The MLB Winter Meetings are here, and with Juan Soto reportedly agreeing to a contract with the New York Mets on Sunday night, teams can begin to conduct business unencumbered by a hypothetical $700 million earmarked to one player.
On Tuesday, here are three of the most important rumors to know about coming out of the meetings.
Jon Morosi reports that a few executives have told him that free agent pitchers are asking for a lot of money that teams don’t have an appetite to pay. It’s creating a market of opportunity for teams with movable starting pitchers, with Morosi mentioning Framber Valdez (Houston Astros) and Dylan Cease (San Diego Padres) as possible candidates.
Both pitchers are under contract for one more year, so they would be rentals for acquiring teams. Other teams with strong pitchers on contract years could be possible options to sell for teams looking to retool if asking rates on free agent pitchers don’t decline.
Kyle Tucker Gaining Trade Interest
Also on the topic of rentals, Kyle Tucker will hit free agency in a year, meaning teams are looking at him as a possible acquisition opportunity. Morosi reports that the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees have expressed their interest in Tucker to the Houston Astros, but that Houston is comfortable with him staying in Houston in his free agent year.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post confirmed the Cubs and Yankees were thought to be fits.
Cubs and Yankees are among potential fits for Kyle Tucker if the Astros seriously entertain moving the star OF
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 10, 2024
With Houston seemingly not overeager to move Tucker, he could be a candidate that is moved at the trade deadline if the Astros underperform. The price may not be deemed affordable for the Cubs, Yankees, and any other prospective destinations at this time.
Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported that Cubs outfielder/DH Seiya Suzuki has received interest from two possible trade teams. The information comes from Suzuki’s agent through Cubs president Jed Hoyer.
Suzuki has a full no-trade clause as pointed out by Rogers, so he can control his destiny to some degree, but his agent admitted that Suzuki prefers to play the field rather than just DH. He told Rogers it’s a “small universe” where Suzuki would consider going.
It’s unclear which two teams have expressed interest in trading for Suzuki.
