Category: Baseball

DODGER STADIUM (Los Angeles, CA) — Nearly 2,800 miles away from Queens, the sound of trumpets will soon fill Dodger Stadium. 

Entering this winter, adding the best closer on the market didn’t seem like the most realistic avenue for the Dodgers to address their most glaring area of need. They knew they needed to add to the bullpen, but they sought shorter-term deals, particularly after the first year of Tanner Scott’s four-year, $72 million deal went awry. 

Edwin Diaz, one of the best closers in the sport over the past decade, figured to command at least four or five years entering his age-32 season after opting out of the final two years of a record five-year, $102 million contract with the Mets. Plus, most in the industry expected Díaz to return to the Mets, one of the few teams capable of operating in the same financial hemisphere as the reigning champions. 

And yet…

“You don’t know how things are going to play out and what ultimately is reported versus what the player is comfortable with and where he wants to be,” said Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes. “You don’t always know. It’s why you put in the work along the way.”

So the Dodgers did, checking in on the reigning National League Reliever of the Year as the closer market was thinning. The Mets had already signed Devin Williams. Ryan Helsley went to the Orioles. Raisel Iglesias returned to the Braves. The Dodgers expressed to Díaz’s representation how much they valued him. 

“It was more like, ‘Hey, we’re here if something makes sense, and we’d love to have you join our group,’” Gomes recalled. 

As it turned out, there was mutual interest. 

“That’s why you shouldn’t play the game of assumptions and just do the due diligence on the front end, and sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t,” Gomes told me. “But having those conversations and making sure you’re doing the work that’s needed to really understand the situation is important, especially when you see situations like this play out.”

Over the last week, discussions between the Dodgers and Díaz intensified. Los Angeles offered three years and $69 million. It wasn’t the length of contract many expected Diaz to receive, but it was the highest average annual salary ever given to a reliever. 

And it was enough for Diaz to make the surprising choice to leave the Mets, where he had spent the last seven years. 

“It wasn’t easy,” Díaz said at his introductory press conference Friday. “They treat me really good. They treat me great. I chose the Dodgers because they’re a winning organization. I’m looking to win. I think they have everything to win, so picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.” 

It didn’t hurt that the Dodgers had a couple voices in their corner. 

Kiké Hernandez, a fellow native of Puerto Rico, and Díaz’s brother, Alexis, both vouched for the organization before the three-time All-Star closer made his decision. 

“I heard great things about this clubhouse,” Díaz said. “My brother played here, he told me great things about the Dodger clubhouse. They treat every single player the same. That’s something really nice. I know they have a lot of great players, future Hall of Famers here. I heard they treat the young guys like they’re the same guys.”

Díaz believes that aspect is crucial to a winning clubhouse, and it worked in favor of the Dodgers, who now have their most elite ninth-inning option since Kenley Jansen departed four years ago. 

Jansen recorded 38 saves in his final season with the Dodgers in 2021 and saved at least 30 games in each of his final seven full seasons in Los Angeles. The Dodgers, despite winning 111 games in 2022, 100 games in 2023, 98 games in 2024 and 93 games in 2025, have not had a closer with even 25 saves since Jansen’s departure. 

Last season, Scott led the club with 23 saves, but he had a 4.74 ERA and was ultimately a non-factor in October. 

There will be no closer by committee in 2026. 

“We have a high bar,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “To name someone the closer, you have to be one of the best.”

Díaz, who’s coming off an All-Star 2025 season in which he led all qualified NL relievers with a 1.63 ERA and ranked second among all MLB relievers in strikeout rate, fits the bill. 

He won’t be taking his usual No. 39 to Los Angeles — that number is retired for Roy Campanella — and is instead switching to No. 3 in honor of his three kids. 

But he will be taking one of the most electric walk-out songs in the game. 

Díaz said he can’t wait for Timmy Trumpet to get a new crowd going as he enters in the ninth. 

“Now, we are in a new family,” Díaz said. “We’re with the Dodgers. I came here to win.”

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 X at @RowanKavner.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions and just shored up a loose end, signing former New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million deal. So, in theory, maybe the Dodgers don’t need to sign anybody else.

But this is what Dodgers president Andrew Friedman gets paid to do: improve the roster by any means necessary.

Here are three free agents the Dodgers should still pursue after securing Díaz.

2025 stats: 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 59 strikeouts, 27 saves, 145 ERA+, 1.2 wins above replacement (60.1 innings pitched)

Díaz gives the Dodgers their new closer, but their bullpen still needs to add depth pieces capable of pitching in the ninth inning. Enter the 6-foot-6 Fairbanks. 

The towering right-hander has been among MLB’s best right-handed relievers over the past six years. Fairbanks, who leans on his four-seamer and slider, traditionally logs strikeouts at a high clip and has been the Tampa Bay Rays‘ primary closer of late, but he has also thrived in a setup role. Fairbanks evades damage, is a proven commodity and would give manager Dave Roberts another pitcher with the ability to close should Díaz struggle.

