The Major League Baseball season ended a little less than three weeks ago, so we are firmly in the MLB offseason. The 2024 Winter Meetings in Dallas are still a couple weeks away, but several transactions have already been made. Back in July, I posted “One Focus For Every MLB Team In The 2nd Half”. Now that we’ve officially reached the offseason, I thought I’d do it again with the latest crop of free agents.

For the sake of this post, the parameters are that I’m ONLY making suggestions based on current free agents OR players who have player or team options for the 2025 season, making them viable trade targets at some point this season. With those guidelines in place, lets shuffle the decks, shall we?!

AL EAST

Baltimore Orioles – Bring Back Corbin Burnes

The Orioles are one of the best teams in baseball, so as far as needs, the list is short. That being said, this one seems obvious: bring back Corbin Burnes. Baltimore has been an offense-first franchise for a long time now, but Burnes gave them the Bonafide ace they’ve desperately needed since, quite frankly, Mike Mussina. Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA in 2024 and is expected to garner a contract in the 7-year, $225 million range. If Anthony Santander walks, the O’s will need someone to make up for the loss of his team-leading 44 homers and 102 RBIs, but with the plethora of young offensive talent that Baltimore already has, Corbin Burnes should be the priority.

New York Yankees – Re-sign Juan Soto

This one’s a no-brainer, am I right? Soto arrives in the Bronx, has a career year, and propels New York to the World Series. Aaron Judge is the obvious choice for AL MVP, but I believe that the Yanks desperately need him if they have hope of returning to the Fall Classic. Both Giancarlo Stanton and Judge had great years, but they also have significant injury histories, and we all know that you don’t get healthier as you get older. If one or both spend time on the IL in 2025, they’ll need Juan Soto to step up. Soto’s looking at an absurd contract coming his way – probably something starting with a 6 or a 7 – and he’s said he’ll take his time and consider all options, but let’s be real: there are only three or so teams that could or would even entertain a number like that. Two of them are in New York, and the other has no room for another star at Dodger Stadium (okay, they do, but we can’t let that happen, right?) Everyone with a checkbook will go after Juan Soto, as they should, but it’s the Yankees who need to seal the deal.

Boston Red Sox – Sign Luis Severino

The Boston Red Sox were one of the best hitting teams in Major League Baseball in terms of average last season, despite their lack of star power in the lineup, outside of Devers. While it is tempting to suggest that star power in the way of Rhys Hoskins or Vlad Guerrero, the Sox need pitching. They are middle of the road in terms of team ERA and just missed out on October baseball as a result. Severino had a solid year with the Mets in 2024 after spending the first several years of his career in the other borough. Severino had better splits at home and against righties a year ago. The Green Moster at Fenway Park could suit him well. But I’d still love to see them add a big bat as well.

Toronto Blue Jays – Start the Rebuild

So, this one’s pretty much the same as it was in “One Focus For Every MLB Team In The 2nd Half” back in July. The Jays aren’t winning. The writing has been on the wall for a while. They tried to land Freddie, didn’t get him. They tried to land Shohei, same story. Bichette isn’t happy, and Vlad Jr. had an incredible year, and the Jays still finished dead last in the AL East. The one good thing that Toronto has going for them is that they have a lot of good assets they can sell off and use to build back better. Trade Gausman, trade, Berrios, trade Bichette, trade Guerrero. Don’t do what the Angels did with Ohtani and foolishly try to push this roster into the playoffs before failing and losing them all for nothing. It’s time for a new era in The North.

Tampa Bay Rays – Sign Kevin Newman

The Rays had a down year in 2024 after consistently being a playoff team under manager Kevin Cash. They played the role of sellers and parted ways with Tyler Glasnow and Randy Arozarena. Assuming that pitcher Shane McClanahan returns healthy in 2025, they Rays have a chance to compete again. Other than a place to play, the Rays’ biggest need is at shortstop. The shortstop of the future is waiting in the wings in Carson Williams. Williams is the #4 prospect in the Top 100 and is expected to reach the MLB level at some point in 2025, but he’ll likely begin the season in AA. The two biggest names on the shortstop market at Bichette and Adames, but given that Williams is on the way, the Rays will likely be looking for more of a stop-gap solution. Kevin Newman fits that need. Newman isn’t as flashy as other options, but he would bring a consistent bat to a Rays lineup that was near the bottom of the league in average.

