As the regular season nears an end, MLBTR is taking a position-by-position look at the 2026-27 free agent class. Next up are the third basemen. It’s not the deepest group, but the headliner is an NPB slugger who could be the most sought-after bat on the market.
Player ages are for the 2027 season, and names within each tier are listed alphabetically, not “ranked.” Normally, only players who appeared in MLB (or on major league 60-day injured lists) this year are included, but an exception has been made for the top name in this post.
Previous entries in this series: Catcher, First Base, Second Base
Top of the Class
Teruaki Sato (28)
Sato has blossomed into the best hitter in Nippon Professional Baseball. In 2025, he led the league with 40 homers and 102 RBI. This year, his .313 batting average is at the top of the leaderboard. Over the past two seasons, his 191 wRC+ suggests he’s been nearly twice as productive as the average NPB hitter. It’s numbers like those that earned him the number two spot on MLBTR’s latest Free Agent Power Rankings.
It’s always hard to predict how foreign league bats will adjust to MLB pitching, and Sato is no exception. Strikeouts are a big part of his game, and his swing-and-miss tendencies could scare MLB teams off this winter (much like how the same concerns hurt Munetaka Murakami last offseason). That said, Sato’s tremendous upside should still generate plenty of interest, especially considering the lack of impact players at his primary position.
Defense isn’t Sato’s strong suit, and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be an asset at third base or in right field. However, he has played 100-plus games at the hot corner in each of the last four years. That’s most likely where he’ll play if he comes to MLB next year, even if his long-term home is across the diamond at first base.
Everyday Options
Alec Bohm (30)
I debated whether or not to include Bohm in this category. On the one hand, he has a meager .707 OPS and 93 wRC+ this year. His defensive metrics at third base (-8 DRS, -5 FRV) are poor as usual, and he has played first base almost exclusively since the trade deadline.
On the other hand, he has been an everyday player for years, qualifying for the batting title in each of the last five seasons. What’s more, there aren’t many true third basemen in this year’s free agent class. You could argue whether Bohm himself deserves that label, but he has more experience at the position than almost anyone else on this list.
Bohm has found consistent success against southpaws, and he makes enough contact to get by against righties. It all adds up to a league-average bat that has flashed the potential to be a little something more. Ultimately, his career numbers say he’s closer to a platoon bat than the All-Star he was in 2024. Still, he could be an everyday third baseman in 2027 for a team that’s willing to stomach subpar defense.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (29)
Chisholm is primarily a second baseman, but he played about 600 innings at the hot corner in his first two seasons with the Yankees. If he were still hitting the way he did in New York in 2024 and ’25 (.816 OPS, 127 wRC+), I doubt anyone would care what position he played; Chisholm would be entertaining offers this winter to play second, third, and probably even the outfield. The problem, of course, is that he isn’t hitting the way he did in his first year and a half with the Yanks.
Through 138 games, Chisholm owns a 100 wRC+. His numbers in all three triple-slash statistics are close to league average, while his xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA are all well below average. He is still producing on the basepaths (41 steals in 50 attempts), but overall, he’s been a far less valuable offensive player – and that means his defense is a more important part of his profile.
Chisholm can play third base, but it would be risky for a team to offer him an everyday job at a position where he’s played less than 80 games in his career. That’s a risk that would be much easier to take if his bat were less of a question mark itself. From Chisholm’s perspective, he might prefer to sign a contract that will let him test the market again next offseason. In that case, he’d want to do everything he could to put his best foot forward in 2027 – and that would mean playing second base.
J.P. Crawford (32)
Crawford reportedly asked the Mariners to let him play some third base this year. They obliged, giving him his first reps at the position since 2018. It was a smart suggestion on Crawford’s part, considering he has posted career-worst defensive numbers in half a season of games at shortstop. So far, he has shown he can handle third base (0 DRS, 0 FRV in 254.1 innings), and that will only help him in free agency.
Unfortunately for Crawford, his league-average offensive numbers would look a lot better coming from a full-time shortstop. Over his first three qualifying seasons in Seattle, he hit for a 102 wRC+. Then he exploded for a 136 wRC+ in 2023. Since then, he owns a 104 wRC+ over his last three campaigns. It’s pretty clear that the 2023 of Crawford’s bat was the outlier, and the league-average version is the norm. He has good contact skills and great plate discipline, but he lacks the power to be a legitimate threat at the plate. Even in 2023, his bat speed and hard-hit rate were mediocre, and he only hit 19 balls out of the yard.
