Jeff Passan & Michael Kay REVEALS CRAZY MLB RUMORS: Dodgers,Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays
Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego. This winter feels less like an off season and more like a power struggle for the future of baseball. Jeff Passen sat down with Michael Kay and peeled back the curtain on what teams are really doing right now. And the picture he painted of the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers, and more is way more chaotic than the headlines make it look. Before Passin and Kay dove into the big market chaos, they started with a deal that barely made a [music] ripple nationally, but could quietly change the balance of the American League. The Shane Baz trade between the Rays and Orioles. Passen broke down how Shane Baz, a [music] talented but injury-plagued arm, just went to Baltimore after finally putting together [music] something close to a full season, striking out nearly 180 hitters in 166 innings, even while posting a 4.87 87 erra. The race flipped him for a deep package. Slade sakone type prospects on Baltimore’s side in real life language. But here it’s Slater, Brown, Kaden, Boddine, [music] Michael Farret, Austin Ober, plus a draft pick. Not one franchise centerpiece, but a pile of chances for Tampa to hit on one or [music] two legit big leaguers. That is the Ray’s entire survival strategy in one move. They know they’ll never outspend the Yankees, [music] Red Sox, Blue Jays, or Orioles, so they stockpile bodies and trust that volume turns into [music] value. Passen reminded Kay that Baz himself came over in one of those classic Rays heists, the Chris Archer trade that also netted Tyler Glasnau and Austin [music] Meadows, and said, “This is exactly the kind of deal Tampa has to nail if they want to keep up in a division that’s quickly becoming a monster.” But Tampa wasn’t just chasing prospects. They were cutting costs, too. Passen noted that Brandon Low heading out in a separate still in medical review [music] three team framework would send him to Pittsburgh with the Rays picking up slugger Ryan Clifford and the Astros landing controllable arm Mike Burroughs. It’s textbook raise. Shed salary, add years of team [music] control and keep the pipeline flowing while everyone else spends on stars. And [music] that kind of move sets the stage for the real fireworks at the top of the market. When Michael Kay brought up how slow the top of the market [music] feels, Jeff Passen didn’t hesitate. Kyle Tucker is in his own universe. Tucker’s [music] 28, already proven over half a decade, and even after a messy injury hit platform year, he sits alone as the crown jewel of this free agent class. Passing called Tucker a litmus test for front offices. If a team truly wants to win the World Series and has the money, they should be trying to sign him. Simple as that. The question isn’t whether he’ll get paid. It’s what shape [music] that bag takes. Is this a 102-year judge or Guerrero type mega pack north of 300 million or a shorter deal with insane average annual value that pulls a team like the Dodgers deeper into the mix? Because once you climb into that financial altitude, the pool of biders shrinks fast. The injury angle is where the conversation got interesting. Kay asked if Tucker’s value took a hit after a season where he looked like an MVP for two months, then got hurt, tried to grind through it, and fell apart so badly he looked like one of the worst players in the league for a stretch. Passen [music] admitted it cost him some money, but he pointed out that the body and the track record still scream, “This guy should age well. 6’4, around 200 lb, athletic with a game that doesn’t rely on just one skill.” That’s the type of frame teams [music] regularly bet on into his 30 seconds. Where Tucker really becomes a story is in the way people talk about him. Passen said teams and media sometimes confuse his quiet, reserved personality with not caring or not working. That’s a dangerous mistake because Tucker now feels like he has something to [music] prove. If the mega contract he expected doesn’t materialize, someone’s going to get a locked in star with a chip on his shoulder. And [music] then there’s New York. K Preston. Are the Yankees in? Are the Mets in? Passen’s Reed was blunt. He doesn’t see either New York club truly in on Tucker at this moment, even [music] though both absolutely have the cash to play at that level. For Mets fans dreaming about Tucker and Queens, Hassan didn’t close the door completely. He just argued [music] that the entire equation depends on how the rest of the market shakes out and what holes are still left when [music] the dust settles. But Tucker isn’t the only name shaping this winter. [music] Passen used him as the barometer, then turned to the teams everyone loves to overreact to, the Mets and Yankees. This is where Mets fans might want to brace a little. Kane went right at the mood in Queens. The love affair with David Sterns has cooled. The fan base feels burned by departures, and the vibes around this front office are way different than when [music] Steve Cohen first showed up ready to spend like crazy. Passen didn’t sugarcoat how much talent the Mets have already watched walk out the door. He name checked Pete Lonzo, Edwin Diaz, Brandon NMO, and [music] others as guys the fan base had poured years of emotion into only to see them gone or now constantly [music] in trade and rumor chatter. He acknowledged