We've almost reached February, which means it's almost time for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training. For front offices around MLB, the finishing touches have largely been placed on this year's rosters — and we're about to shift from Hot Stove season to extension season, the time of year when teams hope to lock up their brightest young talents and keep them off the free agent market for a little while longer.
Of course, one extension talk has already been hovering over this whole offseason: Tarik Skubal, who appears no closer to reaching an agreement with the Detroit Tigers on the verge of his free agency. (If anything, the two sides appear to be drifting farther apart.) Right now, it seems all but certain that Skubal will take the mound on Opening Day without a long-term deal in place.
But that's not the case for several other big names around the league. Who will be this year's Garrett Crochet? Here are 11 worthy candidates ... you know, not named Skubal or Paul Skenes. We're trying to be realistic here.
C Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
From Ozzie Albies to Austin Riley to Michael Harris II to Spencer Strider to Ronald Acuña Jr., no team has been more aggressive in locking up its young, homegrown talent than the Atlanta Braves. And it sure looks like Baldwin's next in line, after a season in which he posted a 126 OPS+ en route to NL Rookie of the Year honors.
Catcher is also a volatile and grueling position, which should make Baldwin amenable to forfeiting at least a couple of free agency years in order to start getting paid right away. Atlanta should jump at the chance to hand him an extension despite already having another backstop under a long-term deal in Sean Murphy; lefty-hitting catchers with middle-of-the-order potential simply don't come around very often. From there, it's just a matter of finding the right number: The last catcher who signed a deal five years away from free agency was Keibert Ruiz, who agreed to an eight-year, $50 million contract with the Washington Nationals, but Baldwin is already a much better player.
Potential extension: Eight years, $80 million
Likelihood (1-10): 6
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees
“I just don’t believe in contract extensions, and that’s throughout the organization, no matter who it is,” Hal Steinbrenner told the Associated Press back in 2010. “Hopefully nobody takes that personally. It’s just business.”
That, plus the fact that the Yankees hardly ever hand out contract extensions under GM Brian Cashman, would seem to suggest that Chisholm is ticketed for free agency next winter. But there have been exceptions in the past, including Aaron Hicks and Luis Severino. Given his importance to this team and his two-way upside, could Chisholm be the next one?
I wouldn't count on it. By all accounts, Chisholm loves playing in New York. Then again, he might well be the best position player in a weak free agency class next offseason, especially if he puts up another 30/30 campaign in his age-28 season. He's just too close to cashing in to expect him to give the Yankees any kind of discount, and Cashman doesn't typically like to pay market price ahead of time.
Potential extension: Seven years, $175 million
Likelihood (1-10): 2
SS/3B Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
It seems like the ship may have already sailed on an Adley Rustchman extension after another down season. But Baltimore shouldn't delay in locking up the other pillar of its young core in Henderson, who quietly put up another excellent two-way season in 2025. Sure, it wasn't quite the MVP-caliber heights of 2024, but he's still a very good hitter who can more than hold his own at shortstop (and slide over to third base if need be). He's already got three seasons of 5+ bWAR on his resume by age 24; he's a star, pure and simple, and the clock is ticking on a possible extension with three years remaining until free agency.
Yes, Henderson is represented by Scott Boras, a man known for doing whatever it takes to get a bag for his clients. But Boras is more open to pre-market extensions than his reputation suggests, and if the Orioles make a serious offer — something that matches or exceeds the 11-year, $288 million extension given to Bobby Witt Jr. — they could at least force a conversation.
Potential extension: 10 years, $300 million
Likelihood (1-10): 3
2B Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
From the moment word broke that the Cubs had signed Alex Bregman in free agency, trade rumors started swirling around Hoerner, given Chicago's sudden infield surplus and the fact that their second baseman is entering his final season of team control in 2026. But a World Series contender moving one of its best players (and one of the best at his position in the sport) never made much sense; it seems more likely that the Cubs will try to keep him around long term and either dangle Matt Shaw in trade talks or turn him into a super-utility player.
Will Hoerner go for it? It'll take something very close to what he could reasonably expect in free agency, which figures to be below Chisholm but still in the nine-figure range. His lack of pop and reliance on foot speed might hurt him, but don't get it twisted: He's a $20 million a year player.
Potential extension: Five years, $110 million
Likelihood (1-10): 5
RHP George Kirby, Seattle Mariners
Seattle's homegrown rotation is chock full of extension candidates. But Logan Gilbert is just two years away from free agency now, while Bryan Woo brings loads of upside but a short track record of elite MLB performance and something of a checkered injury history. Kirby, on the other hand, is the sweet spot: still three years away from hitting the market, but already among the more reliable workhorses in the league.
