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Nationals Drawing Significant Interest In CJ Abrams

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The Nationals have been deep in a rebuild for quite some time, and that figures to continue under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. That’s meant plenty of trade rumors surrounding southpaw MacKenzie Gore, who is set to reach free agency after the 2027 season. He’s not the only trade chip that Toboni has to market, however, as Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report that the team is also “getting pushed aggressively” on infielder CJ Abrams. Sammon and Rosenthal write that the Nats are open to moving both players, though they’ve set a high bar to deal each of them.

Gore’s been all over the rumor mill in recent weeks, but the status of Abrams’s market is news. He’s long been a speculative trade candidate (even landing on MLBTR’s Top 40 Trade Candidates list last month) but has received much less buzz than Gore to this point in the winter. Some of that is because it would be easier for the Nationals to hold onto Abrams. The 25-year-old is under team control for three seasons and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of just $5.6MM in 2026. That leaves the Nationals with minimal pressure to trade him this winter, as he’d still be one of the most controllable and affordable players available if held until the summer or even next offseason.

With that said, Abrams’s longer-term control and low price tag make him a player who would be fairly easy to fit onto virtually any club in need of infield help. Abrams plays shortstop in D.C. but has received poor grades from defensive metrics for his work there, suggesting that a move elsewhere on the dirt could behoove him. Teams like the Braves and Rays are known to be seeking help at shortstop, however, and in a thin market with few options beyond Bo Bichette and Ha-Seong Kim adding someone like Abrams despite defensive misgivings could make sense. Plenty of teams could look to use Abrams at either second or third base if they so chose. Teams like the Pirates, Mariners, Red Sox, Tigers, and Cubs have all been connected to the infield market this winter and there’s surely plenty of other teams who would be motivated to try and land Abrams to bolster their infield.

For all his defensive shortcomings, Abrams has the potential to be an impactful offensive player. Over the past two seasons, he’s slashed .252/.315/.433 with 114 extra-base hits and 62 stolen bases, good for a 107 wRC+ overall. The Diamondbacks were the only team in baseball last year to get a 107 wRC+ or better from each of third base, second base, and shortstop. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the other 28 teams in the league all have room for Abrams on their infield—the Dodgers, for example, certainly aren’t going to supplant Mookie Betts after just one down season with the bat—but it does highlight how many teams could upgrade their offense by bringing Abrams into the fold even if the 25-year-old doesn’t continue to develop in the coming years.

As good of a fit for a large number of teams as Abrams may be, however, it’s worth remembering that he’s arguably more of a complimentary player than a true star at this point. Abrams’s defensive lapses at shortstop severely limit his overall value, and while he turned in a three-win season this year it was the first of his career by fWAR. He also offers little in the way of on-base ability, with a career .306 OBP thanks to a walk rate that peaked at 6.6% in 2023. Even with those shortcomings, however, Abrams’s combination of power and speed are undeniable and should make him very intriguing to any infield-needy team as the Winter Meetings get underway.

Royals Hoping To Add Multiple Outfielders

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The Royals are known to be evaluating the trade market for outfielders, with president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo recently signaling a willingness to trade from his rotation depth to bring in some outfield help. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Kansas City is looking to acquire multiple outfielders this offseason — ideally one via trade and another via free agency. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that free agent center fielder Harrison Bader is a target for the Royals. Austin Hays is also on the team’s radar, per Heyman.

While Heyman suggests that the Royals are particularly keen on adding some right-handed help to the lineup, manager Matt Quatraro downplayed any desire for specific handedness in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (video clip).

“Right-handed, left-handed — it’s who can give us the professional at-bats,” Quatraro said when asked about his team’s approach as it shops for upgrades this winter. “I don’t think it has to be one or the other. It’s who wants to be there, who can provide the most upside for us within the lineup to lengthen it out.” Quatraro did go on to call Bader a “great name” and a “top-notch free agent this offseason” when asked specifically about Heyman’s report, but he naturally sidestepped commenting on any specific interest from his club.

Unsurprisingly, Rosenthal suggests that the Royals aren’t pursuing top-end free agents like Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, both of whom will command nine-figure contracts that exceed Kansas City’s preferred price range. He also implies that there’s some reluctance to bet too heavily on rebound candidates, given that the team will already be banking on meaningful contributions from young players like catcher Carter Jensen and first baseman/outfielder Jac Caglianone.

