MLB Rumors: Juan Soto Mets edge, Astros fire sale, Roki Sasaki consequences

As it usually does, the MLB offseason has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. The Los Angeles Angels are virtually the only team active right now, and MLB fans are waiting for their teams to join Perry Minasian at the table.

While moves have been few and far between, MLB rumors continue to fly in at record speed. With that being said, here are the latest rumors for fans to keep tabs on.

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MLB Rumors: Roki Sasaki's move to MLB impacts other international FA

Expensive free agents like Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes dominate a large majority of offseason rumors, but the free agency market received a major boost when it was revealed that Roki Sasaki was going to make the move to MLB and sign with a team this offseason.

This decision was surprising because Sasaki, by making the move to MLB at age 23, made himself ineligible to receive a Yoshinobu Yamamoto type of payday. Instead of signing a mega-contract, Sasaki is going to ink a minor league deal with a signing bonus coming from the international bonus pool.

What this does is opens up a realistic possibility for all 30 teams to get in on the Sasaki bidding since he'll come at a very cheap cost. While that's great for whichever team ultimately ends up landing him, Sasaki making this decision could have consequences for other international free agents as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) outlined.

"Sasaki, 23, might be a top-of-the-rotation starter as soon as next season. The current international signing period ends Dec. 15. If, as expected, he delays his choice until the next period, which opens Jan. 15, the team he picks almost certainly will expend its entire bonus pool on him, breaking pre-existing verbal commitments with Latin American players who are further away from the majors," Rosenthal wrote.

Often, Latin American players negotiate deals at a very young age before they're allowed to officially ink deals with international bonus money at the age of 16. While these deals aren't binding, they are negotiated before they're technically allowed to be. Whichever team ends up signing Sasaki will likely break off pre-existing agreements with Latin American free agents to give Sasaki the entire bonus pool.

While this wouldn't be breaking any rules, it does show clear issues with how the whole international free agency process works to begin with. Sasaki coming over could impact other international free agents in a huge way, and that's not right.

MLB Rumors: Major changes on the horizon for the Astros

The Houston Astros are in a difficult position. They're hoping to remain World Series contenders, but just wrapped up their first season without participating in the ALCS since 2016, and have a major free agent, Alex Bregman, to try and bring back.

Bregman has been an instrumental piece of this entire Astros run of dominance in the AL, but he has officially hit the open market and is going to get paid. He might not get what Scott Boras is likely seeking, but he's going to get a lot of money nonetheless.

Bregman's free agency combined with Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker hitting the open market after the 2025 campaign has the Astros in quite the pickle. On one hand, owner Jim Crane says that the Astros can spend a ton of money, he did temper expectations on that front, as this article from Chandler Rome of The Athletic (subscription requires) shows.

“It just depends on what players are available,” Crane said after the team unveiled a new stadium naming rights agreement with Daikin on Monday. “It’s pretty evident what needs we have. We want to try and field the best team we can without going crazy. Some of the payrolls are pretty high for the bigger teams, but I think we were the fifth-highest payroll — that’s the first time we’ve done that. We have the wherewithal to do it if we need to do it,” Rome wrote.

The Astros are roughly $10 million under the first luxury tax threshold according to Rome, so the odds of them re-signing Bregman and remaining under the tax entirely are pretty much non-existent. The odds of them re-signing Bregman while also extending Tucker and Valdez are probably even less likely.

If Crane wants to avoid "going crazy," at least one of those three players will likely have to be gone in the not-too-distant future. How this roster will look come Opening Day remains to be seen, but it certainly feels as if major moves, whether it involves Bregman, Tucker, or Valdez, are coming.

MLB Rumors: Mets might have the edge in Juan Soto sweepstakes

Until he signs, all eyes will be on Juan Soto. The anticipation of where he signs and how much he signs for continues to build every single day.

For the longest time, the most likely landing spot for Soto has been considered to be the New York Yankees, and for obvious reasons. They can pay him a ton of money, have Aaron Judge locked in long-term, and have proven they can compete for World Series championships annually. While the Yankees are still major threats, Ken Rosenthal has a different opinion regarding where Soto ends up.

The New York Mets, led by the richest owner in the sport - Steve Cohen - are in on Soto. That's no secret. When asked whether whoever makes the largest offer for Soto will get him, Rosenthal didn't mince words.

"That is, to me, the most likely scenario. Now, as I said on Fair Territory yesterday, strange things happen in free agency, and you don't always anticipate where a player might go... I don't rule out, one, the Yankees retaining Soto. Two, the field, any other team, taking a real run or maybe even signing him. But it just seems to me that Scott Boras' goal, Juan Soto's goal, is to get the most money... Who's the guy best positioned to give him that? In my view it's Cohen. That doesn't mean it's going to end up that way, but if I were a betting man, that's the way I would bet."

Well, there you have it. If it comes down to simply who offers him the most money, it's hard to say Soto will end up anywhere other than in Queens. It's entirely possible that Soto will prioritize things like familiarity, relationships, or team histories, but as of now, Rosenthal has reason to believe he's chasing the most money. If that's the case, who better to pick to land him than the owner with the most money to offer?

It's far from a slam dunk, but there's reason to believe that assuming the money is right, the Mets are Soto's first choice.