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That sound you heard – besides the “cha-ching” of Kyle Tucker’s bank account – was owners across the league further digging their heels in for a lockout in 2027.

It is not Tucker’s fault, of course, or even the Dodgers’ fault for landing the top free agent hitter on the market with a wild four-year, $240 million contract on Thursday night.

But the latest splashy deal handed out by the back-to-back World Series champions will only intensify the calls for a salary cap, which is at the root of the expected labor battle that looms next winter with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire in December.

The presumption around the league – even before Tucker agreed to the Dodgers deal – was that there would be a lockout next year, it was just a matter of how long it would last. Owners are expected to push for a salary cap while the union will argue vehemently against it, making for what might be a prolonged dispute that could potentially end up costing the league games.

With the addition of Tucker – whose contract comes with $30 million in deferred money, still giving him a record present-day average annual value of $57.1 million – the Dodgers now have a projected luxury tax payroll of $402.5 million for 2026, per Cot’s Contracts. That figure is more than the bottom-four teams combined in terms of luxury tax payroll, surpassing the sum of the Marlins ($79.3 million), Rays ($93.9M), Guardians ($103.5M) and White Sox ($105.1M).

The Dodgers’ payroll is also nearly $100 million above the highest luxury tax threshold for 2026 ($304 million), with the financial penalties associated with it doing little to deter their spending – which is why many owners will fight for a salary cap, as MLB is currently the only major sport without out one. Even Hal Steinbrenner, whose Yankees currently have a projected luxury tax payroll of $287.8 million, has said he would be in favor of a cap as long as it came with a salary floor.

Ironically, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts – who joked that his team was ruining baseball on the way to a second straight title last October – is actually also among those who would be in favor of a salary cap and floor, despite the institution of one theoretically taking away one of his club’s biggest strengths over the rest of the league.

“Honestly, I think that we have an organization that whatever rules or regulations, constructs are put in front of us, we’re going to dominate,” Roberts said at the winter meetings. “And so just give us the rules, let us know the landscape and then I’ll bet on our organization. So that’s kind of the way I feel.”

The Pittsburgh Pirates are counting down the days before Opening Day, when they will face off against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

However, the Pirates’ job to beat the Mets in the first game of the season may have gotten a little more challenging after the team signed Toronto Blue Jays star Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract.

“The Mets have agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal with infielder Bo Bichette, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Friday. The club has not confirmed. MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported that the deal includes two opt-outs and is pending a physical,“ MLB.com contributor Manny Randhawa wrote.

“After trading for second baseman Marcus Semien in the offseason, the Mets plan on starting Bichette at third, according to MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi. The incumbent third baseman is Brett Baty, who delivered career highs in homers (18) and RBIs (50) in 130 games. Baty missed the last week of the regular season with a right oblique injury.“

Bichette won’t have things easier either because he will likely match up with Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes in his first game with the Mets. Skenes is coming off a Cy Young season and he still has the potential to get even better.

After large contracts were fleshed out to Bichette and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker, it’s beginning to feel a lot like baseball season.

BD community, what do you think of Bichette and the Mets? Chime off in the comments section below.

First the Mets pivoted, then the Phillies did.

The Phillies are re-signing veteran catcher JT Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million deal, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.

It comes after the Mets swooped in and signed Bo Bichette away from their division rival Friday.

The Phillies had been targeting Bichette, and according to USA Today were closing in on a seven-year, $200 million deal, before the Mets signed him for three years and $126 million.

The Mets had been trying to sign Kyle Tucker before the Dodgers inked him to a four-year, $240 million deal Thursday night.

For now, Philadelphia will settle for bringing back Realmuto’s steadying presence behind the plate.

Realmuto, who has been with the Phillies for the past seven seasons, hit .257 last year with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs in 134 games.

The Phillies have re-signed slugger Kyle Schwarber, signed outfielder Adolis Garcia and brought in versatile reliever Brad Keller so far this offseason.

They lost starter Ranger Suarez to the Red Sox.

The Phillies finished 96-66 last season, winning the NL East by 13 games over the Mets before going out in four games to the eventual champion Dodgers in the NLDS.

The long wintertime staring contest between J.T. Realmuto and the Philadelphia Phillies is finally over.

Realmuto, the three-time All-Star catcher and highly respected handler of the Phillies' pitching staff, agreed to terms on a three-year, $45 million contract Jan. 16, according to a person with direct knowledge of the agreement.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by The Athletic, has not yet been finalized.

