Brock Beauchamp

Free agency is only half of the offseason story. Some of the biggest moves every winter happen on the trade market, and this year DiamondCentric is tracking that side of the hot stove too. Our new trade candidates list ranks the top 35 players who could be on the move this offseason. It runs from franchise cornerstones like Elly De La Cruz and Paul Skenes to established veterans like Jacob deGrom and Rafael Devers. Every player has a full profile: position, handedness, current team, age, free-agent year, and 2027 salary. Each one also gets a stat line and a scouting-style write-up - written by Matt Trueblood - covering his contract, his team control, and what makes him an appealing trade target. Contract details matter, so we've put them up front. You can see how much a player is owed and how many years of control come with him, which tells you whether he's a short-term rental or a long-term piece worth paying a big prospect package for. Whether your team is aiming at a superstar or looking for an affordable arm to round out the rotation, there's a fit on this list. You can filter the list to see exactly the players you care about. Show only hitters or only pitchers, narrow it by handedness (RHP, LHP, RHB, LHB, or switch hitters), or drill down by position to see every trade target at the spot your team needs to fill. As deals get done, you can also hide players who have already been moved. 1 Elly De La Cruz SS - SHB Age: 25 Free Agent: Nov 2029 2027 Salary: Proj. $7.9m Franchises never fully recover from trading players as good as De La Cruz. Then again, franchises never fully recover from wasting the primes of such players, either. As one of the game’s most talented players enters arbitration for the first time, he’ll immediately get pretty expensive, by Cincinnati standards. They’ve been unable to build a winner around him even while he’s made virtually the league minimum, and they’ve only looked about three-quarters interested in doing so, anyway. This would require the biggest trade package we’ve seen in something like 20 years, but it’s not entirely beyond the realm of possibility, and there’s no player anywhere near being available who can rival De La Cruz’s impact potential. PA: 636 HR: 30 SB: 30 BB: 72 SO: 175 BA: .283 OBP: .365 SLG: .515 OPS: .880 The timing makes this offseason especially unpredictable. The collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, and a lockout could freeze trades involving 40-man roster players. Teams have a lot to get done before then, including the November 20 non-tender deadline, so the trade market is more unpredictable now than most "normal" Novembers. We'll update the list as deals happen. Click the button below to check out the top trade candidates, and be sure to bookmark the page so you can follow along as the trade market heats up this offseason! View Top Trade Candidates View full article

Last year, we launched our first offseason free-agent rankings. This year, we're taking everything we started and making it bigger, deeper and more useful than ever. Ed Hand has joined DiamondCentric to bring his comprehensive free-agent rankings to our network of sites, and the list now covers the top 150 free agents on the market. Every player comes with a basic stat line and a scouting report, so you can get a feel for a name you don't know as quickly as one you do. This isn't just a rundown of the handful of stars who'll dominate the headlines. With 150 names, the list goes well beyond the top tier and into the mid-level starters, dependable bullpen arms, platoon bats, and bounce-back candidates that actually fill out a roster. Whether your team is shopping at the top of the market, filling a few holes on a mid-range budget, or hunting for bargains to stretch a tight payroll, you'll find real options at every price point. We've also added new filters to help you cut the list down to exactly what you're looking for. Sort by starters or relievers, narrow it by handedness, or drill down by position to see every option at the spot your team needs to fill. As players are added to or removed from the list (e.g., qualifying offer recipients or international free agents), or as players sign or retire, the rankings will stay up to date all offseason long. Click the button below to dig into this year's free-agent class, and be sure to bookmark the page so you can follow along as the market develops throughout the offseason! View Top Free Agents View full article

Baseball is trying to expand, and some owners are on the cusp of selling. They're not going to kneecap the sport for a decade over a salary cap, they're just not.

100% agreed. I believe TV revenue should be close to a 50-50 split between the two teams playing, but gate revenue should be skewed more toward the home team.

They won't shut down the 2027 season. There's too much money at stake. I expect owners will back down from the salary cap pretty quickly.

