Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Some concepts are hits. Some are flops. The experiment to watch this year is almost spiritual in nature: Can professional baseball make starting pitching great again? Baseball's obsession with velocity has dampened the soul of the sport. The marquee pitching matchup is an endangered species. The oohs and aahs over a 100-mph pitch have been replaced by yawns. The potential solution, or at least a piece of one, is evident in this job description:

The Dodgers, however, are more likely to explore deals for outfielder Ryan Ward, a career minor leaguer who last season was MVP of the Pacific Coast League at 28; or right-hander Bobby Miller, who has been a disappointment. Both players don't have a clear role on the team as they are blocked by multiple players ahead of them. Miller is no higher than 10h on the starting pitcher depth chart, if not lower, and their bullpen is crowded as well.

The Dodgers agreed to a minor league deal with reliever Nick Robertson, reports Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. The righty returns to the organization that drafted him in the seventh round in 2019. Robertson briefly reached the majors with Los Angeles. He made nine appearances before being traded to the Red Sox alongside minor league pitcher Justin Hagenman in the deal that brought Kiké Hernández back to the Dodgers.

Veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto has agreed to a three-year, $45 million contract to stay with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to multiple reports. Realmuto can earn an additional $5 million annually in bonuses, according to the reports. The Phillies re-signing of Realmuto was the latest free agency domino to fall Friday. Philadelphia was among the top pursuers of infielder Bo Bichette, who instead agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal with the New York Mets.

Tracking the offseason MLB trades and signings with fantasy baseball implications for the upcoming season, Eric Karabell and Tristan H. Cockcroft will analyze and provide an outlook for all of the key players involved. While players were allowed to sign with new teams as early as Nov. 6, things really started to heat up at the league's annual winter meetings in Orlando, Florida, which took place Dec. 7-10.

There was another prospect who ranked on Baseball America's top 100 IFA prospect list that signed with the Blue Jays: Aneudy Severino. The outfielder signed for $700,000 and ranked as the 71st-best prospect. His scouting report notes that he's just 5'9" but is strong and hits the ball hard. A right-handed batter, he's more of a line-drive hitter than a power hitter.

Bellinger crosses off some of the same boxes that Tucker did. He's a left-handed hitting outfielder who brings some pop to the plate. Bellinger actually hit more homes than Tucker did last season, with 29 compared to Tucker's 22. Although, Tucker was injured for some time during the 2025 season and it affected his power output. Tucker is also two years younger than Bellinger, and to this point in his career has a better batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and OPS+.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a quiet offseason thus far, considering their major league moves. However, that has been far from the case regarding filling out the rest of their roster and getting younger in key positions. LA is thinking in terms of the present and certainly the future. MLB insider Francys Romero shared that the Dodgers have signed outfielder Rubel Arias and shortstop Ezequiel Melbourne. More news: Dodgers Legend Clayton Kershaw to Represent Team USA in World Baseball Classic Arias and Melbourne are the Dodgers' top two prospects in the 2025-26 class.

They've spoken in the past about wanting to lure more free agents and make impact additions in the lineup, but both comments from Pittsburgh brass and the reporting surrounding their early offseason endeavors struck a different tenor. The Pirates' reported willingness to offer Josh Naylor in the vicinity of $80MM was a genuine surprise, given the lack of spending to which we've become accustomed from owner Bob Nutting.

Castro just turned 31 a few weeks ago, but the well-traveled right-hander has already pitched for seven teams across parts of 11 major league seasons. Because he debuted as a 20-year-old and has managed to stick in the majors for the bulk of the past decade, he's just three days from reaching nine full years of major league service time.

On Jan. 14, 2006, the Los Angeles Dodgers traded right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson and southpaw Chuck Tiffany to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for right-handed relievers Danys Baez and Lance Carter, and cash considerations or a player to be named later. At the time, Jackson was a 22-year-old who was the Dodgers' best prospect but the organization gave up on him after he struggled at the Major League Level.

After a long run in their rotation, he moved to the bullpen and has ascended to their closer role in recent seasons. The right-hander posted a 3.02 ERA with 16 saves, four holds and only two blown opportunities last year. He's fanned nearly 24% of opponents in his career, but Norimoto's strikeout rate dropped to 17.2% in 2025 and his fastball velocity took a dip as well, sitting around 92 mph this past year (down from his days of sitting 94-95 and climbing as high as 97-98 mph).

The Diamondbacks announced they've signed reliever Taylor Clarke to a one-year contract. They designated right-hander Gus Varland for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The club did not announce salary terms for Clarke, who is represented by the Ballengee Group. Clarke should be a familiar name to Arizona fans. The Snakes selected him out of the College of Charleston as a third-round pick in 2015. He debuted in a swing role four years later and spent parts of three seasons with the MLB club.

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don't use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

The agate type that used to fill newspapers' TRANSACTIONS boxes and for all I know still do can change everything - about your team, about the players within, about the course of your expectations and satisfaction as fan. While the Hot Stove barely simmers, Kyle Tucker rumors notwithstanding, I'd like to take this opportunity revisit a few picas worth of Mets transactions through time.