Bader, according to Rosenthal, is seeking a three-year deal in free agency. Whether that proves too steep for the Royals remains to be seen, but the ask is understandable coming off a terrific season. The 31-year-old slashed a career-best .277/.347/.449 (122 wRC+) and also notched career-high marks in home runs (17), doubles (24) and plate appearances (501) in 146 games between the Twins and Phillies. Bader played more left field than usual, in deference to Byron Buxton during his time with the Twins, but provided his usual brand of plus defense in both spots.

Glove-first outfielders of this nature generally haven’t been able to command three-year contracts in free agency, typically settling for two-year arrangements, at best. Bader could be helped out by a thin and frankly bleak market for center field help, although recent offseasons with a similar lack of options at the position haven’t yielded overpays for the few credible candidates available.

Bader’s ability to land a three-year deal (or his lack thereof) will hinge on whether teams buy the offensive breakout. There are reasons to be skeptical. Bader’s production was buoyed by a huge .359 average on balls in play. Last year’s 27.1% strikeout rate, meanwhile, was his highest since 2020.

The uptick in power and overall production isn’t really supported by an increase in batted-ball quality; Bader’s 87.2 mph average exit velocity is well below the league-average and an exact match for his 2024 mark — a season in which he batted .236/.284/.373. Bader did barrel more balls than usual this season and enjoy a slight bump in hard-hit rate, but the uptick in whiffs and a career-high 45.7% ground-ball rate make it more than fair to question whether he can sustain this type of offense.

Hays, 30, would be another righty-swinging addition, albeit one who is coming off a lesser season at the plate and is not an option in center field at this stage of his career. He popped 15 homers for the Reds in 2025 while hitting .266/.315/.453 overall (105 wRC+). As usual, a disproportionate amount of Hays’ production came against left-handed pitchers, whom he crushed at a .319/.400/.549 clip. Against right-handers, Hays mustered a more tepid .249/.286/.422 output.

Hays has generally been a fine defensive left fielder. He does have some experience in center but hasn’t played there since 2023 and only has 483 total big league innings at the position (compared to more than 3600 in left field and more than 900 in right field). He’s battled myriad injuries in recent seasons, including calf, hamstring and foot ailments in 2025 and, far more concerningly, a severe kidney infection in 2024 that sapped every aspect of his game. Hays played last season on a one-year, $5MM deal in Cincinnati and is probably looking at another affordable one- or perhaps two-year deal in free agency.

The Royals’ 2026 payroll comes in at a projected $139MM, per RosterResource. That’s already considerably higher than the $126MM mark at which they opened the 2025 season. They’re within a few million dollars of the franchise-record $143MM — a mark that was set under the late David Glass, who sold the club to current owner John Sherman back in Nov. 2019.

That number could change a bit, depending on the type of outfielder the club targets via trade and whether they trade a somewhat established starter for said outfielder. Lefty Kris Bubic, for instance, has been the subject of trade talks and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $6MM next year. If he’s traded and the return includes a pre-arbitration outfielder, the Royals would trim more than $5MM off that expected payroll.

However it takes shape, upgrading the outfield is the clear priority for Kansas City this winter. Royals outfielders were far and away the least-productive group in Major League Baseball last year, slashing a combined .225/.285/.348. The resulting 73 wRC+ ranked last in the game. Kansas City’s 37 home runs from its outfield were the second-fewest of any team in the sport. None of the Royals’ best and/or most MLB-ready prospects play the outfield naturally. Caglianone is a first baseman who’s learning right field due the presence of Vinnie Pasquantino at his natural position. In addition to Bader and Hays, the Royals are also said to be interested in re-signing deadline acquisition Mike Yastrzemski.

Athletics, Michael Stefanic Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics and infielder Michael Stefanic have agreed to a minor league deal, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The deal comes with an invite to big league Spring Training for the upcoming season.

Stefanic, 30 in February, has made cameos at the big league level in each of the past four MLB seasons. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Angels back in 2018, Stefanic played in the lower levels of the minors for a little over the year before the cancelled minor league season in 2020 wiped out a year of development. When he returned in 2021, he looked nothing short of excellent in the upper minors with a .336/.408/.493 slash line between the Double- and Triple-A levels. He struck out at just a 13.9% clip while walking 9.4% of the time. He hit for a bit of power in addition to that discipline, swatting 17 homers and 26 doubles in 125 games.

