Thanksgiving is over and now it's time for Black Friday sales. Here are a few free agents who could be a bargain this winter and here are Friday's hot oven rumors. The Winter Meetings, baseball's annual offseason bonanza, are less than two weeks away.
Blue Jays interested in Bregman, Fried, Santander, Severino
In addition to theirs Juan Soto Pursuit, the Blue Jays are interested in top free agents Alex Bregman, Max Fried, Anthony SantanderAnd Luis Severino, according to Sportsnet. Their interest is unclear, as is the scope of their offseason. Are the Blue Jays willing to sign Bregman and Severino in addition to Soto? Or are these four free agents part of Plan B behind Soto?
Toronto's offseason needs are numerous. They need a big outfield hitter, a DH, a third baseman, bullpen help and it wouldn't hurt to add a starter too. President Mark Shapiro said he expects next year's payroll to be in the same range as 2024. The Blue Jays ended 2024 with a payroll of $235 million for competitive accounting tax purposes. Cot's Baseball Contracts estimates their current 2025 commitments at $195 million. These include Bregman, Fried, Santander and Severino Our top 20 free agents.
angel Open to adding to the rotation
Even after signing Kyle Hendricks And Yusei Kikuchithe angels are open to expanding their rotation, GM Perry Minasian told the Orange County Register. “We will continue to look from a free agent standpoint and a trade standpoint. If there is an upgrade, we will try to do it from a rotation standpoint,” Minasian said. FanGraphs projections have the Angels' rotation as the 25th best in baseball.
Hendricks and Kikuchi will join the veteran lefties Tyler Anderson And The 2024 outbreak is correct Jose Soriano in the 2025 rotation. Left-handed Reid Detmers and right-handed Jack Kochanowicz And Chase Silseth are the leading candidates for No. 5. Lower-cost free agent options include: Cal Quantrill, Trevor Williams, Martin Perezand Orange Country native (and former Angel) Michael Lorenzen.
France has several offers that are gladly accepted
Free agent Ty France has several offers in hand, including at least a major league contract, and he is willing to accept to expand his versatility, reports MLB.com. France has played exclusively first base for the past two years, although he also played second and third base earlier in his career and also served as his team's emergency third catcher at several points.
Now 30 years old, France has compiled a .234/.305/.365 line with the Sailors And Redness in 2024. At this point in his career, France fits best as a righty platoon hitter at first base and DH, although his career platoon splits are few. He didn't perform significantly better against left-handers than he did against right-handers. If he can catch or play passably at second and third, it would greatly improve his career prospects.