The 2024-25 Major League Baseball offseason has begun, and that means an almost daily supply of rumors regarding free agency, trades, and the like. With the General Managers' Meetings ongoing, this week is no exception, even as we're just dipping our toes into the hot stove season. Speaking of all that, Saturday's supply of scuttlebutt – scuttlebutt! – can be found just below.
Blue Jays join Juan Soto fray
Slugger Juan Soto is of course the most coveted free agent available to MLB teams this winter, and the early favorites to land him are the incumbent Yankees and the crosstown Mets. Other teams, however, will be heard from when it comes to Soto, and that list already includes the Red Sox, who recently met with Soto. Now Jon Heyman reports that the Toronto Blue Jays are also believed to have already held an in-person meeting with Soto and pitched him on the organization with a formal presentation. This was not unexpected, as it was widely anticipated that the Jays would be among the Soto bidders.
They have resources and significant room in the budget for next season and beyond, and as the Shohei Ohtani derby showed us last winter the Jays are willing to swim in such high-end waters. Soto has said winning will be important to him in choosing his next team, and Toronto, coming off 88 losses and a last-place finish in 2024, may have some convincing to do on that front. Clearly, though, the above suggests the Jays' interest in Soto is more than just cursory.
This season for the Yankees, Soto slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs and more walks than strikeouts. For his career, he owns an OPS+ of 160 and a WAR of 36.4. To boot, he's exceedingly durable and still just 26 years of age. All of those considerations plus his substantial star power mean Soto may wind up inking a deal worth $600 million or more.
Orioles in market for starting pitching
The Baltimore Orioles, during their current window of contention, have been hesitant to invest in payroll at levels befitting a team with World Series aspirations. Maybe, though, that's set to change under new lead owner David Rubenstein. Speaking of which, O's general manager Mike Elias recently told reporters, including Matt Weyrich, that the club would be active in seeking to add to the rotation this offseason, possibly via free agency and possibly at the higher end of the market:
The Orioles have "engaged" in conversations with high-end starting pitchers on the free agent market, Mike Elias says.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) November 15, 2024
"We are looking at the whole menu, the whole spectrum and I credit the ownership change toward putting us in a position to do that."
Their ace this past season Corbin Burnes, who's in line for a high finish in the AL Cy Young balloting, is foremost among those free agents, and a reunion with Baltimore is possible. The O's, though, may prefer a different route, one that allows them to add a compensatory draft pick when Burnes, who was tendered a Qualifying Offer, signs elsewhere. Other notable names on the free-agent market include Blake Snell, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, and Sean Manaea. As well, Garrett Crochet of the White Sox is an alluring trade target for the Orioles and other clubs looking for starting pitching.
