AL East

After blocking a trade to the Houston Astros in December, Nolan Arenado is reportedly interested in a potential trade to the Boston Red Sox.

Per ESPN's Buster Olney, those close to the St. Louis Cardinals star said he "would really like the idea of going to the Red Sox." According to Olney, Arenado's mindset this offseason is "highly, highly motivated."

The report of Arenado's interest in the Red Sox comes after a Tuesday report from Jon Morosi of MLB Network stating that Boston and St. Louis "had recent communication." Morosi added in that report that "Cardinals' executive Chaim Bloom has close knowledge of Boston's prospects."

Bloom was Boston's chief baseball officer from 2019 to 2023.

The Red Sox have a solid list of prospects they could use in a trade for Arenado. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter ranks Boston's farm system as No. 13, with star outfielder Roman Anthony and shortstop Marcelo Mayer being some of the most notable names.

The Cardinals appear to be in rebuild mode after going 83-79 and missing the postseason for a second consecutive season in 2024. Meanwhile, the Red Sox seem to be building a roster that can compete for a World Series soon, as they've had a busy offseason thus far.

Adding a veteran like Arenado could help Boston get closer to its dreams of once again being a championship contender.

Arenado, 33, struggled a bit in his fourth season with the Cardinals. He had just 16 homers, 71 RBI, 70 runs and a .719 OPS across 152 games—numbers that are not on par with his usual production. He also posted a .719 OPS, which is his worst since the 2013 season.

While he hasn't lived up to his own standards in St. Louis, getting a change of scenery this offseason could be what Arenado needs at this point in his career. After all, Olney reported that he's "highly motivated."

Max Scherzer can earn up to $325,000 in incentives from his one-year, $15.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

Heyman provided a list of the individual triggers, the biggest of which hinges on Scherzer winning a fourth Cy Young award:

Max Scherzer
Blue Jays

$15,500,000/1

Plus: $150,000 for Cy Young
             ($125,000-2nd; $100,000-3rd;$75,000-4th;$50,000-5th)
       $50,000 for All Star
       $50,000 for Gold Glove
       $50,000 for WS/MVP
       $25,000 for LCS/MVP

Full No Trade

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 4, 2025

There's a pretty good chance the right-hander fails to hit any of those bonuses.

Toronto is projected by PECOTA to finish third in the American League East and tally 85 wins. Having added Scherzer, outfielder Anthony Santander and second baseman Andrés Giménez, the Blue Jays should be a little better but don't look like a serious championship contender.

Scherzer, meanwhile, hasn't made an All-Star team or received Cy Young votes since 2021.

The 40-year-old finally started to show his age in 2023, going 13-6 with a 3.77 ERA but a 4.32 FIP in 27 starts before going down with a muscle strain. In 2024, he was limited to nine appearances thanks to a variety of injuries.

Taking a one-year flier on Scherzer made sense for the Blue Jays. They had plenty of cash to burn after striking out in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, and the 2023 version of him was still good enough to be a mid-rotation starter.

And a total outlay of less than $16 million will be a massive bargain should Scherzer have one more elite season left in the tank.

The New York Yankees reportedly signed veteran pitcher Carlos Carrasco to a minor-league deal on Monday, per Jack Curry of YES Network.

The 37-year-old will be a long shot to crack the team's rotation or pitching staff after going 3-10 for the Cleveland Guardians last season with a 5.64 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 89 strikeouts in 21 starts (103.2 innings).

In his prime years, Carrasco was a legitimate top-of-the-rotation option. Between 2015-18 he pitched 180 or more innings in three seasons, hit 200 strikeouts three times and never posted an ERA worse than 3.63.

He's been more erratic in the years since, with strong campaigns in the COVID-shortened season of 2020 (3-4 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 82 strikeouts in 68 innings) and in 2022 for the New York Mets (15-7 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 152 strikeouts in 152 innings).

But the Yankees don't need Carrasco more anything more than depth. The team is set at starting pitcher, with Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil comprising the expected rotation and Marcus Stroman a strong No. 6 option if he isn't traded to address other needs.

