The MLB GM Meetings in Las Vegas are set to conclude on Thursday. Over the past couple of days, we've heard from not just the heads of all 30 big-league front offices but even the sport's preeminent super-agent in Scott Boras. While it'll likely still be a couple of weeks at least until the transactions really start flying, the rumor mill is already working overtime. Here's all the latest that we're hearing as teams get set to depart for the Thanksgiving break.
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Cardinals shopping Donovan, Nootbaar in addition to other vets
The St. Louis Cardinals are entering a rebuilding phase as Chaim Bloom assumes control of the front office, but it looks like that rebuild might be more thorough than previously thought. According to Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic on Thursday morning, St. Louis "will entertain trade offers for several star players as it shifts its focus to player development and homegrown talent". While we knew that Nolan Arenado and even Sonny Gray were likely to be on the move this winter, Rosenthal and Woo also report that the Cardinals are willing to entertain trade offers for younger players like utility man Brendan Donovan and outfielder Lars Nootbaar.
Both Donovan and Nootbaar are cost-controlled for the next two years, and thus both could command a more significant return than some of the team's more expensive vets like Arenado and Gray — both of whom would need to have money paid down in order to entice potential suitors.
Outfield trade, super-bullpen and more potential Red Sox plans
Red Sox fans might want to pump the brakes just a little bit on the fake Jarren Duran trade packages, as Craig Breslow cautioned the team will "going to hold a really high bar" in talks for any of its players. This is still probably just posturing, though: Boston needs room for Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, leaving Duran as the obvious odd man out.
Elsewhere on Breslow's to-do list: the bullpen, where Rosenthal and Woo write that Boston is "considering the addition of a high-leverage reliever" to supplement Aroldis Chapman. Poaching Devin Williams from the rival Yankees, perhaps? The Red Sox didn't have enough trustworthy depth behind Chapman and Garrett Whitlock last season.
Orioles finally ready to 'act like buyers' in pivotal offseason
“It seems the only team willing to open the checkbook right now is Baltimore," an unnamed source told Rosenthal and Woo, and Orioles president Mike Elias backed that up by telling media on Wednesday night that "we’ll definitely be behaving as buyers this season, whether it’s free agency or trade".
Elias also hinted that the team's new ownership was willing to go into the red in order to support a winner, a welcome sentiment after the last few years. Priority No. 1 is finding a top-line starter like Dylan Cease or Michael King, while bullpen depth and an outfield bat are also needs.
Brian Cashman makes clear Yankees are desperate to keep Bellinger
Cashman sure seemed to tip his hand as to New York's outfield priority on Wednesday night, telling reporters that "we're very interested in bringing back" Cody Bellinger and adding that "we'd be better served if we could retain him". That doesn't rule out entirely a run at someone like Kyle Tucker, but all the smoke so far seems to point to Bellinger being No. 1 on New York's big board.
Tarik Skubal speaks out amid trade speculation
Tarik Skubal met with the media after winning his second straight AL Cy Young award, and he sounded none too pleased with the extent to which his name has been thrown around in trade rumors of late.
"Contract extension stuff is a little bit different, but trade stuff is out of my control," Skubal said, via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. "I've given everything I have to this organization. I want to be a Tiger for a very long time."
Detroit has done everything in its power to downplay any thoughts of a Skubal trade, but as long as a contract extension remains a long shot, speculation will continue.
Jed Hoyer signals that Cubs are likely moving on from Kyle Tucker
Hoyer met with Tucker's agent, Casey Close, during the GM Meetings, but Chicago shouldn't get its hopes up. “We’re going to look at everything,” Hoyer told The Athletic's Patrick Mooney on Wednesday. “But I feel like, from an offensive standpoint, we can kind of play a game tomorrow if we needed to. We have players at every position."
That doesn't sound like someone willing to shell out $400 million or so to retain Tucker, not with Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ already in the outfield corners and youngsters like Owen Caissie and Moisés Ballesteros waiting in the wings.
Pirates could add tens of millions in payroll this winter
File this under "we'll believe it when we see it," but at least according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, it sounds like the Pirates — yes, Bob Nutting's Pirates — might be about to splash some cash this winter. Feinsand cites a source saying that Pittsburgh is willing to add as much as $30-40 million in payroll ahead of next season, a number that would still leave them well behind most teams in the league but would represent a windfill by Nutting's standards. With Paul Skenes not going anywhere and plenty of pitching behind him, the Pirates could be a bat or two away from Wild Card contention.
Astros GM shoots down potential Paredes trade
Amid Houston's positional logjam — good luck figuring out where to play all of Christian Walker, Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes and Jesus Sanchez — many Astros fans have fixated on the idea of trading Paredes. Not so fast, says Dana Brown: "We feel like if we trade him it would be weakening our lineup," he told the Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara. "So right now, we have no interest in trading him.”
Paredes would be the most tradable of this bunch, given that he's not a franchise pillar like Correa, Alvarez or Altuve and his contract isn't underwater like Walker's. But it sounds like Houston's set on keeping him, even though it's unclear where exactly he'll play and how the team might fill the several holes it currently has in its starting rotation.
White Sox already engaging in Luis Robert Jr. trade talks
After years of speculation, it seems like this is finally the moment for Chicago to pull the trigger on a Luis Robert Jr. trade, with 670 The Score's Bruce Levine saying that the White Sox have had talks with "numerous teams" already regarding the toolsy center fielder. Robert is about to enter the first of two club option years before hitting free agency after 2027; Chicago can no longer afford to wait and hope for a rebound that will allow them to sell high. That window has closed, but plenty of teams still figure to be in on a plus defender at a premium position who crushes left-handed pitching and was an MVP candidate as recently as 2023. Keep an eye on the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers and Yankees in particular.