When 2025 ended with the Toronto Blue Jays losing in the World Series, there was little thought that the team would shift its immediate attention to rebuilding the starting rotation. The team appeared to have other priorities — notably, Bo Bichette — than a need to add more starting depth.

Kevin Gausman, breakout rookie Trey Yesavage, and José Berríos were all already in place heading into the offseason. The team also already had Eric Lauer, Bowden Francis, Ricky Tiedemann, and Yariel Rodriguez in the mix to potentially provide starting depth (though Lauer’s better as a swingman, Tiedemann is still unproven, and Rodriguez should be left in the bullpen). Shane Bieber would exercise a $16 million player option for 2026 to remain with the team rather than explore free agency, much to the surprise of many. The team’s rotation seemed fairly set.

Evidently, for the Blue Jays’ front office, it wasn’t. The team agreed to a seven-year, $210 million deal with Dylan Cease just before Thanksgiving. On Tuesday, they agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract to add Cody Ponce.

We’ve written about Ponce here several times — he struggled with the Pirates, pitched in Japan (where he threw a no-hitter), then pitched in Korea (where he won the KBO MVP and Choi Dong-won Award this year after going 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA and a KBO-record 252 strikeouts) — and his addition to the Toronto rotation makes it arguably one of the sport’s deepest.

Naturally, that depth has the team more open to making a trade, with particular attention being given to Berríos in rumors. MLBTR’s Steve Adams dug deep into several factors that will make trading Berríos challenging — including, among others, an increased walk rate, increased hard-hit rate, and his contract situation. Berríos is due $19 million in 2025 and $24 million in each of 2026 and 2027. Berríos can opt out of the final two years next offseason, with opinion mixed about whether he will do so.

The other factor at play, as Adams notes, will be timing. Berríos will reach enough service time to obtain 10-and-5 rights — 10 years in the league, 5 with their current team; once a player reaches this point, he has the right to veto any trade — on July 30. His current contract allows him to block only eight (unknown) teams.

Moving Berríos, or at least most of his contract, would free up some payroll space to let the team re-sign Bichette (the team’s priority at next week’s Winter Meetings, per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) or address another need (outfield, bullpen) in free agency.

After being non-tendered by the Braves last month (who inexplicably claimed him off of waivers during the final week of the season), it looked fairly likely that Alek Manoah would need to settle for a minor league contract (perhaps with an opt-out) this winter. Instead, Manoah, who turns 28 in January, is among the first free agent pitchers to sign a new deal for 2026, receiving a one-year, $1.95 million contract from the Los Angeles Angels.

Toronto selected Manoah with the 11th overall pick in the 2019 Draft, and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact on the team’s rotation. 2022, his second full season in the league, saw him go 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA (172 ERA+) over 196.2 IP. He made the AL All-Star team and finished third in Cy Young voting (behind Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease).

Manoah struggled in 2023 to the point where Toronto sent him down to the minors. Shoulder soreness and, ultimately, Tommy John surgery, kept him off the mound for most of 2024 (24.1 IP in the majors) and 2025 (38.2 IP in the minors).

It’s a clear buy-low move for the Angels, who will have the flexibility to send Manoah to Triple-A if needed (he still has a minor league option). He’s the second pitching acquisition that the team has made in recent weeks with a lengthy injury history, joining right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

This one admittedly slipped past me during the holidays, but the Giants have finalized a one-year, $1.4 million deal with left-hander Sam Hentges. The 6’8” southpaw was a surprising non-tender decision by the Guardians just a few weeks ago. The 29-year-old missed the entire 2025 season following shoulder surgery, but wasn’t due a significant raise in arbitration.

Hentges struggled with control and allowing home runs during his rookie season, but over the three seasons before his injury, he’d been one of the American League’s more-effective southpaw relievers, posting a 2.93 ERA (137 ERA+) with 155 strikeouts (10.1 K/9, 27.7 K%) over 138.0 IP.

Sonny Gray has never been shy about how much he dislikes New York. Specifically, he has said publicly on several occasions that he dislikes the Yankees and “never wanted to play there” when he was traded by the A’s midway through the 2017 season (for infielder Jorge Mateo, outfielder Dustin Fowler, and right-hander James Kaprielian). Gray spent a season and a half in New York, going 15-16 with a 4.51 ERA (96 ERA+) over 195.2 IP with a career-high 3.9 BB/9 (9.7 BB%) before being traded in January 2019 to Cincinnati (for infielder Shed Long Jr. and a 2019 competitive balance round A pick that the Yankees used to select left-hander T.J. Sikkema).

Now 36 years old and nearing the end of his career, Gray’s stance hasn’t changed much. Having just been acquired by the Boston Red Sox (for right-hander Richard Fitts, left-hander Brandon Clarke, and a player to be named later), the right-hander appeared on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show and quickly endeared himself to Boston fans:

Outfielder Cedric Mullins is heading to the Rays, agreeing to a one-year, $7 million contract. The 31-year-old will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 season that saw him bat .216/.299/.391 (94 OPS+) in 498 PA with the Orioles and Mets.

