Kyle Tucker will join the Los Angeles Dodgers -- of course!

Cue the tweets about how the Los Angeles Dodgers are ruining baseball.

In free agent news that broke late Thursday night, Kyle Tucker is joining the two-time defending champs on a four-year, $240 million contract. The deal reportedly contains opt-outs after the second and third seasons.

Tucker is, of course, a good player. He's probably the top free agent on the market this season -- a 143 OPS+ and a 4.6 WAR with the Cubs in 2025. He batted .266/.377/.464 with 22 homers, 25 doubles and 73 RBIs in 136 games. A lot of that damage came in the first half of the season, as Tucker struggled with injuries the second half of the year.

But is that really worth a $60 million AAV? Ehh, probably not, but it's the Dodgers. They have so much money that they don't know what to do with it. Nobody seems able to outbid them, and even if a signing backfires, they have so much depth that it's almost irrelevant.

They're going to be a hard team to beat.

I'd probably be more pissed off about this if my team were actually competing. Alas, as a White Sox fan, I know there's no chance in hell of a World Series on the South Side of Chicago in 2026. So, what do I really care if the Dodgers win again? 

Sometimes sports are better when there are villains, and I imagine this signing will further galvanize the rest of baseball in hating Los Angeles.

Red Sox to sign LHP Ranger Suarez

Maybe the free agent market in baseball is finally starting to move.

One of the top remaining pitchers available reportedly agreed to terms Wednesday. The Boston Red Sox are bringing in left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez on a five-year, $130 million contract, sources say.

Suarez, 30, has been with the Philadelphia Phillies for the entirety of his eight-year career, totaling 53 wins against 37 losses in 187 career games. Last year, he appeared in 26 games with the Phillies -- all of them starts -- going 12-8 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.220 WHIP.

Boston appears set in its starting rotation with Sonny Gray, Suarez, Brayan Bello and Johan Oviedo lining up behind ace lefty Garrett Crochet. Gray and Oviedo were acquired in trades earlier this offseason, from the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively.

But while it looks as though the Red Sox have the pitching to compete in the rugged AL East, I'm sure their fans are still looking for the team to add a big bat.

Boston traded Rafael Devers to San Francisco last season, and it lost Alex Bregman in free agency last week. 

There are still three big bats available on the free agent market in Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Bo Bichette. 

I'm thinking the Red Sox would prefer to add an infielder. They already have three left-handed-hitting outfielders in Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu. That means neither Tucker nor Bellinger are the best fit, as both are lefty-hitting outfielders.That leaves Bichette.

I've developed a habit of recommending teams pursue Bichette, haven't I? I'm a little surprised a 27-year-old who can stand in the middle infield hasn't gotten a free agent contract yet. 

Cardinals trade 3B Nolan Arenado to Diamondbacks

Doesn't it feel as though the St. Louis Cardinals placed third baseman Nolan Arenado on the trade block a lifetime ago?

The Cardinals have been trying to deal him for more than a year. Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause, blocked a deal to the Houston Astros last offseason, as a matter of fact.

On Tuesday, this long saga ended as Arenado waived his no-trade to accept a deal to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In return, St. Louis received right-handed pitching prospect Jack Martinez, who was Arizona's eighth-round pick in the 2025 MLB draft.

In addition, the Cardinals will cover $31 million of the $42 million Arenado is owed over the remaining two years of his contract.

If you think that return seems a little light for a player who has won 10 Gold Gloves, six Platinum Gloves, five Silver Sluggers and three National League home run titles, you aren't the only one.

The Cardinals traded an eight-time All-Star for an eighth-round draft pick, and they ate a ton of money to boot. I guess that shows that these two sides were ready for a divorce.

Arenado, 34, is coming off the worst season of his career. Back and hand injuries limited him to 107 games. He finished with a .237/.289/.377 slash line with only 12 homers and 52 RBIs.

The Diamondbacks are hoping Arenado can turn the clock back a few years, and they do have a need at third base after sending Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners at last year's trade deadline.

Rumors tied Arizona to free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, but he recently signed with the Cubs. Perhaps that move set the wheels in motion for this deal to be completed.  

