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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The league is not easing into the Winter Meetings. Everything is already moving. Episode 122 opens with a full preview of the Winter Meetings in Orlando, where front offices, agents, and scouts spend four days accelerating conversations that normally take weeks. We lay out what the schedule looks like, why teams such as Seattle, the Mets, the Dodgers, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Boston are positioned to act, and note that the Rule 5 Draft is on deck as part of the week’s business.

It’s the annual checkpoint that pushes stalled talks forward, and this year the trade market is already hinting at a few possible flashpoints.

From there, we break down the Mets’ big bullpen addition. New York lands Devin Williams on a 3-year, $51 million deal, giving them a late-inning anchor regardless of what happens with Edwin Díaz. We look at why the Mets felt comfortable betting on the underlying metrics, what Williams still does at an elite level, and how his arrival gives the front office multiple paths through the rest of the winter. It’s a stabilizing move before the Meetings even begin.

We also get into Baltimore’s signing of Ryan Helsley, who might be one of the most interesting rebound bets of the offseason. The Orioles see fixable issues — pitch tipping, sequencing predictability, fastball shape — and believe their pitching infrastructure can get him back to All-Star form. With Félix Bautista recovering, Baltimore needed a legitimate ninth-inning option, and Helsley arrives with both the stuff and the track record to fill that role immediately.

Two international signings hit the board as well: Anthony Kay to the White Sox and Cody Ponce to the Blue Jays. Both reinvented themselves overseas, both return with new arsenals, and both deals reflect MLB’s growing willingness to invest in pitchers who rebuild their value in the KBO and NPB. Kay gives Chicago a stabilizing piece in a flexible rotation, while Ponce becomes another power arm in what might be the deepest starting group in baseball.

We also look at Sonny Gray, who hasn’t thrown a pitch for Boston yet but already leaned into the rivalry by taking a swipe at the Yankees. His comments added instant juice to a tense dynamic between the two clubs, and Boston paid real prospect capital to get him. We walk through the rotation fit, the motivation behind the deal, and the early messaging coming out of Fenway.

To close things out, we propose one trade that feels realistic heading into the Meetings — a move that fits the market, the needs on both sides, and the competitive timelines without getting speculative. Think of it as the early favorite to become this year’s headline move once executives settle into Orlando.

Steve and Devin walk through each signing, the market context, the roster ripple effects, and the trade to watch as the Meetings begin.

Two major reliever signings. Two international additions. One rivalry story. One trade prediction going into baseball’s busiest week.

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Welcome to Episode 121 of Tablesetters — and today we’re joined by one of the most essential voices in global baseball storytelling. Jim Allen, longtime NPB writer, analyst, historian, and the force behind jballallen.com and its weekly newsletter, sits down with us for a deep, far-reaching conversation about the heartbeat of Japanese baseball and its growing impact on MLB.

For decades, Jim’s reporting has been the bridge that helps English-speaking fans understand not just NPB players, but the culture, structures, and histories that shape them. From the posting system to player development pathways, from extra-inning philosophy to editorial norms, and from national identity to modern pitch-design trends, Jim brings context you simply can’t find anywhere else. And with Tatsuya Imai, Munetaka Murakami, Kona Takahashi, and others drawing MLB attention — all while Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki redefine the top of the sport — this is the perfect moment to have him on.

In our conversation, Jim takes us inside how the posting system actually works: the incentives that guide both leagues, how timing and leverage shape negotiations, and why the 2013 reforms solved some issues while pushing others into new territory. We break down Imai’s rise into a front-line starter, why his growth feels so intentional, and what parts of his profile give him the best chance to translate quickly to MLB. Jim also helps untangle the narrative around Murakami’s 56-homer “Japanese-born record,” how it’s framed against Balentien’s 60, and what American fans need to understand about how that story was built and why it stuck.

We dig into the philosophical gap between MLB’s open-ended extra innings and NPB’s 12-inning limit, what that says about pace, workload, and cultural logic, and how that contrast resurfaced when Yamamoto appeared in the World Series on almost no rest. From there, we look at Japan’s relationship with the WBC — Ohtani’s commitment, the national pride attached to the tournament, and how fans weigh those responsibilities against MLB club preferences.

Jim also breaks down why narrow milestones and highly specific statistical labels catch fire so quickly in Japanese media, and what American audiences often miss about that editorial tradition. We explore how public sentiment in Japan has shifted regarding stars leaving for MLB, from the tension-filled Matsuzaka era to today’s more normalized wave of early departures. And we close with a look ahead: the next generation of NPB names to know, plus Jim’s thoughts on Anthony Kay’s breakout season and Trevor Bauer’s polarizing stint in Japan.

It’s one of our most wide-ranging episodes yet — part baseball, part culture, part analytics, part history — and Jim guides all of it with clarity, nuance, and generosity.

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Tablesetters — where the game on the field meets the stories that define it.