The Mets are getting a pitcher back without making a deal this offseason.
The Tampa Bay Rays DFA'd Nate Lavender earlier this month and since he was outrighted off the team's 40-man roster, he will return to the Mets' Triple-A roster.
Lavender was acquired via the Rule 5 Draft last winter, but he suffered an elbow injury that required an internal brace procedure.
The 25-year-old made five Triple-A appearances (one start) with Syracuse in 2024 before he suffered an injury. In that time, he pitched to a 3.86 ERA. Before that, however, Lavender had some buzz heading into the 2024 season after pitching to a 1.74 ERA in seven Double-A appearances and a 3.27 ERA in 35 Triple-A appearances in 2023.
It's unclear how far along Lavender is in his rehab, but he could pitch for a spot in the bullpen as a depth piece this spring.
On the latest episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo react to all the offseason noise coming out of the GM Meetings in Las Vegas.
Connor and Joe react to quotes from Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns about Carson Benge having a chance to make the team, the possible returns of Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, the future for Kodai Senga, and the search for a “Number One” starting pitcher.
The guys go Down on the Farm to decode what Stearns said about Jett Williams, and also answer Mailbag questions about free agents Shota Imanaga, DustinMay, Alek Manoah, and Trent Grisham.
Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal won his second straight American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, joining elite company after another spectacular season in which the left-hander helped propel Detroit to a playoff berth.
The 28-year-old Skubal became the 12th player to win baseball’s top pitching honor in consecutive years, joining a group that includes Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.
Jacob deGrom was the previous pitcher to win consecutive Cy Youngs, pulling off the feat with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019. Martinez was the last American League pitcher to do it, in 1999 and 2000.
Skubal posted a 13-6 record with an American League-leading 2.21 ERA and 240 strikeouts in 195 1/3 innings for the Tigers during the regular season, then went 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three playoff starts for Detroit, which was eliminated by Seattle in the Division Series.
Skubal received 26 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The other four went to runner-up Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox. Crochet led the American League in innings (205 1/3) and strikeouts (255). Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros came in third.
A year after taking a massive step forward by winning the pitching Triple Crown in the American League on his way to being a unanimous Cy Young Award winner, Skubal backed it up by serving as the anchor for the Tigers during a volatile season in which Detroit squandered a 15 1/2-game lead in the AL Central and was caught by Cleveland down the stretch.
The Tigers got a bit of revenge in the wild-card round, beating the division-champion Guardians in three games thanks in large part to a 14-strikeout gem by Skubal in the series opener.
Skubal’s historic run comes with him set to enter free agency after the 2026 season. Considering the massive contract Skubal could command on the open market, it’s uncertain whether he’ll stay with the Tigers beyond next season.
The NL Cy Young Award winner will be announced later Wednesday, with Pittsburgh star Paul Skenes — whose 1.97 ERA was tops in baseball — heavily expected to become the first pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year one season and a Cy Young Award the next since Dwight Gooden did it with the New York Mets 40 years ago.
Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers are the other two finalists in the National League.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman was not in Las Vegas for the GM Meetings this year, but did speak with the media over Zoom on Wednesday to speak on a number of topics.
The hottest topic was the departures in the Yankees outfield. Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham are exploring free agency and Cashman was asked how that impacts his offseason.
"We're very interested in bringing him back," Cashman said of Bellinger. "He's going to have a lot of choices because he can do a lot of different things. He was a terrific addition for us last year...certainly would love to have him come back to us. We'd be better served if we could retain him. But if not, we'll have to look at alternative ways to fill it and see where that takes us."
On the subject of Grisham, the team extended the qualifying offer, and whether he accepts it or not may change how Cashman and the Yankees pursue Bellinger or other outfield options. Cashman fielded the question and broke down the scenarios.
"We’re comfortable [extending the qualifying offer to Grisham]. This is a very thin outfield market. If he turns it down, that means the market is flush with teams that have the need," Cashman said. "He had a helluva year for us, was one of the big reasons we had the level of success we did, and we’d be happy if he accepted and came back."
Cashman said that if Grisham rejects the offer, he will still be in contact with both his and Bellinger's camp on potential deals while also keeping an eye on internal options. Jasson Dominguez is set to play in Winter Ball ahead of spring training to give him more reps, while prospect Spencer Jones is working out at Yankee Stadium before heading down to Tampa.
Both youngsters are potentially in play for an outfield spot if Cashman is unable to land one or both free agents, but he acknowledges how early in the offseason it is to predict what will happen.
"We know what Grisham and Bellinger are capable of," Cashman said. "It’s very early in the process. We can lose both Grish and Bellinger to free agency, so that puts more pressure on internal options. Maybe it creates trade flexibility. I guess stay tuned."
