MLB Trade Rumors and Signings

We’re keeping track of all the latest free agent and trade rumors.

The signs are pointing toward Padres superstar Juan Soto potentially being available on the trade market this offseason.

MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi does not expect the Padres — with myriad needs and limited room in the budget to address them — to re-sign Josh Hader. So where might the All-Star closer land?

Morosi sees three teams as ideal fits: the reigning World Series-champion Rangers, the Phillies and the Cubs. More >

According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Shōta Imanaga is expected to be posted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball by Monday, giving the left-hander the chance to seek an MLB opportunity.

Once he’s posted Imanaga will have 45 days to negotiate and sign with an MLB team. His timeline will be a few days behind that of countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whose negotiating window opened on Tuesday.

Though not as hyped as the younger Yamamoto, Imanaga is a terrific pitcher in his own right. Over the last two seasons, Imanaga posted a 2.53 ERA with 306 strikeouts in 291 2/3 innings for the BayStars. He profiles as a potential No. 2 or No. 3 starter in the Majors.

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Imanaga 10th on its list of the Top 50 free agents this offseason and predicted he’ll sign a five-year, $85 million contract. 

Read more about the 30-year-old southpaw here.

Tyler Glasnow. Corbin Burnes. Dylan Cease. Shane Bieber. All four aces have found themselves involved in trade rumblings this offseason. But which one is the most likely to be dealt?

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal thinks it’s Glasnow, who is owed $25 million in his final season before free agency.

“I would not be surprised to see any of those pitchers moved, including Burnes, but I would say Glasnow, because of the Rays’ payroll situation, is the most likely,” Rosenthal said Tuesday. “They have never had an Opening Day payroll above [roughly] $83 million. They’re projected right now to be at $125 [million]. Now, they may be able to afford that … but I’m not sure they want to afford that, and I’m not sure they’re going to look at it like that.

“You trade Glasnow, that takes $25 [million] off the $125 [million]. You take [Manuel] Margot off the team, too, that’s another $10 million, then you’re down to $90 [million]. And then maybe they can do some things to add, get up around $100 [million], I’m not sure. But Glasnow is the one I have a hard time seeing him staying with Tampa Bay.”

Rosenthal isn’t the only one who sees Glasnow as a likely trade candidate.

On Tuesday afternoon, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that two executives told him they thought the Rays would “definitely” move the ace righty.

That follows ESPN’s Jeff Passan (subscription required) reporting last week that Glasnow is “widely expected” to be traded this offseason. FanSided’s Robert Murray expressed a similar sentiment on the “Baseball Insiders” podcast Monday, saying he thinks Glasnow has a “99.999% chance” of being traded. Murray named the Dodgers, Braves and Cubs as possible fits for Glasnow.

As far as when Glasnow will be traded, it might take a while. MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi reported Friday that while the Rays are having “a lot of trade dialogue,” talks involving Glasnow are at a “preliminary stage.” He adds that the likelihood of a deal will increase once the top free agent pitchers are no longer available.

Though limited by a left oblique strain, Glasnow made 21 regular-season starts in 2023, pitching to a 3.53 ERA with 162 strikeouts in 120 innings.

With the White Sox looking to turn the page after a disappointing 61-101 season in 2023, the club is willing to listen to offers for everyone on its roster. That includes Dylan Cease, who finished second in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022.

Although it’s going to take a haul to acquire Cease, who has two years of team control remaining, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman still gives him a good chance of being dealt.

“I do think Cease is likely [to be traded] … I think he’s 80% [likely] to be moved, they’re already talking about potential packages going back to the White Sox,” Heyman said Tuesday on MLB Network.

Cease was recently linked to the Dodgers, but Heyman hears the White Sox are engaging in trade talks with “many, many teams” about the right-hander.

It’s not surprising that Cease is receiving widespread interest on the trade market considering the going rate for starters of his caliber in free agency. One such pitcher just came off the board when the Phillies re-signed Aaron Nola for $172 million over seven years. Cease is entering his second round of arbitration eligibility after earning $5.7 million in 2023.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers also considers Eloy Jiménez likely to be traded. Entering his age-27 season, the former top prospect has missed considerable time due to injuries in his career but is a lifetime .275/.324/.487 hitter (118 OPS+) with 89 homers over 436 games. He is signed for $13.83 million in 2024 and has club options for 2025 ($16.5 million) and 2026 ($18.5 million).

