Under a recent agreement, players no longer need to file for free agency. Rather, free agency-eligible players automatically became free agents as soon as the World Series ended. The MLBPA wasted absolutely no time last night telling us who those players are, issuing a press release while the Giants were still jumping around on the field (see the list of all the players below). There will be others who join the list, of course, as arbitration-eligible players are non-tendered and stuff like that happens.
Teams have only a five-day exclusive negotiating period, down from the 15 days of years past, so there won’t be much time to breathe before the hot stove news starts up hot and heavy. Lucky for you none of us here at HBT have lives, so we’ll be on the news and rumors like white on rice. Make sure to keep an HBT window up at all times between now and, oh, February, because we’ll have the latest stuff up faster than just about anyone.
Here are the free agent-eligibles. Some of them -- like Bronson Arroyo, for example -- have options and may be off the list soon. Most of them, however, will be coming to a new team near you in the next several months.
| Troy Glaus | 1B | Braves |
| Eric Hinske | OF | Braves |
| Derrek Lee | 1B | Braves |
| Kris Benson | P | Diamondbacks |
| Mike Hampton | P | Diamondbacks |
| Aaron Heilman | P | Diamondbacks |
| Rodrigo Lopez | P | Diamondbacks |
| Brandon Webb | P | Diamondbacks |
| Cesar Izturis | SS | Orioles |
| Julio Lugo | 2B | Orioles |
| Kevin Millwood | P | Orioles |
| Corey Patterson | OF | Orioles |
| Koji Uehara | P | Orioles |
| Ty Wigginton | 1B | Orioles |
| Mike Lowell | 1B | Red Sox |
| Victor Martinez | C | Red Sox |
| Jason Varitek | C | Red Sox |
| Xavier Nady | OF | Cubs |
| Willie Bloomquist | OF | Reds |
| Miguel Cairo | 3B | Reds |
| Jim Edmonds | OF | Reds |
| Michael Lincoln | P | Reds |
| Arthur Rhodes | P | Reds |
| Ramon Hernandez | C | Reds |
| Russ Springer | P | Reds |
| Joe Beimel | P | Rockies |
| Jorge de la Rosa | P | Rockies |
| Octavio Dotel | P | Rockies |
| Jason Giambi | 1B | Rockies |
| Melvin Mora | 3B | Rockies |
| Jay Payton | OF | Rockies |
| Freddy Garcia | P | White Sox |
| Andruw Jones | OF | White Sox |
| Paul Konerko | 1B | White Sox |
| Mark Kotsay | DH | White Sox |
| A.J. Pierzynski | C | White Sox |
| J.J. Putz | P | White Sox |
| Omar Vizquel | 3B | White Sox |
| Jeremy Bonderman | P | Tigers |
| Johnny Damon | DH | Tigers |
| Gerald Laird | C | Tigers |
| Magglio Ordonez | OF | Tigers |
| Bobby Seay | P | Tigers |
| Will Ohman | P | Marlins |
| Jorge Sosa | P | Marlins |
| Chad Tracy | 3B | Marlins |
| Geoff Blum | SS | Astros |
| Brian Moehler | P | Astros |
| Bruce Chen | P | Royals |
| Hideki Matsui | DH | Angels |
| Scot Shields | P | Angels |
| Brad Ausmus | C | Dodgers |
| Rod Barajas | C | Dodgers |
| Jay Gibbons | OF | Dodgers |
| Reed Johnson | OF | Dodgers |
| Hiroki Kuroda | P | Dodgers |
| Vicente Padilla | P | Dodgers |
| Manny Ramirez | OF | White Sox |
| Jeff Weaver | P | Dodgers |
| David Bush | P | Brewers |
| Chris Capuano | P | Brewers |
| Craig Counsell | SS | Brewers |
| Jesse Crain | P | Twins |
| Randy Flores | P | Twins |
| Brian Fuentes | P | Twins |
| Matt Guerrier | P | Twins |
| Orlando Hudson | 2B | Twins |
| Ron Mahay | P | Twins |
| Carl Pavano | P | Twins |
| Nick Punto | 3B | Twins |
