Major League Baseball

2025 MLB free-agent rumors tracker: 4 teams ahead of Dodgers in Roki Sasaki sweepstakes?

Updated Nov. 14, 2024 5:41 p.m. ET

MLB free agency is here!

Similar to how last winter was defined by the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, this offseason will revolve around another generational superstar: Juan Soto. The 26-year-old slugger is coming off a career year with the New York Yankees, having also helped the Bronx Bombers get back to the World Series for the first time in 15 years. Now, he's likely to sign a huge deal that figures to span the next decade-plus.

But where? The chatter has already begun during this week's GM meetings. Soto is not the only big fish on the open market, of course. There are plenty of other top-tier free agents, including ace pitchers Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles and Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves as well as New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.

And as Soto himself knows, after being dealt to New York from the San Diego Padres last offseason, there could always be landscape-shifting trades made this offseason.

Follow along below for the latest news and rumors!

Juan Soto

Nov. 12: Soto to meet with several teams soon, including Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays

Soto is holding preliminary meetings with teams this week in Southern California (which is where his agent Scott Boras is headquartered). First in line is the Toronto Blue Jays, per ESPN and the New York Post. The Jays, who infamously pursued Shohei Ohtani so aggressively last offseason that some erroneous reports even indicated he would choose Toronto, are still "highly motivated" to add a superstar after a disappointing 2024.

While the Yankees and Mets — who will also meet with Soto this week — are still considered the favorites to keep the 26-year-old in New York, the Boston Red Sox will also meet with Soto and have him "at the top" of their wish list. Neither the Red Sox nor Blue Jays finished with a winning record last season, but both AL East teams seem motivated to prove to Soto that they have a better long-term strategy to compete than the defending pennant-winning rival Yankees.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will also reportedly meet with Soto this week, but both are seen as long shots. The defending World Series champion Dodgers will reportedly not "chase" after Soto if a true bidding war for his services emerges, especially on a longer-term deal given that Ohtani is entrenched at designated hitter. The Giants not only also have geography probably working against them like the rival Dodgers, but also the lack of a winning record since 2021 and home ballpark that does not favor left-handed power hitters like Soto.

According to the New York Post, the Rays are also a long-shot suitor. While Tampa Bay traditionally hasn't been a big-spending team, the Rays reportedly made Freddie Freeman the largest offer when the All-Star first baseman was a free agent in 2022.

As free agency is just getting underway, the Yankees and Mets are the two clear betting favorites to land Soto.

Roki Sasaki

Nov. 14: Dodgers not likely to sign Sasaki?

Despite being heavily linked to the right-hander, the Dodgers are unlikely to sign Sasaki, according to The Athletic. The report indicated that the Padres, Rays, Mets and Braves would be "more likely" to land Sasaki than the Dodgers, despite previous reporting that the team that just won a World Series with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be heavy favorites for the fellow Japanese star's services.

Nov. 5: Dodgers ‘heavy favorites' for Sasaki

The 2024-25 MLB free-agent class might add another monumental talent. "Indications" are that Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki will be posted by NPB club the Chiba Lotte Marines, ESPN reported. If he is posted, the Dodgers are "heavily favored" to land the 23-year-old, according to ESPN. MLB on FOX insider Ken Rosenthal also reported that the Dodgers are the "heavy, heavy favorites" to land Sasaki, who was teammates with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The possible sweepstakes for Sasaki won't be as highly competitive from a spending standpoint as other free agents. Due to posting rules, teams can only use money from their international signing pools to offer him. Sasaki has pitched fewer than six professional seasons, meaning he can earn a maximum of $8 million if he's posted after Dec. 15. If he's posted before that date, the most he can receive is roughly $2.5 million, according to ESPN.

Pete Alonso

Nov. 6: Yankees check in

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman figures to be busy in the coming weeks, as first baseman Anthony Rizzo and second baseman Gleyber Torres are also free agents. With that, Cashman confirmed the Yankees have interest in Pete Alonso, who's available after starring for the Mets the past six seasons.

