Because the 2024-25 offseason continues, listed here are three issues we’ll be keeping track of across the baseball world all through the day right this moment:
1. Might Santander’s market be heating up?
Over the weekend, stories surfaced that appeared to point the marketplace for outfielder Anthony Santander might be heating up. The slugger has a minimum of one provide on the desk from the Blue Jays, and the Angels are additionally reportedly thought-about “frontrunners” for his providers. He’s additionally been linked to every of the Tigers, Pink Sox, and Yankees, although New York appears to be the least probably vacation spot on condition that their reported curiosity stems from earlier than Cody Bellinger was introduced into the fold. The Dodgers’ current transfer to re-sign Teoscar Hernandez might assist to get Santander’s market shifting additional, seeing because it took a significant various to the switch-hitter’s providers off the board.
That’s not essentially a assure, nonetheless. Santander is joined by first baseman Pete Alonso and third baseman Alex Bregman as the perfect remaining hitters in the marketplace, and it’s truthful to notice that whereas Nolan Arenado’s availability on the commerce market seems to be an element holding up Bregman’s free company, the marketplace for Alonso didn’t warmth up a lot following Christian Walker’s take care of the Astros. Santander’s reported asking worth of $100MM over 5 years might function a sticking level in negotiations that drags issues out a bit longer, significantly after Hernandez signed for simply three years and $66MM.
2. Infielders coming off the board:
The most popular market in baseball proper now’s absolutely that for infielders—although not for top-tier choices like Bregman or Arenado. Slightly, current days have seen quite a few utility infielders come off the board. The Dodgers including Hyeseong Kim on Friday stands out as probably the most notable transaction on this nook of the market, however Josh Rojas additionally inked a large league deal with the White Sox on Thursday whereas the Royals and Yankees each added gamers on this a part of the market (Cavan Biggio and Andrew Velazquez, respectively) on minor league pacts. Might the following domino to fall be switch-hitting third baseman Yoán Moncada, who it was reported yesterday has acquired curiosity from the Cubs, Mariners, and Blue Jays? Jose Iglesias, Whit Merrifield, Amed Rosario, and Jorge Polanco are among the many different hitters accessible on this tier of free company.
3. Cartaya on the commerce block:
The Dodgers made a considerably shocking transfer on Friday once they opted to designate former high catching prospect Diego Cartaya for project. The 23-year-old was a consensus top-20 prospect within the sport as just lately because the 2023 season however hit simply .208/.293/.350 at Triple-A final yr and is coming into his closing minor league possibility yr. With Will Smith already in L.A. on a long-term deal and Dalton Speeding having leapfrogged Cartaya on the group depth chart, it’s straightforward to see why that form of efficiency made Cartaya expendable for the Dodgers. Even so, his standing as a former high prospect and the ever-present want round baseball for upper-level catching depth may make Cartaya a horny potential possibility on the commerce marketplace for rival golf equipment, to the purpose the place it’s straightforward to think about Cartaya not making it to the waiver wire. The Dodgers have only some days to work out a commerce earlier than they’ll want to show the catcher to waivers—may a deal come collectively right this moment?
