The strongest and weakest free agent positions

The free agent market is very strong at the position of shortstop. There are a few good starting pitchers, several above-average starters, and a number of mid-to-back-rotation arms. The top three free agents signed to remain with their current teams. Front office executives have to decide what to buy. FanGraphs has a list of players with the most recent projected WAR. The list is broken down into the positions based on the strength of the players included within. It is based upon the 2023 projectedWAR for free players. They are: 3.3 projected for 3+ WAR, 25 projected with 1+WAR, etc.

Last winter, middle infielders were available for $140 million or more. Four of them signed, including Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, Corey Seager and Javier Báez. This time, they are joined by Swanson, Bogaerts and Turner. Andrus and Iglesias are more space-fillers than long-term solutions.

The position is one of the strongest and weakest free agent positions. Willson Contreras is the only one with high-end skills. Christian Vázquez, Mike Zunino, Austin Hedges, Gary Sánchez, and Tucker Barnhart are good examples of good catchers.

Judge is the best 2023 projection for a right fielder. Next best is Mitch Haniger. After that, it's Michael Conforto, Wil Myers, Brandon Nimmo and Kevin Kiermaier. Kiermaier is one of the premier defensive outfielders of his generation, but he's 33 and coming off hip surgery. Center field is very shallow. The Dodgers have until Friday to decide whether to tender a contract to Cody Bellinger.

There are no stars at left field, but there are a lot of options. Andrew Benintendi has had an up-and-down career. Josh Bell is a switch hitter who has struggled recently. First basemen are not as good as they used to be. Relievers are less valuable than starters. They are more versatile. They throw less innings than the top starters, so their WAR totals should be lesser. The best relievers throw about one-third of the innings top pitchers do. There are few players with more than 5 WAR. A.J. Pollock, Tommy Pham, Andrew McCutchen, Brandon Belt, Carlos Santana, Yuli Gurriel, and Brandon Bumgarner are among them.