Juan Soto and the San Diego Padres avoided arbitration when the two sides agreed to a one-year, $23 million deal on Friday, per multiple reports.
The deal ensures that Soto — whom the Padres acquired at the trade deadline for a raft of top prospects — remains with the team at least one more season. It also gives the sides time to work on a long-term deal.
Soto cannot be a free agent before the 2024 season.
Jan. 13: Outfielder Andrew McCutchen is heading back to Pittsburgh on a one-year, $5 million contract, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The former Pirates outfielder, who was the 2013 National League MVP while with the Pirates, was in Milwaukee last season and batted .237.
The deal is pending a physical.
Jan. 10: In what may be the final twist in the Carlos Correa saga, it appears the shortstop will be heading back to the Minnesota Twins, per ESPN.com.
Correa had agreed to two free-agent deals this offseason — with the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets. Both were scuttled by physicals.
While the Mets were trying to re-negotiate the deal, Correa ultimately agreed to six guaranteed years and $200M. He can guarantee a seventh year and another $25 million with 502 plate appearances in year six.
The New York Post reported that the major part of Correa’s physical — his ankle — had passed and it looked like this deal would go through.
Jan. 10: Johnny Cueto and the Miami Marlins have reportedly agreed to a contract, per multiple reports.
The pitcher and the Marlins have reportedly agreed to a $6 million dealin 2023, with a club option in 2024 worth $10.5 million, with a $2.5 million team buyout.
Cueto, 36, went 8-10 with the Chicago White Sox last season.
Jan. 2: Carlos Correa is still not a New York Met, and the New York Post is reporting that at least one team is talking to Correa and his agent while they’re trying to iron out a deal with the Mets.
The Mets and Correa agreed to a $315 million, 12-year deal last month, but Mets management have some reservations with his physical, similar reservations that the San Francisco Giants had with Correa after their initially agreed to a deal.
The Post reported that there are still sticking points two weeks into attempting to make adjustments to the deal, and that has led Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, to stay in contact with other teams. One of them is Correa’s most recent team, the Minnesota Twins, which offered him a 10-year, $285 million deal.
Dec. 31: The Arizona Diamondbacks have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with third baseman Evan Longoria.
The Arizona Republic reported the deal was for $4 million, with $1 million in incentives.
Longoria was a free agent for the first time in his career, which spans 10 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Francisco Giants.
Longoria is a career .265 hitter with an .806 OPS and 331 home runs.
Dec. 29: The Miami Marlins shored up their middle infield by agreeing to a two-year contract with shortstop Jean Segura, per multiple reports.
Segura’s two-year deal is reportedly worth $17 million.
The 32-year-old has played the last four years for Philadelphia, which went to the World Series last season. Segura batted .277 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI a season ago. He’s a lifetime .285 hitter and a two-time All-Star.
Dec. 28: The Boston Red Sox and pitcher Corey Kluber have agreed to a one-year deal worth $10 million, per multiple reports.
Kluber’s contract also has an option year for $11 million in 2024 and features incentives.
Kluber is a two-time Cy Young winner who was last with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he went 10-10 with a 4.34 ERA last season.
He was with the Texas Rangers in 2020, but he pitched just one inning of an Opening-Day start before an shoulder injury ended his season.
Dec. 27: The Pittsburgh Pirates and pitcher Rich Hill have agreed to a one-year contract worth $8 million, per ESPN.
Hill’s deal is pending a physical. He turns 43 in March but made 26 starts last season for Boston. He went 8–7 with a 4.27 ERA
The Pirates will be his 12th MLB team. He has an 82-59 career record.
Dec. 23: The Arizona Diamondbacks traded catcher/outfielder Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays for their top catching prospect, Gabriel Moreno, and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on Friday.
The Blue Jays get a player in Varsho who batted .235/.302/.443 with 27 home runs and 74 RBIs in 151 games. He’s considered an elite defender, even though he started his MLB career at catcher.
The trade addressed the logjam the Blue Jays had at catcher, which included All-Star Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen. Moreno was the Blue Jays’ top catching prospect.