Stefanic’s minor league numbers have generally been more of the same; in five seasons at the Triple-A level, he’s a career .332/.427/.454 hitter. While he hasn’t come close to showing as much power as he did back in 2021, his contact and discipline has remained excellent for his level and allowed him to succeed with a contact-over-power profile while playing primarily second base but logging time all over the infield. Unfortunately for Stefanic, his game simply hasn’t translated at the big league level in the limited opportunities he’s received.

The 30-year-old is a career .227/.314/.267 hitter across 99 games and 289 plate appearances in the majors. His best stint at the big league level came with the Angels in 2023, when he slashed a solid .290/.380/.355 across 25 games. Those are excellent on-base numbers, but he was helped by a .333 BABIP he hasn’t been able to replicate since thanks to a paltry 22.2% Hard-Hit rate and a barrel rate of 0.0%. That complete lack of power is difficult to make work in the majors; Luis Arraez is virtually the only player in the modern game to find any sort of sustained success with that sort of approach, although others like Nick Madrigal have been able to hold their own in smaller samples.

The A’s will bring Stefanic in as some much-needed infield depth behind a group that is largely unproven outside of AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Jacob Wilson. Max Muncy was unable to make an impact in 63 games for the club this year, while Zack Gelof hasn’t impressed at the big league level since his debut 2023 season due to injuries and ineffectiveness. Players like Darell Hernaiz, Max Schuemann, and Brett Harris could provide depth behind that group, but adding another option like Stefanic makes some sense given a thin market for infield talent this winter and the Athletics’ typical lack of resources. If the A’s don’t manage to bring in another infield bat to their mix this winter, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Stefanic compete with someone like Schuemann for a bench job headed into camp this spring.

Friedman: Less “Heavy Lifting” To Do For Dodgers This Winter

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The Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions thanks to a massive financial outlay over the past two offseasons that allowed them to bring in Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and a number of other pieces that were key to their current core. As they attempt to make it a threepeat, however, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman suggested to reporters that there’s “not as much heavy lifting required” this year as there was in previous winters, and acknowledged that the Dodgers may alter their approach somewhat as they look to avoid some of the perils that come with an aging core.

Andy Pages, Hyeseong Kim, and Dalton Rushing were the only three position players younger than 30 on the Dodgers’ roster this past year to appear in even 50 games. The pitching side has a bit more young talent thanks to the additions of Yamamoto and Sasaki, and homegrown arms like Emmet Sheehan, Ben Casparius, and Jack Dreyer all impacted the team as well. Even so, the Dodgers were already the oldest team in the majors this year (their Opening Day roster had an average age of 31.5). Freddie Freeman (36) and Mookie Betts (33) are under contract through their age-37 and -39 seasons, respectively. Snell is under contract through his age-36 campaign. Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani will play next year at age-31, but they’ll both be in Dodger blue until their age-38 seasons.

Long-term deals for free agents naturally come with a roster full of aging players as those deals progress. While Plunkett notes that the Dodgers feel the players they’ve invested in will age well, it’s not hard to see why concerns of eventual decline are present. That’s why Friedman said the age of the roster is something he’s keeping in mind as he makes decisions this winter. The Dodgers have a farm system rich with young talent, with seven top-100 prospects according to MLB.com including four at the Double-A level or higher. Friedman said that it will be important to be “thoughtful” about how those players are brought along at the big league level and made part of the team’s core.

It’s not always been easy for the team to find ways to plug in young talent. Rushing was viewed as ready to step into a big league role as early as last year by some in the industry, but has been blocked by Smith behind the plate. Pages was only able to step into an everyday role with the club this year thanks to a combination of injuries to Tommy Edman and ineffectiveness from Michael Conforto. Kim was signed primarily as a utility player and did not break out of that capacity. Alex Freeland is arguably big league ready at this point but is blocked by players like Edman, Betts, and Max Muncy headed into the 2026 season.

All of that is to say that there’s reason to believe reports that indicate the Dodgers may not be inclined to pursue a long-term deal with a star outfielder like Kyle Tucker. With well-regarded outfielders like Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope coming up through the farm system, the outfield could be the team’s best opportunity to inject some youth into the roster. Signing Tucker (or even someone like old friend Cody Bellinger) on a deal that would last into his late thirties would be counter-productive to that goal, although the fit could make more sense if the Dodgers were to trade another aging player like Teoscar Hernandez, whose name has been rumored to be in play as part of trade talks this winter.

