Two years ago, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani faced off in the at-bat of a lifetime before Team Japan rushed onto the field to claim its third World Baseball Classic title. Team USA had the tying run on base with no outs in the ninth inning when Ohtani, moonlighting as the Samurai Japan closer, induced a double play, struck out Trout, and closed the book on a tournament that was nothing short of epic.
Maybe next time Team USA will get a little help from one of the most talented sluggers in baseball history. He’s certainly open to it.
“I think that would be pretty fun,” Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge told FOX Sports on Wednesday. “It just depends. See where I’m at in my career at that point. Hopefully they still want me.”
ADVERTISEMENT
<!–>
Judge will be entering his age-34 season at this time next year, which is when the 2026 WBC is scheduled to take place. Rosters will not be finalized until next February.Â
If Judge does agree to play, it would be his first time participating in the international event.Â
“It would be cool to represent your country,” Judge said. “[Team USA] made it to the finals, but they didn’t win it. So we gotta win it. We’ll see. We’ll see.”
A couple of Judge’s teammates are also interested in suiting up for their countries. Infielder Jazz Chisholm said he would play for Great Britain in next year’s WBC. Shortstop Anthony Volpe was asked to play for Team Italy in the 2023 WBC, but he said he would only ever play for Team USA, and that he would love to participate in next year’s event. Two years ago, the Yankees had three players participating in the WBC, including Gleyber Torres, Kyle Higashioka, and Jonathan Loáisiga.Â
Judge was recruited to join Team USA’s roster in the winter of 2022, but he was a little busy navigating his own free agency at the time. Plus, he had just finished a grind of a 2022 campaign; hitting 62 home runs with the media and fan frenzy that accompanied breaking a historic record can take a toll on anyone.
“If I sign with the Giants, sign with the Padres, sign somewhere else, I’d rather be — what’s more important to me is getting to know my teammates, my coaches. Get a feel for that,” Judge said. “I didn’t want to mess that up by being in the World Baseball Classic for four weeks, and then all of a sudden, I show up for the last two weeks of spring or whatever. That was my main focus. But now, I’ll be here for quite a long time.”
When the two-time MVP award winner eventually signed a nine-year deal with the Yankees and was named captain in December of that year, his main priority became spending time with his teammates. Specifically, he wanted to make sure he got to know the prospects in the organization, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge felt an added responsibility as captain to come early to spring training and coach up the team’s younger players.Â
The circumstances are different now, and it’s safe to say Team USA will want Judge’s bat in the lineup. Even without him, manager Mark DeRosa piloted the most star-studded roster in WBC history. In 2023, Team USA’s 30-man roster featured 21 All-Stars and four MVPs, including Trout, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt and Clayton Kershaw. Though they came close two years ago, Team USA’s last and only WBC championship was won in 2017. The first three installments of the tournament, which began in 2006, were won by Japan (twice) and the Dominican Republic.Â
Team USA should be hungry to reclaim its championship and trim the gap between Japan. Like last time, big names participating in the event could create a ripple effect throughout Major League Baseball. We already know Judge wants to see Team USA lift the trophy. Maybe next spring it will be his at-bat that we’ll remember for years to come.
Deesha Thosar is a MLB reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for four years as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
FOLLOWFollow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience
Aaron Judge
New York Yankees
Major League Baseball
–>
recommended
Get more from Major League BaseballFollow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
MLB’s hot stove season is effectually over, as the top two dozen players are off the board. Free agency is always a gamble for teams and players, as an executive with a tolerance for risk and a superstar whose tenure will be judged on his salary both need a lot of things to go right in order to avoid being remembered as the central figures of a nightmare contract.Â
That being said, with risk comes significant hope and opportunity. So, give these high rollers credit for trying to improve their rosters in the splashiest of ways; it figures to have a significant impact on the future one way or another.Â
Here’s a look at the six riskiest contracts of the offseason.Â
ADVERTISEMENT
–>
This contract became a risk the minute the A’s signed a middle-of-the-rotation starter with a troubling track record of injuries to the largest contract in franchise history. Maybe it’s a risk they had to take in order to lure a veteran with upside like Severino to an unstable organization in the first place, but it’s a little awkward when you realize the second-highest salary on the A’s 2025 payroll is left-hander Jeffrey Springs‘ $10.5 million contract. To sign anyone of significance, the A’s likely had to overpay for even a mid-rotation arm like Severino.Â
Still, spending $22 million per year over the next three seasons on a starter with durability issues probably wasn’t the best way to improve the roster overall. Before last year’s renaissance, Severino threw just 209.1 innings across 40 starts from 2019 to 2023 due to multiple injuries, including Tommy John surgery. Things are trending better for the Dominican right-hander after he amassed 182 innings across 31 starts, including a shutout, for the Mets last year. However, his 3.91 ERA, 4.21 FIP and below-average strikeout rate last year made it clear he’s no longer the promising top-of-the-rotation starter that he was with the Yankees, even if the A’s are now paying him as such.Â
Even beyond the uneasiness that Adames will be hitting in the homer-suppressing Oracle Park for the next seven years, there is some concern that Adames has already reached his high-water mark, when he posted a career year in a contract season in 2024. Before he hit a career-high 32 home runs for the Brewers in 2024, Adames was a below-average hitter in 2023, slashing .217/.310/.407 as he saw his offensive production decline. Even his defensive metrics, which were elite in 2023, dipped to just about average for shortstops last year. Adames’ has been up-and-down in the dirt throughout his career.Â
Sure, the Giants needed a shortstop. But signing Adames isn’t enough to overhaul the offense, and their lineup still needs more punch to compete in the NL West. Adames is just 29 years old, so the start of his decline should still be a few years down the road, and it will be interesting to see how his power translates in his new home park. But it’s hard to ignore that the Giants seemingly gave Adames the largest contract in franchise history for his past performance and track record, while taking a gamble on his future. It’s fair to question whether the new Buster Posey-led front office could’ve spread out those funds to better revamp the roster.Â
That being said, Adames has avoided major injury, has been excellent at posting throughout his career, and has been lauded for his clubhouse leadership throughout his stops in Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. Those factors somewhat justify the Giants’ long-term commitment, but his $28 AAV makes this a really risky investment.Â
There is always some degree of risk for any team offering a long-term contract for the services of a star pitcher, as we saw this winter with not only Fried but Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell. The most important factor in pitcher commitments is health. But Fried’s deal with the Yankees is the riskiest among that trio for two reasons: his recent forearm injuries, and that extra year on his contract. The back-half of Fried’s contract has the potential to look ugly simply because eight years is a long time to give a southpaw on the wrong side of 30. Since the Yankees don’t shy away from adding years to lower the annual average value, the pressure is on Fried to perform (and stay healthy) in the front half of his contract.Â
Fried is no stranger to the injured list across his eight MLB seasons, spending time on the shelf for both minor and major maladies. While forearm strain/inflammation sidelined him in each of the past two seasons, he’s also battled blisters on his pitching hand that have completely derailed some of his outings. The Yankees’ game plan for 2025 involves stacking the rotation, which is currently one of the deepest in baseball, in hopes of offsetting the loss of Juan Soto in the lineup. But Fried has to stay healthy the entire year, not just in time for the playoffs, in order for that plan to work.Â
It cost John Henry $40 million, tied for the fourth-highest annual average value in baseball this year, but the pure exultation from the spend-at-all-costs quadrant of the fan base should be plenty worth it. Finally, the Red Sox improved their roster with a significant free-agent addition and, in doing so, reminded themselves that they’re still a big-market team.
