Author: Rowan Kavner

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Mets owner Steve Cohen ignited the action early at the winter meetings. The hot stove has been burning since. 

The teams who whiffed on Juan Soto have gotten busy. Both the free-agent and trade markets are hot, pitchers are getting paid and salaries are well-exceeding initial projections. 

The Yankees (Max Fried) and Red Sox (Garrett Crochet) found their new aces, but Corbin Burnes remains available, while Roki Sasaki has a big decision ahead that isn’t expected to be announced until the week of Jan. 15. Willy Adames has found his new home in San Francisco, but Alex Bregman is still out there. The Cubs found their much-needed star in Kyle Tucker, but the top outfielders behind Soto are still there for the taking, and none of the big first basemen have moved yet. 

After a busy winter meetings in Dallas, here are eight lingering questions and some guesses at what could happen next. 

1. Beyond going for Sasaki, are other big moves ahead for Dodgers?  

The Dodgers have made it clear that Sasaki will be a major priority, but whether it’s the NPB star, a top relief arm, another corner outfielder or all three, the reigning champs likely have more to come this winter after signing Blake Snell, Michael Conforto and Blake Treinen. 

“My goal is to not buy in July,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has repeated multiple times this offseason. “I am setting that out there right now. My goal is to do everything we can right now to not buy in July. It is terrible.” 

The Dodgers had to do that at the 2024 trade deadline after watching their seemingly deep pitching staff crumble. The additions of Jack Flaherty and Michael Kopech were vital pieces in their road to a championship, but the former is a free agent. Postseason standout Walker Buehler is, too. 

They expect Tyler Glasnow, who missed the postseason run with an elbow sprain, to be healthy for the start of next season. He has already started throwing again, and Snell, Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto should make for a formidable top three. But most of the rotation, which is likely to feature six pitchers, brings health concerns. 

Shohei Ohtani should be back on the mound next season, but it likely won’t be when the Dodgers open their season March 18 in Japan. Ohtani is expected to be ready to hit then, but it is “very unlikely” he’ll be pitching then, according to manager Dave Roberts. Ohtani is throwing out to 60 feet as he starts to ramp back up, but he’s coming off labrum surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder, and the Dodgers will want to control his innings as he works his way back from his second elbow reconstruction. 

“Obviously, we don’t want him to throw 225 innings,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. “So, we’ve just got to kind of see where this throwing program goes, how he continues to feel, have these conversations like we do with most of our guys. What we feel like is most important is that he is ready to pitch at his highest level when the games matter the most. Early-season games are very important, but we feel like if we can get him to a position where he is peaking towards the end of the season, that is the ideal scenario.”

Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin should be good to go this spring, but they both missed the 2024 season. The Dodgers still intend to bring Clayton Kershaw back, but he underwent knee and foot surgeries in November. 

If all goes to plan, they should be able to field one of the best rotations in the sport. But as they found out last year, it rarely does. So, whether it’s Sasaki or someone else, they could look to add starting pitching. Another addition could also happen in the bullpen. 

The Dodgers brought back Treinen and could use him as their closer, as they did in the postseason, but they’re still interested in adding one of the top available relief arms on the market. Devin Williams‘ trade to the Yankees removes one intriguing option, but there are plenty left in free agency, including Tanner Scott. 

“If we can add an additional reliever, that helps increase the chances of us not going to market in July,” Friedman said. “So, yeah, I could see us looking to do that. Now, it doesn’t mean we’ll be able to, but I could see us looking.” 

And then there’s the outfield vacancy left by outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who remains a candidate to return but will draw plenty of interest from the teams who missed out on Soto. 

The addition of Conforto on a one-year deal provides the Dodgers some insurance, but it won’t preclude them from looking to add more help. The Dodgers had reached out about Conforto last trade deadline. Now, after securing him this week, they see him as someone who can play either left or right. 

“I think, again, there’s different ways we can get at this,” Friedman said. “We can have a team that has a little bit more power. We can have a team that makes a little bit more contact. We can have a team that plays a little bit better defense. There’s just a lot of different ways to get at value and production and winning baseball games. So, with that, it opens some things up, and there’s interesting guys on the market — either trade or free-agent market — and a number of different things that we’re kind of looking at.” 

Prediction: Dodgers sign Tanner Scott or find another way to further bolster the bullpen 

2. Will there be an L.A. reunion with Teoscar Hernández? 

Hernández has expressed a desire to return to Los Angeles and called the Dodgers “the priority” after serving as a key cog in the middle of their championship lineup. 

That remains the likeliest conclusion as the two sides remain engaged about a potential return, but his market should heat up after outfield-needy teams missed out on Juan Soto. 

“He had a really good year,” Friedman said. “He put himself in a great position, and I know that he has talked about wanting to [come back], I know that we have talked about wanting him to. So again, that’s helpful, but it’s not everything. He and his family get to go through the interest and figure out what makes the most sense for them. So, while we’re hopeful, at the same time, if he ends up signing somewhere else, we have no choice but to wish him well, and on a personal level we’ll be really happy for him. And professionally, not so much.” 

Boston was interested in Hernández last winter before he signed with the Dodgers. The Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees would all make sense for Hernández after their failed pursuits of Soto. The Phillies could be another potential landing spot given their need for more outfield pop. 

But Hernández played a major role in the Dodgers’ success last season and was a perfect fit both on the field, where he was an All-Star, and in the clubhouse, where he struck an immediate relationship with Ohtani and was a seed-throwing joy. Roberts said it would be tough to have to replace his presence in both regards.

“There’s not a whole lot of guys that can start 157, 158 ball games and post, and then to be that productive,” Roberts said. “Then you layer on being in a big market, helping us win a championship. So, those players don’t come around very often. But obviously Teo has put himself in a very good position as a free agent and had a very productive year. So, he’s got some decisions to make as well. He’s going to kind of suss those out. Yeah, I just … it would be hard for me not to see him coming back.”

Hernández took a one-year contract in Los Angeles last season hoping to play for a winner and re-establish his value. He went from posting a .741 OPS in 2023 in Seattle to an .840 OPS in 2024 in a bounce-back year in Los Angeles. 

More multi-year offers should await this time. 

“We’ll continue to look for ways to improve our team,” Gomes said, “and I’m sure have additional conversations there.”

Prediction: Hernández returns to Dodgers on three-year deal 

3. How much further does the Yankees’ “Plan B” go? 

Max Fried was a nice start after missing out on Soto, even if eight years is a long time for a 31-year-old pitcher with forearm issues. It also gave them a glut of starting pitching options, which they’ve already used to swing a deal for Devin Williams. 

Getting a new ace and a shutdown closer helps erase the bitter taste of losing the Soto sweepstakes, but I’d expect more ahead. For them to fully salvage their offseason, they need a more impactful force (or two) in the lineup. 

They’ve been linked to Cody Bellinger, and now that Tucker went to the Cubs, that fit seems to make more and more sense given his left-handed bat — he hit 18 homers last year, but it would’ve been 24 if he played all his games at Yankee Stadium last year — and ability to play both center field and first base. If they could get him and sign Bregman or Christian Walker — they need a corner infield upgrade, and I like the fit better with Walker than Pete Alonso — that would go a long way toward easing their fans’ pain. 

It’ll be interesting to see how the Tucker trade — which netted the Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes, who should have a field day with the Crawford Boxes — impacts Houston’s willingness to get a deal done with Bregman. The Astros could theoretically still sign Bregman and move Paredes to first base, but it looks like a move to protect themselves if Bregman gets an offer they’re unwilling to match. Owner Jim Crane has never committed more than $151 million to a player, so if he were to bring Bregman back, he’d have to go where he hasn’t before. 

If the Yankees don’t get Bregman, perhaps they get into the Nolan Arenado mix.

Prediction: Trade for Cody Bellinger and sign Alex Bregman or Christian Walker 

4. Speaking of … does Nolan Arenado get dealt? 

The Cardinals have already made it clear their intention is to trade Arenado. Now, it’s about finding a fit. 

Arenado has a full no-trade clause, and his agent Joel Wolfe said the ideal destination is a place “that’s going to win now and consistently for the remainder of his career.” However, the Southern California native reportedly has the Angels among his initial six-team wish list, so maybe a winning culture isn’t the only requirement. Still, the Angels have been among the more active teams in free agency this winter, and the fit would make sense considering their lack of infield stability. 

Wolfe said Arenado is willing to move around and play first base, but that wouldn’t seem to make much sense considering his power has fallen precipitously in recent years and his reliable glove at the hot corner is what still makes him an attractive commodity. This could be a fit for a team that misses out on Bregman. 

Prediction: Traded to Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Tigers or Angels

5. Can the Orioles get their next ace? 

Getting Tyler O’Neill is a start, but with Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander becoming free agents, this doesn’t look like a team that’s better than it was a year ago barring another leap forward from their young guys. 

They need an ace, but how much is the new ownership group willing to pay? We don’t know the answer yet. It’ll probably cost around $250 million to keep Burnes, who stands alone as the only member of the top tier of starting pitching free agents still available (apart from Roki Sasaki). 

They could shop in the next tier and look at Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea or Walker Buehler, but the bigger swings would come on the trade front. With all the young talent still in place, maybe they get their next Burnes, well, the same way they got Burnes. 

Prediction: Trade for Dylan Cease, Luis Castillo or Sonny Gray 

6. Do the Giants have another splash ahead? 

The Giants needed more power in the middle of the lineup and help up the middle defensively, so the Willy Adames fit made sense. But to really contend, they can’t be done yet. Adding an ace or another imposing force in the lineup feels like a necessity. 