So Carrasco will be competing with pitchers like Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, JT Brubaker and Allan Winans to serve as a depth option. Having rotational depth was important for the Yankees in 2023, as injuries limited Cole to 17 starts and Schmidt to 16, though the emergence of Gil seriously mitigated those absences.

While the Carrasco addition won't dominate the headlines, the Yankees continue to pivot from the loss of Juan Soto. Thus far this offseason they've added Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Devin Williams, among other moves, spreading out their resources to address a number of needs.

Whether it's enough to return to the World Series—or keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who by the time you are done reading this may have added another star player—remains to be seen.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer will look to rebound in 2025 after reportedly agreeing to a new one-year, $15.5 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

The 40-year-old is coming off the worst season of his career.

He didn't make his 2024 debut until mid-June thanks to offseason surgery on a herniated disc and then a nerve problem in his right arm. Then he was sidelined in August due to right shoulder fatigue.

Scherzer wound up logging just 43.1 innings, going 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA and a 4.18 FIP.

The right-hander has nothing to prove at this point. An eight-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion, he's in all likelihood headed for the Hall of Fame and could go in on the first ballot.

But Scherzer made it clear to the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant in August he wanted to keep going for another year.

"When I'm out there, I've been able to compete," he said. "I can still pitch at a high level. I look at things like my slider, which I went into the season wanting to fix, and it's been really good. I still see myself as able to compete and win."

If anything, having such a disappointing campaign might've motivated him to stick around and end his time on the mound on a relative high point rather than walk away now.

As you'd expect, the advanced numbers from 2024 aren't kind to Scherzer.

According to Baseball Savant, his .248 expected batting average and .408 expected slugging percentage were both his second-highest dating back to 2015. He also had his lowest strikeout rate (22.6 percent) and had a whiff rate (29.2 percent) below his career average. His four-seam fastball averaged just 92.5 mph as well.

Those numbers require plenty of caveats thanks to Scherzer having his offseason preparations disrupted and putting together such a small sample before another arm issue arose.

Injuries haven't been a common theme across his MLB run, either. Excluding the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, he threw at least 140 innings every year between 2009 and 2023.

There was little doubt about Scherzer's ability to land on his feet with the Rangers or another team this winter. He has earned the benefit of the doubt to prove he remains an effective starting pitcher.

The Blue Jays being the one to give him a chance is a little surprising, though, when they aren't shaping up to be a major contender in the American League East. They lost 88 games in 2024 and haven't made any significant upgrades after trying and failing to sign Juan Soto, Rōki Sasaki and Corbin Burnes.

But this might be the last season Toronto has a playoff window of any kind with stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette becoming free agents next winter. In that sense, signing Scherzer is a gambit that aligns with the franchise's priorities now and carries no long-term commitments.

The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly very interested in signing a veteran starting pitcher in free agency.

Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Blue Jays "appear to be the most serious about signing" Max Scherzer.

"Toronto has been hot for him for about two months," one source said. "[The Blue Jays] certainly feel like the favorites to get him."

Scherzer, 40, has been with the Texas Rangers since 2023 after he was traded midseason from the New York Mets.

His time in Texas saw him deal with a handful of injuries. He suffered a teres major strain in September of 2023, ending his regular season prematurely. He managed to get back on the field for the postseason and appeared in three games as the Rangers won the World Series.

After an offseason back surgery ahead of last season, Scherzer managed a handful of injuries that limited him to just nine games. He posted a 3.95 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, picking up 40 strikeouts across 43.1 innings.

While the three-time Cy Young Award winner hasn't been at his best recently, a source told Feinsand that he looked good when he threw in front of an unspecified number of teams recently.

"He looked like Max Scherzer," a source said. "His Cy Young days are definitely behind him, but he's still good enough to be an effective starter."

It's hard to say whether Scherzer would turn Toronto into a contender after the Blue Jays missed out on stars such as Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Roki Sasaki, but he could certainly bolster a rotation that consists of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt, among others.

Feindsand noted that veteran pitchers Alex Cobb and Justin Verlander signing one-year deals worth $15 million is a good measuring block for what kind of contract Scherzer could get. A price like that seems to be a figure the Blue Jays are willing to pay to improve the roster further after signing Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García for more than $140 million.

