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The 10 best free agents in the National League East this offseason
In 2022, the National League East is a three-team division. The three clubs actually playing for something in these final weeks are the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies.
Oddly enough, all of the best free agents within the division are coming from these three teams. The Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals don’t have any significant enough coming off their books to crack the top 10 free agents heading into this offseason.
Meanwhile, the Mets have a couple, the Phillies have a few less, and the Braves actually have some young talent not yet signed to an extension. These are the 10 best free agents from the division.
10) MLB free agent Braves relief pitcher Kenley Jansen
Kenley Jansen is a curious free agent candidate. He signed only a one-year deal with the Braves last offseason and aside from some health issues hasn’t been such a bad option for them in the ninth inning. We can expect the aging former All-Star closer to stick around beyond 2022 and earn himself yet another short-term contract somewhere.
Pitchers like Jansen, with their mix of talent and experience, could do everything from an attempt to save a contender’s last three outs or become an offseason signing from a team coming nowhere near the postseason. He’d be an immediate trade deadline candidate.
Jansen could even move into more of a setup role. At this stage of his career, it’s the next natural transition.
Jansen barely cracks the top ten right now. Far from the only relief pitcher in the National League East heading to the open market, he’s the best the Braves have to offer. Meanwhile, the Mets and Phillies have a couple of guys on this list as well.
9) MLB free agent Phillies relief pitcher Brad Hand
Mets fans got to know Brad Hand briefly in 2021 when he joined up with the club for the final few weeks. He was good and definitely someone they should have heavily thought about bringing back. Instead, he got himself a one-year contract to join the Phillies. Their plan at the start of the season was to load up on players with closer experience. Hand hasn’t had a whole lot of save opportunities but he has been a wonderful performer in their bullpen this season.
An aging lefty with high-leverage experience is always coveted on the open market. Coming off of an impressive season for a team with a recent tradition of ruining relievers’ careers can help him even more. Hand is pitching this season in a ballpark that isn’t kind to pitchers. Maybe, if he’s lucky, he gets himself a multi-year contract.
The Mets would even be an option for him to return to. With no obvious candidate to become their lefty reliever for 2023-onward and plenty of open roster spots, it wouldn’t be such a bad reunion to make.
There will be competition for Hand, however. Everything from sticking in his late-inning role to maybe even getting a closer’s job again should all be on the table. He has been too good for too long to be ignored.
8) MLB free agent Phillies second baseman Jean Segura
Phillies second baseman Jean Segura falls into the category of possible free agent. There is an expensive team option for him next year. Given the fact that the Phillies might serve themselves better to go in a different direction at second base, he’s worthy of this list. Even if they do end up keeping things the same at second base, Segura has been too productive to ignore.
Segura wouldn’t be an option for Mets fans to seek out but would definitely have destinations where he can fill in as a starting second baseman or even more of a utility man. He has experience all over the infield. On the Phillies, he finally found a home at second base because of the way the rest of the roster looks.
Philadelphia’s wisest move would be to sign Trea Turner and move youngster Bryson Stott to second base. This would make the Segura contract an easier decision. Rather than pay him $17 million for one final season, the Phillies can take advantage of yet another hot-and-heavy offseason featuring star shortstops.
A lighter-hitting infielder who still has decent speed and can hit for average, Segura probably is best remaining at second base with some club. It’s an interesting position because many second basemen are, after all, ex-shortstops. Someone like the Chicago White Sox might make a lot of sense for him. They’ve had second base problems for a couple of years. On a shorter deal, Segura could give them someone a little more reliable.
7) MLB free agent Phillies relief pitcher David Robertson
David Robertson should have been a pending Mets free agent but instead he’s another member of the Phillies bullpen heading into the open market. Philadelphia acquired him at the trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs. While Billy Eppler was convinced there would be relievers to pick up, he only came away with Mychal Givens—a former teammate of Robertson’s and someone who didn’t make this list.
Robertson’s abilities are well-known by Mets fans because of how much of a fit he would have been for the team at the trade deadline. We all watched closely and pictured how he’d fit in as a setup option for the club. Instead, he is yet another one of those experienced closers on the Philadelphia roster.
Robertson’s revitalization this season makes him one of the best free agents to come out of the National League East. He already paid his dues by being the closer for a bad team in 2022. The next step would be for someone with World Series aspirations to do the same or possibly sign him exclusively for the eighth inning or maybe as a backup closer as well.
No one could have expected that after all of the time Robertson missed he’d have such a terrific year in 2022. From the National League East, he is a top 10 player on an expiring contract.
6) MLB free agent Mets starting pitcherTaijuan Walker
Taijuan Walker remains a bit of a mystery as far as expectations go. He’s relatively young and will reach free agency for the second time in his career assuming he doesn’t pick up the $6 million player option the Mets have on him. Walker has pitched well enough to get a lot more even if it’s just a one year deal. He has proven himself worthy and as long as he stays healthy down the stretch, someone is going to reward him with a multi-year contract.
The Mets have quite a few potential free agent starting pitchers this offseason. Behind Walker, we only find Carlos Carrasco. The more veteran of the two turned things around nicely in 2022 after a miserable 2021. Walker has done the same but age in his case is such a huge advantage.
