Last year’s MLB free agent class, headlined by young superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, was anticipated for years. But this year’s free agents might be even better — and they could help even more teams serious about contending in 2020.
Four free agents are coming off seasons of 6 wins above replacement or better: right-handed pitchers Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg and third basemen Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson. This is only the fourth offseason since the advent of free agency with that many players worth at least 6.0 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The full free agent class totaled 119.9 WAR last season — the most for a class since 2003.
So how might the top players from this talented crop change the fortunes of the teams that need them? We partnered with Out of the Park Development to find out.1 First, we employed the wisdom of the crowd — FanGraphs’s crowdsourced contracts — to whittle down this year’s free agents to the top four hitters and top four pitchers still available. We landed on hitters Rendon, Donaldson, Marcell Ozuna and Nick Castellanos2 and pitchers Cole, Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner and Dallas Keuchel.3 OOTP then ran 100 simulations of the 2020 season for each of the 30 MLB teams with each of those players added.4 OOTP also created a baseline by running 1,000 simulations in which the 10 free agents were not on any roster, and we compared the numbers of playoff appearances and World Series titles for each team with each free agent added against that baseline.
The results?
The Milwaukee Brewers would benefit the most from adding a premium free agent, receiving three of the top four gains in playoff berths added. Rendon would give the Brewers the largest boost in playoff chances, as with Rendon, the Brewers advanced to the playoffs 39 times in 100 simulations — 24 times more than without him.
Interestingly, before free agency began, the most valuable possible pairing that we first saw was for Yasmani Grandal, who played for the Brewers last season. The OOTP simulations run before the star catcher signed with the Chicago White Sox showed 31 extra playoff appearances for the Brewers, had Grandal re-signed. OOTP doesn’t have Grandal adding a single playoff berth for his new team, which lost 89 games last season and finished 28.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.
The next most valuable player-team pairing was Cole joining the Brewers, adding 20 playoff appearances. Though the Brewers have been aggressive in free agency in recent offseasons and have made two straight playoff appearances, large-market clubs are expected to seriously contend for Cole, Strasburg and Rendon. (The New York Yankees have had an initial meeting with Cole.)
Mike Moustakas signed with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, and the Reds would benefit by continuing to be aggressive in free agency, according to OOTP. Of the pairings we examined, Donaldson would give the Reds the third-largest boost, an increase of 10 playoff appearances to 42 out of 100 simulations.
Where would top free agents impact the playoffs?
2020 playoff berths added per 100 simulations run by Out of the Park Developments pairing each top eight free agent with all 30 MLB teams
| playoff berths per 100 simulations* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | free agent | Avg. without F.A. | with F.A. | Diff |
| Brewers | Anthony Rendon | 14.7 | 39 | +24.3 |
| Brewers | Gerrit Cole | 14.7 | 35 | +20.3 |
| Reds | Josh Donaldson | 31.9 | 42 | +10.1 |
| Brewers | Stephen Strasburg | 14.7 | 24 | +9.3 |
| Braves | Stephen Strasburg | 83.9 | 92 | +8.1 |
| White Sox | Anthony Rendon | 0.0 | 8 | +8.0 |
| Brewers | Madison Bumgarner | 14.7 | 21 | +6.3 |
| Braves | Josh Donaldson | 83.9 | 90 | +6.1 |
| Braves | Dallas Keuchel | 83.9 | 90 | +6.1 |
| Braves | Madison Bumgarner | 83.9 | 90 | +6.1 |
But what if we look at which teams might just get better, rather than gain postseason berths?
Again, the Brewers would benefit the most from adding a premium free agent. The White Sox would also improve by continuing to add star power to their roster. Those two teams account for 13 of the 15 greatest jumps in regular-season wins when adding top free agents. Cole added a simulation-best 6.9 wins to the White Sox, while Rendon followed by adding 6.6 wins to Chicago and 4.8 wins to the Brewers.
Only 18 player-team pairings would add more than a single win, suggesting free agency often has a limited impact on a team’s fortunes. This is in part why more and more teams have avoided it. But the simulations suggest teams in the AL and NL Central divisions could swing their fortunes most through adding star talent.
Where would top free agents add the most wins?
2020 regular-season wins added per 100 simulations run by Out of the Park Developments pairing each top eight free agent with all 30 MLB teams
| reg.-season wins per 100 simulations* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Free agent | Avg. without F.A. | Avg. with F.A. | Diff |
| White Sox | Gerrit Cole | 72.3 | 79.2 | +6.9 |
| White Sox | Anthony Rendon | 72.3 | 78.9 | +6.6 |
| Brewers | Anthony Rendon | 79.7 | 84.5 | +4.8 |
| White Sox | Stephen Strasburg | 72.3 | 76.8 | +4.5 |
| Brewers | Gerrit Cole | 79.7 | 83.9 | +4.2 |
| White Sox | Josh Donaldson | 72.3 | 76.2 | +3.9 |
| White Sox | Nick Castellanos | 72.3 | 74.9 | +2.6 |
| Brewers | Stephen Strasburg | 79.7 | 81.9 | +2.2 |
| Brewers | Josh Donaldson | 79.7 | 81.7 | +2.0 |
| White Sox | Madison Bumgarner | 72.3 | 74.2 | +1.9 |
While some teams could improve their playoff chances in 2020, how many owners are willing to shell out millions for these players? Astros owner Jim Crane indicated that his club could make a run at Cole, even if it meant having to pay the luxury tax for the first time. The Los Angeles Angels, who boast the best bargain in baseball but little else around him, have hinted that they will be a big spender this offseason. They could pursue Cole, a Los Angeles native and UCLA product. Meanwhile, the MLB Players Association has become increasingly wary of owners’ lack of interest in spending and is investigating club coordination in free agency. In 2019, MLB average salary declined for a second straight season.
The other big question looming over free agency is when these players will sign. Last year’s season got off to an ice-cold start, and Harper and Machado were kept waiting for their contracts until after spring training camps had opened. Grandal’s deal, along with a few other notable contracts, could signal a quicker pace than in previous years, though only time will tell.
Many teams are incentivized to buy this offseason, from a wins-added standpoint. Will they spend more than they have in recent winters? We’ll have to wait — perhaps until spring training camps open — to find out.