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Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Munetaka Murakami dined together

After helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win a second consecutive World Series, with three victories on the mound over the Toronto Blue Jays and the title of Fall Classic MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is already hard at work preparing for the next campaign.

But not on the pitch. The 27-year-old is now putting his headhunting skills to good use, trying to seduce Munetaka Murakami, who has been made available to all Major League Baseball clubs by his Japanese team.

And what better way to do it than over sushi?

Granted, the Dodgers already have the highest payroll in the Manfred Circuit at $350 million last season. But with Yamamoto in their ranks, as well as regular-season MVP Shohei Ohtani, plus youngster Roki Sasaki, the Japanese pipeline is well established in Los Angeles and that could tip the scales.

In 2022, Murakami set an NPB record for long balls in a season with 56, won the Triple Crown and received the MVP award. The outfielder added 33 home runs last year, but more importantly, he’s only 25.

It’s true that Murakami could experience his share of trouble against MLB fastballs, he who doesn’t have a good batting average against balls over 93 MPH in Japan, but in an already well-endowed Dodgers lineup, he could wreak havoc with his power. And if he can get Mookie Betts back into right field, that would be a win in itself for the California outfit.

It remains to be seen what his final choice will be as to his next destination in Major League Baseball.

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Braves: the arrival of Mauricio Dubon and the impact on Bo Bichette

Last night, the Braves were active.

They acquired Mauricio Dubon, a utility player in the infield. In return, Nick Allen (who will earn about $4 million less than Dubon) is headed to Houston.

It’s worth mentioning that Allen would have eaten innings at shortstop under the current circumstances. Dubon will inevitably be called upon to play the #6 position in Georgia.

But could Dubon be the starter?

Alex Anthopoulos, who commented on the matter, said that Dubon could start the 2026 season as a regular at shortstop. That said, he could also be a utility player should the club go in another direction this off-season.

In other words? If Bo Bichette or Ha-Seong Kim were to sign in Atlanta, Dubon would take his place. Both big names have been linked to the Braves for some time now.

But that’s not the only personnel move the Braves have made. In fact, the most important one is this: Raisel Iglesias is back in Atlanta for the 2026 season.

The first-rate reliever will earn $16 million in 2025. That’s the same annual salary as since 2023.

Iglesias clearly appreciated the Braves not trading him at the last trade deadline, even though the club was out of the playoff picture.

Note that the Blue Jays have inquired about the price to be paid to put him under contract, but that the Queen City club has not tabled a concrete offer. He will therefore remain the Braves’ closer.

PMLB
  • Good listening.

  • Red Sox: bigger payroll in sight?

  • Jorge Polanco: still in the Mariners’ sights.

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Passion MLB – The Podcast, Episode 90

As Major League Baseball’s off-season quietly gets underway, Pascal Harvey, Charles-Alexis Brisebois and Sébastien Berrouard take a look at the latest rumours and personnel moves.

Enjoy!

We remind you that people who want to listen to us live can do so every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Facebook, on X and on YouTube. We record live to answer everyone’s questions.

However, those who want to listen to us in a more traditional podcast format can also do so by visiting all the good podcast platforms at any time.

SpotifyYouTubeApple PodcastAmazon Music

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Alex Cora is clear: he still believes in Triston Casas

For the past few years, Triston Casas has been seen as the future plan at first base for the Red Sox. He was a fine prospect for the club, and his big rookie season in 2023 cemented his place as the club’s future piece.

Over the past two years, however, things have become more complicated. Casas is often injured, and even when healthy, he’s not exactly dominant.

His .580 GPA this season, even if it only lasted 29 games, doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

But despite everything, Alex Cora seems to hold out hope for his first baseman. Speaking to Foul Territory, he noted that Casas is still a big part of what the club wants to achieve.

Even if he acknowledges that the priority is to keep him healthy.

And of course, all this is interesting in the light of Pete Alonso being a free agent and his name being the talk of Boston. He’s seen as a logical target for the Red Sox (especially given the uncertainty surrounding Casas), and the player’s clan knows it.

