2011 MLB Free Agents

Baseball Players With Expiring Contracts After 2010 Season

Sep 30, 2009

Hundreds of baseball players have their contracts expire at the end of each baseball season. 2010 will be no different - here a list of those available.

The 2010-2011 free agent market is still some while away from making winter headlines. But those glancing towards the 2010 winter for big names can look forward to some big stars.

Big Names On Offense

On the offensive side of things there are studs such as Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols, Derrek Lee, Lance Berkman, Carlos Pena, J.J. Hardy, Derek Jeter, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Brandon Inge, Mike Lowell, Aramis Ramirez, Carl Crawford, Michael Cuddyer, Adam Dunn, Brad Hawpe, Magglio Ordonez and Jayson Werth.

Top Pitching Available

And on the mound there will be big impact names such as Josh Beckett, Brandon Webb, Cliff Lee, Matt Cain, Roy Halladay, Aaron Harang, Ted Lilly, Brian Fuentes, J.J. Putz, Mariano Rivera, Huston Street and Kerry Wood.

Below is a list of free agents - broken down by position - available (as of September 29, 2009) with contracts expiring following the 2010 season. * - player whose current contract includes 2011 option.

Catchers

Joe Mauer will like re-sign with the Minnesota Twins but the likes of the Yankees will be throwing big money at the hitting stud. There are a couple of strong veterans available in Gerald Laird, A.J. Pierzynski and John Buck.

First Basemen

This is probably the biggest collection of big names with Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee and Carlos Pena.

Second Basemen

Japanese Kaz Matsui and Akinori Iwamura are two of the main names here along with Mark Ellis.

Shortstops

Derek Jeter is not expected to move away from the Yankees. But there are still big-time names at this position with Jimmy Rollins, Jose Reyes and Jhonny Peralta.

Third Basemen

Third base this off-season is a bit thin in top notch help. Aramis Ramirez is a big-time player while Mike Lowell is getting old and Brandon Inge proved in 2009 that he is solid at the hot corner.

Outfielders

There are a handful of strong outfielders out there including Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn and Jayson Werth.

Starting Pitchers

This class of starters is once again loaded with front-of-the-rotation-type guys. There are none bigger than Roy Halladay with others being Brandon Webb, Josh Beckett, Matt Cain and Cliff Lee. Other top names include Bronson Arroyo, Jorge De La Rosa, Tim Hudson and Ted Lilly.

Relief Pitchers

Teams on the lookout for a closer or eighth inning man also have some choices - among them Mariano Rivera, Brian Fuentes, Huston Street, J.J. Putz and Kerry Wood.

The copyright of the article 2011 MLB Free Agents in Major League Baseball is owned by David Hein. Permission to republish 2011 MLB Free Agents in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.