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It has been a wild week in the baseball world!

The second Kyle Tucker made his decision eight days ago, the market was stoked like a flame. We have had so much action, and while I attempted to keep you all adequately updated with breaking news, the people deserve one place to catch up on everything.

Before you shut down the computer for the weekend (or not because the grind never stops!), let’s recap every big move from what has felt like the delayed Winter Meetings in mid-January.

Signings and Trades

The flurry of moves that came in this week all started with the top free agent on the market making a late-night splash.

Kyle Tucker Signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers

Yes, this really happened. The top free agent available this winter signed with the defending back-to-back World Series champions. It still feels like a fever dream, jeez.

The Dodgers’ lineup just got even better with another superstar added to the fold…and they paid him $60 million per year to get it across the finish line.

I certainly would not want to face Tucker, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman in the same game.

Bo Bichette Signs with the New York Mets

Once again, the Mets got beat in the arms race for a top free agent. This time, they responded instantly by signing the next best bat on the market the next morning.

Bo Bichette, despite never playing the position, will be the new third baseman in Queens this season. New York is not messing around as they’re clearly in win-now mode this season…more on that later.

This $126 million deal for just three years grants Bichette a ton of leverage heading into next offseason and the following one.

J.T. Realmuto Re-signs with the Philadelphia Phillies

After missing out on Bichette, the Phillies brought back their long-time catcher. It felt like they essentially had no other option at the position, but were likely forced to pay somewhat of a premium because they waited.

Realmuto’s $45 million deal for three years feels a little steep for a catcher who will be on the wrong side of his 30s for the duration of the contract.

Luis Robert Jr. Traded to the Mets

Once they signed Bichette, the Mets continued to scour the market. Whether it was out of frustration following the Tucker deal or not, they made their team a lot better in the past week.

A name mentioned in trade talks for two years at this point, Robert was finally dealt to New York with UTIL Luisangel Acuña and pitching prospect Truman Pauley heading back to Chicago. A big hurdle in trading Robert was getting a team to take on some of the $22 million owed to him in the coming season, but the Mets obliged.

While he comes with plenty of risk, the Mets acquired a player with star upside without trading anyone of real consequence to their current roster. Chicago officially moved on from the final piece of their former core and can potentially add more in free agency with a lot of money off the books.

Cody Bellinger Re-signs with the New York Yankees

It always seemed like Bellinger was most likely going to return to New York, and the deal was finally taken care of once the other top free agent hitters signed deals last week.

The Yankees needed Bellinger more than anyone else did with a lackluster offseason otherwise, but were unwilling to go beyond five years. They were able to eventually keep the veteran outfielder but gave him a lot of leverage with multiple opt-outs.

Freddy Peralta Traded to the Mets

Remember when I said the Mets weren’t done just yet? Yeah, they just kept going.

After we spent Wednesday’s Just Baseball Show discussing mock trades for the Mets to get a starter, they acted awfully quickly by trading for Freddy Peralta from Milwaukee later that day.

Acquiring their new ace did cost New York a pair of Top 100 prospects in Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat, but they'll have Peralta anchoring their rotation this season in addition to an interesting young arm in Tobias Myers.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s farm system is loaded and they can still compete this season.

MacKenzie Gore Traded to the Texas Rangers

The rest of these moves were anticipated in comparison, but this one came out of nowhere yesterday. While Gore has been a popular trade candidate for a while, this destination was not an expected one.

Texas has created what could be one of the best rotations in baseball, led by the trio of Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Gore. They did have to trade five prospects, including their 2025 first round pick, Gavin Fien, to the Washington Nationals to get this deal over the finish line.

The Rangers may not be done making moves with some clear areas for improvement on the other side of the ball, but we’ll have to wait and see how that shakes out.

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