Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. How would Bichette’s market change as a second baseman?
Reporting yesterday indicated that star infielder Bo Bichette is open to moving off shortstop and playing second base for interested clubs. That’s not necessarily a surprise, as free agents such as Willy Adames and Alex Bregman have suggested a similar level of positional flexibility in recent free agent classes, and Bichette of course played second base during the World Series after returning from a knee injury. Bichette’s defensive metrics at shortstop have ranged from slightly below average to well below average throughout his career, and a move to the keystone could make him a stronger defender overall.
The market for second base help has been rather hot this winter. Brendan Donovan and Ketel Marte have been two of the most talked-about names on the trade market, and other second basemen like Brandon Lowe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. have also drawn interest. Given the questions about Bichette’s glove at shortstop and the lack of big-spending teams looking for a new starting shortstop, voicing a willingness to play second base should open up Bichette’s market a bit more.
2. High-leverage relievers continue to dwindle:
The relief market has been bustling all winter, and yesterday was no exception. Right-handers Brad Keller and Luke Weaver signed identical two-year, $22MM contracts with NL East clubs as Weaver joined the Mets and Keller joined the Phillies. That leaves precious few high-end relievers available for teams like the Yankees, Cubs, and Marlins to pursue. Pete Fairbanks and Seranthony Dominguez are among the best options remaining on the market at this point, with hurlers like Shawn Armstrong and Pierce Johnson sitting a tier below those two.
3. Big Christmas in DFA limbo:
The Guardians parted ways with Jhonkensy Noel yesterday, designating the outfielder for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for southpaw Justin Bruihl. It’s not necessarily a shock to see Noel lose his roster spot given his brutal 2025 season; the 24-year-old slashed just .162/.183/.297 across 69 games with Cleveland last year. With that said, fans surely remember Noel’s far stronger 2024 campaign where he slugged 13 homers in 67 games with a wRC+ of 118 before going on to hit a game-tying home run against the Yankees in the ALDS. Will any clubs look past Noel’s strikeouts and approach and bet on his immense raw power with a small trade or waiver claim?
I think Big Christmas easily gets traded for/picked up. The raw power is there for someone to unlock.
Is it too much to ask to have the Yankees do something before the weekend? Trade? Relief signing? Anything? I have Fairbanks to them in the contest, I know cold weather was a problem in the past (not sure it still is), but the fit/need is there. Dominguez is fine as well…heck I’ll take lower!
Sal- definitely would be happy with Fairbanks for 4 years, or Dominguez for 3 years. We’ll see. 🙏
I’d take Seraanthony and Johnson tbh if it means more cash for elsewhere. Johnson has a bit of grit to his game that I like, but obviously as AL East peeps we know what Pete brings to the table.
Sal after everything I’ve seen, it looks to me like they’re trying to get Imai. That will be resolved in a few days one way or the other. If they get him, the heavy lifting is over for the FA side of things. If they don’t, they pivot to Bellinger.
Yeah I said below I think Cash is definitely focused on the Japanese FA right now. Once those are settled he’ll move on, but getting an arm in the meantime wouldn’t be so hard. His job is definitely to multitask.
DH – Like Trout – though there are reports the Angel’s might give him innings in CF this season.
Please Yankees no Bichette for 2nd!!! As far as the offense Belli or Tuck or bust! Not wanting to trade Jazz either, unless it’s for a haul. Casey Mize is definitely interesting though.
I don’t think we’re moving Jazz or going for Bo tbh. I’m betting Cash is focused on the Japanese stars right now since there’s a time sensitive deadline there. If others go while he’s working on this, he’s obviously willing to let that happen.
Idk that was a thing… Big Christmas. Grate nickname!
why would his nickname have anything to do with grates? seems more holiday themed to me
Listen, if someone teaches Noel to make contact we’re looking at one of history’s greatest bats. His innovative plate approach is intimidating and the results, when they come, are unforgettable. Sadly, pitchers don’t have much trouble getting past him because he’s gullible with his swing decisions. The right coaching and he has a spot among the infamous boppers of the modern game. I want to see him walk off a world series one day, give him a shot!
Bo Jackson, Gorman Thomas, Dave Kingman, Glenallen Hill and Chris Davis say hi
Or maybe even league average.
I know PHI has their OF set, but I’d love to see what Kevin Long could do with Noel.
Bichette will sign before the weekend ends, 6yrs with a 7th year team option, $200m with the Red Sox
Source?
Source: trust me bro
That’ll be the steal of free agency. He’s 28 and there was a time he performed better than Bregman or Tucker
road – That would make me happy, but I guarantee the Sox won’t give him a NTC so they can dump his contract 2 years from now. That’s what they do.
But I highly doubt he leaves Toronto, unless perhaps if they sign Tucker.
I never said anything about a ntc
Road – I never said you did ;O)
It’s worth noting because NTC’s are very important to some players who don’t want to be traded a short time after signing their contract, especially if it’s to a team they really don’t want to play for.
Noel found out about the assignment and his hat fell off.
