The common refrain surrounding the Mets for much of the offseason has centered on the players who have departed in free agency. Fans have grown frustrated at the pace of the offseason.

That all changed in the last week. New York signed infielder Bo Bichette in free agency and then traded for center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Late Wednesday night, the Mets completed a trade with the Brewers to acquire right-handers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers, with right-hander Brandon Sproat and infielder/outfielder Jett Williams heading to Milwaukee in return.

Peralta instantly improves an already solid rotation mix for the Mets. The 29-year-old is scheduled to make just $8 million this season, the last team option included in a surprisingly affordable contract extension the Brewers signed Peralta to during the 2019-20 offseason. Milwaukee’s willingness to move him now was largely fueled by an expectation that they’ll lose him next year in free agency.

With the Mets already over the final luxury tax threshold, Peralta will actually cost them an additional $8.8 million luxury tax hit on top of his salary. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was Milwaukee’s general manager when the team first acquired Peralta from the Mariners (part of the return for first baseman Adam Lind).

Peralta won an NL-best 17 games last season, while pitching to a 2.70 ERA (154 ERA+) over 176.2 IP with 204 SO (10.4 K/9, 28.2 K%; his third straight season over 200 SO). He pitched in his second career All-Star Game and finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting.

Some of the media response to the trade has been interesting, even referring to the Mets’ “dire need of pitching”. It is an odd representation of the club’s starting pitching depth. Before the deal, that mix already included: David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, Christian Scott, Jonah Tong, and Sproat. It’s a solid group of starters, even with the latter three all likely ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season.

Peralta and Myers now replace Sproat, further strengthening the mix, though another move shouldn’t be ruled out (New York has been looking to trade Senga).

Myers gives the Mets more starting depth, though he’s also spent time working out of the bullpen and should have a minor league option remaining, giving the club more flexibility in how (and where) to deploy him. The 27-year-old has posted a 3.15 ERA (132 ERA+) in 188.2 IP (49 games, 36 starts) over the last two years with the Brewers after joining the club on a minor league contract before the 2023 season.

Sproat debuted this past season for the Mets, posting a 4.79 ERA in 20.2 IP across four September starts. The 25-year-old has seen better results over two seasons in the minors after being a 2nd-round pick in the 2023 Draft from the University of Florida. Despite his promise, he still ranked well below McLean and Tong on the team’s top prospect rankings.

Williams is the key piece of the return for Milwaukee, even if his impact may be less immediate. New York used the 14th-overall pick in the 2022 Draft to select the 5’7” aptly-named speedster. He’s split his time between the middle infield and center field in the minors, batting .261/.363/.465 in 572 PA last season between Double-A and Triple-A with 34 2B, 7 3B, 17 HR, and 34 SB.

Both Sproat and Williams should get the chance to win a role in spring training, but are likely heading to Triple-A to begin the season.

The Nationals have made the first significant move of the Paul Toboni era. After weeks of speculation and rumors, Washington has traded left-hander Mackenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers in return for five players: shortstop Gavin Fien, right-hander Alejandro Rosario, first baseman/outfielder Abimelec Ortiz, infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald, and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera.

Rumblings about Toboni’s willingness to trade Gore first started in November. With Gore having two years of team control remaining and shortstop CJ Abrams having three left, the duo have been at the center of the “who will Toboni trade first” questions throughout the offseason. Gore always looked like the more likely of the two to be moved.

Originally selected third overall in the 2017 Draft by the Padres and just months after he made his MLB debut, Gore (and Abrams) was included in the package of prospects dealt to Washington in August 2022 for slugger Juan Soto. Gore, who’ll turn 27 in February, has posted a 4.19 ERA over 532.1 IP in his career with 589 SO (10.0 K/9, 25.6 K%).

Gore made his first All-Star team this past season after a stellar start to the season, pitching to a 3.02 ERA with 138 SO in 110.1 IP. He struggled after the break, though, with a 6.75 ERA in 49.1 IP before the Nationals shut him down due to shoulder inflammation.

The addition certainly strengthens the Rangers’ starting rotation, with Gore slotting in behind Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, and ahead of some combination of Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, and Jacob Latz.

Fien was Texas’ 1st-round pick (12th overall) in last summer’s draft. Boston (where Toboni was one of the Red Sox’s assistant GMs) allegedly had serious interest in drafting Fien with the 15th pick (which they ultimately used on right-hander Kyson Witherspoon) before Texas selected him first. The young shortstop (he’ll be 19 in March) batted .220/.267/.341 in 45 PA at Class-A after signing.

Rosario, who just turned 24 and is the oldest of the group, was a 5th-round pick in 2023. He pitched to a 2.24 ERA over 88.1 IP between Class-A and High-A in 2024, before missing all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in February.

Ortiz, 24 in February, is the only player among the group who is already on the 40-man roster, having been added at the end of this past season. He hit .257/.356/.479 with 25 2B, 25 HR, and 89 RBI in 556 PA this past season between Double-A and Triple-A.