Jazz extension talks?
One position the Yankees don't have questions about is at second base. Jazz Chisholm Jr. will man the position in 2026 but is on the final year of his contract.
Chisholm has expressed his desire to stay with the Yankees beyond 2026 and Cashman was asked if he or Chisholm's camp had broached the idea of discussing an extension.
"Haven’t yet. Not sure how that will play out," Cashman said. "[Agent] Brodie Van Wagenen and I spoke as early as today. [Chisholm's] been a great addition. He’s approaching free agency, which puts pressure on whether you make a decision or wait...With his service time, he’s one year away from free agency. He’s one of the best second basemen in the game. An All-Star last year and another one that had a big reason for our success."
Brian Cashman says the Yankees have not discussed a possible extension with Jazz Chisholm Jr. yet pic.twitter.com/bhC3GJ2nZM
Aside from the outfield, Cashman will look to fill vacancies to his bullpen. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are free agents and Cashman said he will talk to their agents this offseason to try and bring them back, but he is happy with the arms that are already on the roster.
"We have [David] Bednar,[Camilo] Doval,[Fernando] Cruz,[Scott] Effross just off the top of my head. We have a lot of good strong arms that are pushing their way up from the system," Cashman said. "We have quality down there that we have to improve upon. We have a few guys that left us in free agency and we’ll talk to them."
This offseason has a flush closer market, headlined by Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez. Cashman was asked if he will be in the market for a closer, and the veteran GM said that part of the market isn't a need for the Yankees.
"We have a closer in Bednar, which is a good thing for us. It’s not a pressure point for us," Cashman said. "It’s hard to find people to navigate that ninth inning…it’s a very hard job, only a few people can do, that’s why they get paid significantly more...Thankfully, we acquired a guy last year we feel comfortable with... so it lessens that role for us but it doesn’t prevent us from dipping our toe into the water to add to our bullpen. So we will be touching base with everyone on the marketplace to make sure what their costs are."
Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott will be entering the second year of his four-year, $72-million contract after posting a 4.74 ERA and converting only 23 of 33 save opportunities. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
After largely striking out, however, they might now have to decide if they’re comfortable doing it again.
The Dodgers don’t have glaring needs this winter, but the back end of the bullpen is one area they will look to upgrade. Although the team has ample relief depth, it has no clear-cut closer as it enters 2026.
The main reason why: Tanner Scott’s struggles after landing a lucrative four-year, $72-million pact last winter.
Scott’s signing represented the second-largest contract, by guaranteed money, the Dodgers had ever given to a relief pitcher (only behind the five-year, $80 million deal closer Kenley Jansen got in 2017). It was a high-risk, high-reward move that, at least in Year 1, quickly felt like a bust.
Scott posted a 4.74 ERA in the regular season, converted only 23 of his 33 save opportunities, and did not pitch in the postseason (in part because of an abscess incision procedure he underwent in the National League Division Series).
The Dodgers’ other big reliever acquisition last winter, Kirby Yates, suffered a similar fate, posting a 5.23 ERA on a one-year, $13-million deal before injuries also knocked him out of postseason contention.
Scott will be back next year, and is one of several veteran relief arms the club is hopeful will make improvements. Still, for a team vying for a third straight World Series title, adding a more established closer remains of interest.
The question now: Will they be willing to do so on another long-term deal? Or will last year’s failed signings make them more hesitant to traverse that same path again?
It might not take long to start finding out.
Already at this week’s general managers' meetings at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the Dodgers have expressed interest in two-time All-Star Devin Williams, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
The 31-year-old right-hander had a down year with the New York Yankees (4.79 ERA, albeit with 18 saves in 22 opportunities), but his underlying metrics remain strong, and the Dodgers’ interest in him dates to last offseason when he was a trade target of the club before ultimately landing in the Bronx.
With a mid-90s mph fastball and signature “Airbender” changeup that has made him one of the most prolific strikeout threats in all the majors over his seven-year career (in which he has a 2.45 ERA and averages more than 14 strikeouts per nine innings), he would significantly improve their ninth-inning outlook.
But the Dodgers’ pursuit of him, which was first reported by The Athletic, could come with a tricky decision.
Williams is expected to have several serious suitors this offseason. And, though some outlets projected him to sign only a one-year deal upward of $20 million, others have him pegged to land a three- or four-year contract.
By nature, the Dodgers typically prefer shorter-term deals, particularly in a role as volatile as relief pitching. If Williams does receive longer-term offers from other clubs, it’s unclear if the Dodgers would be willing to match.
