MLB Rumors: Braves next star shortstop, another Japanese ace, Hoskins future

MLB news coverage was completely taken over by the thrilling Wild Card heroics of Pete Alonso in the New York Mets come from behind victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. In a contract year, with some of the fan base criticizing him for being a non-factor in the postseason, Alonso launched the go-ahead homer off of Milwaukee's daunting closer, Devin Williams.

With the Brewers season officially over, Milwaukee, along with a lot of the league, can turn their full attention to free agency and the rest of the offseason. The offseason is going to be a very important couple of months for the Brewers, with some of their top stars entering free agency.

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MLB insider links Braves to free agent SS Willy Adames

Devin Williams allowed a crushing three run home run in the ninth inning of a win or go home game with the Mets. After such a successful season, the Milwaukee Brewers return home with nothing to show for it except another division crown.

With the season over, they can turn their attention to free agency, where one of their best players, Will Adames, is set to hit the open market.

FanSided's MLB insider, Robert Murray, touched on the upcoming free agency of Adames, linking him to NL powerhouses like the Dodgers and the Braves.

"Among the potential fits for Adames in free agency include the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, among others," Murray wrote. "In four seasons with the Brewers, Adames established himself as one of the best shortstops in baseball, hitting .244/.324/.457 with 107 home runs, 348 RBI and a 119 OPS+. He’s also coming off a season in which he stole a career-high 21 bases."

Adames would fill a huge hole in the Braves lineup. Orlando Arcia slashed .218/.271/.354 in a down year. On his career, he's posted an OPS+ north of 100 just one time. Atlanta needs to fill the void that Arcia is in the lineup with a productive bat.

Adames is set to be one of the top infield bats on the market, coming off a season in which he slashed .251/.331/.462 with 33 doubles and 32 home runs.

NPB legend Tomoyuki Sugano headed to MLB this Winter

Over the years, Japan and the NPB have sent multiple superstars over to the United States to play with MLB. This list of Japanese stars includes Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Masahiro Tanaka, Kodai Senga, Kenta Maeda, Yusei Kikuchi and Shota Imanaga.

Japan may be sending over the young flamethrower, Roki Sasaki, this offseason, but he might not be the only Japanese ace that is headed for Major League Baseball this Winter.

According to MLB insider Jeff Passan, Tomoyuki Sugano is headed for MLB free agency this winter.

"Right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, the most successful Japanese pitcher of his generation to have spent his whole career in Nippon Professional Baseball, will come to Major League Baseball as an international free agent this winter," Passan wrote. "Sugano, who turns 35 in a week, is in the midst of a renaissance season that has seen him post a 1.67 ERA over 24 starts for the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants. He is a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award -- the equivalent of the Cy Young -- two-time Central League MVP and four-time ERA champion, and his reemergence paved the way for him to finally reach MLB."

Sugano isn't the flamethrower that Sasaki or Ohtani are. Rather he relies on command and pitchability to get outs. He averaged less than a walk per nine innings across over 150 innings in 2024.

It'll be interesting to see him land in free agency, to say the least. More specifically, how much he could sign for.

MLB insider suggests Rhys Hoskins to accept player option with Milwaukee

Alongside Adames, utilityman Rhys Hoskins could also enter free agency this offseason, but not in the same way that Adames could. Adames is an unrestricted free agency while Hoskins has a player option worth $18 million for next year.

According to FanSided's MLB insider, Robert Murray, the expectation now is that Hoskins will accept his option.

"The expectation around baseball is that Rhys Hoskins will exercise his $18 million player option for the 2025 season to return to the Milwaukee Brewers, but Hoskins said after the game that he is undecided and that he will take time to figure it out," Murray wrote.

“It’s a good question. I don’t know,” Hoskins said, when asked about his future. “That’s a long way away.”

While the decision is still quite a way away, it should be expected that Hoskins will accept the option when that decision is made.

This year, Hoskins bounced back from an injury that kept him out of baseball for the 2023 season. In his bounce back year, he posted his first sub-100 OPS+ as he experienced a bit of a down year. On the year, Hoskins slashed .214/.303/.419 with 26 home runs.