exactly why Mets fans are upset, [music] but then he flipped it on them. When you go 8379, collapse down the stretch and have clubhouse issues pile up on top of that, you don’t get to run it back and hope for a different result. [music] He called clinging to the same core and expecting things to magically change the definition of insanity. And then flat out said, “The Mets, for all their [music] flaws, are not being run like an insane team right now. They’re being disciplined, even if it feels cold.” Cohen even [music] tweeted earlier in the day about not expecting a huge shift in payroll from last year, which passen took as a sign that they’re still willing to spend, [music] just not recklessly. That discipline has a time limit, though. Every free agent who signs elsewhere is one fewer path to transform this roster. Passin stressed that there are still too many good players available to declare the Mets off season doomed, [music] but he also said they have to start actually landing some of them before all the meaningful exits are closed. As of right now, he described this Mets roster as okay at best, [music] the kind of team that needs significant upgrades if it wants to be taken seriously in October. Kay then raised a more philosophical question. Is David Sterns just better suited to a smaller [music] market team where working the margins is the main game instead of the pressure cooker of New York? [music] Passen’s answer was smart. He said those two skill sets aren’t mutually exclusive and pointed straight at the Dodgers as proof. Los Angeles works the margins like a small market front office, picking up under the radar pieces like [music] Brock Stewart and Alex Call at the deadline while also rolling out massive contracts and aggressive moves when it’s time to go big. Posson pointed out that Andrew Freriedman needed a couple of years to fully balance that approach in LA. But once he did, the Dodgers became the juggernaut everyone is now chasing. That’s the blueprint for Sterns in New York. combined discipline, smart depth plays, and the occasional haymaker when the roster actually needs it. Passen’s bottom line was clear. The Mets are salvageable, but they’ve [music] got work to do, and they can’t hide behind potential forever. And across town, the frustration feels different, [music] but just as loud. Yankee fans listening to this interview probably felt like Passen was reading their group chats out loud. Kade brought up how the Yankees [music] have mostly nibbled on the edges of the market, bringing back Trent Gisham on the qualifying offer, adding Ryan Yarro and generally doing things on [music] the margins. Passings read on their mindset. The Yankees like the team they already have and genuinely think this current group can win the American League East. They aren’t racing to be the most [music] aggressive team in every offseason anymore. And that shift is exactly why the fan base is so uneasy, especially when they watch division rivals load up. He pointed directly at Baltimore and Toronto as examples of why this winter hits so differently for Yankee fans. The Orioles just added Pete Alonso, Shane Baz, Taylor Ward, and Ryan O’Harn, stacking a young, already dangerous roster with more [music] pop and pitching. The Blue Jays meanwhile landed Dylan CE on a long deal brought in Cody Pon for their rotation depth and are openly lurking around big bats like Tucker, Alex Bregman or even Bo Bishette type scenarios with Passen emphasizing that they don’t feel done at all. All of that is happening [music] while the Yankees in Passin’s words start from a better baseline than those teams [music] did a year or two ago. He reminded Kay that the Yankees did a lot of their heavy lifting at last year’s [music] trade deadline, shoring up the bullpen with David Bednar and Camo Dval and stabilizing third base with Ryan McMahon, a gold glove defender. From his perspective, this roster doesn’t have a ton of holes, but the few weak spots it does have are sharp enough that they can’t be ignored. He also touched on Jazz Chisum Jr. K mentioned Cashman being open about wanting Cody Bellinger back, and Passen [music] said two things at once. The Yankees aren’t actively trying to dump Jazz, but if the right trade [music] appears, they’re going to listen. And when it comes to Bellinger, the math could easily price New York out. Bellinger wants years in money, six or seven years, over 200 million. And with Scott Boris steering the negotiations, that ask isn’t dropping without a fight. [music] Passen floated the idea that the Yankees might simply draw a line and stick with Gisham on a one-year 22 million deal. Something he described as perfectly reasonable given the lack of true [music] bad one-year contracts. The bigger strategic note he made for both Yankees and Mets. Future free agent classes for bats [music] after 2026 27 are thin. This winter might be one of the last great opportunities in a while to grab a true middle-ofthe-art difference [music] maker. That adds extra pressure to every decision the Yankees make. Sit tight and risk getting left behind or push in now and hope the payroll landscape doesn’t get dramatically reshaped by the next CBA. [music] But while the Yankees weigh Bellinger and Tucker from the outside, another name keeps circling in rumors, [music] Alex Bregman. Bregman’s situation is quietly one of the most fascinating subplots of the entire winter. [music] He opted out of a three-year deal that paid