Category: MLB

With confetti at his feet, a drink in his hand and a smile of equal parts relief and elation planted on his face, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy gave the question of the night only a cursory thought.

Had the Dodgers cemented a dynasty?

“I guess so,” he said.

Over the last six seasons, Muncy had been one of six Dodgers players to have a hand in all three of their recent World Series championships. He had become one of the faces of a team that elevated itself to historic all-time heights.

But when the topic of the club’s legacy came up, as he stood on the field in the wake of the Dodgers’ Game 7 thrill ride in Toronto on Saturday night, the 35-year-old veteran’s mind was occupied by another thought. The pride he felt emanated from a different source.

Read more:Complete coverage: How the Dodgers won the 2025 World Series

“The thing that I’m most proud of is the culture that we have created,” he said. “I hope that’s what’s talked about the most.”

In the public discourse, of course, it won’t be.

These Dodgers, with their star-studded roster and record-setting $415 million payroll and long-established reputation as big-spending villains who might be ruining baseball, have only further fueled debates about the financial inequities of the sport.

With a labor battle looming next year, they will be turned into a proxy — the prime example, critics will argue, of what’s wrong with the only major professional sports league in North America without a hard salary cap.

Some of those concerns will be justified (the Dodgers are spending at levels MLB has never before seen, and well beyond most of their competition). Others will be exaggerated (they are also spending within the league’s rules, and re-investing revenues back into their roster at a higher percentage than almost all other franchises).

The players themselves, however, really couldn’t care less.

Money, after all, might have given them the talent to win back-to-back World Series. But it took something else to help them get to, and especially conquer, the mental and physical test they faced in Saturday’s Game 7.

“When you come to the Dodgers, and you put on that Dodgers uniform, it’s all about, ‘How do you do what you need to do to win the game? How do you help the team win the game?’” Muncy said, his hoarse voice beginning to crack. “I seriously can’t put into words how much it means to me that we’ve created something that’s that special. that everyone knows about now.”

Culture and camaraderie might be clichéd traits easy to point to in the wake of any World Series championship, but they were nonetheless present in the Dodgers’ quest to repeat this year.

Take the first big turning point of this postseason: The iconic “wheel play” the Dodgers ran to defend a bunt in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the National League Division Series.

That maneuver was suggested and executed by Mookie Betts — a player the Dodgers signed for $365 million five years ago to be a Gold Glove right fielder, but who moved to shortstop out of roster necessity on a full-time basis this season and transformed into a Gold Glove finalist.

Dollars might be the reason Betts now plays in Los Angeles. But it was his tireless daily routine of taking infield grounders, and his ability to learn from and overcome early-season growing pains, that made that moment possible.

“For him to play that caliber of shortstop, I think, is underappreciated,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “I don't think people are paying enough attention to how difficult that was.”

Clinching the NLDS required contributions from another star talent serving in an unexpected new role.

When rookie Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki signed with the Dodgers this offseason, it enflamed the external worries about their hoarding of talent. Sasaki, however, struggled as a starter, missed most of the year with a shoulder injury, then faced a decision ahead of the playoffs about whether or not to move to the bullpen.

He accepted, despite having never been a reliever in his professional career before. And in the playoffs, he fulfilled the team’s gaping hole at closer, highlighted by the three perfect innings he pitched in their NLDS-clinching Game 4 win.

“For Roki to come through in that spot after the year he’s had,” Muncy said at the time, “that was just so huge for us.”

The NL Championship Series was the one time the Dodgers clearly outclassed a playoff opponent, rolling past the overmatched Milwaukee Brewers behind historic starting pitching performances from Blake Snell (a $182 million signing last offseason), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (a $365 million signing the winter before) and Tyler Glasnow (a $136.5 million acquisition), then an all-time two-way showing in Game 4 from Shohei Ohtani (the $700 million man who has been at the center of the consternation over the Dodgers’ spending).

The World Series, however, brought an unexpectedly stiff challenge from the Toronto Blue Jays — who were heavy underdogs to the Dodgers despite their own top-five payroll of $278 million.