“[New White Sox general manager] Chris Getz has not been shy about the fact that he is open for business,” Rogers said Tuesday in an MLB Network appearance. “I’d almost bet money that Dylan Cease and Eloy Jiménez are on the move.”

After teaming up to help Samurai Japan win gold at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, could Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto join forces with the Dodgers this offseason? 

According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, the club is potentially looking to land both players in free agency. More >

MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi hears that “several teams have been showing interest” in trading for Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner.

With one year of team control remaining before he can test the free-agent market, Bieber was a candidate to be dealt prior to the 2023 Trade Deadline. However, he ended up staying put after going on the injured list in mid-July with right elbow inflammation.

Bieber returned to make two starts in September, including a six-inning, one-run, seven-strikeout performance against the Reds in his final outing of the season. According to Morosi, Bieber’s late-season return allayed some of the injury concerns interested teams might have had about him entering the offseason.

The 28-year-old could be expendable for a Guardians club that has shown the ability to consistently develop pitching, with Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen the latest examples.

Morosi thinks trade interest in Bieber could pick up after the Winter Meetings, once some of the top free-agent arms are off the board.

“I would say on Shane Bieber, not right now, but when you think about the Guardians always seem to find great young starting pitching … they probably have enough depth to move Bieber,” Morosi said Tuesday on MLB Network. “For that reason, teams are already calling about him, and I would expect his market to intensify a few weeks from now.”

There is a chance that Brandon Woodruff won’t pitch at all in 2024 following right shoulder surgery last month. But a lot of clubs aren’t shying away from the two-time All-Star.

MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi reported Monday that Woodruff is drawing interest from “a majority of MLB teams” in free agency.

Woodruff is on the open market after Milwaukee non-tendered him on Friday. With his murky immediate future, he is expected to sign a multiyear contract this winter. He has produced a 145 ERA+ over the past five seasons, totaling 595 innings pitched.

Shoulder problems sidelined Woodruff for four months during the 2023 regular season and kept him out of the Brewers’ NL Wild Card Series against the D-backs. But over nine starts in August and September, the 30-year-old logged a 2.59 ERA and limited hitters to a .170 average.

Starting pitcher and shortstop are two areas of need for the Dodgers. Perhaps they will address both spots this offseason with one massive trade.

One team executive told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that the Dodgers could make an attempt to land starter Corbin Burnes and shortstop Willy Adames from the Brewers in the same deal. More >

Teams have 45 days, beginning at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, to negotiate with the 25-year-old Japanese ace. The negotiating period ends at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 4, 2024. So, we should soon find out where Yamamoto will begin his Major League career.

We know that Shohei Ohtani is the No. 1 free agent this offseason, but Yamamoto might be this year’s most important free agent. That’s because many players, including Ohtani, may see what kind of contract the right-handed pitcher lands before inking their own lucrative deals. More >

The Phillies were reportedly interested in Sonny Gray in the event that they were unable to bring back Aaron Nola. Well, with Nola officially back, the Phillies may be out of the running for Gray. But he appears to still have multiple teams vying for him. More >

The Tigers have an appealing young core that includes first baseman Spencer Torkelson, starting pitcher Tarik Skubal and outfielders Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter. They have already made one significant move for a veteran bat this offseason, trading for outfielder Mark Canha on Nov. 4. That might be just the start of a busy winter for Detroit.

Soler, 31, has clubbed 132 home runs over the past five seasons, including 36 with the Marlins in 2023 and an AL-high 48 with the Royals in 2019. His 170 career dingers are the second most of any current free agent, one fewer than Shohei Ohtani. 

Morosi also reports that the Tigers are digging into the pitching market. They are reportedly interested in 34-year-old Seth Lugo, who had a 3.57 ERA over 26 starts with the Padres this past season. Detroit “checked in” with Lance Lynn, per Morosi, before he agreed to a one-year deal with the Cardinals on Monday, sources told MLB.com. 

The Tigers are reportedly one of myriad teams interested in the best starting pitcher on the market: Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The 25-year-old Japanese ace has been posted, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, and can begin negotiating with teams on Tuesday.

