"Christmas week is often thought of as the time MLB executives take a break from the trades and signings of the baseball offseason -- but that is not always the case. As the holidays arrive with some of the biggest names in the 2025-26 free agent class looking for new teams, we went back and found 10 times that the MLB hot stove lit up and added some additional reason for cheer (or jeer) for fans everywhere."
"It's just not recency bias that put this deal on the top of our list because Yamamoto is one of the best pitchers in the game, has two rings, is coming off an especially strong playoff run and his contract was a multipart bidding battle with a number of big-market teams offering deals in the same ballpark as the Dodgers."
"Zito also signed the biggest deal for a pitcher at the time, but looking back with today's knowledge of his peripherals (6.2 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 in 2006 for Oakland before this contract) and what that kind of pitcher would get now makes it more obvious why some thought this was too much money even at the time. This contract was a disaster, with Zito posting 6.5 WAR total in his seven seasons with the Giants."
Christmas week often produces significant MLB transactions despite expectations of an offseason pause. Several marquee free agents and big-market teams have executed major signings during the holiday week, altering preseason rosters. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal after a competitive bidding process, citing postseason performance and elite pitching ability. The San Francisco Giants signed Barry Zito to a seven-year, $126 million contract that failed to match expected performance, with Zito producing just 6.5 WAR over seven seasons. Ten notable Christmas-week moves since 1990 illustrate the occasional intensity of holiday offseason activity.
Read at ESPN.com
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