Dec. 23: Outfielder Michael Conforto, the former New York Met who was reportedly targeted by the Texas Rangers as a potential answer in left field, has a new home with San Francisco.
Conforto, who didn’t play last year due to a shoulder injury and turned down a two-year deal from the Houston Astros at the end of last season, has agreed to a two-year deal with the Giants worth $36 million, per USA Today. He can opt out of the deal after 2023.
Conforto is a consolation prize of sorts for the Giants, who made a hard push to sign Aaron Judge before he re-signed with the New York Yankees. The Giants also lost shortstop Carlos Correa due to an issue with his physical, which caused Correa to go to the New York Mets.
Dec. 22: The Cincinnati Reds added to their depth in both the infield and the outfield by signing Wil Myers to a two-year contract on Thursday, the team announced.
The Reds announced that the two-year deal has a mutual option for the 2024 season. Multiple reports pegged Myers’ 2023 salary at $7.5 million, but can jump to $9.5 million based on playing time and if he’s traded.
Myer is a 10-year veteran who has spent eight of those 10 seasons with the San Diego Padres. Last season he hit .261 with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 77 games.
Dec. 21: Shortstop Carlos Correa, who last week agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal, has now agreed to an 12-year, $315 million deal with the New York Mets, per the New York Post.
The deal occurred overnight and only after Correa, who was in the final stages of getting cleared by the Giants, had unresolved issues with his physical which were delaying the signing.
Correa will play third base for the Mets, per the Post. The deal is pending a physical.
Dec. 20: Former Texas Rangers utility player Matt Carpenter signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, the team announced.
Carpenter’s deal, per the Athletic, is for $6.5 million in 2023 and has an option year in 2024 worth $5.5 million. The deal also includes several incentives.
The 37-year-old Carpenter signed with the Rangers last offseason but he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. The Rangers released him in late May despite his .275 batting average and six home runs in 21 games. The New York Yankees signed him and he became productive immediately, becoming the first player in club history to hit six or more home runs in his first 10 games with the team.
He broke his foot in August after hitting a foul ball off his foot.
Carpenter is a three-time All-Star who earned a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011.
Dec. 18: The Boston Red Sox have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with former Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Justin Turner on Sunday, per ESPN.
The deal is for $22 million. It includes an opt-out after one season. The 38-year-old is expected to be the Red Sox’s primary designated hitter next season.
Dec. 18: Michael Brantley has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal that will allow him to re-join the world champion Houston Astros, according to FanSided.com.
The deal is reportedly for $12 million, but Brantley could make up to $16 million with incentives.
Brantley missed the Astros’ world title run due to an injury. But, before the injury he was hitting .288 with five home runs and 26 RBI.
Dec. 17: The Chicago Cubs and shortstop Dansby Swanson have reportedly agreed to a seven-year contract, according to NBC Chicago and Bally Sports.
The contract is for a reported $177 million.
Swanson was previously with the Atlanta Braves and helped the franchise win the World Series in 2021.
Swanson just married U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team star Mallory Pugh, who plays her professional soccer with the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars.
Dec. 16: The Chicago White Sox and Andrew Benintendi have agreed to a five-year, $75 million contract, according to ESPN.
Benintendi is just 28 years old and is coming off a 2022 in which he batted .254/.331/.404/.734 with five home runs and 51 RBI. He started the season with the Kansas City Royals before they traded him to the New York Yankees.
Benintendi spent 2021 with Kansas City, where he batted .276/.324/.442/.766 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI.
His best seasons were in Boston from 2017-19, where he averaged a slash of .276/.354/.440/.794 with a total of 49 home runs and 245 RBI. In that 2017 season he was second in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
He earned a Gold Glove in 2021 and was an All-Star last season.
Dec. 15: Pitcher Carlos Rodón reportedly has a deal with the New York Yankees for six years and $162 million, per the New York Post.
Rodón was one of several pitchers the Texas Rangers had interest in as free agency began. The Rangers ended up landing Jacob deGrom.
