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The Blue Jays secured pitcher Dylan Cease to bolster their bullpen. TNS <\/p>\nAs Yankees GM Brian Cashman described it before the 2025 Winter Meetings ended, the free-agency market is moving at a \u201cglacial speed.\u201d <\/p>\n
The 2026 season will be the final one under MLB\u2019s current collective-bargaining agreement, with labor uncertainty and a potential lockout ahead. <\/p>\n
However, super agent Scott Boras, who is negotiating deals for several clients, was not concerned teams would curtail spending as a result. <\/p>\n
\u201cHistorically, I\u2019ve done major contracts, mainly because owners should be more concerned about the ebbs and flows of talent,\u201d Boras said last week. \u201cBecause that\u2019s what operates success in this industry.\u201d <\/p>\n
He then joked: \u201cI haven\u2019t been able to get a clause in a contract lately that they have to pay players during strikes, so it mitigates the primary concern.\u201d <\/p>\n
There was no Juan Soto-caliber deal from the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. However, there was significant free-agent activity, as the Phillies kept designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (five years, $150 million), while the Mets lost closer Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers (three years, $69 million) and first baseman Pete Alonso to the Orioles (five years, $155 million). <\/p>\n
Here are five questions from the Winter Meetings: <\/p>\n
What is the Mets\u2019 plan? <\/p>\n
A year ago, the Mets gave Boras client Soto the largest contract in the history of professional sports (15 years, $765 million). They also retained Alonso after a contentious negotiation. Add it all to the team\u2019s unlikely postseason run in 2024, and New York managed to draw 3 million fans to Citi Field for the first time in 15 seasons. Yet a late-season collapse with MLB\u2019s second-highest payroll ($340 million) and luxury taxes ($89 million) led to changes being inevitable. <\/p>\n
When owner Steve Cohen bought the Mets, he aspired to be the Dodgers of the East Coast. That didn\u2019t include losing a key reliever to the two-time defending World Series champions. And the Mets ultimately didn\u2019t want to give Alonso, a Boras client, fan favorite and the team\u2019s all-time home run leader, the term he desired. The Mets have even more work to do as a result. Cohen is going to have to finish the offseason with another bang after the losses of beloved players. <\/p>\n
If the Orioles can spend, why can\u2019t other small-market teams?<\/p>\n
The Orioles were a middle-of-the-pack payroll team ($165 million) last year, but made a massive statement in signing Alonso. Baltimore appears to be pursuing starting pitching as well. <\/p>\n
You can certainly hear the union saying, \u201cIf Baltimore can spend, why can\u2019t others?\u201d <\/p>\n
At the bottom of MLB\u2019s payroll rankings, the Pirates (No. 27 at $87 million) and Marlins (last at $69 million) are reportedly going to spend money this offseason. Pittsburgh was apparently in on Schwarber, as were the Reds, hoping to increase ticket sales by bringing their hometown player in, and the Orioles before turning to Alonso. <\/p>\n
Agents told The Athletic that the aim of the Pirates and Marlins spending more was to get additional revenue sharing in the next CBA. The teams, though, contended they plan to be opportunistic. Given their histories, it remains to be seen whether it is talk or action. <\/p>\n
Miami, which receives about $70 million in revenue sharing, believed it had followed CBA rules last spring by improving its technological and training infrastructure, despite not spending 150% of those funds on its actual roster, and thereby avoiding a grievance. The union could look to change that language, making it more specific in the next CBA.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals, projected to be a revenue-sharing recipient for the first time amid back-to-back losing seasons and decreases in attendance and local RSN revenue, appear to be in rebuilding mode. The Tigers had an incredible business year across the board, finishing second in local TV ratings and opening a premium space behind home plate, yet the future of ace Tarik Skubal is uncertain. <\/p>\n
MLB Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark told reporters on Dec. 4 that formal bargaining will begin in the spring. The union is vehemently opposed to a salary cap. <\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing that there are teams who have the wherewithal to compete that choose not to, and how that affects the industry,\u201d Clark said, according to The Associated Press. \u201cIn an industry where not all 30 teams are committed to that, what does that mean? Are there things that we can do to address those concerns? There are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is there a new super power in the AL East? <\/p>\n
Fresh off their heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the Fall Classic, the Blue Jays and Rogers Communications appear to be increasing payroll after finishing fifth last season at $266 million. <\/p>\n
They aggressively landed starting pitcher Dylan Cease (seven years, $210 million) and introduced him at a press conference in Orlando. Toronto also hosted potential $400 million man Kyle Tucker at its spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., on Dec. 3. With recently renovated facilities and an unexpected postseason run, Toronto has become a destination. <\/p>\n
The Blue Jays secured pitcher Dylan Cease to bolster their bullpen. TNS <\/p>\n
The Yankees have their own roster vacancies, and while most teams are envious of their budget, owner Hal Steinbrenner indicated last month that it would be \u201cideal\u201d if the team could stay under a $300 million payroll in 2026. <\/p>\n
With the Red Sox also pursuing talent and the Orioles very active, it should be a competitive year in the AL East. <\/p>\n
Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?<\/p>\n
The Dodgers were widely seeking bullpen help. It just wasn\u2019t expected that they would land Diaz. Yet, two days after a fan was spotted wearing a \u201cThere Is No Crying In Payroll\u201d T-shirt, Los Angeles was adding to its ledger after spending a record $509 million ($341 million in salaries and $168 million in luxury taxes) in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see why the Dodgers are Goliath,\u201d Boras said. \u201cThey went and got something [bullpen help] they really, really needed. And, obviously, it had appeal. I can imagine what they said and why they said it. And I\u2019m sure there was a goal on the part of the player that maybe he felt he could achieve his goals differently with the Dodgers than the Mets.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Dodgers, with their big spending, have been accused of ruining baseball. Manager Dave Roberts raised eyebrows when he told Amazon Prime that he was in favor of a salary cap, which includes a floor that would force small-market teams to spend, comments he defended at the Winter Meetings. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just think we have an organization that whatever the rules and constrictions are, we\u2019re going to dominate,\u201d Roberts said. <\/p>\n
After attracting two-way star Shohei Ohtani to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have taken what was already a successful business and baseball operation and moved it into another stratosphere, drawing more than 4 million fans in 2025 and generating $200 million in sponsorship revenue, becoming the first team in North American professional sports to reach the benchmark. Over the last two offseasons, they have invested $141 million on closers alone. <\/p>\n
Which Boras clients could be next? <\/p>\n
Boras thinks the market will still be fruitful for his clients. And by the end of the Winter Meetings, things seemed to be trending in the right direction. Boras was still negotiating offseason deals for third baseman Alex Bregman, starting pitcher Ranger Suarez, outfielder and first baseman Cody Bellinger, Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai, Zac Gallen and Japanese corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto, all of whom figure to cash in. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know of a CBA where an owner came out and said things are going to be so much worse that I\u2019m concerned about the longevity of the contract I just agreed to prior to the new CBA,\u201d Boras said. \u201cBecause the only thing that even major-market teams are concerned about are luxury taxes or how that\u2019s going to evolve. So it\u2019s usually that they believe the outcome of the CBA is going to be more beneficial to them than the prior one. So that\u2019s why I don\u2019t think you see clubs hesitate to where they\u2019re going to sacrifice a year or miss out on a talent that won\u2019t be available for 5-6 years because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Yankees GM Brian Cashman described it before the 2025 Winter Meetings ended, the free-agency market is moving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[1558,363,8837,99,23573],"class_list":["post-349959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-print","tag-sports","tag-upfront"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}