Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Cabrera market heating up?
Right-hander Edward Cabrera has been viewed as a potential trade piece for the Marlins for several years now, but over the weekend the market for Cabrera’s services seemed to heat up somewhat. The Yankees, Giants, Cubs, and Mets were all reported as having interest in Cabrera’s services yesterday, with the Yankees seeming to be involved most heavily. Cabrera is headed into his age-28 campaign and is controlled for the next three seasons via arbitration, making him an affordable addition for virtually any club looking for starting pitching. The talented righty enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, though it was also his first season throwing even 100 innings at the big league level due to a lengthy injury history. The right-hander’s combination of upside and risk make him one of the more intriguing assets on the trade market at the moment.
2. Imai presser today:
The Astros are set to formally introduce right-hander Tatsuya Imai at a press conference later today at Daikin Park, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The addition of Imai should add a capable and upside-laden arm to the Astros’ rotation, slotting in behind Hunter Brown and helping to offset the loss of Framber Valdez. Houston was a somewhat surprising entrant into the Imai bidding but managed to reel the right-hander in with a three-year deal that guarantees $54MM thanks to a combination of significant incentives and the opportunity to opt out of the deal in each of the next two offseasons. That could set Imai up for a much bigger payday down the road if he can deliver high-end results, but in the meantime Astros fans will get the opportunity to watch one of Japan’s top young starters make the jump to MLB in their uniform.
3. What’s next for the Blue Jays?
After signing a number of pitchers early in the offseason, from Dylan Cease to Tyler Rogers, the Blue Jays made a splash on the position player market by bringing in third baseman Kazuma Okamoto over the weekend. Adding Okamoto to the infield, at least on paper, would fill the hole left on the infield by Bo Bichette’s departure in free agency. With Okamoto at third, Ernie Clement can move to second base while Andres Gimenez slides to shortstop. However, there’s been no indication that the Blue Jays are done adding. A reunion with Bichette could certainly still be possible (thereby pushing Clement into a utility role), and the team has also been known to be very involved in the market for the offseason’s top free agent, outfielder Kyle Tucker. Will they be able to follow up Okamoto’s signing with an even bigger bat to boost the lineup?
I will obviously take Cabrera on the Yankees, but you cannot empty the coffers for him.
His late ’25 injury *should* discount him a bit because there’s definitely an uncertainty about it.
He’s really good, but c’mon let’s be smart about it.
But if we’re going to do it, let’s roll on this and Bellinger already. Seal the deals.
The Yankees farm system is not good. All fans want their team to get good players on the cheap but Yankees fans seem to overhype to the nth degree their suspect prospects trying to trade their fodder for another team’s stud player. You’re the Yankees! They’re the Marlins. Make them a GOOD offer of prospects. Your coffers ARE pretty empty so don’t flinch at whoever they ask for. You don’t need to win every deal and steal every player. You need to win games and titles. The world is not your farm system. Act accordingly!
Another our farm system isn’t any good post based on nothing. We don’t rank our prospects, we have 4 in the Top 100. Other teams value our guys or else we couldn’t make deals and we’ve made them aplenty. So please stop, you embarrass yourselves with these posts.
Also, I’m not shy about trading prospects AT ALL. I’m saying be smart about it based on the info we can all read. Cabrera is very good, but he need TJ sooner than later based on his injury late last season. We went through almost the same thing with Cole. Being smart isn’t the worst thing, so exactly act accordingly!
Yeah the Yankee balloon is not fill with air or helium it’s filled with arrogance. Even the media fills their heads with it. There are a couple of Yankee fans that don’t buy into it but most do.
Where’s the arrogance here?
Typical Yankees hate. And WE’RE the problem. lol
Total bullspit…..the usual Yankee’s suck post……look around the majors pal and tell us how many Yankee draftees are on teams rosters and then again remind us of how bad the Yankees farm system is/was/will be…..take it walking…..