What’s more, a bounce-back season from Tanner Scott – who led MLB with 10 blown saves in 2025 after signing a four-year, $72 million deal – would give Los Angeles a lethal back end of the bullpen. Mind you, this was a unit that was tied for 20th in MLB in both ERA (4.27) and WHIP (1.33) in the regular season and was assisted in the postseason by rookie starter Roki Sasaki moving to the bullpen.

Signing Fairbanks would put a turbulent 2025 campaign for the Dodgers’ bullpen in the rearview window.

2025 stats: 4.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 116 strikeouts, 103 ERA+, 2.3 WAR (165.2 innings pitched)

Martinez would be a slick addition to the Dodgers’ pitching staff.

The veteran right-hander, who pitched in Japan from 2018-21 after four seasons with the Texas Rangers (2014-17), has experience pitching as both a starter and reliever in MLB. Last season, Martinez was primarily a starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, but he was moved to the bullpen on a full-time basis late in the season and excelled, recording a 2.35 ERA over his last 11 appearances (15.1 innings pitched); of his 40 overall appearances, 26 of them came as a reliever.

Martinez is just one season removed from posting a career-best 3.10 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and four wins above replacement in 2024. By the way, he consistently throws six pitches: cutter, four-seamer, changeup, sinker, curveball and slider. 

Martinez can begin the 2026 season out of the Dodgers’ bullpen as a long reliever, and when injuries present themselves in the starting rotation (Sasaki, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow were among those who missed time due to injury in 2025), he can take an injured starter’s spot. What team wouldn’t want that type of versatility?

2025 Stats: 17 home runs, 54 RBIs, 3.9 wins above replacement, .277/.347/.449 slash line (448 at-bats)

“Darth Bader” would be an impactful reinforcement for the Dodgers’ positional depth chart.

With Michael Conforto a free agent, Bader would fill the roster void that the former’s potential departure creates. As for what Bader brings to the table, he’s as clean as any player in the sport in the outfield grass. He covers a lot of ground, seldom commits errors and is a vacuum in center field. With the bat, Bader has a crisp swing from the right side, and he’s coming off hitting a career-high 17 home runs in 2025.

Last season was the first time that Bader, a primary center fielder, got extensive playing time at the corner outfield spots since 2018, making 57 starts in left field and five starts in right. Teoscar Hernandez is likely still in right field next season, but while Andy Pages has primarily played center field, he has also started a considerable number of games at both corner outfield positions. 

Bader could start in either center or left to open the season and, at the bare minimum, improve the Dodgers’ outfield defense by adding another credible player to the mix. On the versatility front, Hernandez is just one year removed from being the Dodgers’ starting left fielder and Tommy Edman occasionally bounces out to center field.

Of all these options, Bader and the Dodgers are a great match.

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The Braves already brought back closer Raisel Iglesias this winter. Now, they’ll pair him with the reigning National League saves leader. 

Robert Suarez will be leaving San Diego, where he was an All-Star twice in four big-league seasons, for Atlanta after agreeing to a three-year, $45 million deal with a Braves team attempting to rebound from a fourth-place finish in 2025. 

Suarez led the NL with 40 saves last season and had a major league-leading 76 saves over the last two years with the Padres, though it sounds like he will serve in a setup role in front of Iglesias in 2026. Iglesias returned on a one-year deal, so it’s possible Suarez transitions to the closer role for the final two years of his deal. 

In a disaster 2025 season, the bullpen was among the litany of problems for the Braves. Their relievers ranked 19th in both ERA and strikeouts in MLB. Now, they’ll have one of the most talented late-innings duos in the sport. Suarez brings the heat. His four-seamer averaged 98.6 mph, and opponents hit .155 with 52 strikeouts against the pitch in 2025. 

It’s the latest chapter in an incredible rise for Suarez, who didn’t make his MLB debut until his age 31 season in San Diego in 2022 after spending the majority of his professional career playing in Mexico and Japan. He’s in his mid-30s now — he will turn 35 in March — and he logged the highest hard-hit rate of his career in 2025, but he also produced his highest strikeout rate in three years. 

What’s Next For the Closer Market

While it took a while for the top of the position player market to heat up, relievers have flown off the board early in free agency. 

Suarez’s market picked up steam after Edwin Diaz joined the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million deal earlier this week. Now, with Díaz, Suarez, Iglesias, Devin Williams (Mets) and Ryan Helsley (Orioles) all off the board, the top of the relief market is mostly tapped out. 

Expect Pete Fairbanks, Luke Weaver and Brad Keller to draw plenty of interest. Kenley Jansen and Seranthony Dominguez are among the other top relievers also available. The Blue Jays, Mets, Yankees, Rangers and Diamondbacks are among the many contenders who could still use bullpen help. 

What’s Next For the Braves

In November, the Braves declined options on Pierce Johnson, who had a 3.05 ERA and threw the third-most relief innings on their team last year, and Tyler Kinley, who was 5-0 with a 0.72 ERA.

A month later, that bullpen suddenly looks a lot more formidable. 

