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Major League Baseball​
 

2023 MLB winter meetings updates, rumors and predictions​


MLB's winter meetings begin Monday in Nashville, and it figures be an action-packed week of rumors, signings and trades. We've got it all covered for you right here, from our experts' predictions heading into the meetings to the latest updates and analysis as the moves go down.

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BREAKING NEWS

Yankees' desire to be 'mecca of baseball' fuels Juan Soto trade​

After months of pursuing Juan Soto, the New York Yankees finally traded for the star outfielder Wednesday night. And now, general manager Brian Cashman said he hopes Soto will stay long term and help make the organization "the mecca of baseball." In the wake of the deal that sent Soto from the San Diego Padres to the Yankees in exchange for five players, Cashman, the longest tenured GM in baseball, said the Yankees were not done maneuvering after failing to make the postseason and finishing 82-80, their worst record in three decades. After trading for left-handed-hitting outfielders Soto, Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo in a 24-hour period as the winter meetings ended, the Yankees' focus now, Cashman said, will be pitching. New York's offense finished 25th in MLB in runs scored this year, and adding an impact bat was among the team's top priorities in the winter. The fit between New York and San Diego was obvious, and with the Padres needing to cut payroll and fill out their rotation, the Yankees' pitching depth and payroll flexibility made them ideal partners.

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Shohei Ohtani joining Dodgers on 10-year, $700M contract​

The most unique player in baseball history has joined one of the most storied franchises in the world -- for more money than anyone could have possibly imagined. Shohei Ohtani, the transcendent two-way talent who spent the past three years redefining what was possible at his sport's highest level, signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, announcing his decision on his Instagram page.

Ohtani's contract is the largest in baseball history by more than $250 million, topping the 12-year, $426.5 million extension given in 2019 to Mike Trout, his now-former teammate with the Los Angeles Angels. It also easily topped the $450 million deal signed by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to become the largest in North American professional sports history. The $70 million average annual salary eclipses the previous Major League Baseball record of $43.3 million fo Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and is more than the 2023 Opening Day payrolls of the Baltimore Orioles ($60.9 million) and Oakland Athletics ($56.9 million).

Ohtani, 29, is the first player in baseball history to be named unanimous MVP on multiple occasions, an honor bestowed upon him twice over the past three years. During that stretch, he defied conventionality by excelling as both a pitcher and a hitter, becoming MLB's first two-way player since Babe Ruth dabbled in both roles more than a century ago. The Dodgers improved from +800 to +550 to win the World Series at ESPN BET following Ohtani's announcement and are now the consensus favorite ahead of the Atlanta Braves at sportsbooks throughout the nation.

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Braves fill three openings on their coaching staff.​

The Atlanta Braves filled three openings on their coaching staff Monday by promoting Matt Tuiasosopo and Tom Goodwin from the minor leagues and hiring Erick Abreu. Tuiasosopo, who spent the past three seasons managing at Triple-A Gwinnett, will replace Ron Washington as the Braves third base coach. Goodwin takes over as first base coach from Eric Young after serving two years as a roving instructor in the minors. Washington was hired as manager of the Los Angeles Angels, and Young departed, as well, to join his coaching staff with the AL club. Abreu will become Atlanta's bullpen coach after spending the last nine seasons as a pitching coach in the Houston Astros organization. This is his first appointment to a major league coaching staff.

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Shohei Ohtani to be introduced at Dodger Stadium on Thursday​

The Los Angeles Dodgers will officially introduce Shohel Ohtani at a news conference on Thursday. The two-time AL MVP agreed to a record $700 million, 10-year contract last weekend, a deal that the team announced Monday and provides that 97% of the money be deferred without interest and not fully paid until 2043. Ohtani will be introduced during a news conference in Dodger Stadium's Centerfield Plaza starting 6 p.m. ET. MLB reported Wednesday that Ohtani broke Fanatics' record for the highest jersey sales within the first 48 hours of a release, topping soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He was out of sight at the stadium on Wednesday, meeting with teammates, including seven-time All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts and Kelly. Ahead of his 30th birthday on July 5, Ohtani has a .274 average with 171 homers, 437 RBIs and 86 stolen bases along with a 39-19 record with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481⅔ innings. Ohtani has 34.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), per Baseball Reference.