Realmuto turns 35 in March and while he has been worth between 2.5 and 6.5 WAR in the six full seasons since the Phillies acquired him in 2019, his advancing age gave the club some pause entering the offseason. Multiple reports indicated the club preferred a two-year term and while both desired a reunion, the team scheduled a Zoom meeting with free agent infielder Bo Bichette on Jan. 12.

Acquiring Bichette would have all but ensured Realmuto's exit, but Bichette reached agreement with the New York Metsearlier in the day, and Realmuto's agreement with the Phillies - which includes incentives worth up to $5 million per season - came together shortly thereafter.

Realmuto was acquired from Miami before the 2019 season and led the major leagues in games caught in 2022, 2023 and 2025. Despite that workload he has largely produced well above league average offensively, with his finest season coming in 2022, when he hit 22 homers with an .870 OPS and a 130 adjusted OPS.

But that mark dwindled to 91 this past season when he hit a career-low 12 homers in 133 games.

Contributing: Bob Nightengale

It's been a whirlwind 24 hours for the Mets after the first two-plus months of their offseason saw them say goodbye to a large chunk of the offensive core.

After a spirited effort to bring Kyle Tucker to New York, which came with a four-year offer for $220 million, Tucker chose the Dodgers over the Mets and Blue Jays on Thursday night.

Then came the Mets' response.

Early Friday afternoon, New York agreed to a three-year deal with Bo Bichette worth $126 million -- with the expectation that Bichette will play third base.

The deal has been met with mostly excitement, but also with some wondering how Bichette fits given David Stearns' emphasis on improving the club's run prevention.

While that question is fair, there are two things to point out.

First, run prevention is not just defense. It's also pitching. And most people seem to be focusing only on the defensive aspect. Of course, the Mets still need to add significantly to their starting rotation this offseason.

Second, while Bichette has rated poorly at shortstop when it comes to his range, he should be better suited for third base -- and should be helped additionally by the rangy Francisco Lindor being to his left. 

With Bichette now in tow, there are a number of ways the Mets can go with their infield alignment.

Let's break it down, in no particular order...

Brett Baty to first base

The possible alignment:

Brett Baty, 1B
Marcus Semien, 2B
Francisco Lindor, SS
Bo Bichette, 3B

With Bichette taking over at third base, sliding Baty to first could make sense.

In that scenario, Jorge Polanco would be the regular DH.

Aside from one inning in left field in 2023, Baty has spent his entire major league career on the dirt. And the fact that he transitioned well to second base duty last season suggests that it isn't crazy to ask him to pick up a first base glove.

There are a lot of intricate things to learn at first base that you don't have to learn at second base, though. So it's easier said than done.

But with months to prepare, it's fair to believe Baty would be able to handle it.

Jorge Polanco at first base

The possible alignment:

Jorge Polanco, 1B Marcus Semien, 2B Francisco Lindor, SS Bo Bichette, 3B

The plan after the Mets signed Polanco was for him to spend plenty of time at first base -- a position he hasn't yet played in the majors.

Polanco, a natural middle infielder, started getting acclimated to first base during workouts last season while still with the Mariners.

In this scenario, Baty and Mark Vientos could conceivably get at-bats at DH, with Baty getting additional time around the diamond.

Mark Vientos to first base

The possible alignment:

Mark Vientos, 1B Marcus Semien, 2B Francisco Lindor, SS Bo Bichette, 3B

The probability might not be high, but the Mets exploring the trade market for Baty -- especially if it helps them land a difference-making outfielder or starting pitcher -- shouldn't be ruled out.

In a world where Baty is dealt, it could open up first base for Vientos (with Polanco at DH). Vientos has gotten time at first each of the last three seasons.

Vientos has been a poor defender at third base, though, so it's fair to wonder how he'd look at first base in a regular role.

The makeshift 2021 Cubs, after a bad run for most of August, won 10 of 13 late that month and early September, then went on another long losing jag, losing 10 of 13 entering a doubleheader date with the Cardinals on Sept. 24.

In 2021, as was the case in 2020, doubleheader games were limited to seven innings (unless tied after seven). The Cubs dropped the first game 8-5 and in the second game, David Ross sent Zach Davies, Scott Effross, Rex Brothers, Trevor Megill and Adam Morgan to the mound and they got pounded for 16 hits and 12 runs in 6.2 innings. Ross had wanted Morgan to finish off the game, with the Cubs trailing 9-4 entering the seventh, but Morgan allowed four hits and three runs, including a pair of homers while recording only two outs.

After Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI double off Morgan, Ross had seen enough and sent infielder Sergio Alcántara in to pitch to Tyler O’Neill.

Alcántara ran a 1-2 count on O’Neill, then got him to fly to right [VIDEO].

As noted in the clip, that pitch was thrown at 91 miles per hour. In fact, all these pitches look pretty decent:

Maybe the Cubs should have tried Alcántara as a pitcher. After he left the Cubs, he spent time with the Diamondbacks and Padres, and played one game for the Giants in 2025. He’s currently a free agent.

Note: Today is nomination day! Head to the comment section to nominate the next group of Giants prospects.

Spring Training is less than a month away, and the smell of baseball is almost in the air. To prepare ourselves, we’re continuing with the Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, which will see us work together to rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization. And we almost have a top 30!

The last chapter was a very close one, and it narrowly featured a winner who we might see in the Major Leagues this year: right-handed reliever Trent Harris, who has been voted as the No. 29 prospect in the system. That’s a drop of nine spots for Harris, who was No. 20 a year ago, and that speaks more to the improved strength of the system than his talent.

2025 was a tale of two stories for Harris. It was just his second full season of Minor League Baseball, as he joined the organization in the summer of 2023 as an undrafted free agent (remarkably, the Giants have three UDFAs in their top 30). Harris, who is 6’2 and well built, began the year with AA Richmond, where he was utterly dynamic. He posted a 1.69 ERA and a 1.73 FIP in 13 relief appearances, while striking out 25 batters in just 16 innings … and only walking four. Everything was going brilliantly, and he received an early promotion to AAA Sacramento.

That’s where the struggles began, as they do for so many pitchers entering the Pacific Coast League. Harris struggled mightily out of the gates, and never really covered over his few months with the River Cats. In all, he made 30 appearances in AAA, and finished with a 5.44 ERA and a 4.69 FIP. The strikeout stuff came down dramatically (8.71 per nine innings), though he did a good job of limiting walks (3.27 per nine).

On a recent podcast with Roger Munter, Harris attributed some of his struggles to shelving his curveball — largely viewed as his best pitch — after it got shellacked in the early going by more advanced hitters. And indeed, the numbers bore that out: Harris’ most used pitch in AAA was his cutter, which he threw nearly half the time, with quite poor results: a .313 expected batting average, a .492 expected slugging percentage, and an 18.4% whiff rate. His curve (which he threw 16.4% of the time), despite those early struggles, had an xBA of .242, an xSLG of .392, and a whiff rate of 30.3%, while his sweeper, which he threw roughly a third of the time, carried a .216 xBA, a .288 xSLG, and a 33.0% whiff rate. He also has a splitter, which was statistically speaking his best pitch, though in part because he so rarely used it.

So it would seem that the goal for Harris would be to get his pitch mix sorted a little better … and perhaps he can turn to teammate Trevor McDonald for some inspiration and optimism. McDonald put up poor numbers in AAA last year, but with a defensive savant calling his games and a talented infield defense behind him, wowed during his 2025 MLB stint. That could help Harris, as could adding a little velo to his heater, which averaged just 94.1 mph in Sacramento.

Needless to say, 2026 will be a critical year for Harris, in part because he’s no spring chicken (by prospect standards, at least) — he turns 27 next week. He’ll certainly be a non-roster invitee when pitchers and catchers report to Scottsdale in mid-February, and don’t be surprised if he’s coming out of the bullpen and taking the ball from Tony Vitello at some point this year.

Now let’s add to the list, and don’t forget that it’s nomination day. Nominations and prospect voting both take place in the comment section now.