That’s why Cora, whether he’s being honest or not, has every reason to praise his player. Because if he says otherwise, he’s giving Alonso (and Scott Boras, who doesn’t exactly need this to land a big contract for a client) all the leverage they need for future negotiations.

So we’ll have to see what the Red Sox’s plan really is at first base, but if Cora is to be believed, the club hasn’t given up hope on Casas just yet.

Believe it or not.

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MLB en bref : Les Braves et l’arrêt-court | Les Yankees favoris pour Cody Bellinger

Les Braves et l’arrêt-court

Bo Bichette n’est pas la seule possibilité.

L’importance d’un gros lanceur partant

Les Blue Jays ont besoin de certitudes pour la suite des choses.

Les Yankees favoris pour Cody Bellinger

Est-ce que cela va se passer?

Nouvelle entente

NBC aura les matchs du dimanche soir et la première ronde des séries.

Le Fenway Fest de retour

Ce sera le 10 janvier 2026.

La rotation des Brewers

Elle est excellente, en ce moment.

Field of dreams 2026

Le match opposera les Twins et les Phillies.

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The Orioles must make amends: it takes pitchers to town

What don’t we know?

Why did the Baltimore Orioles, in need of pitchers, trade Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels in exchange for Taylor Ward? Is the pitcher more injured than we thought and won’t be able to pitch in 2026 either?

Because from the looks of it, the Orioles need pitchers even more than before. They’ve traded a guy with the potential to lead a rotation (who’s four years away from free agency) for a corner outfielder who’s one year away from free agency.

Ward, who should earn around $13.7M this season, adds money to the payroll of a budget club AND pushes high-earning Tyler O’Neil further down the pecking order.

There’s a world out there in which the Orioles have made a good deal, but for now, we’re giving the edge to the Angels.

The Orioles were already short of pitchers, but the current deal means that, more than ever, they absolutely must sign one of the big names on the market. No choice.

In fact, the club needs to add at least two good pitchers to form an excellent top-3 with Trevor Rogers. Because if they don’t, we can already put them out of the playoffs for 2026.

No, I’m not encouraged by this transaction for the Orioles.

So much the better if Ward ends up energizing the club’s offense. But on the mound, it’s fair to wonder who will be able to eat innings to get the club back into the playoffs.

And more than ever, the question is… unclear. Mike Elias lost some feathers in 2025, and yesterday he did nothing to reassure fans.

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Trent Grisham among four players to accept qualifying offer

A few weeks ago, 13 players received a qualifying offer of $22.05 million. They had until 4 p.m. today to accept or decline.

A player can receive a qualifying offer if he has never had one before, is a free agent and has spent the entire 2025 season with the same team. If the offer is declined, the player’s former club will receive a compensatory draft pick if the player signs elsewhere.

And if the player accepts… that’s a one-year contract in his pocket.

Normally, between zero and two players sign the one-year qualifying offer each year. But this season, despite the risk of a work stoppage in a year’s time, four guys said yes: Trent Grisham (Yankees), Shota Imanaga (Cubs), Brandon Woodruff (Brewers) and Gleyber Torres (Tigers).

The Yankees tried to play nice by offering Trent Grisham a $22.05M contract to control his market. The latter simply said thank you very much and took the offer, which could handcuff the Bombardiers in their handling of the Cody Bellinger file.

Reminder: the Yankees want to trim the fat in 2026, but Grisham will win big.

The Cubs and Tigers will probably be happy to keep their player for just one year before re-evaluating everything. I don’t think that’s a negative for those clubs.

The Brewers, on the other hand, might not be happy to pay so much for a starter, even if he is excellent. Note that Woodruff’s return could prompt the Brewers to trade Freddy Peralta.

Nine players (Bo Bichette, Dylan Cease, Edwin Diaz, Zac Gallen, Michael King, Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez) remain available, having said no to the qualifying offer.

If they change clubs, their former organization will have a compensatory choice.

PMLB
  • Frankie Montas released. He’s injured and wouldn’t have pitched all year anyway.


  • Devin Williams in demand.


  • Kiké Hernandez in Dodgers’ sights.


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Red Sox: Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu to be traded

With gaps in the infield corners and a lack of depth on the mound, it will be interesting to see how Boston Red Sox Chief of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow navigates the off-season.

