MLB Rumors: Where could Brewers trade Corbin Burnes?

Just a few days ago, FanSided MLB insider previewed some offseason trade targets, highlighting Corbin Burnes in particular. Burnes has a year left of arbitration left on his deal, and it seems more likely by the day that the Brewers don't intend on signing him to a long-term extension.

Prior to the season, Burnes vented his frustration regarding the arbitration process, and in particular the Brewers attempts to seemingly attack him in a public forum. It's a tactic used by every team to save what amounts to pennies on the dollar.

"There's no denying that the relationship was definitely hurt from what (transpired) over the last couple weeks. There's really no way to get around that," Burnes said at the time. "When some of the things that are said … they basically put me in the forefront of the reason why we didn't make the postseason last year. That's something that probably didn't need to be said."

So, would Milwaukee consider trading Burnes this offseason? Murray sure thinks so.

"The Brewers could get a substantial haul in return for the right-hander, who has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball, and is something that the organization will likely explore.

That last part is just my speculation, but it adds up considering that the Brewers moved Hader with 1.5 years remaining on his contract. It's something to monitor heading into the offseason as Milwaukee weighs their options and what's best for the future of the organization involving Burnes."

A trade to Los Angeles — which is out of their own division, for one — makes some sense, as they missed out on Eduardo Rodriguez at the trade deadline.

MLB Rumors: NY Mets, SF Giants dodged a bullet with Carlos Correa

Minnesota signed Carlos Correa to a six-year, $200 million contract this winter, despite the star shortstop having questionable physicals with both the Mets and Giants, which caused those deals to fall through. The Twins knew what they had in Correa, and getting him for a high-AAV, six-year contract rather than the decade-long deal he had previously been seeking was a win. But did they really get robbed?

In a piece by The Athletic, Aaron Gleeman takes a deep look at Correa's struggles, and what it means for the Twins future:

"For example, in signing Carlos Correa to a six-year, $200 million contract this winter, the Twins likely weren't banking on him being worth more than his $31 million salaries in 2027 and 2028, at ages 32 and 33. They wanted the value the 28-year-old Correa could provide right away, over the first three or four years of the deal, and the only way to secure that was to also commit to the later years."

Correa is slashing .228/.301/.395 in 103 games for a .696 OPS, which is far below the league average. He is making $32 million to be below league average.

Despite Correa's disappointing year, the Twins are leading the weak AL Central. It works, in part because the rest of Minnesota's payroll isn't an albatross. Now, imagine Correa on the Mets or Giants, and it paints a far different picture.

The Giants filed Brandon Crawford at shortstop, and Thairo Estrada at second base. Had Correa signed, Crawford would have moved over to second base in the last year of his contract, which would've pushed Estrada and his .743 OPS out of the regular lineup. Not to mention, San Francisco's payroll flexibility allows them to be a key player yet again on the 2023-24 free agent and trade markets.

As for the Mets, where do we start? Correa would've been just another in a long line of expensive failures. New York traded Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, but Correa agreed to a 13-year contract in Queens. That cannot be traded away, and Steve Cohen would've been looking at his own Bobby Bonilla-sized mistake in Correa.

This worked out well for everyone.

MLB Rumors: Juan Soto sounds off on Padres failures

Buying at the MLB trade deadline was a bold approach by San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller, but it hasn't worked out so well thus far.

The Padres held a players-only meeting after their most recent defeat, a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners which dropped San Diego to 55-60 on the season.

"Any loss is disappointing right now," Padres manager Bob Melvin said, per the AP. "With Yu Darvish on the mound and you're facing a guy in his major league debut, maybe that adds to it, but I think any loss right now, especially after we lost the first game here, each one of them is disappointing."

The players seemed to put a bit of onus on this defeat.

"Unacceptable," Manny Machado said, per the San Diego Union-Tribune. "… I mean, he made some good pitches. We just couldn't capitalize on it. But yeah, we're way better than that, than what we did today."

Juan Soto, who was mentioned in trade rumors prior to the deadline and should pop up again this offseason come the winter meetings, was the loudest of the bunch.

"We've got to play as a team," Soto said. "We've got to go out there grind every day. Grind every at-bat. … It's been really inconsistent. Some days we do, some days we don't. We gotta do it every day. Days like this series, we just give up. Like literally, we just give up instead of keep grinding, keep pushing. We've got to forget about yesterday and keep moving."

With each passing comment, Soto's future in San Diego grows more murky.

Soto won't be a free agent until the 2024-25 offseason, but a contract extension seems unlikely given he's a Scott Boras client. The star outfielder should test his market value in free agency, especially if it's as high as Boras says it is. For most teams, trading Soto would be on the table, but this is Preller and the win-now Padres we're talking about.

Soto's growing frustration, and the Pads potential failure to make the playoffs, is something to keep an eye on.