7 impending free agents who could suffer from shortened MLB season

When - and if - baseball gets played this year, the condensed season will have myriad effects on players and teams, and each of them will feel those effects a little bit differently.

Here are seven impending free agents who could suffer from a shortened 2020 campaign.

Mookie Betts

Current contract: 1-year, $27M (Arbitration)

The superstar of this free-agent class could lose a bunch of future earnings.

There will be no doubting Betts' skill even if a shortened 2020 season results in him underperforming. However, there's a good chance that owners will cry poor after staging games in front of fewer or no spectators. In fact, MLB is reportedly already speaking with the union about potential pay cuts for players during the 2020 campaign if it winds up being played without fans.

This past offseason, teams didn't seem to hold back in their spending. But the year prior saw camp open before stars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, among others, landed gigs. Betts, a 27-year-old former MVP, might get the same treatment.

Didi Gregorius

Current contract: 1-year, $14M

Two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Gregorius only played half a season last year, and it was his worst stretch since he was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Keep in mind, across 2017 and '18, only Francisco Lindor and Andrelton Simmons accrued more WAR than Gregorius among shortstops, according to FanGraphs.

In order to recuperate some value, the slugging shortstop settled for a one-year pillow contract with the Phillies this past winter. If he doesn't perform at a high level during a shortened season, Gregorius might have to settle for another one-year deal with far less guaranteed money.

Trevor Bauer

Current contract: 1-year, $17.5M (Arbitration)

If Bauer makes good on his pledge to take one-year deals for his entire career, then maybe he won't lose much relative to what he would have made anyway.

However, Bauer is coming off of a down year and could have easily become the hottest pitcher on the market next offseason with a strong 2020. Instead, the right-hander is sure to enter the offseason with only one 200-inning season under his belt. Additionally, since becoming a full-time major leaguer with the Cleveland Indians in 2014, Bauer's only managed to keep his ERA under 4.00 once. The further he gets from his 2018 dominance (2.21 ERA over 27 starts), the more it's going to seem like an outlier.

Marcus Semien

Current contract: 1-year, $13M (Arbitration)

Similar to Bauer, Semien has only produced one dominant season. But unlike Bauer, the shortstop is fresh off that breakout campaign, which saw him finish third in the AL MVP race.

Additionally, while Bauer has flashed great stuff throughout his career, Semien's 2019 success was completely unforeseen. Over his first six seasons, Semien never managed an above-average wRC+ and didn't even help his cause on defense in the first five years. In 2019, though, he put it all together, setting career highs in pretty much everything except stolen bases while accruing 7.6 WAR, according to FanGraphs.

With another full year of that in 2020, teams likely would have been willing to fork out nine figures next offseason. Will a shortened season of similar production move the needle enough for a franchise to invest?

Nelson Cruz

Current contract: Final season of 2-year, $26M

After Cruz produced arguably the best season of his career as a 38-year-old, the Twins made the easy decision to pick up his 2020 team option. Another campaign like that would have guaranteed the ageless slugger at least one more contract before he rides off into the sunset.

That's now up in the air, as some teams may balk at investing in a 40-year-old DH who didn't get regular reps. And, in the likely event that the shortened season involves a compressed schedule, veteran players could find it more difficult to recover from game to game, which could negatively impact performance.

Cruz has been a lock to hit 35 homers for the past six straight seasons. It would be unfortunate to see him forced into retirement so unceremoniously.

Jose Quintana

Current contract: Final season of 5-year, $26.5M

Before the season was suspended, Quintana seemed like the type of player who was already on the bubble for receiving a qualifying offer next year. Now, there are a number of questions surrounding the left-hander's free agency.

The value of the qualifying offer - which will still be based on the annual salaries of the 125 highest-paid players - is likely going to increase over last year's $17.8-million value. Will teams be willing to spend that much on fringy former All-Stars? And would Quintana - like Jake Odorizzi this past winter and Hyun-Jin Ryu the year prior - be willing to accept that deal?

It could actually be considered a blessing if the 31-year-old doesn't receive a qualifying offer, because he wouldn't be tied to draft-pick compensation and teams may be more willing to offer him a multi-year deal. However, if 2019 winds up being Quintana's platform year - a 4.68 ERA in his fewest innings pitched since 2012 - clubs may not have a reason to offer much more than a qualifying offer anyway.

Dellin Betances

Current contract: 1-year, $10.5M

From 2014-18, Betances was one of the best relievers in baseball. In fact, only Aroldis Chapman was better by FanGraphs WAR. Shoulder and Achilles injuries caused the right-hander to miss almost all of 2019, though, and he was forced to take a one-year deal with $10.5 million guaranteed this past winter to try and recuperate value.

In a shortened season, Betances will almost certainly lose the most of anyone, as he'll have far fewer opportunities to show he's not only fully healed, but that he can still dominate.

The four-time All-Star will then face a difficult decision when it comes time to accept or decline his player option for 2021, which would pay him an additional $3 million guaranteed. The deal also includes escalators for appearances made in 2020 - at 40, 50, 60, and 70 appearances - and would be worth an additional $3.8 million if he meets all of them. The longer the season is postponed, the less likely it is that Betances will hit any of those thresholds.