MLB free agency and the trade market have largely been quiet as the new year approaches. For fans, that's certainly not the most fun experience, given the feeling that the moves so far in the offseason haven't been particularly plentiful. Even worse, though, has been an overall lack of recent buzz. That, however, means we have to cling hard to any of the rumors and rumblings that are out there, whether that's about a Ketel Marte trade, the Chicago White Sox getting frisky again, this time with Tatsuya Imai, or even how the St. Louis Cardinals fire sale could continue.
Ketel Marte trade saga may end without a whimper
Whether you're talking about the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners or a number of other teams, fans have had a close eye on Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star Ketel Marte as he's been at the heart of trade rumors since the Winter Meetings. The ask from the D'Backs has reportedly been anything but cheap, which many assumed might be slowing down any trade negotiations. However, talks might be slow because Arizona and general manager Mike Hazen might simply hold onto his second baseman.
Speaking with MLB.com's Steve Gilbert this week, Hazen not only said that the club is "likely to put an end to this very shortly", but also reiterated something that many appear to have forgotten about a possible Marte trade regarding the GM's comments at the aforementioned Winter Meetings.
"This isn't going to continue to linger," Hazen said. "We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that [a trade of Marte] wasn't going to happen, and I think it seems likely that that's the case and we want to focus on the other things we need to do."
That doesn't sound like a many who truly wants to trade one of his stars, no matter how things have devolved in the locker room, or at least reportedly so. Of course, it could always be part of a leverage play — why would he tell Craig Breslow or any other GM that he's trying to get a Marte trade done as soon as possible and put his own back against the wall? At the same time, Hazen's message has been consistent on the matter, and he and the D'Backs are right to be eyeing a king's ransom for Marte given his ability and team-friendly contract that he's already locked into.
Having said that, we should have some sort of definitive end to the Marte saga. And if things trend as they currently are, that likely means he stays in Arizona. For a team like Boston, that likely means an even harder push to sign either Alex Bregman or Bo Bichette. For the Mariners, they already have seemingly upped their pursuit of a Brendan Donovan trade. But what this all indicates is that any team pushing for Marte sounds like they need to hard pivot.
White Sox emerge in Tatsuya Imai sweepstakes after landing Murakami
The Chicago White Sox became a bigger player in this offseason than anyone expected when they inked top Japanese free agent Munetaka Murakami to a two-year deal. It was a smart piece of business on the Southside, taking a low-risk gamble on the power-hitting corner infielder as they try to start making moves to meaningfully improve. But now it appears that Murakami might not be the only Japanese star who general manager Chris Getz could bring to Chicago as Tatsuya Imai's deadline approaches.
Imai, the 27-year-old right-hander from Japan, will see his posting window and negotiation period close on Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. ET. And according to a report from Yahoo! Sports Japan, while the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies remain considerations for Imai, the White Sox "have suddenly emerged as the obvious choice."
Chicago in the wake of last offseason's Garrett Crochet trade and several other moves amid a rebuild in recent years has a young core that appears on the precipice of making far more noise than we've seen from the hapless group in recent years. Murakami is an indication that the front office feels similarly, and Imai would be another notch in that belt as well.
A lineup with Murakami joining Kyle Teel, Colson Montgomery and (for now) Luis Robert Jr. is one with rising potential, but the rotation could use some help, which is where Imai would come into play. The righty posted a 1.92 ERA with an 0.892 WHIP last season in Japan and has made strides every season of his professional career to this point.
Pairing a veteran with upside such as Imai with 2025 All-Star Shane Smith, newcomer Sean Newcomb and a bevy of other intriguing young arms would be another push to be at least moderately competitive in Chicago. Given the futility of recent years, that's surprising to some degree — but it's also good for White Sox fans that it appears the franchise is ready to make a push at this point, one clearly centered on top Japanese talent.
Cardinals force to play waiting game with Nolan Arenado again
Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras have already been traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to Boston. Brendan Donovan trade rumors are the latest to start heating up again, with the Red Sox again at least loosely involved, but with Seattle at the forefront. And Chaim Bloom's rebuild with the Cards is already fully underway. They, however, might have to keep waiting when it comes to finally moving on from Nolan Arenado, which is familiar territory.
Just last offseason, Arenado was a trade candidate, but it seemed as if his likely (or perhaps only) landing spot was, again, Boston. Yet, the Cardinals were forced to wait on Alex Bregman's decision in free agency, and he obviously became the preference for the Red Sox. Now, that might be happening again. Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic ($) reported that trading Arenado is still the top priority in St. Louis, but that the market needs to "become more defined" before that happens, and that essentially amounts to waiting on Bregman and, perhaps, Eugenio Suarez to sign first.
On one hand, that's an annoying byproduct of what the current offseason market is, particularly at third base. However, it shouldn't be taken as a bad sign for the Cardinals in fear that things will end up like last year, with St. Louis unable to move the aging Gold Glover.
Bloom has already shown that he's more than willing to eat money on contracts to get them off the books, as he did so with both Gray ($20 million) and Contreras ($8 million), which is fortunate given that Arenado is also reportedly more lenient with his no-trade clause this offseason. That should make a deal quite feasible to come by, but they need the Bregman (and Suarez) part of the equation in place before they can do that.
Once we see the top free agents at the position sign, though, that opens the door hugely for Arenado to be traded. The fits and suitors will become far more obvious, and the Cardinals can hop into action. The only part of that which remains unfortunate is that Bregman's free agency, for now, seems to be moving at a snail's pace, which means St. Louis fans still might be waiting quite a while.