The Top MLB Free Agent Signings (So Far)

Story posted December 10, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by CommRadio Sports Staff

The offseason in Major League Baseball has been moving fast over the past few weeks with some big names being taken off the market.

Our CommRadio sports team takes a deeper dive into some of the biggest signings so far.

Jacob deGrom: $185 million, 5 years – Texas Rangers

Surprise Surprise! The Rangers nab the infinitely talented Jacob deGrom from the New York Mets. Texas has now completed their formidable pitching lineup topped with deGrom, Martin Perez, Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney.

The contract includes a base salary of $30 million in 2023, but the club will then pay him $40 million in 2024 and 2025.

The 2x Cy Young winner has an all-time ERA of 2.52 with a whopping 1,607 strikeouts. DeGroms stats could arguably be even better if the Mets were able to provide a solid team around him earlier in his career.

A rising concern for deGrom has been his health. deGrom has gone three years in a row now without pitching more than 15 games in a season.

Pitching comes at a premium in the MLB, and the Rangers management came to attack. As long as deGrom can stay on the field, the contract should bode well for both sides.

Aaron Judge: $360 million, 9 years – New York Yankees

The Yankees spend big money in order to maintain their home-grown superstar. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman went out of his comfort zone paying a non-pitcher $40-million annually. This signing clearly shows the Yankees are doubling down on their “home run or go home” roster strategy.

The 2022 AL MVP has raked impressive stats in his 62 home run season. Along with the deep shots, Judge ended the 2022 season with an impressive 177 hits in his 570 at bats. The immense power Judge swings with complements well with his .311 BA, .425 OBP and 1.111 OPS. He is also a scoring machine, tying with Mets superstar Pete Alonso for the most RBIs in baseball (131)

Some aren’t so excited about Judge staying in New York. Radio host Mike Francesa claims the ‘Yankees will pay dearly’ for giving a 31-year-old player so much money after his best season. Another point critics are making is Judge’s infamously poor performance in the postseason. Judge ended the postseason this year with a pitiful .138 batting average and 15 strike outs.

All in all, the Yankees keep up to their premier standard by maintaining their captain. Looks like Yankee Stadium will be enjoying the Judge’s Chambers for another nine years, but did the franchise jump the gun?

Justin Verlander: $86.7 million, 2 years – New York Mets

The Mets made a splash of their own when it comes to bolstering their starting rotation. After losing Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers, they needed to fill a main spot in their starting lineup, and Justin Verlander was their guy.

His contract also includes a $35 million vesting option for 2025 hinging on if Verlander pitches 140 innings in the 2023 season and doesn’t get hurt.

Although Verlander is 39-years-old, he comes with a bushel of accolades including being a 9x All-Star, leading the American League in strikeouts five times and being the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year. In spite of missing the 2021 season to Tommy John surgery, his 2022 season was stellar.

This signing will make the first and second starting spots for the Mets solid, with Max Scherzer being alongside Verlander once again going back to their roots in Detriot. In any combination, this duo is quite a dangerous one for other teams.

Masataka Yoshida: $90 million, 5 years  Boston Red Sox

Boston decided to take its outfield needs outside of the country to Japan to acquire Masataka Yoshida. In addition to his large $90 million contract, the Red Sox had to pay Yoshida’s team back in Japan $15.4 million in order to make the deal.

At just 29-years-old, Yoshida could make a big name for himself in MLB. He had 80 walks with only 41 strikeouts last season and led his league in on-base percentage in both 2021 and 2022.

The Red Sox paid such a hefty price tag for Yoshida in order to create a solid foundation for not just their outfield, but more importantly their lineup. They finished last in the AL East last year and one of the causes for this was lack of offense.

Yoshida joins Kenley Jansen, who Boston also recently picked up to help with their pitching. Jansen has a two year deal worth $32 million. With these additions, the Red Sox look to come back from the bottom of the league in the 2023 season.

Trea Turner: $300 million, 11 years  Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia looked to upgrade to what was already a stacked lineup by adding Trea Turner.

The shocking part of the signing was the fact that Turner chose to opt in for 11 years. That keeps him in Philadelphia until he is 41-years-old.

Turner is arguably the closest thing you’ll get in terms of a five tool player. The shortstop is coming off a season where he hit .298 with 21 home runs and 100 RBIs.

He eclipsed career high marks in both home runs and runs batted in during his first and last full season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, he re-joins his former Washington Nationals teammate in Bryce Harper in the hopes of winning his second World Series title.

Wilson Contreras: $87.5 million, 5 years  St. Louis Cardinals

For the first time in a long time, the Cardinals will have a new starting catcher.

With the retirement of Yadier Molina, the Cardinals turned to a division rival for their replacement in Wilson Contreras.

The former Cub was the most sought after free agent catcher on the market and he eventually settled on the Cardinals for five years.

Contreras was initially thought to be on the market at last season's trade deadline but was held on to by the Cubs.

He finished last season with a .243 batting average, 22 home runs and 55 RBIs.

That was good enough for the third All Star game appearance of Contreras’ career as he now joins a new team for the first time in his seven-year career.

Logan Bourandas is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.

Allie Wenskoski is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amw7637@psu.edu.

Antonio Fondacaro is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email adf5400@psu.edu

About the Contributors

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Logan Bourandas

Third-Year / Broadcast Journalism

Logan Bourandas is a third-year broadcast journalism major from Long Island, NY. He is a the news director for CommRadio and the host of Ducks on the Pond, which is an all-baseball talk show on CommRadio. He is also a sports writer, broadcaster and podcaster for CommRadio. He got his start as the station manager for his high school radio station WPOB in his hometown of Plainview, NY, where he hosted numerous radio shows and was involved in sports broadcasts. You can contact him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Allie Wenskoski's photo

Allie Wenskoski

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Allie Wenskoski is a first-year student at Penn State majoring in broadcast journalism. She is a member of CommRadio, specializing in the sports department. In addition to CommRadio, Allie is involved in After the Whistle, Penn States Sports Night, and Penn State’s chapter of AWSM. Along with her involvement in sports journalism, Allie spends her time playing IM sports as well as rooting for the New York Mets and Giants. After attending Penn State, she plans on being a play-by-play announcer or color analyst for a professional team.