In the Fall Classic, the Dodgers’ sheen of invincibility was shattered. Their lineup struggled. Only Yamamoto maintained his previous level of dominance in the rotation. A long-suspect bullpen finally faltered. And in many facets of the series (in which the Blue Jays outscored the Dodgers 34-26 and hit .269 to the Dodgers’ .203 team average), the Dodgers looked second-best.

“I mean, big picture-wise, we didn't play very well,” Friedman said. “But those big pivotal moments is where our guys really showed up … Which I think gets at who they are, the compete, how much they care about each other, how much they care about bringing a championship back to LA in back-to-back years.”

There was Game 3, when the Dodgers prevailed in an 18-inning marathon by getting an unforeseen boost from little-known reliever Will Klein, who was willing to sacrifice his arm in a grueling four-inning outing despite spending most of this year stuck in the minors.

There was Game 6, when the team survived a potential season-ending, ninth-inning jam thanks to the veteran defensive instinct Kiké Hernández (the high-energy October stalwart who started every game of the playoffs after limited playing time in the regular season) and Miguel Rojas (who has become one of the emotional leaders of the team since being acquired in a 2023 trade for a minor-league prospect, despite also serving in a depth role for most of the summer) flashed on a victory-sealing double play.

“That's what makes us really tough,” Rojas said. “[We’re] competing every single day, and regardless of what the situation is, I think everybody [is able to] just kind of forget about the past and focus on the moment right now.”

Game 7 provided the ultimate test.

Read more:Hernández: The Dodgers' World Series championship core is aging. But they need to keep it intact

The Dodgers trailed early, with Rogers Centre shaking after Bo Bichette’s third-inning three-run homer. They couldn’t lean on Ohtani, who looked gassed while starting the game as a pitcher on short rest. They had to claw their way back instead, playing from behind all the way into the ninth inning — when their season was two outs away from ending in failure.

“We just kept going and going and going,” Muncy said. “I’m just really proud of all the guys for not giving up hope.”

It would’ve been easy to do so. After two exhausting years — full of deep postseason runs and season-opening international trips and the daily pressure that came with their heavy offseason expenditures — the club’s tank appeared to be teetering on empty. Sheer talent, after all, can only sustain for so long.

“It's been a long journey for the team, for the organization, for every player out here,” Rojas said before Game 6. “It's been really stressful and everybody's mentally tired.”

But this, Muncy declared, is where the Dodgers’ culture kicked in.

“It’s all about the team. It doesn’t matter about yourself,” he said. “When you’re coming in off the field and you have a whole group of guys in [the dugout] saying, ‘Hey, great inning. Let’s scrap something together. Let’s get a guy on base. Let’s get a run in,’ that kind of means everything.”

In the end, the Dodgers conjured their most heroic moments for when they needed them most.

With one out in the ninth, it was none other than Rojas — who was uncertain to even play in Game 7 after aggravating an intercostal injury the night before — who tied the score with a miraculous home run swing.

“When you play the game right, treat people right, are the teammate like Miguel is, I think we said it in there, the game honors you,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “Just doing whatever he could to help this team win.”

From there, the Dodgers (turning to their fourth traditional starter out of the bullpen on the night) summoned Yamamoto, who did something no record-breaking contract could have ever predicted by throwing 2 ⅔ scoreless innings on zero days’ rest after his 96-pitch start in Game 6.

“Can’t evaluate that,” Friedman said.

“That’s going to go down in history as one of the best championship performances in any sport,” pitching coach Mark Prior added.

Will Smith, one of the few homegrown talents on a team of hired guns, delivered the winning swing with his home run in the 11th.

“To me, he kind of epitomizes a lot of the success that we've had looking back,” Friedman said. “In terms of our scouting process, our player development process, how well they work together, and then him coming through and having the impact he's had at the Major League level."

Read more:Hernández: Yoshinobu Yamamoto's remarkable World Series Game 7 became his playoff exclamation point

And fittingly, it was Betts who recorded the championship-clinching outs on a double-play chopper hit to him at short.

“A perfect bow on what was an incredible season for what he did at shortstop this year,” Friedman said.

All of it, Muncy proudly noted, exemplified what the Dodgers maintain was the ethos of their team; the kind of intangibles that won’t show up on a balance sheet or payroll list, even with all the money they’ve spent.

