MLB in for 'a different winter'? Hot stove heats up with top free agents, trade targets

SAN ANTONIO — There were no salacious rumors or even a single trade, as baseball’s annual general manager meetings wrapped Thursday with Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias the last executive to exit the J.W. Marriott hotel lobby at 2 p.m. and head for the airport.

“It was so quiet this year," one veteran GM said. “Usually when you leave here, you hear a few things bubbling under the surface. But there where really no leads, nothing.

“It makes it tough when you’ve only got two teams [the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins] really not trying to win next year while the rest of us are all looking for the same thing."

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There were a couple of signings, with veteran reliever T.J. McFarland becoming the first free agent player to sign with the Athletics since their Oakland departure, starter Kyle Hendricks leaving the Chicago Cubs for the first time to join the Los Angeles Angels and veteran catcher Austin Hedges returning to the Cleveland Guardians.

The biggest reunion was the New York Yankees calling Gerrit Cole’s bluff – and Cole calling theirs – with the Cy Young winner returning to New York on the original four-year, $144 million he was owed in the first place.

There was actually more intrigue among managerial contracts than players with the San Diego Padres extending Mike Shildt for two more years, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees opening negotiations on extensions for Dave Roberts and Aaron Boone. Skip Schumaker, the hottest managerial free-agent, decided to take a year off and join the Texas Rangers as a special assistant, something of a manager-in-waiting job for when Bruce Bochy retires, likely after the 2025 season.

The hottest name among free agent players not named Juan Soto ("the Mona Lisa" of the free agent market, says agent Scott Boras), was three-time Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker, who spent the past eight years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, averaging 33 homers the last three years.

There are at least six teams who plan to aggressively pursue Walker, with everyone involved from the New York Yankees to the Diamondbacks to the Washington Nationals, believing he’ll come at less than half the price of Alonso. He could ultimately be involved in bidding war between the Yankees and Mets.

The Mets’ winter strategy is the biggest mystery among executives. They don’t believe that David Stearns, president of baseball operations, is interested in keeping Alonso for $200 million or paying Soto close to $700 million. They believe he’s much more interested in spreading the money around to address numerous areas by signing Walker – or perhaps moving Mark Vientos to first base and finding a third baseman like Alex Bregman.

The wild card, of course, is Mets owner Steve Cohen. He plans to personally meet with Soto next week, according to the New York Post and could tell Stearns to sign Soto no matter the price tag.

While there’s not a team in baseball who wouldn’t desire Soto, baseball executives believe the finalists for his services will be the Yankees, Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants. The Blue Jays appear to be the popular dark-horse candidate.

The most mysterious free agent is 23-year-old Japanese pitching star Roki Sasaki, who may be the best young arm in the world.

He’ll be treated as an international amateur player and subjected to international signing bonus restrictions, meaning he wouldn’t start making big money until at least his second or third year in arbitration.

If the Chiba Lotte Marines post him, all 30 teams will make a run at him, but the Los Angeles Dodgers would be the heavy favorite to land him with (pitcher) Shohei Ohtani highly unlikely to be ready at the start of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder.

“This is uncharted territory,” said Stearns, who personally went to scout him. “It is very interesting."

The most intriguing newcomer on the premises was Buster Posey, the future Hall of Fame catcher who was attending his first GM meetings as the San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations.

Posey met with agents, touched base with virtually every organization, and announced that their analytics team that occupied a large room in the clubhouse would be relocated for the 2025 season.

“I love baseball," said Posey, who helped lead the Giants to three World Series titles as a player. “This was just an opportunity to where I feel like I could have an impact with the front-office team, putting great players on the field, and an area of the country that my wife and my family grown to life. It was just such a very unique opportunity that I couldn’t pass a chance of.

Mike Hazen, D-backs president of baseball operations, was one of the most popular executives with his peers trying to take advantage of owner Ken Kendrick’s public ridicule of veteran starter Jordan Montgomery at the end of the season. Kendrick blamed himself for recommending the D-backs sign Montgomery, saying it was massive mistake, privately hoping that Montgomery would opt out of his contact. Montgomery instead stayed, and will be paid $22.5 million next year, giving the Diamondbacks six starters.

Hazen met privately with Montgomery, trying to soothe any lingering tension (“I will say that he was extremely accountable towards his season he had," Hazen said) but fellow GMs still are trying to seize on the opportunity, flooding Hazen with interest.

“We are talking to teams about starting pitchers because of the fact that we have six,’’ Hazen said, “and some teams after some of them. … I feel like we’re in a strong position from a starting pitching standpoint. “So, I’d like to stay there, but we’ll see what happens as we go through the off-season."

No already-employed player was sought after more at these GM meetings than Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet, who struck out 209 batters in 146 innings and earned only $800,000 last season. The White Sox have openly told teams he’s available and are expected to trade him by the end of the winter meetings, with the Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers the most aggressive.

“A long list of teams have expressed interest," White Sox GM Chris Getz said. “The right players have to be there. We are focusing on position-player return. We can’t force anything. That is clear.”

The executive who found himself in perhaps the most awkward situation was John Mozeliak, St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations. He’s in his final year on the job but instead of trying to go out a World Series champion, is planning for the organization’s future.

The Cardinals, who have reached postseason 17 times since 2000, aren’t going into a full-scale rebuild, but are planning a reset.

They’re letting All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt walk away, didn’t pick up the options for veteran starters Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, and have told teams that All-Star third baseman Nolan Arrenado and starters Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas are available (if they can be convinced to waive their no-trade clauses). They also have put All-Star closer Ryan Helsley on the trade block. Catcher Willson Contreras has already declined to waive his no-trade provision, and is being moved to first base.

Meanwhile, several rumors were put to bed at the GM meetings:

The Milwaukee Brewers will listen to offers for All-Star closer Devin Williams, but plan to keep him, GM Matt Arnold says, “because we consider him to be the best closer in baseball." If they trade him, it likely won’t be until the All-Star break, if the Brewers are out of the race.

The Phillies have no plans to move All-Star first baseman Bryce Harper back to the outfield.

Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman, who just underwent elbow surgery to remove bone chips, is willing to move to second base.

Brewers All-Star shortstop Willy Adames is open to moving to third base.

Teams, executives and agents will next congregate together in Dallas at the winter meetings Dec. 9-12, the same site where Alex Rodriguez agreed to the richest contract in baseball history, 10 years, $252 million.

That same contract couldn’t even buy you an appetizer at the negotiating table with Soto.

“I think this is going to be a different winter than in the past," one veteran GM predicted. “I could see teams trading major-league players for major-league players, just like the old days. If nothing else, I think things will move quicker once we get to the winter meetings.

“It’s not like the Soto sweepstakes will hold things up. Only a few teams can even afford him. We’re going to see business as usual, hopefully, quicker than we did a year ago."

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