NL West

In their ongoing quest to add a superstar to their lineup, the San Francisco Giants are going to be major players in the race to sign Juan Soto away from the New York Yankees in free agency.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Giants are considered "legit" players in the Soto sweepstakes and will meet with the AL MVP finalist at some point.

However, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported the Giants don't yet have a meeting set up with Soto.

Heyman cited the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers as teams aside from the Giants and Yankees known to be interested in Soto, along with two mystery teams at this point.

The outfielder already has plans to meet with the Yankees and Mets owners, but the Giants reportedly aren't yet on the schedule.

The Giants' interest in Soto isn't a surprise because they desperately need to add some punch to their lineup. They ranked in the bottom half of MLB in runs scored, home runs and weighted on-base average last season.

San Francisco hasn't had a player hit at least 30 homers in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004. LaMonte Wade Jr. was the only player on the 2024 team who posted an on-base percentage over .340 with at least 100 games played.

Giants fans have been through this process of watching their team pursue a star in free agency many times before. They reportedly came in with a nine-year, $360 million offer to Aaron Judge two years ago that prompted the Yankees to increase their offer to retain the 2022 AL MVP.

New York's best offer to Judge before the Giants came in was eight years and $320 million. When that deal didn't come together, the Giants pivoted their pursuit to Carlos Correa. They had a 13-year, $350 million agreement with the star shortstop that fell through due to concerns about his ankle that arose when he took a physical.

Before the 2019 season, the Giants pursued Bryce Harper before he agreed to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies.

I’m told Giants made a 12-year, $310 million offer to Bryce Harper. They were willing to go higher but would have had to go well over $330 million to get it done because of California taxes.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 28, 2019

It's gotten to the point with the Giants where you can almost feel sorry for them because they're at least an organization that's trying to spend money, but no one will take it from them. Plenty of teams don't even bother to try adding to their payroll, even if it's for a transcendent star like Soto.

The Giants haven't won a playoff series since the 2014 World Series. Their only postseason appearance in the past eight season was in 2021 when they won an MLB-high 107 games during the regular season before losing to the Dodgers in the NLDS.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand noted the expectation within the league is the floor for Soto's contract is 10 years and $500 million. He previously turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals in the summer of 2022 that prompted them to trade him to the San Diego Padres.

Soto, who was named a 2024 AL MVP finalist on Monday, hit .288/.419/.569 with 41 homers and 109 RBI in 157 games for the Yankees last season.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw made just seven starts in 2024 as he dealt with injury concerns, but he underwent surgery with an eye on a healthy 2025 season.

"Had surgery yesterday on my foot and knee," he announced Thursday on his Instagram page. "... Planning to crush some rehab and be good as can be come next year. Thanks for all the prayers and support! World Series champs!"

The surgery announcement all but confirmed the southpaw will be back in 2025, which is notable since there were at least retirement discussions ahead of the 2024 campaign.

That is an important development, as he declined his $10 million player option with the Dodgers following the team's World Series title and became a free agent. Still, it would be a surprise to see him pitch for any other team considering he has spent his entire career with Los Angeles and has largely earned the benefit of the doubt from the franchise.

Such goodwill with the team could be important in any negotiations, as Kershaw didn't make his debut this past season until July 25 and then pitched his final game on Aug. 30.

"He declined the 2025 option but it is expected he and the Dodgers will renegotiate another incentive-based deal for the season since he declared himself a 'Dodger for life' at the World Series championship parade," per ESPN. "As a free agent, he currently isn't on the 40-man roster, and that gives the Dodgers some roster flexibility to work with over the winter."

Kershaw left that Aug. 30 start against the Arizona Diamondbacks after just one inning with a toe injury and didn't pitch again for the eventual World Series champions.

Despite his disappointing 2024 season, he will forever be a Dodgers legend with a resume that features a National League MVP, three NL Cy Young awards, five ERA titles, 10 All-Star Game selections and a Gold Glove.

While he is no longer at his peak and is set to turn 37 years old in March, he was quite effective as recently as 2023 as an All-Star who finished with a 2.46 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.

That type of production in 2025 would be a welcome development for Los Angeles as it looks to defend its championship.

The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles are interested in signing Teoscar Hernández after he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2024 World Series, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.

Morosi noted that other MLB teams are also interested in Hernández, who is a free agent after playing out a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Dodgers.

Hernández batted .272 in 154 games this season. He recorded hits in all five World Series games while totaling four RBI to help the Dodgers clinch the championship over the New York Yankees.

