#free-agency

#free-agency

Everyone within the Washington Commanders seems to be in agreement about what the most pressing offseason need is to get this franchise back among the contenders. General manager Adam Peters must fix the pass rush, and he must do it urgently. Peters took heat from fans last year for not prioritizing the defensive edge. He kept faith with the options available while adding aging veterans to one-year deals.

The Padres have made no secret of their desire to add another starter and one more complementary bat before Opening Day. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller reiterated those goals from Spring Training (link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). There are still a handful of free agent starters who could make an impact (e.g. , Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, Griffin Canning). San Diego seems to be working with tight payroll restrictions, however. That could point to a reclamation candidate like Walker Buehler or Germán Márquez if they address that via free agency.

We wouldn't be in the position that we're in right now if he didn't help us win games... His care factor's really high and he wanted to do whatever it takes to win. That's what I'll remember him for.

The Maple Leafs have four pending free agents, while Matias Maccelli and Nick Robertson are becoming restricted free agents. One player that the Maple Leafs could target is Darren Raddysh. NHL insider Nick Kypreos stated in the Toronto Star, "If there is a team that needs him more than Toronto, please let me know. He's a right-handed shot with a bomb and would be a perfect upgrade for an ongoing issue on their power-play."

With the Super Bowl in the rearview and the new league year just a few short weeks away, it's time to turn the page and start thinking about the Falcons' 2026 season and what needs to happen this offseason to field a competitive team in September. James Pearce Jr's arrest may change the calculations on the team's needs this offseason, and the list of pending free agents opens up some big questions the team needs to answer while building the 2026 roster.

I don't know that it needed to be Suarez specifically, but Orioles president of baseball operations and GM Mike Elias has thus far failed to add a front of the rotation starting pitcher. is probably good for 2 WAR and still has breakout potential. But (likely) better pitchers such as Suarez, Dylan Cease, , Framber Valdez, Michael King, MacKenzie Gore, and Freddy Peralta were available this winter and the Orioles didn't add any of them.

Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson won his arbitration hearing against the team, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He'll earn the $6.8MM figure submitted by his reps at ACES rather than the $6.55MM figure submitted by the team.

Spring Training is just about "officially" underway, but because there are still notable players available in free agency, we're not going to get quite fully away from the offseason talk just yet. I get it, and I do think that the Cubs front office is one that is always grinding behind the scenes trying to find value. But I am mostly focused now on the group the Cubs have available, and the potential for their success.

One key player who is set to be a free agent this offseason is K'Lavon Chaisson, who joined the Patriots on a bargain deal worth just $3 million and had a crazy year in New England. The 20th overall pick in the 2020 draft spent four years in Jacksonville before signing with the Raiders for a year and then the Patriots. His one year in New England was a good one, as he tallied 7.5 sacks and 18 QB hits during the regular season.

The Rays and veteran righty Nick Martinez are in agreement on a deal, per Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Boras Corporation client's deal is pending a physical. Martinez is the second free agent swingman whom the Rays have added this offseason. They signed lefty Steven Matz to a two-year, $15MM deal at the Winter Meetings.

In addition to his ball-hawking skills, Kevin Byard III provided the Chicago Bears with invaluable leadership, often placing him at the center of pre-game huddles as the team rattled off 11 wins en route to an NFC North title and a playoff victory against the Green Bay Packers. The veteran safety is on an expiring contract. So if 2025 was Byard's final season in Chicago, he'll be missed by Bears fans.

A starter earlier in his career, Pilkington moved to a relief role full time and saw his four-seamer clock in at a career-high 94.5 mph average. He logged an 11.6% swinging-strike rate in the majors, just north of the 11% league-average, and logged a gaudier 13.8% swinging-strike rate in Triple-A. Pilkington still has one minor league option year remaining, and while his overall track record in Triple-A isn't good, he notched a 2.59 ERA in 42 1/3 innings with Washington's top affiliate in Rochester this past season.

"I think it's very exciting," Ohtani said to NBC News. "You know, when I did decide to sign with the Dodgers, that was a conversation I had with the ownership group. "They promised me that they were going to put the best team out on the field. And just, you know, the goal was to, again, continue to win as many World Series as we could. "I never forget that I go out on the field every day, kind of feeling the pressure, but at the same time having fun and knowing that this team has a chance to win and we can bring it, bring it home to the fans."

Here's a list of unsigned free agent outfielders who hit from the right side of the plate: By the way, that list is ordered by 2025 fWAR, and the only players who posted more than 0.0 wins last year were Andujar (1.1), Marte (0.7), and Pham (0.2). And, oh yeah, Marte and Pham are 37 and 38 years old, respectively.

Eugenio Suarez is returning to Cincinnati, as ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that the slugger has signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Reds that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the option is worth $16MM, though mutual options are rarely triggered by both sides. The deal will become official once the Reds clear a spot on their 40-man roster, and presumably when Suarez passes a physical. Suarez is represented by Octagon.

"The Yankees also checked in on reliever Michael Kopech and starter Nick Martinez, among others," Heyman writes. Kopech became a free agent at the end of the 2025 season and has gained interest from other teams throughout the offseason. The San Francisco Giants have also reportedly "been in touch" with Kopech. When Did Michael Kopech Join the Dodgers? Kopech joined the Dodgers at the 2024 trade deadline, when L.A. acquired the reliever in a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.