MLB Free Agency Rumors: Trades, Signings and Stars

Do we have any big Yamamoto guys? Are you hearing anything as far as the international guys that can be signed or no? Maybe a player or two, but nothing. Chris is bringing up sites. There's no mega $200 million guy. And if you think about it, MI really hurt the market last year by signing for $100 million. And, you know, being as bad as he was, I think you're going to find the overseas market, I think, moving forward for a bit, somewhere in between the steal that Murakami was and the bust that Imai was. So I think the teams are being a little bit more careful about the signing. And by the way, Sasaki, I'm not sure that he's even worth the money that the Dodgers signed him to. So we're talking about like a 50-50 proposition. Um, and not knowing what the salary cap is, if there's a salary cap, not knowing if there's a salary floor, it's really hard for these teams to operate. But the sense that I get from, uh, you know, just reading articles and, and talking to people, Joe, is that the month of November is going to be the most exciting month of November free agency we've ever had in baseball. I think we're going to have a ton of fun talking about a lot of signings. I think a lot are coming. Might as well get them in under the gun, right? Before anything changes. Yeah, and get them all interested here. Do you think there's going to be... Fire sales here, Craig, this year coming up here? I mean, are the Giants dismayed? I just read an article earlier today that the Reds are absolutely open to trading Elie De la Cruz there. So are we getting those kinds of things where franchises are like, time to hit the reset button and let's move on? Yeah. I mean, look, the team that you and I have talked about throughout is Houston. That's the big question. I think the Astros are absolutely the big, the big, they haven't hired a new manager. So I think the direction they go in the next few weeks will determine a lot if they move Hader. And then all of a sudden you start to talk about, would they move Jordan? And then, oh my gosh, could it, is it possible? That Jose Altuve could not be an Astro? That's unthinkable with the amount of years that he's played for them. So I think that, to me, is the team to watch just because they're in a pickle right now where they don't appear to be the favorite to win the division anymore, but yet they have enough talent to still compete. So that's a dynamic that we'll have to learn here in the next couple weeks. Yeah, and I guess the biggest name that people are going to wait for is Tarik Skubal, right? But again, there's only... How many teams would be able to, if he's going to sign prior to all the craziness here, there's only one or two places he can actually land that would afford to pay him, right? Well, I mean, I hate to say it, but, you know, Otani kind of set the barometer for things that I don't think will ever be done again in a month from now. But Joe, who is to stop somebody from giving Ohtani the, you know, giving Skubal a deferral deal? You know, an Ohtani deal and defer the money for the rest of his life. I don't think you're ever going to be able to do that with this new CBA. But if you're a baseball team, aren't you? Shouldn't you be the smart team and say, you know what? We'll give Skubal his 300 and we'll defer 100 because we can right now and we can't in a month from now. So don't be surprised to see something like that pop up with. Uh, some team, uh, one or two teams, uh, that feels light. I, I, I think four or five, uh, you know, Philadelphia doesn't seem like they're in a position because they have a lot of pitching already. But, you know, naturally, the Yankees pitching has been pretty good. So it would have to be like an offensive team that needs some extra pitching. Would Skubal play for Toronto? That's a good example. Would he be willing to do that? I think that should be a team that probably could use him, put him at the front of his rotation, at their rotation. Baltimore, would Baltimore Joe do a 250 and defer 100? You know, like the Orioles all of a sudden now have Skubal. That changes the division. That changes everything for them. So, yes, you're right. In the end, probably going to be one of the teams that you suspect. But I wouldn't rule anything out just because teams can get creative for the final time, I think, in baseball history, free agent history.