Here’s some of the latest offseason information I’m hearing from major-league sources:
A scenario exists in which the Arizona Diamondbacks would both sign free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman and keep second baseman Ketel Marte. Those two, combined with right fielder Corbin Carroll and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, would give the DBacks four of the top position players in the game.
Arizona owner Ken Kendrick routinely extends his payroll when he believes his team has a chance to win. Yet, even if the DBacks pull off one of their patented free-agent surprises with Bregman, keeping Marte seems unrealistic. Trading him is the best way for the DBacks to address their pitching needs, and this offseason marks their last chance to move him before losing control of the process.
Marte, 32, will gain full no-trade protection on the 10th day of the season, when he attains 10 years of service, five consecutive with the same club. He currently has only a five-team no-trade list, consisting of the Athletics, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.
The Tampa Bay Rays pursued Jorge Polanco but ultimately were outbid by the New York Mets, who agreed with the free-agent infielder on a two-year, $40 million contract.
The Rays envisioned Polanco joining a rotation at first base, second, third and DH. Those four positions produce approximately 2,800 plate appearances per season. Polanco and the Rays’ principal players at those spots — Jonathan Aranda, Yandy Díaz, Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero — combined last season for 2,803.
Díaz and Caminero bat right-handed, Aranda and Lowe left-handed. Polanco is a switch-hitter. And if the Rays wound up trading one of those players other than Caminero, who hit 45 home runs last season, Polanco could have helped backfill in that spot.
Speaking of the Rays, right-handed reliever Pete Fairbanks’ lingering presence on the free-agent market perhaps helps explain why the team was unable to trade him before declining his $11 million club option and paying him a $1 million buyout instead.
Fairbanks, who turned 32 on Tuesday, is a top reliever when healthy. But his 60 1/3 innings last season were a career-high by a good margin. Prior to that, he had never exceeded 45 1/3.
Two righty relievers agreed Wednesday to two-year, $22 million contracts, Brad Keller with the Philadelphia Phillies, Luke Weaver with the New York Mets. The Miami Marlins are among the teams still interested in Fairbanks, but it appears unlikely he will command the $11 million salary the Rays declined to pay him on a one-year deal.
The Rays, preferring to gain immediate payroll flexibility rather than exercise Fairbanks’ option and attempt to trade him later, since have signed free-agent center fielder Cedric Mullins to a one-year, $7.5 million contract and lefty Steven Matz to a two-year, $15 million deal.
The most active seller in the trade market, the St. Louis Cardinals, continue to discuss a wide range of players, including infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan, outfielder Lars Nootbaar, first baseman Willson Contreras, third baseman Nolan Arenado and lefty reliever Jo Jo Romero.
As reported previously by The Athletic, the Seattle Mariners are a favorite for Donovan and the Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams interested in Nootbaar.
Arenado, meanwhile, is a possibility for the Los Angeles Angels, who are negotiating a buyout agreement with third baseman Anthony Rendon. No trade is imminent, however. The market for Arenado will become better defined after Bregman and Eugenio Suárez sign their free-agent deals.
Arenado, who turns 35 in April, is under contract for two more years. His former team, the Colorado Rockies, is paying $5 million of his $27 million salary in 2026, which includes $6 million deferred. He also is owed $15 million in 2027.
Ha-Seong Kim bet on himself when he turned down the Athletics’ four-year, $48 million offer to sign a one-year, $20 million free-agent deal with the Atlanta Braves. But he also preferred playing shortstop with the Braves to second base with the A’s.
Shortstops generally command higher salaries in free agency, and Kim could be the best available at the position in the 2026-27 class. His primary competition will be Seattle’s J.P. Crawford. Kim will be entering his age 31 season, Crawford his age 32.
The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to explore any number of ways to improve their offense, from one-year boosts in trades for Brandon Lowe and/or the Chicago White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. to free-agent signings of players such as Ryan O’Hearn, Marcell Ozuna and Kazuma Okamoto to trades of young pitchers for hitters under multi-year control.
Trades could prove the Pirates’ best path if they repeatedly are spurned by free agents. Kyle Schwarber rejected them, and so could others who prefer to play for more competitive teams. Already, one person in the industry has created a term for a Pittsburgh club that might keep finishing as runners-up:
“Pirates-maids.”