We’re keeping track of all the latest free agent and trade rumors.
Nov. 2: Free agency is underway
Sunday is the day after the end of the World Series. That means it’s the beginning of the offseason and, for 137 players, the start of free agency. Following a five-day quiet period, those free agents can negotiate and sign with any club beginning on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.
Oct. 18: Dodgers interested in signing Tucker (report)
Might the most star-studded team in the game add yet another one to its constellation? According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman in an article for the New York Post (subscription required), the Dodgers are interested in free agent right fielder Kyle Tucker. Though he had an injury-limited season in 2025 with the Cubs, Tucker is only 28 years old and considered one of the best all-around talents in the game. He’s a four-time All-Star, a Gold Glove Award winner and a World Series champion with the Astros in 2022.
Heyman writes that “Dodgers people are said to love Tucker, and outfield is their one area of less than great strength.” Currently, the Dodgers have Teoscar Hernández in right, but while his bat has been key in the lineup, his defense has left much to be desired. The potential addition of Tucker could enable the Dodgers to move Hernández to left. Inserting Tucker into an already loaded lineup would certainly be a plus, as well.
While the Dodgers’ payroll is the highest in baseball, at nearly $400 million, the franchise was reportedly in the mix to land superstar Juan Soto last offseason before Soto signed with the Mets for $765 million. That suggests the Dodgers could certainly spend big this offseason to bolster an already stacked roster competing for its second consecutive World Series title after sweeping the Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
Oct. 18: Will Tigers make Skubal available?
Tarik Skubal, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, is one year away from reaching free agency. Will he spend the 2026 season on the Tigers? Or will he be involved in a landscape-altering trade?
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic (subscription required), “signs point” to the Tigers making the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner available in trade talks this winter. And if so, the Mets are expected to be one of the teams involved in those discussions, per Sammon and SNY’s Andy Martino.
The Tigers could also reach an agreement with their superstar left-hander before he hits the open market, but as MLB.com’s Jason Beck wrote, such an outcome seems unlikely considering the bidding war that would likely ensue for Skubal’s services after next season.
And the team and the player appear to be nowhere close to a match when it comes to a contract extension. The Tigers’ offer to Skubal last offseason left the club needing to bridge a gap of “close to $250 million,” MLB Network insider Jon Heyman wrote in the New York Post (subscription required) on Thursday.
The Detroit Free Press offered up more details on the Tigers’ offer to Skubal on Friday, reporting that the club proposed a four-year deal worth less than $100 million.
The Mets have a handful of high-end pitching prospects that they could dangle as part of a package for Skubal. That includes Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat, all of whom were a significant part of New York’s pitching plans down the stretch this season. Martino reports that the Tigers have had interest in infielder Brett Baty in previous years.
Oct. 18: Brewers expected to field offers for Peralta (report)
Will Freddy Peralta become the latest Brewers star to be traded shortly before free agency? That appears to be the biggest question facing Milwaukee as it heads into the offseason on the heels of a disappointing NLCS sweep at the hands of the Dodgers.
According to The Athletic’s Andy McCullough (subscription required), the Brewers are expected to at least field offers for Peralta in the months ahead. They hold an $8 million club option on Peralta for 2026, but the righty will be free to sign elsewhere at the end of next season.
The 29-year-old has reached the 200-strikeout plateau in each of the past three years and posted a career-best 2.70 ERA in 2025.
A Peralta trade would follow a similar blueprint for the small-market Brewers, who have shown a willingness to be proactive in dealing some of their best players before they could hit the open market. They did it with Josh Hader in the summer of 2022 — in the midst of a playoff race, no less — then moved Corbin Burnes in February â€24 and Devin Williams last December.
Even so, Milwaukeeâ€s model keeps delivering. The club has made the playoffs in seven of the past eight years and just posted a franchise-record 97 wins this season. In other words, moving Peralta wouldnâ€t necessarily spell doom for a team thatâ€s consistently found ways to build quality pitching from within.
Oct. 17: Phillies plan to trade or release Castellanos (report)
Nick Castellanos has one year left on the five-year, $100 million deal he signed with the Phillies prior to the 2022 season, but Nick Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the club is expected to either trade or release the veteran outfielder this offseason.
A free-swinging righty hitter who will turn 34 in March, Castellanos produced a below-average 88 OPS+ over 147 games in 2025. Add in his poor defense and baserunning and Castellanos was worth -0.6 WAR (per FanGraphs) this past season, bringing his total WAR in a Phillies uniform to 0.8 in four years. He’s owed $20 million in the final year of his contract, so the Phillies will likely need to pick up a significant portion of his remaining salary to find a taker on the trade market.
Oct. 14: Bregman heading to open market with opt-out (source)
According to Feinsand, the consensus around the league is that a Bregman-Boston reunion remains the most likely scenario, though should the two part ways, that could open up the possibility of the Sox making a push for a free-agent power bat such as Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber. The Red Sox do have added financial flexibility after trading Rafael Devers to the Giants in June.
Oct. 12: Alonso seeking seven-year deal in free agency (report)
After a limited market forced slugger Pete Alonso to take a short-term deal to return to the Mets just before Spring Training last offseason, the first baseman is eyeing a much longer deal this time around, with plans to opt out after the 2025 World Series.
According to a report from the New York Post, Alonso is seeking at least a seven-year deal in free agency. That would align closely with contracts Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras, negotiated for Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman at the same age.
MLB.com senior national reporter Mark Feinsand broke down Alonso’s potential market here, with input from some big league executives.
Oct. 10: Bellinger to become free agent after opting out of final year of deal (source)
Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger plans to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent, a source told MLB.com.
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