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Jesus Montero Passes Away

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Former big league catcher Jesus Montero passed away recently, according to a report from El Extrabase. The report indicates that Montero was part of a serious traffic accident on October 5 and passed following several days in the hospital. Montero was just 35 years old.

Montero is best known for having been one of the league’s most elite prospects in the early 2010s. Signed out of Venezuela by the Yankees as an amateur, Montero made his pro debut in 2007 at the age of 17. His second professional season saw him break out at the Single-A level, where he hit .326/.376/.491 with 17 homers and 34 doubles in 132 games. That strong performance earned Montero plenty of attention prior to the 2009 season, when he became a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport.

The youngster’s prospect star continued to shoot upwards from there. His 2009 season was cut short by a broken finger that limited him to just 92 games, but he raked when healthy and looked entirely capable in 44 games at the Double-A level. That was enough to get him promoted to Triple-A for the start of the 2010 season, at which point Montero was viewed as a consensus top-5 prospect in the sport. Baseball America went as far as to name him the sport’s #3 prospect, behind only future Hall of Famers Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Montero did what he could to deliver on the hype at Triple-A in 2010, slashing .289/.353/.517 with 21 homers and 34 doubles in 123 games.

The next step for Montero was the majors, and after spending most of the 2011 season at Triple-A he finally made his big league debut with the Yankees on September 1 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. While he did not record a hit in his first big league game, Montero was hit by a pitch in his first game and recorded a run scored. He went on to post incredible numbers down the stretch, with a .328/.406/.590 slash line across 69 plate appearances. He made the Yankees’ postseason roster and got into Game 4 of the ALDS against the Tigers, where he went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.

That would be Montero’s last appearance in a Yankees uniform. In January of 2012, he was traded to the Mariners in what at the time was viewed as a blockbuster deal. Montero and teammate Hector Noesi were shipped to Seattle in exchange for All-Star right-hander Michael Pineda and pitching prospect Jose Campos. Pineda didn’t live up to his sensational rookie campaign after being traded to New York, but did manage to post a solid 4.16 ERA in 89 starts from 2014 to 2017 with the Yankees after battling injuries in his first two seasons with the team. Neither Noesi nor Campos had much impact in the majors, though Noesi did manage to pitch in parts for six MLB seasons.

As for Montero, the star prospect split time between catcher and DH for the Mariners in 2012 as an everyday player. Unfortunately, his season did not go as either he or Seattle were surely hoping it would. Montero was solid enough at the plate but hit just .260/.298/.386 with 15 doubles and 20 homers. It was a roughly league average performance, but with Montero still in his age-22 campaign there was plenty of reason for optimism that he would be able to take off in the future. That did not come to pass, however, as Montero struggled early in the 2013 season before being sidelined by a torn meniscus and accepting a 50-game suspension as part of the Biogensis scandal.

A combination of injuries, under-performance, and the aforementioned suspension left Montero limited to just 73 games in the majors between 2013 and 2015. In that time, he hit a disappointing .217/.255/.374 in 243 plate appearances. Prior to the 2016 season, the Mariners designated Montero for assignment. He went on to play in the minor leagues for the Blue Jays and Orioles throughout the 2016 and ’17 seasons and even found himself named to the Triple-A All-Star game during his time with Triple-A Buffalo, but was suspended for a second time for the use of a banned substance.

Montero played in the Mexican League in 2017 and 2018 before logging 29 games in Venezuelan winter league play. He played his last professional baseball game during the 2020-21 winter league season. In all, Montero made it into 226 MLB games across parts of five seasons and hit .253/.295/.398 with 28 home runs and 31 doubles.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Montero’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.

Mets Expected To Show Interest In Tarik Skubal

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Ahead of his final year under team control, Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has gotten plenty of attention as fans and clubs alike have begun to turn their attention towards the offseason. Detroit’s reported extension offer of less than $100MM over four years last offseason does not inspire confidence that the club will be able to lock him up long-term, but president of baseball operations Scott Harris gave a non-answer about Skubal’s future during his end-of-season press conference this past week. It’s impossible to say at this point whether Detroit would consider trading their ace this winter, but Will Sammon of The Athletic writes that the Mets are expected to be involved in that market if Skubal were to be made available.

