Still on the Shelves, Part I: Top Remaining Free Agent Position Players

Jose Iglesias had something of a dream season in 2024. Out of the majors for all of 2023 – and twice-released at that — he spent the first two months of last season stashed at the Mets’ Triple-A Syracuse affiliate before being recalled on May 31. Out of nowhere, he not only put up a sizzling .337/.381/.448 line while setting a career high with 2.5 WAR, he released a no. 1 Billboard hit single “OMG,” recorded under the stage name Candelita. His on-field performance helped turn the Mets’ season around, with his newfound pop stardom providing some feel-good mojo as well. Yet with spring training in full swing, the 35-year-old infielder remains jobless.

Iglesias is hardly the only player of note who’s still looking for work. What follows here is a quick roundup — by no means comprehensive — of some of the bigger-name position players still on the market, and some potential fits. Coincidentally enough, four of the six I’ve chosen to highlight played for the two New York teams in 2024, but I don’t think there’s a particular East Coast bias here; it’s also worth noting that four of the six got late starts last year due to spring signings or injuries. In a companion piece, I’ll run down the pitchers waiting by the phone as well. I’ve included each player’s Depth Charts projections, though it’s worth noting that their estimated WAR totals are driven by levels of playing time that might well differ depending upon their landing spots.

Yasmani Grandal, C (2025 DC Projection: 0.9 WAR, 99 wRC+, 173 PA)

While he’s far removed from the form that made him a two-time All-Star, Grandal escaped a two-year slide of replacement-level play with the White Sox by putting up a respectable 1.4 WAR and 95 wRC+ (.228/.304/.400) in 72 games with the Pirates. After missing the season’s first 39 days due to a bout of plantar fasciitis, he started slowly but hit .302/.429/.558 in 107 plate appearances after the All-Star break while backing up Joey Bart. His Statcast metrics — including a 9.8% barrel rate, 42.8% hard-hit rate, and .419 xSLG — were much-improved over where they were in 2022 and ’23, and he had his best season as a pitch framer since ’19 (8.5 runs in 589 innings via our methodology, 6 runs per Statcast).

At 36 years old, Grandal isn’t likely to be more than a backup, but as a switch-hitter with applicable skills on both sides of the ball, he could fit just about anywhere. For example, the Mariners rank first in our Depth Charts list of projected WAR at catcher, with Cal Raleigh starting, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t improve incrementally. What’s left of Mitch Garver — who hit for just an 88 wRC+ last year — is the backup, and he’s also filling substantial time at DH. Since he’s still due $12.5 million, that move won’t happen barring a significant injury, but it does make a certain sense. After trading Jose Trevino to the Reds, the Yankees have Alex Jackson, he of the career 29 wRC+, penciled in behind Austin Wells, while the Guardians are paying $4 million for Austin Hedges — owner of a career 50 wRC+ and just a 20 wRC+ in 146 plate appearances last year — to frame pitches. Have they ever considered a catcher who can do that and hit? It’s still legal, even in Ohio.

Jose Iglesias, 2B/SS/3B (2025 DC Projection: 0.9 WAR, 89 wRC+, 371 PA)

Though he’s just a career .283/.323/.386 (90 wRC+) hitter, Iglesias has put up a few above-average seasons at the plate thanks to some fluky-high batting averages on balls in play, such as in 2013 (.303/.349/.386, 102 wRC+, .356 BABIP), ’20 (.373/.400/.556, 160 wRC+, .407 BABIP), and last year (137 wRC+, .382 BABIP). All of those seasons owe more to smaller-sample success than to actually hitting the ball hard. In 291 plate appearances last year, he averaged a slaptastic 85.8 mph exit velocity, with a 2.2% barrel rate and a 30.6% hard-hit rate.

