MLB free agency tracker: All the signings, trades and spring training action before 2022 Opening Day (2024)

We were promised a ton of movement the moment the lockout ended, and thus far those promises have come true. As we've been writing, this wouldn’t just be the spring training we all know, it would be The Wildest Spring Training Ever. So far it's been pretty lively. On Sunday morning, Trevor Story agreed to a six-year deal with Boston. And this came after we saw three big late signings on Friday night, as Carlos Correa agreed to a three-year deal with Minnesota, Nick Castellanos agreed to a five-year deal in Philly and Kenley Jansen's 12-year tenure in Los Angeles comes to an end as he joins the reigning champion Atlanta Braves.

Ken Rosenthal, Jayson Stark, Britt Ghiroli, Jim Bowden and the rest of The Athletic’s MLB staff will keep you up to date with the latest rumors, signings, deals and analysis. Follow along.

Required reading

• Everything you need to know about the many MLB schedule changes
• The All-Unsigned Team: A roster of the top remaining MLB free agents
• Top 70 remaining MLB free agents: Jim Bowden’s cheat sheet for when baseball returns
• Quick analysis of every single deal in the first 5 days of baseball’s post-lockout madness
• MLB’s collective bargaining agreement: Guide to the changes in the 2022-26 labor deal

(Photo of Carlos Correa: Mary DeCicco / MLB Photos via Getty Images)

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Maybe 36 hours after the Phillies had agreed to terms with Kyle Schwarber, someone closed the door to Dave Dombrowski’s office at BayCare Ballpark for a high-level meeting among the team’s brain trust. It was Thursday morning. The baseball group, led by Dombrowski, had a presentation to make to John Middleton.

The Phillies had viewed Schwarber as their priority target — they made him an offer before the 99-day lockout — and when they secured him for $79 million, the heaviest lifting was over. Dombrowski, the veteran executive, refocused his front office on obtaining a smaller upgrade to the pitching staff and one more bench bat. The budget was $230 million — right to the new threshold that incurred luxury tax — because the Phillies had never paid tax.

Team officials — both from the current regime and the previous one under former general manager Matt Klentak — have told stories about how Middleton would always have one question for them: “Is there anything else we should be doing?” The managing ownership partner had signaled he would pay the tax if it was a means to acquire the one player to make the Phillies title contenders. So, the baseball people had never broached that subject with ownership. There wasn’t one player who would have elevated the Phillies to that status in recent seasons.

And there wasn’t one who would do that now either. But, in the 36 hours between agreeing to terms with Schwarber on Tuesday night and this Thursday morning meeting in Dombrowski’s office, something had changed. Dombrowski is not afraid to make deals and he’s made compelling cases to owners for decades to spend more money.

Now he had an idea for Middleton: Nick Castellanos. The Phillies had done the groundwork to understand Castellanos’ market and wondered if the asking price might be more palatable than they expected, even with a compensation draft pick required.

Over the three winters that Chaim Bloom has been in charge of baseball operations for the Red Sox, he’s made a series of smaller, short-term additions to the roster, noting that there would be a time when he’d make a big deal — but that he wouldn’t do so just for the sake of it.

He could have made bigger splashes last offseason but opted to sign players like Kiké Hernández (two years, $14 million) and Hunter Renfroe (one year, $3 million) Garrett Richards (one year, $10 million) and Martin Pérez (one year, $6 million) to shorter deals that offered the team flexibility for the future, a phrase he repeated ad nauseam. Some of the moves worked, some didn’t, but they were part of his long-term plan to position the roster for when the big moves did come.

He continually asked for patience; finally, Sunday, that patience was rewarded as sources confirmed that the Red Sox agreed to a six-year, $140 million deal with free-agent infielder Trevor Story.

Now that the big move has been made, it will have trickle-down effects across the Red Sox roster, in ways both straightforward and complex.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees are getting outspent and outmaneuvered.

The three-year, $105.3 million contract with two opt-outs that shortstop Carlos Correa signed with the Minnesota Twins raises an inevitable question: Why didn’t the Yankees do that?

The optics of the missed opportunity are made worse by the trade the Yankees made with the Twins less than a week earlier that sent third baseman Gio Urshela and catcher Gary Sánchez to Minnesota in exchange for third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.

