While Major League Baseball remains in a lockout, I figured we could take a look at the best players available at each position still available for teams to sign when this nightmare is finally over.

Given that free agency was halted early in the offseason, there’s still a good group of players on the market once it opens back up.

  • C Kurt Suzuki – The catching market is empty folks, former Mets Wilson Ramos and Robinson Chirinos round out a rough group.
  • 1B Freddie Freeman – Feels pretty wild that the Braves let it get to this point, and now there seems to be plenty of real interest from other teams. Anthony Rizzo and Albert Pujols are still free agents as well.
  • 2B Donovan Solano – Three straight solid years (113 OPS+ overall), though his numbers did dip in 2021. Jed Lowrie and Matt Carpenter are still free agents too.
  • SS Carlos Correa – By far the best free agent still on the market, and should get a monster deal whenever the lockout concludes. Trevor Story is a solid consolation price for the teams that strikeout on Correa. Defensive specialists Jose Iglesias and Andrelton Simmons are available too.
  • 3B Kris Bryant – Though Bryant played all over the field in 2021, I’m sure plenty of teams like him best at third. Former Mets Asdrubal Cabrera and Jonathan Villar round out the depth at third
  • Utility Josh Harrison – The veteran is coming off a strong season (2.1 rWAR) between the Nationals and A’s. Another veteran, Marwin Gonzalez, is still on the market as well.
  • OF Michael Conforto – The former Met represents one of the better all-around outfielders still available.
  • OF Seiya Suzuki – The 27-year-old has seen a ton of recent success in Japan on offense (OPS over .950) and defense (multiple Gold Gloves).
  • OF Kyle Schwarber  – The 2016 World Champ had 32 home runs and a 148 OPS+ in 2021. He’s also actually had a couple of decent season defensively. Joc Pederson, Kevin Pillar, Tommy Pham, Eddie Rosario, and Andrew McCutchen remain available.
  • DH Nick Castellanos – Technically, Castellanos is an outfielder, but he’s certainly better suited as a DH and that feels more likely with all teams needing one whenever games start. Nelson Cruz took a dip offensively after his trade last year and Jorge Soler‘s took off, both likely inexpensive DH options.

There’s certainly some punch left on the free agent market, and it will be interesting to see if the Mets decide to trade from the trio of J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith, and Jeff McNeil then dip into the market for a slugger like Schwarber.

  • LHP Clayton Kershaw – Yup, still pretty good folks. Posted a 3.4 fWAR in 2021 and had a 10.7 K/9 strikeout rate.
  • RHP Zack Greinke – Still tossed 171 innings last season, but had a 4.71 FIP and an almost career-low 6.32 K/9.
  • LHP Carlos Rodon – Ton of upside here (4.9 fWAR in 2021), though there’s concerns about a velocity dip late in the season.
  • LHP Yusei Kikuchi – Made 29 and 32 starts in the last two full seasons, but has a big home problem with career 1.6 HR/9 in his career.
  • LHP Tyler Anderson – Another lefty that finished the season with Seattle, his 2.1 fWAR was second best in his career.
  • SP – Rest of the group includes Michael Pineda, Matthew Boyd, J.A. Happ, Drew Smyly, and Aaron Sanchez

Mets should absolutely be in the market to add another starter whether it’s via free agency or a trade.

With the MLB and MLBPA expected to meet on a consistent basis next week, hopefully we can start talking about the rumors for these free agents really soon.