MLB free agency is cruising right along, with many of the big names, including Juan Soto, off the board. But some impact players are still available, and the trade market has been active.
Here’s a quick look at where things stand so far this offseason:
Dodgers stay active with Hyeseong Kim signing
The Dodgers have signed KBO infielder Hyeseong Kim to a three-year deal with $12.5 million guaranteed. The contract has a two-year option for the 2028 and 2029 seasons that could allow the deal to be worth as much as $22 million.
The 25-year-old Kim, who has played the past six seasons with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, was the first player from South Korea and Japan to be posted this offseason and has been training in Los Angeles for the past month.
Kim, a left-handed hitter, is coming off a career season with the Heroes in which he hit 11 home runs, drove in 75 runs, stole 30 bases and posted a .326 batting average. It was his fourth straight season hitting over .300 and his seventh straight season with at least 20 stolen bases. The news comes on the same day the Dodgers officially welcomed Teoscar Hernández back to Los Angeles.
Corbin Burnes signing with Diamondbacks
Corbin Burnes is headed to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it wasn’t cheap.
The 2021 Cy Young Award winner reportedly agreed to a six-year, $210 million deal with the Diamondbacks. Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the agreement, which includes an opt-out for Burnes after two seasons.
Because Burnes, Yahoo Sports’ No. 3-ranked free agent, turned down a qualifying offer from Baltimore, the Orioles will receive draft pick compensation from his new team.
The contract is the largest in Diamondbacks history. Burnes, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, will pitch for the local team after reportedly turning down offers from the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays.
Gleyber Torres heading to Detroit
Gleyber Torres has agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with the Detroit Tigers. The 28-year-old second baseman has spent his entire seven-year career with the New York Yankees. Last season, he hit .257 with 15 home runs, 63 RBI and 80 runs scored in 154 games.
Free agent Gleyber Torres is in agreement with the Detroit Tigers on a 1-year, $15 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Torres had a great ALCS after a bit of down year on the power side for the Yankees. He’ll start at 2b for Detroit. @JonHeyman was first with the agreement.
At first glance, this deal seems awfully low for a player of Torres’ track record and especially at his age, even if the sense in the industry was that the market could be on the cold side for the second baseman following his unremarkable final season with the Yankees. But Tigers GM Scott Harris acknowledged that Torres had larger offers available and instead chose the one-year pact with Detroit in hopes of reestablishing his value and hitting free agency again next winter.
If Torres benefits from the change of scenery after seven years in New York and shows meaningful strides on both sides of the ball, he should be in position to secure a more significant multi-year deal a year from now, when he’ll still be one of the younger free agents at 29.
First-base market moves quickly after slow start
The market for free-agent first basemen was noticeably slow until the week before Christmas.
The Houston Astros struck first with a reported three-year, $60 million deal to acquire free-agent Christian Walker, previously a standout bat for the Arizona Diamondbacks. That triggered a chain of moves, as the D-backs opted to replace Walker by trading for Cleveland Guardians All-Star Josh Naylor last weekend, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Then the Guardians reportedly signed old friend Carlos Santana for his third stint with the team. Santana spent last season with the Minnesota Twins, so we’ll see if they do anything to respond. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees picked up former MVP Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year, $12.5 million deal.
The first-base market still isn’t close to finished, as Pete Alonso and others remain available.
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Charlie Morton to the Orioles
Charlie Morton will play his 18th MLB season with the Orioles.
The veteran agreed to a one-year contract with the AL East contender on Friday, the team announced. The deal is reportedly worth $15 million.
The ageless curveball artist is coming off a 2024 season with the Braves in which he posted a 4.19 ERA and 23.8% strikeout rate across 30 starts. He’ll join an Orioles rotation that direly needed both innings and effectiveness after the exit of Corbin Burnes, even after the signing of Japanese veteran Tomoyuki Sugano.
Dodgers reportedly sign KBO’s Hyeseong Kim
The Dodgers have reportedly signed infielder Hyeseong Kim to a three-year deal with $12.5 million guaranteed, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. The contract has a two-year option for the 2028 and 2029 seasons that could allow the deal to be worth as much as $22 million.
The 25-year-old Kim, who has played the past six seasons with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, was the first player from South Korea and Japan to be posted this offseason and has been training in Los Angeles for the past month.
Kim, a left-handed hitter, is coming off a career season with the Heroes in which he hit 11 home runs, drove in 75 runs, stole 30 bases and posted a .326 batting average. It was his fourth straight season hitting over .300 and his seventh straight season with at least 20 stolen bases.