The team could face similar dynamics if it goes after other top relievers on the market, including three-time All-Star and top free-agent closer Edwin Díaz (who also comes with the added complication of a qualifying offer that would cost them a draft pick).
They could wind up having to once again weigh a high-risk, high-reward move.
And on Tuesday, general manager Brandon Gomes struck a decidedly risk-averse tone in the wake of last year’s failed signings.
“It’s one of those things that, I don’t think it’s a ‘need,’” Gomes said of the team’s interest in making another splashy reliever acquisition. “But it could be a nice-to-have, depending on how it all plays out.”
There are other alternatives, of course.
Former Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Pete Fairbanks is one potentially shorter-term target some in the industry see as a fit in Los Angeles, after racking up 75 saves with a 2.98 ERA over the last three seasons.
Former Angels and Atlanta Braves right-hander Raisel Iglesias is potentially another, after amassing 96 saves with a 2.62 ERA over the last three years, thanks to a mid-90s mph fastball and swing-and-miss changeup that have kept him productive even at age 35.
There are other familiar free-agent relievers available this winter, too, from former San Diego Padres closer Robert Suarez to former St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets right-hander Ryan Helsley (who has also been linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors in the past).
The Dodgers could also explore the offseason's trade market, or roll the dice with a current relief corps that still includes Scott (whose 2025 issues had more to do with execution than quality of stuff), Alex Vesia (who has established himself as one of the top left-handed relievers in the sport) and Blake Treinen (another reliever the team sees as a bounce-back candidate after he struggled with injuries last season in the first season of a two-year, $22 million deal). They will also be getting Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips back from injuries, with Graterol on track to be ready for the start of 2026 after missing last year with a shoulder problem, and Phillips expected to return at some point in next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June.
For now, however, the team’s search could depend on how the markets for Williams, Díaz and others develop — and whether it’s willing to take another big bullpen swing on a longer-term deal.
“We have so many guys that are capable of closing and have done it in the past,” Gomes said, highlighting the team’s current returning bullpen arms. “But it’s one of the areas we’ll look to potentially add to the team.”
Skenes wins NL Cy Young Award, Yamamoto third in voting
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will always be remembered for his historic performance in the Dodgers’ postseason this past October.
On Wednesday, his regular-season performance received some deserved recognition, too.
While Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes won the National League Cy Young Award as expected, after leading the majors with a 1.97 ERA in just his second MLB season, Yamamoto finished third for a campaign in which he went 12-8, posted a 2.49 ERA over 30 starts, and anchored a Dodgers rotation that was ravaged by injuries for much of the season.
Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez was the NL’s other Cy Young finalist, and was runner-up. Skenes garnered all 30 first-place votes while Sánchez received all 30 second-place votes. Yamamoto collected 16 third-place votes.
Yamamoto’s finish was the highest by a Dodgers pitcher since Julio Urías came in third in 2022.
It caps a year in which the 27-year-old Japanese star made significant strides from his debut rookie MLB season (when he had a 3.00 ERA and was limited to 18 starts because of a shoulder injury) and helped carry the Dodgers to a World Series with a 1.45 ERA in six playoff outings and a grueling 37 1/3 October innings — including back-to-back complete games in the NL Championship Series and World Series, before back-to-back victorious appearances in Games 6 and 7 of the Fall Classic.
Ben Rice, coming off a season in which he smacked 26 home runs and announced himself with hard contact all year, the Yankees are entering the offseason with a similar question to the one manager Aaron Boone had to solve on a near-daily basis: Where should he play?
Without Paul Goldschmidt on the roster, first base appears to be the most likely spot for Rice to take up on the diamond, after playing 370 innings there across 46 starts. When asked if he viewed Rice as the everyday first baseman,Brian Cashman gave a noncommittal answer.
"He very well could be," the Yankees general manager said while speaking on a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday.
"I view Ben Rice as having an everyday role in the big leagues for us next year, whether it's at first... right now the lane is first base, I have no doubt teams will continue to come after our players, Rice included, for trade conversations," Cashman continued. "But as of right now, yeah, he's in our lineup, and the more likely spot would be first base.
"But he can catch, as well. I have [Austin] Wells is our catcher, and him at first, but, again, you never know how the winds of change blow here every winter. And they'll be challenge trades made to us or by us, and most will lead nowhere, with one team insulting the other, vice versa. More likely than not, I see him at first base, without a doubt."
Despite the GM's remuneration on trades, Cashman said the Yans are "really proud" of the season Rice put together when he produced 58 extra-base hits, 65 RBI and slashed .255/.337/.499 for a .836 OPS (131 OPS+, 133 wRC+) with a thunderous 56.1 percent hard-hit rate (97th percentile in MLB).
