Eight MLB free agents signed nine-figure contracts this winter. Six of them landed with a new team. Framber Valdez could join that list in the coming days, but otherwise, the top of the free agent market has mostly evaporated.
Let's dive into the six marquee free agents who left their homes — and which players from those former teams are best positioned to take advantage of their departures.
How Toronto Blue Jays can replace Bo Bichette
Bo Bichette → Andrés Giménez
In the end, it felt like Bo Bichette was never returning to the Toronto Blue Jays. He took his talents to New York on a short-term, high-AAV deal, in much the same way that Kyle Tucker spurned Toronto. In hindsight, we probably should have seen the writing on the wall when the Blue Jays inked Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year contract.
Okamoto should play third base, with Ernie Clement taking up full-time residence at second. The Blue Jay who most benefits from Bichette's departure, however, is probably Andrés Giménez. He's in line for regular starts at shortstop, Bichette's old stomping grounds.
Bichette was never going to last long at shortstop. Had he re-signed, a permanent move to second base was inevitable, especially with Okamoto in tow. Giménez is a three-time Gold Glove winner, but he felt like the odd man out in the event of a Bichette return. Clement is a more stable offensive presence and a special defender in his own right. Okamato and Bichette are 20-home run, high-IQ hitters.
Now, Giménez gets his chance to carve out a permanent spot in the Blue Jays lineup. He'll make his bank on defense, but even with Bichette out of the picture, there remains pressure on Giménez to elevate his offensive profile. Last season's .598 OPS won't cut it.
Phillies have a plan to replace Ranger Suarez
Ranger Suárez → Andrew Painter
Ranger Suárez was a beloved figure among Philadelphia Phillies fans, but his departure was inevitable in the end. The Phillies have a lot of money coming off the books next winter and are probably more interested in re-signing Jesús Luzardo. Pitching depth has been a strength of Philly's for years. Now, their rotation is finally starting to fracture.
Suárez was a remarkable stabilizing force over the years and a supreme postseason performer. He's out now, and Zack Wheeler will begin 2026 on the injured list. Look beyond Cristopher Sánchez and the aforementioned Luzardo, and this Phillies rotation offers little security.
Aaron Nola is still a lock to start every fifth game, of course, but he showed worrisome signs of decline last season. A decline that feels irreversible once it begins. The last two rotation spots are currently allotted to Taijuan Walker and Andrew Painter. The Phillies will probably sign a veteran stopgap in the coming weeks to provide a bit more support, but this is the first real opportunity for Painter — Philly's No. 1 prospect — to carve out his spot on the MLB roster.
Painter struggled in Triple-A last season upon his return from Tommy John surgery, but his stuff remains electric and there's reason to believe he can lock in quickly with a full offseason and a bit more distance from the injury. If the Phillies want to reassert themselves as the best pitching team in the NL, or something close to it, Painter needs to break through and break out. He should get every chance in spring with Suárez out the door.
Mets elite offseason makes replacing Pete Alonso easier
Pete Alonso → Mark Vientos
The New York Mets planned to move Pete Alonso into a DH-heavy role if he re-signed. In his absence, Jorge Polanco is expected to transition to first base, with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos available to cycle through the first base-DH pipeline as needed. This was not the disaster outcome Mets fans feared, as Steve Cohen and the front office delivered needle-moving upgrades in the end.
It's fair to question the Mets' defensive alignment with Bo Bichette and Polanco now both learning new positions in the corner infield — with questionable corner outfielders behind them. But at the end of the day, New York plans to win with its bats. If anyone truly benefits from the Alonso exit, however, it's Vientos. His path to regular at-bats, while still clouded, is much clearer without Alonso hogging the DH role for the next three or four years.
Vientos will still need to prove himself in spring training and throughout the season. He struggled to find his swing in 2025 and he's never been much of a stopper on defense, at either corner. But he also cranked 27 home runs with an .837 OPS in 2024. The 26-year-old is one season removed from a 2.9 fWAR campaign.
If Vientos can get back to that level, he'll supplant Baty as the primary leg of the 1B-DH setup in New York, with the potential to bat cleanup behind New York's super-powered top three of Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Bichette. Polanco, a natural second baseman, is a bit more positionally fungible than Alonso, too. So New York will have its options if Vientos starts mashing again.