Of course, De Paula, Hope, and other young talents aren’t likely to be ready for the majors on Opening Day 2026. That means some sort of stopgap will be necessary, and Plunkett writes that the team could turn to the trade market to improve an outfield that stands out as the roster’s biggest weakness. Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan and Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan stand out as among the best fits, though the Dodgers reportedly had some interest in Luis Robert Jr. last winter as well.

Plunkett also notes that, while the bullpen figures to be a focus for the Dodgers this winter after the departure of Michael Kopech, adding a surefire closer isn’t necessarily a high priority. While Tanner Scott’s first year in L.A. did not go as planned, Plunkett writes that Friedman expressed plenty of confidence in the lefty to be a “huge part” of the Dodgers in 2026. The Dodgers have been connected to Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez this winter, but as the team looks to avoid adding aging players on long-term deals it’s possible they could instead look to pieces who could be had on short-term arrangements like Luke Weaver and Pete Fairbanks.

Mets, Carl Edwards Jr. Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mets have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent reliever Carl Edwards Jr., reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Edwards, a client of the Ballengee Group, will be in major league camp next spring as a non-roster invitee.

Edwards, 34, pitched just six big league innings last season between the Angels and Rangers, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with six punchouts. He’s pitched for eight teams across parts of 11 major league seasons, totaling a 3.56 ERA, 28% strikeout rate and 12.7% walk rate in 286 frames.

Once regarded as a top pitching prospect, the 6’3″, 165-pound Edwards settled in as an important reliever with the Cubs back in their 2016 World Series run and in subsequent seasons. From 2016-18, the “Stringbean Slinger” tossed 154 1/3 innings of 3.03 ERA ball with a huge 34.2% strikeout rate but a hefty 13.5% walk rate.

Edwards slipped into journeyman status shortly thereafter, as his command troubles worsened and his struggles became untenable. He had a resurgence with the Nats in 2022-23, however, combining for 93 2/3 innings with a 3.07 earned run average. His 20.1% strikeout rate was a far cry from his Cubs peak, although his 10.6% walk rate was also an improvement.

Edwards spent the bulk of last season in Triple-A, working to a 4.44 ERA through 50 2/3 frames in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. He set down 25.8% of his opponents on strikes and posted a 7.2% walk rate that stands as the best mark of his career in any notable sample. He also induced grounders at a hearty 54.9% rate in Triple-A. He’ll be a veteran depth option with the Mets — one of several such additions surely on the docket this winter.

Padres Listening To Offers On Nick Pivetta, Jake Cronenworth

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As the Padres continue to try to build a competitive roster with minimal payroll wiggle room, they’re at least entertaining offers on righty Nick Pivetta, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic. They’re also listening on second baseman Jake Cronenworth, Lin writes, though the two are in different spots in terms of trade candidacy. Pivetta, despite an opt-out in his contract at season’s end, would presumably still be coveted by numerous clubs. Cronenworth, with five years and $60MM remaining on his contract as he heads into his age-32 season, has considerably less trade value. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote yesterday that San Diego isn’t merely listening but has been actively shopping Cronenworth.

The 32-year-old Pivetta (33 in January) is coming off a terrific season in which he logged a career-low 2.87 ERA over a career-high 181 2/3 innings. It was just the sort of season for which the Padres hoped when signing Pivetta to a four-year contract — a bet made on his durability and typically strong strikeout/walk rates. Pivetta had never posted an ERA under 4.00, but metrics like SIERA (3.78) and xFIP (3.92) liked him far better than the 4.33 ERA he’d posted across the four prior seasons.

San Diego found itself in a similar situation last winter to the one in which president of baseball operations A.J. Preller now resides. The team is still intent on going for it in a competitive NL West division, but payroll has been reduced since the untimely passing of late owner Peter Seidler back in 2023. Preller & Co. drew up a four-year, $55MM deal for Pivetta that paid him just $4MM in year on ($3MM signing bonus, $1MM salary) and then jumped to $19MM in 2026, $14MM in 2027 and $18MM in 2028. Pivetta also has the right to opt out of the final two years and $32MM on his contract following the current season. That seems like all but a given, provided he’s still healthy and even reasonably effective.

