It’s the start of a week filled with holiday joy, family fun, and maybe even some gifts of free agents! Possibly in anticipation of a less busy week to come, the market reignited in the past handful of days.

We don’t want to take too much time away from your respective festivities, so this will be our most efficient newsletter yet. We’ll get straight to the point with a little info on every notable move made in the past week.

Happy holidays and thank you all for an incredible 2024!

Latest Free Agent Deals and Trades

The market has moved a bit slowly since the Winter Meetings concluded, but a few trades and some big signings were made in the past handful of days.

Here are the big moves around the league to know heading into 2025!

Cody Bellinger Traded to the Yankees, Paul Goldschmidt Signs One-Year, $12.5 Million Deal with Yankees

The Yankees quickly pivoted when they lost Juan Soto to the Mets and have actively and hastily been executing their backup plan. They signed Max Fried, traded for Devin Williams, and didn’t stop there.

With a hole to fill in the outfield, they went out and traded for Cody Bellinger from the Cubs and then signed Paul Goldschmidt to fill their void at first base. It’s certainly not Juan Soto, but the Yankees have continued to add more to their roster with new stars — albeit ones that may have passed their prime — joining New York.

While it admittedly feels like a large portion of the Yankees roster looks a 115-win club if it were 2016, they have still added a lot of talent and depth to the roster.

Christian Walker Signs Three-Year, $60 Million Deal with Astros

The Astros have struggled mightily with production at first base in recent years (don’t look up Jose Abreu’s numbers, spooky season was 2 months ago) and shifted their focus from resigning Alex Bregman to addressing first base instead.

Veteran Christian Walker will now step into the middle of a lineup that is likely to be losing both Kyle Tucker and Bregman this winter.

Josh Naylor Traded to Diamondbacks, Carlos Santana Signs One-Year, $12 million Deal with Guardians

Cleveland has had a fascinating offseason as they decided to move first baseman Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks, who will fill the vacancy left by the aformentioned Christian Walker. The Diamondbacks quickly recovered at the first base spot and they’re likely still working on more moves.

The Guardians then turned around and brought back a guy who spent nearly a decade in Cleveland early in his career. Carlos Santana, who has aged remarkably well, heads back to the Guardians to take Naylor’s spot in the lineup.

Jesús Luzardo Traded to the Phillies

They already have an excellent rotation led by Zack Wheeler, but the Phillies just added another big arm in the form of Jesús Luzardo. It’s hard to pick another rotation over the one in Philadelphia at this point. Check our Prospects Newsletter to learn about prospect Starlyn Caba, who heads to Miami in this deal.

Sean Manaea Stays with Mets on Three-Year, $75 Million Deal

The Mets and Steve Cohen simply refusing to let up this offseason, even when it’s the middle of the night. They’ve spent nearly a billion dollars now as they bring back their best arm from 2024 in Sean Manaea.

Are they done with big moves now or could the good times keep rolling for the Mets faithful?

Walker Buehler Signs One-Year, $21 Million Deal with Red Sox

The man who got the save in the final game of the World Series (and also happens to be a guest host on this podcast called the Just Baseball Show) is switching coast lines. Buehler has signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox after elevating his stock in the postseason following a tough return from Tommy John Surgery.

Boston has been quite active already this offseason and they add another pitcher with a lot of upside to their roster.

Other Moves

• Nathaniel Lowe (Traded to Nationals): With a few of the most talented young players in baseball, excitement around the future in Washington is building. They added a veteran bat to the fold by trading for Lowe from the Rangers.

• Joc Pederson (Two-Years, $37 Million with Rangers): Texas may have traded Lowe, but they recently acquired Jake Burger and have now added Pederson to the fold. The Rangers are setting themselves up to get back into contention. Read more!

• Mike Soroka (One-Year, $10 Million with Nationals): Soroka was a quiet revelation for the White Sox after switching to a bullpen role in the second half of last season, but he’ll also reportedly get another shot to start in Washington.

• Max Kepler (One-Year, $10 Million with Phillies): After a decade in Minnesota, Kepler will head to Philly as they look to deepen their lineup. They hope he can bounce back from a down season and flash some of the pop he he’s shown sporadically over his career prior.

• Patrick Sandoval (Two-Years, $18.25 Million with Red Sox): It was a tough year for Sandoval, but he was real solid for the Angels in recent seasons and the Red Sox add another arm to their talented mix.

• Andrew McCutchen (One-Year, $5 million): Does anything else need to be said about this Pittsburgh legend? Well, maybe. Read more!

Remembering Ricky Henderson

We wanted to take time to remember and send our condolences to the family of the legendary Rickey Henderson. The greatest base stealer of all-time passed away this week at 65 years old.

Our Kevin Henry wrote a tribute to remember Henderson’s iconic career.

eBay Live Pick Your Player Case Break

We’re hosting another 2024 Bowman Draft eBay Live Case Break! This time it’s a pick your player break as you can bid on over 200 players including top picks Travis Bazzana, Chase Burns, and others.

The live case break is this Thursday, so get your bids in soon to secure a spot!

Just Baseball Merch

Our newest line of merchandise features a crewneck and two more Just Baseball hats!

We have also restocked on all your favorites including hats, hoodies, and more. Make sure to check out our latest line of merch and purchase some this holiday season.

Check out the full collection of Just Baseball swag here!