The Yankees will take on the $50 million Donaldson had remaining on his contract, which is offset by the combined salaries of Urshela ($6.55 million in 2022, fourth-year arbitration in 2023) and Sánchez (projected to be $7.9 million in 2022). Kiner-Falefa is projected to earn $4.9 million in second-year arbitration. (Due to the MLB-imposed lockout, arbitration figure exchanges are scheduled for Tuesday.)

In the end, the Yankees added a third baseman, shortstop and catcher. The Twins have added, well, a third baseman, shortstop and catcher. Ultimately, the Twins moved Donaldson’s remaining guarantee off the books, which was almost half of what they have committed to Correa if he stays all three years in Minnesota.

Have the Mets done enough?

That’s the question when one looks around the expansive facility at Clover Park — and indeed across the division’s other outposts in Florida. It isn’t about whether ownership cares the proper amount (“proper” being defined here, as almost always, nebulously), whether it has provided enough resources for the Mets to be competitive in the National League East, narrowly, and the senior circuit more broadly.

The question is whether the additions the Mets have made to this point constitute enough for them to track down the four-time defending division champs and one-time defending World Series champs in Atlanta, whether they’re enough for New York to end a six-year postseason drought and to make noise when it does.

And at the moment, I don’t think they are.

1. Can you believe the Minnesota Twins signed Carlos Correa? Yes, it actually happened. We double-checked and everything.

2. Correa was the consensus No. 1 player in this star-studded free-agent class, which is why no one — the Twins front office included — could have imagined him landing in Minnesota at the start of the offseason. The Athletic ranked him the No. 1 free agent, as did ESPN, FanGraphs, MLB.com, Sports Illustrated, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Trade Rumors and nearly every other major list.

An executive opined last night that Boston had to get Story or it would be a mutiny for the Red Sox fanbase. And certainly finally landing a top-50 free agent will quell the masses. That it’s Story, the best infielder available outside of Carlos Correa, is significant for a Boston team that has been fiscally conservative under chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and already has a shortstop, Xander Bogaerts, which is Story’s preferred position.

Obviously, Story’s bat is the main get here, but he’s an above-average defensive player and was an NL Gold Glove finalist in 2019 at shortstop. (Though he has never played second base, his likely spot this season, at the big-league level.)

PHOENIX — Maybe at a later date, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson will clarify whether he was being coy when asked for his reaction to the Carlos Correa signing, and he responded with “which team?” His demeanor didn’t change much when he found out there was a new contender for the best shortstop in the American League Central; and along with it, a much stronger Twins club scheduled to face the Sox 19 times this season.

“It’s just one player, but we’ve really got to respect every team in the division,” Anderson said. “I assume that everybody is trying to get better. You can see all the moves that are going on. But for the most part we’ve just got to compete. We’ve got the lineup to hopefully continue to be successful, if everybody stays healthy. It should be a great year.”

The Twins rotation and bullpen still bear the marks of last season’s 89-loss campaign and related mid-season sell-off, and even their offensive additions will account for the recent losses of Mitch Garver and Josh Donaldson. Like the White Sox, the Twins are in the middle of too many ongoing conversations about potential moves to be fully judged as a finished product. But even now, signing the top free agent in the sport quickly vaults the Twins into the conversation with or above the level of ascending Tigers and Royals clubs that are aiming and expected to be improved from last year.

“The Twins are a good ballclub,” Sox starter Lucas Giolito said. “They had a rough year last year. But they’ve been adding pieces like we all saw, especially with Correa last night. Obviously a very competitive team and we welcome the challenge.”

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Thinking of investing in Xander Bogaerts? If so, well-known financial analyst J.D. Martinez has crunched the numbers and is happy to share his market report with you.

In a nutshell, said Martinez, “Xander’s going to be rich.”

Martinez spoke these words on Saturday morning, and the setting, and for that matter the timing, could not have been better. The timing: It was earlier in the morning, much earlier, as in when most people were still asleep, that the news dropped that free agent shortstop Carlos Correa had agreed to a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Minnesota Twins. The setting: It so happens that the “J.D. Martinez” locker is just to the right of the “Xander Bogaerts” locker inside the Red Sox clubhouse at JetBlue Park, which means Martinez was on the scene as a crush of media all but pushed the poor fella aside while descending on Bogaerts to find out what Boston’s incumbent shortstop had to say about Minnesota’s new shortstop.