He earned his second career All-Star nod and first since 2021 after recording an OPS of .840, trailing only Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers team lead with 33 home runs and 99 RBI.

The right-hander received a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Dodgers, which he is expected to decline. Should he sign with another team, Los Angeles would receive a 2025 draft pick in compensation.

Hernández previously said that his "hopes are really high" that he will re-sign with the Dodgers.

"I want us to be here. I want us to be part of this. I have so many good memories here," Hernández said after the Dodgers' World Series win (h/t MLB.com's Juan Toribio.) "I've learned a lot as a player, as a person. It feels great to be part of this."

But he could face some competition for his attention from the Orioles and Red Sox, who Morosi noted "have similar needs for right-handed power."

This wouldn't be the first time the Red Sox have made a move for the outfielder. Boston offered him a two-year, $28 million contract last offseason, which Hernández turned down in favor of the Dodgers deal.

"At the end of the day, I love the Red Sox and it was one of my favorite teams," Hernández said in July about Boston's offer. "At the end of the day I have to make what is best for me and my career and my family."

If Red Sox can win him over with a more lucrative deal this offseason, the team could find a replacement for free agent Tyler O'Neill after the right-hander hit 31 home runs in 113 games. Boston could still try to re-sign O'Neill, who said he and the team have "mutual interest" in him returning.

Baltimore meanwhile could be looking for another right-handed option to replace free agent outfielder Anthony Santander, who hit a career-high 44 home runs in 155 games during his 2024 All-Star season.

The Orioles were sold in March to a new ownership group, which general manager Mike Elias recently said would be willing to spend big on free agents, per MLB.com's Jake Rill.

Elias added that, should Santander walk, the Orioles would look to the trade market for a player who fits a similar profile.

Hernández, who previously played for the Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, turned 32 in October. He is projected by Spotrac to receive three years and $71 million on his next contract.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery have had quite the rocky relationship in a short time together. In the wake of Montgomery's struggles this past season, owner Ken Kendrick said that signing the veteran pitcher ahead of the 2024 season to a one-year, $25 million deal—with a $22.5 million player option for the 2025 campaign—was a mistake.

"Looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision to invest that money in a guy who performed as poorly as he did," he said during an interview on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM after the season. "It's our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint. And I'm the perpetrator of that."

If those comments were meant to sour the relationship to the point that Montgomery chose to opt out, the ploy didn't work, as Montgomery exercised his option earlier in the week. On Wednesday, general manager Mike Hazen spoke to reporters regarding the situation.

"I will say that he was extremely accountable to the season he had, and I respect that," he said of Montgomery. "I tried to be accountable toward some of the areas we could have maybe helped him a little better. The dynamic was the dynamic, it is what it is."

The Diamondbacks could always look to trade Montgomery, with other starting pitching options like Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson. But Montgomery's contract, paired with a 6.23 ERA in 2024 across 21 starts (25 total appearances), could make that a difficult deal to pull off.

It is, of course, possible that Montgomery will revert back to the very solid starter he was between the 2021-23 campaign and the angst of the offseason will fade. It is very rare that a team owner publicly bashes his own player that vociferously, however, and a change of scenery might be the best scenario for all involved.

Mookie Betts, who has won six Gold Glove Awards in right field, is set to move back to the infield in 2025.

Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said on Wednesday that the team expects the 32-year-old to play at second base or shortstop next season, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Betts began the 2024 season in the infield, where he played 65 games at shortstop and 16 at second base. After returning from a broken hand in August he switched back to the outfield, where he helped the Dodgers win the World Series in October.

L.A manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Aug. 6, as Betts prepared to return from IL, that he expected the star to slot in at shortstop.

That plan changed in the next three days. Roberts said on Aug. 9 that the eight-time All-Star would move back to the outfield because he "feels more comfortable playing in right field."

Betts told reporters the same day that the decision "was kind of a mutual thing, but I would say I mostly went to them."

"I said, 'Listen, I believe I can do it, but I want to win, man. I want to win. And I don't know if me [at shortstop] is the best solution," Betts said, per Mike Digiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. "I loved the challenge of playing shortstop, but you also have to be real with yourself and the team, and do what's best. That's what I've preached from the beginning.

"All I want to do is win. I just feel like [Miguel Rojas] and Nick Ahmed being there, that's winning baseball."

Given the backlog at shortstop, second base seems the most likely opening for Betts on the Dodgers' current roster, excepting injuries heading into 2025. Second baseman Gavin Lux could be a trade candidate this winter if L.A. is planning on committing to Betts as a full-time option at the keystone.