That’s not exactly a surprise. The Mets had perhaps the most disappointing season in baseball this year given that they missed the postseason during Juan Soto’s first season in Queens after signing a $765MM deal last winter. Much of that disappointment can be chalked up to a lackluster rotation that crumbled down the stretch and posted a 5.09 ERA after July 1 that was good for just 25th in the majors. Injuries and underperformance from virtually every established arm in the rotation mix besides Clay Holmes and David Peterson left New York on the outside looking in this postseason, and while youngsters like Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong offer some optimism for the future, it would be understandable for the Mets to seek more certainty this winter than they can offer.

When it comes to starting pitching, there might be no pitcher this side of Paul Skenes who offers more certainty than Skubal. He’s pitched to a 2.30 ERA with a 31.2% strikeout rate and a 4.5% walk rate across 387 2/3 innings of work over the past two seasons. That work has already won him one Cy Young award and is likely to win him a second next month. He’s also managed to take things up a notch when the lights are brightest and dominate in the postseason, with a 2.04 ERA, 1.92 FIP, and 37.8% strikeout rate across six playoff starts. Of the 33 starting pitchers with at least 20 postseason innings over the past five years, Skubal boasts the highest strikeout rate, best SIERA, and the fifth-lowest ERA.

Skubal’s resume speaks for itself, and in a free agent market that looks relatively soft on starting pitching options he figures to be all the more attractive. With that being said, there are some reasons to think the Mets might not go all-in for Skubal even if the Tigers do make him available. The lefty is represented by the Boras Corporation, and agent Scott Boras is known for preferring his clients to test free agency rather than sign extensions. That would seem to make it unlikely that the Mets (or any other acquiring club) would be able to keep Skubal long-term after trading for him unless they outbid the field next winter.

New York certainly has the financial wherewithal to do that, but (as the Soto signing last winter showed) they could also look to do so without surrendering what figures to be a massive prospect package to acquire his final year of team control. Sammon suggests that the Mets would be open to considering a deal involving any player besides McLean, who posted a 2.06 ERA in eight starts this year and is viewed as a potential ace in his own right. Sammon speculates that the Tigers could ask for a package along the lines of Tong and Sproat plus top infield prospect Jett Williams in exchange for Skubal’s services.

It should be highlighted that Sammon’s suggested package is purely speculative, but it’s still worth noting that it would be quite out of character for president of baseball operations David Stearns to surrender so much young talent for a one-year rental. That willingness to prioritize the farm system is something that he seemingly has backing from ownership on, given previous comments by Steve Cohen about the club’s current level of spending being unsustainable in the long-term and a desire to support massive deals for players like Soto and Francisco Lindor with young, homegrown talent.

The other side of that conversation is the reality that if the Mets are going to improve their rotation headed into next year, they’ll need to spend either prospect capital or more dollars. Even so, those other avenues to improving could be preferable to giving up a massive package to land Skubal. Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta is expected to be available in trade this winter, and Sammon floats him as an example of a pitcher who likely could be had for a lower prospect cost than Skubal. The Mets have been unafraid of rolling the dice on pitchers with question marks in the past during free agency, and the upside a player like Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, or Ranger Suarez could offer is immense.

Those alternative options may end up being necessary to pursue even if the Mets decide to pursue Skubal. There’s no guarantees the Tigers will make him available at all, and even if they do New York would hardly be the only suitor for his services. Last offseason’s failed pursuit of Garrett Crochet should serve as a reminder that the Mets aren’t as able to easily outbid the competition on the trade market as they are in free agency; the Red Sox and Craig Breslow were able to offer a massive package for Crochet that few teams in the sport would have been able to match, and even the improved farm system Stearns finds himself with this winter isn’t impossible to outbid with McLean likely off the table.

Rob Refsnyder Plans To Play In 2026

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Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder flirted with retirement last offseason, but ultimately decided to continue his career in Boston. Now that he’s headed into his age-35 season, however, it appears he’s less conflicted about his future. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reported yesterday that Refsnyder intends to continue his playing career in 2026, and he’s already had “informal talks” with Boston about the possibility of a return.

It’s understandable that Refsnyder would want to keep going after the year he’s had. In 70 games for the Red Sox, Refsnyder raked to the tune of a .269/.354/.484 slash line across 209 plate appearances. That was more or less a repeat of his excellent 2024, and he now enters free agency coming off a two year stretch where he’s slashed .278/.357/.476 in 163 games (516 plate appearances). In that time, he’s clubbed 20 homers with 28 doubles with a 25.6% strikeout rate against a 10.1% walk rate.

