Fade in. It's the MLB winter meetings. Agents and executives rush here and there as if fueled by nervous energy. They know stuff is about to go down.

Thus begins our script for the perfect winter meetings, but what about the rest of it?

That is what we're about to get into, and there isn't much point in keeping our imaginations on a short leash. All sorts of things could happen as the meetings unfold in Dallas from Monday to Thursday. So, might as well think big about what will happen.

Not to get all spoiler-y, but the main characters in this story include Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, Teoscar Hernández, Cody Bellinger and Garrett Crochet. Basically, a who's-who of the winter's top free agents and trade candidates.

Most scripts have three acts. This one has seven, starting with how the New York Yankees can respond to the Mets snatching Juan Soto away from on Sunday.

The New York Yankees Sign Pete Alonso

Why It Would Be Cool

Punch, meet counterpunch.

The Yankees swiping Pete Alonso from the Mets wouldn't quite be an equal and opposite reaction to the latter's record-shattering 15-year, $765 million deal with Juan Soto. Alonso is a darn good hitter, but his historical comps don't include Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle.

But if nothing else, signing Alonso would go a long way toward making up for the power the Yankees have lost with Soto having departed the Bronx for Queens.

Alonso "only" hit 34 home runs this year, but his 162-game average for his career is a sturdy 43. The only hitter who's gone deep more times than him since 2019 is Aaron Judge, who would suddenly be Alonso's brother in pinstripes.

Why It's Realistic

Signing Alonso obviously hasn't been Plan A for the Yankees, but Heyman reported in early November that the 30-year-old would be among the club's Plan Bs if Soto left:

There isn't much question that the Yankees can afford Alonso after missing out on Soto. B/R's Tim Kelly projected the slugging first baseman for a five-year, $135 million deal, which is only 18 percent of what they reportedly offered Soto.

The New York Yankees Also Trade for Cody Bellinger

Why It Would Be Cool

With this move, the Yankees would throw another counterpunch at the Mets by bringing in a former MVP.

Of course, Cody Bellinger is not the same hitter now that he was when he won the NL MVP in 2019. He hit 47 homers that year. He hasn't hit more than 26 in a season since.

There is, nonetheless, a good reason that this is the umpteenth time that someone has tied Bellinger to the Yankees.

His left-handed stroke and Yankee Stadium's short right field porch have long seemed right for each other. According to Statcast, Bellinger would have hit six more home runs for the Yankees than he hit for the Chicago Cubs in 2024.

The Yankees otherwise need someone with a bat-to-ball skill and the ability to play center field. Bellinger checks both boxes, plus a third as a sort of legacy admission. His father, Clay, won World Series rings as a Yankee in 1999 and 2000.

Why It's Realistic

The Cubs are "determined" to trade either Bellinger or Seiya Suzuki, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. And per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, the Yankees are among the teams that have checked in.

The 29-year-old is owed $27.5 million in 2025, and he holds a $25 million player option for 2026. These figures cloud his trade value, but a now Soto-less Yankees franchise can certainly afford to take them on.

The Boston Red Sox Sign Corbin Burnes

Why It Would Be Cool

Though the Red Sox made a spirited push for Soto in their own right, it isn't a big surprise that it ended up being for naught.

As for what comes next, well, they'll just have to go out and sign Corbin Burnes, won't they?

Though the right-hander isn't on the same historic trajectory as Soto, he's more of a natural fit in Boston. Whereas they have too many offensively gifted, defensively challenged left-handed hitters, they don't have any No. 1-type pitchers.

The 30-year-old Burnes matches that description, as he's a Cy Young Award winner with a 2.88 ERA dating back to 2020. And while his declining strikeout rate can't be ignored, his stuff remains as good as anyone's.

It doesn't hurt that Burnes has some ownage on the Yankees, posting a 1.42 ERA in three career starts against them. A track record like that could only help Boston make a move up the AL East standings.

Why It's Realistic

Though their eyes have been firmly on Soto, Burnes isn't off the Red Sox's radar. They're one of the "main players" for him, according to Heyman:

Kelly has Burnes tabbed for a seven-year, $224 million contract. That would top David Price's $217 million pact from 2015 as the largest free-agent signing in Boston's history, but don't worry. If they were in on Soto, they clearly have more than $224 million to spend.

The Toronto Blue Jays Sign Max Fried

Why It Would Be Cool

The Blue Jays were yet another Soto pursuer, and it was just last week that there was noise about them possibly being the highest bidder.