Bregman, turning 31 next month, can enter free agency after every season of his three-year deal thanks to opt-outs, though it seems preposterous to believe he would walk away from the $40 million the Red Sox have agreed to give him annually. In the meantime, he can pad his stats at Fenway Park. Bregman has a lifetime 1.240 OPS and .375 batting average when he’s hitting in front of the Green Monster, which will perhaps offset his steady and concerning decline in on-base percentage since his most recent All-Star season in 2019. The risk for the Red Sox here is that, if Bregman’s offensive numbers continue to dip in Boston, they’ll still be on the hook for $80 million for 2026 and 2027, since he would have little reason to enter free agency unless he’s raking at the plate.
Another risk for the Red Sox is the roster implications. They’re floating the idea of Bregman playing second base, which makes little sense when his best value would be at the hot corner, where he won the Gold Glove award last year and served as a cornerstone third baseman for the Astros throughout their championship run. Bregman shifting to second, thus blocking the path of top prospect Kristian Campbell, would allow Rafael Devers to remain at third. But Devers ranked last in MLB in multiple fielding stats among all qualified third basemen last year. If the Red Sox are going full throttle, then they could go ahead and begin Devers’ seemingly inevitable long-term move to designated hitter and let Bregman take over at third to squeeze the most out of his value.Â
Since the Red Sox are paying a premium for Bregman, they have to do more than just cross their fingers and hope it works out. They have to put Bregman, and the team, in the best position to succeed.
The Dodgers blew away even the highest of market expectations for Scott when they inked him to the fifth-highest total guarantee a reliever has ever earned in free agency — behind only Edwin Diaz, Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen. His $18 million average annual value is the third-highest for a reliever. The bidding for Scott, the most coveted free-agent reliever in this year’s class, was so competitive that the Dodgers pushed the ceiling higher, but now they’ll be dealing with the risk.Â
Scott can be extremely erratic. There are times when he looks like he has no idea where the strike zone is, but he often recovers by relying on his lethal combo of high-90s heat and a devastating upper-80s slider. His control issues prior to the 2023 season, particularly in his final year in Baltimore and his first season in Miami, led to alarming walk rates and self-inflicted damage in high-leverage situations. The left-hander has slightly reduced his walk rate since then, and we all remember his nasty strikeout against Shohei Ohtani in Game 3 of the NLDS last year, which is when he was at his best. But counting on Scott for the next four years to perform at that level while having a handle on his control issues — with only a two-year track record of doing so — is a huge ask at a premium price. Â
In the end, the Mets’ risks with Soto aren’t that complicated. For one, he needs to avoid catastrophic injury — but even then, with president of baseball operations David Stearns leading the brass, there is some assurance that there will be roster depth in a given season in case of that worst-case scenario. Plus, the 26-year-old Soto has played 150 games in each of MLB’s past five full seasons, making him one of the most durable athletes in the sport.Â
Other than injury risk, Soto’s unspectacular glove and below-average baserunning could force him off a corner-outfield spot around the halfway point of this contract, which is not only the largest in baseball history but the longest. But the belief is that his keen eye and elite skill set at the plate will more than make up for any shortcomings on the other side of the ball. It’s possible, if not likely, that Soto will be unable to maintain a 6-8 WAR in the latter half of his deal, especially when he’s in his late 30s. But in order for the Mets to acquire a superstar slugger in his mid-20s, offering a player-friendly massive contract was standard operating procedure.Â
The weight of Soto’s deal will continue to make it difficult for owner Steve Cohen to dip below the luxury-tax line, and that could impact the Mets’ overall approach in free agency, as we just saw with first baseman Pete Alonso struggling to land a long-term deal. At the same time, Cohen’s deep resources have made the Mets major players every winter since he bought the franchise. We’ll see if the rewards from Soto’s historical hitting aptitude outweighs the obvious risks of his contract
We’re only just now entering year one of his 15 years at $51 million per season, but for now, it looks like his well-rounded hitting aptitude far .Â
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
MLB’s hot stove season is effectually over, as the top two dozen players are off the board. Free agency is always a gamble for teams and players, as an executive with a tolerance for risk and a superstar whose tenure will be judged on his salary both need a lot of things to go right in order to avoid being remembered as the central figures of a nightmare contract.Â
That being said, with risk comes significant hope and opportunity. So, give these high rollers credit for trying to improve their rosters in the splashiest of ways; it figures to have a significant impact on the future one way or another.Â
Here’s a look at the six riskiest contracts of the offseason.Â
ADVERTISEMENT
–>
This contract became a risk the minute the A’s signed a middle-of-the-rotation starter with a troubling track record of injuries to the largest contract in franchise history. Maybe it’s a risk they had to take in order to lure a veteran with upside like Severino to an unstable organization in the first place, but it’s a little awkward when you realize the second-highest salary on the A’s 2025 payroll is left-hander Jeffrey Springs‘ $10.5 million contract. To sign anyone of significance, the A’s likely had to overpay for even a mid-rotation arm like Severino.Â
Still, spending $22 million per year over the next three seasons on a starter with durability issues probably wasn’t the best way to improve the roster overall. Before last year’s renaissance, Severino threw just 209.1 innings across 40 starts from 2019 to 2023 due to multiple injuries, including Tommy John surgery. Things are trending better for the Dominican right-hander after he amassed 182 innings across 31 starts, including a shutout, for the Mets last year. However, his 3.91 ERA, 4.21 FIP and below-average strikeout rate last year made it clear he’s no longer the promising top-of-the-rotation starter that he was with the Yankees, even if the A’s are now paying him as such.Â
Even beyond the uneasiness that Adames will be hitting in the homer-suppressing Oracle Park for the next seven years, there is some concern that Adames has already reached his high-water mark, when he posted a career year in a contract season in 2024. Before he hit a career-high 32 home runs for the Brewers in 2024, Adames was a below-average hitter in 2023, slashing .217/.310/.407 as he saw his offensive production decline. Even his defensive metrics, which were elite in 2023, dipped to just about average for shortstops last year. Adames’ has been up-and-down in the dirt throughout his career.Â
Sure, the Giants needed a shortstop. But signing Adames isn’t enough to overhaul the offense, and their lineup still needs more punch to compete in the NL West. Adames is just 29 years old, so the start of his decline should still be a few years down the road, and it will be interesting to see how his power translates in his new home park. But it’s hard to ignore that the Giants seemingly gave Adames the largest contract in franchise history for his past performance and track record, while taking a gamble on his future. It’s fair to question whether the new Buster Posey-led front office could’ve spread out those funds to better revamp the roster.Â
That being said, Adames has avoided major injury, has been excellent at posting throughout his career, and has been lauded for his clubhouse leadership throughout his stops in Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. Those factors somewhat justify the Giants’ long-term commitment, but his $28 AAV makes this a really risky investment.Â
There is always some degree of risk for any team offering a long-term contract for the services of a star pitcher, as we saw this winter with not only Fried but Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell. The most important factor in pitcher commitments is health. But Fried’s deal with the Yankees is the riskiest among that trio for two reasons: his recent forearm injuries, and that extra year on his contract. The back-half of Fried’s contract has the potential to look ugly simply because eight years is a long time to give a southpaw on the wrong side of 30. Since the Yankees don’t shy away from adding years to lower the annual average value, the pressure is on Fried to perform (and stay healthy) in the front half of his contract.Â
Fried is no stranger to the injured list across his eight MLB seasons, spending time on the shelf for both minor and major maladies. While forearm strain/inflammation sidelined him in each of the past two seasons, he’s also battled blisters on his pitching hand that have completely derailed some of his outings. The Yankees’ game plan for 2025 involves stacking the rotation, which is currently one of the deepest in baseball, in hopes of offsetting the loss of Juan Soto in the lineup. But Fried has to stay healthy the entire year, not just in time for the playoffs, in order for that plan to work.Â
It cost John Henry $40 million, tied for the fourth-highest annual average value in baseball this year, but the pure exultation from the spend-at-all-costs quadrant of the fan base should be plenty worth it. Finally, the Red Sox improved their roster with a significant free-agent addition and, in doing so, reminded themselves that they’re still a big-market team.