Yanks farm may not have produced a lot of elite guys lately but last I checked Gil, Schmidt, Schlittler, Warren, Cortez, King, Vazquez and Holmes are all SP holding down rotation spots right now. They have several catchers in the majors in Wells, Higgy in Texas, Ramirez in Miami, Navaraez in Boston. Position players like Rice and Dominguez. Durbin in Milwaukee, 4 guys in the top 100 list (Lombard, Lagrange, Jones and Rodriguez). And the Yanks have traded several guys currently on top 10 list of other organizations. Griffin Herring and Roc Riggio with Colorado (McMahon trade). Kevin Alcántara with the Cubs (Anthony Rizzo). Rafael Flores Jr with Pittsburgh (David Bednar). Two guys who’ll likely pop on prospect lists soon is Marshall Toole whom the Yanks traded to the Rays (Caballero trade) and Dax Kilby their 1st round pick from 2025.
@Sal
What should teams offer the Yanks for Luis Gil? Go to fangraphs and set the filters for 2024 and 2025, minimum of 150 IP and age 28 and under and they are basically the exact same guy ranked #41 Gil and #42 Cabrera in WAR and just about everything across the board. And for sshts and giggles, Peralta is #44 and Warren #45. Both Gil and Cabrera have 3 years of control left. Will Warren has 5 years of control. Peralta only has 1 year left. Those things have to factor into how we value the guys. In these trade scenarios Yanks are looking to ADD pitching depth not swap them out.
I’m not looking to deal Gil for Cabrera so I’m confused there? I’d deal Gil for a bat like Brenton Doyle though!
@Sal
I wasn’t directing it your opinion moreso the topic. my bad. However gangs of other teams would value Gil should be a guide to how they value Cabrera, and to some extent Peralta and Warren.
Personally, I’d rank them:
Peralta first based on track record. All the potential in the world doesn’t mean you can actually do it. Freddy can. That said, I’m not the biggest fan.
Cabrera, based on his high upside, definitely the highest here.
Gil, he was a ROY after all, but has a bit to prove yet.
Warren, I like him a lot, but I feel like he’s valued less by others. He’s a very good 4/5.
How much they’d cost though is in the eye of the beholder based on a variety of things, not just stats. Peralta and Eddie would cost more though imo.
Sal- if we deal Gil or Cam in a package we better be getting a signed and extended Skubal back. How about Gil for Buxton? Lmk. That seems to make sense also.
I’d probably go for Gil for Buxton, but man that dude’s so injury prone. Great player though.
Extensions almost rarely happen and no way Skubal isn’t testing the open market. The guy is SP equivalent of Soto, he’s going to command a huge return like Soto did.
I’d take Buxton on the Dodgers, injury prone or not. He would fit perfectly.
Regarding farm systems. I keep hearing from unhappy fans the Dodgers farm system is overhyped and overrated blah blah. So don’t let the haters get to you about the Yankees farm.
One of the more concerning issues for farm systems is MLB standardizing minor league ballparks evaluation technology. Teams won’t be able to use their own specialized and proprietary data collection anymore.
This only benefits the teams that don’t invest in development, and MLB. Teams like Milwaukee and Ray’s will find it harder to evaluate possible trade targets that others don’t value as much.
@99
Why subtract a SP when that’s a greater need to bring in another OF when we hand 3 already and want to bring back Beli (or Tucker)?
FanGraphs projections
Gil: 4.61 FIP, 1.0 WAR/137 IP
Cabrera: 3.91 FIP, 2.0 WAR/142 IP
Yeah Eddie is better, no doubt to me.
I’d say that overestimates the inning totals for those guys…
I don’t think projections matter as much when you have real mlb numbers to look at and you can choose to ignore them but Gil has just about the same numbers as Cabrera over the last two years. It’s a fact.
I can’t deal Gil for Cabrera. Not even straight up. Maybe Warren and Hess for Cabby though.