That’s incredibly strong production for a bench player, though it should be noted he sports a massive platoon split. Refsnyder is hitting .302/.396/.554 (160 wRC+) against southpaws over the past two years, but in that same time he’s hit a mediocre .250/.310/.387 (94 wRC+) against right-handed pitchers. That production against righties dropped to just .212/.268/.348 (67 wRC+) this season, leaving him has a far less viable bat against same-handed pitching. Even with that step back against right-handers this year, Refsnyder should enjoy a strong market by bench bat standards.

It’s not completely out of the question that a club could see Refsnyder as a candidate for a larger role, given his overall production the past two seasons and solid numbers against same-handed pitching in 2024. His more significant platoon split in 2025 likely puts a damper on those efforts, however, and he still figures to fit best on a team where he can be used as a part-time player. The Red Sox still make plenty of sense for his services given their heavily left-handed outfield mix. Having Refsnyder in the fold to complement Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, and Masataka Yoshida would go a long way to keeping Boston’s offense balanced next year.

There are a handful of other teams Refsnyder could make plenty of sense for as well, however. The Diamondbacks traded Randal Grichuk away at the deadline but have an outfield and DH mix that’s similarly heavy on lefties with Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, and Pavin Smith all playing roles. The Cubs could view Refsnyder as an upgrade over Justin Turner who could be deployed as a platoon partner for Moises Ballesteros or Owen Caissie in the event that one of those lefty-swinging rookies takes over Kyle Tucker’s spot in the Chicago lineup. The Royals and Guardians both struggled to get production out of their outfielders this year and could view Refsnyder as a way to significantly improve their offense without breaking the bank.

Giants Close To Hiring Tony Vitello As Manager

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3:15pm: The decision on whether Vitello will be the next manager of the Giants or not is expected within the next 24 to 72 hours, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Passan adds that while Vitello is the “top target” of San Francisco at this point, the sides have yet to reach a deal.

1:56pm: The Giants’ managerial search seems to be nearing an end, with a surprising name emerging from the college ranks.  The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli, and Ken Rosenthal report that “the Giants are closing in on hiring” University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello as their next skipper.  Vitello told The Athletic by text that “there is nothing to confirm” about the news, and the Giants also haven’t commented on the report.

The 47-year-old Vitello was an assistant baseball coach for Missouri (his alma mater), TCU, and Arkansas from 2003-2017 before being hired for the top job at Tennessee in June 2017.  The Volunteers have since become an elite program, with a 341-131 record under Vitello’s watch and the school’s first NCAA national championship in baseball in 2024.  Beyond that College World Series victory, the Vols also reached the World Series in both 2021 and 2023, and they were SEC regular-season and tournament champions in both 2022 and 2024.

Beyond this sterling record in NCAA baseball, however, Vitello has no experience as a player, coach, or manager in professional baseball.  There have been examples in recent years of teams reaching out to hire college coaches or assistants to big league coaching staffs, yet hiring a manager without any experience in an MLB organization is a step beyond.  Brewers skipper Pat Murphy is a notable example of a current manager with lots of college head coaching experience, but as Baggarly/Ghiroli/Rosenthal note, Murphy had many years as a minor league manager and a big league bench coach (not to mention a stint as the Padres’ interim manager) in between his NCAA work and his managerial job with the Brewers.

Vitello’s name doesn’t come out of the blue, as Baggarly mentioned him as a possible managerial candidate a little under three weeks ago, when rumors were swirling about Bob Melvin being on the way out in San Francisco.  Baggarly felt the Giants would be looking for “a younger manager who operates with a high motor” as Melvin’s replacement, and the names linked to the team’s managerial search have generally fit this description.  Former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Royals third base coach Vance Wilson are both 52 years old, and former catchers Kurt Suzuki and Nick Hundley are both 42 years old.

In regards to Hundley, the Athletic reporters note that he is now “expected to remain in Texas” in his current job as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Chris Young.  Past reports indicated Hundley was a big candidate and possibly the front-runner for the San Francisco job, but Hundley will now remain with the Rangers.  It isn’t known if the Giants simply preferred to go with Vitello, or if Hundley may have taken himself out of the running, as he did in 2023 when he was previously considered as a candidate for the Giants’ last managerial vacancy.

Assuming Vitello indeed ends up in San Francisco, it represents a bold move for both the coach and for the Giants organization.  Vitello would be “leaving the comfort of his fiefdom for a job that offers anything but stability,” as the Athletic trio puts it.  From the perspective of president of baseball operations Buster Posey, replacing a three-time MLB manager of the year in Melvin with someone entirely new to pro baseball is a huge swing for Posey’s very first managerial hire since taking over the Giants’ front office a year ago.

