17+ hour, 38+ min ago (482+ words) The 2025-26 MLB free agent class is fascinating despite lackingAaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto, the three superstar MLB free agents of the past three winters. It's deep in sluggers and late-game relievers, with a helping of starting pitchers and third basemen. It feels hard to predict where players will land, and that should make this a fun offseason. The domino effect of one or two surprise signings -- such asKyle Schwarber not returning to the Philadelphia Phillies or Pete Alonso not returning to the New York Mets -- will create chaos. As always, a lot of money will be spent -- not all of it wisely. Last year's top-10 domestic free agents did pretty well, historically speaking, going from a combined 34.2 WAR in 2024 to 28.2 in 2025 to retain 82% of their value. In 2023-24, that figure was just 57% and in 2022-23, just 54%. Let's dig into the…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (1783+ words) As MLB's hot stove season kicks off, baseball's top executives gathered in Las Vegas for the annual general managers meetings, providing the first opportunity to hear front offices discuss their priorities for the offseason ahead. From teams looking to make a big splash in free agency to those with trade decisions to ponder, ESPN MLB reporters Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez and Jesse Rogers found out what every franchise will be focused on this winter. AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TORbr/>AL Central: CHW | CLE | DET | KC | MINbr/>AL West: ATH | HOU | LAA | SEA | TEX NL East: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSHbr/>NL Central: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STLbr/>NL West: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF The Guardians gambling scandal news broke as GMs were headed to the meetings. What was the conversation on the topic this week? Several team…...

2+ week, 7+ hour ago (1494+ words) LAS VEGAS -- With the GM meetings underway and Major League Baseball's winter off to its typically slow start, a deluge of moves is coming between now and the new year. Plenty of players will sign. A few trades will happen. And rosters will look very different. In that spirit, we're looking at the dozen 2025 MLB playoff teams and nine more clubs that could be busy this winter to determine the single best move for each. Now, there are caveats. Each team gets one pick, and after that the player can't be paired with another club. Here are the best fits for each team starting with the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who, contrary to popular belief, are likely to go in a different direction from the one that has them outspending everyone by a wide margin. 2025 results: 93-69, first place NL…...

2+ week, 18+ hour ago (1742+ words) The hot stove season is already burning, but even amid the jostling of 2026 rosters, we've one last bit of 2025 business: handing out the major awards. The biggies are the four major honors determined by BBWAA voting. These are the ones that will generate the most future attention in baseball history books and on Hall of Fame r'sum's of the future. The schedule (awards will be announced starting at 7 p.m. ET each night on MLB Network): I'll be reacting to each night's awards announcement throughout the week, but in the meantime, here are some opening comments, as well as some brief reaction to the honors that have already been doled out. Below, we list the three finalists in each of the big four categories, with what you need to know before the results are announced, and my picks to take home the…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (1046+ words) The MLB hot stove season is here! As players become free to sign with any team they choose (free agency officially begins Thursday at 5 p.m. ET), we asked our MLB reporters to open their notebooks with all of the intel they collected from execs, agents and other baseball insiders during the 2025 World Series. What is the early word on top agents Kyle Tucker and Kyle Schwarber? Will the Detroit Tigers consider moving Tarik Skubal? How will the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays approach the offseason after meeting in the World Series? Which other teams are generating the most buzz across the industry? And who could be traded this winter? Here is what we're hearing as the hot stove ignites. Jeff Passan: Tucker falls in that interesting bucket where he will rightly demand a contract in excess of $300 million, but…...