Top 5 MLB Free Agent Third Basemen For 2025

Image credit: Alex Bregman (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)

October baseball is in the air, meaning the offseason isn’t far behind. We’re identifying the top MLB free agents teams could target this winter by taking a data-driven approach to this year’s crop of players. We will release new position groups in the coming days.

Below, you can find our breakdown of the top 10 free agent first basemen and designated hitters in the 2025 class, including three-year season averages in several key metrics.

Our list leverages work from MLB Trade Rumors for the list of free agents, as well as FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Reference for player win values above baseline, Baseball Savant and Baseball Prospectus for defensive data and FanGraphs for all other data. We encourage our readers and subscribers to consider subscribing to FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus, as well.

SEE THE LIST

1. Alex Bregman

Bregman has often been characterized as a player whose value may be diminished if he were to leave Houston, as he’ll lose some Crawford Box home runs. According to Baseball Savant, only Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati) and Coors Field (Colorado) would have allowed Bregman to hit more home runs. Keeping in mind that most batters perform better at home, here are Bregman’s home/road wRC+ over the past 8 seasons:

year	home wrc+	away wrc+
2024	123	114
2023	117	134
2022	179	95
2021	102	126
2020	134	106
2019	148	186
2018	172	142
2017	117	127

That’s four seasons in which he was better at home and four seasons in which he was better on the road. He’s been an above-average hitter on the road in seven of the last eight seasons, included the two most recent seasons. That strongly suggests a batter who will be very good no matter where he plays.

Let’s dig a little deeper into what makes him such a good hitter:

Bregman has elite bat-to-ball skills, with a zone contact rate above 91%, a keen eye where he avoids chase and an incredible ability to fight off pitches out of the zone when he does chase. He accomplishes this with a swing geared for launch angle. And while his top-end exit velocities are below average, he gets to about MLB average exit velos on a consistent basis.

Bregman’s arm strength has never been good, clocking in at the 26th percentile over the past four seasons, but he is still a very good defender at the hot corner. Given the dearth of available second base options, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a team with a need there sign Bregman and move him to the keystone. Don’t think of Bregman as a guy who needs the Crawford Boxes to be successful; this is an extremely good hitter, with a good glove.

2. Eugenio Suarez – Diamondbacks Picked Up the Club Option

In six of the last seven seasons—excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season—Suarez has hit at least 26 home runs. He’s probably the surest bet in this third base class to hit 30 homers or more in 2025. He strikes out a lot, which makes him a streaky player, but ultimately, when you look at his final batting line, it’s going to translate into above-average run production. That, combined with his excellent defense, makes him one of the most valuable players available in this free agent class.

3. Yoan Moncada

Another year, another injury-plagued season for Moncada, who has less than 850 plate appearances over the last three seasons combined. His ranking here isn’t a reflection of his performance. Rather, it’s a reflection of his pedigree and potential, as well as a reflection on the lack of options after him.

While his very small sample of underlying metrics was poor this year, when he was last fully healthy in 2021, he was a very good hitter. Being on a perpetually-losing team like the White Sox likely hasn’t been a tremendously motivating environment for Moncada, and it stands to reason that a combination of full health and a change of scenery would work wonders for him. Despite all of his recent struggles, his career wRC+ is still a very solid 107, and he’ll likely produce closer to that than his 2022 and 2023 performances would indicate.

4. Gio Urshela

After the top two available options, there is a rather steep dropoff. Urshela is a good defender, but he’s lost the ability to impact the ball the way he showed in 2022, which means he’s going to struggle to do much offensively. He’s lost a tick of average exit velocity for two consecutive seasons, and has just a 7th percentile bat speed, which puts into question how many years he has left. Perhaps a team with a good bat speed training program can maximize his value.

5. Enrique Hernandez

Hernandez still hits the ball relatively hard, with above average maximum exit velocities, slightly below average 90th percentile exit velocities and good launch angles. But for whatever reason, that doesn’t translate into many home runs for him. He’s mostly useful as a utility player, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he re-signs with the Dodgers to play that role.