MLB free agency is here!

Similar to how last winter was defined by the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, this offseason will revolve around another generational superstar: Juan Soto. The 26-year-old slugger is coming off a career year with the New York Yankees, having also helped the Bronx Bombers back to the World Series for the first time in 15 years. Now, he’s likely staring down a record-breaking contract that might very well span the next decade-plus. 

But where? The chatter has already begun during this week’s GM meetings. He’s not the only big fish on the open market, of course. There are plenty of other top-tier free agents, including ace pitchers Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles and Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves as well as Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.

RELATED: 2025 MLB free-agent rankings, team fits: Juan Soto leads top 30

And as Soto himself knows, after being dealt to New York from the San Diego Padres last offseason, there could always be landscape-shifting trades made in the winter.

Follow along below for the latest rumors around MLB free agency!

Nov. 6

Sasaki more likely to be posted than not

The 2024-25 MLB free-agent class might add another monumental talent. “Indications” are that Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki will be posted by NPB club the Chiba Lotte Marines, ESPN reported. If he is posted, the Dodgers are “heavily favored” to land the 23-year-old, according to ESPN. MLB on FOX insider Ken Rosenthal also reported that the Dodgers are the “heavy, heavy favorites” to land Sasaki, who was teammates with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The possible sweepstakes for Sasaki won’t be as highly competitive from a spending standpoint as other free agents. Due to posting rules, teams can only use money from their international signing pools to offer him. Sasaki has pitched fewer than six professional seasons, meaning he can earn a maximum of $8 million if he’s posted after Dec. 15. If he’s posted before that date, the most he can receive is roughly $2.5 million, according to ESPN. 

Yankees GM Brian Cashman has been in contact with Soto, checked in on Alonso

As free agency commenced Monday, Cashman shared that he spoke with Soto following the team’s World Series loss in late October. Cashman added that he’s already been in communication with Soto’s agent, Scott Boras.

RELATED: Juan Soto sweepstakes: Is he Yankees’ to lose? Analyzing 9 potential suitors

Cashman figures to be busy in the coming weeks, as first baseman Anthony Rizzo and second baseman Gleyber Torres are also free agents. With that, Cashman confirmed the Yankees have interest in Pete Alonso, who’s available after starring for the Mets the past six seasons.

“There are a lot of high-quality players in this marketplace, and certainly Pete did an amazing job with the Mets,” Cashman said. “I had a brief conversation with Scott about a lot of his — he has a lot of free agents, which is normal, and Pete’s one of them, so yes.”

As for Torres, the Yankees did not extend him a qualifying offer, and Cashman offered a tepid response on whether the former All-Star could return. 

“I’m not gonna dissect what he’s good at and not as good at,” Cashman said. “Obviously, he’ll have a lot of conversations with a lot of teams that have a need in that area and that might include us, who knows. But appreciate his efforts while he was here.” 

Astros GM Dana Brown: Re-signing Bregman the “biggest priority”

Houston has a few key free agents to mull over, including Alex Bregman, Yusei Kikuchi and Justin Verlander. As Houston looks to retool after an early playoff exit, Brown was pretty blunt on which player the team is coveting this most this offseason. 

“We’d love to have Alex Bregman back,” Brown told reporters at the GM meetings. “It’s our biggest priority.”

The Astros, of course, have allowed a handful of homegrown stars walk in free agency in recent years. But Brown seemed bullish about the club’s chances to retain Bregman.

“Our mindset right now is that he’s not going elsewhere and we want to sign him,” Brown said. “If he ends up going elsewhere, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but I’m going into this offseason with the thought that we’re going to get Bregman back. Hopefully we can do it.”

In an interview with MLB Network, Brown shared that he’s had initial conversations with Kikuchi and Verlander’s agents. He also said he’s “gone back and forth” with outfielder Kyle Tucker’s agent about a possible extension. Tucker is entering the final year of team control.

“We hope to narrow things down and have more conversations,” Brown said. “But we’ve had multiple conversations.”

Bichette not available for trade

With Bo Bichette set to become a free agent after the 2025 season, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins made it clear that the team isn’t willing to move on from the shortstop sooner than it has to. He told MLB Network that any trade calls involving Bichette are “an easy no.”

Bichette is coming off an underwhelming 2024 campaign, slashing .225/.277/.322 with just four homers in 81 games. 

Rooker not available via trade

Athletics general manager David Frost insisted the A’s, who are temporarily relocating to Sacramento beginning next season, will not part with star designated hitter Brent Rooker.

“We’re going to keep [Rooker],” Frost told the New York Post.

Rooker was one of the most sought-after players ahead of the trade deadline in 2024. He finished the season with 39 homers and a 165 OPS+.

Nov. 4

Dodgers in on Soto? Mets not?