He's only three years away from free agency, which does raise the price a bit; he's unlikely to want to sign a deal long enough to keep him from hitting the market at some point in his 30s, and buying out two or three FA years won't come cheap. But he's a nine-figure player, and the Mariners could stand to lock him up before Gilbert (and Luis Castillo) leaves town.
Potential extension: Six years, $100 million
Likelihood (1-10): 4
C Shea Langeliers, Athletics
They have a long way to go to erase their well-earned reputation as arguably the most craven organization in North American sports, but say this for the A's: They've at least been proactive in handing out extensions to their brightest young hitters. They did it for Brent Rooker, they did it for Lawrence Butler, they did it for Tyler Soderstrom, and the bet here is they'll try to do it for Langeliers next. (If you're wondering why not reigning Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, check back in a year or so.)
Langeliers is still three years away from free agency, but he's already 28; he should be amenable to something that will get him paid real money now rather than waiting to hit the market at a grueling position. He's not going to get Cal Raleigh money (six years, $105 million), but Murphy signed a six-year, $73 million extension at the same point in his service time, which feels like a reasonable starting point.
Potential extension: Six years, $69 million
Likelihood (1-10): 8
SS Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers
Okay, so it's not the extension Tigers fans are hoping for this offseason. But McGonigle is one of, if not the, best prospect in baseball right now, and while he's yet to conquer Triple-A, his success last season (.305/.408/.583) across three levels) suggests he'll be in Detroit sooner rather than later. We also know that Scott Harris is fine with paying a player long-term before their MLB debut: He just did it with Colt Keith a couple of years ago.
What does a deal look like for a complete unknown? The Brewers handed top outfield prospect Jackson Chourio $82 million over eight years before he made his debut in 2024. Like McGonigle, he was a consensus top-five prospect who had very little experience in the high Minors. Chourio's ceiling offensively is a bit higher, but that's the ballpark the Tigers are shooting for.
Potential extension: Eight years, $80 million
Likelihood (1-10): 4
SS Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels
Far be it from us to suggest that any player would want to commit long-term to the Angels right now, but hey: You can't choose the the organization that drafts you, and money is money. Neto is one of the very few things Los Angeles has done right in recent years, a legit 30/30 threat whose combination of power and speed is rare for a middle infielder (even if he's more second baseman than shortstop moving forward).
He's still four years away from free agency, but as a Super 2 player he'll get to go through arbitration four times rather than three, meaning he's in line to make more money before he hits the market. That also means the Angels will have to pay him more to lock him up. But this team needs something to build around moving forward, and what else are they doing with their money? The Royals handed Maikel Garcia, an infielder in almost the exact same boat as Neto, a five-year, $57.5 million extension earlier this offseason. Add some sweetener on top to apologize for Arte Moreno, and get it done.
Potential extension: Six years, $72 million
Likelihood (1-10): 5
RHP Freddy Peralta, New York Mets
The Mets didn't part with several years of both Brandon Sproat and top infield prospect Jett Williams in order to simply let Peralta walk in free agency next winter. And they'd undoubtedly love to lock him up now rather than have to fend off a host of interested suitors. The good news on that front is that Peralta is already set to turn 30 in June, he's cleared 100 innings in just four of eight big-league seasons and he's yet to see a major payday yet; in short, he's exactly the sort of player that should be amenable to signing now rather than waiting until the offseason.
Pretty much all of those things, from the injury history to the service time, could apply to another No. 2: Tyler Glasnow, who signed a five-year, $136 million extension with the Dodgers after being traded to L.A. a year ahead of free agency. That's the going rate for a very good pitcher who's something less than a true ace, and the Mets would probably go for something similar.
Potential extension: Five years, $140 million
Likelihood (1-10): 7
Kyle Teel, Chicago White Sox
See above about the demands placed on catchers. Teel is about to turn 24; by the time he hits free agency after the 2031 season, he'll already be on the wrong side of 30. Taking real money now makes a ton of sense, both for him but also for a White Sox team that has tons of payroll space and needs to start building the foundation of its next competitive squad. Teel sure looked the part of a first-rounder as a rookie last season, so why not get a head start on a good two-way player?
Potential extension: 9 years, $72 million
Likelihood (1-10): 6
RHP Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
Whatever else you want to say about the Guards, they know how to churn out homegrown starting pitching. Last March, they handed Tanner Bibee a five-year, $48 million extension while he was still four years away from free agency. Now Gavin Williams is in that very same position, fresh off a breakout season in which he posted a 3.06 ERA across 167.2 innings. Maybe this is overly simplistic, but why not just lather, rinse and repeat? Plus, Williams' health scares in the past should make him jump at some real guaranteed money.