Top 5 Free Agent Reunions We’d Love to See This Winter
Plenty of veterans could reunite with former teams this winter. Here are some of the most interesting reunions we could see.
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While MLB free agency often sees players join new organizations in hopes of chasing a World Series and improving their personal performance, sometimes they return to a place they used to call home. There are plenty of names in free agency this offseason that could very well seek a reunion with a former employer, and these could prove very beneficial for both sides.
Rather than focusing on massive names this offseason that could be re-signing with their 2025 team or a former team of theirs, it’s worth looking at some of the older and more experienced veterans and how their careers might carry on from this point on. Reuniting with one of their old teams could light a fire and bring them back to their younger and more fiery form, so who knows what’s in store?
Whether more for sentimental value or a genuinely good fit, here are some examples of long-tenured players that could be reuniting with a team, fanbase, and city this offseason.
Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
This duo just seems too good to be true this offseason, as the Arizona Diamondbacks need a first baseman and Paul Goldschmidt is entering the twilight of his MLB career. The 2022 NL MVP slashed .274/.328/.403 with 10 home runs, 45 RBI, and 31 doubles in 146 games with the Yankees this season and proved that he can still be valuable at the plate even in his late-30’s.
Goldschmidt was drafted in 2009 by the D-Backs and played there for the first eight seasons of his career, and is the franchise’s all-time leader in bWAR (39.9), on-base percentage (.398), slugging percentage (.532), and walks (655). He is also second in franchise history behind the great Luis Gonzalez in home runs (209), hits (1182), runs (709), and virtually any other hitting metric you can imagine.
Among players with at least 75% of games played at first base in the Expansion Era (since 1961), Goldschmidt is the sixth-most valuable player according to career bWAR (63.8). He has a chance at joining Randy Johnson as the only players inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame as an Arizona Diamondback.
The Diamondbacks currently have a platoon possibility of the left-handed hitter Pavin Smith and the righty bat of Tyler Locklear manning first base next season, but without a doubt the team would be better off with the veteran bat of Paul Goldschmidt. Not only would it serve to bolster their lineup with a strong hitter against lefties (.336/.411/.570 vs. LHP in 2025).
Wherever Goldschmidt winds up signing, he’s going to bring a veteran presence and a bona fide ability to drive in runs with the best hitters of his time.
Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
The Houston Astros face what might be a likely possibility in the departure of Framber Valdez from their starting rotation, and they need to fill the gap his exit will leave. They already have some strong young starting pitchers, and might be in need of a veteran presence from one of the game’s best: Justin Verlander.
Verlander was traded to the Astros by the Detroit Tigers in 2017 and left in free agency after winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2022, only to return to Houston as a deadline deal in 2023. He signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the San Francisco Giants for 2025 and could very well make his third stint in the Astros organization.
At the ripe age of 42, Verlander posted a 3.85 ERA over 152.0 innings for the Giants, including reaching the 3,500 strikeout milestone and becoming just the 10th pitcher in MLB history to accomplish such a feat. He sits eighth all-time in strikeouts and is less than 150 away from breaching the top-five, and the Astros would love to have him do so in their uniform.
The 2011 AL MVP and 3x Cy Young Award winner has pitched some of the best seasons in Astros franchise history, owning two of their top-six single-season strikeout performances. He has the third-best ERA among qualified pitchers (2.71) to ever don an Astros uniform and has the best WHIP among said pitchers (0.918).
Bringing Verlander back to the Astros might be the move they need to get themselves back into the playoff picture. He’s well beyond his prime years, but Verlander has defied Father Time over and over again in his career so you can never truly count him out.
Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers
Max Scherzer‘s legacy is very similar to that of Verlander’s, and he sits just 64 strikeouts away from him on the all-time strikeout list (11th place). He will reach the 3,500 career strikeout milestone just like Verlander this upcoming season on whatever team chooses to take a flier on his services, and one team in the running could be the Detroit Tigers.
Scherzer pitched for the Tigers from 2010 to 2014, winning the 2013 AL Cy Young Award and posting a 3.52 ERA across 161 starts for them and striking out the fourth-most batters in this timespan over the 15th-most innings. Scherzer’s tenure in Detroit was really his first breakout at the MLB level and spurred what has turned into one of the most fascinating and successful careers in recent history.
