On the heels of a remarkable one Early morning signingHere are three things we'll be keeping an eye on in the baseball world today:
1. Soto starts accepting offers?
The first part of the offseason was littered with reports of teams meeting or planning to meet with a superstar outfielder Juan Soto. The Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Red SoxAnd Dodgers It is known that they all met with Soto at this point. The Phillies They also reportedly planned to meet the thug. Other teams, including the Giants and Royals, are known to have at least inquired about Soto, but the star's free agent process appears to be moving beyond the introductory phase, as reported yesterday specified Teams are expected to begin making offers this week. Given that Soto's contract will generally represent a new record in terms of capital value, the coming phase of the process could quickly weed out teams still holding out hope that Soto's market would prove weaker than some of the sky-high ones Numbers that have been thrown around so far. Could things move quickly for Soto once he receives offers?
2. Non-tendered players will be added to the free agent pool:
A number of interesting players entered the free agent pool on Friday evening after being non-tendered by their clubs. These players generally occupy the lower echelons of free agency because teams that had significant interest in them at their arbitration price could have easily traded for them in the days leading up to their non-tender. That means interesting players like Kyle Schwarber, Brandon WoodruffAnd Cody Bellinger have been in the non-tender pile for the past few years. This year's class lacks such great talent, but the long-time Blue Jays are closer Jordan RomanoNationals closer Kyle FinneganAngels starter Patrick Sandoval (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and former Mariners infielder Josh Rojas are among the intriguing potential options now available to teams. Romano was an All-Star in 2022-23 before his 2024 season was ruined by injuries. Finnegan was an All-Star last season but struggled terribly in the final two months of the year.
3. What's next for the Royals after the India trade?
over the weekend, the Royals and Reds came together in a previously rumored trade that resulted in an end Brady Singer to Cincinnati in exchange for Jonathan India And Joey Wiemer. Wiemer fit in as a platoon partner on the short side of the midfielder in Kansas City Kyle Isbel is pretty simple, but taking over India is a bit more complicated. India seems ready to emerge any day as a potential leadership option for the club Bobby Witt Jr. And Salvador Perezbut it remains to be seen how the club's defensive focus will change now that both India and the incumbent second baseman are in the mix Michael Massey are in the mix.
Both India and Massey played almost exclusively second base in the majors, but India lined up as a third baseman and both players certainly handled either left field. Is a position change on the cards for either player heading into spring training, or are there more deals on the horizon that could clarify the club's infield situation? Maikel Garcia and Massey were the club's primary options in the infield, along with Witt and the first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino last year. Could Garcia or Massey be relegated to a utility role or even move in a future deal to improve the club's questionable fielding mix now that India are involved?