The Tampa Bay Rays reportedly have their next shortstop.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that the American League East team agreed to a two-year, $29 million contract with Ha-Seong Kim. The deal includes an opt-out after the first year.

Passan noted Kim is recovering from shoulder surgery but is expected to return to the field in May.

The 29-year-old spent the first four seasons of his career on the San Diego Padres and brings a versatile skill set to Tampa Bay.

One of the first things that jumps out is his glove, as he has experience at shortstop, second base and third base and was effective at all three positions. He won a Gold Glove in 2023 and, according to FanGraphs, was responsible for 24 defensive runs saved above average at shortstop during his time in San Diego.

While he played shortstop exclusively in 2024, he was also responsible for 15 defensive runs saved above average at second base and nine defensive runs saved above average at third base during his time with the Padres as well.

Kim is also a formidable base runner and stole 22 bases last season after stealing 38 the previous year.

Even though his offense isn't quite at the level as his speed and fielding, he still hit double-digit home runs in each of the last three seasons. Kim appeared in 121 games in 2024 and slashed .233/.330/.370 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI.

Tampa Bay is looking to return to form after missing the playoffs in 2024 for the first time since the 2018 campaign.

Adding a versatile player who can impact the game a number of ways and anchor the middle of the defensive infield should help it do just that.

Baseball fans who grew up during the so-called "Evil Empire" days of the New York Yankees under George Steinbrenner could surely never envision a time when the Bronx Bombers were the ones complaining about another team's spending.

But that day has apparently arrived.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who is the son of George, discussed the Los Angeles Dodgers' spending this offseason during a Tuesday interview on the YES Network with Meredith Marakovits (h/t Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) and conceded it is "difficult" for most other teams to keep pace.

"Well, look: It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing," he said. "Now, we'll see if it pays off. They still have to have a season relatively injury-free for it to work out for them, and it's a long season, as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We've seen that time and time again."

It's not as if the Yankees can cry poor considering Forbes recently ranked them as the fourth-most valuable sports franchise in the world with a value of $7.55 billion. By comparison, the Dodgers were 24th at $5.45 billion, which was the second-highest mark in Major League Baseball.

Yet it is Los Angeles that has been pacing the field in spending this offseason.

Kuty and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic cited data from Cot's Contracts and noted Los Angeles has the league's highest projected luxury-tax payroll of $376.4 million after spending nearly a half-billion in deals this offseason alone.

The Philadelphia Phillies are second at $307.8 million, while the Yankees check in at third at $302.9 million.

Los Angeles was already the reigning World Series champion with stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and it responded by adding players such as Blake Snell, Rōki Sasaki, Teoscar Hernández, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates and others this offseason.

Anything but another run to the World Series would be a surprise, and the Yankees may be waiting for them again after adding Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams and Paul Goldschmidt this offseason.

Teams lower on the spending list likely won't love Steinbrenner as the messenger when it comes to making a statement about the Dodgers' spending given the Yankees' position in MLB's pecking order.

But he did point to the massive discrepancies that only grew this offseason as Los Angeles continued to add quality players.

The Boston Red Sox are inviting the top position prospect in baseball to Spring Training.

Boston announced Tuesday that outfielder Roman Anthony was one of nine non-roster invitees to its 2025 Spring Training roster. The 20-year-old is the headliner, although he will be joined by Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, Abraham Toro, Nathan Hickey, Mark Kolozsvary, Jovani Morán, Brian Van Belle and Jacob Webb.

According to the MLB.com prospect rankings, Anthony is the No. 2 prospect in the sport behind only newly signed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Rōki Sasaki.

The potential future Red Sox star was a second-round pick in 2022 and wasted no time making an impact in the team's system. He was the Double-A Portland's team MVP in 2024 and led the entire Eastern League in slugging (.489) and OPS (.856).

He also tallied 15 home runs and 38 extra-base hits before he was promoted to Triple-A Worcester. Once in Triple-A, he slashed .344/.463/.519 with 16 extra-base hits in 35 games and showed his overall skill set as someone who can hit for power and average while playing an outfield spot.

Boston fans looking for a player comparison should look no further than Anthony's own words.

"He's one guy I'm really excited to meet in my career," he said of Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich, per ESPN. "Just as a kid, trying to model my game after him being that tall, skinny, awkward kid. I just always saw similarities of myself and him."

