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By: Aaden Lam
After the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series win in late October, the time of year has come for many storylines and rumors to take the stage. Here is all you need to know in the present moment regarding this MLB offseason. 

Juan Soto signs with the Mets

Perhaps the biggest talking point this offseason was the signing of Juan Soto, one of MLB’s best sluggers with a .285 career batting average, .953 career OPS, and .421 career OBP at right field. In the end, it boiled down to five clubs who had the highest chance of landing him: The Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers. In the end, Soto signed with the Mets for a record 15 year, $765 million dollar contract, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s 10 year, $700 million dollar contract as the largest in MLB history. 

Questions on Roki Sasaki 

Sasaki, a free agent starting pitcher that just finished his fourth year in the NPB (Japan’s baseball league) is one of the most highly anticipated Japanese free agents in recent history, being compared to stars such as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Sasaki, an already accomplished pitcher with a career 2.10 ERA in Japan, a 19-strikeout perfect game, and 0.894 career WHIP, is a big target for many MLB teams. The favourites to land him by far include the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, having accomplished Japanese players themselves (Ohtani and Yu Darvish, respectively). 

Cody Bellinger is traded to the Yankees 

Bellinger, former NL MVP, two-time all star, and Gold-glover has been a talking point regarding moves for a few years now. He had won a World Series in 2020 with the Dodgers before being released by them in 2022 and signing with the Cubs, and now being traded to the Yankees in exchange for relief pitcher Cody Poteet. Bellinger is owed $27.5 million dollars in 2025, one of two player options in his three year, $80 million dollar contract. 

Other notable moves 

Other notable moves this offseason include starting pitcher Blake Snell signing with the Dodgers, former Blue Jay catcher Danny Jansen signing with the Rays, starting pitcher Max Fried signing with the Yankees, and Garrett Crochet signing with the Red Sox. 

Works Cited

“2025 MLB Free-Agent Rumors: All the Latest News as Winter Meetings Continue.” Foxsports.com, FOX Sports, 14 Dec. 2024, http://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/2025-mlb-free-agent-rumors-tracker. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.

Baseball Reference. “Juan Soto Stats | Baseball-Reference.com.” Baseball-Reference.com, 2018, http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sotoju01.shtml.Feinsand, Mark. “9 Storylines to Watch This Hot Stove Season.” MLB.com, MLB, 3 Nov. 2024, http://www.mlb.com/news/biggest-storylines-for-2024-25-free-agency. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.