Which puts them in a difficult spot. 

They don’t have a particularly robust farm system, so is dealing someone like top prospect Bryce Eldridge or a package involving Camilo Doval, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Kyle Harrison the right move? Of course, if they’re willing to spend, that’s not a question they have to answer. Even with Adames, their payroll is almost $40 million under what it was last year, with Conforto, Snell and Mark Canha off the books. That’s enough for one more big splash.  

My guess is that they move forward in their attempt to start the Buster Posey era with a bang. 

Prediction: Sign Corbin Burnes or trade for Cody Bellinger 

7. Will the Mariners trade from their strength? 

The Mariners don’t want to deal someone from their loaded big-league rotation. But at some point, that’s probably what it will take to land the kind of substantial offensive addition they need. They can’t just add on the margins if they want to seriously contend, and it’s a tough place to convince a free-agent hitter to play.

If they’re not willing to considerably up the payroll, it might require an uncomfortable decision on Luis Castillo or possibly Emerson Hancock. They’re in a winnable division, and after last year’s disappointment, they need to find a way to add more infield pop. 

Prediction: Trade for Alec Bohm, Triston Casas, Cody Bellinger, Josh Naylor or Yandy Díaz 

8. Which potential contenders take a needed big swing? 

No prediction here; just an observation. As much action as there is going on in New York and Los Angeles, there are a lot of teams on the playoff fringes with work to do. The Mariners are certainly one of them, but that list goes far beyond Seattle. 

Garrett Crochet is a great start in the Boston retool, but are Red Sox owners willing to spend what it takes to be relevant again? Andrés Giménez is a terrific defender, but will the Blue Jays address their offensive shortcomings and/or land the superstar that has eluded them? 

The Reds addressed their rotation but could use an impact outfield bat to leap forward in the NL Central. The D-backs could use pitching help and a Walker replacement if they’re going to compete with the Dodgers, Padres and Giants. The Tigers need more right-handed pop in the infield to build on their surprise playoff run. And are the Twins going to do anything? 

The winter meetings laid the groundwork, but plenty still lies ahead. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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DALLAS — The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes have begun. 

The top international free agent was officially posted this week, opening a 45-day window for teams to make their pitches to the 23-year-old flamethrower from Japan. 

Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe, speaking from the Hilton Anatole at MLB’s winter meetings, said the process will be “open-ended.” Wolfe expects to meet with Sasaki in the next couple of days and then map out a schedule to meet with teams, likely starting next week. Those meetings will take place in a central location first before Sasaki potentially begins visiting “a few isolated places” in a second round of meetings. 

The 2024 international signing period ends Dec. 15. Sasaki is expected to sign during the 2025 international signing period, which begins Jan. 15. Every team will then have somewhere between $5-8 million to work with as bonus pools reset. 

“Teams have already begun sending presentations, both in video and powerpoint, PDF-form, that sort of thing,” Wolfe said, estimating that he has seen three or four so far. “But we didn’t give teams a hard deadline to submit that information because we want them to be able to put the time in to do it right.”

For a quick refresher, this won’t be like Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s situation a year ago when he signed for 12 years and $325 million, earning the biggest contract ever for a pitcher.

Sasaki might’ve commanded something similar if he were available on the open market, but because he is not yet 25, he is subject to international amateur free-agent restrictions. That means he can only sign a minor-league deal from a team’s international bonus pool. He is widely considered to be one of the top pitchers available, and he will come at a fraction of the cost of most free agents, opening the door for every team to make its pitch. Wolfe estimates that “at least half the league” has scouted Sasaki in Japan this year. 

Here’s some of what Wolfe had to say about how the process will work, what we know about Sasaki and what we can expect over the next 45 days. 

Why is Sasaki signing now instead of waiting until he’s 25 and can make significantly more money?

It’s a question that’s difficult for Wolfe to answer. 

“Some of it is Japanese culture, some of it is just Roki Sasaki,” Wolfe said. “There are no absolutes in baseball, and through Roki’s eyes, there are no absolutes in life.”

Wolfe said the tragedies Sasaki has dealt with — when he was 9, Sasaki lost his father and grandparents in the tsunami that resulted from the devastating 2011 earthquake — have shaped his life perspective. He doesn’t take anything for granted. 

“It is not an absolute lock, as some people in baseball have assumed, that two years from now he’s going to get a Yamamoto contract,” Wolfe continued. “Baseball just doesn’t work that way. If you look at the epidemic of injuries that pitchers here suffer, they have the same potential issues. He could have Tommy John surgery. He’s had two shoulder injuries. He’s had oblique injuries. Things may not go the way they want.”

In addition, Sasaki’s experience pitching in the World Baseball Classic intensified his desire to make the leap. 

“It’s always been his dream to come to the major leagues since he was in high school,” Wolfe said. “He has grown up idolizing players like Yu Darvish and [Masahiro] Tanaka and [Daisuke] Matsuzaka. This is something he’s always wanted to do, and when he went to WBC and he was around some of these major-league players, it really rubbed off on him that he became sure that, ‘This is what I want to do as soon as possible,’ and it just further solidified his decision-making process.”

Wolfe said Sasaki doesn’t yet know much about the individual teams and cities. He has encouraged Sasaki to enter the process with an open mind and categorically denied any speculation that a handshake deal has already been made, despite wide speculation that the Dodgers, who employ Sasaki’s WBC teammates Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, are the favorites.  

“There were some accusations, allegations, all of them false, made about predetermined deals, things like that,” Wolfe said. “However, MLB rightly wanted to make sure this was going to be a fair and level playing field for everyone. So, they did their due diligence and interviewed numerous parties ahead of time to make sure that was the case. And they wanted to make sure that Roki would most likely, while he would have the opportunity to sign in ‘24, give himself the best opportunity to get the best deal for him and for Chiba, and that Chiba would also have that opportunity. So, it made sense to post at this time so he could go into the ‘25 pool when the teams will have much more substantial international bonus money.”

Does that mean teams with more international bonus pool money have an upper hand? 

“Given the gap in the bonus pool amounts is so negligible, my advice to him is, ‘Don’t make a decision based on that,'” Wolfe said, “because the long-term arc of your career is where you’re going to earn your money. So, it’s probably not advisable to make a short-term decision in that regard.”

So, what is most important to Sasaki? 

Wolfe is still getting a feel for that. 

He has known Sasaki “for a little over two years now” and said “it has been a little bit difficult to really ascertain what his decision-making process would be for choosing a team because his focus has been predominantly on whether or not he’s going to be able to post.”

Now, that obstacle is out of the way. 

The Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki’s NPB team, announced in November that they would begin the posting process — to the surprise of many, considering the posting fee that they will receive will be significantly less than what they would have gotten had they waited until Sasaki was 25 — but Wolfe didn’t know until a few days ago when it would officially happen. 

Wolfe said Sasaki has asked “for a broad range of information” and “to suggest information about different teams and regions that we think might be beneficial to him.” 

“The best I can say is, he has paid attention to how teams have done, as far as overall success both this year and years past,” Wolfe said. “He does watch a lot of Major League Baseball. He has paid attention to what his WBC teammates have done. He’s talked to a lot of players, foreign players, that have been on his team with Chiba Lotte. He has asked a lot of questions about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development. And just watching what other Japanese players in the major leagues are doing and how they are doing.”

Does that mean he would be more open to joining a team with Japanese players? 

Dating back to the pursuits of Kodai Senga and Yamamoto, many teams asked Wolfe whether having Japanese players already on their team would be an obstacle or an attraction for his Japanese clients. 

“And it’s different for every single player,” Wolfe said. “Each player is unique in how they feel about it, and I think it also matters on the player that is already on the team, how much do they reach out to other Japanese players? How are they perceived by this particular Japanese player? And it just varies player to player.” 

So, is it more of an attraction for Sasaki?

“It could be, to have an older player to help show him the ropes,” Wolfe said. “But anyone that knows Roki Sasaki, this is one of the most driven, intense players I’ve ever known and been around, and I wouldn’t say he would necessarily need it to succeed.”

Do West Coast teams have an advantage? 

“He’s never brought that up as an issue,” Wolfe said. “When we supply information to our players, our Japanese players, long before they come over here, one of the things that we provide for them is direct flights from Japan and the amount of time it takes for family to come and visit you. I think about five or 10 years ago that was something that maybe they weighed a little bit more, but now you can fly direct from Japan to most of the major cities in the U.S. It’s not really that much of an issue anymore.”

Asked how the Padres would fit, considering Sasaki’s admiration for Darvish, Wolfe said he assumed “that would be a team that he would seriously consider.” 

Wolfe added that he hasn’t talked to Sasaki about his relationship with Ohtani.  

Do smaller or mid-market teams have a chance? 

“Yeah, absolutely,” Wolfe said. “I think that there’s an argument to be made that a small or mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing coming from Japan, given what he’s been through and not having an enjoyable experience with the media. It might be … I’m not saying it will be, but I don’t know how he’s going to view it, it might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market. But I really don’t know how he looks at it yet because I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and discuss it with him in great detail.” 

Wait, what’s the situation with the media in Japan? 

“The media in Japan has been very tough on him, and he’s not had a great time with it,” Wolfe said. “My personal opinion is that it’s been a bit unfair, and it’s affected him mentally a little bit.”

