BREAKING: The Cubs LET GO of Star Pitcher!? Wow.. Dozens of Players Opt Out (MLB Offseason Recap)

BREAKING: The Cubs LET GO of Star Pitcher!? Wow.. Dozens of Players Opt Out (MLB Offseason Recap)

We have some breaking news in today’s MLB recap. Shota Ianaga out of nowhere just became a free agent, which yes means the Dodgers could have the entire 2023 World Baseball Classic Team Japan rotation employed for 2026. We also have a big update on the brand new manager of the Atlanta Braves. We have a ton of players opting out of their contracts and becoming free agents and a few players who’ve actually had their contracts picked up. So, a lot to talk about today. If you’re new here, my name’s Fuzzy. I do this almost every single day. So, if you never want to miss out on the game of baseball, leave a like and subscribe. And don’t forget that these videos are brought to you by SeatGeek and Underdog Fantasy. Use code fuzzy. So, before we get into the breaking news about show to Ianaga, we have to talk about the 2025 World Series because a lot of people have been saying that the Dodgers are ruining the game of baseball. Viewership has almost never been better. Game seven averaged about 25 million people. It peaked at 31 million. The World Series has crushed. absolutely crushed the NBA finals over the last few years, the pitch clock, the new rules, it’s made the game of baseball so much more engaging. So, I have to ask you guys, is MLB back in the passenger seat? We’re not going to dethrone football anytime soon. But for years, it was NFL and NBA as the top dogs. It seems like the new style of NBA and older players saying that they had to work for it and that the younger players, they get rich from NIL deals, it kind of ruins the drive and kind of like the feel of modern-day basketball. What do you guys make of these numbers? Do you think that MLB is back at the number two spot? What do you think? Staying with some World Series talk super quick. I just want to show some snippets of the parade. The Dodgers are having a grand time. And I do want to show some clips from Otani and Yamamoto. A lot of you guys have never heard these guys speak English. So, I felt like it was a good time to really showcase that these guys, they use interpreters just like Icho, not because they can’t speak English, but because they don’t want to get misconstrued or misinterpreted. I mean, full pun intended. So, here you go. Here’s some snippets of the parade and Otani and Yamamoto talking to Dodgers fans. I thought it was pretty cool. Oh, hello. Uh, I want to say that I’m so proud of this this team. Uh, you guys are the greatest fans in the world. I’m ready. I’m ready to get another rain next year. Thank you my teammate, my coaches, our amazing staff and all the fans. We we did it together. I love the I love Los Angeles. The Atlanta Braves have found themselves a brand new manager, 14-year vet, former shortstop Walt Weiss. He was the bench coach for Bryant Snicker over the last few years. He He’s the brand new manager. He gets the job. If that name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’re a Rockies fan. I had no idea that Walt Weiss was the literal manager of the Rockies from 2013 to 2016. That memory has just been scrubbed from my brain. I honestly had no idea. But back in the day, Walt Weiss again, he was a glove first shortstop. He had years of being Aussie Smith and then he had years of being Ahmed Rosario. It was really weird. He went from being awesome to stinky, awesome to stinky, but he gets the job. What do you guys think about the Braves heading into 2026? And one more small update before we get into all of the contract talk. So, we have nine first time Gold Glovers. I want you guys to let me know who are the biggest snubs at any position. So, we have Dylan Dingler. He picks up his first, obviously, he wins at catcher in the American League. He’s followed by Ty France. He picks up his first gold glove, the first base spot in the American League. Marcus Simeon, he wins his second at second base. Mike Garcia, he’s going to win a few gold gloves in my opinion. He is so good and he broke out offensively. He wins his first gold glove. Bobby Jr. who was one of the worst defensive shorts stops in his cup of coffee debut season is now a winner of back-toback gold gloves. Steven Quan and this guy is a magician out there. He wins the left