Bregman, turning 31 next month, can enter free agency after every season of his three-year deal thanks to opt-outs, though it seems preposterous to believe he would walk away from the $40 million the Red Sox have agreed to give him annually. In the meantime, he can pad his stats at Fenway Park. Bregman has a lifetime 1.240 OPS and .375 batting average when he’s hitting in front of the Green Monster, which will perhaps offset his steady and concerning decline in on-base percentage since his most recent All-Star season in 2019. The risk for the Red Sox here is that, if Bregman’s offensive numbers continue to dip in Boston, they’ll still be on the hook for $80 million for 2026 and 2027, since he would have little reason to enter free agency unless he’s raking at the plate.
Another risk for the Red Sox is the roster implications. They’re floating the idea of Bregman playing second base, which makes little sense when his best value would be at the hot corner, where he won the Gold Glove award last year and served as a cornerstone third baseman for the Astros throughout their championship run. Bregman shifting to second, thus blocking the path of top prospect Kristian Campbell, would allow Rafael Devers to remain at third. But Devers ranked last in MLB in multiple fielding stats among all qualified third basemen last year. If the Red Sox are going full throttle, then they could go ahead and begin Devers’ seemingly inevitable long-term move to designated hitter and let Bregman take over at third to squeeze the most out of his value.Â
Since the Red Sox are paying a premium for Bregman, they have to do more than just cross their fingers and hope it works out. They have to put Bregman, and the team, in the best position to succeed.
The Dodgers blew away even the highest of market expectations for Scott when they inked him to the fifth-highest total guarantee a reliever has ever earned in free agency — behind only Edwin Diaz, Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen. His $18 million average annual value is the third-highest for a reliever. The bidding for Scott, the most coveted free-agent reliever in this year’s class, was so competitive that the Dodgers pushed the ceiling higher, but now they’ll be dealing with the risk.Â
Scott can be extremely erratic. There are times when he looks like he has no idea where the strike zone is, but he often recovers by relying on his lethal combo of high-90s heat and a devastating upper-80s slider. His control issues prior to the 2023 season, particularly in his final year in Baltimore and his first season in Miami, led to alarming walk rates and self-inflicted damage in high-leverage situations. The left-hander has slightly reduced his walk rate since then, and we all remember his nasty strikeout against Shohei Ohtani in Game 3 of the NLDS last year, which is when he was at his best. But counting on Scott for the next four years to perform at that level while having a handle on his control issues — with only a two-year track record of doing so — is a huge ask at a premium price. Â
In the end, the Mets’ risks with Soto aren’t that complicated. For one, he needs to avoid catastrophic injury — but even then, with president of baseball operations David Stearns leading the brass, there is some assurance that there will be roster depth in a given season in case of that worst-case scenario. Plus, the 26-year-old Soto has played 150 games in each of MLB’s past five full seasons, making him one of the most durable athletes in the sport.Â
Other than injury risk, Soto’s unspectacular glove and below-average baserunning could force him off a corner-outfield spot around the halfway point of this contract, which is not only the largest in baseball history but the longest. But the belief is that his keen eye and elite skill set at the plate will more than make up for any shortcomings on the other side of the ball. It’s possible, if not likely, that Soto will be unable to maintain a 6-8 WAR in the latter half of his deal, especially when he’s in his late 30s. But in order for the Mets to acquire a superstar slugger in his mid-20s, offering a player-friendly massive contract was standard operating procedure.Â
The weight of Soto’s deal will continue to make it difficult for owner Steve Cohen to dip below the luxury-tax line, and that could impact the Mets’ overall approach in free agency, as we just saw with first baseman Pete Alonso struggling to land a long-term deal. At the same time, Cohen’s deep resources have made the Mets major players every winter since he bought the franchise. We’ll see if the rewards from Soto’s historical hitting aptitude outweighs the obvious risks of his contract
We’re only just now entering year one of his 15 years at $51 million per season, but for now, it looks like his well-rounded hitting aptitude far .Â
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
NEW YORK — When the Mets originally offered Pete Alonso a contract extension, Steve Cohen was the owner but a different executive was running the front office. Then-general manager Billy Eppler hoped to lock up Alonso to a long-term deal reported to be $158 million over seven years.Â
The terms weren’t extraordinary, yet Alonso rejected them.
Just two years later, and three months into free agency, the Mets convinced Alonso to settle for a two-year, $54 million contract — or, about $100 million less in guaranteed money.Â
A long-term offer was no longer on the table for Alonso because second-year president of baseball operations David Stearns wouldn’t present it to him. Sure, the Polar Bear had a down year in 2024, which made for an underwhelming market in free agency. But he hadn’t dramatically changed as a player. He still hit 34 home runs in the regular season, followed by a .999 OPS in the postseason, including the most memorable home run of his career.Â
ADVERTISEMENT
–>
What did change was Alonso’s age. He turned 30 in December, a number that wasn’t lost on the Mets’ current front office given its historical correlation to a player’s decline.Â
The Mets always wanted Alonso back, but Stearns wasn’t going to throw around Cohen’s money and flex that financial might just because he could. The deal had to make sense for them now and later. Alonso can take solace in being the highest-paid first baseman in MLB this year, earning a reported $30 million with an opt-out after the season, while the Mets got him to agree to the shorter-term deal they now desired.Â
​​”If he performs well, good for him, right? I mean, how fantastic is that,” Steve Cohen told FOX Sports in a phone call on Thursday. “He just has to be Pete. Go do his thing. Hopefully he’s more relaxed. Not saying he wasn’t relaxed. But hopefully he can go focus on what he does, which is baseball, and enjoy the season with his teammates. Let’s go win something.”
The Mets certainly won this negotiation with Alonso.Â
They simply were not going to budge on a short-term contract, which marks a stark difference from the previous execs working under Cohen. Stearns was given the leeway to lead the negotiations with all free agents, from Juan Soto to Alonso, with Cohen sometimes involved in the process in a supportive role to show players that he cares. With Alonso, a star player he’s known personally since the start of his ownership, Cohen took on a more active role while sticking to Stearns’ direction regarding the terms.
The Alonso deal perfectly embodies the Cohen-Stearns era in Queens thus far. The Mets weren’t sentimental, they didn’t overspend, and they refused to give in to the demands of superagent Scott Boras. Stearns demonstrated his discipline, with Cohen spending where it was necessary.Â
Since Cohen named Stearns the Mets’ president of baseball operations in October 2023, their partnership has been marked by success. Stearns was the architect behind a reimagined 2024 Mets roster that exceeded all expectations while reaching the National League Championship Series. In December, Cohen and Stearns plucked one of the greatest young hitters in history from the Yankees.Â
Through 16 months on the job, Stearns has seemingly pushed the right buttons at every turn for the Mets.
“That’s why I hired him,” Cohen said. “He’s very good at what he does. He’s very patient and disciplined and thoughtful and that’s the kind of thing you start to see paying dividends over time. We’re seeing it.”