Wolfe later elaborated on those issues: “There’s been a lot of negativity in the media directed at him because he has expressed interest at going to play for MLB at such a young age. That’s considered in Japan to be very disrespectful and sort of swimming upstream. There’s been a lot of things … a lot of people jumped on board there creating some false rumors about him and his family. It was very detrimental to his mental state.”

Would all of that rule out a place like New York? 

“He hasn’t said anything negative about any particular city, and he actually hasn’t said anything overly positive about it,” Wolfe said. “We haven’t had any detailed discussions about particular cities yet. But I think he can handle it, just based on what I’ve seen.”

When will Sasaki make his choice? 

While the signing won’t take place until at least Jan. 15, it’s possible Sasaki makes his decision before then. 

“The incentive to sign as early as possible is to get the visa process going so that he would be on time for spring training,” Wolfe said. “So, the earlier we make a decision, the better. Nobody would want him to be showing up late to spring training.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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DALLAS — In another world, Juan Soto is about to enter his eighth season for the Nationals, his future already cemented in Washington as his Hall of Fame trajectory plays out for a team still trying to claw its way back toward contention and relevancy. 

But he was thinking bigger. Much, much bigger. 

After back-to-back last-place finishes following their stunning 2019 championship run, the Nationals were cellar-dwellers again in the summer of 2022 when they gave their superstar a substantial offer, one that nobody would have faulted Soto for taking. Three years prior, Mike Trout had signed a 12-year, $426.5 million extension with the Angels that made him the richest player in the sport. The Nationals were prepared to top that for Soto, at the time a 23-year-old phenom who already had three top-10 MVP finishes, two All-Star appearances and a batting title under his belt. 

They offered him $440 million over 15 years. 

Soto, to the surprise of many, turned it down. 

It was a risky bet on himself but one that would be bountifully rewarded less than two years later — he agreed Sunday to a mind-boggling, landscape-altering 15-year, $765 million pact with the Mets — and one that provided some insight into what he desired. 

He had experienced the euphoria of winning it all, but the elation was fleeting. The Nationals had a losing record in the shortened 2020 season and won just 65 games in 2021 before things spiraled further in 2022. At the time Soto received his offer, the Nationals were already more than 30 games under .500 by the break, in last place by 27.5 games. Soto was tired of losing, and the Nats couldn’t entice him to stay, not with their future so uncertain. 

So, they traded him to San Diego, where, at least for a brief moment, the decision to forgo the payday seemed in danger of backfiring on the Scott Boras client. Soto slashed .236/.388/.390 over the final 52 games of the 2022 season, still considerably above average but hardly the type of elite numbers that would garner the highest offer in MLB history. 

And then Juan Soto turned into Juan Soto again. The Padres reached the National Leage Championship Series for the first time since 1998. Despite losing to the Phillies, Soto produced a .944 OPS during the series, offering the tantalizing combination of power and patience at the plate that would eventually command an unfathomable offer from an owner willing to go where no one thought possible. 

Soto’s work the next two years — in 2023 in San Diego, where he launched 35 homers, led the majors in walks for a third straight season and hit 55% better than league average; and even more so in 2024 in the Bronx, where he hit a career-high 41 homers, transformed the Yankees lineup from one of the worst to one of the best in baseball and helped them reach the World Series for the first time in 15 years — raised the stakes for all interested parties. (Four teams reportedly offered Soto at least $700 million.)

“This was a year that he was setting himself up for this type of deal,” Giants manager Bob Melvin, who coached Soto in San Diego, said Monday at MLB’s winter meetings. “I don’t know that anybody could have really predicted what the number would be, but if anybody is going to get money like that, it’s going to be Juan.” 

There’s only one precedent for a player as talented as Soto hitting the open market at his age — Álex Rodríguez in 2000 — which is why it’s the only precedent for the length and size of the contract Soto received in comparison to his peers. 

Considering how quickly Soto rose through the ranks to superstardom and how teams are increasingly finding creative ways to keep their young stars in uniform through their prime before they’ve established their full value — Ronald Acuña Jr., Fernando Tatís Jr., Julio Rodríguez, Corbin Carroll and Bobby Witt Jr. all received nine-figure extensions at the age of 23 or younger, and the Brewers even inked then-19-year-old Jackson Chourio to an eight-year extension before he’d made his MLB debut — it’s unlikely anyone currently playing in the majors will get a deal like Soto’s. 

The next-closest comparison is Bryce Harper, who was also entering his age-26 season when he signed his 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies in 2019, but Soto had produced better slash-line numbers across the board through his first six years than Harper did and was worth nearly nine more wins than Harper in that time, per Baseball-Reference’s calculation. This winter, Soto figured to top both Harper’s total and that of his former Yankees teammate, Aaron Judge, who got nine years and $360 million after the slugger’s 62-homer season. Getting more than both Harper and Judge combined, however, seemed preposterous. 

Soto doesn’t offer the power of Judge, but he’s one of nine players in MLB history to hit 200 homers before the age of 26, and there are few players in the history of the game — regardless of age — who have reached base at a greater clip than Soto. His career .421 on-base percentage currently stands as the second-highest mark for any player who debuted in the past 75 years. Moreover, Soto’s career 158 wRC+ is higher than that of Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays. 

The deeper the Yankees’ run continued this year, the higher the figures seemed to rise — $500 million? $600 million? $700 million?! — especially with billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen pushing the envelope. If he wants something, and money is the primary driving force, he’s capable of getting it. In the case of Soto, it meant going to absurdly unprecedented lengths. 

Shohei Ohtani annihilated all concepts of what was once considered possible with his landmark 10-year, $700 million contract last December, a deal that obliterated the sport’s previous highwater mark in total value by more than $250 million. But that number was something of a mirage. The stunning deferrals in the two-way star’s contract lowered his total present-day value to around $460 million, a number that figured to pay for itself even before he won his third MVP award and led the Dodgers to a World Series championship in his first year with the club, given the many revenue streams he opened up for the Dodgers due to his international appeal and their ownership group’s ability to put his money to work. 

Soto won’t be able to replicate that off-field value. On the field, his below average baserunning and defense put a cap on his production — his 7.9 bWAR this past season easily represented a career high — and might force him off a corner outfield spot halfway through the deal. He has never been an MVP, but he has finished in the top three in voting twice and has produced the fifth-most WAR in the majors since he entered the league as a 19-year-old in 2018. The only players with a higher wRC+ than Soto in that time are Judge, Trout and Yordan Álvarez. Since the shortened 2020 season, the only MLB player who has clearly offered more overall offensive value is Judge, who was entering his age-31 season when he signed his extension two winters ago. 

Together, Judge and Soto made magic. For one season, they combined to form one of the greatest tandems in baseball history. With Soto now joining Francisco Lindor, the Mets have created a new dynamic duo, even if it won’t be quite the same for Soto as hitting in front of Judge. 

Still, Soto’s skill set should allow him to thrive in any lineup. In 2024, Soto paired a 99th percentile barrel and hard-hit rate with a 100th percentile expected batting average and walk rate. He’s an unrelenting, shuffling force in the box with an exceptional understanding for the strike zone. No player had ever recorded more than 670 walks before turning 26; Soto is at 769, and he has walked more than he has struck out in each of the past five years. 

He is one of the most well-rounded hitters we’ve ever seen, and he just turned 26 during the World Series. His ability to reshape a team’s offense over the next decade was enticing enough to shatter any preconceived notions of his worth.  

A year after Ohtani earned an unthinkable amount of money, it was no longer the largest deal in the sport. 

“I certainly didn’t see that happening,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

There are no deferrals in Soto’s record-setting deal, no means of lowering the luxury-tax hit. In fact, he could opt out after the first five seasons and would hit free agency again at 31 years old if the Mets don’t add another $4 million to each of the final 10 years of this deal, which would raise the total value of the contract above $800 million. 

It’s an astronomical figure, but paying for a superstar’s mid-to-late-20s is a lot different than getting them in their 30s. Most of the cautionary tales of teams signing sluggers to megadeals fall into the latter camp. 

In March 2014, a soon-to-be 31-year-old Miguel Cabrera signed an eight-year, $248 million extension that, when added to his existing contract, gave him the largest deal of all time. He played at a below replacement level for the final seven years of the pact. Albert Pujols never finished in the top 15 in MVP voting in any of his 10 seasons with the Angels after signing for $240 million a few weeks before his 32nd birthday, as he averaged between 1-2 WAR per year over the course of the entire contract. Both Pujols and Cabrera, of course, were perennial MVP candidates prior to signing those contracts. 

There’s no way to know with any certainty when a player’s downturn will begin or health will deteriorate. Trout, for instance, had played in at least 139 games in seven of eight seasons leading into the record extension he signed with the Angels as a 27-year-old in 2019. He was seemingly as sure a bet as anyone to continue his production well into his 30s, only to have injuries limit him to 453 of the Angels’ 870 games following the extension. Soto, for what it’s worth, has been incredibly durable to this point, playing in at least 150 games in each of the past five full seasons. And his keen eye should help make up for any waning power as he enters his 30s, even if maintaining this level of production for the next 15 years is improbable. 

If Soto can be a 6-8 WAR player for each of the next five years, or a 4-8 WAR player for each of the next 10, would that make him worth between $765-$805 million? It’s hard to fathom, but that was the risk ultimately required to reap the potential reward. 

The team that Soto picked also matters in answering the question. 

For many clubs, committing $51-55 million per year would significantly handicap their ability to build a competitive roster. That shouldn’t be the case for Cohen, who once bought an Alberto Giacometti sculpture for a reported $141.3 million — after he had already spent nearly $101 million on another. 

