Thursday marks the final day of the General Manager meetings in Las Vegas. Though we haven't seen any major moves this offseason, we have seen an uptick in rumors in the past few days and that isn't a coincidence. Put a bunch of reporters and front-office execs in the same area for three or four days and chatter picks up, even if there isn't a ton of actual substance behind it. 

Rumors are always fun, so let's round up the latest right here in addition to any news. 

Braves sign late-inning reliever

We have one of our first major-league deals of the offseason as the Braves have signed reliever Evan Phillips to a three-year, $35 million deal. Phillips ranked No. 34 on our top 50 free agent list.

Phillips, a 32-year-old right-hander, has been a setup man or closer for the Dodgers for the last several seasons. In returning from surgery last season, he appeared in 31 games, pitching to a 3.46 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 33 strikeouts in 26 innings. The majority of his closing experience came in 2023 when he had 24 saves in 27 chances. 

The Braves' closer last season was Raisel Iglesias, but he's a free agent. Holdover Robert Suarez could take over those duties while Phillips, lefty Dylan Lee and youngster Didier Fuentes are also in the late-inning mix. 

Blue Jays looking at Jazz

The Blue Jays went from one of the best offensive teams in 2025 to one of the worst in 2026. They'd love a big bounceback from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., among other positive movements, but they also look for outside help. Might that help come in the form of free agent infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr.? 

The Jays have met with representatives for Chisholm, reports Sportsnet. 

Chisholm, 28, hit .231/.312/.399 last season, but had a huge 2025 and any signing team would be hoping for the 2025 version of Chisholm. 

The Jays do have a capable incumbent second baseman in Ernie Clement, but either Clement or Chisholm can be used in the outfield and the Blue Jays certainly need outfield upgrades.

Could Phillies move Marsh? 

The Phillies have been telling opposing teams that they are not "locked into anything" regarding their current outfield situation, according to The Athletic, so much so that All-Star outfielder Brandon Marsh is available in a trade. 

As things stand, with Bryce Harper moving back to first base, the Phillies would have Bryan De La Cruz in right, Justin Crawford in center and Marsh in left, but that all seems pretty fluid as they look to upgrade the ballclub and keep that window of contention open. 

Marsh, 28, had a stellar start last season, leading to his first-ever All-Star Game. Through July 1, he hit .319/.352/.530. The rest of the way, however, he slashed .177/.241/.241, dragging him down overall to a 90 OPS+ and 0.4 WAR on the season. 

Mariners looking at Happ

The Mariners have shown interest in free agent left fielder Ian Happ, per MLB Network. 

Happ, 32, has spent his entire 10-year MLB career with the Cubs, who drafted him in the first round all the way back in 2015. He was pretty consistent from 2022-25, averaging 3.9 WAR with a .251/.347/.433 (118 OPS+) line and winning four Gold Gloves. Last season, though, he dipped to .218/.326/.412 (103 OPS+) with 2.7 WAR. He still topped 20 home runs for the fifth time in the last six years. 

The Mariners have a vacancy in left field with Randy Arozarena having hit free agency and a need to upgrade their offense.

Mets join the fray on Bohm

Yesterday's big news was the Yankees' interest in free agent first/third baseman Alec Bohm and The Athletic reports that we can now add the Mets to the list of suitors. 

Bohm hit .249/.315/.383 (87 OPS+) with 15 home runs, 88 RBI and -0.2 WAR last season. It might be surprising to see him garnering such interest on the open market, but there isn't much right-handed power out there and Bohm finished last season strong (.318/.402/.453 in his last 42 games). The Mets, meanwhile, are desperate for help at the cold corner after last year's disastrous Jorge Polanco experiment. Jared Young did provide a glimmer of hope at first base before suffering a concussion in September while colliding with a teammate on a play.

May drawing interest

Free agent starting pitcher Dustin May has a decent market right now, according to MLB Network, with at least the Cubs, White Sox, Padres and Astros having shown interest in the right-hander. 

May, 29, made 31 starts between the Cardinals and Brewers last season, going 7-9 with a 4.70 ERA in 145 ⅔ innings. He showed flashes of brilliance with the Cardinals and had a stretch from April 10 to June 15 during which he posted a 2.54 ERA in 12 starts, but in the end there was plenty of inconsistency and even bad, forcing him into a bullpen role in the playoffs for the champion Brewers. 

Jeffers will decline QO, Twins still want him back

Free agent catcher Ryan Jeffers has been extended the qualifying offer from the Twins, meaning he has to decide by net Tuesday whether to accept the one-year, $23.15 million contract or hit free agency. There's nothing that says a team can't re-sign a player after he declines their qualifying offer, of course, and it sounds like that path is possible in this case.

Jeffers will decline the QO and the Twins are interested in reaching a multi-year deal to bring him back, reports the Minnesota Star-Tribune. Jeffers hit .256/.353/.461 with 14 home runs for Minnesota in 2026, a standout line for a catcher, though he missed several months with a broken hamate. The Twins do have several catchers in their farm system, including Vahn Lackey, the No. 3 pick in last year's draft, and Eduardo Tait, who headlined the trade return for Jhoan Duran.

Rays could take advantage of weak free agent class

Much has been said and will continue to be said about the 2027 free agent class and how it looks relatively weak, especially on the position-player side, where the best players are the likes of Jazz Chisholm Jr., Seiya Suzuki, and the aforementioned Arozarena and Jeffers. 

As we know, the Rays love to find avenues where they can exploit market inefficiencies. Their latest move might be to hit the trade market with center fielder Jonny DeLuca in anticipation of moving Victor Mesa Jr. to center, according to The Athletic.

DeLuca, 28, got more playing time than ever before in 2026, appearing in 112 games and getting 370 plate appearances. He hit .266/.300/.429 (101 OPS+) with 11 homers, 50 RBI, 17 steals and 1.7 WAR. 

Guardians to raise payroll

Fresh off a playoff berth despite the lowest payroll in all of baseball at a paltry $75ish million, the Guardians are planning to increase payroll. Or so they say. 

"We'll go up," club president Chris Antonetti told The Athletic. "We have to."

The Guardians hosted six playoff games and made some money there, not to mention that they have a bunch of players hitting arbitration and surely they want to spend more to remain competitive. There's an added wrinkle here, too, which would be that the ownership side is really pushing hard for a salary cap when the upcoming CBA expires in a few weeks. With a cap comes a floor and we've seen MLB float proposals with salary floors in the $180 million range, or well more than double what the Guardians had last season. 

So, yeah, I'd say the Guardians "have to" increase payroll, one way or another.