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Offseason Outlook: Cincinnati Reds

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The Reds hoped to make the jump from underdogs with an exciting young core to legitimate playoff contenders. It didn't happen this year. With a splash managerial hire and returns to health from most of the rotation, expectations will again be high going into 2025.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Hunter Greene, RHP: $47MM through 2028 (including buyout of '29 club option)
  • Jeimer Candelario, 3B: $30MM through 2026 (including buyout of '27 club option)
  • Jonathan India, 2B: $7.05MM through 2025 (eligible for arbitration in '26)

Option Decisions

  • RHP Nick Martinez holds $12MM player option (no buyout)
  • RHP Emilio Pagán holds $8MM player option ($250K buyout)
  • Team, RHP Jakob Junis hold $8MM mutual option; Brewers are responsible for $1MM of the $3MM buyout
  • Team holds $3.5MM option on LHP Brent Suter ($500K buyout)
  • Team holds $3.5MM option on C Luke Maile ($500K buyout)

2025 financial commitments (assuming Martinez opt-out and Pagán opts in): $39.05MM
Total future commitments (assuming Martinez opt-out and Pagán opts in): $95.05MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: France, Antone, Espinal, Fraley, Wynns, Gibaut

Free Agents

The Reds have begun their offseason with a bang. As the season wound down, Cincinnati dismissed sixth-year skipper David Bell. That wasn't especially surprising with the team en route to a 77-85 finish that represented a five-game drop relative to last season. Bell's replacement was a stunner. The Reds brought Terry Francona out of what proved to be a one-year retirement. Landing one of the sport's most respected managers should renew optimism going into 2025.

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Offseason Outlook: Chicago Cubs

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The Cubs enter 2025 with an excellent opportunity to make the playoffs for the first time under Jed Hoyer.  Cody Bellinger's decision will help determine Hoyer's path, but the club will be seeking help at catcher and in the rotation and bullpen.

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

  • Cody Bellinger, RF/CF/DH/1B: $27.5MM player option with a $2.5MM buyout.  Also has a $25MM player option for '26 with a $5MM buyout
  • Drew Smyly, RP: $10MM mutual option with a $2.5MM buyout

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Cubs' splashy hiring of Craig Counsell last November had minimal impact this year, as the club posted the same 83-79 record it had under David Ross in 2023.  A 17-10 April record created some optimism, but the Cubs went 65-67 thereafter and were mostly out of the playoff race by July.  Let's take a look around the Cubs' roster and figure out how president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer might go about creating a 90-win team for 2025, a particularly ripe opportunity with the Cardinals taking a rare step back.

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Offseason Outlook: Texas Rangers

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The Rangers never seemed to snap out of a World Series hangover, as the team stumbled to a 78-84 record one year after capturing its first championship.  Texas now has several holes to be filled on the pitching staff, and the lingering question of how much money is available for roster upgrades.

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

2025 financial commitments: $136.75MM ($170.25MM if all options are exercised)
Total future commitments: $469.75MM ($503.25MM if all options are exercised)

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The first bit of the Rangers' offseason business was addressed in September, when Chris Young was signed to a new contract extension and promoted from GM to president of baseball operations.  Young's previous deal was up at the end of the 2024 season, and despite this year's struggles in Arlington, the Commissioner's Trophy from 2023 was surely enough for Young to earn some extra job security.

Now entering his third winter in charge of the Texas front office, Young faces another unique challenge.  The 2022-23 offseason was all about the Rangers trying to finally get back into contention, and Jacob deGrom's five-year, $185MM free agent deal added to the club's spending spree from the previous offseason under former PBO Jon Daniels.  Last offseason, with a championship now in tow, Young basically just stood pat, as the Rangers scaled back spending due to the big salary commitments already in place, and plenty of concern over the team's broadcasting revenues.

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Player’s Closet Project: A New Era Of Authentic Athlete Memorabilia For Fans (Sponsored)

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This is a sponsored post from Legends Memorabilia.

In a groundbreaking new initiative aimed at connecting fans directly with their favorite athletes, Legends Memorabilia Collection has launched the Player’s Closet Project. This innovative project brings fans exclusive, personally owned and autographed items from the personal collections of some of the biggest stars in sports. Legends Memorabilia Collection (LMC) is a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA). With access to thousands of former big- league players, LMC offers an unparalleled experience in Major League Baseball memorabilia.

The Player’s Closet Project stands out from traditional memorabilia offerings by delivering items that have been a part of an athlete’s personal journey. They are tied to meaningful moments in an athlete’s career—whether it’s a pair of sneakers worn during a training session, an autographed locker room sign, a jacket worn during the season, or an autograph exchanged with a fellow player after the game. Each item comes with a certificate of authenticity, ensuring the piece’s source and its significance to the athlete’s personal history.

