We are a little more than two weeks into the 2024-25 MLB offseason and thus far the Angels have been the have been the most active team. They landed Jorge Soler in a salary dump trade with the Braves and signed Kyle Hendricks, Travis d'Arnaud, and Kevin Newman as free agents. The rest of baseball has yet to really kick things into gear. Here now are Sunday's hot stove rumors.
Mets meet with Soto
A Mets contingent led by owner Steve Cohen, POBO David Stearns, and manager Carlos Mendoza met with Juan Soto and Scott Boras in Southern California on Saturday, reports the New York Post. The Mets made a "very detailed" presentation, though it is unknown whether any offers were made or numbers were exchanged. Soto is of course our top ranked free agent.
The Blue Jays, Red Sox, and now the Mets are confirmed to have met with Soto and Boras, and the Yankees have a meeting scheduled for Monday. Soto reportedly asked the Red Sox about their commitment to winning and player evaluation methods, among other things. It's safe to assume he asked the Mets (and every other team he met with) the same questions.
Severino unlikely to accept QO
Right-hander Luis Severino is unlikely to accept the $21.05 million qualifying offer, according to The Athletic. He will instead seek a multi-year contract as a free agent. Declining the QO would not preclude Severino from returning to the Mets. It just means it would happen under different contract terms. We ranked Severino as the 19th-best free agent available this offseason.
Severino, 30, threw 182 innings with a 3.91 ERA in 2024. It was his best and healthiest season in quite some time -- Severino threw 209 ⅓ innings total from 2019-23 -- and he made some tweaks to his arsenal to get more ground balls and be a bit more pitch efficient. After years of injuries, this offseason figures to be Severino's best chance at a lucrative multi-year contract.
Reds will not lower payroll
Although Major League Baseball will take over the team's broadcasts following the collapse of Bally Sports, the Reds will "maintain payroll levels at or above 2024," Reds CFO and COO Doug Healy told MLB.com. The Reds opened 2024 with a $90.4 million payroll, third lowest in baseball. Cot's Baseball Contracts estimates their current 2025 payroll commitments at $71.9 million.
While that $71.9 million estimate would appear to give Cincinnati some spending room this offseason, righty Nick Martinez seems like a strong candidate to accept the $21.05 million qualifying offer prior to Friday's deadline, which would eat up most of that spending room. Jonathan India has popped up trade rumors recently and could be part of a salary shuffling trade.
