LAS VEGAS – The GM Meetings concluded on Thursday at The Cosmopolitan, sending executives from all 30 clubs back home with a better idea of what their offseasons might look like.
No major deals – either on the free-agent or trade front – were completed this week, but with Hot Stove season now officially in full swing, we could see moves begin to take place in the coming weeks.
The baseball world will reconvene in Orlando in three and a half weeks for the annual Winter Meetings, where transactions often dominate the headlines. For now, let’s take a look at four takeaways from this week’s meetings:
Unsurprisingly, we heard plenty of talk this week about the usual suspects when it comes to free-agent spending: the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies and Blue Jays have already been connected to a number of the top free agents on the market.
But some other clubs that aren’t always active in free agency could be more engaged this year.
According to sources, both the Pirates and Marlins could look to add players via free agency, and while they may not play at the top of the market for names such as Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger or Alex Bregman, this year’s free-agent class is fairly deep, potentially presenting some opportunities for smaller-market teams to get aggressive.
The Orioles – another team that has not historically been in on many top free agents – could make a big move or two, throwing their hat in the ring for the top starting pitchers (Dylan Cease, Michael King, Ranger Suárez and Framber Valdez) and possibly an impact bat such as Pete Alonso.
“They know they need to take advantage of this window,” one source said earlier this week. “Gunnar [Henderson] is in his first year of arbitration and [Jackson] Holliday, [Colton] Cowser and [Jordan] Westburg aren’t even arb-eligible yet. At some point, all of these guys are going to get expensive.”
While big trades rarely happen at the GM meetings, the foundation for such deals can often begin as executives have the rare opportunity to sit down face-to-face.
A number of controllable starting pitchers have been rumored to be on the block – Sandy Alcantara, Joe Ryan, MacKenzie Gore, Mitch Keller, Pablo López and Edward Cabrera, all of whom are under club control through at least 2027 – but the feeling among executives is that very few of them may actually be dealt during the offseason.
“As weird as it sounds, teams may be able to get more for those guys next summer than they can now,” one American League executive said. “Right now, teams have options; they can sign free agents or make trades. By July, the free-agent option is gone, so if you’re a contender after 90 or 100 games and you need a pitcher, the urgency to make a trade may make you do something a little crazy.”
The Twins made a plethora of deals at the Trade Deadline last summer, and with Ryan and López (and possibly Byron Buxton) as potential trade chips this winter, many have assumed that Minnesota will continue to tear things down and enter a true rebuild. But sources say the Twins believe they can compete in the AL Central next season if they add some players this winter, and that trading Ryan, López and/or Buxton is unlikely unless they are completely overwhelmed by an offer.
“With Nolan, it is clear to everybody that it would be best to find a different fit,” said Chaim Bloom, who is in his first year as St. Louis’ president of baseball operations. “Sonny’s a bit of a different situation where he signed here for a reason, and I think he’s been happy. He’s also in a situation where he’s more open than he would have been in the past to thinking about different possibilities with where he’s at in his career and understanding our focus is more long-term.”
Infielder Brendon Donovan, who is arbitration-eligible for two more years, is also drawing a lot of interest and seems likely to be traded. The Yankees, Dodgers, Royals and Guardians are among the teams believed to be potential landing spots for Donovan.
Tarik Skubal, who just earned his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award, will also be mentioned all winter as a potential trade candidate, as he has just one year remaining until he becomes a free agent. But sources said that barring an offer the Tigers simply can’t say no to, Detroit is likely to keep Skubal in an effort to make a run in 2026.
One player we know will not be traded this offseason: NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. Pirates GM Ben Cherington said he has no plans to move Skenes, who is under control for four more years.
The 13 free agents who received qualifying offers have until Tuesday to accept or reject them, and while the vast majority are expected to reject them, there was a belief around the meetings that one or two players could accept, locking them in for a $22.025 million salary in 2026.
“The big guys are obviously no-brainers; [Kyle] Tucker, [Kyle] Schwarber, [Bo] Bichette and so on,” one AL executive said. “But if I’m [Trent] Grisham, Gleyber [Torres] or [Brandon] Woodruff, I’m thinking long and hard about it.”
Only 14 of the 144 players who have received qualifying offers between 2012-2024 have accepted them. Rejecting the QO means players having Draft-pick compensation attached to them as they seek new deals, and in the case of players such as Grisham and Torres, that could hinder their ability to find teams willing to part with those picks.
Pitching still reigns supreme
Although the five top names on the free-agent market are all hitters, there is depth in the starting pitching market despite the lack of true No. 1 starters.
That depth will draw a lot of attention all winter, as all 30 teams will be in position to upgrade their respective pitching staffs for 2026 and beyond.
The Tigers, Orioles, Giants, Blue Jays, Cubs, Yankees, Padres, Red Sox, Mets, Astros, Braves, Angels and Diamondbacks are among the teams known to be seeking rotation help this offseason, though more clubs surely fit the bill, too.
Free-agent position players naturally have a more limited market than pitchers; not every team out there has a need for every position on the field. Every one of them – even those with the strongest pitching staffs in the league – can always get better, whether it’s adding rotation depth or bringing in frontline arms capable of leading a group.
“Look at the teams that win; they all have good pitching,” an NL executive said. “There may not be a [Gerrit] Cole or a [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto available this year, but there are probably a dozen starters out there that can make every contender better.”