Atlanta has been busy since the end of the winter meetings. The addition of Mike Yastrzemski bolsters an outfield that already included Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II and Jurickson Profar. Now with Suarez signed, the Braves’ attention should turn to the rotation, which could use another reliable arm after the club’s litany of health issues on the pitching staff in 2025. But after a year in which seemingly everything went wrong in Atlanta, it’s becoming increasingly easier to envision a return to prominence if the Braves can get a couple bounceback seasons. 

What’s Next For the Padres

Suarez is going to Atlanta, Dylan Cease is a Blue Jay, Michael King is a free agent and Yu Darvish is set to miss the 2026 season after elbow surgery. Nick Pivetta is set to lead the rotation coming off his most productive big-league season, but the Padres have a lot of work ahead to remake the pitching staff even with Joe Musgrove returning from Tommy John surgery.

They’re leaning toward keeping Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon in the bullpen, so the relief unit should remain among the best in baseball even after Suarez’s departure. But that only furthers the need for more starting pitching. 

How the Padres attempt to add there will be interesting. There should be at least some financial space to work with after all the free-agent departures, but with ownership exploring a potential sale, most of A.J. Preller’s work improving the roster might have to come via trade. Exploring that market is typically not a problem for him, though the Padres’ farm system has been depleted by acquisitions in recent years. That could necessitate a trade of a player off the big-league roster to bring in multiple pieces. 

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 X at @RowanKavner.

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In breaking up the Mets core, team president of baseball operations David Stearns and team owner Steve Cohen invited the heat. 

Over the course of these next two months until spring training, there will be a megawatt spotlight pointed directly on Mets leadership to replace the players that left New York with enhanced, proven competitors capable of taking the team to the World Series. 

Otherwise, what was the point?

The new Mets – whomever they will be – cannot miss the playoffs like they did this past season. They will try to avoid that disaster without one of the game’s best sluggers, after longtime first baseman Pete Alonso signed a five-year contract worth $155 million with the Orioles on Wednesday. 

They will try to deliver wins without Edwin Diaz, arguably the best closer in baseball, after he chose to fly west to pitch for the defending-champion Dodgers for only $3 million more than what the Mets were offering him. 

They will try to adjust to new leadership in the clubhouse without Brandon Nimmo, regarded as a co-captain alongside Francisco Lindor, after the outfielder was asked to waive his no-trade clause and, as such, departed for Texas.

The amount of turnover, both on the Mets roster and coaching staff, has been dizzying. It’s the response to a baffling 83-win season from a Mets team with a $340 million payroll that was supposed to be good enough to beat the Dodgers, if not enjoy another deep playoff run after the success of 2024’s trip to the NLCS.

At the end of the 2025 season, Cohen apologized to Mets fans. The Mets owner said the “result was unacceptable,” and promised that the organization would do better. Since then, Cohen, the richest individual owner in professional sports, has watched three long-tenured and popular players leave the organization, with two of them departing for more money than he put on the table. He’s seen the outpouring of frustration and sadness from the same fans he said he’d serve better. So how will he respond now? 

The Mets had the second-highest payroll in MLB in 2025 and, to public knowledge, Cohen hasn’t bungled away his estimated $23 billion net worth in that time. His ambitions to build the Mets into a champion as soon as possible haven’t changed either. So the money has to go somewhere, and most of the top-tier free agents are still available for the taking. 

Revamping the roster will be a challenge, but it is doable. It will take spending oodles of money on marquee players, executing blockbuster deals, and maybe even engaging in an improbable trade for the American League’s back-to-back Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal.

That’s how high the Mets have set the bar for themselves after being indifferent about losing three valuable players in Alonso, Díaz, and Nimmo, and after Stearns expressed optimism about the direction of the Mets offseason. He and Cohen know they have to respond to such drastic measures with equally robust improvements. 

How will the Mets give their fans something to cheer about this winter? It starts with becoming better on-paper, and the best way to proceed might be by spreading their resources. A year ago, at this time, the Yankees pivoted from superstar Juan Soto’s decision to sign with the Mets by aggressively retooling. They signed Max Fried to the largest contract ever issued to a left-handed pitcher. They upgraded their bullpen and lineup by trading for Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger. After all of that, they didn’t miss a step. The Yankees recorded identical records (94-68) with and without Soto in the 2024 and ’25 regular seasons.

Will the Mets follow a similar blueprint after their own stars walked away? This past season, the Mets finished fifth in the major leagues in home runs, and in addition to Soto’s team-leading 43 homers, Alonso’s principal skillset was a major component of the team’s production; he hit 38 jacks en route to becoming the all-time franchise home-run leader this year. How do the Mets replace Alonso’s dingers? 

Kyle Schwarber, whom they were interested in signing, is off the board after re-signing with the Phillies. The next best free-agent slugging option is third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who crushed 49 home runs and recorded 118 RBI (fourth-most in MLB) playing for the Diamondbacks and Mariners in 2025. Suarez, entering his age-34 season, would also line up with the Mets’ preference for shorter-term deals. If Suarez plays the hot corner, where does that push Brett Baty, with Marcus Semien occupying second base? 

That’s not all. There are holes everywhere. First base. Left field. Center field. The bullpen. Most crucially, starting pitching. 