We’ll spend a lot of time this winter talking about free agents joining new clubs, but a number of players on this year’s market may wind up signing back with their former teams.

Here’s a look at all 30 clubs and which incumbent could make the most sense to return for 2024, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. More >

The Phillies made the first big move of the offseason in free agency on Sunday, agreeing to terms with right-hander Aaron Nola on a seven-year contract. Sources told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that the contract is worth $172 million.

That kind of report has to draw a smile from the other top starting pitchers on the open market — Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jordan Montgomery and Sonny Gray. To them, Nola’s signing doesn’t set the market for a frontline starting pitcher as much as it draws a baseline for one.

The Braves were “a real threat” to sign Nola, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Atlanta is expected by some within the league to make a big splash this offseason, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required). Perhaps losing out on Nola will embolden the Braves to go even harder for one of those aforementioned aces.

One of the busiest clubs around Friday’s non-tender deadline was the Braves, who traded seven players and non-tendered another seven, clearing almost $14 million in projected arbitration salaries for the 2024 season and leaving their 40-man roster sitting at 30 players. 

While Atlanta was hardly the only club clearing house this week, there’s likely a specific calculus behind those moves, sources told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required). 

The Braves are reported to be particularly interested in bolstering their rotation in advance of Max Fried and Charlie Morton’s contracts expiring at the end of the 2024 season, and while the Braves’ $232.3 million payroll is on the edge of the first luxury tax threshold for 2024, their depleted farm system is unlikely to be much help in a major trade.

The Phillies shored up their starting rotation in a big way Sunday, agreeing to terms on a seven-year deal with Aaron Nola. 

And the Phils may not be done shopping at the top end of the pitching market. They could go after another high-profile hurler: Yoshinobu Yamamoto. More >

Jeimer Candelario, who had a strong 2023 campaign split between the Nationals and Cubs, is drawing significant interest on the free-agent market, sources told MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi. Morosi reported Sunday that the Nationals are interested in a reunion, and that the Blue Jays and Angels are also “among the teams pursuing him.”

Candelario, who turns 30 on Nov. 24, was on pace for a career year at the plate in 2023, though he struggled some toward the end of the season. At the end of August, he owned an .820 OPS with 19 homers, but he slashed just .152/.286/.391 over the final month of the season.

Is it too early to write off the Yankees in the Ohtani sweepstakes? Perhaps not. 

Compared to Japanese right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Yankees “aren’t as optimistic Ohtani will seriously consider New York,” according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. More >

Yoshinobu Yamamoto does not lack suitors. Double-digit teams have reportedly been linked to the 25-year-old Japanese ace in recent days and weeks. On Saturday, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported that one team is “extremely interested” in Yamamoto. More >

The Mets are reportedly one of eight teams seeking to add multiple starting pitchers this offseason, and one of those hurlers could be a two-time All-Star who has spent his entire eight-year big league career with the Yankees: Luis Severino. More >

The line of possible suitors for right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is extensive and seemingly growing by the day.

We know about the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets and Dodgers. The Rangers, Mariners, Cubs, Giants and Cardinals have also been mentioned. And now you can add three more teams to the mix: the Phillies, D-backs and Tigers. More >

Juan Soto’s potential availability on the trade market is one of the most intriguing threads of the offseason. We can count ESPN’s Jeff Passan among those who expect the 25-year-old outfielder to be dealt, pointing to the Padres’ myriad of roster needs and lack of payroll space as the driving factors. Not only that, but Passan also thinks the Yankees are among his most likely landing spots. More >

Those were the words of White Sox general manager Chris Getz during last week’s GM Meetings. Getz also said there are no “untouchables” on Chicago’s roster this offseason. That includes slugger Eloy Jiménez, and clubs have inquired about the powerful 26-year-old designated hitter.

Jiménez has compiled a 118 OPS+ through his five seasons in the Majors. He swatted 31 homers in his 2019 rookie season and although injuries have severely limited his playing time over the past three seasons, Jiménez is just one year removed from putting up a stellar .295/.358/.500 slash line with 16 homers in 292 at-bats. His contract situation is likely attractive to clubs as well; Jiménez is set to make $13 million next season and has club options for $16.5 million and $18.5 million in 2025 and ’26, respectively.

That’s not a terribly high price for a player who should be in the prime of his career and possesses huge power upside.