MLB Rumors: Top 3 First Basemen On Free Agent Market (With Projected Contracts)
Now that the World Series is done, free agency can officially begin exactly five days after the final pitch. With that, the winter hot stove season will be firing on all cylinders. We'll take a look at the top names available at each position in the days ahead. Starting at first base, where a couple of the biggest bats reside:
Pete Alonso, New York Mets
The man with the fourth-highest home run total in the majors since the start of the decade, Alonso is hoping for a better outcome in his second crack at free agency.
Without many other options, he was squeezed by his incumbent team, the Mets, last offseason into signing a short-term, two-year, $54 million contract in free agency, when he was looking for something well north of $100 million. He had no choice but to take the deal, but it included an opt-out, which he has now exercised. After a terrific 2025 season, he'll look to really cash in this time around.
And after the $500 million contract earned by another first baseman earlier this year, Alonso might have some ammunition to take to the bargaining table. Nevertheless, Sportrac projects his market value for a new deal at six years, $176 million.
Josh Naylor, Seattle Mariners
The M's acquired Naylor at the trade deadline, and it couldn't have gone better. In just two+ months in Seattle, Naylor ingratiated himself by becoming a team leader, and helping to push the M's all the way to Game 7 of the ALCS. He slashed .299/.341/.490 in his time with the Mariners, for an .830 OPS. He batted .340 in the postseason, with three homers and five RBIs in 12 games, and a .967 OPS.
Manager of baseball operations Jerry DiPoto is enamoured with Naylor, and the M's will do everything they can to re-sign him, making Naylor their No. 1 priority among their big 3 free agents. “He was a boost the day he showed up,” Dipoto said. “I think the other 25 guys were really uplifted by the fact that this was a real, All-Star-level player... who could come in here and give us a little bit of an edge that I'm not entirely sure we've ever really had before.”
Sportrac project his market value at a three-year, $45 million deal.
