Edwin Díaz to Dodgers, Schwarber Stays in Philly, Kent to Cooperstown & White Sox Win the Draft Lottery | 123

The offseason really planted its flag this week, and Episode 123 of Tablesetters is loaded. The Dodgers doubled down on their super-team bullpen by landing Edwin Díaz on a record-setting three-year deal, instantly changing the late-inning landscape and raising the bar yet again on what an all-in contender looks like. In the same tier of aggression, the Phillies are keeping their tone-setter at home, re-signing Kyle Schwarber on a five-year, $150 million pact while also locking in Rob Thomson through 2027 to extend the most successful run of Phillies baseball in a decade.

We dig into how Díaz’s contract reshapes the relief market, what it says about the Dodgers’ willingness to blow past every financial line on the board, and how the Mets’ choice to pivot to Devin Williams looks now that their former star closer is in L.A. From there, we shift to Philadelphia: why Schwarber’s deal breaks every “rule” for 33-year-old DHs, what it means for the rest of the power market, how Thomson’s extension fits their “job’s not done” mentality, and what the Phillies still have to solve with J.T. Realmuto, the outfield, and the rotation.

It hasn’t been a quiet week in Queens, either. Pete Alonso is back on the open market, talking to teams at the Winter Meetings while reports out of Orlando suggest the Mets are hesitant to go beyond three guaranteed years. We break down why Alonso’s profile is so polarizing in today’s game, why a reunion feels more like a late-offseason outcome than a sure thing, and how his market ties back into Schwarber’s deal, Cody Bellinger’s next move, and the first-base/DH shuffle across the league.

On the future side of things, the Chicago White Sox win the 2026 MLB Draft Lottery and secure the No. 1 overall pick, with the Rays and Twins right behind them. We walk through how the lottery rules shaped this year’s order, why the Giants and Royals come out as surprise winners, which clubs slid down the board, and how names like Roch Cholowsky, Grady Emerson, and Justin Lebron could shape the next few years.

And in Cooperstown news, Jeff Kent finally gets the call from the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. We talk about his case as the most powerful second baseman ever, why he stalled out with the writers, and what the new Era Committee rules mean for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield, and the rest of the PED-era lightning rods going forward.

We close by zooming in on Boston, where the Red Sox are kicking the tires on Eugenio Suárez as they hunt for impact power at third base and possibly first/DH. We get into what Suárez brings at this stage of his career, how his strikeout and chase issues complicate the fit, what it signals about their Plan A with Alex Bregman, and how Masataka Yoshida’s situation could dictate where the Sox go next.

Steve and Devin are taking you through every angle — the signings, the extensions, the Hall of Fame fallout, the draft lottery results, and how all of it ties together as the hot stove finally starts to cook.

⚾️ Superteams loading up, power bats getting paid, futures being rewritten — the offseason is officially in full swing.

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