Tampa Bay had a clear need in the outfield entering the offseason. Both Kameron Misner and Christopher Morel were non-tendered. None of Chandler Simpson, Jake Mangum, or Josh Lowe produced much offensively (Simpson and Mangum bring zero power, combining for three home runs in more than 850 PA; while Lowe hit a career-worst .220/.283/.366 last season).

Houston has signed Ryan Weiss to a one-year, $2.6 million deal with a team option for 2027. The right-hander, who turns 29 next week, has no prior MLB experience.

Weiss was a 4th-round pick by the Diamondbacks in 2018. His work in the minors proved strong enough for Arizona to add him to their 40-man roster after the 2021 season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He’d struggle the next year and would be claimed off waivers by the Royals, who promptly outrighted him off the 40-man. He’d be released a few months later.

Weiss started 2023 with the Atlantic League’s High Point Rockers, only to sign with the CPBL’s Fubon Guardians for the second half of the season. He’d return to the Rockers to start 2024, before heading to Korea to join the Hanwha Eagles. He’s made 46 starts over the last season and a half with Hanwha, going 21-10 with a 3.16 ERA and 305 strikeouts over 270.1 IP.

Left-hander Anthony Kay is returning to MLB after a two-year stint in Japan. Kay has agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. Kay will reportedly earn $5 million in each of the next two seasons, before a $2 million buyout on a $10 million mutual option for 2028. The 30-year-old could earn another $1.5 million in incentives.

A former 1st-round pick (31st overall in 2016) by the Mets, Kay was one of two prospects (along with Simeon Woods-Richardson) traded to the Blue Jays at the 2019 trade deadline for Marcus Stroman. Over parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Mets, he’d appear in 44 games (7 starts) with a 5.59 ERA (81 ERA+) over 85.1 IP. The results over the last two seasons with the NPB’s Yokohama Bay Stars showed a notable improvement, including a 2.53 ERA over 291.2 IP (48 starts).

Elsewhere, Kay’s former team confirmed that they will not be extending a contract to right-hander Trevor Bauer for the 2026 season. The move was widely expected after Bauer struggled on the mound (his 4.51 ERA over 133.2 IP was the highest among qualified pitchers) and in the dugout (a spat with coaches over the summer resulted in him being sent to the minor leagues for a start). Outside of another season pitching in Mexico (where he spent 2024), it is hard to imagine anyone signing Bauer, who will be 35 in January, for the 2026 season.

Right-hander José Ruiz is among the arms the Bay Stars are bringing in to replace him. The 31-year-old had an 8.82 ERA (52 ERA+) in 16.1 IP with the Phillies and Braves this past season, but a 2.73 ERA in 33.0 IP at Triple-A.

Right-hander Chris Flexen is reportedly heading back to Korea and has signed a one-year deal with the Doosan Bears. Flexen spent the 2020 season with Doosan, going 8-4 with a 3.01 ERA over 116.2 IP. He returned to MLB and pitched for the Mariners, Rockies, White Sox, and Cubs over the last five seasons. The 31-year-old was 5-1 with a 3.09 ERA (125 ERA+) in 43.2 IP out of the Cubs’ bullpen last season before being released in early August.

Outfielder Sam Hilliard has signed with the KT wiz. Hilliard turns 32 in February and batted .196/.328/.412 (86 OPS+) in 61 PA with the Rockies last season before being released in July.

Former Kia Tigers general manager Jun-sak Jang has been given a lifetime ban by the KBO following bribery allegations. Former Tigers manager Jong-kook Kim also received a 50-game suspension. The pair were accused in October 2022 of accepting bribes totaling more than 100 million won (roughly $68,000 USD) in exchange for helping a local business secure a sponsorship deal with the team. They were both found not guilty of the charges in court, but the league still felt their behavior had “damaged the integrity of the KBO.”

Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd is the latest to join Team USA for the upcoming WBC. He’s the second Cubs player, along with Pete Crow-Armstrong, to commit to playing in the tournament.

Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International received one of three casino licenses approved by the New York State Gaming Board on December 1, cementing plans for an $8.1 billion development project being planned for around Citi Field. The 50-acre complex will reportedly include a hotel, casino, sportsbook, restaurants, retail space, and a 5,600-seat music venue. Construction is expected to be complete by June 2030.

Infielder Miguel Rojas will return to the Dodgers in the offseason’s least surprising move. He’ll earn $5.5 million in 2026. Rojas already announced plans to retire after next season, when he’ll reportedly move into a player development role within the organization.

Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz will appear in federal court in May on charges that they accepted bribes to help gamblers, according to a report from the AP’s Philip Marcelo. Prosecutors have said they expect the trial to last up to two weeks.

Neither player has appeared in a game — at any level — since being placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave” by MLB in July following an investigation into illegal betting activity. They were both arrested last month by FBI officials and have since been released on bond after pleading not guilty to several charges.

MLB officials have stated only that they intend to “wait until all legal proceedings are complete” before issuing any final ruling on Clase and Ortiz’s standing — meaning their “leave” will likely be extended at least through May — but it seems increasingly clear that neither will ever play again.