“That’s what we’ve created here,” Muncy said. “And that’s what I’m most proud of.”

“We kept going, and we persevered,” manager Dave Roberts echoed. “And we're the last team standing.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

On the latest episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo welcome the official beginning of the offseason, as the 2026 Mets begin to take shape. 

First up, the guys recap the World Series and look for lessons to learn from the Dodgers' success, then discuss the free agencies of Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, the return of A.J. Minter, as well as the prospect of Justin Willard as the team’s new pitching coach. 

Then, Connor and Joe do a deep dive into several free agent options for the Mets in the position player group. 

The show then goes Down on the Farm for a report on pitcher Jonathan Santucci, and answers Mailbag questions about the bullpen, the Dodgers being a threat to sign Diaz, trading for Vinnie Pasquantino, pursuing Alex Bregman and Josh Naylor, and which Mets player should enter the tournament to be John Cena’s final opponent in WWE.

Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Atlanta Braves have a new skipper, and it's a very familiar face.

Walt Weiss, the club’s bench coach since 2018, was named the 49th manager in franchise history on Monday. He takes over for longtime head man Brian Snitker; the 2021 World Series winner retired last month after a decade in the big chair. The Braves, as is typical for the most tight-lipped organization in MLB, posted the news themselves.

This will be the second managerial gig of Weiss’ career. The 14-year big leaguer and 1988 AL Rookie of the Year helmed the Colorado Rockies, for whom he played four years, from 2013-16. That tenure was decidedly unfruitful, as Weiss posted a 283-365 record with an undermanned roster in Denver. After a year off, he joined the Braves as Snitker’s right-hand man for the 2018 season. Since then, the goateed 61-year-old has been a steady presence and key character during this extremely prosperous period of Atlanta baseball.

As such, his hiring represents cultural continuity for a Braves team coming off its worst season since 2017. Atlanta finished a distant fourth in the NL East, with a paltry 76-86 record. In an embarrassingly weak National League field — the Reds made the playoffs, despite being just four games over .500 — the Braves concluded the campaign seven games adrift in the standings.

 [Get more Atlanta news: Braves team feed] 

Injuries and underperformance were dual culprits behind Atlanta’s disappointing 2025. Ronald Acuña Jr., Sean Murphy, Austin Riley, Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and Reynaldo López all missed significant chunks of time. Michael Harris II and Marcell Ozuna took steps back offensively. Spencer Strider failed to rediscover his peak form after missing all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Major free-agent signing Jurickson Profar was limited to 80 games after being hit with a PED suspension late in spring training.

So now Weiss is tasked with getting things back on track for a franchise that made seven consecutive postseasons, including winning six NL East titles, between 2018-24. It certainly doesn’t look like the most imposing turnaround job in MLB history; this Braves roster still has a plethora of enviable pieces. Simply put, another October spent on vacation would be considered a massive disappointment.

By promoting from within, the Braves and president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos are effectively doubling down on the status quo. Weiss is a known commodity. He knows the organization, and the organization knows him. He has been with the big-league club longer than every current Braves player except Ozzie Albies.

Critically, the players respect Weiss and listen to what he has to say. For an outside hire, that would have been an open question — or at least a process. Instead, the Braves can plug and play. It’s a sign that Antholopolous and his very small inner circle view 2025 as an aberration, not the start of a trend.

Weiss and his predecessor are, obviously, their own men. But both are cut from a gruff, hold-no-punches, old-school cloth. Like Snitker, Weiss is direct, honest, unapologetic. But while Snitker was no dinosaur, expect the new guy to be a bit more nimble with the analytical intricacies of modern baseball. Weiss’ hiring also means that Atlanta’s 2026 coaching staff will likely feature many of the same characters as in years past, though his bench coach role will need filling.

That it took more than a month between Snitker’s stepping down and Weiss’ stepping in is undeniably compelling. This was far from a preordained succession plan, even though Snitker was at Weiss’ introductory news conference on Tuesday. In the time since Snitker announced his retirement on Oct. 1, the Rangers, Angels, Giants, Twins, Nationals and Orioles all introduced new managers. That implies that Anthopoulos and Co., at the very least, discussed and considered making an outside hire.