The billionaire is operating in a different financial stratosphere from the rest of his competition, has a lot of money coming off the club’s books in 2025, doesn’t appear fazed by the luxury-tax penalties or surcharges that will arise in his quest to lift the Mets into a perennial contender and wasn’t going to forgo what might be the only chance he’ll get to secure a free agent of Soto’s talent in his prime years. No matter the cost or overpay, in an in-state battle for the best free agent on the market, he wasn’t going to relent. 

Even with Soto, the team’s estimated payroll for the upcoming season is still $85 million less than it was last season. Expect Cohen to keep adding. As long as that continues to happen for the next 15 years, and Soto can help bring championships to Flushing, Mets fans won’t care about how much one WAR should be worth. 

“I don’t know what he’s going to do when he’s 40,” Soto’s former manager, the Nationals’ Dave Martinez, said. “But I know what he’s going to do come Opening Day.” 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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A year after the Los Angeles Dodgers gave the largest contract in baseball history to Shohei Ohtani, made Yoshinobu Yamamoto the highest-paid pitcher in the sport and handed Tyler Glasnow a nine-figure extension, the reigning champions are back at it with the first major splash of MLB’s 2024-25 offseason. 

Less than a month after winning the World Series with a decimated rotation, the Dodgers addressed the uncertainty surrounding their pitching staff and significantly upped the ceiling of the group by agreeing to terms on a five-year, $182 million deal with Blake Snell. 

The two-time Cy Young Award winner broke the news himself, announcing his intentions by posting a photo of himself in a photoshopped Dodgers jersey on his Instagram page. The agreement reportedly includes a $52 million signing bonus, deferred money — a preferred tactic of the Dodgers, allowing them to lower the luxury-tax hit — and no opt-outs, which is notable considering that’s how Snell became available to them in the first place. 

The Dodgers had been interested in Snell for years — no surprise, considering president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman drafted Snell in 2011 when he ran the Tampa Bay Rays — including last season, before the left-hander signed a two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants. Despite coming off a second Cy Young season, Snell’s market didn’t materialize the way many expected it to last offseason. 

He didn’t sign until the middle of March, and the start to his San Francisco tenure began inauspiciously after the late build-up. He dealt with groin and adductor injuries and was 0-3 with a 9.51 ERA in six starts before the end of June. At the time, he had not done much to assuage teams’ fears about his durability and reliability. Snell’s Cy Young seasons in 2018 with Tampa Bay and 2023 with San Diego are the only two times in his nine-year career that he has thrown more than 130 innings, and his ERA fluctuated in the four years between those award-winning seasons, due in part to a high walk rate and erratic control. But he would soon showcase the upside that few pitchers in the sport, if any, can match. 

He returned from injury in July and produced a 1.23 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 80.1 innings the rest of the way, throwing a no-hitter on Aug. 2 — the first complete game of his career — and going at least six innings while allowing one or no runs in eight of his final 14 starts. Despite the slow start, he still ranked in the 98th percentile in whiff rate, strikeout rate, hard-hit rate and expected batting average by year’s end. 

He has averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings over his career, the most for a starter in MLB history, and he has struck out more than that in each of his past six seasons. In 2024, his 28.9% hard-hit rate, 34.7% strikeout rate and .174 batting average against all represented career-best marks. 

Those skills are especially tantalizing for a contender looking for a final piece in October, when the ability to miss bats becomes more pronounced. Snell’s 3.33 career postseason ERA doesn’t hurt, either. In other words, he’s an ideal fit for the reigning champion Dodgers, a team he overpowered in the World Series four years ago. 

Corbin Burnes is a more reliable workhorse. Max Fried is a more consistent producer. But no one at the top of this year’s robust free-agent pitching class offers the elite strikeout upside that Snell provides. While he uses his fastball nearly half the time, his curveball, changeup and slider have all registered a 43% whiff rate or better in each of the last three seasons. 

Snell opted out of his second season with the Giants and wasted no time securing the long-term offer that never came last winter, ensuring there wouldn’t be a hurried, frenzied start to the year this time around. He will be joining his third different NL West club in the last three years. 

The Dodgers should now in theory boast a significantly better pitching staff than they had during last year’s championship run, though they couldn’t have expected the need that would arise after devoting $325 million to Yamamoto and $136.5 million to Tyler Glasnow last December. Ten months later, Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and deadline addition Jack Flaherty were the only reliable starters they had left. Despite only one pitcher still standing from their Opening Day rotation, the Dodgers persevered to win a World Series over the New York Yankees. 

This offseason, given the injuries to the group and the schedules of Ohtani and Yamamoto dictating the need for a six-man rotation, it was an area they felt they needed to bolster. Buehler and Flaherty are both free agents. Yamamoto missed nearly three months with a shoulder issue. Glasnow is coming off an elbow injury that forced him out for the playoff run. Ohtani, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin are all coming off major elbow surgeries. Bobby Miller was ineffective in 2024 after a promising rookie season. Clayton Kershaw is expected to re-sign with the Dodgers in 2025, but he’ll be coming off knee and foot surgeries. 

With the depth of their roster, their farm system and their ownership’s bank account, they can afford to take calculated risks that would scare off many clubs. They did it with Yamamoto, despite him never having thrown a big-league pitch. They did it with Glasnow, despite him never having thrown more than 120 innings in a season. 

Snell brings risk, too, along with an unrivaled potential for reward. Last week, Ohtani joined Frank Robinson as the only players ever to win an MVP in both leagues. This week, Ohtani became teammates with one of seven pitchers ever to win the Cy Young in both leagues. Adding Ohtani and Snell to a rotation already headlined by Glasnow and Yamamoto could make it the best in baseball. 

And it’s just the start this offseason for the Dodgers, who are still considered the favorites to land Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, remain among the contenders in the Juan Soto sweepstakes and could bring back All-Star Teoscar Hernández. While their corner outfield vacancies should be the next order of business, the addition of Snell quickly takes care of one of the champion’s few glaring needs, much to the chagrin of the rest of the league. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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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 continues with the National League West.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

1. Outfield: The Dodgers already had one spot to fill with Teoscar Hernández hitting free agency. Now, with general manager Brandon Gomes saying Mookie Betts is likely headed back to the infield, both corner outfield spots will have to be addressed. Top prospect Dalton Rushing has gotten some time in left field in the minors, but they need at least one or two more sure things in the outfield. Unless they can lure Juan Soto out of New York — they will at least make an effort — the easiest answer would be running it back with Hernández, who has expressed interest in a return. 

2. Starting pitching: Tyler Glasnow is expected to be healthy in spring, and at some point Shohei Ohtani should return to the mound, but there’s a lot of uncertainty here. The Dodgers, who were reduced to just three starters during their championship run, understand how quickly pitching depth can unravel. Two of those pitchers, Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty, are now free agents. Maybe Bobby Miller bounces back. Maybe Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin return strong from injury. Maybe top pitching prospect Jackson Ferris is ready to help. But that’s a lot of maybes, so expect them to add a more reliable piece externally. They’re considered the heavy favorites to land Roki Sasaki, but if the NPB phenom signs elsewhere, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them shopping at the top end of the free-agent market for Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell or L.A. native Max Fried. 

3. Shortstop: Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas provide some protection here, but part of their value is their versatility. The Dodgers could turn to Betts, who proved at least capable of filling in last season, but at 32, he seems to be a better fit at second base. Prospect Alex Freeland zoomed through the system last year, but if the Dodgers are looking for more of an immediate fix, Willy Adames would provide it. The trade market (Bo Bichette? Nico Hoerner?) could also offer options. 

SAN DIEGO PADRES

1. Starting pitching: If there’s a team that could lure Sasaki away from the Dodgers, Yu Darvish’s Padres are as good a candidate as any. Considering their potential financial constraints, that’s their best bet to land a big name unless A.J. Preller can tap further into the prospect ranks to lure Garrett Crochet out of Chicago. With Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish leading the way, a middle-of-the-rotation or back-end starter is probably the most likely scenario, and a lefty would make sense for their righty-heavy rotation. Someone such as Yusei Kikuchi, Jose Quintana or Andrew Heaney could fit the bill. 

2. Left field: Jurickson Profar broke out like everyone expected … 11 years later. The former top prospect enjoyed a career year at 31, and it makes sense that he’d return to San Diego. If he gets too expensive for their financial constraints, they might shop at the lower end of the free-agent market. Michael Conforto, Alex Verdugo or Tommy Pham would be among the options. 

3. Catcher: The Padres could cross their fingers and hope Luis Campusano takes the leap that never came in 2024, but the easiest answer here would be running it back with Kyle Higashioka, who had his most valuable season as a big leaguer last year in San Diego. Danny Jansen, Yasmani Grandal and Carson Kelly are among the top catchers available, but there aren’t a ton of starting-caliber options on the market behind the plate. 

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS 

1. Relief pitching: This might be a good time for a reminder that the D-backs’ offense ranked in the top two in every slash line category. Pitching was their downfall, and while Arizona could certainly use help both in the rotation and the bullpen, the latter is the more pressing need. D-backs relievers had a 4.41 ERA and blew 26 saves, and now Paul Sewald is a free agent. If the Brewers shop Devin Williams, Arizona should be calling. Otherwise, there are plenty of high-end options on the market, including Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, Clay Holmes and Carlos Estévez. 

