Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:
1. Trade market buzzing:
On the heels of this week’s GM Meetings, there’s been plenty of rumors about the trade market that will be worth monitoring as the offseason progresses. Cardinals super utility man Brendan Donovan, Royals southpaw Kris Bubic, and Mets veteran Jeff McNeil have all drawn interest from rival teams in recent days. All of those pieces appear to have real potential to move this offseason, but there are other longer shot trade candidates floating around the rumor mill as well. The Diamondbacks are getting plenty of calls on star infielder Ketel Marte, and the Mets are getting interest on mercurial right-hander Kodai Senga. Even with teams like the Reds and Astros publicly taking big names like Hunter Greene and Isaac Paredes off the table, there’s still plenty of early intrigue on the market.
2. Bullpen market heating up?
Yesterday, a report from Francys Romero of BeisbolFR suggested that the market for relievers could start moving in the early part of the offseason. That would be a sharp contrast to last winter, when top relief arms like Tanner Scott lingered on the market into January and even the earliest signings for veteran closers didn’t start until the Winter Meetings. There have already been plenty of rumors about the offseason’s top relief arms this winter.
Right-hander Brad Keller is garnering interest as a starter after a dominant year in the bullpen with the Cubs. The Red Sox, Reds, Dodgers and Marlins have been connected to Devin Williams, and the Dodgers have also been connected to Raisel Iglesias as they look to bolster a middling bullpen that forced them to move Roki Sasaki into a ninth inning role this October. One other interesting wrinkle in the bullpen market this year is the presence of Edwin Diaz, who wasted no time in signing during his last trip to free agency when he inked a deal with the Mets in early November back in 2022. Could he or another top relief arm follow suit with a November deal this year?
3. Coaching staff additions continue:
While most of the focus is on free agency and the trade market at this point, teams are still doing the little things in the background to prepare for the 2026 season. That includes making alterations to and finalizing their coaching staffs. Just in the past few days, the Orioles, Twins, Reds, and Astros have all made significant coaching moves. More will surely continue to trickle in throughout the offseason, especially from the many teams that have hired new managers this winter. That’s also to say nothing of the Rockies, who still have to hire a manager after naming Paul DePodesta their president of baseball operations last week.
I’d really like Keller to come back to the Cubs, but if he’s getting this much interest then the price tag is definitely going up. Hoyer won’t spend on relievers so he’s probably not coming back. A starter is definitely needed so I expect movement on that this winter..
Why not have Keller re-sign with the Cubs to compete as a starter?
I can see Hoyer kicking the tires on that idea.
Yeah, cheaper than getting a legit option. Classic recent Cubs move.
“Dodgers… look to bolster a middling bullpen that forced them to move Roki Sasaki into a ninth inning role this October.”
That’s perhaps overstating things a bit. Yes the bullpen was a noted weak spot for them, but that didn’t ‘force’ them to move Sasaki to the pen. Roki had been pretty awful as a starter earlier in the season before being shutdown with a fairly lengthy shoulder issue. It’s doubtful he was stretched back out in time, and doubtful they would have had much confidence in him as a starter during the playoffs, so he was always going to the pen, whether it needed his help or not.
It worked out perfectly for the Dodgers as he was excellent in that role.
What do think Sasaki’s role will be in 2026 and beyond?
Sasaki is going back to the starting rotation in 2026 according to GM Gomes.
They’ve already said he’ll be a starter. They think they’ve fixed his mechanical issues during his rehab from the shoulder issue so, barring any health setbacks, he’ll be a starter going forward and probably a pretty good one.
Rangers should see if K.C. would take AGarcia and one or two others, maybe Burger for Bubic. Keller as a Swing type would also be a nice add.
Garcia and Burger are both non-tender candidates. KC could just pick either one of those guys up for cash, without needing to trade away their best asset.
Anyone have any trouble looking at the website or commenting (just gets stuck loading the comment box) on mobile? Since the contest closed last night I’ve had issues with the worst being a Bad Request screen popping up.
Anyway, good luck with the contest, y’all. The trade market surely obviously factor into where free agents land, but I feel like there will be more players re-signing with their previous teams this season than a. full on musical chairs event.
@Salzilla
No, but I had that issue, on the phone, about a week or 2 ago for a few days and then suddenly it started working again. When I asked about it a few weeks ago, another person said they had that problem but it just went away after a few days.
I can’t access the site on my phone half the time, I have to use the browser on my work desktop. I get “Bad Request” on my phone constantly so I’ve opted for using the my desktop to look at posts.
Good luck as well on the contest, and good luck to your Yankees this offseason!
Colorado Rockies seems pose to remove the intern manager off warren Schaeffer..
It could be my fuzzy memory, but way back when the Rockies signed Jason Giambi as a player, weren’t they also interested in him as a a manager at the same time? Did Giambi ever go into coaching?
I would be a good fit for the Giants if they can swing a deal for Donovan.