Outside of Bregman, what noise could still be made in MLB off-season?

After slugger Pete Alonso agreed to a deal with the New York Mets last week, all eyes have turned to former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman as MLB's off-season winds down.

While Bregman looms large as the last impact position player available, what other moves could be made to alter the MLB landscape late?

Bregman sweepstakes entering final stages

Bregman, 30, entered the off-season ranked eighth on TSN's Top 75 MLB Free Agents list, and is the only player among the top 20 who has yet to find a home for 2025.

He's a compelling case in both directions - Bregman is a two-time World Series champion, a two-time All-Star and is coming off a Gold Glove season at the hot corner.

On the other hand, Bregman's offensive production has slid for three consecutive seasons, with dips in on-base plus slugging from .820 in 2022 all the way down to .768 a season ago.

Players don't tend to improve at the plate heading into their age-31 season, and Bregman is seeking a deal that spans at least six seasons and is presumably in excess of the $156 million contract offer from the Astros he reportedly turned down, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, earlier in the off-season.

One other factor of note in the ongoing Bregman negotiations, as Passan noted, is the lack of comparable talent slated to hit free agency among infielders over the next three seasons.

Bregman has finished above four wins above replacement each of the last three seasons. Over the next three off-seasons, only eight infielders that have exceeded 4.0 WAR in a season at least once over the last five years are currently slated to become free agents.

Of those eight, only Eugenio Suarez, 33, is a third baseman by trade. A sparse market for talented third basemen on the horizon may push teams who do not have other options coming up the pipeline to make a move. 

According to Passan, the Detroit Tigers, Astros, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs are the teams primarily interested in Bregman at this point.

The Cubs have been linked most strongly to Bregman recently. “I wouldn't rule out anything,” said Jed Hoyer last week, the Cubs' president of baseball operations, when asked about a potential addition of Bregman.

What's happening with Nick Pivetta?

Nick Pivetta, the lanky righty pitcher that stands 6-foot-5 out of Victoria, B.C., is still looking for a squad.

Ranked No. 33 on TSN's Top 75 Free Agents list, Pivetta is coming off a 4.14 earned-run average and a 6-12 record last season with the Red Sox, but he showcased an elite strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.78, which ranked sixth among pitchers to throw at least 140 innings.

The stuff has always been there for Pivetta, but the results haven't always been easy to find.

After turning down a qualifying offer from the Red Sox, teams are wary of losing a draft pick for signing Pivetta, but Passan notes that the Cleveland Guardians and San Diego Padres are obvious fits.

Pivetta has a career ERA of 4.76, but at his age and price tag, the veteran is expected to sign before the season starts.

What other pitching help is still available?

As pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training this week, there is still a lot of pitching to be found in a variety of roles.

Jose Quintana and Kyle Gibson each threw around 170 innings last year and can fill a back-of-the-rotation need. Spencer Turnbull and Jakob Junis each have well-above-average sliders that can turn into weapons with the right coaching.

Ross Stripling, Ryan Yarbrough and Chris Flexen are all available as veterans to help mentor an established young pitching staff.

Former Baltimore Orioles starter John Means has made only 10 starts over the last three seasons combined due to injury problems, including Tommy John surgery, but pitched to a 3.77 ERA over 63 starts from 2019-21.

Kyle Finnegan offers major bullpen help and has 88 saves over the past four seasons.

Andrew Chafin, Colin Poche, Brooks Raley, Drew Smyly and Jalen Beeks are available as lefties out of the bullpen.

Righty help is still available for the bullpen as well, with options like Scott Barlow, Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly, Buck Farmer and Lance Lynn, who told The Athletic it would be "fun" to go to the bullpen after starting 340 of his 364 career games.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is still awaiting a deal - could a trade unfold before Opening Day?

Players approaching free agency have been hot trade targets in the off-season in recent years - the Chicago White Sox dealt Dylan Cease to the Padres on Mar. 13 last year, and Cease finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting.

Blue Jays superstar slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been the most important item for the Blue Jays since they missed out on free agents Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki.

According to Passan, the Blue Jays still insist that even if the team and Guerrero Jr. cannot come to an agreement before his deadline of Feb. 18, the team will not make him available for trade.

Staying with the Padres, with Cease slated to become a free agent after this season and the team cutting salary during an ownership lawsuit, the team could make the star pitcher available for trade again. Passan also reports that they may move on from closer Robert Suarez, who had a 2.77 ERA with 36 saves a season ago.

The White Sox may also move on from centrefielder Luis Robert Jr. if a team comes calling with the right price. 

The St. Louis Cardinals have been actively shopping future Hall-of-Fame third baseman Nolan Arenado for the entire off-season, but have not found a partner for a deal yet. 

Passan reports that St. Louis is trying to avoid paying out the remainder of Arenado's contract, which has three years for $64 million remaining.