Free agency deals this winter have ranged from great to spectacular, with stars all making big money. There were so many great player deals that it’s hard to narrow it down to the best 9, but we’ll try.
Aaron Judge set the position player record, but didn’t even make it onto our list. (He spent less to keep up his Yankees legacy.) Carlos Correa is either off his contract (a $350 million Giants deal that’s off or a pending He’s still officially a free agent, although he’s definitely joining the Mets for a $315 million deal.
Completing a deal with Correa will give all four shortstops a big deal. Trea Turner also got less when he got $300 million from the Phillies, and Dansby Swanson could have gotten a little more elsewhere (perhaps with the Twins). But he wanted to be a turnip. But of the four great shortstops, only Xander Bogaerts made the top 10.
1. Masataka Yoshida ($90M, 5Y, Red Sox): This guy has one great swing, but other teams saw Yoshida as a $50 million player.
2. Jacob deGrom ($185M, 5Y, Rangers): Some Mets officials believe he needs to be 100 percent to pitch.
3. Xander Bogaerts ($280M, ’11, Padres): This spending is about $100 million more than his own team provided. But you can’t help but love this player.
4. Jace Peterson ($9.5 million, 2 years, A): His career seemed doomed a year or two ago, so his deal is a godsend.
5. Jameson Tyrion ($68M, 4Y, Cubs): He even turned down a $72 million contract for Taijuan Walker to eventually become the Cubs from the Phillies.
6. Taijuan Walker ($72 million, 4 years, Phillies): Similar to Taillon, but Taillon looks better at this stage thanks to the splitter I learned from Carlos Carrasco.
7. Kenley Jansen ($32M, 2Y, Red Sox): Few people saw the two-year contract approaching 35.
8. Wilson Contreras ($87.5 million, 5 years, Cardinals): I felt like no one was near my longtime cub.
9. Robert Suarez ($44 million, 5 years, Padres): He avoided a year of arbitration by going to South Korea and returning as a free agent. The trend is to pay guys big and in fewer innings.