https://www.mlb.com/news/rare-free-agents-2025-26-offseason
Thomas has already signed. Phils still perceived to be interested in Robert (as are the Mets).
If you want a right-handed outfielder, youāre in for something else. The best righty hitters ā Rob Refsnyder, Miguel Andujar, Harrison Bader ā may all have something you like about their games, whether itās Refsnyder and Andujarās ability to hit lefties or Baderās excellent defense. But none are stars, or even close to it. They might even be more role players than starters on good teams.
After that, youāre into former studs with long careers behind them who are now in the latter half of their 30s, such as Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Pham, Starling Marte and Chris Taylor. Or you're hoping for someone like Lane Thomas to rebound coming off a brutal year, or ā¦ well, there is no or. Thatās it.
Itās not a deep group. Itās not just the free agents, either. A good, regular right-handed-hitting outfielder has never been harder to find. Weāre not being hyperbolic, and yes weāll back it up: never been harder to find, at least in the memory of most anyone alive.
In 2025, there were 16 outfielders (defined here as players who had at least 50% of their playing time coming on the grass) who took 400 plate appearances, and did so with average-or-better hitting, i.e. a 100 OPS+ or better.
Sixteen regular righty outfielders who can hit, or roughly one for every two teams. Thatās one fewer than in 2024, and itās a lot fewer than in most any season of the previous decade, which regularly featured about 25 such hitters, sometimes topping 30. But most pressingly: Itās the lowest number in more than six decades.
