If you are a team looking to find some production at a low price, these five hitters are currently available.
Every MLB team could use some hitters to boost their lineup, but only a handful are willing to pay up for the best ones available. Most if not all of the 30 teams will be looking for upgrades on the margins, and these five hitters are likely to provide good value for their new employers. To spread around the wealth, so to speak, I am picking players from different positions. In a follow up piece, I will also look at some pitchers in the bargain bin.
Carlos Santana
1B Carlos Santana keeps chugging along at age 38. In a market with a number of good options at first base, Santana might be the safest one. Santana has been remarkably consistent this decade while accepting that he is a nomadic journeyman. The Axeman had a down 2021, but otherwise his OPS has stayed within a 50-point range in that stretch. Since the beginning of 2020, he has played for six teams in five years. If a GM needs a stop gap at the cold corner, they call up Santana’s agent. Everyone knows what they are getting at this point: league-average offense and superb defense.
Despite being a switch hitter, Santana has large platoon splits as he mashes lefties but struggles against righties. Over the course of his lengthy career, Santana’s OPS against lefties has been 60 points better than against righties, include a 30-point difference in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage. In 2024, the split was much greater, as he torched lefties to the tune of a .934 OPS while posting a meager .676 against righties. Since he can hold his own batting left-handed, Santana still bats often with a righty on the mound, but having a platoon partner would be beneficial.
The other reason Santana plays almost every day is because he is arguably the best defender at first base. He won his first Gold Glove this season, but the quality is not new. Santana is third this decade in Defensive Runs Saved at first base, and he was first in 2023. Decent offense and elite defense is an everyday player, but he has not been paid like that. Santana made just $5.25 million this year after earning $6.75 million last year. He will be in line for around $7 million in 2025, and the Seattle Mariners are already interested in a reunion.
Donovan Solano
If the industry devalues first basemen, they have even less interest in the keystone. Executives don’t pay much for hitters with limited defensive range and power output, but 2B Donovan Solano is one of the best of that archetype. Since joining the San Francisco Giants in 2019, Solano has been reliable at the plate with strong batting averages. You can think of him as a less extreme version of 2B Luis Arraez. Solano hits for a good average but not a great one while drawing a decent number of walks and hitting for a bit of power.
Solano’s last two slash lines look almost identical, as he posted a .760 OPS both seasons while his batting average had a difference of just four points. But Solano played a career-high 134 games with the Minnesota Twins in 2023 while he got into only 96 with the San Diego Padres in 2024. Like Santana and other low-price hitters, Solano has bounced around the league since which teams needs a bench bat changes every season.
Solano is something of a luxury off the bench, meaning contenders could use him after checking off their top priorities. But because he does not offer much with the glove, he does not quite fit as an everyday player. A rebuilding team with no better options at second base might give him a call. Solano hasn’t earned even $5 million this decade, but he certainly deserves a guaranteed deal after only signing with the Padres in mid-April.
Elias Diaz
This winter’s free agent class has a weak crop of catchers, and the best options are rapidly thinning. C Carson Kelly is the only one left who could maybe start, but there is still a number of palatable backup options. C Elias Diaz strikes me as the most appealing one, since he is passable both at the plate and behind it. Diaz was worth 1.3 WAR in 2024, which is underwhelming for a starter but more than acceptable for a backup.
Despite having the build and uppercut swing of a power hitter, Diaz has never hit 20 home runs in a season, and he did not take advantage of Coors Field, either. Throughout his tenure with the Colorado Rockies, Diaz posted stat lines that would be close to average in most ballparks but left him 10-15% below average taking the thin air into account. In 2023, Diaz got off to a hot start in April and May before cooling off, but the performance was enough to become an All-Star, where he hit a game-winning home run to become the MVP.
Since then, Diaz has turned into more of an empty average hitter, as he hit .267 in 2023 and then .265 this year but didn’t walk or slug much. The Rockies cut him in August, and he latched on with the Padres to be a backup on a contender. He is probably looking for the same role now, as teams will be interested in his strong defense. Baseball Savant rates him as below average in blocking but above average in everything else. The Orioles were reportedly interested, but they signed C Gary Sanchez instead. I think Diaz will command $2-4 million.
Mike Tauchman
The most surprising non-tender a couple weeks back, OF Mike Tauchman is coming off back-to-back solid seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Wrigleyville used him as more than just a bench bat, as Tauchman played in 108 games in 2023 and 109 this year. He posted steady OPS+ figures of 105 and 106, meaning he was a little better than average. Tauchman does not have much power to speak of, but he draws lots of walks. He only had 20 extra-base hits this year but took ball four in 13.4% of his plate appearances. Plenty of teams would benefit from someone at the bottom of the lineup getting on base over 35% of the time.
The main reason the Cubs let him go is because his defense slipped. Tauchman led Chicago outfielders in 2023 with 4 defensive runs saved, but he slipped to last in the group in 2024 with -5 DRS. Decent part-time offense with poor defense isn’t that valuable to a team that already has a solid outfield mix. At 34, it is possible Tauchman’s range really is declining, but such a large drop off in defensive ability could also be a fluke.
It is worth it for another team to find out. Tauchman will cost at most $2.5 million, and maybe even less. He still has some life in his bat and might rebound on the grass, as well. There are corner spots open around the league, and Tauchman can serve as a low-end regular or luxury off the bench.
Josh Rojas
3B Josh Rojas was also a surprising non-tender, as the Mariners have few hitters at third base. After a few years in the desert with vacillating performance, Rojas turned in a steady year-and-two-months in the PNW. The Mariners bought low on him at the 2023 deadline, and Rojas hit much better after the trade than before it. In 2024, he played in a career-high 142 games and bounced all around the diamond. His lackluster .641 OPS was identical to the previous season, but with offense down around the league and fly balls dying in Seattle, that figure was only 9% below league average.
Now at age 30, Rojas’s best days are probably behind. The M’s can certainly do better at the hot corner, but Rojas would be a useful utility player on many rosters. He is a plus defender at both second and third base while holding his own at the plate. He has struck out at a league average clip through his career while drawing more walks than most hitters, but don’t expect double-digit homers. $5 million should be enough for a team like the Los Angeles Angels to bring him aboard.
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