MLB Rumors: Phillies named a suitor for Corbin Burnes trade
After back-to-back World Series appearances in which the Philadelphia Phillies fell short in both, it's going to be interesting to see how Dave Dombrowski and the front office respond this offseason. If one had to guess, though, it'll be by making a splash. You know, like they did a year ago by bringing in superstar shortstop Trea Turner.
So what could that splash be in the 2023-24 offseason? How about the possibility of trading for one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic ($) recently evaluated the top 10 trade candidates in MLB for the 2023-24 offseason and listed Burnes, who is entering the final year of his contract and has a bit of bad blood that could hinder an extension with the Brewers, as the No. 2 player on that list behind only Juan Soto. And among the suitors who could be in Burnes' trade market was the Phillies.
Specifically, Bowden noted that "several big-market teams" would be interested in trading for Burnes, even with only one year of club control left. The other two teams he mentioned -- and assumed trade competition for Philadelphia -- were the Dodgers and Yankees.
With Aaron Nola set to hit free agency and potentially leave the Phillies, Philadelphia could once again be looking to supplement its starting rotation. Pairing Burnes and Zack Wheeler together for the 2024 season -- and possibly working out an extension with Burnes too -- could set the pitching staff up beautifully to keep this club in World Series contention for years to come.
MLB Rumors: Red Sox likely out of Shohei Ohtani race already
Virtually every big-market MLB team has been connected to Shohei Ohtani as the two-way Japanese superstar (limited to one way in the 2024 season with an elbow injury, though) is about to hit free agency this offseason. That, of course, has included the Boston Red Sox.
Given the organization and city's ties to New Balance, who have a sponsorship deal with Ohtani, some made the connection between the two with the belief that Boston could possibly be even more than a sleeper to land the likely AL MVP for the second straight season.
Unfortunately for Red Sox fans, that might be too good to be true.
Red Sox insider Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reported this week that Boston essentially is already out of the Ohtani sweepstakes.
"Let's get this out of the way: Boston looks like an unlikely landing spot for Ohtani," Speier wrote.
Even the most optimistic of Red Sox fans had to feel that landing Ohtani was a bit of a pipe dream given the team's extensive needs to address under new GM Craig Breslow and the heavy competition in Ohtani's free agency market.
At the same time, though, you might spin this as a positive for Boston. Without a fruitless pursuit of Ohtani to distract them, they can set their sights on other high-end free agents or trade targets to reshape the roster, both filling holes in the lineup and fixing a lacking pitching staff. Yes, Ohtani in Fenway would've been incredible -- but so too would be a team that's back to competing in the AL East.
MLB Rumors: Braves trade for Tyler Glasnow connected by insider
The fact that the Atlanta Braves rotation is going to be a focus for Alex Anthopoulos in the 2023-24 offseason has been anything but secret to this point. At the same time, the question has been how Anthopoulos is going to go about navigating free agency and the trade market to accomplish that goal of bolstering the group around Spencer Strider and Max Fried for the 2024 season.
Early on in this offseason, we've seen heavy buzz that veteran right-hander Sonny Gray will be a Braves target in free agency. Furthermore, Atlanta would also be a logical landing spot for Dylan Cease if the White Sox open up the fire sale again and trade more pieces.
However, former GM and current insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic ($) offered another potential trade target for the Braves: Rays ace Tyler Glasnow.
Bowden ranked Glasnow as the No. 3 possible trade candidate in MLB this offseason as the Rays hurler is healthy but entering the final year of his contract in the 2024 season. As such, he listed the Braves alongside three other contenders looking for help fortifying the top of their respective rotations this offseason, the Dodgers, Rangers and Orioles, as possible suitors for a Glasnow trade.
One does have to wonder how likely Anthopoulos would be to pay $25 million this season for a pitcher who he might not have much leverage to sign to an extension, something we've seen him do with trade targets and acquisitions in recent years. At the same time, though, there's no denying that Glasnow-Strider-Fried does have a pretty dominant feel to it for a team that feels that pitching upgrades could get them over the hump after back-to-back NLDS defeats.