The latest on the Dansby Swanson market

Dansby Swanson He is the best remaining free agent, the only one of the top four shortstops who has not yet agreed to terms. Teams like the Cubs, Twins, Dodgers, Red Sox, and current Braves have all been linked to him, though there’s no indication he’s particularly close to a deal.

Minnesota, Boston and the Dodgers have each lost a star shortstop to free agency, making them all a natural fit to look at Swanson as a potential replacement. However, various reports have cast some doubts about each of these potential landing spots. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic Club and Jon Heyman of the New York Post both wrote recently that Los Angeles is currently on the fringes of the Swanson market. Rosenthal and Heyman both suggest that LA might just jump into the mix if Swanson’s asking price drops to a range he finds particularly palatable.

That stems at least in part from luxury tax considerations, as various reports indicate that the Dodgers are eyeing the prospect of falling below next year’s $233 million baseline limit. The Dodgers have paid the tax each of their last two seasons, placing them on heavy penalties as repeat payments. A team can reset its payer status by dropping below the one-year minimum, and doing so next season could free up Los Angeles to aggressively target free agency during the 2023-24 season. Los Angeles is currently projected to be about $32 million shy of the tax mark by Roster Resource, leaving room to add Swanson without going over the bottom line. However, there appears to be some regulatory concern that they may find themselves in trouble over money owed to them Trevor Bauer If the pitcher’s two-year ban is overturned or reduced on appeal, which is expected to be heard next month.

Heyman wrote yesterday that the Red Sox are “seriously considering” Swanson after watching Xander Bogaerts Head to San Diego. Chief Baseball Officer Haim Blum recently told the media that the club is looking to add players in senior positions, but the presence of Trevor’s story Means they are not locked into a short chase. Boston reportedly offered the Bogarts, whom they called their top priority offseason, $162 million over six years before he landed in San Diego. Pivoting with a proposal similar or superior to Swanson would raise some eyebrows, and The Athletic’s Gene McCaffrey wrote yesterday that it seemed unlikely Boston would make such an investment.

The twins had been in contact with Swanson even before Carlos Correa They agreed to terms with the Giants, putting themselves in the mix for a backup option. Both Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter link(and Dan Hayes of The Athletic)on Twitter) indicate that the twins are still involved, but both reporters describe it as more of a long shot for Swanson to actually land in Minneapolis. The Twins still have a fair amount of payroll flexibility, even after an agreement this afternoon worth $11 million with Joey Gallo.

Regardless, Swanson is sure to find a big deal from some teams this winter. The second best remaining free agent is Elvis Andrews, while the commercial market does not have many obvious solutions. Swanson is coming off an All-Star campaign, one in which he hit 25 home runs with a streak of .277/.329/.447 while appearing in all 162 Braves games. He also earned his first career Gold Glove after being rated as a 15-pointer Above average defensively, according to Statcast. At the start of the season, MLBTR signed a seven-year, $154 million contract.