That unique contract structure complicates trade scenarios surrounding Pivetta. While he’s sure to command interest, teams will view him more as a one-year rental than as a long-term pickup. They’ll also need to price in the downside of Pivetta potentially sustaining a serious injury and/or performing so poorly that he forgoes that opt-out opportunity and thus saddles them with an unwanted two-year, $32MM commitment. Pivetta could probably still bring back a prospect or lower-cost big leaguer of some note, but the return wouldn’t be as strong as many might think for a sixth-place Cy Young finisher who is technically signed for three more affordable seasons.

All of that makes the trade calculus surrounding Pivetta more difficult for Preller and his staff. The Friars are hoping to add to their rotation, not subtract from it. Trading Pivetta for a strong return and reallocating the $19MM he’ll make this coming season sounds good in theory but would be harder to execute in practice. Perhaps a team with more financial flexibility would acquire Pivetta with an eye toward restructuring his contract (extending him but also removing the opt-out opportunities), though that’s a purely speculative scenario and not one that is typical throughout MLB as a whole.

With regard to Cronenworth, he’s coming off a productive season, but his contract is still generally underwater. The lefty-swinging infielder hit .246/.367/.377 in 2025, with the bulk of his offensive value coming via a career-high 13.4% walk rate and a whopping 15 hit-by-pitches, both of which inflated his on-base percentage to career-best levels. On a rate basis, Cronenworth’s power was at the lowest point of his career, however (.131 ISO). Statcast pegged his “expected” batting average at .227 and his “expected” slugging percentage at just .348.

Cronenworth’s versatility is a point in his favor, but he’s primarily played second base and first base — two positions that typically aren’t compensated especially well on the modern MLB market (with the exception of the game’s truly elite bats at either position). It’s feasible that Cronenworth could command something similar to his $12MM annual value if he were a free agent right now, but it certainly wouldn’t come over a five-year term. He’d be limited to a much shorter contract on the open market, and teams will price that into any trade offers. In all likelihood, San Diego would need to pay down a fair bit of Cronenworth’s contract or take back another unwelcome contract.

Broadly speaking, the circumstances surrounding both players serve as a portent for the type of moves the Padres will have to explore this offseason. Preller is always one of the most frenetic baseball operations leaders in the game, and his need to address multiple roster holes — two starters, at least one bat, perhaps some help at catcher — with minimal payroll flexibility amid a changing ownership landscape suggest that we’re in for another slate of creative, difficult-to-predict transactions for the Padres in the weeks ahead.

Diamondbacks To Sign Michael Soroka

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The Diamondbacks and free agent right-hander Michael Soroka are in agreement on a one-year deal that will reportedly pay the ISE Baseball client a guaranteed $7.5MM. Soroka can tack on an additional $2MM worth of incentives. The deal is pending a physical. Once complete, he’ll be penciled into the team’s rotation.

Soroka, still just 28 years old, is already signing the second free-agent contract of his career. He inked a one-year, $9MM deal with the Nats last offseason after an uneven year with the White Sox, wherein he struggled immensely as a starting pitcher before posting huge numbers as a reliever down the stretch. Washington plugged Soroka back into a starting role in 2025, eventually flipping him to the Cubs at the trade deadline. Soroka posted a middling 4.52 ERA in 89 2/3 innings (17 starts, six relief appearances) but continued to intrigue with sharp rate stats: 25.1% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate, 44.1% ground-ball rate.

Arizona is in need of help both in the rotation and in the bullpen, so even though Soroka is bound for the starting staff, he could be a fallback in the bullpen if the initial plan doesn’t work out. For now, he’ll join the trio of Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt as one of manager Torey Lovullo’s starters.

It still wasn’t that long ago that Soroka looked like one of the game’s most promising young arms. The 2015 first-round pick ranked as one of baseball’s top prospects prior to his debut with Atlanta, and the first two seasons of his career more than justified that billing. In 200 1/3 innings from his late-2018 callup through the end of the 2019 season, Soroka pitched to a sparkling 2.79 earned run average. His 20% strikeout rate was below-average, but he compensated for that with an excellent 5.9% walk rate, a 50.2% grounder rate and plenty of weak contact.

