The hot stove is warming up, and the prediction machine is already churning out fits for this winter's free-agent class.

The splashiest scenario belongs to the Dodgers, who The Sporting News projects to sign the Padres' $3.9 million All-Star flamethrower — widely viewed as the best reliever on the market — to form a late-inning duo with Edwin Diaz. It would be the second straight winter Los Angeles plucked the top bullpen arm available, and a direct raid on a division rival.

In the AL East, the Red Sox are predicted to lure a $75.3 million slugger — described as an All-Star snub — away from the Yankees' grasp, a move aimed at adding thump to Boston's lineup. The Orioles, meanwhile, are pegged to add a former Yankees and Mets All-Star starter as rotation insurance for a staff that needed depth down the stretch.

And in Pittsburgh, the Pirates are forecast to land former All-Star Ty France, who hits free agency after a breakout 2026 campaign and would give the lineup a proven veteran bat at a price the Pirates can stomach.

Predictions aren't signings — but they sketch the market's early logic: contenders chasing bullpen dominance, and mid-tier clubs hunting value before the big dominoes fall.