's worth keeping in mind that the Dodgers rotation is guaranteed to have a ton of talent in 2025.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be back, as will Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone and, of course, Shohei Ohtani from assorted injuries.

All the same, the lesson of 2024 is that a team can never have too much starting pitching.

And the Dodgers should especially want a horse, a la Corbin Burnes.

Yet there's just as strong of an argument for them to prioritize a reunion with Teoscar Hernandez and late-inning weapons for their bullpen, such as Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott or Jeff Hoffman.

Even this year, those areas have been short of foolproof.

Miami Marlins: Whether to Even Bother The Marlins came close to sitting out free agency entirely last offseason, not signing anyone to a major league contract until they did a $5 million deal with Tim Anderson in February.

Looking back after a 100-loss season, this doesn't exactly look like a missed opportunity.

And after they let go of manager Skip Schumaker and dozens of staffers , the real question now is who's even running this ship.

The Marlins need to get their house in order before they can even think about free agency.

And given how messy this house is, it wouldn't be an outrage if they committed all their time and effort to just doing that this winter.

Milwaukee Brewers: How (If At All) to Replace Willy Adames The trade the Brewers made for Adames in 2021 proved to be a steal.

In his three-and-a-half seasons in Milwaukee, he cranked 107 home runs and amassed 14.0 rWAR .

But now that he's headed for free agency, the question is who's going to take over at shortstop.

The Brewers could stay internal by moving Joey Ortiz off third base, which is arguably their best option in light of the dearth of choices on the free-agent market.

Then again, is simply re-signing Adames impossible? Milwaukee "would love to keep him," according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post .

And while this club has never done a nine-figure deal in free agency, isn't there a first time for everything? Minnesota Twins: How to Shore Up Their Pitching With Thad Levine now out of the picture , the Twins suddenly need a new general manager.

They also badly need team speed, as their 65 stolen bases were the fewest in MLB this year.

More than anything, though, the future success of the Twins hinges on fortifying a pitching staff that had its ERA rise from 3.87 in 2023 to 4.26 in 2024.

And barring positive news on the local broadcast front , they'll likely have to do so on a budget.

The Twins tend to prefer pitchers with swing-and-miss stuff, which doesn't tend to come cheap.

This said, a Nick Pivetta or a Spencer Turnbull could suit them.

New York Mets: How Hard to Pursue Juan Soto The notion that the Mets will be involved in the Soto sweepstakes hardly needs elaboration .

Like the sun rising or waves breaking, it will soon be part of the natural order of things.

But what of Pete Alonso? For that matter, what of a starting rotation that stands to lose Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana to free agency? Given that Mets owner Steve Cohen isn't what you'd call "cash-strapped," one can imagine all three boxes getting checked this winter.

But in the event that the club's budget isn't limitless, signing just Soto vs.

signing Alonso and, say, Corbin Burnes makes for a fun debate.

New York Yankees: Where to Draw a Line on Juan Soto Save for maybe peanut butter and chocolate, the Yankees and Juan Soto have proven to be the most perfect pairing imaginable.

The partnership should last forever and ever and ever.

It's going to cost the Yankees a lot to make that happen, however.

Projections for Soto's contract typically fit into the $500 million range and even go as high as $600 million .

Whatever it is, he's going to make Aaron Judge look affordable by comparison.

That the Yankees can spend that kind of money isn't the issue here.

Rather, the dilemma they may have to reckon with is the same one we just applied to the Mets: At what point would the money Soto is demanding be better spent elsewhere? Oakland Athletics: Which Free Agents to Overbid On The A's want to raise payroll.

No, really.

This is a matter of public record, straight from the mouth of GM David Forst .

It's the right idea, not to mention a necessary one.

Because if the A's are going to convince any free agents to play in front of small crowds and amid extreme heat in Sacramento next year, there will have to be real money behind the effort.

The A's need pitchers, especially ones with legit upside.

Nick Pivetta and Spencer Turnbull would be good options for them as well, though one can also imagine the A's being the ones to take a chance on Walker Buehler.

Philadelphia Phillies: How to Shore Up the Bullpen It was a good year for the Phillies bullpen, which ultimately ranked sixth in fWAR .

But with Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez slated for free agency, it'll take some effort to keep the good times lasting into 2025.

The Phillies should want Hoffman back, but Estevez should give them pause.

Though he was effective this year, he didn't even rise to the level of a strikeout per inning.

Any number of pending free agents could upgrade his spot, including Kirby Yates, Kenley Jansen or Blake Treinen.

The catch is that they also figure to be more expensive, but it would be in character if the Phillies opted to spare no expense.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Where and How to Improve Offensively That the Pirates need more offense isn't quite a tale as old as time, but it's pretty close.

They haven't ranked higher than 10th in the National League in scoring since 2017.

As for how the Bucs could add length to their lineup, well, take your pick.