"There are a lot of high-quality players in this marketplace, and certainly Pete did an amazing job with the Mets," Cashman said. "I had a brief conversation with Scott about a lot of his — he has a lot of free agents, which is normal, and Pete's one of them, so yes."

As for Torres, the Yankees did not extend him a qualifying offer, and Cashman offered a tepid response on whether the former All-Star could return.

"I'm not gonna dissect what he's good at and not as good at," Cashman said. "Obviously, he'll have a lot of conversations with a lot of teams that have a need in that area and that might include us, who knows. But appreciate his efforts while he was here."

Garrett Crochet

Nov. 13: Red Sox, Orioles, Dodgers viewed as most likely landing spots for White Sox ace

Crochet, who is viewed as the top player most likely to be moved via trade this offseason, is drawing interest from contending teams and playoff hopefuls who need pitching help. Executives around baseball believe the Red Sox, Orioles and Dodgers are the top three possible landing spots for Crochet, according to The Athletic. The White Sox are reportedly seeking young position players in return for Crochet and each of those teams either rank among the best farm systems in baseball or recently graduated highly touted prospects.

The 25-year-old lefty was also made available ahead of the trade deadline in July. However, Crochet threw a wrench in trade talks when he demanded that whichever team traded for him sign him to an extension, or he wouldn't pitch in the postseason. Crochet has two more seasons left of team control.

Crochet went 6-12 with a 3.59 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 209 strikeouts in 146 innings over 32 starts last season in his first year as a starter.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Nov. 12: Guerrero unlikely to be traded entering contract year

The Blue Jays have "given no indication" that they're set to trade Guerrero this offseason as he enters his final season of team control, The Athletic reported. The All-Star first baseman had his best season in a few years in 2024, hitting .323 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .940 OPS.

Toronto is reportedly making a chase for Soto, so moving Guerrero might be counterintuitive to that pursuit. However, a National League general manager told The Athletic that he could see the Blue Jays making Guerrero available later in the offseason if they fail to sign Soto and struggle to come to terms on an extension with their All-Star first baseman, believing the team could receive massive offers after free-agent first basemen Pete Alonso and Christian Walker sign.

Alec Bohm

Nov. 12: Phillies making Bohm available

The standout third baseman is on the trade market as the Phillies are "looking to shake up their team" after their earlier-than-expected playoff exit, ESPN reported. Bohm, 28, had a career year at the plate. He hit .280 with 15 home runs, a .779 OPS and 97 RBIs to earn his first All-Star nod.

Bohm has struggled in the postseason, though. He only had one hit in the NLDS and is a lifetime .214 hitter with just two homers in 34 games in the postseason. Despite his All-Star status, Bohm might be one of the more expendable hitters in the Phillies' lineup as he doesn't have a major contract. He's also under team control for two more seasons.

Teoscar Hernández

Nov. 7: A pair of early suitors emerge for Hernández

The Red Sox and Orioles are among the teams that have shown interest in the All-Star outfielder at this week's General Manager Meetings, MLB Network reported.

Hernández is one of the top right-handed hitters on the open market this offseason after having a strong season with the Dodgers. He hit .272 with 33 homers and a .870 OPS, before adding three more homers in the postseason to help the Dodgers win the World Series. He also became a fan favorite in Los Angeles — "re-sign Teo" chants could be heard at the Dodgers' trophy celebration, and both Mookie Betts and Dave Roberts have spoken publicly about Hernández's value to the team last season.

Both the Red Sox and Orioles are in need of right-handed hitting help for 2025. Boston's lineup was lefty dominant in 2023 and its best right-handed hitter from last season, Tyler O'Neill, is a free agent. The Red Sox also expressed interest in Hernández last offseason before he signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers. The Orioles, meanwhile, might lose outfielder Anthony Santander in free agency as Baltimore attempts to maximize its core of young players and reach a third straight postseason.

