Around Baseball 2025

[Omar]

1 hour ago, Ball4Life said:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/red-sox-interested-in-bo-bichette-kyle-schwarber.html

Bichette and Story on the Bosox infield...yikes!  What are they thinking?

[Brownie19]

On 11/16/2025 at 8:24 PM, BTS said:

I haven't seen anyone reporting on the AAV/$$$ involved in this signing, but I just noticed on Naylor's Fangraph page it says 5 years $92.5M (2026-2030).  That seems about right to me - $18.5M AAV.

To be honest - he has a lot of similarities to Santander prior to signing with the Jays.  Santander hit free agency a year older than Naylor.  He also has more power and a slightly higher K%.  But in general, they are 2-3 WAR players with 115-125 wRC+ type bats.

[BTS]

Quote

 

 

[glory]

[Stangstag]

58 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Yeah

If he leaves (and I hope he doesn't) just don't let it be an AL rival or the Dodgers.  

I think they’ll just outbid whoever to keep him here. Optics. Same situation as Vlad but this time they aren’t bidding against themselves.

[Stangstag]

Just now, glory said:

Grisham on 22 million is gross lol. Although maybe the numbers are legit if he keeps playing at Yankee stadium 

[max silver]

3 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

Grisham on 22 million is gross lol. Although maybe the numbers are legit if he keeps playing at Yankee stadium 

Grisham actually hit overwhelmingly better on the road (151 wRC+) vs Yankee Stadium (104 wRC+).

[Eat My Shatkins]

3 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

I think they’ll just outbid whoever to keep him here. Optics. Same situation as Vlad but this time they aren’t bidding against themselves.

If the Jays are willing to match whatever offer he gets, I can't see him walking. 

[BTS]

How could Woodruff not beat 1/22? Would have expected like 1/25 with a player option and 5M buyout, at the very least. 

[Laika]

Just now, BTS said:

How could Woodruff not beat 1/22? Would have expected like 1/25 with a player option and 5M buyout, at the very least. 

Yeah this is like Shane Bieber basically

Brewers are happy. Maybe Woodruff is worried about his own health. 

[glory]

8 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

Grisham on 22 million is gross lol. Although maybe the numbers are legit if he keeps playing at Yankee stadium 

A 1 year deal for Grisham coming off the season he had isn't terrible, but the issue for the Yankees is that Hal Steinbrenner is not George. They have a limit to what they can spend. This likely will hurt them to some degree this winter. 

[Brownie19]

14 minutes ago, glory said:

A 1 year deal for Grisham coming off the season he had isn't terrible, but the issue for the Yankees is that Hal Steinbrenner is not George. They have a limit to what they can spend. This likely will hurt them to some degree this winter. 

I mean - Grisham was really good last year.  I don't blame him for betting on himself to repeat, in which case, he'll have an opportunity to really cash in.  Unfortunately for him, his defense is declining quickly and he may only be a CFer for another season before having to move to the corner (which will hurt his value).

Woodruff is a surprise.  I'd have thought he'd shown enough to land a good multi-year deal, or some type of short terms deal with opt outs or such in it.  I thought the same of Bieber though - so it's an interesting trend developing (although perhaps 2 people don't make a trend).  Is the FA market going to be a little soft this year?  If so - good news for the buyers (ie - the Jays)

[Spanky__99]

1 hour ago, Brownie19 said:

I haven't seen anyone reporting on the AAV/$$$ involved in this signing, but I just noticed on Naylor's Fangraph page it says 5 years $92.5M (2026-2030).  That seems about right to me - $18.5M AAV.

To be honest - he has a lot of similarities to Santander prior to signing with the Jays.  Santander hit free agency a year older than Naylor.  He also has more power and a slightly higher K%.  But in general, they are 2-3 WAR players with 115-125 wRC+ type bats.

2.5 million more than MLBTR predicted.
 

Player	Age	Service Time	Contract	AAV	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032
Luis Castillo	32.9	8.101	5 yr, $108M (2023-27), 2028 vesting option; option vests with 180 IP in 2027	$21,600,000	$24,150,000	$24,150,000	$25,000,000
Josh Naylor	28.4	6.127	5 yr, $92.5M (2026-30)	$18,500,000	$11,300,000	$17,300,000	$19,300,000	$21,300,000	$23,300,000	FREE AGENT

Surprised Woodruff took the QO.

[Orgfiller]

29 minutes ago, BTS said:

How could Woodruff not beat 1/22? Would have expected like 1/25 with a player option and 5M buyout, at the very least. 

If his fastball velo jumps back up at least a tick I think he's still in for a big payday.

[Terminator]

I wonder what Grisham returning to the Yanks means for them.

On one hand, it does tie up more of their payroll. On the other hand, I thought that Bellinger was probably a better fit for them than Tucker because Belli can play CF.

Now that Grisham is in the fold for another year, they could just play him in CF for one more year and turn to Tucker to play a corner spot. 

Or they could just forget both Tucker and Belli and go with Dominguez in LF.

[Pendleton]

18 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

If his fastball velo jumps back up at least a tick I think he's still in for a big payday.

