Notable Fantasy Baseball Players Who are Free Agents: Kyle Schwarber, Framber Valdez, Bo Bichette and More

The MLB offseason is starting to heat up a little bit, with some player movement via free agency and trades.

In this article, I wanted to highlight some notable fantasy baseball players who are free agents. Eventually, we will break down what some of the free agent moves mean for players' fantasy outlooks, but for now, this can serve as a watch list.

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Top-End Hitters

There's a number of high profile fantasy hitters who are currently free agents.

The top fantasy performer last season (using ESPN's settings) was Kyle Schwarber. He was the No. 7 fantasy hitter overall - if you are including Shohei Ohtani.

Cody Bellinger was the No. 10 fantasy hitter, and is a free agent as well. He offers a bit more fantasy value than Schwarber, because he's eligible to play in the outfield or at first base (on most sites).

Pete Alonso is another free agent at first base. He was the No. 15 fantasy hitter. Alonso was great last season and will be a coveted player this offseason.

Right around the No. 20 spot, we have Kyle Tucker. The outfielder was great despite some cold stretches last season, and is capable of even higher fantasy finishes, so his landing spot will be noteworthy.

Bo Bichette is another high-end hitter looking for a new home possibly. The shortstop missed time with injuries as well, so he's capable of even more as a fantasy season with a full season at last year's averages.

Luis Arraez is a bit more unique of a fantasy asset, as he relies on a high average and on-base percentage, not power. He offers some more fantasy value as he's been usable at first and second base.

Eugenio Suarez was traded at last year's deadline and now could join a new squad for 2026. The third baseman is a major power threat, but was a top-50 fantasy hitter, so his landing spot will determine whether or not he can stick in the top 50.

Other Hitters

At catcher, J.T. Realmuto could find a new home. He's not the fantasy force he used to be, but he's still an option in all leagues, especially if he can DH and stay healthy over a full 162-game season.

Joining Bellinger, Alonso and Arraez as first base options are Ryan O'Hearn, Josh Bell and Paul Goldschmidt.

O'Hearn is a big power threat, and should have several suitors this offseason. 

Bell is on the back nine of his career, but can be a sneaky good fantasy asset, so don't write him off just yet.

Goldschmidt still has a little gas left in the tank, so his landing spot will be a pretty interesting one.

At second base, Jorge Polanco and Luis Rengifo are a couple names to keep tabs on.

Polanco had a much better fantasy season, and if he finds the right landing spot, could be a pretty solid fantasy asset again in 2026.

Rengifo had a down year, but is a bounceback candidate. Now we just have to see which team is going to afford him the opportunity.

Bregman joins Suarez as a highly-coveted third baseman. Bregman missed a lot of 2025, otherwise he'd have been mentioned in the first section - he was stellar at points this past year.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Willi Castro both are a bit below the standards I'd been using to identify free agents, but both are bounceback candidates, so I decided to mention them quickly.

If they land in spots where they will be playing daily, there's fantasy value to take advantage of with both guys.

Along with O'Hearn, Bellinger and Tucker, Mike Yastrzemski, Cedric Mullins, Max Kepler, Harrison Bader and Austin Hays are some other outfielders who could be worthwhile fantasy assets in 2026 if they find the right situations. 

Kazuma Okamoto, Munetaka Murakami, Sung-Mun Song are among the international players who could be posted and signed, and might immediately be big fantasy assets in 2026.

Top-End Pitchers

Merrill Kelly, Framber Valdez, Robert Suarez, Edwin Diaz, Emilio Pagan, Zack Littell, Ranger Suarez and Dylan Cease were top-50 fantasy pitchers last season who are all free agents right now.

Kelly's career is winding down, but he still has some gas in the tank and could be a pretty solid fantasy asset in 2026. 

Valdez is a high-end fantasy talent, and his landing spot shouldn't alter his fantasy outlook all that much. Getting into a park that's favorable to pitch in would be the best case for Valdez.

Suarez is a high-end reliever, but got pushed out of San Diego. He has closing experience, which would obviously give him more fantasy value in 2026, so that will be important.

The same could be said for Pagan, who was a closer in 2025, but might not be given that role in 2026.

Diaz is going to be given a closer role with someone, so it doesn't really matter where he ends up. Landing on a team that will win a lot would obviously be ideal for his fantasy outlook.

Littell was a bit of a fantasy surprise in 2025, so he should get some free agency buzz. Again, you want these pitchers to land on good teams, or in favorable parks to pitch in.

Suarez and Cease are higher-end starting pitchers, so their landing spots don't matter quite as much. Still, signing with good teams in favorable pitching parks can boost their fantasy outlooks up a bit.

Other Pitchers

Chris Bassitt, Zac Gallen, Lucas Giolito and Nick Martinez are some starting pitcher free agents who ranked in the top-100 fantasy pitchers overall.

With these lower-level pitchers, getting to good situations is a big deal. It can add notable fantasy value to a pitcher, while signing with a bad team, or in a hitter-friendly park can take these guys down a couple notches.

Kenley Jansen, Pete Fairbanks, Shawn Armstrong, Devin Williams, Brad Keller and Kyle Finnegan are relievers who ranked between 50-100 among fantasy pitchers in 2025.

Jansen, Fairbanks, Williams and Finnegan are the most likely to be closers in 2026, so landing on teams without a closing option is big for their fantasy outlooks. I'll be especially watching where Williams ends up, as he's coming off a shaky 2025 season, but has flashed elite closer numbers in the past.

Armstrong and Keller are more likely to be high-leverage relievers, but if they sign with bad teams with weak bullpens, they could end up as closers. It might take until spring training to know if they are truly closing options though, as the closer free agency market can be extremely slow moving at times.

Michael King, Patrick Corbin, Erick Fedde, Zach Eflin, Tyler Mahle are among some other starting pitchers who could be worthwhile fantasy assets depending on their landing spots for 2026.

Tatsuya Imai and Kona Takahashi are a couple more international starting pitchers who could have an immediate fantasy impact.

Ryan Helsley is another notable reliever who has closing experience who could regain a closer role for 2026 depending on where he lands.

There's a number of other relievers who could land in favorable spots and earn saves, so all the offseason moves are worth watching. As I said earlier, FantasySP will help break down some of the moves, so keep checking back all offseason!