There was one big book signing Thanksgiving week and that was it Blake Snell for the Dodgers on Tuesday evening. The fallout from the signing will spark most of the rumors that reach us on Wednesday or the eve of Thanksgiving, but it's always possible there's more action to come.
Without further ado…
The Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles were all in the bidding for Blake Snell, reports MLB.com. The big takeaway from this is that, at least in theory, these teams should continue to look for quality starters this offseason.
The Top remaining free agent starting pitchers Are Corbin Burnes, Max Fried (a left-hander like Snell), Roki Sasaki, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer And Shane Bieber. Obviously there are different bid levels out there, and the only pitchers still likely to get contracts anywhere close to Snell's are Burnes and Fried (Sasaki is limited by his amateur free agent status).
The Yankees have Gerrit ColeCarlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Clarke Smith And Marcus Stroman in the rotation Nestor Cortes as a sixth option.
The Red Sox currently have Tanner Houck, Cutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, Cooper Criswell And Richard Fitts while waiting for possible returns Lucas Giolito And Garrett Whitlock (later in the season).
The Orioles had Burnes last year, but there seems to be a rotation right now Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodríguez, Dean KremerAlbert Suárez and Trevor Rogers.
Obviously more teams will get involved with Burnes and Fried, but these are three teams to keep an eye on.
Dodgers likely to trade Buehler and Flaherty?
After signing Snell, I wouldn't rely on the Dodgers for Sasaki. Given the situation, the door will remain open. For veteran free agents Jack Flaherty and Walker Buhler — two of the Dodgers' three playoff starters — but it probably doesn't make sense to go back there. Sure enough, Says Jon Morosi on MLB Network The Dodgers will “probably” let the duo walk.
Flaherty signed a one-year contract with the tiger last season and was traded to the Dodgers in July. Overall, he went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and 194 strikeouts in 162 innings.
Buehler returned from Tommy John surgery and went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. However, he finished the playoffs with 13 straight scoreless innings.