AL CENTRAL

Cleveland Guardians – Sign Max Scherzer while young pitching develops

The reigning AL Central were one of the best teams in the league last season. They could user a power bat, as they were middle of the road in homers and in the bottom-third of the league in hits, but with Shane Bieber entering free agency, the Guardians could use another arm in that rotation to complement Tanner Bibee at the top. Assuming they don’t re-sign Bieber (which would be a good move), they have three pitchers waiting in the wings in AAA. While they get them more reps in the minors, signing 40-year-old Max Scherzer could give them the immediate boost they need. Despite recent injuries, Scherzer has proven he has a lot left in the tank. Even if for only a year, adding one of the all-time best pitchers to a Cleveland roster that was just two wins from the World Series, would be a huge boost.

Minnesota Twins – Sign Tyler O’Neill

For the purposes of this post, when it comes to the Twins, I’m focusing on offense. Their offense was statistically better than their pitching and defense a year ago, so they could also use another pitcher, but in recent years, Minnesota has been a power hitting team. They’re consistently near the top in power numbers, and it’s kind of become their bread and butter. But in 2024, they dropped to middle of the pack in homers, behind both the Athletics and the Mariners (the latter being one the worst hitting teams in the league last year).

Tyler O’Neill had a good year for the Red Sox last year after struggling to find his place with the Cardinals. He played in 113 games and hit 31 homers. He’s never been a high average guy and struck out 159 times, but the power numbers should intrigue a team like Minnesota. He’s essentially a better version of Joey Gallo, who the Twins employed in 2023. Additionally, O’Neill has some speed, which would be good for a Minnesota team who ranked dead last in stolen bases last season. As a side note, if the Twins want to address their pitching needs, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to reunite with their 2012 draft pick, Jose Berrios. Berrios pitched for the Twins from 2016-2021, making two All-Star appearances in 2018 & 2019, and was one of the best pitchers in the league at that time.

Kansas City Royals – Sign Alex Bregman

I can’t explain it, but if Bregman and the Astros choose not to mutually re-unite, this seems like a perfect fit. Bregman has spent his entire 9-year career with the Astros, and he’s been wildly productive for a team that, until 2024, had made seven consecutive appearances in the ALCS. At 30, Bregman still has a lot of good baseball left. The Royals were an exciting team in 2024, led by MVP-candidate Bobby Witt Jr., but didn’t score a ton of runs. They were middle-of-the-road in the regular season and had the fewest runs scored in the Postseason by any team that won a series, averaging 2.5 runs/game in six games. Bregman would certainly be an upgrade over Maikel Garcia and would give the Royals a boost both offensively.

Detroit Tigers – Sign Joc Pederson

Detroit is one of the youngest teams in the league, and surprised baseball fans everywhere by sneaking into the Postseason as a Wild Card team, and even taking down the team that had made seven straight ALCS appearances. Now, the Tigers must take the next step. They do have a few needs. It was just a few months ago that we were saying that it would be wise for them to trade Tarik Skubal for assets, and now they could use another arm to pair with Skubal for a sweet 1-2 punch. But at this moment, I’m making a more understated suggestion. Detroit could use more veteran leadership, as well as a big bat. They were in the bottom half of the league in scoring, and bottom-third in homers. They could try and re-unite with J.D. Martinez to fill this particular need, but I don’t think that’s realistic. Instead, I’m looking at Joc Pederson. Statistically, Pederson had the 3rd-best season of his career in 2024 in terms of WAR, but for a guy that had been known for being a homer-strikeout guy prior to his 2021 World Series run with Atlanta, Pederson has worked to raise his average and cut down on his strikeout rates ever since. He played a large role in leading the D-Backs to the verge of making the Postseason, with a career-best .275 average.

The Tigers tried signing a former World Series champion to be the veteran leader on their rebuild once and failed miserably. Now that the collosally bad Javy Baez experiment seems to be over, they could go to that well again in favor of the much safer and wiser Joc Pederson. Can he bring the magic of the pearls to Motown?

Chicago White Sox – Trade Garrett Crochet

What is there to say? This team is an absolute mess, BUT they have one of the game’s biggest assets. There is nothing – I repeat, ABSOLUTELY nothing – to look forward to about the 2025 White Sox team. They set the record for most losses in a season in MLB history in 2024, and there’s no combination of moves they could conjure up to give me any reason to believe that they won’t challenge that record again.

