The Opener: France, Scherzer, Free Agent Prediction Contest

On this day in 1954, the then-Philadelphia Athletics were set to relocate to Kansas City through a 6-2 vote of the American League owners. The A’s had won five World Series titles in their 54-year run in Philadelphia, the last one coming in 1930, but they mostly struggled from 1931-54. A 13-year stretch as the Kansas City Athletics yielded no World Series appearances, but the team found more success upon moving to Oakland in 1968, winning three straight World Series titles from 1972-74. 1. France drawing interest, could sign soon Ty France is drawing interest from multiple teams and could sign quickly, as MLBTR reported yesterday. After signing a minor league deal with the Padres last offseason, France went on to bat .295/.363/.502 with a team-best 141 wRC+ (among Padres with 500 plate appearances or more). Now, France ranks 23rd on our Top 50 Free Agents list and is projected for a two-year, $32MM deal that would roughly triple his career earnings. 2. Scherzer to pitch in “lockout games,” then decide on 2027 With three Cy Young Awards and the ninth-most strikeouts of any pitcher in MLB history, Max Scherzer will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he retires. The question is when that will happen. Scherzer will pitch in “lockout games” over the offseason before deciding whether to return for his 20th big league season. The recent results haven’t been there, as the righty owns a 5.46 ERA since first signing with the Blue Jays for the 2025 season. That said, Scherzer is no ordinary competitor, and he’s only three strikeouts away from passing longtime teammate Justin Verlander on the all-time list. 3. Free Agent Prediction Contest closes on Tuesday There’s still time to participate in MLBTR’s Free Agent Prediction Contest! Using this link, you can take your best guess at which team will sign each of our Top 50 Free Agents. The winners will be determined once the 2027 regular season starts, and the top 15 competitors will each win one-year memberships to Trade Rumors Front Office. The rules are explained in more detail here. The contest closes on Tuesday, November 10th at 11:00pm CT. Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images View Comments (0)