Crawford won’t be the most exciting free agent, but his floor is relatively high. He’s a lefty batter without huge platoon splits who can play a passable shortstop and, from what we’ve seen in a limited sample, a capable third base. In fact, among free agents who can fill an everyday role, Crawford might be the strongest third base defender available – especially if Chisholm prefers to play second base.
Part-Time Bats
Yoán Moncada (32)
Moncada looked like an All-Star the last time he played a full, healthy campaign. But that was in 2021. This year, Moncada only made it to mid-May before a knee injury ended his season. Before then, he was putting up some of the worst offensive numbers of his career: a .189 batting average, a .269 xwOBA, and a 78 wRC+.
Yet, Moncada is only one year removed from hitting 12 homers with a .783 OPS and 119 wRC+ over half a season for the Angels in 2025. Over the last three years, he has a .784 OPS and 121 wRC+ in 402 PA against right-handed pitching. No team should be counting on him to play a regular role in 2027, but when he isn’t injured, there’s no reason to think he can’t be a useful righty masher off the bench.
Eugenio Suárez (35)
Suárez hit 49 home runs in 2025 and entered the offseason as one of MLBTR’s top 20 free agents. Then, he failed to generate much interest on the open market and settled for a one-year deal with the Reds. Last month, when Cincinnati placed him on waivers, no one put in a claim. There’s no question his fall from grace has been steep.
This offseason, Suárez will try to find a team to bet on him bouncing back. That might be difficult. Even in his 49-homer season, his overall batting line wasn’t exactly elite (.824 OPS, 125 wRC+), and his career .788 OPS and 112 wRC+ are more good than great. As he enters his age-35 season, it’s also fair to ask how much work he can handle at third base. He has been worth -4 DRS and -6 FRV in just 49 games at the hot corner in 2026.
Multi-Position / Utilitymen
Miguel Andujar (32)
In the 74 games he managed to play for the Padres this year, Andujar was mostly a DH. However, third base and left field are his primary positions. He isn’t likely to repeat his surprisingly strong 2025 (.822 OPS, 122 wRC+), but the righty batter has posted a wRC+ above league average in each of the last four seasons. For his career, he owns a 116 wRC+ with the platoon advantage and a 101 wRC+ without.
As for Andujar’s defense, his metrics have always been poor, whether he’s working an infield corner or an outfield corner. In other words, he’s not the kind of bench player who gets much work as a defensive replacement. Still, his versatility is an asset; it gives his teams more ways to get his capable bat in the lineup.
Mauricio Dubón (32)
If you read MLBTR’s second base preview from earlier this week, you already saw each of these next five names, so I’ll try to keep things brief. Dubón hasn’t played much third base, but given his success at every other position he’s taken on, he’d probably do just fine in a more regular role at third. For what it’s worth, he has +1 DRS and +2 FRV in 57 career games at the hot corner. It’s believable a team could sign him to be the short side of a third base platoon, while he fills a superutility role against right-handed pitching.
Over the last four years, Dubón owns a .689 OPS and a 91 wRC+, including a .720 OPS/100 wRC+ against lefties and a .676 OPS/88 wRC+ against righties. Combine that with his strong defense at several positions, and you get a quality role player for a contending team.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (32)
Kiner-Falefa is a worse hitter than Dubón. He strikes out more and hits for even less power. If you’re looking for a righty-batting, glove-first utility player, Dubón is the cream of the crop. Yet, if you’re looking for a third baseman, Kiner-Falefa might be the better choice.
IKF has played a handful of games at third base in almost every season of his career, adding up to 1,864 innings at the position. That’s the equivalent of about a season and a half of work. In those innings, he has an incredible +33 DRS and +23 FRV. That’s a Ke’Bryan Hayes-caliber performance. In other words, it’s the kind of defense that can make up for a well-below-average bat. Kiner-Falefa shouldn’t have trouble finding a bench role on a team that knows it’s going to need some help at third base.
Luis Rengifo (30)
Rengifo found a way to consistently outperform his xStats with the Angels from 2022-24. His wOBA was at least 15 points higher than his xwOBA in each of those seasons, and accordingly, he looked like a solid role player. His glove didn’t stand out at any one position, but he played second base, third base, shortstop, and the outfield capably enough while producing above-average numbers at the plate.