Iglesias has two things working in his favor. For one, he’s decent platoon option, a righty who owns a 125 wRC+ in 449 plate appearances against lefties since the start of 2020. It also helps that he has a respectable 97 wRC+ in 970 plate appearances against righties across that same span, meaning even if he had to play every day, he likely wouldn’t be an offensive liability. (Overall, he has a 106 wRC+ from 2020–24, though remember, he didn’t play at all in 2023, and he was a below-average hitter in the two seasons in which he logged more than 400 plate appearances during that stretch.) However, his real calling card is his defense. Though he’s no more than a backup shortstop at this stage, he’s been 24 runs above average at the position during the Statcast era, and last year he was one run above average apiece at both second base (in 477 innings) and third (in 130 innings).

After the Mets re-signed Pete Alonso, president of baseball operations David Stearns said the team intended to use Iglesias’ roster spot “to keep some avenues open for some of our younger players,” with Luisangel Acuña, Brett Baty, and Ronny Mauricio the most likely beneficiaries, and Donovan Walton and Jared Young in the mix as well. Veteran Nick Madrigal, who has a minor league option remaining, has been pushed to the margins of the picture after he fractured his left shoulder in Sunday’s split squad game against the Nationals, but the Mets appear likely to absorb his loss internally.

The Guardians are one the teams that should probably take a look at Iglesias. They rank dead last in our Depth Charts projections at second base. Even with Top 100 prospect Juan Brito, a switch-hitter, vying for the roster, Iglesias would be an upgrade on platoon candidates such as Gabriel Arias and Angel Martínez. Iglesias also would fit in well with the Brewers, who have light-hitting lefty Brice Turang starting at second, with rookie Caleb Durbin — a 40 FV prospect acquired from the Yankees in the Devin Williams deal — his likely backup.

J.D. Martinez, DH (2025 DC Projection: 0.3 WAR, 103 wRC+, 427 PA)

While he’s had his ups and downs in recent years, Martinez did bash 33 homers and hit for a 135 wRC+ in just 113 games with the Dodgers in 2023. They didn’t invite him back for an encore because they signed some fella named Shohei Ohtani, and it took Martinez until the end of camp to find a deal with the Mets. After time in extended spring training and a brief minor league tune-up, he debuted in late April and was underwhelming, hitting just .235/.320/.406 (108 wRC+) with 16 homers in 495 plate appearances.

Martinez’s Statcast numbers suggest he deserved better. His 91 mph average exit velocity was just 0.4 mph below his career average, and higher than both his 2020 and ’22 marks (also comparatively disappointing seasons). His 14.7% barrel rate was 0.7 points below his career mark but well ahead of anything he did from 2019–22, and his 45.5% hard-hit rate was in that ballpark as well. His 66-point gap between his slugging percentage and .472 xSLG tied Salvador Perez for the second-largest in the majors behind Juan Soto’s 77-point gap, while his 33-point xwOBA gap (.318 wOBA, .351 xwOBA) ranked sixth. In case you were worried about declining bat speed, the recently released data from the second half of 2023 shows that Martinez’s 73 mph average held steady for both that year and ’24, though his squared-up and blast rates did fall a bit.

With zero games played in the outfield last year and just three over the past three seasons, Martinez is a pure DH now, but even at 37 years old, he has the potential to be an effective one — that is, if he doesn’t decide pickleball is where it’s at. (Dude, pickleball is not where it’s at!) A return to the Diamondbacks makes sense intuitively, but they appear ready to roll with a combination driven by lefty Pavin Smith and righty Randal Grichuk, the success of which depends upon their replicating last year’s small-sample successes. The Giants (Wilmer Flores and Heliot Ramos), Mariners (Garver and Mitch Haniger), and Royals (Jonathan India and Perez) are among the aspiring contenders who have particularly flimsy-looking DH options.