The Giants’ 107-win season in 2021 represents the team’s only playoff appearance and winning record in the last nine years, as San Francisco’s next best marks were 81-81 record in both 2022 and 2025.  This season’s .500 record wasn’t enough for Posey in the wake of some big long-term acquisitions (Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Rafael Devers) within the last year, and Melvin’s dismissal was the latest step in Posey wanting to entirely put his stamp on the franchise’s operations.

There would be no shortage of fascinating subplots to a Vitello hire, the most pressing being simply how a college coach’s tactics can translate to motivating and leading a clubhouse of seasoned major leaguers.  Vitello’s NCAA credentials are as good as anyone’s, but as we’ve seen countless times in the NFL, NBA, or NHL, coaching the professional game is vastly different than being a success in the collegiate ranks.  The Giants have had difficulty in luring top-tier free agents in the past, and it is worth wondering how those pursuits could be impacted with Vitello in the mix — would free agents balk at playing under an inexperienced manager, or would Vitello’s recruiting methods work as well on big leaguers as they do on blue-chip college prospects?

Blue Jays Notes: Springer, Bichette, Bullpen

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The Blue Jays are staring down elimination as they head back to Toronto following a tough loss to the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALCS yesterday. Manager John Schneider spoke to reporters this evening about the health status of a couple of key players, as well as the club’s pitching plans headed into the final games of the series.

Perhaps the most pressing update is the one regarding veteran slugger George Springer. The 36-year-old enjoyed a career year at the plate this season as he slashed .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs and 27 doubles. Springer has continued his strong performance into the postseason, with eight extra-base hits in nine games so far this October. That hot streak was put at risk last night when Springer was hit in the right knee by a pitch.

Initial x-rays came back negative, fortunately, and today Schneider offered more good news to reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) when he revealed that a follow-up CT scan confirmed no fracture. Springer was set to undergo additional treatment today, but it seems as though he’s likely to be back in the lineup for Game 6. As noted by MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Schneider told reporters he was “hopeful and optimistic” that Springer would be in the lineup for tomorrow’s game, and added that Schneider intends to put Springer in the game as long as Springer himself says he’s ready to play.

The future is less clear for star shortstop Bo Bichette. Bichette has been sidelined since the regular season due to a PCL sprain, and his availability in the event that the Jays manage to win their next two games and advance to face the Dodgers in the World Series remains up in the air. Schneider indicated to reporters (including Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet) that Bichette has increased his running volume on the field and is “making progress” with his swing but that he’s not yet tried to run the bases after he limped off the field when he tried to do so prior to the ALCS. Even in spite of this injury, Bichette’s had a strong bounce back year ahead of free agency with a .311/.357/.483 slash line in 139 games.

Of course, if Bichette is going to even have a chance to make it back for the World Series, the Jays will need to advance there. To that end, Schneider indicated to reporters (including Mitch Bannon of The Athletic) that everyone on the pitching staff who is “physically available” will be able to pitch tomorrow. That likely rules out Kevin Gausman after he pitched 5 2/3 innings of work yesterday, but could mean that every other pitcher on the roster is available. Bannon specifically highlights that veteran right-hander Max Scherzer will be available for tomorrow’s game after his 87-pitch start in Game 4 of the series on Thursday. Trey Yesavage is poised to start tomorrow’s game opposite right-hander Logan Gilbert.

Using Scherzer and Shane Bieber in tomorrow’s game would be a risky move for the Blue Jays, as it would leave them without anyone to start in Game 7 of the series on Monday if they make it that far. Of course, saving an arm for Game 7 would do little for the Blue Jays if they were to get eliminated in Game 6. In a win-or-go-home game, it’s sensible to win that night’s game at all costs and worry about the consequences of that later. That’s the plan the Mariners used in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Tigers, when they used George Kirby, Gilbert, and Luis Castillo in a 15-inning affair to leave them with no option but to start Bryce Miller in Game 1 of the ALCS against Toronto.

Looking For A Match In A Sonny Gray Trade

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The Cardinals are entering what could be a multi-year rebuilding period where they focus more on strengthening their farm system and player development apparatus than winning games at the major league level. That’s a pivot that started last winter, but a number of key veteran players with no-trade clauses wanted to stick with the organization for the 2025 season and try to win in St. Louis. With a 78-84 season in the books and Chaim Bloom having now officially taken over John Mozeliak’s spot atop the baseball operations department, however, those same veterans are softening their stance about the possibility of a trade.