Save for the spots manned by Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz, their offense was devoid of impact this season.

Because they've spent less in free agency than any other team since 1991, there is the question of whether owner Bob Nutting will put up the money for upgrades.

Still, Bucs fans can hope there will at least be enough for, say, a Max Kepler or a Jesse Winker.

San Diego Padres: How Hard to Pursue a Reunion with Jurickson Profar No signing from last winter came close to matching the bang/buck ratio of the Padres' $1 million deal with Profar.

By rWAR , he was their best player after Jackson Merrill.

In the abstract, you don't want to lose a guy like that.

But in this case, the Padres should be amenable to moving on from Profar if he pushes his asking price too high.

He's earned the right to do so, of course, but to call his 2024 season an outlier would be overstating it.

He had never been even remotely this good offensively in any of his previous 10 seasons, which surely suggests that he won't be again.

San Francisco Giants: What to Do if the Big Splash Remains Elusive The Giants will indeed try to make a big splash in free agency.

This is not inside information.

It's an educated guess rooted in their history of trying and failing to make it happen.

It nonetheless seems possible, even probable, that they will fail once again.

They tend to go after sluggers, after all, and you can hardly blame those who've passed for doing so.

Oracle Park is no country for overpowered men.

When the Giants whiffed on Shohei Ohtani last winter, they pivoted to shorter deals with Blake Snell, Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler.

Since that didn't quite pan out , president of baseball operations Buster Posey might want to consider the trade market instead if he can't snap the Giants' losing streak in free agency.

Seattle Mariners: How to Diversify the Offense The Mariners had the best pitching staff in MLB this season.

But without a functional offense to back it up, they might as well have been trying to drive a wheel-less car.

This absolutely has to change this winter, though indications are that the effort won't be devoid of limitations.

Payroll will rise in 2025, but mostly by way of raises for arbitration-eligible players.

This could nix a pursuit of Alex Bregman, who'd otherwise be perfect for Seattle.

Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar, on the other hand, are easier to imagine in Mariners threads.

St.

Louis Cardinals: How to Replace Paul Goldschmidt To be clear, the Cardinals shouldn't have it in mind to merely replace Goldschmidt's production at first base.

There's not much to speak of in that regard, as the 2022 NL MVP only managed a .716 OPS and 22 homers this year.

The idea should be to find someone who can live up to what Goldschmidt was supposed to be.

Not just a veteran leader, but still a star-caliber player between the lines.

Christian Walker is an ideal option, and the Cardinals should otherwise consider getting in on the Santander and Teoscar Hernandez markets.

Tampa Bay Rays: How to Upgrade the Offense Pitching kept the Rays in the playoff race a lot longer than they had any right staying in it.

If only they hadn't finished second-to-last in the AL in runs scored, they might have made it.

Given their history, one would normally stop short of saying the Rays could simply spend to solve this problem.

But with president of baseball operations Erik Neander alluding to " flexibility with the payroll ," the time may be right for the Rays to buck that history.

The Rays need power above all.

Of the potentially affordable options in that arena, Michael Conforto or Gleyber Torres would suit them well.

Texas Rangers: How to Refill the Starting Rotation There are reasons for the Rangers to feel good about their starting rotation in 2025.

Namely, a fully recobered Jacob deGrom and ascendant righty Kumar Rocker.

But that's about it.

With Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney all slated to test the free-agent waters, GM Chris Young is going to need to be in the market for multiple starters this winter.

Scherzer and/or Eovaldi returning to Texas seems possible, but it's just as easy to imagine Young going after bigger fish such as Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.

It depends on how ambitious he wants to be...and how big his budget is.

Toronto Blue Jays: Which Offensive Upgrades to Pursue That the Blue Jays offense needs upgrading in general is not in question.

They finished 11th in the AL in scoring, and 13 in home runs.

The Blue Jays got a sub-.700 OPS from five of nine lineup spots, so you can take your pick as to which spot is most in need of a new body.

But it's mostly the outfield that stands out, especially now that George Springer's prime is a yesteryear thing.

Toronto is thus another team that should be in on Anthony Santander, though a reunion with Teoscar Hernandez makes just as much sense.

Washington Nationals: Whether the Time Is Right for a Really Big Splash In case any Nationals fans missed it, this quote from GM Mike Rizzo ought to tickle your fancy: "Free agency will certainly be one of the avenues that we'll attack to improve." Of course, a GM hinting at free-agent signings is not the same as a GM hinting at big free-agent signings.

But based on their record of spending big bucks on Jayson Werth, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals are nothing if not an intriguing candidate for a sneak attack.

There's some Juan Soto buzz to this end, but there's arguably more sense in pursuing Alex Bregman or even Corbin Burnes.

Either way, the question is how far the Nationals are willing to go to put their rebuild behind them in 2025.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference , FanGraphs and Baseball Savant ..

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