Who Are the Top Catchers in the 2024-25 Free Agent Class?

The month of November is marching on and the 2024-25 MLB offseason is well under way. We’ve already seen option decisions come down across the league, free agents have begun to sign with new clubs and there’s even been the first big trade, too.

This year’s free agent class is noticeably weaker than it’s been in years past, of that there is no doubt. The likes of Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell and Willy Adames represent the best of the best.

Many positions are devoid of top-tier talent (the best-available center fielders are Harrison Bader and Manuel Margot), but few are lacking star power quite like catchers this offseason.

Despite the fact that there aren’t many quality catchers on the open market, there are still quite a few teams that could use a new body behind the dish. The Blue Jays, Marlins, White Sox, Tigers, Red Sox, Rays and Cubs all stand out as ones that’ll be in the market for a backstop.

The first catcher came off the board on Thursday when the Guardians re-signed defensive wizard Austin Hedges to a one-year contract. He’s an all-time awful bat, but he’s got the defensive chops and clubhouse vibes that teams absolutely adore.

Let’s take a look around the market and check out who’s the best of the remaining free agent catchers.

Top Free Agent Catchers in the 2024-2025 Class

Travis d’Arnaud

It’s entirely possible (maybe even likely) that d’Arnaud’s trip through free agency will be a short one, as the Atlanta Braves love him and what he offers. The 12-year veteran has spent the vast majority of his career as an oft-used backup, but he’s really come into his own in Atlanta.

Armed with a bat capable of hitting 15-20 home runs per year while sporting an all around offensive profile that is above league-average, d’Arnaud is mostly “all offense”. He finished in the 63rd percentile in both Blocks and Caught-Stealing Above Average in 2024, which puts him right about in the middle of the pack amongst his fellow catchers.

What d’Arnaud and his representation will be able to use as leverage this offseason is his performance in 2022 when he had a legitimate starting role behind the plate for the Braves. That year, he made the All-Star Game and finished his season with 18 home runs, 60 RBI, a .791 OPS and a 117 OPS+. He hasn’t appeared in over 100 games since, but he’s remained an offensive threat.

d’Arnaud is one of the few catchers on this list that could be handed a starting catcher’s gig in 2025 and do well with it. He has been proving for years now that when he’s given the opportunity to play frequently, he does well.

Elias Diaz

Only one year removed from earning All-Star Game MVP honors, Diaz had a tough time getting going in 2024 thanks to a calf injury and was ultimately cut loose by the Rockies after 84 games. His bat has improved over the years, even though it won’t quite scrape league-average. The 33-year-old functioned as Colorado’s primary catcher for years and did an admirable job of holding the gig down.

The fact that Diaz finished the year on such a down note (4-for-21 in 12 games with the Padres) may mean that he’s going to have a tough time landing a gig for the upcoming season, but he’s got a rather lengthy track record of being a serviceable bat and decent-but-not-great defender behind the plate.

With such a long list of teams needing a body at catcher, he’s going to land on his feet and get another crack as an oft-used backstop, even if he’s not the primary option for his new team.

Kyle Higashioka

When you spend your days on a team consisting of Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, it’s easy for someone like Higashioka to fly under the radar. In the eight-year veteran’s only season on the Padres, he quietly set new career-highs in home runs, RBI and runs scored. He also stole the first two bases of his career, which has to count for something.

The 34-year-old is getting up there in age, but his offensive showing in 2024 provides hope in the short-term. The 1.4 bWAR he posted is 0.8 points higher than his previous best, so teams in need of a backstop will take that into account.

Higashioka has never appeared in over 100 games in a single season, so it’s unfair to say that he can sign with a club and immediately become their No. 1 catcher. However, he thrived in 2024 as an oft-used backup to Luis Campusano in San Diego, so any team in need of a second catcher would be getting a solid amount of value out of this free agent.

