FanGraph’s Weekly Mailbag: January 17, 2026

Don’t let anyone tell you that baseball doesn’t have rebounds. That is complete nonsense, and it is our responsibility to say so. If you need evidence to support your refutation, just look at what happened in free agency this past week.

Since our last mailbag ran, Alex Bregman signed a five-year, $175 million contract to play for the Cubs after opting out of the deal he signed with the Red Sox last February. The Cubs knew they weren’t in the running to re-sign Bregman’s former Astros teammate. Kyle Tuckerso they strengthened their lineup with the third baseman instead. In response to missing out on Bregman, Boston returned with someone completely different, agreeing to a five-year, $130 million deal with the left-handed starting pitcher. Ranger Suarezan example of the Phillies, who had spent much of the first half of January making out Bo Bichettewhose old team, the Blue Jays, had set their sights on Tucker, the offseason’s top-ranked free agent. It looked like Tucker had to choose between Toronto and the Mets, and a decision was nearing, when the Dodgers swooped in at the last minute with a four-year, $240 million offer that Tucker simply couldn’t turn down. Rebuffed by Tucker, the Mets spent Friday and grabbed Bichette for at least one season (the deal could be up to three years and $126 million) before Philadelphia could do it. Not long after, the Phillies finally figured out that they needed to stop playing the shield and instead revive an old fame; they re-signed a catcher JT Realmuto to a three-year contract worth $45 million.

For those of you keeping score at home, the Cubs rebounded from Tucker with Bregman; the Red Sox recovered from Bregman with Suárez; the Phillies rebounded from Suárez and Bichette with Realmuto; and the Mets rebounded from their failed pursuit of Tucker with Bichette. That leaves the Blue Jays as the only team still looking for a rebound. Tune in next week to find out if they signed up Cody Bellinger to help them get over Tucker. We won’t be discussing the latest baseball hit Realmutality TV series for the rest of today’s mailbag. If you want to go behind the scenes of all the drama, you can get all the tea in the quick recap above, or you can delve deeper by reading Jon Becker’s latest Matrix Reloaded column. Instead, we’ll answer your questions about the most exciting potential World Baseball Classic matchups, the WAR value of Edwin Encarnacion’s parrot, and an alternate universe in which the PCL teams joined Major League Baseball in the late 1950s. But first let me remind you that this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs members. If you are not yet a member and would like to read more, you can register for membership here. It’s the best way to experience the site and support our employees, and it comes with a lot of other great benefits. If you would like to ask about an upcoming mailbag, please email me at mailbag@fangraphs.com.