# MLB 2025-26 Offseason **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [November 4, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574 "2025-11-04T17:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/21 "2025-11-09T21:39:46Z")
Neither are those two (alleged) criminals effective very very soon. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/22 "2025-11-10T21:58:24Z")
Most of us don’t make in a lifetime what these guys get in a year. I have no pity for them. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/23 "2025-11-11T18:48:19Z")
The relevant numbers are in here: [Wetzel: Feds are the best hope to police sports betting’s wild west - ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46920575/feds-best-hope-police-sports-betting-wild-west) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/24 "2025-11-11T22:45:12Z")
Athletics 1B Nick Kurtz and Braves C Drake Baldwin were named the Rookies of the Year. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/25 "2025-11-13T19:06:23Z")
I read somewhere that Clase and Ortiz were caught because of some internal MLB department that flagged odd betting activiity. I would have to assume that this is an instance where AI is an actually useful tool for rooting this sort of thing out. Normally, bets should distribute themselves pretty evenly around the major bookies in fairly predictable ways; if, say, a prop bet on some pitcher’s first pitch being a ball suddenly sees weird activity, that’s the sort of thing AI bots could easily spot and set off red lights and klaxon alarms. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/26 "2025-11-13T19:55:04Z")
especially since they don’t have a lot of expensive players 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/27 "2025-11-14T02:11:01Z")
Judge and Ohtani are AL and NL MVPs. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/28 "2025-11-14T02:28:27Z")
And Skubal and Skenes are the Cy Young Award winners. Skenes was a unanimous pick. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/29 "2025-11-14T03:18:30Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Judge and Ohtani are AL and NL MVPs. As they should be. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/30 "2025-11-14T10:36:11Z")
If Cal Raleigh had been in the NL he probably would have snatched the MVP from Ohtani. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/31 "2025-11-14T10:57:41Z")
I wanted Raleigh to win, but mostly for anti-Yankee bias, and because I loved Raleigh’s narrative - but Judge simply had the better season (one of the best ever, frankly). I don’t envy the voters in the AL - that was a really hard choice. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/32 "2025-11-14T12:41:14Z")
Incredibly close. Two flipped votes and it would have been a tie. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/33 "2025-11-14T14:59:25Z")
In non-MLB news, the Bananaball league had its first ever expansion draft last night to start filling in the rosters for the 2 new teams. First pick off the board for the Indianapolis Clowns was former All Star and World Series champion, Jackie Bradley Jr. The guy will be 36 next year, but that’s a really fun pick. I hope he’s able to add some real talent to the team and league. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/34 "2025-11-15T16:47:48Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I wanted Raleigh to win, but mostly for anti-Yankee bias, and because I loved Raleigh’s narrative - but Judge simply had the better season (one of the best ever, frankly). Judge had a hell of a season but I’m not sure “one of the best ever” is a reasonable description. It wasn’t even HIS best season. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/35 "2025-11-15T16:59:47Z")
If you use WAR, it was his 3rd best season and tied for 72 overall. Top 100 probably does qualify for some standards of “one of the best ever”. He has a pair of 10.8 WAR seasons, tied for 21st. Babe Ruth of course dominated this, with 6 of the top 12. So what qualifies as “one of the best ever”? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/36 "2025-11-15T20:26:07Z")
You know, I’ll walk that back - I think I was swapping out one of his other dominant seasons in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/37 "2025-11-17T02:10:41Z")
The Mariners [resigned Josh Naylor for 5 years.](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46993975/josh-naylor-returning-seattle-mariners-5-year-deal) Pending a physical, dollar amounts not disclosed. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/38 "2025-11-17T15:53:12Z")
Smart move unless the AAV is something absurd. I’m surprised they were able to lock up a 28 year-old for only five years. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/39 "2025-11-17T18:34:04Z")
Naylor’s a good player but he has limited positional options and a heavy first baseman isn’t a great long term bet. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574/40 "2025-11-17T18:35:43Z")
I was surprised by his fielding this year. Maybe not a gold glove, but made some good plays. Solid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-26-offseason/1024574.md?page=3)