OK, baseball fans, if you don’t pledge your allegiance to the Texas Rangers or the Arizona Diamondbacks

, it’s now the moment you’ve been waiting for since September-ish: Shohei Ohtani is a free agent. And so are some other players.

The two-way superstar, who will soon add his second AL MVP nod to his résumé, is perhaps the most anticipated free agent of all time. Despite

an elbow injury that will keep him from pitching in 2024, he is expected to sign the richest deal in MLB history, and his gravitational presence will dominate the offseason.

Beyond Ohtani, there is a new Japanese talent to watch, an intriguing class of starting pitchers headlined by Aaron Nola and Blake Snell and a desperately thin group of hitters for which baseball’s contenders will jostle in the months between now and spring training.

Below, we’ve ranked the top 25 MLB free agents of the 2023-24 class in order of their (subjectively projected) immediate impact, along with some key 2023 metrics and information.

Their age as of June 30, 2024, the common marker to delineate a player’s seasonal age.For hitters: Their OPS+, which shows how their park-adjusted offensive line compared to a league-average hitter, with 110 meaning 10% better and 90 meaning 10% worse.

For pitchers: Their ERA+, which is the same but for park-adjusted ERA.Their 2023 WAR, per FanGraphs calculations.

Qualifying offer: If the player’s 2023 team extended them the “qualifying offer,” which is a one-year deal worth $20.325 million this year. The team earns a compensatory draft pick if the player declines and departs.

Let’s get the hot stove fired up.1. Shohei Ohtani, two-way playerAge: 29