With the regular season winding down, a number of teams (and their fanbases) are already starting to turn their attention towards the offseason. Identifying free agent targets is a big part of that prep work, so its worth taking an early look at the players wholl be available on the open market. MLBTRs Steve Adams kicked things off with a look at a catching cla s. Theres a stronger group at first base, even if age is an i sue for a lot of these players. A quick note on eligibility: were looking only at players who have appeared in the majors this season and are either primary first baseman or have logged 100+ innings at the position. Utility players like and can play first base but will be covered in future positional previews. Ages are for the 2025 season. Stats are through play on September 18. Top of the Cla s (30) Alonso is in a tier of his own in this years first base cla s. He is one of the sports preeminent power bats. Even in a relative down year, he has drilled 33 homers while slugging .472. Alonso has topped 30 longballs in all five full seasons of his career and was on a 43-homer pace during the shortened schedule. His .246/.331/.472 batting line is 26 points better than league average, according to wRC+. Thats tied for fifth among first basemen (min. 400 PAs) and feels like Alonsos floor for the next few years. The Mets will make him a qualifying offer, which hell reject. Alonso reportedly declined a $158MM extension offer in 2023 made under former GM Billy Eppler. Hell probably take aim at $200MM, though it has been more than a decade since any first basemen hit that mark. The more recent ($168MM) and ($162MM) guarantees may be more realistic benchmarks. Everyday Players (34) Walker didnt get a real MLB look until his age-28 season. He seized the opportunity once it finally presented itself and is one of the best all-around first basemen in the sport. Walker won consecutive Gold Gloves between 2022-23 while posting an OPS above .800 in three straight years. He has 26 homers including seven in just 29 plate appearances as a visitor at Dodger Stadium with an excellent .257/.342/.485 slash line. An oblique strain that shelved him through August is the main reason he might not get to 30 homers for a third straight year. Arizona has an easy call to tag Walker with a qualifying offer. Hes likely to decline in search of a three- or four-year contract. Multi-year deals for first basemen in their mid-30s are rare, but Walker should be in high enough demand to merit it. (37) Goldschmidt had one of the worst stretches of his career early in the season. As Steve Adams explored this week, the 2022 NL MVP has in recent weeks. This will be Goldys worst season overall, as he has career lows in all three slash stats (.242/.302/.412). His .270/.322/.485 line since the All-Star Break is more in line with what the Cardinals were expecting. Goldschmidt has never hit free agency he signed extensions with both Arizona and St. Louis and therefore has never received a qualifying offer. It seems unlikely that St. Louis would risk him accepting a salary exceeding $21MM for next year, but thatd be an alright investment if the Cards expect him to carry his second-half form into 2025. (39) The Twins signed Santana for $5.25MM in February. He had a terrible April but has been a steady, productive player over the past few months. Since the start of May, the switch-hitter owns a strong .253/.339/.446 line with 18 homers acro s 446 plate appearances. He remains one of the three to five best defensive first basemen in the game despite his age. The ultra-durable Santana has again avoided the injured list and has reached 140 games for the 12th time in his career. He certainly doesnt carry the upside of Alonso or Walker, but he has easily outperformed Minnesotas modest investment. (40) Turner is more of a designated hitter than a full-time first baseman, but he has gotten 35 starts at the position between the Blue Jays and Mariners. Turner had a fairly modest .256/.350/.372 showing over 91 games with Toronto. It looked as if he might be slowing down at age 39, but he has found another gear since being traded at the deadline. Turner owns a .260/.361/.420 slash with five home runs in 39 games with Seattle impre sive power output in a home park that has stymied a lot of the Ms offensive acquisitions. By measure of wRC+, Turner has been 17 percentage points above league average at the plate. Thats slightly better than last years .276/.345/.455 showing with the Red Sox. Turner got $13MM last offseason and still hasnt dropped off. Platoon and Part-Time Bats (32) Bell had a rough first few months, hitting .239/.305/.394 in 104 games with the Marlins. He has found his stride after a deadline trade to Arizona, where he carries a .278/.364/.421 slash with four homers through 154 trips to the plate. The aggregate production is still middling a Luguentz Dort Jersey league average .249/.320/.401 line with very poor defensive grades but Bell is finishing the season on a high note. He has been a streaky hitter throughout his career who can hit in the middle third of a lineup when hes at his best. (36) Canha has logged a career-high 356 1/3 innings at first base, a bit more time than he has played in the outfield. Thats probably a sign of things to come as he gets into his late-30s. The affable veteran has a .238/.341/.342 slash over 451 plate appearances between the Tigers and Giants on the season. He wont match this years $11.5MM salary but should have no trouble finding another big league deal. (37) Late-career Solano just hits. The righty-swinging infielder has been an average or better hitter in six straight seasons. Solano has carried that over in stints between the Giants, Reds, Twins and Padres. Hes sporting a .286/.340/.412 slash with seven homers through 285 plate appearances for San Diego this season. The market doesnt value Solanos skillset highly he had to settle for a minor league deal last offseason but hes a nice player to have in a bat-first role off the bench. (30) Tellez started the season