Rodón went 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA for the San Francisco Giants in 2022. Before that he was with the Chicago White Sox.
Dec. 14: Pitcher Noah Syndergaard has reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, per ESPN.com.
Syndergaard pitched for the Los Angeles Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies last season, pitching nearly 135 innings and finishing with an ERA of 3.94. He went a combined 10-10, but had a 5-2 record with the Phillies as he helped support their run to the World Series.
Syndergaard had Tommy John surgery in 2020. He was an All-Star in 2016.
Dec. 13: The San Francisco Giants and shortstop Carlos Correa have reportedly agreed to an 11-year, $350 million contract, per ESPN.com.
Correa, 28, played last season for the Minnesota Twins and batted .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI. Correa signed a three-year deal with Minnesota that would have paid $105 million. But the deal came with opt-outs and Correa used his to test the free-agent market again.
Before that, Correa was with the Houston Astros, where he was the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year, made two All-Star Game appearances and won a World Series ring.
Dec. 12: The Minnesota Twins and catcher Christian Vázquez reportedly agreed to a three-year contract on Monday, per the New York Post and the Boston Globe.
The long-time Boston Red Sox was traded to the Houston Astros in a deadline deal to supplement the Astros’ run to the World Series. He batted .274 for the season, with nine home runs and 52 RBI.
Dec. 12: Former New York Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt has a new home, as he has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $63 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, per ESPN.com.
The contract won’t be signed until Bassitt clears a physical.
Bassitt was one of several free agents on the second tier of pitchers, below former Mets teammate and new Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom. But, Bassitt had a fine season in 20220, going 15-9 with a 3.42 ERA.
Dec. 10: Kodai Senga, the Japanese pitcher who was at one time a target of the Texas Rangers, has agreed to a contract with the New York Mets, per multiple reports.
The deal is reportedly for five years and $75 million, which includes an opt-out after three seasons and a no-trade clause. The agreement is pending a physical.
Dec. 9: Outfielder Brandon Nimmo has agreed to return to the New York Mets on an eight-year, $162 million contract, per ESPN.
Nimmo’s contract is part of a significant outlay of cash by the Mets this offseason, which includes an extension for closer Edwin Diaz and the signing of starting pitcher Justin Verlander.
Nimmo was the target of multiple teams in free agency. He hit .274 with 16 home runs and 71 RBI.
Dec. 7: Shortstop Xander Bogaerts and the San Diego Padres agreed on a contract on Wednesday night, per the New York Post.
The 11-year, $280 million contract moves Bogaerts to the National League and onto a team that features Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr., the latter of which is suspended until early in the 2023 season.
Bogaerts, a 10-year veteran, played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox and had a career average of .292, along with 156 home runs and 683 RBI. The four-time All-Star has two World Series rings and five Silver Slugger awards. He was ninth in MVP voting last season.
Dec. 7: Masataka Yoshida and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a five-year contract worth $90 million, per ESPN.
With the posting fee of $15.4 million, the total cost of the deal is $105.4 million.
Yoshida played for Orix Buffaloes, which won the Japanese championship last season. He batted 335/.447/.561 with 21 home runs, 80 walks and just 41 strikeouts.
The St. Louis Cardinals and catcher Willson Contreras have agreed to a five-year contract, according to multiple reports.
The deal is for $87 million.
Contreras, who most recently played for the Chicago Cubs, will be moving to the team’s arch-rival and will take over behind the plate for Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who retired after the season.
Contreras had spent his entire career with the Cubs and was their backstop when they won the 2016 World Series.
Dec. 7: The New York Yankees and outfielder Aaron Judge have agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal, per MLB.com.
The terms were confirmed by The Athletic. The deal is pending a physical.
Judge was considered the No. 1 player on the free agent market who just had a 62-home run season, passing Roger Maris’ American League record. Judge broke the record against the Texas Rangers.
Dec. 6: The Philadelphia Phillies and pitcher Taijuan Walker have agreed to a four-year contract per Fansided.
Walker is expected to sign a deal that will pay him $71 million for the next four years.