Three Cy Young Awards and 2 World Series rings highlight his accomplishments, and it would make sense for him to want to chase another ring with the team that he saw his first true successes with. The Tigers have a good rotation headlined by two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and Scherzer could provide a solid middle-rotation role to a Tigers team that pushed the Seattle Mariners to the brink in the ALDS.
Scherzer’s 2025 season was filled with ups and downs as he went 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA over 17 starts for the AL Champion Toronto Blue Jays in the regular season, but his true value came in the postseason. He started three playoff games for Toronto and posted an ERA of 3.77 including a gutsy performance in Game 7 of the World Series in which he went 4.1 innings while only giving up one run.
Scherzer’s legacy in the game of baseball is one of the most dominant pitchers of his generation, and the Tigers desperately need to find a way to compete in the window of Tarik Skubal being on their roster. He might leave in free agency if not locked up long-term in Detroit, so adding a competitive veteran arm like Scherzer’s could really help them get that done.
Chris Bassitt, The Athletics
Right-handed starter Chris Bassitt has enjoyed some of the best seasons and achievements of his career during his three-year, $63 million contract with the Blue Jays to serve as one of their most reliable and consistent arms throughout his tenure. He has pitched the eighth-most innings among all starting pitchers since 2020 (943.1) and is tied with Zack Wheeler of the Phillies with the third-most wins in this time period (69). He consistently goes deep into games and gives his team a chance to win.
Bassitt is one of ten pitchers with 80+ quality starts since 2020 and had a 3.89 ERA over his three seasons north of the border in Toronto. Averaging just over 180 innings of work over his tenure there, Bassitt is the epitome of consistency on the mound. He’s not a guy who will be signed to blow a fastball by hitters or dominate for a short amount of time – he wants to be on the mound as long as he can be.
Bassitt showcased a completely new skillset in the 2025 postseason as he pitched 8.2 innings out of the Blue Jays bullpen across seven outings to the tune of a 1.04 ERA and utilizing his pitch arsenal in a fully new manner including a fastball that reached 95 MPH. The Athletics could be the perfect place for him to bring his multifaceted skillset back to the place he grew into a big-leaguer.
He will receive a nice deal from whichever team he decides to bring his services to, and the Athletics would be a perfect landing spot for the 36-year-old veteran. The A’s need pitching very badly, having the second-worst starting rotation according to fWAR in 2025…only ahead of the Colorado Rockies. There are several places that could be Bassitt’s ultimate landing spot, but the A’s could be one of the more interesting teams to consider.
Bassitt’s contract will probably fall on the shorter end of the scale, and the A’s are not known for extending hefty offers to free agents so the reunion could certainly make sense. At the end of the day, the A’s need pitching and Bassitt needs to compete and the Athletics have their best shot in quite some time to make the playoffs so moves need to be made.
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off their ninth World Series title and their third since 2020, so one could argue there’s not much they could do to improve their roster from the state it was in at the end of this season. However, their bullpen was a little shaky at times throughout the season.
Free agent acquisition from last offseason Tanner Scott posted an unsightly 4.74 ERA over 57 innings of work and typically-reliable arms like Blake Treinen were just not the same this season and in the playoffs that was a point of contention that could’ve led the Dodgers astray from the title. Kenley Jansen is one of the best relievers of all time and enjoyed the vast majority of his career as the closer for the Dodgers, so the two sides could definitely see a reunion.
Jansen sits in fourth-place all-time in saves (476) and could become the third reliever to record 500 career saves (Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman), and he’s proven to be reliable even in his late 30’s. In 2025 pitching for the Los Angeles Angels, Jansen threw up a 2.59 ERA over 47 games with 29 saves, his tenth season reaching such a save total.
In Jansen’s 12 years with the Dodgers, he posted a career 2.37 ERA with exactly 350 saves, three All-Star nominations, and a top-five finish in Cy Young voting back in 2017. Jansen might not have much longer left on an MLB mound due to his age, but he certainly hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down so who knows how much longer he’s got?
Jansen will certainly entice the majority of MLB teams and many of them could be strong landing spots for his services, but the Dodgers could both use his help in the back end of their bullpen and also reunite with a fan favorite and franchise legend in what could be the final years of his career.
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Ethan has been writing for Just Baseball since 2024 and is fascinated by how sabermetric statistics can assist our understanding of outcomes and probability in baseball.…