2020 MLB Free Agents: Latest Rumors, Predictions for DJ LeMahieu and More

As the MLB offseason continues to unfold at a snail's pace, fans are left dissecting any scrap of information that presents itself on the rumor mill.

The latest notable rumors include a Japanese League standout lining up his future MLB home, an All-Star closer generating widespread interest, and the ongoing negotiations between the New York Yankees and AL MVP candidate DJ LeMahieu.

At some point, some big dominoes will have to start falling on the free-agent market, so along with diving into each rumor, we have also provided predictions on some landing spot and contract details.

Enjoy!

There is no slam-dunk superstar like Ichiro Suzuki or Jose Abreu on this year's international market, but there is an accomplished starter capable of slotting nicely into the middle of an MLB rotation.

Tomoyuki Sugano is getting ready to make the jump to MLB after eight seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese League.

He's won two Sawamura Awards in his career, which is the equivalent of the Cy Young Award, and this past season he finished second in the voting after going 14-2 with a 1.97 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 131 strikeouts in 137.1 innings. Two years ago, he threw 10 complete games and eight shutouts in 28 starts.

Elite numbers in the Japanese League don't always translate to MLB success, but scouts sound optimistic about Sugano and a number of teams are showing interest.

"Among the teams that have shown interest in Sugano: the Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers," Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote. "As good as Sugano has been in Japan, one scout said that his competitiveness will translate even better in MLB and that his five-pitch mix has a chance to make him at least a No. 3 starter."

In an extremely thin market for quality starting pitching behind NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer, it's not surprising to see so many teams interested in rolling the dice on an overseas standout.

The 31-year-old has until Jan. 7 before his posting window closes and he's no longer able to sign with an MLB team, so expect to see a decision made before then.

Prediction: Sugano signs a three-year, $24 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Not unlike this year's starting pitching market behind Trevor Bauer, there's a wide gap between Liam Hendriks and the rest of the available relievers this offseason.

The 31-year-old has established himself as arguably the best reliever in baseball the past two seasons.

Since the start of 2019, he has 39 saves with a 1.79 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings against 2.0 walks per nine innings in 99 appearances, and he had a 0.67 WHIP and 37-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 25.1 innings in 2020.

A number of teams are hot on his trail, and there is an early favorite.

"The Chicago White Sox have been linked to Hendriks as his primary suitor, but a number of other teams in search of a closer—or simply more bullpen help—are prepared to pounce," wrote Passan.

He went on to list the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays as other teams that have shown interest, and all of those teams would benefit greatly from adding Hendriks to the back end of their relief corps.

Brad Hand, Alex Colome, Trevor Rosenthal, Mark Melancon and Blake Treinen are among the top alternatives for teams looking to shore up their late-inning situation.

Prediction: Hendriks signs a three-year, $33 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.

Priority No. 1 for the New York Yankees this offseason is to come to terms on a new contract for DJ LeMahieu, arguably the team's MVP each of the past two seasons and one of the most productive hitters in all of baseball during that time.

The 32-year-old, on the heels of consecutive top-four finishes in AL MVP voting, is headed for a significant raise over the two-year, $24 million contract he signed last time he hit the open market.

A reunion remains a distinct possibility, but the two sides are still far apart in negotiations at this point.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Friday that LeMahieu is seeking a five-year, $100 million contract, while the Yankees are offering a four-year, $75 million contract.

However, those figures were disputed on Sunday in a report from Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media, who spoke to a person with knowledge of the situation.

"The years are right; the money is wrong," the source told Kuty, implying that the gap between the two sides is even larger than the reported $25 million.

The slow-moving market could work in the Yankees' favor here, as there does not appear to be an outside suitor making a strong push to sign him away.

However, it's looking less and less certain a deal will get done with each passing day.

Prediction: LeMahieu signs a four-year, $88 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.