7 top free agents who could jump to division rivals

When Blake Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract with the Dodgers last week, it ensured he’d wear the uniform of a third National League West club in as many years -- the two-time Cy Young Award winner pitched for the Padres from 2021-23, and the Giants last season.

That got us wondering: Which other free agents might jump from one division rival to another over the coming weeks and months?

Here’s a look at seven such possibilities and why they make sense as a match for both player and team:

Juan Soto to the Red Sox
The Red Sox have really emerged in the past week or so as an increasingly legitimate threat to pry Soto away from the archrival Yankees after he helped the Yanks reach the World Series for the first time in 15 years. According to a report by MLB Network insider Jon Heyman last Tuesday, the Sox were “stepping up efforts to lure the superstar hitter away from their historic AL East nemesis.”

A Soto move from New York to Boston would keep the 26-year-old superstar in the limelight at historic Fenway Park and energize a franchise and fan base that haven’t seen the postseason since 2021. The Red Sox have been rumored to be in the market for frontline starting pitching as well, even if Boston is able to land Soto. Those moves could be seismic in shifting the balance of power in the American League East heading into 2025.

Corbin Burnes to the Yankees
Yes, the Yankees have 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole under contract through 2028, but given the injuries their rotation has suffered the past couple of years -- Cole was limited to 17 starts last season, and the year before, Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes combined for 26 starts -- they know more than most that you can never have enough starting pitching.

Enter Burnes, who is the top remaining free-agent starter on the market and a former Cy Young Award winner himself. Soto is certainly still the Yankees’ top priority this offseason, but the club has reportedly been in touch with Burnes’ camp. The 30-year-old right-hander has been consistently excellent -- in 2024, he posted a 2.92 ERA over 32 starts for the Orioles after Baltimore acquired him in a trade with the Brewers.

Alex Bregman to the Mariners
It’ll take some getting used to if Bregman is wearing any uniform other than the Astros’ next season, but there's at good chance that will happen, even with Houston's interest in bringing him back. After being an integral member of the core that brought the Astros the first two World Series titles in franchise history in 2017 and ’22, the veteran third baseman is on the market for the first time. One of the clubs that could really use an upgrade at the hot corner (and some more pop in the lineup overall)? The Mariners.

Last season, Seattle got a slash line of .213/.301/.341 from its third basemen. With a starting rotation that is young and one of the best in the Majors, the club is in need of more hitting, and Bregman, who has a career .848 OPS, would be a welcome boost to the lineup. He hasn’t been able to come close to replicating his big 2019 campaign, in which he finished runner-up in AL MVP voting, but he remains one of the best third basemen in the game.

Pete Alonso to the Nationals
The Nationals have been a popular dark-horse pick for landing Alonso. As Washington moves closer to contention following a rebuild, with young stars showing they belong in the Majors and significant financial flexibility this offseason, Alonso could be the star veteran they need to take a big step forward in 2025.

The club’s projected payroll for 2025, even with money still owed to the newly retired Stephen Strasburg, is around $60 million, per Spotrac. So the bandwidth for the Nats to make a splash and sign Alonso is there, and they have a vacancy at first base, with free agent Joey Gallo unlikely to return.

Young Washington players like C.J. Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. are rising and really young players James Wood and Dylan Crews have very promising futures, while the starting rotation is led by Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore, former top prospects who are starting to figure things out, though Gray will most most of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July. Add Alonso to the mix and you might have a very interesting Nationals squad next year and beyond.

Christian Walker to the Giants
With new president of baseball operations Buster Posey at the helm and the Giants having reached the postseason only twice since Posey helped San Francisco win its last World Series title a decade ago, it feels like this proud franchise will make some significant moves this offseason.

The Giants are perpetually in need of power at the plate, as its been 20 years since Barry Bonds posted their last 30-plus homer season in 2004. With LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores the two incumbent options at first base, San Francisco could look to upgrade there with Walker, who consistently put up big numbers with the division-rival D-backs the past several years. Walker would instantly boost the lineup as Posey begins to implement his plan to get the Giants back on track.

Anthony Santander to the Blue Jays
The Jays are coming off a disappointing showing in 2024, going from speculation that they would land Shohei Ohtani at the beginning of the year to a 74-88 season. Toronto has been in the mix for Soto, including a report Monday of a "widespread belief" in the industry that the Blue Jays will end up being Soto's highest bidder. But if Soto signs elsewhere, Toronto could pivot to Santander, who would instantly beef up a lineup that already features Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

Santander is coming off a campaign in which he smashed a career-high 44 homers for the Orioles. If Bichette can bounce back from a subpar season at the plate and Guerrero builds on his excellent .940 OPS in 2024, the Jays’ offense suddenly becomes much more formidable by adding Santander.

Walker Buehler to the Padres
With the Dodgers signing Snell to a five-year deal and expecting the return of injured starters Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, Buehler may be the odd man out. That could be good news for the Padres, who couldn’t quite catch the Dodgers in the NL West last season despite a late surge.

Inserting Buehler, who proved to be very good for the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series and World Series after returning from injury, into a rotation with Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Michael King could make an already strong San Diego club even more of a threat to win its first division title since 2006.