Think all of the biggest free-agent signings happen at December’s Winter Meetings? Think again.
In the history of MLB free agency, there have been plenty of notable contracts that were signed deep into the offseason, some even coming after the calendar flipped to February.
Framber Valdez became the latest marquee free agent to strike a February deal, reaching a three-year, $115 million pact with the Tigers (per a source) on Wednesday.
Valdez will look to join these other February signings that paid big dividends.
Feb. 21, 2019: Manny Machado signs with Padres for 10 years, $300 million
The hype surrounding the impending free agencies of both Machado and fellow 26-year-old superstar Bryce Harper dominated headlines as far back as the 2018 regular season, with both players expected to sign market-altering contracts. Each deal took a long time to develop (Harper didn’t sign with the Phillies until March), but Machado signed first when he agreed to a $300 million deal — briefly setting a free-agent contract record, before Harper signed for $330 million — with the Padres.
The deal gave Machado the ability to opt out after the 2023 season, but the Padres signed him to an 11-year, $350 million extension in February of that year. The third baseman has recorded 194 homers, 631 RBIs and an .825 OPS through seven years with the Padres, earning MVP votes in five of those seasons with three All-Star selections and three Silver Sluggers. Machado’s steady presence at the hot corner has helped San Diego reach the playoffs in four of the past six years following a 13-season playoff drought from 2007-19.
Feb. 26, 2018: J.D. Martinez signs with Red Sox for five years, $110 million
Sometimes, last-minute shopping pays big dividends. Martinez had seemed like a great fit for Boston all along, with the Red Sox having struggled to generate power in 2017, when Martinez blasted 45 home runs in 119 games for the Tigers and D-backs. Finally, the two sides came together on a deal that gave the slugger the chance to opt out after the 2019, ’20 or ’21 seasons.
Martinez made an immediate impact by batting .330/.402/.629 with 43 home runs and an MLB-high 130 RBIs in his first season in Boston. He continued to rake in the postseason, as the Sox cruised to a championship. Martinez ended up earning four All-Star selections in five seasons with the Red Sox, hitting .292 with 130 homers, 423 RBIs and an .889 OPS.
Feb. 24, 2014: Nelson Cruz signs with Orioles for one year, $8 million
Only about a week after handing out a $50 million contract to Ubaldo Jiménez, the Orioles pulled off a huge steal. Cruz was coming off a 50-game suspension the previous season that resulted from the Biogenesis investigation, but the 33-year-old had averaged 27 home runs in his previous five years with the Rangers and had helped lead them to two World Series appearances. Cruz gave Baltimore a middle-of-the-order bat the team badly needed, and the signing paid off big time. Cruz crushed a Major League-leading 40 home runs for the O’s in 2014, made the AL All-Star team, finished seventh in the AL MVP Award voting and helped lead Baltimore to the ALCS.
Feb. 13, 2012: Yoenis Cespedes signs with A’s for four years, $36 million
It was in February 2012 that the A’s won the Cespedes sweepstakes, beating out six other teams for the Cuban outfielder’s services. The deal might have been a risk at the time, but it proved to be a great one for the A’s. Cespedes came to the big leagues as a 26-year-old and blossomed into a star immediately. As a rookie, he hit .292 with 23 homers and 82 RBIs and finished as the AL Rookie of the Year Award runner-up and 10th in the AL MVP Award voting. Cespedes anchored postseason lineups in each of his first two seasons in Oakland before being traded to the Red Sox in the Jon Lester deal at the 2014 non-waiver Trade Deadline.
Feb. 11, 2009: Adam Dunn signs with Nationals for two years, $20 million
Although he was coming off five straight 40-homer seasons with the Reds when he entered free agency at age 29, Dunn hit a slow market. As Spring Training approached, the Nationals were the team that finally landed him. The Nats were still building up the team in the two seasons Dunn played for them, but he provided a ton of power, homering 38 times both years.
“I can look you in the eye,” Dunn said at his introductory news conference, “and honestly say this is where I wanted to be.”
Feb. 14, 2007: J.D. Drew signs with Red Sox for five years, $70 million
Opting out of the final three years of his contract with the Dodgers paid dividends for Drew after the 2006 season. Drew and the Red Sox actually agreed to a contract in December and finalized it at the end of January, but it had to be reviewed by MLB and he wasn’t officially added to the roster until February.
Some thought Drew was overpaid, but he was a productive player in his years with Boston and had some especially huge hits in the postseason. Maybe the biggest came in his first season, when Drew’s grand slam in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series helped the Red Sox stave off elimination at the hands of the Indians. Boston went on to win that series in seven games and the World Series in a clean sweep over the Rockies.
Feb. 7, 2005: Magglio Ordonez signs with Tigers for five years, $75 million
A year after they brought in Pudge, the Tigers netted another big free agent late in the game. That was Ordonez, who was the last marquee name available that offseason when Detroit got him. The 31-year-old was a four-time All-Star and two-time AL Silver Slugger Award winner with the White Sox, and he had placed in the Top 20 in AL MVP Award voting three times, but he was coming off an injury-shortened season when he hit free agency. That didn’t stop Detroit, and Ordonez gave the Tigers another pair of All-Star years and an AL MVP Award runner-up finish in 2007, while also being a key contributor for the team that made the ’06 World Series. He would be a Tiger for the rest of his career.
Feb. 6, 2004: Ivan Rodriguez signs with Tigers for four years, $40 million
Pudge won the World Series with the Marlins in 2003 — and he was a 10-time All-Star and former AL MVP Award winner with the Rangers before that — but when the 32-year-old went into free agency that offseason, he didn’t sign a new contract until early February. That’s when the Tigers, rebuilding after a 119-loss season, convinced the Hall of Fame catcher to come to Detroit.
With Rodriguez behind the plate, the Tigers became contenders again within just a few seasons. He opened his tenure in Detroit with four straight AL All-Star seasons, won three AL Gold Glove Awards, an AL Silver Slugger Award, and he helped the Tigers reach the 2006 World Series. It was arguably the most important free-agent signing in franchise history.
“During that offseason, we had a very good conversation with [general manager] Dave Dombrowski,” Rodriguez would later recall. “Dave told me and my agent, ‘I promise you that I’m going to put a really good team together, and in three years, you’re going to be in the World Series again.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”
Feb. 13, 1995: Dodgers sign Hideo Nomo to Minor League deal with $2 million signing bonus
Moving from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB is commonplace now, but in 1995, Nomo became the first Japanese-born player to come to the Major Leagues since Masanori Murakami, the first from Japan, in 1964.
His first year in Los Angeles, the right-hander whose unique delivery earned him the nickname “The Tornado” led the NL with 206 strikeouts and finished second with a 2.54 ERA. He started the All-Star Game, throwing two scoreless innings, and after the season, he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Nomo’s success in the Majors helped pave the way for the many Japanese-born players who have made the jump since.
“We all learned in grammar school that East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said at Nomo’s introductory news conference. “That is put to rest today.”
Feb. 5, 1991: Jack Morris signs with Twins for one year, $3 million
The Hall of Famer had spent the first 14 seasons of his career with the Tigers when he hit free agency following the 1990 season. Morris was the winningest pitcher of the ’80s, a four-time All-Star and World Series champion in ’84. But it took him until February to sign with the Twins on a one-year deal after turning down a three-year, $9.3 million offer to stay in Detroit. Morris went on to have an All-Star season at age 36 in ’91, and he led the Twins to a World Series title, capped by his legendary 10-inning shutout of the Braves in Game 7.
