Mega Thread 2024-2025 MLB Hot Stove

[Dixie Flatline]

The 2024 MLB season is now in the history books, with the Los Angeles Dodgers claiming their eighth title in franchise history by defeating the New York Yankees 4-1. They will enjoy a parade on Friday in Los Angeles (Saturday morning, Australian time).

But for the other 29 clubs, work has already begun on preparations for the 2025 MLB season, with pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training in mid-February 2025 (dates are yet to be confirmed, but could be as early as 12 February 2025). Obviously there will be a lot of player movement through the off-season, with some big ticket free agents looking to sign some big contracts in the off-season.

This off-season, the biggest free agent available is RF Juan Soto, who enjoyed a stellar 2024 with the New York Yankees, but is no lock to return to the Bronx Bombers. There will be a number of clubs interested in signing Soto, who at the age of 26, is probably still yet to reach the peak of his career, despite being in the majors since he was 19 years old, but is on a Hall of Fame trajectory with his hitting. To put the accomplishments of Soto in perspective, his (former) teammate, catcher Austin Wells, was a rookie in 2024 for the Yankees and just completed his first full big-league season, and he's just 260 days younger than Soto.

For those looking for help on the pitching side of the roster, there are plenty of options available, with RHP Corbin Burnes headlining the list of free agent pitchers, although there are some question marks on whether Burnes has already peaked and is on the downward slide of his career, given that his strikeout rate has declined in each of the past four seasons and his in-zone contact rate is on par with Kyle Gibson, Chris Flexen and Carson Fulmer, none of whom are aces in their respective rotations.

An interesting scenario is the future of third baseman Alex Bregman. The Astros have a long history of letting players go and replacing their output with younger, more cost effective options (see, for example, Jeremy Pena replacing Carlos Correa). Bregman, however, has been one of the more productive third basemen for much of his career. His teammate, Jose Altuve, has publicly backed the Astros to re-sign Bregman to a long-term deal, but it is still a question on whether Bregman will remain an Astro in 2025 and beyond.

Blake Snell was one of the so-called "Boras four" who remained unsigned in 2024 until well into Spring Training. He eventually landed a deal with the San Francisco Giants (which contains a player option that Snell will almost certainly decline) and pitched poorly in the first months of the season. However, he bounced back to record a no-hitter and the fourth best ERA+ of his career. He is hoping that his second consecutive trip through free agency lands him a long-term deal.

For those looking for a little bit of thump to add to their lineup, they will be hard pressed to go past long-time Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. The Polar Bear hits free agency for the first time in his career at the age of 30. He's never hit less than 30 homers in a season in the big leagues, but his strikeout rate has increased in the last two seasons consecutively, and he's fallen short of the generational talents at first base such as Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera.

Top free agents in this year's class include:

• Juan Soto (RF)
• Corbin Burnes (RHP)
• Alex Bregman (3B)
• Blake Snell (LHP)
• Max Fried (LHP)
• Jack Flaherty (RHP)
• Sean Manaea (LHP)
• Nathan Eovaldi (RHP)
• Pete Alonso (1B)
• Max Scherzer (RHP)
• Shane Bieber (RHP)
• Ha-Seong Kim (SS)
• Anthony Santander (OF)
• Joc Pederson (OF)
• Teoscar Hernandez (OF)
• Christian Walker (1B)
• Luis Severino (RHP)
• Yusei Kikuchi (LHP)
• Gleyber Torres (2B)
• Blake Treinen (RHP)
• Clay Holmes (RHP)
• Jeff Hoffman (RHP)
• Jurickson Profar (OF)
• Walker Buehler (RHP)

Free agency opens on 4 November (US time).

 

[Dixie Flatline]

RHP Lucas Giolito has exercised his $19 million player option with the Red Sox for the 2025 season, according to the team. He missed the entirety of the 2024 season with elbow surgery rehab after he was diagnosed with a partial tear in his UCL and a flexor sprain during Spring Training.

The Red Sox are primsed to lose RHP Nick Pivetta to free agency, so Giolito will join a starting rotation featuring Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford, though Giolito may not be ready to pitch on Opening Day.

