5 Things We Want to See Happen This Offseason
The offseason is officially here and the free agent list is beginning to grow. There are plenty of things we want to see happen. From traded, to signing, to seeing teams shift seismically and change course. So, let’s scoop and get into what we want to see this offseason.
Joe Ryan Gets Traded
There needs to be a dose of reality that hits the desk of the Minnesota Twins front office. Are there pieces in place to build around? Absolutely. Are the Twins a legitimate contender? No. Are they a playoff team? Maybe because of the division they now play in, but they are steps behind the White Sox and most certainly the Guardians.
The Twins had the opportunity to trade Joe Ryan at the deadline in 2025. They opted to keep him and he’s done nothing but pitch well. Ryan finished the season with a 3.79 ERA to a 3.70 FIP. He’s pitched 100+ innings in each season since 2022, but has crossed the 150 inning mark only twice in this span. Injuries are a concern, but that’s with every pitcher. Ryan has been a legitimate strikeout pitcher and throws some of the best secondary pitches in the sport with his sweeper and knuckle curve.
Ryan is a legitimate front line starter and has a mutual option in 2027 and becomes a free agent in 2028. If the Twins aren’t inclined to pay him a fair market deal for a pitcher of his caliber, trading him for prospects and rebuilding the ship properly is the move. Rip off the Band-Aid and make the move.
The Red Sox Extend Payton Tolle
It’s been a common trend across the league. Teams are signing their young impactful players early. We’ve seen numerous players this season ink long term deals such as Kevin McGonigle and JJ Wetherholt. The Red Sox have also done this with their young guys and last season made a lucrative deal to Roman Anthony. Now it’s time to shift towards Payton Tolle.
Tolle was everything you could’ve asked for this season and was even the team’s Game 1 starter against the Yankees. By pitching run value, Tolle was in the 87th percentile. Furthermore, he finished with a 3.03 ERA to a 3.04 FIP, which showcases the consistency he was pitching at and controlling the things he could control. He became a pitcher that added secondary pitches he could trust behind his vicious fastball and a player that got stronger as the season ended. He has one of the best personalities in the game and has emerged as one of the best young pitchers in the sport.
A great comparable contract is Chase Burns, the de facto ace of the Cincinnati Reds. Burns signed a seven year, $105 million deal with the Reds, which is tidy business for the Reds. This was Burns’ big breakout season, he pitched 154.1 innings, had a 2.86 ERA, and was a strikeout machine. The Reds believed in the player he can be and the Red Sox should approach Tolle the same way.
Inking Tolle would give the Red Sox a fierce top of the rotation with him and Garrett Crochet. Make it happen.
Yankees Make a Juan Soto-esque Blockbuster Trade
This is the Yankees’ window of opportunity to win. They have the pitching staff, which they have invested in heavily. They’ve seen an emergence in power from Ben Rice, who seems to be the ideal protection around Aaron Judge. However, this team has flaws and this roster has issues.
The Yankees have an offense that is platoon heavy, but also has players that either do the same thing or they are designated hitters. While that’s not the end of the world, it makes constructing a lineup challenging. It was evident that this team needs work at the plate, especially since they went through the majority of the season without Aaron Judge.
Without Judge, the Yankees were 29th in average, 30th in on base percentage, 23rd in slugging, and 27th in OPS. They lived and died by the long ball and while that’s proven to get them through the wild card series, they struggled against the pesky Rays. The Yankees missed the playoffs in 2023 and they went out and acquired Juan Soto.
Yes, Hal Steinbrenner has said the Yankees spent the most on payroll they have in their team history. But it hasn’t translated to success. Aaron Judge has publicly called on the front office to do more so this team can win. The fans are visibly angry, as they want to win and are seeing this team make no changes to the front office.
If they want to truly capitalize and take their chances to the top, they need to make a trade for a legitimate difference maker.
Kevin Gausman Back to Toronto
On December 1, 2021, Kevin Gausman inked a five year, $110 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Gausman was coming off a career year in San Francisco with a 2.81 ERA in 192 innings pitched. It was huge for the Blue Jays to land a pitcher of his caliber. Gausman pitched over 800 innings with the Blue Jays and had a 3.62 ERA in his tenure with the club. He was very crucial to the team that reached the World Series in 2025. Also, he put up 21 wins above replacement with the club.
Leaving Toronto was an emotional experience for him and a place he loved being in and a team he loved pitching for. There’s no telling what direction the Blue Jays are headed, as they have a legitimate three man rotation with Dylan Cease, José Soriano, and Trey Yesavage. Bringing back Gausman on a short term pact would be great to see.
Gausman is one of my favorite pitchers to watch and seeing him return to a place he enjoyed being in would be awesome to see.
White Sox Have a Spending Spree on Pitching
The White Sox have one of the most fun cores in the entire league. Sam Antonacci, Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, Braden Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas highlight a lineup that was a blast to watch this season. Not to mention, this organization has Roch Cholowsky and Caleb Bonemer cooking in the minor leagues. They are ahead of schedule, but the time is now to strike and build around it.
The White Sox need pitching and badly. Sean Burke is the best and the most reliable arm they have and you felt ever so confident with him on the mound in the playoffs. After that? Nothing but bullpen games. This team needs starters. Yes, the ceiling is high for a player like David Sandlin and the same can be said about Noah Schultz, but this team needs more behind Burke. There are plenty of options.
Do they shell out the big money for Tarik Skubal? No and they shouldn’t. Do they aim for Freddy Peralta? Possibly, but the largest contract they’ve given out is to Andrew Benintendi and below $100 million total. They could strive to add arms such as Nick Martinez, Clay Holmes, Sonny Gray, or even Michael King. All would be great depth additions and veteran leaders for what’s a young White Sox group.
The Central is there for the taking and the White Sox are here to stay.
