15 players who could be up for the next notable extension

Two starting pitchers from our offseason Top 30 free-agent list -- Zac Gallen and Lucas Giolito -- remain unsigned as camps open this week, leaving a bit of business to take care of between now and Opening Day.

But with the bulk of free agency in the rearview mirror, many teams will be examining their current rosters to determine whether there are contract extensions to get done.

Last year, we listed 15 extension candidates, five of which signed deals in 2025:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (14 years, $500 million)
Garrett Crochet, Red Sox (6 years, $170 million)
Jackson Merrill, Padres (9 years, $135 million)
Cal Raleigh, Mariners (6 years, $105 million)
Lawrence Butler, Athletics (7 years, $65.5 million)

Here’s a look at 15 players who could be candidates for the next notable extension.

(Players are listed alphabetically with 2026 season age as of July 1.)

Drake Baldwin, C, Braves, age 25
Eligible for free agency after the 2030 season

No club has had more success locking up its young talent than the Braves, who have signed at least a half-dozen players to extensions in recent years. Baldwin, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is under control for five more years and won’t even be arbitration-eligible for two more seasons, but if Atlanta believes he’s the long-term answer behind the plate, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Braves try to extend him to buy out his arbitration years and possibly a free-agent year or two.

Hunter Brown, RHP, Astros, age 27
Eligible for free agency after the 2028 season

Brown’s breakout 2025 season -- he went 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 31 starts -- earned him a third-place finish in American League Cy Young Award voting and a $5.71 million salary in his first arbitration-eligible season, but might the Astros try to keep their ace in Houston for more than the next three years? Brown is represented by Scott Boras, who typically likes to get his clients to free agency, but the Astros have previously done two extensions with Jose Altuve, who is also repped by Boras.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, Yankees, age 28
Eligible for free agency after the 2026 season

Historically, the Yankees have not been big on extensions, letting players get to free agency and re-signing them at that time if they want to bring them back. But there have been exceptions -- Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino and Brett Gardner all signed extensions during their tenure with the Yankees -- so the idea of the Yankees trying to extend Chisholm isn’t a stretch. A lot of it could depend on how the team views Anthony Volpe going forward, as top shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. is getting closer to the Majors, which could prompt a shift to second base for Volpe if the team still believes in him.

Logan Gilbert, RHP, Mariners
Eligible for free agency after the 2027 season

Bryan Woo, RHP, Mariners
Eligible for free agency after the 2029 season

The Mariners have three of their everyday players -- Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor -- signed through at least 2030, but Seattle has yet to extend any members of its young, talented pitching staff. Woo is still four years away from free agency, but after posting an All-Star season in 2025 that earned him a fifth-place finish in AL Cy Young voting, the right-hander could be a prime candidate for an extension. Gilbert, who was an All-Star and finished sixth in Cy Young voting in 2024, is two years away from free agency, the closest of any of the Mariners’ young starters.

MacKenzie Gore, LHP, Rangers
Eligible for free agency after the 2027 season

Texas dealt five prospects for Gore this offseason, paying a hefty price to add the 2025 All-Star to its rotation. Gore is under control for two more seasons, putting him on track to become a free agent at the same time as Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, who will be 39 and 37, respectively. Even if Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker take big steps forward, securing Gore beyond 2027 would help Texas in its transition post-deGrom/Eovaldi.

Riley Greene, LF, Tigers
Eligible for free agency after the 2028 season

Greene makes the list for a second straight season, and although his bWAR dipped from 5.4 to 2.2 in 2025, he set career highs with 36 home runs, 111 RBIs and a .493 slugging percentage in 157 games last season. Greene will earn $5 million this year and is arbitration-eligible for two more seasons, making the 25-year-old a prime candidate for the Tigers to extend -- especially if they don’t believe they will be re-signing Tarik Skubal next offseason.