Injuries decimated the next several years of Soroka’s career and eventually pushed him out of the Braves’ plans. He’s twice torn his Achilles tendon and also missed time due to multiple shoulder injuries and a biceps strain. Soroka hasn’t reached even 100 innings in a major league season since that outstanding 2018-19 run; in fact, he’s pitched only 215 1/3 big league innings total since that time — just 15 more than he pitched in that initial MLB run.

Soroka will be one of multiple additions in general manager Mike Hazen’s rotation. The D-backs entered the offseason in dire need of pitching depth. Of the aforementioned trio of starters, only Nelson (3.39 ERA, 154 innings) posted quality bottom-line results last year. Both Rodriguez and Pfaadt posted ERAs north of 5.00, though each (Pfaadt in particular) was viewed more favorably by fielding-independent metrics.

Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has already indicated that payroll will decline after last year’s mark topped $200MM for the first time in franchise history. However, he’s also made clear that the team is fully intent on striving to contend despite that reduction. It’s not clear exactly where the ultimate budget lies, but Hazen and his staff should have plenty of spending room even with the budget scaling down. The addition of Soroka pushes next year’s projected payroll to just over $151MM, per RosterResource.

Arizona has also been looking into a reunion with righty Merrill Kelly, whom they traded to the Rangers in July ahead of his free agent departure this offseason. There’s mutual interest there, though Kelly’s annual salary will likely more than double what Soroka just commanded. Pete Fairbanks is a known target on the bullpen side of things, though he’s surely just one of many. The D-backs are also at least hearing out other clubs who inquire on star second baseman Ketel Marte, though a trade is seen as unlikely, and they’re listening to offers on lefty-swinging outfielders Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy.

Suffice it to say, it’ll be a busy few days for the D-backs in Orlando at this week’s Winter Meetings, though it’s unlikely the check off every item on their to-do list before MLB’s premier offseason event concludes.

Jesse Rogers and Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the one-year agreement between the two parties. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the salary terms, incentives and Soroka’s role.

Mets “Reluctant” To Make Long-Term Offers For Free Agent Starters

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While it’s no secret that addressing the top of the rotation is a priority for the Mets this winter, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that the Mets are hesitant to make long-term offers to the top starters available in free agency this winter. Sammon adds that each of Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, and Ranger Suarez would “hold some appeal” to the Mets on shorter-term deals.

At this point, it seems unlikely any of those pitchers will need to settle for something short-term. MLBTR predicted both Valdez and Imai to land six-year deals worth $150MM in free agency this winter as the offseason’s #6 and #7 free agents. Meanwhile, Suarez clocked in at #10 on MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents list and was predicted for a five-year deal worth $115MM. Right-hander Dylan Cease jumped the market to sign a seven-year deal with the Blue Jays late last month. His $210MM guarantee exceeds the seven-year, $189MM guarantee MLBTR predicted for the right-hander, although that deal does include deferred money that lowers the net present value of the deal a bit.

Even with that deferred money, however, Cease’s seven-year pact is hardly a troublesome omen for Valdez, Imai, and Suarez. Imai in particular won’t celebrate his 28th birthday until May and that youth figures to help him land a long-term deal this winter. Of course, free agency can be unpredictable. While the trend of short-term deals with opt outs have been more common for position players (Carlos Correa, Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Pete Alonso) than pitchers in recent years, a few hurlers have found an unexpectedly soft market as well. Jack Flaherty was widely expected to land a long-term deal in free agency last offseason but ended up signing for just two years with the Tigers. Two offseasons ago, Blake Snell was viewed as a shoo-in for a six-year deal but wound up signing with the Giants on a short-term, opt-out laden pact.

Perhaps the Mets are willing to be patient on the free agent market to see if another high-end starter falls through the cracks like Snell did during the 2023-24 offseason. Another option would be to move a tier down in free agency to sign a short-term deal with a player who has still shown front-of-the-rotation upside. Michael King is viewed as being a potential top-of-the-rotation arm whose years will be limited coming off an injury-marred season, and the Mets are among the teams with known interest. Sammon floats Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly as other possibilities, either of whom would be plausible fits. Kelly turned in a 3.52 ERA in 32 starts last year, but will be forced to stay short-term by the fact that he’ll play next season at the age of 37. Gallen has shown ace-level upside in the past and is only 30, but enters free agency coming off the worst season of his career.

