Yankees Predicted to Replace Trent Grisham With 3-Time Batting Champ
The New York Yankees followed up last year's World Series appearance with a holistic roster overhaul, bringing in Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Devin Williams and others as Juan Soto departed.
It was a reminder that the team rarely misses an opportunity to acquire new talent and that no level of success will keep the front office from adding even more marquee players. With that in mind, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted that the Yankees would replace an upcoming roster loss with another high-profile addition.
"Assuming Trent Grisham walks in free agency, the Yankees will be lacking an obvious candidate to hit leadoff," Reuter wrote. "Adding a contact-oriented hitter like Luis Arraez to an offense that ranks sixth in the majors with 1,267 strikeouts would bring some balance."
Adding a hitter like Arraez would certainly balance the Yankees' batting order alongside the likes of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and he should be available as he's set for free agency at the end of the season.
Arraez is slashing .283/.318/.386 for the San Diego Padres so far this season and he is coming off of his third consecutive batting title season. But his game has some notable gaps that might give the Yankees pause.
He is not considered to be a strong defender or baserunner, and those have been thorns in the Yankees' side this year. But if the team is willing to overlook those issues to address another weakness - the lack of contact hitting within their boom-or-bust batting order - Arraez could be the kind of star who reinforces the Yankees roster this coming winter.
Dodgers Predicted to Sign Top MLB Free Agent After 2025 Season
Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman
The Los Angeles Dodgers have notoriously been one of the top spenders in MLB for several years now. They showed that at the beginning of 2025, they signed many top free agents to improve their roster.
However, that has not led them to become the juggernaut team many analysts and executives thought they would be. Los Angeles is 79-64 and will likely not reach the 90-win mark with just 20 games left this regular season.
Whatever the Dodgers do in the postseason, one MLB Insider believes they will sign the top free agent after 2025.
Dodgers Predicted to Sign Kyle Tucker
The Chicago Cubs’ slugger is having a rough last two months of the season, but is still considered the top free agent.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale believes it will be to the Los Angeles Dodgers:
“Rival executives still believe he’ll be the highest-paid player in free agency,” Bob Nightengale reported Monday. “Their prediction where he’ll land? The Dodgers, who badly could use outfield help.”
The Dodgers could use outfield help, but signing Tucker to say, $400 million would put them far over the luxury tax. But it would address a much-needed positional issue. Los Angeles signed Michael Conforto to a one-year, $17 million deal before the season, and he has looked like a massive bust the entire season.
Conforto still isn’t above the .200 average mark, despite playing in 124 games. His OPS is 77, well below league average. The Dodgers also traded for left fielder Alex Call back in July, and he hasn’t had much production either. Signing Kyle Tucker in free agency is right up the Dodgers’ wheelhouse.
Although Tucker has struggled for the past few months, he’s still had a solid season. Kyle Tucker still has 22 home runs and an OPS+ of 140.
Kyle Tucker Has So Many Accolades As a Player
Bleacher Report recently came out with a prediction piece about Kyle Tucker’s free agency, and it showed how tenured he is as a player:
“After all, Tucker’s resume includes a World Series title, four All-Star selections, a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. He led the league in RBI in 2023 when he was with the Houston Astros and has hit more than 20 home runs in each of the last five seasons. While he hasn’t been himself since the All-Star break with a .242 batting average, five home runs and 17 RBI, some of that can be explained by injury concerns. And he still has solid overall numbers this season with a .270/.381/.472 slash line, 22 home runs and 73 RBI. Tucker is also just 28 years old, which is another reason he will surely command a significant deal this offseason.”
The next question is how much the Dodgers would pay him, and that will be up to Tucker’s agent.
Fans of other MLB teams would not be happy with the Dodgers making a big-money signing like this, but it would put a lot of pressure on the Cubs to attempt to dish out a higher AAV contract. Tucker’s free agency will be one of the highest-anticipated events this offseason.
