Biggest MLB GM Meetings Takeaways to Kick Off 2025-26 MLB Free Agency
Major League Baseball's annual general manager meetings were held this week in Las Vegas, unofficially signaling the beginning of wheeling-and-dealing season.
As is typically the case, though, it was less a meeting in which consequential things actually happened and more a "meeting about the upcoming meeting"—namely, the winter meetings that begin on Dec. 7, when the action really starts popping.
There were some good rumors and rumblings amid the elbow rubbing and media availability, though, setting the stage for yet another never-quiet winter huddled around the hot stove.
In no particular order, here are some of the biggest reported takeaways from the past few days in Sin City.
Paul Skenes Wants to be a Yankee; Pirates GM Shuts It Down
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Randy Miller of NJ.com reportedly spoke with Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington about—what else when it comes to the Pirates?—Paul Skenes.
Miller told Cherington about an anonymous former teammate of Skenes who said, "Trust me, he wants to play for the Yankees. I've heard him say it multiple times."
But if Miller was expecting to break any major news after that conversation, Cherington didn't oblige, merely insisting that, though teams frequently call to ask about Skenes, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"He's going to be a Pirate in 2026," Cherington said.
Granted, that would be the response no matter what. No GM is going to go out there and say, "Yeah, we've got this superstar that we could keep for the next four years, but we're actively fielding trade offers for him, especially since he would rather be a Yankee."
But Skenes staying in Pittsburgh for at least one more year has always been the assumption.
The real question is whether he'll still be a Pirate in 2027, 2028 or 2029, which is bound to be a major topic again next offseason, unless the Pirates surprise us all by contending in 2026.
Teams with Established Shortstops Are Still Pursuing Bo Bichette
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Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi on Tuesday, Toronto Blue Jays free-agent shortstop Bo Bichette "has received interest from multiple teams who view him as a second baseman or third baseman."
Bichette's viability as a third baseman is questionable at best, as he has been one of the worst defensive shortstops over the past few seasons, with an already below-average arm strength for a shortstop that was worse than ever in 2025.
But the second base portion of that report is noteworthy, as he did man second for about half of the World Series and would instantly become one of the most prolific offensive second basemen in the game today.
If prospective employers are willing to pay Bichette $25 million-$30 million per year like a Jose Altuve or Marcus Semien, one would assume he'll at least be receptive to the idea of adjusting to that other middle infield side of the diamond.
But if these teams are expecting him to take a "borderline top-five second baseman" salary of around $15 million instead of a "borderline top-10 shortstop" salary of around $25 million, good luck with that.
It still feels like Bichette's most likely landing spot is staying with Toronto. But if shifting to second base is legitimately on the table, suddenly both the Dodgers and Mets—with their combinations of deep pockets, star incumbent shortstops and room for improvement at 2B—become much more serious candidates.
Byron Buxton Open to Waiving His No-Trade Clause
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During the All-Star break, Byron Buxton shut down bubbling trade rumors in a hurry, saying, "I can't be traded. I got a no-trade clause. I'm a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life."
Even a few days after the Twins jettisoned almost half of their roster at the trade deadline, Buxton doubled down on his commitment to the organization by saying: "I ain't goin' nowhere."
Now there has been some time for reflection and analysis, though, that might be changing.
The Athletic's Twins beat writer, Dan Hayes, reported from Las Vegas in the early hours of Wednesday morning that Buxton now "wants to play for a winner and may reconsider his stance for certain clubs if the Twins continue breaking up their roster, potentially by trading starting pitchers Joe Ryan or Pablo López."
Now, that doesn't mean he has requested a trade, nor does it indicate whether the Twins are leaning more toward rebuilding or reloading this offseason. In fact, Hayes went on to note Twins GM Derek Falvey said, "I remain personally committed to figuring out what are the ways we can add to this group to make it better."
