Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Willy Adames and Max Fried headline the list of players who are free agents for the first time this offseason. Also part of this class? An intriguing group of stars who are no strangers to the process, having navigated free agency just last year.

For various reasons, the eight players below signed one-year contracts (or multiyear deals with options that allowed them to hit the open market after 2024) following the 2023 campaign. All of them improved their stock this past season and now get a chance to test free agency again in search of a better outcome.

Blake Snell, SP

Why his stock was down last offseason: Snell had an incredible 2023 season for the Padres, winning Cy Young honors for the second time in his career after posting an MLB-best 2.25 ERA with 234 strikeouts. However, questions about the lefty’s consistency, control and durability, not to mention the Draft compensation tied to him after he rejected a qualifying offer, combined to depress his market. He remained unsigned for months until inking a two-year, $62 million deal (with an opt-out after 2024) with the Giants on March 19.

Why his stock has improved: Concerns about Snell’s durability haven’t gone away after he made two trips to the injured list and threw only 104 innings in 2024. He also got off to a rough start after not having time to properly build up for the season. But Snell’s performance over his final 14 starts reaffirmed his stature as one of MLB’s best starters, as he posted a 1.23 ERA with a .123 opponents’ batting average. On the year, Snell placed in the 98th percentile in whiff rate and strikeout rate and the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate allowed, and he shaved 2.8 percentage points off his sky-high walk rate from 2023 (13.3%). Plus, he was ineligible to receive another qualifying offer this offseason, which means he isn’t tied to Draft compensation.

You can read more about Snell’s improved free-agent case here.

Teoscar Hernández, OF

Why his stock was down last offseason: Hernández’s production regressed after he was traded from the Blue Jays to the Mariners prior to the 2023 season. Although he put up 26 homers with 93 RBIs, he also struck out 211 times and had a .741 OPS with a 108 OPS+ -- down from a 138 OPS+ across 2020-22. He landed with the Dodgers on a one-year, $23.5 million deal in January.

Why his stock has improved: Going from pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park to Dodger Stadium worked wonders for Hernández, whose numbers improved across the board. The right-handed slugger ended up slashing .272/.339/.501 (137 OPS+) with 33 homers and 99 RBIs over 154 games during the regular season and drove in 12 runs over 16 playoff games as Los Angeles won the World Series. Especially encouraging was the leap he made against breaking pitches -- he slugged .516 with 17 homers on those pitches in 2024, up from just eight homers and a .317 SLG in 2022-23.

Jack Flaherty SP

Why his stock was down last offseason: Flaherty showed ace potential in 2018-19 (3.01 ERA, 10.7 K/9), but he followed that up with a 4.42 ERA across 2020-23, missing significant time due to injury in that span. Flaherty managed to avoid the IL in 2023, but he put up a 4.99 ERA with a 1.58 WHIP and a 2.24 K/BB ratio over 144 1/3 innings between the Cardinals and Orioles. The right-hander signed a one-year, $14 million deal with the Tigers in December.

Why his stock has improved: Perhaps no starting pitcher improved more from 2023 to 2024 than Flaherty, who notched a 3.17 ERA with 194 strikeouts and 38 walks (5.11 K/BB) over 162 innings between the Tigers and Dodgers. Year over year, Flaherty had the fifth-largest increase in strikeout rate (+7.1 points), the 10th-largest increase in whiff rate (+5.5 points) and the 10th-largest decrease in walk rate (+4.3 points) among qualifying pitchers.

Sean Manaea, SP

Why his stock was down last offseason: After recording a career-high 4.96 ERA over 158 innings for the Padres in 2022, Manaea signed with the Giants as a free agent and spent 2023 pitching mostly as a bulk reliever in tandem with an opener. He threw 117 2/3 innings on the year and notched a 4.44 ERA, then opted out of the final year on his deal with San Francisco to test free agency again. The Mets signed the veteran southpaw to a two-year, $28 million deal with an opt-out after 2024.

