CLOSED NEWS/RUMORS Thread

my guess is everyone’s waiting for tucker to sign first, and once he does it’ll truly be a domino effect
my initial prediction was tucker/toronto, cody/yankees, and bo/dodgers
i’ll stick with that but tbt i’m a lot less confident than i was a couple weeks ago

 

@JeffPassan
Third baseman Alex Bregman and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a five-year, $175 million contract, sources tell ESPN. One year after their failed pursuit of Bregman in free agency, the Cubs land one of the biggest bats of the winter.

wow
did not see that coming

 

Rob Blagojevich likes this.
.

 

@TheInclinePod
Dodgers remain linked to Bo Bichette per Ken Rosenthal. Red Sox, Yankees, & Phillies also in the mix with Alex Bregman off the board.

 

red sox officially out on bichette…

Bob Nightengale@BNightengale
The Boston Red Sox will now turn their sights to Bo Bichette.

 

^ and right on cue…

@joonlee
On a night where the Red Sox got outbid for Alex Bregman, a reminder that the Red Sox have the fifth most expensive tickets in MLB, and rank 23rd in how much of that revenue they spend on players.

 

@JimDuquetteGM
A League source confirmed to me that the three main teams involved in the Tucker negotiations (Tor, LAD, NYM) have all met with the player, either in person or over Zoom, as part of the recruiting process for a star player. Will be interesting to see if any of the 3 teams increase their offers soon to separate themselves from the other.

 

Hoping this is the week that Toronto announces a Tucker signing. That gives the Dodgers the clearest path to Bichette. If any other team gets Tucker, then I expect Bichette goes back to the Jays and, gasp, Bellinger to LA gains steam.

 

@FoulTerritoryTV
Alex Bregman became frustrated with the Red Sox because they were unwilling to meet his market after their initial offer, says @AJPierzynski12. The Red Sox then refused to believe Bregman's camp when they told them they had a better offer [from the Cubs] on the table.

lol red sox

 

Bregman got five years with the Cubs. Seems that in this current environment most teams, Dodgers included, would rather give shorter contracts with higher AAV, so if any team is willing to go longer term with any of the remaining free agents, they're going to have a leg up on the competition.

 

they also deferred $70M of the $175M
wonder where they got that idea…

 

should almost have separate tucker/bichette/bellinger threads with all the unresolved drama…

@BlakeHHarris · 49m
"Multiple industry sources suggested that a decision from Kyle Tucker could come as early as this week."
Looks like it's gonna come down to short-term/High AAV from Dodgers + Mets and then whatever Toronto offers him.

@UnderdogMLB · 49m
Mets are in the $120–140M range over three years for Kyle Tucker, per @WillSammon.
A decision from Tucker could come as early as this week.

 

@JeffPassan
BREAKING: The Arizona Diamondbacks are acquiring eight-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, sources tell ESPN. Arenado has agreed to waive his no-trade clause and the deal is done.

 

I was mulling over the pros and cons of a long-term contract vs a shorter term/higher AAV deal, from the players perspective. It seems like most players are hoping to get seven or more years while they're in their primes, and I sort of get it. That gives them security because one never knows when injuries will play a factor... or loss of one's competitive edge, ala Anthony Rendon, will kill future options. In the case of Rendon, it worked out great. He got to take most of the seven years off and got paid handsomely for it. Winner Rendon, loser Angels.

But on the other hand, consider Bryce Harper. In 2019, the Dodgers reportedly offered him four years/$180M, which averages $45M/year. Instead, he locked in with PHI for $330M over 13 years - just a little over $25M/year. If he had taken the Dodgers offer, he'd have been a free agent again in 2023 and probably would have been able to secure another deal for at least $45M/yr. Bregman just got $35M/yr. Tucker, Bichette, and Bellinger all are seeking upwards of $40M per year. This all makes Harper's $25M/yr a bargain for the Phillies. Thirteen years is a long commitment and that involves some risk for the team, but six years into it, it looks to me like winner Philadelphia, loser Harper.

In general, salaries keep going up, so there's a built-in dynamic that favors shorter contracts for the player, especially professionals (i.e. not Rendon) who are driven to excel and are willing to bet on themselves. Dodgers reportedly are offering this type of contract to Tucker and Bichette. Bichette in particular, at only 27 years old, can really maximize his earning potential if he considers taking this approach.

 

If I'm understanding it correctly, ARI is on the hook for only $11M on his contract over the remaining 2 years -- $5.5M per year. That's not a bad deal for his glovework which apparently returned to its previous standout levels last year. However, his 2025 OPS of .666 is atrocious for a corner infielder. Was it an injury-ridden fluke or is that his new norm? If he can get it back to .800, they got a steal. If it remains below .700, he's going to be a weak spot in the batting order and considering his position, not worth even $5.5M in either season.

 

philly most definitely won that deal

 

imo if toronto wants him, he’s theirs
but they could be a bit apprehensive, having already signed murakami
or maybe they’d rather have bo back
but if they pass on tucker, he’s pretty much ours
no way the mets outbid us unless we (choose to) let them
i see one of two things happening:

• tucker - jays
• bo - dodgers
• cody - yankeesmets

or…

• tucker - dodgers
• bo - jays
• cody - mets

of course, wtf do i know…

 

^ and right on cue…

@JonHeyman
Mets are offering Tucker $50M a year in their bid.

@MLBaseball_Live
The Los Angeles Dodgers have presented Kyle Tucker a short term deal - and from what I've been told the offer AAV wise is no where near the rumored Mets offer - and they don't think they have to be. The Dodgers are selling Tucker on The Dodgers - so while the AAV feels high on Mets rumored offer - there's a feeling that if Tucker goes short term - he will go the LA. The wild card here is Toronto - and they're the main team even entertaining a huge offer - long term deal - and they're too far off right now - and may in fact lose him if they don't get real. I'll be surprised if he accepts the Mets offer over going to LA short term.

 

@BillShaikin
The Dodgers have DFA'd Fitzgerald to clear a roster spot for IF Andy Ibanez.

or because we’re about to sign bo?
and congratulations to fitzgerald on his four-day dodger career lol