Welcome to what is generally a slow week in the baseball world — though there have been huge moves before, such as Curt Schilling to the Red Sox — as we’re just two days away from Thanksgiving. Plus, there was a notable signing on Monday with Yusei Kikuchi going to the Angels. That means it’s possible we’ll see something of relevance this week.
If not, there will be plenty of rumors, as the bulk of the free agents and trades this coming offseason have yet to even come close to happening.
Let’s dive in.
Soto has five offers on the table
There could still be others joining the party, but it seems like the serious suitors for free-agent extraordinaire Juan Soto should have their formal offers in by now — at least the initial offer. The list of offers for Soto at this point is Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers and Blue Jays, according to a report from NJ.com.
These won’t be the final offers. Teams submit early bids and then the dance between agent (Scott Boras here) and the clubs continue. These offers, in fact, are merely being used to “gauge genuine interest from all parties,” according to The Athletic. The expected second (or more) rounds of bidding will be about wittling down to the true suitors.
This isn’t overly surprising. We’ve known all along the two New York teams would be heavy on Soto. The Dodgers moving Mookie Betts back to the infield freed up an outfield slot, the Blue Jays still had the money they tried to spend on Shohei Ohtani last offseason and the Red Sox are a heavy hitter (or at least have been in the past). Perhaps someone else will dive in, but a lot of the other obvious teams who should have deep pockets (Cubs, Rangers, Giants, Angels) seem officially checked out on the bidding.
The smart money is on the process taking at least another two weeks here, so we’ll continue watching and waiting.
Arenado likely to be traded, could change positions
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado sounds pretty likely to be on the move this offseason, at least if St. Louis has its way. Via The Athletic, Cardinals president John Mozeliak had a conversation late in the regular season with Arenado regarding a trade this offseason and the two sides came an agreement that it would be acceptable (Arenado will reportedly waive his no-trade clause, as long as it looks like he’s going to a contender).
Also of note in the report is that Arenado would be willing to move to first base in a trade that makes sense. On the surface, this would decrease Arenado’s value. He’s still an above-average defensive third baseman, though his arm strength is waning a bit. Still, he was a better defender than hitter last year due to his phenomenal range. Moving a guy who just slugged .394 to first base isn’t usually the move.
More likely, this is simply an attempt to open the market up to more teams than only those needing a third baseman.
KBO second baseman to be posted
South Korean second baseman Hyeseong Kim will be posted and start the process of looking for an MLB team after Thanksgiving, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News.
Kim, 25, has played in the Korea Baseball Organization (the top league in South Korea) for eight seasons. Last year, he hit .326/.383/.458 with 26 doubles, four triples, 11 homers, 75 RBI, 90 runs and 30 stolen bases in 127 games.
CBS Sports prospect guru R.J. Anderson wrote the following on Kim earlier this offseason:
Front offices have had ample exposure to Kim, 25, since he was a member of the same Heroes lineups that featured free-agent shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. He’s a career .304/.364/.403 hitter who homered a personal-best 11 times in 2024.
Clearly Kim isn’t much of a power hitter. His bat-to-ball skills, baserunning, and defense all grade as above-average, however, giving him a variety of ways to contribute to his team. He’s swiped at least 30 bases in three of the last four years (the exception being a 25-steal season in 2023), and he’s logged enough innings at short that some enterprising club might entertain auditioning him there and seeing if he can stick.
