The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Twins general manager is leaving, their deal with Diamond Sports Group is dead and the Pohlad family is exploring a sale of the team (1:00)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- With Jed Hoyer in the last year of his contract, how aggressive will the Cubs be this offseason? Also, with so many top 100 prospects nearing the majors, how will that impact their offseason decisions? (10:10)
- What is the feeling about the Orioles possible spending this offseason? Is there a sense of what could happen or is more wait-and-see in the inside baseball world? (26:55)
- What do the Rangers need to do in this offseason in order to be competitive next year. Any specific players they need to target? (32:45)
- Willson Contreras seems like a logical fit for the Blue Jays if the Cardinals decide to move him. Only problem might be the return since the Cardinals want to shed money. Would this be likely? (34:55)
- The Padres have spent significant resources to build its current roster, but the World Series title continues to elude them. With potential payroll issues looming, how do they maintain their success for 2025 and beyond? They have a good lineup and great bullpen, but how do they avoid being worse in 2025? (39:50)
Check out our past episodes!
- Previewing FA Starting Pitchers, TV Deals, And Potential Spending Teams – listen here
- Buster Posey Takes Over In SF And The Cardinals’ Succession Plan – listen here
- Final Days In Oakland, The Surging Tigers, And If The Nats Will Pursue Juan Soto – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
The Orioles need to add a veteran or two to help bring some stability to a young team, and the Rangers should try to get Montgomery back since that’s the only team he’s played well for.
Rangers say hell no to the possibility of paying 20 million for 6.00 era
Did you miss the seasons when Montgomery pitched well for the Yankees and Cardinals?
Bet it would not take much to acquire. The Cardinals seem focused on cutting payroll. Texas could look at Sonny Gray.
Gray’s deal is very back loaded, I doubt the Rangers want to take on $60 million for Gray’s age 35 & 36 seasons, especially not having a TV contract.
Losing Burnes hurts. O’s need to spend some money n add a cpl solid Ps. Not know 200Million dollar contracts but the nxt tier down if they really want to compete in playoffs.
Not ANY!
They need its young core guys to hit in the playoffs. Maybe nerves got to them in first couple postseasons and they can mentally slow down. Pitchers did their job in the 2 game exit-but they’ll need their in-house guys to stay healthy even more than trying to buy pricey FA arms when Burnes gets his pot of gold.
I dont see the Cardinals trading Contreras or anyone else making big money unless they are getting something back for the future in return. The primary goal really isn’t dropping salary.
Did you miss the articles saying the Cardinals were shifting philosophy, wanting to allocate more money to the player development side and reduce payroll?
They can reduce payroll by simply not bringing Goldschmidt back. There is no urgent need to dump salary.
The site is running by Cubs fans just like you are. Always take that into consideration when here.
Oh yes, it’s a Cubspiracy
You remember the Brian Roberts “rumors” back when this site first started? I do. Always know your source.
Didn’t Brian Roberts get traded to the Cubs? So the rumor was confirmed by this site or are you saying that this site caused the trade to happen?
Roberts never got traded to or played for the Cubs. I do remember there were always Cub fans talking about trading for Roberts.
Correct Drasco.
Don’t get me wrong. I really like this site. But you always have to understand where there is a bias.
I tell you who really gets treated unfairly sometimes is the Brewers. I just don’t know if there are enough Brewers fans who visit the site to care. Who knows perhaps that’s why they don’t visit the site. But again I still think this is a great site.
I’ve read on this site from day 1 and i don’t know of any bias.
A lot of people perceive bias because the site caters to larger markets, as it should because you appeal to your larger markets.
I was think of pinks comment on the Brewers, the Brewers get over looked a lot because they don’t really make any impact signings or trades. Being that they don’t typically swim in those waters, it’s hard to write rumors about them because the media isn’t reporting on them.
This site also just reports what the beat writers/national writers report. They do not hire their own beat staff. If Heyman and Rosenthal are not reporting on the Crew and their beat writers are not posting on social media, then the site has no content.
There are people reporting on the Brewers just like the Cubs. But the people who run this site constantly choose to share the Cubs stuff and not the Brewers stuff. Heck you could say it’s because they are from Chicago and that’s why they are aware of all the Cubs rumors I am sure there is truth in that. But it’s still a bias.
The Cubs CHOKED in 2024. They were the favorite to win the division and they choked. And where are all the articles about that? Nowhere to be found.
I remember most people predicting the Brewers to win but so be it.
Who predicted the Brewers to win the division after the traded Burnes away and Woodruff went down with injury?
Nobody did except Bernie Brewer. And even he was skeptical.
I think a lot of people were thinking the Reds would be in contention for the central title this past year.
The Orioles need to spend!
The Orioles need to spend, period. Especially on pitching because the internal options are not there to fill out the rotation.
On offense, some of the spending will be on extending the young core, Any and all of Rutschman, Henderson, Holliday, Cowser, Westburg should be in that extension discussion category.
Right now too many high K/low OBP guys causing vulnerabilities in the lineup. I would be fine with funds being used for Mountcastle and Santander to go toward picking up someone who can contrast that.in the DH/OF/1B category.
A Burnes-level and a top half guy for the rotation or two guys at or above Eflin caliber to have a truly competitive rotation. They struggled to play .500 ball once Bradish, Means, and Rodriguez were gone with Burnes and Eflin plus 3 average to below….bullpen got friend too. This will cost money.
Already 2 years of the contending window have passed without a single playoff victory. Some will say they competed 1 year earlier than planned, but given the tear down started in 2018, 2023 was on schedule. How many years do you expect it to remain open? If you don’t extend the young core, the answer is less than if you do extend them.
Extending Rutschman, Henderson, Holliday, Cowser and Westburg ain’t happening. That’ll cost them what? More than half a billion? They’ll undoubtedly focus on Gunnar and Adley. Holliday still hasn’t proven himself.
It won’t be all 5, consider all 5.
Why would you extend a catcher that is already breaking down and regressing every year?
1 year $21M for Kim? Who may not pitch in 25 until end of May? That’s silly.
The Padres have just as good a chance of being better next year than this year, assuming Merrill continues to grow his game beyond the rookie season. And assuming Bogey, Tatis, Machado, Arraez, Campusano and Darvish are healthier than 2024, etc.. The pen in 2025 will go into the season much better than in 2024.
Kim won’t pitch, haha., meant to say play until late May
Also, Musgrove wasn’t much of a factor to the 2024 Padres, he was either pitching injured or missing months on 60 day IL. So not having him in 2025, while being a real bummer, shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a step down from 2024, as he was largely missing from that team as well.
It would be quite an indictment on the Blue Jays if they were to eat payroll on a catcher when they were plenty deep at that position.