(Guardians fans know what I’m talking about)
Elf on the shelf says big Christmas is going to the Rockies on a waiver claim
It makes perfect sense. Brett Pill’s big opportunity to turn Noel into a Colorado legend.
Astros!!!
Cash in on Bryan Abreu’s value!
Or keep him for when Hader’s shoulder starts acting up again.
The Astros are trying to use Josh Hader SPARINGLY. That may involve AJ Blubaugh, Kaleb Ort, and stuff more. Also, I only want Abreu to be traded if the haul is good.
Elf on the shelf says Brandon Lowe is being shopped hard but nobody is buying, again, and that he will be released heading into the first week of the season.
That’s ridiculous. It’s the weakest hitting market in recent memory. He will be traded and the rays will
be winners of the trade and contract
Elf on the shelf says Brendan Donovan is receiving massive interest but the wishy washy Bloom can’t make up his mind on what to do and he opens the season with the Cardinals
Most trades happen after the majority of FAs have landed. Trade values go up when teams miss out on an FA they planned to plug in at a certain position.
Example: If Red Sox miss out on Bregman and Bichette. Ketel Marte’s price immediately goes up.
Besides Rafael Devers, The Red Sox haven’t paid or bought a multi-year contract that would take a “position” player past the age of 34 since 2018 and Devers was homegrown (Story has a club option for age 35 so if the club was to pick it up it be since 2022 instead of 2018). This is a team core philosophy. They’re not going to stray from it. Breslow may be PBO but he is only one voice that sits at the decision making round table headed by Ownership that deals with decisions like “core philosophy” and this has been in place for the last decade. Breslow has to bring any deal or trade for a player being payed pass the age of 34yr to the table and make his case to get approval to get it done. I’m not saying it can’t be done but I don’t think he has all the pieces in place to get it pushed through yet. This is why Breslow was unable to compete for Schwarber or Alonso. Once he knew teams were willing to go to age 34+, the Red Sox were out. Breslow and the Red Sox will not be trading away players from the active roster and prospects to take on Marte and his remaining $100m+ contract. It’s not how the pipeline has been built. Marte to the Red Sox is “Headline News” created by the media for the uninformed.
I agree that they dont want long-term contracts, I disagree that its a stone wall, more of a line in the sand. Marte is an exception because of the low AAV he carries. It may be a long contract, but at $19M, the Red Sox could easily manage that number as he ages.
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I doubt Breslow wanted Schwarber or Alonso.
1) Bad Defense
2) Very little versatility
Every major move he’s made that isnt a pitcher has been to improve the Defense. -Signing Bregman, Trading for Narvaez, Trading away Devers. — Schwarber and Alonso dont fit that bill.
(If Im right, Duran’s days are likely numbered)
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What I believe is: Breslow is building a ‘Pitching First’ team which requires good defense behind it. He prefers versatility and defense over hit-only players, even if he sacrifices power to get it.
“I disagree that its a stone wall, more of a line in the sand”. You can disagree all you want but Ownership sets the rules and the past decade shows the truth.
Except they signed Devers right? In 2023, he was signed to 2033, which makes him 36.
And Chris Sale signed a 5 year contract extension from 2020 to 2025, when he was 36.
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So, yes a ‘Line in the Sand’ is a much better way to look at it.
Sale is not a position player
Devers was homegrown
Go back and re read my post
Ignoring the constraints that the front office has to work under does help your case
Doesn’t help your case
So you looked over the group and found the exceptions, and then made reasons up to exclude them. Now its a steadfast, unbreakable rule.
So if they bring back Bregman or Bichette, the rule can be:
Except Home Grown players
Except Pitchers
Except players who’s name begin with B.
So, why do they let some homegrown and pitcher leave then? It makes no sense unless you can explain why the exemptions exist. Otherwise youre just creating imaginary rules.
You appear lost, there’s no exceptions, nothing made up. Continue to ignore the way business is run inside of Fenway….have fun…happy holidays.
Let me make sure I have this straight.
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Red Sox will NOT sign a player past their 34th BDay. This is an absolute, steadfast rule.
Exception 1: Homegrown Players dont apply to this rule (Exceptions to the exception: Betts and Bogaerts)
Exception 2: Pitchers dont apply to this rule (Exception to the exception: Nathan Eovaldi)
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Nope, no exceptions there. Thx, it all makes sense now. Have a Merry Holiday.
How would it change if he was a pitcher, a second baseman and a catcher?
I mostly enjoy this website. But I read a story on MLB.com last night about Bichette. Now I realize that certain stories and info is going to overlap. But whomever this site has writing has got to stop reading MLB.com and regurgitating their same story. Does this site talk to anyone in baseball or do they just read things online the night before and re-write them in their own words? I’m noticing this is the case for a lot of articles on this site.
I think they read what’s happening and write it. Only a few, like the official MLB writers, the Athletic, ESPN, and places like that. Anyone that went to the Winter Meetings talks to MLB.
I think they regurgitated Murakami’s best fits from MLB. I read the MLB one but not the MLBTR one so I don’t know what’s the difference.
