MLB

The Chicago Cubs reportedly plan on having a new shortstop for the 2023 season.

"They are basically involved in all the main shortstops out there in free agency," MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported. "They are broadly active in terms of what we could see with the shortstop market. Carlos Correa is on their list, Trea Turner is on their list. Xander Bogaerts is on their list, as is Dansby Swanson. I think that the two main guys they're showing the most interest in right now are Correa and Turner."

Morosi went on to point out that the North Siders were interested in Correa ahead of the 2022 campaign as well. He also noted the shortstop has a "longstanding affinity for the Cubs and their history," making the team the "favorite" to land the coveted free agent at this point.

While Correa signed a three-year deal with the Minnesota Twins last offseason, it featured an opt-out clause that he exercised with the final two years remaining.

That could end up being welcome news for the Cubs, who are looking to return to the form they demonstrated from 2015 through 2017 with three straight National League Championship Series appearances and one World Series crown.

They are coming off two successive losing seasons and have not had the star power to compete with the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.

Correa is someone who could help change that with a resume that includes an American League Rookie of the Year, a World Series crown, two All-Star selections and a Gold Glove. He just slashed .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI this past season with the Twins.

Turner would be anything but a consolation prize considering he is a two-time All-Star with a World Series championship, batting title and Silver Slugger under his belt.

It is notable the Cubs seem locked in on the shortstop market considering Nico Hoerner was one of the few bright spots on the team in 2022. Yet the 25-year-old's versatility is one of the best things about his game, and the team could move him to second base if it means adding one of the premier shortstops on the market.

Chicago may need upgrades at starting pitcher, center field and first base as well if it is going to turn into a legitimate contender this offseason, but signing a star shortstop could help it significantly close the gap with the Brewers and Cardinals.

Facing the possibility of losing Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets are keeping their eyes on other top-tier starting pitchers available in free agency.

Per SNY.tv's Andy Martino, the Mets are "considering" making a run at Justin Verlander and plan to pursue Japanese star Koudai Senga.

Martino noted the Mets front office has been floating the idea of signing Verlander to a short-term deal with a high annual salary, similar to Max Scherzer's deal, for months.

Even though Martino did say the Mets remain engaged with deGrom's camp, there does appear to be significant interest in the two-time National League Cy Young winner from other teams.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported last week the Texas Rangers have interest in the top of the free-agent pitching market, including deGrom and Carlos Rodón.

The Rangers seem poised to make a big splash in free agency for the second successive year. They signed Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray to deals totaling $556 million, but the team still finished 68-94 in large part because its rotation was one of the worst in MLB.

Texas was previously linked to Clayton Kershaw, but The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported the left-hander is nearing a one-year deal to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Verlander and deGrom are in somewhat similar positions this offseason. Both players come with injury concerns, but their short-term upside is so huge it could completely transform a rotation.

Injuries have limited deGrom to 156.1 innings over the past two seasons combined. The right-hander did pitch well in 11 starts this season with a 3.08 ERA and 102 strikeouts.

Verlander is the favorite to win his third career American League Cy Young award. He led MLB with a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 175 innings during the 2022 regular season after missing all of last year following Tommy John surgery.

Senga, 29, has spent 11 seasons pitching for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Nippon Professional Baseball. He has a 2.59 ERA with 1,252 strikeouts in 1,089 innings in 224 NPB games.

The Mets seem like they are going to be aggressive this offseason after winning 101 games in 2022. They lost to the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card series.

First baseman José Abreu may end up on the Boston Red Sox this offseason.

Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (h/t Adam London of NESN) reported the American League East team is "high on the list" of possible landing spots along with the Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins and Houston Astros.

Abreu has put together a decorated career since joining the Chicago White Sox in 2014.

The 35-year-old's accolades include the 2020 AL MVP Award, the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year Award, three All-Star selections and a trio of Silver Slugger Awards.

He's coming off a 2022 season with the South Siders where he compiled a .304/.378/.446 slash line with 15 home runs across 157 appearances. Although his power numbers were down a bit, his .824 OPS still ranked 23rd among all major league hitters.

