Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are one of the few teams in the majors will no real shot at contending this year, so their offseason was understandably very quiet.
Major League Signings
- IF Thairo Estrada: One year, $4MM (includes $750K buyout on 2026 mutual option)
- IF Kyle Farmer: One year, $3.25MM (includes $750K buyout on 2026 mutual option)
- C Jacob Stallings: One year, $2.5MM (includes $500K buyout on 2026 mutual option)
- LHP Scott Alexander: One year, $2MM
- OF Mickey Moniak: One year, $1.25MM
2025 spending: $13MM
Total spending: $13MM
Option Decisions
- C Jacob Stallings declined mutual option (later re-signed)
Trades and Claims
- Acquired IF Owen Miller from Brewers for cash considerations
- Claimed RHP Jimmy Herget off waivers from Cubs
- Acquired IF/OF Tyler Freeman from Guardians for OF Nolan Jones
Notable Minor League Signings
- Jack O'Loughlin, Austin Nola, Diego Castillo, Jake Woodford (later released), Keston Hiura, Nick Martini (later added to 40-man), Tommy Doyle
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Charlie Blackmon (retired), Jake Cave, Dakota Hudson, Peter Lambert, Elehuris Montero, Brendan Rodgers (non-tendered), Cal Quantrill (non-tendered), Justin Lawrence (waivers), Nolan Jones, Greg Jones (waivers)
There wasn't a lot of momentum for the Rockies going into the winter. 2024 was their sixth straight losing season. It was their second in a row getting to triple-digit losses. In the age of the expanded playoffs, most clubs are at least theoretical contenders, but the Rockies are one of a few that are clearly on the outside.
Such a team could perhaps find itself in plenty of offseason rumors anyway. The White Sox were coming off an atrocious 2024 season but still had notable trade candidates to talk about in Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. The Rockies have been reluctant to make such moves, however. Ryan McMahon could have been an exciting offseason trade candidate if there was any indication the Rockies were open to moving him, but that has never seemed likely.
There were some reports early in the offseason with a bit of smoke, to a degree. The Rockies were reportedly looking to lower payroll, not surprising given their circumstances. They had some openness to trading Brendan Rodgers, Cal Quantrill and Justin Lawrence. They clearly didn't find much interest. Rodgers and Quantrill were later non-tendered. Lawrence was put on waivers and claimed by the Pirates.
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Offseason In Review: St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals began their offseason by announcing major changes to the baseball operations staff and pledging to refocus on player development. Their efforts to free up playing time for younger players came up empty, however, and they'll run it back with nearly an identical roster.
Major League Signings
- Phil Maton, RHP: One year, $2MM
Option Decisions
- Declined $12MM club option on RHP Kyle Gibson
- Declined $12MM club option on RHP Lance Lynn
- Declined $6MM club option on RHP Keynan Middleton
Trades and Waiver Claims
- Acquired INF Michael Helman from Twins in exchange for cash
- Claimed RHP Roddery Munoz off waivers from the Marlins
- Claimed LHP Bailey Horn off waivers from the Tigers (later traded back to Tigers for cash)
Extensions
- None
Minor League Signings
Notable Losses
- Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Andrew Kittredge, Keynan Middleton, Matt Carpenter
"The message is, 'we're going young,'" Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said at the conclusion of the regular season. DeWitt's comments came on the heels of a press conference wherein longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced the 2025 season would be his last running baseball operations in St. Louis. Former Red Sox chief baseball officer and Rays senior vice president Chaim Bloom, hired as an advisor the prior offseason, would take the reins in 2026. He'd already agreed to a five-year contract.
It was a jarring change in tone for a Cardinals club that had perennially sought to compete in the National League Central. Mozeliak candidly acknowledged that the team's primary focus would not necessarily be on building the best roster for 2025, but rather on bolstering the organization's player development practice and building out the type of modern baseball operations systems and infrastructure that the Cardinals no longer possessed.
"Yes, this is a reset," Mozeliak said at the time. "Yes, this is going to be where we’re not focusing on necessarily building the best possible roster we can."
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Offseason In Review: Texas Rangers
After a disappointing follow-up season to their first-ever World Series championship, the Rangers were the busiest team in the AL West over the offseason. Did they do enough to put themselves in the driver’s seat of the division?