The list so far

1. Bryce Eldridge — 1B
2. Josuar González — SS
3. Jhonny Level — SS
4. Bo Davidson — CF
5. Dakota Jordan — CF
6. Luis Hernandez — SS
7. Gavin Kilen — SS
8. Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
9. Blade Tidwell — RHP
10. Keyner Martinez — RHP
11. Jacob Bresnahan — LHP
12. Trevor McDonald — RHP
13. Argenis Cayama — RHP
14. Luis De La Torre — LHP
15. Trevor Cohen — OF
16. Jesús Rodríguez — C
17. Parks Harber — OF/3B
18. Carlos Gutierrez — OF
19. Drew Cavanaugh — C
20. Daniel Susac — C
21. Gerelmi Maldonado — RHP
22. Josh Bostick — RHP
23. Lorenzo Meola — SS/2B
24. Will Bednar — RHP
25. Yunior Marte — RHP
26. Joe Whitman — LHP
27. Joel Peguero — RHP
28. Alberto Laroche — RHP
29. Trent Harris — RHP

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

No. 30 prospect nominees

Rayner Arias — 19.8-year old OF — .173 OPS/-42 wRC+ in Low-A (30 PA); .699 OPS/87 wRC+ in ACL (178 PA)

Carlos De La Rosa — 18.1-year old LHP — 4.73 ERA/2.30 FIP in DSL (32.1 IP)

Lisbel Diaz — 20.5-year old OF — .725 OPS/96 wRC+ in Low-A (561 PA)

Diego Velasquez — 22.3-year old 2B — .677 OPS/107 wRC+ in AA (566 PA)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2025 season.

Major League Baseball's annual game of musical chairs was accompanied by a waltz-like soundtrack for two months - then somebody suddenly flipped it over to speed metal.

The wham-bang contract agreements forged by Kyle Tucker with the Los Angeles Dodgers and brand new New York Met Bo Bichette in the span of roughly 15 hours suddenly swept the board clean of franchise players younger than 30 - and curtailed the destinations of a few players still out there.

Bichette's three-year, $126 million agreement resets the perception of the offseason for multiple teams, players and fan bases. With that, let's take a look at the winners and losers from Bichette's Citi Field foray:

Winners

Bo Bichette

Nah, it wasn't the $300 million deal one might have envisioned for Bichette both earlier in his career and as he put together an outstanding platform season in lifting the Blue Jays to the AL East title. But lest we forget, Bichette produced a .225/.277.322 line over 81 games just one year ago, worth -0.1 WAR. He finished this regular season with an injured knee, but a gallant World Series return reminded the world how impactful a player he can be.

At second base. Yeah, Bichette had to swallow some pride and will now likely be a second or third baseman the rest of his career, his defensive metrics being what they are. Yet with all that, he will command a $42 million salary - and be able to opt out next winter, when he's just 28.

Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman showed how swimmingly that can work out. And Bichette is both younger and more positionally diverse than both of them. He may yet near a $300 million total guarantee once he signs his next deal.

New York Mets

Had 'em all the way, eh, David Stearns?

The Mets' unflappable president, empowered by bottomless-pocketed owner Steve Cohen's megabucks, nearly fumbled it all away this winter - letting Alonso walk without so much as a courtesy offer, declaring he'd pass on the elite starting pitching market, losing peerless closer Edwin Diaz by just a few bucks, the eh acquisitions of infielder Jorge Polanco, second baseman Marcus Semien and closer Devin Williams.

Bichette does not cure all. There's still a gaping hole in left field where Brandon Nimmo once stood, and there's tons of ambiguity surrounding how much trust and how many plate appearances the Mets will invest in several young players.

Still, Cody Bellinger remains on the market if they want to go big in left, and tweak the Yankees at the same time. Stearns' notion of going economy on the rotation looks wise - a glut of fairly trusty veteran starters remain on the market.

And Bichette's ability to "flat-out hit," as they say - he's twice led the AL in hits and is in the 86th percentile in K rate - will create a suffocating 1-2-3 atop the lineup with Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.

Still not ideal. But far from the cataclysmic winter hyperventilating Mets observers envisioned.

The AL East

Whew.

For a minute there, the Blue Jays and their Rogers Communications arsenal were starting to look like George Steinbrenner North. They struck quickly for ace Dylan Cease, and the notion of adding Tucker and retaining Bichette didn't seem so farfetched at the outset of the season.

Under those circumstances, would the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Rays be playing for second? Not quite, eh, but it would have been far less optimal.

Yet 2026 will bring no Tucker and no Bichette to the Blue Jays - or anyone else in the AL. The competitive balance of both division and league suddenly got a lot flatter.

J.T. Realmuto

The venerable Phillies catcher had been locked in a staring contest with his club, which just so happened to schedule a Zoom call with Bichette four days ago. Signing Bichette would have required moving several pieces around - and moving on from Realmuto.

Yet just hours after Bichette's Mets agreement, team and club found common ground on a three-year, $45 million deal, ensuring their ironman backstop who turns 35 in March is back in the fold.