The MLB Winter Meetings have officially kicked off in Dallas, TX and we’ll be breaking down all the latest signings and rumors in our daily live blogs every day until the Winter Meetings end on Thursday morning December 12th.
Every single rumor, even the tiniest ones, will be covered on our MLB Player News page, so make sure you have that bookmarked, and we’ll use these live blogs to cover some of the bigger rumors and signings in a bit more detail. In this space we’ll focus a bit more on the fantasy implications or the other dominos that might fall after any consequential move, so keep the tab open and refreshed if you want insight into all the latest MLB news.
Appearing on Foul Territory today, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal mentioned that he expected the Blue Jays to be aggressive in trying to land starting pitcher Corbin Burnes this off-season.
That would be a noteworthy move for a Blue Jays starting rotation that finished 14th in baseball in ERA, 12th in WHIP, and 11th in K-BB%. However, if the lineup doesn’t also get better, it’s not going to make much of a difference.
A former All-Star is on the move with RHP Jordan Romano signing a contract with the Philadephia Phillies.
Closer Jordan Romano and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a free agent contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. Romano, 31, was nontendered by Toronto earlier this offseason and joins a Phillies bullpen that lost Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez to free agency.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2024
The contract is pending a physical, which is important since Romano didn’t appear in a game after May 29th and had surgery on his elbow on July 3rd. The 31-year-old was reportedly close to returning at the end of the 2024 season if the Blue Jays had been in contention but that never happened.
Romano was non-tendered by the Blue Jays in November with the team choosing not to pay his $8 million arbitration salary; however, the reports were that the Blue Jays had hoped to get him back on a team-friendly deal. Romano was a 10th-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2014 and registered a 2.37 ERA with 95 saves from 2021 to 2023. In 2024, he had just a 6.59 ERA in 13 2/3 innings while battling elbow issues, but if he’s healthy for the start of the season, it’s a huge get for the Phillies.
But Romano encountered elbow trouble in 2024. He did not appear in a game after May 29. He had a 6.59 ERA in 13 2/3 innings on the season.
We have Juan Soto’s record-breaking contract with the Mets covered from all angles.
- Eric Samulski broke down what to expect from a fantasy perspective as Soto makes the move from the Bronx to Queens.
- Nick Shlain looks at what’s next for the Yankees, with names like Christian Walker, Max Fried, and Cody Bellinger as possible backup plans.
- D.J. Short explores what could be next for the Mets. Will Pete Alonso return? What else will the Mets do for their starting rotation?
Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported on Monday that the Detroit Tigers have expressed an interest in starting pitchers Walker Buehler, Kyle Gibson, and Andrew Heaney.
The interest makes sense since the Tigers made a surprising run to the postseason in 2024 on the back of AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and a surging young offense. However, the Tigers were also forced to use “bullpen games” often due to injuries and inconsistencies from the remainder of their rotation. Both Reese Olson and Casey Mize dealt with injuries, Kenta Maeda was banished to the bullpen, Matt Manning had a terrible year at Triple-A, Keider Montero is more of a placeholder and Brant Hurter seems like a better fit as a multi-inning reliever. The Tigers will likely have top prospect Jackson Jobe make his MLB debut but another reliable arm in the starting rotation makes a ton of sense.
While it would be unlikely for the Tigers to enter a bidding war for some of the top starting pitchers on the market, it seems like the team is interested in finding a lower-cost veteran starting pitcher to help round out their rotation.
Detroit also seems to be interested in adding veteran first baseman Christian Walker to their lineup, which might not be great news for Spencer Torkelson; however, Walker seems like a bit of a longshot, which we covered over on our player news page.
One of the names we’ll likely hear most often at the Winter Meetings is Garrett Crochet. The Chicago White Sox ace has been the subject of trade rumors since the summer, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported last week that it was becoming increasingly likely that Crochet would be traded at the Winter Meetings. Now it seems that another team has joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles as key suitors for the 25-year-old left-hander.
The Brewers are among the teams still engaged with the White Sox on Garrett Crochet, sources say. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 9, 2024
While Crochet doesn’t have a long MLB track record, it would be foolish to assume that he is a flash in the pan. In 32 appearances in 2024, Crochet registered a 3.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 209/33 K/BB ratio in 146 innings. Considering he was coming off almost two lost seasons due to injury, the Chicago White Sox made the decision to limit him to fewer than five innings in the majority of his starts in the second half of the season, but there is no reason to believe Crochet would need to be capped in 2025 and beyond.
Crochet features an electric 97 mph four-seam fastball and a cutter that registered a nearly 20% swinging strike rate in 2024. He also has a solid slider that he uses against left-handed hitters and a changeup that he can mix in to righties. At just 25 years old, Crochet has all the makings of a long-term ace and it will likely require any team to give up at least one top-tier prospect, in addition to other MLB-ready talent, in order to pry him away from the White Sox.
With Juan Soto now off the market, Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki is likely the most sought-after player remaining in free agency. Yes, starting pitchers like Corbin Burnes and Max Fried have a longer track record of success and will command the largest contracts, but the 23-year-old Sasaki could be a game-changer for whatever franchise he joins and he has now officially been posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
NEWS: RHP Rōki Sasaki has been officially posted today for @MLB clubs. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 9, 2024
Sasaki being posted means that all MLB teams can begin negotiating with him beginning on Tuesday and that negotiating window will last until 5 p.m. ET on January 23rd. Since Sasaki is under 25 years old, the MLB considers him an amateur which means the contract he signs needs to be restricted to the allotment teams have in their international signing bonus. As a result, we know that Sasaki intends to sign with a team after January 15th, so that he can count towards the 2025 international amateur signing period and earn more money on his initial contract.
As of now, the Dodgers and Padres remain the clear favorites for Sasaki’s services, but other teams will have a month to try to convince him otherwise.
