Much of the baseball world this Sunday heads to Dallas for the annual winter meetings. The biggest splash is the expected signing of 26-year-old superstar Juan Soto, which is hopefully coming very soon. In the meantime, there are plenty of other free agents out there and we'll also see plenty of trade rumors. Let's gather everything here.
Dodgers land Conforto
The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to terms with veteran outfielder Michael Conforto on a free-agent contract, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reports. ESPN's Alden González pegs Conforto's Dodgers contract at one year and $17 million. Conforto, who turns 32 in early March, is coming off a 2024 season for the Giants in which he slashed .237/.309/.450 (116 OPS+) with 20 home runs and 27 doubles in 130 games. That slash line, however, hides far better road splits: .253/.323/.530 away from Oracle Park, good for a 122 OPS+. For his career, the lefty batsman owns an OPS+ of 120 across parts of nine major-league seasons.
Despite, it would seem, the addition of Conforto, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports that the Dodgers remain interested in bringing back power-hitting outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
Red Sox in on aces
The Red Sox are known to be one of the top suitors for Soto (as well they should be), but every team pursuing Soto should have several irons in the proverbial fire. On the Red Sox, they've had discussions with frontline starters Max Fried and Corbin Burnes, according to the Boston Globe.
Fried, a 30-year-old lefty, was 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA last season. He finished second in Cy Young voting in 2022, has three Gold Gloves and was the ace of the 2021 World Series champion Braves.
Burnes, a 30-year-old righty, was 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA last season, finishing fifth in AL Cy Young voting. He won the NL Cy Young in 2021 and led the league in strikeouts in 2022.
As things stand, the Red Sox's rotation features Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, Richard Fitts and Cooper Criswell.
Teo likes Boston?
Free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández would prefer to stick with the Dodgers, but "has long been intrigued" by playing in Fenway Park for the Red Sox, according to the Boston Globe.
The Red Sox "intend to pursue" Hernández if they lose out on the Soto bidding, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, who indicates they'd rather have Hernández than fellow free-agent slugger Anthony Santander. Feinsand further reports that the Blue Jays are also looking at Hernández, though they prefer Santander.
Hernández, 32, hit .272/.339/.501 (137 OPS+) with 33 homers and 99 RBI last season for the World Series champion Dodgers. He'll likely wait to sign until after Soto is off the board.
D-backs asked Cubs about Montgomery-Bellinger swap
The Diamondbacks "tried to get the Cubs interested" in a trade that would send Jordan Montgomery to Chicago in exchange for Cody Bellinger, according to USA Today. It sounds like it didn't work, at least not yet, but it's notable due to the names involved.
Montgomery is due $22.5 million in 2025 after posting -1.4 WAR in 2024. He had a 6.23 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 117 innings.
Bellinger is making $27.5 million next season. Last year, he hit .266/.325/.426 (111 OPS+) with 2.2 WAR in 130 games.
Orioles considered Grichuk as Plan B
The Orioles have reportedly agreed to sign right-handed slugger Tyler O'Neill to a three-year deal. They were looking at Randal Grichuk before the signing, reports MLB.com. This is notable in that is illustrates that Grichuk is a bit of a fallback option for any teams that were discussing O'Neill.
Grichuk, 33, hit .291/.348/.528 (140 OPS+) with 12 homers in 279 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks last season. Like O'Neill, he destroys lefties. Last season, Grichuk hit .319/.386/.528 against southpaws.
