The past three offseasons, the hot stove has produced tepid results as many free agents have been left waiting until spring to sign. Some players, such as Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, have found waiting to be financially beneficial. Others in the past few years, such as Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel, Gio Gonzalez, Mike Moustakas (twice) and Lance Lynn, have found their markets lacking and were left with unexpectedly low guarantees.
Absent a change in operations by the teams doing the shopping or the players waiting to sign, a handful of players will be in the same situation when pitchers and catchers report in February. We've already seen some players avoid that fate, with Jose Abreu and Jake Odorizzi accepting qualifying offers and Will Smith leveraging his potential acceptance of a qualifying offer into a three-year deal with the Atlanta Braves. But in the wake of those moves, let's take a look at several other players who might not get any good contract offers this winter.