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Paul Skenes wants to play for the Yankees

Tonight, Paul Skenes is sure to win the Cy Young. The Pirates have youngsters growing in the branches. We’ve learned that the club is considering spending some money to improve training in 2026.

Theoretically, this is good news.

But in reality, nobody really believes it. We know that in 2026, Paul Skenes will still be the Pirates’ headliner (it’s too early to trade him, as he’s a year away from being eligible for salary arbitration) and that he’ll be all alone in the world at PNC Park.

And we know that losing like this will scupper him. I’m not saying that positively…

But now, according to Randy Miller, who covers Yankee activities, Skenes has openly told teammates in 2024 and 2025 that he wants to play for the Yankees someday.

A teammate of Skenes in those years told the reporter.

Is this necessarily a surprise? No. Because even though Skenes is a native Californian and the Angels are his childhood club, New York is still… New York.

But it’s still big news. Especially when you consider that his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, tried to buy Babe Ruth’s old apartment in New York and ended up settling for another nearly $2 million apartment in the Big Apple.

What’s crazy is that Pirates GM Ben Cherrington says he understands the situation. It was reporter Randy Miller who asked him about the situation – and who informed the GM that his star was thinking along these lines.

And the GM said he rejected the news, but understood it. Ouch!

Skenes can become a free agent after the 2029 season, four years from now. By then, he could be the highest-paid pitcher in Major League Baseball history (behind Shohei Ohtani).

And if that happens, it won’t be in Pittsburgh.

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Mutual interest between Devin Williams and the Dodgers

After spending the first six years of his MLB career with the Milwaukee Brewers, Devin Williams’ 2025 season with the New York Yankees was no picnic. The reliever posted a 4.79 earned-run average in 67 appearances in the Bronx, losing his closer’s role in the process.

But that certainly won’t stop a number of Major League Baseball teams from showing interest in Williams this winter. In the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the interest is mutual, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

While one of the Dodgers’ strengths has certainly been the starting rotation featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell, among others, Los Angeles’ relief bullpen has struggled throughout the year.

During the 2025 campaign, California’s relievers posted a combined earned-run average of 4.14 and converted just 46 of their 73 save opportunities.

Yet, before the season, the Dodgers thought they had strengthened their bullpen by signing star reliever Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million contract. However, the latter didn’t get the job done, finishing the season with an earned run average of 4.74, his worst since 2021, and making just ten saves. Scott also missed the entire playoffs with a lower-body injury.

Will the same story repeat itself with Devin Williams and the Dodgers, who hope to bring him back to his former standards when he won two National League Reliever of the Year titles?

Perhaps not, as Williams has performed well in the backstretch of the season and hasn’t allowed a run in his last thirteen outings of the year, including the playoffs. It remains to be seen whether this will be the case in 2026.

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John Schneider is not manager of the year

It was tonight that we learned which managers would walk away with the Manager of the Year title in both leagues.

To no one’s surprise, Pat Murphy (Brewers) took the honor in the Nationals. It’s his second title in two seasons at the helm of the Wisconsin club.

Because the Brewers, against all odds, finished atop the MLB standings in 2025, it was only logical to see Murphy become only the second manager in history to win back-to-back Nationals titles. Bobby Cox is the other.

27 of the 30 first-place votes went to the man who took the Brewers to the playoffs in his first two seasons at the helm. That’s something Milwaukee has never seen before.

In the American, we were watching to see if John Schneider would be able to win the title. That said, he was always less likely to win than the Guardians’ Stephen Vogt.

And sure enough, the Cleveland manager won. Schneider finished second with 10 first-place votes out of 30.

Like Murphy, Vogt is in his second year with his current team… and even though he’s in a small market, this is his second consecutive Manager of the Year award.

But this is Vogt’s first two seasons as a manager in the majors. No one before him had managed such a feat: winning two titles in his first two years as a manager.

Vogt, who was still playing in 2022, managed to lead his team to a division title in 2025 even though the Tigers had a 15.5-game lead at one point during the season.

That’s no mean feat.

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The Blue Jays are in every race: that’s the buzz around MLB

In recent years, Toronto’s free-agent market has not always been a great success. The Blue Jays find a way to sign interesting players, but they often get the short end of the stick when it comes to the big fish on the market.

Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki and many more have turned down Toronto money.

But that hasn’t stopped the club from being highly competitive in 2025. The Jays came very close to winning the World Series, creating a ton of buzz about what’s being built in Toronto.

And clearly, the American champions intend to capitalize on this infatuation: the buzz right now is that the club is really in every race on the autonomy market.

At least, that’s what’s being said at the current general managers’ meeting in Vegas.

Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith, who are here for Sportsnet, took advantage of this meeting to chat to agents… and two of them insisted that Toronto is aggressive right now. The club acts like it’s one of the big names around the table right now.

And rightly so, after the season Toronto has just had.

And according to these same agents, there’s every reason to believe that the club will succeed in convincing free agents this time around. The Blue Jays have a good reputation in the business, and their playoff run made a real impression across the league.

Fan enthusiasm is another factor that will weigh in the balance.

With the Blue Jays looking to keep Bo Bichette and attract some big names (be it Kyle Tucker or a big pitcher), it’s interesting to see that there’s optimism across the league that they’ll find a way to get their hands on some star free agents.

Let’s see if that translates into signings now. Because in the end, that’s what the club will be judged on this winter.

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MLB en bref : Les Red Sox veulent un gros lanceur

Les Red Sox veulent un gros lanceur

C’est une priorité.

Est-ce que Freddy Peralta pourrait être une cible?

David Fletcher à la retraite

Il a eu une belle carrière.

Framber Valdez est à Las Vegas

Il veut rencontrer des équipes.

Garder Tarik Skubal

C’est le but des Tigers.

D’ailleurs, Gleyber Torres songe à prendre son offre qualificative.

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Rumor mill: An exit option for Bo Bichette

The Bo Bichette case

The market for Bo Bichette, who is receiving interest at three different positions(second base, third base and shortstop), is alive and well. The young man is in demand.

Are his chances of returning to Toronto good?

The person behind the Blue Jays Today account says he texted Bob Nightengale to find out if the Blue Jays had any chances of signing Bo Bichette AND Kyle Tucker. Nightengale is a tipster who believes in Tucker’s chances in Toronto.

The tipster’s answer? It’s possible, especially considering he thinks Bichette will ask for an opt-out in his contract.

That’s an interesting angle. Can Bichette request an opt-out to have the benefits of a short-term contract, but the security of a long-term deal?

It makes sense – on paper, at least – to me.

Royals want an outfielder

The Kansas City club is currently evaluating its options. We know that the Red Sox and Angels have an outfielder to trade: could there be a possible deal with one of these clubs?

In my opinion, the Red Sox would ask for Vinnie Pasquantino…

Max Scherzer and the Giants

If there’s one name that refuses to die, it’s Max Scherzer’s with the San Francisco Giants. Ever since Tony Vitello (his former college pitching coach, with whom Scherzer has an excellent relationship) was hired as Giants manager, the rumor mill has been churning.

MadMax wants to pitch in 2026. Toronto is still a possibility, at this point.

Two surprises

According to what’s circulating around MLB right now, the Marlins and Pirates are two teams with an appetite to spend a bit over the next few weeks.

I’ll believe it when I see it, let’s say. But it would be really nice.

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Bo Bichette receives interest in playing 2nd and 3rd base

Based on his 2025 campaign and his performance during the World Series while playing through a knee injury, Bo Bichette’s value on the free agent market will be at an all-time high, even though he won’t necessarily be playing shortstop with his next team.

In fact, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Little Bo Bichette has already attracted interest from several teams who are considering him as a second or third baseman, due to the presence of an established shortstop in those lineups.

This versatility will certainly raise the stakes, which will certainly not help the Toronto Blue Jays. While they will do everything in their power to keep Bichette in their stable, they run the risk of coming up against a Major League Baseball organization with a greater need in the infield, and which will put all its eggs in the basket to get their hands on him.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that Bichette posted an OAA (above-average strikeouts) of -13, which puts him in the 1st percentile of all Manfred Circuit players. Not very impressive.