Major League Signings
- Nathan Eovaldi, SP: Three years, $75MM
- Joc Pederson, DH: Two years, $37MM (Pederson can opt out after 2025. Rangers can override his opt-out by exercising their end of an $18.5MM mutual option for 2027.)
- Kyle Higashioka, C: Two years, $13.5MM (includes $1MM buyout on $7MM mutual option for 2027)
- Chris Martin, RP: One year, $5.5MM
- Hoby Milner, RP: One year, $2.5MM
- Luke Jackson, RP: One year, $1.5MM
- Jacob Webb, RP: One year, $1.25MM (Rangers can retain Webb in 2026 through arbitration)
- Shawn Armstrong, RP: One year, $1.125M
- Patrick Corbin, SP: One-year, $1.1MM
- Kevin Pillar, OF: One-year, $1MM (Rangers selected Pillar's minors contract ahead of Opening Day)
- Luis Curvelo, RP: Major league deal (Curvelo will earn a prorated portion of the league minimum $760K while in the majors and $90K while in the minors, per the AP.)
2025 spending: $56.225MM (not including Curvelo)
Total spending: $139.475MM (not including Curvelo)
Option Decisions
- Nathan Eovaldi, SP: Declined $20MM player option for 2025 (later re-signed)
- David Robertson, RP: Declined $7MM mutual option for 2025 in favor of $1.5MM buyout
- Andrew Chafin, RP: Rangers declined $6.5MM club option, paid Chafin $500K buyout
Trades & Claims
- Acquired 1B/3B Jake Burger from Marlins for minor league INF Max Acosta, minor league INF Echedry Vargas, and minor league SP Brayan Mendoza
- Traded 1B Nathaniel Lowe to Nationals for RP Robert Garcia
- Traded RP Grant Anderson to Brewers for minor league SP Mason Molina
- Traded RP Owen White to Reds for cash considerations
- Traded RP Matt Festa to Cubs for cash considerations (Festa was later DFA’d by Cubs and re-signed with Rangers on a minor league deal)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Joe Barlow, Tucker Barnhart, Caleb Boushley, David Buchanan, JT Chargois, Sam Haggerty, Codi Heuer, Adrian Houser, Patrick Murphy, Michael Plassmeyer, Hunter Strickland, Alan Trejo, Chad Wallach, Festa, Pillar
Notable Losses
- Nathaniel Lowe, Max Scherzer, Kirby Yates, David Robertson (still unsigned), Andrew Heaney, José Leclerc, Carson Kelly, José Ureña, Travis Jankowski, Matt Duffy, Sandro Fabian (released to sign in NPB), Sam Huff, Carson Coleman (Rule 5 draft pick returned to Yankees), Anderson, White, Acosta, Vargas, Mendoza
While the Rangers significantly increased payroll during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 offseasons, they weren’t nearly as active the winter after their World Series victory, despite the extra cash their success surely brought in. The reason? Declining television revenue and an unknown future for their TV broadcasts. Texas was one of many teams affected when the company then known as Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy in 2023. The Rangers negotiated a new agreement with DSG for 2024, but it was only a one-year deal, and it paid them significantly less than they had received under their previous contract.
The Rangers did not re-up with DSG (now called Main Street Sports Group) for 2025, nor did they follow the path of teams like the Guardians and Twins, who will have their TV broadcasts distributed by MLB this season. Instead, the Rangers announced the brand new Rangers Sports Network in late January. RSN will partner with several TV providers to distribute games. Presumably, the team decided this would be a more lucrative option than signing away their exclusive TV rights to another broadcast company or MLB. Still, the whole ordeal meant the Rangers were facing quite a bit of financial uncertainty for the second consecutive winter. For the first time in four years, they did not increase their payroll. Indeed, the team made it a goal to drop below the luxury tax threshold in 2025. According to the estimates from RosterResource, those efforts were successful. The Rangers' payroll sits about $4MM lower than where it was at the end of last season, while their CBT payroll is $14.5MM lower – and $4.7MM below the first tax threshold.
