Free agents up for All-MLB consideration

The list of nominees for the 2023 All-MLB Team was just released, and it features no shortage of free agents who bolstered their cases with impressive 2023 seasons.

Of the players on the ballot, 13 have become free agents since the conclusion of the World Series. While we wait to see which teams they will suit up for in 2024, fans also can support their All-MLB hopes by casting votes once every 24 hours until 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 19.

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These are the current free agents up for all-MLB consideration. Players are listed alphabetically and with their final 2023 teams.

Cody Bellinger, OF, Cubs
Bellinger, who was extended a one-year qualifying offer worth $20.325 million for the 2024 season by the Cubs, is the top bat on the market aside from Shohei Ohtani, and he should garner a nine-figure contract in free agency. After hitting .193 across the 2021 and ‘22 seasons, the 2019 National League MVP bounced back in 2023 with a .307/.356/.525 slash line, with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs.

Aroldis Chapman, RP, Rangers
Chapman added a second World Series title to his resume in 2023, and he will now enter free agency for the second time in as many seasons. He had a 4.46 ERA in 43 games with the Yankees in 2022, but then he rebounded to a 3.09 ERA in 61 games with the Royals and Rangers in '23. The lefty still brings 99^th-percentile fastball velocity and 100^th-percentile whiff and K rates.

Matt Chapman, 3B, Blue Jays
The only infield nominee among this group, Chapman hit .240/.330/.424 in 2023 and earned his fourth career Gold Glove Award. The Blue Jays extended him the qualifying offer, but he’s expected to decline. He had a 1.152 OPS in March/April, but .659 after that.

Sonny Gray, SP, Twins
An AL Cy Young Award finalist in 2023, Gray excelled in his second year in Minnesota, posting a 2.79 ERA in 184 innings. He finished second among AL pitchers in WAR, per both Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs, and allowed just eight home runs during the regular season, which is the fewest in a full season by a qualified pitcher in Twins history. Gray was extended the qualifying offer, but he is expected to decline.

Josh Hader, RP, Padres
Hader posted a 1.28 ERA in 61 games in 2023 and earned his fifth straight All-Star appearance. The 29-year-old will be a free agent for the first time in his career after being acquired by the Padres from the Brewers before the 2022 Trade Deadline, and he has recorded 165 saves over his first seven MLB seasons. He received a qualifying offer from San Diego.

Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers
There was some uncertainty around whether Kershaw would return in 2024, but he cleared up that mystery earlier this month by announcing that he had undergone left shoulder surgery, but was “hopeful to return to play” sometime next summer. Kershaw went 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA across 24 starts this season, and he has played his entire 16-year career with the Dodgers.

J.D. Martinez, DH, Dodgers
Martinez signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers last offseason and responded by putting together one of the best seasons of his career, hitting 33 home runs and driving in 103 runs. The 36-year-old has been an All-Star in five straight seasons -- not counting 2020, when there was no All-Star Game -- and crossed the 300-homer mark in ’23.

Jordan Montgomery, SP, Rangers
One of the stars of the Rangers’ World Series run, Montgomery has started 30-plus games in each of the past three seasons, with a 121 ERA+ in that span. Additionally, he had a 2.90 ERA in the postseason, after finishing the 2023 regular season with a 3.20 ERA over 188 2/3 innings.

Hector Neris, RP, Astros
Neris declined his $8.5 million player option and is entering free agency after having a 1.71 ERA in 71 appearances with the Astros in 2023. The longtime Phillie found a new gear with Houston, posting a 2.69 ERA in his two seasons in the Space City.

Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH, Angels
Ohtani, 29, slashed .304/.412/.654 with 44 homers, 26 doubles, eight triples, 20 stolen bases and 95 RBIs in 135 games as a designated hitter in 2023. And in 23 starts on the mound, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings. That’s why Ohtani is nominated at both positions for the third straight season. While he likely won’t be able to take the mound until 2025 due to a torn right ulnar collateral ligament, he’s still one of the best talents in the sport and is in line for a record contract.

Eduardo Rodriguez, SP, Tigers
Rodriguez went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 26 starts with Detroit last season, which led to him opting out of the last three years and $49 million of his contract. The Dodgers had a deal in place to grab him at the Trade Deadline, but Rodriguez vetoed the trade, citing his affinity for Detroit. Now he’ll hit the open market with a chance to go anywhere.

Blake Snell, SP, Padres
The presumptive NL Cy Young Award favorite after taking the same honor in the AL in 2018, Snell led the Majors with a 2.25 ERA, 182 ERA+, .181 opponents' batting average and 5.8 hits per nine innings. He finished second in the NL with 234 strikeouts, behind only Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (281).

Jorge Soler, DH, Marlins
Soler declined his $9 million player option and entered free agency on the back of the first All-Star season of his career. After only hitting 13 home runs in 2022 (his first season with the Marlins), Soler crushed 36 in 2023, which accounted for 22 percent of Miami's total. He signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Marlins during his first foray into free agency, but he could top that this time around.

Justin Turner, DH, Red Sox
A longtime Dodger, Turner slashed .275/.345/.455 with 23 home runs and 96 RBIs with the Red Sox in 2023, which led to him declining his $13.4 million player option in favor of a $6.7 million buyout. He’s topped 20 home runs in two of the last three seasons, and has hit .292 over the last seven seasons.