Advertise on podcast: MLB Trade Rumors Podcast

Steve Adams joins Darragh McDonald to discuss the surprising news that Twins President Derek Falvey and the team mutually parted ways, the three-team trade that sent Brendon Donovan to the Mariners, prospects and draft picks to the Cardinals, and Ben Williamson to the Rays. Also, Eugenio Suarez signing a one-year deal to return to Cincinnati, what hitters are still available for the Pirates to bring in, the Giants signing Luis Arraez and Harrison Bader, the White Sox taking on the contract of Jordan Hicks to get Boston to throw in a prospect, Jacob Wilson’s extension with the Athletics, and the insurance issues that are keeping some players from participating in the World Baseball Classic. 

MLBTR founder Tim Dierkes joins Darragh McDonald to discuss his recent post on the site and about whether a salary cap could be implemented, the potential of increasing revenue sharing, if deferrals should be limited, and how the players and owners could reach a compromise.  Other topics include Cody Bellinger's five-year deal to stay in New York, the possibility of the Yankees trading Jasson Dominguez, the Mets acquiring Freddy Peralta from the Brewers and Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox, the Rangers trading five prospects for MacKenzie Gore, and what moves the Nationals could make next. 

In the wake of the Dodgers signing Kyle Tucker and the Mets signing Bo Bichette, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco both join Darragh McDonald to discuss whether it will be a new trend for stars to seek out short-term deals and whether a salary cap is the best way to solve baseball's parity issues. They also talk about how Bichette fits on the Mets' roster, whether the team will now trade for outfield help, and how the front office seemingly doesn't care as much about defense as they previously stated.  Other topics include the deal that sent Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks, whether Brandon Donovan and JoJo Romero could still get traded this offseason, the Red Sox pivoting to Ranger Suarez after Alex Bregman signed elsewhere, and whether Boston will trade for an infielder. 

Anthony Franco joins Darragh McDonald to discuss the Cubs trading the Marlins for Eduard Cabrera, signing Alex Bregman to a five-year deal, and whether they will now trade Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw.  Other topics include what the Red Sox will do after missing out on Bregman, where Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette and Cody Bellinger could end up, the $13 million difference in the arbitration numbers filed by the Tigers and Tarik Skubal, what the ramifications will be of that outcome could be, and how the current CBA led Ryan Mountcastle to settle for a team-friendly deal to avoid arbitration.  

Steve Adams joins Darragh McDonald to discuss Tatsuya Imai signing with Houston on a deal with multiple opt outs, Kazuma Okamoto landing a big deal and how he will fit on the Blue Jays' roster, the Pirates signing Ryan O'Hearn and if they will still acquire a huge free agent, and whether the Giants are good enough to compete.

Anthony Franco joins Darragh McDonald to discuss a three-way trade headlined by Brandon Lowe to Pittsburgh, Mike Burrows to Houston and Tampa Bay acquiring prospects. Other topics include the recent Shane Baz trade, whether the Rays plan on competing in 2026, why the Orioles gave up so much to acquire Baz, what led Munetaka Murakami to settle for a two-year deal with the White Sox, the Cardinals trading Willson Contreras to the Red Sox, whether Boston will sign a big free agent, Michael King's three-year deal with the Padres, and the Mets sending Jeff McNeil to the A's. 

Steve Adams joins Darragh McDonald to discuss the Mets' interesting decision to sign Jorge Polanco to replace Pete Alonso at first base despite him never having played the position, the Braves signing Robert Suarez, Mike Yastrzemski, and Ha-Seong Kim, the Blue Jays paying high prices for Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce, the Royals signing Lane Thomas, trading Angel Zerpa for Issac Collins and Nick Mears, and extending Maikel Garcia, the Tigers signing veteran relievers Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen as well as Drew Anderson who has been pitching overseas. 

Anthony Franco joins Darragh McDonald to discuss the news from the Winter Meetings. Topics include the Phillies resigning Kyle Schwarber, how Pete Alonso fits on the Orioles' roster, the Pirates making big offers to free agents, how the the Reds will pivot after missing out on Schwarber, Edwin Diaz's deal with the Dodgers, what the Mets will do after losing so many of their key players, the Nationals trading reliever Jose Ferrer to the Mariners for top catching prospect Harry Ford, and the Twins deciding to hold onto their trade chips and try to compete next year. 