Read more here.
Dodgers make Teoscar Hernández official
It’s a three-year, $66 million deal for Hernández.
The outfielder finished the season with a .272 batting average (his best in three seasons) and a career-high 33 home runs. Hernández also ended 2024 with an .840 OPS — a full 100-point boost from his year in Seattle. As a bonus, he emerged victorious in the 2024 Home Run Derby.
Why the Padres need Roki Sasaki the most
Paul Goldschmidt officially joins Yankees
Paul Goldschmidt’s one-year, $12.5 million contract with the Yankees became official Monday night. Now all he has to do is shave that facial hair.
For more on this low-risk, high-reward signing, click here.
D-Backs officially land Burnes
Corbin Burnes’ 6-year, $210 million deal with the Diamondbacks is now official.
For more on their huge signing, click here.
Nationals re-signing RHP Trevor Williams on 2-year, $14M deal
Right-handed starter Trevor Williams is returning to the Nationals, according to Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. Williams, 32, is a nine-year MLB veteran who spent the past two seasons with the Nats. In 2023, he had a 5.55 ERA over 30 starts and 144 1/3 innings, but he made vast improvements in 2024. Williams had a 2.22 ERA through 11 starts last season, but he went on the injured list in early June due to a right elbow flexor strain and didn’t come off until the season had nearly ended.
Williams should have the chance to start 2025 fully healthy after allowing just one earned run in his two September starts after coming off the injured list.
Trevor Williams is returning to Washington Nationals on a two-year, $14 million contract, a source tells The Athletic. Williams, 32, had a 2.03 ERA over 13 starts last season. He missed some time due to a right flexor muscle strain.
The Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins made a trade Sunday to swap a pair of infielders, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In the trade, the Cubs pick up utility second baseman/right fielder Vidal Bruján, sending first baseman Matt Mervis to Miami. Both players are 26 and will get a fresh start to try for more major-league playing time.
Trade news: The Chicago Cubs are acquiring utilityman Vidal Bruján from the Miami Marlins for first baseman Matt Mervis, sources tell ESPN. The deal is done. Both are former top 100 prospects looking to carve out at-bats in a new location.
What does the Burnes deal mean for team and player?
This huge commitment to Burnes also represents an anticipatory move of sorts, with both Gallen and Kelly slated to hit free agency next winter. The D-backs have some decent pitching depth in the upper levels of their farm system, but nothing resembling a future ace who could step in if/when Gallen and Kelly depart. Burnes now fills that potential void in a big way — at least for 2026 (don’t forget the opt-out!).
After an awfully quiet first month of the offseason, Arizona has burst onto the scene over the past few weeks with two aggressive moves to reassert their relevance in the National League hierarchy, first acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor from Cleveland to replace Christian Walker and now this gigantic agreement with one of the best starting pitchers on the market. With key offensive contributors Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk no longer in tow, some questions remain about the depth of the lineup, and the bullpen — a clear weakness — has holes as well.
But Burnes was one of the few players left on the market who can meaningfully raise the floor and ceiling of a roster, even if he doesn’t appear to address an obvious need in Arizona. This is a huge win for the D-backs as they look to keep their contention window open and a huge blow to the runners-up for Burnes’ services — San Francisco and Toronto — who again came up short in their pursuit of a superstar.
Read more here.
Why are the Diamondback signing Corbin Burnes?
Corbin Burnes agreed to a six-year, $210 million deal with the Diamondbacks on Saturday. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
While the six-year, $210 deal for Corbin Burnes makes sense from a commute perspective, it’s a surprise from Arizona.
A year after reaching their first World Series since 2001, the 89-win D-backs narrowly missed out on the playoffs in 2024 and remain mired in the NL West, arguably the most competitive division in baseball. The team is still set up to win, though, so it spent big for a new weapon after similarly big moves by the Los Angeles Dodgers (signing Blake Snell, re-signing Teoscar Hernández) and Giants (signing Willy Adames), with the San Diego Padres also lurking.
However, the rotation already appeared to be a strength for the D-backs, at least relatively, given their high number of position-player free agents and a bullpen that ranked 25th in ERA last season. Even so, they decided to spend big to add another headliner alongside Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt. Jordan Montgomery is also still under contract after a disastrous 2024 — so bad D-backs owner Ken Kendrick called the contract a “horrible decision” — but he is now a clear trade candidate if a team wants to try buying low.
