MLB free agency. Trades. Off season moves. ⚾

[Greenbacks]

World Series champion
First 50/50 season ever
First MVP as a primary DH ever
Led NL with 54 home runs & 130 RBIs
First since Frank Robinson to win MVP in both leagues

 

[Greenbacks]

Reds land Brady Singer from Royals for Jonathan India, Joey Wiemer​

The Kansas City Royals traded right-handed pitcher Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds for infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer, the teams announced Friday.
Singer, 28, went 9-13 with a 3.71 ERA last season, starting 32 games for the Royals while helping them to an unexpected playoff berth. Overall, he made 127 starts for Kansas City over five years, compiling a 4.28 ERA. His only down season was in 2023, when he had a 5.52 ERA.
India, 27, hit .248 with 15 home runs in 2024 while playing exclusively at second base. A four-year veteran, he has a .764 career OPS after winning Rookie of the Year in 2021, when he hit a career-high 21 home runs.
Wiemer, 25, will be joining his third major league team after breaking in with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 before playing for Cincinnati last season. He has a career .201 batting average in 153 games.
The deal fills needs on both teams as the Royals have been looking to add offense alongside star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Their starting staff, which had the second-best ERA in the majors, afforded them the ability to move a rotation arm to fill their need at the plate.
Meanwhile, the Reds add a durable starter to a team that has dealt with injuries in its rotation over the past couple of seasons. Cincinnati finished 16th in starters' ERA last season and had an opening on its staff after the team traded righty Frankie Montas to the Brewers last summer. Singer pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in 2023.

 

[Greenbacks]

Who had the BEST bat flip of 2024?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1860392565666623767

 

[Greenbacks]

 

[Greenbacks]

Yusei Kikuchi heads to the Angels on a three year deal.

 

[Greenbacks]

OTD in 1914, Joe DiMaggio was born.

 

[Greenbacks]

Let's go

 

[Greenbacks]

Rays will play 47 of first 59 at home, then 69 of last 103 on road.​

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball switched a pair of series involving the Tampa Bay Rays to the first two months of the season in an attempt to avoid summer rain at open-air Steinbrenner Field, their temporary home following damage to Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay is scheduled to play 19 of its first 22 games at home and 37 of 54 through May 28, then will play 64 of its last 108 games on the road. The Rays are home for eight games each in July and August.
A series scheduled at the Los Angeles Angels from April 7-9 will instead be played at Tampa, Florida, from April 8-10, MLB said Monday. The second series between the teams will be played at Anaheim, California, from Aug. 4-6 instead of at St. Petersburg, Florida, from Aug. 5-7.
Minnesota's first series against the Rays will be played at Steinbrenner Field from May 26-28 and the Twins' second will be at Target Field in Minneapolis from July 4-6.
Tampa Bay heads into the All-Star break with a 10-game trip to Minnesota, Detroit and Boston and has a 12-game trip to the Angels, Seattle, Oakland and San Francisco from Aug. 4-17.
Tropicana Field, the Rays' home since the team started play in 1998, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, with most of its fabric roof shredded. The Rays cannot return to the Trop until 2026 at the earliest, if at all.
Tampa's average monthly rainfall from 1991 to 2020 was 2.25 inches in April and 2.60 in May, according to the National Weather Service, then rose to 7.37 in June, 7.75 in July and 9.03 in August before falling to 6.09 in September.
The Class A Tampa Tarpons, the usual team at Steinbrenner Field, had six home postponements, two cancellations and four suspended games this year from June 21 through their season finale on Sept. 8.
The Rays are now scheduled to play their first six games at home against Colorado and Pittsburgh, go to Texas for a three-game series, then return for a 13-game homestand against the Angels, Atlanta, Boston and the New York Yankees.
The Tarpons will play their home games on a back field.