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Sources: MLB to feature top prospects in spring training games​

Major League Baseball plans to showcase the sport's best young players during a series of spring-training games it's calling "Spring Breakout," sources familiar with the league's plans told ESPN. The event, scheduled to take place from March 14-17, will pit an organization's best prospect group against another team's in a game that's part of a doubleheader with a regularly scheduled spring game. While highly regarded prospects often participate in major league spring training games, rosters filled with the best minor league players from each team typically participate on the backfields at spring complexes.

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Sources: Giants, OF Jung Hoo Lee agree on 6-year, $113M deal​

Center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and the San Francisco Giants agreed Tuesday on a six-year, $113 million contract, sources told ESPN, the biggest outlay for an Asian-born hitter coming to Major League Baseball and a vital signing for a Giants team that had reeled in recent years from free agent travails. Lee is a longtime star in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), regarded as royalty with father, Jong Beom Lee, regarded as the best all-around player in the KBO in the 1990s. Nicknamed "Grandson of the Wind" -- his father was called "Son of the Wind" -- Lee's guarantee exceeds the $90 million the Boston Red Sox gave Masataka Yoshide last year and includes an opt-out after the fourth season.

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Shohei Ohtani gets 2nd AP top male athlete honor in 3 years​

Before Shohei Ohtani signed the most lucrative contract in U.S. professional sports history, baseball's two-way superstar put together yet another season of unparalleled brilliance from Tokyo to Anaheim. What can this singular talent possibly do next? The Los Angeles Dodgers are eagerly paying $700 million to see for themselves. But what Ohtani already did in 2023 -- both for the Los Angeles Angels and for Japan in the World Baseball Classic -- is the reason he was selected as The Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years. Ohtani led the AL with 44 homers, 78 extra-base hits, 325 total bases and a 1.066 OPS as the Halos' designated hitter. He held hitters to an AL-best .184 batting average while ranking second in the league with 11.39 strikeouts per nine innings and third with a 3.14 ERA at the time of his injury.

Multiple-time winners include Don Budge, Byron Nelson, Carl Lewis, Joe Montana, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps and four-time honorees Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. Four-time winner LeBron James is another generational superstar who chose Los Angeles as a free agent, while two-time honoree Sandy Koufax remains one of the greatest players to wear Dodger Blue.

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Two former Detroit Tigers scouts sue team alleging age discrimination​

A pair of former Detroit Tigers scouts sued the team, alleging age discrimination over their terminations after the 2020 season. Gary Pellant and Randall Johnson filed the suit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claiming a shift toward analytics was accompanied by a "false stereotype" that older scouts lacked acumen for newer scouting tools. They claim wrongful termination and post-termination employment interference in violation of the Age Discrimination and Enforcement Act of 1967 and violations of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, a Michigan law that took effect in 1977. They also alleged disparate treatment age discrimination and/or disparate impact age discrimination in violation of the Elliott-Larsen act. They asked for back pay, front pay, and compensatory and punitive damages.

Seventeen former Major League Baseball scouts sued the league, its teams and commissioner Rob Manfred in June in U.S. District Court in Denver. They alleged violations of the ADEA along with laws in 11 states and New York City. Pellant, 68, is from Chandler, Arizona, and Johnson, 67, is from Valley Center, California. The pair said they worked for multiple teams for more than 20 years before they were let go by the Tigers on Oct. 31, 2020. The suit did not specify which other teams they worked for or when they were hired by the Tigers. The pair said that they were among four Tigers scouts over 60 who were terminated and that remaining scouts ranged in age from early 20s to early 50s. The suit said 51 of at least 83 "older scouts" were let go among the 30 teams.

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