"He's always hit, and he continued to back that up," Cashman said. "And he had a huge impact for us, thankfully, this year, especially when [Giancarlo] Stanton went down. He really filled in, softened that blow significantly by being Stanton in Stanton's absence for a period of time.
"And then obviously forced his way into the lineup on an everyday basis the rest of the way, and then has forced his way into our future on an everyday basis."
As far as the catcher position, where the Yankees fielded three left-handed batters on the roster with Rice, who caught 229.2 innings filling in between Wells (1001 innings) and J.C. Escarra (209 innings), Cashman was asked if adding a righty was a priority for the offseason.
"Only if we like one well enough," the GM said. "You'd like to have the balance if you can have it, no doubt about it. The catching market is very thin, but we'll see.
"It's a benefit of having balance at, without a doubt. So we'll see if something presents itself here in the marketplace."
George Lombard Jr. is the Yankees' top prospect and his timeline for a big league call is always the topic of conversation. Fans are talking even more about the potential of Lombard Jr. in the Yankees lineup this offseason due to the injury and ineffectiveness of Anthony Volpe at shortstop.
However, Yankees GM Brian Cashman tempered expectations for his young infielder on a Zoom call with the media on Wednesday.
When asked directly how far off he viewed Lombard Jr. from making it to the major leagues, the longtime GM said it was difficult to assess for a few reasons.
"Players that possess some high-ceiling talent, which Lombard has, once it comes altogether, it can come really fast, it’s just an avalanche of success of instant ready," Cashman said. "He could be coming on strong as early as next year or he might need some more time. The game will tell us more than anything else.
"Defensively, he’s ready to go and offensively, it looks like he needs more time and we’re looking to ride that time and those reps."
The 20-year-old tore through High-A ball this past season, slashing .329/.495/.488 with an OPS of .983 to go along with one home run and 13 RBI across 24 games. Those numbers warranted a promotion to Double-A, where he struggled at the plate.
Across 108 games with the Somerset Patriots, Lombard Jr. slashed .215/.337/.358 with an OPS of .695. He did see his home run output increase (8), but he struck out 124 times.
The Yankees are set in the infield heading into the 2025 season. Barring any offseason moves, Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be the Opening Day second baseman while Ryan McMahon will likely start at third base. Ben Rice will be at first and shortstop will be Jose Caballero until Volpe returns from shoulder surgery.
Those factors leave Cashman believing they won't see Lombard Jr. with the Yankees in 2026 but things can change quickly as the organization saw with another prospect in 2025.
"I wouldn’t think '26 is on the horizon, but I wouldn’t rule out some point in '26 at the same time because you saw what happened with Spencer Jones last year, where he started to tear through all levels," Cashman said. "And once it starts coming together, there’s no stopping a lot of these guys unless somebody's standing in front of them at the major league level. So, we’ll see."
Brian Cashman says that George Lombard Jr. is unlikely to come up next year but he isn't ruling out the possibility, either pic.twitter.com/CrJ25MXJkR
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke again at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Among the topics Stearns discussed this time around were the possibility of playing Jeff McNeil in center field again in 2026, the potential role for right-hander Dylan Ross this upcoming season, and the need to add multi-inning options to the bullpen.
Here’s what Stearns had to say…
McNeil in center in 2026?
Throughout his eight-year career with the Mets, McNeil has proven that he can play just about everywhere. And while second base and the corner outfield spots have been his primary positions, he’s also dabbled in center field. In fact, his 31 games as a center fielder were second most to only his time at second base (77 games).
So might McNeil fit into the Mets’ puzzle in center field? It doesn’t seem so, according to Stearns.
“I think probably less,” Stearns replied when asked if McNeil is in the mix for center. “I think we love Jeff’s positional versatility, but I don’t see us looking at that as a significant portion of his time for next year.”
Ross in the major league bullpen?
Ross, originally a 13th-round pick of the Mets in 2022, has had a meteoric rise through the team’s farm system. After pitching just one game for Low-A St. Lucie in 2024 as he bounced back from a Tommy John revision procedure, Ross started 2025 with High-A Brooklyn but made his way all the way to Triple-A Syracuse, putting himself in the conversation for a late-season call to the majors thanks to his dominant 2.13 overall ERA and 83 strikeouts in 55.0 innings.
According to Stearns, the flame-throwing Ross could be a factor for the major league team as early as Opening Day.
“I think Dylan’s a guy who is going to come to camp with a chance to make our team,” Stearns said. “It’s a big arm. He’s a unique guy who can throw really hard and also zone up his secondary stuff. It’s elite stuff.
