MLB rumors: Yankees’ Grisham plan, Blue Jays a favorite for Tucker, Mets trade chips

Major League Baseball’s offseason is underway, and that means the rumor mill is in full operation. Below, CBS Sports has gathered Tuesday’s most interesting moves and rumors in one convenient spot.

Blue Jays considered favorites to land Tucker

The Blue Jays, fresh off an American League pennant, are considered by other front offices to be the favorites to land Kyle Tucker, per ESPN. Naturally, given that Tucker is the best available free agent, there are plenty of other teams in the running here in the early going.

The Dodgers, the club that defeated the Blue Jays in the World Series, are expected to have interest if Tucker is open to a short-term arrangement. The Phillies, Giants, Orioles, Yankees, and Mets are also potential landing spots, depending on how the market develops over the coming weeks.

One team not expected to be involved in the Tucker sweepstakes: the Cubs. Chicago acquired Tucker in a trade last winter with the Astros, but does not appear to have serious interest in retaining him.

Kyle Tucker free agency: Pros and cons, contract prediction, landing spots and more for star outfielder

Matt Snyder

Yankees still want Bellinger back

In Yankees outfield news, center fielder Trent Grisham accepted the qualifying offer at Tuesday’s deadline. With him back in the fold, it might look like the Yankees don’t need free-agent Cody Bellinger back. There’s Aaron Judge in right field, obviously, Grisham in center, Jasson Domínguez in left, Giancarlo Stanton at DH and Ben Rice at first. 

Still, the Yankees “plan to continue to pursue” Bellinger, per MLB.com. 

Bellinger, 30, hit .272/.334/.480 (125 OPS+) with 25 doubles, five triples, 29 home runs, 98 RBI, 89 runs and 5.1 WAR last season. There’s certainly room for him on the Yankees. Domínguez still isn’t a sure thing and Stanton is injury-prone. Domínguez could be the fourth outfielder in this case.

Imai posted

Right-hander Tatsuya Imai’s negotiating window will open on Wednesday after he was posted by the Saitama Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, according to multiple reports. Imai will then have until Jan. 2 to reach an agreement.

CBS Sports recently ranked Imai as the 12th-best free agent available this winter:

Relative to how front offices view hitters transferring from NPB, pitchers are a near-certain quantity. There are too many success stories to fixate on the differences in the ball and the schedule or to suggest it’ll have a devastating effect on the talent in question. That’s good news for Imai’s stock. He’s fresh off a dominant season that saw him post a 1.92 ERA and a 3.96 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 163 innings. He possesses mid-90s velocity and a forkball-like slider he delivers from a low release point. Imai isn’t far removed from struggling with his command (it took until his seventh professional season for him to walk fewer than four batters per nine innings), but teams confident in his strikethrowing ability could envision him being at least a No. 3 starter as soon as next spring.

The Lions will receive a fee based on Imai’s total contract worth. 

Pirates intend to spend

The Pirates will attempt to buttress a roster built around ace Paul Skenes this winter, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. 

Passan reports that the Pirates were willing to sign first baseman Josh Naylor for more than twice the franchise’s previous record free-agent deal (currently $39 million) before he opted to return to the Mariners on a five-year, $92.5 million contract. Pittsburgh is known to have interest in DH Kyle Schwarber, among others. 

Passan also notes that the Pirates are toying with the idea of allowing top prospect Konnor Griffin to compete for the starting shortstop job next spring. There are complicating matters at play however, including another looming work stoppage ahead of the 2027 season. Here’s more on Pittsburgh’s thinking: 

The decision is complicated. The last teenage position player to debut in the big leagues was Juan Soto in 2018. A talent of Griffin’s caliber shouldn’t be rushed because a team wants to win now. And the concerns over the new basic agreement are particularly acute for a team such as Pittsburgh: If the doomsday scenario occurs and 2027 is lost, players will recoup lost service time, and with the potential for players to negotiate a shorter window to reach free agency, the Pirates don’t want to start Griffin’s clock early only for the rules to whipsaw and punish them for it.

Griffin, 19, hit .333/.415/.527 across three levels, finishing the year with a 21-game stint in Double-A. 

Phillies facing steep competition on Schwarber

The Phillies would like to reunite with DH Kyle Schwarber, one of the top five free agents in the class, but accomplishing that objective will mean outmaneuvering a slew of other interested parties. 

There’s an immense demand for Schwarber in part because of his production at the plate and in part because his age and positional concerns will limit his contractual term, according to ESPN.

ESPN lists a slew of teams as having some degree of interest, ranging from the expected highrollers — Phillies, Red Sox, Mets, and Blue Jays — to the Pirates, who, as noted above, pursued Naylor before he re-upped with the Mariners.

Schwarber, 33 come March, has hit .228/.358/.508 (135 OPS+) with 47 home runs on average over the last three seasons. 

Rangers have discussed Garcia, Heim in trades

The Rangers have engaged in trade talks concerning outfielder Adolis García and catcher Jonah Heim, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. That should come as no surprise: García is coming off a down year and is embarking on his final season of team control. Heim, meanwhile, appears to be a potential non-tender candidate. As CBS Sports wrote earlier this week:

Heim’s inclusion seems silly only if you haven’t updated your priors since the Rangers won the World Series. In the two seasons since, he’s been a well-below-average hitter offering diminishing defensive returns. The Rangers have publicly asserted they intend to trim payroll. Heim’s price tag wouldn’t stand out otherwise, but the Rangers can surely find Kyle Higashioka a new dance partner for less than $6 million. 

Morosi notes that no deal is believed to be close. 

Mets shopping Nimmo, other position players

The Mets are willing to deal from their surplus of hitters, and that includes being open to moving either utility player Jeff McNeil or outfielder Brandon Nimmo, per ESPN. Youngsters Luisangel Acuña, Mark Vientos, and Brett Baty — all perpetually on the trade block — are out there, too.

Nimmo, 33 come March, is a relatively new addition to the rumor mill. It’s unclear if the Mets will be able to find a suitor, however, given his advanced age and contract. Not only is Nimmo signed for five more years (at more than $20 million per pop), but he also has a no-trade clause. In other words, he would have to consent to any trade, making the Mets’ quest for a deal all the trickier. 

Last week, the New York Post reported the Mets have internally contemplated how much money they’d need to include to facilitate a Nimmo trade.