2. First base: One of the first orders of business for the D-backs this winter will be figuring out what it will take to retain Christian Walker, who should have been an All-Star this year and is perennially among the most underrated talents in the game. With Josh Bell (who filled in admirably while Walker was out) also hitting free agency, they could turn to Pavin Smith, who finished the 2024 season exceptionally strong. But they might want more established pop in the middle of the order, especially with Joc Pederson also hitting the market. If Walker walks, could we see a Paul Goldschmidt reunion? Otherwise, Bell, Carlos Santana or Pete Alonso are among the names to watch. 

3. Starting pitching: Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt provide a serviceable starting point, and the D-backs could point to the late starts from Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez and believe a more normal offseason might get them back on track. Still, they could use another arm to make sure things don’t go off the rails the way they did in 2024. Someone from the second or third tier of pitching free agents (Matthew Boyd? Jose Quintana? Frankie Montas? Andrew Heaney? Michael Lorenzen?) might make sense here.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 

1. Starting pitching: The GIants had Logan Webb and Blake Snell anchoring their rotation, and their starters still finished the year with a 4.22 ERA. Now they don’t have Snell anymore. While they can envision strides ahead from youngsters Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong, they need a steady piece to pair alongside Webb and Robbie Ray. If they can’t keep Snell or win the Corbin Burnes or Max Fried sweepstakes, there are still a bevy of options to fill out the rotation, from the departing Mets (Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana) to Shane Bieber, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Tomoyuki Sugano and many more. 

2. Middle infield: Tyler Fitzgerald enjoyed a spectacular rookie breakout, but he might be better suited at second base long term. Either way, the Giants could use more help up the middle. Willy Adames is the star of the free-agent shortstop market and would make a lot of sense in San Francisco. The Giants were among the worst defensive teams at shortstop in 2024, and Ha-Seong Kim could help there. Considering the drop-off after Adames, though, they could look to the trade market, too, for someone such as Bo Bichette, Nico Hoerner or Brandon Lowe. 

3. An imposing bat: Can Buster Posey help the Giants finally reel in that big fish? It doesn’t sound like they’re planning to break open the pocketbooks in 2025, but exceptions can be made for Juan Soto or Adames. It could be a corner outfielder (e.g. Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill). It could be a right-handed hitting first baseman (Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt). It could be a middle infielder (see above). Regardless of the position, another difference-making bat feels necessary for this team to contend again. 

COLORADO ROCKIES 

1. Relief pitching: Every other bullpen in MLB had an ERA under 5.00 last year. Then there was Colorado at 5.41. I don’t expect them to spend much this winter, but they could fill their bullpen with a couple more veteran arms on affordable short-term deals. Even if they won’t be shopping at the top end of the market, a lefty such as A.J. Minter, Aroldis Chapman or Andrew Chafin might make sense for the righty-heavy group. 

2. Starting pitching: Rockies starters had a 5.54 ERA last year, also by far the worst mark in the sport. Do I think they’ll actually address the rotation this winter? Probably not. It’s hard enough to entice a difference-making arm to sign in Colorado, and when you add on the financial constraints, they’re probably more likely to trim from what they already have than to add to it. Maybe Germán Márquez comes back healthy to lead the group. Maybe top pitching prospect Chase Dollander is ready to contribute in 2025. But if they want to be competitive at all in the short term, they could use more help. 

3. Right field: For the first time since 2010, Charlie Blackmon won’t be roaming the Rockies’ outfield. Brenton Doyle and Nolan Jones, if he can bounce back, provide a solid starting place. Right field is more of a question. Colorado has some prospects knocking on the door in Zac Veen, Yanquiel Fernandez and 2024 first-round pick Charlie Condon, and it’s certainly possible that 2022 first-rounder Jordan Beck takes a leap. Still, this might be a spot for a veteran addition such as Jason Heyward, Max Kepler or Adam Duvall, which would allow Kris Bryant more DH time.

RELATED: NL East | NL Central | AL East | AL Central | AL West

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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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 continues with the American League Central.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

1. Starting pitching: Cleveland’s pitching factory was tapped out, and the Guardians still cruised to 92 wins and a division title. Imagine how many wins they would’ve had if their starting rotation didn’t have a 4.40 ERA! Looking forward, they’ll want to ease the load on their elite bullpen. Whether they’re able to keep free agents Shane Bieber and Matthew Boyd or not, adding more arms to the rotation should be the first order of business this winter. Given their financial limitations, some of the answers might come on the trade block. Could they look nearby to Chicago and swing a deal for Garrett Crochet or Jameson Taillon? Or maybe there’s a match in Miami with its plethora of arbitration-eligible talents? 

2. An impact bat: Steven Kwan is a unique talent and Josh Naylor provides some needed pop, but there aren’t a ton of imposing bats in the middle of this lineup outside of Jose Ramirez. The Guardians could use another impact bat, and while an everyday center fielder would make sense (allowing Lane Thomas to bump over to right field, where he’s better suited to play), the defensive position matters less than the offensive boost. Top prospects Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter could be helping soon, but they could really use another proven talent. Again, maybe this comes via trade. They have the prospects to create an intriguing package for Luis Robert Jr. 

3. Catcher: Bo Naylor was a more valuable player in 67 games in 2023 than he was as the primary catcher in 123 games in 2024. The offensive leap didn’t happen, and while it certainly still could for the 24-year-old, the Guardians might be a little more impatient now that David Fry’s elbow injury likely takes him out of the catching mix. Like in center, however, there aren’t a ton of impact bats behind the plate in free agency. The Mariners have an excess of both starting pitching and catching options, so maybe they emerge as a trade partner. 

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

1. A leadoff man: Like the Central division winners, the Royals need more offensive juice around their superstar. Bobby Witt Jr. carried this offense to October, but the only players on this offense who played at least 100 games and had an OPS over .700 were Witt, Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino. Their leadoff hitters had a combined .604 OPS. That’s not going to get it done. This might be a fit for Gleyber Torres or Jurickson Profar, but any help at the top of the lineup will be a boost. 

2. Outfield: The Royals need to upgrade the outfield, which produced a 78 wRC+ — the lowest mark of any team outside of Colorado. If the Royals don’t end up with one of Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Profar, Tyler O’Neill, Michael Conforto or Randal Grichuk (or trade for a player with a similar impact), they will likely come to regret it. They need to find someone who can inspire some fear in the middle of the order to lengthen a thin lineup. 

3. Relief pitching: Lucas Erceg was a huge deadline add at the back end of the bullpen, and Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch also played important roles in relief down the stretch, but the Royals’ work isn’t done patching up the depth of the unit. Maybe a reunion with Scott Barlow or Aroldis Chapman would make sense, but anyone who can help pave the way to Erceg (Chris Martin? Blake Treinen? Danny Coulombe? Phil Maton? Andrew Chafin?) would be helpful. 

DETROIT TIGERS

1. Corner infield: Could the Tigers’ surprise postseason run get them to spend? They’re currently projected to have just an $80 million payroll in 2025, one of the lowest in the sport, and should theoretically have room to make a splash. Alex Bregman or Willy Adames would be terrific fits for a left side of the infield in need of a difference-maker. But this also feels like an important inflection point for Detroit to decide if 2020 top overall pick Spencer Torkelson is the future at first base. There are plenty of options (Christian Walker and Pete Alonso at the top of the market; Carlos Santana, Josh Bell, Paul Goldschmidt and Justin Turner a tier below) if they want more experience at the spot.

2. A right-handed (preferably infield) bat: The position flexibility of Matt Vierling and many of the youngsters on the roster should give Detroit leeway to find various ways to upgrade an offense that ranked in the bottom 10 in every slash line category and especially struggled to get runners on base. Parker Meadows, Colt Keith and Jace Jung all provided late season lifts, but they all also happen to bat with their left hand (as do mainstays Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter), so the Tigers need to find a way to pack more punch and balance the lineup with a more proven right-handed force, regardless of where that person plays. 

3. Starting pitcher: The Tigers’ “pitching chaos” approach allowed for their late surge, but it’s probably not a sustainable method of success. Tarik Skubal and Reese Olson provide a solid starting point and top prospect Jackson Jobe should be ready for a more featured role, but the rotation could use a proven veteran piece for the developing group. Could Jack Flaherty, who thrived there in the first half, return after he was dealt at the deadline? Or how about bringing the band back together with Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander? Any of them or Nathan Eovaldi, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Yusei Kikuchi, Walker Buehler or Jose Quintana seem like possible matches. 

MINNESOTA TWINS 

1. Right-handed corner outfield: After slashing payroll and doing little to meaningfully bolster the roster last year, the Twins paid the price for their frugality. It sounds like this winter will offer more of the same. Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner both hit considerably better than league average last season, but neither hits lefties. The Twins can envision top prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez roaming the outfield in the near future, but both of them are lefties, too. Randal Grichuk would be a good fit here if Twins ownership is willing to spend anything at all. Maybe the Angels would listen to an offer for Taylor Ward? 

2. First base: The Twins could make Jose Miranda the primary player here, but he does not provide much defensively and struggled last year against lefties. The most logical solution would be bringing back veteran Carlos Santana, who just won a Gold Glove at the position and produced a .934 OPS against lefties. Justin Turner, Josh Bell or Donovan Solano could also be among the low-cost options. The bigger move would be swinging a trade for Yandy Diaz.

3. Relief pitching: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Cole Sands provide a healthy starting point, but Minnesota could use more depth in a bullpen that registered a 4.12 ERA as a group last season. If the Twins are only able to go bargain hunting, they should be able to still extract some affordable value from the relief market. 