 

[Greenbacks]

Dodgers split $46M from record MLB postseason pool of $129M.​

NEW YORK -- A full postseason share for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers totaled $477,441, down from the winner's amount in 2022 and 2023.
The pool of $129.1 million in the third year of expanded playoffs set a record, topping $107.8 million last year, the commissioner's office said Tuesday.
The Dodgers voted for 79 full shares, 17.49 partial shares and $405,000 in cash awards in dividing a pool of $46.47 million. The 96.49 full-share equivalent was up from 76.56 last year when the Texas Rangers split $38.81 million and a full share was worth $506,263. The Dodgers also voted the most share equivalents last year at 94.04, when they lost in the Division Series.
Houston received a record full share of $516,347 in 2022, when the Astros divided their pool into 59 full shares, 14.14 partial shares and $940,000 in cash awards.
A full share for the AL champion New York Yankees came to $354,572, up from $313,634 for Arizona last year when the Diamondbacks lost the World Series to Texas. The Yankees had 71 full shares and 16.38 partial shares for 87.38 full share equivalents.
The full shares for other playoff teams this year: Cleveland ($182,663); New York Mets ($179,948); Detroit ($55,729); Philadelphia ($52,278); Kansas City ($49,583); San Diego ($45,985); Baltimore ($11,870); Houston ($10,749); Milwaukee ($10,013); and Atlanta ($9,548).
The pool includes 60% of gate receipts from the first first four games of the World Series and League Championship Series, the first three games of each Division Series and the first two games of each wild-card Series. For each visiting team in the wild-card Series, travel expenses of up to $100,000 per club are deducted.
The World Series champion gets 36% of the pool, the losing World Series team 24%, each LCS loser 12%, each Division Series loser 3.3% and each wild-card Series loser 0.8%.

 

[Greenbacks]

Left-hander Blake Snell and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract, pending physical.
Dodgers keep getting the best players.
He can be a top 5 pitcher in the game when healthy. He gets hurt a lot though.

 

[Greenbacks]

The top of the Dodgers rotation in 2025 will now look something like:
1. Blake Snell
2. Tyler Glasnow
3. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
4. Shohei Ohtani

 

[Greenbacks]

 

[Greenbacks]

Brandon Crawford, 2-time World Series champ with Giants, retires.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford announced he was retiring from baseball Wednesday after a 14-year career in which he made three All-Star teams and won two World Series championships with the San Francisco Giants.
"Baseball has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and for the rest of my life I will be thankful for the opportunities and experiences it has given me," Crawford wrote in an Instagram post. "Time is precious. I'm incredibly grateful for all the years I spent playing the game I love, but now it is time for me to spend it with the people who I'm most thankful for.
Thank you to all of you who have [been] there for me throughout the years. It's been an unbelievable ride."
A native of Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, Crawford, 37, played for the St. Louis Cardinals last season after spending the first 13 years of his career with the Giants, who selected the UCLA product in the fourth round of the 2008 draft. St. Louis released him on Aug. 20 after he hit just .169 in 28 games.
Crawford helped the Giants win titles in 2012 -- his second season in the majors -- and in 2014. His first of three All-Star selections came in 2015, when he hit .256 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs.
Crawford's best season might have come in 2021, when he had career bests in batting average (.298), home runs (24), RBIs (90) and stolen bases (11). He won the last of his four Gold Gloves that season and also finished fourth in the NL MVP voting.
"I always dreamed of playing for the San Francisco Giants," Crawford wrote in his post. "Being drafted by my hometown team and spending most of my career with them far surpassed any dream I had as a kid."

 

[Greenbacks]

Dodgers, UTIL Tommy Edman reportedly agree to five-year extension with a sixth-year club option, per multiple reports.

 

[Greenbacks]

Every single walk-off this season ... all in one place.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1862708153550291194

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[Greenbacks]

 

[Greenbacks]

Sources: Mets, Frankie Montas agree to 2-year, $34M deal.​

Right-hander Frankie Montas and the New York Mets are in agreement on a two-year, $34 million contract, sources told ESPN on Sunday night, adding a veteran to a thinned-out rotation in their first free agent signing of what's bound to be a busy winter.
Montas, 31, joins Kodai Senga and David Peterson among Mets starters after Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana reached free agency. While a reunion with any of the three pitchers who anchored New York's playoff rotation is not out of the question, the Mets pivoted to Montas, who can opt out of the deal -- which is pending a physical -- after the first season.
Montas has shown flashes of frontline starter potential, with a splitter, slider and cutter complementing a fastball that sits around 96 mph. Cincinnati gave him a one-year, $16 million deal last year despite Montas throwing only 1⅓ innings in 2023 following arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The Reds eventually traded Montas to Milwaukee, and he finished the season with a 4.84 ERA over 150⅔ innings, with 148 strikeouts, 66 walks and 24 home runs allowed.
With the free agency of the three pitchers, first baseman Pete Alonso, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, outfielder Harrison Bader and the ending of payments on Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer's salaries, the Mets have shaved around $150 million off their payroll from last season.
They remain among the favorites to sign superstar outfielder Juan Soto, who shares an agent, Scott Boras, with Montas. New York has engaged in conversations about a vast array of free agents beyond Soto, though signing him to a record deal would not preclude the Mets from pursuing other big names.
New York is coming off a surprising run to the National League Championship Series. In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Mets, they snuck into the playoffs with a furious late-season run, ousted Milwaukee in the wild card round, thumped Philadelphia in the division series and pushed the NLCS to six games against the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Starting pitching was a fundamental part of their run. Despite losing Senga, their Opening Day starter, for the majority of the season, the Mets finished with a 3.91 starters' ERA, getting better-than-expected seasons from Manaea, Severino and Quintana, all of whom were signed to short-term deals similar to Montas'.