Luzardo is better and they gave him away. Doubt Cabrera will cost much…..oh wait, looking at Yankees coffers, they pretty bare already 😅
I sure hope so, I would love to hear the Jays have signed Tucker….even if that is not what i called in the contest!!!!
As a Cubs and Jays fan I wouldnt touch Tucker or Bellinger.
Bring back Bichette and put Barger in OF
Springer is 37
Lukes 31
And Santander cant count on.
We saw what happened with Santnader deal
And Tucker cant stay healthy either
Well Junior, Santander is not some kid who had a bad debut, he is a proven bat, Springer is in his last season as a Jay (maybe) Barger will still be a valuable piece of the lineup!!! If Tucker can take us to at least one WS win then lets F@@@ing go!!!
As a Dodger fan I’d like to see Toronto add Tucker and Bichette. Let’s ruin baseball together!
But Bo has the body of a 40 year old even though hes 27.
Yeah, he looked like a 40 year old when he rocked Ohtani’s fastball into the left field seats for a 3-run homer!!! He’s more of a clutch hitter than anyone on the Dodgers !!! Fact!!
Bichette > Tucker. Atleast he will be over the life of contract they both sign next
Tucker is obviously a lot more valuable than Bichette. Bo has exceeded 4.5 bWar twice in his career. Tucker has put up between 4.6 and 5.3 over each of the last 5 seasons. And that’s despite his injuries the last two years.
While the Jays have spent a lot this offseason, I feel they are still short of one elite middle-of-the-order bat and one true postseason ace or dominant late-inning reliever. Not sure if they’re going to spend anymore, considering they’re sitting at $295M right now in paytroll + another $22M for the tax bill.
Well old York, why stop spending now??? go all in for that big bat, it is not like they can not afford to do it, I called for Bo to return but i think Tucker is the guy to go all in on!!!
@jaysfansince1977
Yeah, I don’t know. Really depends on what Rogers gives them for spending money.
Well look what Rogers has been willing to put out so far, Vlad, Santander, Cease, Ponce, Rogers, Okamoto!!! Why would they stop short???
exactly! The team could make playoffs as is, but I want insurance (Bo and Tucker). Now is not the time to go cheap, they’ve spent a ton.
@bobbymac7
Bo won’t be returning. Nowhere for him to play.
Old York, the one position they can add at is 2B which is the position Bichette is saying he’s willing to play. It would function largely as it did last year if Bichette was back. The platoony lefties like Gimenez, Barger, and Varsho would all have natural platoon partners in righties Clement, Schneider, and Straw. Clement would just get less playing time against righties which is a good thing. Just Lukes and Clement out against righties and Okamoto and Santander in. Against lefties the right handed bats would get their opportunities.
Personally, I’d rather see them get a left handed platoon bat at 2B like Donovan. Then Barger could have opportunity to face lefties.
A guy with a .598 OPS should not have a starting position locked up. We’ve seen Clement play very well at short in small samples the last 3 seasons. If the Blue Jays sign Bo to play second we should not automatically hand the shortstop role to Gimenez.
Disagree. 2B is there for Bo and he proved it in WS at less than 100% physically. Plus there’s always room for Bo’s bat.
Pingston if this is for me, we are in-agreement. The point I’m making is start Clement over Gimenez at shortstop.
I couldn’t agree more about Gimenez. I would rather Clement take the starting shortstop position. His defensive numbers at shortstop are actually pretty comparable to Gimenez’s anyway.
Our bullpen is pretty good atm. But agreed, we need tucker or bichette.
Tha Jays will still sign Bichette and Tucker- forget the payroll dollars… That’s straight from Edward Rogers
Not the way the current roster is assembled. They will need to make a trade to make this happen.
Bellinger to the Yanks, Bregman to the Redsox, Tucker to the Jays, Bo to the National league west.
There all done.
Give me +750 and I’d bet 50 on it
@Ducey- I hope you are right here. All sounds good to me.
