Hot Stove season is here

Plus: A parade 44 years in the making

Friday, October 30 View Online Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know around baseball, brought to you by David Adler. This is our last Lineup of the season. Thanks for reading! (And happy Halloween.)   The World Series just finished, but we're going right into awards season (more on that in a sec) and Hot Stove season (more on that right now).    We'll have you covered with all the latest rumors, trades and free-agent signings. Here's a quick look at what's going on as the offseason gets underway:    The top 30 names to watch in free agency   Mark Feinsand ranks the best players in this year's free-agent class, which is headlined by Tarik Skubal, of course, plus hitters like Randy Arozarena, Seiya Suzuki, Luis Arraez and Jazz Chisholm Jr.    All of the 2026-27 free agents   Here's our complete guide to all the MLB players who are hitting free agency this winter, position by position, with who's still available and who's signed where.    You can also keep track of every team's offseason moves here.   Tarik Skubal rumors    Skubal is one of the best free-agent pitchers ever. Feinsand breaks down the potential market for the two-time Cy Young winner here, and you'll be able to keep track of all the Skubal rumors here.   Top qualifying-offer candidates    Teams can extend a qualifying offer to select free agents each offseason. These are the players most likely to get one this year.   Opt-outs and option decisions for 2027   Monday is the deadline for players and teams to make decisions on their contract options for 2027. Keep track of all those decisions here.   What's happened already?   There's been a bunch of Hot Stove news already in the last few days. Just a few of the most recent updates:    • Michael King opted out of his contract with the Padres, which will make him one of the top free-agent starting pitchers on the market.   • Bo Bichette will reportedly NOT opt out of his deal with the Mets, which means the two-time All-Star infielder will be back for the second season of his three-year, $126 million contract.   • The Marlins exercised their $21 million club option on Sandy Alcantara for 2027 today, keeping the 2022 NL Cy Young winner in Miami.   A lot more will be coming as the Hot Stove gets hotter, so keep following along. A PARADE 44 YEARS IN THE MAKING The entire city of Milwaukee is packing the streets today for the Brewers' World Series championship parade, and it's one heck of a party.    Schools are closed. Dan Vogelbach is singing "Stacy's Mom." Sal Frelick is making some frankly impossible promises. Jacob Misiorowski is catching Miller Lites from fans and chugging them. Pat Murphy is lamenting that the Brewers don't have a game tomorrow.   Brewers fans have been waiting to celebrate like this for 44 years, and it's clearly been worth the wait.   As our Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy put it -- and he's been covering the Brew Crew for 25 years -- today is "the happiest human traffic jam in the city's history." AWARDS SEASON STARTS THIS WEEKEND It's not just Hot Stove season, it's awards season. Here's a look at what's coming up:   It starts this weekend with the Gold Gloves.    The Gold Glove Award winners will be announced Sunday. If you need a refresher on the finalists at all the positions, we have that for you here. Some of the storylines to watch:    • Can the Cubs sweep the NL outfield Gold Gloves? They'd be the first team ever to do it.   • Will any rookies come away with a Gold Glove? Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt and Mets right fielder Carson Benge have pretty good cases, in our opinion, but they have strong competition, so who knows?   • Will any players from the World Series factor in? The Brewers and Rays were known for playing excellent defense, and both teams have a pair of finalists: Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio and second baseman Brice Turang, and Rays shortstop Taylor Walls and left fielder Chandler Simpson.   Then we move on to the major BBWAA awards and the MLB Awards.    The Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young and MVP Award winners will be revealed the week of Nov. 9 -- plus a new BBWAA award starting this season, Relief Pitcher of the Year.   There are a few clear favorites, like Pete Crow-Armstrong for NL MVP and Cam Schlittler and Jacob Misiorowski for the two Cy Young Awards. But other races are wide-open, like the NL Rookie of the Year.   Then the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards will air on MLB Network on Nov. 11, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.    Those include the 2026 All-MLB Teams, the Hank Aaron Awards, the Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards and the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.   See the full awards season schedule here >> NPB ERA LEADER IS ON HIS WAY We got news today that another Japanese star is jumping to the Major Leagues next season: pitcher Kaima Taira.    Taira, who won the Nippon Professional Baseball ERA title with a 1.36 mark this season, will be posted by his club, the Saitama Seibu Lions.    Taira stands just 5-foot-8, but he has excellent stuff, including a mid-to-upper-90s fastball and a bunch of good secondary pitches -- including a splitter, of course.    The soon-to-be 27-year-old right-hander would be one of the more intriguing starting pitchers on the free-agent market after Tarik Skubal.    Taira will join NPB Triple Crown winner and reigning MVP Teruaki Sato as the first big-name players from Japan who are looking to move to MLB this offseason.    The 27-year-old lefty slugger Sato is also set to be posted by his team, the Hanshin Tigers, after batting .306 with 39 home runs and 106 RBIs this season.   There could be more NPB players following Taira and Sato, too, so keep an eye out. © 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. 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