There was. Thanksgiving Week Massive Signature On Tuesday night, Blake Snell was traded to the World Series champion Dodgers. As a result of this deal, most of the rumors here will be spread on Wednesday or the night before Thanksgiving, but there’s always the possibility of more action.
Let’s get started…
The Red Sox are hot next to Soto. Yankees up offer
The Red Sox appear to be using a full-court press on free agent superstar Juan Soto. The New York Post reported that they are “increasingly seen as legitimate candidates” for Soto and are “intensifying efforts” to separate him from his district rivals, the Yankees. The Red Sox are reportedly working hard to promote Soto’s fit at Fenway Park, as well as his franchise history.
There are currently five teams known to be bidding on Soto: the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Blue Jays. It’s always been expected that one of New York’s two teams would sign Soto, although there’s always the possibility that another team could get involved. The Red Sox may be trying hard to break that. (The Yankees have since made another offer to Soto, according to the paper.)
The 26-year-old Soto has batted .288/.419/.569 (OPS+178), 31 doubles, 4 triples, 41 home runs, 109 RBI, 128 RBI, and 7.9 WAR. – Finished 3rd in league MVP voting.
MLB.com reports that the Yankees, Red Sox, and Orioles are all involved in bidding for Blake Snell. The takeaway here is that these teams, at least in theory, should continue to search for high-end starting pitchers this offseason.
of Top remaining free agent starting pitchers They are Corbin Burnes, Max Fried (left-handed like Snell), Loki Sasaki, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber. Obviously, there are different levels of bidding out there, and the only pitchers with a very good chance of getting a contract even close to Snell are Barnes and Fried (Sasaki is limited by his status as an amateur free agent) ).
The Yankees have a rotation of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Clark Schmidt and Marcus Stroman, with Nestor Cortez as the sixth option.
The Red Sox currently have Tanner Hawk, Cutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, Cooper Criswell, and Richard Fitts on the roster, with the possibility of Lucas Giolito and Garrett Whitlock returning later in the season. I’m waiting.
The Orioles had Barnes last year, but now appear to have a rotation of Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Albert Suarez and Trevor Rodgers.
Obviously, there will be more teams bidding for Barnes and Fried, but these are the three teams to keep an eye on.
Eovaldi interested from Orioles, Braves
We touched on the current state of the Orioles’ rotation, and they’ve already been linked with another pitcher. MLB Network’s John Morosi reported that the Orioles and Braves are “among the teams interested” in Eovaldi.
Considering what I said above, the fit with the Orioles is pretty obvious. His fit with the Braves is also clear. Fried, like Charlie Morton, is a free agent. Chris Sale will be 36 next year, but he has had a long injury history. Following Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach, the fourth and fifth spots are currently occupied by Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson.
Eovaldi, 34, pitched 170 2/3 innings for the Rangers last season, going 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA (over 104 ERA), 1.11 WHIP, and 166 strikeouts.
Are the Dodgers likely to release Buehler and Flaherty?
After signing Snell, I don’t think the Dodgers will remove Sasaki. Given the circumstances, the door is still open. But for veteran free agents Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler — two of the Dodgers’ three playoff starters — it probably doesn’t make sense to go back there. Sure enough, MLB Network’s John Morosi said the Dodgers “probably” intend to let the duo walk.
Flaherty signed a one-year contract with the Tigers last season and was traded to the Dodgers in July. Overall, he went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 194 strikeouts in 162 innings.
Buehler returned from Tommy John surgery and went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. However, he closed out the playoffs with 13 consecutive scoreless innings.
Mets add reliever
The Mets have signed left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training, the team announced Wednesday.
Cabrera, 28, has shown flashes of great promise at times. For example, after being traded to the Blue Jays in 2023, he played in 29 games with the Blue Jays, posting an ERA of 2.66 and a WHIP of 0.97. Last season, he pitched 62 2/3 innings with a 3.59 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts. Walks were an issue, he hit 10 home runs, and his FIP was 5.13, forcing him to sign a minor league contract this offseason.
Still, there’s no risk to the Mets in this case, and there’s some potential for reward.
