November 19, 2025
Left-hander
Shota Imanaga accepted the Chicago Cubs' one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer on Tuesday and will return to the team for the 2026 season, according to The Athletic's Patrick Mooney. The Cubs made Imanaga a free agent earlier this offseason by declining his three-year, $57.5 million option, but now he'll return to the Windy City for at least one more year. The 32-year-old Japanese left-hander was an All-Star in his first year in the big leagues in 2024, but he wasn't quite as good in 2025. He missed time in the first half of the season due to injury and just wasn't the same in the second half. Imanaga finished 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA (4.86 FIP) and 0.99 WHIP with 117 strikeouts and 26 walks in 25 starts covering 144 2/3 frames. Imanaga's strikeout rate dropped from 25.1% in 2024 to 20% in 2025, but his walk rate remained elite, so a bounce back is entirely possible in 2026 in his third year in Chicago.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Patrick Mooney
November 19, 2025
Right-hander
Brandon Woodruff accepted his one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer and will return to the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2026 season, a source told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Woodruff declined a $20 million mutual option for next year to become a free agent earlier this offseason, but he'll now return to the Brew Crew for at least one more season. 2025 was an injury-plagued one for the talented right-hander. He got a late start while recovering from right-shoulder surgery before suffering a few setbacks on his rehab assignment. Woodruff was shut down early with a lat strain in September, although he's expected to be ready to roll for spring training in February. He appeared in only 64 2/3 innings during the regular season, but he was good when available, posting a 3.20 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 83 strikeouts and 14 walks. Woodruff was once a fantasy ace, but he comes with a bit more risk heading into 2026, going into his age-33 season coming off multiple injuries.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal
November 18, 2025
Right-handed starter Cody Ponce is expected to have a strong market this winter as he attempts to make the jump from the KBO to the big leagues, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Ponce, 31, was a former second-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 out of Cal Poly Pomona. He made his MLB debut in 2020 with the Pittsburgh Pirates before pitching in Japan for three years. Last year in Korea, "remade his body, gained three ticks on his fastball, and learned a splitter." Passan believes Ponce is going to land the "largest deal for a KBO-to-MLB jump," and he should be attractive to a team like the San Francisco Giants as a starting pitcher. Ponce had a 5.86 ERA and 1.54 WHIP with 48 strikeouts and 17 walks in 20 outings (five starts) in his two seasons with Pittsburgh, but he's a much different pitcher as he returns to the U.S.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
November 18, 2025
ESPN's Jeff Passan writes that if not for injuries that limited him to 15 starts in 2025, free-agent right-hander
Michael King "might be at the top of the free-agent pitcher's list." King is likelier to land a contract in the range of
Nathan Eovaldi's three-year, $75 million deal from last offseason. High- and low-revenue teams are expected to be in on King, who would probably fetch a nine-figure contract if he had stayed healthy this past season. A shoulder injury limited the 30-year-old to 15 starts for the San Diego Padres this year. He went 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 76 strikeouts for the Friars in 73 1/3 innings pitched. King was pretty nasty in 2024 in SD, posting a 2.95 ERA with 201 K's in 30 starts, but that has been his only full season as a starter, raising concerns about his durability in both real life and for fantasy purposes.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
November 18, 2025
ESPN's Jeff Passan writes that in the minds of MLB executives, free-agent infielder
Luis Arraez doesn't "warrant a big-money deal." Arraez will be one of the youngest players available this offseason at 28 years old. He has won three straight batting titles and led the National League in hits in 2025. However, "teams can't help but see Arraez for everything he isn't." The Venezuelan isn't great on defense, isn't a great baserunner, and doesn't have much power. He struck out only 21 times in 675 plate appearances this year, the lowest strikeout rate since Tony Gwynn struck out 15 times in 577 plate appearances 30 years ago. Contact-oriented hitters are still valuable in today's game, just not as much as they were, say, 20-30 years ago. Arraez is going to land somewhere, but he's probably not going to have offers flooding in, and he's not all that attractive in fantasy, either.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
November 18, 2025
ESPN's Jeff Passan writes that the Pittsburgh Pirates are "strongly considering" giving 19-year-old
Konnor Griffin "the opportunity to win their big-league shortstop job," according to sources. Kriffin was the consensus minor-league player of the year in 2025 after wowing scouts by hitting .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases in his first professional season. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder was the ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft. Griffin has immense talent, but the last teenager to debut in the major leagues as a teenager was
