The fireworks came yesterday. What else is happening?
Baseball’s winter meetings got underway on Sunday with the announcement of Baseball’s Classic Era Hall of Fame ballot, and then the party really got started last night when Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets for a mind-boggling $765 million. Soto’s signing on the eve of the official start of the meetings felt like it could be a sign that a lot of major moves could happen this week while the losers in those sweepstakes moved on to their plan Bs.
On day one, that wasn’t really what happened. There are some rumors swirling, but the transactions today were of the smaller variety (at least, as of 6:45 p.m. CT). Here’s a quick roundup of today’s transactions and some of the more relevant rumors:
- The biggest news of the day might be something that was known to be coming but hadn’t officially happened yet: Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki was officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines today. He likely will not officially sign until the opening of the next international signing window in January (so as to maximize his earnings), but he may be able to agree to a deal before then.
- Former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano, who was non-tendered, signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Romano missed most of last season with an elbow injury. Though it’s not certain, it seems as if Romano could be back for spring training, and if he can return to his healthy form, the Phillies could be getting a bargain: he was one of the league’s best closers from 2021-23.
- The Dodgers brought back reliever Blake Treinen on a one-year deal. The soon-to-be 37-year-old righty was one of the Dodgers’ most important relievers in their 2024 World Series run and has a 1.96 ERA in his last three seasons (dating back to 2021; he missed all of 2023).
- The Detroit Tigers signed veteran righty Alex Cobb to a one-year deal. Cobb pitched only 16 2⁄3 innings last season (with Cleveland), but had four pretty decent years as a reliable starter before that. He will also be 37 in 2025.
- Pitcher Dakota Hudson signed a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
- The Cubs were nearing a deal with backup catcher Carson Kelly, who split last season between Detroit and Texas.
- Speaking of the Cubs, they remain active in Cody Bellinger trade talks, a somewhat surprising twist after signing a lucrative short-term deal before last season. Bellinger’s deal was for three years and $80 million with player options after each of the first two seasons. He declined the first of those and is set to make $27.5 million in 2025. After a Silver Slugger and a top-10 MVP finish in 2023, Bellinger took a step back toward the troubling results of 2021-22 last season. One rumor that came up yesterday was that the Cubs and Diamondbacks had discussed a swap of Bellinger and Jordan Montgomery, two Scott Boras clients who did not get the money they sought after solid 2023 campaigns.
- The Mets’ signing of Clay Holmes and the Cubs’ signing of Matthew Boyd, which were both announced in the previous few days, were made official.
The Brewers have not yet been active in free agency (I wouldn’t expect them to be), but their name did surface in a couple of consequential trade rumors. The first is not unexpected: the Dodgers are interested in Devin Williams as they shop for a back-of-the-bullpen arm. He was mentioned alongside Tanner Scott, and Ryan Helsley would also conceivably be a target there.
The second rumor is flashier. Jon Morosi reported this morning that the Brewers are one of the teams who are in on lefty Garret Crochet, the White Sox pitcher who is the top starting pitcher known to be on the trade market at the moment. Crochet has only two years of team control remaining, and I’d be a little surprised if the Brewers will end up being willing to part with what it will undoubtedly take to pry Crochet from Chicago for just those two years, especially given that he has no shortage of suitors (the Yankees, Red Sox, Padres, Cubs, Reds, and Phillies have all been linked with Crochet to some degree). But he is an undeniably talented pitcher with nasty stuff, and it would be the most exciting Brewers trade for a pitcher since Zack Greinke in 2010.