On Friday, at 5 p.m., was the deadline for teams to offer a contract for 2026 to players under contractual control who had not secured a contract for next season.
Mexican Ramón Urías, of the Astros, is among the 76 players who did not receive a contract offer and are now free agents and can sign with any team. Below, some of these most interesting players who joined the aforementioned market.
Adolis García, Rangers
The Cuban will always occupy a special place in the history of the Texan team for what he did during the journey to the 2023 World Series title, hitting eight home runs with 22 RBIs (a postseason record in MLB) and an OPS of 1.108 in those playoffs. He also hit 39 homers with 107 RBIs and an OPS of .836 in the regular season that year, which he crowned with a Gold Glove. But García’s decline was rapid: he recorded an OPS of .684 in 2024 and was worse in 2025 (.665).
Ramón Urías, Astros
The Astros acquired Urías from the Orioles at the trade deadline, but the versatile infielder hit just .223 with a .640 OPS after joining Houston. Urías’ best season came in 2022, when he hit 16 home runs, posted a .720 OPS and won the AL Gold Glove at third base for Baltimore.
Urías was still an effective player in 2025, totaling 2.2 bWAR between his two clubs.
MJ Melendez, Royals
At one point he was a sought-after catching prospect, but the presence of Venezuelan Salvador Pérez behind the plate in Kansas City and the obstacles Meléndez faced on defense as a rookie forced the monarchs to send him to the prairies. His defensive problems continued in his new position, and he did not produce enough results with the bat to compensate for his defensive shortcomings.
Melendez hit at least 16 home runs and 21 doubles in each of his first three seasons, but his career slash line is .215/.297/.388 with a 90 OPS+. He spent most of 2025 in Triple-A Omaha.
Evan Phillips, Dodgers
After a torn rotator cuff interrupted Phillips’ postseason shutout streak — which also kept him out of the 2024 World Series — the right-hander suffered injuries again in 2025. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May and will miss the start of 2026. Still, you can’t forget how effective he was for Los Angeles from 2022-2024, when he posted an ERA of 2.21 with 10.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and 44 saves.
Jonah Heim, Rangers
He was an integral piece on the 2023 championship club, combining a solid bat (18 HR, 107 OPS+) with elite defense en route to a 4.0 fWAR. But in the two years since then, the catcher has posted -0.6 fWAR, demonstrating a decline in both aspects of his game.
Nathaniel Lowe, Boston
Boston acquired the veteran first baseman in August after Lowe was released by the Nationals. Traded by the Rangers last offseason for left-handed reliever Robert Garcia, Lowe hit .280 with a .790 OPS for the Red Sox in limited action, but his full-season OPS was a career-low .689. He won the AL Gold Glove in 2022 and the AL Silver Slugger in 2023 at first.
Alek of Manoah, Bras
Manoah had a brilliant second season with the Blue Jays in 2022, posting a 2.24 ERA and striking out 180 opponents in 196.2 innings, finishing third in AL Cy Young voting. But he was sent down to the minor leagues during a frustrating 2023 and tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in May 2024. Manoah made several rehab starts toward the end of 2025, before being designated for assignment and claimed off waivers by Atlanta.
Christopher M., Rayas
Morel was impressive during his first two seasons with the Cubs, especially in 2023, when he hit 26 home runs in 107 games and posted an .821 OPS. But his performance declined over the past two years, with Morel hitting just .204 with a .651 OPS and a 29.3% strikeout rate. His poor glove and lack of a permanent defensive position didn’t help.
Other players who are on the list of the 76 free agents are: outfielder Mike Tauchman, of the White Sox: pitcher Mark Leiter Jr., of the Yankees, outfielder Jake Fraley, of the Stingrays, and JJ Bleday, center fielder of the A’s.— MLB