There are so many roster decisions to be made, and the work Stearns needs to do is only mounting. Evidently, he enjoys operating under an overwhelming amount of pressure. Otherwise, it would’ve been easier to spend Cohen’s money and bring back Alonso on a contract that outbid Baltimore’s offer. But the Mets were not willing to match the length of Alonso’s contract with the O’s. Instead, they preferred the blank slate. 

The unknown of the Mets offseason can be exciting, but it requires trust. The Mets owner trusts his head of operations to get this right, even at the expense of parting ways with fan favorites. Stearns was Cohen’s white whale for years before he finally plucked the top executive from the Brewers ahead of the 2024 season. Stearns is signed through the 2028 season, and his marching orders involve building a sustainable World Series contender. 

By taking a wrecking ball through the Mets core, months after the team missed the playoffs in one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, he is sending the message that mediocrity will not be tolerated. Of course, a large chunk of their poor results came from unpredictability and ineffectiveness in the starting rotation, a weaker area of the roster that has not yet been addressed. 

But, as an offense, the Mets failed to record even a single comeback win when trailing after the eighth inning in 2025. They went 0-70. It was unfathomable. At the end of the season, Stearns said he couldn’t make sense of it. The lack of late-game heroics had to be a factor when he decided to break up the core. 

There are also rumblings within the industry that the Mets had clubhouse issues this year. When asked about it at the Winter Meetings in Orlando this week, Stearns attempted to address that topic by saying: 

“I think we had a pretty good clubhouse last year, and I know a lot of you were in our clubhouse regularly, and maybe some of you would disagree with me, but I don’t know that many of you would walk in there on a daily basis and feel like this was not a good clubhouse. We have good people who play really hard, who want to win. We didn’t play well for the last two months of the year. 

“And when you don’t play well for the last two months of the year, people get frustrated, as we should. People hold each other accountable, as we should. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good group. That doesn’t mean it was a group that didn’t care about each other. I think we did. We just didn’t play well for the last two months of the year, and everyone was very frustrated by it.”

Stearns and the rest of Mets leadership have channeled that frustration by breaking up the band. In the seven seasons that Alonso, Diaz, and Nimmo played together, the Mets recorded eight playoff wins in two trips to the postseason. It wasn’t good enough. It has to be better. The Mets need to stack wins. In order for that to happen, sentimentality has taken a back seat to business only. 

OK, who are the Mets kidding? Sentimentality has been removed from the ride altogether. It’s an approach that might take a while to get used to, but time marches on. 

First came the disappointment. Then came the frustration. Next came the intrigue about what the Mets will look like on Opening Day. 

Now, it’s time for the pivot.

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – In the latest shake-up to the Mets’ core, the club’s all-time home run leader is bound for Baltimore. 

Just one day after losing longtime closer Edwin Díaz to the Dodgers in free agency, and weeks after trading Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers, Pete Alonso is the latest franchise icon to depart from Queens this winter after agreeing to a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles that will give him the highest average annual value ever for a first baseman in free agency. 

A year ago, Alonso was unable to secure the long-term deal he coveted coming off a down year by his standards. He settled for a two-year, $54 million contract that included an opt-out, which he exercised this winter after raising all of his slash-line numbers in 2025, hitting 44% above league average and passing Daryl Strawberry to become the franchise’s home run leader. 

Alonso, who was drafted by the Mets in the second round in 2016 and was an All-Star five times in his seven years in Queens, finished his Mets tenure with 264 home runs. He was the best power bat on the market after Kyle Schwarber returned to the Phillies on Tuesday on a five-year, $150 million deal. Clearly, Schwarber’s contract was a catalyst for Alonso’s market, as the new Orioles first baseman signed for $5 million more. 

What’s next for Alonso

It was worth the wait. 

The market isn’t always kind to players with Alonso’s profile, and that’s how it played out last winter after he slashed .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs. A bounceback season, during which Alonso lowered his strikeout rate, recorded a career-high .272 batting average and hit 38 home runs, enticed an Orioles club looking to rebound from a last-place finish. 

Alonso, who has the fourth-most home runs in MLB over the last five seasons, recorded the highest hard-hit rate and average exit velocity of his career in 2025, and he was rewarded with the long-term deal he sought. 

The limitations in Alonso’s game are obvious: He offers little defensively at first base and is a poor baserunner, but that’s not why the Orioles took this chance. He remains one of the premier power bats in the game, and he joins an Orioles club that ranked 19th in slugging percentage and 21st in OPS last year. Alonso had an .871 OPS in 2025, nearly 100 points higher than the best qualified hitter in the Orioles’ lineup (Gunnar Henderson led Baltimore with a .787 OPS). 

It doesn’t hurt that Baltimore just moved its left-field wall back in, either. According to Statcast, Alonso would have hit 45 home runs in 2025 if he played all of his games at Camden Yards (he finished the year with 38). If he continues to rake, the Orioles will live with the rest. 