With Abreu's numbers staying strong into his mid-30s, he said there was no timetable for how long he wanted to keep playing.

"As long as I can or as long as life wants me to," the slugger told reporters in August. "I'm in a good place right now. My family is in a good place. I'm in a very good organization here. We'll see. I don't put numbers or limits. We'll see what life has for me, and I'll go with it."

Even if his power numbers never return to their peak—he crushed 36 homers in 2014—his offensive game is well-rounded enough to provide ample value.

Abreu's potential departure from the White Sox could be a surprise given his long history with the franchise, but Chicago's loss may end up being a major gain for the Red Sox. He could provide a nice boost to the middle of the team's batting order.

The New York Yankees' captaincy has been vacant since Derek Jeter's retirement in 2014, but that could soon change.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told YES Network he would consider making Aaron Judge a captain if the slugger re-signs with the team this offseason.

There have been only 11 recognized captains in Yankees history. Jeter was the longest-reigning captain in franchise history, earning the "C" in 2003 and keeping it for 12 seasons. Judge would join a list of Yankees legends that includes Jeter, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

“I think I'm able to say that if he's back here next year, he's our captain, he's the next captain,” Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes told reporters last month. “We follow everything he does. He leads by example. He's not really a guy that comes out and screams at anybody. But if he has to, that's his job. I think he's earned that right to keep us in check. What allows him to be so great, I feel like, is he's a great baseball player, but he's a better human. He treats everybody the same. He follows up on everybody every day. That's what allows him to be who he is.”

Judge is coming off one of the greatest power-hitting seasons in MLB history, setting an AL record with 62 home runs and driving in 131 runs. He will almost certainly be named the AL MVP on Thursday, making him the first Yankee to win MVP since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.

Much like Rodriguez 15 years ago, Judge is set to be a free agent following his finest year in pinstripes. Judge declined a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension before the 2022 season and stands to see a nine-figure increase in offers on the open market. There is a strong chance Judge winds up beating the nine-year, $324 million franchise-record contract signed by teammate Gerrit Cole in December 2019.

That said, the Yankees are going to face fierce competition for Judge. The San Francisco Giants, located just two hours away from Judge's hometown of Sacramento, are among the teams expected to have wide-open pocketbooks as free agency ramps up.

The Atlanta Braves signed Ronald Acuña Jr. to an eight-year, $100 million contract extension in April 2019, and the right fielder reportedly will not be traded.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Monday that the National League East team is "not considering" dealing the 24-year-old.

"While the club, as a matter of policy, does not award no-trade clauses, a player who signs an extension does it with the implicit understanding he will not be traded," Rosenthal wrote. "Obviously, things can change—a player, for example, eventually might want out. But if the Braves break the trust they've created internally, players will become more resistant to the extensions that have positioned the team for long-term success."

While Acuña's résumé includes the 2018 National League Rookie of the Year Award, three All-Star selections and two Silver Slugger Awards, durability is something of a concern after he tore his right ACL last season.

He played just 82 games in 2021 and missed Atlanta's run to the World Series title, and then he appeared in 119 games in 2022. He posted solid numbers with a .266/.351/.413 slash line, 15 home runs, 50 RBI and 29 stolen bases, but he was unable to replicate his head-turning numbers from his first and only full season in 2019.

Acuña finished that year with a .280/.365/.518 slash line, 41 home runs, 101 RBI, 37 stolen bases and 127 runs. The final two figures marked NL bests and hinted at a bright future.

His absence has dampened some of that enthusiasm, but there is still reason to think Acuña will be a major part of the Braves' core for the foreseeable future.

A trade would change that calculus, but it doesn't seem like one will happen.

Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodríguez and Atlanta Braves star Michael Harris II were honored as the top rookies in the American and National Leagues on Monday.

Rodríguez topped the AL Rookie of the Year ballot in decisive fashion, collecting 29 first-place votes.