That being said, they do have one massive card to play. Garrett Crochet proved to be one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball despite his surroundings. In the article from July, I suggested that the Astros acquire him, and since they are still working to get their rotation healthy, I still think that’d be a good move. But regardless of who makes the move for Crochet, a move needs to happen. Crochet is simply too good to waste away on the South Side.

AL WEST

Houston Astros – Sign Nathan Eovaldi

The Astros reign in the AL West could potentially be coming to an end sooner rather than later with their streak of consecutive ALCS appearances biting the dust in 2024. Jose Altuve is heading into his age-35 season, and Alex Bregman is a free agent. Houston’s biggest issue a year ago was starting pitching. Between injuries and age, the Astros’ pitching staff fell apart. On the previous post, I suggest trading for Garrett Crochet. Gerrit Cole was briefly on the market after opting out in New York, but that appeared to be nothing more than a re-structuring play. I do think Crochet is still the best option, but if the Sox haven’t moved him for assets yet, who knows if they will. That being said, let me offer a more realistic option: Nathan Eovaldi. He has been a rock-steady innings eater for Boston and Texas in recent seasons, and after last year, Houston desperately needs that stability. Even if the ‘Stros don’t manage to bring Bregman back, they can still be a threat in the American League if they add Eovaldi to a rotation that comes back healthy in 2025.

Seattle Mariners – Sign Rhys Hoskins

This one’s a no-brainer for me as far as need. Seattle had the best pitching staff in Major League Baseball in 2024. They led the league in quality starts, gave up the fewest hits, and was tied with Atlanta for the lowest team ERA. Even with the dominate pitching, Seattle missed the postseason. The Mariners’ offense was the worst in baseball, aside from the record-setting White Sox. They had the 2nd-lowest team batting average, led the league in strikeouts, and only had eight more hits as a team than Chicago. Seattle is in desperate need of offense – someone to pair with Julio Rodriguez and spark the Seattle bats.

Might I suggest Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins signed a 2-year contract with the Brewers in January but has an opt on in 2025. If Seattle would be interested in and willing to trade for Hoskins, he’d provide the power and run scoring ability that Seattle really needs. The M’s have five of MLB’s Top 100, all of which are hitters. Four of the five are expected to arrive in the big leagues within the next two years. But with the pitching talent that they have, Seattle needs to be in win-now mode. Hoskins isn’t going to do much to boost Seattle’s team average, he’s a guy that’s going to give you 25-30 homers and 70-80 RBIs.

Texas Rangers – Sign Shane Bieber

Texas had a down year across the board in 2024, but still has many of the offensive pieces that won them a World Series title just 13 months ago. I expect Seager, Semien and Evan Carter to lead a bounce back year in 2025. Where Texas could use a significant boost is in their rotation. Nathan Eovaldi opted out, and the Rangers are unlikely to re-sign 40-year-old Max Scherzer. Losing two significant arms at the same time leaves a gaping hole for a team that expects to win.

Shane Bieber is one of the biggest names in the free agent starter market, despite only making two starts in 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. Bieber could seek a short-term deal as a prove-it contract after the injury. That could be an ideal situation for a Rangers team that could be figuring out its identity after a feast-then-famine couple of seasons.

Texas really needs that ace at the top of the rotation to anchor it, but they do have a couple of young arms in Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker to help fill in on the back end. If the Rangers intend to get back to their winning ways from 2023, former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber is the tentpole they need to build around.

Los Angeles Angels – Sign Harrison Bader (and Yoan Moncada)

Regardless of what happens with Mike Trout‘s health, or if Anthony Rendon ever wants to play baseball again, I hope that the Angels give Ron Washington time to build and develop a culture. The front office booted Joe Maddon at the first sign of trouble in 2022 after a hot start, and they paid the price for it.

That said, the Angels have already been busy so far this offseason, signing SP Kyle Hendricks, as well as reuniting Ron Washington with two former Braves veterans – Jorge Soler and Travis d’Arnaud. The Angels have struggled to cultivate starting pitching for years, so they could definitely go after a Blake Snell or a Kyle Gibson to help with that, in addition to Hendricks, but with as many pieces as the Angels need, I believe that their most important move would be to provide viable backup options for their two embattled stars. Harrison Bader and Yoan Moncada, please step forward. Neither player is flashy, and I am in no way suggesting that Bader could replace the incomparable Mike Trout, but Trout’s laundry list of injuries gets longer by the year, and Rendon is notoriously unreliable. Bader and Moncada are grinders who can provide the kind of fundamentally sound play that Washington loves. Both could bring defense to a team that finished bottom-third in fielding percentage in 2024.

