Last offseason’s star-studded free-agent shortstop class was the best in baseball history, with Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Javier Báez, Trevor Story and Chris Taylor combining to sign nearly $1 billion worth of contracts.

This offseason’s free-agent shortstop class isn’t quite at that same historic level, but it’s really, really close, and there’s a credible argument to be made that we’re seeing the two greatest free-agent shortstop classes ever unfold back-to-back.

Throughout most of the free agency era, a strong shortstop class might consist of one All-Star and a handful of starting-caliber options. This offseason’s crop features four in-their-prime All-Stars and several other former All-Stars, with as many as seven or eight total shortstops capable of starting at one of the most valuable and most difficult-to-fill positions in the game.

Below is The Athletic’s guide to the biggest names, the best and worst bets, and the potential diamonds in the rough among free-agent shortstops.

(Note: All listed ages are as of June 30, 2023.)

1. Carlos Correa

Age in 2023: 28
Last team: Twins

Carlos Correa headlined this list last offseason, but his first crack at free agency didn’t go as planned. He turned down some big early offers, watched as Seager, Semien, Báez and Story signed deals worth a combined $780 million and fired his agent during the lockout, hiring Scott Boras. By the time business resumed in March, they found few teams willing to hand out a mega-deal.

So they got creative, signing a three-year, $105.3 million pact with Minnesota that included an opt-out after each of the first two years, allowing Correa to set the all-time record for an infielder with a $35.1 million salary in 2022 and then re-enter free agency in search of a long-term commitment. Everything went as planned, as Correa stayed healthy, played well and tops this list again.

Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 homers in 136 games to lead all shortstops in OPS and OPS+ while ranking third in Wins Above Replacement. His fielding numbers were a mixed bag after being amazing across the board in 2021, and he uncharacteristically failed to have many signature moments, but he posted a 140 OPS+ that’s the second-best mark of his career and racked up 5.4 WAR.

Correa has 39.5 WAR for his career, more than every shortstop in MLB history through age 27 save for Álex Rodríguez and Hall of Famers Arky Vaughan, Cal Ripken and Robin Yount. His career 129 OPS+ is tied with Seager at No. 1 for active shortstops, and because his defense is more about size and arm strength than speed, Correa seems likely to remain a high-level defender into his 30s.

Twins teammates and coaches also praised Correa’s leadership and value in the clubhouse, which matches his reputation in Houston and makes him especially appealing as the potential face of a franchise. Correa will likely have no shortage of $200 million-plus offers, including from the Twins, but is there a Seager-like $300 million offer waiting for him? And if not, will Boras get creative again?

2. Trea Turner

Age in 2023: 30
Last team: Dodgers

Power was the final piece of the superstar puzzle for Trea Turner, who tapped into more pop during the abbreviated 2020 season and hasn’t stopped, totaling 61 homers in 367 games since then to rank fourth among shortstops. Turner is also a career .302 hitter with strong contact skills and top-of-the-scale speed, swiping 27 bases in 30 tries last season and leading MLB in steals since 2016.

Turner has maintained his elite speed remarkably well. He was as fast this year, at age 29, as he was as a 23-year-old rookie for the Nationals in 2016, posting MLB’s second-best sprint speed and ranking in the 99th or 100th percentile for the eighth straight season. Just as importantly, Turner actually puts those wheels to good use as a high-volume, high-efficiency base stealer and plus defender.

According to FanGraphs, his steals and overall baserunning have been worth 42 runs above average since 2016, second-most in MLB after Billy Hamilton, and Turner has been at least five runs better than an average baserunner in every full season of his career. Turner’s athleticism and quickness also enable him to be an asset defensively despite average arm strength and relatively high error counts.

Speed tends to fade sooner and more sharply than most skills, which could be a reason to think twice about a big long-term investment that will begin with his age-30 season. Turner leads MLB with 130 infield hits since 2017, accounting for nearly 15 percent of his total hits. Some of those singles will become outs as he ages, and teams will need to be confident he can stay at shortstop as well.