him roughly 40 million per year, but gave him limited long-term security. and now he’s holding firm on seeking a six-year contract. Passen said he fully expects Bregman to hold that line until it’s absolutely clear [music] no one will go that far and he doesn’t think it will come to that. The early read was that Bregman would just stroll back to Boston after enjoying his time there. But recently his market has opened up. Arizona popped into the rumors though Passen sounded skeptical that it truly fits and then [music] he turned the spotlight on Toronto. He called the Blue Jays very much in the mix for Bregman and explained how adding him would force a creative reshuffle. Ernie Clement and Addison Barger both played well at third base last season, but Clement could slide to second while Barger moves to right field, effectively squeezing someone like Anthony Santander out of the picture and reshaping the Jay’s lineup. Why would Toronto [music] do that after already making the World Series and pushing the Dodgers to the brink last year? chemistry and leadership. Passen stressed that the Jays felt they benefited enormously from the clubhouse dynamic in 2025 [music] and Bregman is widely regarded as a strong presence in that room. For a team trying to capitalize on Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s prime [music] and keep their window wide open, adding another leader who’s been on the biggest stages makes a [music] ton of sense. He mentioned the Cubs as a long-running flirtation as well. Two years of interest, mutual intrigue, but [music] tied that entire conversation back to one simple question. Will ownership actually pay what Bregman wants? In Chicago, that means Tom Rickettts choosing whether he wants to dive into that six-year kind of commitment or not. So, on one side, you have Tucker as the raw talent litmus test for who wants to win. On the other, Bregman is the leadership and edge piece that could tilt a clubhouse. And right in the middle of it all sits one franchise that seems to break all the rules. Kay shifted the conversation out west to the Padres’s, another team that feels like it has been riding a roller coaster for years. First, they looked like a team desperate to shed salary. Then, they turned around and handed Michael King a three-year, $75 million contract. Passen explained how confusing San Diego’s situation can look from the outside. [music] On one hand, they absolutely still want to cut payroll [music] and he floated names like Nick Paveta or Jake Croninworth as more realistic trade ships [music] going forward. On the other, a lot of their existing contracts are basically unmovable. Xander Bogurts would require the Padres’s to eat an enormous amount of money or attach massive prospect capital to get anyone interested. Manny Machado isn’t going anywhere. Fernando Tatis Jr. is theoretically [music] a blockbuster trade piece, but he’s also the face of their franchise, [music] which makes any move involving him feel more like a future conversation than a present one. So, where does [music] Michael King fit in? Posen said the Padres’s clearly love him. When healthy, they believe he’s one of the better starters in baseball. The contract is structured with optouts after the first [music] and second years, which means the downside goes both ways. King can re-enter free agency at the perfect time if he dominates, where he can simply [music] lock in the full 75 million if injuries or performance issues crop up. Viewed through that lens, San Diego basically bought themselves high-end rotation upside without committing to a Carlos Rodon style six or seven-year anchor. It’s risky, but not reckless. And it fits a franchise that’s trying to balance the fading memory of Peter Sidler’s all-in aggression with the reality of long, questionable commitments like Udarvishes and Bogurt’s deals. That tension, wanting to win now, but being stuck with yesterday’s contracts, is exactly what separates the Padres’s from the one team that really can do whatever it wants. Kay then asked the question that every fan of a non-Dodger team has probably thought at some point. Is Los Angeles being able to go out [music] and get basically whatever they want bad for baseball. Passen’s answer was more nuanced than yes or no. [music] He said the thing that truly hurts the sport is when fans feel like their team has no chance. That there’s no path to competing because the deck is stacked financially. [music] But he also pointed out something that gets lost in the noise. everything the Dodgers are doing is happening inside a system that both the owners [music] and players agreed to in collective bargaining. He noted that LA has arguably the best farm system in the sport despite drafting near the bottom every year and that doesn’t happen by accident. They spend more than almost anyone else. Sure, but they also develop talent better than almost anyone else. Their massive TV deal and the insane commercial gravity of Shi Otani give them a money advantage that most clubs will never touch. But Otani was available to all 30 teams. The Angels had him for 6 years and never built what the Dodgers are building right now. Passen actually likes the idea that there’s a clear final boss for everyone to chase, comparing this Dodger era to the Yankees of the late 92nd and early 2000s. But he reminded Kay of something Yankee [music] fans know painfully well. Money doesn’t guarantee rings. Since that dynasty run, New York has only