As expected, this has been an incredibly busy day for MLB rumors. In case you missed any of the news below, be sure to start there.
- If the Cubs Were Open to Trading Christopher Morel This Offseason, What Would That Look Like?
- Obsessive Shohei Ohtani Watch: Secrets-Secrets Everywhere, Timeline, Mets, Non-Comments, and More
- Report: Cubs Have What the Padres Would Want in a Juan Soto Trade
- What We Can Realistically Expect from the Chicago Cubs This Offseason, and What is Within the Realm of Hope
- Report: Cubs “Involved” in the Bidding for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and What Could be the Separator
And that’s not including the prominent agent that torched the New York Yankees for Brian Cashman’s comments, the possibility of Milwaukee side-stepping a rebuild for revenge, and all of the eligible players rejecting their qualifying offer!
Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray for Braves?
For a moment there, I thought the Braves would be this offseason’s version of the 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers (that is to say, a big-market, already-competitive team that mostly sits out the market because, well, they can!). They’ve spent plenty on extensions and trades the last few years and are already sitting pretty heading into next season. But from the sound of it, they will not take a back seat this winter. Not by a long-shot.
They may actually jump in on two of the highest-profile free agent pitchers available:
“A couple names have really emerged as strong possibilities for the Atlanta Braves: Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray….the interest in both of them is very strong.” Morosi went on to explain that they can afford to spend big on a free agent starting pitcher because of the significant financial flexibility created by so many affordable, long-term positional extensions.
More related Braves-free agent talk: “They certainly seem willing for the right player” to spend bigger on average annual value than they have before (Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray both mentioned).
Rays Trade Talk: Manuel Margot, Tyler Glasnow, Yandy Diaz
Also according to Jon Morosi, the Rays have discussed trading outfielder Manuel Margot “with multiple teams” this month (5-6 to be exact). Margot had a down 2024 season and was injured, but he’s still young (29) and had a strong finish after returning from an injury in September: .333/.357/.481 (136 wRC+). Margot is also under control for 2024 ($10M) and 2025 ($12M club option, $2M buyout).
A prime-aged center fielder with that short-term, affordable control should have some value, assuming the medicals all look good. Interesting addition to the trade market.
While we’re on the Rays, Jeff Passan reports that the Rays are “widely expected to move Tyler Glasnow and his $25M salary” this offseason, a sentiment shared by Jon Morosi at MLB Network:
Key quote: “The Rays are among the most active teams in baseball right now with trade talks…I think Tyler Glasnow is out there and available today and this week.”
Morosi also mentioned Yandy Diaz as a plausible trade target, name-checking the Mariners as an interested party, but conceded that the Rays prefer to keep him over Margot and Glasnow.
Shoto Imanaga Asking Price:
In Jeff Passan’s massive offseason preview that went up earlier today, he tiered out the available free agent starters. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on his own tier, but the rest of the groups looked like this (there is WAY more info on these pitchers the actual article, mind you):
- Tier 1: Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Jordan Montgomery
- Tier 2: Eduardo Rodriguez, Shoto Imanaga, Sonny Gray
- Tier 3: Lucas Giolito, Marcus Stroman, Yariel Rodriguez
- Tier 4: Seth Lugo, Jack Flaherty, Clayton Kershaw
Note: Passan also had a Tier Five (9 players listed) and Tier Six (9 players listed), but you can click over to see the rest.
For now, let’s focus on Shoto Imanaga, who’s been connected to the Chicago Cubs multiple times already this offseason. Not only did I find his relative ranking alongside Sonny Gray and Eduardo Rodriguez surprising and exciting (is he really that well-liked?). But also, Passan mentions a potential price tag of which we should all be aware: “Imanaga, a Yamamoto-sized 30-year-old left-hander, carved for Yokohama this year, with a 174-to-24 strikeout to walk ratio, and is looking at $80 million-plus.”
I’m not entirely taken aback by that projection — indeed, he’d have to be in that range if he were being comped to Sonny Gray — but I just don’t think I expected it to climb quite that high. I guess that means most Major League teams think very highly of him, which makes me slightly more open to/excited about the possibility of signing him.
Obviously, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is many multiples more exciting. But maybe Imanaga isn’t as much of a fallback/let down as we once thought?
More MLB Rumors
- Oh, for what it’s worth, Jeff Passan confirmed that the White Sox (Dylan Cease) and Guardians (Shane Bieber) will “entertain” trade conversations for their aces. But he doesn’t believe an offseason trade is coming for Corbin Burnes (which tracks with the latest out of Milwaukee).
- He also mentioned that Jonathan India could soon be traded, which has been the prevailing speculation for a while now.
- There is just SO MUCH more from Passan. You have to check it out.