The 2024 MLB Winter Meetings are over and what a whirlwind it was. After a slow start, the meetings led to $1.3 billion spent on free agents comprised mostly of the three huge contracts that were each at least $180 million.
So what were the major moves of the three days during the winter meetings? Below is a brief overview of the biggest moves we saw over the last three days, plus links to all the articles on our site where you can read in-depth coverage of each move. At the bottom of this article, you can also find a primer for what’s next. Who are the biggest names still out there and what are the key storylines that have emerged in recent weeks that we should see wrap up in the weeks ahead?
Juan Soto signs with the Mets
Technically Soto was signed the night before the winter meetings, but executives were already in Dallas at the time and the contract was the kick-off to the festivities so we’ll include it in this article. As we’ve already heard, the 15-year, $765 million contract is the largest in MLB history, topping Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million from last year. Soto’s contract also has no deferred money and an opt-out after five years that the Mets can block by adding $4 million to each year of the deal, pushing the contract over $800 million in total.
This is likely the biggest move of the entire off-season, and we’ll be talking about it for months to come. If you want to dig into the impact of the contract for fantasy, you can read our full article covering the signing in detail here.
Max Fried signs with the Yankees
After missing out on Juan Soto, the Yankees pivoted to doubling down on the strength of their starting pitching and added Max Fried as a co-ace alongside Gerrit Cole. Fried’s eight-year, $218 million contract is the fourth-largest for a pitcher and the largest in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher. It’s a lot of money, especially for a pitcher who has battled forearm injuries for the last two years.
In 2023, Fried was limited to just 14 starts due to hamstring and forearm strains. He was able to start 2024 healthy and pitched incredibly well, but he also landed on the IL with a forearm injury back in July. He struggled when returning in August but bounced back with a strong month of September and finished the year with a 3.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 166/57 K/BB ratio in 174.1 innings. He has a career 3.07 ERA in 151 MLB starts and is a bonafide ace whenever he is on the mound. If there are no setbacks with his balky forearm, then he and Cole will be in the conversation for the best one-two punch in the entire league.
You can read our full article covering the signing in detail here.
Garrett Crochet traded to the Red Sox
The Red Sox missed out on both Juan Soto and Max Fried but refused to let themselves be denied as their AL East rival got better. On Wednesday afternoon, Boston swung a blockbuster deal, trading four prospects, including 25th-overall prospect Kyle Teel, in a package for Chicago White Sox left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet. The 25-year-old was stellar in his first year as a starter, posting a 3.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 146 innings with 209 strikeouts and just 33 walks. That’s 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings with Crochet being one of the biggest swing-and-miss pitchers in baseball. The White Sox limited his innings in the second half of the season, but the Red Sox will let him go as many innings as he can, and he gives them a bonafide ace.
You can read our full article covering the trade in detail here.
Andres Gimenez traded to the Blue Jays
Gimenez was the headliner in a three-team deal that also saw the Pirates land Spencer Horwitz from the Blue Jays and the Guardians get Luis L. Ortiz from the Pirates. Since there were so many players involved in the deal and players who weren’t involved in the deal who had their playing time opportunities impacted, you should read our full article covering the trade in detail here.
Jake Burger traded to the Rangers
While you were (probably) sleeping on Monday night, the Marlins decided to trade Jake Burger to the Texas Rangers for three prospects, none of whom were inside the Rangers’ top 15 prospects. Considering Burger is under contract until 2029 and hit at least 29 home runs in each of the last two years, it’s befuddling why the Marlins felt like they had to get rid of him now. While that will likely open up playing time for Deyvison De Los Santos, you can read our full article covering the trade in detail here.
Jordan Romano signs with the Phillies
You can read our full article covering the signing in detail here.
Michael Conforto signs with the Dodgers
The Dodgers have had success in the last few years taking veteran outfielders and signing them to short-term deals and helping re-ignite their value. This season, they’ll take that gamble on Michael Conforto, who is coming off a .237/.309/.450 slash line with 20 home runs and 66 RBI in 130 games. Conforto has always been a solid contact hitter who doesn’t strike out much, but his early career promise with the Mets was sidetracked by injuries. After hitting at least 27 home runs in three straight years from 2017-19, Conforto only topped 15 for the first time last year. If the Dodgers can help him recapture that previous magic, this could be an incredibly valuable signing for them.
You can read our full article covering the signing in detail here.
Thairo Estrada signs with the Rockies
I’m shocked that I actually like an off-season move the Rockies made, but here we are. After posting at least 14 home runs and 20 steals in back-to-back seasons while hitting at least .260, Estrada battled through injuries last year and was unable to replicate that success in 96 games. With Ezequiel Tovar locked in at shortstop, Estrada will replace Brendan Rodgers and give the Rockies a pretty solid middle-infield tandem for next season.
You can read our full article covering the signing in detail here.
Alex Cobb signs with the Tigers
Nationals win first pick in the 2025 MLB Draft
For the third year in a row, Major League Baseball has also held the MLB draft lottery during the winter meetings. Heading into the lottery, the Nationals had the fourth-best odds (10.8%) to land the top pick, but the Rockies and Marlins both had the best chance for a top pick yet the Marlins got the 7th pick and the Rockies got the 4th. The Nationals already have a talented young team with CJ Abrams, James Wood, and Dylan Crews, so adding the top overall pick is a huge win for Washington.
What moves are still to come in the MLB off-season?
Even though the MLB Winter Meetings are over, there are plenty of big moves left to come this off-season. We’ve heard that Corbin Burnes is close to signing a deal, most likely for more than Max Fried did, and the Giants and Blue Jays are the likeliest destinations. The Yankees seem close to pulling off a trade for Cody Bellinger. The Cardinals continue to shop Nolan Arenado. The Angels are close to trading an outfielder but nobody knows who it will be or who might even be interested. The market for Pete Alonso seems non-existent, which might mean he’s coming back to New York, and the Red Sox have reportedly been talking to the Mariners about trading for one of their starting pitchers.
So what are the next big dominoes to fall?
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Will Corbin Burnes sign with the Giants, Blue Jays, Red Sox, or another contender?
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Are the Astros really going to trade Kyle Tucker? The Cubs and Yankees are reportedly the favorites.
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Will the Astros re-sign Alex Bregman or will he end up in Boston, New York or Detroit?
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Will the Yankees pull off a trade for Cody Bellinger?
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Where will Christian Walker and Pete Alonso sign?
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Will the Red Sox finally convince the Mariners to part with one of their pitchers? Would Seattle take Wilyer Abreu or Masataka Yoshida?
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Will Gleyber Torres end up with the Angels or is he not past his prime enough?
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Will the White Sox trade Luis Robert now that they traded Garrett Crochet?
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Where do the rest of the starting pitchers end up (Walker Buehler, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, Nick Pivetta, etc.)?
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Will Teoscar Hernandez go back to the Dodgers or can somebody else pry him away?
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Who will sign Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar after their breakout seasons?
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Will the Mets find any takers for Starling Marte?
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Which of the free agent relievers (Jeff Hoffman, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Kenley Jansen, etc.) will land in a closing gig?
We’ll have the answer to all of these questions when they arise over on our MLB Player News page, so make sure you keep it bookmarked and open every day.
Read the full article here
