Baseball Podcast

The Baseball Podcast dives into one of the most pivotal pressure-cooker weeks on the MLB calendar, taking you inside the financial and roster decisions that are quietly reshaping the next several seasons. This isn’t just hot-stove chatter. With the non-tender deadline and Rule 5 protection crunch converging around November 20th, front offices are being forced into high-stakes choices that reveal exactly who is all-in to contend and who is hedging for the future.The episode opens with Atlanta, the franchise that always seems one step ahead of the market. The hosts break down why Alex Anthopoulos moved aggressively to lock up elite closer Raisel Iglesias on a one-year, $16 million deal, what that price tag says about the exploding value of late-inning arms, and how the Braves outmaneuvered contenders like the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mets, and Orioles to keep their anchor. From there, they unpack Atlanta’s quieter swap of Mauricio Dubón for Nick Allen and the brutal reality of the Davis Daniel experiment, showing just how thin the margin is between cheap, reliable depth and a total miss.Then the show zooms out to the blockbuster that defines this moment of the offseason: the Orioles sending four years of cost-controlled upside in Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels for one year of slugger Taylor Ward. You’ll hear why Baltimore is willing to sacrifice long-term pitching control to maximize a win-now window around Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, and why Los Angeles is gambling its future on the health of a potential ace. The hosts walk through the cascading roster consequences for both teams and what this trade says about organizational identity, risk tolerance, and timelines.Houston occupies a different kind of crossroads. The episode digs into the Astros’ salary-shedding Dubón trade, the slow erosion of a once-dominant core, and why their entire winter strategy seems to orbit around a possible Pete Alonso pursuit. From luxury-tax math to potential trade chips like Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes, you’ll get a clear picture of how a club tries to spend its way out of decline while still staying under the tax line. That naturally leads into a wide-angle look at the top of the market: Cody Bellinger’s New York tug-of-war, Alonso’s fit with the Red Sox and Astros, and Tarek Skubal as the trade ace whose availability is freezing the pitching market for arms like Joe Ryan and Pablo López.The hosts also explain how an unusually high rate of accepted qualifying offers has thrown gasoline on the financial chaos. Brandon Woodruff and Shota Imanaga taking one-year, $22 million deals radically alters the Brewers’ and Cubs’ budgets, tightening flexibility and reshaping who can realistically chase big names. Gleyber Torres and Trent Grisham staying put at premium prices force the Yankees to rethink their Bellinger push and make the non-tender deadline even more ruthless, as players like Camilo Doval, Mark Leiter Jr., Oswaldo Cabrera, Jonathan India, Gavin Lux, David Fry, and Joey Lucchesi are evaluated more like line items on a spreadsheet than familiar faces.From there, the conversation turns to the chess game of 40-man roster construction and the Rule 5 draft. The Mets’ decision to eat Frankie Montas’ salary to protect breakout outfielder Nick Morabito contrasts sharply with the Tigers’ agonizing choices over high-upside bats like Theron Lorenzo, Howie Lee, and Eduardo Valencia. The Pirates’ faith in an injured Jack Brannigan and the Braves’ willingness to expose a low-ceiling arm like Ian Mejia become case studies in how upside, health, and risk are weighted inside modern front offices.

The World Series is over, but the drama is just getting started. In this episode, “Major League Baseball Offseason News and Rumors,” Baseball Podcast takes you inside the chaos of the 2026 hot stove, where every opt-out, trade rumor, and free agent meeting has the power to reshape the entire league.The hosts start by resetting the board after a wild 2025 season, walking through the major award winners and what they signal about the sport’s future. You’ll hear how Aaron Judge captured his third AL MVP in a razor-thin race over Cal Raleigh, why Shohei Ohtani’s fourth MVP with the Dodgers puts him in truly historic company, and how Cy Young winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal just became the pitching pillars their franchises will build around. They also break down Rookie of the Year honors for Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin, explaining how Baldwin’s win triggers a valuable Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick for the Braves, and why that rule is quietly changing how teams handle top prospects.From there, the episode pivots to the emotional fallout of the World Series itself. The Dodgers’ title run and the Blue Jays’ heartbreak set the tone for two very different approaches to the winter. On the L.A. side, the hosts spotlight veteran infielder Miguel Rojas and his game-tying homer in Game 7 as a masterclass in the underrated value of utility players, and explain why his free agency decision suddenly matters so much for their depth chart. On the Toronto side, they trace how Ernie Clement went from scrap-heap pickup to World Series hero hitting .411 in October, and how breakout arm Treya Savage just gave the Jays a cost-controlled rotation anchor who frees up money for a big bat.Then it’s on to the biggest names on the market. The show digs into Max Scherzer’s next move at age 41 and why a one-year reunion with Detroit makes sense, before turning to the contract battles that will define the winter. You’ll get a full breakdown of Pete Alonso’s opt-out from the Mets, the tension between his elite production and long-term defensive concerns, and the very real possibility he ends up launching homers for a rival like the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, or Orioles. The hosts also examine Toronto’s aggressive pursuit of Kyle Tucker, explain why the Yankees and Mets may sit that one out, and walk through Alex Bregman’s bold decision to walk away from $80 million in Boston—complete with David Ortiz publicly lobbying for him to return.No offseason episode would be complete without pitching, and this one delivers. The conversation covers Edwin Díaz’s bid to reset the closer market with a five-year, $100 million deal, the Dodgers’ and Blue Jays’ interest, and why Raisel Iglesias has become the “Plan B” that might actually be smarter value. The hosts widen the lens to the global arms race, profiling Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai as a high-floor mid-rotation prize without draft-pick penalties, and breaking down why the Cubs are so fixated on trading for Dylan Cease after Shota Imanaga’s departure.Front office strategy is a recurring theme throughout. You’ll hear how the Mets’ pursuit of an ace is boxed in by brutal qualified free agent penalties, why the Mariners are prioritizing keeping Josh Naylor and Jorge Polanco over big external splashes, and how a thin catching market could force the Phillies to choose steady defensive excellence from J.T. Realmuto over Kyle Schwarber’s 56-homer power. The show also hits on the Pirates’ rumored $30 million payroll bump around Paul Skenes, the Twins’ delicate Rule 5 roster juggling with prospects like Gabriel Gonzalez, ownership uncertainty in San Diego, the Orioles’ quiet coaching upgrade with Miguel Cairo, and Erasmo Ramirez’s attempt to reinvent himself as a swingman for 2026.