Oakland Athletics – Re-unite with Sean Manaea

Despite finishing with a record of 69-93, the Athletics played good ball in the second half, even sporting one of the best records in baseball in the months of July and August. If disgraced owner John Fisher will allow, the A’s could give fans a show in 2025 – wherever they play. Brent Rooker and Mason Miller are stars, Lawrence Butler made a name for himself, and if the 2nd half was any indication, the A’s aren’t as far away from being relevant as we once thought. I don’t think one piece puts them in that position, but if I had to pick something for the sake of this list, let’s see a reunion with Sean Manaea. Manaea made his MLB debut for the A’s in 2016 and pitched there until 2021, even throwing a no-hitter at the Coliseum (RIP) vs. the Red Sox in 2018. The Athletics had the 4th-fewest quality starts in the Majors, and Manaea is a bit of a streaky starter, but if he can re-discover his early form with the team, he could be a nice fit for this era of the Athletics.

NL EAST

Philadelphia Phillies – Sign Jose Quintana

The Phillies don’t need any more star power on offense. They’re biggest need (in my opinion) in order to get back to the World Series, is starting pitching. They had the second-most quality starts in the majors in the regular season, mostly on the backs of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, both of which ranked in the top 8 in quality starts (Wheeler led the majors with 26). But after Wheeler and Nola, there is a bit of a drop-off. Christopher Sanchez has emerged as a viable number 3 starter, but Ranger Suarez had a brilliant first half of the season before struggling in the dog days of summer, and Tijuan Walker hit a wall, posting a 3-7 record with a 7.10 ERA in 2024.

But, when push came to shove, the Phillies’ pitching let them down in October. Their offense didn’t fare much better, posting the 2nd-worst batting average among Postseason teams, but they did manage to put up 12 runs in 4 games. The pitching on the other hand, posted a 5.82 ERA as a staff, which was the worst by qualified teams by almost a full run. Philadelphia is reportedly circling Max Scherzer, which would give them a big punch in that rotation, a Bonafide postseason performer, and a world champion. If they don’t land Scherzer or aren’t willing to make the lofty financial commitment that the future Hall-of-Famer would garner – even at 40 years old – allow me to toss this name out there: Jose Quintana. Is Quintana the same pitcher he was at the beginning of his career in Chicago? Is he still an ace? Not really. But we have seen him return closer to form in the last few years with St. Louis and New York. He made 31 starts for the Mets in 2024, tossing 170.1 innings. Quintana was at his best win the Mets were chasing down a playoff spot, going 3-0 in four September starts, only allowing 2 runs in 25 innings. Quintana also posted a WAR of 2.5, his highest in a season since 2016. At this stage in his career, Quintana could slide perfectly into the middle of that rotation, eating innings behind Wheeler and Nola.

Atlanta Braves – Sign Willy Adames

This one feels obvious, right? The Atlanta Braves entered the 2024 season as one of the favorites to contend for a World Series title. On paper, this roster had it all. But the game isn’t played on paper. Injuries ravaged this team. Strider Acuna, Albies, Murphy. Harris II (multiple times), Riley (multiple times), and those that took the field on offense often underperformed. One of the only consistencies for the Braves in 2024 was the inconsistency of shortstop Orlando Arcia. High on the list of priorities this offseason should be re-signing Max Fried, but the first checkbox on that list should be upgrading at shortstop. Arcia posted a .218 batting average, which was the 3rd-worst mark of his career, and only tallied 46 RBIs despite playing in all but five games in the regular season.

Going back to the roster on paper, Arcia is the glaring weakness of this lineup. Once a top prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays, Adames produced a career year with 32 homers. His 112 RBIs ranked 4th in all of Major League Baseball behind only MVP candidates Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Jose Ramirez. Adames emerged as a leader for a Brewers team that ran away with the NL Central crown and earned first-year manager Pat Murphy an NL Manager of the Year nomination. If I had to guess, I’d say that that Adames won’t return to Milwaukee, because the Brewers don’t have a reputation for being big spenders. So, if Adames is looking for a new home, Atlanta makes the most sense. Adames is top free agent shortstop, and Atlanta has a gaping hole at that position. A match made in heaven.