Over the last two years, regression has come for Rengifo. He posted a .622 OPS and 75 wRC+ in his last year with the Angels. He continued to struggle in 2026, producing a .636 OPS and 82 wRC+ in 95 games for the Brewers and Padres, before a torn ACL ended his season.
So, a major league deal will be hard for Rengifo to come by this winter. Recovery from his ACL surgery could keep him out until next June, and he hasn’t been a productive bat since 2024. That said, he was starting to turn things around with San Diego before his injury. As a switch-hitter who has played every position except pitcher and catcher, a healthy Rengifo should eventually find a new job on a big league bench.
Amed Rosario (31)
Rosario always graded out as a poor defensive shortstop, and his overall numbers haven’t looked any better as a utility player. However, he can wear a glove at third base, second base, or an outfield corner, and that has let his teams put his right-handed bat in the lineup. Over the first nine years of his career, he was a reliable run-producer against left-handed pitching; he posted above-average numbers every year, with an overall .800 OPS and 120 wRC+.
In 2026, his splits have reversed. Unfortunately for Rosario, I don’t think that means any teams are going to view him as a more well-rounded hitter. Rather, his success against righties just looks like a bit of good batted-ball luck in a small sample. On the flip side, his dreadful performance against lefties is a concerning sign that his carrying skill is in decline. Rosario’s track record and flexibility can still land him another bench job, but he’ll have to prove in 2027 that his lefty-mashing talents haven’t disappeared.
Edmundo Sosa (31)
Sosa was one of the game’s better bench players over his first four seasons with the Phillies. From the trade deadline in 2022 through the end of the 2025 season, he hit 30 home runs, stole 15 bases, and posted a 104 wRC+. He also graded out as a plus defender at second base, third base, and shortstop, according to both DRS and FRV. His shortcomings against right-handed pitching limited him to a part-time role, but when he played, he was consistently productive at the plate, on the bases, and especially in the field.
In 2026, Sosa owns a .699 OPS and an 86 wRC+. Yet, strangely enough, his .330 xwOBA is the best he’s ever posted. What’s more, Sosa still has an impressive 125 wRC+ against left-handers. It’s a career-worst 35 wRC+ against righties that’s dragging down his overall numbers. His performance against righties is also the cause of the wide gap between his wOBA and xwOBA. Statcast will tell you he’s hitting same-handed pitching better than ever, but his actual batting average, slugging percentage, and wOBA against righties are all about 100 points worse than his expected marks.
Sosa will feel the effects of his poor walk year in his wallet, but he can search for a team to look past his surface-level 2026 performance to the well-rounded utility player underneath.
Depth Options
Orlando Arcia (32), Jeimer Candelario (33), Santiago Espinal (32), Kyle Farmer (35), Enrique Hernández (35), Andy Ibáñez (34), Nicky Lopez (32), Nick Madrigal (30), Dylan Moore (34), Josh Rojas (33), Luis Urías (30), Ramón Urías (33), Ildemaro Vargas (35)
Option Decisions
Bo Bichette (29): Can opt out of remaining two years, $84MM (would receive $5MM buyout for opting out; contract allows Bichette to opt out next winter as well)
Various defensive metrics have different reads on Bichette in his first season as a third baseman; his -7 DRS looks bad, but his +1 FRV is much more encouraging. Regardless, if he were hitting like he did for most of his Blue Jays tenure, he’d be one of the top third basemen in the sport. Unfortunately for Bichette and the Mets, “if” is the key word in that sentence. Outside of an injury-marred 2024, this has been the worst offensive season of his career.
As Steve Adams explained on MLBTR’s latest Free Agent Power Rankings (and again while previewing the second base class), Bichette could opt out of his contract, take his $5MM buyout, and look for more money than the net $79MM he would make by sticking with the Mets in 2027 and ’28. His down year will limit his earning power, but his strong track record and the weak free agent class could help him land $80MM+ on a longer-term deal. However, it seems more likely Bichette will opt in for 2027 at $42MM. He wouldn’t command an annual salary anywhere close to that number this winter, but a bounce-back 2027 could earn him another nine-figure contract a year from now.
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