Fitz-Gerald, 20, slashed .302/.428/.482 in 173 PA across two levels in his first pro season after being a 5th-round pick in 2024. Cabrera, also 20, hit .256/.364/.366 in 451 PA at Class-A last year.

The five-player return for Gore is solid (though there is no one piece to be particularly excited over), but it further reinforces the belief that Washington does not plan/expect to field a competitive team in 2026 (Sorry, Carol!). Toboni and the front office he has assembled are focused on the organization’s future with this deal. MLB Pipeline’s ranking of the Top 30 prospects in Texas’ system before the trade listed Fien (2nd), Rosario (6th), Fitz-Gerald (12th), Cabrera (16th), and Ortiz (18th).

The Savannah Bananas' growth has been quick. Just how much growth the team/league’s parent company, Fans First Entertainment, has grown over the last year may prove greater than one might guess. The group released a thorough report, called the 2026 Fans First Report, which details much of that growth.

Some of the highlights, per Front Office Sports’ Eric Fisher, include:

Fisher notes that revenue figures were not included in the report, but FFE is “estimated to be generating more than $100 million in yearly revenue”. Founder Jesse Cole (often seen at shows decked out in a full yellow tuxedo and tophat) has reportedly turned down acquisition offers carrying $1 billion (with a b) valuations.

Cole and FFE have even more growth planned for 2026, including expansion to add two additional teams to the Bananaball “league”.

After my better half won a chance to purchase tickets in their lottery (Hi, Sarah!), I was among those who got to attend a Savannah Bananas show this past season — the second of their two matchups at Boston’s Fenway Park. We definitely enjoyed ourselves, but it was clear that Bananaball isn’t baseball.

Fans brought a class-action lawsuit in October against Major League Baseball, alleging a security concern in the league’s digital ticketing app. The suit was started by a fan, James Lanham, who alleges that he purchased tickets to a Cubs game that “disappeared” from his app, forcing him to buy new seats at the gate and miss part of the game.

Lanham believes there was an illegal data breach of MLB’s servers, “leading to the disappearance or theft of tickets from fans’ accounts”. The league failed to notify anyone affected, thereby failing to protect its consumers, constituting negligence.

Meanwhile, a second suit centered on a ticketing issue was filed last week in Massachusetts. The class-action lawsuit accuses the Red Sox of “falsely advertising ticket prices by failing to disclose mandatory junk fees”. The suit, started by three fans, alleges that the team violated state consumer protection laws.

The suit argues that these junk fees — anything the team fails to show up front but considers mandatory, often labeled as “Per-Ticket Fees” and “Order Fees” — “could increase the cost of a purchase by as much as 150%” and that the practice is deceptive.

Even after bringing back Cody Bellinger, the Yankees haven’t done enough this offseason.

Outfielder Tim Locastro’s playing career has come to an end. The 33-year-old will remain with the Padres organization, with the team announcing on Wednesday that Locastro was moving into a role as the organization’s baserunning and outfield coordinator. He hit .228/.327/.337 (79 OPS+) over a seven-year career in the majors, with his last appearance coming in 2023 with the Mets. He’s spent the past two seasons with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate.

Cardinals legend Yadier Molina is rejoining the organization as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Molina spent his entire 19-year playing career with St. Louis, with regular speculation that he could end up back in a dugout after retiring throughout the last several seasons. He has seen success managing in the winter leagues and leading Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (he will manage the team again this year). It has long been assumed that Molina will eventually replace Oli Marmol in the dugout for St. Louis.

There was an enormous amount of hope when Luis Patiño rocketed through San Diego’s minor league system and debuted during the 2020 season at just 20 years old. Injuries would limit Patiño to just 136.1 IP over parts of four seasons, while posting a 5.02 ERA in 45 appearances (23 starts) with the Padres, Rays, and White Sox. Patiño, who is somehow still only 26, has signed with the Diablos Rojos del México for the 2026 season and will join Colombia for the WBC.

Boston made a minor trade on Wednesday, dealing infielder Tristan Gray to the Twins for minor league catcher Nate Baez. Gray had been designated for assignment less than 24 hours earlier to make room on the 40-man roster for Ranger Suárez. The 29-year-old Gray had just been acquired by the Red Sox in November. He has played all four infield positions, but has hit just .207/.264/.369 in 122 PA over the last three seasons. Baez, 24, hit .278/.371/.423 in 396 PA last season between High-A and Double-A. He is the fourth minor league catcher the club has acquired via trade this offseason.

The Marlins traded an undisclosed amount of international amateur bonus pool space (which can only be dealt in $250,000 increments) to the Giants for minor league catcher Carlos Martinez. The 18-year-old was signed by San Francisco just last year as part of their international amateur free agent class. He hit .143/.259/.242 in 108 PA in the Dominican Summer League last year.

Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas will return to NBC Sports as the host of the Sunday Night Baseball pregame show, per an announcement by the network.

Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee was temporarily detained by Customs and Border Patrol in San Francisco on Wednesday. Lee allegedly “forgot travel documents in South Korea,” which prompted the issue as he arrived in town for the Giants’ FanFest. Lee will return to Korea for WBC preparation and will join the Giants in spring training after the tournament.