It’s also encouraging that the D-backs are spending despite being one of the teams to have their RSN implode with the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy. Local cable revenue is a foundational component of the finances for teams such as Arizona, but the D-backs are still going for it.
Beating the Giants’ bid for Burnes is noteworthy, considering how competitive some teams in the NL West have been in free agency. Arizona did benefit from a more favorable income tax situation compared to Burnes’ more significant suitors, though.
Read more here.
Teoscar Hernández reportedly rejoining Dodgers
Teoscar Hernández is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a few more years.
The outfielder and 2024 World Series champion agreed to a three-year, $66 million deal with Los Angeles on Friday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal reportedly includes a fourth-year option for $15 million, a $23 million signing bonus and, as is common for the Dodgers now, around $23 million in deferred money.
Hernández had one of the best year-to-year turnarounds in 2024, following a disappointing 2023 with the Seattle Mariners with a stellar performance as a Dodger. Hernández was brought to L.A. to help boost the Shohei Ohtani-led Dodgers into a championship-caliber team, a mission that was certainly successful.
Read more here.
What to make of Torres’ deal with the Tigers?
Before contemplating Torres’ fit on Detroit’s roster, let’s first consider the contract: one year, $15 million. At first glance, this seems awfully low for a player of Torres’ track record and especially at his age, even if the sense in the industry was that the market could be on the cold side for the second baseman following his unremarkable final season with the Yankees. But Tigers GM Scott Harris acknowledged Friday that Torres had larger offers available and instead chose the one-year pact with Detroit in hopes of reestablishing his value and hitting free agency again next winter. If Torres benefits from the change of scenery after seven years in New York and shows meaningful strides on both sides of the ball, he should be in position to secure a more significant multi-year deal a year from now, when he’ll still be one of the younger free agents available at 29.
Harris also shed some light on the likely infield alignment after initial reports of Torres’ signing sparked questions about what the move means for the bevy of young infielders already on Detroit’s roster. Harris said Torres will be Detroit’s every-day second basemen, with Colt Keith — who signed a six-year extension before he made his MLB debut in 2024 — sliding to first base after spending the bulk of his rookie season at second. That would seemingly indicate a diminished role for former No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson, but Harris said there are at-bats available if he’s producing.
In Harris’ view, adding Torres makes the Tigers a better ballclub right now and will spark healthy competition for playing time elsewhere in the infield — a common dynamic for good teams. If that means making it more difficult to give playing time to the likes of Torkelson, Justyn-Henry Malloy or Jace Jung, so be it. On a team that considers itself a playoff contender, as Detroit does after its surprise run to the postseason in 2024, these players need to earn their playing time.
On a related note, the other big question that looms over Detroit’s offseason is whether they remain in play for free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman. Bregman would obviously represent a substantial upgrade over any of Detroit’s internal options at third, and his experience having played under manager AJ Hinch in Houston helped build buzz for Detroit as a potential landing spot, particularly as other suitors have fallen out of the race.
More important than any positional fit or prior relationships, though, is what it would take financially to get such a deal done. Unlike with Torres, who was comfortable agreeing to a shorter-term deal, Bregman and his agent, Scott Boras, are surely still seeking a massive, long-term contract, meaning Detroit would likely need to outbid several other Bregman suitors that have already demonstrated a willingness to spend big this winter. That still seems rather implausible at this stage, based on the Tigers’ more recent track record of relative frugality, but as long as Bregman remains available, the rumors will continue to swirl.
Gleyber Torres signs 1-year, $15 million deal with Tigers
The 28-year-old second baseman has spent his entire seven-year career with the New York Yankees. Last season, he hit .257 with 15 home runs, 63 RBI and 80 runs scored in 154 games.
Free agent Gleyber Torres is in agreement with the Detroit Tigers on a 1-year, $15 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Torres had a great ALCS after a bit of down year on the power side for the Yankees. He’ll start at 2b for Detroit. @JonHeyman was first with the agreement.
With the addition of Walker Buehler, the Boston Red Sox are starting to look like 2025 contenders
Walker Buehler signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox for 2025. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Coming into this winter, it was imperative for the Boston Red Sox to make multiple impactful moves following a disappointing finish to the 2024 season. And in light of the Yankees making several key pivots following Juan Soto’s departure, inactivity from Boston through another offseason wasn’t an acceptable option.
Well, slowly but surely the Red Sox are putting together a solid offseason and starting to look like a team that is serious about getting back to the postseason in 2025.