Perhaps the most interesting of those veteran is right-hander Sonny Gray, who is entering the final year of his contract in 2026. Gray is coming off a down season and will turn 36 in November, but his 4.28 ERA in 32 starts this year was still right around league average with much stronger peripheral numbers than that. He struck out 26.7% of his opponents, walked just 5.0%, and had the sixth-lowest SIERA in baseball among qualified starters this year with a 3.29 figure that clocked in behind only Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Cristopher Sanchez, Paul Skenes, and Logan Webb.

That’s good company to keep, considering that all five of those players well might end up as finalists for their respective league’s Cy Young award this year, and should help to assuage concerns about Gray’s ability to compete at a high level in his mid-30s. Few pitchers have a recent track record more impressive than the veteran right-hander, all things considered. In 116 starts since the beginning of the 2022 season, Gray has a 3.53 ERA, a 26.6% strikeout rate, and a 3.17 FIP in 650 2/3 innings of work. It’s the sort of production that virtually any team could use in their rotation, but there are complicating factors in considering a trade for Gray.

The right-hander has a full no-trade clause that he has the ability to wield as he sees fit, and Gray is due a $35MM salary in 2026 with a $5MM buyout on a 2027 mutual option. That’s a hefty salary that a good number of clubs simply won’t be able to stomach, and the fact that Gray has shown a preference for pitching in smaller markets throughout his career could mean he’d wield his no-trade clause against some of the larger market franchises that could stomach his salary. The Cardinals are open to paying down salary in trades this winter, but it’s unclear if they’d be willing to pay down enough of it to get smaller market clubs into the mix for Gray’s services.

Which clubs are the best fits for St. Louis’s veteran hurler? Here’s a look at nine potential suitors, listed alphabetically within tiers:

Best Fits

  • Braves: One of the clear best fits for Gray’s services is Atlanta, who were reportedly in on Gray when he was a free agent two offseasons ago. Since then, the Braves have struggled to stay healthy and even fell out of the playoff picture this year due in large part to a rotation that was desperately missing Max Fried’s stabilizing presence after he left for the Yankees last winter. Atlanta has never been the sort of club to go out and spend hundreds of millions on an ace in free agency, so unless they change course this year they’ll need to get creative to add some certainty to a rotation that saw all of its established starters spend significant time on the injured list this year. Bringing Gray into the fold could be just that sort of creativity, and Alex Anthopoulos has long been comfortable bringing in veterans (like Marcell Ozuna, Josh Donaldson, and Charlie Morton) on short-term deals with high salaries.
  • Giants: The Giants are going to need more than just Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Landen Roupp in their rotation next year, and Gray would make plenty of sense for that role. Gray was actually connected to San Francisco back in September as a potential trade target. Some of that report was based on Gray’s connection with former Giants manager Bob Melvin, who has since been fired, but the Giants are still one of the few clubs that could stomach most of Gray’s salary within their expected budget. Gray also had plenty of success pitching for the A’s in Oakland, so a return to the Bay Area might have appeal to him even without Melvin in the fold.
  • Orioles: The Orioles, much like the Braves, found themselves pushed out of contention early this year due in large part to a lack of pitching depth. There’s virtually no certainty in the club’s 2026 rotation outside of Trevor Rogers, and president of baseball operations Mike Elias has shown a strong preference towards short-term additions when bringing in players who make significant dollars. That could make Gray a sensible fit following a season where Baltimore paid more than $41MM combined to Tomoyuki Sugano, Zach Eflin, and Morton for lackluster performances. While the Orioles are a lower budget club than most of the teams mentioned here, St. Louis’s willingness to eat salary could make Gray less of a financial burden than comparable arms in free agency.