The Red Sox start Spring Training in Fort Myers, Florida, on Feb. 12.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered an update on what he was thinking regarding the team's lineup configuration heading into the 2025 campaign after some major offseason changes, including the loss of Juan Soto in free agency.

"We'll try and get Jasson Dominguez up to speed in left," he said during an appearance on WFAN (h/t Phillip Martinez of SNY). "Cody Bellinger probably in center with Trent Grisham in the mix there too. If Giancarlo Stanton has a day off or I want to DH Aaron Judge, I feel good moving Bellinger wherever. Ideally, I don't want to move Dominguez as much. On a day [Giancarlo] is out, Judge is DH, I can move Bellinger over [to right field] and throw Grisham in center and keep Dominguez in left. We'll see how it all shakes out."

As for the infield, Boone said, "Right now I would have Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second. Then Oswaldo Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu and even Oswald Peraza are vying in the mix for that third base."

Paul Goldschmidt will ostensibly handle duties at first base, while Anthony Volpe should remain the starting shortstop and Austin Wells the primary catcher.

As for the lineup configuration, Boone said Chisholm could potentially serve as the leadoff hitter, but Domínguez is in the mix as well.

"Domínguez's DNA is that because he gets on a lot and has power and can really run, too," he said. "That's a positive. But he has a DNA that gets on while Bellinger and Jazz with their power and bat-to-ball, will play well in the middle [of the lineup]."

One possible configuration could be as follows if Domínguez proves effective in the leadoff role:

1. Domínguez
2. Judge
3. Bellinger
4. Stanton
5. Chisholm
6. Goldschmidt
7. Volpe
8. Wells
9. LeMahieu/Cabrera/Peraza

Expecting a 21-year-old with just 26 games of MLB experience to immediately serve as the leadoff hitter on a contender is no small ask, of course. The Yankees may end up with a revolving door atop the lineup.

"We're very left-handed, so it just depends who solves that leadoff spot and if it's one guy, or one guy vs. a righty, one guy vs. a lefty," Boone said. "I would prefer one guy... a perfect world you love rolling them out. The biggest thing is trying to have a guy that is getting on base at a high level in that No. 1 spot."

The Yankees pivoted well after losing Soto to the New York Mets and resolved a number of their most pressing needs this winter. Still, there remain a few uncertainties for the Bronx Bombers as they look to return to the World Series.

Negotiations between free-agent slugger Pete Alonso and the Toronto Blue Jays are "advancing," according to SNY's Andy Martino.

Tim Healey of Newsday added the two sides were "deep" in contract talks.

However, Martino noted that an agreement is "not done yet" and there is "no guarantee" that it will be reached, though. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet also countered the initial reporting, saying talks were "not gaining momentum."

Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported on Jan. 16 that Alonso's camp rejected a straight three-year contract offer from the New York Mets after proposing a three-year deal with "a high average annual value and opt-outs" to his former team.

Martino previously reported on Jan. 16 that the Mets "expect that Alonso will sign elsewhere" after the two sides weren't able to find common ground on the amount of "years and dollars" in a new contract.

The 30-year-old is coming off a 2024 season in which he posted a career-low .788 OPS, but he still showcased his consistent power at the plate. Alonso played in all 162 games, recording 34 home runs and 88 RBIs to go along with a .240/.329/.459 slash line.

He stepped up in the postseason as the Mets made a National League Championship Series appearance, hitting .273 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 13 games throughout New York's run.

PETE ALONSO OPPO TACO FOR THE LEAD 🌮

(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/xPANosoYmP

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 8, 2024

Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been the subject of trade rumors as he's projected to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2025 season, with Martino revealing that the Mets have been "checking in" on his availability.

That doesn't necessarily mean that a blockbuster trade will materialize if Alonso joins Toronto, though. The Blue Jays would still prefer to keep Guerrero if they can sign the former Mets slugger, per Rosenthal and Sammon.

Toronto has focused on adding power to its lineup throughout the offseason, signing All-Star outfielder Anthony Santander to a five-year contract worth $92.5 million on Monday.

The Blue Jays appear to be in discussions with Alonso as well.