New York Mets – Sign Christian Walker

Pete Alonso is as good as gone. The Mets’ playoff run made it more possible that he runs it back, but it just seems like a forgone conclusion that Alonso will move on. They need to replace that offensive productivity at first base. Walker has had monster seasons for the last three years in Arizona, and despite 2023 Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll and 2024 NL MVP candidate Ketel Marte taking a lot of the attention, Walker has been a HUGE part of the D-Backs success in that time. Even with high strikeout numbers, he is an on-base machine, tallying 411 hits, 87 doubles, 95 homers and 281 RBIs since 2022. Steve Cohen has made in CLEAR that he isn’t afraid to spend money, often being in on the league’s top free agents year after year. They seem to be all in on Juan Soto, but I expect him to return to the Bronx. Assuming they look elsewhere to replace Alonso’s production, Walker makes a ton of sense. Sometimes, it can be really easy to visualize someone in a certain uniform, and Christian Walker in a Mets uniform just works.

Washington Nationals – Sign Frankie Montas

The Nationals may be a year away from competing. Their roster is loaded with stellar young talent, and they have 4 of the Top 100 prospects in Baseball: Dylan Crews (#1), Travis Sykora (#79), Brady House (#84), and Jarlin Susana (#90). Crews debuted in the latter half of last season, and the other three could be knocking on the door within the next year or two. The Nationals are a middle-of-the-road team offensively but are in the lower-third of the league in team ERA, and one of the worst teams in Major League baseball defensively. The Nats are a few pieces away, but one piece that could help stabilize the rotation is Frankie Montas. Montas hasn’t exactly been a model of consistency in his career, with a 4.09 career ERA for five teams in nine years, but sometimes, all you need is to find the right situation. Going to a Washington team on a slow ascent would allow Montas to be a top of the rotation arm. I think it would be a good chance to recapture his 2021 form, when he went 13-9 with a 3.37 ERA and 207 Ks. As a side note, another pitcher that could find new life with the Nationals is Michael Soroka. A supremely talented young arm who is still finding his footing following consecutive Achillies injuries, after which he was banished to White Sox purgatory. No one was a bigger fan of Soroka during his time with the Braves than I was, and I’d love to see him find form again.

Miami Marlins – Sign Anthony Santander

This one is admittedly unlikely. Probably the most unlikely of anything else in this post. If I were Santander, I’d return to Baltimore following a career year, but Baltimore has a plethora of young studs, and Colton Cowser was red hot in the second half. Baltimore may choose to let Santander walk in favor of continuing the youth movement. At 30 years old, he is likely to have plenty of offers from contending teams. Miami had key injuries to difference makers, and when healthy, can cause trouble for contending teams. Moving on from manager Skip Schumaker one year removed from Manager of the Year honors was, quite frankly, a dumb move. Santander seems like a fit for a Marlins offense that like to hit the ball hard and got hot in the latter days of the regular season.

NL CENTRAL

Milwaukee Brewers – Sign Gleyber Torres

When I was first going through the list of teams for this post and trying to assign moves to each team, I originally suggested that the Brewers sign Justin Turner. While I still think that would be a good move if they chose to make it, Justin is 40 years old and would only be a short-term solution, a better move presented itself.

For context, as I mentioned above, I don’t believe that Willy Adames, will return to Milwaukee, and Rhys Hoskins (as I suggested) could be a trade target. Christian Yelich isn’t getting any younger and the injuries are mounting. They do have some great young talent in Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang and Sal Frelick, but they could use a veteran offensive leader. That’s what originally led me to Turner, but this could be where Torres fits. Torres will be 28 when the season starts, 12 years Turner’s junior. Torres is in his prime and has World Series experience. He is a second baseman by nature, having never played anywhere else in the field, by Brice Turang is already there for the Brew Crew. Either Torres or Turang would likely have to move to third, and since Turang is younger, maybe it would be him.

Regardless, this move would give Milwaukee the veteran leader they need, and it would give Gleyber a fresh start after a roller coaster tenure in New York.

St. Louis Cardinals – Trade for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Every time the Blue Jays come up, I reiterate that it’s time for them to tear it down. In the past, they’ve made pushes for big name free agents like Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani, eventually losing both to the Dodgers. They struggle to stay afloat in a tough division despite having talent. Bichette isn’t happy and Vlad Jr. had a career year that wasn’t enough to reach October.