But while a number of coaches were linked to this job — Tigers bench Coach George Lombard, Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehman, former Mets bench coach and big-league skipper John Gibbons — the buttoned-up nature of Atlanta’s front office has thus far prevented news of any interviews from leaking to the public. 

That is, from a pessimist’s perspective, the biggest critique of Weiss’ promotion. The Braves have grown increasingly insular in recent years. That consistency can be valuable, but it also heightens the risk of an institution growing stale and stagnant. Weiss isn’t likely to arrive with any groundbreaking, new ideas — something that might have been helpful for an Atlanta team trying to keep pace in a rapidly evolving baseball world.

He is more of the same, which, considering how successful the Braves have been in recent years, might a good thing.

The Mets continue adding to their pitching depth early this offseason. 

The team announced on Tuesday that they are bringing back LHP Brandon Waddell on a one-year major league deal.

Waddell returns to Queens after making 11 appearances with the team last season. 

The 31-year-old southpaw spent the majority of the year down in Triple-A Syracuse after signing on a minor league deal, but he was called upon to make spot starts and provide innings out of the bullpen down the stretch. 

He pitched to a 3.45 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with 22 strikeouts across 31.1 innings at the big league level. 

Waddell will now compete for a spot as a bulk arm in what figures to be a revamped Mets bullpen in spring training. 

Out in Wisconsin's state capital, where the orange leaves are falling and every other person seems to wear the red and white of the University of Wisconsin Badgers, the pride and pain of rooting for the Dodgers in 2025 played out in the household of Carolina Sarmiento and Revel Sims.

They're urban planning professors, Southern California natives — he's from Eagle Rock, she's from Santa Ana; they met at UCLA — and longtime friends of mine who have lived in Madison for a decade but are still involved in immigrant and anti-gentrification activism back home. I visited them recently as part of a speaking tour of Midwestern colleges and found myself in the middle of a debate that passed through the lives of too many people we know back home.

It's one that's unlikely to completely fade away no matter how many rings and parades the Boys in Blue rack up:

Is it OK to, well, revel, in this year's World Series champs?

Read more:Commentary: After L.A.'s summer of immigration raids, is it OK to root for the Dodgers in the World Series?

On one hand the Dodgers won back-to-back titles for their first time ever and became the first team to do so in a generation. The squad looked like Los Angeles at its best: people from across the world who set aside their egos to win and bring joy to millions of Angelenos in a most difficult year for the City of Angels.

L.A., a city long synonymous with winning — the weather, the teams, the people, the food — has suffered a terrible losing streak that started with the deadly and catastrophic Eaton and Palisades fires and continues with mass deportations that the Trump administration vows to escalate.

That's where the rub came for Sarmiento and other Dodgers fans. For them, the actions and inactions of the team this year have been indefensible.

"For me, it started when the Dodgers went to the White House," said the 45-year-old as we drove to their blue-and-white house. She especially took issue with shortstop Mookie Betts, who skipped a White House visit in 2019 when he was with the World Series-winning Boston Red Sox but shook Trump's hand this time around, describing his previous snub as "very selfish."

"Who got in his ear?" she exclaimed, bringing out dried mangoes for us to snack on as we waited for Sims to come home. "Since when has standing up for injustice been about you?"

Sarmiento didn't grow up a Dodgers fan but bought into the team once she and Sims became a couple. They and their two young sons usually attended Dodgers games on trips back home and regularly caught the Dodgers in Milwaukee whenever they played the Brewers. One time, manager Dave Roberts "happily" signed a jersey for them when the family ran into him at a hotel, Sarmiento said.

In Madison, she long wore a Dodgers sweatshirt emblazoned with the Mexican flag that Sims bought for her because "it was a way to represent home. But not anymore. I tell Revel, 'Babe, I'm not asking you to boycott the Dodgers forever, but they gotta give us something back.'"

Sure, the Dodgers blocked federal agents from entering the Dodger Stadium parking lot in June just after la migra raided a Home Depot facility. Shortly after, the team donated $1 million to the California Community Foundation to disburse to nonprofits assisting families affected by Trump's deportation Leviathan.