CHICAGO WHITE SOX 

1. Keep rebuilding: You might be shocked to learn the worst team in modern baseball history has far more than three needs. The White Sox need help everywhere, so condensing down to three seems pointless. The 2025 season, like the one before it, won’t have much winning. So, it’s about laying a new foundation. This team is not about to contend. The White Sox have injected more talent to their farm system the last couple of years by trading away Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Dylan Cease, Erick Fedde and Michael Kopech, and I’d expect more of the same with Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. potentially next in line to leave. 

2. Evaluate the young talent: Does top position player prospect Colson Montgomery take a leap forward? Can Miguel Vargas start to realize his offensive potential? What about Drew Thorpe on the mound? How does the development look for pitching prospects Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith, Jairo Iriarte and Ky Bush? This is the time for the White Sox to start to figure out which of their pieces might be part of the next contending White Sox team, whenever that might be. 

3. Add a couple of veterans to flip: While the White Sox certainly won’t be shopping at the top of the free-agent market, I’d expect them to take a couple one-year fliers on veterans they could potentially turn into prospects at the deadline.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

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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 continues with the American League West.

HOUSTON ASTROS 

1. Third base: It’s bizarre to think about Alex Bregman wearing a different uniform. Will the Astros front office heed Jose Altuve’s request to keep him? It won’t come cheap, and it would take owner Jim Crane doing what he didn’t when Carlos Correa departed, but figuring that out has to be at the top of the winter to-do list. If Bregman departs, the in-house solutions are limited, and there’s a significant drop-off behind him at his position on the free-agent market. 

2. First base: It’s hard to imagine the Astros feeling great entering the season with Jon Singleton and Victor Caratini as their top first base options. The aforementioned Christian Walker, Pete Alonso and Carlos Santana are available. Then again, how much does the Jose Abreu signing linger in the Astros’ nightmares? Their decision at the spot could depend on their belief in prospect Zach Dezenzo’s readiness to contribute and whether they’ll be doling out the money required to keep Bregman in their lineup. 

3. Outfield: The Astros were starting Jason Heyward, who was released in late August by the Dodgers, in left field in the playoffs. Heyward is now a free agent. The in-house options on the 40-man roster bring questions. Chas McCormick couldn’t replicate his 2023 form, and both Jake Meyers and Mauricio Dubon were below league-average hitters as well. It might not be long before top prospect Jacob Melton is roaming the Houston outfield, but signing an established bat against righties would help. Maybe this is a spot for Jesse Winker or Michael Conforto, or perhaps the Astros could swing a trade for Cody Bellinger, who could help fill needs both in the outfield and at first. 

TEXAS RANGERS 

1. Relief pitching: Only four teams had a higher bullpen ERA than the Rangers last year, and that’s with Kirby Yates (1.17 ERA) going 33-for-34 in save chances in an All-Star season and David Robertson (3.00) making solid contributions. Now, their three most trusted high-leverage options — Yates, Robertson and Jose Leclerc, who had 41 saves over his eight seasons with the club — are all free agents. A return could be in the cards for any of them, but the back end of the bullpen should be the top offseason priority, whether through free agency or the trade market, where maybe Devin Williams or Ryan Helsley could be had for the right package.  

2. Starting pitching: The rotation is taking hits, too, with Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney and Max Scherzer all reaching free agency. Eovaldi would be the biggest loss, and the Rangers could still look to keep him after he declined his $20 million vesting player option. The current rotation of Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, Jon Gray, Cody Bradford and rookies Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker brings both upside and volatility, especially considering the injury history here, so the Rangers should look to add some stability. Someone from the second tier of starting pitchers on the market — Eovaldi, Yusei Kikuchi, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino — could make sense, or maybe they could swing a deal for a Sonny Gray or a Garrett Crochet. 

3. Catcher: Jonah Heim was among the plethora of Rangers championship contributors who regressed in 2024. An All-Star and Gold Glover a year ago, he produced the lowest wRC+ of any catcher with at least 400 plate appearances this season and took a step back defensively. With backup Carson Kelly hitting free agency, the Rangers might need to add some help behind the plate. The upside is limited on the open market, but Kelly, Kyle Higashioka, Danny Jansen, Gary Sanchez and Yasmani Grandal are among the options. Given MItch Garver’s struggles this year in Seattle, could the Mariners be open to dealing the 2023 Rangers standout back to a division rival?

SEATTLE MARINERS 

1. Third base: The Mariners are expected to operate at a higher budget than their $145 million 2024 payroll. Exactly how much further they’re willing to run the account will determine how much more pop they can really add to the lineup. Could their latest disappointment break them from tradition and get them involved in the Alex Bregman or Willy Adames sweepstakes? I wouldn’t count on it, but that’s the kind of injection this offense probably needs. They could also look to the trade market, where the Phillies’ Alec Bohm would be a strong fit for a Seattle team that tried and failed to cut its strikeout rate in 2024. 

2. Second base: The Jorge Polanco deal didn’t work out. He’s now a free agent, and the Mariners have to be seen as a potential destination for Gleyber Torres after his mercurial stint in New York. They might be able to live with his defensive lapses if he can jumpstart the offense. If they don’t want to take that chance, they could get better defense with a lower offensive ceiling in Ha-Seong Kim, whose ability to move around the diamond might make him an attractive piece for a Seattle team that needs a lot of infield help. On the trade market, this might be an interesting spot for Brandon Lowe. If they don’t swing a move, prospect Cole Young could find himself in the equation sooner than later. 

3. First base: The Mariners need to add some pop somewhere, and there are plenty of paths they could take at first base. They could bring back Justin Turner, who had a 128 OPS+ in 48 games while platooning late in the year with Luke Raley, attempt to revive Paul Goldschmidt or swing higher for Christian Walker or Pete Alonso. The trade market might offer another path, as Seattle’s excess of starting pitching could be enough to entice Cleveland to move Josh Naylor, Tampa Bay to trade Yandy Díaz or Boston to deal Triston Casas. If the Mariners stand pat here, prospect Tyler Locklear would likely get a long look at the spot. 

ATHLETICS 

1. Third base: What’s it like to have to recruit a player to Sacramento? The A’s are about to find out the type of challenge that might present as they look for options at third base, where 10 different players logged at least some action at the spot in 2024. Darell Hernaiz and Brett Harris could be part of the mix, and prospect Max Muncy logged time at the hot corner in Triple-A, but the answer might come from outside the organization. This might be another logical landing spot for Ha-Seong Kim, but if they make Brent Rooker available, that could open doors for a difference-making player on the trade front, too. 

2. Starting pitching: Will flamethrowing closer Mason Miller shift back to a starting role? That’s a question the A’s will need to answer. Regardless, after seeing progress in 2024, they’ll need some more experience in the rotation. I’d expect them to add a veteran pitcher to the starting group to help guide the path forward for the novice group. Maybe a reunion with Frankie Montas could be in the cards, but there’s no shortage of lower-cost options (Jose Quintana? Andrew Heaney? Martin Perez?) to fill out the rotation.

3. Relief pitching: The A’s could use help across the pitching staff, but the need will become especially glaring in the bullpen if Miller makes the shift to the rotation, especially with Lucas Erceg now in Kansas City. Another experienced arm at the back end would make a lot of sense. 

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

1. Starting pitching: The rotation could use someone with more swing-and-miss stuff. The addition of Kyle Hendricks doesn’t change that. Prospects Caden Dana, George Klassen or Sam Aldeghiri could provide a boost, but it would make sense if someone like reigning champion and L.A. native Jack Flaherty or another free agent such as Yusei Kikuchi, Sean Manaea, Nick Pivetta, Nathan Eovaldi or Shane Bieber end up with the Angels, who have been active early in free agency. 

2. A proven infielder: The most logical move would be to add a third baseman, considering Anthony Rendon has played an average of 51 games per season during his Angels tenure and had a career-worst .574 OPS (and 66 OPS+) in 2024. But Luis Rengifo could shift over there if the Angels can swing a move at second base, which is also a question mark next season. Prospect Christian Moore may be ready to help there soon, but they could use another proven bat and more depth in the infield regardless. Ha-Seong Kim or Gleyber Torres could be fits if the Angels aren’t willing to dabble in the Alex Bregman or Willy Adames sweepstakes. 

3. Center field: If the Angels want to give Mike Trout more time at a corner spot or at DH to keep him healthy, they need a better option in center. There aren’t many on the open market, however. Do they have the prospect capital to swing a trade for Luis Robert Jr. or Cody Bellinger? If not, someone like Harrison Bader could make sense. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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The latest pitching sensation out of Japan appears bound for Major League Baseball in 2025. 

The Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they have decided to begin the process of posting star pitcher Roki Sasaki, clearing the path for the hard-throwing 23-year-old to transfer from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB. Sasaki will be subject to international amateur free-agent restrictions, making him available for all 30 teams to sign at a much more modest cost than he would go for on the open market. 

Players who are posted under the age of 25 can only sign a minor-league deal from an MLB club’s international bonus pool money. Think more Shohei Ohtani, who was under the same limitations when he signed with the Angels for a paltry $2.3 million in December 2017, than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was 25 when he signed with the Dodgers for a record $325 million last offseason. 

While Yamamoto was the more decorated and durable pitcher in NPB, Sasaki is younger, bigger and throws harder. The flamethrower has been on the international radar dating back to his high school days and gained further acclaim in April 2022, when he threw a 19-strikeout perfect game for the Marines at just 20 years old. 

