Here is your five-minute roundup of the biggest stories in baseball over the last seven days.
Anthony Santander
Tony Taters goes to Toronto. Believe it or not, the Blue Jays successfully acquired a big free agent. After finishing as runner-up in a few high-profile bids, Toronto finally came out on top in the battle to sign slugging outfielder Anthony Santander.
Having spent his whole career in Baltimore, Santander picked the right time to set career highs in runs, home runs, and RBI last season, with a very impressive 134 OPS+. The five-year, £92.5 million deal looks like a win-win for both sides,
A favourite among British fans, thanks to the travelling UK scouts in 2019, Santander is one of the more underrated power hitters in the game but was still the second or third-best hitter available in free agency this offseason, depending upon your opinion of the still unsigned Alex Bregman.
The Venezuelan’s 105 homers over the last three years put him sixth over that period.
Check out Alex Williamson’s latest post looking at the mystery behind Anthony Santander’s MLB-lowest BABIP in 2024.
Roki Sasaki signs
In the worst-kept secret in baseball, 23-year-old Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers. The 1.88M right-hander gives the Dodgers yet another ace in the rotation to join Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin. Of course, Shohei Ohtani is set to rejoin the rotation sometime in 2025, and it is expected that Clayton Kershaw will also be back. Oh, and the Dodgers also have Bobby Miller and Landon Knack, and they have Gavin Stone and Emmet Sheehan due back from injury later in the season.
Financially, it is a sweet deal for the Dodgers. If Sasaki signed an unrestricted six-year deal, it would probably be around $300 million, whereas this will only cost Los Angeles about $30 million. Pretty similar to the Pirates with Paul Skenes or the Orioles with Jackson Holliday. This is like the Dodgers getting the first overall pick in the draft. I’m not sure that is something they have never enjoyed. The last time the Dodgers selected in the first 10 picks was in 2006 – Clayton Kershaw – sixth overall.
Dodgers Bullpen Additions
News that the Dodgers signed Tanner Scott fresh on the heels of agreeing terms with Roki Sasaki felt like the franchise was trolling fans of the other 29 teams. Did they really need to sign one of the best relievers on the market?
In fairness, the other 29 teams had the last couple of months to make this move, but presumably, none of them wanted to offer a fourth year. The four-year, $72 million contract is great for arguably the best reliever over the last two years.
Since the start of 2023, the 30-year-old has made 146 appearances, split between Miami and San Diego, with a 2.04 ERA (3.01 xFIP) and 11.3 SO/9.
This deal suggests a change of philosophy by the Dodgers, as it seems unlikely that they will get four years of elite production.
Gav’s prediction: Tanner Scott 2025-2028 = one great year, one above-average year, one injury-plagued year, one below-replacement level year.
And then, as if to rub salt into the wounds of bitter baseball fans crying, “the Dodgers are ruining baseball”, Los Angeles picked up Kirby Yates. Pitching for the Rangers, Yates enjoyed a career year in 2024 with a 1.17 ERA (3.12 xFIP) and 12.4 SO/9. The deal is pending a medical.
Picking up two closers on the back of the best years of their lives. Recency bias or Dodgers’ analytical brilliance? We’ll see.
Hall of Fame
Three players passed the 75% voting threshold to book their place in Cooperstown, with Ichiro Suzuki becoming the first Asian-born player in the Hall. In his first 10 seasons in MLB, the Mariners superstar averaged 159 games per season with 224 hits, nine home runs, 38 stolen bases and a .330 batting average.
Joining Suzuki in the Hall of Fame are CC Sabathia (one of the last true workhorse pitchers – 560 starts covering 3500+ innings) and Billy Wagner (422 saves and the highest strikeout rate – 33.2% – of any pitcher in history with at least 900 innings.)
Our Mariners’ correspondent, Jack Tomasello covers Suzuki’s election to the Hall of Fame. It’s a great read.
Nolan Arenado
There is a logjam in St Louis. The Cardinals are desperate to give at-bats to their younger players to aid development during this transition (aka rebuilding) period, but they have a slightly regressing, highly-paid superstar at third base who they cannot move.
John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, said that trading Nolan Arenado is “a top priority”. In fact, he went on to say, “I think priority one, two and three is still [trading] Nolan.”
The 33-year-old, who famously won a Gold Glove in each of his first 10 seasons in the big leagues, flexed the no-trade clause in his contract to scupper a potential move to Houston. Since then, the Cardinals have struggled to find a suitor willing to take on a chunk of the $74 million remaining on his three-year contract.
Players hoping to benefit from openings if Arenado does get moved include Nolan Gorman, Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II, Alec Burleson, Thomas Saggese, and Great Britain’s own Matt Koperniak, who hit .309 (.883 OPS) in Triple-A last season with 20 home runs.
AJ Minter
Steve Cohen must be enjoying the Dodgers grabbing the negative attention about ruining baseball, while his Mets have outspent every other team by a clear distance.
A.J. Minter (it stands for Alex Jordan, if you’re interested) signed a two-year, $22 million contract to be a left-handed weapon out of the Mets bullpen. Hip inflammation limited him to just 34⅓ innings last year, but when he was healthy, he was reliably effective.
The 31-year-old has spent his entire eight-year career with the Braves, where he has averaged 11.9 SO/9 in 384 appearances.
In Other News
The San Diego Padres signed Niko Goodrum to a minor league deal. Russell Eassom took him in the Bat Flips & Nerds Minor League Free Agent Draft, a draft that is progressing slower than a Rhys Hoskins home run trot.
Common sense prevailed in Chicago as the Cubs agreed to a one-year deal with Kyle Tucker to avoid arbitration, and as expected, the Red Sox and Jarren Duran settled. The outfielder gets a $3.85 million one-year deal that includes an $8 million team option for 2026. Boston has no remaining players eligible for salary arbitration.
The Cubs signed versatile speedster Jon Berti to a one-year $2 million contract. The 35-year-old, who was a Yankee last season, can play anywhere in the infield or outfield, and as his MLB-leading 41 stolen bases in 2022 showed, is a danger on the base paths.
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There is great content on the website at the moment. January always produces interesting posts.
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NEXT WEEK: Will Pete Alonso finally sign? Where will Alex Bregman call home in 2025? Jack Flaherty is the best starter still available and Carlos Estévez the best reliever, do they get signed next week? Do Bat Flips & Nerds finally complete their Minor League Free Agent Draft?