NBC's Sunday Night Baseball schedule revealed

It's going to be a little bit weird this season to turn on NBC for Sunday Night Baseball. 

For years, Sunday Night Baseball has been on ESPN, but frankly, the quality of the coverage has waned on ESPN in recent seasons, so I think the move to NBC might be a welcome change. 

NBC will air a pair of games on Opening Day this year, plus a slate of games on Sundays. That schedule has been revealed, and here it is (all times Central):

• Opening Day, March 26: Pittsburgh at N.Y. Mets, noon; Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 7 p.m. 
• April 12: Cleveland at Atlanta, 6 p.m.
• May 31: Cubs at St. Louis, 6 p.m.
• June 7: San Francisco at Cubs, 7 p.m.
• June 14: Texas at Boston 6 p.m.
• June 21: N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
• June 28: N.Y. Yankees at Boston, 6 p.m.
• July 5: N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, 11:30 a.m.; San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 6 p.m.
• July 19: L.A. Dodgers at N.Y. Yankees 6 p.m.
• July 26: N.Y. Yankees at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
• Aug. 2: Boston at L.A. Dodgers, 6 p.m.
• Aug. 9: Houston at San Diego, 7 p.m.
• Aug. 16: Seattle at Houston 6 p.m. 
• Aug. 23: San Francisco at Boston, 2 p.m.
• Aug. 30: Cincinnati at Cubs, 2 p.m.; Houston at N.Y. Mets 6 p.m.
• Sept. 6: Atlanta at Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
• Sept. 7: St. Louis at San Francisco, 7 p.m. 

You'll probably notice this schedule feature a lot of teams from bigger markets, with two notable absences. Neither the White Sox nor the Los Angeles Angels get an appearance.

I've seen some grumpy posts on social media from Sox fans, angry that a network has once again snubbed a team that resides in America's third-largest market.

Well, fans, you can thank Jerry Reinsdorf. As a matter of fact, the Sox and the Angels have both sunk into irrelevancy while being plagued by bad ownership. These are teams that should be draws, but they simply are not. It's the price of years of poor management.

Cubs to sign Alex Bregman to five-year, $175 million deal

Last week on this blog, we said the Cubs' acquisition of starting pitcher Edward Cabrera wouldn't mean much if they didn't go all in to sign one of the big four remaining free agent batters.

I suggested the North Siders pursue Bo Bichette. While they did not do that, the Cubs are signing one of the four players on that list, as third baseman Alex Bregman has reportedly agreed to a five-year deal worth $175 million. 

A three-time All-Star and two-time World Series winner, Bregman was on the free agent market a year ago at this time, but he wasn't finding any offers to his liking. He was coming off a down season in 2024 -- a career-worst .315 OBP.

So, he took a two-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, with a one-year opt-out. In the hitter-friendly environment at Fenway Park, Bregman bounced back in 2025. He batted .273/.360/.462 with 18 homers and 62 RBIs, even though injuries limited him to 114 games. His OPS+ was 128, which ranks as his fourth-best season in his 10-year career. 

Bregman exercised his opt-out, re-entered free agency, and the bet has paid off in this deal with the Cubs. 

A word about opt-outs, because I've seen some Cubs fans on X suggesting the team reunite with outfielder Kyle Tucker by offering him a high-AAV deal with an opt-out.

If a player is going to take a contract with an opt-out clause, it behooves that player to sign with a team that plays its home games in a hitters' ballpark, which is what Bregman did with Boston last season. 

Perhaps once upon a time Wrigley Field was such a place. But since they put up those scoreboards behind the bleachers there, the wind currents have shifted, and Wrigley is a more pitcher-friendly place.

It's hard to say, "I'll sign with the Cubs, put up big numbers, then opt out after one year and get bigger money," because there are easier places to put up big numbers than in Chicago.

To entice a big free agent bat, the Cubs were going to need to go long term. That's what they've done with Bregman, and it's a big swing they needed to take.

This is the type of move that big market teams should be doing. 

White Sox position players: A way-too-early projection

Last week around this time, I offered some thoughts on how the White Sox pitching staff stacks up as the calendar turns to 2026. 

