Baseball's Most Impactful Free Agents

In the days leading up to the Hall of Fame induction, one of the stats that was often mentioned as perhaps the biggest argument for CC Sabathia's first-ballot election was his dominant three-year stretch with three different teams from 2007-09.  They even mentioned it on his plaque!  CC won the Cy Young and led Cleveland to Game 7 of the ALCS in 2007, was traded to Milwaukee at the trade deadline in 2008 and pretty much single-handedly got the Brewers into the playoffs, then signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 2009 and was the definition of an ace for a World Series championship team.

It was arguably one of the greatest free agent signings in MLB history.  It was certainly one of the most impactful.  So, you know what that means.  It inspired a Top 10 list!

Free agency has been a part of Major League Baseball since the 70s, and, while there have been some very high-profile misses, there have also been some amazing success stories!  Dynasties have been formed because of free agent signings.  Players have thrived after going to a new place.  But who have been the best/most impactful in the 50-year history of free agency?

Please note that this doesn't include players who were traded and ended up re-signing with the team they were traded to.  So, no Justin Verlander or Pedro Martinez.  Ditto, no players who became free agents, but chose to re-sign with their current team (meaning no Aaron Judge or Mike Trout).  These are 10 players who signed with a new team as a free agent and found nothing but success.  (And, yes, there are significantly more than 10 players who could've been on this list, so don't get on me for who's not included.)

10. Ivan Rodriguez (Marlins): Pudge only played one season for the Marlins...and they won the World Series that season!  Having a 20-year-old rookie named Miguel Cabrera sure didn't hurt, but Florida doesn't win the 2003 World Series without Pudge Rodriguez.  His 2003 campaign was the best offensive season by a catcher in Marlins history, and he was the NLCS MVP.  After the season, Pudge cashed in on a four-year deal with the Tigers, which is why his 2003 season, as impactful as it was, only has him at No. 10.

9. Jack Morris (Twins/Blue Jays): Everyone knows how much I love Jack Morris.  He gets on here because of back-to-back seasons with new teams that both won the World Series.  After 14 years in Detroit, the Hall of Famer signed with his hometown Minnesota Twins in 1991.  We all know what happened that season.  Then he signed a two-year deal with the Blue Jays in 1992 and was a part of two more World Series championship teams.

8. Roger Clemens (Blue Jays): Boston thought Clemens was in the "twilight" of his career after the 1996 season, prompting him to sign a four-year deal with the division rival Blue Jays.  All he did was win the pitching Triple Crown and Cy Young in both seasons with Toronto before being traded to the Yankees, where he won two World Series rings in 1999 and 2000.  He ended up pitching until 2007.  Of course, many people suspect there were reasons for that beyond just his pitching ability.  But, enhanced or not, the Rocket's two years in Toronto proved he was very much not as done as the Red Sox thought.

7. Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers): Ohtani's going here for now, but could easily move up depending on how things go for the rest of his Dodgers career.  But there's no question his first season after singing that record deal was something special.  A unanimous NL MVP and the Dodgers' first full-season World Series title in 36 years.  He proved to be worth every penny of the $2 million they spent on him last season.  (You know my thoughts on the Dodgers' ridiculous deferred contracts that will definitely be a hot topic in the upcoming CBA negotiations.)

6. CC Sabathia (Yankees): I'd likely have CC higher had the Yankees won more than just the one World Series during his time in Pinstripes.  He led the Major Leagues in wins and was the ALCS MVP that season, then he continued to be one of the best pitchers in the American League for the next few seasons.  CC ended up pitching 11 years for the Yankees and went 134-88.  With all due respect to Gerrit Cole, he's the most impactful free agent pitcher in franchise history.

5. Reggie Jackson (Yankees): Speaking of impactful Yankees free agents, their first big splash was Reggie Jackson, a guy who was made for New York!  His first year with the team, 1977, was rocky.  Then came the 1977 World Series, when Reggie forever became "Mr. October."  They won the World Series again in 1978 and clinched another pennant in 1981.  In 1982, he became a free agent again and signed with the Angels...who won their first-ever division title that season.

4. Max Scherzer (Nationals): He's still going strong at 41 and will have his own plaque in Cooperstown eventually.  And he was arguably the best pitcher in the game during his six-and-a-half years in Washington.  Scherzer threw two no-hitters during his first season with the Nationals in 2015.  Then he won back-to-back Cy Youngs in 2016-17 (and arguably should've won a third straight in 2018).  In 2019, the Nationals won the World Series, with Scherzer starting Game 7.  That eventual Hall of Fame plaque should have a curly W on it.

3. Barry Bonds (Giants): Say what you want about Barry Bonds.  There's no denying he's one of the greatest players in history.  And there's no denying that his move to the Giants in 1993 is perhaps the biggest free agent signing in history.  He was the NL MVP with Pittsburgh in 1992, then won it again in his first season with San Francisco.  Bonds would go on to win four more MVPs (consecutively from 2001-04).  He ended up spending 15 years in San Francisco and reached all of his career milestones, including the single-season (73) and all-time (762) home run records in a Giants uniform.

2. Greg Maddux (Braves): Maddux won the NL Cy Young with the Cubs in 1992, then signed with the Braves that offseason.  Atlanta had already launched its dynasty, making back-to-back World Series appearances in 1991-92.  Maddux was the final piece, giving them that legendary rotation of three Hall of Famers.  Even Glavine and Smoltz would admit that Maddux was the best of the three.  He won the Cy Young in each of his first three seasons with the Braves, including Atlanta's championship year of 1995.  Maddux also won the Gold Glove in the first 10 of his 11 seasons in Atlanta.

1. Randy Johnson (Diamondbacks): There's only one free agent signing that had more of an impact on both player and team success than Greg Maddux to Atlanta.  That was Randy Johnson to Arizona.  The Big Unit joined the Diamondbacks in 1999, their second season.  Arizona won a surprise NL West title that season and he won the first of four consecutive Cy Youngs.  In 2001, he had that legendary performance in that classic World Series, including a Game 7 win in relief the day after he was the winning pitcher in Game 6.  He also pitched a perfect game in 2004 and led the NL in strikeouts five times as a Diamondback.  It was the most dominant portion of a dominant career.