The best postseason performances by impending free agents

The bright lights of postseason baseball provide impending free agents one last chance to show potential suitors what they can do against elite competition.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola is the latest star free agent who has risen to the occasion in October, thus entering free agency on a high note. In four starts this postseason, Nola is 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA for Philadelphia, striking 23 hitters in 23 innings and walking just four.

Here are 16 of the best postseason performances by players who were set to test the open market.

Aaron Nola, SP (2023 Phillies)
Stats: 3-1, 23 innings, 2.35 ERA, 23 K's

Nola's 2023 regular season was far from perfect. A three-time top-10 NL Cy Young Award finisher, the right-hander had an ERA between 4.25 and 4.70 from April 28 on, although he was dependable enough to pitch 193 2/3 innings for the Phillies. Nola has taken things to another level so far this postseason, pitching at Citizens Bank Park in all four of his starts and pitching six-plus scoreless innings in two of them. The 30-year-old, who made his debut with the Phillies in 2015, is set to hit free agency for the first time.

Freddie Freeman, 1B (2021 Braves)
Stats: .304 BA, 5 HR, 11 RBIs, 1.045 OPS

A year after earning NL MVP honors, Freeman added to his Braves legacy by helping the club win its first World Series title since 1995. The first baseman slugged the decisive homer off Brewers closer Josh Hader in the Braves’ NLDS clincher and added four more homers in Atlanta’s final 10 playoff games while slashing .371/.477/.771 in that span. A return to the Braves was widely considered a foregone conclusion, but the club traded for Matt Olson in March, and Freeman soon after signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers.

Gerrit Cole, RHP (2019 Astros)
Stats: 4-1, 36 2/3 IP, 1.72 ERA, 47 K’s

Cole’s free-agent stock was already sky high after he posted a 2.68 ERA with 602 K’s in 412 2/3 innings for the Astros over 2018-19, but it went to another stratosphere following his performance in the 2019 playoffs. The righty struck out 15 batters in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays and tossed another gem in Game 5 to eliminate Tampa Bay, then fired seven scoreless innings in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Yankees. The Nats got to Cole for five runs in Game 1 of the World Series, but the ace came back to throw seven innings of one-run ball with nine K’s in Game 5. He ended up joining the Yankees for $324 million over nine years, the richest deal ever signed by a pitcher.

Stephen Strasburg, RHP (2019 Nationals)
Stats: 5-0, 36 1/3 IP, 1.98 ERA, 47 K’s

Entering the 2019 playoffs, it seemed unlikely that Strasburg would exercise the opt-out clause in his contract to become a free agent that offseason, given he had four years and $100 million left on his deal with the Nats. But the right-hander put together one of the greatest postseason runs we’ve seen by a starting pitcher, notching five of Washington’s 12 wins and posting a 1.98 ERA on the road to a title. Strasburg came through with the Nationals’ season on the line in Game 6 of the World Series against the Astros, firing 8 1/3 innings in a 7-2 win, and he was named series MVP after the Nats pulled off the comeback win in Game 7. Strasburg decided to opt out and test free agency before returning to the Nationals for $245 million over seven years.

Daniel Murphy, 2B (2015 Mets)
Stats: .328 BA, 7 HR, 11 RBIs, 1.115 OPS

Murphy wasn’t known for his power, but he tapped into it during the 2015 postseason, fueling the Mets’ run to the NL pennant. The second baseman set a playoff record with a homer in six straight games, including one in each of New York’s wins in a four-game sweep over the Cubs in the NLCS, after which he was named MVP. Murphy jumped to the NL East-rival Nationals in the offseason, signing a three-year, $37.5 million contract.

Pablo Sandoval, 3B (2014 Giants)
Stats: .366 BA, 7 2B, 5 RBIs, .888 OPS

After hitting six homers during the 2012 postseason, including three in Game 1 of the World Series against the Tigers en route to MVP honors, Sandoval continued to burnish his playoff reputation in 2014. Although he didn’t go deep in October, Sandoval set a then-postseason record with 26 hits as San Francisco won its third title in five years. The third baseman signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Red Sox in November.

Albert Pujols, 1B (2011 Cardinals)
Stats: .353 BA, 5 HR, 16 RBIs, 1.155 OPS

Pujols left the Cardinals after 11 seasons to sign a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Angels, but not before delivering another championship to St. Louis. The three-time NL MVP was a force throughout October, and he had one of the greatest World Series performances of all time in Game 3, recording the third three-homer game in the history of the Fall Classic while going 5-for-6 with six RBIs against the Rangers in Arlington.

Cliff Lee, LHP (2010 Rangers)
Stats: 3-2, 35 2/3 IP, 2.78 ERA, 47 K’s

Lee cemented himself as one of baseball’s best big-game pitchers while making back-to-back World Series appearances -- with two different teams -- in 2009 and 2010. The left-hander had an outstanding postseason debut with the Phillies (4-0, 1.56 ERA) after joining the club at the 2009 Trade Deadline, but Philadelphia dealt him to the Mariners in the offseason. Lee was traded again at the 2010 Deadline, this time to the Rangers, and he went on to propel Texas to its first postseason series victory, winning Games 1 and 5 on the road against the Rays in the ALDS. He followed that up by firing eight scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts at Yankee Stadium to notch a pivotal win in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Bronx Bombers. Philadelphia reunited with Lee when he became a free agent, signing him to a five-year, $120 million contract.

