As you pick through the Thanksgiving leftovers, here are a few things to monitor on Friday…

1. Financial constraints in Milwaukee

Will Sammon, Ken Rosenthal, and Katie Woo of The Athletic dropped a report yesterday about Milwaukee’s payroll concerns heading into next season. The trio wondered if financial challenges could lead to a Freddy Peralta deal. The right-hander is in the final year of his contract and is slated to make $8MM next season. Brandon Woodruff’s acceptance of the qualifying offer gives the Brewers another option in the rotation if they move Peralta, though both Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold described Woodruff’s return and a potential Peralta trade as “independent decisions.” There have been several instances of Milwaukee trading star players before they hit free agency, including  Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, and Devin Williams.

2. Red Sox eyeing Alonso, Okamoto

We knew Boston was looking for more thump in the middle of the order, as chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said as much earlier this month. Jon Heyman of the New York Post linked the team to Pete Alonso and Kazuma Okamoto on Thursday. Alonso has been one of the premier home run hitters in the league since his 2019 debut, leaving the yard at least 34 times in each full season of his career (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign). Alonso signed a two-year deal to return to the Mets last offseason. He opted out of the second year of the pact in early November. Okamoto has delivered solid power contributions in the NPB since 2018. The Yomiuri Giants posted him last week. The addition of either Alonso or Okamoto, who are both corner infielders, could make a Triston Casas trade more likely.

3. Orioles looking at top starters

Heyman also reported that Baltimore is keeping tabs on Framber Valdez and Tatsuya Imai at the highest tier of the free agent starting pitching market. Dylan Cease was also on the list, but he signed with AL East rival Toronto. Heyman mentioned Michael King and Zac Gallen as fallback options for the Orioles. The club sent Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels for Taylor Ward, further thinning a starting rotation that already had depth concerns. Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish will headline the staff heading into 2026, but beyond innings-eater Dean Kremer, the unit has plenty of question marks. Some kind of addition, even in the Gallen range, seems like a decent possibility.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images