Bradford DoolittleCloseBradford DoolittleESPN Staff WriterMLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com Been with ESPN since 2013David SchoenfieldCloseDavid SchoenfieldESPN Senior WriterCovers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995Dec 21, 2025, 09:20 PM ET
Red Sox solve first base, acquire Contreras from Cardinals
Mets sign Weaver, adding another ex-Yankees reliever
Phillies sign two-time All-Star Garcia for outfield
D-backs, Kelly reunite after midseason trade to Texas
Tigers sign Kenley Jansen for reliever’s 17th season
Red Sox make another rotation add in trade with Pirates
Blue Jays sign Korean League MVP Ponce for rotation
Blue Jays make first big pitching splash with Cease signing
Orioles deal former top prospect for Halos power bat
It’s hot stove season! The 2025-26 MLB offseason is officially here, and we have you covered with grades and analysis for every major signing and trade this winter.
Whether it’s a big-money free agent signing that changes the course of your team’s future or a blockbuster trade, we’ll weigh in with what it all means for next season and beyond.
ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield will evaluate each move as it happens, so check back in for the freshest analysis through the start of spring training.
Jump to biggest deals: Murakami to CHW | Alonso to BAL Schwarber to PHI | Diaz to LAD | Cease to TOR
Since Triston Casas’ debut in September 2022, the Red Sox have counted on him as their solution at first base, a position they hadn’t received above-average value from on a consistent basis since the Adrian Gonzalez days in the early 2010s. Casas had a good rookie season in 2023, including a monster second half with an OPS over 1.000 that seemed to foretell a future star. Instead, he has played only 92 games over the past two seasons, including hitting .182 in 29 games in 2025.
After pursuing and failing to land Pete Alonso, the Red Sox instead turn to Contreras, who has certainly been defined by his consistency, with OPS+ figures of 126, 123, 138 and 123 over the past four seasons, and a slugging percentage between .447 and .468. He has two years left on his contract at $36.5 million, plus a $17.5 million club option for 2028 (or a $6 million buyout), giving the Red Sox their first baseman for 2026 and ’27 and probably putting Casas on the trade block.
It will be interesting to see what the Red Sox also do with Romy Gonzalez, who crushed lefties in 2025 while ranking fifth in the majors in hard-hit rate. He can play second base, although he has limited range there, so he probably fits best as a platoon DH while filling in at various infield positions. This probably still leaves the Red Sox searching for a third baseman — Alex Bregman? — or maybe a second baseman, with Marcelo Mayer likely to start at one of the two positions.
Overall, the Red Sox pick up a solid hitter while only giving up one player who was going to help in 2026, and even then, Dobbins was down the depth chart in the rotation.
Contreras didn’t have much excess value beyond the $42.5 million he’s owed the next two seasons, so while this return won’t exactly pump up Cardinals fans, Dobbins at least has some utility as a back-end starter — and he comes with six more seasons of team control. In other words, the Cardinals are dumping a potential declining veteran for a pitcher who might be in their rotation for years to come. That can be a win even if Dobbins never develops beyond a fourth starter.
Fajardo is the more interesting of the two minor leaguers. He received the highest bonus among Venezuelan pitchers in 2024, signed by the White Sox, and then acquired by Boston for Cam Booser. Just 19, he pitched well in Single-A with a 2.98 ERA in 13 starts, so he’s a nice throw-in in a trade like this.
The Cardinals will now be paying the Red Sox $24 million in 2026 for Sonny Gray and Contreras. It’s never fun to pay another team’s players, but the Cardinals have decided to punt on 2026, with Brendan Donovan probably next to go. In the end, they’ve trimmed payroll, added some young depth and will field one of the least interesting teams in the majors. — Schoenfield
Clearly, the red flags in Murakami’s profile scared away some teams. The profile is that of a one- or two-tool player, though the one standout tool — that off-the-charts power bat — is exceptional. Baseball America gives Murakami an average grade for his arm, and a 70 grade for power, but everything else is below average, including a 30 grade for speed. And if the reports on Murakami’s defense are accurate, his arm grade won’t have much utility if he ends up at first base or DH.
In a White Sox organization rich in young infield talent, that destiny seems like a good bet. Besides the likes of Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Billy Carlson, Chicago is likely to add UCLA star Roch Cholowsky to the mix with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft. There doesn’t seem to be any great need to give Murakami much of a runway at third base, though for 2026, it might be worth a shot, if only to build value.
