The 2025 Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla., ended with more questions than answers.
Baseball’s annual offseason extravaganza did bring a trio of big moves, with Kyle Schwarber (Phillies), Edwin Díaz (Dodgers) and Pete Alonso (Orioles) striking deals, but there was surprisingly little activity outside of those transactions. As a result, the next few weeks loom large, potentially bringing a surge of deals that could shake up the baseball landscape.
With so much left unsettled, let’s take a look at the offseason picture coming out of the Winter Meetings, highlighting key storylines to watch, notable free agents still on the market and potential candidates to be traded.
Who are the top free agents left on the board?
A great deal of talent remains on the free-agent market, with 19 players still available from MLB.com senior reporter Mark Feinsand’s rankings of the top 30 free agents at the start of the offseason.
What are the key storylines to keep an eye on?
1. Who will land this offseason’s top FA prize?
Most everyone agreed at the start of the offseason that Tucker was the top free agent in this year’s class, but compared to his three predecessors, his market has moved at a markedly slower pace.
Last offseason, Juan Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets on the Sunday before the start of the Winter Meetings. At the Winter Meetings two years prior, Aaron Judge returned to the Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million contract. And while Shohei Ohtani’s free agency wasn’t entirely settled before the end of the 2023 Winter Meetings, he was well on his way toward signing a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers days later.
To this point, the Blue Jays are the only known team that has met with Tucker, but they’ve already spent $240 million on pitchers Cease and Cody Ponce and might prefer to bring back Bichette, who has spent his entire career with Toronto and will likely be less expensive than Tucker.
The Orioles reportedly spoke with Tucker’s camp, but Alonso’s deal likely takes them out of the mix, especially when they still need to add pitching.
The Yankees and Mets have been linked to Tucker as well, but the Bronx Bombers are believed to be prioritizing Bellinger. With his ability to play center field and first base, Bellinger also appears to fit the Mets better than Tucker does. As for the incumbent Cubs, they don’t seem to be pursuing a reunion.
2. All-Stars on the trade block
Although the Winter Meetings came and went without a notable trade, the seeds may have been planted for a number of big names to be dealt in the coming weeks.
Then there’s the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, whose presence as a potential trade candidate looms over the entire offseason. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris didn’t do much to quell the speculation when he was asked about Skubal at the Winter Meetings.
3. What’s next for the Mets?
Contrary to 2024, when they kicked off the Winter Meetings by winning the Soto sweepstakes, no club had a worse time in Orlando than the Mets.
Mets fans, already frustrated after a second-half collapse cost the team a playoff berth in 2025, are looking for answers, and the pressure on president of baseball operations David Stearns has only intensified.
4. Orioles staying aggressive
Taking both quality and quantity into account, no team has been more aggressive than the Orioles this offseason. Coming off a disappointing 2025 season, Baltimore acquired outfielders Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras and reliever Andrew Kittredge in November before landing Helsley to close and Alonso to play first base.
5. The clock is ticking for these Japanese stars
This is a big winter for free agents from the Land of the Rising Sun. Corner infielders Murakami and Okamoto and pitchers Imai and Kona Takahashi make up the next wave of Japanese stars aiming to make an impact in MLB, but there’s limited time left for them to reach deals.
When an NPB player is made available via the posting system, he has a 45-day window to negotiate with Major League teams. If no deal is reached by the end of that window, the player returns to his NPB club for the following season.
Okamoto doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as Murakami but offers considerable power in his own right and is more of a finished product than his countryman. He was posted alongside Takahashi, who profiles as a back-end starter/swingman type because he doesn’t miss many bats, on Nov. 21. That gives them until Jan. 4 to sign.
Which teams need to make a big move?
To put it simply, a lot — especially when the Dodgers continue to improve as they vie for a rare three-peat. Even clubs that have made significant acquisitions like the Orioles, Blue Jays, Phillies and Mariners still have holes to fill. But let’s set those clubs aside and focus on some of the teams that have more work to do.
D-backs: Injuries and departures have depleted Arizona’s pitching staff going into 2026, but the team’s budget is thin. As a result, trading Marte could be the best way for the D-backs to confront their pitching woes.
Mets: We already covered them above, but it bears repeating — Stearns is under intense scrutiny.
Padres: No team had more high-end talent reach free agency this year, with Cease, Suarez, King and Arraez all hitting the open market. A big splash is always a possibility with GM A.J. Preller, but all the Friars have done so far is sign pitchers Kyle Hart, Daison Acosta and Ty Adcock.
Pirates: Reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes may be controllable through 2029, but if Pittsburgh doesn’t make substantial progress toward contending in a hurry, the trade rumors around Skenes are only going to get louder. The Bucs have gotten a lot of press this offseason for showing more of a willingness to spend in free agency, but they haven’t actually signed any marquee players yet after falling short on Schwarber and Josh Naylor.
Reds: Cincinnati is coming off its first playoff berth in a non-shortened season since 2013, but it could be a one-off unless the team adds more offense. The Reds pursued Schwarber, a native of nearby Middletown, Ohio, but word is that they don’t intend to pivot to other high-priced free agents after missing out on the slugger. If that’s indeed the case, they may need to dip into their collection of controllable starters to land the hitter they desperately need.
Red Sox: The Red Sox traded for pitchers Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo but haven’t addressed their need for a middle-of-the-order bat after Bregman opted out. They’ve been linked to a wide range of offensive targets, though two of them — Alonso and Schwarber — are now off the market.
Tigers: With Skubal just a year away from free agency, the Tigers are facing the heat. If they decide not to trade him, can they find a way to put themselves in position to contend for a World Series title in his final season under club control?
Yankees: With Judge entering his age-34 campaign, the Bronx Bombers face a growing imperative to capitalize on their captain’s prime, particularly with their World Series drought now at 16 seasons — the second-longest streak in franchise history. However, bringing back Trent Grisham via the qualifying offer, re-signing swingman Ryan Yarbrough to a one-year deal and picking right-hander Cade Winquest in the Rule 5 Draft constitute the Yankees’ moves to date.
