Chaim Bloom made his intentions clear when assuming his new role as the president of baseball operations for the St. Louis Cardinals. The organization needed to rebuild and remove several high-priced veteran players from the roster, ideally restocking the farm system with more prospects and potential in the process.

Several Cardinals players have spent much of the offseason surrounded by trade rumors and speculation. Bloom’s efforts have already included a pair of trades with the Boston Red Sox — first sending right-hander Sonny Gray east for right-hander Richard Fitts, left-hander Brandon Clarke, and a PTBNL before later shipping first baseman Willson Contreras out for right-handers Hunter Dobbins, Blake Aita, and Yhoiker Fajardo. Significant portions of cash were included by the Cardinals in each deal.

The rebuild continued on Tuesday with St. Louis trading third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Unlike the prior deals with Boston, however, this trade looks like more of a pure salary dump. The Cardinals are only receiving right-hander Jack Martinez (Arizona’s 8th round pick in last summer’s draft; he’s yet to make his pro debut) and some minimal cost savings in return. Arenado has two years and $42M remaining on his contract. $5M of that is being covered by the Colorado Rockies (from their original trade sending Arenado to the Cardinals). Arizona will reportedly only be responsible for $11M ($5M this year, $6M next), meaning St. Louis is covering the remaining $26M.

Collectively, St. Louis will be paying $54M over the next two seasons to the three players no longer on their roster.

Arenado has been on the precipice of being shipped out of town since the end of the 2024 season. The Cardinals even seemed close to moving him at one point last year, with a deal agreed upon with the Houston Astros before Arenado used his no-trade clause to block it. It became apparent he would only accept a deal with certain teams, with Arizona ultimately making sense geographically for the Southern California native (he also has an offseason home in Phoenix).

The 34-year-old third baseman hit .237/.289/.377 in 436 PA this past season with St. Louis. His .666 OPS, 87 OPS+, and 12 home runs were the lowest marks he’s posted over a full season since his rookie year.

The offseason for the Yankees has hardly gone as expected. One constant, however, has been Brian Cashman’s insistence on adding at least one starting option to the roster before spring training. Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt are all in line to miss the first few months of the season.

New York has been linked to several candidates on the trade market (Mackenzie Gore, Freddy Peralta, Edward Cabrera) and had some early interest in Tatsuya Imai before he signed with the Astros. To date, the only “additions” that the team has made to the pitching staff this offseason have been to re-sign left-hander Ryan Yarbrough and right-hander Paul Blackburn.

Cashman finally pulled the trigger on an addition on Tuesday evening, acquiring left-hander Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins in exchange for four minor leaguers.

The 26-year-old Weathers isn’t a splashy addition, but he could prove to be an intriguing one. San Diego used the seventh-overall pick in the 2018 Draft to select the highly-rated southpaw. He rose quickly through their minor league system, and despite the absence of a 2020 season due to COVID, he still made his MLB debut with the team in the postseason that October against the eventual World Series Champion Dodgers (1.1 IP, 1 BB, 1 SO).

Weathers spent two-plus seasons in San Diego with mixed results before a 2023 deadline trade to the Marlins. His overall statline across parts of five seasons in the majors isn’t overly impressive: 12-23, 4.93 ERA (85 ERA+) in 281.0 IP with 235 SO (7.5 K/9, 19.4 K%) and 99 BB (3.2 BB/9, 8.2 BB%).

Much of Weathers’ appeal to the Yankees centers on flexibility. He has experience working both out of the rotation and the bullpen, providing the club with depth on both fronts. He has a minor league option remaining, so he can be sent to Triple-A if needed. 2026 will also be his first year of arbitration eligibility, meaning New York can retain him for two more seasons before free agency. Weathers and the Marlins agreed to a one-year, $1.35M deal for the upcoming season just a few weeks ago to avoid an arbitration hearing.

In a fun coincidence, Ryan’s father, Dave Weathers, was also once traded from the Marlins to the Yankees (at the 1996 trade deadline for right-hander Mark Hutton). The elder Weathers spent just a year with the Yankees (before being traded in July 1997 for outfielder Chad Curtis). Weathers struggled during the regular season, but was electric during the 1996 postseason — allowing just 1 ER in 11.0 IP with 8 SO and 1 BB.

Outfielder Dillon Lewis is the key piece of the return for Miami. Jon Heyman first reported the team’s fascination with the 22-year-old when the Yankees were first connected to Edward Cabrera (before he was ultimately traded to the Cubs). A 13th round pick in 2024, Lewis slashed .237/.321/.445 in 527 PA with 22 HR, 79 RBI, and 26 SB while reaching High-A.

Outfielder Brendan Jones, New York’s 12th round pick in 2024, hit .245/.359/.395 in 549 PA with 20 2B, 11 HR, 69 RBI, and 51 SB between High-A and Double-A last year. He is 23.

Infielder Dylan Jasso, 23, was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He hit .257/.326/.400 in 537 PA with 17 2B, 13 HR, and 76 RBI at Double-A. Infielder Juan Matheus, 21, batted .275/.365/.376 in 520 PA with 32 2B and 40 SB. He was an international free agent signing out of Venezuela.

It will seem incredibly uncharacteristic, but it appears the New York Yankees are prepared for a quiet approach to this year’s international amateur free agent market. The 2026 signing period begins on Thursday (to be fair, most of the Top 50 available players already have agreements in place that will be signed/formalized on 1/15), and the Yankees still have not hired a new international scouting director.

In fact, according to a report from Gary Phillips at the NY Daily News, the team has only “started conducting interviews” since the new calendar year started. Phillips notes several candidates believed to be under consideration, but there are no indications that the team is close to making a hire.

The uncertain situation began when the team elected not to renew the contract of longtime scouting director Danny Rowland after the season ended. Rowland’s top assistant, Edgar Mateo, was also not retained. No other personnel changes have been made to the team’s international scouting department. Reportedly, the decision to make a change was spurred by the club’s unhappiness with the results (or lack thereof) in recent years. Several high-profile signings (the trio of Alexander Vargas, Roderick Arias, and Brando Mayea are most frequently named) have failed to develop.

Rowland had agreements in place with several players in this year’s class, some of which have been rescinded since he left the organization, per a team source that spoke with Phillips. The team is not expected to sign any of the players on MLB Pipeline’s Top 50. Among those impacted was Wandy Asigen, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic who is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in this year’s class. The 16-year-old is expected to sign with the Mets for a $3.8 million bonus.

Kansas City announced plans on Tuesday to move the outfield fences at Kauffman Stadium in by 10 feet. The fences will also be shortened by a foot and a half, according to plans released by the team. The changes are being made following several years of discussion within the team’s front office about how adjustments to the ballpark could help the stadium “play more as league average.”

Mets infielder Luisangel Acuña made history in the Venezuelan Winter League this week. The 23-year-old hit four home runs on Saturday while playing for the Cardenales de Lara. Acuña’s day came as part of a 21-9 win against the Braves de Margarita. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, it’s the first four-homer game in the VWL’s 80-year history.