B.B. Abbott, an executive vice president at Wasserman, joins Darragh McDonald to discuss the process of free agency from the perspective of the agent, including who makes the first call, how much bluffing goes on when talking to front offices, why he doesn't like to leak stories to the media, what industry members think of MLBTR's free-agent predictions and other media speculation, how involved players are during negotiations, the different ways that contract extensions can come together, Zack Wheeler's recovery, how data has changed the draft, and the current state of baseball as a whole.  Then Anthony Franco joins to go over the week's news, including Dylan Cease's big contract with the Blue Jays, the Mets seemingly buying low on Devin Williams, the Orioles hoping for a bounce back from Ryan Helsley, and the Red Sox acquiring Sonny Gray.

Anthony Franco joins Darragh McDonald to discuss the Mets trading Brandon Nimmo to The Rangers for Marcus Semien and what moves those teams could make next, why the Orioles sent Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels for Taylor Ward, what last week's signing of Josh Naylor means for the Mariners moving forward, if the Braves will play Mauricio Dubon at shortstop or still look to bring back Ha-Seong Kim, some surprising players that were tendered contracts, and what players accepting qualifying offers says about the free-agent market and a potential lockout next year. 

Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco all join Darragh McDonald to discuss the site's annual Top 50 Free Agents list.  Topics include how the threat of a lockout will affect free-agent contracts, if there's a team that will be willing to give Kyle Tucker a massive deal, the factors that could drive up Bo Bichette's price, how difficult it is to predict what Dylan Cease will sign for, what to make of Japanese stars Munetaka Murakami and Tatsuya Imai, if this will be the year that Cody Bellinger and Pete Alonso get huge deals, how the guys nailed the terms of Josh Naylor's contract, the best comps for Zac Gallen and Michael King, if teams will be able to overlook Devin Williams having poor ERA last year, if Robert Suarez can get a three-year deal going into his age-35 season, and the players with tough qualifying offer decisions. 

Steve Adams joins Darragh McDonald to discuss Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz getting indicted due to their involvement in a gambling scandal, Shane Bieber's surprising decision to pick up his player option with Toronto, Jack Flaherty choosing to stay in Detroit for another year, the Rays declining the option on Pete Fairbanks, Trevor Story deciding to not to opt out of his deal with the Red Sox, Gleyber Torres and Shota Imanaga getting offered qualifying offers, guys like Lucas Giolito and Devin Williams who didn't receive one, and the Rockies hiring Paul DePodesta as their new president of baseball operations despite him working most recently as an NFL executive.

Steve Adams and Anthony Franco join Darragh McDonald to preview the offseason with a discussion of the site's list of top trade candidates.  First they give some final World Series thoughts, discuss the Cubs declining Shota Imanaga's option, and Ha-Seong Kim becoming a free agent. Trade-related topics include whether the Cardinals will try to move Brendan Donovan to help them rebuild, if Mackenzie Gore is a shoo-in to get traded, CJ Abrams' value, the direction the Twins will go in following their deadline fire sale, if the Pirates will trade pitching to acquire hitting help, how the Rays could move some guys who are set to make a significant salary, speculation that the Brewers will trade Freddy Peralta, the potential for the Marlins to trade Sandy Alcantara or Edward Cabrera, what the A's will do as they start to come out of their rebuild, and if the Reds and Angels could line up on a trade of Brady Singer for Taylor Ward. 

Steve Adams joins Darragh McDonald to discuss how much Bo Bichette's return in the World Series will impact his free agency, what MLB teams could offer Kazuma Okamoto when he gets posted this offseason, how strong the market will be for Dylan Cease, and the new managers hired by the Orioles and Angels. Listener question topics include what an extension for Addison Barger would look like, if veterans on minor league deals are eligible to be picked in the Rule 5 Draft, and whether Jarren Duran will get traded. 

Anthony Franco joins Darragh McDonald to discuss how writing for MLBTR affects your fandom, if the Dodgers can be stopped, reports that the Phillies will move on from Nick Castellanos and what they could do in the outfield, which teams would be interested if Tarik Skubal were on the trade block, the record-breaking money he could get when he hits free agency, the Giants potentially hiring Tennessee's Tony Vitello as their new manager, the challenges a college coach would face if managing a major-league team, and the Brewers' deciding whether to keep Freddy Peralta or trade him.  Listener question topics include what the Astros' priorities should be this offseason, how the Brewers could add some power to their lineup, whether health problems could lead Kyle Tucker's contract to work out as poorly for the team as Kris Bryant's has, and if the Padres should go after J.T. Realmuto.