While the lights are bright for everyone on baseball's biggest stage this October, some players have a little extra at stake, with their free agency set to begin once the 2023 MLB playoffs end. They have (or at least had) a golden opportunity to improve their stock in the postseason, when a big performance can mean a lot of money.
While the upcoming free agent class isn't legendary -- outside of Shohei Ohtani -- there is a nice collection of players projected to get nine-figure deals, and there's solid depth, with a dozen or so players who should land at least $50 million in guaranteed contracts. Many of them made the postseason, and since only one -- Baltimore Orioles RHP Jack Flaherty -- is on a team that received a first-round bye, the wild-card round featured a host of higher-tier pending free agents. Unfortunately, a few of them have already been eliminated, losing what could've been a big opportunity.
Here's where some of the biggest names stand after four wild-card sweeps and the start of the division series looming Saturday.