What we know about Stearns is that he’s a shrewd executive who will rely on the data when making deals. He entered the baseball industry fresh out of Harvard and made his mark by leading the small-market Brewers to four consecutive playoff appearances through savvy deals. That blueprint hasn’t changed since coming over to the big-money Mets. He just has a deeper well to draw from in Cohen, the richest owner in the sport with a net worth of around $20 billion, who actually prefers to follow the lead of the executives he hires.Â
Since Cohen bought the franchise and became the Mets’ owner in November 2020, he has worked alongside five front-office executives: Sandy Alderson, Jared Porter, Zack Scott, Eppler and Stearns. A hedge-fund CEO and childhood Mets fan, Cohen is still relatively new to the business side of baseball, so he relies heavily on leaders of the front office to guide the club’s financial decisions while building a competitive roster.Â
Just two years ago, the Mets had the largest payroll in MLB history at roughly $350 million, and they finished in fourth place, well below .500. With Stearns leading team brass, Cohen is beginning to see his vision for the Mets come to fruition.Â
“We got better as we went along,” Cohen said of the turnover in the front office. “David has a way of doing things that kind of really fits into my philosophy. I totally get where he’s coming from and why he’s doing what he’s doing. I share those philosophies.”
As early as the day he was formally introduced as the Mets’ new owner, Cohen said he wanted to model the Mets after the Dodgers. Specifically, he wanted to achieve sustained success. Such ambition sounded lofty, if not fanciful. But now, entering Year five of his ownership tenure, Cohen’s dream is manifesting.Â
The Mets’ farm system quickly went from bad to respectable. Their 26-man roster is potent. Between Stearns’ astute ability to add on the margins and Cohen’s resources, they’ll continue taking advantage of opportunities in the marketplace via free agency and trades. If there’s still concern about the Mets’ rotation, just remember that was also the case heading into last season, only for Stearns to prove how great of a talent evaluator he is.
Where the team is incomplete, there is an underlying sense that they’re never done adding to the roster.Â
Just look at the Mets from 2024 Opening Day compared to where they stood in October, after key minor-league promotions (and demotions), trade-deadline acquisitions, and a budding clubhouse culture that was evident to anyone who watched them take the field.Â
It sounds a lot like the forces behind the Dodgers’ sustained excellence over the past several years. Similar to Cohen’s commitment to winning at any cost, the Dodgers have the Guggenheim Baseball Management ownership group funding their exorbitant spending. Much like Stearns’ sharp oversight, the Dodgers have esteemed president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman calling the shots.Â
No wonder, after meeting in the NLCS, the two ballclubs were the two biggest winners of the offseason.Â
Cohen brought Stearns over to Queens in part to become the East Coast Dodgers. The Mets have roster flexibility. They have shown discipline in free agency. And they have better awareness of short, intermediate and long-term roster implications while satisfying their fan base.
Much of that can be compromised when dealing with a homegrown star. But the Mets chose to play hardball and still managed to make it work for all sides. It really is a new era in Queens.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Pete Alonso, a free agent for the first time in his career, is entitled to continue exploring the market to see what else is out there. He earned that right with his six years of MLB service time. But by now, he’s also likely been humbled by the lukewarm interest in his future services. He might not agree with the general assessment of his value, but as other free-agent first basemen have flown off the board, Alonso no longer has the upper hand or the luxury of competing for top dollar.
With his options dwindling, it’s long past time for Alonso to decide what is most important: his legacy or his contract.Â
The former involves breaking New York Mets records as a beloved homegrown slugger. The latter could mean making more money elsewhere, but perhaps at the expense of having a more memorable career.
Alonso has explored the market for three months, and we still have no evidence to suggest that any team has made him an offer that even sniffs Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s salary of $28.5 million in 2025, which is currently the highest average annual value for a first baseman in Major League Baseball. If Alonso and his agent Scott Boras thought they would set a new ceiling for first basemen, or even come close, they surely know by now that that won’t be the case. Really, they should have known that by August or September.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Polar Bear picked a bad time to have a dull regular season. Prior to his series-winning home run versus Milwaukee, Alonso was stumbling into free agency by whiffing with the pressure dialed up. He batted just .191 in high-leverage situations, continuing a steady drop-off in such at-bats in recent seasons. He sported a career-best 1.099 OPS with runners in scoring position in 2022. That figure fell to a still-elite .918 OPS in 2023, followed by a career-worst .761 mark in 2024. For a slugger who doesn’t do much besides hit home runs, his career-high 42.1% ground-ball rate in 2024 was also an unfortunate uptick. He was streaky and inconsistent all season, as opposing pitchers grew increasingly successful with their adjustments against him.
That being said, Alonso is still a 40-home run hitter, and he can still change the game with one swing, like when he propelled the Mets to the NLDS with a three-run shot off star closer Devin Williams and the Brewers. His 226 home runs since 2019 are second-most in baseball in that span, just six behind Aaron Judge‘s total. And for all the talk about how his body might hold up long-term, Alonso still posts every day. After playing all 162 games last year, Alonso ranks third among all first basemen in games played, behind only Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson, since his 2019 rookie season.
So, how does Alonso’s value on the field fit in with the highest-paid first basemen in baseball?
After Guerrero, Freeman earns the second-most per year among MLB first basemen with a 2025 salary of $27 million, followed by Bryce Harper ($25.3 million AAV), who was playing right field when he signed his $330 million extension with the Phillies, and Olson ($21 million AAV), according to Spotrac. Alonso was always expected to earn more than Olson, and perhaps come close to Harper, in terms of AAV. But matching Freeman’s annual salary, or even surpassing it, seemed like a long shot before Alonso’s pedestrian 2024 regular season. After it, well, he’s seeing for himself how much he is (and isn’t) worth on the open market.
Two years ago, Alonso reportedly rejected then-GM Billy Eppler’s seven-year, $158 million extension offer. In retrospect, that decision was a massive miscalculation on Alonso’s part. This offseason, with president of baseball operations David Stearns calling the shots, the Mets have reportedly offered somewhere around three years, $70 million, with potential opt-outs built into the contract.
Steve Cohen made it clear this past weekend while speaking at the Mets’ FanFest event that he is unhappy with the Alonso negotiations. His comments, refreshingly transparent and seemingly off the cuff, showed contempt towards Boras, and sent a message to Alonso with nobody else interfering.
“Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation,” Cohen said. “I mean, Soto was tough. This is worse. I don’t like the structures that are being presented back to us. I think it’s highly asymmetric against us and I feel strongly about it.
“I will never say no. There’s always a possibility. But the reality is, we’re moving forward. We continue to bring in players. As we continue to bring in players, it’s harder to fit Pete in. I’m being brutally honest. I don’t like the negotiations. I don’t like what’s been presented to us. Maybe that changes. And certainly, I’ll always stay flexible. If it stays this way, I think we’re going to have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with the existing players we have.”
What Cohen shrewdly withheld was how much the Mets need Alonso. That’s why he left the door open.
The Mets arguably won the offseason when they signed Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract in December, but the best version of their roster includes building strength around him. Infielder Mark Vientos showed a ton of promise last year, belting 27 home runs with a .837 OPS after being left off the Opening Day roster in the spring. But he’s still young, and lacks the experience to be counted on consistently.
Soto needs protection in the Mets lineup, and we saw first-hand last season how much he benefits from batting in front of a talented slugger. Soto posted a career-high 179 OPS+ while batting ahead of Judge, despite his walk rate being at its lowest since 2019. Similarly, the Mets want Soto swinging, and Alonso’s presence in the lineup would force pitchers to throw more strikes to their best hitter. Soto, of course, propelled the Yankees to the World Series after several Judge-only lineups failed to break through; the Mets would love for their new superstar to do the same for them.