His arm power is far from his strength, and a move to the third cushion could prove risky. Conversely, a move to second base could alleviate some of his shortcomings, as we saw at the World Series.

It remains to be seen whether Bichette will decide on his next destination, as this choice will not only rock the Blue Jays’ off-season, but also that of the rest of MLB, especially if it’s an aspiring club that brings him into its ranks.

With the exception of the Blue Jays, both New York teams are expected to be in the running, as are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves, to name but a few.

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Fernando Tatis Jr. could be traded this winter

The San Diego Padres suffered another early elimination from the playoffs after finishing the 2025 regular season with a record of 90 wins to 72 losses, losing in the National League Wild Card round to the Chicago Cubs.

Significant changes are expected in the off-season. In fact, the first change has already taken place, with manager Mike Shildt announcing his retirement in a sudden and surprising move.

But it won’t just be the coaching staff that will be making moves. And maybe even Fernando Tatis Jr. could find himself under new skies.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the 26-year-old is the most likely candidate to be traded.

They certainly don’t want to trade him, but with all their long-term contracts, someone’s going to have to go eventually. And no one who makes a lot of money is more valuable than Tatis, whose 14-year, $340 million contract suddenly seems pretty reasonable.

Nightengale has a point. Although the financial commitment is significant, Tatis’s production makes his contract increasingly favorable compared to what other Major League Baseball stars earn. We salute Juan Soto in passing.

Tatis Jr. posted a .268 batting average, .368 on-base percentage, .814 OPS, cannoned 25 home runs and produced 71 runs in 155 games this season. He also excelled defensively, winning both a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove as the best defensive player in the National League.

With the Padres increasingly likely to reduce their payroll and contracts aging badly like those of Yu Darvish and Xander Bogaerts, a deal involving Tatis Jr. could restore some financial flexibility to the Fathers.

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The Yankees want to reduce their payroll

The New York Yankees have their work cut out for them this winter. They’ll need to pick up arms, continue to clean up the defense and add bats to replace Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger.

The latter could return, of course.

But to do so, Joel Sherman reports that GM Brian Cashman will have a certain restriction: the club’s owner (Hal Steinbrenner) wants the club’s payroll to be lower in 2026 than it was in 2025.

From $304m, the aim is to drop below $300m.

It’s not huge, we agree. But even so, it will force the club to think carefully about its off-season strategy, since not everything will be allowed.

Moreover, since the Yankees want to prioritize the return of Cody Bellinger, this will potentially take up a good portion of the remaining roster. The Yankees have $263 million invested for 2026, right now.

So is Kyle Tucker becoming more unlikely than ever? You’d think so.

In reality, the clubs that can afford Kyle Tucker won’t necessarily do so. The Dodgers, for example, are by no means guaranteed to sign the outfielder.

With the Yankees, Dodgers and Blue Jays being the three most talked-about teams for Tucker… you’d think the Canadiens club would have a real shot at the deal.

I refuse to take the Phillies and Giants off the table, though.

Because the Blue Jays also want to target a major pitcher, there’s no guarantee that Tucker will come to Toronto. But we do know that the Blue Jays haven’t talked about a smaller payroll than 2025.

In reality, once again, many names will be circulating in Toronto. Dylan Cease (often linked to the Astros) will be one of them.

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Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin are rookies of the year

This is the week for individual honors in MLB.

And on this Monday evening, it was the rookies who were honored by Major League Baseball. Each league was watching to see who would prevail ahead of the 2025 season.

In the American League, there was no suspense.

Nick Kurtz, the A’s excellent first baseman, didn’t see his teammate Jacob Wilson cannibalize votes: he put his hand on the honor easily enough. #Unanimous

This is the first time a player who plays in Sacramento has won this award.

Jacob Wilson still received 23 second-place votes, meaning that more than 75% of voters put two A’s players at the top of their ballot.

Braydon Fisher received a fourth-place vote.

In the National, it was closer. But still, as expected, Drake Baldwin surpassed Cade Horton and Caleb Durbin relatively easily. He received 21 first-place votes.

Comparing a catcher to a pitcher (Horton) isn’t always easy. But Baldwin was important to the Braves and clearly deserved to win Rookie of the Year.

What do you think of the picks?

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