Stay up to date with the latest from the baseball hot stove.
MLB free agency is cruising right along, with many of the big names, including Juan Soto, off the board. But some impact players are still available, and the trade market has been active.
Here’s a quick look at where things stand so far this offseason:
Reports: Roki Sasaki down to 3 finalists, won’t sign with Yankees, Giants, Mets, Rangers, Cubs
Roki Sasaki, the No. 2 player on Yahoo Sports’ Top 50 free-agent rankings, reportedly won’t sign with the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs or Texas Rangers, according to multiple reports on Monday.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Sasaki’s three finalists are the L.A. Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays. According to The Athletic, the Blue Jays hosted Sasaki for a visit last week.
The international signing period opens Wednesday, at which point Sasaki is free to sign with an MLB team. He has until Jan. 23 to make his decision.
Dodgers stay active with Gavin Lux trade, Hyeseong Kim signing
The Dodgers traded second baseman Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for outfield prospect Mike Sirota and a Competitive Balance Round A pick (around No. 37). The move came a few days after Los Angeles signed former KBO infielder Hyeseong Kim to a three-year deal with $12.5 million guaranteed. The contract has a two-year option for the 2028 and 2029 seasons that could allow the deal to be worth as much as $22 million.
The 25-year-old Kim, who played the past six seasons with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, was the first player from South Korea and Japan to be posted this offseason and has been training in Los Angeles for the past month.
Corbin Burnes signing with Diamondbacks
Corbin Burnes is headed to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it wasn’t cheap.
The 2021 Cy Young Award winner agreed to a six-year, $210 million deal with the Diamondbacks, which includes an opt-out for Burnes after two seasons.
Because Burnes, Yahoo Sports’ No. 3-ranked free agent, turned down a qualifying offer from Baltimore, the Orioles will receive draft pick compensation from his new team.
The contract is the largest in Diamondbacks history. Burnes, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, will pitch for the local team after reportedly turning down offers from the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays.
Required reading:
Follow along with Yahoo Sports as we track all the rumors, signings and more during MLB free agency:
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No Sasaki for Cubs
Source says Cubs have been informed they are out on Roki Sasaki
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) January 13, 2025
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Orioles agree to one-year, $10 million deal with reliever Andrew Kittredge
Reliever Andrew Kittredge has agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Kittredge’s contract reportedly includes $9 million guaranteed and a $9 million club option with a $1 million buyout.
Free-agent reliever Andrew Kittredge in agreement with Orioles on one-year, $10M contract, source tells @TheAthletic. Kittredge’s guarantee includes $9M in salary and a $1M buyout on a $9M club option.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 10, 2025
Kittredge spent seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of last season. The 34-year-old reliever finished 2024 with an ERA of 2.80 across 70 2/3 innings for the Cardinals.
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Justin Verlander to spend 20th MLB season with Giants
Justin Verlander, who will be 42 during the 2025 season, reportedly agreed with the San Francisco Giants on a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The deal is worth $15 million, per multiple reports.
BREAKING: Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. The future Hall of Famer, who turns 42 next month, will spend his 20th season with the Giants.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 7, 2025
Verlander is not the pitcher he once was. He was borderline unusable in his 90⅓ innings in 2024, scuffling to a 5.48 ERA and a career-low strikeout rate. While the three-time Cy Young has been vocal about his desire to pitch until he turns 45, it’s hard to ignore a fastball that continues to lose velocity.
The Giants are surely hoping Verlander can find some return to form in San Francisco next season. He joins a staff that features 2024 All-Star Logan Webb but lost two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell to the rival Dodgers in free agency.
Read more here.
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Scott Boras has shown so far this offseason that he still has his fastball
Agent Scott Boras has had a much better offseason this year, including Juan Soto’s megadeal with the New York Mets. (Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty Images) For the first time in years, Scott Boras entered the MLB offseason under a thundercloud of skepticism and scrutiny.
Last winter, the game’s most notorious and most successful agent had himself an absolute stinker — that is, at least, by his supersonic standards. Boras’ four major free agents in 2023-24 — Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery — all emerged with deals well below expectations. The timing of their signings, too, was far from ideal. At the outset of spring training in mid-February, the entire so-called “Boras Four” remained free agents. That timeline seemed to negatively impact both Snell and Montgomery in the early going of the 2024 season.
It was, unequivocally, the worst free agency of the super-agent’s accomplished career. Equally revered and reviled around the game, Boras seemed to be losing his fastball. Whispers percolated around the industry about whether the 72-year-old could still hack it. Montgomery ditched Boras as his representation, publicly criticizing the agent for his handling of the starter’s disastrous experience on the open market.
One glance at Boras’ imposing, star-studded client list for free agency 2024-25 — Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Pete Alonso, Blake Snell, Alex Bregman — and the pressure was squarely on the agent to prove that he was still the game’s most influential powerbroker.
Well, so far this winter, Boras has proven that he’s still a force to be reckoned with. January is less than a week old, and thus far this offseason, Boras Corp. has earned its 12 already-signed clients a whopping $1.45 billion in combined guaranteed contract money. That, according to Jon Becker of FanGraphs, accounts for 57% of the total league spending so far this winter.
Read the full story here.
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