Danny Jansen

Speaking strictly from an offensive perspective, there’s no free-agent catcher that brings more to the table than Jansen. He’s an annual threat to hit somewhere between 15-20 home runs a year while also possessing a strong eye at the plate. He’s historically had no problem finding his way on base, but most of his numbers dipped during the 2024 season, so it remains to be seen just how strong of a contract he’ll earn on the open market this winter.

Easily the biggest problem with Jansen is the fact that he’s made of glass. Across his seven-year career in the big leagues, he’s made it into more than 100 games just one time, all the way back in 2019. Since then, a slew of random injuries – especially ones from backswings and hit-by-pitches – has resulted in him spending more time on the shelf than on the active roster.

Behind the plate, he isn’t a solid pitch framer and he also doesn’t throw out very many runners. However, he finished in the 100th percentile in Blocking during the 2024 season. He’s generally regarded as a decent defensive catcher, passing the eye test much easier than he does when the deep-dive analytics are brought out.

When Jansen is healthy, he’s capable of bringing an above-average bat to the plate. Any interested teams will have to proceed with caution when offering him a contract, but he’ll bring a lot of value if he’s able to stay on the field.

Carson Kelly

If we’re looking strictly at his first-half output in 2024, Kelly would be one of the top catchers on the market this winter. He posted a .716 OPS and 104 OPS+ through 60 games with the Tigers before being sent to the Rangers at the deadline.

His bat completely fell off in Texas, as did his overall value, but teams will still be calling this winter. The 29-year-old showed what he’s capable of doing on offense all while earning solid reviews behind the plate as well.

If he’s able to replicate his performance with the bat like he did in Detroit next year, Kelly should be sitting pretty as one of the better two-way catchers. He finished in the 63rd percentile in Blocks, 85th in Caught-Stealing Above Average and 68th in Framing. His defensive numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he’s not one of the catchers that’s nothing more than a bat.

Jacob Stallings

At one point regarded as one of the best pitch framers in the game, Stallings has seen his defensive prowess decline quite a bit in recent years. He finished in the 11th percentile in Framing during the 2024 season, but he scored a 94th percentile ranking in Blocking.

For the first time, well … ever, Stallings finished a season with an above-average line on the offensive side of things. He hit nine home runs with a .263 average and .810 OPS across 82 games played.

Sure, he called Coors Field his home ballpark in 2024, but it’s worth noting that his bat didn’t seem to have an extreme advantage or disadvantage between his home and away games.

Heck, if anything his numbers actually got better away from Coors.

As is the case with Higashioka, the fact that a sudden offensive breakout came Stallings’ way at the age of 34 doesn’t mean teams are going to be lined up out the door to sign him. However, he’s got a reputation of being great at handling pitching staffs and he’s one of those catchers that always finds a job on a big-league roster.

Best of the Rest

• Yan Gomes is a former All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner who always manages to land a job as a backup catcher. This offseason should produce a similar outcome, even though he just put together a horrendous season at the plate. A .154 average with 36 strikeouts in 34 games doesn’t do much to boost value, but he’s got a solid reputation and should find work in 2025.

• Yasmani Grandal, 36 today, is not the offensive or defensive catcher he once was, but he’s another player with a lengthy track record. He’s a switch-hitter with thump in his bat that’s also one of the game’s best at framing. A minor-league contract is probably the best he’ll get this winter, but he’ll surface in the big leagues in 2025.

• James McCann was an All-Star back in 2019 but hasn’t done much outside of that during his 11-year career. Yet, he always finds work. The 34-year-old had his best offensive season since 2020 this year, but he can’t hit lefties well anymore, which used to be his best calling-card. A 94 OPS+ will earn him another contract, likely of the minor-league variety, but there’s always a need for experienced backup-catcher types.

• Gary Sanchez has not appeared in over 100 games for a few years, but he remains a decent power hitter. He spent the 2024 campaign as a backup catcher/designated hitter hybrid for the Brewers, hitting 11 home runs over the fence in 89 games while posting an OPS of .699 and OPS+ of 93. His best days are behind him, but teams looking for some pop behind the plate could use him.