MLB Insider: Emptying the notebook from MLB Winter Meetings and what comes next

The Winter Meetings have concluded, and now stars Juan Soto, Max Fried and Kyle Tucker are among the players who have new homes.

Still unsigned are free agents such as Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, Gleyber Torres Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and many others. Here’s what I’m hearing on some of the remaining free agents and also a take on the recent Yankees-Brewers trade.

Scout on Brewers-Yankees trade

A scout's take on the Yankees and Brewers blockbuster trade that sent closer Devin Williams to New York and left-hander Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee.

“Classic Brewers good process club. Durbin is divisive in evaluation, performer who models well. Cortes is even money with Williams (and Milwaukee getting cash in the deal). Good in that they add control and add innings. Not that I hate the trade for New York, it just stands out more for Milwaukee to me.”

Another scout noted that Durbin, who has stolen 110 bases in 281 minor-league games, is a great fit for the Brewers who are among the most aggressive teams on the bases.

An additional note: it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the 5-foot-6 Durbin and Dustin Pedroia, who played for Brewers manager Pat Murphy at Arizona State. “Can’t help noticing the similarities,” one Brewers person said following the trade.

Christian Walker interest

There are multiple teams engaged with free-agent first baseman Christian Walker, including the Washington Nationals, according to sources. Walker, 33, is coming off a season in which he hit .251/.335/.468 with 26 home runs and 84 RBI with the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Michael Lorenzen under-the-radar

With the prices of free-agent starting pitchers very high, one under-the-radar option to monitor is right-hander Michael Lorenzen.

Lorenzen, 32, posted a 1.57 ERA in seven games (six starts) with the Royals. Among the changes he made in Kansas City was ditching his slider (17.7% usage in Texas; 0% in Kansas City) and increasing the usage of his sweeper (7.5% in Texas; 26.4% in Kansas City).

With the Rangers: .503 SLG, .863 OPS, 14.6 K%, 18.4 Miss%, 90.3 mph exit velocity, 45.2 percent hard hitting percentage, 37.3 groundball percentage.

With the Royals: .333 SLG, .636 OPS, 21.2 K%, 25.7 Miss%, 88.1 mph exit velocity, 30.2 percent hard hitting percentage, 44.2 groundball percentage.

Nathan Eovaldi's contract

A breakdown of Nathan Eovaldi’s three-year, $75 million contract with the Texas Rangers, per source:

• Signing bonus: $12 million ($6 million on Nov. 15, 2026; $6 million on Jan. 15, 2028)
• 2025: $18 million
• 2026: $25 million
• 2027: $20 million
• Full no-trade clause

Kyle Hart's return

Free-agent left-hander Kyle Hart, who is attempting to come back to MLB from the KBO, has a robust market with 18 teams expressing interest. Hart, 32, makes sense as an effective southpaw who can eat innings in the middle-to-back of the rotation.

Texas Rangers need

After signing right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and reliever Jacob Webb, the Texas Rangers remain on the lookout for additional bullpen help, sources say.