What’s next for the Mets

Much like a season ago, the Mets were not willing to give Alonso the long-term offer he sought. And so, the winter of change continues in Queens, leaving an already distressed fanbase wondering what president of baseball operations David Stearns has cooking coming off a highly disappointing 2025 season. 

There’s a ton of work for Stearns to do. The addition of Devin Williams won’t erase the pain of Díaz’s departure, and Alonso had the highest batting average and second-highest slugging percentage and OPS on the club. 

Obviously, a lot of time remains for Stearns to fill the voids, whether by trade or free agency. But the losses have far outweighed the gains thus far. They need a frontline starter and more pop in the lineup. Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Tatsuya Imai are all available. So are Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Cody Bellinger, Bo Bichette, Munetaka Murakami and Eugenio Suárez. 

It’s time for the Mets to get to work. 

What’s next for the Orioles 

After a stunning 75-87 season and fifth-place finish in the AL East, the Orioles are spending what it takes to finally turn their young core of talents into a winner. 

With Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward joining Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman and company, this could now be one of the most dangerous lineups in MLB. The addition of Alonso helps balance a left-handed-heavy lineup that ranked 11th in home runs last year and also takes a first-base slugger off the board for the rival Red Sox, who are in the market for one. 

Starting pitching is the clear need now. The Orioles could still use a frontline arm to pair with Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish, whether through trade or free agency. But the lineup should have them in a much better position to contend. 

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 X at @RowanKavner.

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Just what can Kyle Schwarber accomplish with five more years in the Phillies lineup?

Kyle Schwarber will stick with the Phillies through 2030, after agreeing to a five-year, $150 million contract at the winter meetings. It will end up being the team he spends the most time on in his career, as he’s already at four years with Philly and will eclipse the six he spent with the Cubs before the middle of the contract hits.

With the kind of power that Schwarber has — power he has continued to display as he enters his mid-30s — it’s fair to wonder if he’s going to start showing up on any of the Phillies’ all-time leaderboards. The short answer: yes. The longer answer is below.

Schwarber will be 33 in 2026, after hitting a career-high 56 dingers last summer. Expecting him to hit the half-century mark every year would be a bit much even if he were a decade younger, but Schwarber has averaged 43.8 homers per season since he first left the Cubs back in 2021. In that five-year stretch, Schwarber has gone yard 219 times — that’s good enough for third in MLB, behind just Aaron Judge (249) and Shohei Ohtani (233). This trio are the only players with over 200 bombs over the last five years.

The most optimistic — and maybe not realistic — expectation would be for Schwarber to just keep it going for another five years. If he were to do that, he would have 438 long balls in a 10-year stretch. A more conservative — and safer — expectation would be 80% of that, or, 175 home runs over a five-year stretch. That would be 35 home runs per year, which builds in some room for Schwarber to continue to crush the baseball at the level he has in his late-20s and early-30s, but also leaves room for those numbers to drift closer to 30 per year as his offense diminishes.

Consider that a range of possibilities, then see where Schwarber already is. He has swatted 187 homers with the Phillies in four years, which puts him 12th in franchise history behind Bobby Abreu (195). Recently inducted Hall of Famer Dick Allen sits in 10th with 204 — Schwarber could pass him before the summer heat sets in.

Here is the full top 10 for the Phillies:

10. Dick Allen, 204
9. Jimmy Rollins, 216
8. Cy Williams, 217
7. Greg Luzinski, 223
6. Chase Utley, 233
5. Chuck Klein, 243
4. Pat Burrell, 251
3. Del Ennis, 259
2. Ryan Howard, 382
1. Mike Schdmidt, 548

Even at the most optimistic projection for Schwarber’s 2026 through 2030 seasons, passing Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt just isn’t in the cards — Schwarber is 361 dingers behind Philly’s all-time leader. He could get all the way up to second place, however: Howard’s 382 is just 195 ahead of Schwarber, which wouldn’t even require the best-case scenario estimate to pull off. 

Does Schwarber have another 361 homers in his career? Does he have them for the Phillies, specifically? These are good questions, but they are for whatever contract comes after this new one. It should be said that it’s not an impossibility, however — Schwarber would just have to age exceptionally well for it to happen.

With that bigger picture in mind, though, consider where Schwarber would be on the all-time list not just for the Phillies, but MLB, with another five years of crushing baseballs. He currently ranks 111th in MLB history with 340 career long balls, and it won’t take him very long to make his way into double-digit territory. Nolan Arenado is currently No. 100 on that list with 353 homers, tied with Torii Hunter until he hits another and passes the retired outfielder for good. Even if Schwarber hit just 35 homers in 2026 — remember, 175 split across five seasons is an average of 35 per year — that would put him at 375 for his career, or the 81st-most in history. Right ahead of Rocky Colavito and his 374, and directly behind Carlton Fisk and his 376.

Sticking with the 175 over five years estimate, Schwarber would wrap his new deal with the Phillies with 515 career dingers. That would make him just the 29th player to ever reach the 500-homer mark, and he would already be in the top 25 at No. 23, ahead of Ernie Banks (512) but behind Ted Williams, Frank Thomas and Willie McCovey, all of whom hit 521.

