MLB Player News

With the World Series over, reporters were quick to ask Soto about his offseason plans, and the 26-year-old said, “I don’t know what’s the teams that are going to come after me... I don’t have any doors closed. I’m gonna be available for all 30 teams.” While Soto may not be closing any doors, there are certainly countless teams that, for some indefensible reason, aren’t going to offer him a contract near his value. That means there will likely be a bidding war among the big-budget teams in baseball for his services, namely the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Cubs, and Blue Jays. Where he ends up will certainly be the story of the off-season.

Feinsand adds that the Orioles were in on the Blake Snell sweepstakes before the veteran lefty inked a five-year deal earlier this week with the Dodgers — who we’re never going to rule out as a potential landing spot for anyone these days — and would make sense as a trade partner for the White Sox given their cornucopia of prospect talent. Crochet cemented his status as an elite fantasy contributor with last season’s breakout campaign, leading all big-league starters with a staggering 35.1 percent strikeout rate across 146 innings (32 starts). It’s going to take a considerable haul to pry him away from the White Sox, but the Orioles and Red Sox make sense as logical destinations, especially if they come up empty in their pursuit of upper-echelon veteran free agent aces like Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.

Kriske struck out 34.2 percent of the batters he faced last season at the Triple-A level, splitting the year between the Orioles and Reds organizations. The 30-year-old righty boasts a lackluster 11.22 ERA, 1.85 WHIP and 25/17 K/BB ratio across 22 2/3 innings (20 appearances) at the highest level since 2020. At a bare minimum, Kriske represents quality organizational relief depth for the Cubs heading into 2025 and his ability to miss bats makes him an interesting low-risk lottery ticket.

Castillo returns for a second season with Arizona as extra left-handed relief depth after posting a respectable 4.35 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 21/7 K/BB ratio across 20 2/3 innings (21 appearances) last year at hitter-friendly Triple-A Reno. The 28-year-old southpaw has been limited by injuries in recent years, but has made 40 relief appearances in the big leagues since 2018.

Brash missed all of last season due to elbow issues and eventually wound up undergoing Tommy John surgery back in early May. There dynamic 26-year-old right-hander, who boasts one of the best sliders in baseball, is reportedly ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation process and there’s optimism he could return to Seattle’s bullpen by the end of April.

Dean, who is set to earn a whopping $1.7 million on his new deal, set a franchise record last season with a KBO-leading 132 RBI, batting .319 with 32 home runs and 12 steals across 604 plate appearances in 140 contests. The 31-year-old journeyman outfielder has carved out a successful career overseas in Korea over the past two years after getting into 126 contests between the Marlins, Cardinals and Giants from 2018-2022.

Hernandez, who is set to earn $1.3 million on his new deal, returns for another stint overseas in Korea after tossing 11 scoreless innings over two postseason series for the LG Twins after making 11 appearances (nine starts) to close out the KBO regular season. The 29-year-old righty made nine appearances (one start) last season between the Dodgers and Brewers before heading to Korea.

Crawford has decided to hang up his spikes after a 14-year career dating back to 2011 that included stints with the Giants and Cardinals. The 37-year-old shortstop won a pair of World Series titles during a remarkable 13-year run with San Francisco where he was a three-time All-Star Game selection and four-time Gold Glove Award winner. He steps away with a lifetime .249 batting average to go along with 147 homers and 47 thefts across 1,682 contests. He’ll be remembered as an excellent defender at shortstop and a key component of the Giants’ sustained success for a decade-plus.

Antone is back in the fold with Cincinnati as extra organizational relief depth after being jettisoned earlier this month from the club’s 40-man roster. The 30-year-old right-hander, who made four appearances last year for the Reds, was one of the better high-leverage relief weapons in the game a few years ago, but his career has been derailed by an avalanche of elbow issues. At this point, he’s more of a low-probability lottery ticket than anything else for Cincinnati heading into 2025.

Sanmartin has struggled to a lackluster 5.77 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 71/41 K/BB ratio across 82 2/3 innings (61 appearances, six starts) in the big leagues since 2021. The 28-year-old lefty spent all of last season in Cincinnati’s system, making 21 relief appearances, with most of those coming at Triple-A Louisville. He’s merely extra organizational relief depth at this juncture.

Hernandez was non-tendered last offseason by Kansas City after missing a significant portion of the 2023 campaign due to a dislocated right shoulder that he suffered during spring training. The 24-year-old former notable prospect is back in the fold with the Royals as extra organizational outfield depth heading into next season after finishing last year with a pedestrian .624 OPS along with eight homers and five steals in 395 plate appearances for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.