Another option for the Mets would be to keep tabs on the trade market. Sammon notes that Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller is someone that New York would “likely” view as an upgrade to their internal rotation options, to say nothing of more established front-end options like Freddy Peralta or higher upside players like MacKenzie Gore and Edward Cabrera. Keller will make $54.5MM over the next three seasons, while Gore and Cabrera are controlled via arbitration through 2027 and ’28 respectively. Peralta (as well as ace lefty Tarik Skubal, should the Tigers make him available) would only be controlled for one season before they would hit free agency and surely seek the sort of long-term deals the Mets are looking to avoid.

Speculatively speaking, that could make a controllable starter like Keller, Gore, or Cabrera and ideal fit for the Mets. The club already appears motivated to make moves on the trade market this winter, with Kodai Senga and Jeff McNeil among the club’s rumored trade candidates. In addition to those veteran names, the Mets have a number of young infielders (Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna, and Ronny Mauricio) who could be made available in the right deal. For a team like the Pirates or Marlins looking to add help on offense, any of those names would surely be attractive pieces to bring into the fold.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that a significant number of starting pitchers move on the trade market this winter. If a run on starting pitching begins in free agency while the Mets are focused on the trade market, the club could find that the patient approach it took backfired and left them without a true front-end talent to pursue—or that they had to pay a premium to land one of the last arms remaining on the market. It’s a difficult needle the Mets will have to thread if they want to land a front-end arm on a shorter-term arrangement, and fans are surely hoping they’ll do a better job of doing so than they did with last winter’s disappointing deals for Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, and Frankie Montas. Of that trio, only Holmes managed to stick in the rotation by the end of the year.

The Opener: Winter Meetings, Schwarber, Marte

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Winter Meetings Underway:

Players, agents, and executives alike arrived in Orlando last night for this year’s Winter Meetings, which officially kick off today and run through this coming Thursday. Even before the meetings began, there was significant movement around the league. The big news of this weekend was a trade between the Mariners and Nationals that saw top prospect Harry Ford head to D.C. in exchange for ground balling lefty Jose A. Ferrer. Many more trades and transactions figure to follow over the coming days, and last year’s Winter Meetings famously kicked off with a record-shattering contract between Juan Soto and the Mets. What will the biggest stories of this year’s meetings be? Be sure to check in with MLBTR throughout the coming days to hear about all the latest news!

2. Schwarber gets a big offer… from the Pirates?

The market for slugging DH Kyle Schwarber has been among the most active for any position player this offseason, and last night word broke that he’s received at least one significant offer. That four-year offer is expected to be worth more than $100MM, and comes from an unusual place: Pittsburgh. Pirates brass have frequently indicated this winter that they have more resources at their disposal than usual, but a nine-figure deal for Schwarber would be a massive departure from the franchise’s previous comfort zone; they’ve never signed a free agent to a guarantee of $40MM in the past. Schwarber is also known to be pursued by the incumbent Phillies as well as the Reds, Red Sox, Giants, and Orioles. With one offer already on the table, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the slugger’s market move quickly over the coming days.

3. Teams keeping an eye on Marte:

While the Diamondbacks have made clear that they don’t necessarily plan on trading Ketel Marte, that hasn’t stopped various teams from keeping an eye on the switch hitting All-Star. The 32-year-old would immediately become the best hitter available on the trade market if Arizona were to shop him, and there’s a number of teams already checking in. Yesterday, it was reported that the Red Sox, Rays, Tigers, Pirates, and Mariners have all been keeping an eye on Marte as a possible addition to their respective lineups. In a market where Bo Bichette is the only star-level middle infielder available via free agency, Marte figures to be especially attractive to teams in need of infield talent. That could spur the Diamondbacks to consider a trade, particularly as their payroll has reached record levels in recent years and their rotation has been depleted by the departures of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly (not to mention Tommy John surgery for Corbin Burnes).

Jeff Kent Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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Jeff Kent was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as revealed by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee tonight.  Kent received 14 of a possible 16 votes from the Era Committee, easily topping the 75% (12 of 16) threshold needed for induction to Cooperstown.  Of the other seven candidates under consideration, Carlos Delgado was the next-closest candidate with nine votes, and Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly each received six votes.  Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela all received less than five votes.