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Offseason In Review: Athletics
Motivated by their temporary move to Sacramento and the fear of an MLBPA grievance that could have cut into their revenue sharing money, the A's were busy. The result: three of the four largest contracts in franchise history, and a realistic (if long shot) hope of competing for a playoff spot.
Free Agent Signings
- RHP Luis Severino: Three years, $67MM (including opt-out after '26)
- RHP José Leclerc: One year, $10MM
- 3B Gio Urshela: One year, $2.15MM
- LHP T.J. McFarland: One year, $1.8MM
- 2B Luis Urías: One year, $1.1MM
2025 spending: $40.05MM
Total spending: $82.05MM
Option Decisions
- None
Trades and Claims
- Traded LF Daz Cameron to Orioles for cash
- Claimed RHP Justin Sterner off waivers from Rays
- Claimed RHP Anthony Maldonado off waivers from Marlins (later outrighted off 40-man roster)
- Traded SS Nick Allen to Braves for minor league RHP Jared Johnson
- Selected RHP Noah Murdock from Royals in Rule 5 draft
- Acquired LHP Jeffrey Springs and LHP Jacob Lopez from Rays for RHP Joe Boyle, minor league RHP Jacob Watters, minor league 1B Will Simpson, and Competitive Balance Round A pick (#42 overall)
- Traded RHP Will Klein to Mariners for international bonus pool space
- Claimed RHP Elvis Alvarado off waivers from Pirates
- Acquired C Jhonny Pereda from Marlins for cash
Notable Minor League Signings
Extensions
- RF Lawrence Butler: Seven years, $65.5MM (including buyout of 2032 club option)
- DH Brent Rooker: Five years, $60MM (includes vesting/club option for 2030)
Notable Losses
- Joe Boyle, Ross Stripling, Scott Alexander, Kyle McCann (released), Alex Wood (still unsigned), Austin Adams (outrighted), Will Klein, Trevor Gott, Dany Jiménez (non-tendered), Tristan Gray (lost on waivers), Armando Alvarez (outrighted), Ryan Noda (lost on waivers), Kyle Muller (outrighted), Tyler Nevin (outrighted), Royber Salinas (lost on waivers)
The A's played around .500 ball in the second half. While their rotation remained largely uninspiring, things were starting to fall into place in the lineup. As the team officially closed the book on their 57 years in Oakland, fans who are sticking with the club in Sacramento and Las Vegas could start to dream on the team pulling out of a three-year rebuild.
There were a few clear areas to address. They needed multiple starting pitchers and a third baseman, at least. The A's rarely plug holes in free agency. They'd spent less than $55MM over the previous three offseasons combined. Owner John Fisher has suggested he'd raise payroll with expected revenue increases once they get to Las Vegas in 2028. It's hard to argue the A's deserved the benefit of the doubt after years of bottom-tier spending. There were no promises about the next three seasons anyhow, as those will be played at a Triple-A park in Sacramento.
At the beginning of the offseason, general manager David Forst firmly stated that designated hitter Brent Rooker wouldn't be available. It was fair to assume the same of star closer Mason Miller. They were no longer in the "tear it down" section of the rebuild, but it wasn't clear how aggressively they'd supplement their developing lineup.
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Offseason In Review: San Diego Padres
The Padres had a fairly quiet offseason coming off a 93-win season. They were working with limited payroll room for the second straight winter, but they decided not to move any key pieces in cost-cutting trades. A few late signings -- including a backloaded four-year deal for a mid-rotation starter -- rounded out the offseason.