Astros – I think it’s important to note MLBTR is very diligent about providing links to the sources of their reports, so that those sources receive credit.
And their sources are generally well known. Of all the years I’ve been here, only once can I remember a bad source being used …. a blogger with Dodgers Nation who claimed Ohtani to the Jays was a done deal.
Yesterday on MLB Network Matt Vasgersian asked Mark Feinsand who he (and others) rely on for all this information/rumors and Feinsand said “sources, we rely on sources”
Take that to mean whatever you want it to but every rumor is speculation til it happens and I’m sure a fair amount borders between things they’ve been told/heard and opinion. We all sit here and speculate ourselves, sometimes we even get it right. That’s what makes this site entertaining
TD
Only so many ways to say “Bichette is willing to move to 2B”
MLBTR is an aggregate site that passes along reports from usually decent sources. They add very good narratives and fill in the gaps with useful info/stats. You will likely come across the original articles from other sources, but MLBTR does a good job of adding good discussion points and framing in alternative perspectives.
They pass on the news. Not like Athletic who reports the news. Some aren’t subscribed to the Athletic and MLBTR gives us a lot of information, mostly for free.
sh
“They add very good narratives and fill in the gaps with useful info/stats”
Well…
Baseball Journalism Universe: Passan, Rosenthal, Heyman, Nightingale, Sherman, Robert Murray; Mark Feinsand, Olney, Tom Verducci. That’s about it.
You just used “journalism” and “Nightengale” in the same sentence.
I mean, the Athletic and MLB have beat writers that might go but yes Passan, Rosenthal, Heyman, Feinsand, SHerman, Murray, etc. are the all MLB guys.
But that’s what MLBTR is, a place for baseball fans to see what is happening in all of baseball in one spot instead of roaming the internet for hours upon hours searching for news
“roaming the internet for hours upon hours searching for news”
Ever heard of X?
I don’t recommend using it, but…
The real problem is that MLBTR does a terrible job of separating the speculative headlines designed to get clicks from actual rumors from inside the teams front offices.
He’s not coming close to World Series legend Corey Seager’s 325M contract.
or Lindor at $341
All these bullpen spends – White Sox nailed two Rule 5 picks digging in the high A ball stash.
Alberto looks like Eury Perez. Paez looks like the next Pedro Martinez.
I hope they dont return either even if they are slow to develop.
I think many teams will take a shot on Noel who may just need a different coach/approach.
My only reluctance to give Bichette a big contract is his injury history. Great player but I worry as he ages.
He’s the youngest free agent on the market like at 27 !!!
Look at his games played the last 3 years. Young or not he destined to be a DH just to try and keep him in the lineup.
Roughed:
Agreed. Being young means nothing if you have a checkered injury past. A young player is going to warrant a longer contract making the risk even greater.
Its a valid concern. He has gotten a lot thicker in the last few years, has slowed down and is starting to get those nagging leg injuries regularly.
In another 5 years he is almost certainly going to be a DH type.
Big christmas dfa’d a wk before christmas. Unfortunate timing
Wonder which 2B needy team the Mets could trade Siemen to (and let either let Baty or Luisangel or another younger 2B play the keystone).
Yea I didn’t like the Nimmo trade for him.
It’ll be tough with that contract. I didn’t think it was that great of a trade from the Mets’ side either.
The Mets wouldn’t have traded Nimmo for Semien just to dump Semien. They could have traded him for someone else. Sorry but you’re stuck with him
Would he play third?
Not unless he always throws it to the pitcher who relays it to first. Not enough arm.
This may get a gold glove win to a deserving pitcher with all of those assists. Crazy idea would be for the Pirates to sign him, put him at third, then set up Skenes to win his second Cy Young, first MVP, and first Gold Glove.
Loved Noel in 2024, but he was literally the worst hitter in baseball last year above a certain PA threshold. He was infuriating to watch take at bats
Noel reminds me a lot of Franmil Reyes in that he’s a big guy with raw, light tower power. This is someone the Royals, Twins, Rays, White Sox, Marlihs, Pirates, Nationals, or Rockies should be all over
He’s sort of like Reyes and also Oscar Gonzalez (promising rookie season, postseason heroics, fun nickname, etc)
My sense is that the Giants land one of Tucker or Bichette. They have spent mightily on FAs (Chapman/Adames) who will begin their decline years soon. Trades have produced high end and expensive talent (Devers/Ray) initiated from a win now perspective and their ace is nearing the end of his peak. Posey is well aware of this. If they can stay healthy, Tucker or Bichette make this team a serious contender. Pitching would remain an issue; but the trade deadline could fix that.
So Bichette’s willing to play second, fine. Now, how many teams are still actually willing to sign him at SS – and pay him accordingly?
Maybe none.
I don’t think Bichette’s market really changes that much because it seems like team’s didn’t really view signing him as a SS anyway.
If the Cubs trade Hoerner than you know they are in the mix for Bo but i feel like his market is a two horse race at this point between the Blue Jays and Red Sox, unless the Dodgers jump in
Bellinger or Tucker
Imai or King
and the Yankees can then be patient
Tigers
1 year
$27M