Introducing Winners And Losers Of 2025 Baseball Winter Meetings

The 2025 Winter Meetings came and went like a Florida tornado, leaving a path of destruction for some but bypassing most despite much noise and bluster.

A relative handful of free agents went home with contracts – some with the same clubs – and teams even managed to make old-fashioned trades.

For all 30 major-league teams, however, the four-day extended weekend in the shadow of Disney World’s Epcot was more fantasy than reality.

There were no record-breaking contracts – and only one (Dylan Cease to Toronto) that even reached the $200 range.

In a sport where Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto got $700 deals during the last three winters, that was a surprise.

Slow Market

There are obvious reasons for the slow response:

1. With a likely lockout by owners looming less than a year away, teams are reluctant to commit to contracts longer than one year

2. With no deadline to sign, many players and agents want to wait out the market, hoping prices rise as coveted players sign and reduce the available the talent pool

3. With all salaries public knowledge, every signing increases the asking prices of everyone still unsigned

4. More than a few free agents of the past fell flat on their faces after landing long-term lucrative contracts that embarrassed signing teams and prompted negative fan fallout (i.e. sales of tickets and merchanise).

Looming Lockout

When the Basic Agreement between owners and players expires on Dec. 1, 2026, a work stoppage could shut the game, wiping out the winter meetings, spring training, and a chunk of the 2027 season – especially if owners insist on imposing the salary cap they have always wanted.

Baseball is the only one of the four major sports that doesn’t have one.

That being said, some clubs decided to behave as if there are no black funnel clouds gathering on the horizon. As teams packed to leave Thursday, these were the winners and losers of the winter, with two months to go before spring training:

Winners

1. Baltimore Orioles – Determined to close the 19-game gap between their last-place finish and the top of the American League East, the O’s added Pete Alonso via free agency and Taylor Ward via trade from the Los Angeles Angels. Alonso’s five-year, $155 million pact was just a shade over the deal Kyle Schwarber inked days earlier to stay in Philadelphia. But pairing the first baseman’s bat with Oriole Park’s ranking as the second-best home run target could result in Alonso’s second 50-homer season. Ward, also a right-handed hitter, will provide Alonso with good protection in the revamped lineup.

2. Toronto Blue Jays – Dependable Dylan Cease adds a formidable and durable arm to the top of the rotation, while Korean League MVP Cody Ponce takes the spot of ancient Max Scherzer. Both should prosper with the support of a strong offense. Cease got a seven-year, $210 million deal – enough to take him off the free agent board early. The Jays also hope to keep Bo Bichette, perhaps as a second baseman after he tried that spot during the World Series.

Better Bullpen

3. Atlanta Braves – Determined to beef up their bullpen, the Braves landed two of the three best closers on the market in Robert Suarez, whose 40 saves for San Diego led the National League, and Raisel Iglesias, coming back for a sixth season in Dixie. Atlanta also added quality bench strength in Mike Yastrzemski, grandson of Hall of Famer Carl, and infielder Mauricio Dubon, acquired from the Astros for Nick Allen.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers – Signing Edwin Diaz (three years, $69 million) gives the Dodgers a bona fide dependable closer and allows Roki Sasaki to return to the rotation. If L.A. also succeeds in Tarik Skubal trade talks, the World Champion Dodgers would vault to the head of this list. Since money talks, nothing is beyond this club’s means; its competitive balance tax alone will be higher than 16 teams’ total payrolls, according to The Athletic.

5. Philadelphia Phillies – After leading the majors with 56 home runs, Kyle Schwarber had a crowd of suitors before and during the winter meetings. But the 33-year-old designated hitter realized a desire to play half his games in the cozy Citizens Bank bandbox when the Phils gave him a new $150 million contract, spread over five years. The Phils still hope to retain catcher J.T. Realmuto and southpaw starting pitcher Ranger Suarez, however.

6. Texas Rangers – Brandon Nimmo’s nickname in New York was “the happiest man in baseball.” Beyond his pleasant personality, Nimmo gives his new team stability in left field and more power and dependability in the lineup. Texas did well to deal 35-year-old second baseman Marcus Semien, who seems to be fading, for the energetic Nimmo.

7. Washington Nationals – Catcher Harry Ford, a 2021 first-round amateur draft pick acquired from Seattle in an under-the-radar trade for relief pitcher Jose A. Ferrer, has the potential to develop into an All-Star of the Will Smith mode. But the youthful Nats need to do much more to escape the basement of the National League East. A C.J. Abrams swap could be next.

Losers

1. New York Mets – Baseball’s best team in mid-June fell so fast that it missed the playoffs and prompted a purge by David Stearns, suddenly free of interference from owner Steve Cohen. Three fan favorites are gone: Brandon Nimmo was traded to Texas for Marcus Semien while Pete Alonso, the team’s lifetime home run leader, and star closer Edwin Diaz both signed elsewhere as free agents. With multiple holes to fill and clubhouse turmoil to calm, the Mets made no progress other than adding erratic closer Devin Williams, most recently with the Yankees.

No Changes

2. New York Yankees – Still owned by the Steinbrenner family, the Bronx Bombers bombed in Orlando, heading home with the same pat hand. Wary of incurring a hefty payroll tax, the Yanks considered keeping Cody Bellinger and/or signing Pete Alonso, Kyle Tucker, and Kyle Schwarber. With Alonso and Schwarber off the board, Brian Cashman’s options are limited. But he’s under fire to right the ship, which has floundered for 16 years (no pennant since 2009).

3. Boston Red Sox – Always looking for starting pitching that can thrive in hitter-friendly Fenway Park, the Sox landed Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo so far but struck out in bids to sign Alonso and Schwarber. They also need to keep free agent third baseman Alex Bregman – both for offense and defense.

3. Detroit Tigers – When GM Scott Harris announced he had no untouchable players, he was deluged with offers for left-handed starter Tarik Skubal, winner of consecutive Cy Youngs but a free agent after 2026. Strangely silent during the Florida meetings, the Tigers could harvest a haul from such wealthy teams as the Mets or Dodgers, both loaded with prospects.

4. San Diego Padres – After masquerading as a big-market club for several seasons, the Padres waved goodbye to Cease, Suarez, and fellow pitcher Michael King as well as three-time batting champion Luis Arraez. With ownership uncertain, trade-maker A.J. Preller had to deal with tighter purse-strings this winter.

5. San Francisco Giants – Even after adding Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman to their infield over the last two seasons, the NL West title still seems a distant goal for this perennial also-ran. Catching the front-running Dodgers seems out of reach but the second-place Padres might be possible.

6. Chicago Cubs – After winning 92 games in 2025, the Cubs proved short of starting pitching in the playoffs. They could be short of hitting as well if MVP contender Kyle Tucker signs elsewhere, presumably with a well-endowed contender such as either New York team, Toronto, Philadelphia, or the Dodgers.

Brewing Deals?

7. Milwaukee Brewers – All talk and no action? After coming so close to the National League pennant last season, the small-market Brewers say they are open for business but driving hard bargains. Everyone is available, according to club sources, but No. 1 starter Freddy Peralta, ticketed for an $8 million salary in 2026, is most in demand, with William Contreras a close second. Either would command a significant return.

8. Arizona Diamondbacks – The D’backs spent the meetings searching for pitching, probably in a deal for All-Star infielder Ketel Marte. Arizona needs pitching to replace erstwhile ace Zac Gallen, a free agent who once started an All-Star Game, and Merrill Kelly, traded away in July with free agency around the corner. So far, the team has been reluctant to pull the trigger on a trade or two.