That said, if the Jays decide to tear it down, there will be a long line of suitors for Vlad’s services. In the mid-season post, I suggested the Red Sox, but at this point, I think they need more pitching. On paper, the Cards have a roster that SHOULD win. For a few seasons now, I’ve thought that St. Louis had the best roster in the division, but it never worked out. One reason is likely because they have one of the older rosters in the game. Paul Goldschmidt is 37 years old and a free agent. Guerrero Jr. is 25, so that would help age down the roster significantly. One potential issue is that Guerrero is still under contract with Toronto, so it would propbably take all three of the Cards’ MLB Top 100 prospects – JJ Wetherholt (SS/2B – #18), RHP Tank Hence (RHP – #61), and Quinn Matthews (LHP – #77) – to get the deal done. For the Cards, you can replace your All-Star first baseman with an All-Star first baseman who is twelve years younger without losing any MLB-ready talent. Get it done.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Sign Pete Alonso

This one is one of the most obvious pairings to me. Watching the Pirates play this season, both on TV and in person (PNC, you rule!), one thing was clear, Pittsburgh NEEDS offense. They have a pretty great 1-2-3 punch in their rotation with Keller, Skenes and Jared Jones, but the offense was one of the worst in the league. The bats couldn’t support the arms. When looking back on the midseason post, this is one of the few predictions/needs that remains the same in the offseason. I don’t believe Alonso will return to Queens, and his 37.6 homers/season would be more than welcome at PNC Park.

Cincinnati Reds – Sign Teoscar Hernandez

This one is simple: Hernandez is coming off a career year in LA that includes a Home Run Derby crown and a World Series title. On top of the world and ready for what will probably be the biggest contract of his career. I believe that contract should come from Cincy. While I don’t think Teo would make a big as splash as say, going after Pete Alonso or Gleyber Torres, but at this time last year, the Reds were the trendy pick to win the NL Central crown. That did not come to fruition, as the Reds finished 77-85 and in 4th place in the NL Central. If we chalk 2024 up to a down year for Cincinnati, adding Teoscar can give the Big Red Machine a nice bump on offense, and a sidekick to the incomparable Elly De La Cruz, who had an unbelievable 2024 with 67 stolen bases.

As a humorous side note, going back to when I said that Christian Walker in a Mets uniform just works, I can already see Teo in a Reds uniform. That’s because I have a Road To The Show character who plays for the Reds, and a few seasons into that career, they signed Hernandez, so I’ve LITERALLY seen him in a Reds jersey. Will the Reds turn the virtual transaction into an actual one? I think it would be a good fit.

Chicago Cubs – Sign Jurickson Profar

There’s not much to this one. I don’t think the Cubs are that close to contending, despite the moves they’ve made in recent years. No move immediately jumped to mind, because I’m not exactly sure what the Cubs are or what they’re trying to be. They have good players, like Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Justin Steele…to name a few, but I just don’t see an identity. Theoretically, they could try and bring back Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant to bring in some energy and leadership, as I think both of those guys still have good baseball left to play, but that’s not super realistic something that would move the needle significantly. Honestly, short of bringing in Juan Soto or Gerrit Cole or something, I’m not sure there are a lot of singular moves that could move the needle that much for this team.

That being said, they could add someone like Jurickson Profar. Once a top prospect for the Texas Rangers, it took Profar years to become what the Rangers hoped he’d be. Going into his age-32 season, Profar is coming off of the best two seasons of his career with the San Diego Padres. I think he can bring energy to Wrigley. He’s versatile, he’s athletic, and he’s coming off of a year where he set career highs in almost every offensive category. He’s a good defender who’s had significant reps at every defensive position other than pitcher and catcher. For a team with no identity, Jurickson Profar could fit in wherever they need him.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers – Get pitching healthy (and extend Tommy Edman)

How do you suggest a move to improve a team that has the league’s best record, the league’s best player, the best offensive trio, multiple MVPs and a World Series title? Well, you can’t, and it would be upsetting if you tried. Just hearing the words Dodgers and Juan Soto in the same sentence makes every muscle in my body tighten…

In this scenario, we’ll assume that baseball stays remotely fair, and Juan Soto looks elsewhere. So legitimately, how could the Dodgers improve? Well, for one thing, their starting rotation was ravaged with injuries, so just by getting Glasnow and others back, they’re already better, but for the sake of this post, why not look at the guy that made a huge impact in the Postseason. Edman went 20-for-61 with 5 doubles, 2 homes and 13 RBIs in 16 postseason games. Edman’s defensive versatility essentially puts Edman in the same role that Chris Taylor played during their 2020 title run. Edman is under contract until after the 2025 season, but if the Dodgers want to keep him around, lock him up now.

