Offseason priorities for some of MLB’s most intriguing teams

General manager Matt Arnold was asked how his team will replace the production it received from shortstop Willy Adames, who had a career year and is now likely to leave via free agency because of the nine-figure payday he is projected to get this offseason.

“Really tough,” Arnold said. “Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz were fantastic. However we want to stagger those types of guys, I think we have depth there. They can cover us up the middle.”

While leaning on two young players already excelling in the organization is in line with how the Brewers often operate, a dip into free agency for a shortstop isn’t out of the question. Could that mean an unexpected reunion with Adames?

“We’ve always had support from ownership to do that, whether that’s the [Jackson] Chourio or [Christian] Yelich extension. [Owner Mark Attanasio] is case specific.”

Despite that support, it might be a tougher road to climb with Adames, as industry sources believe he’ll move on from the Brewers this winter.

New York Mets: Will Stearns land Soto or Alonso? Maybe. Starting pitching? Yes.

As expected, Mets GM David Stearns wouldn’t talk much about specific free agents, including Juan Soto and Pete Alonso, but he did acknowledge that he is in a different space this winter after joining an organization with money to spend on payroll compared with his time with the small-market Brewers.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Stearns said. “I think whenever you have access to every tier of agency and every tier available player, that’s a tremendous opportunity and it opens up doors and we have to decide which door to walk through or which doors to walk through at times.”

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Whether the Mets will sign Soto or bring back Alonso — or both — will likely be the most talked-about topics surrounding the team this winter, but building up the starting rotation might be Stearns’ biggest need to address this offseason.

In a year that began with rotation uncertainty after the Mets had traded away Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the 2023 trade deadline, New York found success in targeting veterans on short-term contracts last winter. With Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana all free agents this winter, the Mets have several spots to build and multiple paths to doing so. While it’s too early to know which direction they will go, there is no doubt New York will be busy adding starters this winter.

“Starting pitching is certainly a priority for us,” Stearns said. “We have three free agent starting pitchers combine for a lot of starts, a lot of endings for us.”

New York Yankees: Cashman isn’t deterred by Game 5 meltdown

As GM Brian Cashman starts an offseason in which the focus will be on courting Juan Soto to return to New York, he’s still dealing with the aftermath of a poorly played World Series that culminated with the defense unraveling in the fifth inning of Game 5. During the GM meetings, he was asked to address the team’s issues in the field and on the bases.

“I think some of it is inherent to certain players that we have,” he said. “I know the big fifth inning that people obviously can point to. Those players are pretty fundamentally buttoned up, but sometimes you have consistently good players make mistakes that exacerbate other circumstances.

“This team obviously wasn’t the best defensive team that we’ve had, and this team also had obviously made some baserunning mistakes, but the Game 5 situation was involving players that ultimately are really, really good and consistent in what they do. Whether it be a Gold Glove at shortstop or typically high-end defender at first or the ace of our mound, Gerrit Cole, that’s as good of a baseball mind as they come. And Aaron Judge catches a fly ball a billion times out of a billion.”

Despite the frustration from the fan base about New York’s World Series disappointment, it is expected that manager Aaron Boone’s contract option will be picked up soon — and he could be in line for an extension as well, especially if the Yankees want to avoid him managing with another potential expiring contract next season.

Philadelphia Phillies: Division series exit has Dombrowski searching for answers

It’s not exactly a full panic in Philadelphia after the Phillies’ early exit at the hands of the division rival Mets, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski isn’t using the notion that anything can happen in the playoffs to rationalize his team’s loss in the division round. He’s digging deeper, and it could lead to a busy offseason for the NL East champs.

“I never look at it as it’s just what happens in the playoffs,” Dombrowski said. “Other people say that. In our situation, we didn’t swing the bats very well as a club, and our bullpen didn’t pitch as well. I really don’t know why our pen didn’t pitch well. They were so efficient all year long. You scrutinize those things for sure.”

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Dombrowski wouldn’t comment on Bryce Harper’s desire, via agent Scott Boras, to possibly extend his contract a few more years to bring him to retirement. Harper still has seven years left on a 13-year, $330 million contract he signed before the 2020 season.

“Bryce wants to set up a platform where he can achieve all of his goals, long term in Philadelphia,” Boras said at the meetings. “Certainly, other owners have done this with players of his ilk. That’s his objective.”

Dombrowski responded: “I never really discuss contract situations.”

With Cody Bellinger opting to return to Chicago, the Cubs are mostly locked into their position players via long-term deals and team control for younger players. Additions to the offense are most likely to come via offseason trades or through players rising from the farm system.

