With so much attention being paid to the World Baseball Classic, it's easy to forget that Opening Day is just two weeks away. Teams around the league are soon to begin putting the final touches on their rosters — but first, there are some surprisingly serious names on the free agent market that need to find homes for the 2026 season.
Sure, they might not be stars, but guys like Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech and more can still play meaningful roles on contending teams this season. Here's where we think they'd fit best.
RHP Lucas Giolito: San Francisco Giants
We've seen all sorts of pitching injuries wreak havoc with projected rotations since Spring Training began last month. And still Giolito, far and away the most proven starter still on the market, remains unsigned. It seems safe to say that he's waiting for the right opportunity to open up, financially or otherwise, but eventually he's going to need make a choice.
For a while we had him pegged for the Atlanta Braves, but there doesn't seem to be a ton of interest there despite the losses of Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep and Joey Wentz. So what about the Giants? They could still use another option behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Landon Roupp, Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle, and the spacious Oracle Park is just about the perfect fit for a fly-ball pitcher who's had trouble at times with the home run ball. If Giolito's looking for a place to compete for a playoff spot and rebuild his market for next winter, he could do a lot worse.
RHP Michael Kopech: Arizona Diamondbacks
A litany of injuries limited Kopech to just 11 innings of work last season, and he missed the entirety of L.A.'s World Series run. But he's by all accounts healthy now, and he proved down the stretch in 2024 that he has the stuff to be an elite back-end arm.
The D-backs could certainly use one of those, especially with both A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Arizona has the pieces in place to at least flirt with a Wild Card spot this season, but that will require some more firepower in a bullpen currently relying on the likes of Paul Sewald, Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel. If Kopech can't stay healthy or throw enough strikes, then so be it; but the upside here is considerable, and few relief pictures are more unsettled right now.
LHP Nestor Cortes: Los Angeles Angels
Cortes underwent surgery last October that will keep him out for most if not all of the 2026 season, meaning whichever taem decides to sign him would mostly be doing so for 2027. That said, he's still just 31 and only a couple years removed from being a solid starting pitcher, so he could be a candidate for a two-year deal with plenty of playing-time incentives.
And really, what else are the Angels doing with their money? This team is perennially in need of pitching, and it's not like Cortes will be too onerous to have on the IL as he rehabs. There's little risk if he can't come back healthy, and the best-case scenario involves Cortes pitching well in the first half of next year before being flipped for some desperately needed prospect capital at the trade deadline. Cortes makes sense as a flier for plenty of rebuilding teams with rotation spots to fill.
OF/DH Tommy Pham: Toronto Blue Jays
A change to his contact prescription (no, seriously) did wonders for Pham at the plate last season, and he turned in a quietly productive season after a dreadful start for the Pirates. He's certainly not an everyday player at this point in his career, but he still has a place in the league as a righty bench bat who won't kill you in the outfield.
The Blue Jays responded to the Anthony Santander injury by nabbing Jesus Sanchez from the Astros. But Sanchez is a lefty with pretty ugly platoon splits over the course of his career. In fact, Toronto's outfield is looking awfully left-handed overall right now, from Sanchez to Daulton Varsho to Addison Barger to Nathan Lukes. Myles Straw is a fine defender in center, and 36-year-old George Springer can still make it work in a pinch, but the Jays could use another bat who could serve as the short side of a platoon. Pham fits that role to a tee.
1B/DH Wilmer Flores: Chicago Cubs
Speaking of righty bench bats: The Cubs figure to be back in the market for one, after offseason acquisition Tyler Austin — penciled in as the righty counterpart to Michael Busch at first base and/or Moises Ballesteros at DH — underwent knee surgery that will keep him out until at least the summer. Chicago can try to just get by until then, but they could also look at Flores, who intends to continue his career after six seasons in San Francisco.
Flores is a limited player at this point in his career, but one thing he's always been able to do is crush left-handed pitching. If Chicago needs someone to fill the Justin Turner role on the cheap until Austin returns, Jed Hoyer could do a lot worse.
LHP Danny Coulombe: Baltimore Orioles
It's a mystery why Coulombe has yet to sign with a team, considering the constant need for lefty relievers and the fact that he's pitched to a 2.38 ERA with over a strikeout per inning over the last three seasons. Two of those seasons came in Baltimore, and it just so happens that the O's could use another left-handed look in the bullpen beyond Keegan Akin and Dietrich Enns.
Coulombe is too good of a pitcher, even at age 36, to remain unsigned for long. If not Baltimore, a team like Boston could also make sense.