And if you go with the higher-end estimate, where Schwarber repeats his previous five seasons? That would have him at 559, or 15th all-time, ahead of Manny Ramirez (555) but behind Reggie Jackson (563). 

Regardless of whether Schwarber is great or great with the Phillies, it should be obvious that he’s in line to be a historically significant power hitter. His power has only grown as he’s aged, and while that won’t be the case forever, that his experience has fueled his performance offensively should at least give you some confidence that he can keep it going for a while yet. Just how long is the question, but barring a complete, unexpected collapse, Schwarber’s new deal means some level of history will be closer with every moonshot.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – The Dodgers are always lurking. 

A year after their exorbitant bullpen expenditures backfired, forcing them to use a bevy of starters in relief on the road to their second straight World Series title, the reigning champions are spending at the top of the bullpen market again to address their biggest weakness. 

After downplaying their need to make a splash this winter, the Dodgers made one anyway on Tuesday in the latest example of their financial might as they lured three-time All-Star Edwin Díaz away from the Mets on a three-year, $69 million deal that gave them the top closer on the market for the second straight winter. 

“We are in a really strong position right now financially, and our ownership group has been incredibly supportive of pouring that back into our team and that partnership with our fans,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at the MLB’s Winter Meetings. “If we were on a really tight budget, we probably wouldn’t allocate in the same way. But having more resources allows us to be a little bit more aggressive on that point.”

There were scenarios, Friedman said, in which the Dodgers didn’t end up with a top-end reliever this offseason. They were seeking shorter-term deals, more in line with the way they had constructed their bullpens in previous seasons before lavishing a four-year, $72 million contract to Tanner Scott last offseason. 

The first year of that deal was a disaster. 

Scott recorded a 4.74 ERA and did not throw a pitch in the postseason. Kirby Yates, the other major relief acquisition the Dodgers made last winter on the free-agent market, had a 5.23 ERA and also did not appear in a postseason game. The Dodgers’ bullpen finished the year ranked 21st in ERA and threatened to be their downfall. By getting creative with their starters, they still triumphed in October, but the bullpen emerged as the Dodgers’ most glaring area of need entering this winter. 

They did not want to make another long-term commitment at a position prone to volatility, and they were going to be selective about the relievers they targeted. The options started dwindling quickly, as Devin Williams went to the Mets, Ryan Helsley went to the Orioles and Raisel Iglesias returned to the Braves. 

To the surprise of many, especially after Díaz opted out of the final two years of a record five-year, $102 million contract he signed with the Mets after the 2022 season, the Dodgers were able to get the deal done for one of the best closers in baseball without having to go to a fourth or fifth year. It certainly didn’t hurt that Edwin’s brother, Alexis Diáz, pitched for the Dodgers last season and passed along rave reviews about the team’s ability to communicate. 

“Obviously last year our pen performance was well below expectations,” Friedman said. “Still very surprising to us on a number of fronts. We feel like the group that we have coming back will be way better and the pen will be a real strength. That being said, adding to it is always helpful.” 

In a stunning move, the Dodgers took the top closer from one of the only teams capable of challenging their economic prowess. As the Mets now scramble to save their offseason, the Dodgers march forward seemingly undeterred by their enormous tax payments or the penalties that come with signing a player with a qualified offer attached. They will lose their second and fifth-highest draft picks in 2026, plus $1 million in international bonus pool money for signing Díaz, whose deal will set a reliever record for average annual value. 

And yet, they might not be done adding more elite talent either at the top of the free-agent market or via trade. 

When you’re the first team to repeat as World Series champions in 25 years, when you enjoy the financial benefits that come with employing the most popular international player in the sport, when you have one of the most robust farm systems in the sport and when you’re trying to maximize the window of a dynasty, you can afford to push the envelope further than expected. 

“We’re going to do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position to win a World Series,” Friedman reiterated. 

The signing of Díaz, who gives them a definitive ninth-inning answer after last season’s bullpen calamity, moves them one step closer to that goal and serves as a reminder that even when they don’t plan to spend aggressively, the Dodgers’ financial limitations are boundless. 

They are always lurking, ready to pounce. 

Other Dodgers notes from the winter meetings:  

• General manager Brandon Gomes said it “doesn’t feel likely” that the Dodgers will trade off of their MLB roster to acquire talent. In regards specifically to Teoscar Hernández, whose name has been brought up in trade speculation: “That’s not something we anticipate at all.”
• Manager Dave Roberts believes last year was “an outlier year” for Scott, and he said the reliever was dealing with some physical issues he kept under wraps: “He never felt right all year.”
• The Dodgers are also expecting a bounce back at the plate from Mookie Betts, who will be their shortstop again in 2026. After losing weight from an illness early last season and handling the rigors of a full-time move to short, the Dodgers believe his bat will return to form with more bandwidth to focus on in his swing.
• On the possibility of retaining Kiké Hernández: “We’ll never shut the door on Kiké,” Friedman said.
• Tommy Edman could be delayed at the start of spring after undergoing ankle surgery, but he is expected to be ready by the start of the season. The Dodgers could now turn their focus to bolstering the outfield.

