Huge moves this offseason

The offseason is a strange period, especially before the New Year, when next season appears far off and one is struggling to get their baseball fix. Over at ThreeAndTwo, we have been playing Out Of The Park 25 to stave off the cravings.

However, we have also had the winter meetings between General Managers and some massive trades and free-agent signings to keep us occupied. Let's have a look at the big trades which will shake up the 2025 season.

1. JUAN SOTO (Free Agent) Signed by the NEW YORK METS

The biggest free agent on the market for many years signed the BIGGEST EVER free-agent deal: 15 years for $765 million. This is the largest contract in professional sports history. The Mets have always been the poorer sibling in every respect to the Yankees. However, they beat the Yankees to sign Juan Soto as their owner, Steve Cohen, is intent on building a dynasty of his own and saw Soto as the jewel in the crown. There were rumours following the news that Juan Soto had had a falling out with his teammates as he admitted that he hadn't spoken to any of them about the move. It's probably all smoke and mirrors, though, as undoubtedly the only thing that Soto cared about was the number of digits in the contract.

Juan Soto had a pretty brilliant 2024 and is no doubt one of the best positional players in the league and will certainly make the Mets better. The annual value of the contract isn't ridiculous (for baseball) either, working out at $51 million. It's a lot but not too ridiculous. Perhaps what the Mets are overpaying for is that at 41, it’s hard to envisage Juan Soto being that productive. He is also an average fielder, so he will probably be a DH on $51 million a year in about five years' time. Overall, it's probably worth it for the Mets to overpay and make a statement signing, especially as it is one in the eye for the Yankees.

2. New York Yankees Secure Dominant Closer Devin Williams

The Yankees had to fight back after missing out on Soto, and they have made a number of moves. The big one is that they have traded Nestor Cortes, a decent starting pitcher, and a 2B prospect in Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Devin Williams. Devin Williams is an All-Star closer who had an ERA of 1.25 last year. The Yankees already had a pretty good closer in new boy Luke Weaver, but it no doubt will help the Yankees at the back end of games next year.

The Yankees had to boost their starting pitching even before the Cortes trade, and they made a big splash signing free agent Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves in an 8-year, $182 million deal. That is a lot of money for Fried, and a lot of years. However, he is truly excellent, ranked 11th in our SP rankings last year. He has also been consistent in his career, albeit 2023 was marred by injury somewhat. The big concern is the 8-year part of the deal, as he is soon to be 31, so he will be 39 by the time the contract ends. The Yankees have added immediate depth and strength to fight back following the Soto loss.

3. Cubs Land Star Outfielder Kyle Tucker

Kyle Tucker was out of contract next year, and the Astros did not want to lose him for nothing. For our money, Kyle Tucker is one of the finest batters in baseball. Prior to his injury mid-season, Tucker was right up there with Judge and Soto at the top of the batting charts. He came back from injury and was still great and has also been very consistent over the past four years, with a WAR of 5+ prior to this year. Even with his injury, he had a WAR of 4.7. He is so good, he should have been a priority for any team. Trade for him and sign him to a mega contract. After missing out on Juan Soto, Tucker would have been a more than able replacement.
In the end, it was the Chicago Cubs who made the move. The cost was steep, as the Cubs traded away infielder Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski, and top prospect Cam Smith. In any event, the Cubs have made a statement signing that they are serious about competing this year.

5. Red Sox Bolster Pitching with Garrett Crochet

The Red Sox have also made a big move to try and show that they are serious about competing in 2025. After several years of not doing much, they have acquired hard-throwing lefty Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox. The cost was steep, with Boston parting ways with catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth, and pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez.
Garrett Crochet was very good last year, and we have him ranked as the 26th best starting pitcher, so it is a big boost for the Red Sox.

5. Blake Snell: 5 years, $182 million (LA Dodgers)

See our previous update for a bigger breakdown of this deal, but needless to say, this makes the strongest team in baseball even stronger.
Yusei Kikuchi: 3 years, $63M (Angels)
Frankie Montas: 2 years, $34M (Mets)
Clay Holmes: 3 years, $38M (Mets)
Tyler O'Neill: 3 years, $49.5M (Orioles)
Aroldis Chapman: 1 year, $10.75M (Red Sox)
Luis Severino: 3 years, $67M (Athletics)
Nathan Eovaldi: 3 years, $75M (Rangers)