MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made waves earlier this week when he introduced to the baseball world the fledgling idea of the Golden At-Bat Rule.

The idea in its simplest form, courtesy of Jamie Barton of CNN.com: "Once a game, a coach can choose to sit down whoever is on deck, and instead send any batter of his choosing to the plate."

In the days since, no shortage of words have been written breaking down the potential idea, and there is no indication that it is actually coming to Major League Baseball any time soon.

However, for the sake of discussion, let's decide who would be the go-to player from each MLB lineup to serve in the Golden At-Bat.

Doing that meant digging into each team's clutch hitting stats, most notably how players performed with runners in scoring position, as that would be the logical time to utilize the rule.

Let's start with the five best options currently looking for a new home in free agency, before diving into a team-by-team look at each team's Golden At-Bat choice.

In case you missed it: MLB's Golden At-Bat Rule Floated by Ron Manfred Is Wild Enough to Work by B/R's Zachary Rymer

Honorable Mentions: Top FA Options

1. OF Juan Soto

Soto would have been the pick for the Yankees if he were currently on the roster, and he is an easy choice for the top spot among free agents. His combination of power and elite plate discipline makes him the perfect candidate to step into the batter's box in a crucial situation, and he hit .345 with runners in scoring position in 2024.

2. 1B Pete Alonso

If a home run is what a team is looking for in a Golden At-Bat situation, it's tough to find a better option than Alonso who has launched 226 long balls over six seasons in the majors since bursting onto the scene with a record 53 homers as a rookie in 2019. He piled up 172 strikeouts in 162 games this past season, so there is certainly risk that he goes down swinging, but he delivered some huge hits for the Mets during their playoff push and into October.

3. SS Willy Adames

Adames led the majors with 224 plate appearances with runners in scoring position in 2024, and he responded by hitting .293/.415/.657 with 30 extra-base hits and 93 RBI in those clutch spots. The top shortstop on the market this offseason is a difference-maker offensively, and has been since joining the Brewers.

4. OF Teoscar Hernandez

Tasked with hitting behind Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, Hernandez tallied 203 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, which was second only to the aforementioned Adames. He hit .288/.396/.547 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI in those situations, doing his part out of the cleanup spot in a high-powered lineup.

5. OF Austin Hays

This pick is situational, but Hays absolutely wears out left-handed pitching, posting a .354/.404/.537 line over 90 plate appearances against southpaws in 2024. He is also a respectable .273 career hitter over 525 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, so he has shown a knack for coming through in the clutch. If there's a lefty on the mound, he's as good a choice as any among this year's free-agent class.

American League East

Baltimore Orioles: C Adley Rutschman

A switch-hitter with a willingness to take pitches and a good approach at the plate, Rutschman is the most polished hitter in a young Orioles lineup. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson might have more pop in his bat, but Rutschman remains the better option in the clutch, provided his second-half swoon was simply a matter of fatigue.

Boston Red Sox: OF Jarren Duran

After hitting .319 over 78 plate appearances with runners in scoring position during his breakthrough 2023 campaign, Duran continued to impress in clutch spots this past season, hitting .285/.369/.445 in 161 plate appearances while taking on a more prominent role in the Boston lineup. Slugger Rafael Devers might seem like a more obvious pick, but Duran has become every bit as important to the Red Sox offense.

New York Yankees: DH Giancarlo Stanton

Gasp! Not Aaron Judge? After watching the 2024 AL MVP shrink under the bright lights of October once again this year, it's worth giving some serious consideration to who else the Yankees might turn to in a Golden At-Bat hypothetical. Stanton had a huge 2024 postseason, and he also logged a .933 OPS with runners in scoring position during the regular season.

Tampa Bay Rays: 2B Brandon Lowe

When healthy, Lowe has been as impactful offensively as any second baseman in the league, posting a 125 OPS+ for his career while averaging 33 home runs and 96 RBI per 162 games played. The 30-year-old also hit .302/.354/.616 with runners in scoring position last year, and in what is expected to be a young Tampa Bay lineup, he is one of the clear veteran leaders.

Toronto Blue Jays: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The list of 30-homer sluggers who also possess a hit tool as good as Guerrero's is a short one, giving him one of the most complete offensive profiles in the sport. After a sluggish start to the 2024 season, he played at a MVP level over the final four months, and now he enters the 2025 season playing for a new contract in what will be a highly scrutinized walk year. Can the Blue Jays convince him to stick around long-term?

American League Central

Chicago White Sox: 1B Andrew Vaughn

Luis Robert Jr. had a 33.2 percent strikeout rate last season, and that spiked to 35.2 percent with runners in scoring position, so while he is the most impactful bat on the White Sox roster he is not necessarily the best option here. Vaughn has a better hit tool while still possessing enough power for a 19-homer, 70-RBI campaign in 2024.

