What we're hearing about MLB offseason: Tyler Soderstrom, Brendan Donovan and more
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Will Sammon and Katie Woo
Plus, what's next on the Nolan Arenado trade front, a looming deadline for two Japanese standouts and how Reds could upgrade their outfield.
Tyler Soderstrom is someone who could have shunned talks about an extension. Just 24 years old. First-round pick in 2020. Coming off a big season.
None of those elements promises much in the form of guarantees, though. So Soderstrom ended up accepting a seven-year, $86 million extension with the Athletics on Christmas. For some, security holds significant meaning.
Soderstrom should know.
Soderstrom’s father, Steve, was a first-round pick in 1993. Injuries derailed Steve’s pitching career. In the major leagues, he lasted just 10 days.
After opting to take security seriously, Tyler Soderstrom owns the largest contract in Athletics history. There’s a club option for 2033, and escalators could push the contract value by another $45 million. Soderstrom, who produced an .820 OPS with 25 home runs along with strong defense in left field, is under club control through his age-31 season. The escalators allow him to recoup some value if he continues on an upward trajectory.
With the Athletics, Soderstrom represents the latest investment in a strong core of position players. Last winter, the team extended Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler. The club holds interest in extending other players, league sources said. Among the Athletics’ other core players, Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson are under team control for five seasons, while Shea Langeliers has another two seasons of arbitration eligibility.
What’s the holdup with Brendan Donovan?
The St. Louis Cardinals figured to be active in the trade market entering the offseason. The trade of Sonny Gray was predictable. The trade of Willson Contreras? Not so much.
That Contreras — who, like Gray, was traded to the Boston Red Sox — was dealt before Brendan Donovan made the move all the more surprising. Donovan has been one of the hottest trade candidates since the offseason began, with several industry sources expressing surprise that he has not yet been moved. But president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was always going to be deliberate with Donovan’s market, as the 28-year-old utility player represents the rebuilding Cardinals’ best chance to land a significant prospect package in a return.
A top objective in trading Gray and Contreras (and, eventually, Nolan Arenado) was to clear payroll. The Cardinals sent $20 million with Gray to Boston, but no longer have to pay the $35 million he was owed in 2026, the final year of his contract. Contreras was due $41.5 million over the next two seasons, and held a club option worth $17.5 million in 2028. That deal was reworked as part of the trade, with the Cardinals sending $8 million to the Red Sox to complete the deal.
The Cardinals have been adamant that they won’t trade Donovan solely for the sake of making a move. The return package has to make sense, and for a club looking to rebuild through drafting and developing, that means capitalizing on prospects.
Donovan, who is fresh off his first All-Star season and has two years of team control remaining, continues to garner competitive interest from several teams. The Cardinals believe they can land the type of package they’ve been coveting. As they’ve shown, however, they’re comfortable waiting — and with the Arizona Diamondbacks contemplating trading Ketel Marte, the Cardinals might need to wait longer.
Traction with Donovan appeared to be building shortly after the Winter Meetings, with the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants emerging as frontrunners. However, negotiations stalled as the Contreras trade began to take shape. Now the Red Sox have again come into the picture as a potential trade partner. The Cardinals and Red Sox have discussed a trade for Donovan, as The Athletic reported last week, with Boston looking for an additional middle infielder.
No deal with any team appears to be close, but with the Contreras trade completed, St. Louis will shift back to making Donovan a priority. Expect trade talks to pick up over the next couple of weeks.
How the Willson Contreras trade shaped so quickly
Willson Contreras never demanded a trade from the Cardinals, and the team did not enter the offseason looking to offload their once-prized free-agent signing. But once Pete Alonso signed with the Baltimore Orioles, the corner infield picture began to take shape. Suddenly, Contreras had a market.
Contreras met with Bloom at the end of last season. The two had an honest discussion about the team’s trajectory, and Contreras left with an understanding that a multi-year rebuild was underway. Contreras expressed a desire to stay with the club, and later communicated that stance with reporters, saying he would explore a trade only if it made sense for both him and the organization.
As the offseason transpired, it became apparent to both parties that such a scenario existed. Shortly after Gray was traded, Contreras, who held a full no-trade clause with St. Louis, became more open to a trade. He relayed that to the front office, and conversations began to take shape during the Winter Meetings. The New York Mets reached out, but their interest was preliminary, and it was unclear if Contreras would have waived his no-trade clause to approve the trade.