won one World Series. The Mets spent like crazy and fell flat in two [music] of the last three years. Even this current Yankee stretch has been defined more by close calls and disappointment than parades. What money really buys in Passin’s view is the ability to make mistakes. The Dodgers whiff on a move, like a deal for Tanner Scott that doesn’t pan out, and they simply throw cash and assets at another solution, like landing Edwin Diaz to paper over the miss. [music] That’s where the imbalance truly shows up, and that’s where it stings fans of smaller or mid-market teams the most. And that leads into the biggest looming fight of all, a [music] possible salary cap. K. Finish the interview by pushing passing on something that could reshape everything we’ve talked about. If every other major American league has [music] a cap system, how does MLB’s players association realistically keep saying no [music] when owners inevitably push for it again in the next CBA fight? Passen made one simple point that cuts through all the rhetoric. Just because cap leagues like the NFL, NBA, and NHL are doing well doesn’t mean they’re doing well because of the cap. He said this [music] is a classic case of correlation versus causation. MLB’s union can point to a bunch of metrics showing that competitive balance in baseball is just as good, if not better, than in some cap leagues. Then he brought it down to a human level. Imagine your job had a hard ceiling on how much you could earn, no matter how good you are, no matter how much more value you create [music] than your peers. Would that feel fair? Kay immediately said no. And Passin used that to underline why players have fought so hard against any kind of hard cap. >> [music] >> He conceded that owners will frame a cap system as something that could be structured to benefit players at first, maybe even in the short term, but the players he talks to think further [music] down the road. Once a cap exists, he said the percentage of revenue that flows to players tends to get pushed down over time. That first deal is always the best they’ll ever see in that system, and every round of bargaining after that chips away a little more. For the current generation of players, that trade-off doesn’t look worth it. They’d rather continue fighting under the existing luxury tax and revenue sharing setup than accept a true cap that might [music] permanently limit what stars can earn in the future. And that brings everything full circle. Teams like the Mets and Yankees working the margins, [music] the Blue Jays and Orioles swinging big inside the rules, the Dodgers acting as the sports monster at the top, [music] and the Rays grinding edges just to survive. All of it happens inside a system that might be heading toward the biggest Labor Showdown baseball scene [music] in a long time. So when fans look at Kyle Tucker hesitating to sign, Bregman holding firm on 6 years, the Mets tearing down parts of a core they once swore by, or the Yankees sitting just outside the bigname feeding [music] frenzy. They’re not just watching random moves. They’re watching a sport that’s fighting over its identity in real time. Who’s willing to spend? Who’s willing to change? and who’s willing to push the system to its breaking point. And that’s where this channel comes in. If you enjoyed breaking down what Jeff Passen and Michael K really revealed between the lines, this is exactly what happens on the show Insider every week. This isn’t just box scores and contract numbers. It’s the story behind why front offices panic, why fan bases meltdown, and why one signing in December can decide who’s still playing in October. [music] So, if you’re into deep dive breakdowns of MLB rumors, front office decisions, and the moves that actually change the postseason picture, make [music] sure you hit that subscribe button to the show insider and turn on notifications so you don’t miss what’s coming next. There’s a lot more drama left in [music] this off season, and every time a big name signs or a quiet trade goes down, you [music] can bet we’ll be here unpacking exactly what it means for your team. Thanks for watching. Thanks for hanging out. And drop your thoughts in the comments. Which team looks smarter after this pass and K breakdown? The Mets, the Yankees, the Blue Jays, or the Dodgers? Until next time, this is the show insider and the hot stove is just getting warmed
Jeff Passan joins Michael Kay to unpack the wildest MLB offseason rumors swirling around the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers and more. From the AL East “arms race” to small‑market teams trying to survive, this is one of the most explosive rumor breakdowns of the winter.
In this video, The Show Insider breaks down:
Why Jeff Passan thinks the Mets can’t just “run it back” and what that means for their core
How the Yankees might be getting too comfortable while the rest of the AL East loads up
Why the Blue Jays might not be done and could still land another big bat
How the Dodgers use money and depth to fix their mistakes and stay on top
What this offseason “war” between teams says about MLB’s future and a possible salary cap fight
If you love MLB rumors, front office drama, and deep‑dive breakdowns of what these moves really mean, you’re in the right place. Hit subscribe to The Show Insider for more daily baseball breakdowns, offseason chaos, and in‑season storylines all year long.
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