Welcome to the last full week before Thanksgiving, a period in the Major League Baseball season that is generally pretty dead. It's always possible for things to shake out, but for now we should keep in mind that there probably won't be any major player moves this week.
Something to keep an eye on this week: The deadline for players to accept or decline the qualifying offer is Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET. After that, we will know which players are free agents while receiving compensation and which will remain with their teams on a one-year contract.
Let's get to the rest.
Dodgers meet with Soto
The Dodgers will be the next team to face Juan Soto and Scott Boras. MLB.com reports The two sides will meet early this week, perhaps as early as Tuesday. The reigning World Series champions need an outfielder with them Teoscar Hernandez now a free agent and Mookie Betts goes back to the infield.
As things stand, the Dodgers are expected to move Tommy Edman back to midfield, and James Outman And Andy Pages are the best internal candidates for the corners. They will almost certainly add an outfielder this winter, maybe two, and Soto is by far the best player available. Estimates from Cot's Baseball Contracts The club's competitive tax bill for 2025 is $272 million, well below the 2024 figure ($352 million).
Redness Pitcher Nick Martinez will accept the qualifying offer, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. That means he will play in 2025 on a one-year, $21.05 million contract. The veteran right-hander appeared in 42 games last season, including 16 as a starter, and posted a 3.10 ERA (142 ERA+) and 1.03 WHIP in 142 ⅓ innings pitched.
In fact, he finally joined the rotation on August 5 and made 11 starts by the end of the season. During that span, he was 5-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 63 ⅓ innings and 53 strikeouts with just eight walks.
With Martinez's return, he's certainly earned a spot in the rotation, so the Reds' starting lineup currently looks something like this: Hunter GreeneMartínez, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo And Rhett Lowder.
Some cold water on Soto and the Blue Jays
The Blue Jaysprobably the runner-up in the Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes have been heavily associated with free agent superstars Juan Soto This winter, he even arranges a meeting for him and agent Scott Boras as they court their suitors. On Monday in The AthleticKen Rosenthal was critical of this idea, citing not only the “uncertain future” of club president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins, but also that the Jays were not particularly well-equipped for future success based on their own decision and in comparison to some other competitors. Oh, and there's that current superstar mystery Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is currently set to enter free agency next offseason:
Maybe Guerrero tells the Jays, “Find a few players you have around me and then I'll think about staying.” Maybe Soto, Anthony Santander and other Jays free-agent targets say, “Sign Vlad Jr. and then we'll talk.” In this case, the Jays are stuck between a rock and a hard place — an impossible situation, but one of their own making have.
Pure speculation here: Soto will still sign with one of the two New York teams and the rest is just noise.
The Adames market is huge
Not surprisingly, the market for free agent shortstops Willy Adames is “very broadly defined,” it is said Jon Morosi on MLB Network. He names them AstrosBlue Jays, Brave And Red Sox as interested teams and it's pretty widely believed Dodgers I'll take a look too – although they might move Mookie Betts instead making a shortstop and chasing an outfielder.
The mention of the Astros is particularly interesting since signing Adames would move him to third base, that is Alex Bregman would sign somewhere else.
Adames, 29, hit .251/.331/.462 (118 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 32 home runs, 112 RBI, 93 runs, 21 steals and 3.1 WAR for the brewer Last season.
'There's nothing to report' on Bregman, Astros talks
Astros owner Jim Crane answered some off-topic questions at a news conference Monday to announce the team has done so renamed their baseball stadium On Monday, some of it centered around the departure of free agent Alex Bregman. Crane said there is “nothing to report yet” and that general manager Dana Brown has had discussions with Bregman's agent Scott Boras. About the Athletic:
“We all know Scott. He’ll do his best to get the most money for him if it’s a place he wants to go,” Crane said. “But at some point we would have to make a decision. We are now looking for insurance and examining all options. This is what’s happening now.”
Crane also noted that the Astros have the wherewithal to spend big and that they can do so without “going crazy.” Last season they finished fourth behind the Dodgers in payroll. Yankees And Mets. It doesn't sound like he wants to break into the top three.
Bregman, 30, has now spent nine years in the big leagues with the Astros. He's no longer the MVP candidate he once was (he finished fifth in 2018 and second in 2019), but he's still a very productive player. Last season he hit .260/.315/.453 (118 OPS+) with 30 doubles, 26 home runs, 75 RBI, 79 runs scored and 4.1 WAR.
The White Sox have signed a free agent outfielder Austin Slater, reports the New York Post.
Slater, 31, had stints with three different teams last season. In 84 games, he hit .209/.321/.266 (73 OPS+) with -0.2 WAR.
It's hard to say at this point how Slater fits into the White Sox's plans for next season since we don't know exactly who will be traded. Luis Robert And Andrew Benintendi are slated to be center fielder and left fielder, respectively, but Robert is a key trade candidate and the Sox would probably like to get out of parts of Benintendi's contract if they could, given the state of the franchise.
The White Sox posted a 41-121 record last season.