Next Tier Down

  • Athletics: Gray played for the Athletics in Oakland for parts of five seasons after they took him 18th overall in the 2011 draft. In that time, he posted a 3.42 ERA and 3.56 FIP across 705 innings of work. Gray was eventually dealt to the Yankees, and in the years since then the A’s have been uprooted from Oakland and moved to West Sacramento. That move came with a raised payroll and a more sincere attempt to compete than previous rebuilding years, however, and a hitting core of Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, and Tyler Soderstrom looks ready to compete in the playoffs. What they’ll need to make that happen is pitching, and Gray has front-of-the-rotation upside and experience playing in unfriendly pitching environments like Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark. Perhaps if Gray was available last offseason, the A’s would’ve been a more sensible fit, but as it stands it’s unclear if the A’s intend to continue scaling up payroll after last season’s spending brought them an 86-loss campaign.
  • Padres: No team comes to mind more quickly than the Padres when discussing creative trade proposals, and that’s entirely thanks to the efforts of president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. Preller is by far the most active and aggressive executive in baseball, and this winter he’ll be tasked with replacing Dylan Cease and Michael King at the top of the rotation despite a relative lack of budget space. Adding someone like Gray to the rotation alongside Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Randy Vasquez, and JP Sears would be a huge help in stabilizing things, but there are clear obstacles here. For one thing, the Cardinals would likely need to be willing to eat the overwhelming majority of Gray’s salary in order to facilitate a deal with San Diego. That would mean a rather high prospect cost for the Padres, and while Preller is never shy about trading prospects his push at this summer’s trade deadline has left those cupboards somewhat barren. What’s more, Gray would be controlled for just the 2026 season, and Preller usually prioritizing trades for controllable players over rentals.
  • Dodgers: When it comes to spending money, there are few (if any) teams in baseball who can do so with the same reckless abandon as the Dodgers. Their payroll this season approached $400MM and it should surprise no one if it ends up in a similar place next season. While their rotation of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani is currently powering them through the postseason, the injury concerns in that group are obvious and the depth behind that quartet is taking a hit with Clayton Kershaw’s impending retirement. Adding a reliable workhorse like Gray would make plenty of sense, and the Dodgers are one of the few clubs that could reasonably take on most if not all of Gray’s salary without much issue. On the other hand, the Dodgers aren’t exactly the sort of small market club Gray has typically preferred to play for over the years, which could be a problem depending on how aggressive he is in using his no-trade clause.

Long Shots:

  • Cubs: On paper, the Cubs might seem like an excellent fit for Gray. The club appears likely to pursue pitching help this winter after injuries to Justin Steele and Cade Horton left them shorthanded this postseason, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has shown a proclivity towards shorter-term additions with higher salaries, and Chicago’s status as a midwest city could be attractive to Gray for the purposes of his no-trade clause considering his previous decisions to sign in Cincinnati, Minnesota, and St. Louis. With all of that said, the biggest obstacle to this sort of trade is that the Cubs and Cardinals have one of the biggest rivalries in the sport and very rarely trade with each other. Perhaps Bloom taking over as president of baseball operations could help thaw that trade embargo, given that he and Brian Cashman executed what was then just the second Yankees/Red Sox trade of the 21st century back in 2021, but it would still be a shock to see the teams line up on a trade of this magnitude.
  • Mets:  The Mets are a team with plenty of willingness to spend money, a major need in the rotation, and a strong preference for bringing pitchers in on relatively short-term contracts. That all would make them seem like an obvious fit for Gray, but it’s fair to wonder how the right-hander’s previous stint in New York could impact interest on both sides. Gray’s 4.51 ERA in parts of two seasons with the Yankees was the worst stretch of his career. It would be understandable if Gray wasn’t interested in returning to New York at this point in his career, even for a different franchise, and it’s equally possible that the Mets would shy away from a pitcher who previously struggled in the sport’s largest media market.
  • Reds: It was with the Reds that Gray turned his career around after leaving New York, and he pitched to a 3.49 ERA across three seasons in Cincinnati. He signed an extension with the club once before, so his no-trade clause would likely be a non-issue, and the Reds were connected to him both during his last trip through free agency and even on the trade market last year. It would stand to reason that there could be some interest between the two sides once again, but the Reds’ limited budget makes a trade hard to envision given that they already have a rotation of Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, and Nick Lodolo locked in for 2026 with youngsters like Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder also in the mix for starts. Whatever budget space Cincinnati has available this winter seems likely to be better used elsewhere on the roster, barring a trade of another arm that creates an opening.

Dodgers Expected To Pursue Kyle Tucker This Offseason

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The Dodgers are back in the World Series to defend the title they won last year after sweeping the Brewers out of the NLCS, but while they wait to see which of the Mariners and Blue Jays will emerge from the ALCS to challenge them for the commissioner’s trophy it appears their front office has already directed one eye towards the coming offseason. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports this evening that Los Angeles is expected to target star outfielder Kyle Tucker when free agency opens up following the World Series.

The news is hardly a surprise, as the Dodgers are routinely involved with the game’s marquee free agents. They famously won the sweepstakes for both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the 2023-24 offseason, and while last winter saw them miss on young superstar Juan Soto after landing as one of five finalists for his services, they still went on to spend plenty in free agency as they brought in Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, and Tanner Scott among a number of other signings and re-signings.

