Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it’s time to hit the Black Friday sales. Here are a few free agents who could be bargains this winter and here are Friday’s hot stove rumors. The Winter Meetings, baseball’s annual offseason bonanza, are less than two weeks away.
Blue Jays interested in Bregman, Fried, Santander, Severino
In addition to their Juan Soto pursuit, the Blue Jays have interest in top free agents Alex Bregman, Max Fried, Anthony Santander, and Luis Severino, according to Sportsnet. Their level of interest is unclear, ditto the scope of their offseason. Are the Blue Jays open to signing, say, Bregman and Severino in addition to Soto? Or are these four free agents part of Plan B behind Soto?
Toronto’s offseason needs are numerous. They need a big outfield bat, a DH, a third baseman, bullpen help, and it wouldn’t hurt to add a starter as well. President Mark Shapiro said he expects next year’s payroll to be in the same range as 2024’s. The Blue Jays finished 2024 with a $235 million payroll for competitive balance tax purposes. Cot’s Baseball Contracts estimates their current 2025 commitments at $195 million. Bregman, Fried, Santander, and Severino all rank among our top 20 free agents.
Angels open to adding to rotation
Even after signing Kyle Hendricks and Yusei Kikuchi, the Angels are open to adding to their rotation, GM Perry Minasian told the Orange County Register. “We’ll continue to look from a free agent standpoint, from a trade standpoint. If there’s an upgrade, from a rotation standpoint, we’ll look to do it,” Minasian said. FanGraphs projections peg the Angels’ rotation as 25th best in baseball.
Hendricks and Kikuchi will join veteran lefty Tyler Anderson and 2024 breakout righty José Soriano in the 2025 rotation. Lefty Reid Detmers and righties Jack Kochanowicz and Chase Silseth are the top candidates for the No. 5 spot. Lower cost free agent options include Cal Quantrill, Trevor Williams, Martín Pérez, and Orange Country native (and former Angel) Michael Lorenzen.
France has multiple offers, willing to catch
Free agent Ty France has multiple offers in hand, including at least one major league contract, and he is willing to catch to expand his versatility, reports MLB.com. France has played first base exclusively the last two years, though he played some second and third base earlier in his career, and also served as his team’s emergency third catcher at several points.
Now 30, France authored a .234/.305/.365 line with the Mariners and Reds in 2024. At this point in his career, France fits best as a righty platoon bat at first base and DH, though his career platoon splits are small. He has not performed significantly better against lefties than righties. If he can catch, or play second and third passably, it would improve his job prospects considerably.