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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ORLANDO, Fla. – The next time Edwin Diaz pitches at Citi Field, the trumpets will be replaced by a tribute video. The same goes for Brandon Nimmo, whose catchy walk-up song – you know the one – will be superseded by a highlight reel of his best moments in New York. 

Is Pete Alonso next to join the growing list of long-tenured Mets deciding to walk away this offseason? In truth, the Mets shouldn’t even be considering it. They should be doing everything in their control to keep Alonso in Queens.

Losing two fan-favorite players is bad. But potentially parting ways with three? All in the same offseason? The Mets would have to execute exceptionally favorable blockbuster deals to even attempt to come back from that. 

“I’m very optimistic about where our offseason is headed,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said on Tuesday during MLB’s annual Winter Meetings. “We’ve got, certainly, work to do. But there are a lot of good players out there, and I’m confident that we’re really going to like where our team is once we get to Opening Day.” 

After Diaz shockingly swapped his blue and orange threads for the championship-adorned Dodgers uniform on Tuesday, the pressure is mounting for the Mets to re-sign Alonso to a long-term deal. The homegrown Polar Bear is said to be connecting with interested clubs here at the Winter Meetings, and the Mets won’t be one of them. They prefer to give him the space and freedom to see what’s out there before checking back in with him at a later date. 

So far, the Mets’ approach to keeping their battle-scarred players in New York has been laced with indifference. Sure, changes were expected after the team missed the playoffs on a $340 million payroll that was designed to be a World Series contender. But unemotionally parting ways with popular players and breaking up the team’s core makes me wonder if Stearns is underestimating the long-term negative impact those moves will have on the overall buy-in from the fan base, as well as the potential ripple effect within the clubhouse. 

Nimmo was the team’s longest-tenured player before he indicated he didn’t feel wanted by the Mets when they asked him to waive his no-trade clause. Then he agreed to go to the Texas Rangers in a deal that brought veteran second baseman Marcus Semien to Queens. Though Diaz’s upcoming free agency loomed over his 2025 season, no one really talked about it because it was presumed the Mets would do whatever was needed to keep their seven-year closer in New York. 

Something changed. Diaz chose the Dodgers on a reported three-year, $69 million contract – only $3 million more than what the Mets offered him. 

Now, right-hander Devin Williams is slotted to be the Mets closer, a risk in and of itself. He struggled to acclimate to New York’s high-pressure environment in his lone season with the Yankees, which led to his demotion from closer duties. He eventually adjusted, and it showed. Williams ended the 2025 season strong with 13 consecutive scoreless relief appearances, including four shutdown innings in the playoffs for the Yankees, but those all came in setup roles. There’s a ton of upside to Williams’ still-elite stuff, but he’s no Diaz. The Mets’ signing of Williams, at three years and $51 million, would have looked better if he served as the setup man to a high-leverage closer, like Diaz or free-agent reliever Robert Suarez. 

It’s fair to wonder if Diaz felt slighted by the Mets’ acquisition of Williams, viewing it as a sign that they did not necessarily need him to return. If so, that’s been somewhat of a trend for the Stearns-era Mets. Last offseason, Alonso expressed frustration at the slow pace of his free agency (the first baseman finally re-signed just before spring training), and the Mets lack of commitment to a long-term deal. 

Is Stearns striking the right balance between keeping valuable players and building continuity, versus making sure the Mets have the best team possible?

“That is something broadly that we talk about a lot,” Stearns said. “We have a lot of those conversations. We had them throughout this offseason. We had them throughout last offseason as well when we were faced with some decisions. It is part of it. I’ve said this before: I can’t tell you I know exactly how to weigh that. I think we do our best to weigh the full impact of any player on our team, on our organization, and we make the best decision we can.”

Rather than plugging the holes on their roster, the Mets have so far only created more vacancies. Trading Nimmo to the Rangers created an opening in left field, on top of the one that already existed in center. The bullpen still looks incomplete and in need of at least another high-leverage arm. If the season started today, Mark Vientos would be their first baseman. And, of the utmost importance, the Mets need an ace. 

There is plenty of offseason left, but the Mets have so far not addressed the source of the biggest headache of their nightmarish season: the rotation. They used a record number of pitchers in 2025 after sustaining an onslaught of injuries while dealing with unpredictability in the starting staff. Mets starters recorded a 4.13 ERA that ranked 18th in the majors. The unreliable nature of the rotation was a significant reason the Mets missed the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Mets offense, while frustratingly inconsistent at times, finished the year with the fifth-most home runs (224) and sixth-best OPS (.753) and on-base percentage (.326) in MLB. Alonso’s .272/.347/.524 slashline and 38 home runs were a major component of the team’s offensive success. 

Can the pain and frustration of losing Nimmo and Diaz — and maybe even Alonso — be quelled by a flurry of blockbuster deals from now until Opening Day? If the Mets parted ways with all three fan-favorites, but injected players like Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger into the outfield, and Framber Valdez or Freddy Peralta into the rotation, would that lessen the sting of losing those long-tenured Mets? Would that close the gap between the almighty powerful Dodgers, who only got stronger by acquiring Diaz? The Mets have to work just to keep up, let alone to fill their roster holes.

