4 potential landing spots for Starling Marte in free agency

The Phillies reportedly showed interest in Marte this past summer, and their need in center field has hardly subsided. Odúbel Herrera elected to become a free agent after being outrighted, and neither Adam Haseley or Mickey Moniak has shown nearly enough to enter 2022 as the favorite for any starting outfield position. For a team that's desperate to make the most of the peaks of Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler -- but would probably also prefer not to give away draft compensation -- Marte makes quite a bit of sense.

The Mets are the one team on this list that would seemingly be signing Marte with the expectation that he plays primarily at a corner outfield position, given that Brandon Nimmo has emerged as one of the game's best center fielders. That's fine, Marte might fit even better at a corner outfield spot, and certainly will during the later years of any contract. This, of course, is contingent on Michael Conforto declining the qualifying offer. If that happened, the Mets could sign Marte to a shorter deal than what Conforto will receive, and then collect draft compensation when he departs for another team.

We know Marte won't be returning to Oakland, but don't rule out the entire Bay Area just yet, especially given that the Giants were connected to Marte in the summer. The Giants could just stick with Steven Duggar and Austin Slater in center field, especially given that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has said that starting pitching will be the team's No. 1 priority this offseason. But you know that the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres probably won't be quiet this offseason, which means that if the Giants hope to stay at the top of the National League West, they could stand to upgrade in center field. It should be noted that if the Giants re-sign Kris Bryant, they may not make another major investment in their lineup this winter.

Brett Gardner's .689 OPS in 2021 suggests that his 14th season with the Yankees may have been the final one he spends in pinstripes, while Aaron Hicks has struggled to consistently stay healthy. This may not be an area that the Yankees end up spending on this offseason, but if you get a bounce-back from Joey Gallo, he, Marte and Aaron Judge could form a pretty impressive outfield.