Although it’s the middle of winter, the MLB is heating up with trades and signings, teams like the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks have been going all out in free agency so far.
The first big move was pitcher Blake Snell signing with the Dodgers on a 5-year, $182 million contract. The Athletics made the biggest move in program history, signing pitcher Luis Severino to a 3-year, $66 million contract.
And of course Brewers fans know that shortstop Willy Adames signed with the Giants on a 7-year, $182 million contract. They also know that all-star closer Devin Williams was traded to the Yankees for pitcher Nestor Cortes and shortstop Caleb Durbin.
“I’m pretty sad that Adames and Williams are leaving us, but I hope that they succeed on their new teams,” freshman Aaron Rekowski said.
Pitcher Max Fried signed with the Yankees on an 8-year, $218 million contract. The Blue Jays traded for 3-time gold glove winner Andres Gimenez from the Guardians, and the Red Sox traded for pitcher Garrett Crochet from the White Sox. The Cubs traded for all-star Kyle Tucker from the Astros, and lastly, pitcher Corbin Burnes signing a 6-year, $218 million contract with the Diamondbacks.
“There is an insane amount of talent in free agency and the contracts prove it, ” Rekowski said.
There are still a lot of good remaining free agents as of Jan 16. Roki Sasaki, Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, Pete Alonso, Jack Flaherty, Tanner Scott, and Jurickson Profar are all proven players that can make a big impact on teams.
But the biggest signing was the Mets, who signed outfielder Juan Soto to the largest deal in professional sports, signing a whopping 15-year, $765 million contract. There has been a lot of speculation that the Mets paid Soto way too much money, considering he is a mediocre outfielder but a really good hitter. The Mets will have to hope Soto can play better in the outfield or else they are going to be paying a player $51 million a year to hit.
“I think Juan Soto got overpaid because his defense is average,” sophomore Jakup Ademi said.
Some teams have been winning in free agency, like the Yankees who signed Fried and traded for Williams and Cody Bellinger. They also signed Paul Goldschmidt to a one year deal. Even though they lost Soto, they made up for it with other big signings and trades.
The Diamondbacks have once again surprised everyone in free agency so far, trading for first baseman Josh Naylor from the Guardians. Then out of nowhere signed Burnes on a huge deal. These moves can do a lot to a team that has been improving a lot over the past two years.
“I think the Diamondbacks are a big sleeper team for this upcoming season,” Ademi said.
The Brewers lost Frankie Montas, Adames, and Williams, but are hopefully getting back Brandon Woodruff from injury by opening day. They are also getting Christian Yelich and Robert Gasser back from injury. They also got pitcher Nestor Cortes and shortstop prospect Caleb Durbin for Williams. They may need to use Durbin and shortstop and hopefully he will impress people.
“I’m excited to see who will step up and play shortstop with Adames gone,” Rekowski said.
There are a lot of questions surrounding who won free agency, and we will have to see who really won the offseason.
