Ben Rice homers, drives in two vs. Twins

The first domino in the closer landscape has fallen. The Braves inking Phillips to a deal would seem to indicate that free agent Raisel Iglesias will be on a new team in 2027. Phillips returned from Tommy John surgery in 2026 and posted a 3.46 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 33/6 K/BB ratio in 26 innings. Before getting hurt in 2025, he had saved 24 and 18 games in back-to-back seasons with the Dodgers. He’ll be another late-inning option in Atlanta alongside Robert Suarez.

Abrams has been at the center of trade speculation since the offseason began, but that seems more like wishcasting at this point. The 26-year-old is coming off his best season ever, slashing .261/.336/.497 with 33 home runs, 93 runs scored, 106 RBI, and 34 steals. There are some major defensive questions at shortstop, and prospect Seaver King seems ready to make his MLB debut, but the Nationals seem more likely to move Abrams to 2B or 3B full time than trade him away.

Freeman had a poor 2026 season, hitting .247/.317/.314 with three homers, 23 RBI and six stolen bases in his 288 plate appearances with the Rockies. He then had back surgery in October but says he “feels great” and could be ready for game action by the end of March. With Mauricio Dubon entering free agency, Freeman could fill the role of utility infielder off the bench who is also able to play outfield. It’s an interesting, low-cost gamble for the Braves.

The Dodgers are looking for a right-handed-hitting infielder after Miguel Rojas announced his retirement. While Alex Freeland remains an internal option, the Dodgers seem intrigued by the experience and versatility of both Dubón and Kiner-Falefa. Dubón will likely attract more interest after his strong season, but both players would be reserves on the Dodgers.

The 30-year-old left-hander has never been an All-Star but has a 2.66 ERA in 367 appearances for the Dodgers in his career. He is one of three relievers in all of baseball to make 67 or more appearances with an ERA lower than 3.10 in each of the past three seasons. Ardaya reports that, “Vesia could seek a three-year deal, a source said, given the robust nature of his market early in the winter.” Depending on where he lands, he could even find himself as part of a closer committee.

Johnson is the former pitching coach for the Reds and has been a big league pitching coach in some capacity for almost a decade. In 2013, he left the University of Vanderbilt to become a minor league pitching coordinator with the Cubs. He was then hired as the Brewers’ pitching coach in 2016, and, in 2019, he moved to another team in the NL Central when he was hired as the Reds’ pitching coach. In 2021, he was promoted to director of pitching after the 2021 campaign. He stepped away from the team for personal reasons this past June, and the Reds officially parted ways with him in October. Johnson will now work alongside Mets manager Andy Green and a pitching staff that was hired before last season, including pitching coach Justin Willard and assistant pitching coach Dan McKinney.

Boston’s interest in Suzuki has been widely known. The team is looking to add more right-handed power in the middle of their order, and Suzuki fits the bill after hitting .270/.368/.473 season with 26 homers over 545 plate appearances with the Cubs. The Red Sox are looking to trade Jarren Duran this offseason but will still have Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela, so Suzuki would have to be willing to play DH part of the time if he was going to be a fit for the Red Sox.

Loáisiga spent the first eight years of his MLB career with the Yankees before pitching for the Diamondbacks in 2026. He was injured in 2023 and missed most of the 2024 season before struggling in 2025, which was part of the reason the Yankees let him go. However, he put together a strong 2026 season, posting a 2.42 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 48/13 K/BB ratio in 67 innings for Arizona. The 32-year-old should have a robust market this offseason.

Meeting with representatives is standard practice for this time of year, but the Blue Jays seem keen to add offense to their infield mix, expressing an interest in Brandon Lowe and Ketel Marte as well. Perhaps the most significant development from the meeting with Chisholm is that the former Yankee is allegedly “open to a versatile defensive role in which he moves between multiple positions, including the outfield.” That would make Chisholm a better fit for the Blue Jays and other teams after he was used almost exclusively in the infield, mostly second base, by the New York Yankees over the past two-and-a-half seasons.

Preller mentioned that the Padres are dealing with some financial constraints, which made it hard to accept his $14 million team option at the end of October. However, Preller said the team “told [Pivetta] at the time of the decision we have interest in bringing him back and we still do.” The Padres would just need the new deal to be constructed in a way that gives them more financial flexibility for 2026. It remains to be seen if Pivetta is open to that.