"The Yankees also checked in on reliever Michael Kopech and starter Nick Martinez, among others," Heyman writes. Kopech became a free agent at the end of the 2025 season and has gained interest from other teams throughout the offseason. The San Francisco Giants have also reportedly "been in touch" with Kopech. When Did Michael Kopech Join the Dodgers? Kopech joined the Dodgers at the 2024 trade deadline, when L.A. acquired the reliever in a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.
With Spring Training set to begin in just a couple of weeks, three-time batting champion Luis Arraez continues to linger on the market. Having played out his final arbitration year with the Padres, Arraez always figured to be an interesting case in free agency. His high contact and low strikeout rates earn him plenty of old-school fans. On the flip side, his lack of power, low walk rates, and defensive limitations make his value questionable from an analytics standpoint.
This deal should be happening soon and could go down before the Olympic roster freeze next week. Right now, the Rangers are holding Panarin out of all games, not running the risk of their biggest trade asset getting injured before they can cash in. ESPN's Emily Kaplan went as far to say that the all-star Russian has likely played his final game for the Rangers already.
I don't know if we're ever done. I think we're very comfortable with the five that we have and then the bundle of arms behind them. Our depth is in a much better spot than it was at the beginning of the offseason, so we're happy with where we're at. We'll keep working at it, but we do think this is a solid five-man rotation going into the spring.
Year Review: After dealing away star edge rusher Micah Parsons less than a week before the start of the 2025 regular season, the Cowboys were scrambling to find some pass rush help. Dallas knew their pass rush group, minus Parsons, was not good enough to be a consistent threat, so they went outside the organization to get a much-needed upgrade.
With Seranthony Dominguez now off the market (and Bo Bichette long gone), Isiah Kiner-Falefa is arguably the best Toronto Blue Jays' player from the 2025 roster who remains lingering in free agency. Kiner-Falefa is among the most versatile utility players in the league, and now that players like Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Ha-Seong Kim, and Alex Bregman have all signed, he's one the best infielders still available.
It prompted a lot of skepticism about his fit on the team, mainly due to his apparent behavioral issues that ended his tenures in Buffalo and Minnesota. Although nothing had been said about his time with the Texans, it was still considered a risk to bring him in, particularly with Vrabel trying to establish a new culture in the locker room.
After spending 12 of his 18 Major League seasons with the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen said back in August that he wanted to return for another season in the black-and-gold, while acknowledging that his shortcomings during the 2025 season. " I have to do what I need to do to...show that I was able to have a good year and still can play the following year," McCutchen said, noting that he didn't want to be just " filling in a spot " and not contributing.
Post trade, we had a quick conversation. But we were just more focused on how excited we were to add Kiefer to the group, and I think he's going to love it here. He's excited. We're excited to have him, and we think it's a great fit. So hopefully down the road at some point, we'll be able to work something out.
Taylor, 27, has a small and unimpressive big league track record. He has appeared in 83 games over the past three seasons, split between the Royals and Mariners. He has stepped to the plate 83 times and produced a .205/.272/.260 line. However, he stole eight bases in that time without getting caught and has lined up defensively at second base, third base and all three outfield slots.
Arbitration hearing rooms are notorious for their unpredictability. Lawyers who have argued cases have left the room convinced they'd made airtight arguments -- and lost. Others were despondent in the aftermath, certain of defeat, and emerged victorious. Which is to say that whatever approach Tarik Skubal's team takes in trying to convince a three-person panel that he's worthy of the $32 million he's seeking instead of the $19 million the Detroit Tigers are offering, the ultimate result is a crapshoot.
It's a relatively thin group after MLB's best pitcher. Olson missed most of the second half with a shoulder injury. Mize had an All-Star first half but was up-and-down later in the season. While Flaherty's strikeout and walk profile remained strong, he's coming off his second upper-4.00s ERA in three seasons. Anderson has started two MLB games and hasn't pitched in the majors in five years. Melton has mid-rotation upside but worked mostly out of the bullpen as a rookie.
The two most productive wideouts in football, the Rams' Puka Nacua and the Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba, are competing for a trip to the Super Bowl this weekend in the NFC Championship Game. Both of those teams made significant receiver additions in free agency this past offseason, as the Rams signed Davante Adams and the Seahawks went for former Rams wideout Cooper Kupp.
It feels like we're in a weird sort of limbo with the Cubs, who made two major moves ahead of their annual fan convention and now seem to be lying in wait to see what happens with the rest of the league. Several other big free agents have come off the board since Alex Bregman headed to the North Side, and there are still more to go before the offseason is over, but the tweeners like Zac Gallen might end up looking for pillow deals.
Centre field is the most straightforward position if everybody is healthy. Daulton Varsho will start there after a strong-albeit injury-shortened-campaign in 2025 during which he slugged 20 home runs with 55 RBIs in just 71 games. He also played exceptional defense to the tune of nine outs above average with a +6 fielding run value. Varsho will have plenty to play for in 2026 with his contract set to expire at season's end.
With their starting rotation problems still unresolved, the Mets are still in on free-agent starting pitcher Framber Valdez, even if more penalties come with it. Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported that New York maintained its interest in the southpaw ace, who rose to stardom with the Houston Astros, even if that means that they would lose their third and sixth-highest selections in the 2026 MLB Draft.
