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.
I’m so sick of this ownership. Big market owners used to do whatever it took to win it all. Henry, et al want to win it on their terms. They think they know more than other owners and are now content with profits over championships. There used to be a correlation with the two and still is at least for the Dodgers…
@deweybelongsinthehall
Ownership treats the team primarily as an investment vehicle rather than a competitive enterprise.
York – Can’t really blame them. John Henry has 8 WS rings already, he doesn’t give a crap about winning anymore.
And he has lots of investors/shareholders who are pushing for higher profits. Those investors couldn’t care less about winning, they have no emotional attachment to the Red Sox or Boston. You think LeBron gives a damn about a Boston team?
@Fever Pitch Guy
Honestly, if I’m an owner today, I wouldn’t care about winning either, because the value of the team continues to rise. Just look at the Cowboys. They are the highest valued team in sports right now and they haven’t’ done much of anything in recent memory. Yankees similar story, being the highest valued MLB team but they haven’t done much in recent memory, although, somewhat better than the Cowboys.
INFINITE businesses to own strictly for profit sake.
FINITE 30 MLB teams to own strictly for winning sake.
Owners should just take the 2 to 5 billion dollars to sell their team to a Cohen type owner or ownership group like the Dodgers…
I am sure there are 28 other billionaires out there willing to spend a bit closer to profit margins.
Red Sox and especially the Cubs are two of the cheapest ownership groups in baseball.
Once the Cubs won it all in 2016, it’s been about spending just enough to get a competitive team on the field, but not go all-in and go the extra mile to get a championship team.
So I guess John Henry won the World Series a few times and has determined that the juice is not worth the squeeze?
But I’ll wait and see how it plays out. Can’t trust all reporting nowadays. Let’s see what happens this winter.
Agree Gary..this article at least the red sox part should be met with a dont automatically believe everything you read online caveat.. interestingly what is left unsaid is that yes they are only 20 million under the first threshold and willing to pass it . There is no mention of how close to the second threshold they are willing to go which leaves a ton of room
It is insane to think this was the same ownership that was a well oiled machine that wanted to win titles. It is so weird to live in a world where the Red Sox and Yankees act like small market teams. The latter you can point to the kids not being like George. Cashman and Boone would have been fired long ago under George.
This tells me expect a average RH type bat and the Red Sox will call it a day.
Yankees have spent under Hal, but Cashman has done a poor job of managing the budget he gets. Not justifying them for crying poor at times, but 300m should get you a championship caliber team.
I would like the Cubs to go after Imai, he’s a realistic target. I never expected them to chase Cease and give a 200m contract, but Imai should definitely be on the table.