The Red Sox inquired about Contreras shortly after the Winter Meetings. After a few initial conversations, both organizations realized another deal could be made. Contreras acknowledged early in the process that he’d approve a trade to Boston, and after roughly two weeks of negotiations, the deal was done.
St. Louis received a trio of pitchers — right-hander Hunter Dobbins and prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita — which helps address a severe lack of pitching depth throughout the organization. More importantly, the trade cleared the way for Alec Burleson to take over as the starting first baseman and wiped significant money off the books. For a rebuilding team approaching a potential strike year in 2027, this was the logical move.
What about Nolan Arenado?
For as fast as the Contreras trade came together, the Cardinals’ attempts to trade Arenado have seemingly ground to a halt. Trading the eight-time All-Star remains the club’s top priority. But the Cardinals can’t deal Arenado until his market becomes more defined, and much like last winter, much of that depends on Alex Bregman.
Multiple free-agent third basemen remain on the market, with Bregman and Eugenio Suarez leading the list. Arenado, who is coming off a third straight season of offensive decline, is viewed as a backup option by many of the teams engaged with either player. As The Athleticreported last week, the Los Angeles Angels have interest in Arenado, but it remains to be seen if the Southern California native would waive his no-trade clause to join them. The Diamondbacks could be a team to watch if they miss out on Bregman, but no formal discussions between Arizona and St. Louis have taken place.
Bloom has reiterated multiple times that moving Arenado would be best for both the team and the player. Bloom has also repeated that releasing Arenado is “not an option.” The big question isn’t if the Cardinals trade Arenado; it’s how. With ownership much more willing to include money in trades (as evidenced particularly in Gray’s case), a salary dump looks to be the likeliest option.
There will be teams willing to take Arenado if a majority of his contract is paid down. Arenado has roughly $40 million remaining over the final two years of his deal. Similar to last offseason, it’s believed he’s also willing to split time between third and first base to free up position flexibility if needed. But many other factors, including player preference and timing, will need to come into play. Right now, all Arenado and the Cardinals can do is wait.
The Reds’ outfield situation
The Cincinnati Reds view recent outfield additions JJ Bleday and Dane Myers as upside players who offer protection in the event they’re unable to make a bigger acquisition, people familiar with the club’s thinking said.
Despite adding Bleday and Myers, two players who can handle center field, the Reds remain open to further supplementing their outfield, particularly via trade, league sources said. They are not entertaining the idea of trading center fielder TJ Friedl, league sources said.
The Reds could deal from their rotation, but there are challenges with doing so. Perhaps the only way they trade a pitcher from their rotation is if they could backfill the spot while improving the entirety of the club. It’s hard for the Reds, who made the playoffs last season, to trade a starter for a prospect package, considering their aspirations of contending in 2026. They could stand to improve their lineup, however.
Bleday and Myers represent lower-cost moves with upside. The Reds are hoping they can return Bleday to the offensive player he was in 2024, when he produced a .762 OPS. In Myers, the Reds hope they found someone who could complement Will Benson, a left-handed batter who performs better against right-handed pitchers. Myers, a right-handed batter, had a .778 OPS against lefties. Both Bleday (signed to a one-year deal) and Myers (acquired via trade with the Miami Marlins) hold minor-league options.
Deadlines ahead for Tatsuya Imai, Kazuma Okamoto
Pitcher Tatsuya Imai’s posting deadline is Jan. 2, while corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto’s posting deadline to sign with an MLB team is Jan. 4. Agent Scott Boras represents both players from Japan. Both players traveled to the U.S. to meet with teams. A few teams already met recently with Imai in Los Angeles, league sources said. Additional meetings are expected this week.
It is typical for a player to reach an agreement with a club a couple of days before the actual deadline to allow time for things such as a physical.
Such was the case for Munetaka Murakami.
Murakami’s two-year deal worth $34 million with the Chicago White Sox came together quickly. The White Sox (with David Keller, head of international scouting, and scout Satoshi Takahashi) were knowledgeable about Murakami. They discussed Murakami late in the regular season and early in the offseason. But they did not begin to engage in a meaningful way until a shorter-term deal was clearly on the table, people familiar with the conversations said.
With a short-term deal, Murakami has the chance to re-enter the market at 28 years old, as The Athleticsuggested earlier this month might be a palatable route. With the White Sox, Murakami is expected to offer a power threat, something Chicago lacked last year until Colson Montgomery (.529 slugging percentage) arrived in the majors in July. Beyond the power, the White Sox believe Murakami fits a younger, more athletic core group of position players that includes Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and Chase Meidroth.