The New York Yankees have already clinched their spot in the 2024 World Series after topping the Cleveland Guardians in five games during the ALCS. Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton etched their names in Yankees history with their heroic performances.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets are still battling it out to decide which team will meet the Yankees on the biggest stage to take home the World Series championship.
Once the World Series concludes, we will be heading into one of the more exciting offseasons in recent memory. Last offseason, we saw as Shohei Ohtani left the Angels to sign a $700 million contract with the Dodgers. This offseason, we will watch as Juan Soto looks to join the club of athletes with a contract worth upwards of half a billion dollars.
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Heading into the offseason, the Chicago Cubs have some holes to fill on their roster, namely on offense. Chicago needs to add a slugging first baseman, which has been a big need for the better part of the last 365 days. They failed to bring in a big name via a trade last year, so they will be looking to fill this hole in free agency.
Patrick McAvoy of Sporting News recently made a few interesting connections to fill the Cubs hole at first base. He mentioned the big three first basemen, Paul Goldschmidt, Pete Alonso and Christian Walker, who will be available in free agency. But McAvoy also made an intriguing connection to Anthony Rizzo.
"An old friend of the Cubs also likely will be available. Longtime Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo has a club option in his deal with the New York Yankees for the 2025 season worth $17 million," McAvoy wrote. "After injuries derailed his last two seasons, it seems like the Yankees may end up declining the option. If that ends up becoming a reality, maybe a reunion could make sense."
Rizzo will more than likely be hitting the open market, as the Yankees likely decline his club option attached to his contract. Chicago would be a good fit if they're looking for a cheaper option.
Last season, he slashed .228/.301/.335 as he battled through injuries.
The biggest story of the offseason is pretty obvious. It's the Juan Soto sweepstakes.
MLB insider Jon Heyman has recently floated the idea of Soto getting a contract offer that hits $600 million of total value. Heyman acknowledged the fact that Soto has already declined contracts in the $400 million to $500 million range as well. Given his career season this year where he hit a career high 41 home runs before turning his play even higher in the postseason, it's safe to say that Soto's value has gone up.
The Yankees and the Mets are expected to be the top teams in the bidding war to get Soto. But teams like the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals shouldn't be completely counted out if they're willing to get a bit weird with their negotiation tactics.
When I say this, it means one thing: deferred money.
The same way that Shohei Ohtani has $680 million of deferred money that will be paid to him in the 10 years following his contract, Soto could get the same thing from one of the teams listed above.
Theoretically speaking, the Nationals may not have the money to pay Soto $45 million AAV for 15 years. But, the Nationals may have the money to pay Soto $30 million AAV for 20 years.
Though it's unlikely, this is one way that this Soto sweepstakes could land in the $600 million range while also evolving outside just the two New York teams.
The Milwaukee Brewers lost their manager and their ace last offseason, yet they still managed to come out of the NL Central firmly on top of the division. If not for one mistake pitch from Devin Williams that resulted in a game winning Pete Alonso home run, the Brewers could still be dancing this postseason.
But we're not going to discuss those hypotheticals. The Brewers have more important days ahead of them than the days behind them.
Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors recently discussed the difficult offseason that the Brewers are facing this Winter.
"Despite all of that, the Brewers managed to take the division, but fresh challenges now lie ahead. Shortstop Willy Adames is slated to become a free agent, a notable subtraction from their roster. Williams seems likely to be this year's candidate for a trade before reaching free agency, with general manager Matt Arnold recently admitting that the club will have to be "open-minded" about the possibility."
Milwaukee has the following players entering unrestricted free agency this offseason: Willy Adames and Joe Ross.
Adames is obviously the big name here. Milwaukee will do what they can to re-sign him, but with the Los Angeles Dodgers likely aggressively pursuing him, it'll be tough for Milwaukee to keep up.
Milwaukee has the following players attached to options, either club, player or mutual: Hoskins, Montas, Miley, Williams, Sanchez, Rea, and Peralta.
The Brewers have a ton of questions to answer this offseason. The next few months will be crucial to the future of their organization.
