The 2025-26 MLB hot stove was lit just days after the Los Angeles Dodgers hoisted their second consecutive World Series championship trophy.

All eyes this winter are on a free agent hitting class featuring Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber (who is returning to the Phillies on a five-year deal), Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso. But they’re not the only ones who will make a splash in the market.

Which teams will go big to contend for the 2026 World Series title? And who will make the trades and signings that have everyone buzzing?

Below is a running list of notable transactions and updates from throughout the MLB offseason.

Key links: Offseason grades | Top 50 free agents | Fantasy spin | Best fits

Notable MLB offseason transactions

Dec. 9

Closer Edwin Diaz and the Dodgers are in agreement on a three-year, $69 million deal, sources tell ESPN.

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Kyle Schwarber and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a five-year, $150 million contract, sources told ESPN, reuniting the National League home run leader with the team he has played for the past four seasons.

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Dec. 8

Left-hander Steven Matz and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a two-year contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN.

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Free agent pitcher Michael Soroka and the Arizona Diamondbacks are in agreement on a one-year deal, pending a physical, sources tell ESPN.

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Dec. 6

The Washington Nationals traded left-hander Jose Ferrer to the Seattle Mariners for top catching prospect Harry Ford and minor league pitcher Isaac Lyon, the teams announced Saturday.

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Dec. 4

The Boston Red Sox acquired right-hander Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a five-player trade that sent heralded outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to Pittsburgh, the teams announced Thursday.

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Dec. 3

Outfielder Cedric Mullins has agreed to a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to multiple reports.

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Free agent closer Emilio Pagan has agreed to return to the Cincinnati Reds on a $20 million, two-year contract, according to multiple reports.

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World Series hero Miguel Rojas is returning to the Dodgers in 2026, for what will be his final season in the major leagues, sources told ESPN. The infielder agreed to terms on a one-year, $5.5 million deal, after which he will be assisting the front office and helping in player development.

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Left-handed reliever Sam Hentges and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a $1.4 million, one-year contract.

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Left-hander Anthony Kay and the Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a two-year, $12 million contract with a club option for a third season, sources told ESPN.

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Dec. 2

Right-hander Cody Ponce, who won KBO MVP honors last season, and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a three-year, $30 million contract, sources told ESPN

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Former KBO pitcher Ryan Weiss is in agreement with the Houston Astros on a one-year contract that guarantees him $2.6 million, sources told ESPN.

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Right-hander Alek Manoah and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $1.95 million contract, a source tells ESPN.

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Dec. 1

Reliever Devin Williams and the New York Mets are in agreement on a three-year contract that guarantees more than $50 million, sources tell ESPN.

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Nov. 29

Closer Ryan Helsley and the Baltimore Orioles agreed on a two-year contract that includes an opt-out after the first season.

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Nov. 26

Right-hander Dylan Cease and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed on a seven-year, $210 million contract.

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Nov. 25

The Boston Red Sox acquired veteran right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.

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Nov. 23

The New York Mets and Texas Rangers agreed to a trade that would send second baseman Marcus Semien to the Mets and outfielder Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers.

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Nov. 21

The Chicago Cubs and right-handed reliever Phil Maton agreed on a two-year deal.

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The Giants acquired outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Marlins for cash and agreed to terms with right-hander JT Brubaker on a one-year contract.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million deal with veteran catcher James McCann.

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Nov. 19

The Braves re-signed closer Raisel Iglesias to a one-year, $16 million contract.

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The Atlanta Braves acquired Mauricio Dubon from the Houston Astros for Nick Allen in an exchange of infielders.

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Nov. 18

The Baltimore Orioles acquired outfielder Taylor Ward from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

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New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, Detroit Tigers infielder Gleyber Torres, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff and Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga accepted their qualifying offers, meaning they’ll return to their respective teams in 2026 at salaries of $22.025 million.

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Nov. 17

Reliever Ryan Yarbrough will be back in the Bronx after agreeing to a one-year deal with the New York Yankees.

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Nov. 16

First baseman Josh Naylor and the Seattle Mariners have finalized a five-year, $92.5 million contract that has a full no-trade clause and no deferrals, sources tell ESPN.