Giolito also has an option for 2026. If he pitches less than 140 innings in 2025, the option converts to a club option worth $14 million. If he pitches in excess of 140 innings, the option becomes mutual and is worth $19 million. The option comes with a $1.5 million buyout.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Los Angeles Angels and the Atlanta Braves are in agreement on a trade that sends DH Jorge Soler to California in exchange for RHP Griffin Canning. The Angels take on the entirety of the remaining two years and $26 million on Soler's contract, while the Braves assume Canning's salary in his last season in arbitration.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The St Louis Cardinals have declined their club options on RHP Kyle Gibson, RHP Lance Lynn and RHP Keynan Middleton. The Cardinals will pay each pitcher $1 million and they are now free agents, eligible to sign with any other team from Monday. The club options on Gibson and Lynn were each worth $12 million, while the Middleton option was worth $6 million.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

OF Randal Grichuk has declined his end of a mutual option with the Diamondbacks, and will receive a $1.75 million buyout. It was not known whether or not the Diamondbacks had exercised their club option over Grichuk, but that becomes immaterial with Grichuk's decision as he will become a free agent. Grichuk had a strong season at the plate for Arizona, hitting 20 doubles, two triples and 12 homeruns from 279 plate appearances in a platoon role.

 

[RPCB]

That is 24 players we won’t be signing this winter. Yay us.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

And the pursuit of Juan Soto has begun in earnest. According to the NY Post, at least 11 teams have reached out to Soto's agents the morning after the Yankees lost the World Series. Although Soto cannot field free agent offers until next week, there is nothing in the rules that would prevent other teams from expressing their interests generally to Soto and his agents. Among those that have made contact with Soto include the Mets.

Juan Soto eyeing a historic $700 million MLB free agency contract

Word is that within two hours of the Yankees losing the World Series, eight rival teams checked in with interest, and by Thursday morning, the number was up to 11.

nypost.com

Mets among first teams to check in on Juan Soto after World Series

Juan Soto is officially a free agent, and there is no shortage of early interest.

nypost.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Chicago White Sox have a new manager, hiring former associate manager of the Rangers, Will Venable, to fill the role recently held by Pedro Grifol and Grady Sizemore (albeit in an interim capacity). Venable has long been regarded as a future major league manager, having graduated from Princeton and then putting together a nine-year career as a player. After retiring as a player at the end of the 2017 season, Venable became a coach in 2018, and interviewed for the Cubs role after Joe Maddon left as manager. Venable also had interviews with the Giants and Astros. Venable won a World Series with the Rangers in 2023.

Venable named White Sox manager: 'I'm excited about the challenges'

CHICAGO -- Will Venable has a self-described underdog mentality and all the things that come with it. Those intangibles should come in handy as he was named the 44th manager in White Sox history on Thursday. The White Sox dipped quite a few rungs below underdog status last season, losing

www.mlb.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

OF Hunter Renfroe and RHP Chris Stratton exercised player options in their contracts with the Royals, according to reports. The Royals declind their end of a mutual option on infielder Adam Frazier, while LHP Josh Taylor elected free agency.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

As noted in the above tweet, LHP Jordan Montgomery made possibly the easiest decision in his career by exercising his player option to stay with the Diamondbacks for 2025. After he was signed into Spring Training in 2024, he had a terrible season for the Diamondbacks, putting up an ERA of 6.23 in 117 innings completed for Arizona. He was demoted from the starting rotation after 21 starts, the first time in his career that Montgomery (who was a world champion with the Rangers in 2023) had lost his starting job. Both Montgomery and the Diamondbacks hope that he can resurrect his career in 2025 with the possibility of a trade.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Additionally, the Twins declined their end of a $6.25 million option over infielder Kyle Farmer. He will collect a $250,000 buyout and hits free agency for the first time in his career. The Twins also declined an option on outfielder Manuel Margot.

