MLB Rumors: Where Will Jake Arrieta, Eric Hosmer, J.D. Martinez Sign?

It took nearly three and a half months, but an MLB free agent finally landed a nine-figure contract this past weekend. Yu Darvish agreed to a six-year deal worth a guaranteed $126 million with the Chicago Cubs, potentially opening the door for baseball’s best unsigned players to finally find homes for 2018 and beyond.

With all pitchers and catchers required to report to spring training within the next few days, only a handful of free agents have a realistic chance of getting a contract that compares to Darvish’s. Jake Arrieta, J.D. Martinez and Eric Hosmer can all cross the $100 million threshold.

Lorenzo Cain signed for eight figures when he agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Mike Moustakas, who played alongside Cain and Hosmer for the Kansas City Royals last year, might be forced to settle for far less, falling short of his initial expectations.

Hosmer is the best of the group, and when all is said and done, he might walk away with the biggest contract this offseason. He turned 28 years old a month after having a career-year with splits of .318/.385/.498. The first baseman has hit 25 home runs in each of the last two seasons, and he’s won the Gold Glove Award four times since 2013.

There were multiple reports of Hosmer getting lucrative contract offers at the start of 2018. Sources told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that the Royals offered Hosmer $147 million over seven years, while the San Diego Padres have tried to sign him to a seven-year, $140 million deal.

Several weeks later, however, Hosmer is still a free agent.

Martinez might not get a seven-year deal like Hosmer because he’ll turn 31 years old in August, but he’s unquestionably the best hitter on the market. In 119 games with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks, the outfielder led the majors with a .690 slugging percentage. He’s got a .574 slugging percentage and a .300 batting average over the last four years.

The Boston Red Sox have long been considered the favorite to land Martinez, though The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal has reported that the slugger is “fed up” with the team’s reported offer of $125 million over five years. Agent Scott Boras denied that report to NBC Sports Boston.

Arizona is still in play for Martinez, according to multiple reports, though it’s hard to imagine they will outbid Boston. It was just two years ago that the Diamondbacks gave Zack Greinke a six-year, $206.5 million contract, and perennial MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt is just two years away from hitting free agency and commanding a lucrative deal.

That leaves Arrieta, who some consider to be an even better pitcher than Darvish, even though he's replaced the former Chicago Cubs’ ace in the rotation. Arrieta has a Cy Young Award and a World Series ring, unlike Chicago’s newest pitcher, as well as a far superior ERA over the last four seasons.

The Cubs have moved on from Arrieta now that they have Darvish, eliminating one of the right-hander’s options. He’s been linked to both Milwaukee and the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason, who finished in second and third place, respectively, behind Chicago in the NL Central in 2017.

Don’t count out the Minnesota Twins as a possible landing spot for Arrieta, since they reportedly made a hard play for Darvish. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports has named the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies as potential destinations for Arrieta.

The first spring training games of 2018 are less than two weeks away.