I think Toronto goes very hard after Tucker, Get that done and start to shave down the extras.
If they can’t get Bo back, that will probably be the way they go.
I think the Jays know they are out of Bo’s market and made this move with Okamoto. Cheaper signing him then either Bo or Bregman, even with less certainty. Also, signing Okamoto should not effect their pursuit of Tucker. The potential middle infield defense of Geminez and Clement is extremely strong, if not lacking in power. Hopefully Vlad and Okamoto can slug 900+ to make up for it.
From what I read recently, apparently they’re planning on using Okamoto at multiple positions. I don’t think it really takes them out of the Bichette market. The team’s beat reporter said that they’re still in on both Tucker and Bichette.
Cost of potential quality starters continues to rise, even with their fragility. I’m wondering if, long term, we don’t see more of a “Lackey” clause in the future.
Payroll is so high (almost at Dodger levels!) but from a purely team building standpoint they need at the very least a Bellinger, but ideally a Bo or Tucker. As it stands they just replaced Bo with Kazuma on offense which I assume will be a downgrade but its possible Kazuma can plop an .850 OPS I guess. You also have to keep in mind Springer is 36 and coming off a career year so there will certainly be regression there. The dream would have been if Gimenez was not acquired as that would open up $20M and Ernie can play SS.
I think Kazuma will probably reach .850 ops at some point but might struggle a bit to reach .800 in his first year. Better MLB pitching might be a bit of a learning curve for him but the larger ball in MLB might actually help him so we will find out.
Kazuma struggles with anything over 94 MPH. He could really struggle this year for the Jays.
@bobbymac7 you’re still believing that?
I think he just needs more reps against that kind of velocity. They just don’t see it very often in the NPB. There have been other players coming over from that league that struggled against velocity initially and adapted after a little bit.
Are you still believing that garbage??? Okamoto is another Steven Kwan or Bichette – he’s a pure hitter!
His Giants coaches have said that he’ll pick up right where he left off in the Japanese league… He’ll be In The cages already banging balls at 95/96 and higher..
I suppose they could put Okamoto in LF if they sign Bichette. I’d rather have Bichette.
I wouldn’t consider Okamoto a Bichette or Tucker replacement.
Clement as a 3B isn’t much different overall than Okamoto.
Ivan, do you remember who Clement replaced on the team and what that guy went on to do (and how much Jays fans were mad about it)??? Clement is not as good as Okamoto!!!
Like you, I’ve Ame a Jays supporter in 1977, and you’re right, Clement is no Okamoto!! Clements regular season numbers can’t be compared at all.
Clement homers 9, Okamoto avg 30, RBI Clement 50, Okamoto Avg 80…OPS Clement .711, Okamoto avg .820…
These are two different animals. Okamoto is a
“Hitman”, a “Gun for Hire”…
@Ivan Grushenko
Since ’20, Okamoto has had about 140 innings in LF. With a 30 Speed and 40 Fielding on the 20/80 Scale it’s not a huge leap to say he’s not an OF.
I do believe that the Jays have more money to spend, but I imagine ownership will want them divesting themselves of a contract or two to help offset. Unfortunately, I don’t think they have that attractive contract to move and open up some space. No one’s touching Santandar’s contract without the Jays paying off a significant chunk themselves, and Berrios is at the low end of his value right now after his finish last season.
Greg teams love pitchers who eat innings and Berrios has been one of the best yes his value is down but not to the point he is untradeable, Jays are not thinking about moving Santander until the deadline to see if he actually comes back strong which i think he does.
Agreed on both. My point was only if they felt they needed to make a move to free up some cash to sign Tucker or Bichette, those would be the two most likely candidates, neither of which has a tonne of value today. If they can spend without needing to make a move, then you definitely hold onto both guys to rebuild value in season.