Juan Soto in 2018. It could be a situation that ends up biting the Pirates, but with a front-line starting rotation and a potential fresh batch of free-agent bats, the addition of Griffin would make the Bucs an exciting group to watch. As for Griffin's fantasy value, he clearly has the tools to be worth rostering in all leagues immediately if he's with Pittsburgh early in 2026.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
November 18, 2025
The Tampa Bay Rays designated outfielder
Jake Fraley for assignment on Tuesday, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin. Fraley was cut by the Cincinnati Reds this year and made stops with the Atlanta Braves and the Rays after that. The 30-year-old didn't actually play in any games with Tampa and might be back on the open market this offseason. He combined to hit .241/.332/.382 with a .714 OPS, six home runs, 23 RBI, 31 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 76 games in 2025 with the Reds and Braves. Fraley played in just nine games in Atlanta before being claimed off waivers by the Rays. The left-handed-hitting outfielder has had issues staying healthy in his career after being taken in the second round back in 2016 out of LSU by Tampa. At best, Fraley is a platoon bat with limited upside for fantasy baseball managers.
--Keith HernandezSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
November 18, 2025
The Tampa Bay Rays designated outfielder
Christopher Morel for assignment on Tuesday, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays acquired Morel from the Chicago Cubs in a trade during the 2024 season, but he struggled to hit for average and power in his time in Tampa and could find himself on the free-agent market this winter. In 105 games played for the Rays in 2025, Morel hit .219 (61-for-278) with 11 home runs, 33 RBI, 37 runs scored, seven stolen bases, and a 109:25 K:BB in 305 plate appearances. He was even worse in a 49-game stint with Tampa last year, going 33-for-173 (.191) with only three home runs and nine RBI in the second half of the year. There's plenty of athleticism with Morel, but he's not a great defender in the outfield and swings and misses far too often at the plate. At best, he'll latch on with another team and compete for a platoon role in 2026.
--Keith HernandezSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
November 18, 2025
The Athletics designated outfielder
JJ Bleday for assignment on Tuesday, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Bleday has not lived up to the high expectations of being the fourth overall pick by the Miami Marlins in 2019 out of Vanderbilt. The left-handed-hitting outfielder spent one year in Miami before being shipped to the Bay Area. In his three seasons with the A's, he slashed an underwhelming .224/.313/.410 with a .723 OPS, 44 home runs, 126 RBI, 157 runs scored, and only eight steals in 339 games played. The Athletics are dropping him from their roster this offseason after he hit .212 (65-for-307) in 2025 with 14 long balls, 39 RBI, and 48 runs scored in 98 games played. The 28-year-old will enter free agency this offseason if he refuses his outright assignment to the minor leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Martin Gallegos
November 18, 2025
The Colorado Rockies designated first baseman
Michael Toglia for assignment on Tuesday, according to Kyle Newman of The Denver Post. Toglia's combination of raw power from the left side of the plate, combined with his home environment at hitter-friendly Coors Field, has always been an intriguing mix, but the 27-year-old just hasn't been able to put it all together. The former UCLA star played in only 88 games for the Rockies in his fourth big-league season and was sent to the minors in early September after struggling all year. In his 337 plate appearances, Toglia hit just .190 (58-for-306) with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, 22 runs scored, 132 strikeouts, and 28 walks. He has now lost his spot on the team's roster and could become a free agent this offseason. In 280 career games with Colorado, Toglia has a .201 average with 42 home runs and a 373:101 K:BB.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Denver Post - Kyle Newman
November 18, 2025
Second baseman
Gleyber Torres has accepted the Detroit Tigers' one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It's a pretty decent and deserving raise for Torres after he made $15 million in his first year in Motown in 2025. The 28-year-old had sports hernia surgery last month, but he's expected to be ready for the start of spring training in February. Plate discipline was Torres' specialty this year, and it helped him to the third All-Star selection of his career, and the first since his second year in the big leagues with the New York Yankees. In 145 regular-season games, he slashed .256/.358/.387 with a .745 OPS, 16 home runs, 74 RBI, 79 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 628 plate appearances. Torres was a nice fit for the Tigers this year, but he's now had back-to-back seasons of fewer than 20 homers, and fantasy managers definitely shouldn't count on him ever returning to the 30-homer mark like he did back in 2019.