Mookie Betts

Nov. 6: Betts to play in the infield in 2025

The Dodgers plan to return to the experiment of playing Betts in the infield. Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told reporters at the General Manager Meetings that Betts will play either second base or shortstop in 2025.

"For Mookie, winning is always No. 1," Gomes said. "So I wouldn't be surprised if he's like, ‘Hey, this is the best thing. I'll play wherever.' I think catching is probably out of the realm of possibility, although I'm sure he would be good at that as well.

"But yeah, I think it's a lot of conversations with him as well. I know the toll on the body is less in the infield for him. So you can make arguments on both sides of it. But the beauty of Mookie is [he's] the most selfless superstar we've ever been around. And that permeates through the team."

Betts played shortstop at the start of the 2024 season before suffering a hand injury in June. When he returned from the injured list, Betts moved back to playing right field on a full-time basis.

With Betts moving to the infield, the Dodgers have some flexibility to make moves in the outfield this offseason. Left fielder Teoscar Hernández became a free agent following his All-Star season. The Dodgers have also been rumored to be one of the top suitors for right fielder Juan Soto.

As for the middle infield, the Dodgers will have a surplus with Betts back in the mix, as Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas and Gavin Lux are all under contract for the 2025 season.

Alex Bregman

Nov. 6: Astros GM Dana Brown: Re-signing Bregman the "biggest priority"

Houston has a few key free agents to mull over, including Alex Bregman, Yusei Kikuchi and Justin Verlander. As Houston looks to retool after an early playoff exit, Brown was pretty blunt on which player the team is coveting this most this offseason.

"We'd love to have Alex Bregman back," Brown told reporters at the GM meetings. "It's our biggest priority."

The Astros, of course, have allowed a handful of homegrown stars walk in free agency in recent years. But Brown seemed bullish about the club's chances to retain Bregman.

"Our mindset right now is that he's not going elsewhere and we want to sign him," Brown said. "If he ends up going elsewhere, we'll cross that bridge when we get there, but I'm going into this offseason with the thought that we're going to get Bregman back. Hopefully we can do it."

In an interview with MLB Network, Brown shared that he's had initial conversations with Kikuchi and Verlander's agents. He also said he's "gone back and forth" with outfielder Kyle Tucker's agent about a possible extension. Tucker is entering the final year of team control.

"We hope to narrow things down and have more conversations," Brown said. "But we've had multiple conversations."

Bo Bichette

Nov. 6: Bichette not available for trade

With Bo Bichette set to become a free agent after the 2025 season, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins made it clear that the team isn't willing to move on from the shortstop sooner than it has to. He told MLB Network that any trade calls involving Bichette are "an easy no."

Bichette is coming off an underwhelming 2024 campaign, slashing .225/.277/.322 with just four homers in 81 games.

Brent Rooker

Nov. 5: A's keeping All-Star Brent Rooker

Athletics general manager David Frost insisted the A's, who are temporarily relocating to Sacramento beginning next season, will not part with star designated hitter Brent Rooker.

"We're going to keep [Rooker]," Frost told the New York Post.

Rooker was one of the most sought-after players ahead of the trade deadline in 2024. He finished the season with 39 homers and a 165 OPS+.

Devin Williams

Nov.3: Brewers could trade closer Devin Williams

One of the more surprising developments of the opening days of the MLB offseason was when the Milwaukee Brewers declined closer Devin Williams' $10.5 million team option. Williams is a two-time All-Star who also won National League Rookie of the Year in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but did not make his 2024 season debut until late July due to stress fractures in his back. It's part of the reason the defending NL Central champion Brewers declined his option, believing the 30-year-old closer will make less in arbitration anyway.

That not only helps the small-budget Brewers but also makes Williams a more attractive trade candidate, and he's reportedly expected to be just that. Milwaukee has been aggressive in moving star players in the past. Williams, of course, only ascended to the closer role after the Brewers stunningly dealt Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres at the 2022 trade deadline.

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