RELATED: 2025 MLB free-agent rankings, team fits: Where does Roki Sasaki slot in?

Sasaki can light up a radar gun. His fastball has clocked in over 102 mph in Japan and touched 101.9 at the World Baseball Classic, where he sat 100.5 mph and got a bevy of whiffs with his devastating splitter. He was teammates with Yamamoto and Ohtani when Samurai Japan won that 2023 tournament, and there is heavy speculation that he’ll team up with them again next year in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are among the clubs who have expressed interest in Sasaki for years. 

But unlike the pursuit for Yamamoto, every team will be in the mix to acquire Sasaki, given the restrictions capping his earnings. 

Orix received more than $50 million from Yamamoto’s posting fee last year. Chiba Lotte would likely have seen a similar return had the Marines waited another two years until Sasaki was 25. NPB teams control their players’ rights for nine seasons, after which they become free agents and are no longer subject to posting fees. 

But Sasaki has long expressed his desire to pitch in the majors, and while that request wasn’t granted last year, his Japanese club now appears willing to satisfy its young star’s wishes, as it stated Saturday in a statement on X. 

After throwing his perfect game two years ago, Sasaki followed that pristine performance with eight perfect innings. He finished 2022 with 173 strikeouts in 129.1 innings, then registered an even higher strikeout rate a year later, fanning 135 batters in 91 innings. 

Over his four years in NPB, Sasaki tallied a 5.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio — more than a full strikeout higher than Yamamoto, whose 4.48 mark was still good enough to make him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history. That stat demonstrates Sasaki’s ceiling. His durability presents the red flag. 

While Yamamoto routinely crossed the 170-inning mark in Japan, Sasaki has never thrown even 130 innings in a season. Arm issues this year limited him to 111 innings and likely contributed to slightly diminished velocity and overall stuff. He was still plenty productive, but his 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 4.03 K/BB all represented dips from the dazzling 1.78 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 7.94 K/BB he posted the season prior. 

Still, he is one of the most intriguing arms available this winter. All 30 clubs will have 45 days to negotiate with Sasaki after he is posted. Once he signs, he is subject to the same rules and team control as any other rookie player. 

It is not yet clear if Sasaki will be posted before the 2024 signing period ends on Dec. 15 or when the 2025 signing period begins on Jan. 15. Whenever he does, he will slot in alongside Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Max Fried as one of the most desired pitchers on the market. 

And unlike those other aces, he won’t break the bank. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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Juan Soto was going to get a hefty payday, regardless. But surely his uptick in production this season in the Bronx will raise the already exorbitant cost for prospective buyers to secure his services. 

For other players in this year’s free-agent class, a surprise breakout or resurgent year came at just the right time.

Below we rank the 11 players who increased their market value the most with their 2024 production, including reasons to be both excited (green light) and skeptical (red light) about their future output. 

1. Juan Soto, OF 

2023: 5.5 bWAR/6.0 fWAR 
2024: 7.9 bWAR/8.1 fWAR

Green Light: It might feel strange to see him on this list. After all, he was already going to command more money than any free agent this offseason. But putting together the most productive offensive season of his career, and doing it in his first (lone?) season for the Yankees, added many, many millions to the total sum he is about to command. He always had an unrivaled eye at the plate, but his 41 homers and .569 slugging percentage both marked career highs for a full season (he had a ridiculous .351/.490/.695 slash line during the shortened 2020 season). He also hit the ball harder than ever before. By WAR, this was the most valuable season of his career. And, after turning 26 in October, he should just now be entering his prime.

RELATED: Juan Soto sweepstakes: Is he the Yankees’ to lose? Analyzing 9 potential suitors

Red Light: If we had to nitpick, it’d be defensively. It was a bit of a farce that Soto was a Gold Glove finalist, and the older he gets, the worse he’ll probably look out there defensively. But, c’mon, it’s Juan Soto. You can live with it. 

2. Jurickson Profar, OF 

2023 (COL/SD): 0.4 bWAR/-1.6 fWAR
2024 (SD): 3.6 bWAR/4.3 fWAR

Green Light: No one on this list had a more dramatic turnaround in a contract year than Profar, who finished a breakout season setting career highs in every slash line category as well as hits, homers, runs, RBIs and games played. The only qualified National League player with a higher on-base percentage than Profar was Shohei Ohtani. He had the fourth-highest year-over year jump in OBP and the sixth-highest year-over-year jump in slugging percentage in the majors. Coming off a season in which he hit nearly 20% below league average, he suddenly started chasing and whiffing less and hitting the ball significantly harder than ever before. He transformed himself into an All-Star, a decade after everyone expected. As surprising as the breakout was, everything under the hood suggested it wasn’t luck. 

Red Light: The former top prospect never did anything like this in his first 10 big-league seasons. This career year came at 31 years old, in his second stop in San Diego after starting the previous year in Colorado and spending time in Texas and Oakland. With a revival that seemingly came out of nowhere, I’m not sure how any team can know with any certainty what to expect going forward. One thing is clear: Wherever he signs next, it won’t be for $1 million again. 

3. Luis Severino, RHP 

2023: -1.5 bWAR/-0.5 fWAR
2024: 1.6 bWAR/2.1 fWAR

Green Light: Another player who took advantage of a one-year deal, a clean bill of health and an updated repertoire had Severino finding his form again. In his first year making more than 20 starts since his 2018 All-Star season, the right-hander logged 31 outings with the Mets and cut his home run rate in half from where it was the previous year with the Yankees. The addition of a sweeper, which got 60 strikeouts, was particularly useful. While he’s no longer the guy sitting close to 98 mph with a strikeout rate hovering near 30% the way he was as an All-Star in his mid-20s, he demonstrated he can still be plenty effective sitting in the mid-90s. At 31, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue to produce. 

Red Light: A year ago in the Bronx, Severino was 4-8 with a 6.65 ERA. By WAR, that made him a bottom-10 pitcher in baseball. The 2024 season represented a considerable leap forward, though he still isn’t missing bats the way he once did. 

4. Jack Flaherty, RHP 

2023: 0.8 bWAR/1.8 fWAR
2024: 3.1 bWAR/3.2 fWAR

Green Light: In a healthy, resurgent 2024 season, Flaherty ditched his cutter, saw a slight uptick in velocity on his four-seamer, got more swings and misses on the pitch and looked like a completely different guy from where he was last year in St. Louis and (especially) Baltimore. He posted the highest chase rate of his career and a significantly elevated whiff rate. While he wasn’t as good in the second half in Los Angeles as he was in the first half in Detroit, his presence in the rotation was crucial in helping the Dodgers win a championship. Even if he’s more of a middle-of-the-rotation arm, he will be an enticing piece at 29. 

RELATED: 2025 MLB free-agent rankings, team fits: Juan Soto leads top 30

Red Light: His velocity dipped down the stretch of the season, which he attributed to timing issues, then his production fluctuated with every October start, providing fodder for both believers and skeptics. When he saw a playoff opponent for the first time on extra rest, he usually dominated. When he saw that team for a second time on regular rest, he got torched. His injury history could also cause some trepidation. 

5. Sean Manaea, LHP 

2023: 0.3 bWAR/1.2 fWAR
2024: 3.0 bWAR/2.8 fWAR

Green Light: Any way you slice it, this was one of the best seasons of Manaea’s career. Take just the second half, after he made the switch to lower his arm slot à la Chris Sale, and his production was unlike anything he had ever done before. Manaea looked like an ace in his final 12 regular-season starts after making the change (10-2, 3.09 ERA, .538 opponents’ OPS) and was clearly the Mets’ top option in October. 

Red Light: At 33, how much will teams trust his finish over his eight previous seasons, especially as teams get to adjust? It’s worth pointing out he had an extremely low BABIP after making the switch, which might be unsustainable. Still, even if it doesn’t continue to the same degree, his consistent production after the arm slot change can’t be ignored. 

6. Teoscar Hernández, OF 

2023: 2.1 bWAR/1.9 fWAR
2024: 4.3 bWAR/3.5 fWAR

Green Light: Hernández didn’t get the offers he was hoping for last winter after a down year in Seattle. So he bet on himself, taking a one-year deal in Los Angeles in the hopes of playing for a winning team and resetting his market. Check, and check. In an All-Star season, Hernández popped a career-high 33 homers, won the Home Run Derby, then won a World Series as a vital cog in the Dodgers’ lineup. He has expressed a desire to return to Los Angeles, but wherever he goes, he can be confident he’ll be getting more than one year this time around. 

Red Light: Swing and miss is part of his game, and he doesn’t offer a ton of value defensively. While he should get more multi-year offers, it might not be a particularly long deal for the 31 years old. 

7. Willy Adames, SS 

2023: 3.0 bWAR/3.3 fWAR
2024: 3.1 bWAR/4.8 fWAR

Green Light: Adames, who just turned 29, is about to get paid. The only reason he’s low on this list is because his value was already so well-established, but his offensive jump shouldn’t be overlooked. Adames set career highs in hits, homers, doubles, RBIs and stolen bases. If he were part of the free-agent class two years ago, he might get lost in the shuffle. This year, though, he’s far and away the best shortstop on the market. His 112 RBIs ranked fourth in the majors, and he was one of six players to log at least 30 homers, 30 doubles and 20 steals. 

Red Light: A high whiff rate has contributed to a fluctuating batting average and on-base percentage the past few years, but his combination of defense and power have made him a top-10 shortstop over the past five years. 