There is still ample offseason remaining, and there are plenty of free agents still available. So, we're a long way from knowing who the Sox will put on the field on Opening Day. But here's a best guess on who the position players would be as we sit here the second week of January:

C: Kyle Teel. You often hear Teel's name mentioned in the same breath as Edgar Quero, but for this exercise, we need to pick one starting catcher. We'll go with Teel on the basis of his better bat -- a 121 OPS+ last season -- and the fact that he was the centerpiece of the trade return in the deal that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston. That alone makes the organization heavily invested in Teel's success.

1B: Munetaka Murakami: You probably won't see a bigger free agent outlay from the Sox this offseason, after they gave a two-year, $34 million contract to the Japanese slugger. A 25-year-old left-handed batter, Murakami once slugged 56 homers in a season, and he has 246 career home runs over eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. Sure, the swing-and-miss rates are high on this player, but the Sox need power, and this was a worthwhile gamble. At least they did something!

2B: Chase Meidroth: The 24-year-old batted .253/.329/.320 in his rookie season. There isn't much power there, and Meidroth will need to improve upon the 84 OPS+ he posted last year to stick as an everyday player. He's competent at both middle infield positions, which helps his cause, although his arm is more suited to second base.

SS: Colson Montgomery: Just when I was ready to write this guy off as a prospect, he comes to the majors and slugs 21 home runs in 71 games. A .529 slugging percentage will play, but is it sustainable? Montgomery struck out 83 times in 284 plate appearances. You can live with some swing-and-miss with that kind of power, but I would like to see a little more contact this season. The good thing is Montgomery proved to me that he can play shortstop. Unlike Meidroth, he absolutely has the arm strength to play on the left side of the infield.

3B: Miguel Vargas: The acquisition of Murakami moves Vargas across the diamond to third base. The 2025 season was an up-and-down one for Vargas, but after a disastrous Sox debut in 2024, a 1.9 bWAR last year wasn't the worst possible outcome. Vargas batted .234/.316/.401 with 16 homers. You'd like to see him put the ball over the fence a little more, but he did contribute a team-high 32 doubles.

LF: Andrew Benintendi: It feels like the declining veteran has been here forever, but he's only been with the Sox three seasons. He has two years left on his contract, which feels as unmovable as ever. This is the gift from the Rick Hahn era that keeps on giving. Benintendi batted .240/.307/.431 with 20 homers last year. He's essentially a league-average offensive player. But a chronic Achilles' injury has sapped all his defensive value, and the Sox have said he might be slated for more time at DH this season.

CF: Luis Robert Jr.: He's still here! The Sox continue to value Robert Jr. as a premium trade piece, but other teams do not see him in that light. Therefore, I remain skeptical that there's any deal to be made, despite rampant trade rumors. Injuries limited Robert Jr. to 110 games last year. What else is new? He finished the year at .223/.297/.364 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs. He was playing well late in the season until a hamstring injury ended his year Aug. 26. Typical.

RF: Brooks Baldwin: I don't know what the Sox are going to do in right field. Mike Tauchman was non-tendered this offseason, and while there have been a few minor acquisitions in the outfield, none of them scream "starting right fielder" to me. We figure Baldwin will make the team and play somewhere, so let's put him in right field for now. Baldwin improved with the bat in the second half last season, hitting seven of his 11 homers and posting a .769 OPS after the All-Star break.

DH: Lenyn Sosa: What to do with Sosa? We can't ignore the fact that he led the Sox with 22 homers and 75 RBIs last season. But we also can't ignore that it only resulted in a 101 OPS+, because Sosa struck out 127 times and drew only 18 walks. We also can't ignore that Sosa doesn't play any position well. He can stand at first base or second, but he'll hurt your defense at either spot. Can they just put him at DH and hope for another 20 to 25 homers? A lot of Sox podcasters think a Sosa trade is coming, but rival GMs are aware of his shortcomings, too.

