News & Rumors: Off-Season Crawfish Boil 12/2/2025

News & Rumors from around the league – The Crawfish Boil 12/2/2025

• Despite signing former Yankees closer Devin Williams to a 3-year deal, the Mets are reportedly still in on their own former closer, Edwin Diaz. Diaz is reportedly seeking a 5-year, $100M deal, just north of what Astros’ closer Josh Hader signed two years ago. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post

• The 16-member Hall of Fame Board that will vote on this year’s Contemporary Hall of Fame Ballot has been announced:

The Contemporary ballot includes players whose primary contributions were made since 1980. The eight member ballot includes: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela.

A player needs 75% of the vote (12 of the 16 members) to gain induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Inductees would be part of the Class of 2026. The results will be aired live Sunday December 7, at 6:30p CT on MLB Network.

• The San Francisco Giants have checked in on Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network:

• MLB is pitching its “Competitive Balance” theme to it’s new fan council. The fan council was created earlier this year with 90 diehard fans from around the country. Is the league trying to prep fans for a labor war and a lockout? Evan Drellich of The Athletic spoke to those on the video call for their reactions:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6853090/2025/12/02/mlb-fan-council-labor-competitive-balance/?source=emp_shared_article

• The St. Louis Cardinals are expected to be one of the busiest teams this offseason, tearing down the roster as a full rebuild takes shape. SP Sonny Gray has already been sent to Boston, so what’s next? The latest from Katie Woo of The Athletic:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6852885/2025/12/02/cardinals-trade-plans-winter-meetings/

Highlights:

1B Willson Contreras is now willing to waive his no trade clause for the right fit. He has 2 years and $36.5M left on his deal, as well as a club option for $17.5M in 2028.

Cardinals most pressing issue is to find a new home for 3B Nolan Arenado. Arenado has 2 years and $31M left on his contract. The Cardinals are expected to have to pay down some of that money to move him.

The Cardinals are asking a very high price for All-Star Brendan Donovan, who offers positional flexibility and a quality lefthanded bat. Donovan is drawing a lot of interest around the league, including from the Houston Astros, but the team is reportedly holding out for an offer they can’t resist.

OF Lars Nootbaar is also drawing interest, despite coming off a down year and needing double heel surgery in the offseason that will put his status for Opening Day in question. It is possible that the Cardinals choose to move Nootbaar over Donovan if they cannot get a deal for Donovan to their liking.

• New Red Sox SP Sonny Gray wasted no time taking shots at one of his former teams on MLB Network, and you already know it was the Yankees. Watch here:

• Jon Morosi laid out the market for former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks on MLB Network:

• The Blue Jays are reportedly in an “either-or” scenario when it comes to signing Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette, per Jon Morosi on MLB Network:

• Meanwhile, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi believes the market for Bo Bichette is still developing: