5 Best Outfielders Available in Free Agency

MLB free agent season is upon us. With this comes a power rating for each position in the game. One of the most available positions this winter is outfielders, with several players set to find new homes for 2025 and beyond. Here are the best ones.

Tyler O’Neill just spent a year with the Boston Red Sox, where although he only played 113 games, he managed to hit 31 home runs, establishing himself as one of the best hitters in the league. However, at 29 years old, O’Neal should be able to earn a lucrative multi-year contract as a free agent, where he could become a vital part of any lineup he makes.

The biggest blow for O’Neill is his ability to stay on the field, having made just two appearances in 100 appearances in his seven-year career. Without a doubt, when O’Neill is healthy, he is a long threat every time he steps up to the plate, and there will be at least one team willing to roll the dice and hope he stays healthy. He ranks fifth on this list simply because of his incredible home run rate in 2024.

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Switching beats Anthony Santander Parting ways with the Baltimore Orioles doesn’t seem right, but it will likely become a reality thanks to the contract he’s expected to receive this winter. After hitting a career-high 44 home runs and 102 RBIs, Santander had the perfect season for a career year as he has now reached free agency in search of a deal that may prove too lucrative for the Orioles’ tastes.

Any team in need of outfield play, especially playoff-caliber teams, will try to get Santander if they miss out on Juan Soto. His ability to hit from both ends is highly desirable and he just recently turned 30 years old, which will give many teams confidence that he will be productive for years to come. Unlike O’Neill before him, Santander has remained healthy over the past few years and has broken the 30-point mark twice during that time.

Jurickson Profar had a breakout season in 2024 and will now test free agency after hitting an impressive .280/.380/.459 with 24 HR and 85 RBI. Given his ability to play in the outfield or center of the infield when needed, his versatility is a valuable trait that any baseball manager wants to see more of on his team. In truth, Profar’s breakthrough began in the second half of 2023 when San Diego acquired him and continued from there, so his track record is now long enough to believe he’s onto something.

The biggest concern with the Profar signing is that until the second half of 2023, it could be argued that he was not the most effective player given his .238/.322/.386 hitting from 2012-2022. It looks like we’ve just seen Profar at his absolute peak, which means teams will also use that against him in negotiations, assuming 2024 will be his ceiling and we shouldn’t expect much more. However, the numbers over the last season and a half speak for themselves and it will be interesting to see what kind of deal he can get now.

Moving on to the meat and potatoes of this list, Teoscar Hernandez goes out at number two, again finding himself a free agent. Hernandez had his most successful season since his breakout campaign in 2021, hitting .272/.339/.501 with 33 HR and 99 RBI, culminating in a World Series championship with the Los Angeles Dodgers this year.

Considering he’s only 32 years old, it was not only surprising that he didn’t sign some sort of multi-year deal last year, but now that he’ll have money set aside over time, he’ll be looking to sign a longer deal. My best bet is that Hernandez will be back in the lineup for the Dodgers, who end up missing their pitch and becoming the number one player on this list.

Obviously, Juan Soto gets No. 1 here. He’s about to get what’s likely the second-biggest contract in baseball history behind Shohei Ohtani last winter. Soto’s demands are sky-high, but it’s highly doubtful he’ll beat Ohtani’s deal no matter how many homers he hits or at what age. Ohtani is a much better player and Soto’s expectations of outperforming this deal are unrealistic.

That doesn’t mean his deal won’t top $600 million, of course. Soto is one of the best hitters in baseball, a generational talent when it comes to hitting, and he’s only 26 years old. Soto is already a four-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger award winner. cut .288/.419/.569 in 2024 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs. Considering he’s probably not even in his prime yet, he deserves the deal he gets. Don’t be surprised by the number of years Soto or AAV gets. It may not be Ohtani’s money, but it would be a crazy contract wherever he ends up.