The Best and Worst MLB Free Agent Signings Of 2025

The MLB season is not even a month old, but with over 20 games completed,  it seems to be the right time to overreact and determine which 2025 free agent acquisitions are paying off, and which signings are trending toward the way-too-early “bust” category.

Top Five Free Agent Signings Are Off to a Great Start

1. Max Fried, Starting Pitcher, New York Yankees, 8 years, $218 million: A 4-0 record and ERA under 1.5 after five starts solidifies Fried as the top free agent signing so far. A change in the official scorer’s decision two innings after the at-bat kept Fried from a no-hit bid recently. If that is the only thing to go wrong so far this season, things look pretty good.
2. Nick Pivetta, Starting Pitcher, San Diego Padres, 4 years, $55 million: A 3-1 start with an ERA under 2 is one of the reasons the Padres have sizzled so far this season. He has been a great signing as a free agent.
3. Tanner Scott, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 years, $72 million:  With a 2.25 ERA and eight saves after 12 relief appearances, the Dodgers seem to have no worries about their closer this year. If you are the Dodgers, do you have any worries during the regular season? Win the division, get a bye, and then the worrying begins as it is win or a failure in the playoffs. Rinse and repeat year after year. A solid closer may alleviate the playoff drama and make a World Series win as common as a division title.
4. Alex Bregman, 3B, Boston Red Sox, 3 years, $120 million:  A batting average over .290 with 4 home runs and 16 RBI is a perfect start for someone who just started a pre-arranged time off. Bregman went 5-of-5 and hit two home runs in the game right before taking paternity leave. Bregman now has a chance to tell his newborn about his great game and season while Red Sox fans anxiously await his return, and hope he gets enough sleep when he gets back to continue his hot streak.
5. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, New York Yankees, 1 year, $12.5 million: Playing on a one-year “prove it” contract, Goldschmidt had no room for a slow start. Luckily for Yankee fans, he was up for the challenge. Although it is strange to see Goldschmidt at the leadoff spot on occasion against left-handers, he is embracing the role and getting on base with an average of over .370 in 23 games. His defense has also been Gold-Glove caliber. He has been a crucial free agent signing for a Yankees ballclub with World Series aspirations.

Bottom Five: Slow Out Of the Starting Blocks

1. Juan Soto, OF, New York Mets – 15 years – $765 million: The biggest catch of the offseason will get the most scrutiny. Success is not happening yet for Soto. A .250 batting average and three home runs after 22 games do not translate to the numbers expected when he jumped from the Bronx to Queens as a free agent. The good news is that he has 14 years and over 140 games left this season to get back on track.
2. Corbin Burnes, Starting Pitcher, Arizona Diamondbacks, 6 years, $210 million: Burnes became a high-priced fifth starter when he told Manager Torey Lovullo that he could not adjust his routine one day later when Zac Gallen was named the Opening Day starter. If Burnes excels, he looks like a disciplined, focused winner. But that has not happened yet. He now looks like an inflexible self-absorbed non-ace pitcher with an 0-1 record and an ERA over 4 after four starts.  There are many “real” fifth starters with stats better than this and well short of the $210 million being paid for their services.
3. Anthony Santander, OF, Toronto Blue Jays, 5 years, $92 million: Batting less than .200 with just two home runs leads to an automatic overreaction. Especially in Toronto, where it seems a large pool of talent assembled continues to underperform. The team never seems to hit on free agent signings.
4. Willy Adames, SS, San Francisco Giants, 7 years, $182 million: The hot Giants start has shielded the slow start of Adames. His defense remains solid and Giants fans must be thinking how good the team can be when Adames moves his average past .200.
5. Christian Walker, 1B, Houston Astros, 3 years, $60 million: Coming over to the team as a free agent, he has yet to find his footing. An average under .200 and just two home runs do not meet expectations for Walker. A player who can carry a team when he is hot, the Astros are waiting for him to at least break out of the early slump.