| Jon Rauch | P | Twins |
| Jim Thome | DH | Twins |
| Henry Blanco | C | Mets |
| Elmer Dessens | P | Mets |
| Kelvim Escobar | P | Mets |
| Pedro Feliciano | P | Mets |
| Fernando Tatis | 1B | Mets |
| Lance Berkman | 1B | Yankees |
| Derek Jeter | SS | Yankees |
| Nick Johnson | 1B | Yankees |
| Austin Kearns | OF | Yankees |
| Chad Moeller | C | Yankees |
| Andy Pettitte | P | Yankees |
| Mariano Rivera | P | Yankees |
| Marcus Thames | OF | Yankees |
| Javier Vazquez | P | Yankees |
| Kerry Wood | P | Yankees |
| Justin Duchscherer | P | Athletics |
| Ben Sheets | P | Athletics |
| Jose Contreras | P | Phillies |
| Chad Durbin | P | Phillies |
| J.C. Romero | P | Phillies |
| Mike Sweeney | DH | Phillies |
| Jayson Werth | OF | Phillies |
| Chan Ho Park | P | Pirates |
| David Eckstein | 2B | Padres |
| Jerry Hairston Jr. | SS | Padres |
| Matt Stairs | OF | Padres |
| Miguel Tejada | 3B | Padres |
| Yorvit Torrealba | C | Padres |
| Kevin Correia | P | Padres |
| Josh Bard | C | Mariners |
| Chris Woodward | SS | Mariners |
| Jamey Wright | P | Mariners |
| Pat Burrell | OF | Giants |
| Jose Guillen | DH | Giants |
| Aubrey Huff | 1B | Giants |
| Guillermo Mota | P | Giants |
| Juan Uribe | SS | Giants |
| Pedro Feliz | 3B | Cardinals |
| Jason LaRue | C | Cardinals |
| Mike MacDougal | P | Cardinals |
| Aaron Miles | 2B | Cardinals |
| Brad Penny | P | Cardinals |
| Dennys Reyes | P | Cardinals |
| Jeff Suppan | P | Cardinals |
| Jake Westbrook | P | Cardinals |
| Randy Winn | OF | Cardinals |
| Rocco Baldelli | OF | Rays |
| Grant Balfour | P | Rays |
| Joaquin Benoit | P | Rays |
| Randy Choate | P | Rays |
| Carl Crawford | OF | Rays |
| Brad Hawpe | OF | Rays |
| Gabe Kapler | OF | Rays |
| Carlos Pena | 1B | Rays |
| Chad Qualls | P | Rays |
| Rafael Soriano | P | Rays |
| Jorge Cantu | 3B | Rangers |
| Frank Francisco | P | Rangers |
| Cristian Guzman | 2B | Rangers |
| Cliff Lee | P | Rangers |
| Bengie Molina | C | Rangers |
| Matt Treanor | C | Rangers |
| John Buck | C | Blue Jays |
| Scott Downs | P | Blue Jays |
| Jason Frasor | P | Blue Jays |
| Lyle Overbay | 1B | Blue Jays |
| Miguel Batista | P | Nationals |
| Adam Dunn | 1B | Nationals |
| Willie Harris | OF | Nationals |
| Kevin Mench | OF | Nationals |
| Rick Ankiel | OF | Braves |
| Kyle Farnsworth | P | Braves |
| Alex Gonzalez | SS | Braves |
| Omar Infante | 2B | Braves |
| Adam LaRoche | 1B | Diamondbacks |
| Mark Hendrickson | P | Orioles |
| Adrian Beltre | 3B | Red Sox |
| Bill Hall | OF | Red Sox |
| Felipe Lopez | 3B | Red Sox |
| David Ortiz | DH | Red Sox |
| Aramis Ramirez | 3B | Cubs |
| Bronson Arroyo | RHP | Reds |
| Orlando Cabrera | SS | Reds |
| Aaron Harang | P | Reds |
| Jeff Francis | P | Rockies |
| Miguel Olivo | C | Rockies |
| Jhonny Peralta | 3B | Tigers |
| Scott Podsednik | OF | Dodgers |
| Doug Davis | P | Brewers |
| Trevor Hoffman | P | Brewers |
| Gregg Zaun | C | Brewers |
| Jose Reyes | SS | Mets |
| Eric Chavez | DH | Athletics |
| Coco Crisp | OF | Athletics |
| Mark Ellis | 2B | Athletics |
| Jon Garland | P | Padres |
| Chris Young | P | Padres |
| Erik Bedard | P | Mariners |
| Russell Branyan | 1B | Mariners |
| Edgar Renteria | SS | Giants |
| Dan Wheeler | P | Rays |
| Vladimir Guerrero | DH | Rangers |
| Kevin Gregg | P | Blue Jays |
| Adam Kennedy | 2B | Nationals |