But as the summer went along, Sarmiento grew frustrated that only Dodgers outfielder Kiké Hernández spoke out against immigration raids and Trump's deployment of the Marines and National Guard. She also wondered why Dodgers chairman Mark Walter wouldn't address charges that companies he has investments in do business with Trump's deportation machine. One has a stake in a private prison company that contracts with the federal government to run immigrant detention centers; another has a joint venture with Palantir, which ICE has contracted to create data surveillance systems that would make the Eye of Sauron from "The Lord of the Rings" series seem as innocuous as a teddy bear.

"After a while, it's like a woman who knows her partner is a cheater but keeps saying, 'He's not a cheater, he's not a cheater' and then gets upset when he cheats on her again. At that point, all you can say is, 'Girl...'"

I brought up how many Dodgers fans I know saw the team's World Series win as a giant middle finger to Trump.

The heroes of Games 6 and 7, outfielders Kiké Hernández and second baseman Miguel Rojas, come respectively from Puerto Rico and Venezuela, a commonwealth Trump has neglected and a country he's salivating to invade. The team's most popular player, Shohei Ohtani, still proudly speaks in his native Japanese despite being in the U.S. for eight years and knowing some English. Tens of thousands of fans came out for the Dodgers victory parade and celebration at Dodger Stadium, many of them undoubtedly immigrants.

Isn't it OK to let folks be happy?

"It's like community benefit agreements," Sarmiento responded, referring to a tactic by neighborhood groups that sees them win commitments from developers on issues like open space, union contracts and affordable housing with the threat of protests and lawsuits. "You know what's coming, so you try to get something out of it. This year was a political moment that fans could've taken and they didn't, so the Dodgers gave nothing."

Read more:Complete coverage: How the Dodgers won the 2025 World Series

We greeted Sims as he walked in. The two of us walked down to the basement, where he watched the World Series in exile on a big-screen TV.

"It's a little lonely being a Dodgers fan out here," joked the 48-year-old, although he was heartened to have seen a fellow University of Wisconsin professor decked out in a Freddie Freeman jersey earlier in the day. Sims grew up going to Dodger Stadium with his father and remembered going to games on his own in the mid-2000s "when it wasn't a pretty time."

He brought up the Dodgers' owner from that era: Frank McCourt, who raised ticket and concession prices seemingly every year and who still partially owns the parking lots surrounding Dodger Stadium. Fans responded to his disastrous regime by protesting before and during games. "It was disheartening to not see that in the stadium this year, when there was an even bigger problem going on."

Sims felt "conflicted" rooting for the Dodgers this year. He watched every game he could but admitted he found the team celebrating ethnic pride nights "hollow" as raids increased across Los Angeles and the Trump administration attacked the rights of groups that the Dodgers were honoring.

"It would've been easy [for the Dodgers] to make a bland statement — 'We're a team full of immigrants in a city of immigrants and we're proud of us all' — and you wouldn't have to go any further. They have a historical obligation to do that because of their history."

But not rooting for the Dodgers was never an option.

"I want to see L.A. people happy. The parade! It's a free holiday. People just ditch work and don't get in trouble for it. We're the only city — not New York, not Boston, not San Francisco — with a chant against us. We're despised and misunderstood. So if the Dodgers win, L.A. wins."

Sarmiento joined us. "She's my better political half," Sims cracked. "Caro said to pick another sport."

"No I didn't!" she kindly replied. "I just said to take a pause, just for now. A political pause."

Sims admitted that that a vintage jacket that he used to bring out every October as the Dodgers made another playoff run and Wisconsin turns cold was still in the closet. "I haven't worn any gear all year."

"When you went to the game!" Sarmiento shot back, referring to a visit to Milwaukee earlier this year with his local softball team.

"I went with a Valenzuela jersey to represent L.A.," Sims responded as Sarmiento shook her head.

He laughed.

"I love the team. I just don't like this team for not saying anything. But it's what I signed up for."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Right-hander Frankie Montas has exercised his $17 million player option to remain with the Mets for the 2026 season.

Montas underwent elbow surgery in September and is expected to miss the entire 2026 season, though his $17 million salary will count against the Mets' payroll number for CBT threshold purposes.

