A trio of former big leaguers reached the open market earlier this week. They head to free agency in search of another opportunity in the majors next season. These free agent decisions come from the MiLB.com transactions page.
Pitchers
Justin Lawrence (Nationals)
Lawrence spent his first four seasons as a member of the Rockies, with whom he pitched to a 5.43 ERA over 194 innings and 182 appearances. The right-hander joined the Pirates via waivers ahead of the 2025 season, and though elbow issues limited him to 17 innings, the results were excellent. Lawrence posted a microscopic 0.51 ERA with strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 33.3%, 11.6% and 47.2%, respectively. The Pirates may have thought they had a gem on their hands then, but the wheels fell off for Lawrence this season. The 31-year-old pitched poorly enough for the Pirates to designate him for assignment in late May and then trade him to the Twins for cash considerations. Lawrence only lasted a few weeks with Minnesota, which designated him June 21. The Nationals claimed Lawrence, but they wound up outrighting him a month later.
All told, the sinkerballer threw 34 1/3 frames among the three teams and was lit up for a 7.34 ERA. The rest of Lawrence’s numbers from last year also sharply declined, as he fanned hitters at a 24.3% clip, walked them at a 15.8% rate and induced grounders 42.4% of the time.
Max Kranick (Nationals)
Then a member of the Mets, Kranick underwent flexor tendon surgery last July. With Kranick still in the early stages of his recovery, the Mets non-tendered the 29-year-old righty in November. He stayed in free agency until the beginning of May, at which point the Nationals gave him a one-year pact with an $850K club option. It was clear they weren’t going to pick up the option in the wake of a rough 2026 for Kranick. He made his Nats debut on July 18 and went on to yield 19 earned runs on 27 hits, including four homers, and 13 walks (against 11 strikeouts) in 18 1/3 innings. Two days after Kranick’s 1 1/3-inning, five-run blowup against Atlanta on Sept. 2, Washington outrighted him.
Infielder
Jeimer Candelario (Angels)
Fresh off a 3.2-fWAR, 22-HR season divided between the the Cubs and Nationals in 2023, the Reds handed Candelario a three-year, $45MM payday in free agency. It was a regrettable move by the Reds, who released the switch-hitting Candelario in June 2025. He was only about halfway through the contract when the Reds cut ties. Candelario joined the Angels on a minor league contract last winter and played well enough in the spring to earn an Opening Day roster spot, but he didn’t last long with the Halos. After he went 2 for 18 with eight strikeouts and one walk in seven games, they outrighted him in mid-April. Candleario spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Salt Lake and hit a solid .281/.377/.509 (116 wRC+) with 15 homers in 387 plate appearances. Set to turn 33 on Nov. 24, Candelario will look for another minors deal.
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