MLB

The 29-year-old noted that the Pirates are building something special in Pittsburgh and that he wants to be a part of it. Mattson appeared in three big league contests with the Pirates in 2024, registering a 5.06 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 6/5 K/BB ratio across 5 1/3 innings. He’ll continue to function as extra bullpen depth.

According to McTaggart, “the Astros have offered Bregman a six-year deal worth around $156 million,” but their ability to re-sign him hinges on what other offers he’s received on the market. Despite that offer being a club record, “Bregman is believed to be seeking a deal closer to $200 million, which likely would price out the Astros and force them to move on from their cornerstone third baseman.” If the Astros do get priced out on Bregman, they have other options in place, and “among the players on the top of their list to play third base is Jorge Polanco.” They could then take the majority of the money they offered for Bregman and try to spend more money at first base on a target like Christian Walker.

The 25-year-old was non-tendered in November after he hit .276/.339/.418 in 114 games at Triple-A with five home runs and 40 steals. He went just 1-for-12 in a brief MLB stint, but the Angels will give him another shot in the organization.

While the Guardians may not be actively looking to trade them, both players are entering the final seasons on their contracts and both are expecting to earn $9 million a year or more on their next deals. That might be too steep of a price for the Guardians to play, so “it should surprise no one that Cleveland is open to trade offers.” Given how close the Guardians were to the World Series in 2024, we would expect they would need to be blown away to accept any trade offer, but the possibility does exist.

The notion that the Cardinals could hold onto Helsley is something that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak seems to support: “It’s something we will always remain open-minded to, but our plan is to have him be part of our organization.” The 30-year-old Helsley posted a 2.04 ERA in 66 1/3 innings and won the Trevor Hoffman Award as the best closer in the National League. He is projected to earn $8.5 million in his final year of arbitration before he is eligible for free agency, but if the Cardinals wait until the summer to trade him while he’s on an expiring contract, they will obviously get a much weaker return.

Severino bounced back in 2024, posting a 3.91 ERA and 161/60 K/BB over 182 innings with the Mets. The team made a qualifying offer to him of $21.05 million, but he declined it and bet on himself, which wound up being the right move as he cashes in on a three-year deal worth more per season than the qualifying offer would have been. For fantasy purposes, the move is certainly a downgrade for the 30-year-old. He is moving to a worse team context and will be pitching next year in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento that will be more friendly to hitters than Citi Field has been. As a result, Severino looks to be a risky bet in 2024 that could be limited to deeper fantasy leagues.

Leonard was non-tendered in November but the Tigers will bring back the 24-year-old after he slashed .263/.326/.455 with 10 homers, 26 RBI, and seven stolen bases in 282 plate appearances at Triple-A Toledo. He could get a chance at filling a backup infielder role in Detroit if he has a solid season in the minors in 2025 and he could make $760,000 if he gets MLB at-bats.

Flores was non-tendered back in November after pitching to a 7.84 ERA, 1.97 WHIP, and a 29/25 K/BB ratio over 31 innings across three minor league levels in 2024. Flores was a one-time Top 100 prospect, so the Tigers will keep him in the organization and hope he can re-capture that magic. The 23-year-old can make up to $1 million if he pitches in MLB games next year.

Olney mentions that Robert could be a central focus of the winter meetings next week. Many teams allegedly feel like “Chicago wants to cash out on whatever diminished value Robert has now, rather than risk seeing his value crater even more through another subpar season.” The 27-year-old outfielder will make $15 million next season, with $20 million club options for 2025 and 2026 so he’s on a very reasonable contract if a team believes he can bounce back to his previous form.

Heyman referred to both calls as “positive” and mentioned that the Yankees are keeping tabs on the top-end starting pitchers as they await Juan Soto’s decision. Of the two pitchers, it seems that Fried is the higher priority target for the Yankees given that nine front office members were on a call with him that lasted over an hour. Heyman notes that “it’s unlikely the Yankees would look to add a big-ticket pitcher if they were to retain [Soto], but Fried could potentially be part of a Plan B if Soto were to sign” elsewhere.