Bench

C: Quero: The 22-year-old didn't have a lot of power in his offensive profile, but you can do worse than .268/.338/.392 as a rookie. Quero has a good sense of the strike zone for a young hitter, and while his receiving behind the plate still needs work, he's pretty good at picking guys off third base. He'll at least get a couple of starts a week behind the plate, and we'll see how the Sox handle the DH spot this year. Will both Teel and Quero be in the lineup at the same time? 

INF: Curtis Mead: The 25-year-old infielder came over in a midseason trade with Tampa Bay last year, but he didn't do much with the opportunities he got in 41 games. He didn't hit a single homer in a Sox uniform -- a red flag for a corner infielder -- and batted just .240/.280/.304. Supposedly, much like Vargas the prior year, the Sox had some "offseason adjustments" they wanted Mead to make. He's out of options, so his time could be running out. But I think he's on the roster for now.

OF: Derek Hill: Somebody has got to play center field when Robert Jr. is ouchie, right? I figure that's the reason the Sox tendered the journeyman Hill a contract. The 29-year-old is on his sixth organization because he's a lifetime .229 hitter. He's not going to give you much with the bat, but hey, he can play the outfield. That's a skill. Michael A. Taylor has retired, so Hill seems to be penciled into that role for now. 

C: Korey Lee: I don't know what to do with the final bench spot, so I'll give it to the most competent guy on the 40-man roster who I haven't mentioned. That's Lee, who has a good throwing arm behind the plate and seems to work with pitchers well. Unlike other catchers, he has some base running ability, so he can be used as a pinch runner late in the game for the slow-footed Quero. And hey, if you want to DH either Teel or Quero, it's probably not a bad idea to have Lee around on the bench for catching emergencies. This probably isn't a great case for keeping Lee, but I'm not impressed with the other options.

Speaking of other options, they include outfielders Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters, and infielder Bryan Ramos. The Sox also inked post-hype prospect Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal, so he'll be another name to watch in spring for the outfield mix.

But anyway, I'm hoping the Sox add another outfielder to the roster at some point, and then Baldwin can shift back into the utility role that best suits him. Only 76 days until the season begins. What will change between now and then? 

Cubs acquire Edward Cabrera, send top prospect to Marlins

The Cubs moved to strengthen their starting rotation on Wednesday, acquiring 27-year-old right-hander Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins.

The acquisition cost was not insignificant. The North Siders sent outfielder Owen Caissie, their top overall prospect, to Miami, along with infielders Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon.

The Cubs most definitely needed to add starting pitching this offseason, as their rotation was depleted by injury and ineffectiveness in 2025, and that contributed to their NLDS loss to Milwaukee Brewers.

In Cabrera, they are getting a pitcher coming off his best season. He started 26 games with Miami last year, going 8-7 with a 3.53 ERA. He struck out 150 batters (against 48 walks) over 137.2 innings pitched. His fastball averages 96.8 mph, and he also has a curve, slider and changeup.

The main concern for Cabrera: injuries. The 26 starts last season were a career high. Until 2025, he had never thrown more than 100 innings in a season. Even in a relatively healthy year, Cabrera experienced posterior elbow discomfort last July, and he also missed time in September with a right elbow sprain.

The bottom line: Cabrera is a talented pitcher, and he's effective when healthy. He joins a Cubs rotation that includes Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon. The Cubs are hoping to get left-hander Justin Steele (elbow surgery) back sometime during the first half of 2026.

Earlier in the offseason, the Cubs were connected to free agent pitchers Dylan Cease (Blue Jays), Michael King (Padres) and Tatsuya Imai (Astros). They obviously did not convert on any of those targets, necessitating this move.

This ends speculation that Caissie will be the Cubs' replacement for Kyle Tucker in the outfielder. Tucker, who played well for the Cubs in the first half of 2025 before being a combination of injured and bad in the second half, remains a free agent.

The Cubs obviously are in win-now mode, and this Cabrera deal is a win-now move. Last year, I was critical of the Cubs because I didn't think they were aggressive enough in addressing their starting pitching at the trade deadline. They acquired Tucker as a one-year rental last offseason, and they should have pushed their chips to the center of the table to win in 2025.

Instead, they tinkered around the edges of their roster at the deadline, adding guys like Michael Soroka and Willi Castro. They ended up getting their lunch money taken -- again -- by the small-market Brewers, who have been the best team in the NL Central in recent years despite their limited resources. 

