#free-agency

#free-agency

Well the offseason has officially begun and we will see decisions on a bunch of player and team options in the next five days, as well as likely a managerial hire and some roster churn. Mark Bowman seemingly reported that Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley's team options would be picked up, which both seemed likely but not guaranteed, while casting a little doubt on Albies' option, not to suggest that Ozzie is unlikely to return, however.

Luckily for the Wizards, they will head into next summer with what is likely to be a high draft pick and a substantial amount of cap space. And as they iced their knees and left the arena after the loss to the Hornets, they had the opportunity to tune into an even better performance as the Los Angeles Lakers snuck out a win over the Sacramento Kings -- and perhaps saw their future in the process.

The Tigers were the best team in the American League for a few months. They had a quiet deadline and narrowly avoided what would've been a historic collapse. While winning the Wild Card series and pushing the Mariners to the brink in the Division Series kept this from being a complete disaster, they unquestionably lost momentum in the second half. They're now facing a couple free agent departures and questions about the future for the sport's best pitcher.

In fact, the former second-round pick has been a trade target since the preseason, although the Falcons haven't shown any desire to trade him up to this point. Fowler notes that Atlanta's front office will listen to offers on any players, leading the reporter to believe Ebiketie could be had for the right price. Ebiketie appeared to be a foundational piece as recently as last season.

They trade from and reshape their roster aggressively at virtually every opportunity in order to keep the team from ever needing to rebuild, and it's a system that's worked for quite some time at this point. From Willy Adames to Tyler Glasnow to Randy Arozarena, most players don't stay in Tampa for long and get traded before they'd actually have a chance to sniff free agency and walk away for nothing.

The Astros finished the season with an 87-75 record and missed out on the final AL Wild Card spot after losing the season series tiebreaker to the Tigers. As far as seasons that don't end in a postseason berth go, Houston's year certainly could've been worse. Yet there's plenty of work for GM Dana Brown and the rest of the front office to do this winter.

After a few years of coming up empty on star pursuits, the Giants landed two impact hitters within the first nine months of Buster Posey's tenure atop baseball operations. They signed Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182MM free agent deal that represented the largest in franchise history. They made an even bigger commitment when they pulled off the Rafael Devers blockbuster in June. The Giants took on more than $240MM on Devers' contract over eight and a half seasons.

The days of George Steinbrenner seem like a distant memory in the Bronx. The New York Yankees last won the World Series in 2009, while he still stood at the helm. But most, if not, all Yankee fans still openly echo his philosophy, believing there is no such thing as a good season; you either win or you lose. If you did not win, then you lost. And if you lost, how can it be a good season?

Tucker isn't going into free agency with the ideal amount of momentum. His 2024 season was truncated by a shin fracture. His 2025 campaign was dragged down by a finger fracture and a calf strain. He missed some time and didn't perform up to expectations in the last few months before hitting the open market. Regardless, he's head and shoulders above everyone else listed here.

The Dodgers' interest in keeping Buehler is understandable, as he showed up during both of the Dodgers' World Series runs in 2020 and 2024. During the 2020 postseason, he made five starts and posted a 1.80 ERA through 25 innings and struck out 39 batters. He spearheaded a hobbled Dodgers rotation during the 2024 postseason, posting a 3.60 ERA through four appearances.

Grisham has gone from fourth outfielder to the top center fielder in the class within six months. He picked a great time for the best season of his career. Grisham connected on 34 home runs, doubling his previous season high. He pushed his already strong walk rate to a career-high 14.1% clip while cutting his strikeouts (23.6%) to the lowest mark in four years. The end result was a .235/.348/.464 slash line across 581 plate appearances.

There was no previous indication that either player had been designated for assignment but these kinds of moves are common at this time of year, as most clubs are facing upcoming roster crunches. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series, meaning several players need to retake 40-man spots. Some will also become free agents but many clubs often end up with more than 40 players in the mix.

For the second straight night, a big money ace carried the Dodgers to playoff victory, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw the first postseason complete game in 8 years. Here's a condensed look at his outing if you missed it: So, just like the Mariners, the Dodgers will take a 2-0 lead in the League Championship Series back to the West Coast.