MLB Rumors: Two-horse race for Soto, big trade target off the market, Cubs pitching search

The champagne has dried and the confetti has been swept away from the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series celebration. The early offseason clerical work — contract options, opt-ins, opt-outs, qualifying offers — have all been settled. The main event is finally here: It's Hot Stove season, baby, and it's shaping up to be a historic winter.

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 Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Teoscar Hernandez have hit free agency, while others like Luis Robert Jr., Garrett Crochet, 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.

FanSided's Robert Murray alongside fellow co-host Adam Weinrib gave some insight on some other free agents, or players who could've been free agents while diving into the latest MLB rumors on the latest episode of the Baseball Insiders podcast.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

MLB Rumors: Juan Soto free agency shaping up to be a 'two-horse race'

For all the talk of potential dark horses and sleepers entering the Juan Soto sweepstakes, it sure looks like it's going to be a battle between the two teams we suspected all along: the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, executives at this week's GM Meetings are convinced that the war for Soto's services will in the end be a "two-horse race".

“It’s the Yankees or the Mets,” one American League executive said when asked to handicap the Soto sweepstakes. “He knows the Yankees well after spending a year there, and Steve Cohen has enough money to give him whatever he wants if he decides he wants him badly enough. It’s tough for me to see Soto winding up anywhere else.”

The Yankees have the most desperate need; if Soto walks, this team is looking at a step back next season, no matter how GM Brian Cashman might try to pivot. The Mets, for their part, have the deepest pockets, and plenty of motivation to spend it after this season's NLCS run. Add to that Soto's known preference for the Northeast and his experience playing in New York in 2024, and it'll be hard for any other team to pry him away. The Yankees and Mets offer a combination of familiarity, money and competitiveness, and that's a tough combination to beat.

MLB Rumors: A's have no plans to trade Brent Rooker

A couple of big trade pieces have been abruptly taken off the board at the GM Meetings this week. First, Ross Atkins shut the door on any speculation that the Toronto Blue Jays might entertain moving star shortstop Bo Bichette. Now, Athletics GM David Forst has done the same for DH/outfielder Brent Rooker, who figured to be the team's most enticing asset.

Rooker, who just turned 30, slashed .293/.365/.562 with 39 homers in 2024, and comes with three more years of team control. With the soon-to-be Sacramento A's still at step one of what figures to be a long and painful rebuild, it stood to reason that the team might try and dangle Rooker now to maximize return and add more young talent to its farm system. That may yet wind up being the case, but for now at least, Forst seems stubbornly set on trying to field a competitive team in the next two or three years.

MLB Rumors: Cubs searching for a top starter this offseason

With Cody Bellinger set to return for at least one more year, the Chicago Cubs now have some much-needed clarity on how and where to improve their roster ahead of 2025. Chicago's lineup doesn't have a ton of holes right now, with Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Bellinger in the outfield, Michael Busch, Dansby Swanson and Isaac Paredes in the infield, Nico Hoerner rehabbing from offseason surgery and several young prospects waiting in the wings. So instead, Jed Hoyer is reportedly turning his attention to the team's pitching staff, with plenty of names available via trade and free agency and what should be a decent amount of money to spend.

Currently, Chicago's rotation features three locks in Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon, plus other back-end options like Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, Hayden Wesneski and top prospect Cade Horton. One more big addition would slide everyone into a more comfortable spot and ask less of the younger and less proven names on that list. And there are no shortage of options, from big names like Max Fried, Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Jack Flaherty to mid-tier names like Sean Manaea and Luis Severino.