Archives for December 2025

As the calendar flips to December here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world:

1. Imai heading stateside:

Right-hander Tatsuya Imai is coming over from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB this winter, and in doing so he’s made himself one of the top free agent starters available. The righty will be just 28 years old next season and is coming off a banner year in Japan, where he pitched to a 1.92 ERA across 163 2/3 innings of work. His combination of youth and a high-octane fastball should make him enticing to the majority of clubs hunting for rotation help this winter, and (as reported by Francys Romero of BeisbolFR) Imai is expected to come to the United States in the first few days of December to meet with MLB teams. An early-December deal can’t be entirely ruled out, though many NPB players wait until closer to the end of their posting window to make a decision; Imai’s posting window began on Nov. 19 and runs through Jan. 2.

2. What’s next for the Orioles after their first splash?

The Orioles will be without Felix Bautista next year, and as a result entered the offseason with a hole at the back of their bullpen. Baltimore wasted little time filling that vacancy, inking right-hander Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28MM deal that gives Helsley an opt-out opportunity after the 2026 season. Helsley will slide into the closer role with his new club, joining righty Andrew Kittredge and lefty Keegan Akin as late-inning options. Helsley and outfielder Taylor Ward are both notable additions to the Orioles’ roster, but their biggest need remains unaddressed. The club floundered last year without Corbin Burnes leading the rotation, and at least one front-end arm to pair with Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers seems necessary if the O’s hope to get back into contention in 2026.

3. Red Sox facing a tight budget?

The Red Sox have been connected to a lot of free agency’s top bats after strengthening the rotation with their Sonny Gray acquisition. Reports have indicated that the club is not only in on the likes of Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, and Alex Bregman but also interested in signing multiple well-regarded free agent bats. Despite all of that buzz, however, financial realities could make that difficult. Reporting over the weekend suggests that the team might not be willing to spend much farther than the first luxury tax threshold this winter, which would leave them with a roughly similar payroll to 2025. Barring a change of heart from ownership, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will either need to use the trade market to add some lower-cost bats and/or shed some salary via trade. Boston is currently about $21MM shy of the first tax threshold, per RosterResource.