MLB rumors: Astros willing to listen on Framber Valdez trade offers, A’s and Rays make a trade
MLB’s annual Winter Meetings ended Thursday but the hot stove continued to rage on Friday. The Astros traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs and the Brewers and Yankees swapped Devin Williams for Nestor Cortes. Is another big trade in the works for Saturday? Here now are the day’s hot stove rumblings.
A’s make deal for Springs
The Athletics have finalized a deal to acquire lefty Jeffrey Springs from the Rays, per multiple reports. Per ESPN, the Rays will get three players (pitchers Joe Boyle and Jacob Watters and outfielder Will Simpson) and a compensation Round A draft pick in the swap. There is also reportedly another unnamed player heading to the A’s. Springs, 32, had a 3.27 ERA in seven starts after returning from Tommy John surgery this past season. He is owed $10.5 million in 2025 and $10.5 million in 2026 with a $15 million club option ($750,000 buyout) for 2027.
Earlier this offseason the A’s signed Luis Severino to the largest contract in franchise history (three years, $67 million) in part because they have to raise payroll to avoid the MLBPA filing a grievance about their revenue-sharing money. Springs will help the club boost payroll in addition to upgrading a rotation that was quite thin in 2025.
Astros willing to listen on Valdez
After trading Kyle Tucker, Astros GM Dana Brown said he is “willing to listen” to offers for lefty Framber Valdez, though he is not trying to move him, per the Houston Chronicle. “We’re not aggressively trying to move him, but we’ll listen. If you ask me if (I) think we’re going to trade Valdez, I don’t think we’re trading Valdez,” Brown said. Like Tucker, Valdez is a year away from free agency.
Now 31, Valdez threw 176 1/3 innings with a 2.91 ERA in 2024. He is baseball’s premier ground ball starting pitcher. Similar to the Tucker trade, the Astros could use a Valdez trade to address multiple roster needs and also boost the farm system. With a projected salary in the $18 million range and the demand for pitching exceeding supply, there would surely be a lot of interest in Valdez.
Santander seeking five years
Free agent slugger Anthony Santander is seeking a five-year contract, reports the New York Post. The Blue Jays and Yankees are among the teams with interest. Santander slugged 44 home runs in 2024, the fifth highest total in a single season for a switch-hitter. Despite those homers, we ranked Santander the 15th best free agent this offseason given concerns about the rest of his game.
It seemed like, once Juan Soto signed, the markets for Santander and Teoscar Hernández would quickly heat up, and that has not happened. To be sure, those guys will get signed at some point and command large contracts, but things are moving a little more slowly than anticipated once Soto came off the board. Santander, 30, declined the qualifying offer from the Orioles.
Giants could pursue veterans on short-term deals
The Giants have already signed Willy Adames and are pursuing Corbin Burnes, and as they look to fill out the rest of their roster, the club could pursue big name veterans on short-term contracts, according to The Athletic. Players like Paul Goldschmidt, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander fit the bill. San Francisco used this approach well during their 2010-14 mini-dynasty. In addition to the usual pitching needs, the Giants could also use a righty hitting first base/DH bat, plus perhaps a left fielder.