“We have to help him get in the zone a little bit more. He doesn’t need to be a premium strike-thrower, but he can get in the zone a little bit more and I think that can help him at the major league level. And we would expect him to contribute throughout the season next year.”
Looking for a long man out of the pen?
As the Mets’ 2025 season went downhill, perhaps one of the biggest issues for the club was the lack of length out of the starting rotation. As a result, the Mets had to mix and match constantly with their relievers, calling players up to add fresh arms on a just-about-daily basis.
With that in mind, Stearns indicated on Wednesday that adding multi-inning options out of the bullpen could be a priority for the Mets this offseason, mentioning there could be both internal and external candidates.
“Something we’ve talked about is, especially after the trade deadline, we got to the point where we had a lot of one-inning relievers in our pen,” Stearns explained. “You can do that for a short period of time, but when you combine that with lack of length out of the starters, which is what we had, especially in the month of August, it taxes you, and we got taxed. So, there’s a recognition that having some multi-inning flexibility out of the pen is going to be important for us.”
Jun 9, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz (45) reacts after giving up a home run during the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
NEW YORK — Cleveland Guardians’ pitcher Luis Ortiz pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he took bribes to help gamblers win bets placed on pitches he threw. His teammate, Guardians former closer Emmanuel Clase, has also been charged in the alleged scheme.
Ortiz, the 26-year-old former starting pitcher for the club, appeared in Brooklyn federal court after his initial arrest Sunday at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
He was released on a $500,000 bond until his next court date in December, and issued GPS monitoring. Ortiz, who has already surrendered his passport to authorities, was also ordered to limit his travel to New York, Massachusetts and Ohio.
The other conditions of his release include no gambling, no possessing firearms or illegal drugs and having no contact with co-conspirators, victims and witnesses.
Ortiz, wearing a black leather jacket and jeans, provided short responses to the judge’s questions in court and didn’t respond to reporters seeking comment as he left the courtroom with his wife and lawyer.
Clase, a three-time All-Star, will be arraigned at the same courthouse Thursday. His lawyer, Michael Ferrara, said Clase maintains his innocence.
“Emmanuel Clase has devoted his life to baseball and doing everything in his power to help his team win,” he said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
The two natives of the Dominican Republic have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July, when MLB began investigating what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched.
Prosecutors say Ortiz and Clase took several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two unnamed gamblers in their home country win at least $460,000 on bets placed on the speed and outcome of certain pitches.
They say Ortiz, who earned a $782,600 salary this year, rigged pitches in games against the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals this summer.
Prosecutors say he agreed in advance with bettors to throw balls instead of strikes on pitches in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.
Chris Georgalis, a lawyer for Ortiz, has denied the charges, saying payments between his client and individuals in the Dominican Republic that were cited in the indictment were for legal activities.
Prosecutors say Clase, who is on the fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract, recruited Ortiz into the scheme. They say the Guardians’ all-time saves leader began providing bettors with information about his pitches in 2023, but didn’t ask for payoffs until this year.
Clase and Ortiz are each charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery.
Following the pitchers’ indictments, Major League Baseball announced new limits on betting on individual pitches.
The indictments are the latest gambling-related allegations to roil American professional sports.
Last month, more than 30 people, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested in what authorities described as a gambling sweep involving leaked inside information about NBA athletes and rigged poker games backed by Mafia families.
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes were named the winners of MLB‘s Cy Young awards on Wednesday as the top pitchers in the sport for the 2025 season.
Skubal won his second straight American League Cy Young Award, joining elite company after another spectacular season in which the left-hander helped propel Detroit to a playoff berth.
The 28-year-old Skubal became the 12th player to win baseball’s top pitching honor in consecutive years, joining a group that includes Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.
Jacob deGrom was the previous pitcher to win consecutive Cy Youngs, pulling off the feat with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019. Martinez was the last American League pitcher to do it, in 1999 and 2000.
Skubal posted a 13-6 record with an American League-leading 2.21 ERA and 240 strikeouts in 195 1/3 innings for the Tigers during the regular season, then went 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three playoff starts for Detroit, which was eliminated by Seattle in the Division Series.
Skubal received 26 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The other four went to runner-up Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox. Crochet led the American League in innings (205 1/3) and strikeouts (255). Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros came in third.
Skenes was a unanimous choice for the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the first pitcher in 40 years to win Rookie of the Year one season and baseball’s top pitching prize the next.
The 23-year-old Skenes — selected first overall by the Pirates in the 2023 amateur draft after a standout career at Air Force and LSU — was a marvel for the last-place Pirates, leading the majors in ERA (1.97) while striking out 216 batters in 187 1/3 innings during his first full season in the big leagues.
