According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays have made an offer "in the ballpark" of $700 million and nearing 15-plus years to free-agent outfielder Juan Soto. Heyman also noted that the Los Angeles Dodgers have submitted an offer of around "$600 million." The race to sign the 26-year-old superstar continues to heat up as several owners are willing to open their pockets to put themselves as the highest bidder. Last summer in his debut campaign in the Bronx, Soto posted an excellent .288/.419/.569 slash line with 41 long balls. Under the hood, he boasted a .462 xwOBA and .316 xBA, which placed him in the top 100th percentile among qualified hitters. No matter where he calls home in 2025, Soto will be a consensus first-round selection in all fantasy formats this spring.

According to Gary Philips of the New York Daily News, New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman could be a potential trade candidate. Stroman signed a two-year contract with the Yankees last offseason but could already be on his way out of the Bronx. In his first season as a Yankee, the right-hander held a 4.31 ERA and 1.47 WHIP, which was his worst mark since the 2018 campaign. His underlying metrics were not overly positive as he generated a poor 4.94 xERA and struggled to generate strikeouts at a low 16.7% K rate. Earlier this week, Michael Kay of the YES Network reported that the Yankees had a successful meeting with free agent starting pitcher Max Fried, which could also suggest that Stroman's tenure in New York could be coming to an end. Given his poor underlying metrics, Stroman will likely only be viewed as a low-end streaming option for fantasy purposes in 2025.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Chicago Cubs are "determined" to trade either outfielders Cody Bellinger or Seiya Suzuki. While Bellinger's name has been on the trade block earlier this offseason, Suzuki's name has yet to enter the conversation. Suzuki has spent each of his first three MLB seasons with the Cubs and has posted an overall .278/.354/.470 line. Last season, he hit a career-high 21 home runs and swiped a career-high 16 bags. Under the hood, he generated a stellar 49.2% hard-hit and 11.5% barrel rates. Given Chicago's surplus of young outfielders such as Pete Crow-Armstrong, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara, and even top-hitting prospect infielder Matt Shaw, the Cubs may opt to ship one of these MLB bats to improve another position on their roster, which will open a spot for one of their budding prospects.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the New York Mets have signed relief pitcher Clay Holmes to a three-year, $38 million contract. Holmes spent his past three seasons serving as a high-leverage option for the New York Yankees. Last season, Holmes began the season as the closer but eventually lost his job towards the back half of the summer after posting a 3.75 ERA and 1.29 in the second half. Earlier in the offseason, there was speculation that potential suitors were viewing Holmes as a possible starting pitcher. Fantasy managers should monitor how the Mets view Holmes during spring training, as he will likely not see any save opportunities with Edwin Diaz on the roster. Despite his drop in production last summer, Holmes generated a strong 5.6% barrel rate, 30.2% whiff rate, and an impressive 64.6% ground-ball rate, which suggests he could be due for some positive regression in Queens.

The Colorado Rockies are in the market for a second baseman this winter, and according to a source, one name to monitor is free-agent infielder Thairo Estrada. After moving on from Brendan Rodgers finally, the Rockies signed Kyle Farmer already this offseason, but he projects better as a utility infielder than an everyday starter at the keystone. Prospect Adael Amador isn't quite ready, so Colorado is looking for more of a stop-gap option. In addition to Estrada, free-agent options include Gleyber Torres, Ha-Seong Kim, Jorge Polanco, Jose Iglesias, Adam Frazier and Cavan Biggio. Estrada, 28, had 14 homers and 20-plus steals in two straight years with the Giants in 2022 and 2023 but slumped to a .217/.247/.343 line in 2024 and being sent to the minors. He could be a nice bounce-back candidate, especially in Colorado, and Estrada has a strong glove at second base.