Mid-December 2025 and the MLB offseason isn’t settling down—it’s splitting in half. In this episode, we break down a market that feels like two different sports: the mega-spenders (Dodgers, Mets, Yankees) pushing financial limits, and the budget-conscious clubs (Guardians, Brewers, Royals) trying to win with timing, trades, and farm systems instead of brute-force payroll. We start with the number that defines the winter: the Dodgers resetting the closer market with Edwin Díaz (3 years, $69M) and using deferrals to keep the competitive balance tax hit “manageable”—while their total deferred obligations soar past $1 billion through 2047. From there, we pivot to the collateral damage in Queens: the Mets losing core pieces, replacing Díaz with Devin Williams, adding Jorge Polanco, and still staring at rotation and outfield holes that won’t be easy to patch. Across town, the Yankees are dealing with a looming pitching crisis, making their pursuit of Michael King feel less like a luxury and more like survival—while the entire hitter market waits on the final price signals around Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, and Alex Bregman. We also hit the tactical end of free agency: Atlanta’s one-year, high-AAV reunion with Ha-seong Kim, Philadelphia’s defense-first gamble on Adolis García (and what luxury tax math does to that “$10M” price tag), and Seattle’s high-stakes trade dilemma between Ketel Marte’s upside and Brendan Donovan’s versatility. The episode widens to the rest of the league: Minnesota’s calculated bet on Josh Bell, Cleveland’s youth-first optimism (and what projections say), Kansas City’s commitment move with a major extension, and a pitching trade board headlined by the Skubal-vs.-Peralta debate. We then race toward the international deadline drama—Murakami, Okamoto, and Imai—and close with the big-picture questions: managerial pay gaps, Hall of Fame contradictions (Bonds/Clemens vs. Rose), and a potentially game-changing new path for Japanese talent aiming for MLB control through the draft.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/baseball-podcast--6809512/support.Listen to all of our podcast episodes here: Baseball Podcast