“I mean, I guess it’s what he wanted,” Bogaerts said. “In the end, he signed it. That’s what he signed. He deserves it. He’s been an excellent player throughout his career since he came up. He’s been injured a couple times but when he’s been on the field he’s definitely one of the best players in the game.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When the offseason began, the industry expectation was that Carlos Correa would cash in on his desired long-term mega-contract, and not with the Astros, who generally don’t swim in the deep end of the free-agent pool.

But when Correa didn’t sign before the lockout, and his free agency continued to drag out after the transaction freeze was lifted, a cautious optimism seemed to brew in Houston’s clubhouse.

“I think the guys were hopeful,” Jason Castro said. “Obviously, we weren’t banking on it or anything.”

“I was hopeful,” Alex Bregman said. “I was really hopeful.”

“When somebody’s unsigned, you always have a chance,” Martín Maldonado said.

Those hopes were dashed late Friday for some and first-thing Saturday for others, when the overnight news of Correa’s three-year, $103.5 million, opt-out-laden contract with the Twins made the rounds. Before and after their spring training workout Saturday, Astros players spoke about the shortstop’s departure, his legacy within the team and moving forward with the 2022 iteration of the roster as they prepare for Opening Day.

The Miami Marlins and free agent Jorge Soler are in agreement on a three-year, $36 million deal, a source confirmed to The Athletic. There are opt-outs after each of the first two years.

Soler, 30, played for the Kansas City Royals before getting traded to the Atlanta Braves at last year's deadline. The outfielder won his second World Series with the Braves last season (his first was with the Chicago Cubs in 2016). Soler was named the World Series MVP in 2021, becoming the third designated hitter to win the award.

In 2021, Soler batted .223/.316/.432 with 27 home runs and 70 RBIs.

The Marlins finished with a 67-95 record in 2021, in fourth place in the NL East.

NORTH PORT, Fla. — When Evan Gattis heard reliever Collin McHugh signed with the Braves, the former Atlanta catcher texted this Braves writer and said, “He’s freakin great. Awesome. He’s incredible on the mound, too.”

Gattis was teammates with McHugh for four seasons in Houston, including the 2017 World Series championship team. That team also featured current Braves co-ace Charlie Morton, who gave a glowing recommendation when Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos asked about McHugh.

“He’s a great, great guy,” Morton said. “I was really excited when I heard that Alex was interested and the Braves were interested. I’ve been keeping in touch with Collin. He’s an Atlanta native. I know he loves the city. I’m really excited for him and the chance to play at home. But I’m even more excited to spend some more time with him.”

McHugh, 34, was among baseball’s elite relievers in two of the last four seasons. Last season with Tampa Bay, he recorded a 1.55 ERA over 64 innings (37 appearances) and tallied 74 strikeouts with only 12 walks, and three homers allowed. That alone made him a strong candidate for a Braves bullpen that returned three outstanding left-handers but only one righty from a unit that was a team strength after the All-Star break and throughout their World Series run.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Miguel Sanó clapped three times when he first heard the news. Sonny Gray immediately felt an energy boost in the Twins clubhouse. And Brent Rooker and Jake Cave helped Nick Gordon devise a strategy on how to maximize the value of his jersey number.

You could say Carlos Correa had the Twins appropriately fired up Saturday morning.

Hours after word of Correa’s three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins leaked on social media, players’ emotions in the clubhouse ranged from shocked to excited to motivated. The contract includes opt outs after the first and second season for Correa, who produced 7.2 wins above replacement last season, according to Baseball-Reference. Combined with last weekend’s flurry of trades that rearranged the roster and the club’s finances, the sense in the clubhouse is the Twins are going for it.

“We’ve been here for what, five (days), and it feels like three of them already have been big changes,” reliever Tyler Duffey said. “It’s exciting.