Major League Signings
- RHP Nick Pivetta: Four years, $55MM (includes opt-outs after 2026 and '27 with conditional injury protection for the team)
- C Elias Díaz: One year, $3.5MM (including buyout of '26 mutual option)
- LHP Kyle Hart: One year, $1.5MM (including buyout of '26 club option)
- LF Jason Heyward: One year, $1MM
- LF Connor Joe: One year, $1MM
2025 spending: $11MM
Total spending: $62MM
Option Decisions
- SS Ha-Seong Kim declined $8MM mutual option in favor of $2MM buyout
- LHP Wandy Peralta exercised $4.25MM player option; deal includes respective $4.45MM player options for 2026 and '27
Trades and Claims
- Selected RHP Juan Nuñez from Orioles in Rule 5 draft
- Acquired RHP Ron Marinaccio from White Sox for cash
Notable Minor League Seasons
- Andrew Bellatti, Wes Benjamin, Trenton Brooks, Mike Brosseau, Austin Davis, Jose Espada, Logan Gillaspie, Moises Gomez, Oscar González, Niko Goodrum, Yuli Gurriel (will be added to 40-man roster), Jose Iglesias (will be added to 40-man roster), Reiss Knehr, Tim Locastro, Martín Maldonado (will be added to 40-man roster), Mason McCoy (added to 40-man roster), Luis Patiño, Gavin Sheets (added to 40-man roster), Forrest Wall, J.B. Wendelken
Extensions
- Signed SS Tyler Wade to one-year, $900K deal with $1MM club option for 2026
Notable Losses
- Tanner Scott, Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka, Donovan Solano, David Peralta (still unsigned), Martín Pérez, Nick Ahmed, Bryce Johnson (non-tendered)
The Padres faced a pair of injuries late last season that had a significant impact on their offseason. In August, Ha-Seong Kim injured his shoulder diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. He underwent a season-ending labrum repair a few weeks later. Joe Musgrove left a start early in the postseason with elbow tightness. He required Tommy John surgery that'll cost him the entire '25 season.
Kim's injury was "only" expected to carry into the early part of this season, though it came with a nebulous enough timeline that it's possible he'll miss most of the first half. The Padres never seemed likely to meet the asking price to retain free agency's #2 shortstop. However, there's a decent chance they would have issued Kim a qualifying offer if he were fully healthy.
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Offseason In Review: Cincinnati Reds
The Reds swung a few notable trades to bring some new talent onto the roster, as manager Terry Francona will try to lead the team back into contention.
Major League Signings
- Nick Martinez, SP: One year, $21.05MM (accepted qualifying offer)
- Austin Hays, OF: One year, $5MM (includes $1MM buyout of $12MM mutual option for 2026)
- Scott Barlow, RP: One year, $2.5MM (includes $1MM buyout of $6.5MM club option for 2026)
2025 spending: $28.55MM
Total spending: $28.55MM
Option Decisions
- Nick Martinez, SP: Declined $12M player option for 2025 (prior to being issued qualifying offer)
- Emilio Pagan, RP: Exercised $8MM player option for 2025
- Jakob Junis, RHP: Declined his end of $8MM mutual option for 2025, received $3MM buyout
- Luke Maile, C: Reds declined $3.5MM club option for 2025 (Maile received $500K buyout)
Trades & Claims
- Acquired SP Brady Singer from Royals for 2B Jonathan India, OF Joey Wiemer
- Acquired IF Gavin Lux from Dodgers for minor league OF Mike Sirota, and Competitive Balance Round A selection in 2025 draft (41st overall)
- Acquired RP Taylor Rogers and $6MM from Giants for minor league RHP Braxton Roxby
- Acquired C Jose Trevino from Yankees for RP Fernando Cruz and C Alex Jackson
- Acquired cash considerations from Mariners for RP Casey Legumina
- Acquired minor league OF Arnaldo Lantigua from Dodgers for $1.5MM in international bonus pool space
- Claimed IF/CF Cooper Bowman in Rule 5 Draft, but later returned Bowman to Athletics
Notable Minor League Signings
- Wade Miley, Austin Wynns, Bryan Shaw, Alex Young, Josh Staumont, Albert Abreu, Ian Gibaut, Reiver Sanmartin, Joe La Sorsa, Levi Jordan, Aaron Wilkerson
Extensions
- Jose Trevino, C: Two years, $11.5MM ($6.5MM club option for 2028 with $1MM buyout)
- Brent Suter, RP: One year, $2.25MM ($3MM club option for 2026 with $250K buyout)
Notable Losses
- India, Junis, Cruz, Legumina, Maile, Jackson, Wiemer, Justin Wilson, Buck Farmer, Ty France, Roansy Contreras, Amed Rosario, Nick Martini, Casey Kelly, Brandon Leibrandt
Starting with some bigger-picture news from the Reds' winter, the club gained some slight stability on the broadcasting front when it signed a one-year contract with the FanDuel Sports Network, a.k.a. the rebranded Bally Sports Network. The Reds' broadcasts were previously handed by Bally and parent company Diamond Sports Group, but Cincinnati was one of many teams whose TV future was thrown into question when DSG went into bankruptcy proceedings in March 2023. DSG and Bally re-emerged under the Main Street Sports and FanDuel Sports Network banners, and several MLB teams chose to re-engage with their old partners under short-term agreements.