Going after Cabrera is not without risk because of the injury history, but I think it's a worthwhile risk -- as long as the Cubs do not stop there.

If they aren't going to bring back Tucker, that's fine, but then they need to sign one of the other major free agents hitters still available -- Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette or Cody Bellinger.

If I'm the Cubs, and I most certainly am not, I'm going after Bichette. 

SoxFest boycott to continue in 2026

When the last weekend in January comes, I'll once again have the feeling that I ought to be doing something. Alas, we will once again be boycotting SoxFest on the grounds that team management is giving us a cheapened experience.

In years past, we were regulars at SoxFest. It used to be a three-day event at a downtown Chicago hotel. It was at the Hyatt. Then it was at the Palmer House. Then it was at the Hilton. In 2020, it was at McCormick Place, and we stayed at one of the adjacent hotels.

Somewhere along the line, it got reduced from three days to two, because "people want to watch the NFL." I'd rather poke my eyes out than watch an NFL game, but SoxFest was still a fun event even when it was two days.

Even if the team was expected to suck (which most of the time it did), you got to spend a weekend in January in the city, mingling with other baseball people and talking baseball with your friends. It was good for the soul.

And I'll be honest: Even though I'm no longer a season ticket holder, and even though I think the 2026 White Sox are going to be bad, if they had an old-school SoxFest like back in the day, I'd buy a weekend pass in a second.

But that's not what they're doing, and they haven't done it for a while. From 2021-23, the Sox canceled the event, hiding behind the COVID-19 excuse for two years longer than they should have.

In 2024, the Sox conducted a lame meet-and-greet for season ticket holders at the Chicago Field Museum. I mean, who wouldn't want to rub elbows with Pedro Grifol and the members of a team that was destined to go 41-121? I wasn't welcome because I had canceled my tickets, and frankly, I didn't want to go anyway.

Then last year, they gave fans a "reimagined SoxFest Live" at the "historic Ramova Theatre" in Bridgeport. That's the format this year, too, with the event scheduled for Jan. 30-31. Only season ticket holders are welcome on Friday, and apparently, the program is the exact same thing on both days.

I heard that last year, fans weren't allowed to ask their own questions of the GM and manager. Only "preapproved" questions were allowed, and broadcaster Len Kasper did all the asking.

No thanks, if I'm going to pay money for this, I want to ask my own questions -- not listen to Kasper ask Will Venable how he uses analytics. That's the equivalent of an interview you can hear on the pregame show every day during the season. This is supposed to be a fan event, so let the fans speak.

Right now, the list of players scheduled to appear is unimpressive. For what it's worth, quite a few of the guys who matter on the 2026 roster will be there: Davis Martin, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Luis Robert Jr., Shane Smith, Grant Taylor, Kyle Teel and Miguel Vargas. Also on the list are prospects Tanner McDougal and Sam Antonacci.

But no former players? Forgive me, but us older guys like it when the players of the past come back. They have the best stories, and no longer being in the league, they tend to be more candid and less guarded than the athletes of today. 

Honestly, what's the appeal here? You want me to spend money to hang out for three hours in a small, renovated theater with no parking to hear guys respond to canned questions and recite cliches about how they hope to improve upon last year's 60-102 record?

I'll pass. Bring back the old SoxFest, and I'll come back. I promise. 

Baseball's offseason: A year of slow free agency

Can we all agree now that baseball has the slowest-moving and most boring offseason of all the major sports?

The World Series ended more than two months ago, and free agency has been open for weeks. Still, some of the biggest names on the market are still without a team as the calendar turns to 2026.

It's odd. Wouldn't you think all 30 teams would have interest in these players?

• Outfielder Kyle Tucker, who is a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger winner and 2022 World Series champion.
• Third baseman Alex Bregman, who is a three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion. 
• Infielder Bo Bichette, who is a two-time All-Star and led the American League in hits in both 2021 and 2022.
• Outfielder Cody Bellinger, who was National League MVP in 2019, a two-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger winner and 2020 World Series champion. 