Farmer spent two seasons in Minneapolis, hitting .256/.317/.408 in his first season after being acquired from the Reds. He came back to Minneapolis for the second season but struggled, hitting just .214/.293/.353 in 242 plate appearances.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Brewers have declined their end of a mutual option worth $12 million on LHP Wade Miley. Miley will receive a $1.5 million buyout instead and returns to free agency. Miley underwent Tommy John surgery in April after making two starts for Milwaukee at the start of the season.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The (Oakland) Athletics announced that infielder Tristan Gray had been claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates, while RHP Austin Adams and infielder Armando Alvarez have been outrighted off the 40-man roster. Gray was on the Athletics roster for a couple of months after he was claimed off waivers from the Marlins. Gray has 36 plate appearances in 17 career games in the MLB, for a poor .152/.222/.273 slashline.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Athletics are slated to play their home games at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for 2025-2027 (at least) after farewelling the Oakland Coliseum in September 2024. Unlike Oakland, the day-time temperatures in summer are expected to roar past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to combat the extreme heat conditions, the Athletics have announced that the majority of their home games will be played in the evening, with 60 of their 81 scheduled home games to be played at night.

The remaining 21 day games will mostly be played during the months of April and May. The Athletics, the MLB and the operators of the stadium have decided to replace the stadium's turf field with natural grass in order to improve the playing surface for the players.

How A's will combat Sacramento heat with night-heavy 2025 schedule

The Athletics released their 2025 MLB schedule, designed to combat the Sacramento heat as the ballclub plans to play its home games at Sutter Health Park.

www.nbcsportsbayarea.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Athletics have traded OF Daz Cameron to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for cash considerations. Cameron platooned with Seth Brown for most of the second half of the season, hitting .253/.337/.480 with four homeruns in 86 plate appearances against left handed pitching. However, he also hit a terrible .158/.190/.211 in 100 plate appearances against right handed pitching. He was also poor defensively, rated at -4 DRS in all three outfield positions.

With Miguel Andujar returning from injury in 2025, and with Brent Rooker likely to spend less time as designated hitter, as well as prospects such as Colby Thomas expected to push for their major league debuts in 2025, it is likely that the Athletics simply would have released him had he been kept for much longer.

 

[RPCB]

Cody Bellinger ops in. Another Jed Hoyer special that contract is. ****ing hell.

 

[JLC]

The Athletics are slated to play their home games at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for 2025-2027 (at least) after farewelling the Oakland Coliseum in September 2024. Unlike Oakland, the day-time temperatures in summer are expected to roar past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to combat the extreme heat conditions, the Athletics have announced that the majority of their home games will be played in the evening, with 60 of their 81 scheduled home games to be played at night.

The remaining 21 day games will mostly be played during the months of April and May. The Athletics, the MLB and the operators of the stadium have decided to replace the stadium's turf field with natural grass in order to improve the playing surface for the players.

How A's will combat Sacramento heat with night-heavy 2025 schedule

The Athletics released their 2025 MLB schedule, designed to combat the Sacramento heat as the ballclub plans to play its home games at Sutter Health Park.

www.nbcsportsbayarea.com

That last home game in Oakland was so emotional - the manager, players, fans, commentators were gutted. The commentators in particular were super emotional.

 

[largebus]

 

[Dixie Flatline]

There's been some action over the weekend. Let's get through as much of it as we can.

The New York Yankees announced this morning that they have declined their $5 million club option over RHP Lou Trivino for 2025. There was no buyout attached to the option. Trivino is now a free agent.





The Milwaukee Brewers have declined their club option worth $10.5 million over RHP Devin Williams in exchange for giving Williams $250,000. This is a cost-saving measure as Williams is still controllable by the Brewers through arbitration. He is expected to make between $8-$9 million in arbitration, meaning that the Brewers could save up to $2.5 million in salary by declining Williams' option (depending on how the arbitration plays out).



By the by, for those that listen to podcasts, during the season, Buster Olney ran a series called the "Hader Rules" during his Baseball Tonight podcast, which delved into the process of arbitration between the Brewers and Josh Hader and the approach the Brewers took to keeping Hader's salary through arbitration as low as possible.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Kansas City Royals announced that they have signed RHP Michael Wacha to a three year contract with a club option for 2028. Wacha will make $51 million over the guaranteed three years and could max out at $72 million if the option is exercised and Wacha meets his incentives during the 2027 season. The club option comes with a $1 million buyout.