Stearns is asking us to trust his plans — less than three months after he took accountability for being the architect of this year’s flawed team. It’s a lot to ask for when the Mets, so far this winter, have seen more of their players walk away from Queens than decide to stay. 

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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The Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s amateur draft lottery Tuesday and will have the top selection for the first time since taking Harold Baines in 1977.

Coming off a 102-loss season, Chicago had the highest odds to win the weighted lottery at 27.73%. The White Sox will have the No. 1 selection for the third time when the draft starts on July 11 in Philadelphia ahead of the All-Star Game.

Baines became a six-time All-Star and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. Chicago selected first baseman Danny Goodwin with the top pick in 1971, and he played in parts of seven major league seasons.

Baines represented the White Sox on stage for the lottery at baseball’s winter meetings.

“I’m still learning more and more about the draft. I’m getting familiar with some of the top names,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said in an interview on MLB Network. “It looks like, at the top of the draft, that it’s a really impressive one.

“But on top of that, when you look at the pool space that you’re given and a chance to really walk away from a draft class and do some damage, bring in some real talent. … I’m just excited for our fan base and the people that are working for the Chicago White Sox.”

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is currently projected as the top selection, followed by Fort Worth Christian High School shortstop Grady Emerson.

Tampa Bay will pick second, followed by Minnesota, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore, the Athletics, Atlanta and Colorado.

MLB and the players’ association established the lottery in the March 2022 collective bargaining agreement. The union pushed for the innovation to encourage teams to compete for wins rather than trade off players at the deadline in an attempt to get a higher draft choice.

Pittsburgh won the lottery the first year and chose right-hander Paul Skenes, the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year and 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner. Cleveland went first in 2024 and selected second baseman Travis Bazzana and Washington picked shortstop Eli Willits this July.

Colorado, the Los Angeles Angels and Washington were not eligible for this lottery. The Rockies, a big league-worst 43-119. were excluded because a team can’t receive a lottery pick in three consecutive years. The Angels and Nationals were blocked because teams that receive revenue sharing money can’t get a lottery pick in two straight years.

After the White Sox, Minnesota had the second-highest odds of the top pick at 22.18%, followed by Pittsburgh (16.81%), Baltimore (9.24%) and the Athletics (6.55%).

The New York Mets, the second-biggest spenders this year behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, had a 0.67% chance and will wind up drafting 27th after missing the playoffs.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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Mike Trout, the cornerstone of Team USA’s 2023 World Baseball Classic run, is still under consideration as the roster for the 2026 tournament takes shape.

Manager Mark DeRosa said Tuesday that Trout is “in the mix” for one of the final spots, assuming he’s healthy and comfortable with his role.

“We’re talking to him, we’re talking to a couple other players, and trying to figure out what Mike wants to do,” DeRosa said at the MLB winter meetings.

The two-time American League MVP remains in a complicated place for Team USA, which is scheduled to play its first game of the tournament March 6 against Brazil in Houston.

A bruised left knee sent him to the injured list in May. It’s the same knee that required meniscus surgery in 2024, and the lingering issues kept him mostly at designated hitter last season. He still hit 26 home runs in 130 games, but his .232/.359/.439 slash line and elevated strikeout rate fueled questions about his health and availability for next year’s WBC.

Trout, who captained Team USA in 2023, has to weigh the spring tournament against being fully ready for the Angels next season. And DeRosa has to weigh carrying a full-time DH on a short, high-leverage roster.

“He’s got to be ready for ’26 with the Angels,” DeRosa said. “He didn’t play much defensively, if at all, so it’s a give and take — what he wants to do, what he feels comfortable with.”

Team USA announced four more position players on Tuesday: designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, infielders Gunnar Henderson and Brice Turang, and catcher Will Smith. They join captain Aaron Judge, outfielders Corbin Carroll and Pete Crow-Armstrong, and catcher Cal Raleigh.

On the mound, National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes leads the U.S. group, along with left-hander Matthew Boyd and reliever Garrett Whitlock.

General manager Mike Hill said the focus now shifts heavily to pitching.

“We were respectful of everyone’s season and making sure they got through healthy,” Hill said. “Now that we’re into the offseason and gearing up for the tournament, we’ll amp up our pitching process. We’ll be spending the next few weeks finalizing the roster and trying to build the deepest staff we can.”

Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal remains high on the wish list.

“We want our best to participate,” Hill said. “He is obviously the two time reigning Cy Young Award winner, so there’s no question about his ability with all of our pitching. You know, we’re trying.”

DeRosa said the goal isn’t simply gathering stars for this team, bur rather building a roster that fits: defense, speed, versatility, balance. A crushing loss to Japan in the 2023 WBC final, in which Shohei Ohtani struck out his then-Angels teammate Trout to end the game, has fueled their process and purpose building the team.

If Trout signs on and stays healthy, DeRosa said his name alone could shift the clubhouse dynamic. For now, though, the call remains open.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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