The arrival of the universal designated hitter for the 2022 season could be good news for these players who are still on the market.

With the new rule in place -- a DH in both the American League and National League -- there's a sizable group of free-agent sluggers who could have an easier time finding a new team for the upcoming season, or get a juicier contract.

Here are 12 free agents who could benefit from MLB implementing the universal DH.

Albert Pujols

A universal DH is Pujols' best shot to keep playing. He's 42 years old, and even though the Dodgers found a partial role for him as a righty-hitting first baseman last season, he's really a pinch-hitter at this stage … or a DH. That would keep him off his feet, and make it more likely a team could find a role for him again. Maybe even a return to the Cardinals for a last hurrah?

Freddie Freeman and Anthony Rizzo

Freeman and Rizzo don't need the universal DH. They'll get good contracts anyway. But a DH in the NL might make those contracts even bigger. Freeman and Rizzo are accomplished defensive first basemen -- they were top five in MLB by Statcast's Outs Above Average metric in 2021 -- but they're also both sluggers entering their age-32 season. And if a team is going to sign a slugging corner infielder to a big-money, long-term deal that takes them into their late 30s, having the DH as an option alleviates a chunk of the risk. For Freeman in particular, a universal DH might facilitate a reunion with the Braves if he wants to stay in Atlanta, or pave the way to another NL contender like the Dodgers.

Nick Castellanos

Over the last five seasons, Castellanos has a 122 OPS+, making him one of the better hitters in baseball … and -56 Outs Above Average, making him one of the worst fielders. His bat is so good that teams will want him anyway -- the Cubs brought him over from the AL, and the Reds kept him in the NL, and he's a reigning Silver Slugger in the outfield there. Say a team like Cincinnati gets to have both Castellanos and Jesse Winker's bats in the lineup without having to stick them both in the outfield -- that's a big win.

Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber was made to be a DH. A lefty masher built to mash home runs and not worry about anything else. He can play left field or first base if that's what's needed, but he's a minus as a defender and a big plus as a pure hitter. If the Red Sox didn't have J.D. Martinez entrenched at DH, that's where Schwarber would have been after they traded for him. And if the Cubs had been allowed to have a DH for the years he was in Chicago, he probably would have DHed for them, too.

Jorge Soler

He was a DH before last year anyway. The Braves made it work with Soler in right field when they had to, but just look at how they used him in the World Series: right field when there was no DH in their NL park, at DH when they played on the road in Houston. The ideal for Soler is what he did with the Royals in 2019 -- mash 48 homers to win the MLB home run crown while playing all 162 games, with over 100 of them at DH.

Joc Pederson and Eddie Rosario

Atlanta stacked up its outfield with bat-first, glove-second sluggers and rode them to a World Series win: Pederson starred in the NLDS, Rosario starred in the NLCS and Soler starred in the World Series. With a universal DH, a team like the Braves could get the maximum benefit out of such a roster. They'd be able to get one more bat in the lineup without facing defensive repercussions and take advantage of more matchups. For a player like Pederson, a DH in the NL could open up a return to his old team, the Dodgers -- he started the most games at DH for L.A. of any player in 2020.

Michael Conforto

A universal DH could help Conforto indirectly. He doesn't need to be a DH -- the 29-year-old is solid in the outfield. But if teams can slide other bat-first outfielders over to DH, then it could let them bring in Conforto to play the outfield. Conforto's better all-around game should place him at a premium over some of the other DH-friendly outfielders on the free-agent market, too. He's as good of a hitter as they are anyway. And what if, say, the Mets re-evaluate their outfield and DH situations and think things would be better if they still had Conforto? Bringing him back seemed impossible once they signed Starling Marte and Mark Canha. But maybe not impossible impossible, with the addition of the DH spot.

Tommy Pham

Pham is a good enough hitter to give you a 20-20 season, but his defensive numbers have been lagging behind for a while now. The 34-year-old has been worth -17 Outs Above Average over the last three seasons, including -5 OAA in 2021, and he hasn't posted a positive OAA since 2017 (+6). We've already seen an AL team use him as a DH -- the Rays started him there for 21 games in 2019, and in almost every postseason game -- and an NL team use him as a DH -- the Padres gave him 13 starts at DH in 2020, and played him there in half of their playoff games.

Andrew McCutchen

The 35-year-old former MVP can still hit, as evidenced by his 27 home runs for the Phillies last year, but even though he's still fast (28.7 ft/sec sprint speed, in the 73rd percentile of MLB), he grades poorly in outfield defense (-4 Outs Above Average, in the 12th percentile). McCutchen's biggest value now comes as a home run and on-base threat (he drew 81 walks in 2021). Having played in the NL for essentially his whole career, McCutchen with his current skill set would fit better there if his team had the flexibility to put him in the outfield or at DH depending on the players around him.

Nelson Cruz

Duh. A universal DH doubles the pool of teams that can sign Cruz, who's 41 and exclusively a DH … and maybe the best DH out there, too.