 

[Greenbacks]

Cubs add Matthew Boyd to rotation on 2-year, $29M deal.​

CHICAGO -- The Cubs have added Matthew Boyd to their rotation in their first big offseason move, agreeing to a $29 million, two-year contract with the veteran left-hander, sources confirmed to ESPN amid multiple reports.
Boyd, 33, can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses over the two years. The agreement is subject to Boyd passing a physical.
Making a successful return from Tommy John surgery, Boyd went 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts with Cleveland this year. He also made three postseason starts for the AL Central champions, allowing one run while striking out 14 in 11⅔ innings.
Boyd signed with the Guardians in June. He made his season debut when he pitched 5⅓ innings of one-run ball against the Cubs on Aug. 13.
The Washington state native joins a rotation that also includes Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon. Chicago has finished second in the NL Central with an 83-79 record in each of the past two years.

 

[Greenbacks]

Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox agree on 1-year deal.​

Veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $10.75 million contract, sources told ESPN, bolstering a Boston bullpen in need of a power left-handed arm.
The deal, which is pending the completion of a physical, adds the hard-throwing Chapman to a bullpen that finished 24th in ERA last season and went into the winter prioritizing late-inning left-handed help.
Chapman posted a picture of himself in a Red Sox cap on social media.
In 61.2 innings with Pittsburgh last season, Chapman posted a 3.79 ERA and struck out 98 while walking 39. With an average fastball of 98 mph that topped out at 105, Chapman has maintained top-end velocity and an elite strikeout rate into what will be his 16th major league season.
The Red Sox will be Chapman's seventh team, and he returns to the American League East, where he spent seven years with the New York Yankees. While Chapman hasn't closed since 2021, he could find himself in the mix to do so with right-hander Liam Hendriks, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, as well as right-hander Justin Slaten, who emerged as a rookie last season.
Over his career, Chapman has a 2.63 ERA in 760 innings with 1,246 strikeouts. His strikeout rate of 14.8 per nine innings is the highest in baseball history, nearly three-quarters of a strikeout ahead of Craig Kimbrel.
Chapman, who accepted a 30-game suspension in 2016 after a domestic incident in which he allegedly fired a gun inside his house, was traded from Cincinnati to the Yankees a few months prior. He was dealt at the trade deadline that year to the Chicago Cubs, with whom he won a World Series, then returned to New York before stops in Kansas City, Texas and Pittsburgh.

 

[Greenbacks]

Texas Rangers sign veteran catcher Kyle Higashioka.​

The Texas Rangers on Monday signed veteran catcher Kyle Higashioka to a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2027.
The deal is worth $13.5 million, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Higashioka, 34, played for the San Diego Padres last season, after being a part of the Juan Soto trade with the New York Yankees last offseason.
The 6-foot-1, 202-pound catcher found his power stroke as the Padres raced toward the postseason. He finished with a career-high 17 home runs, to go along with 45 RBIs and 29 runs. He played in 84 games for San Diego, making 263 plate appearances.
As a Padre, in his final year of arbitration eligibility, the right-handed-hitting catcher made $2.18 million and appeared in line for a raise headed into spring training.
A defensive standout behind the plate, Higashioka was largely a backup during his time with the Yankees, often catching New York ace Gerrit Cole. In San Diego, another team full of stars, he fit right in.
"He's been fantastic," San Diego manager Mike Shildt said during the Padres' postseason run. "He's done a great job of being an extension of myself. A catcher-manager relationship is important.
"[But] the most important thing is his relationship with the pitchers. That's the most important relationship, is making sure he's synced up with them."
The Rangers, who won the World Series in 2023, finished 78-84 and in third place in the American League West last season.