field spot. He has won four consecutive gold gloves. Sadon Raphael, just like Mike Garcia, he’s going to win a bunch of gold gloves. He picks up his first. his right fielder, William Breu, his teammate, wins his second. Again, another back-to-back winner, Mauricio Dubon. He has two go gloves. He wins it out of the utility spot. And Max Freed, just like Steven Quan, he has four as well. To the NL side of things, one of the best defensive catchers this game has ever seen, Patrick Bailey, he now has two goal gloves. Matt Olsen, this guy is sneakily building a really solid Hall of Fame resume with three gold gloves now. And of course, just demon offensive numbers. Nico her has won his second gold glove. He is. So, he is as good as it gets defensively at second base. Cabrien, he’s won two gold gloves now. Cabrien, I know the bat is a noodle bat, but defensively he’s as good as it gets. Mason Win, I mean, Justin Turner probably just fell to his knees at a Walmart seeing Mason Win win a gold glove because he said that no one cares about arm strength and him throwing at 100 miles an hour, he’s going to make a bunch of errors. Yeah, go figure. He’s now a gold glover. Ian Hap, just like Steven Quan, has won his fourth consecutive goal glove. Ian Hap also is a walking 30 doubles with 20 home runs and a 340 on base. This guy, you know that account, the Hall of Good, he is an automatic shooting for the Hall of Ver when it’s all said and done. Pete Cormstrong, we call him PCA on this channel. He picks up his first Fernando Tatis Jr. has won two gold gloves out there in Rifield. We know that he won a platinum glove back in 2023, I believe it was, or 2024. Javier Senoha, he wins the utility role. He’s the youngster for the Marlins. And then because Max Freed is now an AL player, someone else finally gets a chance. Logan Webb, he takes home his first gold glove. The White Socks did what we all expected them to do after they chose to not trade Luis Rober Jr. last year. They just picked up his $20 million option. And remember, Luis just turned 28 years old. So, it’s not like he’s a broken down dinosaur or anything like that. He still is one of the best in baseball with speed, defense. He just can’t stay healthy enough to reach that 38 home run plateau that he had back in 2023. But again, the White Sox pick up his option most likely because they’re going to trade him sometime this year if fingers crossed he keeps up the momentum that he built in the second half last year. The Brewers also picked up a player option. They’re bringing back Freddy Peralta at only $8 million. But again, expect both Luis Roer Jr. and Freddy Peralta to get moved at some point, whether it’s this off season or sometime during the regular season next year. This is fuzzy from the future. I had to go back and add this before I uploaded today’s video because we have some more breaking news about the Brewers. So, they picked up the option on Freddy Peralta. They just rejected the option on Ree Hoskins. Ree, he just has not been able to stay healthy as a Brewer. He had 12 home runs and almost 335 on base in 90 games last year. The defense was pretty good as well. Not pretty good. I mean, he was he was average, but that is better than what we’ve seen in the past. Ree, he’s such a weird hitter because he gets on base with a walk. He doesn’t chase, but he also whiffs a lot and strikes out. So, if you throw him anything in the zone, he has a good chance of missing it. But when he hits it, watch out. Do you guys want Reese Hoskins or not? This is not fun news if you’re an Orioles fan, but it was pretty much expected because of how bad he was last year. Tyler O’Neal has opted in. So, he’s keeping that two years remaining at $33 million. He hit under 200. It was close. He hit 199, so below the Mendoza line. I’m praying for a bounce back because I love when Tyler O’Neal is healthy and balling out. One more Orioles update. Jorge Matteo, who was the best player in baseball to begin 2023, like month one, Jorge Mateo was insane. at 350 with six home runs and 10 stolen bases with disgusting defense the year before. He has crazy tools, but he just strikes out way too much. He also does not take walks, but he’s a little bit better against lefties. Would you want a flyer on Jorge Matteo? I think he’s going to be 31 years old. Tyro Estrada is now a free agent. He had his $7 million option