Signed by the Mets last offseason to bolster the starting rotation, Montas had a disastrous first season in Queens. After a lat strain delayed his season debut until June 24, Montas struggled mightily. In seven starts, Montas pitched to a 6.68 ERA while allowing seven home runs. He then lost his spot in the rotation and made two relief appearances before he was shut down with what the team called a significant elbow injury.

In all, Montas made nine appearances with the Mets in 2025, pitching to a 6.28 ERA with a 1.603 WHIP.

Montas exercising his option was one of a handful of Mets roster moves announced on Tuesday morning. 

The Mets have acquired right-handed reliever Joey Gerber from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Gerber, 28, has a 3.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 10 strikeouts in 20.0 innings in two big league seasons.

He appeared in 17 games for the Mariners in 2020, and did not pitch in the majors again until 2025, when he tossed 4.1 innings over two games for the Rays.

In 153.0 innings across five minor league seasons, Gerber has a 3.47 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 12.2 strikeouts per nine. 

The Mets have lots of work to do this offseason when it comes to putting the bullpen together.

Aside from A.J. Minter (who exercised his player option for 2026 on Monday) and Brooks Raley (whose club option for 2026 was picked up on Tuesday) there are no 2025 bullpen members who are a lock to be back.

Edwin Diaz opted out of his contract on Monday to become a free agent, though it stands to reason that the Mets will make a strong push to re-sign him.

Trade deadline acquisitions Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto are all free agents.

Members of the Mets' 40-man roster who could be relief options next season include Huascar Brazoban (who is arbitration-eligible), Jonathan Pintaro, and Dylan Ross.

Reed Garrett, who has been a mainstay the last two seasons, is expected to miss the entire 2026 season due to Tommy John surgery.

The Mets have declined their $2 million option on right-handed reliever Drew Smith for the 2026 season.

Smith, 32, had inked a one-year deal with the aforementioned team option in February of 2025 after having his second Tommy John surgery the summer prior.

In 17.2 innings over 19 games for the Mets in 2024, Smith had a 3.06 ERA and 1.52 WHIP while striking out 23 batters -- a rate of 11.7 per nine.

His season ended after an appearance on June 23, and he underwent Tommy John surgery with an internal brace procedure on July 13.

Smith, who has spent his entire big league career with the Mets, debuted with the club and 2018 and has posted a 3.48 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 196.1 innings over 191 appearances.

The Mets have lots of work to do this offseason when it comes to putting the bullpen together.

Aside from A.J. Minter (who exercised his player option for 2026 on Monday) and Brooks Raley (whose club option for 2026 was picked up on Tuesday) there are no 2025 bullpen members who are a lock to be back.

Edwin Diazopted out of his contract on Monday to become a free agent, though it stands to reason that the Mets will make a strong push to re-sign him.

Trade deadline acquisitions Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto are all free agents.

Members of the Mets' 40-man roster who could be relief options next season include Huascar Brazoban (who is arbitration-eligible), Jonathan Pintaro, and Dylan Ross.

Reed Garrett, who has been a mainstay the last two seasons, is expected to miss the entire 2026 season due to Tommy John surgery.

We may long for anotherJuan Soto-like sweepstakes to crank up the baseball hot stove, but there’s really no player of that level available in free agency this winter. Still, there’s plenty of talented help on the market. And several players who will get big money. 

Where will they go? What franchise-shaping moves await? So exciting. 

We’re here to stoke the coals with our annual predictions of where 10 of the top MLB free agents land. Here’s our list: 

Dylan Cease - Orioles

After consecutive playoff appearances, Baltimore cratered last season, finishing last in the AL East at 75-87. Starting pitching was certainly one of the culprits – the O’s 4.65 rotation ERA was 24th in MLB. Enter Cease, who will be 30 next month. He’s got five straight seasons of 32-plus starts and at least 214 strikeouts on his resume. He’s not perfect, as a 4.55 ERA and career-high 21 homers allowed in 2025 shows. But he can deliver plenty of quality innings to a team looking to get back in the AL East mix.

Eugenio Suárez - Tigers

If the Tigers keep ace Tarik Skubal, the hottest name on the trade market, expect them to take some free-agency swings to fuel a run in what could be Skubal’s last season in Detroit. It’s only natural to think third base, since the Kitties got some of the worst production in MLB at the position. Their hot corner produced 11 home runs – only three teams, all bad, had fewer – and a .628 OPS, which ranked 27th. Suárez cranks tanks. His 49 homers last year between Arizona and Seattle matched his career high. 

