NL Central

The Milwaukee Brewers and their top prospect Jackson Chourio are reportedly discussing a deal that would set history for a player who has yet to play at the major league level.

According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the two sides are negotiating a "landmark contract" for Chourio, who is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in baseball by MLB.com.

Rosenthal noted that the largest agreement for a player with no major-league experience currently is the six-year, $50 million contract that outfielder Luis Robert signed with the Chicago White Sox in Jan. 2020. However, Chourio's deal reportedly "would be longer and guarantee him more money" despite the fact that he's played just six games above the Double-A level.

The two sides have been involved in "months of on-and-off discussions.' A native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, Chourio will turn 20 in March and was the youngest player to appear in Double-A in 2023. If an agreement is reached, Rosenthal stated that "it would remove service time as a consideration for the Brewers in their decision on when to promote him, and likely ensure his place in their Opening Day lineup."

Chourio spent the majority of 2023 in Double-A and hit .280 with 22 homers and an .803 OPS. However, the outfielder excelled even further when he made it to Triple-A Nashville, batting .333 with no homers and an .851 OPS in just 24 plate appearances.

If Chourio agrees to a deal, he will become the sixth player to do so before reaching the major league level, joining Robert, White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez, Seattle Mariners first baseman Evan White, Philadelphia Phillies infielder Scott Kingery and Houston Astros first baseman Jon Singleton.

Two National League Central rivals are engaged in trade talks for former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber and Tyler Glasnow.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds are among teams in active conversations with the Cleveland Guardians about Bieber and Tampa Bay Rays for Glasnow.

The Cubs are one of the most intriguing teams to keep an eye on this offseason. They already made a big splash by making Craig Counsell the highest-paid manager in MLB history.

Even with the addition of Counsell in the dugout, the Cubs still have several holes to fill on their roster before they can think about becoming a playoff contender again. They are expected to make a serious run at Shohei Ohtani until the two-time AL MVP decides where he's going to sign.

If the Ohtani pursuit doesn't work out, the Cubs have stated they'd be interested in bringing back Cody Bellinger.

Even if they were to sign Ohtani or Bellinger, pitching is an area of need for Chicago. Justin Steele is coming off a great season and Kyle Hendricks had a solid bounce-back year, but the depth behind them is a question.

The Reds are also a team in need of pitching help as they look to build off a surprise 82-80 record in 2023. Andrew Abbott was the only starter on their roster who made at least five starts and posted a sub-4.00 ERA.

Bieber and Glasnow could be moved this offseason because of the limited payroll flexibility imposed by the owners of their current teams.

Based on their performances last season, Glasnow offers a much higher ceiling than Bieber. The 30-year-old had a 3.53 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 130 innings. Bieber finished 2023 with a 3.80 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 128 innings.

Glasnow is owed $25 million in 2024 before being eligible for free agency. Bieber is going into his final season of arbitration with a projected salary of $12.2 million.

Both players have injury concerns that could impact their trade value. Bieber missed two months last season due to elbow inflammation. Glasnow missed the first two months of the season with a strained oblique and has made a total of 37 starts over the past three years.

The Minnesota Twins were American League Central champions this past season, but they are losing a major driving force behind that success.

The St. Louis Cardinals and starting pitcher Sonny Gray "are expected to finalize a deal today," according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal later reported Gray and the Cardinals are finalizing a three-year, $75 million contract.

This comes after the Twins extended him a one-year, $20.325 million qualifying offer in November, although he was widely expected to decline it even at the time.

Gray came to Minnesota as part of a trade with the Cincinnati Reds ahead of the 2022 campaign, and the AL Central team exercised a club option for 2023 for $12.7 million in base salary.

While he was among the best pitchers in the league last season, there was some question about whether it would be his final one.

"Wouldn't shock me if I didn't play any more after this year," Gray said in July, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. "Wouldn't shock me. Do I want to? Do I think I can? Absolutely. And I can at a very, very high level. It's not about the money. It's whether you still enjoy it, and does your family still enjoy it."

Gray also explained at the time that being a father will weigh into his decision.

"Does it still work with your family? Do your boys still enjoy it? Do they still want you to do it? Do they want dad to be home?" he said. "You think about it every now and then, just being real. But they love it, they enjoy it, they think it's cool. It gives them a little bit of street cred at school. So we'll see how it plays out."

He ultimately decided to return for the 2024 season and will pitch for the TEAM at 34 years old.

