MLB Rumors: Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, J.D. Martinez Could Start Spring Training Unsigned

For most MLB teams, pitchers and catchers report to spring training in just a week with the rest of the players joining a few days later. It appears that most of baseball's best free agents this offseason won’t be among those heading to Florida or Arizona.

Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, J.D. Martinez and Eric Hosmer are all still unsigned seven days into February. Mike Moustakas, Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb are also looking for new contracts, and it could be a while before they finally find a team for the 2018 season.

The contract offers that the top free agents were hoping to get simply haven’t been there this winter. It seems clear that no one will be heading into the upcoming season with a deal worth between $150 million and $200 million.

That’s not to say some of the free agents aren’t considering lucrative contract offers. Darvish is believed to have multiple contract offers of at least $100 million on the table, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, and he might just be hoping that the Los Angeles Dodgers can shed payroll and make him a competitive offer. There have been rumors that both the San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals offered Hosmer deals worth at least $140 million.

The Boston Red Sox are believed to have offered Martinez a five-year contract worth $125 million, according to Rosenthal. The outfielder is reportedly unhappy with the proposal and could sign elsewhere, having been looking for a seven-year deal worth close to $200 million. Martinez has put up the best numbers of any hitter on the market, posting 45 home runs with a 1.066 OPS last season with both the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Lorenzo Cain is the best free agent that has found a home. He signed a five-year contract worth $80 million with the Milwaukee Brewers in the last week of January. Cain hit .300/.363/.440 with 26 stolen bases for the Kansas City Royals in 2017.

Todd Frazier was the latest notable free agent to sign a contract. He received $17 million over two years from the New York Mets.

Yoenis Cespedes was the only free agent to sign a $100 million contract last offseason. Six free agents received nine-figure contracts two offseasons ago, including David Price and Zack Greinke, who both earned more than $200 million.