The Player’s Closet Project already has a growing roster of athletes across different eras of baseball who are participating in the initiative. Each athlete has carefully selected items from their personal closets and will make them available in limited quantities.

Some of the high-profile names involved in the project include exclusive Legends Memorabilia Collection athlete and baseball superstar Mike Trout, 2006 MVP Ryan Howard and two-time World Series champion Johnny Damon. From Trout’s batting gloves to Howard’s game-day cleats, fans can expect unique, one-of-a-kind items to hit the site regularly. Damon has even contributed a pair of autographed seats from Old Yankee Stadium! With more athletes being announced routinely, fans can look forward to a constantly evolving collection of unique items.

Whether you’re a seasoned memorabilia collector or a lifelong sports fan looking for that perfect piece, the Player’s Closet Project offers something for everyone. With exclusive, personally owned items coming directly from the athletes themselves, this project is set to redefine how fans engage with the memorabilia market.

From iconic game-day gear to behind-the-scenes keepsakes, the Player’s Closet Project is a fan’s dream come true—bringing the game, and the players, closer than ever before.

For more information on the Player’s Closet Project and to see the latest drops, visit https://shoplegends.com/pages/players-closet-project.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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MLBTR’s Anthony Franco held a live chat, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers!

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Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Angels

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The Angels are coming off the worst season in franchise history. The farm system isn't highly regarded, while the team didn't get much out of its two highest-paid players. No team has a longer active playoff drought and that's unlikely to change in the next season or two.

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MLB Mailbag: Dodgers, Cardinals, Yankees

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This week's mailbag delves into the Dodgers' rotation for 2025, the likelihood of Cody Bellinger opting out, the Cardinals' reset, the Yankees' infield, and much more.

Ben asks:

I'm curious as to how you expect the Dodgers to address their rotation this offseason. The team is laden with talented starters, yet the number of injuries is astounding. Do you expect the team to continue adopting a high-risk, high-reward approach? Will we see them sign a low upside inning-eater or two as insurance? How likely is a reunion with Buehler, and what might the season-opening rotation look like?

When I consider  Yoshinobu Yamamoto, I wouldn't say he had a higher injury risk than any other top starter the Dodgers could've gotten.  Nor was Trevor Bauer high-risk, healthwise.  Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir, and Rich Hill were high injury risk three or four-year deals, but those were eight to ten years ago.

Otherwise, Andrew Friedman has generally gone for one-year starting pitcher deals in free agency: James Paxton, Noah Syndergaard, Tyler Anderson, and Andrew Heaney in recent years.  Trade pickups have included Alex Wood, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Glasnow.

I don't know that I see a pattern there, other than eschewing long-term free agent deals for less youthful pitchers.  For example, if Max Fried is going to sign for five or six years, I don't expect the Dodgers to do that.  Innings eaters have not really been Friedman's thing, with the possible exception of Tyler Anderson coming off a 167-inning campaign.

You could argue that Buehler would be Friedman's type if he was coming from another team.  But the Dodgers had all year to try to get him on track this year and failed to do so, so my guess is that they will not re-sign him.

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Offseason Outlook: Washington Nationals

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After more than three years of rebuilding, the Nationals enter the offseason with a very clean long-term payroll outlook, young core players emerging at multiple spots on the roster, and a front office that sounds motivated to get back into contention sooner than later.

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Offseason Outlook: Colorado Rockies

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The Rockies just wrapped up their sixth straight losing season and second straight with over 100 losses. There are some internal reasons for optimism but they have a difficult path out of the National League West basement.

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From Minor League Deal To Top Reliever In The Upcoming Free Agent Class

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Perhaps you haven't heard this before, but relief pitching is volatile. Reliever performance often fluctuates wildly from year to year. At times, that leads to rapid ascensions from obscurity to stardom for players. Look no further than last year's three-year, $33MM deal for Robert Stephenson with the Angels. He'd been designated for assignment less than a calendar year prior but was so dominant in 42 games with the Rays that the Angels ponied up that weighty three-year deal.

Stephenson is just one of many instances of this, of course. Liam Hendriks had been designated for assignment by four different teams before breaking out with the A's. In fact, Oakland was one of the four teams who'd chosen to DFA him. He went unclaimed on waivers. Drew Pomeranz had been bounced from the Giants' rotation in 2019 and was potentially on the cusp of being cut loose himself when a stretch of just four relief appearances prompted the Brewers to give up a legitimate infield prospect (Mauricio Dubon) to acquire him in a trade. Pomeranz dominated for Milwaukee for two more months and went on to ink a four-year, $34MM deal in free agency.

Reliever fortunes can turn quickly, and the upcoming free agent class offers the latest example. It's always fun to wonder who might be the next Hendriks, Pomeranz or Stephenson -- and in this instance, it's even more fun because the buzz name on the market was traded for one of those very relievers just a few years back.

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