Why his stock has improved: Manaea was solid enough over his first 20 starts for New York, but he really took off after tweaking his arm slot to emulate Braves ace Chris Sale’s crossfire delivery in July. Manaea recorded a 3.09 ERA with 83 strikeouts and 18 walks over 75 2/3 innings in 12 regular-season starts after the change. He was key to New York's run to the NL Championship Series, with a 2.65 ERA in his first three postseason starts before running out of steam in NLCS Game 6. As expected, he opted out of his contract with the Mets and is back on the free-agent market for the third straight offseason.

Luis Severino, SP

Why his stock was down last offseason: Severino emerged as one of the game’s top young starters in 2017-18 (3.18 ERA, 10.5 K/9), but injuries ultimately derailed his career with the Yankees. Over his final five seasons with the team, he managed to pitch only 209 1/3 innings. On top of that, he struggled to the tune of a 6.65 ERA with 23 homers allowed over 89 1/3 innings (2.3 HR/9) in his last year before free agency. He left the Yankees to sign a one-year, $13 million deal with the crosstown Mets in December.

Why his stock has improved: Although he didn’t quite recapture his peak form, Severino stayed healthy and made dramatic strides in the run-prevention department in 2024. The 30-year-old started 31 games -- his most since 2018 -- and recorded a 3.91 ERA with a 1.1 HR/9 over 182 innings. Severino’s new sweeper was one of the keys to his turnaround, holding hitters to a .139 average with a .238 SLG and inducing 60 strikeouts over 135 plate appearances.

Jurickson Profar, OF

Why his stock was down last offseason: Profar, who has gone from baseball’s top overall prospect to a journeyman outfielder, was MLB’s least valuable player (-1.6 WAR, per FanGraphs) in 2023. The veteran finished with nine homers and an 81 OPS+ in 125 games between the Rockies (who released him in August) and Padres before returning to San Diego on a one-year, $1 million deal in February.

Why his stock has improved: Profar delivered the best season of his 11-year career in 2024, earning an All-Star starting nod and hitting .280 with 24 homers, 85 RBIs, an .839 OPS and 4.3 fWAR -- all career highs. His performance as San Diego’s starting left fielder was critical after the Padres traded superstar slugger Juan Soto to the Yankees to bolster their pitching staff in December. He logged 121 of his 158 starts batting first, second or third in the Padres' order.

Joc Pederson, DH

Why his stock was down last offseason: After registering 23 homers and a 146 OPS+ for the Giants in 2022, Pederson accepted the club’s qualifying offer to return to San Francisco for the following campaign. However, his second year in the Bay Area wasn’t nearly as impressive, as he produced 15 homers with a 112 OPS+. Given his defensive limitations and struggles against left-handed pitching, it’s not exactly a surprise that he didn’t have a robust market in free agency on the heels of that performance at the age of 31. Pederson joined the D-backs on a one-year, $12.5 million deal with a 2025 mutual option on Jan. 30.

Why his stock has improved: Pederson not only rebounded with Arizona, he delivered one of the best years of his career with the bat, recording personal bests in batting average (.275), on-base percentage (.393) and OPS (.908) while slugging 23 homers in 449 plate appearances. Among hitters with at least 400 PAs in 2024, Pederson’s 151 wRC+ tied him with teammate Ketel Marte -- the third-place finisher in the NL MVP voting -- for 10th in MLB. He was worth 3.0 fWAR despite serving as a full-time DH and handling a strict platoon role that only allotted him 105 starts all year.

Matthew Boyd, SP

Why his stock was down last offseason: Boyd has been a serviceable back-end starter during his career, peaking in 2019 with 238 K’s, an 11.6 K/9 average and 3.2 fWAR for the Tigers. But after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, the left-hander went unsigned as a free agent last offseason. He didn’t join a team until he signed a one-year deal with the Guardians this past June.

Why his stock has improved: Boyd made his 2024 debut on Aug. 13 and gave Cleveland’s shorthanded starting staff a lift with a 2.72 ERA, 46 K’s and 13 BB’s in 39 2/3 innings over eight starts. He added a 0.77 ERA and 14 strikeouts across 11 2/3 innings in the postseason, helping the Guardians reach the AL Championship Series.