Walker’s last deal he signed with the Mets prior to 2021 seemed a bit team-friendly. He’s actually only earning $7 million this season after taking home $10 million last year in what turned out to be a far less productive stretch.
How Walker finishes the season will say a lot about how much money he’ll get paid and for how long. He has proven he isn’t about to become the next Rick Porcello that completely vanishes. However, he’s not quite up there with some other Mets free agents.
5) MLB free agent Mets starting pitcher Chris Bassitt
Chris Bassitt falls just a hair ahead of Walker on the list of National League East free agents. A fellow Mets starting pitcher, he’s having himself a strong showing in year one with the team.
Bassitt does have a mutual option for next season worth $19 million. It’s somewhat odd, though. What circumstances would cause the Mets to want him back for such a large amount on only a one-year contract and also include Bassitt accepting such a short-term deal?
Bassitt will only get one shot at free agency in his career. Already 33, he has pitched himself into a possibly three or four-year contract this winter. Whether it’s the Mets or another team that ends up awarding him with this type of deal, it feels like a given he’ll turn down his part of the mutual option for next season in favor of testing free agency.
From his days with the Oakland Athletics and 2022 season with the Mets, Bassitt has been consistent. His age might work against him slightly. He’ll get some nice cash but perhaps not as much if he was younger.
Reliability is one of the best abilities a starting pitcher can bring to the field. A far more impressive starting pitcher than almost everyone else in the division, it’s fair to consider him the fifth best National League East free agent this offseason.
4) MLB free agent Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo
Brandon Nimmo’s free agent stock hasn’t blown up this year but it also hasn’t taken a massive hit either. Consider it a luxury for him to not have a great year and still have teams breaking down walls to sign him. It’s because of the position he plays, how well he plays it, and how few options there are for other teams.
Nimmo’s growth into a more than credible center fielder will make him a very rich man this winter. He has the defensive tools needed to make him one of the best out there. Add in that he can get on base at a rate as strong as anyone else and we have ourselves a low-key free agent that should get paid big bucks.
What’s amazing is that Nimmo doesn’t have any of those big awards or honors to cement him as one of the top free agents. We know better. A lack of MVP consideration or All-Star appearances shouldn’t hurt him too badly. In a market of limited center field options, he is far and away the best one out there in free agency.
The Mets could find it difficult to retain him for all of these reasons. Someone is going to overpay. The question will be whether or not that person is Steve Cohen.
3) MLB free agent Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson
Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson doesn’t have the same resume as some of the other shortstops out there set to hit free agency after this season. A nice finish on a good team will help him a lot. Although he might be viewed as a fallback option for teams that could miss out on Carlos Correa or Xander Bogaerts, what’s to say he hasn’t finally found his bat and has brighter days ahead of him?
The Braves do have Vaughn Grissom as a possible replacement for Swanson which could lead to a separation. If so, Swanson will be one of those free agents we hear about plenty this offseason.
Because he has gone this long without getting an extension, we should assume nothing gets done between now and the time he can hit the open market. The Braves have a lot of money committed to other young players. Several underwhelming seasons had them passing on Swanson.
The Mets would obviously be out of contention to sign Swanson. They have no need at shortstop. The same may not be true for a few other teams that already look to have the position set. Could Swanson end up following the path of Trevor Story? Perhaps he could even move a shortstop to second base or third base and take on the position himself.
2) MLB free agent Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz
You never know with closers. When it comes to Mets reliever Edwin Diaz, the unknown is a bit less murky when we eliminate his 2019 campaign.
Diaz has become a New York fan favorite over the last two seasons and it’s going to help him in his free agent negotiations. Obviously someone the Mets should retain, he’ll be a coveted part of the free agent market. Any team with any desire to upgrade the back of their bullpen should at least take a look at one of the most exciting relievers in the game.
Because the spot in the bullpen is so specialized, we can quickly eliminate a lot of teams from contention. Those with a reliable enough closer are out already. Fortunately, for Diaz, many of the game’s best don’t have an answer. This year alone we’re seeing the Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres question who should get their final three outs.
For Diaz, the best situation would be to return to the Mets. He has familiarized himself with the situation in Flushing. If his change from Seattle to New York was a cause of his 2019 destruction, he could be in for another meltdown for at least a year.
1) MLB free agent Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom
The best free agent from the National League East this winter is a guy who gets to choose to become one. It’s Mets ace Jacob deGrom. He has already stated that he plans to opt out after this year is over. And boy, is it unclear whether or not he will return.
The Mets, as you see, have a lot of free agents. deGrom would cost the most annually and maybe even overall. People are beginning to suspect deGrom gets a deal similar to Max Scherzer with only a small number of years and a high AAV. It would make the most sense for a guy with a recent history of getting hurt.
Despite those regular appearances on the IL, there is a market for deGrom. Someone else could go nuts and give him the ridiculously short yet expensive contract the Mets could. One could argue the Mets are a much better team if they spent deGrom’s funds in another way. All of our opinions could sway depending on how the year finishes and if the Mets are able to accomplish anything in the postseason.
deGrom becomes one of baseball’s best and most intriguing free agents this offseason the moment it becomes official. In the National League East, there is no one better. The Mets will have their work cut out for them to get him a deal, build the rest of the roster, and not spend too excessively to the point where they become a money pit.