Payroll tax is calculated at the end of the season , so the Jays will assess everything at the Trade Deadline… I’m betting that Berrios will be in the best shape of his baseball life- he’s a proud professional and he’s got a major chip on his shoulder. He’ll be out to prove that he belongs in the discussion of the Jays top pitchers …
Big shout out to Scott Harris for doing next to nothing with the offseason! The Tigers are an abysmal organization with no direction.
Let’s face it. Cashman isn’t going to get anything done. Watch and see. No he won’t sign a top tier free agent, nor is he going to trade for second tier talent. He’ll climb into the dumpster and get the rejects no one wants. He’ll run back the same talent that was unable to win the division outright last year, all while Cashman and Boone rant about how good these guys are now.
I’m not impressed. Resigning Cole was the beginning of the end for Cashman imo
@Big Whiffa As much as I wish you were right about that, I’ve gotta disagree. I don’t think Cashman is going anywhere until he decides to leave.
This is likely very accurate. They’ve been gaslighting the fanbase for years. Although I do believe they’re going to get Bellinger back, it wouldn’t surprise me if he signs elsewhere and they don’t do anything else (except minor league deals).
@Dogs for Hire
Yankees were only a few wins away from beating the Jays for the ALE title and the Jays were only 2 outs away from winning the World Series. How do you build on that? Seems like a championship caliber team already. 😀
“Old York”…
You just keep believing that Yankee narrative-.and then you’ll be screaming at playoffs again!!! 8 weeks bs to give favored the Yankees . In reality, the Jays should have swept the Yankees in the playoffs in
2025… The Yankees are running it back with the same roster… The Jays will be much stronger with only Okamoto, plus Tucker in ‘26, offensively, with Cease, Ponce, Rogers, Berrios , Garcia, and more on the pitching side…
@Dogs
Can you just change that to “team that tied for the most wins in the AL despite losing their #1, #3 and #5 starter and DH for at least half, if not all, the season?? Despite that he was able to plus in several guys that helped them win 95 games. Homegrown guys like Rice, Warren and Schlittler and using others to acquire Bednar, Doval, McMahon and Caballero without giving up any of their 4 prepaid on the top 100 list. See… fixed it for you.
@KnicksFanCavsFan
Exactly. I feel the Yankees overperformed last year, given the players they had and all the injuries.
@Dogs
Can you just change that to “team that tied for the most wins in the AL despite losing their #1, #3 and #5 starter and DH for at least half, if not all, the season?? Despite that he was able to plug in several guys that helped them win 95 games. Homegrown guys like Rice, Warren and Schlittler and using others to acquire Bednar, Doval, McMahon and Caballero without giving up any of their 4 prospects on the top 100 list. See… fixed it for you.
He really doesn’t need to do much honestly. The team is solid and gets Cole, Rodon and Schmidt back soon.
Bellinger and maybe a pen arm, but they are in good shape.
New York is always in good shape, but the standard is WS or bust so to that standard, fans should be upset
Well, the blue Js have still got Keirmaier,
Only as a coach. KK retired as a player in 2024.
Yes that’s what I meant. I know he is not on the level of Mattingly, but, not bad.
Clement is a great utility player. That’s his strength. Why would you limit that by locking him into 2nd? Bichette is an OPS machine. Letting him walk would be a huge mistake. Add Tucker if you can but Bo should be the priority.
Clement can slide over to short. Would rather have him hitting than Gimenez. Arguably a wash defensively at shortstop.
My uneducated guess is that the Blue Jays land Tucker with opt-outs. If so, Bichette’s market comes down to Boston and NYY….Mets need more pitching, and Bichette doesn’t fit their infield. Mets can help make sure Jays pay for Tucker….too quiet from the Cubs, wonder what they are planning. Perhaps the Phillies….with a late charge. Bregman to Boston is looking more likely with each move.
squirrel!
Cabrera would be interesting for the Giants, but don’t give up any of our top prospects for him, like Eldridge, Whisenhunt, Gonzalez or Level.