So, all that booing you heard from the Citi Field crowd at FanFest because Alonso remains unsigned came from a place of love. That’s how New York fan bases roll. People are upset that their team and one of its best players can’t agree to a deal, especially when he’s homegrown and beloved around Queens. It’s an intangible quality that other interested teams don’t possess. Cohen, a fan-oriented owner since the beginning of his reign, has a track record now that illustrates the lengths to which he’ll go to make the fan base happy. He seems to understand that signing Alonso would uplift the organization and its goals, but he also wants a fair shake.
Alonso might have sour grapes with Cohen and the Mets for offering a contract that’s less than he expected or believed he deserved. So, maybe he’ll continue holding out. If he doesn’t sign with a team in the next couple of weeks, he could miss the start of spring training. It’s understandable if Alonso is upset with teams, particularly the Mets, for failing to recognize and appreciate his value the way he does.
But at this point, he has to move on and accept that his market is what it is, and he can’t change it this winter. It’s disappointing that he played his entire career looking forward to reaching this point, to enter free agency and finally earn what he believes he deserves, only to be underwhelmed by the negotiations. The only thing he can control now is playing better in 2025 in hopes of resetting his market. Alonso is 27 home runs away from surpassing Daryl Strawberry as the Mets’ all-time leader. He’s one signing away from cementing himself as a franchise legend versus an unpopular mercenary. The choice is his, but the ending to this saga always seemed like it was painted in orange and blue.
It’s time for Alonso to accept that his destiny is calling him back to Queens.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
NEW YORK — Juan Soto seemed to approach his introductory press conference with the Mets much the same way he sets up at the plate for his at-bats. Sitting at a long table on a raised stage in the jam-packed Piazza club at Citi Field, he clamped his teeth down on his bottom lip and nodded his head up and down. It was the same expression we’d seen him make in the batter’s box, except this time, instead of staring down the pitcher, he was facing his future.Â
Soto was his usual picture of confidence as he exchanged his navy blue blazer for a white No. 22 New York Mets jersey that he wore over his black turtleneck sweater. Mets owner Steve Cohen, who looked both exhausted and relieved after the rollercoaster of emotions of the past week, extended his hand to Soto and officially started their 15-year, $765 million partnership. What’s step one? Build a dynasty in Queens so that the Mets become one of the premiere elite teams in baseball.Â
“Definitely that was one of the things that opened my eyes more,” Soto said on Thursday at Citi Field. “How hungry they are to win a championship, and to want to make a dynasty with the New York Mets.”
Let’s dive into three takeaways from a special day in Mets franchise history.
ADVERTISEMENT
What made the Mets stand out to Soto?
Being the recipient of the largest contract in professional sports history was the elephant in the room, but besides the obvious, the two words that Soto most mentioned throughout his first big day as a Met were winning and family.Â
While Soto was still deciding where he would spend his future, he asked Cohen during their second meeting this offseason how many championships the Mets owner would like to win over the next 10 years. Cohen answered: “I’d like to win two to four.” That ambitious response resonated with Soto’s long-term goal, and it ultimately became a separator for the slugger as he mulled over bids from five teams (the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays). Late Sunday night, Soto decided the Mets gave him the best chance to win a World Series.Â
You might think his resolute determination to win puts pressure on the Mets organization, but Soto actually shares that hunger with Cohen. If anyone is heightening the pressure to win championships and morph the Mets into perennial winners, it’s the billionaire hedge-fund manager and lifetime Mets fan who bought the franchise for fun, as a hobby on the side, in Nov. 2020. The Mets’ presentation highlighted Cohen’s deep-rooted desire to bring sustained success to Queens.
“I wanted to get a point across to him that we’re good people, that we care, that we want to win a championship, that I’m always successful,” Cohen said. “If he ever wants to sit down and talk to me — I was saying that in a town hall for my hedge fund today. I have 3,200 employees, my door is always open. And most people don’t take advantage of it because I’m the boss and nobody wants to talk to the boss. But that’s how I operate. I operate that way with Juan Soto, and I operate that way with a junior analyst at my hedge fund.”
To demonstrate the importance of mi casa es su casa, Cohen held the California meeting with Soto in his $35 million Beverly Hills mansion. Cohen joked that he invited Soto over because “the food’s better at my house,” but it was just another detail that separated the Mets from the other four teams. Another distinction was the presence of Cohen’s 93-year-old father-in-law, Ralph Garcia, at the meeting. Cohen’s wife, Alex, grew up in Washington Heights watching the Mets with her dad, who goes to every home game these days, and he attended the Soto meeting to tell him how much he wanted to see the slugger play in orange and blue threads.Â
The Cohen family’s openness and promised ongoing availability mattered a great deal to Soto. It made him and his family feel comfortable, and for a 26-year-old kid from the Dominican Republic who spends his free time with his family, that feeling of security loomed large over his decision-making process. But Soto’s favorite part about the Mets’ presentation was a video where, at the end of it, they showed a statue of Soto erected next to the statue of Tom Seaver that currently sits outside of Citi Field. Talk about acing the test.
“It’s been in a Mets town for a long time, so I think we just gotta bring it to the top,” Soto said. “Definitely, championships are going to tell you whether it’s the Yankees or a Mets town at the end of the day.”
How did the Yankees fall short?
We know the Yankees didn’t offer as much money as the Mets did, but they weren’t that far off from the final number. The Mets’ offer of $765 million is only $5 million better, in terms of total guaranteed value, than the Yankees’ offer of $760 million. His signing bonus in Queens is $15 million more than where the Yankees stopped. His agreed-upon $51 million annual average value is $3.5 million more than what it could’ve been with the Yankees. These are not outrageous differences, but to the youngest and most talented free agent to hit the market since Alex Rodriguez in 2000, the details clearly mattered.
“​​I feel like they did everything that they had in their power to help me out, to bring me back,” Soto said of the Yankees. “But I had four other teams doing the same thing and trying to make me feel comfortable. And at the end of the day we look at everything, we look at the chances and we look at what other teams wanted to do, and what everybody wants to do for the next 15 years, and I think we have the best chances over here.”
“Look, the New York Yankees in this negotiation stepped up. They did,” Boras said. “They really, really made themselves known in this process and the Soto family and everyone has the highest regard. It was really about internally what they felt was best long-term.”
Soto addressed the topic of the paid suite he requested for his family at the ballpark, and how he appreciated that Cohen was willing to include it. The Yankees, according to reports, did not sign off on a paid suite for Soto at Yankee Stadium. Cohen simply said he had heard from Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, that the slugger wanted a suite as part of the deal, so the Mets included it right from the beginning.
“He made a request, I was happy to provide it,” Cohen said.
Soto described his year with the Yankees as “the best time,” but he also said he hasn’t spoken to any of his former Bronx teammates since they lost the World Series to the Dodgers. He thanked Yankees fans for showing him love this past year, but that’s hardly going to minimize the barrage of boos that will be sent his way when the Subway Series goes to 161st Street on May 16. Of course, he understood that when he picked the two-time championship Mets over the 27-time championship Yankees. But 29 fanbases were always going to be irritated by his final decision. Soto was ready for that.
Ultimately, he was more impressed by the Mets’ hot pursuit. The formal presentation to land Soto began in earnest in August, when Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns typically begins his offseason preparation, but the groundwork was laid long before that. Stearns said acquiring Soto was on his radar, dating as far back as October 2023, when Cohen named him the first POBO in Mets franchise history. Cohen’s desire to make Soto a Met was discussed in his initial meeting with Stearns last year.
“We did know that if he was going to be a free agent,” Stearns said, “We were going to make a very strong push.”
What is Soto going to do with all the money?
