The Major League Baseball hot stove is heating up ahead of an impending work stoppage. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires Wednesday night, and free-agent activity will be halted until the players’ union and the league can come to a new agreement — a process that could take months. Many players and teams are getting deals in place before the lockout, and it’s led to a free-agent frenzy in the last two days. Shortstop Corey Seager became the latest big name to sign, as he agreed to a massive 10-year, $325 million contract with the Rangers on Monday afternoon.
It’s already been a huge offseason for the Rangers. Over the weekend, they added second baseman Marcus Semien, right-hander Jon Gray, and outfielder Kole Calhoun. In all, that’s a salary commitment of more than $550 million for Texas.
Also on Monday, Max Scherzer agreed to a record-breaking deal with the Mets. Scherzer’s contract with the Mets will pay him $130 million over three years, thereby setting a new record for average annual value ($43.3M per year). Scherzer will join a trio of free-agent signings the Mets made last week, in infielder Eduardo Escobar, utility player Mark Canha, and outfielder Starling Marte. Scherzer was not the only big-name pitcher to sign on Monday. Robbie Ray, who won the AL Cy Young Award earlier this month for his stellar 2021 season with the Blue Jays, agreed to a five-year deal with the Seattle Mariners worth $115 million.
Here’s a look at the notable free agent deals to happen since Sunday night.
Notable hot stove deals
- Corey Seager and the Rangers have agreed to a 10-year, $325 million pact (full story here).
- Max Scherzer and the Mets have finalized a three-year, $130 million deal (full story here).
- Robbie Ray agreed to a five-year, $115 million deal with the Mariners (full story here).
- The Marlins acquired catcher Jacob Stallings in a four-player deal with the Pirates, the teams announced.
- Marcus Semien agreed to a seven-year, $175 million deal with the Rangers (full story here).
- The Marlins and Avisaíl García agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal (full story here).
- Kevin Gausman and the Blue Jays agreed to a five-year, $110 million deal (full story here).
- Jon Gray and the Rangers agreed to a four-year, $56 million deal (full story here).
- Corey Kluber signed a one-year deal with the Rays after spending 2021 with the Yankees (full story here).
- Reliever Kirby Yates signed a two-year, $8.25 million deal with the Braves, the team announced.
- Reliever Daniel Hudson is nearing a one-year, $7 million deal with the Dodgers, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
We’ll be providing live updates throughout Monday as teams push to get more deals done. Follow along below.