--Keith HernandezSource: New York Post - Jon Heyman
November 18, 2025
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that MLB informed teams on Tuesday that right-hander Tatsuya Imai of the Saitama Seibu Lions has been posted. The negotiating window starts on Wednesday at 8 am ET and closes on Jan. 2 at 5 pm ET. Imai will generate plenty of interest around the league this winter, with the New York Yankees and New York Mets already being rumored to have interest in him. The 27-year-old has had an ERA of 2.34 or lower in three straight years in Japan, including a stingy 1.92 mark in 2025. His strikeout rate has risen in each of the last three seasons as well, with his walk rate also dropping each year over that span. Imai is expected to land a deal north of $150 million as he heads from Japan to the U.S. this year. He had 178 strikeouts and 45 walks in 163 2/3 innings for the Lions this past season, in addition to his 1.92 ERA.
UPDATE: Imai could end up being the highest-paid starter of the winter because of his age, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Mark Feinsand
November 17, 2025
Houston Astros second baseman/outfielder
Jose Altuve (foot) had a minor skin aspiration on Monday, a source told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The procedure removed fluid from a wound between Altuve's fourth and fifth toes on his right foot after he was bothered by a sore foot in the final two weeks of the regular season. The 35-year-old nine-time All-Star and former MVP hit .265 in 2025 with 26 home runs, 77 RBI, and 80 runs scored in 155 games. Altuve started the year in an unfamiliar position in left field before moving back to second base after
Yordan Alvarez suffered a hand injury early in the year. He ended up starting 61 games at the keystone, 49 at designated hitter, and 44 in left field. In his 15th season with the Astros, Altuve moved into second all-time on the franchise list in hits with 2,388, trailing only Craig Biggio. Altuve is also third on the franchise list in extra-base hits (742) and games played (1,976). He is the fourth primary second baseman in baseball history with 255 career homers and 325 steals, joining Biggio, Joe Morgan, and Ryne Sandberg. Altuve should be a full-go for spring training.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Brian McTaggart
November 17, 2025
Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown said last week at the GM meetings in Las Vegas that third baseman
Isaac Paredes (hamstring) is around 65% recovered from his right-hamstring injury. "We'll feel like he'll at least get to somewhere between 80 and 90 percent at the start of the spring and potentially be ready to go by Opening Day," Brown said. The 26-year-old tore his hamstring in the middle of July and was limited to designated hitter duties late in the season when he returned. The Mexican infielder had a fine 2025 campaign when he was on the field, hitting .254/.352/.458 with an .809 OPS, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, and 53 runs scored in 102 games in his first year in Houston. Although Paredes might not be a full-go for the start of the 2026 regular season, he won't be a bad target for some power at third base once the bigger names at the position come off the board in fantasy drafts.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Brian McTaggart
November 17, 2025
MLB Network's Jon Morosi says that he thinks the Boston Red Sox will "either bring back
Alex Bregman" or "make an all-out pursuit of
Pete Alonso." Morosi likes Boston's "chances to get one or the other." "I believe the Red Sox are the strongest contender of anyone to take Pete Alonso away from the New York Mets," Morosi added. The BoSox will be on the market for a starting pitcher this winter, too, but Morosi thinks it will be a big priority to try and bring Bregman back after his strong season in 2025 in Beantown. In 114 games last year, Bregman hit .273 with 18 homers, 62 RBI, an .821 OPS, and a 3.5 WAR, while Alonso hit .272 with 38 bombs, 126 RBI, an .871 OPS, and a 3.4 WAR in 162 games. Alonso has the clear edge in the power department, but Bregman is more versatile on defense and is still an above-average defender at third base. Both players opted out of their deals with their respective teams following the World Series, and both share the same agent in Scott Boras.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB Network - Jon Morosi
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