Betts went into 2024 expecting to play as the team's second baseman before Roberts informed him that he would be playing at shortstop two weeks before the season opened, per Will Graves of the Associated Press.

Given his fielding struggles early last season, Betts could benefit from more notice as to which spot will be his full-time position in 2025.

Even though Los Angeles Dodgers fans won't forget Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees, one fan took things one step further to commemorate the moment.

The fan, Maeve Hushman, posted a tattoo she got on her forearm as a tribute to the iconic moment from Freeman.

Sports girls are so weird, like what do you mean you got Freddie Freeman’s grand slam tattooed on you? (it’s me I’m sports girls) pic.twitter.com/kYm6Km3zqO

— x—Maeve (@maeve_hushman) November 5, 2024

The tattoo features the numbers for all three Dodgers players who were on base—Chris Taylor, Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts—and Freeman at home plate, with the ball in flight over the right-field wall after it had been hit.

Los Angeles looked to be in trouble in the later innings of Game 1. The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning on Giancarlo Stanton's two-run homer off Jack Flaherty.

The Dodgers were able to tie the score in the bottom of the eighth, but New York went up 3-2 in the top of the 10th before LA loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame.

Nestor Cortés Jr. was able to get Shohei Ohtani to pop out into foul territory for the second out. Any hope the Yankees had of escaping the threat was dashed when Freeman launched the first pitch he saw 423 feet.

Freeman's homer was the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history and just the second in MLB playoff history after Nelson Cruz's in Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS for the Texas Rangers.

The comeback victory in Game 1 propelled the Dodgers in the entire series. They would win each of the first three games against the Yankees but saved their best for last with a five-run comeback aided by some poor defense from New York in the clinching Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.

Freeman homered in each of the first four games in the series. He finished 6-of-20 with a 1.000 slugging percentage, drove in 12 runs and scored five runs in five games to earn World Series MVP honors.

After making the playoffs in his first season with the San Diego Padres, manager Mike Shildt has had his contract with the club extended.

The Padres announced on Wednesday that Shildt has signed a new deal that ties him to the organization through the 2027 season.

"As Mike demonstrated this year, he has an unwavering commitment to winning and a unique set of skills that got our group to perform at a high level," general manager A.J. Preller said in the announcement. "He possesses a true love for this team and the game of baseball, and I am thrilled to continue to work together with Mike to bring a championship to the City of San Diego."

Shildt has been with the Padres since January 2022 when he was hired as a player development coach on Bob Melvin's staff.

Melvin led the Padres to the NLCS in his first season as manager, but they finished with a disappointing 82-80 record in 2023 after they went all-in with an offseason spending spree.

The expectation was that Melvin would be back with the Padres in 2024. He was still under contract with the club and Preller told reporters during his end-of-season press conference in October 2023 that they were keeping Melvin as manager.

In the wake of Preller's comments, Melvin left San Diego when he was hired as manager by the San Francisco Giants. The move didn't come as a surprise because the Padres had to give the Giants permission to interview the 63-year-old.

Shildt wound up getting promoted by the Padres to become their manager on Nov. 21, 2023. He had four years of managerial experience with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2018 to '21, making the playoffs in each of his final three seasons with the club.

The Padres made the playoffs under Shildt with a 93-69 record, their most wins in a single season since 1998 (98-64). They swept the Atlanta Braves in the NL wild-card round and held a 2-1 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS before losing the final two games.

Despite the disappointing end to this season, the future is extremely bright in San Diego. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Luis Arráez and Manny Machado are a great foundation for the lineup. Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish give them a strong trio at the top of their starting rotation.

There is work to do for Preller to do with the roster, especially with Jurickson Profar and Tanner Scott hitting free agency, but the Padres have a lot of upside going into 2025 as they look to compete with the Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West.

Mike Shildt led the San Diego Padres to a 93-69 record and a playoff appearance in his first season as manager, and the team is reportedly keeping him for longer as a result.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported Tuesday that San Diego is finalizing a two-year contract extension with Shildt and could announce the deal Wednesday.

The manager was signed through just the 2025 campaign on his previous deal, so this means he will be in place through the 2027 season.

The 2024 campaign stood in stark contrast to the 2023 one for the Padres.

San Diego had plenty of star power but went just 82-80 and missed the playoffs in 2023. Both Acee and Lin highlighted a reportedly fractured relationship between manager Bob Melvin and general manager A.J. Preller, and the former left to become the manager of the San Francisco Giants for the 2024 season.

The Padres then hired Shildt, who proceeded to lead them to the second-most wins in franchise history. Only the 1998 Padres won more when they went 98-64 and reached the World Series.

