Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Much of the buzz surrounding the Phillies this winter has concerned their efforts to re-sign one or both or Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. Since either of those free agents might well end up leaving Philadelphia for another team, the Phils have also been doing their due diligence on other major free agents or trade targets, including Tatsuya Imai and Ketel Marte.

MLB's winter meetings begin Monday in Orlando, Florida, signaling the time when baseball's offseason activity is likely to take off. What's the latest on free agent hitters, including coveted sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Tucker? Will Framber Valdez find a new home now that fellow top free agent pitcher Dylan Cease is off the board? What's the latest on a trade market featuring stars such as Ketel Marte and Steven Kwan? And which teams could surprise the sport by making a big splash in Florida?

Major League Baseball began investigating Pete Rose in 1988, the year before it launched the full-blown, publicly announced probe that resulted in his banishment, according to newly released FBI documents. MLB, however, suspended its investigation at the request of federal law enforcement officials who were investigating Rose's finances at the time. The documents show that MLB suspected in 1988, months before the public became aware of any investigation, that Rose was betting on baseball and was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Those three teams were the final suitors for Bregman last offseason. Detroit reportedly put forth a six-year, $171.5MM offer - albeit with deferred money that would have reduced the net present value - with an opt-out after the second season. The Cubs offered a four-year contract which various reports put at either $115MM or $120MM that included opt-out chances after the second and third season.

The Toronto Blue Jays addressed their pitching by signing Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and also had Shane Bieber take the option on his contract to play with Toronto in 2026. Both the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles have also made moves with the former grabbing Sonny Gray in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, and the latter picking up reliever Ryan Helsley off the free agent market while also getting Taylor Ward in a trade with the LA Angels.

The Tigers and right-hander Drew Anderson have agreed to a deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It's a one-year pact with a club option for 2027. The salary figures haven't yet been publicly reported. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports that the Tigers expect the righty to be a starter, as he has been doing in Korea for the past couple of years. The Tigers have a 40-man vacancy and won't need to make a corresponding move.

The Orioles have claimed outfielder Will Robertson off waivers from the Pirates, according to Jake Rill of MLB.com. There wasn't any previous indication Robertson was on the wire but it seems the Bucs tried to sneak him through waivers in order to open a 40-man spot. The Orioles swooped in to grab him, so Pittsburgh loses Robertson but they do open a roster spot, going from 39 to 38.

Throughout Springer's 2024 season, he just couldn't find his rhythm offensively, and it certainly looked like the six-year, $150-million contract was trending in the wrong direction. To his credit though, his defensive excellence never wavered. He finished 2024 with a career-worst .220/.303/.371 slash line and a .674 OPS across 145 games, placing him among the least productive qualified hitters in the league.

A longtime Baltimore Oriole, Mullins spent eight seasons with the club that drafted him in 2015 before he was dealt to the New York Mets at last year's trade deadline in exchange for three players. Between both squads, Mullins posted a .216/.299/.391 slash line with 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and 59 RBIs to the tune of a .690 OPS. Following the trade, Mullins struggled with the Mets, producing a .565 OPS with a .284 OBP down the stretch with New York, who eventually missed out on the playoffs.

The Mets have been perusing the trade market in hopes of bolstering their rotation and have their eye on Twins right-hander as one of several targets, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. He adds that the Twins like young Mets righty - hardly a surprise, given that Tong is widely regarded as one of the sport's top pitching prospects.

However, the Blue Jays hope in landing an elite bullpen arm could significantly take a bigger hit if the latest prediction by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com ends up coming to fruition. Feinsand has top free agent closer Edwin Diaz signing with the reigning World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers this winter. Blue Jays fans should roll their eyes at this Dodgers prediction

Hartwig, 28 this month, has a limited big league track record. He tossed 42 innings for the Mets over the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He allowed 24 earned runs, giving him a 5.14 ERA. He struck out 18% of batters faced and issued walks at a 10.1% rate, both subpar figures, but induced grounders on 46.5% of balls in play. He averaged in the mid-90s with his four-seamer and sinker while also mixing in a cutter, slider and changeup.

No player inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame has ever done so representing the Miami Marlins. That much is common knowledge to anyone reading this, and to much of baseball fandom. Fve players- Andre Dawson, Mike Piaza, Tim Raines, Ivan Rodriguez, and Ichiro Suzuki- enshrined in Cooperstown suited up for the Miami Marlins at some point in their careers.

As the Cardinals navigate the early stages of a rebuild under new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan stands as perhaps the most appealing trade commodity on the St. Louis roster. The Mariners spent much of last offseason trying to pry Donovan loose from the Cardinals (under then-president of baseball ops John Mozeliak), and they've once again approached the Cards to express interest in coming together on a trade involving Donovan, per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times.

On Dec. 3, 2007, longtime Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley earned the minimum amount of votes necessary for induction and was posthumously elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the veterans committee. The famed owner, who entered the Hall of Fame officially during an induction ceremony in 2008, oversaw the Dodgers organization from 1950 until his death in 1979 at the age of 75.

With Blake, one thing that's really exciting for us is, as much success as he's had, we feel like there's more in there and a lot of upside beyond what he's done to this point and the impact that can have on us in our quest to win a World Series this year and as many years as we can see out.