What it does mean, however, is that Buxton's stance has gone from "I'm a Twin for life" to "If you remove any more of the key blocks from this Jenga tower, you better send me packing, too."
And, frankly, knowing it's plausible to fully engage the "Reset" button if they so choose is probably welcome news for the Twins. At any rate, it's better than where the Cardinals have been mired for the past year, wanting to rebuild but stuck with expensive veterans who weren't keen on waiving their no-trade clauses.
Possible Polar Bear Den in Boston?
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USA Today's Bob Nightengale kicked off the GM meetings on Monday morning with an article on the 10 biggest hot stove questions.
No. 5 on that list was whether Pete Alonso will be back with the Mets for the long haul. Nightengale rather succinctly said "(the Mets) are expected to let him depart unless he signs a deal they can't turn down. GMs are predicting the perfect landing spot for Alonso may be the Red Sox."
And those unnamed GMs are probably right.
We merely had the Red Sox at No. 8 in our Alonso landing spots article from late September, but noted there's a good chance they'll sign one of Alonso, Alex Bregman or Bo Bichette to a massive contract. The money is most certainly there, with what could be both the most productive and least expensive outfield in all of baseball in 2026. It's just a question of which high-impact infielder they prefer.
It's worth noting that the landing spots ranking, published before Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said about 1B Triston Casas, "I don't think it makes a ton of sense on Oct. 6th to say someone is or isn't our first baseman." And, no, if you're trying even a little to sign a better one, it definitely doesn't make sense to commit to sticking with what is currently your best in-house option at first base.
For what it's worth, though, the Green Monster could be a disaster for Alonso. Per Baseball Savant, his expected home run total if all games had been played at Fenway Park is just 226, compared to his actual total of 264. Only Detroit (222) and Kansas City (215) would be worse.
Freddy Peralta a Possible Alonso Neighbor in Boston?
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The Boston Red Sox were the talk of the town this week.
In addition to Nightengale's note on Boston making the most sense as a landing spot for Pete Alonso, the Red Sox were also mentioned early in the week as a team that could land Kyle Schwarber if the Phillies are unable to re-sign their star DH.
And on the "preventing slugging" side of things, Morosi said heading into the GM meetings that he expected Freddy Peralta's name to be a popular one and that Boston might be the team best suited and most motivated to make that trade happen.
Peralta is owed just $8 million in 2026 for what will be his final season before free agency, and trading away both Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams in the same spot over the past two years somehow did nothing to slow the Brewers down.
While most MLB executives would be surprised if Tarik Skubal gets traded this offseason, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, it would almost be more surprising if the Brewers don't trade away Peralta by Opening Day, given their propensity for that type of transaction.
For what it's worth, Morosi also tweeted on Wednesday: "Numerous teams have told me they are looking to add at least one everyday outfielder. If you are a GM with outfield depth, this is the offseason to trade from it."
With the Red Sox in possession of Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony and Masataka Yoshida, Morosi might as well have just DM'd that note to Breslow, right? Boston and Toronto might be the only teams with expendable depth in the outfield.
Orioles Finally Going for It?
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Per Feinsand: "Industry sources believe the Orioles will be aggressive in free agency."
Feinsand added: "Adding a No. 1 starter would seem to be a priority for the Orioles, who face the loss of (Tomoyuki) Sugano and (Zach) Eflin."
Did they actually learn their lesson after trying to replace Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander with Charlie Morton and Tyler O'Neill?
Or are they just going to squander another year of an already rapidly closing window with their affordable nucleus?
Because, let's face it, we've heard this song and dance before.
Head of baseball operations Mike Elias likes to talk early in the offseason as if they've stumbled upon this massive bag of cash to be spent on free agents, only to have Lucy pull the football away from Charlie Brown yet again.
As Feinsand noted, Baltimore has signed a grand total of one free agent to a multi-year deal in Elias' seven years at the helm. That was the three-year O'Neill signing last winter, and even that would have only been a one-year deal if he had played even remotely well enough in 2025 to consider opting out of the final two years of that contract.
