Rumor Mill: Astros and Paredes, Tucker, Bichette, Bellinger

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For weeks, baseball insiders have been saying that the free agent market has been slow moving. However it only takes one big move to potentially jump start things, and we may have gotten that in the Chicago Cubs signing free agent 3B Alex Bregman to a 5 year, $175M deal.

Where does that take us? Let’s take a look:

Are the Astros and Red Sox potential trade partners?

They sure might be. Boston continues it’s aversion to no-trade clauses and it cost them Bregman, reportedly their top offseason target. The Red Sox are now scrambling, and the Astros may have their best shot at redemption.

Red Sox fans are furious. The team traded Rafael Devers last season, with the pledge they would reinvest the money they saved. Devers sulked after losing the 3B job to the defensively Bregman, then refused to play 1B when Triston Casas was injured and earned his way out of town. Bregman was revered in the clubhouse for his play on the field and his leadership both on and off it. For the team to now let Bregman walk was more than just a gut punch for fans.

The options for the Sox are dwindling. They can write a megacheck to Bo Bichette if he would play 3B for them (estimated at 7-8 years, near $30M AAV), they can write a large check for Eugenio Suarez (estimated at 2-3 years, $25M AAV) or they can swing a trade.

Their best trade candidates include Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals, Nico Hoerner of the Cubs, and Isaac Paredes of the Astros.

Paredes clearly brings the most power, and his swing would play beautifully in the friendly confines of Fenway Park. While defensively he is below average, he is far from a butcher at 3B with the glove.

Nico Hoerner hits for a high average and has tremendous speed but little power. He is a gold glove winner at 2B but has player 8 career MLB games at 3B.

Donovan also offers far less pop than Paredes and is also a gold glove winner. He has played a grand total of 46 games at 3B in his major league career.

Internally, the Red Sox depth chart lists Romy Gonzalez at the top of the 3B chart. The 29 year old is coming off a career year, but he has 21 games at 3B in his MLB career and his 315 AB last season were a career high. Whether he can duplicate his newfound success at the plate is unknown, whether he can man the hot corner for a full season is a large stretch to ask someone who hasn’t played it much.

Paredes bring some thump to a lineup that is missing it right now and the Red Sox have 2 things the Astros want in return: a left-handed hitting OF and young starting pitching.

Connelly Early would be a terrific return for the Astros, as the young lefty impressed in 4 starts for the Red Sox last season. Early went 1-2, 2.33 ERA and 1.086 WHIP with a 29/4 K/BB ratio in 19.1 IP.

The Sox are also rumored to be looking to clear a logjam in their outfield, and 29 year old Jarren Duran is reportedly available. Arbitration eligible for the first time, he is considered to be coming of a ‘down year’, even though he was nearly a 5 WAR player in 2025. This is because he was nearly a 9 WAR player in 2024. Duran has blazing speed, is a basestealer, has led the AL in triples each of the past 2 seasons, and has posted 40+ doubles each of the past 2 seasons as well. He does strike out a lot, but he also walks. Duran would give the Astros a dynamic they don’t have on their team right now, and would be the best option to start in LF everyday with Yordan Alvarez expected to primarily DH.

The Sox and Astros definitely line up need and want for need and want, so this situation bears watching.

Where does that leave Bo Bichette?

The Yankees reportedly got in on the Bichette talks after Bregman left for the North Side, but it’s rumored to be too little too late, as the Phillies are currently the odds-on favorite to sign Bichette.

The Phillies recently brought on Bichette’s former bench coach and confidant Don Mattingly. Bichette and Mattingly are reported to have an excellent relationship. The Phillies have also shown they are not afraid to write a big check.

The Phillies track record of signing players to big deals certainly makes you feel the Red Sox have no shot here, since they dumped out of their last major long term deal and just refused to write one to keep Bregman.

It seems unlikely Bichette will return to Toronto, which of course leads us to…

Where is Kyle Tucker going to play in 2026?

It seems that Tucker’s biggest suitors right now are the Blue Jays, Mets and Dodgers. It looks like it could boil down to how many years.