rejected by the Rockies if you’re getting dropped by the Rockies. I mean, not too long ago, Tyro Estrada, he was a walking 40 extra base hits with 20 plus stolen bases and insane defense. I mean, honestly, he was one of the best defenders at second base. Then in 2025, wrist injuries with thumb injuries, hamstring stuff. Would you take a flyer on him? And last but not least, AJ Mentor and Lordis Guriel Jr., they picked up their options. Mentor for $11 million with the Mets and Lordis, $13 million with the Diamondbacks. If you’re a Mets or Diamondbacks fan, are you happy with those or do you wish that they would have opted out and you guys can save some money? Wow, it actually happened. Hawam Kim opted out. I really thought that even with a amazing last few games with the Braves, I thought that he didn’t do enough to really give himself the confidence to opt out of his contract, he’s doing it. So, Hassam Kim, who had insane season with the Padres’s, both on the bases and on defense. He’s not the biggest power threat. I think 17 home runs was his career high, but he’s 30 years old. He again went crazy with the Braves, so he feels like in that short stint, he did enough to earn back the trust of other big league clubs. and the fact that they can also be in on the hos on Kim sweep stakes. Where do you think he’s going? Alex Bregman, he was a monster. He was going to get MVP votes if he stayed healthy. He doesn’t chase. He doesn’t whiff. He doesn’t strike out. He takes his walks. He plays really good defense. At 31 years old, it’s not like he’s going to be getting 45 to $50 million a year. I feel like his new restretcher contract is going to be in the high30s. He’s good. Where do you think he’s going? He just opted out. Same with Cody Bellinger. He went crazy last year with amazing defense. He had seven outs above average. Just like Bregman, he doesn’t strike out. He doesn’t take the walks of Alex Bregman. But Bellinger’s coming off 29 home runs and almost 340 on base with 13 stolen bases. Really good defense. He’s 30 years old right now. I hope that he stays in pinstripes. It just kind of makes sense. We have two Padres’s opting out at the exact same time. Michael King, we know he can be disgusting when he’s right. Whether it’s as a reliever or as a starting pitcher, I really like his stuff as a starting pitcher. That sweeper and sinker combination is just otherworldly. He’s opting out along with Robert Suarez. It’s awesome that they picked up Mason Miller. I know that they had to give up a Kings Ransom, but if Michael King leaves, maybe they can use Mason Miller as a starter again. I don’t know if that’s the best decision, but he has thrown a start in MLB where he went seven innings. Robert Suarez has dominated out the pen over the last few years. He did regress a little bit this year. They’ve opted out. Do you think that they’re going to come back or do you think they’re moving on and that that role is going to be filled with a Mesa Miller type player? Lucas Gilito, another Red Sox is opting out. Should have talked about this with Alex Bregman. Lucas Gilito, he bounced back at 31 years old. Again, he bounced back despite the fact that his fast ball velocity is down. He doesn’t get a lot of chase, whiffs, strikeouts. He also walks a few guys. I don’t know. It seemed like a very lucky 2025 campaign. So, I’d be a little bit wary of him going forward, but he went from a 4.9 in 2022 to a 4.8, so he got a little bit better. And in 2025 all the way down to a 3.4. He wasn’t as worried about the strikeouts. Maybe that made him a little bit better. His extension is always going to be good because he’s 6’6. But uh yeah, be wary of Lucas Gilito. Brandon Woodruff. This dude I’m I’m so happy at the fact that he came back with vengeance after his shoulder surgery. I thought the strikeouts might be a problem. They went up. Brandon Woodruff, again, the fastball velocity was really down because he’s coming back from a shoulder injury. The strikeouts were insane. He had a 32.3% strikeout rate with a tiny 5 and a half walk rate. He had 83 strikeouts in 64 innings with a 3.2 RA again in 2023. He had a 2.2. The year before that, a 3.05 with 190 strikeouts and 153 innings. Brandon Woodruff, I cannot wait to see where he goes. I don’t think the Brewers are going to be in the ballpark with his money. Just I hate saying it, but the Brewers are about