This is another team for the veteran who has been in the league since 2013 with stops with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Red and Twins. While there are some disappointing years in that span, the fact he is a three-time All-Star spread out in 2015, 2019 and 2023 for three different teams is a testament to his durability and longevity.

Gray was excellent in 2023 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 183 strikeouts in 184 innings. It was the second time in five years he finished with an ERA below 3.00 and marked another excellent performance for the Twins after he finished the 2022 season with a 3.08 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 119.2 innings.

He helped lead Minnesota to a division crown and playoff appearance this past season as part of an impressive one-two punch with Pablo López and then threw five shutout innings during a Wild Card Series win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Unfortunately for the Twins, their postseason run came to an end against the Houston Astros in the Division Series. Gray struggled in his only appearance and allowed four earned runs, two home runs and eight hits in four innings.

Yet it didn't overshadow his excellent performance throughout the regular season, and he will now look to take the next step and compete for a championship with the Cardinals.

St. Louis is attempting to bounce back from a last-place finish in the National League Central, which ended its run of four straight playoff appearances. Pitching was a major problem for the team that finished 24th in the league in ERA (4.79) and clearly was a priority heading into the offseason.

Enter Gray, who will be tasked with helping lead a turnaround for the staff.

As the New York Yankees explore their options for a new outfielder, Cody Bellinger appears to be near the top of that list.

And despite another excellent campaign in his first season with the Chicago Cubs, it appears that the Yankees are a bit concerned over his hard-hit rate, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

Bellinger batted .307/.365/.525 with 26 homers and 97 RBI in 130 games of action.

On paper, it appears that Bellinger would be the perfect fit in the Bronx as a left-handed outfielder that'll help diversify a right-handed heavy lineup. He also has the type of playoff experience that'll help a Yankees squad that has struggled to get over the hump in recent years.

Bellinger is a former NL and NLCS MVP.

It's also understandable why the Yankees will be nervous with this type of situation following the trade for Joey Gallo in 2021. Gallo struggled mightily during his time with the team and was ultimately shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gallo never hit better than .160 during his time with the Yankees.

However, Bellinger isn't a complete strikeout artist, hitting .279 when having two strikes.

New York also has interest in Juan Soto and Korean two-way center fielder Jung-Hoo Lee.

Rays ace Tyler Glasnow is likely on his way out of Tampa.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the righty is likely to be traded this offseason.

Lots of trade chatter about Tyler Glasnow this offseason. Two execs told me they believe Tampa Bay will “definitely” move its ace, who is set to earn $25 million in 2024.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 21, 2023

It is not particularly surprising given Tampa's history of dealing players once they become remotely known and eclipse the $20 million threshold, nor will it shock anyone that teams in need of starting pitching will be interested in acquiring Glasnow.

One such team, the St. Louis Cardinals, have made it abundantly clear that they are focusing on pitching this offseason.

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in July that their primary focus would be, "Pitching. Pitching. Pitching," wrote Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in October. It was in that same piece that Goold reported the Cardinals would reach out to the Rays if Glasnow became available amid his ballooning contract.

On the heels of signing former Oriole Kyle Gibson to a one-year, $12 million deal and bringing back Lance Lynn on a $10 million contract, Mozeliak told The Athletic's Katie Woo that the team intends to explore the trade market.

"We have not explored the trade market much to date. We'll probably take a deeper dive into that as we start to approach Winter Meetings. But we don't think we're finished at this point."

Nor should they be.

The Cardinals' pitching, both starting and its rotation, was abysmal in 2023.

St. Louis ranked seventh-worst in team ERA at 4.79 and fourth-worst in team WHIP at 1.46. That position almost single-handedly kept them out of playoff contention and resulted in the worst season Cards fans have experienced since 1999 and first 90-loss season since 1990.

Glasnow started 21 games for the Rays and went 10-7 with an ERA of 3.53, a WHIP of 1.08, and a WAR of 2.0. It was not his best season with the franchise, but he was still an ace and one of the best pitchers in the American League.

He would enhance the Cardinals rotation and instantly be the best of the bunch. He would resume his status as an ace and, with Gibson and Lynn, provide the team a solid one-two-three that it simply did not have a season ago.

St. Louis have prospects to deal in return, too.

Pedro Pagés is a talented young catcher but the Cardinals have a logjam at the position and second baseman Nick Dunn finally looked the part of a potential major leaguer in 2023 after kicking around the minor league system for years.

There are others, including some talented righties, so the Rays would not simply be giving Glasnow away to the first team that is willing to take him off their hands.