The Royals will pay Wacha $18 million in 2025, $18 million in 2026 and between $14-$18 million in 2027, depending on whether he meets incentives.

When the Royals signed Wacha last off-season, they gave him a player option worth $16 million that Wacha was likely to decline to exercise given his strong 2024. This new deal replaces the player option and extends his time in Kansas City.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The City of St Petersburg (Florida, not Russia) approved a motion to spend up to $6 million to create a temporary drainage system and waterproof exposed areas of the Tropicana Field stadium, which was damaged by the recent hurricanes that passed through Tampa. The mitigation process is likely to take at least eight weeks, though the process would cease if it is determined that the stadium is impossible to salvage. The decision to spend the money comes as an attempt by the city council to protect itself from potential insurance disputes.

The Rays are looking at a new stadium in time for Opening Day 2028, so it remains to be determind whether the Rays will return to Tropicana Field or simply find a temporary home for the next three seasons, particularly as it is highly unlikely that Tropicana Field will be ready for baseball by the start of the 2025 season.

St. Pete is betting millions that Tropicana Field can be salvaged

The city approves $6 million to waterproof the stadium to prevent further destruction before deciding whether it’s worth repairing.

www.tampabay.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

MLB recently conducted an investigation into a top prospect out of the Dominican Republic who allegedly falsified his paperwork and is five years older than previously believed. The prospect, who plays under the name Cesar Altagracia, was determined to be 19 years of age, despite producing documents that claimed his age was 14. Altagracia represented the Dominican Republic at international youth tournaments based on his falsified age, including the 2022 U-12 Baseball World Cup (when Altagracia would have been 16 or 17 years old) and the Under-15 Pan American Championship earlier this year.

Altagracia had a verbal agreement in place with the San Diego Padres to sign for approximately $4 million in the next signing period that is set to begin in 2027, when he would have been 16 years of age (according to the false documents). In light of the outcome of the investigation, the Padres have revoked their offer and Altagracia is set to be suspended for his actions. The length of the suspension is typically a year, meaning that he could be available for clubs ahead of his age-20 season next off-season.

Sources: MLB finds teen prospect falsified age

A teenage prospect in the Dominican Republic who verbally agreed to sign with the Padres was found to have falsified paperwork and is five years older than previously believed.

www.espn.com

Report: Prospect linked to Padres is 5 years older than he claimed

Dominican prospect found to be 19, not 14; he had verbally agreed to a $4 million deal as the likely top addition in the January 2027 class

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

RHP Gerrit Cole has triggered an opt-out in his contract with the New York Yankees over the weekend. However, the Yankees now have an opportunity to void the opt-out by adding an extra year at the same salary of $36 million to his current contract. Cole's original deal with the Yankees was nine years, $325 million with even salaries of $36 million in each season, starting in 2020. In accordance with the terms of that deal, Cole could opt out after five years, but the Yankees could then extend his contract for a tenth season (to the end of the 2029 season) and negate the opt-out. Now that Cole has decided to opt out of his contract, the ball is now in the Yankees' court as to whether they want to bring Cole back on a five-year, $180 million contract or let him test free agency.

The Yankees have until Sunday night (New York time) to decide on whether to extend Cole or let him go to free agency.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

One player who will not be a free agent this off-season is OF/1B Cody Bellinger, who exercised his $27.5 million player option to remain with the Cubs for 2025. Bellinger signed a three year contract with the Cubs last off-season worth $80 million which came with opt outs after the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Bellinger will need to make a similar decision in 12 months time.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Atlanta Braves have signed RHP Reynaldo Lopez and LHP Aaron Bummer to new contracts, while they have selected RHP Domingo Gonzalez to the roster. Lopez is in line to make $30 million over the next three years ($8 million in 2025, $14 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027). His new deal with the Braves effectively replaces his old deal, under which he would have made $11 million in each of 2025 and 2026, with an $8 million club option (plus a $4 million buyout) for 2027.

Aaron Bummer's old contract had two club options for 2025 and 2026, each worth $7.25 million with $1.25 million buyouts. The Braves replace that contract with a guaranteed $13 million over the next two years ($3.5 million in 2025 and $9.5 million in 2026).