Top 3 Shortstops in Free Agency This Winter

The shortstop class in free agency this winter won't be exactly like recent seasons. There's no Corey Seagers or Trea Turners, or even Carlos Correas.

But there are two very viable shortstops, one big on offense, and one with the defensive chops that teams should be clamouring for. Just don't expect any of those insane $300 million deals this time around.

Here are the top 3 shortstops on the market this winter.

1. Willy Adames

With a career-high 32 home runs and 112 RBIs, Adames certainly did all he could in his contract year to boost his value. He's in line, according to most estimates, to pull in a deal exceeding $150 million in total value.

The Milwaukee Brewers, the incumbent, are never in the market to spend that kind of money, so it's unlikely they'll be able to retain him. We had a look at three likely top suitors for Adames.

2. Ha-Seong Kim

The 29-year-old has a mutual option with the San Diego Padres at $10 million for next season. But he would be crazy to accept it. Kim will be able to pull in a nice offer on the free agent market, as his defense at the key position is second to none. He won a Gold Glove in 2023 and is a likely candidate to repeat this year. He's also raised his offense to acceptable levels the past few years, with double-digit home runs, a decent on-base percentage and an OPS+ that's hovering around the break-even point (i.e. league average).

He's said to be able to ask for a free agent contract up to the $100 million range over a 4-year deal.

It's hoped he'll be fully recovered by the start of next season from the shoulder surgery he had on Friday to repair a torn labrum.

3. Paul DeJong

This is where there's a steep dropoff. DeJong is a long way removed from his All-Star season of 2019. After three straight years of a serious struggle to reach the Mendoza Line, he got himself up to .228 this year in a bit of a rejuvenation tour with the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals. He finished with 24 HRs, by far his best since his 30-HR output in 2019. He even made himself an almost league-average hitter, with an OPS+ of 97.

Honorable mention: Jose Iglesias: After spending 2023 solely in the minors, he came out of nowhere this year once he joined the New York Mets, to hit .337 in his 85 games with the NLCS team, with an .830 OPS. But he'll be entering his age-35 season, and there's certainly no guarantees he can pull this off again.