MESA, Ariz. — When Seiya Suzuki recently visited Yu Darvish’s home in the San Diego area, the two Japanese players compared the recruiting videos they received from the Cubs. The slick, professional production was created specifically for Suzuki, showing how the team travels and featuring players and their wives who explained their comfort level in Chicago, hitting the big ideas the Cubs once highlighted during their negotiations with Darvish. The sales pitch still resonated with Darvish even after the Cubs traded him to the Padres at the midway point of a six-year, $126 million contract.

Suzuki listened as Darvish and his wife, Seiko, described their experiences in Chicago. The day games at Wrigley Field allowed for the rhythms of a normal job, having breakfast with the family in the morning and getting home in time for dinner. Darvish appreciated the support and patience from Cubs fans and Cubs staffers as he struggled with injuries during his first season in Chicago in 2018. Darvish gravitated toward the team’s Ivy technology and felt a sense of freedom on the mound, finishing second in the 2020 National League Cy Young Award voting.

As the initial shock wore off, Darvish graciously handled the news of the trade, which for the Cubs addressed both a declining farm system and the budget cuts in baseball operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Landing in a great spot like San Diego certainly helped with the transition. But Darvish harbored no bitterness toward the Cubs, considering Nao Masamoto, the team’s video coordinator/Pacific Rim liaison, and Vijay Tekchandani, the director of major-league travel and clubhouse operations, to be close friends.

Though the Padres also targeted Suzuki, Darvish shared his honest opinion about the Cubs: You’re going to love it.

My first thought, upon learning of Carlos Correa’s midnight ride to Minnesota, was this: Why didn’t the Yankees or Astros pull off what the Twins did, and agree with Correa on a three-year, $105.3 million free-agent contract with opt-outs after each of the first two years?

My second thought, though, was this: It’s great for the game that neither the Yankees nor Astros ended up with Correa, as frustrating as that might be to the respective fan bases of those two teams.

Back in February, when the conclusion of the owners’ lockout was still a month away, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark and I predicted the wildest spring-training ever. One category Jayson and I failed to include, however, was More Teams Trying.

Remind me again: Why did the owners do that lockout? Because the business of baseball sure looks healthy to me. And a cross-country National League rivalry is only getting better.

On the same day the Dodgers introduced Braves icon Freddie Freeman as the new first baseman in Los Angeles, Atlanta countered by signing closer Kenley Jansen, a mainstay at the back of the Dodgers bullpen for the past decade. It would be foolish to reduce the National League to a contest between the two superteams. But it sure looks that way, at least at the outset of the season. These clubs have met three times in the postseason in the past four years. A fourth matchup looks like it would be a blast.

Nick Castellanos is lauded as a clubhouse leader with a sensational bat but there are valid concerns about his long-term ability in the outfield, though the team Philly has assembled is clearly willing to sacrifice defense for offensive power. Combined with the addition of Kyle Schwarber, Castellanos could help the Phillies have one of the best lineups in the league as they try to keep pace in the division with the Braves and Mets. New hitting coach Kevin Long will be tasked with trying to maximize the lineup and avoid long slumps, though hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park should bode well for the swings of Castellanos and Schwarber.

The Phillies, who sailed over the luxury tax threshold with this move, have given Bryce Harper — the reigning NL MVP — considerable offensive firepower alongside of him. If the bullpen holds up, it could be a fun summer in Philly as a result.

The Twins acquisition immediately puts them in the win-now category, signaling that the front office believes the team can rebound after stumbling to a last-place finish in 2021.

There is still work to be done in the rotation, and renewed optimism that Minnesota isn’t done constructing its 2022 team. You don’t add a player like Correa for the short term and not go all-in.

With Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber secured for a combined $179 million, the Phillies will still be projected to finish third in the National League East. But team officials think the gap between the Mets and Phillies isn’t as wide as public projections. The defending-champion Braves might be in a different class after their own frenetic offseason. They outscored the Phillies by 19 runs in 19 games last season, but the margin between the teams was evident in the final week of the season.

All three teams reloaded and prioritized certain traits. The Phillies look like a team built for their ballpark, one that plans to outslug everyone while constructing a pitching staff rife with potential holes backed by a defense that will be among the worst in the majors. It’s a little crazy, the whole thing, but so is a decade without postseason baseball in Philadelphia.