The generational star expected a big pay day for a long time — that much was evident when he reportedly rejected a 15-year, $440 million extension with the Nationals in 2021. But, even so, no one was prepared for Soto to break Shohei Ohtani’s record for the biggest contract in sports by a whopping $305 million.Â
Soto had a lot of time to think about what he would do with his money before he finally accepted the Mets’ contract this week. His thoughtful answer based on paying it forward provided insight into the values that Soto most cares about.
“The first thing that came to mind was, I’m going to try to help a lot of people back in D.R.,” Soto said. “I know that there are a lot of kids that have talent and they can have a bright future, but they don’t have the support to do it. And I feel like when you sign a contract like that, that’s the first thing it brings to my mind, to help the community and try to help everybody around my country – and try to create more chances, more opportunities for the people to grow and keep moving forward.Â
“You never know who’s going to be the next Juan Soto, who’s going to be the next Ohtani, the next Bryce Harper, or who’s going to be the next Scott Boras, who’s going to be the next Steve Cohen. I want to give them that little hope. I feel like that’s one of the biggest things. Just give them hope so they can keep moving forward.”
It’s not just the Dominican Republic that Soto is supporting. He lifted the Mets’ long-beleaguered fanbase the second he announced his decision to play at Citi Field for what could be the rest of his career. Sit tight, Mets fans. Only a few more months until April 4, when you can give Soto your love in the most anticipated Mets home opener to date.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
FOLLOWFollow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience
Juan Soto
New York Mets
New York Yankees
–>
recommended
Get more from Major League BaseballFollow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
This year’s event, held at the expansive, 45-acre Hilton Anatole resort, has the potential to be an extremely active week for the baseball industry as club executives, managers, player agents, and numerous reporters settle into the most exciting time in MLB’s offseason.Â
After generational slugger Juan Soto got the week started with his eyebrow-raising decision to play for the Mets, free agents and trade candidates are expected to fly off the board as deals come together this week. Without further ado, here’s what we’re hearing from various corners of the industry.
The 10-time Gold Glove winner may have played his final game in St. Louis. The Cardinals are “motivated to move him,” and Arenado is willing to strongly consider being traded as long as the landing spot is with a win-now team, according to his agent, Joel Wolfe. Not only is Arenado involved in daily conversations with Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak about being traded, but Wolfe is telling teams that the six-time Platinum Glove third baseman is even offering to play a different position.
“Nolan wanted to offer it and say, ‘I’m happy to play first. I can move around and play third,'” Wolfe said on Tuesday. “Nolan was like, ‘I’ll play shortstop. I’ll do whatever. But I’m not insulted to go play first, and I can win a Gold Glove over there if that’s what it takes to move around,’ because a lot of teams value versatility. So he wanted to be the first to offer that, so that [Mozeliak] can tell other teams that. From what I heard, that was well received.”
Arenado has a full no-trade clause, so he won’t be leaving St. Louis unless he signs off on it. Wolfe indicated that Arenado’s priority is to play for a team that’s going to win now, and win consistently for the rest of his career. He wants a team that “has the throttle down,” Wolfe said, and since the Cardinals are prioritizing moving payroll, it’s in the best interests of both sides to go in different directions. But it won’t be easy.
Arenado, who turns 34 in April, is owed $74 million across the remaining three years of his contract, with the Rockies covering $10 million, so any team that wants him will have to absorb $64 million for a veteran who was once a superstar, but has shown serious signs of decline in recent years. He hit just 16 home runs, slugged .394 (his career average is .515) and posted a 101 OPS+ in 2024.Â
The White Sox ace has been attached to trade reports for a while now, but a source told FOX Sports that this could finally be the week that he’s dealt from Chicago. Before the retorts of “we’ll believe it when we see it” come flooding in, the expectation is that the White Sox are serious about negotiating a deal before the winter meetings are over. That should be an exciting jolt for contending teams; Crochet is the most coveted starting pitcher on the trade market.Â
The 25-year-old southpaw has two more years of team control remaining before he hits free agency, and he’s coming off a successful jump to the rotation that included a 3.58 ERA across 32 starts. While the White Sox are receiving calls from several teams, their asking price might be too high at this juncture of the offseason. A number of teams are expected to explore deals for the many free-agent starting pitchers still available before making the tougher decision to ship a slew of top prospects in exchange for Crochet. It’s possible that Crochet will get dealt after more starters fly off the board.Â
Boras expected to have an even bigger week
After Scott Boras got Soto, his top client, to sign Sunday to kick off the meetings, the industry is expecting the super agent to make at least one or two more big splashes before the week is over.Â
Boras, as usual, has high-profile clients under his purview, with first baseman Pete Alonso, third baseman Alex Bregman, and right-handed starter Corbin Burnes headlining the list of his free agents. It’s possible that Boras is under pressure to get his players to reach agreements with clubs sooner rather than later in light of the extremely delayed signings that happened a year ago. Some of the biggest names that were last to sign last offseason were Cody Bellinger (Feb. 27, 2024), Matt Chapman (March 2), Blake Snell (March 19), J.D. Martinez (March 23), and Jordan Montgomery (March 29).Â
Waiting until spring training was well underway — and in Montgomery’s case, two days into the regular season — didn’t bode well, in terms of performance and finances, for Boras’ players. It seems Boras has learned his lesson, as more of his top clients have already reached deals, including Snell’s five-year, $182 million pact with the Dodgers. Buckle up. More of Boras’ stars could be finalizing terms in Dallas as we speak.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.
DALLAS — For the New York Yankees, there is no relief in discovering that their brand — the rich history and the weight of the pinstripes — mattered little to Juan Soto. Monument Park was calling the slugger’s name all year as he andAaron Judge combined to post arguably the best offensive season in MLB history by teammates not named Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. A century later, Soto had the opportunity to build a Yankees legacy had he decided to spend the remainder of his career on 161st Street.Â
But, make no mistake, this wasn’t about loyalty. Judge’s decision to accept a lesser contract offer from the Yankees in his 2022 free agency was connected to his homegrown odyssey through their system. Soto owed no such fealty to the franchise, and he was free to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Yankees organization with an open mind during his 2024 season in the Bronx. No matter how the Yankees slice it, Soto looking beyond their 44 Hall of Fame players, 27 championships, and 59 playoff appearances is a gut punch.Â
That context matters as the team navigates where to go from here. If there’s a world where losing Soto to the crosstown Mets (despite a nearly equal offer) can be a positive for the Yankees, then Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman must find a way to migrate there. Like Steinbrenner said at last month’s owners’ meetings in Manhattan, “I know what’s expected of me.” After the Soto fallout, he is still expected to pivot to a strong Plan B and make the most of the offseason by spreading the finances he reportedly offered the top free agent on the market ($760 million over 16 years) between a few different impact players who could fill his club’s glaring roster holes.
Let’s examine three areas the Yankees must address to revive their offseason with the ultimate goal of winning their first championship since 2009.
ADVERTISEMENT
1. Outfield
Who will be roaming right field for the Yankees on Opening Day? The club might handle its Soto-sized hole a couple of different ways. Judge can move back over to right, where he’s played the most games in his major-league career. Jasson DomÃnguez, the organization’s No. 1 prospect, could take over in center field, where he’s played 239 minor-league games versus 58 games in left field and one game in right.Â
Such a defensive formation would free up space for the Yankees to acquire free-agent left fielder Teoscar Hernandez, who would be a terrific fit in the Bronx after his strong season with the championship Dodgers. Hernandez set career highs in home runs (33) and walks (53), all while playing 154 games (second-most on the Dodgers behind Shohei Ohtani), earning his third career Silver Slugger award. The Yankees saw firsthand how impactful Hernandez can be this past season, first in June when he swatted an eighth-inning grand slam to propel the Dodgers to a series win, and then again in the World Series as he posted a .931 OPS during L.A.’s triumph.Â
Beyond Hernandez, the Yankees could also go for free-agent right fielder Anthony Santander and keep Judge in center while shifting Dominguez to left. Santander, like Hernandez, is another power-hitting corner outfielder who set a career high in home runs (44), RBIs (102), walks (58) and OPS (.814) in a full season. The Yankees have watched Santander rake on the Orioles in the AL East for the past eight years, and it would be ideal for them to flip the script there. But their commitment would likely have to be higher and longer on a deal for Santander, who is just 29, than they would for Hernandez, who figures to land a shorter contract since he’s 31.Â
Either way, the Yankees need to land one of those two corner outfielders to replace Soto, because there’s a huge drop-off in talent after them.