A veteran of 17 Major League seasons with the Blue Jays, Mets, Indians, Giants, Astros, and Dodgers from 1992-2008, Kent hit more homers as a second baseman than any other player in history, going yard 351 times from the position.  His resume includes four Silver Slugger awards and five All-Star nods, as well as the 2000 NL MVP Award when Kent was a member of the Giants.

Kent is primarily remembered for his six seasons in San Francisco and five seasons with the Mets.  Beginning his career as a well-regarded prospect in the Blue Jays’ farm system, Roberto Alomar’s presence in Toronto made Kent expendable, and the Jays dealt Kent for David Cone in August 1992.  Cone’s presence helped the Blue Jays capture the 1992 World Series, while Kent went onto establish himself as a solid regular during his time in New York.

The 1996 trade deadline saw Kent again on the move, this time to Cleveland.  During the 1996-97 offseason, the Tribe flipped Kent to San Francisco, where he truly rose to stardom.  Kent hit .297/.368/.535 with 175 homers over 3903 plate appearances and an even 900 games with the Giants from 1997-2002, teaming with Bonds to form a devastating one-two punch in the lineup.  The 2002 Giants reached the World Series for Kent’s only appearance in the Fall Classic, as the team fell just short in a seven-game loss to the Angels.  For his career in the postseason, Kent hit a solid .276/.340/.500 over 189 PA.

Kent spent his final six seasons with the Astros (2003-04) and Dodgers (05-08), and remained an offensive force at the plate until his production finally trailed off in his 17th and final MLB season.  Over 2298 career games and 9537 PA, Kent hit .290/.356/.500 with 377 home runs, 1518 RBI, and 1320 runs scored.

Despite his impressive career numbers, Kent didn’t gain much traction during his 10 years on the writers’ ballot, as he never received more than 46.5% of the vote.  A crowded ballot during Kent’s era didn’t help, yet his subpar defense and surly reputation probably also didn’t help curry much favor with voters.  Clubhouse controversy followed Kent during his time with the Mets and Giants, and his stint in San Francisco included a well-publicized feud with Bonds.  There is some irony, therefore, in the fact that Kent is finally making it into Cooperstown while on the same Era Committee ballot as his former Giants teammate.

Formerly known as the Veterans Committee, the Era Committee is the latest incarnation of the process that for decades has given some fresh evaluation and a second chance to players initially overlooked on the writers’ ballot.  This year’s version of the Era Committee focused on players whose greatest contributions came during the “Contemporary Baseball” (1980-present) era.  Next year’s ballot will focus on managers, executives, and umpires from the Contemporary Baseball era, and the 2027 ballot will consider candidates from the “Classic Baseball” era (prior to 1980) before Contemporary Players are again considered in 2028.

A rule change introduced this year added an extra layer of intrigue (or even controversy) to this year’s proceedings.  Because they received less than five votes on this year’s ballot, Bonds, Clemens, Sheffield, and Valenzuela must be omitted from the next voting cycle, and can’t return to the Contemporary Players ballot until at least 2031.  If any of these four players then don’t receive at least five votes in 2031 or on any future ballot, they are no longer eligible for inclusion on any Contemporary Players ballot.

The aim of this new rule is to allow more candidates to be included on Era Committee ballots on a regular basis.  The concept of permanent disqualification from ballots, however, has been viewed by some as a way for the Hall of Fame to sidestep the ongoing controversy about Bonds, Clemens, Sheffield, or other prominent superstars (i.e. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro) who were linked to PEDs.  While obviously Era Committee rules could again be altered down the road, for now, the path to Cooperstown has gotten even narrower for Bonds, Clemens, or Sheffield.

The results of the writers’ ballot will be announced on January 20, with such players as Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones seen as strong candidates to finally get over the 75% threshold after multiple years on the ballot (nine years for Jones, four years for Beltran).  Any players elected on January 20 will join Kent in being officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26 in Cooperstown.

The 16 members of this year’s Era Committee could vote for as many as three players, and as few as zero players.  This year’s Era Committee was comprised of seven Hall of Famers (Ferguson Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Perez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Yount), four former MLB general managers (Doug Melvin, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins, Terry Ryan), two current MLB owners (the Brewers’ Mark Attansio and the Angels’ Arte Moreno), two media members (the Athletic’s Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark), and historian Steve Hirdt.

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