Effectively Wild Episode 2398: Free Agent Class is in Session

Date: November 7, 2025
Hosts: Meg Rowley (FanGraphs), Ben Lindbergh (The Ringer)
Guest: Ben Clemens (FanGraphs)

Overview

This episode dives into the highly-anticipated 2025-26 MLB free agent class, evaluating its standout players, overall market trends, clubfront office movement, and the looming presence of potential labor unrest in the league. The hosts and guest, Ben Clemens, break down FanGraphs’ annual Top 50 Free Agents list, cover surprising front office and managerial hires, reflect on MLB's impressive recent viewership numbers, and contemplate how labor dynamics might impact the hot stove season.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Colorado Rockies’ Head-Scratching Hiring: Paul DePodesta as PBO

• Context: The Rockies’ hiring of Paul DePodesta, most recently a Cleveland Browns NFL executive—and famed for his earlier Moneyball-era MLB days—stuns the baseball world.
• Hosts' Reaction:
  • Ben: “Rockies, they just, they always Rockies in some way to their credit… They thought so out of the box that…they went outside the sport entirely.” [02:22]
  • Meg summarizes DePodesta’s mixed legacy: innovative 15–20 years ago, but recent football tenure (notably, endorsing the Deshaun Watson trade) is viewed as a disaster both in sporting and ethical terms [03:27–07:59].
• “It's more fun for everyone…that there is still one sort of stuck in the past organization because…Other organizations…are all kind of more or less looking at the same things with…varying degrees. But…philosophically they’re more or less aligned. And then there were the Rockies.” — Ben [10:35]
• DePodesta's baseball relevance is questioned after nearly a decade away; the hosts note the Rockies’ inability to attract top baseball execs and frame the hiring as bizarre, but perhaps the shake-up the franchise needs.

2. Surprising Managerial Moves

• Craig Stammen hired as manager of the Padres—unusual, as he’s a recent pitcher with no managerial experience.
• Skip Schumaker hired as Rangers manager—a more traditional choice, given prior MLB managerial experience.
• Discussion about the shifting mold for managers—teams are evidently open to a vast array of backgrounds [16:26–20:00]:
  • Ben: "It just really runs the gamut. Just takes all kinds, evidently, to become a major league manager."
• Padres' erratic management approaches discussed, highlighting swings from inexperienced options like Jace Tingler to established hands like Bob Melvin, and now Stammen.

3. MLB’s Strong World Series Viewership and Cultural Vibe Shift

• Record-breaking international TV ratings for the World Series, especially in the U.S., Canada, and Japan [27:54–33:29].
  • Ben: “Game 7 had 51 million average viewers...most watched MLB game globally in 34 years.” [28:02]
• Baseball’s “vibe shift” away from the “sport-in-decline” narrative—more popularity, especially among young fans.
• Concerns about the risks of work stoppages given this momentum: “Owners really going to want to risk all that by locking out folks?” — Meg [34:12]
• Ben: “MLB has sort of shook the reputation, the stain of a sport in decline...It's so often doom and gloom...[but] now things are cheerier and more upbeat.” [35:30]

4. Looming CBA Tensions and Players’ Association Issues

• Discussion about recent stories revealing MLBPA internal investigation and an agent acting as an MLB mole [38:10–41:30]:
  • Ben recommends recent ESPN and The Athletic pieces as primers for these labor battles. (Links promised on the show page.)
• The consensus: the MLBPA must sort out internal discord quickly before facing MLB in negotiations.

5. The Royals’ Loyalty to Salvador Perez

• Teams sometimes value continuity and loyalty over pure efficiency; KC’s extension with Salvy is “kind of charming,” per Ben [41:31–43:25].
• “Who doesn’t want Salvi to…be a career Royal?” — Ben [43:17]

In-Depth Segment: The 2025–26 Free Agent Class with Ben Clemens (Top 50 Free Agents)

1. Overall Quality of the Class

• This year’s class is dominated by pitching—the “sexiest” part of last few seasons isn't present (no Ohtani, Judge, Soto).
• Kyle Tucker is the consensus #1 available, but there are questions regarding his health and durability.
  • “He hasn't played that much and that puts you in an awkward situation...He's now a 29-year-old...with injury concerns.” — Ben Clemens [46:18]

2. Why Pitchers Dominate the Top 50

• "Teams often feel pretty good about using their farm system to get value on the position player side…one of those roles is not…high leverage relief arm…those are really hard to find." — Clemens [48:32]
• Teams increasingly pour money into arms, not only ace starters but top relievers and mid-rotation types.

