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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?