Ranger Suárez - Mets

Did the Mets have a good season in 2025? No, they did not. Disappointment reigned in Queens over the summer, so big moves could rule this winter. The Mets need to enhance a shaky rotation and, while there’s been a lot of oxygen spent on the trade market, a free agency grab like Suárez would be a wonderful supplement. His 3.59 ERA since 2022 ranks 18th among pitchers with at least 550 innings pitched in that span and he’s got a lifetime 1.48 ERA in the postseason over 11 appearances. 

Pete Alonso - Mets

We’ve entered the weird portion of the baseball calendar where too many focus on what a player can’t do and gloss over what he can. Since Alonso’s career started, he’s got the third-most homers in baseball and he’s also played more games than anyone. He posts and he slugs and these are insanely valuable commodities. After a better platform year, his market should improve, but there’s a certain amount of shrugging across the game about over-30 first baseman who aren’t graceful defenders. He doesn’t fit David Stearns’ run prevention edict, but Alonso, beloved by many Met fans, fits in Queens in every other way, from providing power to enhancing club history. This’ll be the fans’ reward for showing up at the ballpark last season. 

Framber Valdez - Giants

The Giants must deal with the Dodgers in the NL West, and LA just won the World Series with a nasty rotation. Perhaps Buster Posey and Co. should build one of their own and tuck Valdez into a rotation that already features ace Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Since 2022, only one pitcher has thrown more innings than Valdez – Webb! – and in that span Valdez has a lower ERA than Webb by a smidge (3.21 to 3.22). The Giants have made some bold moves, from hiring Posey to run the front office to trading for Rafael Devers to tabbing a college coach, Tony Vitello, to manage. Valdez is another.

Bo Bichette - Mets

Bichette, who turns 28 in March, batted .311 for Toronto this season with 44 doubles and 18 home runs. He’s probably not a shortstop anymore, which is ideal, considering the Mets have Francisco Lindor locked in there. But he might make a nifty second sacker or even a third baseman while helping to lengthen the Met lineup. He gets the ball in play effectively – he had a career-best 14.5 percent strikeout rate last year, well below MLB average. 

Cody Bellinger - Yankees

Enough already with the “takes” of Bellinger fitting here, fitting there. Of course he does! The guy fits everywhere. He’s crazy versatile, with the ability to fix any outfield hole and play a deft first base. He’s a good defensive player, a good baserunner, a glue guy. It’s just too perfect for him in the Bronx, where he enjoyed a terrific first season in 2025 with 29 homers, an .813 OPS and a bushel of clutch hits. Yanks also need guys who aren’t boom-bust homer hunters. Bellinger had a tiny 13.7 percent strikeout rate, by far the best on the roster. He’s not changing cities.

Kyle Schwarber - Phillies

Honestly, anything other than a return to Philly would be overthinking by both parties. Schwarber, who since 2019 has more homers than anyone in baseball other than Aaron Judge, was a dangerous slugger before he got to Philadelphia in 2022 and he’s upped his output since then with seasons of 46, 47, 38 and 56 homers. He’s even trimmed his strikeouts and improved his batting average. No brainer.

Alex Bregman – Red Sox

Bregman, a gritty-gutty third baseman who can hit and defend, opted out of his Red Sox deal, but he goes back to continue his mentorship of all those talented Boston young’uns. The Sox seem ascendant and Bregman’s wide array of talents are too good to pass on. In a world where he bolts Boston, though, watch for Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami at Fenway.

Kyle Tucker - Dodgers

Los Angeles had the second-most productive offense in baseball during the regular season (5.09 runs per game, behind only the Yankees), hit the second-most homers and notched the second-best OPS. Cool, right? Well, the lineup showed pockmarks during the postseason and the Dodgers must make upgrades. Enter Tucker, the best free agent hitter available. In 136 games with the Cubs last season, he had 22 home runs, 25 steals and an .841 OPS while dealing with injuries. He’s an able defender who fits nicely in their lineup next to Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernandez. Watch out – this is a three-peat kind of move.