to lose another star pitcher. And the final two opt outs coming from one team before we talk about show to Imanaga and the fact that he’s somehow a free agent and ready to be swiped up by the Dodgers. Pete Alonzo and Edwin Diaz, they’ve opted out of their contracts. This was expected just like most of the players that we’ve talked about opting out. Edwin Diaz, he was out of his mind last year. He was back to being Edw win and not Ed lose. Pete Alonzo, he just he looked more in shape, just a little bit leaner and that worked to perfection. He was one of the best first basemans last year. He reclaimed his title as big me. I mean, uh polar bear Pete. He was electric last year. Defensively, he still has some work to do, but hey, they’re going to get a ton of money. Hey, Guardians, go get both. That literally makes us World Series contenders. Go get Edwin Diaz, move Kate Smith back to a relief role, sign Pete Alonzo, and we’re going to win a World Series. I’ll even fund it. I’ll start the GoFundMe right now. Don’t play with me. And now for the moment that you’ve all been waiting for, the literal title of this video, the meat and potatoes of today’s recap. I This was shocking to me. Shota Imanaga, a premier lefty starting pitcher in the game, is now a free agent. So, what happened? The Cubs, they rejected adding a fourth or fifth year to Shota Imanaga’s contract. So that triggered the possibility that Shota could decline a player option of $15 million for 2026. That’s exactly what happened. A lot of people have been super confused. If you look at Sport Track, it just doesn’t really match up. But that’s what happened. Shota, he’s a free agent and everyone’s just saying just pencil and him going to the Dodgers and that they might have the entire WBC roster on their squad going into 2026 because you guys have to remember that Maxy, their third baseman, is a free agent. Mutaki Murakami, I don’t know if he’s going to be playing third base. I think that he would have to if he became a Dodger. Then again, Freddy Freeman did play third base back in the day. I don’t know if they would swap because Murakami is that bad at defense. But Murakami could be joining the Dodgers as well. I’m not joking. and being hyperbolic when I say half of the starting squad for that champion WBC team Japan team could be a Dodger within the next six to within the next six months. God, I hate the fact that I cannot say six and then the other number in succession anymore. It’s it’s sad. But back to Sha Ianaga, he’s 34 years old and he is coming off a season where he had a strained hamstring that really hampered his 2025 overall production, but he was still pretty good. He was insane in his debut season back in 2024. But I have to remind you guys, even though he regressed last year for sure, he had a 2.4 RA his first 75 innings last year, his final 12 starts is really where he got bit. He had a 5.1 RA, but that’s not even really being fully truthful. He had a 5.1 RA because he had two starts in those 12 where he gave up a grand total of 15 earn runs between those two. It was a seven earn run implosion for one start and an eight earn run implosion in the other one. He does have an option to be brought back as a $22 million qualifying offer. That’s a ton of money, but maybe Shoto wants his chance at becoming a free agent and a chance at an open market because he’s 34 years old. He wants to lock in a three or four-year contract immediately. Could he leave for the Dodgers and join Murakami? I want you guys to let me know in the comments. And while you’re down there, leave a like and subscribe. I’ll catch you guys in the next

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In the 2025 MLB offseason, Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga opted out of his $15 million player option after a stellar season; joining him in free agency are Atlanta shortstop Ha-Seong Kim ($16M opt-out), San Diego pitcher Michael King ($15M mutual), closer Robert Suarez ($16M over two years), Boston starter Lucas Giolito ($19M mutual), third baseman Alex Bregman ($80M over two years), outfielder Cody Bellinger ($25M), Milwaukee pitcher Brandon Woodruff ($20M mutual) and first baseman Rhys Hoskins ($18M), plus Mets closer Edwin Díaz ($38M over two years) and first baseman Pete Alonso ($24M), all seeking new deals.

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