Replacing Anthony Rizzo with someone in-house, like Ben Rice, would’ve been a fair path to take had the Yankees managed to sign Soto. But since they didn’t, Cashman & Co. should be going for one of the two top first basemen on the market. Either Pete Alonso or Christian Walker could help make up for Soto’s production in the lineup, but neither of them will come cheap. That shouldn’t be a problem, though. As noted, the Yankees should be going for players at the top end of the market with the money that was originally offered to Soto. So, which direction makes the most sense for the Yankees now?
Let’s tackle the Alonso argument first. The Yankees could respond to Soto bolting to the Mets by stealing the Polar Bear from Queens. It would definitely sting for the Mets, since Alonso is a homegrown slugger, half the jerseys that fans wear around Citi Field are his No. 20, and president of baseball operations David Stearns has said multiple times this offseason that they “would love to bring Pete back.” Beyond the New York rivalry, Alonso is an obvious match for the Yankees with their hole at first and need for power. The 30-year-old is said to be looking for a long-term contract in the range of five years, and the Yankees might have some concerns about Alonso’s defensive value toward the end of that deal, as his eventual role figures to be designated hitter.
Then there’s Walker, who is four years older than Alonso, but has been markedly better and more consistent on defense throughout his career. Since 2019, Walker leads all first basemen in outs above average (58), and nobody is even close to sniffing that kind of defensive value. At the plate, Walker doesn’t have Alonso’s power numbers, but his 95 homers over the past three seasons would represent a notable upgrade from what they’ve been getting. (The last first baseman to homer for the Yankees was fill-in DJ LeMahieu — in July). Walker’s age could be a red flag for an upcoming decline, whereas Alonso prioritizes staying on the field. Only Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson have played more games at first base than Alonso since his 2019 debut.Â
These are the types of discussions the Yankees brass are having at this week’s winter meetings as they determine which direction to go. It’s also clear that the club can’t wait too long to make a decision given how weak the market for first basemen is beyond Alonso and Walker.
3. Starting pitching
Give credit to the Yankees for making sure Gerrit Cole stayed in pinstripes after he exercised his opt-out earlier this offseason. The attention has now shifted to the rest of the rotation, particularly whether the supporting cast is solid enough to be a dominant force in the playoffs. The emergence of Luis Gil was a huge boon for the staff, and it will be interesting to see how he builds on that success in his sophomore season after winning Rookie of the Year. Even with Gil’s help, the Yankees should still be shopping at the top of the market in both free agency and trades.
Starting with the latter, White Sox ace Garrett Crochet would be a great fit in the Bronx given his age (25) and trajectory. As evidenced by reliever-turned-starter Clarke Schmidt, the Yankees are big fans of converted starters, and Crochet immediately found success in 2024 in his first full season in a rotation. The southpaw struck out 209 batters across 32 starts, posting a 3.38 ERA in 146 innings. Saddling him with Cole and Carlos Rodón would give the Yankees one of the better pitching trios in baseball.Â
Looking at free-agent starters, Corbin Burnes is widely viewed as the best option available. He’ll certainly be the most expensive, but that shouldn’t be an issue with Soto’s departure. The 29-year-old ace is coming off his fourth consecutive All-Star season, this time with the Orioles, registering a 2.92 ERA and 1.096 WHIP across 32 starts and 194.1 innings. Beyond the obvious advantage of adding a star like Burnes to complement the in-house ace in Cole, his immediate and smooth success with Baltimore after being traded demonstrates that he can excel in a new environment (and league). That’s important to the Yankees as they look for players who have the rock-solid demeanor to handle New York.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
DALLAS — Talk about a New York City robbery. It wasn’t just the top free-agent jewel that the Mets stole from the Yankees; Steve Cohen hijacked the crown, too.Â
Less than two months after Juan Soto helped take the Yankees to the World Series, Cohen’s Mets blew him away Sunday with the largest contract in professional sports history. Soto did end up going to the highest bidder — the Mets’ reported pact with the slugger is for $765 million over 15 years. But the Yankees’ offer apparently wasn’t too far behind, bringing into question whether Soto wanted to play in Queens all along.Â
If that’s the case, then there could be a couple of factors that swayed him one borough over.Â
The Yankees’ reported offer of $760 million over 16 years would’ve given Soto an average annual value of $47.5 million, which is just $3.5 million shy per year of what he’ll earn with the Mets. Soto’s Mets deal also reportedly includes a $75 million signing bonus. If that difference in dollar amount is all that mattered to Soto, then it makes sense that he agreed to the highest offer on the table. But since the Yankees’ offer was pretty close to what he ended up agreeing to, it sure seems like Soto wanted to make a statement that both fan bases in New York won’t take lightly.Â
The Mets — not the Yankees — represented the more appealing long-term destination to Soto in part because of how much they were willing to spend, no doubt. But Cohen also prioritizes getting to know the people in his organization — from players, to front office personnel, to security staffers — on an intimate level. He forms that relationship by routinely appearing on the field, walking through the Mets clubhouse, and just simply being available and around. Cohen’s wife, Alex, spends time around the Mets dugout, catching up with players during batting practice, too. It’s rare for any owner in professional sports to be as visible as the Cohens are with the Mets. Just take a look at the situation across town.Â
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t mingle in the clubhouse, and is rarely spotted around Yankee Stadium to talk with his players. One former Yankees player who spent eight seasons in pinstripes said he spoke to Steinbrenner just once or twice during his time in the Bronx. Steinbrenner has a closer relationship with captain Aaron Judge, particularly after Judge’s frenzied 2022 free agency that resulted in Steinbrenner getting on the phone and completing a long-term pact with the Yankees slugger. Judge confirmed as recently as last month that he has an open line of communication with Steinbrenner, and he appreciates that availability from the owner.Â
Apparently, Steinbrenner doesn’t share that same dynamic with many in the building, let alone the guy who was his No. 1 priority this winter. Soto asked Steinbrenner, when the two sides met in California last month, why he didn’t approach him during this past season in the Bronx, and he wondered why the owner didn’t try to form a closer relationship with Soto. Steinbrenner, fairly or not, said he wanted to give Soto space because he was so clearly locked in, enjoying his best career season, and he didn’t want to get in the way of that.
In the end, waiting to form a close relationship with Soto might have been a colossal mistake on Steinbrenner’s part.Â
Cohen’s players routinely voice how much they love playing for the Mets because it feels like a family. There’s an open trust around Citi Field, particularly during this David Stearns/Carlos Mendoza era. Mets players have said they feel like they can be themselves in Queens.Â
One recent moment that painted a picture of the Cohens feeling like “one of the guys” to left-hander Sean Manaea was when Alex Cohen’s dad, affectionately known as Mets grandpa, was doused in champagne in the middle of their clubhouse after they advanced to the National League Championship Series.
