LA Dodgers spent big in free agency before winning big. The 2025 class might be even deeper

  Los Angeles Dodgers spent big last offseason before winning big this postseason, taking home a World Series title after committing more than $1 billion on players like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshibu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández.

w it's time to see which teams are in mood to open ir wallets for free nts in preparation for 2025 season.

Ohtani sweepstakes dominated last year's offseason conversations until Japanese superstar inked an eye-popping $700 million, 10-year deal last December. With apologies to Juan Soto, re might t be anyone that commands that kind of salary in coming months, even if this year's class is arguably deeper.

Soto, Willy Adames, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell, Alex Bregman and Jack Flaherty are among high-level players who are looking for new teams. After that, re's ar enticing tier of players like previously mentioned Hernández, Anthony Santander, Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Pete Alonso, Christian Walker and Sean Manaea who could provide a big lift for championship-contending teams.

MLB's general manrs will meet this week in San Antonio, Texas, in ufficial opener to offseason. re usually aren't a lot of moves during se early vember conversations, but groundwork is often laid for future deals.

Here are some things to watch as MLB free ncy opens this week:

This class may be deep, but re's doubt . 1 prize is Soto. four-time All-Star already has 201 career homers, a career .421 on-base percent and helped lead New York Yankees to World Series before losing in five games to Dodgers.

He's also just 26 years old.

Yankees would love to keep Soto, who teamed with Aaron Judge to become a formidable pair for Bronx Bombers. But it's unclear how much owner Hal Steinbrenner is willing to spend on a player who could command a contract in range of $500 million.

Soto didn't tip his hand after New York's disappointing exit in Fall Classic , but it doesn't sound like he's willing to sign for a discount.

“I’m going to be available for all 30 teams,” Soto said. “I don’t want to say anybody has any advant because at end of day, we’re going to look at what y have and how much y want me.”

One of more intriguing teams to watch over coming months is New York Mets , who overcame a slow start to advance all way to NL Championship Series before losing to Dodgers.

Alonso has been a big part of Mets' lineup for past six seasons, mashing 226 homers. Manaea, Luis Severi and José Quintana are also on market after all were important pieces of pitching rotation.

w franchise must decide wher to keep m, build anew, or do a mixture of both. re's a lot of pressure on team to improve, especially because it doesn't seem like crosstown Yankees are going to stop winning anytime soon.

It'll be fascinating to see what happens with veterans like Paul Goldschmidt, Walker Buehler, Shane Bieber and Carlos Santana. se are guys who have some miles (and surgeries) on ir bodies, but have been great big leaguers for a long time.

Goldschmidt was 2022 NL MVP for St. Louis Cardinals, but his offensive production took a dive over past few years. Still, he's a first baseman that's good in clubhouse and keeps his body in excellent shape.

Buehler came back from his second Tommy John surgery this season. re were several ups and downs, though his sterling performance in World Series is reason to believe he has plenty left. He threw six scoreless innings against Yankees, including a scoreless ninth to clinch series in Game 5.

Baseball supernt Scott Boras has long been considered one of best in business, although last year's offseason wasn't among his finest .

Several of his clients — including Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bellinger — didn't sign until spring training, yet didn't command high-dollar, long-term deals y were seeking. Instead, most ended up signing short-term deals.

Boras will be a major factor again this offseason, representing many of major free nts, including Soto, Burnes, Alonso, Snell and Bregman.