David Peralta, OF (2025 DC Projection: 0.2 WAR, 94 wRC+, 259 PA)

Peralta’s deep second-half slump with the Dodgers in 2023 owed plenty to his playing through a torn flexor tendon in his left (throwing) forearm, which he had surgically repaired in October of that same year. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in late February of last year, and he continued rehabbing with their Triple-A Iowa affiliate until he opted out of contract in mid-May. He was soon picked up by the Padres, for whom he hit a solid .267/.335/.415 (115 wRC+) with eight homers in 260 plate appearances, with much of that time coming during the two-plus months that Fernando Tatis Jr. was injured. Though Peralta wasn’t part of a strict platoon because he played right field and dabbled in left and at DH, all but 26 of those plate appearances came against righties.

All of which is to say that the 37-year-old Peralta makes sense as a platoon option in an outfield corner. It’s tough to believe he couldn’t improve upon the likes of Royals left fielder MJ Melendez (or right fielder Hunter Renfroe, for that matter) or Guardians right fielder Will Brennan, to cherrypick a couple of names from among the more respectable teams.

Anthony Rizzo, 1B (2025 DC Projection: 0.3 WAR, 98 wRC+, 350 PA)

There’s no getting around the fact that Rizzo struggled mightily during his final two years with the Yankees, playing through a previously undetected concussion in 2023, then missing time due to a fractured right arm in ’24. He was slightly better in September (.247/.345/.315, 97 wRC+) than before the fracture (.223/.289/.341, 81 wRC+), but his overall Statcast numbers — 86.7 mph average exit velo, 4% barrel rate, 32.8% hard-hit rate, .340 xSLG — were career worsts across the board. He caught an additional bad break (two, actually) when he was hit on the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand on September 28; after sitting out the Division Series, he gutted out a .267/.421/.300 line in the ALCS and World Series.

Given the aforementioned the numbers, it’s not hard to believe that the 35-year-old three-time All-Star has generated only minimal interest. This past weekend, The Athletic reported that while he’d like to continue playing, he’s wary of accepting a minor league deal on principal, saying, “The fact that teams want you to play for basically league minimum ($760,000), I’m like, you guys are crazy. You’re almost trying to ruin the market for the next guy.”

Rizzo’s projections are hardly rosy, but it remains surprising that his reputation as a strong defender and a great teammate hasn’t helped him land a job in a world where prospective contenders like the Twins and Brewers are rolling with the likes of Ty France and Rhys Hoskins, respectively. Barring an injury that leads a desperate team to pick up the phone, he may be a better fit as a sage veteran on a second-division team, but considering he’s played in eight of the past 10 postseasons, he may not be up for that type of gig at this stage.

Alex Verdugo, LF (2025 DC Projection: 0.9 WAR, 99 wRC+, 385 PA)

This one actually isn’t that surprising, even given that Verdugo leads all remaining free agents with 621 plate appearances last year. He spent the whole season as the Yankees’ regular left fielder, withstanding calls for the team to hand over the reins to top prospect Jasson Domínguez late in the year. His 83 wC+ (.233/.291/.356) was the ninth-lowest mark among batting title qualifiers in either league, and the fourth-lowest among those who regularly played the outfield. His batted ball stats were nothing to write home about either.

That said, the lefty-swinging Verdugo is entering just his age-29 season, owns a career 103 wRC+, and is a very good defender, with a strong arm and good range; he accumulated 8 DRS, 7.5 UZR and 3 FRV while manning Yankee Stadium’s large left field. Reportedly, he generated interest from the Angels, Astros, Blue Jays, Mets, and Pirates early in the winter. At this stage, he’s not likely to get the kind of $10 million pillow contract that Max Kepler received from the Phillies, and he may need an injury to open up a spot for him. The Astros’ experiment with Jose Altuve in left field particularly bears watching, though last week’s addition of infielder Brendan Rodgers on a minor league deal may have quelled the possibility that Houston would move Altuve back to second and sign Verdugo to play left. Tommy Pham, who is penciled in as Pittsburgh’s starting left fielder, might be better off as a platoon partner at this stage in his career, and Verdugo just feels like someone the Pirates would sign as a way to seem like they’re serious about addressing a major hole in their roster. We’ll see what happens.

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