Harris had a somewhat slimmer 22-8 margin on teammate Spencer Strider for first-place votes in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Rodríguez was the heavy favorite in the American League after he established himself as a franchise cornerstone while helping guide Seattle to the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

The 21-year-old finished with 28 home runs, 75 RBI and a .284/.345/.509 slash line. Despite only appearing in 132 games, he was 21st in WAR (5.3) among position players and tied for 14th in wOBA (.366).

Beyond his contributions on the field, Rodríguez's youthful exuberance symbolized a new era for the Mariners. He's the organization's best young talent since Alex Rodriguez, and the comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr. are inescapable, though not embraced by the man himself.

"Quit comparing him to me," Griffey told The Athletic's Sam Blum in July. "Let that man create his own path."

The Mariners have already tied Rodríguez down with a 12-year, $209.3 million extension. He'll be calling the Pacific Northwest home for a long time, and there's no reason to believe the success he and the team enjoyed in 2022 represents a false dawn.

While the National League lacked a clear consensus pick, the Rookie of the Year battle was widely considered a two-horse race between Strider and Harris.

Strider wasted little time in becoming the ace of Atlanta's staff. In 131.2 innings the right-hander struck out 202 batters and posted a 1.83 FIP. According to Baseball Savant, he ranked in the 97th percentile in expected batting average (.179) and in the 96th percentile in expected slugging (.279).

Harris, meanwhile, provided an immediate impact after getting called up in May. The center fielder finished with an .853 OPS and a 135 OPS+ in 114 appearances. He helped the Braves lead the majors in slugging (.443) and isolated power (.190), per FanGraphs.

Atlanta acted quickly to reward both players for their efforts. Strider signed a six-year, $75 million extension, and Harris put pen to paper on an eight-year, $72 million deal.

The Braves have won five straight NL East titles, and their dominance of the division may not be winding down anytime soon.

The Chicago Cubs have officially released outfielder Jason Heyward after seven seasons with the team.

Heyward still had $22 million remaining on the initial eight-year, $184 million deal he signed ahead of the 2016 season, which ran through 2023. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer still said the team planned to move on at the end of the season.

"We want to give him a full offseason to be able to go out and find an opportunity," Hoyer said in August. "We'll go our separate directions at the end of the year."

The 33-year-old last played in June before going on the injured list with a knee injury. He finished the 2022 season with a .204 average, .278 on-base percentage and one home run in 48 games.

Over his tenure with the Cubs, Heyward posted a .245/.323/.377 slash line with 62 home runs in 744 games.

Despite his struggles at the plate, the veteran helped the team with his fielding—he won two of his five career Gold Glove Awards in Chicago—while providing valuable leadership in the clubhouse.

Heyward notably gave an inspiring speech during Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, helping the Cubs win their first title in 108 years.

"He never stopped working. Never stopped trying to earn his contract," Hoyer said. "In a lot of ways the emotional leader of a group of players that broke the curse here."

With the Cubs now in the midst of a rebuild, it was time to move on from Heyward and instead play the younger talent in the organization.

The one-time All-Star could now seek a fresh start with a new team, although there could be a limited market for the light-hitting player.

The Miami Marlins have promoted Caroline O’Connor to president of business operations.

O'Connor is the second woman to serve as president of a Major League Baseball team, following Catie Griggs of the Seattle Mariners, but the Marlins are the first major U.S. sports franchise to have women as both president and general manager.

Miami hired Kim Ng as GM in 2020, and she became the first woman to hold the position in one of the four major sports leagues.

"When I talk to young girls, I really like them to see me in my role because I didn’t feel like I had that role model," O'Connor said, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. "And I want people to see themselves when they see me and know that it is a possibility."

O'Connor has been with the Marlins since 2017, working as the chief operating officer since 2019.

She is expected to oversee all of the club's business operations, including sales and marketing.

"Her leadership will continue to guide the Marlins organization toward our goal of sustained success while strategizing additional new ventures to grow our business and enhance our brand recognition," owner Bruce Sherman said.

Derek Jeter, who hired O'Connor, stepped down as the organization's CEO in February.

The Marlins will look to O'Connor and Ng to help a team coming off back-to-back losing seasons.