Through that everyday visibility, Cohen sends the message that he cares about his team. And for the players that go through the 162-game grind of a season, in hopes of reaching October and ultimately being the last team standing, having that open relationship with the top brass in the organization matters a great deal. Shortstop and de-facto captain Francisco Lindor says it all the time: It takes every single person in the organization to win, and that includes the responsibility of the ownership to form a close relationship with players, the front office working hard to fill roster holes, and the manager sticking up for his clubhouse.Â
As MLB’s winter meetings unfold in Dallas this week, Cohen’s commitment to winning has never been clearer.Â
No one was going to stop him from acquiring Soto, certainly not the crosstown rival Yankees nor MLB’s luxury tax penalty, when all he had to do was continue to increase his offer. When Cohen bought the Mets franchise in 2020, he said he wanted to win the World Series in the ensuing 3-5 years. The upcoming season will be Year 5. Snatching Soto from the Yankees was a statement-making step in that championship-caliber direction, and the Mets are a threat to win it all with the generational slugger suiting up in the orange and blue — for the next decade and a half.
Welcome to the newest era of Mets baseball, where the little brother might have just become the bully.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
The Hot Stove has been cold through the first three weeks of November, but the action is expected to heat up soon with MLB’s winter meetings nearing. In the meantime, we’re examining each team to identify its three biggest needs this offseason and which free agents could fulfill them.
Our series begins with the National League Central.
1. Shortstop: The Brewers, as always, will be more active on the trade front than they will be in free agency following Willy Adames‘ departure. They can get creative and move either one of Brice Turang or Joey Ortiz to shortstop full time and then aim to fill second and third base to cover their ground that way. Since Rhys Hoskins opted in on his player option, the Brewers have a surplus of first basemen, in which Jake Bauers seems likeliest to go. Orlando Arcia could be a good bounce-back candidate if Milwaukee wants to do a deal with Atlanta.
ADVERTISEMENT
2. Second base: If the Brewers wind up moving Turang or Ortiz to short, they could look to trade for Angels infielder Luis Rengifo, who will be in the final year of arbitration in 2025. It’s a boon for Milwaukee that Rengifo plays both second and third, and he shouldn’t cost them too many prospects or flashy players since he would be a one-year stop-gap option. Rangers infielder Justin Foscue could be another trade target, since he has no path to regular playing time in Texas.
3. Third base: It seems more and more likely that this will be the winter Milwaukee trades closer Devin Williams, as he’s set to enter free agency next offseason and the Brewers are not expected to extend him. Dangling a star pitcher like Williams in front of contenders that need bullpen help should net the Brewers a big return, so perhaps they could aim to land Orioles third base prospect Coby Mayo, who has a ton of upside but has been somewhat held back by Baltimore’s influx of infielders.Â
1. Starting pitching: Even though Chicago’s rotation could use a top-of-the-market starter like Burnes, it seems unlikely the club will shoot that high given its most recent, low-cost deals for Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga. Free agent starting pitchers with lesser price points who could fit into the rotation include Luis Severino, Frankie Montas, Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser and Trevor Williams. If they want to get creative in the trade market, the Cubs have a top-10 farm system in baseball and could try to win the Crochet sweepstakes.
2. Bullpen: After last year’s plan of Adbert Alzolay (Tommy John) and Hector Neris (setup man pushed into a closer role) didn’t work out, the Cubs should be focusing on adding a volume of high-leverage arms — and let’s face it, that’s every bullpen’s dream. Guys like Clay Holmes, Kenley Jansen, Danny Coulombe and Chris Martin would be solid fits.Â
3. Catcher: The Cubs did a solid job trading for Angels catcher Matt Thaiss this offseason, but he’s ideally a backup option rather than the upgrade that Jed Hoyer indicated he wanted to add. For that, Chicago should be looking at the free-agent market, where Kyle Higashioka would make a lot of sense as the Cubs’ starter. Danny Jansen would be another premiere option. Cubs catchers produced a 69 wRC+ this past year (26th in MLB).
1. Starting pitching: Since Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson are free agents after decent one-year stints with the Cardinals, and Miles Mikolas shouldn’t be counted on to bounce back after his abysmal 2024 season, St. Louis could use a top-end starting pitcher who is, preferably, left-handed. The top two southpaws on the market are Blake Snell and Max Fried, and a tier or two below is left-hander Jose Quintana. After a 4.33 rotation ERA that ranked 20th in baseball, the Cardinals should be shooting for significant upgrades here.
2. Outfielder: The Cardinals could use another everyday outfielder to join Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar. Rather than dipping into the free-agent market, the still retooling Cardinals appear likely to turn in-house for outfield upgrades. Former prospects Jordan Walker and Victor Scott have yet to find consistency in the majors, but they could get more runway from the Cardinals to prove they belong. Outfielder Michael Siani also has a lot to prove to earn a potential full-time role.
3. Relief pitching: The relief corps needs a solid high-leverage arm who can pair well with closer Ryan Helsey since setup man Andrew Kittredge hit free agency. Perhaps veterans David Robertson or Aroldis Chapman could be of some help in St. Louis.Â
1. Outfield: Cincinnati could stand to upgrade at least two outfield spots, with a slugging outfielder being the club’s most pressing need. Since the Reds have a surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders in Luke Fraley and Will Benson, it would make sense to trade one of them for someone with more power. Over in San Francisco, Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade Jr. are both one year removed from free agency, so that could be a good place to start for Cincy. Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu could be another option.
2. Starting pitching: They could use another top-end rotation arm to pair with Hunter Greene, who’s coming off a sneaky Cy-Young caliber campaign and career year. Cincy probably feels good about three spots in the rotation along with the brief stint from former first-rounder Rhett Lowder, who was stellar following his August call-up. But overall, the talent in the rotation is a step behind the rest of the roster, so they should look to acquire a starter either via trade or free agency. Maybe Cincy could swing a deal for southpaw Jesus Luzardo, who’s under Marlins control for two more seasons but seems like a candidate to be traded at some point in the next several months.Â
3. Designated hitter: The Reds’ OPS at DH in 2024 was .599, good for 29th in the major leagues, and their -3.0 fWAR from DH was worst in baseball. For comparison, the league’s average OPS at DH was .742. The top available DH this year is Joc Pederson, followed by J.D. Martinez and Andrew McCutchen, and there’s a steep drop-off after that. A’s outfielder/DH Brent Rooker could be a trade target for the Reds.
1. First base: Pittsburgh’s biggest need is debatable between first base and a corner outfielder. Rowdy Tellez is a free agent and the team stood to upgrade from him anyway. The Pirates have plenty of solid arms to try and fill their roster holes through the trade market, and Ryan Mountcastle is someone they could be targeting. The Orioles are teeming with position players and could use some of Pittsburgh’s arms. These two clubs appear to be obvious partners this winter.
2. Corner outfielder: In that same token, the Red Sox are another club that could benefit from the Pirates’ boatload of young arms, and they have a right fielder who makes sense for the Bucs. The lefty-swinging Wilyer Abreu enjoyed a promising rookie season in 2024, crushing 15 home runs with a 114 wRC+ to boot. The Red Sox might be desperate for great pitching, so this could be the ideal time for the Pirates to strike.Â
3. Relief pitching: Pittsburgh’s bullpen ERA (4.49) ranked 27th in baseball, which shouldn’t be surprising given the relief unit blew 36 leads. As much as the Pirates have received recognition for their arms, they need to revamp the bullpen to make any pitching headway actually count for something. Perhaps another free-agent deal for a proven veteran reliever, like last year’s acquisition of Aroldis Chapman, could work in their favor. Kenley Jansen would be a name to look out for. They could also choose to develop one of their multiple minor-league arms into more of a sure-thing relief option.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