San Diego's success reportedly won't only impact Shildt, as Acee noted "the team has been working on contracts for most of its baseball operations employees and some members of the coaching staff. Those deals, including one for pitching coach Ruben Niebla, are expected to be completed in the coming days."

Success is nothing new for Shildt.

He went 252-199 as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from when he took over for the fired Mike Matheny during the 2018 season through the 2021 one. The Cardinals made the playoffs three times during that span, including when they advanced to the National League Championship Series during the 2019 campaign.

San Diego found some postseason success in Shildt's first year. It defeated the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Round and then took a 2-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional Series.

However, Los Angeles won the next two games and went on to win the World Series.

Shildt and the Padres will look to close that gap on their National League West rivals next season.

Following the Los Angeles Dodgers World Series win over the New York Yankees, star Shohei Ohtani underwent surgery on his shoulder.

The team announced Tuesday that Ohtani "underwent successful arthroscopic surgery, performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, to repair a labrum tear that resulted from a left shoulder dislocation Oct. 26." Los Angeles also said he is expected to be ready to go for spring training.

Ohtani suffered the shoulder injury while sliding into an attempted stolen base in the Dodgers' 4-2 win over New York in Game 2 of the World Series. Though there was an initial fear the injury would sideline him for the remainder of the series, he managed to play through the injury on his way to his first championship.

While he was on the field for Los Angeles despite the injury, it seemed to have affected his game. He went 2-for-19 with two runs and five strikeouts, a bit of a nonfactor for the Dodgers.

His first postseason wasn't quite as productive as he might have hoped as he finished with three home runs, 10 RBI and a .230 batting average, but he did more than enough during the regular season to put Los Angeles in a position to make a World Series run.

He had a historic season with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, 59 stolen bases and a .310 batting average, leading the Dodgers to the best record in baseball.

As outstanding as Ohtani was during the 2024 season, he'll be even more dangerous next year as he makes his return to the mound. Ohtani did not pitch this season because of an offseason elbow surgery, but made progress throughout the regular season, throwing off the mound for the first time since the surgery in August.

In his last season on the mound in 2023, Ohtani had 167 strikeouts, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP, going 10-5 in 23 starts.

Fresh off their World Series victory, the Los Angeles Dodgers could land arguably the best pitcher on the free-agent market if he becomes available this offseason.

Per ESPN's Kiley McDaniel, the Dodgers are "heavily favored" to land Japanese star Roki Sasaki, as "indications" are that the Chiba Lotte Marines will post him for MLB clubs.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported in August that Sasaki was likely to renew his request with the NPB club to post him this offseason, but it was unclear if they would acquiesce because it's financially beneficial to them to wait.

Per MLB rules, foreign-born players under the age of 25 with fewer than six seasons of professional experience are subject to international bonus pool restrictions.

When Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017, his original signing bonus was only $2.3 million because he was only 22 years old at the time.

If the Marines waited until after the 2026 season to post Sasaki, he would be free to sign for any amount he could get from an MLB team. They would get a release fee that is based on the percentage of the contract he signs. For example, the Orix Buffaloes received a release fee of approximately $50 million from the Dodgers for their $325 million deal with Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason.

McDaniel noted that international bonus pools will reset after Dec. 15 to give teams around $7 million to spend, but the pools will be limited to around $2.5 million at most if he gets posted before that date.

Despite the interest from the Dodgers, McDaniel did explain there are "complicating factors" that could prevent the World Series champs from landing Sasaki. Some thought he might prefer a smaller market, and there are concerns that he might be "nursing an injury" because his velocity was down this season.

Sasaki's average fastball velocity in the in the 2023 WBC semifinals for Japan against Mexico was 100.5 mph.

102 MPH from Roki Sasaki! 😱 #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/88UdKCkYGV

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 20, 2023

Even in the "worst" season of his career in 2024, Sasaki still finished with a 2.35 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 83 hits allowed in 111 innings. He went 10-5 in 18 games for the Marines.

If any team in MLB knows how to navigate pitcher injuries, it's the Dodgers. They just won the World Series without Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Bobby Miller and Clayton Kershaw throwing a pitch in the postseason.

Hopefully there's nothing physically wrong with Sasaki, especially if he gets posted this offseason, because he's been one of the best players in NPB since making his debut in 2021. He threw a 19-strikeout perfect game in April 2022.

Sasaki was named to the NPB All-Star team in 2022 and 2023. The right-hander has a 2.10 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 505 strikeouts in 394.2 innings in four seasons with the Marines.