{"id":284012,"date":"2025-11-15T04:55:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/284012\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T04:55:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:55:21","slug":"what-i-heard-vs-what-i-believe-from-the-gm-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/284012\/","title":{"rendered":"What I heard vs. what I believe from the GM Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent the past few days in Las Vegas meeting with people<\/a> all across baseball at the GM Meetings<\/a>, including almost every general manager in the league. And the notebook is full. Very full.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty of stuff that I\u2019ve heard. I\u2019ve written about it extensively<\/a> on FanSided. There\u2019s also plenty of other stuff that has been reported elsewhere. So, now that the dust has settled, I’m diving into the biggest nuggets from the week and sifting through the executive-speak to get to what really matters. Here are my thoughts on seven rumors from Vegas, including what you can believe and what you can forget this Hot Stove season.<\/p>\n

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray\u2019s work on\u00a0The Baseball Insiders podcast<\/a>, subscribe to\u00a0The Moonshot,<\/a> our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.<\/p>\n

Paul Skenes and the Yankees\"Paul<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Pirates v Milwaukee Brewers | John Fisher\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

What I heard: Skenes, the Yankees and more<\/p>\n

After this was written<\/a>, I had numerous people reach out to deny it. One person close to the situation called it a \u201cjoke.\u201d Then Skenes himself denied it, telling The Athletic<\/a>: \u201cI don\u2019t know where that came from. I don\u2019t know the reporter.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the player that supposedly said that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI\u2019m on the Pirates. My goal is to win with the Pirates. \u2026 The way that fans see us outside of Pittsburgh, we\u2019re not supposed to win. There are 29 fan bases that expect us to lose. I want to be a part of the 26 guys that change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I believe: Time to forget this rumor and move on.Joe Ryan’s future \"Joe<\/p>\n

Boston Red Sox v Minnesota Twins | David Berding\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

What I heard: Teams are testing whether the Twins would move Ryan.<\/p>\n

I asked Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey whether he\u2019s open to moving Joe Ryan. He responded: \u201cOur focus, and my goal, has been figuring out how to add around the group we already have. We think our starting pitching is the strength of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translation: The Twins prefer to keep Ryan, but will listen to any and all phone calls that come in about the star right-hander.<\/p>\n

And how could they not? Besides Tarik Skubal, Ryan is the best name that has been mentioned in trade rumors this winter. He\u2019s only 29, he’s coming off a season in which he posted a 3.42 ERA and he isn\u2019t a free agent until 2028. Unless you\u2019re truly blown away with an offer, you hold onto Ryan. And if you do end up trading him, perhaps that makes Byron Buxton reconsider his stance<\/a> about wanting to finish his career in Minnesota. That\u2019s something the organization has to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

What I believe: Minnesota holds onto Ryan unless blown away.Brad Keller\u2019s role in 2026 \"Brad<\/p>\n

Division Series – Milwaukee Brewers v Chicago Cubs – Game Three | Geoff Stellfox\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

What I heard: Teams view Keller as a swing option.<\/p>\n

Free-agent right-hander Brad Keller is drawing interest as a starting pitcher and as a reliever, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before the offseason, a couple folks around the game mentioned the possibility of Keller being a starter in 2026. He\u2019s coming off a breakout season in the Cubs bullpen where he posted a 2.07 ERA in 69.2 innings. And as a player with previous starting experience, a transition back to the rotation after a dominant year in relief always made sense. <\/p>\n

What I believe: He\u2019ll get starter looks after his Cubs breakout.Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors \"Fernando<\/p>\n

Wild Card Series – Atlanta Braves v San Diego Padres – Game 2 | Sean M. Haffey\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

What I heard: The report that the Padres might consider moving Tatis Jr.<\/p>\n

There were some early reports suggesting that the Padres could entertain the idea of trading Fernando Tatis Jr. I just can\u2019t see that happening.<\/p>\n

Sure, teams will check in. It never hurts to ask. But Tatis Jr. is only 26 and is owed around $290 million over the next nine seasons. He also has a full no-trade clause, which further complicates any potential deal. Perhaps a trade becomes a more realistic possibility if the Padres elect to shed payroll in future seasons, but the organization, and especially AJ Preller, wants to compete in 2026. And their best chance of doing so is with Tatis Jr. on the roster. <\/p>\n

What I believe: Tatis’s contract plus no-trade clause plus Preller\u2019s goals = this is not happening.Scott Boras knew what he was doing with Kyle Tucker shade \"Scott<\/p>\n

Baltimore Orioles v Philadelphia Phillies | Mitchell Leff\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

What I heard: Boras “forgetting” Tucker raised eyebrows.<\/p>\n

Did he forget that Kyle Tucker exists<\/a>? That\u2019s no slight on Bellinger. He\u2019s a fantastic player coming off a great season in the Bronx. But Tucker is the best player in free agency. <\/p>\n

In eight seasons, he\u2019s hit .273\/.358\/.507 with an .865 OPS, 147 home runs and 490 RBI. Last season, despite dealing with a finger injury for a good chunk of the year, he hit .266\/.377\/.464 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI. He also has previously won a Gold Glove and can steal 25-30 bases in a season. <\/p>\n

What I believe: Pure leverage play. Tucker\u2019s the best player on the market.Freddy Peralta trade chances \"Freddy<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Phillies v Milwaukee Brewers | Patrick McDermott\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

What I heard: Teams are poking around on Peralta.<\/p>\n

On a potential Freddy Peralta trade, Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold told me: \u201cI anticipate him being part of our team moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has always felt like the most likely scenario. At just $8 million in 2026, Peralta is incredibly affordable. He also is mightily important to the clubhouse and the franchise views this as a situation similar to Willy Adames: He\u2019s a player who is just so vital that trading him would be very, very difficult.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not impossible. The Brewers will listen to inquiries. But it will take a lot for him to leave Milwaukee via trade this winter. <\/p>\n

What I believe: Brewers love his deal and impact, so it\u2019ll take a haul.Kyle Tucker’s market: What’s the latest?\"Kyle<\/p>\n

Wild Card Series – San Diego Padres v Chicago Cubs – Game Three | Michael Reaves\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

What I heard: Chicago will stay in touch with Tucker\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n

The Cubs need pitching, especially with Shota Imanaga, Brad Keller and Michael Soroka currently free agents. But when I asked what that meant for Tucker and if he was a priority this winter, Jed Hoyer responded: \u201cHe\u2019s a great player, we had a really good experience with him, and we\u2019ll be talking to his agent Casey Close.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I believe: They need pitching, not another huge bat. This is an unlikely reunionMore MLB offseason news and analysis:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I spent the past few days in Las Vegas meeting with people all across baseball at the GM…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-284012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}