Thursday’s final day of the General Manager meetings in Las Vegas has brought a familiar kind of offseason buzz: not blockbuster news, but plenty of smoke. With executives and reporters all in one place, the rumor mill has been working overtime, and several teams have surfaced in the latest round of chatter.
One of the more interesting names floating around is Ian Happ. MLB Network reports that the Mariners have shown interest in the free agent left fielder, and the fit is easy to see. Seattle has a hole in left field after Randy Arozarena reached free agency, and the club is clearly looking for offense.
Happ, 32, has spent his entire 10-year career with the Cubs, who drafted him in the first round in 2015. From 2022-25, he was a steady force, averaging 3.9 WAR while hitting .251/.347/.433 with a 118 OPS+ and collecting four Gold Gloves. Last season was a step down at .218/.326/.412 with a 103 OPS+ and 2.7 WAR, but he still cleared 20 home runs for the fifth time in the last six years.
At the infield corner, Alec Bohm is drawing more attention than some might expect. The Yankees’ interest in the free agent first/third baseman was reported yesterday, and The Athletic says the Mets have now joined the chase.
Bohm’s 2026 numbers were modest - .249/.315/.383 with 15 home runs, 88 RBI and -0.2 WAR - but there are reasons teams are circling. Right-handed power is thin on the market, and Bohm finished strong, batting .318/.402/.453 over his final 42 games.
The Mets also have a clear need at first base after last year’s rough Jorge Polanco experiment. Jared Young offered a brief spark there before a concussion in September ended his season after a collision with a teammate on a play.
In Minnesota, catcher Ryan Jeffers is expected to decline the qualifying offer from the Twins, but that does not mean the door is closed on a return. The Twins have extended the one-year, $23.15 million offer, and Jeffers has until net Tuesday to decide whether to take it or test free agency. The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports that he will decline the QO, while the Twins remain interested in a multi-year deal.
Jeffers put together a strong season at the plate in 2026, hitting .256/.353/.461 with 14 home runs, though he missed several months because of a broken hamate. Minnesota does have catching depth in the system, including Vahn Lackey, the No. 3 pick in last year’s draft, and Eduardo Tait, who was the headliner in the Jhoan Duran trade return.
The Rays, as usual, are looking for a way to stay ahead of the market. With the 2027 free agent class shaping up as a weak one, especially among position players, Tampa Bay may look to the trade market instead. The Athletic reports that center fielder Jonny DeLuca could be moved as part of that plan, with Victor Mesa Jr. potentially sliding into center.
DeLuca, 28, got his biggest opportunity yet in 2026, playing in 112 games and logging 370 plate appearances. He hit .266/.300/.429 with a 101 OPS+, added 11 home runs, 50 RBI, 17 steals and finished with 1.7 WAR.
In Other News...
Twins Just Got A Painful Reminder About Louis Varland
Louis Varlands rise in Toronto has given the Twins another reminder of what they lost when the former Minnesota reliever took his stuff north of the border. In his first full season with the Blue Jays, Varland turned in the kind of late-inning workload that changes a bullpen, pairing a career-best 1.27 ERA with 97 strikeouts and a fastball that sat at 98.8 mph on average.
The bigger sting for Minnesota is that this wasnt just a good year, it was the kind of season that put Varland on the leagues biggest stage for the first time. He was named an All-Star and is still under team control through 2030, which means the Blue Jays may be enjoying the best of him for a while longer while the Twins are left to watch the payoff unfold elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Catcher Search Could Force An Offseason Pivot Fans Didn't Expect
The Twins offseason plans behind the plate are already getting complicated, and the market is not doing them many favors. If Minnesota misses out on the top tier of free-agent catchers, the front office may have to shift from shopping for a clean answer to piecing together a fallback plan, with the position suddenly looking like one of the more important decisions on the roster.
One possible path leads to San Diego, where the Padres have the kind of catching depth that can attract interest from clubs looking for help. But even if Minnesota starts exploring that lane, it is not the sort of deal that comes together easily, and the Padres have their own reasons for being careful about what they move. For the Twins, the real question is whether the offseason ends with a straightforward upgrade or forces them into a pivot they probably did not expect when the winter began. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Suddenly Have A Tougher Trevor Larnach Decision
Trevor Larnachs offseason already had some uncertainty around it, and now the Twins have another layer to sort through. General manager Jeremy Zoll said the outfielder is scheduled for arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist, a cleanup procedure that comes after a season in which Larnach finished on the injured list.
The timing matters because Minnesota is trying to decide what Larnach fits into moving forward, both in terms of role and potential trade value. Even with the procedure on the calendar, the club does not view it as something that should alter his longer-term availability, but it does make an already delicate evaluation a little tougher for the front office. [Read more 🡒]