Nico Hoerner, 2B, Cubs
Eligible for free agency after the 2026 season

The Cubs extended Hoerner on a three-year, $35 million deal in March 2023, buying out his final two years of arbitration and his first year of free agency in the process. The signing of Alex Bregman this winter shifted Matt Shaw into a utility role, potentially setting him up to take over for Hoerner a year from now, but Hoerner is a proven commodity coming off of his best season (6.2 bWAR in 156 games). The Cubs could look to extend Hoerner again, especially if they like the idea of Shaw moving around the diamond.

Shea Langeliers, C, Athletics
Eligible for free agency after the 2028 season

Langeliers will earn $5.25 million in 2026, the first year in which he was eligible for arbitration. The catcher will be arb-eligible for two more years before becoming a free agent, and given how aggressive the Athletics have been in locking up their core players -- Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom have all signed extensions -- it wouldn’t be surprising to see the club try to do the same with Langeliers, who has averaged 30 home runs and 76 RBIs in 130 games over the past two seasons.

Wyatt Langford, LF, Rangers
Eligible for free agency after the 2029 season

Texas has only two players (Corey Seager and Brandon Nimmo) on guaranteed contracts beyond 2027, giving the Rangers plenty of financial flexibility in the coming years. Langford has played 134 games in each of his first two seasons, averaging 19 home runs, 68 RBIs and 20 stolen bases while compiling 9.5 bWAR. Having just turned 24, Langford is on track to become a free agent at age 28, but the Rangers could look to extend him and keep him in Texas into his thirties.

Jesús Luzardo, LHP, Phillies
Eligible for free agency after the 2026 season

Luzardo is set to hit the open market at the end of the season, so it’s unlikely that he would sign a new deal this close to free agency. Zack Wheeler is signed for two more years, and while Aaron Nola is signed through 2030, he posted a 6.01 ERA in only 17 starts last year. Taijuan Walker will be a free agent next winter, and Andrew Painter has yet to make his big league debut, leaving some long-term questions in the Phillies’ rotation. Luzardo has topped 175 innings in two of the past three seasons while posting a bWAR of 4.7 and 3.9 in those campaigns.

Jakob Marsee, CF, Marlins
Eligible for free agency after the 2031 season

Having played only 55 games in his rookie year, Marsee is under club control for six more seasons, creating no urgency to sign him to an extension anytime soon. But we’ve seen small-market teams roll the dice with early-career deals, which create financial certainty for the club and a modicum of security for the player. Marsee performed well last season, posting an .842 OPS and 1.9 bWAR in his 55-game debut, showing himself to be the type of young talent the Marlins can build around.

Jeremy Peña, SS, Astros
Eligible for free agency after the 2027 season

The 2022 AL Rookie of the Year has a Gold Glove and an All-Star appearance on his résumé, and with two years left until free agency, Peña seems like a potential trade candidate -- or a trade candidate a year from now. Houston dealt Kyle Tucker a year before free agency, so if Peña isn’t extended, he could face the same fate next offseason. The 28-year-old had his best season in 2025 despite playing only 125 games, hitting 17 home runs with 62 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and a 5.6 bWAR. Since the start of 2022, Peña has been worth 18.6 bWAR, which ranks sixth among all MLB players with at least 50 percent of their games at shortstop and ninth among all players in the AL.

Freddy Peralta, RHP, Mets
Eligible for free agency after the 2026 season

The Mets traded two of their top prospects (Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams) to the Brewers for Peralta, giving New York the No. 1 starter it had been seeking. President of baseball operations David Stearns has not been one to sign pitchers to long-term deals, but perhaps his familiarity with Peralta -- he traded for him in 2015 while running the Brewers -- will be a difference-maker.

Daulton Varsho, OF, Blue Jays
Eligible for free agency after the 2026 season

Varsho will earn $10.75 million in 2026 before hitting the free-agent market, and while he played in only 71 games in 2025, he was one of Toronto’s best hitters when he was healthy and remains an elite defender. The Blue Jays don’t have many outfield options signed beyond 2026 (Varsho and George Springer will both be free agents after the season), which was one of the reasons Toronto pursued Kyle Tucker this offseason. Varsho has a 16.2 bWAR over the past four years, showing himself to be a valuable player.