Good catch. Each player's handedness is listed in the code, but I forgot to display it visually. That has been fixed.

Hey Henry, you can use the credentials you registered here to log into BrewerFanatic.com, and post this comment over there: https://brewerfanatic.com/forums/forum/3-milwaukee-brewers-talk/

Oh, I know you're aiming for a ludicrous number, but I didn't want to over-promise. 😁

Last year, we built our first offseason free-agent rankings, and this year we're building on what we started last offseason. Ed Hand has joined DiamondCentric to bring his comprehensive free-agent rankings to our network of sites. Today, we offer the top 50 free agents, but over the coming weeks, that list will continue to grow until it's well over 100 names, each with a basic stat line and scouting report, and you can filter the list down to bite-sized groups. As free agents are added or removed from the list (eg. qualifying offer recipients or international free agents) or players are signed or retire, this list will stay up-to-date. Click the button below, check out the current crop of free agents, and be sure to bookmark this page as it grows and updates throughout the offseason! View Top Free Agents View full article

The obvious way to fix this problem is to increase revenue sharing and implement a salary floor. The better way to create parity is to force the lesser teams upward, not choke out the successful teams.

They put symbols on the field that umpires use to judge whether the fielder is in a legal starting position.

I'm 100% in favor of 50/50 split of television revenue and a more lop-sided share of gate revenue, like 70/30 or even 80/20. Teams that don't draw butts in seats shouldn't get half of the pot.

Yep, it adds a layer of drama that feels a little gross. Some drama is good, maybe even great. Waiting five seconds for a pitch challenge is good, new drama. This isn't that.

I mostly agree, though I'm lightly against the best-of-seven DS. I'd like to see a little less baseball, and a shortened season. Choosing who you play is just UGH. I hate it so much.

I don't think that's true at all given how much better Mis is on a rate basis.

Maybe? But also, the NL is way better than the AL this year. Adjusted for league, the two teams are probably pretty close.

Welcome to the site, thanks for commenting!

A Spanish speaker! Welcome! Here is a Claude translation of this post: Well, responding to the comment about the different contracts and the payment of taxes on them — it's a matter of seeing what the laws say about different contracts and what to do in cases similar to Otany's [Ohtani's], if he decides to reside in Japan. It's not fair that he doesn't pay taxes on what he earned under his contract. Regarding the dispute over the negotiations for the new labor contract between billionaires (owners) and the rich (players), the contracts and the other issues both sides have would need to be addressed. It all comes down to closing the gaps. Fair is fair. I don't know the IRS rules regarding MLB, but I don't think there's any difference from other companies, unions, and different types of businesses and employees, as this person has said in their comment. With the greatest respect, I find it hard to believe. I... really — I can't believe it!! The rules and regulations with MLB and the union would need to be redone to prevent tax evasion. We fans are praying that there won't be another strike putting next season at risk because of the greed (with everyone's pardon) that does so much harm to those workers who live on an insignificant salary compared to those million-dollar contracts — including those who are already around salary arbitration. Well... another kind of arbitration could be set up, with three judges, each with their own advisor. That is, a panel of three judges who would be responsible for mediating on a specific point in the negotiations, and thus avoid the work stoppage that does so much damage — not only economically, but also to the fans who enjoy and love baseball. I'll keep sharing my opinion for as long as I can about the lockout and its consequences.

It's worse than that. He could take the money to Japan, which is 100% the reason I'm against deferred money. If you earn your money in a specific place and enjoy the fruits of that area with its fanbase and economic opportunity, you pay taxes in that place. Full stop.

The owners’ offers have not been realistic. The way they’re calculating “revenue” is laughable and far short of their actual revenue.

Six of one, half dozen of the other. The MLBPA won’t budge on a cap but the owners haven’t come anywhere near a realistic offer yet, either.

Argh, that page was deleted, and I forgot to migrate it to a new URL. I'll have to dig up an archived version. I'm putting it on the list. As for the picture, that needs to be enabled. I'll also put that on my list of tasks.