Hideki Matsui, DH (2009 Yankees)
Stats: .349 BA, 4 HR, 13 RBIs, 1.136 OPS

Matsui only started three of the six games in the 2009 World Series against the Phillies, but he made his presence felt nonetheless, going 8-for-13 (.615) with three homers, eight RBIs and a 2.028 OPS. Matsui, who was named World Series MVP, homered and drove in six runs in New York’s Game 6 clincher, tying a record previously set by the Yankees’ Bobby Richardson in 1960 for RBIs in a World Series game. It turned out to be Matsui’s final game in pinstripes, as the Yanks opted not to pursue a new deal with the veteran. He ultimately signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the Angels.

Manny Ramirez, OF (2008 Dodgers)
Stats: .520 BA, 4 HR, 10 RBIs, 1.747 OPS

Although a 50-game PED suspension in 2009 took the shine off of Mannywood, Ramirez's initial run in Los Angeles was a sight to behold. After being dealt from the Red Sox to the Dodgers at the 2008 Trade Deadline, Ramirez hit .396/.489/.743 with 17 homers over 53 games for L.A. in the regular season, then somehow got even better in the playoffs, setting a record for the highest average and OPS in a single postseason (min. 25 PAs). It took some time to get done, but the Dodgers ended up re-signing Ramirez for $45 million over two years the following March.

Carlos Beltrán, OF (2004 Astros)
Stats: .435 BA, 8 HR, 14 RBIs, 6 SB, 1.557 OPS

With free agency looming, Beltrán was traded from the Royals to the Astros in July 2004, and after nearly producing a 40/40 campaign, he had a chance to showcase his dynamic skill set on the grand stage of the postseason for the first time in his career. The center fielder seized the opportunity in a big way, tying Barry Bonds’ then-playoff record with eight home runs and collecting 14 RBIs in 12 games. Beltrán inked a seven-year, $119 million deal with the Mets in January 2005.

Andy Pettitte, LHP (2003 Yankees)
Stats: 3-1, 34 1/3 IP, 2.10 ERA, 34 K’s

Pettitte was the great equalizer in the 2003 playoffs, starting and winning Game 2 of the ALDS, ALCS and World Series after the Yankees dropped the opening game in all three series. New York ultimately lost to the Marlins in the Fall Classic, but Pettitte did his part with seven strong innings opposite Josh Beckett’s title-clinching shutout in Game 6. The homegrown left-hander stunned the baseball world when he left the Yankees to sign a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the hometown Astros after the 2003 season.

Kevin Brown, RHP (1998 Padres)
Stats: 2-2, 39 1/3 IP, 2.52 ERA, 46 K’s

Traded to the Padres as part of the Marlins’ fire sale after winning the 1997 World Series, Brown led San Diego to the NL West crown in 1998, posting a 2.38 ERA with 257 strikeouts over 257 innings. He continued his dominance in the playoffs, outdueling future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in Game 1 of the NLDS against Houston with 16 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings and throwing 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball on three days’ rest in Game 3. San Diego went on to defeat the Braves in six games in the NLCS, with Brown hurling a complete-game shutout in Game 2 opposite eventual 1998 NL Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine. Brown made history when he signed a seven-year, $105 million contract with the Dodgers in November, becoming baseball’s first $100 million man.

John Smoltz, RHP (1996 Braves)
Stats: 4-1, 38 IP, 0.95 ERA, 33 K’s

Smoltz had a magical campaign for the defending World Series champions in 1996, the final season on the four-year contract he signed in 1993. After a regular-season performance (24-8, 2.94 ERA, 276 K’s) that would earn him NL Cy Young honors, Smoltz was nearly untouchable in the playoffs, becoming the second player in AL/NL history (joining Burt Hooton in 1981) to post a sub-1.00 ERA while throwing at least 30 innings in a single postseason. The Braves re-signed the right-hander for $31 million over four years in the offseason, keeping their ace trio of Greg Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz together.

Fred McGriff, 1B (1995 Braves)
Stats: .333 BA, 4 HR, 9 RBIs, 1.065 OPS

Playing out the contract he signed with the Padres in 1991, McGriff came through in the 1995 playoffs for the Braves, who traded for the first baseman two years prior. McGriff hit safely in each of his first nine games and recorded 10 extra-base hits and nine RBIs over 14 games altogether as Atlanta defeated Cleveland in the World Series. The Braves brought McGriff back on a four-year, $20 million contract in the offseason.

Rickey Henderson, OF (1989 Athletics)
Stats: .441 BA, 3 HR, 8 RBIs, 11 SB, 1.509 OPS

Nearly five years after the Athletics traded Henderson to the Yankees, New York sent him back to Oakland in June 1989, giving the A’s the boost they needed to win the AL West for the second straight year. Henderson was unstoppable in the ALCS against the Blue Jays, winning MVP honors after hitting .400 with two homers, seven walks, eight steals and a 1.609 OPS in Oakland’s 4-1 series victory. The Giants did nothing to slow him down in the World Series, as Henderson went 9-for-19 (.474) with four extra-base hits (one homer) and three steals in the A’s sweep. The speedster was a free agent for less than a month before re-signing with the A’s for $12 million over four years in November.