With the hot stove roaring back to life after going dormant over New Year’s, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. What’s next for the A’s?
The Athletics have engaged in their busiest winter in recent memory as they head from Oakland to West Sacramento. In December, the club added Luis Severino and Gio Urshela in free agency while swinging a trade for Jeffrey Springs. Last night, they kicked off 2025 by working out a five-year extension with current face of the franchise Brent Rooker. That extension also has the side effect of boosting the roster’s payroll for luxury tax purposes, with RosterResource now estimating the club’s tax payroll to be in the range of $97MM.
The A’s reportedly need to get that number into the $105MM range in order to avoid risking a grievance from the MLBPA. That likely leaves just over $8MM in spending for the A’s to do this winter, at minimum. Club brass hasn’t ruled out the addition of another starting pitcher, and a reliever to serve as a veteran setup option for closer Mason Miller could also make plenty of sense.
2. Is the relief market coming to life?
Speaking of the relief market, that’s been by far the quietest corner of free agency this winter. Aroldis Chapman, Blake Treinen, and Yimi Garcia standing as the only notable signings, though there have been some notable trades (headlined by the trade of Devin Williams to the Yankees). The latest major free agent relief signing of the offseason took place yesterday, when the Rangers agreed to a one-year deal with veteran setup man Chris Martin. Meanwhile, the Braves became the latest team to be connected to top free agent reliever Tanner Scott as he reportedly seeks a deal that could guarantee him an annual salary in the $20MM range. It’s unclear how close Scott might be to signing, but with a glut of late-inning talent still available it’s difficult to imagine the dam not breaking sooner rather than later.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
It’s time for the first weekday chat of 2025. Twenty-six of the players on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list for the winter have signed, putting us just beyond the halfway point in the offseason by that metric. Whether you have questions about what’s left for your team to do this winter or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for noon CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
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