We are roughly two weeks into the MLB season, which means fans around the country are being totally normal about their favorite teams. For some of us (Phillies fans, unite) there is already much to panic about. For others (single existing Marlins fan, stand up), this is basically a honeymoon period. Total, ethereal bliss.

For certain players, though, the next seven months will serve an extended audition — a chance to boost their value ahead of free agency. These soon-to-be baseball nomads need to kick it into a higher gear if they want to maximize their payday come wintertime.

2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees

Jazz Chisholm Jr. came into this season with high expectations. He openly proclaimed his desire to join the 50-50 club, a bold if not entirely preposterous goal. But Chisholm did notch 31 home runs and 31 stolen bases a year ago, becoming an essential cog in the Yankees’ offensive Death Star.

He’s not quite living up to his own billing so far in 2026, however, hitting .190 with a .523 OPS and zero home runs. We’re 11 games into the season — that’s six percent of the schedule. There’s still a lot of time for Chisholm to turn this ship around, and he almost certainly will. That 50-50 club might be out of reach, though.

Chisholm’s issues so far are not exactly foreign in nature. His 32.6 percent strikeout rate ranks in the 15th percentile; he was in the eighth percentile last season at 27.9 percent. Chisholm is an extremely fun player, but he can be inconsistent — both in approach and execution — which extends from the plate to the field and even onto the base paths. The Yankees need him to lock in.

LHP Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs

Despite rumors of a breakup, Shōta Imanaga picked up the $22.5 million qualifying offer to stay with Chicago in 2026. There’s a reason the Cubs gave him the QO to begin with; Imanaga was an All-Star and a top-five Cy Young finisher the year before as a rookie.

That said, the 32-year-old southpaw cratered down the stretch of last season. He posted an ERA of 4.38 over his final 10 starts. Through two starts this go-around, he has allowed five runs in 10 innings (4.50 ERA) with 11 strikeouts.

Imanaga can still locate his fastball, but his sweeper is getting hammered and his splitter doesn’t have the bite we’re used to. Home runs have always been an issue for Imanaga, so it could get worse, not better, before the season is out. Pitchers with his low-velocity profile don’t typically age well. The window for another significant payday has quite possibly passed him by.

LHP Matthew Boyd, Chicago Cuba

Another Cubs lefty on the struggle bus, Matthew Boyd has been on a prolonged comedown ever since he secured the first All-Star berth of his career last season. Boyd joined Team USA this spring but didn’t exactly show up on the field. And through two starts in 2026, Chicago’s Opening Day started has allowed eight hits, three walks and seven earned runs across 9.1 innings (6.50 ERA).

He has 17 strikeouts, which leaps off the page — a 45.9 percent K rate in the 99th percentile. Still, his below-the-hood metrics are still mediocre at best, and Boyd has never been a strikeout artist. That is just not going to sustain itself over a full season. He’s also heading to the IL with a bicep strain, so the 35-year-old will have a potentially consequential arm injury to work through.

Boyd was never going to receive a huge long-term commitment at his age, but contenders will still pay solid salaries for a frontline lefty in his mid-30s. Boyd really does not feel like an ace, though. The shine has worn off.

RHP David Bednar, New York Yankees

On the surface, David Bednar has five saves in six appearances for the Yankees, which is hard to complain about. It’s the nature of those saves — the sustainability of his production — that merits scrutiny.

Bednar has allowed nine hits and three walks across 6.1 innings, with three earned runs (4.26 ERA). His opponents are posting a .280 expected batting average. It’s still early in the campaign and Bednar has an excellent track record, but he’s not immune to variance. He put up a 4.80 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 57.2 innings with Pittsburgh in 2024. His strikeout rate that season (22.1 percent) was eerily similar to his current 23.3 percent rate, which is a drop of over 10 percentage points compared to 2025.

This could all be noisy, and with only one blown save so far, it’s not like Bednar is completely tanking the Yankees’ high-leverage bullpen efforts. If this slump starts to linger into late April and early May, however, New York fans will start to fret — and teams hoping to target Bednar in free agency next winter may start to look elsewhere.

RHP Freddy Peralta, New York Mets

The Mets acquired Freddy Peralta in what felt like the offseason’s most consequential pitching addition. New York desperately needed a veteran ace to co-anchor the rotation next to Nolan McLean, while Peralta finished fifth in Cy Young voting last season in Milwaukee, with a 2.70 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 33 starts.

So far, Peralta has pitched 15 innings over three games, with 12 hits, five walks and eight earned runs allowed (4.80 ERA). His worst performances — four runs in five innings against Pittsburgh on Opening Day and three runs in 4.2 innings against Arizona on Tuesday — were masked by the Mets’ offense.

Peralta has an expected ERA of 2.77 — in the 76th percentile. So it’s not the bleakest outlook. Bad luck is a part of the game and better days are ahead. That said, regression from last season’s peak was also inevitable. Peralta has long dealt with command issues and variance. He’s a great pitcher, but perhaps not the Cy Young contender New York fans were praying for.

Beyond Tarik Skubal, the pitching depth in 2027 free agency dries up fairly quick. Peralta will get paid. He just may not be the next $200 million arm.

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