2025-26 Offseason Around the League Thread

[sveumrules]

Thought I'd start a thread for offseason miscellany from around the league and what better way to kick things off than with the Rockies hiring Paul DePodesta to run their baseball operations.

You may remember DePodesta as being portrayed by Jonah Hill in Moneyball, or more recently for trading a bunch of draft picks then handing out a huge extension to noted massage enthusiast DeShaun Watson.

[HarryDoyle]

 

[trwi7]

Keep getting in bed with sports books.  Clowns.

[Recovering Chicagoan]

3 hours ago, HarryDoyle said:

 

As if these guys don't already make enough money. Sheesh.

[Team Canada]

19 minutes ago, Recovering Chicagoan said:

As if these guys don't already make enough money. Sheesh.

That's what's insane about this. So you're going to throw a ball on purpose for 5-10k? What are you even thinking?

[Scooterfletcher]

54 minutes ago, Team Canada said:

That's what's insane about this. So you're going to throw a ball on purpose for 5-10k? What are you even thinking?

Makes no sense.   Trade your conscience as a millionaire for the equivalent of pesos.  

[TURBO]

The usual suspects...

 

*sigh*

 

Yeah, baseball isn't broken, when the only teams mentioned for all the big name free agents, are always the same ones... 

 

No one else even has a chance...

 

*double sigh*

 

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com speculates the Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, Phillies and Mets are potential suitors for free agent Kyle Tucker.

 

Feinsand notes that the Cubs will take a shot at retaining Tucker, while the Dodgers and Yankees represent a pair of big-market clubs with the financial resources and corner outfield vacancies to get involved in the sweepstakes surrounding the offseason’s most coveted position player. He adds that the Giants and Phillies would be landing spots if they decide to shake things up this offseason, while the Mets could be a landing spot if they’re unable to bring back Pete Alonso. The -year-old fantasy stalwart finished this past season with an .841 OPS along with 22 homers and 25 steals over 136 games as a hairline fracture in his right hand adversely impacted his on-field performance throughout much of the summer. It’ll be interesting to see whether he winds up settling for a short-term pact with an opt-out to potentially hit the market again in the near future.

 

 

[Team Canada]

Why are we wringing our hands over pure speculation coming from a writer? It's not even actual sourced information. So yes, they're going to speculate the usual suspects.

[HarryDoyle]

17 hours ago, TURBO said:

The usual suspects...

 

*sigh*

 

Yeah, baseball isn't broken, when the only teams mentioned for all the big name free agents, are always the same ones... 

 

No one else even has a chance...

 

*double sigh*

 

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com speculates the Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, Phillies and Mets are potential suitors for free agent Kyle Tucker.

 

Feinsand notes that the Cubs will take a shot at retaining Tucker, while the Dodgers and Yankees represent a pair of big-market clubs with the financial resources and corner outfield vacancies to get involved in the sweepstakes surrounding the offseason’s most coveted position player. He adds that the Giants and Phillies would be landing spots if they decide to shake things up this offseason, while the Mets could be a landing spot if they’re unable to bring back Pete Alonso. The -year-old fantasy stalwart finished this past season with an .841 OPS along with 22 homers and 25 steals over 136 games as a hairline fracture in his right hand adversely impacted his on-field performance throughout much of the summer. It’ll be interesting to see whether he winds up settling for a short-term pact with an opt-out to potentially hit the market again in the near future.

 

 

Let them. Whoever signs him will be making one of the worst signings in recent history.

[markedman5]

 

[TURBO]

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that free agent OF Kyle Tucker  “will sign with the Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays or Los Angeles Dodgers,” according to multiple GMs.

 

Tucker is the top free agent hitter on the market and will likely command the biggest deal. The Dodgers and Yankees both have openings in the outfield with Michael Conforto and Cody Bellinger now free agents, respectively. It will be interesting to see if any other teams can get involved in the bidding.

Related

Source: USA Today

[Playing Catch]

On 11/7/2025 at 8:34 AM, sveumrules said:

Thought I'd start a thread for offseason miscellany from around the league and what better way to kick things off than with the Rockies hiring Paul DePodesta to run their baseball operations.

Rumors state that two guys turned the Rockies down first. I've read that baseball execs salivate at the possibilities at Coors Field, but is that true? If they're having trouble finding a guy willing to be the GM, it suggests there's a problem. Probably with ownership, either in resources available, or with the owner being too hands-on.