None of these players are old and washed. Bregman is the oldest of the four at age 31; Bichette is the youngest at 27. These are players in their prime, but none have a contract as yet.

How about these starting pitchers:

• Framber Valdez, who has finished in the top five of the AL Cy Young voting in three of the past four years and is a 2022 World Series champion.
• Ranger Suarez, who is 16 games over .500 and has a 3.38 ERA for his career.
• Zac Gallen, who had a down season last year but still won 13 games, and has finished in the top 10 of NL Cy Young voting three times in his career. 

They could be yours, if the price is right.

Need a catcher? How about J.T. Realmuto? Third baseman Eugenio Suarez hit 49 home runs last season. He's still available. Three-time batting champ Luis Arraez is also on the market.

From a Chicago perspective, we know the White Sox won't be bidding on any of these higher-end free agents. But we also know they want to add pitching -- both in the rotation and in the bullpen. There are middle-tier options out there.

Free agent starting pitchers include old friends Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito and Jose Quintana. Others available are Zack Littell, Walker Buehler and Nick Martinez. How about a future Hall of Famer? Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are free agents.

There are old friends on the relief market too: Michael Kopech, Liam Hendriks and David Robertson. Also without a team are Seranthony Dominguez and Rock Falls High School product Jakob Junis.

See anything you like on that list? For Jan. 6, that's a lot of accomplished players looking for work. 

Maybe White Sox know they need starting pitching

"We had a seat at the table."

The White Sox were reportedly one of the bidders for Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who recently signed a three-year contract with the Houston Astros that could be worth up to $54 million.

The deal includes player opt-outs after both the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Imai, 27, is a three-time All-Star in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, and he had a career-best season with the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2025, going 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 163.2 innings.

The Astros are likely to lose left-hander Framber Valdez in free agency, so Imai fills a gap for them and joins Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier as the top options in the Houston starting rotation.

From a Sox perspective, I saw a whole bunch of fans on social media hopeful the team could land Imai, after the South Siders' surprise signing of Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami earlier this offseason.

Alas, there were a few reasons to be skeptical:

• Scott Boras is Imai's agent, and there's probably a fair chance the Sox were being used as leverage.
• Imai was obviously interested in player opt-outs, a concept that causes Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to break out in hives.
• The Sox have a negative reputation that precedes them.

There was a report from Yahoo! Japan that said the Sox "are viewed internationally as a favorable destination barring one hurdle -- the delayed transition from owner Jerry Reinsdorf to Justin Ishbia."

Reinsdorf, the report continued, "represents a culture of shame misaligned with Japan's competitive integrity."

A culture of shame? That's an interesting way of saying it. We can't disagree with Japan on this point, can we? Reinsdorf's "culture of shame" and three consecutive seasons of 100 losses or more have prevented me from buying a season ticket package in each of the past two years.

But I digress. What can we take away from the Sox's failed bid to acquire Imai? At least they know they need to acquire another starting pitcher. They whiffed on this target. Let's hope they are now in contact with the next starter on their list, whomever that may be. 

How does White Sox pitching staff look at start of 2026?

When people say the White Sox could get back to .500 in 2026, my standard response has been, "With what pitching?"

I think the Sox are lacking in both the starting rotation and the bullpen. Granted, the offseason is far from over, and there is still time to make additions before spring training begins in February. But as the calendar turns to 2026, let's take a look at where the pitching staff stands.

Starting rotation

If the season were to begin today -- and of course it does not -- here are the pitchers who would be most likely to land in the five-man rotation:

1. Shane Smith. The Rule 5 draftee made the All-Star Game in his rookie season, going 7-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts. On most teams, Smith would slot in as a No. 3 or No. 4 starting pitcher. However, on this Sox team, he looks like a reasonable bet to start on Opening Day. 

2. Davis Martin. The 28-year-old was mostly healthy for the first time since 2022 last year. He went 7-10 with a 4.10 ERA in 26 games (25 starts). Given that Martin was drafted in the 14th round in 2018, it's a development win for the Sox that he looks like a league-average pitcher when he's out there.