Impressive as the Dodgers have been this year, one of the team’s few major flaws is their production in the outfield. Andy Pages (113 wRC+) has emerged as a legitimate regular in center field, but Teoscar Hernandez (102 wRC+) took a significant step back last year relative to his first season in Los Angeles and the Michael Conforto experiment ended disastrously as he posted a wRC+ of just 83 with negative WAR in 138 games before being left off the club’s postseason rosters. With Conforto headed back into free agency this winter, there’s an opening on the grass in Los Angeles that Tucker could fit into quite nicely.

Tucker, 28, is a four-time All-Star who is the consensus pick for this winter’s top free agent. He broke out with the Astros back in 2021, and since then he’s hit a sensational .277/.365/.514 (143 wRC+) across five seasons of work. His resume was impressive enough that the Cubs were convinced to surrender top prospect Cam Smith and All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes (alongside young starter Hayden Wesneski) in a three-player package to acquire Tucker ahead of his final year under team control. Tucker was everything the Cubs were hoping for in the first half this year, as he slashed .291/.295/.537 with 17 homers in 83 games through the end of June.

At that point, Tucker seemed likely to find himself at the center of discussions about whether or not he’d join Ohtani, Soto, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in landing a guarantee of more than $500MM this winter. Things took a turn for the worse in the second half, however. Tucker made two trips to the injured list and hit just .225/.348/.342 in 53 games from July 1 onward, leaving him with fewer homers (22) in 136 games this year than he managed in 78 games during his injury-shortened 2024 season (23).

Heyman writes that Tucker’s tough second half has knocked down his expected price tag somewhat, but that a $300MM contract could still be realistic with even $400MM as a possible goal for the outfielder’s camp. That’s the type of price tag that’s sure to give pause to plenty of suitors, should it come to fruition. That’s unlikely to be the case for the Dodgers, who have a payroll of $395MM this year according to RosterResource and will see that figure drop to $329MM next year without making offseason additions. Even if Los Angeles isn’t willing to surpass this year’s payroll (and there’s been no indication that’s the case to this point), they’d still have plenty of room in the budget to add Tucker if they so chose.

Looking at other potential suitors, the Cubs have indicated at least some interest in bringing Tucker back into the fold next year. With that said, it should be noted that they’ve never spent more than the $184MM they gave Jason Heyward during the 2015-16 offseason on a contract in club history. That would be a significant jump out of the club’s apparent comfort zone under chairman Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, though it could be argued that trading for Tucker in the first place was similarly out of character.

Heyman also suggests that the Red Sox, Phillies, and Giants could be in the mix for Tucker’s services, though none of those potential landing spots are quite as obvious fits as Los Angeles is. Boston has a very crowded outfield mix as it is, with Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, and Wilyer Abreu all left-handed outfielders under long-term team control who belong in everyday roles and profile best in a corner. The Phillies have made it clear their top priority this winter is retaining star DH Kyle Schwarber, and it remains to be seen if the Giants are interested in adding another corner bat on a massive contract after trading for Rafael Devers back in June.

Nick Hundley Withdrew From Giants’ Managerial Search

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Earlier today, the Giants made waves when it was reported that the club is “closing in on hiring” University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as their next manager. While no deal is in place at this point, the news still came as a surprise. That’s not only because Vitello has no experience in professional baseball but also because Rangers special assistant (and former Giants catcher) Nick Hundley had been viewed as the favorite for the job throughout the process. Shayna Rubin and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle offered some perspective on that latter point this afternoon when they reported that Hundley actually withdrew his name from consideration “several days ago” for family reasons.

That Hundley decided to withdraw his name from consideration is not necessarily a total shock, given that he also withdrew from the Giants’ managerial hiring process two years ago due to those same family considerations. Rubin and Slusser note that Hundley and his wife have two young daughters, which naturally complicates the decision to return to the dugout and take on the rigorous schedule of an employee who travels with the team during the season.

While it’s possible that Hundley could simply opt to remain in his current role with the Rangers, which offers him far more flexibility than a managerial gig would, Rubin and Slusser do mention that Hundley has been “targeted by” the Padres in their own managerial search following Mike Shildt’s retirement. Hundley and his family live in San Diego, as Rubin and Slusser note, which could make taking a job with the Padres far more attractive from a family perspective.

