MLB free agency season is approaching. With this comes power rankings for each position in the game. One of the deeper positions in terms of availability this winter is among the outfielders, with many players poised to find a new home for 2025 and beyond. Here are the best of the bunch.

Tyler O’Neill signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox and became one of the best hitters in the league, hitting 31 home runs despite appearing in just 113 games. Still, at just 29 years old, O’Neill is poised to receive a lucrative multi-year deal in free agency where he could be a vital part of any roster he lands on.

O’Neill’s biggest knock was his ability to stay on the field, as he made 100 appearances just twice in his seven-year career. There’s no doubt that when healthy, O’Neill poses a long-ball threat every time he steps up to the plate, and there will be at least one team willing to roll the dice and hoping he stays healthy. He ranks fifth on this list due to his blistering home run pace in 2024.

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pressing the switch Anthony Santander Parting ways with the Baltimore Orioles doesn’t feel right, but it will likely become a reality due to the contract he will receive this winter. After a career-high 44 home runs and 102 RBIs, Santander had a perfect season for a career year and now hit free agency in search of a deal that might be too lucrative for the Orioles’ tastes.

Any team with off-the-field needs, especially playoff-caliber ones, will try to acquire Santander if they miss Juan Soto. His ability to shoot from both ends is a highly desirable trait, and the fact that he is only turning 30 will give many teams confidence that he will be productive for years to come. Unlike O’Neill before him, Santander has had no trouble staying healthy over the past few years, eclipsing the 30-point plateau twice in that span.

Jurickson Profar had a breakout season in 2024 and will now test free agency after hitting an impressive .280/.380/.459 with 24 HR and 85 RBI. Given his ability to play corner in the outfield or center in the infield when needed, his versatility is a valuable trait that any baseball manager would want more of in his team. In fact, Profar’s rise began with his acquisition by San Diego in the second half of 2023 and continued from there, so his track record is long enough to believe he has something figured out now.

The biggest concern with signing Profar is that you could argue he isn’t the most productive player before the 2nd half of 2023, given his .238/.322/.386 from 2012-2022. It looks like we’ve seen Profar at his absolute peak, which means teams will use that against him in negotiations assuming 2024 is his ceiling, and we shouldn’t expect much more. Still, his numbers from the last season and a half are there and it will be interesting to see what kind of deal he can make now.

As for the meat and potatoes of this list, Teoscar Hernandez second overall and once again finds himself a free agent. Hernandez had his most successful season since his breakout campaign in 2021; He slashed .272/.339/.501 with 33 HR and 99 RBI, culminating in a World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers this year.

Not only is it surprising that he did not sign a multi-year deal last year, given that he is only 32, but he will also look to sign a longer contract due to the deferral of money being paid to him over time. My best guess is that Hernandez will return with the Dodgers and they’ll finally get their shot at getting the number one player on this list.

Clearly, Juan Soto gets the number 1 spot here. He’s about to get arguably the 2nd most important contract in baseball history, other than Shohei Ohtani last winter. Soto’s demands are very high, but it’s highly doubtful he can beat Ohtani’s deal, no matter how many homers he hits at any age. Ohtani is a much better player and Soto’s expectation of overcoming this deal is unrealistic.

This, of course, does not mean that his deal will not exceed $600,000,000. Soto is one of the best players in baseball, a generational talent when it comes to hitting, and he’s only 26 years old. Soto, already a four-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger award winner incision He’s hitting .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs in 2024. Considering he’s probably not even in his prime yet, he deserves the deal he’ll get. Don’t be surprised by the number of years or AAV Soto gets. Ohtani may not have the money, but it’ll be a crazy contract no matter where he ends up.