Now that they have to pivot, Burnes is but one arm for them to go all-in on.

There is also be Max Fried, who actually looks like the better pitcher when gazed upon from certain angles.

Fried has a lower ERA (2.81) than Burnes since 2020, and you're liable to run out of breath if you list all the things the lefty does well. He doesn't walk guys, is generally good for a strikeout per inning and is one of the best pure contact managers in the league.

Toronto's offense would still be lacking, but a rotation with Fried, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Bowden Francis and Chris Bassitt would instantly become the envy of the entire American League, not just the AL East.

Why It's Realistic

This one might actually be a reach, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Sunday that Fried is expected to sign with either the Yankees or the Red Sox.

The Blue Jays do reportedly have interest in the 30-year-old, however. And if the Yankees and Red Sox get preoccupied with alternative targets, Fried will be there for Toronto to scoop on a deal that could come close to $200 million.

The Los Angeles Dodgers Re-Sign Teoscar Hernández

Why It Would Be Cool

The Dodgers already have a new outfielder, as they signed Michael Conforto to a one-year, $17 million deal on Sunday.

This signing might as well have signaled that Soto would not be returning to the West Coast after all. But lest anyone think it, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic the says door is not closed on the Dodgers adding another outfielder.

Namely, Teoscar Hernández.

This is perhaps a boring outcome. We already know what the 32-year-old Hernández looks like in Dodger Blue, as well as what the team can achieve with him in the mix. Hint: it rhymes with "Corld Weries Shampions."

Still, it's too soon to forget just how bonkers-ly good the Dodgers lineup is with Hernández in it. He had an .840 OPS and 33 homers this year and he was only their fourth-best hitter.

Why It's Realistic

The Yankees and Red Sox are also in on Hernández, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. But in all likelihood, it will be the Dodgers who secure him on a multi-year deal that could approach nine figures.

"Many people around the league expect Teoscar Hernández and the Dodgers to find their way back to each other," David Vassegh of AM570 said last Wednesday, "and my understanding is the Dodgers and Teoscar are very much engaged, trying to nail the final details of a contract."

The San Diego Padres Trade for Garrett Crochet

Why It Would Be Cool

Meanwhile in San Diego, how antsy are the Padres right now?

The San Francisco Giants have signed Willy Adames. And even with Hernández as yet unsigned, the Dodgers have scored Blake Snell and, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, may be Japanese ace Roki Sasaki's choice for which MLB team he wants to play for.

All this calls for the Padres to pull off something big, such as a trade for Garrett Crochet.

The 25-year-old lefty might be the best pitching prize out there this winter. Crochet is coming off an All-Star season in which he fanned 12.9 batters per nine innings, and he's only projected to earn $2.9 million in arbitration for next season.

Put him with Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish in San Diego, and what you'd have is a starting foursome that could match up with any in the National League.

Why It's Realistic

The Padres "would love" Crochet, according to Nightengale. The trick is how they can get him from the Chicago White Sox, as Nightengale says they want to keep top prospects Ethan Salas and Leodalis De Vries.

Well, Earth to the Padres: You're trying to win now and those guys are teenagers who are years away from the majors. Stop stalling and make the dang trade.

The Philadelphia Phillies Sign Alex Bregman

Why It Would Be Cool

With the Mets and Dodgers having already made seismic moves and the Padres sure to respond in kind, do you know which NL contender is on notice right now?

The Phillies. That's who.

They're in a weird spot, sandwiched in between an extraordinary run of success and disappointment that it wasn't even more extraordinary. Accordingly, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski seems determined to shake things up.

In the abstract, Alex Bregman is the perfect guy for the Phillies. Dombrowski loves stars like him just in general, yet it is neither his career .848 OPS nor his 191 career home runs that ought to have the Phillies interested.

It's his playoff track record. Bregman is tied for sixth on the all-time playoff home run list with 19, and he's 4-for-8 in ending playoff runs with at least a .800 OPS.

Why It's Realistic

Apropos of all this, Bregman signing with the Phillies would make at least one MLB evaluator sound like a proper soothsayer:

A complication here is that the Phillies are already projected to spend $263 million in 2025, potentially leaving little room for the $200 million contract Bregman is reportedly seeking.

But as they say, where there's a will, there's a way. And in this case, a trade or two could clear one up for Bregman.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.