Here are three things MLBTR will be watching for around the sport today:<\/p>\n
1. What\u2019s next for the Red Sox?<\/p>\n
The Red Sox have already made some of the biggest moves of the offseason, acquiring starting pitcher Sonny Gray<\/a> and first baseman Willson Contreras<\/a> in two separate trades with the Cardinals. However, they are the only AL team that has yet to sign a free agent to a major league contract, and there is no reason to think chief baseball officer Craig Breslow<\/a> is done making moves. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe<\/a>, the Red Sox are still in the market<\/a> for many of the top available infielders, namely free agents Bo Bichette<\/a> and Alex Bregman<\/a> and trade candidates Ketel Marte<\/a>, Isaac Paredes<\/a>, and Brendan Donovan<\/a>. Speier previously linked<\/a> the Red Sox to Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a> as well. Boston has also been connected to some notable free agent relievers, including Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez<\/a>, Evan Phillips<\/a>, and Chris Martin<\/a> (before he re-signed with the Rangers<\/a>).<\/p>\n On top of that, it remains more than possible that Breslow could trade from his major league roster. This team has a surplus of young, controllable outfielders, with Jarren Duran<\/a>\u2019s name the one that has come up the most in trade rumors. What\u2019s more, Triston Casas<\/a> and Masataka Yoshida<\/a> have less of a path to playing time now that Contreras is in the fold. Breslow recently told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com<\/a>) that roster logjams like this \u201ctend to work out,\u201d but one such way these things can work themselves out is through a trade or two.<\/p>\n 2. Free agent contracts to be finalized:<\/p>\n Ryan O\u2019Hearn<\/a> and the Pirates came to terms on the largest free agent contract for a position player in the franchise\u2019s history last week: a two-year, $29MM guarantee<\/a>. However, the team has not formalized the signing, which means O\u2019Hearn isn\u2019t technically a Pirate just yet. Now that Christmas has passed, fans can expect an announcement from the Pirates any day, although the club will have to free up a space on its 40-man roster before making things official with O\u2019Hearn.<\/p>\n In addition to O\u2019Hearn, Paul Blackburn<\/a> and Amed Rosario<\/a> are also waiting for their new contracts to be announced. Both players agreed to re-up with the Yankees this winter on one-year deals; Rosario will make $2.5MM in 2026<\/a>, while Blackburn\u2019s deal is a $2MM guarantee<\/a>. Unlike the Pirates, the Yankees have several open spaces on their 40-man roster. They should also be quite familiar with Blackburn and Rosario\u2019s medicals, considering both players finished the 2025 season in the Bronx, so it\u2019s not entirely clear what\u2019s holding up the formal announcement of either signing.<\/p>\n 3. Mets trade coming?<\/p>\n Francys Romero of Beisbol FR<\/a> recently wrote about top international prospect Wandy Asigen, who originally had a deal in place with the Yankees but will now sign a contract worth approximately $3.8MM with the Mets instead. Romero suggests<\/a> that the Mets could try to trade for more international bonus pool space before the next signing period opens, to facilitate their inking of the 16-year-old shortstop. International bonus pool money can be traded in increments of $250,000, and the Mets\u2019 initial pool for the upcoming signing period was set at $5.44MM as of this past April (per Baseball America<\/a>). The 2026 international signing period will begin on January 15. So, if the Mets are planning to make a trade to increase their bonus pool, it\u2019s likely going to come together at some point in the next two weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are three things MLBTR will be watching for around the sport today: 1. 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