Top 2026-27 MLB free agents: Tarik Skubal, Randy Arozarena and the biggest names to watch

Ah, MLB free agency. Baseball fans love seeing which big-name players their teams will sign – or whether their favorite squad will be able to keep some of their favorite players who are set to hit the open market. For the top available players, it’s often the first time that they’re hitting free agency, meaning it’s the first time they’re set out to get potentially generation-changing money for their services. 

The 2026-27 MLB free agent class is an intriguing one, and it’s headlined by one specific name. There are a ton of other big-name players who fans will be salivating over at the prospect of them joining their favorite team. 

Top names to watch in 2026-27 MLB free agency

With SeatGeek serving as the Official Ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball, we’re keeping a close eye on all the top free agents. With that in mind, we’re going to break down 10 top free agents, how they’re performing this year and how that may or may not impact their free-agent market.

Free-agent pitchers

Any time you have a recent Cy Young Award winner hitting free agency, you know they’re going to be one of the biggest storylines that offseason. Well, how about a guy who won each of the last two Cy Young Awards in the American League? Yeah, that guy’s pretty good, and there are a number of All-Star arms set to join him this offseason. 

Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal

The biggest fish in the sea here is Skubal, who is a two-time Cy Young Award winner and is arguably the best pitcher in baseball while healthy. Unfortunately for the Tigers and MLB fans everywhere, Skubal is not healthy as he had surgery to clean up his left elbow. He was dominant before that, though, with a 2.70 ERA and 45 strikeouts in seven starts. The Tigers are among the worst teams in the American League, so perhaps they take calls on Skubal as a rental piece at the Trade Deadline, assuming he returns and pitches well before then.

Pitchers like Skubal are rare in general, and it’s rare to have a chance at signing someone like him. The free-agent scenario that most resembles this would be Gerrit Cole signing a $324 million deal with the Yankees ahead of 2020. Skubal will have two Cy Youngs ahead of free agency but will be one year older than Cole was when he hit the market. Every team will want the ace lefty, but how many will truly be able to afford him? And will a team trade for him this summer with the idea of making a lasting impact that makes him want to stay? Regardless, this free-agent class starts and stops with Skubal. 

New York Mets RHP Freddy Peralta

Peralta was supposed to join the Mets and help them get over the top in a crowded National League field. Peralta has been good but not great in his first season in New York, with a 3.38 ERA and 1.306 WHIP after posting a 2.70 ERA and 1.075 WHIP last year with Milwaukee, when he finished fifth in Cy Young voting. 

Peralta turned 30 on Thursday and has been a consistent and durable starter for years now. He strikes out a lot of batters (career 11.0 K/9 rate) and has pitched at least 165 innings each of the last three years, and he should clear that number again in 2026. He won’t have the high-end market Skubal will, but a team looking for a long-term frontline starter at a cheaper cost would be happy to add Peralta, so he should have a very robust market overall, even if his numbers have dipped after a career year in 2025.

Toronto Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman

Gausman, 35, has had an awesome and interesting career. It never quite fully clicked for the No. 4 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft with his original team, the Orioles, but two strong years with the Giants in 2020 and 2021 led to a lucrative five-year deal with the Blue Jays, where Gausman has had the best stretch of his career. The veteran right-hander has a 3.47 ERA in five years with Toronto, and he has finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting twice over that stretch. He’s consistent, eats innings and has been adaptable, too. He struck out 10.6 and then 11.5 batters per nine over his first two years with Toronto, but he’s been under 9.0 per 9 the last two seasons and in 2026. Yet he just keeps getting results. Gausman owns a 3.36 ERA and 1.093 WHIP this season.

Gausman will certainly be inking a shorter-term deal given he’ll turn 36 early in 2027, but he’s pitched at least 174 2/3 innings every year since 2021 and is showing no real signs of slowing down. Any contender needing starting pitching help should be hitting Gausman’s line this winter.

San Diego Padres RHP Michael King (opt out)

King has a two-year player option for 2027 and 2028 that averages $33 million annually, per Spotrac, so it will be interesting to see whether he decides to take the short-term security with the Padres or test the market for a longer-term deal. 

There’s a case to be made for both sides. King missed time last year due to injury coming off a career 2024 campaign, and it’s probably unlikely he can get more than $30 million annually on a free-agent deal entering his age 32 season. But considering he turns 32 next year, this could be his one and only chance to secure a long-term deal.

King has pitched very well this year for the Padres with a 3.18 ERA and 1.132 WHIP, both of which are close to the 2.95 ERA and 1.192 WHIP he put together in his breakout campaign in 2024, when he finished seventh in Cy Young voting. If he opts out of his deal, he should be one of the three to five top starters on the market. 

New York Mets RHP Clay Holmes (opt out)

I opted for Holmes here over a few other notable names like Giants southpaw Robbie Ray, Tigers righty Casey Mize and Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga. He’s an awfully intriguing free agent in this class.