The Reds had reached a deal with Major League Baseball itself to handle broadcasts for the 2025 season, but in choosing to re-up with Main Street Sports, the Reds may be giving themselves some flexibility for future deals if all goes well this year. It is also fair to assume that the Reds are getting at least a bit more money off this new deal than they were getting from MLB, even if terms of the new contract (or the terms of the MLB broadcast deal) weren't made public.
Here's the bottom line as it relates to the club's on-field endeavors --- the Reds had a bit more cash to invest in payroll, as president of baseball operations Nick Krall said in January. Given the timing, it could be that the Reds might not have been able to trade for Taylor Rogers or sign Austin Hays without those extra funds coming into the team's revenue stream.
Team COO/CFO Doug Healy said in November that the Reds' payroll would either remain stable or go up in the aftermath of the broadcast deal with MLB, and that proved to be the case even with the change in broadcast partners. The Reds finished last season with an approximate payroll of $100MM (as per RosterResource) and the club now has roughly $115.3MM committed to its 2025 roster as we approach Opening Day.
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Offseason In Review: Seattle Mariners
Despite some glaring needs for offense, the Mariners only ended up tinkering a bit with their lineup after a pretty quiet offseason.
Major League Signings
- Jorge Polanco, 2B/3B: One year, $7.75MM (including $750K buyout of $8MM mutual option for 2026, converts to $6MM player option if Polanco has 450 PA in 2025, and $8MM player option if Polanco has 550 PA in 2025)
- Donovan Solano, IF: One year, $3.5MM
2025 spending: $11.25MM
Total spending: $11.25MM
Option Decisions
- Mitch Haniger, OF: Exercised $15.5MM player option for 2025
- Jorge Polanco, 2B/3B: Mariners declined $12MM club option for 2025, paid Polanco $750K buyout
Trades & Claims
- Acquired RP Casey Legumina from Reds for cash considerations
- Acquired IF/OF Miles Mastrobuoni from Cubs for cash considerations
- Acquired IF Austin Shenton from Rays for cash considerations
- Acquired RP Will Klein from Athletics for international bonus pool money
- Acquired minor league C Blake Hunt from Orioles for cash considerations
- Acquired minor league RP Michael Hobbs from Mets for cash considerations
- Claimed RP Hagen Danner off waivers from Blue Jays
- Claimed minor league C Nick Raposo off waivers from Blue Jays (later outrighted off 40-man roster)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Rowdy Tellez, Trevor Gott, Josh Fleming, Adonis Medina, Shintaro Fujinami, Casey Lawrence, Garrett Hill, Jacob Nottingham, Jack Lopez, Jhonathan Diaz, Luis F. Castillo, Neftali Feliz (released), Drew Pomeranz (released), Jesse Hahn (released)
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Haniger, Justin Turner, Yimi Garcia, Josh Rojas, Luis Urias, Sam Haggerty, Austin Voth, JT Chargois
After a few months of scouring the free agent and trade markets for a replacement for second baseman Jorge Polanco, the Mariners ended up signing....third baseman Jorge Polanco, brought back on a one-year deal worth $7.75MM in guaranteed money, and with a vesting option that could guarantee Polanco at least $6MM in 2026. Polanco has played the vast majority of his nine MLB seasons as a middle infielder, but he does have 24 games of experience as a third baseman, with 15 of those games coming as recently as the 2023 season when he was still a member of the Twins.
Polanco's defensive metrics as a second baseman were mostly subpar, and his lack of a strong throwing arm raises questions about how well he'll translate to the hot corner. However, the bigger issue might be whether or not Polanco can rebound from a rough year at the plate. The infielder hit only .213/.296/.355 over 469 plate appearances with Seattle in 2024, while also missing a month due to a hamstring strain, and undergoing surgery in October to correct a lingering left knee problem.