Cleveland Guardians: 3B José Ramírez

A true superstar and one of the best offensive players of his era, Ramírez is a career .292/.381/.521 hitter over 1,573 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. There is something to be said for the elite contact skills of Steven Kwan, especially if putting the ball in play is the No. 1 goal, but there is simply no serious case to be made for anyone else on the Cleveland roster.

Detroit Tigers: OF Kerry Carpenter

While Riley Greene is a more complete player, there is a solid case to be made that Carpenter is the most impactful hitter on the Tigers roster. He was slowed by injuries in 2024, but posted a 159 OPS+ with 18 home runs in 296 plate appearances when healthy, and he was even better in the clutch with a .982 OPS and 11 extra-base hits over 87 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

Kansas City Royals: SS Bobby Witt Jr.

Among players with at least 100 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Witt led the way with a .388 batting average while also posting more walks (25) than strikeouts (19). The 24-year-old put together a MVP-caliber season in 2024, pacing the AL in batting average (.332) and hits (211) while leading the Royals to an unexpected playoff appearance. He has a chance to be the team's best homegrown player since George Brett.

Minnesota Twins: SS Carlos Correa

With an .860 OPS and 18 home runs in 85 career playoff games, Correa has spent plenty of time under the brightest lights in the sport. He hit .329 with runners on base and .284 with runners in scoring position in 2024, and the Twins gave him a franchise record six-year, $200 million deal to be the guy when the game is on the line.

American League West

Athletics: DH Brent Rooker

After an out-of-nowhere breakout season in 2023, Rooker backed up that performance with even better numbers across the board this year, posting a gaudy 165 OPS+ with 39 home runs and 112 RBI in 145 games. The 30-year-old also hit .338/.409/.669 over 150 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and he will be the anchor in a steadily improving A's lineup once again in 2025.

Houston Astros: 2B Jose Altuve

Yordan Alvarez would be the pick for almost any other team and Yainer Diaz hit .346 with runners in scoring position in 2024, but no one on the Houston roster has seen more high-leverage at-bats than Altuve. The 34-year-old is a .299 career hitter over 1,677 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and he boasts one of the best postseason track records of any active player with an .841 OPS and 27 home runs in 105 games.

Los Angeles Angels: OF Mike Trout

With a Hall of Fame resume and a $37.1 million annual salary through 2030, the Angels will continue to go as far as Trout can carry them in the coming years. Injuries have taken a major toll the past few seasons, but he still had a 140 OPS+ and 10 home runs in the 29 games he did play in 2024.

Seattle Mariners: C Cal Raleigh

I fully expected Julio Rodríguez to be the pick here, but it's difficult to ignore how much better Raleigh is in run scoring opportunities:

• Empty bases: 316 PA, .204/.282/.379, 14 HR, 30.4 K%
• Runners on base: 312 PA, .238/.343/.498, 20 HR, 25.6 K%
• Runners in scoring position: 172 PA, .270/.384/.540, 10 HR, 21.5 K%

The burly slugger clearly hunts for home runs when the bases are empty, but he has the ability to grind out a disciplined at-bat when there is an opportunity to drive in runs.

Texas Rangers: SS Corey Seager

A two-time World Series MVP and one of the best pure hitters in baseball, Seager has thus far lived up to his 10-year, $325 million contract with 15.7 WAR over the first three seasons of that deal. Adolis García had a huge 2023 postseason to help lead the club to the World Series, so he's worthy of a mention here, but Seager is a far superior overall hitter.

National League East

Atlanta Braves: 1B Matt Olson

Olson took a step backward following his stellar 2023 season, hitting .247/.333/.457 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI on the heels of his 54-homer, 139-RBI performance the previous year. However, he still hit .298/.399/.532 over 173 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and he has a long history of proven run production.

Miami Marlins: 1B Jake Burger

Burger led the Marlins in hits (134), home runs (29), RBI (76) and total bases (246) in 2024, and following a busy trade deadline, he is far and away the most impactful bat in a rebuilding Miami lineup. Despite the swing-and-miss to his game, he still hit .303/.383/.429 with runners in scoring position.

New York Mets: 3B Mark Vientos

After flashing significant power potential during his time in the minors, Vientos struggled early in his MLB career, but he put together a breakout season in 2024. The 24-year-old posted a 135 OPS+ with 27 home runs in 454 plate appearances during the regular season, then logged a .998 OPS with five home runs and 14 RBI in 13 playoff games. With Pete Alonso in free agency limbo, he is the most potent bat in the Mets lineup.

