As you’re eating Thanksgiving leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, here are three things to keep an eye on around baseball today:
1. Black Friday shopping:
After a quiet Thanksgiving Day, will any teams resume their offseason shopping on Black Friday? It’s not typically a busy day on the baseball calendar, but it’s not as if every front office executive around the league takes the day off. Three years ago, for instance, news broke that the Mets had signed Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar on Black Friday.
If any team is going to be active today, the Blue Jays might be the best bet. After all, Canadian Thanksgiving has long since passed, and the Jays have been active on Black Friday before; they traded for Josh Donaldson on Black Friday in 2014 and signed free agent J.A. Happ on Black Friday in 2015. Toronto has been linked to several of the top free agents this winter, including Juan Soto, Max Fried, and Anthony Santander. Most recently, a report from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet connected the Blue Jays to Alex Bregman and Luis Severino.
2. Hyeseong Kim to be posted?
According to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, Hyeseong Kim left for Los Angeles earlier today in anticipation of his move from the KBO to MLB. His current team, the Kiwoom Heroes, has not yet posted him, but they are discussing the topic with Kim’s agents at CAA. The three-time KBO Golden Glove winner told Yoo he expects to be posted after Thanksgiving. That suggests he’ll be available to sign with MLB clubs as early as next week. After he is officially posted, he will have 45 days to sign a contract before his posting window closes.
Kim came in at no. 26 on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list this offseason. And unlike fellow international star Roki Sasaki, Kim is old enough and has the necessary amount of professional experience to sign with any MLB club for as many years and dollars as he can command. Given his plus speed, his defensive talents at second base, his well-regarded bat-to-ball skills, and his youth (he won’t turn 26 until January), the MLBTR staff predicted him to sign a three-year, $24 million deal.
3. Soto sweepstakes continue:
Until he puts pen to paper on a (presumably) record-breaking contract, Juan Soto’s free agency will remain the biggest story of the 2024-25 MLB offseason. The latest update in the Soto saga, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, is that the Yankees increased their offer on Wednesday, although it is not clear what their previous offer was or how much they upped the original number.
More tidbits from Heyman’s reporting include the fact that Soto would prefer a long-term deal as opposed to a shorter contract with a higher AAV. However, he is likely to ask for opt-outs in whatever deal he signs. The Yankees made it clear they are willing to include opt-outs in their offer, but reportedly, so are multiple other suitors. Don’t expect Soto to sign this weekend, but keep an eye out for reports and rumors that will surely continue to trickle out.