Offseason Week 11 Recap | Jan. 14 - Jan. 20
Looking at What Happend During Week 11 of the 2024/25 MLB Offseason
We are now less than 1 month away from Spring Training, which means that we only have a few more weekly recaps before the offseason is over. Today, we are going to be looking at the few things that happened during this week of the 2024-2025 MLB offseason.
Free Agent Signings
Mets Bring Back Veteran
Although the New York Mets didn’t have a huge trade deadline haul in 2024, one piece that they added was veteran LF Jesse Winker in a trade with the Washington Nationals. This small deal ended up being big for the Mets, who would make the playoffs and reach the National League Championship. Winker, who had 7 hits in 22 plate appearances in the postseason, became a free agent after New York was eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and as a veteran, there wasn’t a ton of demand for Winker. Luckily, the Mets & Jesse Winker agree on a 1-year, $8 million contract, which keeps him in The Big Apple for another season. Between the Nationals & Mets, Winker hit .253/.360/.405 with a total of 14 homeruns & 58 RBIs in the 2024 regular season. Winker, who will now be sharing the outfield of Citi Field with superstar Juan Soto, now looks to help bring a championship to Queens.
A’s Welcome Former World Champion Reliever
The Athletics, who had been one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball for multiple years will improve yet again with their most recent free agent signing, adding RP Jose Leclerc to their bullpen on a 1-year, $10 million deal. Leclerc, a former Texas Ranger, who helped them win the 2023 World Series, appeared in 64 games in 2024, going 6-5 with a 4.32 ERA & 89 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. Leclerc joins Tyler Ferguson, Hogan Harris, All-Star closer Mason Miller, & multiple others in the Athletics’ bullpen— trying to prove he is still a quality reliever after a down year.
Blue Jays Finally Add Top Free Agent
Over the past few years, the Toronto Blue Jays have been very close to signing some top free agents on the market, most notably SP/DH Shohei Ohtani in 2023 and SP Roki Sasaki this year. However, Toronto finally got a deal done with a big free agent, signing All-Star OF Anthony Santander to a 5-year, $92.5 million deal. The switch-hitting Santander had a batting average of .335 along with a .814 OPS in 2024, when he hit 44 homeruns & had 102 RBIs. Santander will now look to bring Toronto back to the playoffs as possibly the face of Canadian baseball.