horribly, went on an absolute tear midway through the summer, and has crashed back to earth in September. In aggregate, he has a .245/.302/.395 slash with 13 homers over 410 plate appearances for the Pirates. Its slightly below-average offense and sub-replacement production overall considering his lack of defensive value. Tellez has decent career numbers against right-handed pitching (.235/.302/.450) and is a better fit as a lefty bench bat than a regular at first base. Depth Types (38) Abreu was one of the worst players in the league in the seasons first half. The former MVP hit .124/.167/.195 over 35 games. The Astros released him midway through the second season of his ill-fated $58.5MM free agent deal. Reporter Francys Romero in June that Abreu would sit out the rest of the season but could make a comeback effort next year. Itd be on a minor league deal, but if he gets back to the majors, hed only make the league minimum with his new team. Houston still owes him the rest of his $19.5MM salary. (34) Cooper appeared in 36 games between the Cubs and Red Sox, hitting .206/.267/.299 while striking out 30% of the time. He has been far better over a 19-game stint in Triple-A with the Orioles, where he sports a .299/.388/.493 slash with four homers. (32) Davis is in Triple-A with the Orioles, his fourth organization of the year. After being cut loose by the Giants in a late spring cost-saving move, he has slumped to a career-worst .218/.293/.338 line between the As and Yankees. Davis hasnt hit at all in the minors either, striking out at a 44.4% clip while batting .150 in 30 games. He was a solid regular for San Francisco just last season and should be able to find a minor league deal somewhere. (31) Gallo is hitting .152/.276/.305 acro s 67 games with the Nationals on a $5MM free agent deal. Washington is going to decline its end of a 2025 mutual option. Gallo is striking out as much as ever and hasnt hit for anywhere near the level of power nece sary to offset that. (41) Gurriel spent most of the season in Triple-A with the Braves. He had an impre sive .292/.378/.485 showing. While that didnt earn him a look in Atlanta, the Royals acquired him in a minor trade after losing to injury. Gurriel is hitting .385 over 10 games with Kansas City. (30) Smith got a decent run as the Red Soxs fill-in while was injured. The former Met took 278 plate appearances and posted a slightly below-average .237/.317/.390 line with six home runs. He briefly caught on with the Reds after Boston let him go. Smith didnt hit over a minuscule nine-game sample in Cincinnati and has been a free agent since the Reds removed him from the 40-man roster earlier this month. (33) Urshela is primarily a third baseman, but he logged 15 starts at first base for Detroit this year. Between the Tigers and Braves, he owns a mediocre .241/.280/.335 slash with six homers acro s 422 plate appearances. Its his least productive year since he broke out as an everyday player with the Yankees in 2019. (31) The former All-Star hasnt been the same since a bout with thoracic outlet syndrome. Walsh hit .226/.317/.321 in 17 games for the Rangers while was on the injured list early this season. He subsequently hit .185 with a 37% strikeout rate in Triple-A for the White Sox and was released a couple weeks before the deadline. Player Options (29) Bellinger can opt out of his three-year, $80MM deal with the Cubs. Hed be leaving $50MM on the table to do so and has another opt-out chance after next season. Bellinger has had a nice season but hasnt answered teams questions about his subpar exit velocities. Hes hitting .268/.330/.435 with 18 homers while striking out at just a 16% clip. Hes still capable of playing center field but has also gotten decent run in right field and at first base. Bellinger could probably beat $50MM if he simply wanted to maximize his guarantee, but hes not likely to match next years $27.5MM salary on a multi-year pact. He could bet on himself and view the 2025-26 offseason as the right time to opt out. (32) Hoskins signed with the Brewers on a two-year, $34MM deal that allowed him to opt out after the first season. Its a net $18MM call. Hed collect a $4MM buyout if he opts out or could secure an $18MM salary for next season (plus a matching $4MM buyout on a 2026 mutual option). This isnt a great time to retest the market. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference have each graded the typically consistent Hoskins as a replacement level player this year. He has 25 homers but personal lows in batting average (.212) and on-base percentage (.299) while striking out a career-high 28% rate. If he goes on a tear in the playoffs, maybe the calculus changes, but this looks like an option thatll be exercised. (33) Flores holds a $3.5MM option on his deal with the Giants. San Francisco would have an $8.5MM option if the veteran infielder declined his end. That wont be nece sary, as Flores looks like a lock to take the $3.5MM salary. He hit .206/.277/.318 acro s 242 plate appearances and suffered a season-ending right knee injury in July. Club Options (31) The Orioles hold an $8MM option for next season. OHearns strong first half made that look like a clear bargain. The left-handed hitter went into the All-Star Break with a .274/.335/.456 line with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. His plate discipline is still strong but his power has di sipated in the second half. OHearn only has two homers with a .224/.317/.340 line since the Break, including a .163/.226/.245 showing this month. Baltimore should have a lot of payroll flexibility and could bet on OHearn to bounce back, but this is more of a borderline call than it seemed six weeks ago. (35) The Yankees are going to opt for a $6MM buyout in lieu of a $17MM option on Rizzo. The three-time All-Star is hitting .219/.285/.330 over 347 plate appearances. He mi sed a couple months earlier in the season after breaking his arm in a collision with Boston reliever . This has been Rizzos toughest year since his rookie campaign. Hamidou Diallo Jersey