According to various reports, the Jays seems to be willing to go the longest on years (possibly 7), the Mets are in the middle at a somewhat higher AAV but less years (4-5), and the Dodgers would reportedly be willing to pay major AAV on a short term deal (maybe 3 years).

Tucker spent the majority of his time on a World Series contender in Houston, I am curious to see if that would have the Mets as his lowest priority among the three teams most rumored to be his strongest suitors.

Will the Yankees finally pay Cody Bellinger?

Isn’t it amazing that we have an offseason where both Yankees fans and Red Sox fans are furious with their teams? It could very well warm the cockles of the hearts of even the coldest of baseball fans.

While the Yankees have yet to awaken from their offseason slumber, they have been making offers to Cody Bellinger in an attempt to bring him back to the Bronx.

So far, however, they can’t close the deal.

Bellinger, seeing Bregman land a 5 year deal, is positioning himself for a 7 year deal alluding to the point he is 2 years younger than Bregman.

Bob Nightengale reported the Yankees offered Bellinger a 5 year deal in the $155-160M range (with no deferrals), but Cody wants 7 years.

Buster Olney reported that the Yankees are operating under the belief that Bellinger will sign somewhere else and now may be turning to the trade market for Luis Robert of the White Sox or Nico Hoerner of the Cubs.

If the Blue Jays miss out on Tucker, Bellinger could become their top target.

Could the Mets really steal a top Yankees bat 2 years in a row? The New York Tabloids would go insane. Yankees fans would lose their minds. Mets fans would be trash talking the Yankees fans like its 1986. Dogs and cats would be living together in harmony. You love to see it.

Heard around:

Former GM Jim Bowden said he hasn’t heard of any teams in on C J.T. Realmuto.

This is wild to me that a catcher of his caliber has no interest. Maybe teams expect him to go back to Philly, but it is still wild he can’t generate any interest. Could he really wind up back in Philly on a discount?

No one is interested in trading for Astros 1B Christian Walker

Chandler Rome reported this week that there is no traction on any deal for Walker, and that makes sense considering the amount of talent still on the market right now. Also, it’s never a good idea to sell low, you always want to sell high, and Walker’s value right now is low.

There is still the chance that he rebounds in 2026, evidenced by his very solid 2nd half where he posted a .799 OPS.

Is Ketel Marte really off the market?

I’m not entirely sure how a franchise lets a player dangle on the trade block for an offseason under the guise he is a locker room problem, and then pulls him off the market and expects that transition back to the team to be smooth.

I’m not sure how overblown the clubhouse issues are with Marte, but I’m willing to bet there is at least some degree that they are. He is also still a very productive player signed to a below market contract. The biggest issue in trading him is that the Diamondbacks (rightly so) wants a king’s ransom for him, and that is tough to get when the free agent market still has so much fruit to bear.

While Ken Rosenthal reported earlier this week that the DBacks have taken Marte off the market, I would not be surprised if the team suddenly had a hot deal on the table as we got closer to March and the top talent on the free agent market is signed.

Is Tarik Skubal’s arbitration case about to accelerate his departure from Detroit?

The Tigers filed their arbitration case with Tarik Skubal at $19M. Skubal filed at $32M. It’s little wonder the two sides couldn’t find common ground for the 2x Cy Young Award winner.

Skubal is a unique case for arbitration, but he’s also an elite pitcher, and it’s hard to comprehend a major market team like Detroit refusing to pay one of the biggest stars and biggest draws in the game. Yet, here we are.

If Skubal wins his arbitration case and gets $32M (arbitration is win or lose, no middle ground, so he gets $32M or $19M), it could very well accelerate the Tigers decision to trade him.

It’s possible if Skubal lands $32M in arbitration and has another killer year, he will be looking at $40M+ as a free agent, and there are only a handful of teams that are willing to pay that kind of cash.

I think it’s possible that the arbitration case could be the final straw that pushes Skubal out of Detroit, and it could also be a roadmap for what lies ahead with Paul Skenes and the Pirates.

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