And one thing to keep an eye on this winter is certainly who will be sacrificed to fill one of these positions. In this regard, outfielders Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu have both heard their names in trade rumors more often than not, as there is a surplus in the outfield.

In fact, ESPN’s Jeff Passan gave an update this morning (Tuesday) on the subject.


The Red Sox will almost certainly trade one. There aren’t enough at-bats in the lineup for both, especially if they add another hitter on the free agent market.

So it’s not a question of whether one of Duran or Abreu will be traded, but rather which of the two will end up under other skies.

Duran still has three years’ control of the team and has proved he has the better offensive potential of the two. However, Abreu is now a two-time Gold Glove recipient and possesses a cannon arm, as well as being able to bring a little more power than Duran to the bat.

Most of the rumors that have circulated so far have revolved around Duran’s name. But if Abreu’s value proves higher this off-season, the Bas Rouges will have no choice but to part with him in order to improve the team in other respects.

Could this allow Boston to get their hands on a Joe Ryan or a Tarik Skubal, plus other pieces of course? If not, the Red Sox could use both protagonists to improve the infield, especially on the corners.

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Pirates (yes yes) are linked to Kyle Schwarber

Despite rumours that Paul Skenes would like to play for the New York Yankees, the latter has reiterated his desire to win with the Pittsburgh Pirates. And it would appear that the Steel City’s representatives are willing to take a step in that direction this off-season, by giving a little support to one of Major League Baseball’s top pitchers.

In fact, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Pirates are going to be aggressive on the free agent market this winter by being on the case for several top players available.

So much so that among the players Pittsburgh is courting is Kyle Schwarber, the National League MVP finalist who spent the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Yes, you read that right..

Schwarber played all 162 games for the Philadelphia Phillies last year, leading the National League with 56 long balls and all of Major League Baseball with 132 runs produced, in addition to posting an OPS+ of 150.

To put the choice hitter’s campaign in context, Schwarber’s 56 home runs represent nearly half of the 117 hit by the Pirates in 2025, while his 132 runs produced account for nearly a quarter of their total of 561.

In addition to Schwarber, Passan notes that the Pirates are also interested in Japanese Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto.

As further proof of the Pirates’ aggressiveness, we also learn that they had attempted to obtain first baseman Josh Naylor before he returned to the Seattle Mariners on the terms of a five-year pact worth $92.5 million.

Although the Pirates’ biggest-ever contract on the free-agent market was a three-year, $39 million deal for Francisco Liriano over a decade ago, Pittsburgh was prepared to spend more than double that amount on Naylor before he decided to stay in Seattle.

It remains to be seen whether, with this strategy, the Pirates will be able to get their hands on a big name in the coming weeks.

But whether they spend or not, the Pirates could bring Konnor Griffin to the Majors as early as 2026. He’s the best prospect in baseball, but he’s only 19.

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Tarik Skubal: Tigers’ next offer must be at least $350 million

As Tarik Skubal enters his final year of control with the Detroit Tigers in 2026, trade rumors are flying everywhere as extension negotiations are going nowhere so far due to the immense gap between the two sides.

And Jim Bowden’s comments on the Foul Territory podcast will do nothing to curb these rumors this winter.

The next offer the Tigers have to make has to start at $350 million. You have to come out right away and show Scott Boras that you’re going to respect him and make him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history. That’s where the offer has to start, and then you see what Boras is going to do from there. If you can sign him for between $350 and $400 million, I think Scott Harris is going to say to Chris Ilitch “let’s go for it”.

Granted, Skubal is the best pitcher on the planet, and he’s just entering his prime. But even so, seeing how the two sides weren’t close to agreeing, no one expects the Tigers to dip their hand so deep into their pockets.

The fact that the Tigers now have to reach a figure they never intended to reach would be a considerable change of course, and that’s not going to happen.

If they make him another insulting offer, as they have done in the past, the carrots will be cooked and it will be better to send him elsewhere so as not to lose his services for absolutely nothing. Because he’s sure that a Major League Baseball team will give him the value he deserves.

Detroit knows what it has to do if it wants to keep Skubal in its ranks. Time will tell if they’re ready to do it or not.

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