The quote from Dick Manafort at the presser (bolded emphasis mine),

“Today is an exciting day for the Rockies organization as we welcome Paul as our new president of baseball operations,” Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort said. “Paul was the very first person we interviewed, and throughout our conversations with him, Walker and I were both intrigued by his understanding of the game, his positive attitude, his process-based mindset and his influence on the game. This is a special guy with great vision and a great plan. He is a winner, and he is going to win in Colorado.”

I don't think someone could convince me that DePodesta was a good, or even a cagey/crafty hire. He's been out of baseball for TEN years. The game has changed so much in ten years. And as sveumrules alludes in the OP, what on earth has he done with the BROWNS, that makes him some sort of sports management savant?

I think I would feel so defeated and deflated if I were a Rockies fan. After their big pronouncement that the Rockies were going in a fresh, new direction, they've somehow managed to take their $#!*-show and make it even worse. Here's a yahoo editorial that sums it up.

[sveumrules]

21 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

I think I would feel so defeated and deflated if I were a Rockies fan.

Yeah, the Rockies reside in a level of despair far removed from even the White Sox and Pirates of the baseball world.

As if having to contend with Coors Field and the Dodgers weren't enough you've got Monfort fouling up that sliver of a chance before the games are even played in the summer.

[Playing Catch]

I'm going to link again to that same Yahoo! article, about the Rockies GM Search, and point out that there are some really interesting tidbits at the end of the article regarding the upcoming CBA.

[markedman5]

 

[Brian]

On 11/9/2025 at 4:08 PM, Recovering Chicagoan said:

As if these guys don't already make enough money. Sheesh.

[markedman5]

 

[umphrey]

I have been actually hoping the Dodgers sign Tucker and a few of the top Japanese free agents plus Devin Williams or whatever. My hope is that it gets so over the top ridiculous right before the CBA negotiations that they actually do something about it. 

[Frisbee Slider]

12 hours ago, markedman5 said:

 

I appreciate Naylor is younger and less injured. Naylor hits for higher average and less power. Lower career OPS than Hoskins.

[treego14]

All I know is that I got this strange fever!

 

[jay87shot]

1 hour ago, Frisbee Slider said:

I appreciate Naylor is younger and less injured. Naylor hits for higher average and less power. Lower career OPS than Hoskins.

Naylor hit almost .300 this year and in 2023. He also somehow stole 30 bases last year. Naylor's has been getting better and Rhys hasn't. I think 5 years is a bit long but he is only 29 so he should be productive throughout. 

[sveumrules]

MLBTR predicted 5/90 for Naylor. Ben Clemens at FanGraphs came in at 4/100 versus 4/80 as the median crowdsource there. Sounds like this reported deal is in that neighborhood.

If Hoskins hadn't torn his ACL in 2023 and instead put up another full season with around a 125 wRC+, he probably would have gotten something similar, yes.
 

[long ball]

That Naylor contract isn’t that bad, but I think we see why the Brewers don’t play in the free agent market. 
 

locking into a 5 year deal with a good, but not great, hitter at a non-premium defensive position is just begging to have an upset fanbase in 3 years when you’re paying a 1 WAR first baseman $40m over the next 2 seasons. (This is a comment on how we would react, not necessarily how Ms fans will react)

[owbc]

Resident Mariners fan take: the Mariners basically had to sign Naylor or their fans would have revolted. They  had a lot of available budget + a commitment from ownership to increase payroll from 2025 + some young guys who can fill their other holes at 2B and 3B + are in desperate need of low-strikeout contact hitters like Naylor who can hit in their anti-Coors ballpark. 

Haven't seen the dollar figure yet but will surely be in excess of $100M. 

Personal prediction is that in 3-4 years the Naylor contract ends up with a better $/WAR value than whatever Alonso signs for. Obviously the Brewers should stay far away from expensive 1B contracts. 

[markedman5]

2 hours ago, owbc said:

Resident Mariners fan take: the Mariners basically had to sign Naylor or their fans would have revolted. They  had a lot of available budget + a commitment from ownership to increase payroll from 2025 + some young guys who can fill their other holes at 2B and 3B + are in desperate need of low-strikeout contact hitters like Naylor who can hit in their anti-Coors ballpark. 

Haven't seen the dollar figure yet but will surely be in excess of $100M. 

Personal prediction is that in 3-4 years the Naylor contract ends up with a better $/WAR value than whatever Alonso signs for. Obviously the Brewers should stay far away from expensive 1B contracts. 

Not over 100 Million