What Will Be the Biggest Shockers of the 2022-23 MLB Offseason

Baseball fans are rightfully intoxicated on championship series action. The Phillies and Padres are giving us our money's worth in the National League, with that series tied 1-1.

The Astros and Yankees are matched up to play close games throughout this series, with Houston taking a 1-0 lead Wednesday night.

Fortunately, we have the time and attention span to focus on some offseason storylines as well.

It could turn out to be a shocking one, with potential for some of the game's biggest stars and most enigmatic teams making significant shifts.

Here, we ponder on what will be the biggest shockers of the 2022-23 offseason.

The Royals have a new general manager, J.J. Picollo, who should be looking to make a splash in free agency. They also have a need for starting pitchers.

Syndergaard would come with name recognition at a reasonable cost. This season, he posted a 3.94 ERA with just 95 strikeouts in 134.2 innings for the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies.

His return from Tommy John surgery in 2020 has mostly been a success, even though he hasn't necessarily looked like Thor.

The Royals' top pitcher last season was Zack Greinke, whom they could still bring back on a similar deal to pair with Syndergaard at the top of their rotation.

In June, B/R writer Joel Reuter predicted a modest two-year, $32 million free-agent deal for Syndergaard. If that's all it takes to get him, Picollo should be all over it.

Xander Bogaerts will go down as a Red Sox legend. He seemingly wants to remain in Boston, and the Red Sox want to keep him.

But can the two sides agree on a new contract? It's clear based on recent deals for elite shortstops that Bogaerts is underpaid at $20 million per year, which is why he seems certain to opt out of the remaining four years of his current deal.

Bogaerts, 30, is obviously aware of Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa making $32-36 million a year. He probably wants a shorter deal with a similar annual average.

Then there's Rafael Devers, Boston's All-Star third baseman who can become a free agent after the 2023 season. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom dismissed the idea of trading Devers in early October.

But what if they can't reach an agreement and the Red Sox see the writing on the wall? It's not like it would be the most shocking trade they've done with a young star in the last few years.

It doesn't seem too long ago that the White Sox's window was wide-open. They fired Rick Renteria as manager after the 2020 season with talent and a future ahead of them.

But after two seasons under Tony La Russa, the most recent a huge disappointment, the White Sox are left with some introspection to do.

José Abreu's future with the franchise is one of the team's biggest offseason questions, aside from finding the right manager.

They also need to figure out the corner outfield spots, where all of their options are either defensive liabilities (Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jiménez) or underperformers (AJ Pollock).

In addition to Pollock, the White Sox also needed more from players like Yoán Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Yasmani Grandal and reliever Joe Kelly.

If Moncada and/or Grandal can be dealt, it would not be surprising to see the White Sox pull the lever. An offseason dealing either of those players, along with letting Abreu walk and hiring a new manager, would signal a new era on the South Side.

Especially after watching Carlos Correa interview his replacement Jeremy Peña during the ALDS, it would be shocking to see a Correa reunion in Houston.

Yet Correa once again will be the youngest of the star free-agent shortstops on the market this offseason. Signing him should intrigue any team, especially one as familiar with him as the Astros.

This scenario becomes increasingly unlikely as Peña establishes himself as a clutch postseason performer in his own right. But remember that Astros general manager James Click is in the final year of his contract, with all signs pointing to him being out after the season ends.

Correa has a good relationship with Astros owner Jim Crane, and while bringing back Justin Verlander and replacing Michael Brantley should be higher priorities in Houston, don't rule this out.

Peña showed himself to be a more than capable shortstop as a rookie this season, tying for the most defensive runs saved at the position. His athleticism also makes it clear he could fill the Astros' sudden hole in left field with Brantley injured and his contract expiring.

How do the Brewers get from good to great? That's a question president of baseball operations David Stearns will ponder the entire offseason, with no clear or obvious answer.

What is clear is that Corbin Burnes has been excellent for three straight seasons and Milwaukee hardly has anything to show for it. How long can they expect to keep one of the best right-handed pitchers in the game?

Burnes indicated in September he was open to listening to offers for a contract extension, but no such discussions had taken place. He also seemed surprised and disappointed by it.

But he watched something similar happen with star closer Josh Hader, when failed extension talks resulted in a trade.

"For anyone who isn’t on a long-term deal, once you get into your later years of arbitration, anything can happen," Burnes told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "We saw it with Hader. We might see it this offseason."

As bizarre as it may sound, there is a possibility the Mets don't re-sign Jacob deGrom after their best season since going to the World Series in 2015.

Mets teammates acknowledged this possibility soon after they were eliminated from the playoffs, approaching deGrom's locker for him to sign baseballs and other items.

The expectation is deGrom opts out of the remainder of his five-year, $137.5 million contract to test free agency. Potential suitors will include every large-market club and any others in win-now mode.

The Dodgers have to be in play. So do the San Diego Padres, who just knocked deGrom and the Mets out of the postseason.

There are also Mets rivals, the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees, who should be in the mix for deGrom. While he faded down the stretch this season, the Mets will have a lot of competition to bring back a 34-year-old two-time Cy Young winner.

It would only be shocking because the Tigers signed Báez to a major free-agent deal last offseason. But considering how disappointing 2022 was in Detroit, moving on from Báez before his player option in 2024 would be understandable.

He was one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball with minus-five defensive runs saved and 26 errors, which led the position across MLB. His slash line was the worst since his rookie year, aside from the 60-game pandemic season in 2020.

Báez had an encouraging end to the season, slashing .310/.3337/.530 in September. The Tigers could use that to entice another team that thinks he could help right away.

The Tigers do not appear to be as close as it seemed they were a year ago, which could change the calculus for how they build the team.