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Offseason In Review: New York Mets
The Mets gave out the largest contract in the history of baseball and all professional sports, but they otherwise avoided the top guys and tried to spread their money around to a wide variety of targets.
Major League Signings
- OF Juan Soto: 15 years, $765MM (Soto can opt-out after 2029 but club can override by adding extra $40MM to final ten years)
- LHP Sean Manaea: Three years, $75MM ($23.25MM deferred)
- 1B Pete Alonso: Two years, $54MM (Alonso can opt out after 2025)
- RHP Clay Holmes: Three years, $38MM (Holmes can opt out after 2026)
- RHP Frankie Montas: Two years, $34MM (Montas can opt out after 2025)
- LHP A.J. Minter: Two years, $22MM (Minter can opt out after 2025)
- OF/DH Jesse Winker: One year, $7.5MM
- RHP Ryne Stanek: One year, $4.5MM
- RHP Griffin Canning: One year, $4.3MM
- IF Nick Madrigal: One year, $1.3MM
- RHP Drew Smith: One year, $1MM (plus $2MM club option for 2026)
- RHP Dylan Covey: split deal (later outrighted and elected free agency)
- RHP Justin Hagenman: split deal
- IF Jared Young: split deal
2025 spending: $236.475MM (not including split deals or accounting for deferrals)
Total spending: $1.0066 billion
Option Decisions
- LHP Sean Manaea declined $13.5MM player option (later re-signed)
- Team declined $7.75MM option on RHP Phil Maton
Trades and Claims
- Claimed RHP Kevin Herget off waivers from Brewers
- Claimed IF Luis De Los Santos off waivers from Blue Jays (later outrighted)
- Acquired OF Jose Siri from Rays for RHP Eric Orze
- Acquired RHP Sean Harney from Rays for international bonus pool space
- Claimed RHP Austin Warren off waivers from Giants
- Acquired OF Alexander Canario from Cubs for cash considerations
Notable Minor League Signings
- Chris Devenski, Rico Garcia, Donovan Walton, Rafael Ortega, Joey Meneses, Jakson Reetz, Génesis Cabrera, Grant Hartwig, Alex Ramírez, Oliver Ortega, Brandon Waddell, Chris Williams, Anthony Gose, Luis Ortiz, Adbert Alzolay, Connor Overton, José Ureña
Extensions
- None.
Notable Losses
- Luis Severino, Jose Iglesias, Harrison Bader, Jose Quintana, J.D. Martinez (still unsigned), Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley (still unsigned), Phil Maton, Joey Lucchesi, Adrian Houser, DJ Stewart, Alex Young (non-tendered), Nate Lavender (Rule 5), Mike Vasil (Rule 5)
Going into the winter, it was still hard to get a firm grip on what the Steve Cohen and David Stearns relationship would really look like. Cohen had made the Mets one of the top-spending clubs in baseball. That would have been even more true if the Carlos Correa deal had gone through. But Cohen could easily sign top players on his own and presumably brought in Stearns to make wise decisions about how to allocate resources. Stearns, for his part, had previously been running the small-market Brewers. He had obviously been conservative with that club, only twice giving out a contract larger than $24MM, but how would he act with deeper pockets?
Stearns was hired prior to the 2023-24 offseason but it was hard to draw conclusions from that winter. The club had a disappointing 2023 and ended up having a midseason selloff, sending away Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, David Robertson and others. They ended up having a fairly modest winter ahead of 2024. They spent a decent amount of money but by signing multiple players to one- or two-year deals.
They went on to engineer a somewhat surprising season in 2024. They snuck into a playoff spot and then got by the Brewers and Phillies in the postseason before getting felled by the Dodgers in the NLCS.
On the heels of a better season and with the club in overall better shape, would Stearns and the Mets behave differently than they did in the previous winter? Many expected the aggression to be ramped up but it wasn't known for sure. It was an important wild card factor in an offseason that was highlighted by Juan Soto, the most sought-after free agent in recent baseball history, perhaps ever. But on top of that, the market also featured guys like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell, Willy Adames, Alex Bregman and Mets legend Pete Alonso. Would Stearns use Cohen's resources to own the offseason?
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