It’s a lot of fun Photoshopping new uniforms on popular players this time of year, but there’s also something to be said for stability.
This offseason, a record four players – Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff, Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga and Tigers infielder Gleyber Torres – accepted the one-year qualifying offer. Meanwhile, the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, Mariners’ Josh Naylor and the Padres’ Michael King are among the most notable free agents who have re-signed instead of heading somewhere new.
Let’s explore the possibility of some more Hot Stove reunions between prominent free agents and their 2025 teams … and then offer the most intriguing potential revision -- an alternative team that makes sense.
3B Alex Bregman
Reunion with the Red Sox?
A possibility that seemed like a no-brainer at the start of the offseason has dragged on for months, but it might be more probable now than it was then. The Blue Jays were lurking as a possibility until they signed Kazuma Okamoto. The Diamondbacks were a rumored alternative, but only in the event that they moved Ketel Marte’s salary, which reportedly isn’t happening now. The Cubs pursued Bregman last offseason, but they would probably be more likely to address the outfield at this point. And because Boston won’t be landing Marte, Bregman's positional fit and leadership remain right for the Red Sox.
Revision with the … Tigers?
Like the Cubs, the Tigers did pursue Bregman a year ago. As far as we know, they haven’t been in hot pursuit this time around. But that doesn’t make him any less of a fit, especially if Detroit opts to ride it out with Tarik Skubal and really wants to go for it this year, the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner’s last before he’s due to reach free agency himself.
While the Tigers can tout (and have touted) incumbent third baseman Zach McKinstry as a 2025 AL All-Star, the 30-year-old’s performance history and defensive versatility point to him being more of a super-utility type on a championship-caliber club that sorely needs a right-handed boost in the lineup.
RF Kyle Tucker
Reunion with the Cubs?
When the Cubs acquired the pending free agent Tucker in a blockbuster trade in December 2024, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged Tucker’s tenure on the North Side could be “one and done.” Nothing we’ve heard in this year's market has changed that. The Cubs, to the best of our knowledge, have not made much of a push to bring Tucker back long term.
That said, prospect Owen Caissie, who made his debut in 2025, was considered by some (outsiders, at least) to be a potential Tucker replacement in the outfield this year. And now Caissie is off to the Marlins as the key piece in this week’s trade for starter Edward Cabrera. So on that front, at least, it becomes more conceivable that Tucker and the Cubs reunite. But it’s more likely that his total price tag will be too rich for their tastes.
Revision with the … Blue Jays?
It’s the best fit on paper, if nothing else. The Jays have added to their loaded lineup this offseason, but Tucker’s impact left-handed bat would give them better balance, and signing the market’s consensus No. 1 free agent would be in keeping with a Toronto team that has absolutely dominated that market. The Jays’ signing of Okamoto only increased the odds that, if they do pull off another major move, it makes more sense for it to be in the outfield than in the infield, as we’ll address next.
2B/SS Bo Bichette
Reunion with the Blue Jays?
Again, in Toronto’s no-stone-unturned offseason, we can’t dismiss the possibility that the Jays bring Bichette back. But at this point, the fit is more sentimental than simple. Whether Bichette would return to his native position at shortstop or (more likely) cede it to a far superior defender in Andrés Giménez and shift full time to second, his return would crowd the Jays’ infield, necessitating either a more limited role for Ernie Clement or a more versatile one for the newly signed Okamoto.
The pieces can fit together, so the return is not impossible. And Bichette’s connection to Toronto (and to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., in particular) is an important variable. Again, though, an outfielder like Tucker is a much more seamless solution.
Revision with the … Dodgers?
The new scuttlebutt about the Phillies planning to meet with Bichette presents a fascinating alternative (and creates a domino effect for trade candidate Alec Bohm), but let’s focus on the scenario that would add spice to a potential World Series rematch. A gimpy Bichette came back from a knee injury and showed little rust in going 8-for-23 with four walks in the World Series. Not a bad audition. And his age (28 on Opening Day) and return from injury could make him a candidate for the kind of shorter-term, high-average annual value contract the Dodgers prefer.
More to the point, the Dodgers could use a boost at second base. Signing Bichette would address a position where Los Angeles' .650 OPS ranked 24th in MLB last year. The still young (and right-handed) Bichette would also provide balance to a lineup that is both trending older and is so strongly oriented around lefties Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. The problem is that the Dodgers would have a suboptimal defensive infield, and they would be embracing an iffy proposition in moving Tommy Edman to center field, given his injury history.
OF/1B Cody Bellinger
Reunion with the Yankees?
Given that he had his best performance since his 2019 National League MVP season, Bellinger has ample reason to extend his stay in the Bronx, and the Yankees have ample reason to bring him back. New York knows he can handle the limelight, knows he can serve as an effective accomplice to Aaron Judge and knows he significantly raises the team's defensive floor.