The Red Sox’s biggest changes have been in their rotation, where they’ve had a serious overhaul. Adding starting pitching was the top priority for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and the Red Sox added arguably the best starter on the trade market in Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox. But it takes more than one starter to get through the 162-game grind of the regular season.
The Red Sox then added left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, and they solidified their veteran presence on Monday by adding right-hander Walker Buehler on a one-year, $21.05 million deal. Buehler, who was No. 23 on Yahoo Sports’ list of this winter’s top 50 free agents, brings to Boston’s rotation a veteran arm who has pitched on baseball’s biggest stages and experienced plenty of success. His 18 postseason starts are the most on Boston’s roster by far.
Read the full story here.
Astros GM: Talks with Alex Bregman ‘stalled’ ahead of Christian Walker deal
Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters Monday that talks with longtime third baseman Alex Bregman stalled before Houston reached a deal with Christian Walker, effectively ending Bregman’s time with the team.
“I thought we made a really competitive offer, showing that we wanted him back,” Brown said on the day the Astros officially introduced Walker. “But we had to pursue other options.
“We couldn’t just sit there. We locked in [Isaac] Paredes early in that trade, knowing that he could play third or first, and then when the opportunity to add another bat came up, we just jumped on it.”
“Over time, teams learn if you’re running from leadership and talent, you’re running from the ultimate goal,” Boras said.
Eloy Jiménez signs minor-league deal with Rays
Eloy Jiménez and the Rays have agreed to a minor-league deal, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports. Jiménez, 28, batted .238 with a .626 OPS, 14 doubles, six home runs and 28 RBI last season for the White Sox and Orioles. An adductor strain and hamstring injury limited him to 98 games.
News: DH Eloy Jimenez and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a minor league deal, sources tell ESPN. Jimenez, 28, played for the White Sox and Orioles this year and hopes to rebuild his career with a Rays team that has high aspirations in the American League East.
Since he hit 31 homers during his rookie season, injuries have been a consistent obstacle for Jiménez. Among the many issues he has dealt with have been a sprained ankle and right ulnar nerve contusion in 2019, a torn left pectoral tendon in 2021, a torn right hamstring tendon in 2022 and an appendectomy in 2023.
However, Jiménez did hit 18 home runs, the second-highest total of his career, while playing 120 games in 2023.
Joc Pederson signs 2-year deal with Rangers
Outfielder/designated hitter Joc Pederson has signed with the Texas Rangers. Pederson agreed to a two-year, $37 million deal, according to The Athletic. The contract includes an opt-out after the first year.
Last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pederson hit .275 with a .908 OPS (both career bests), 17 doubles, 23 home runs and 64 RBI. He played exclusively as a DH but has played the outfield throughout his 11-year career, mostly in left and center field.
Joc Pederson’s deal with the Texas Rangers: 2 years, $37 million, with an opt-out after the first year. A perfect fit for their lineup.
Pederson, 32, will replace Nathaniel Lowe in the Rangers’ lineup. Lowe was traded to the Washington Nationals over the weekend for reliever Robert Garcia.
Red Sox, RHP Walker Buehler agree to 1-year, $21.05 million deal: Sources
The Boston Red Sox have landed a major piece in their quest to remake their starting rotation. According to Yahoo Sports’ Russell Dorsey, the Red Sox and right-hander Walker Buehler are in agreement on a one-year, $21.05 million deal. The deal includes incentives and is pending a physical.
Buehler, 30, is a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which is the only team he’s played for in his seven-year career.
Buehler, who did not receive a qualifying offer from the Dodgers, essentially gets one from the Red Sox. Coming off a strong showing this postseason, he’ll now get to pitch a full season healthy with an opportunity to re-enter the free-agent market again next winter. https://t.co/JMZBpPmc6d
Mets reportedly reunite with Sean Manaea on 3-year, $75 million deal following career year
The New York Mets have made a move to solidify their starting rotation. In the wee hours of Monday morning, they reportedly agreed to reunite with left-hander Sean Manaea on a three-year, $75 million deal.
Manaea, who will be 33 in February, had a career year with the Mets in 2024. He had a 3.47 ERA and 184 strikeouts over 32 starts and 181 2/3 innings. That’s the lowest ERA of his career, maintained over the most innings he has ever pitched and anchored by the second-most strikeouts he has ever thrown. Before the 2024 season, his best numbers came with the Athletics in 2018, when he had a 3.59 ERA over 160 1/3 innings.
