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MLB free agents: Why to avoid Alonso, invest in Goldschmidt

Pete Alonso is projected for a nine-figure contract this offseason. Should teams be wary of signing him at the high price? Harry How/Getty Images

Now that we've projected contracts for the top 50 free agents in this winter's class, let's take a look at which players could provide the most -- and least -- bang for their expected buck.

Last year's version yielded some immediate hits -- jumping on the bandwagons for Shota Imanaga and Sonny Gray while steering clear of the projected megadeals for Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger -- so I'm back again to try to hit the bull's-eye a few more times.

The projected contracts in my rankings provide important context for this exercise as my choices are based on return on investment -- how I expect the players to perform over the length of their deals and their projected prices.

The rules for this edition are the same ones I set out for myself last winter: Each group of three players must have one player projected to land more than $50 million, one projected for a one-year deal and at least one pitcher and one position player. This year, I'll add another stipulation: no Roki Sasaki, as his value for the salary he can receive would be the ultimate cop-out.

Here are my three free agents to invest in and three to avoid for the 2024-25 MLB offseason.