MLB Rumors: Alex Bregman favorite, Braves reliever target, Padres post-Sasaki trade?

Spring training is now less than a month away but so much of the MLB offseason still feels unsettled. Where will Alex Bregman eventually sign in free agency? What about Pete Alonso? Will teams that have been criticized for inactivity like the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves make a big splash still?

It's a lot that needs to be sorted out, so we're checking in on the latest MLB rumors to see what the latest buzz around baseball is.

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Padres shopping Michael King trade in post-Sasaki shakeup

Up until the bitter end when he predictably signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, many San Diego Padres fans believed they were one of the favorites for Roki Sasaki. How real that ever was does remain to be seen but it has begged the question of what's next for a Padres roster that still has plenty of holes. But AJ Preller has never shied away from getting creative to make good things happen for a competitive roster.

Preller's next trick seems obvious: Deal from the starting pitching depth still present even without Sasaki. Dylan Cease has been floating in the MLB offseason ether for some time already as a potential candidate to be trades in the final year of club control, but it's another right-hander who might also be dealt in the same situation: Michael King.

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic ($), King is another potential trade candidate from the Padres rotation this season, one that could be holding up the second tier of the free agent pitching market. King, who posted a stellar 2.95 ERA and 1.19 WHIP last season after coming to San Diego in the Juan Soto trade with the Yankees, is currently likely heading to an arbitration hearing with him and the Padres nearly $1.5 million apart on their figures.

With holes at catcher, left field and elsewhere on the roster, the Padres payroll currently sits at about $200 million, which Kevin Acee of The San Diego Tribune expects the team to stay around. To do that, though, dealing King or Cease might be what the team needs in order to shed some of their current money on the books and maneuver for more additions.

The Padres have always been highly active under Preller, and despite a quite overall offseason, things could heat up in the weeks leading into spring training and beyond.

Braves setting sights on Ryne Stanek in reliever free agent market

The overall inaction of the Atlanta Braves this offseason prior to the recent Jurickson Profar has been an infuriating point of contention within the fan base. Make no mistake, if the Braves hadn't made a single move this offseason, one could argue that they'd be one of the best teams in the National League still. But, in the wake of the rival New York Mets signing Juan Soto, fans want more.

Alex Anthopoulos might be working to give them that. While there remains a prescient need for another starting pitcher to put into the rotation, especially with Spencer Strider unlikely to be available by Opening Day for the rotation, the bullpen also needs work. The team lost A.J. Minter to those rival Mets and the Braves have done little to address the holes. But they might be working to remedy that.

Braves insider Mark Bowman reported that Atlanta is among the teams "with interest" in free agent reliever Ryne Stanek, seemingly implying that the Braves and Cubs could be the leaders in that race.

If you're thinking that's a big needle-mover for Atlanta, perhaps you're right. Stanek, who split his 2024 season between the Mariners and Mets, posted only a 4.88 ERA and 1.319 WHIP across 63 appearances. Not great! That's also on the heels of a 4.09 ERA over 55 appearances with Houston the year prior.

Having said that, the 33-year-old is not too far removed from a dominant 2022 season with a 1.15 ERA over 59 appearances with the Astros. With the Braves pitching development and coaching, Atlanta could feel that they could mine the best back out of the veteran. In any case, though, it's a high-upside gamble that Atlanta could take to address a serious need of this roster.

Astros now considered favorite for Alex Bregman as reunion gains steam

For the majority of the offseason, it felt like the Boston Red Sox were the surefire favorites to sign Alex Bregman. Then along came the Detroit Tigers with a potential reunion with A.J. Hinch. Not to be left out, the New York Mets then appeared to consider Bregman a Pete Alonso backup plan. Somehow the Chicago Cubs got involved as well.

But are all roads ultimately just leading to him re-signing with the incumbent Houston Astros?

Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo of Mass Live broke down where things stand with Bregman and, while noting the discrepancy between what Boston manager Alex Cora and GM Craig Breslow want in this realm, that the Astros are seen in the industry as the favorite for the third baseman now.

What the machinations of that look like remain in question. It was recently posited that Houston could move Isaac Paredes, who arrived in the Kyle Tucker trade, to second base and Jose Altuve to left field. That seems unlikely, to say the least. It was also reported that the Astros have interest in Jorge Polanco, which would surely be a pivot from Bregman.

All this is to say, the Astros orchestrating a return of Bregman to Houston is the favorite in the clubhouse right now. But as has been the case with arguably the top remaining free agent on the open market throughout the winter, this situation still feels wildly fluid.