The New York Mets have long been seen as the most likely candidate to lure Juan Soto away from a return to the New York Yankees. But the Dodgers, fresh off beating Soto and the Yankees in the World Series, intend to make a bid for Soto “if he’s interested,” the New York Post reported last week. However, the Yankees reportedly believe a Soto-Dodgers union would “never happen” and regard the Mets and Toronto Blue Jays as their biggest threats in keeping the slugger.

Brewers could trade closer Devin Williams

One of the more surprising developments of the opening days of the MLB offseason was when the Milwaukee Brewers declined closer Devin Williams’ $10.5 million team option. Williams is a two-time All-Star who also won National League Rookie of the Year in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but did not make his 2024 season debut until late July due to stress fractures in his back. It’s part of the reason the defending NL Central champion Brewers declined his option, believing the 30-year-old closer will make less in arbitration anyway. 

That not only helps the small-budget Brewers but also makes Williams a more attractive trade candidate, and he’s reportedly expected to be just that. Milwaukee has been aggressive in moving star players in the past. Williams, of course, only ascended to the closer role after the Brewers stunningly dealt Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres at the 2022 trade deadline.

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Jon Jones is ready for UFC 309 and his first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic.

Jones and Miocic headline next weekend’s pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “Bones” makes his first walk to the octagon since winning the heavyweight title at with a first-round submission of former interim champ Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023, and just his second outing in nearly five years.

Ahead of the matchup, Jones released new training footage as he gets set to face Miocic. Check out the video below, courtesy of Jones’ Instagram page.

During this training camp, Jones has been training with the likes of jiu-jitsu whiz Gordon Ryan, as well as Olympic gold medalist and ex-WWE superstar Gable Steveson. The 37-year-old has continuously teased that this could be his final fight, although UFC CEO Dana White feels that if Jones is victorious, he could face current interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall in a unification bout.

David Onama needs a new opponent for next week’s UFC 309 after Lucas Almeida was forced off the card due to undisclosed reasons, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting.

UFC 309 will take place at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, and the promotion is currently seeking a replacement to fight the Ugandan featherweight on just over a week’s notice.

Onama (12-2) hopes to keep the momentum going after back-to-back wins over Gabriel Santos — a bonus-winning second-round knockout in Jacksonville, Fla. — and Jonathan Pearce, a bout he missed weight for.

Almeida (15-3) was looking to compete for the first time since signing a new UFC contract following a decision victory over Timmy Cuamba this past June, rebounding from stoppage defeats to Pat Sabatini and Andre Fili.

UFC 309 will air live on pay-per-view and feature Jon Jones’ first defense of the heavyweight belt against former champion Stipe Miocic in the main event.

Mike Heck contributed to this story.

The Spurs game against United will be televised on Thursday, 19 December.

Arsenal are now exploring alternatives with European governing body Uefa for the Bayern tie. This includes moving the fixture to Meadow Park in Borehamwood, where they play the majority of their Women’s Super League matches.

However, Meadow Park’s facilities do not currently meet Uefa regulations so there would need to be some flexibility.

It is unclear where the ground fails to meet the regulations but Uefa’s rules state requirements on a range of things, including pitch heating and covers, grass height, floodlights, goalpost structures, pitch surrounding areas, artificial pitches and frequency of pitch watering.

There is no video assistant referee (VAR) or goalline technology requirements in the group stages of the Women’s Champions League.

It is an uncomfortable situation for Arsenal, given they have made a point of making Emirates Stadium the main home for their women’s team.

BBC Sport has contacted Uefa for a response.

Erin Blanchfield likes Manon Fiorot’s chances against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is expected to be Shevchenko’s next title challenger after going unbeaten in the octagon, including a win over Blanchfield in the UFC on ESPN 54 main event in March.

Having felt Fiorot’s strength and failing to take her down in their fight, Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) expects the French fighter’s size to pose problems for Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC).

“I think Manon could do very well,” Blanchfield told MMA Junkie. “I could even see her beating Valentina. I could see Valentina winning, but I think Manon can use her size. I think she’s a very big flyweight, and she knows how to use her range and like her length. I think Valentina is more like dynamic and has more skills.

“So, I’m curious how Valentina is going to deal with her size because I know in the past, let’s say with like Taila (Santos), I remember her complaining about how big Taila is, and I feel like Manon’s significantly bigger. So yeah, I think it’s a good matchup, and I’m curious to see how it goes.”

Since losing to Fiorot, Blanchfield rebounded with a five-round co-main event win over Rose Namajunas this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 246.

“I feel like I was able to utilize my striking better. That’s something obviously I had a lot of focus on after my last fight,” Blanchfield said of her win over Namajunas. “I feel like I was able to show a little bit of improvement there. Obviously there’s room for more, but it’s only been a couple of months.

“So, I feel like I was able to definitely show that to myself and win those championship rounds, too. I feel like that was a big thing. Even though losing those first two rounds, I was able to come back and sweep the scorecards on the rest of the rounds.”