3. Anthony Kay. The 30-year-old lefty was added on a two-year, $12 million contract earlier this offseason. He hasn't pitched in the majors in two years, but he had a great year in Japan in 2025 -- 9-6 with a 1.74 ERA in 24 games. The Sox are hoping he's a sequel to Erick Fedde.

4. Sean Burke. The Opening Day starter in 2025 had an uneven year, going 4-11 with a 4.22 ERA in 28 games (22 starts). In fact, Burke was demoted to Charlotte for a time in 2025 before finishing the season in Chicago. That 1.444 WHIP is going to have to come down. Burke is not guaranteed a spot.  

5. Jonathan Cannon. Speaking of not being guaranteed a spot, if the Sox make another addition, Burke and Cannon might be fighting for the No. 5 spot in the rotation in spring. Cannon had a disastrous 2025. He went 4-10 in 22 games, and his ERA ballooned to 5.82. But he thinks he can bounce back.  

Other names to know include prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, both of whom remain in top-100 lists. Right-hander Tanner McDougal was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason. Righty Drew Thorpe and lefty Ky Bush are expected back sometime this season after Tommy John surgery.

Bullpen 

There should be heavy competition for the eight bullpen spots, but let's take a best guess:  

1. Grant Taylor. The hard-throwing 23-year-old appeared in 36 games as a rookie. He was impressive at times, recording six saves, and erratic and unlucky at other times. It all added up to a 4.91 ERA and 1.418 WHIP. The Sox say he will receive "multi-inning" opportunities in 2026.

2. Mike Vasil. The Rule 5 pick was one of the surprises of the 2025 campaign, totaling 101 innings in 47 appearances. He went 5-3 with a 2.50 ERA and totaled four saves while pitching in every role imaginable -- from starter to closer. Being versatile is one way to stick on a roster.

3. Sean Newcomb. The lefty signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Sox earlier this offseason. There's been talk of letting him compete for a starting rotation spot. Sure, why not? But it's worth noting that Newcomb hasn't been a full-time starter since 2018. Of his 223 career appearances, 158 have been in relief.

4. Jordan Leasure. Somebody had to lead the 2025 Sox bullpen in saves, and it was Leasure with seven. He appeared in 68 games and went 5-6 with a 3.92 ERA. Notably, his WHIP in the second half of last season was 0.791, a drastic reduction from 1.618 in the first half. The Sox are hoping he pitches like he did late in the season. 

5. Brandon Eisert. Congratulations if you selected Eisert to lead the Sox in appearances in 2025. The lefty pitched 72 times, which I did not see coming. The results were mediocre, 3-8 with a 4.39 ERA. There's nothing remarkable about Eisert's platoon splits. He wasn't that great at getting lefties out. But availability is a skill, and Eisert was available.

6. Chris Murphy. This 27-year-old lefty has options left, but I figure the Sox didn't trade for him to bury him in the minors. He was 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 23 relief appearances with Boston last season. He was equally effective against both lefties (.597 OPS against) and righties (.598 OPS against).

7. Wikelman Gonzalez. The "fourth piece" of the four-player return from Boston in the Garrett Crochet trade pitched in 16 games with the Sox last season, going 1-0 with a 2.66 ERA. He totaled 20.1 innings in those games and seems suitable as a multi-inning reliever.  

8. Duncan Davitt. The Sox acquired Davitt from Tampa Bay in the Adrian Houser deal last summer, and then added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from Rule 5 last month. He started 28 games in the minors last year, but I don't think that's his role long term. Somebody has to be the long man, right?

It's worth noting that left-handers Tyler Gilbert and Bryan Hudson remain on the 40-man roster. Both are out of options, but how many lefties do you need? I see a competition brewing among Eisert, Murphy, Gilbert and Hudson for perhaps two roster spots. Prelander Berroa is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Rule 5 draft selections Jedixson Paez and Alexander Alberto will also get a look in camp.

So, basically, I'm naming 13 guys for eight bullpen spots. I'd like to see another veteran added in both the rotation and the bullpen before spring training begins. If you listen to Sox podcasts, there's a lot of talk that more signings are coming. 

Let's hope so.

Happy New Year from The Baseball Kid