The Pirates have pitching depth from which to deal and a lineup full of upgrade opportunities, and to turn Burrows — a back-end starter for them likely to be usurped sooner than later — into three right-now big league contributors is a nice bit of work for Ben Cherington and his staff. It signifies a real attempt to capitalize on Pittsburgh’s contention-worthy starting rotation.
If there’s one thing that gives you pause, it’s simply the recent history of Pittsburgh’s trades with these two teams. Which has been — not great. Pirates fans will hope past is not prologue in this instance.
The Rays spent Friday morning doing what the Rays do, which is converting their recognizable names with dwindling controllable years into multiple contributors, prospects and, in the case of their earlier trade with Baltimore, another draft pick.
Melton has a chance to carve out a role sooner than later as a younger version of Mangum with more upside, especially in the power department. He struggled during his MLB debut at the plate last season, but now the Rays will get a chance to polish off his development with no real pressure given the addition earlier this offseason of veteran Cedric Mullins.
Brito is a diminutive righty with a chance to stick in a rotation role eventually who throws five pitches and features a fastball that touches triple digits. He’s a ways off but finished last season in the Arizona Fall League, where he just missed striking out two batters per inning — 22 whiffs over 11⅓ frames.
In their most recent set of organizational top-10 prospects, Baseball America rated Melton as the Astros’ top prospect and Brito at No. 3. While the system as a whole isn’t a strong one, that’s still an awful lot of future value to give up for Burrows, who profiles as a back-of-the-rotation type.
The Astros have a strong pitching program, to be sure, and perhaps they see more upside in Burrows than the prospect analysts and his track record suggest. He has a lot of controllable seasons left on his service time clock and even if he’s a league-average starter during that span, he’ll carry considerable value. Just not enough to justify two prospects of Melton and Brito’s combined quality. — Doolittle
Rays get: OF Slater du Brun C Caden Bodine RHP Michael Forret OF Austin Overn Competitive Balance Round A pick
It looks like a great return for the Rays from an Orioles team that was desperate to add pitching. Elias is certainly operating more aggressively than he has in the past — perhaps a GM trying to save his job. — Schoenfield
Strahm returns to the Royals organization after a long journey in which he became one of the game’s top relievers, made an All-Star team and rose to prominence in both the mullet and baseball card-collecting departments. In Kansas City, he ostensibly replaces recently traded Angel Zerpa as the highest-leverage lefty in the bullpen and as long as he maintains his performance, he’s a significant upgrade in that role.
The Royals’ Opening Day pitching staff looks contention-worthy. You start with a core-five rotation of Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron and Michael Wacha. The back of the bullpen consists of closer Carlos Estevez and top-tier setup guys in Strahm and Lucas Erceg. The middle-leverage bridge innings are solid as well: Nick Mears, John Schreiber, Daniel Lynch IV and Alex Lange. Bailey Falter is a quality option as a combo starter/long reliever.
This trade completes that puzzle, and while the rotation is deep beyond the top five, the Royals need to add a little more in the bullpen department, though we shouldn’t overlook the possible healthy return of James McArthur. Given the Royals’ always-strong defensive profile, Kansas City once again has the look of a top-10 run prevention team.
The dings on this move involve risks around the performance/price consideration when it comes to Strahm. Basically, the Royals need Strahm to be for them what he was for the Phillies, because $7.5 million is a lot of money for a non-closer on a small-market team. Erceg, Strahm’s righty setup counterpart, is still in the pre-arbitration phase of his service time, for example. That’s more typical of a small-market bullpen setup.
My knee-jerk reaction to seeing this deal was to wonder what in the heck Dave Dombrowski was doing. Strahm has been a key member of the win-now Phillies bullpen, and for the last few years has operated at a level one or two tiers higher than Bowlan. Even with a $7.5 million salary on the books for 2026, Strahm projects to provide more marginal value than Bowlan, mostly because Bowlan doesn’t figure to be much better than replacement level.
Moving Strahm’s contract does lighten the Phillies’ payroll and perhaps that makes it more likely that they reach an accord to bring free agent catcher J.T. Realmuto back into the fold. If so, then this mild bit of cash-dumping is probably worth it. Certainly Bowlan, who has little big league service time on his counter and is optionable, is no kind of financial risk.