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A summary of the 2021 SB Nation off-season simulation

Our 30 GMs handed out some fake cash.

Tampa Bay Rays v Houston Astros Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

The off-season is upon us, although MLB may be freezing things before long due to the expiration of the labor deal. There will be no frozen hot stove here though, as we continue our annual off-season simulation project where we take 30 fans and put them in charge of teams under real-world conditions to let them work out trades and free agent signings to improve their clubs. You can read the ground rules here.

I kept track of all the free agent signings, options decisions, and updated team-by-team payrolls in a master sheet you can see here. Here were the 25 largest free agent contracts.

Largest 25 free agent contracts in the simulation

Player Team Contract
Player Team Contract
Carlos Correa Tigers 10 years, $375 million
Corey Seager Angels 10 years, $355 million
Kris Bryant Angels 6 years, $210 million
Trevor Story Mariners 7 years, $194 million
Marcus Semien Blue Jays 6 years, $155 million
Freddie Freeman Braves 5 years, $150 million
Javier Baez Mets 7 years, $126 million
Seiya Suzuki Mariners 6 years, $120 million
Marcus Stroman Twins 5 years, $120 million with two club options and a $5 million buyout
Robbie Ray Cardinals 5 years, $112 million
Chris Taylor Phillies 4 year, $96 million with a $20 million club option and $4 million buyout
Nick Castellanos Giants 5 years, $90 million
Kevin Gausman Rockies 5 year, $90 million with incentives
Kyle Schwarber Red Sox 5 years, $80 million
Carlos Rodon Tigers 5 years, $80 million
Michael Conforto Pirates 5 years, $75 million
Starling Marte White Sox 3 years, $75 million
Clayton Kershaw Dodgers 3 years, $70 million
Jon Gray Mets 4 year, $64 million
Eduardo Rodriguez Red Sox 3 years, $50 million
Steven Matz Twins 4 years, $50 million
Avisail Garcia Padres 3 years, $36 million with a $7.5 million player option
Raisel Iglesias Mets 3 years, $36 million
Andrew McCutchen Reds 3 years, $33 million
Anthony Rizzo Rays 3 years, $33 million

Here are what each team’s payroll looks like:

Team payrolls after the simulation

Team Payroll
Team Payroll
Yankees $218,500,000
Dodgers $212,433,333
Mets $209,600,000
Red Sox $206,391,667
Phillies $199,825,000
Angels $199,800,000
Cardinals $189,629,500
Giants $183,233,000
White Sox $175,150,000
Tigers $172,700,000
Braves $170,500,000
Blue Jays $157,466,666
Astros $148,650,000
Padres $143,700,000
Nationals $128,671,429
Twins $127,700,000
Mariners $125,950,000
Brewers $121,650,000
Reds $117,400,000
Rockies $112,270,500
Cubs $97,100,000
Royals $90,400,000
Rangers $89,050,000
Marlins $87,600,000
Guardians $82,400,000
Rays $63,600,000
Athletics $57,400,000
Pirates $52,500,000
Diamondbacks $50,100,000
Orioles $34,166,667

Here I have team-by-team transactions as well as what their rosters may look like now. Who did the best? What team looks poised for a championship in 2021?