Red Sox didn't need an aging Alex Bregman
Alex Bregman → Romy Gonzalez
There is still time for the Boston Red Sox to upgrade their infield depth chart, with names like Brendan Donovan, Nico Hoerner and Eugenio Suárez all realistically in the mix. That said, the Red Sox front office has done a lot of wheeling and dealing already this winter. Craig Breslow has depth at just about every position. He probably does not feel the pressure and anxiety that Red Sox fans do.
If the infield maintains its current shape, Marcelo Mayer will graduate into full-time third base duties, replacing Bregman. Trevor Story picked up his option and sticks at shortstop. First base now belongs to Willson Contreras. The only point of real uncertainty is second base.
Kristian Campbell should get his chance in spring training, but Boston views him more as an outfielder. Meanwhile, the outfield logjam is nowhere close to fixed, with Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida expected to cycle through the DH spot. Ceddanne Rafaela could move from center field to second base, but that would entail Boston removing its best defender from his best position.
All the signs point to Romy Gonzalez, Boston's 29-year-old utilityman, getting the first crack at second base. Gonzalez has alienated some fans with his iffy glove and propensity for strikeouts, but he also posted a 57.3 percent hard-hit rate last season, in MLB's 99th percentile. The dude mashes, especially against lefties. There are far worse outcomes for Boston, all things considered.
Don't sleep on Padres rotation without Dylan Cease
Dylan Cease → JP Sears
The San Diego Padres went out and re-signed Michael King, an impressive feat given all the financial factors working against AJ Preller and that front office. Dylan Cease landed way outside their price range, however, signing a monster seven-year, $210 million contract with the Blue Jays in the early days of free agency.
That leaves a noticeable hole in the Padres' rotation. The return of Joe Musgrove figures to help, but San Diego is short on depth. Their lackluster farm system does not help. All of the best MLB-ready or MLB-adjacent arms in the Padres' pipeline are relievers. So there's not much help coming from within.
San Diego can still go out and sign a cheaper option — Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, etc. — but the biggest internal beneficiary from Cease's decision, at this point, is JP Sears. Essentially a toss-in from the A's in the Mason Miller trade, Sears struggled upon his arrival in San Diego. He posted a 5.47 ERA over five starts after the deadline, then was promptly optioned to Triple-A.
Sears, 29, can still handle a full starter's workload and eat up innings, which is half the battle. Including his brief cameo in the Minors last season, Sears has logged 28-plus starts for three straight years now. Since his debut in 2022, durability has become a real calling card. The lefty also keeps walks to a minimum and exhibits enough command over his seven-pitch arsenal to finesse his way to a more successful campaign in 2026. The Padres would really love for Sears to settle in and thrive as a back-end starter.
Cubs had a long time to prepare Kyle Tucker's replacement
Kyle Tucker → Moisés Ballesteros
The Chicago Cubs rebounded nicely from Kyle Tucker's long-expected departure, signing Alex Bregman to a five-year contract. This lineup, on paper, is probably Los Angeles' foremost challenger in the National League. We shall see if the pitching staff can shoulder its weight, but the Cubs are built to mash.
Tucker's departure (and the Owen Caissie-Edward Cabrera trade) more or less crystalizes Chicago's outfield setup. Ian Happ in left, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, Seiya Suzuki is right. No real surprises there. The player who really benefits from Tucker's exit, however, is top prospect Moisés Ballesteros.
Chicago called up Ballesteros toward the end of last season and he immediately popped, hitting .298 with an .868 OPS and 151 OPS+ in 57 at-bats. A small sample, no doubt, but Ballesteros has all the under-the-hood metrics to instill confidence in his long-term projection as a hitter.
Defensively, however, he was squeezed out of the Cubs' lineup in October, relegated to pinch hit duties with Kyle Tucker at DH, Michael Busch at first base and Carson Kelly at catcher. Ballesteros is a limited defender to begin with. A Tucker return bumps Suzuki into the DH role, leaving Ballesteros without a clear spot on the depth chart. Now, DH is wide open for Ballesteros to play almost every game if he's up to it.