MLB Rumors: Mets, Giants, More Likely to Spend 'Significantly' During Offseason

As MLB free agents consider any qualifying offers from their teams last season, four clubs were pegged by rivals to spend "significantly" this offseason.

According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets are among the teams expected to stretch their payroll this winter. 

For the Mets, any concerns about free-agency spending are largely relieved following the pending sale of the team to billionaire Steve Cohen.

MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reported that Cohen believes the deal may close on Friday. Cohen's checkbook would give the Mets spending power for major stars like J.T. Realmuto and George Springer, the latter of whom is from the area (Connecticut) and has expressed a desire to leave the Houston Astros. 

The idea that the Giants could be big spenders this offseason is in contrast to their past two offseasons. Since Farhan Zaidi took over as president of baseball operations, San Francisco has not guaranteed a player more than $9 million annually, according to NBC Sports' Alex Pavlovic. Two weeks ago, Pavlovic reported that the team would be avoiding adding power to the lineup. 

"With the way our offense performed this year, I think we can be really selective and targeted and maybe look for more complementary players than anybody who is going to come in and play everyday, because we've got a lot of good options there," Zaidi said.

The Giants finished 29-31 and missed the postseason for the fourth consecutive season, while the Mets did the same with a 26-34 record for their worst winning percentage since 2017. 

The White Sox, after hiring Tony La Russa as manager, should be looking to add to their already-talented roster, seeking someone to push them further in the postseason after their 35-25 season, their first playoff one since 2008. As free agency begins, the team has more than $32 million to spend after parting ways with Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Colome, James McCann and Gio Gonzalez (h/t Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). 

As for the Blue Jays, the New York Post's Joel Sherman also reported they are one of a few teams that was not as adversely affected financially as other teams during the COVID-19 pandemic on account of being owned by Rogers Communications. According to Sherman, Toronto, which finished at 32-28 for third place in the AL East before being swept in the Wild Card Round by the eventual American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, has "begun free agency aggressively."