Philadelphia Phillies: 1B Bryce Harper

The Phillies have a star-studded lineup, but Harper is the clear face of the franchise. The 32-year-old is a .295/.439/.526 hitter with runners in scoring position over 1,737 career plate appearances, and he has delivered his fair share of clutch hits during the regular season and in the playoffs throughout his career. The Phillies gave him that 13-year, $330 million contract for a reason.

Washington Nationals: OF James Wood

There was a case to be made that Wood was the best all-around hitter in the Nationals organization before he even made his MLB debut, and he more than held his own in his first taste of the big leagues. The 22-year-old hit .264/.354/.427 for a 122 OPS+ with 26 extra-base hits in 336 plate appearances, and he had an .853 OPS in 89 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs: OF Cody Bellinger

Bellinger had a huge bounce back season with the Cubs in 2023 after getting non-tendered by the Dodgers, and while he didn't match that level of production this past season, he still logged a 111 OPS+ and was the closest thing the North Siders had to a star in the middle of their lineup. He hit .331/.407/.515 in 155 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, so he's a great guy to hand the bat to with a chance to put runs on the board.

Cincinnati Reds: 1B/OF Spencer Steer

Steer has quietly been Cincinnati's RBI leader each of the past two seasons, and he was a .312/.386/.610 hitter with runners in scoring position in 2024. The 26-year-old might not bring the same flash as Elly De La Cruz, but he is a more polished all-around hitter, and it's impossible to overlook De La Cruz's MLB-leading 218 strikeouts and 31.3 percent strikeout rate for the sake of this exercise.

Milwaukee Brewers: C William Contreras

All signs point to Jackson Chourio being the guy in Milwaukee for the next decade, and he proved himself on the biggest stage with a two-homer game in the 2024 NL Wild Card Series, but for now Contreras is still the better choice. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting and won NL Silver Slugger honors in 2024 while hitting .310/.417/.532 with runners in scoring position.

Pittsburgh Pirates: OF Bryan Reynolds

The eight-year, $106.75 million extension that Reynolds signed with the Pirates early in the 2023 season stands as the largest contract in franchise history, and he has been the team's most consistent offensive player the last several seasons. The 29-year-old is a .288/.388/.477 career hitter over 762 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and those numbers climbed to a .318/.399/.508 line in 2024.

St. Louis Cardinals: IF/OF Brendan Donovan

With Paul Goldschmidt gone in free agency and a declining Nolan Arenado on the trade block, there is no obvious answer for the Cardinals. Donovan is not a prototypical run producer, but he did spend the bulk of the 2024 season hitting somewhere in the No. 4, 5 or 6 spot in the lineup, and his patient approach and gap power make him a sneaky good pick in a clutch spot. He is also 5-for-17 with a home run in his career as a pinch-hitter, so he is no stranger to jumping straight into a big at-bat.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks: 2B Ketel Marte

Marte holds the record for longest hitting streak in postseason history at 20 games, and most of that damage game during the D-backs surprise run to the 2023 World Series. The 31-year-old just finished third in NL MVP voting after posting a 155 OPS+ with 36 home runs during the 2024 season, and that included a .328/.418/.656 line over 153 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

Colorado Rockies: OF Brenton Doyle

Doyle struggled to a 53 OPS+ over 431 plate appearances as a rookie in 2023, but stayed in the everyday lineup thanks to his elite defense in center field. That faith in him paid dividends this past season as he broke through with a .260/.317/.446 line while tallying 24 doubles, 23 home runs and 72 RBI. He had a .327/.393/.541 line over 125 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

Los Angeles Dodgers: DH Shohei Ohtani

World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts are both elite offensive players in their own right, but how can you not pick the best baseball player on the planet? For what it's worth, Ohtani hit .283/.388/.517 over 178 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, but there is really no statistical justification needed for this pick.

San Diego Padres: 3B Manny Machado

The pick for the Padres depends on the situation, because if avoiding a strikeout is of any concern, Luis Arraez is the best in the business at putting the ball in play. However, if you're looking for a more traditional run producer in a big RBI spot, Machado is a .310/.383/.546 career hitter over 1,780 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and his 1,049 RBI rank eighth among all active players.

San Francisco Giants: OF Heliot Ramos

The No. 19 overall pick in the 2017 draft and a Top 100 prospect at the start of four separate seasons, Ramos finally delivered on his potential in 2024 while earning an All-Star selection. The 25-year-old hit .310/.359/.457 in 131 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and while Matt Chapman is a more experienced option, Ramos proved he is an impact offensive player.