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Nov. 4

Chicago Cubs SP Shota Imanaga becomes free agent after team, player reject options for 2026

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Nov. 3

Milwaukee Brewers exercise option on SP Freddy Peralta; SP Brandon Woodruff declines option

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Boston Red Sox 3B Alex Bregman opts out of contract; SP Lucas Giolito declines option

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New York Yankees OF Cody Bellinger declines option

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New York Mets 1B Pete Alonso, RP Edwin Díaz opt out of contracts

Key offseason dates

Nov. 6: Free agency begins at 5 p.m. ET

Nov. 10-13: GM meetings in Las Vegas

Nov. 18-20: Owners meetings in New York

Nov. 18: Deadline to accept or reject qualifying offer

Nov. 21: Non-tender deadline

Dec. 8-10: Winter meetings in Orlando

Dec. 9: MLB draft lottery

Dec. 10: Rule 5 draft

ORLANDO, Fla. — With Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens facing only one more chance under the current rules to get into baseball’s Hall of Fame, the Hall chairman thinks they were turned down because contemporary era committee members evaluate the Steroids Era in the same manner as baseball writers.

Bonds and Clemens each received fewer than five votes Sunday from the committee that elected Jeff Kent.

“I’m not surprised because I think there’s overlap and obviously discussions among the writers and we have writers represented on that committee,” Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark said Monday following a news conference with Kent at the winter meetings.

Under a change announced by the Hall last March, candidates who received fewer than five votes from the 16-person panel are not eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.

That means if Bonds and Clemens reappear on the contemporary era ballot in 2031 and fail to get five votes, they would be barred from future appearances unless the rules are changed.

“What’s lovely about it is it’s going to open up spots on the ballot so that more people can be reviewed,” Clark said. “They certainly can come back in six years, in ’31, but between now and then some other people will have a chance because I think that’s really important.”

Under the Hall’s committee format, contemporary era players from 1980 on alternate over three years with the classic era and contemporary era managers, executives and umpires.

A seven-time NL MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, Bonds set the career home run record with 762 and the season record with 73 in 2001. A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens went 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third behind Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875).

Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs and Clemens maintains he never used PEDs.

Bonds and Clemens fell short in 2022 in their 10th and final appearances on the BBWAA ballot, when Bonds received 260 of 394 votes (66%) and Clemens 257 (65.2%).

In their first appearance on the contemporary era committee ballot, Bonds and Clemens each received fewer than four votes in December 2022 as Fred McGriff was elected.

Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, even after winning the Cy Young Award in back-to-back seasons, is not “untouchable” when it comes to trade offers, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Monday.

“I don’t believe in untouchable players at any level,” Harris told MLB Network on Monday at the winter meetings in Orlando, Florida. “It’s not a commentary on Tarik; it’s more of a blanket approach to building a winning organization. My job is to make this organization better … which means that I need to listen to every opportunity, no matter how likely or unlikely it is to actually happen. I’ve got to listen because we’ve got to get better as an organization, so that’s our approach.

“We don’t have everything figured out, but it’s led to a ton of success in a very short period of time. And I can stand here and credibly say that we have both a bright present and a bright future, and this approach has led to that.”

Skubal has one season remaining until he reaches free agency. If the Tigers can’t sign the left-hander to an extension — his agent is Scott Boras, and Boras clients rarely sign extensions this close to free agency — the Tigers could very well entertain trade possibilities.

“I can’t, and I won’t, speculate on trades for our own players,” Harris told MLB Network. “Like, it’s just not fair to the players. It’s not fair to the other teams. And the second thing is, there are 25 other guys in our locker room — 25 guys that are busting their butts to play on the field, and it takes all of us to actually get to the postseason. It’s not a commentary on Tarik. It’s the organizational ethos we have. It’s going to take all of us, it’s going to take every little thing, to get to the postseason.

“Listen, Tarik’s a Tiger right now. We’re thrilled he’s a Tiger. … He’s a huge part of what we’re doing right now.”

Skubal became the first pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards since Jacob deGrom in 2018-19 for the New York Mets and the first American League pitcher to do so since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000 for the Boston Red Sox.

Skubal finished 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts in 195⅓ innings, leading the AL in Baseball-Reference WAR (6.5) and FanGraphs WAR (6.6) while also leading qualified pitchers in ERA, strikeout rate (32.2%), lowest walk rate (4.4%), OBP allowed (.240) and OPS allowed (.559).

Using a blistering fastball that averaged nearly 98 mph and one of the best changeups in the game that limited batters to a .154 average and registered 110 of his strikeouts, Skubal did not give up a run in 12 of his 31 starts, the most scoreless starts of at least six innings in Tigers history and the most in the majors since Adam Wainwright in 2014.

Over the past two seasons, Skubal has gone 31-10 while leading MLB in strikeouts (469), WHIP (0.91) and is second in ERA (2.30), innings pitched (387⅓) and opponent OPS (.558). The Tigers’ season came to an end both times in Game 5 of the AL Division Series.

“I think we have a really good team that we’re going to put on the field — and I think Tarik is a big part of that — but there are a lot of really talented players in this organization and in the big leagues that are helping us win a lot,” Harris said.

ESPN David Schoenfield contributed to this report.