Walker went 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA for the New York Mets last season. Walker is a 10-year veteran with a 54-50 overall record.
Dec. 6: Former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $17.5 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, per ESPN.
The former National League MVP was non-tendered this offseason, allowing him to test the free-agent market. The one-year deal allows him to become a free agent next offseason.
Dec. 6: Josh Bell and the Cleveland Guardians have agreed to a two-year contract, according to multiple reports.
Bell was a first baseman and designated hitter with both the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres last season. He moved to the Padres with Juan Soto in one of the biggest trades at the deadline.
The deal is reportedly for $33 million and features an opt out.
The 30-year-old Bell grew up in Irving, Texas.
Dec. 5: Shortstop Trea Turner and the Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly agreed to a deal that will pay him $300 million for the next 11 years and features a no-trade clause, per ESPN.
Turner’s deal would set the market for a group of shortstops that are seeking new deals in free agency, including Minnesota’s Carlos Correa.
Dec. 5: American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander will sign a two-year deal with the New York Mets, a deal that includes a third-year vesting option, according to the New York Post.
Verlander’s deal will be for $86 million. He helped the Houston Astors win their second World Series last month when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Dec. 1: Philadelphia pitcher Kyle Gibson has reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles, per The Athletic.
Gibson went 10-8 with a 5.05 ERA for the Phillies, who won the National League pennant.
Gibson played with the Rangers in 2020, going 2-6 in that COVID-19 shortened season. He started 2021 with Texas, going 4-6, before he was traded to Philadelphia.
Gibson’s deal is pending a physical.
Dec. 2: While not a free-agent signing, the Milwaukee Brewers moved second baseman Kolten Wong to the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro.
Wong hit .251 in 2022, with 15 home runs and 47 RBI.
Winker is coming off a season in which he hit .219 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI. Toro hit .185 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI.
Wong moves into a Mariners infield that helped them reach the postseason for the first time in more than 20 years in 2022.
Dec. 1: The Tampa Bay Rays and pitcher Zach Eflin have agreed to a three-year contract, according to ESPN.
Eflin was considered one of the best relievers on the free agent market and was among the New York Post’s Top 50 free agents.
The Post later reported that Eflin’s deal was for $40 million. The agreement is pending a physical.
Eflin spent the first seven seasons of his career with Philadelphia, mostly as a starter, with a career record of 36-45 with a 4.49 ERA. He’s won at least 10 games in a season twice — 11 in 2018 and 10 in 2019.
In 2022 he went 3-5 with a 4.04 ERA in 20 games (13 starts). He’s battled injuries the past two seasons, including right patella tendinopathy in 2021.
Nov. 29: The Pittsburgh Pirates formally announced the signing of first baseman and designated hitter Carlos Santana, who played for the Seattle Mariners last year.
The one-year deal is reportedly for $6.75 million. For the small-market Pirates, it represents the largest single-year deal the club has agreed to in the last six years.
Santana hit .202 with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs with Kansas City and Seattle last season. But, Santana hit 15 of his 19 home runs with the Mariners.
The Pirates also traded for Tampa Bay’s Ji-Man Choi earlier in the offseason.
Nov. 28: USA Today reported on Monday that the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu have agreed to a three-year contract. The agreement would pay Abreu — the 2020 American League MVP — about $20 million per year.
Abreu is a career .304 hitter with 243 home runs and 863 RBI. He’s a three-time All-Star, the 2014 Rookie of the Year and averaged an RBI per game in his MVP season (60 games).
He joins the World Champion Astros and the move puts him in more direct competition with the Rangers in 2023.
Nov. 28: The Athletic reported that the Chicago White Sox and pitcher Mike Clevinger have agreed to a one-year deal worth $12 million.
The deal brings Clevinger back to the American League, where he previously pitched for Cleveland. Clevinger pitched for San Diego in 2022, where he had a 4.33 ERA in 114 innings pitched and finished with a record of 7-7.
The New York Yankees agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa on Friday, per multiple reports.
Kiner-Falefa, who played for the Rangers from 2018-21, hit .261 with four home runs and 48 RBI last season.
His teammate and former Rangers catcher Jose Trevino won a platinum glove last week when the 2022 Gold Gloves were announced.
Nov. 16: San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Martinez signed a new three-year deal with the team worth $26 million, per The New York Post.
Martinez opted out of a contract before free agency began that would have paid him $18 million.
He made 47 appearances, including 10 starts, and finished with a 3.47 ERA in his first MLB season since 2017.
Nov. 15: New York Yankees first baseman/designated hitter Anthony Rizzo agreed to return to the team on a two-year contract with an option for a third year, the team announced on Tuesday.
Rizzo agreed to $17 million for each of the next two seasons. The contract has an option for 2025 with a $6 million buyout, per ESPN.
The Yankees now turn their attention to securing their top free agent, and the top free agent on the market in outfielder Aaron Judge.
Nov. 15: Pitcher Tyler Anderson, who received the qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers, has agreed to a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels, per ESPN.
Anderson turned down the Dodgers’ $19.65 qualifying offer to accept a reported three-year deal worth around $39 million. Because Anderson received a qualifying offer, the Angels will lose their second-round pick and the Dodgers will get an additional fourth-round pick as compensation.
Nov. 12: The Houston Astros put the tumult of the past couple of days behind them as they started protecting their players from free agency.
On Saturday, ESPN reported that the Astors and reliever Rafael Montero have agreed to a three-year, $34.5 million deal to help keep the Astros’ bullpen intact after winning the World Series.
Montero had a 2.37 ERA in nearly 69 innings while striking out 70. Montero spent 2019 and 2020 with the Texas Rangers. The Astros acquired him in a trade with Seattle in 2021.
The Astros and general manager James Click parted ways on Friday. Click and team owner Jim Crane could not reach a new deal. Click was hired as GM in 2020 after the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, but after the Astros hired Dusty Baker as manager. Click helped stabilize the organization, but he and Crane reportedly had an eroding relationship toward the end of the 2022 season.
Nov. 11: New York Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt turned down the Mets’ qualifying offer on Friday, according to a report by the New York Post. By turning down the qualifying offer, Bassitt is set to test the free-agent market.
Bassitt turned down a $19.65 million salary for 2023.
Bassitt was one of 14 free-agents that received qualifying offers on Thursday. The rest have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST to either accept the offer or turn it down.
Nov. 10: Fourteen potential free agents received the qualifying offer on Thursday, which is $19.65 million for the 2023 season. Those players are: Tyler Anderson, Chris Bassitt, Xander Bogaerts, Willson Contreras, Jacob deGrom, Nate Eovaldi, Aaron Judge, Brandon Nimmo, Joc Pederson, Martin Perez, Anthony Rizzo, Carlos Rodon, Dansby Swanson and Trea Turner.
Players have until 4 p.m. eastern on Tuesday to either accept the offer or reject it and become a free agent.
Nov. 6: The New York Mets and closer Edwin Diaz have reportedly agreed to a new contract, according to USA Today.
The deal is for five years and $102 million. It would be the largest deal in MLB history for a closer.
Diaz had an incredible season for the Mets, finishing with 32 saves for the second straight season. He also went 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA. Diaz is now a two-time All-Star, as he made the team this season. He has 202 career saves in seven seasons. At age 28, he’ll be locked into the Mets in his prime.
To most he was considered the top closer on the free agent market. The MLB Players Association announced that 131 players hit free agency on Sunday, with the conclusion of the World Series on Saturday night, as the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
The Mets have nine free agents.
The Texas Rangers have five free agents this offseason, pending decisions by players that have opt-outs or decisions by the Rangers as it pertains to buy-outs. Lead among those free agents is pitcher Martin Perez, who had 12 wins on a one-year, $4 million contract. Both sides are hoping to work out a deal that will allow him to remain with the Rangers.
The other free agents are pitchers Matt Moore and Kohei Arihara, infielder Charlie Culberson and catcher Kevin Plawecki.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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