Maybe this year is the year, though. Perhaps they'll cut a big check to Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease and reemerge as a top contender.
But we'll believe it when we see it.
Scott Boras is Still Cornier than Nebraska, But Is Going to Be a Constant This Winter
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If there's only one thing Scott Boras loves more than getting his clients paid, it's getting reporters to awkwardly laugh at his horrific/glorious puns.
Asked about whether Bregman will be re-signing with Boston this offseason, Boras made about a baker's dozen's worth of puns on Dunkin' Donuts before concluding that "No one wants a Breg-xit."
He also dubbed Cody Bellinger a "versatile viper" who can play four positions and an "urban maverick" who has played in every big market (LA, CHI, NYC). After making a few more Top Gun references, Boras culminated with, "When it comes to Bellinger, there's no question that the teams have a need. The need to Belli proceed."
Boras turned 73 earlier this month, but he still delivers some incredible knuckleballs, including this alliterative allegory about Alonso:
In addition to that trio of great hitters, Boras also represents four of the best arms on this year's market: Ranger Suárez, Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen and Tatsuya Imai.
And though he was all too present on the final day of the GM meetings, don't expect that to mean any sort of signing is imminent. We know from the past few winters that Boras' stars are liable to hold out for months.
Quick Roundup Notes
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—Arizona Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen told MLB Network's Jon Morosi on the subject of Ketel Marte trade rumors: "We'll see where the conversations go, but it's mostly unlikely for that stuff to happen." And from the sounds of things, there are a lot of those conversations, with John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix tweeting that "no less than seven teams have already inquired about (Marte's) availability."
There's no denying Arizona needs to add pitching. And if the Snakes are ever going to consider moving Marte, now is the time. He's a 32-year-old middle infielder with five years left on his contract, and his five-team no trade clause becomes a full no-trade clause once the 2026 season begins, per Spotrac. So far, though, it mostly seems like smoke without fire.
—Both the Marlins and Pirates have expressed a greater willingness/desire to spend this offseason than in years past, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.
Even more so than the Orioles, we'll believe the Pirates are ready to spend only after they actually do some spending for the first time ever. But the Marlins scuttlebutt could be legitimate. If they add a bat or two instead of doing their usual thing and trading away the likes of Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera, maybe they could win the NL East for the first time in franchise history?
—In that same article from The Athletic, Rosenthal and Sammon reported Edwin Díaz wants a repeat of his record-setting (for a closer) five-year, $102 million contract.
He turns 32 in March and is hitting free agency fresh off one of the best seasons of his career. However, with so many closers available this winter—Robert Suarez, Pete Fairbanks, Kenley Jansen, Ryan Helsley, Kyle Finnegan, Raisel Iglesias, Emilio Pagán, Devin Williams and still more viable options—there might be an awful lot of "we'll have our people call your people" responses to his requests for nine figures.
—Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported the Mets are among the teams who could be in on Cody Bellinger this winter.
They definitely could benefit from an upgrade in center field, and the opportunity to stick it to the Yankees for a second consecutive offseason won't be lost on Steve Cohen. But for all their talk of "run prevention" and their clear need for help in the starting rotation, we'll see if Bellinger is actually anywhere near the top of their wish list.
—In another report from Rosenthal, Max Scherzer wants to pitch another season and the most obvious landing spot for him is the San Francisco Giants. They desperately need starting pitchers, new manager Tony Vitello was his pitching coach in college and the Giants just last winter gave Justin Verlander a one-year deal. If only one of the rumors floating around this week actually comes to fruition, this is the obvious pick.
—Among the many things Scott Boras said on Wednesday, Tatsuya Imai's agent stated he will be posted by the Seibu Lions on Nov. 19. That means teams will have until Jan. 3 to sign one of the best arms available. We also already know Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami needs to be signed by Dec. 22. Bring on the fireworks.