Holmes has a $12 million player option for 2027, and given how he’s pitched for the Mets, it seems certain he’ll decline it. After years of relief work for the Yankees, Holmes moved across town to the Mets last year and had a 3.53 ERA as a starter. He’s been even better in 2026 with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts, but he’s on the shelf for a bit after a freak play where he took a 111 mph comebacker and fractured his right fibula. Holmes won’t be back until late this season, but I think he’s shown enough as a starter beginning in 2025 to warrant hitting the market with an eye on a big payday. I’m very interested to hear what his market looks like. 

Free-agent hitters

Full disclosure: This is a better pitching free-agent class than it is for hitters. Teams are far more aggressive when it comes to locking up young hitters than pitchers, so it’s not too surprising that there aren’t as many high-profile names set to hit the market. That being said, there’s an awful lot of intrigue with the bats, especially these five. 

Seattle Mariners LF Randy Arozarena

Arozarena burst onto the scene with his playoff heroics in Tampa Bay’s World Series run in 2020, and he’s been a rock-steady performer ever since. He made the 2023 All-Star Game with Tampa Bay and was traded to Seattle in 2024, where he was a key part of the Mariners’ playoff run last year. Arozarena made the All-Star Game last year, too.

The veteran left fielder isn’t going to wow you with his defense or arm, but he’s as well-rounded of an offensive performer as they come. He’s posted five straight 20-homer, 20-steal seasons, and he’s more than willing to work a walk or take a hit-by-pitch (he led MLB with 27 in 2026). He’s already swiped 17 bases in 2026, and he’s OPSing over .800 entering the weekend. 

Arozarena isn’t some 30+ homer bopper, but he’ll hit 20 or more, get on base a ton and steal a bunch of bases. In a relatively weak free-agent hitting class, Arozarena, who will be 32 next February, may very well be the crown jewel. 

New York Yankees 2B Jazz Chisholm

Chisholm will be a very interesting free agent this offseason. There’s no denying his talent – the lefty-swinging infielder hit 31 homers last year and stole 31 bases. He’s a two-time All-Star with some positional versatility, too. 

Unfortunately, Chisholm is having arguably the worst full season of his career in his free-agent year, OPSing just over .700 as his slug numbers are way down with seven homers and a SLG under .400. It’s never a good thing to have a down year before hitting the open market for the first time. 

But Chisholm has electric talent and doesn’t turn 29 until next February. A return to the Yankees makes a lot of sense considering his left-handed swing is tailored towards success at Yankee Stadium, and he had the best year of his career in 2025 in New York. But in a weak free-agent hitting class, even amid a down year, Chisholm should have a good range of suitors. 

Pittsburgh Pirates 2B Brandon Lowe

Lowe wasn’t seen as a top-five free-agent hitter heading into this season, but he’s put himself in that conversation with a stellar first year in Pittsburgh. The Pirates desperately needed offensive upgrades to take some pressure off Paul Skenes and the team’s pitching staff, and now Lowe has fit the bill and then some in 2026.

The veteran second baseman has been arguably Pittsburgh’s top offensive performer in 2026 with 15 homers and 40 RBIs, and he’s slugging well over .500 at this stage of the season. It’ll be tough for Lowe to match the 39 home runs and 99 RBIs he posted with the Rays in 2021, but he could very well push those numbers considering how he started. Lowe turns 32 this July and is a proven veteran bat who has played a lot of meaningful baseball in his career. He should have a nice market considering what he’s been able to do in Pittsburgh this season.

Chicago Cubs OFs Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki

We’ll wrap things up with two guys in the same situation as the Cubs could lose one or both of their veteran outfielders this offseason. 

Both Happ and Suzuki have played for the Cubs for the entirety of their MLB careers. Happ debuted in 2017 and has been a mainstay in the lineup and outfield since 2020. He was an All-Star in 2022, and the switch-hitter has averaged 21 homers, 80 RBIs, a .780 OPS and 3.9 bWAR between 2022 and 2025. He’s been great this year with an .843 OPS and 14 homers, 34 RBIs and more than 2 bWAR. He’s also stellar with the glove, having won four straight Gold Glove Awards. Happ turns 32 in August. 

While Happ is a rock-steady performer, Suzuki presents more offensive upside, though he’s a fringe-average defender. Suzuki, who also turns 32 in August, has hit 20+ homers each of the last three seasons, including 32 homers last year. He also has OPSed over .800 each of the last three years while driving in 103 in 2025. Suzuki has typically provided a lot of thump, though he’s had a down year at the plate, particularly in the power department. The track record is there, though, and he’d be a welcomed addition to any club, even if Suzuki gets the bulk of his playing time as a designated hitter. He DHed primarily in 2025 but has seen far more action in right field than DH this season.