Dodgers Repeat, MLB Free Agency Begins

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in an extra-innings Game 7 to repeat as World Series champions and officially begin the MLB offseason, with players who have six-plus years of service becoming free agents the day after the Series. Clubs face a compressed calendar with an exclusive negotiation window followed by a five-day period ending around Nov. 6 to exercise options, reinstate 60-day IL players, issue qualifying offers (roughly $22.025 million) and allow free agents to sign elsewhere, with the GM Meetings and Winter Meetings serving as early transaction checkpoints. The free-agent market is seen as lacking a single transcendent superstar but features many high-quality and reclamation candidates — examples include Cody Bellinger, Kenley Jansen, Dustin May, Walker Buehler and Kyle Schwarber, alongside other notable names such as Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker, Luis Arraez, Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and J.T. Realmuto. Several clubs face immediate roster crunches and time-sensitive decisions on opt-outs and club/player options; the Yankees in particular need at least two outfielders, bullpen upgrades, platoon corner-infield options and another starter while navigating opt-outs (Cody Bellinger is expected to opt out and decisions on Rich Hill and Wandy Loáisiga are pending). Other teams — including the Brewers, Rangers, Red Sox, Mets and Blue Jays — must manage arbitration, 40-man roster moves, options and payroll planning, and a busy winter of signings, qualifying-offer outcomes and trades is expected to reshape rosters ahead of 2026.