The big wrinkle is how much capital the Yanks want to commit to another outfielder when youngster Jasson Domínguez and No. 4 prospect Spencer Jones are also options. But it should go without saying that Belli offers much more certainty than those two.
Revision with the … Mets?
This would give us a new annual tradition in the Mets poaching Judge’s outfield running mate from the Yankees. And it just so happens to make all the sense in the world after the Brandon Nimmo trade and Pete Alonso’s departure. Bellinger would give the Mets a center-field solution, first-base protection and a viable middle-of-the-order bat to help ensure that Juan Soto does not set a new MLB walks record.
While the Mets are showing discipline and (too much?) restraint on the free-agent front these days, Bellinger fits the “run prevention” mindset and can hit fellow lefties (1.016 OPS in 2025), and we already know he can handle the big market.
C J.T. Realmuto
Reunion with the Phillies?
At the start of the winter, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Phillies would bring back two of their key cogs, Realmuto and Schwarber. The Schwarber matter was resolved rather efficiently. Realmuto’s return? Not so much.
It has dragged on long enough that we’re now seeing reports of the Phils -- who do have incentive to get younger where they can -- potentially pivoting to other options, such as Twins trade candidate Ryan Jeffers. Signing Bichette would conceivably reduce, if not eliminate, the odds of Philadelphia re-signing Realmuto. There’s a lot of posturing on the part of both player and team in a situation like this. For now, the Phillies’ familiarity with Realmuto and his relationship with mainstays Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler still makes a reunion seem the most likely scenario, but the situation is fluid.
Revision with the … Red Sox?
Were Realmuto to really leave, the Red Sox would be an attractive destination for a catcher accustomed to annual contention. Yes, the 27-year-old Carlos Narváez is coming off a solid rookie season, but his offensive impact was significantly weighted toward home vs. road and first half vs. second half. It’s hard to say if he’ll be a reliable offensive contributor going forward, while Connor Wong’s .500 OPS last year left a lot to be desired.
With the Sox still holding Minor League options on both of those backstops, Realmuto’s presence and leadership might prove attractive to a win-now team with a lot of youth elsewhere in the lineup.
3B Eugenio Suárez
Reunion with the Mariners?
Third time’s a charm? While Seattle hasn’t gotten to its ultimate destination in Suárez’s first two tenures with the team, this is obviously a familiar relationship. Suárez had a strong two seasons with the Mariners in 2022-23, and the front office really didn’t want to let the popular and productive third baseman go in a cost-cutting trade to the Diamondbacks prior to '24. Sure enough, with the M’s in contention midway through '25 and Suárez putting on a personal Home Run Derby in Arizona, Seattle brought him back as a trade rental.
Suárez didn’t do much for the Mariners in the regular season, but he did hit what would have gone down (had the M’s eventually reached the World Series) as perhaps the hugest home run in franchise history with his go-ahead grand slam in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series.
With Jorge Polanco departed to the Mets, Marte supposedly off the trade block and negotiations with the Cardinals for Brendan Donovan so far not bearing fruit, Suárez lingers as a potential solution for a Mariners team that could still use another infield/DH bat.
Revision with the … Pirates?
It has been a much busier offseason than usual for the Buccos, who have made trades for three hitters in Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Jhostynxon Garcia while signing Ryan O’Hearn. The nice thing about having so many holes in your lineup is that just about anybody is a conceivable fit, and so it is with Suárez, who could slide in at third base, after Ke’Bryan Hayes was traded to the Reds midway through 2025 and utility man Jared Triolo is currently atop the depth chart.
Pittsburgh was dead last in the Majors in all the key power categories last year, so installing Suárez after his 49-homer year while also adding his renowned clubhouse presence to a young club is a no-brainer. The question, of course, is how aggressive the Pirates are really willing to be on the free-agent front and if their heavy lifting is over.
1B Luis Arraez
Reunion with the Padres?
Arraez was billed as a fascinating test of the modern mindset in free agency, given that his extraordinary ability to sprinkle hits around the diamond is paired with his history of knee problems, his defensive deficiencies and his total lack of power.
Really, though, there was no mystery here. We have ample evidence to suggest Arraez was not likely to have an explosive market. And while the Padres have a top-heavy payroll to manage, he could still remain in their wheelhouse, especially if the club creates a clearer opening at first base by trading Jake Cronenworth, as has been speculated.
Revision with the … Reds?
The Reds know they’re going to hit homers at Great American Ball Park, but they have expressed a need for, as president of baseball operations Nick Krall has put it, “frequency of contact.” That’s Arraez, who would assuredly improve the club’s strikeout rate at first base/DH while also providing a left-handed complement to a group that includes righties Spencer Steer, Matt McClain and Sal Stewart. Reds manager Terry Francona was a big admirer of Arraez during the former’s time with Cleveland and the latter’s tenure with the Twins in the AL Central.
The hangup here is defense, which the Reds are aiming to improve. Arraez would not accomplish that for them. But he would alter their offensive profile.