8. Yusei KIkuchi, LHP 

2023: 0.1 bWAR/2.4 fWAR
2024: 1.4 bWAR/3.5 fWAR 

Green Light: Kikuchi made a tweak to his pitch usage after getting traded to Houston and became everything the Astros could’ve imagined. Upping his slider usage considerably, he posted the highest strikeout rate of his career down the stretch while lowering his ERA from 4.75 in 22 starts with the Blue Jays to 2.70 in 10 starts with the Astros. He finished the year with the eighth-best strikeout rate and 11th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio among all qualified MLB starters. 

Red Light: He will turn 34 in June, and while his stuff misses a lot of bats, he also tends to give up a lot of hard contact. Will his next team get the version that looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball in the season’s second half or the one with a career 4.57 ERA? 

9. Nick Martinez, RHP 

2023: 1.5 bWAR/1.4 fWAR:
2024: 4.0 bWAR/3.5 fWAR:  

Green Light: There’s a reason the Reds gave him the qualifying offer. Martinez is coming off the best season of his big-league career, one that featured better command than he had ever demonstrated before (his 3.2% walk rate was the best mark of his career and trailed only George Kirby and Bryan Woo for the lowest mark among pitchers with at least 100 innings). He excelled as both a starter and reliever. Utilizing everything in his six-pitch arsenal — including an elite changeup that’s responsible for most of his swing and miss — Martinez continues to get hitters to chase and has now posted an ERA under 3.50 in each of his three big-league seasons since resurrecting his career in Japan. 

Red Light: He turned 34 in August, and it wasn’t until then that the Reds made him a permanent fixture in the rotation. His swingman abilities, however, should allow him to fit in well wherever he goes. It’s fair to question whether he can maintain the control he demonstrated in 2024, but his vast arsenal should allow him to continue keeping hitters off balance and limit hard contact even as his velocity dips. 

10. Tyler O’Neill, OF 

2023: 0.3 bWAR/0.6 fWAR
2024: 2.6 bWAR/2.5 fWAR 

Green Light: It was only three years ago that O’Neill finished eighth in MVP voting, and this year provided a reminder of what’s still in the tank when his body is cooperating. He hit 32% better than league average while zapping the power back into his bat. After slugging .392 in 2022 and .403 in 2023 in St. Louis, a healthier first season in Boston yielded a .511 slugging percentage. He finished the year with 31 homers, the highest walk rate of his career and 113 games played — his most since his breakout 2021 season. 

Red Light: He is a bit of a baseball conundrum. One of the game’s most volatile talents, his career-best walk rate also came with an abysmal 33.6% strikeout rate. He can look like a top 10 offensive force one month and replacement level the next. He is no longer the Gold Glove outfielder he was a few years ago, but he’s only 29 and his power is still prodigious when he’s right. Can he stay healthy long enough to tap into it consistently? 

11. Joc Pederson, DH 

2023: 0.6 bWAR/0.7 fWAR
2024: 2.9 bWAR/3.0 fWAR

Green Light: On a rate basis, Pederson quietly put together the best offensive season of his 11-year career. It was really similar to his 2022 All-Star season in San Francisco, except he reached base more often and punished offspeed pitches more regularly. It was also a massive step forward from his 2023 season. Pederson finished the year with the fourth-highest year-over-year jump in slugging percentage among all qualified batters. He was one of just 10 hitters to post an OPS over .900 in at least 400 plate appearances. 

Red Light: His outfield days are probably behind him, and he doesn’t hit lefties. That will limit his suitors, but he demonstrated he can still be a massive offensive boost to a team in need of help against right-handed pitching with a DH spot open. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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Baseball is just a game. Except on Friday afternoon at Chavez Ravine, 42,458 fans didn’t flock to Dodger Stadium to watch one. 

They arrived with their kids, their friends, their parents and grandparents, many of whom once watched Fernando Valenzuela electrify a city and ignite a movement, for a party both four and 36 years in the making. 

When the Dodgers won it all in 2020, the only fans their stadium welcomed came in the form of cardboard cutouts. The real ones were watching from their homes, confined by the limitations of a pandemic that forced the postseason to be played in a Texas bubble and denied the winners the parade they had always imagined.

Despite all the winning the Dodgers had done over the last few decades, including 11 straight trips to the postseason before this year, they hadn’t celebrated a full-season World Series championship since 1988. 

On Friday afternoon, on what would have been Valenzuela’s 64th birthday, a city erupted and a long-awaited parade began. 

“It certainly made up for 2020,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously there’s a lot of players in 2020 that didn’t get to appreciate and experience what we experienced, but this is for them, too.”

The Dodgers returned home from New York, where they had silenced the critics and naysayers who tried to claim the only championship they’d won in the last 30 years, a 60-game sprint, somehow didn’t count the same. They demonstrated they could win in an unprecedented sprint. This year, they displayed they could emerge from a rigorous marathon, too. 

Baseball is just a game, but the tears that welled up in the eyes of Dodgers players when they finally got their parade suggested more. 

The lengthy build-up to the occasion, Clayton Kershaw explained, might have made it “even sweeter.”

“I waited a long time for this,” Kershaw said. “I’m just so thankful to every single fan that came out, so thankful at how well they’ve treated me and my family for all these years. I mean, we’ve been through it. We’ve been through some stuff. To be able to see them as happy as they were, be able to celebrate with us, it means the world to me. It really does.”

Angelenos flooded the streets to mark the occasion, including hundreds of thousands on the Dodgers’ parade route, which started at City Hall, took the team through downtown Los Angeles and eventually ended at the place where they won 52 regular-season games this year, then clinched the NLDS and NLCS. 

Roberts began October on the hot seat after a couple early playoff exits. He began November on a ceremony stage at Dodger Stadium, where he danced alongside Ice Cube, having expertly orchestrated his team to a championship.

“Today,” Roberts said, “was a good day.” 

The way the Dodgers expressed their jubilation varied, as one by one some of the most prominent figures took the microphone. 

Some, including Shohei Ohtani, spoke in their second language. The prized free-agent acquisition, after six years without a winning season to begin his career in Anaheim, addressed the crowd in English to express his appreciation after winning a World Series in year one with the Dodgers. 

“This is so special,” he said. “I’m so honored to be here and be part of this team. Congratulations, Los Angeles. Thank you guys.”

Many kept it brief: “We’re world f—ing champions, motherf—er,” Walker Buehler said, two days after throwing the final pitch at Yankee Stadium. 

Levity was a popular form of expression, including from another player who furthered his October legend. 

“Ice Cube came out in Game 2, and with his performance we didn’t even need to play the game, we had already won it,” Kiké Hernández said. “Then we go to New York, and this guy, he used to be fat, he’s not fat anymore, his name is Joe. He came out and sang, and guess what, we didn’t even need to play because after that performance, we had already won.” 

Mookie Betts, meanwhile, pointed to his hand.

The addition of Betts sparked the Dodgers’ last championship season, but he had struggled through the past couple Octobers before breaking out again this postseason, slashing .290/.387/.565 with four homers and becoming the only active position player in the majors with three World Series rings. 

“I’m trying to fill this hand up, LA,” said Betts, who signed a 12-year contract extension during the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series run.

Baseball is just a game, but for many Dodgers veterans, it also led to a cathartic release. 

There was Freddie Freeman, who had battled not only ankle, finger and rib injuries but also personal distress throughout the season’s second half. His 3-year-old son, Max, persevered through a sudden, scary autoimmune illness that at one point rendered him temporarily unable to walk. When Freeman returned from the emergency family list in early August after Max began to improve, the Dodger Stadium crowd gave him a standing ovation that stuck with him as cheers rained down again Friday. 

“You guys showed out for my family and I,’ Freeman said. “That was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had on the field. I was so touched. I did everything I could to get out on this field for you guys. And I’m glad I did.”

There was Teoscar Hernández, who joined the Dodgers on a one-year deal after his market didn’t materialize the way he expected last winter. He decided to go to Los Angeles for the chance to win, then provided a vital jolt to the Dodger lineup in a bounceback year. Hernández, who quickly became a quick fan favorite, as the cheers indicated Friday, got choked up as he grabbed the microphone and thanked the crowd. 

The impending free agent also expressed hope to return next year as a Dodger, calling it “the priority.” 

“I knew it was going to be good,” Teoscar Hernández said. “I knew a lot of things were about to happen in a good way, but this is way more than I expected.”

And then there was Kershaw, the embodiment of the franchise’s colossal highs and gut-wrenching lows of the past two decades.

“I didn’t have anything to do with this championship, but it feels like the best feeling in the world,” Kershaw said to a cheering crowd. “Dodger for life.”

The future Hall of Famer was unable to contribute down the stretch of the 2024 season after trying and failing to push multiple injuries. He will need two surgeries on Wednesday, one to address the left big toe and foot issues that forced him out for the year and another to fix the meniscus in his left knee. 

That’s part of why it was so meaningful to him that Roberts and Kershaw’s teammates still beckoned him to the stage to say a few words in front of a fanbase that has lived and died with each pitch, with each grueling defeat and euphoric win, the same way he has for 17 years. 

Next year, Kershaw plans to make it an 18th in a Dodger jersey, whether he picks up his player option or not. 

The 2020 season championship brought him relief. This one induced only tears of happiness. 

“Baseball is just a game, everybody says that,” Kershaw said. “But I don’t know, man. You look around and you see how much it means to so many different people. I think it might be baseball, but it means a lot to a lot of different people, and I’m no different.” 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner. 

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