Yet even with his brilliance, Skenes needed a little late help from Pittsburgh’s woeful offense to avoid becoming the first Cy Young-winning starting pitcher to finish with a losing record. Skenes won three of his final four decisions to finish 10-10.
Dwight Gooden is the only other pitcher to win Rookie of the Year and a Cy Young Award in consecutive seasons, doing it in the NL for the New York Mets in 1984 and 1985. Los Angeles Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela swept both NL awards in 1981.
Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchez received every second-place vote, and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers finished third.
Skubal’s historic run comes with him set to enter free agency after the 2026 season. Considering the massive contract Skubal could command on the open market, it’s uncertain whether he’ll stay with the Tigers beyond next season.
A year after taking a massive step forward by winning the pitching Triple Crown in the American League on his way to being a unanimous Cy Young Award winner, Skubal backed it up by serving as the anchor for the Tigers during a volatile season in which Detroit squandered a 15 1/2-game lead in the AL Central and was caught by Cleveland down the stretch.
The Tigers got a bit of revenge in the wild-card round, beating the division-champion Guardians in three games thanks in large part to a 14-strikeout gem by Skubal in the series opener.
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes were named the winners of MLB‘s Cy Young awards on Wednesday as the top pitchers in the sport for the 2025 season.
Skubal won his second straight American League Cy Young Award, joining elite company after another spectacular season in which the left-hander helped propel Detroit to a playoff berth.
The 28-year-old Skubal became the 12th player to win baseball’s top pitching honor in consecutive years, joining a group that includes Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.
Jacob deGrom was the previous pitcher to win consecutive Cy Youngs, pulling off the feat with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019. Martinez was the last American League pitcher to do it, in 1999 and 2000.
Skubal posted a 13-6 record with an American League-leading 2.21 ERA and 240 strikeouts in 195 1/3 innings for the Tigers during the regular season, then went 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three playoff starts for Detroit, which was eliminated by Seattle in the Division Series.
Skubal received 26 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The other four went to runner-up Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox. Crochet led the American League in innings (205 1/3) and strikeouts (255). Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros came in third.
Skenes was a unanimous choice for the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the first pitcher in 40 years to win Rookie of the Year one season and baseball’s top pitching prize the next.
The 23-year-old Skenes — selected first overall by the Pirates in the 2023 amateur draft after a standout career at Air Force and LSU — was a marvel for the last-place Pirates, leading the majors in ERA (1.97) while striking out 216 batters in 187 1/3 innings during his first full season in the big leagues.
Yet even with his brilliance, Skenes needed a little late help from Pittsburgh’s woeful offense to avoid becoming the first Cy Young-winning starting pitcher to finish with a losing record. Skenes won three of his final four decisions to finish 10-10.
Dwight Gooden is the only other pitcher to win Rookie of the Year and a Cy Young Award in consecutive seasons, doing it in the NL for the New York Mets in 1984 and 1985. Los Angeles Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela swept both NL awards in 1981.
Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchez received every second-place vote, and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers finished third.
Skubal’s historic run comes with him set to enter free agency after the 2026 season. Considering the massive contract Skubal could command on the open market, it’s uncertain whether he’ll stay with the Tigers beyond next season.
A year after taking a massive step forward by winning the pitching Triple Crown in the American League on his way to being a unanimous Cy Young Award winner, Skubal backed it up by serving as the anchor for the Tigers during a volatile season in which Detroit squandered a 15 1/2-game lead in the AL Central and was caught by Cleveland down the stretch.
The Tigers got a bit of revenge in the wild-card round, beating the division-champion Guardians in three games thanks in large part to a 14-strikeout gem by Skubal in the series opener.
As the GM Meetings roll on in Las Vegas, Wednesday brought about the annual media availability from baseball super agent Scott Boras, who represents a number of this year’s top free agent players, including Pete Alonso.
When asked about which teams could potentially be suitors for the power-hitting first baseman, Boras responded as only he can.
“There’s no doubt Pete’s pursuers are primed to pay the power piper,” Boras quipped. “Pete picked a perfect period to play preeminently at a primary position. A playoff parched plethora will pounce to participate in the Polar Plunge."
This offseason is, of course, Alonso’s second dip into the free agency waters. After a drawn-out process last offseason, Alonso, coming off a down season, returned to the Mets on a two-year deal that included an opt out.
After rebounding to have a much stronger season in 2025, when he passed Darryl Strawberry as the Mets’ all-time home run leader, Alonso opted out and now seems poised to land a longer and more lucrative contract this time around.
