MLB Player News

The 24-year-old right-hander had an unbelievable season at Double-A Wichita in 2022 -- registering a 1.95 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 54/23 K/BB ratio over 37 innings in 13 appearances (12 starts). He has been limited over the past few years due to the pandemic and forearm issues, so his innings will be limited in 2023 -- but that doesn’t mean he can’t make an impact at the big league level.

Pannone spent 2024 in Triple-A with both the Cubs and the Yankees, posting a 3.54 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 136/38 K/BB ratio in 152 1/3. The left-hander appeared in one game for the Brewers back in 2023 and has a 5.46 career MLB ERA in 118 2/3 innings.

The Blue Jays are desperately looking for additional thump in their lineup, and Santander would fit the bill after hitting 44 home runs and driving in 102 runs this season. He has the ability to play corner outfield and first base, so he could provide flexibility for the lineup in addition to added power in the middle of the order; however, the 30-year-old figures to be an attractive option on the free agent market, so the Blue Jays will have to spend to get him.

The Phillies only have one opening in their starting rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez returning in 2025, but it seems that they are intent on taking a big swing to fill it. Bohm is 28 years old and coming off three straight solid seasons but seems to be capped as a .280 hitter with 15-20 home run power, so it’s unclear if that profile would excite the White Sox. Especially with the Orioles and Red Sox are allegedly open to trading some of the top 15 prospects in all of baseball. It’s still early days, but the Phillies seem intent on shaking up their lineup, and Nightingale reports that “if the Phillies trade Bohm, they are expected to make a strong play for Alex Bregman, whose talent and personality would fit in perfectly with the team, or perhaps sign Willy Adames and move him over to third base.”

The Red Sox would love to free up more money by trading Yoshida, but he still has three years and $55.6 million left on his contract, which is making it tough to find a trade partner. The 31-year-old hasn’t been bad since coming over from Japan, slashing .285/.343/.433 in 248 games, but he has struggled defensively so much that the Red Sox seem to refuse to play him in the outfield. He also only has 25 home runs across his two seasons, which makes it hard to use him as an everyday designated hitter and has capped his value across the league. The Red Sox may be forced to use him as a bench bat or eat most of the money in his contract to find a team to trade for him.

Although Adames has played shortstop for the entirety of his career, the 29-year-old is willing to move to third base, and, according to Nightengale, the Red Sox “have internally discussed moving Rafael Devers off third base.” Adding Adames to the middle of the lineup and moving Devers to first base would certainly improve the team’s offense and defense; although, it does leave some question about where Triston Casas fits in the team’s long-term plans. However, it seems like a move could be coming soon. “They have been so outspoken about their intentions,” one GM said, “there’s no way you talk that way unless you’re absolutely sure you’re signing one of those guys. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see them announce they’ve got one of those guys pretty soon. They’re pretty confident.”

There was a lot of talk at the beginning of the offseason that the Phillies would make a push for Soto, and they have the money to do so, but it doesn’t appear they’re in the game at all. At least the Royals made a phone call. The Phillies also non-tendered Austin Hays, so they do have some outfield spots available in their lineup with only Nicholas Castellanos as a sure-fire starter in the outfield.

There are a lot of moving pieces here, so none of this should be treated as anything close to certain, but Devers’ defense at third base has become enough of a question in recent years that the idea of moving him to first base makes some sense. What that would mean for Triston Casas’ role on the Red Sox is another domino that would have to fall. While it’s still early in the offseason, the Red Sox are reportedly talking about the move with Devers and they have expressed interest in Arenado, Alex Bregman, and Willy Adames as potential third base options if Devers does move. Arenado would seem to be the lowest priority of the three since he’s the oldest, is coming off a poor season, and would require giving up assets in a trade, but this is an intriguing storyline to monitor this offseason.

Kikuchi has flashed considerable upside at times since coming over from Japan but has struggled with consistency which has led to slightly above-average results. However, he is coming off his best stretch of MLB action ever after posting a 2.70 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with 76 strikeouts in 63 innings after being traded to the Astros at the 2024 trade deadline. Much of that success coincided with him leaning on his slider more often, which is nice to see, and Kikuchi does have a good fastball, which is part of the reason he’s fifth in baseball in K-BB rate over the last two years. The Angels will just hope that he can maintain something close to the level he showed last year, but the team context makes this a slight downgrade for Kikuchi’s fantasy value.

The 33-year-old backstop hasn’t played in a big league contest since the 2022 season and missed most of the 2024 campaign after undergoing hip surgery in June. He’ll compete to be the team’s primary backup behind Patrick Bailey heading into the 2025 season.

The 30-year-old hurler underwent season-ending surgery on his pitching elbow in April. Sanchez notes that the Yankees were one of a handful of teams that went to see Loaisiga throw this past week. His recovery has gone very smoothly and he’s expected to start throwing regular bullpen sessions in January and should be ready for the start of the regular season.