MLB Rumors: Dodgers cool on Adames, Braves' Fried competition, Mets spending spree

The Hot Stove has yet to get properly burning just yet, but we're getting closer and closer every day. With non-tender decisions out of the way, even more talent has entered the free-agent pool, and Winter Meetings loom in just a couple of weeks. We've already had one big trade, and there are plenty more major moves to come.

All eyes will be on Juan Soto, who might be about to make a run at Shohei Ohtani's historic $700 million megadeal from last offseason. But even beyond Soto, big names abound: Players like Roki Sasaki, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Teoscar Hernandez have hit free agency, while other stars like Luis Robert Jr., Garrett Crochet, Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and more could be made available via trade. The landscape of the league figures to look a whole lot different by the time next spring rolls around.

Who will end up where over the next few weeks? Here's the latest from around the MLB rumor mill.

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MLB Rumors: Willy Adames 'not necessarily the plan' for the Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers picked up their team option on Miguel Rojas for next season, but shortstop remains one of the few major holes this lineup has left. Everyone assumed that would mean that L.A. would be hot on the heels of the one top-tier shortstop available this winter, former Milwaukee Brewers star Willy Adames, who Dodgers exec Andrew Friedman acquired in a trade back when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays front office.

But while the fit seems snug, we may have jumped the gun here. Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Los Angeles might not be willing to get into what figures to be a steep bidding war for Adames' services.

"The demand for him at 29 should be high, and recent free-agent shortstops such as Corey Seager, Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts commanded monster deals. While Adames might not be as coveted as those players were, he surely expects a significant contract. And the decline in his defensive metrics last season raises the possibility that he might not be at short for the duration of his agreement."

L.A. does have Rojas and Tommy Edman still in-house, plus Mookie Betts shifting back to the infield for 2025. With outfielders like Soto and Teoscar Hernandez available and a rotation that needs to be bolstered, this doesn't have to be a spot where the Dodgers commit a ton of money. Of course, this could also just be Friedman throwing people off the scent.

MLB Rumors: Blue Jays emerge as contenders for Max Fried

Another player the Dodgers are known to be in on: Fried, a Southern California native who's been among the best pitchers in baseball when healthy. But Los Angeles won't be the only ones making a real run at the former Braves lefty. Atlanta has very much left the door open for a reunion, and any contender looking for a frontline starter will be in on the bidding here — including, apparently, the Toronto Blue Jays, whom Rosenthal notes are "pursuing all three" of the top pitchers on the market (Fried, Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell).

Toronto's finances are ostensibly on hold until the team hears a decision from Soto. If they do manage to land the superstar outfielder, that would presumably take them out of the top of the pitching market. If Soto signs elsewhere, though, Toronto will be even more desperate to add impact talent ahead of a make-or-break season, and there are far more appealing options on the mound than in the field in this free-agent class. It might be tough to convince Fried to spurn his hometown and come to Canada instead, but money talks, and Rogers Communication has a lot of it.

MLB Rumors: Mets could afford Juan Soto and Pete Alonso

Most of the rumors around the Mets offseason so far have revolved around the team's single-minded pursuit of Soto, with owner Steve Cohen seemingly making it his mission to not take no for an answer with his No. 1 target. But even if Soto comes to Queens, that could be just the beginning of a very big offseason. It's often been assumed that New York's incumbent free-agent star, first baseman Pete Alonso, would likely be forced to head elsewhere given how much money the team would have to dedicate to Soto. But now it seems like signing both is very much on the table.

Alonso still might not be David Stearns' cup of tea; Stearns is among the most analytically inclined execs in the game, and right-right first basemen on the wrong side of 30 are not a profile you want to be investing in long-term. But the Mets do need to address the cold corner somehow, and if Alonso's market doesn't materialize how he'd like, New York could pounce.