And if you ask Boras, it’s Alonso’s ability to develop into a star in New York City, as well as his ability to play every day, that makes him such a wanted commodity this offseason.
“Pete has been a lifetime Met, and, obviously, when he reflects on his career, it’s all he has to look to. The one thing I think Pete understands is that playing in New York is not something most can do,” Boras said. “To become a star-level player in New York, even fewer can do it. So, I think the New York fans recognize it, and they’ve been very outward and appreciative of him. He and Hailey’s involvement in the community has been received so well. He’s, in so many ways, from production, middle of the lineup, he’s an ideal franchise player. Plays every day, and it’s clear that the New York fans relate to someone who is workman-like, who is what Pete is.
“He really knows how to manage the pressure of that situation. So, I think it’s something that he’s very proud of because of the fact that so few have achieved that standing.”
"We love both Pete and Edwin. They've been great representatives of the organization," Stearns said. "We'd love to have them both back. At this stage of the offseason, it’s really tough to predict any outcomes, but certainly, we would love to have both those guys back."
After a strong 2025 MLB season, it comes as no surprise that Giants ace Logan Webb had a notable finish in the National League Cy Young Award vote.
Webb, who turns 29 next week, finished fourth in voting (47 points) after leading MLB with 207 innings while notching a career-high 224 strikeouts, becoming the first Giant to lead the NL in both innings and strikeouts since 1944.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes was a unanimous winner in the NL.
Paul Skenes wins the 2025 NL Cy Young Award UNANIMOUSLY!
Webb was listed on more than half of the 30 ballots and received 10 third-place votes. He finished behind Skenes, Philadelphia Phillies’ Christopher Sánchez and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Today, I'm going to continue with the curious case of Dylan Cease. After the 2022 season, it seemed like Dylan Cease had arrived as a perennial ace. He finished second in AL Cy Young voting that season and showed tremendous strikeout upside and command growth. However, he has been unable to match that success and continues to vascillate between good years and bad years. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we're likely headed into an offseason where some teams view Cease as a potential ace and others will have little interest in signing him for anything close to the deal he's likely set to command.
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Stay up to date with the MLB free agent market this offseason, including player signings, contract details, and team fits as the 2025-26 Hot Stove heats up.
D.J. Short
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▶ Cease in Review
2025 was an odd-numbered year, so I guess we should have assumed that Cease was going to disappoint. While that's mostly in jest, Cease's best years have indeed come in 2022 and 2024, while he has struggled in 2023 and 2025.
This past season, he posted a 4.55 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 215/71 K/BB ratio. He also had a 1.13 HR/9, which was his highest since 2019, and an inflated .320 BABIP. Everybody will point out that the underlying metrics, like his 3.58 SIERA and 15.6% swinging strike rate (SwStr%), suggest that Cease was pitching better than his surface-level stats, and while that's partially true, there were also real issues that led to his struggles.
For starters, he posted just a 45.4% zone rate on his four-seam fastball. That was the 8th percentile in baseball among starting pitchers. His overall strike rate on his four-seam fastball was slightly better, at the 23rd percentile, but you can't be an effective pitcher if you aren't throwing strikes with your fastball. For comparison's sake, Cease was 25th percentile in zone rate and 33rd percentile in strike rate on his four-seam fastball in 2024, so even though these issues have always been present, they were more pronounced this past season. As a result, Cease posted just a 19% Early Called Strike rate (called strikes in 0-0, 0-1, 1-0, and 1-1 counts), which was well below the 21.4% league average for starting pitchers, and was not working from a position of strength often enough.
Cease has tried to combat this by adding different types of fastballs, but his prior experiments with a cutter have failed, and the sinker he added this season was used only 5% of the time and had a 4.57 PLV grade, which is below the league average for starting pitchers (4.90). His sinker had just a 12th percentile zone rate and a 25th percentile strike rate, so it had the same struggles in terms of command as his four-seam fastball, but with far less swing and miss.
As a result, Cease remains essentially a two-pitch pitcher. In 2025, he threw his four-seamer and slider a combined 82% of the time. He mixed in the odd curveball, sweeper, and sinker, but those were used sparingly. His curve was almost strictly a weapon for lefties and posted a slightly below-average swinging strike rate while also allowing a .321 batting average and a 15.8% barrel rate. He also only used it 25% of the time in two-strike counts to lefties, so it wasn't really a swing-and-miss pitch for him either.
The sweeper was a pitch he threw almost exclusively to righties, but he used it only 6% of the time against them this season. It, like the curve, also had a below-average swinging strike rate; however, it didn't allow much hard contact and had success in two-strike counts when Cease decided to use it. The issue is that, surprisingly, Cease's sweeper is actually in the zone too often, which is part of the reason it has poor whiff rates but good called strike rates.
