Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Ryan O’Hearn

While the veteran was having a career year, the rest of the Orioles team was not. O’Hearn was a diamond in the rough, and in a contract year, that made him a prime candidate to be traded at the deadline.

The San Diego Padres came calling. A.J. Preller did what A.J. Preller does and acquired both O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano for a haul of prospects.

With the Friars, the O’Hearn transitioned well. A .276/.350/.387 slashline helped complement the Padres’ offense down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Now, O’Hearn is facing free agency. The 32-year-old is a member of a crowded first base free agent class, headlined by Pete Alonso. Josh Naylor set the market when he signed a $92.5 million guarantee with the Mariners on Monday.

So, where might O’Hearn end up, and what kind of contract will he command on the open market?

Free Agent Profile: Ryan O’Hearn

• Age in 2026: 32
• 2025 Stats: 144 G, .281/.366/.437, 17 HR, 63 RBI, 127 wRC+, .349 wOBA
• 2025 Salary: $8 million
• Qualifying Offer Received: No (not eligible)

Contract Projection

• Contract Length Expectation: 1-3 years
• Expected AAV: $10-15 million

At first glance, those contract numbers do not really jump off the page. You would imagine that an All-Star coming off a career year could fetch more than a one-year contract in free agency.

However, for a veteran who has only earned $15 million in his career, this offseason could still provide a major payday for the 32-year-old.

In terms of the first baseman and designated hitter markets, O’Hearn will face some competition. Naylor already signed his big contract, but Alonso should have plenty of teams competing to sign him.

The designated hitter market is headlined by the NL MVP runner-up Kyle Schwarber, as well as Marcell Ozuna. The O’Hearn name does not really carry as much weight as those others.

However, whoever lands the lefty will get an absolute steal. On top of having a career year at the plate in 2025, O’Hearn also recorded six OAA in just 75 games at first base, tied for fourth best at the position. He can also handle a corner outfield spot as needed. So, in addition to signing an impact bat, his new team will also be getting a solid defender.

If Alonso builds off Naylor’s deal and flips the script on the shorter first baseman contracts of years past, maybe O’Hearn could also reach the upper part of his contract predictions.

On the other hand, it’s also possible that O’Hearn struggles to get the big contract he deserves. In that case, it might be wiser for the lefty to sign a one-year deal with a higher AAV that would allow him to hit the market again after next season.

Free Agent Landing Spots for Ryan O’Hearn

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers are the most perplexing team on this list. Two years after winning the Fall Classic, the team looks like a shell of its former self.

In 2025, the Rangers were the fifth-worst team in all of the MLB in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. For a team that has invested as heavily as they have in their offense, they should never rank that low.

In the 2024-25 offseason, the Rangers traded for former Miami Marlin Jake Burger to help plug a hole at first base left by Nathaniel Lowe (whom they dealt to the Nationals). However, between injuries and a bad year at the plate, Burger failed to produce for Texas. So did DH Joc Pederson.

A big part of the reason why that 2023 Rangers team was so successful was that they were able to hit the long ball. However, when players like Burger, Pederson, and Adolis García are not hitting as many home runs as they’d like, the offense is going to play like it did in 2025.

O’Hearn offers a different approach that can help mitigate the stretches where the team is not hitting the long ball. His .281 batting average last year was 30 points higher than that of the highest qualified hitter on the Rangers.

While the former Padre can certainly hit one out, that is not what is going to earn him a good payday this offseason. And the Rangers could really use an O’Hearn-type guy — who can split time between first base, DH, and the outfield corners — to help them return to the top of the AL West come next October.

San Diego Padres

The Padres acquired two Orioles, O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano, at the trade deadline last summer in a deal that sent a haul of prospects back to Baltimore. Since the Friars have already picked up Laureano’s one-year, $6.5 million option for the 2026 season, why not bring back the other guy from that same trade?

It is not a secret that the Padres have added more than their fair share of infielders over the past couple of seasons. Guys like Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Luis Arraez have all had to learn new positions to fit into the everyday lineup.

With Arraez hitting free agency, San Diego has a full-time opening at first base. O’Hearn should be a more budget-friendly option, and re-signing a cheaper first baseman like O’Hearn could free up the Padres to spend more aggressively at other positions of need.

However, we are dealing with a Preller-run team here. How this team will act is known only to Preller.

There is a chance that Preller goes on the aggressive and tries to bring in a big personality guy like Alonso to fill that hole.

However, if the Padres rein in their spending, which seems more likely, O’Hearn is a solid alternative.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are another team expected to have their hands in the first base market this offseason.

Ideally, the Red Sox would not be in this position. Boston had planned for young slugger Triston Casas to be their first baseman of the future. However, injuries have kept Casas off the field for much of the past two years, and the Red Sox are looking for a reliable bat to help them contend next year.

This Boston team has a lot of young stars. Roman Anthony and Kristan Campbell are already signed to extensions and are primed to take the team back to contention for the AL pennant.

O’Hearn has experience being a part of a young clubhouse. In Gunnar Henderson’s rookie season and Adley Rutschman’s first full season in MLB, O’Hearn helped the Orioles become the one seed in the AL.

While those O’s teams never got to the World Series, that experience could help prevent this Red Sox team from making the same mistakes. Signing O’Hearn could give them the boost they need to build off a strong 2025 season.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks are the dark horse of this list. After trading away Naylor at the deadline, and not making the playoffs for a second straight year after appearing in the World Series in 2023, their offseason will illustrate how the front office feels about their future.

Outside of Zac Gallen, the D-backs do not have many free agents departing, leaving a team that, on paper, should compete again in 2026. They will also hope to get their big signing from the 2024-25 offseason, Corbin Burnes, back on the field at some point after the Cy Young winner had Tommy John surgery.

As one of the most unpredictable teams of the offseason, it is unclear what the Diamondbacks are planning. Will their front office swing for the fences with big names or add supplementary to support their core?

O’Hearn would fill the gap in the lineup that came up after they traded Naylor to Seattle. The lefty should also be cheap enough to allow Arizona to go after big names at other positions of need.