The Cardinals have the offensive pieces to make a legitimate postseason run. Paul Goldschmidt is still Paul Goldschmidt despite a dropoff in numbers in 2023, Nolan Arenado was an All-Star in 2023, Lars Nootbaar hit 14 homers with a 3.3 WAR, and Jordan Walker showed tremendous upside, even if he has some work to do defensively.

If the team can put together a rotation, and back it up with some quality bullpen additions, St. Louis will absolutely compete for the NL Central title.

Adding a reliable, quality ace like Glasnow makes it that much easier to do so.

Coming into the offseason desperately needing to add depth in their starting rotation, the St. Louis Cardinals have reached agreement with veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported the two sides agreed to a deal. ESPN's Jesse Rogers added Gibson will make $12 million with a team option for 2025.

The deal is similar to the one St. Louis handed out to Lance Lynn on Monday, which ESPN's Jeff Passan reported will be worth around $10 million guaranteed and includes a team option for 2025.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters at the general managers' meetings earlier this month the team needed to add "at least two starters" this offseason.

It would seem unlikely that Gibson and Lynn will be the two big splashes that Cardinals fans are hoping for.

Mozeliak said at the time he would be willing to take a patient approach and potentially explore the trade market.

"I think for us, our checklist is starter, starter, and then let's see what we look like," Mozeliak said. "We do have some position-player talent and depth there. So, we also do want to explore the trade market just in case we aren't successful on the [free-agent market]."

The Cardinals need impact starters, of course, but they also need depth. They are trying to fill 413 innings that were lost from Adam Wainwright's retirement, Dakota Hudson hitting free agency and trading away Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty during the season.

St. Louis had the fifth-worst ERA (5.08) and second-fewest strikeouts per nine innings (6.92) from its starting rotation (5.08) in 2023.

Aaron Nola is the only top-tier free-agent starting pitcher who is off the market after returning to the Philadelphia Phillies on a seven-year, $172 million deal. The Cardinals were among the teams interested in the 30-year-old before he opted to stay with Philadelphia.

Gibson and Lynn should fill the back-of-the-rotation, innings-eater role in St. Louis. Gibson spent last season with the Baltimore Orioles. He tied for the AL lead with 33 starts and was sixth with 192 innings pitched.

While that volume will be valuable for the Cardinals, they need Gibson to improve on the 4.73 ERA and AL-high 198 hits allowed in 2023. He was named to the AL All-Star team with the Texas Rangers in 2021 before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies midway through the season.

The Cardinals finished last in the NL Central with a 71-91 record in 2023. It was the franchise's first losing season since 2007 and its first time finishing last in the division since 1990.

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff has been non-tendered.

"Today we had to make a very difficult decision relating to one of the best pitchers and human beings in franchise history," general manager Matt Arnold said in a statement released by the team. "Throughout his 10 seasons with the organization, Brandon Woodruff has represented the Brewers with class, kindness, heart, and toughness."

The two-time All-Star is expected to miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Woodruff will now be a free agent.

The 30-year-old has spent his entire MLB tenure as a member of the Brewers, finishing with a record of 46-26 while recording 115 starts. He owns a career 3.10 ERA, finishing fifth in NL Cy Young voting in 2021.

Despite dealing with shoulder issues throughout the 2023 season before he was eventually left off Milwaukee's Wild Card Series roster, Woodruff compiled a 5-1 record and a 2.28 ERA. He struck out 74 batters in 67.0 innings.

The Brewers were reportedly in trade talks with "multiple" teams prior to the move, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. However, they clearly weren't able to find the right deal.

This doesn't mean that Woodruff has been completely ruled out of Milwaukee's future plans, though.

"We remain very open to his return to Milwaukee, and regardless of what uniform he wears next, [Woodruff] will always be a member of the Brewers family," Arnold said.

However, it's not hard to imagine that there will be several suitors for the right-hander. Although there is a fair amount of uncertainty regarding his return from the surgery, the reward could outweigh the risk for some.

Especially for a pitcher such as Woodruff, who's held opponents to a .214 batting average in 680.1 innings of work.

If the Milwaukee Brewers are going into a rebuilding phase, Brandon Woodruff seems like one of the first trade dominoes that could fall this offseason.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Brewers have had trade talks with "multiple teams" about the two-time All-Star pitcher.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported on Nov. 9 that Milwaukee is "open to moving virtually any player on its roster."

The front office got an early start during the hot-stove season by sending Mark Canha, who had an $11.5 million team option for next season, to the Detroit Tigers for pitching prospect Blake Holub.

