Best fits for the top 2023 MLB free agents - ESPN

The day after the Texas Rangers won their first World Series title in franchise history, 130 players became free agents as baseball's offseason season began.

While this year's free-agent class doesn't have as many big names as last year's — when players such as Aaron Judge, Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson were available — one of the best, and most coveted, players in the game, Shohei Ohtani, headlines this year's group.

Who are the other free agents to watch as the hot stove season begins? We asked ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Buster Olney, Jeff Passan and David Schoenfield to give their best fits — or the pairings they would most want to see — for the biggest free agents this season.

Doolittle: Los Angeles Dodgers. All along I've thought he's going to sign with the Dodgers, and I suspect that is the strongest possibility. The Dodgers went a little light on maximizing their roster last year in order to stay flexible enough for this pursuit. So I'm going to go with them, though I could see the San Francisco Giants or Seattle Mariners, or even the Rangers, leaping into this race. But I just think the Dodgers are the perfect fit for Ohtani, with their history of working with starting pitchers, the availability that they have at the designated hitter slot and the fact they always win — not to mention the continued visibility for Ohtani in the L.A. market. In terms of money, there isn't an offer that the Dodgers can't match.

Olney: Dodgers. A friend of Ohtani said he believes Ohtani already knows where he wants to sign. He'll go through the process — standing back as his agent negotiates and works to goose the final numbers — but in the end, Ohtani will