“You always want to be creative, but there is room for it this year,” Hoyer said. “Certainly looking to improve [on offense].”

Teams looking to level up

Pittsburgh Pirates: Cherington aiming to build a lineup that can back Paul Skenes

General manager Ben Cherington has a young ace in Paul Skenes who is emerging as a generational pitcher, so the offseason focus in Pittsburgh is on how to build a contender around him after missing the postseason for the ninth consecutive year.

“We have to score more runs,” Cherington said. “That’s a combination of our own internal position players taking a step forward and finding a way to add to that base.”

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The mantra within the building is “get better, faster.” One important decision on Cherington’s to-do list to help speed things along is hiring a hitting coach. He said the team is being thorough in its search after Pittsburgh ranked 24th in runs per game in 2024. The Pirates also could look to trades as a way to upgrade their offense.

“Starting about a year ago, we understood we were deeper in pitching than position players, and recognized that at some point, it was going to make sense to turn one of those pitchers into a position player. We did that a little bit at the last deadline, but we’re open to it again.”

One thing is certain in Pittsburgh’s lineup: The Pirates are committed to playing Oneil Cruz in center field after he moved from shortstop this season.

“He’s like an NFL wide receiver,” Cherington said. “He’s better in bigger spaces.”

Washington Nationals: Don’t be shocked if Rizzo has Nats in the headlines this offseason

There has been a growing buzz in the industry that Washington will be active this offseason, and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo isn’t shying away from that kind of talk. The Nationals are starting to see the fruits of their mini retool after trading Juan Soto and others to stock the system with young talent in recent years.

“I think it’s important to supplement that good, young group of players and surround them with some talent,” Rizzo said. “We think our time is coming. We’re getting closer. This thing is cyclical. There was a time they were looking up at us, and now we’re looking up at them. We feel the time is coming that we can play in that end of the pool.”

Rizzo admits he has talked to Scott Boras about former Nat Soto (and other Boras clients). After trading Soto for a haul of players in 2022 that included CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and James Wood, it’s not impossible Rizzo could now sign him to a megadeal right when the Nationals are ready to win again — in part because of the players they received in the trade.

“When I get a feel for where we’re at after these meetings, we’ll meet with ownership and construct a plan,” Rizzo said.

Teams in transition

Chicago White Sox: Getz knows Crochet’s trade value is high — and Robert’s could be higher

Chris Getz has displayed a level of transparency in his first season as White Sox general manager, with both reporters and those inside the industries. He showed that again during the meetings, acknowledging the high trade interest in pitcher Garret Crochet while dimming any thoughts of the team dealing center fielder Luis Robert.

“What Garret did in the second half [taking the ball every turn] answered a lot of questions,” Getz said. “He goes into next year without any restrictions. Based on conversations I’ve had with other clubs and potential trades, Garret certainly garners a lot of attention.”

Robert is a July trade candidate — if he can stay healthy and produce like he has in the past.

“The Luis market is a tough one because of the year that he had,” Getz said. “He’s ultra-talented but got injured early in the year and was out of sorts when he came back. It’s all about matching up on value. It needs to be appropriately valued for us to make sense.”

Los Angeles Angels: Manasian focusing on adding veteran presence to Halos’ roster

The Angels have been the most active team in baseball early this offseason, trading for slugger Jorge Soler and signing pitcher Kyle Hendricks. The moves are an indication GM Perry Minasian wants to supplement his young team — and improve it — with some veterans who have played in the postseason and understand how to win. Soler joins a group of righty hitters who surprisingly finished fifth in home runs from that side of the plate — and that’s without Mike Trout contributing much due to injury.

Speaking of Trout, Minasian provided an update after the oft-injured veteran tore his left meniscus in August:

“He’s feeling good. Obviously, the last four years have been tough. He’s as frustrated as anyone about that, but he’s feeling really good. He’s doing what he has to do to show up to spring ready.”

Hendricks will be a coach in a player’s uniform while hoping to regain some consistency. His ERA in the second half was a bit more respectable (4.41) than his overall number (5.92).

St. Louis Cardinals: Mozeliak and Bloom are entering a transition period in St. Louis

The Cardinals continue to be open about where the team stands with Chaim Bloom set to take over for longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak after the 2025 season. In the meantime, St. Louis is updating processes across the organization following consecutive seasons without a playoff berth. The Cardinals got to this point by answering one question.

“Is this sustainable forever?” Mozeliak said. “It’s been a good run. There’s been a lot of success. But in the last few years, we weren’t as focused on where we could squeeze a little more out of the fruit; instead we’re trying to squeeze more for payroll. For a collective of reasons, now is the time to try and hit that reset and reposition ourselves to have another great run.”