3. Free Agent Contract Trends

• Despite shrinking workloads, top starters continue to command big money due to scarcity and replacement level dropping in tandem.
  • “I've been waiting for top pitchers to start making less money…But it doesn't really seem to be the case.” — Ben [49:44]

4. Notable Hot Stove Player Cases & Rankings

• Kyle Tucker (#1): Health/availability suppresses his ceiling.
• Pete Alonso & Kyle Schwarber: Both are “plug-and-play” bats with defensive limitations; likely to have robust markets as there are few comparable bats available.
• Bo Bichette: Clemens personally ranks him lower than the market does despite a high contract projection, citing defense and recent underwhelming performance. “He's younger...his comps are all really good...he's a young shortstop who hits for power and average...Just couldn't talk myself into, if I were a team wanting that, wanting Bichette more than [seven others].” — Clemens [60:14]
• Relievers (Edwin Diaz, Robert Suarez, Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley): Relievers’ value remains robust due to postseason importance despite inconsistent performance histories.
  • “Relievers have weird years...I just feel comfortable with those guys as being like probably the best bets to be good relievers in 2026.” — Clemens [63:36]
• International Players:
  • Murakami’s wide error bars, huge upside, and youth (26) will attract teams with “farm-system” style dollars for power potential, but translation to MLB is risky.
  • Imanaga’s unexpected free agency surprised the Cubs; anticipation is he’ll get a short, player-friendly deal.

5. Free Agent Market “Weak Spots”

• Middle Infield is the weakness.
  • “It’s been basically an unending shortstop bonanza for most of a decade and this year I don't have Bichette as a long term shortstop and I don't think many teams do.” — Clemens [77:04]

6. Players Ben Clemens Is Higher/Lower on Than Consensus

• Lower: Brandon Woodruff—fear his stuff and health may never return post-injury.
• Higher: Tyler Rogers—remarkably durable and effective, confounds projections; “He's been really good for a number of years…He's a really versatile pitcher...rubber armed.” [82:22]

7. Work Stoppage Effect on the Hot Stove

• Clemens and Meg predict “contract lengths go down” ahead of contentious CBA years, but don’t foresee a major suppression in dollar values—unless next winter looks even grimmer.
  • “I don't think that the potential of a lockout is going to do more than the previous ones, which is, like, kind of shrink contract sizes down.” — Clemens [92:03]

Notable Quotes and Moments

• “They hired him just in the nick of time because GM meetings start on Monday. So now they maybe have a GM to send or a popo.” — Ben [15:17] (On Rockies hiring DePodesta)
• “There are only so many pobo jobs or robos or hobos or pro...We could just call him Depot.” — Meg & Ben joking about front office title inflation [12:32–14:36]
• “Managers love it, you know? Like, it seemed like I would love to have Justin Verlander in the clubhouse for a year or Max Scherzer.” — Clemens [89:38] (on late-career ace value)
• “I didn’t really like...fer was in and out of the top 50...wondering, has Charlie Morton retired? I'm not sure he does.” — Clemens [88:36] (on old pitchers’ shelf life)
• [On Rockies’ Zach Veen’s abysmal ABS challenges:] "The worst challenger as a batter was zach Feen with three overturns and 21 lost. So he challenged 24 total times. Only three times did he get an overturn.” — Ben [94:01]

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 02:22–11:51: Rockies hire DePodesta; NFL and MLB cross-pollination; Deshaun Watson context
• 16:07–22:51: Padres and Rangers managerial hires; shifting norms for managers
• 27:54–36:20: MLB's World Series TV viewership success and perception shift
• 38:10–41:30: Latest on MLBPA turbulence and union challenges
• 45:06–93:39: In-depth Top 50 Free Agent breakdown with Ben Clemens, including player-by-player analysis and meta-market discussion
• 92:03–93:39: How labor uncertainty may affect this hot stove season

Summary Takeaways

• The 2025-26 MLB free agent class is deep in pitchers but lacks the superstar sizzle of recent years.
• Surprising (and sometimes baffling) front office and managerial hires have made for a lively offseason.
• MLB is enjoying a domestic and international popularity boom, though potential labor unrest clouds the horizon.
• Middle infield supply in free agency is remarkably poor, while relievers and corner bats are surprisingly flush.
• Player health (both recovery and projection) continues to dominate the calculus for front offices.
• The potential for a lockout is keeping contract lengths conservative, but not squeezing out major money.

For complete stories, free agent rankings, and stats referenced, see FanGraphs and The Ringer show pages.