Woodruff is a fascinating trade candidate because no one has any idea at this point if he will be able to pitch next season. He had surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder on Oct. 13 that the Brewers said could keep him out for all of 2024.

Morosi did note teams see value in having Woodruff for the second half of next season, which would seem to indicate some level of confidence he will be able to return at some point.

The 2024 season will also be Woodruff's final year of arbitration. Anthony Franco and Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors projected him to make $11.6 million.

If Woodruff is able to pitch most of the second half, that salary could end up being a bargain based on his track record of success. The 30-year-old had a 2.28 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 74 strikeouts over 67 innings in 11 starts last season.

Since moving to the starting rotation full-time in 2019, Woodruff has the third-best ERA in MLB (2.93), eighth-most strikeouts per nine innings (10.72) and is tied for 13th in FanGraphs wins above replacement (15.1) among all pitchers who have thrown at least 550 innings.

There is enormous upside for a team that might acquire Woodruff if he can return at full strength. Last season was the first time he suffered a significant injury since 2019 when an oblique strain kept him out for nearly two months.

The Cincinnati Reds are exploring possible trades for infielder Jonathan India and have been in discussions with three or four teams, according to MLB Network's John Morosi.

Morosi reported that while no deal is currently in place, talks between the sides have been active and that things have progressed over the course of the week for the 26-year-old.

India was selected No. 5 overall by Cincinnati in the 2018 MLB draft and made an immediate impact when he was called up ahead of the 2021 campaign. He went on to win NL Rookie of the Year.

Morosi reported earlier in the month that India was a bit of a hot commodity for team's around the league during the MLB GM Meetings. However, he also emphasized that the Reds didn't seem too keen on trading the young star.

"India is a popular name among execs at the MLB GM Meetings. Multiple teams have inquired to the Reds about his availability," Morosi tweeted. "Reds will listen to offers due to their position-player depth, but they value India highly and aren't motivated to move him."

India had a decent third campaign in the big leagues. In 119 games he batted .244/.338/.407 with 17 homers and 61 RBI.

The Reds may feel a little less unsure about dealing India thanks to the play of Matt McLain, who had an excellent debut season while serving as an extra infielder on the roster.

The 24-year-old rookie played just 89 games but made the most of the opportunity. He hit .290/.507/.338 with 16 homers and 50 RBI.

McLain is the latest piece of the Reds' excellent youth movement that's spearheaded by Elly de la Cruz.

It'll be interesting to see how general manager Nick Krall handles the India situation. He already made a statement earlier in the offseason when he declined the option of franchise legend Joey Votto.

If the Chicago Cubs are looking for more stable production at first base in 2024, New York Mets star Pete Alonso could be a trade target for the organization.

Per ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubs are considered a potential fit for Alonso with Christopher Morel being the centerpiece of a deal if the Mets decide to trade the three-time All-Star.

Alonso's status figures to be carefully monitored by clubs throughout the offseason. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters at the general managers meetings last week they are planning to have the star first baseman back in 2024.

"We're fortunate to have him," Stearns said. "I'm looking forward to watching him play this season, and I'm not going to predict the future."

The future Stearns was referring to related to a potential contract extension for Alonso. He is entering his final season of arbitration with a projected salary of $22 million.

Stearns, who is entering his first full season running the Mets' front office, has some big decisions to make about the direction he wants to take the franchise.

Max Scherzer told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal in August after he waived his no-trade clause to accept a deal to the Texas Rangers that then-Mets general manager Billy Eppler told him their "vision" was on 2025 and beyond.

Eppler stepped down at the end of the season, so it's possible those plans might have changed. It's also plausible that the Mets could still try to build more for 2025 and beyond, while considering Alonso a core player they want to keep long-term.

The Cubs seem like one of the teams ready to make at least one big move for a star player this offseason. They've already been cited as a potential landing spot for Shohei Ohtani.

Chicago has a lot of talent in their farm system to trade from if it wants to make a deal for a player of Alonso's caliber.

Morel on his own wouldn't be enough to get the Mets to sign off on a deal for Alonso. The 24-year-old is almost like an off-brand version of Alonso. He's got a similar power profile, but strikes out more and walks less than Alonso.

In 767 at-bats over 220 career games, Morel has a .241/.311/.471 slash line with 42 homers and 270 strikeouts.

Alonso had a career-worst .217 batting average and .318 on-base percentage, but he slugged 46 homers in 154 games for the Mets last season.