Looking at this year’s list of free agents, there are plenty of drool-worthy options at the top of the rankings. Gerrit Cole is one of the most valuable pitchers to become available in free agency. Anthony Rendon was a serious MVP candidate in 2019 and Stephen Strasburg isn’t that far behind Cole. Zack Wheeler and Hyun-Jin Ryu would fit near the top of most major league rotations.
However, not everyone is getting a star. Some teams are running up against salary issues — many of those limits being self-imposed, of course — and even if the willingness is there, there are a lot more teams than there are available stars. So there is going to be a lot of shopping at the bargain end of free agency. These players won’t carry a team to the postseason single-handedly, but they will likely contribute at a reasonable salary.