MLB (non-Phillies) 2025-26 Hot Stove

[bkox]

Blue Jays, Dylan Cease agree to 7-year, $210M contract: Sources

[zambonir]

Good news for Boras (also Cease's agent) and Ranger I reckon, as Cease had a QO too.

There are deferrals.

Blue Jays To Sign Dylan Cease To Seven-Year Deal

> 6:54pm: The deferrals will drop the average annual value for luxury tax purposes to roughly $26MM, reports Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. That’d put the “true” value of the guarantee closer to $182MM.

[andyb]

Hard to see Ranger not getting at least 6/150. Good for him though sadly probably not in Philly.

[andyb]

Rule 5 candidates from each team. Griff is ours.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-rule-5-draft-candidates-from-each-club-2025

[Philsmania]

Edwin Diaz leaving Mets for Dodgers (3 years, $69 million), days after Mets signed Devin Williams (3 years, $51 million).

Dodgers To Sign Edwin Diaz

[fish]

Edwin Diaz leaving Mets for Dodgers (3 years, $69 million), days after Mets signed Devin Williams (3 years, $51 million).

When you look at those numbers and think “wow, that’s a lot for a closer”…then double it because of the tax and choke on the notion of Diaz at a cost of $46 million per. Well, good for the dodgers. Hopefully it motivates someone else to try and keep up.

[zambonir]

Well, they got so much value out of their reliever spending spree last year....

I am looking forward to seeing Williams blow some saves against us, not that our guy is immune. But he is cheap!

[andyb]

Alonso to the Orioles for 5/155. They sure seem desperate to spend money but they keep failing to add starting pitching (and I think they should have kept Grayson Rodriguez). I guess they are one of the favorites for Ranger and while it is good to see a smaller market team spend money, this sure looks like a set of moves that might lead to disaster.

Orioles to sign Pete Alonso after missing on slugger Kyle Schwarber: Sources

[Philsmania]

Alonso to Orioles, 5 years $155 million. This one surprises me.

Orioles, Pete Alonso Agree To Five-Year Deal

[andyb]

Athletic had projected Alonso for $140 million with Schwarber at $145. So both exceeded that though Alonso (who is 2 years younger) by more.

[zambonir]

It's very interesting to watch David Stearns run the Mets like the Brewers! Not that he won't spend more money. Nor is he necessarily wrong to be conservative. But is Cohen really that even-keeled/patient?

Alonso sending Kyle a Christmas card for sure. He is a couple of years younger, but RHB, and not really a fielder at this point either.

[Philsmania]

Seeing how the Mets went on that free agent binge in the 2021-22 offseason, signed Verlander before 2023 and then signed Soto last year, you would think the Mets would spare no cost. But yes, they let Diaz and Alonso walk this winter.

[zambonir]

Well, they signed Williams who might actually be better than Diaz (he's had his struggles but Diaz was not immune to that either over the years). Of course he was also Stearns' guy.

All that other stuff was a different front office until Soto. A year after Soto they are certainly entitled to dial it back. Also remains to be seen if they actually do dial it back. But Stearns supposedly does not like to give out longer deals to starting pitchers.

[BostonRoss]

Of course he was also Stearns' guy.

I kind of feel like when a GM signs someone they had when they were with a previous team, the failure rate is higher than average. Maybe it's because the players are older when they sign with the new team. Or maybe I'm just projecting Castellanos...

[zambonir]

In theory it should cut both ways. You know someone's work habits and character, their injury history too. But you also overrate that knowledge. Gillick had a checkered track record in that regard too. Nailed it with Werth, but anyone remember that Arthur Rhodes and Ryan Franklin played for us the year before? And then there was his ostensible connection to the Cliff Lee package from Seattle.

Speaking of Seattle I remember when the Mets first got Diaz. Phillies had supposedly hoped to get him in the Segura trade but Mets taking Cano's salary left them out.

[Philsmania]

Yaz signs with the team that used to be in Boston.

Braves To Sign Mike Yastrzemski

[Philsmania]

IGillick had a checkered track record in that regard too. Nailed it with Werth, but anyone remember that Arthur Rhodes and Ryan Franklin played for us the year before? And then there was his ostensible connection to the Cliff Lee package from Seattle.

In fairness to Gillick, both Rhodes and Franklin had success elsewhere after leaving the Phillies, so Gillick wasn't really off about them. They just didn't have good years for us in 2006.

[zambonir]

I mean, that's relievers for you. Hitting on your over-35 pitching bets always scarce in any case. And his worse signings were not people he'd had before, obviously (Eaton, Gordon). Anyway, Stearns had first-hand familiarity with both Diaz and Williams, so it was an equal amount of information and sentiment either way, even if he didn't originally sign or develop Diaz.

[David_Criss]

Braves sign Roger Suarez for 3/45. That is a bullpen arm I would've liked to see in Phillies red..... Tyler Rogers and Brad Keller remain available.

[zambonir]

Robert. The pitcher who sent the Phillies to the World Series!

No way Phillies are giving any reliever a three-year deal or double digits. Anyone they add to the current mix will be like the 4th or 5th guy in the pecking order.