Yet, one thing we can say about Cease is that he's durable. He has thrown 884 innings over the last five years and and not dipped below 165.2 innings in any full MLB season. That's incredibly rare in this age of baseball. That kind of durability and consistency will give him even more value on the market.
At the end of the day, Cease remains the same pitcher he's been for years. He's essentially a two-pitch pitcher with poor command of his four-seam fastball, which leads to strong strikeout rates and poor walk rates. 2024 was an example of what can happen when things break right for Cease, and 2025 was an example of how things turn out when things don't go his way. The team that chooses to pony up a big contract for him will have enough confidence in itself and its plan to get the 2024 version more regularly.
The starting pitcher free agent market is not a robust one, but there are some intriguing names at the top. Cease and Framber Valdez figure to attract the biggest contracts this offseason. However, if Shota Imanaga declines the Cubs' qualifying offer, then he would join them among the top arms on the market. Cease's teammate, Michael King, also possesses top-of-the-rotation upside but has only one year as an MLB starter and battled injuries this season, which could keep his cost down. Ranger Suarez is another talented pitcher, but lacks the upside of Cease and Framber, while Lucas Giolito is coming off a bounce-back season with the Red Sox, but has a long list of injuries behind him.
The rest of the market is filled with pitchers who are more likely to be viewed as back-of-the-rotation starters and wouldn't impact Cease's free agent market.
As a result, Cease has a strong chance to earn the biggest contract this offseason. He will be 30 years old next season, so it's unlikely that a team would give him more than six or seven years, but he should make at least $25 million per season, considering Max Fried signed for just over $27 million per year last season. Fried, Corbin Burnes, and Blake Snell were the only three pitchers to sign for over $25 million per season AAV last year, and Cease has not proven to be a Cy Young caliber starter yet (apart from the 2022 season), so it would be unlikely that his contract pushes into the $30 million AAV range.
▶ Best Fits
Mets: We know the Mets need and want help at the top of the rotation, and we also know they believe they can fix any starter. They tried giving short-term deals to pitchers like Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea, but those didn’t hit last year. Perhaps now they’ll feel enough pressure to dish out a longer-term contract to hopefully land an ace.
Red Sox: Red Sox president of baseball operations Craig Breslow already said this offseason that the team has no interest in adding a number four or five starter. If they are going to add a starter, it’s going to be somebody who can pitch alongside Garrett Crochet at the top of the rotation. Dylan Cease would certainly fit that bill; however, the Red Sox also seem primed to package surplus hitters for a starter like Joe Ryan, which would take them out of the Cease market.
Cubs: The Cubs need a top-of-the-rotation starter with Shota Imanaga now a free agent. The team has already been linked to Dylan Cease this offseason, so we know there is interest.
Dodgers: The Dodgers are linked to everybody, right? It would seem like they don’t need a starting pitcher, but with Clayton Kershaw retired and plenty of their other starters continuing to show major health risks, they could certainly look to bring in somebody like Cease.
Orioles: A lack of front-line starting pitching has been a major problem for the Orioles in recent seasons. They should get Grayson Rodriguez back next year, but that likely isn’t enough. If they want to convince people that they’ll spend money in the free agent market, then Dylan Cease could be the best option.
Braves: The Braves could make a big splash in the offseason after missing the postseason this past year. Spencer Strider doesn’t seem to be the same pitcher following his second Tommy John surgery, and both Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach are coming off injuries. Beyond those three names, the rotation is a major question mark, so Cease could provide an emphatic answer to that question.
Contract Prediction
I think the Red Sox will make a trade for a starter, and the Dodgers will spend bigger money on a closer and outfielder, so that leaves the Mets and Cubs as the two likely biggest bidders for Cease. At the end of the day, I just haven't seen the Cubs spend big money to sign a free agent enough times, so I'm going to assume Steve Cohen will pony up and get himself a potential ace for his pitching lab.
LAS VEGAS — Los Angeles Dodgers utility player Tommy Edman will have right ankle surgery, general manager Brandon Gomes told reporters at the Major League Baseball GM meetings.
Gomes said Edman could be ready for spring training.
Edman has been dealing with a bad ankle since midway through the 2024 season when he was with St. Louis. He continued to play, was traded to the Dodgers that July and wound up the NL Championship Series MVP.
He batted just .143 in this year’s seven-game World Series victory over Toronto, but Edman made several crucial defensive plays at second base and center field to help the Dodgers repeat as champions.
Edman signed a five-year, $74 million contract last offseason.
D.J. Short