 

Yeah and he must be comfortable with their rehab/training program + coaching staff etc. Long term that can have much more value than chasing the extra few mil now

[Terminator]

Makes sense for all four to take the 22 mil IMO.

• Grisham – I am curious what it signals for the Yankees. In some ways I think it makes Tucker a more viable option for them instead of falling back on Belli. Or do they just keep Dominguez?
• Woodruff – Only 120 innings over three years and the velocity dip last year meant he probably wasn't getting much more than this. A rebound season could set him up for a solid multi year deal.
• Imanaga – Good call for him. The Cubs are pretty cheap, so this eats into their offseason budget.
• Torres – The market is cold on him, so locking in 22 mil was smart. The Tigers are also cheap, and with one shaky defensive middle infielder already, it is hard to see them chasing Bo despite some speculation.

Michael King and Zac Gallen aren't that much better than these 4 but rejected it. Will be interesting to see how they do.

 

[glory]

All the players who accepted are pretty flawed in varying ways (Woodruff with injury, Shota with performance, Grisham with track record, and Gleyber while young is not the type to lose a pick for). It could mean the market won’t be friendly to players this winter but I don’t think this necessarily proves that.

[Orgfiller]

I honestly have no idea what Zac Gallen is expecting out of FA by rejecting the QO. His performance has been declining for two straight years to the point where he was a below average innings eater this year. He’s also on the wrong side of 30 now. Now with a QO attached it’s gonna kill his market. Hope for like a 3/45-50 deal?

Maybe he just really hates Arizona and the bad vibes that it’s brought to their pitching staff.

[G-Snarls]

7 hours ago, Omar said:

Their skipper/ GM relationship sounds like it's on the rocks. Can't believe he spoke so openly like that. 

I'm kinda surprised Cashman and Boone are BOTH still employed there after a few too many unhappy seasons recently 

[G-Snarls]

Kendry Rojas among 6 players the Twins are adding to their 40

[BTS]

Grayson Rodriguez traded for Taylor Ward

mhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/orioles-trade-grayson-rodriguez-to-angels-for-taylor-ward.html

[Brownie19]

1 minute ago, BTS said:

Grayson Rodriguez traded for Taylor Ward

mhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/orioles-trade-grayson-rodriguez-to-angels-for-taylor-ward.html

Wowsers.  You'd think the O's need the pitching more than another bat.  They must think Rodriguez is damaged goods?

[Orgfiller]

3 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

Wowsers.  You'd think the O's need the pitching more than another bat.  They must think Rodriguez is damaged goods?

Rodriguez is definitely cooked if this is what they’re getting back for him. Still a strange roster fit for the O’s.

[Brownie19]

2 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

Rodriguez is definitely cooked if this is what they’re getting back for him. Still a strange roster fit for the O’s.

And they only get Ward for 1 year...

[Brownie19]

2 hours ago, Orgfiller said:

I honestly have no idea what Zac Gallen is expecting out of FA by rejecting the QO. His performance has been declining for two straight years to the point where he was a below average innings eater this year. He’s also on the wrong side of 30 now. Now with a QO attached it’s gonna kill his market. Hope for like a 3/45-50 deal?

Maybe he just really hates Arizona and the bad vibes that it’s brought to their pitching staff.

100% agree.  

[Jonn]

Don't really understand the trade from either perspective... the Orioles unless they really think Grayson isn't healthy need to be adding pitching not subtracting from it. It was pretty obvious that the Angels were going to trade Ward or Adell. But I think if you make this trade you want more of a sure thing in 2026. It could ultimately be the best talent they could have added for Ward but is he healthy enough to give them the Starter they need right now.

The Orioles must feel pretty confident they can add pitching via Free Agency but everyone has been waiting for them to do it for seemingly years at this point and it hasn't happened. 

[Spanky__99]

1 hour ago, BTS said:

Grayson Rodriguez traded for Taylor Ward

mhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/orioles-trade-grayson-rodriguez-to-angels-for-taylor-ward.html

Huh... Wow?!

[Jimcanuck]

4 hours ago, Orgfiller said:

I honestly have no idea what Zac Gallen is expecting out of FA by rejecting the QO. His performance has been declining for two straight years to the point where he was a below average innings eater this year. He’s also on the wrong side of 30 now. Now with a QO attached it’s gonna kill his market. Hope for like a 3/45-50 deal?

Maybe he just really hates Arizona and the bad vibes that it’s brought to their pitching staff.

Actually his xFIP- was 89 in 2024 (11% better than average) and 99 in 2025 (~average).

[Jimcanuck]

1 hour ago, BTS said:

Grayson Rodriguez traded for Taylor Ward

mhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/orioles-trade-grayson-rodriguez-to-angels-for-taylor-ward.html

Ward projected for $13M to $14M for 2026.  Without Ward, Angels have about $114M committed.

I think the Angels have entered the Tucker sweepstakes.  With Tucker, its a strong lineup, and if Klassen can maintain his 2025 control improvements, pitching could be alright.

2026 final year of the Rendon albatross ($38.5M lol)