San Diego Padres – Sign Luis Arraez to a contract extension

Luis Arraez has expressed interest in a long-term extension with San Diego, expressing a desire for stability after bouncing around to three teams during his five-year career, despite winning three straight batting titles. Arraez is a career .323 hitter, and when you’re a team that likes to hit homers, and you’re desperately trying to overtake a bitter division rival, you need guys like Arraez on base to give those homers more weight. Pardon me for simply explaining the rules of baseball for a second, but in an era of the game where we more commonly hear “strikeouts don’t matter” (which is patently absurd), I felt the need to provide the obvious counterargument in a timely and convenient manner. Luis Arraez is one of the best HITTERS in the league – basically this generation’s Tony Gwynn – and he wants to stay long term…you get it done.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Sign Eloy Jimenez

This one is a direct replacement for better or worse. I’m not dense enough to believe that, at this point Eloy Jimenez is as good as Christian Walker, but if Arizona doesn’t re-sign Walker, they will desperately need to replace the power he brings to the lineup. That’s where Eloy can help. It’s that simple; I’m actually surprised with how competitive the D-Backs have been in the last two seasons. Replace power with power.

San Francisco Giants – Sign Blake Snell

The Giants haven’t improved or built around ace Logan Webb the way that I’d hope they would’ve, but with how tough the division is, and with how expensive it is to live in San Francisco, even for a professional athlete (see 49ers QB Brock Purdy living in an apartment with a roommate and driving a Toyota), it can be tough to build. Like the Blue Jays, the Giants have gone after top free agents in recent years and failed to bring them in: Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, Carlos Correa, even hometown kid Aaron Judge. Because of that, even though they’re expected to be “legit suitors” for Juan Soto, I don’t think it’s likely. They really need offense, but outside of Soto, I don’t think there’s many free agents that move the needle.

Because of that, I think the simple move is to extend Blake Snell. Snell signed a 2-year contract before last season with an opt out, and he took it. Does he genuinely want to leave San Francisco, or is this a Gerrit Cole situation where he opts out with the intention to return on a bigger deal? Snell has made it clear that he prefers the West Coast, and after a rough start, Snell was dominant in limited action in the 2nd half. Webb and Snell create a killer 1-2 punch when they’re right…now hopefully the offense can provide the runs they need to actually win games. The good news is, the Giants ARE very in on Juan Soto, they did just hire a new VP of Player Development, and top prospect Bryce Eldridge (#35 in MLB) is in AAA after advancing quickly through their minor league system. There’s hope…

Colorado Rockies – Sign Michael Lorenzen

The Rockies need pitching. The Rockies always need pitching. It’s their White Whale. They can’t maintain top level pitching. It’s no mystery, but it’s still a tremendous problem. Charlie Blackmon is gone, and Brendon Doyle appears to be the new Charlie Blackmon.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that the Rockies have it rough. They can land top-level pitching talent because the thin air helps the ball carry, and if they do manage to land or cultivate top hitting talent, and that talent performs, they get dinged for it due to the competitive advantage of playing 81 games a year at Coors Field. It’s a real lose-lose situation. For the sake of the post, I’ll address their biggest need.

Lorenzen isn’t flashy, but Colorado can’t lure flashy. He is, however, pretty steady. He’s versatile, taking on any role he needs to. He’s been a starter, come out of the bullpen, and even served as a closer at different points over his 10-year career with six teams. He even threw a no hitter while he was with Philadelphia in 2023.

The Rockies COULD potentially convince a 42-year-old Justin Verlander to ride into the Rocky Mountain sunset at Coors Field, but that’s just me wildly speculating, and even if that proved to be a miracle prediction, how much could he possibly give them at 42 years old with a mounting list of injuries. I honestly wish the best for the Rockies and their fans, but they’re between a rock and a hard place. See what I did there?

See you next time!