The reported timelines between Shildt’s departure from the Padres and Hundley’s decision to withdraw from consideration in San Francisco line up well, but that shouldn’t be taken as an indication that the two events were necessarily linked or as a sign regarding the level of Hundley’s involvement in San Diego’s managerial search. It’s not known at this point if Hundley even accepted an interview from the Padres, much less if he’s a favorite to land the role among a field that’s already known to include Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty and San Diego pitching coach Ruben Niebla.

Aside from Hundley’s residence in San Diego, he also has deep ties to the Padres organization from his playing career. Drafted by the team in the second round of the 2005 draft, Hundley climbed the minor league ladder with the Padres until he made it to San Diego in 2008 at the age of 24. He went on to spend parts of seven seasons with the Padres before being traded to Baltimore in late May of 2014. Despite Hundley’s decade of time in the Padres organization between the major and minor leagues, it should be noted that he did not overlap with Preller, who took over baseball operations in early August of 2014.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

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Mark P

  • It occurs to me that I could’ve been called myself “Moderator Mark” for the last six years of these chats.  While I wince at the missed opportunity, let’s take some of your questions and address some admittedly more relevant baseball topics!

Ca$hman

  • Does Trent Grisham get a qualifying offer? Does he accept it if offered?

Mark P

  • The Yankees will very likely extend the QO, and Grisham will surely turn it down.  Coming off such a big platform year, Grisham is looking for a pricey multi-year deal, not a one-year payday.

Optimistic Giants Fan

  • What’s the crummiest bullpen thats ever won the World Series in your opinion?

Mark P

  • Just from recent memory, the 2019 Nationals and 2023 Rangers didn’t exactly have great pens, though they had just enough relievers get it together for just long enough in October.

Braves Fan

  • What will the Braves do at SS if Kim walks? Do we see Profar or Murphy traded to help fill that hole?

Mark P

  • The likelier scenario is that the Braves trade from their farm system or perhaps move a pitcher to land another shortstop.  Murphy doesn’t have a ton of trade value at this point, plus Atlanta might want to keep depth at catcher in case Baldwin has a sophomore slump.  Also, the Braves have to be thinking Murphy has a rebound in him, and THEN the club might be more inclined to deal him if Baldwin is firmly established as the top catcher.Profar’s PED suspension probably cooled a lot of teams on his services.  Plus, if the Braves dealt Profar, then that’s another hole to be addressed for left field.

Brady

  • Do you think the Tigers should go all in this offseason?

Mark P

  • Scott Harris has kept things pretty low-risk during his time in charge of the front office, so an all-in push in Skubal’s last year of control doesn’t seem likely.  Same with Tigers ownership, who seem content to keep spending in check.Granted, the team has made it to the ALDS in each of the last two seasons, so it’s not like things are going poorly in Motown.  But the ceiling for this team definitely seems higher, especially with an ace like Skubal in the rotation

Mark

  • Will A. Garcia be a Rangers next year or trade bait?

Mark P

  • Trade bait or probably even a non-tender.

Read more

Brewers Expected To Consider Trading Freddy Peralta

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The Brewers hold an $8MM club option on Freddy Peralta’s services for 2026, which represents the team’s last bit of control from what was initially a five-year, $15.5MM extension signed by the right-hander back in February 2020.  With Peralta now slated for free agency during the 2026-27 offseason, it is possible he has already thrown his last pitch in a Brewers uniform, as The Athletic’s Andy McCullough writes that Milwaukee is “expected to at least field offers for” Peralta’s services.

The news comes as no surprise, since as of last June, Peralta and his agents at Klutch Sports hadn’t gotten anywhere with the Brewers on another contract extension.  Milwaukee president of baseball operations Matt Arnold didn’t even entirely rule out the possibility of the Brew Crew moving Peralta at this past trade deadline, even if Arnold stressed that such a deal was quite unlikely with the team in the midst of what ended up as a successful run at another NL Central title.

Because the Brewers obviously plan to be contenders again in 2026, there is plenty of logic in simply keeping Peralta atop their rotation.  The righty enjoyed what was in many ways his finest season, posting a 2.70 ERA over a career-best 176 2/3 innings.  Peralta’s stellar numbers included a 28.2% strikeout rate and 34.5% hard-hit ball rate, and though his walk and barrel rates were below average, that has been the norm for Peralta throughout his career.

Peralta got some good strand-rate and BABIP luck in 2025, which explains why his 3.68 SIERA was almost a full run higher than his ERA.  However, Peralta’s career 3.61 SIERA and 3.59 career ERA are virtually identical, and there is every reason to believe he can continue performing like a solid front-of-the-rotation arm for years to come.

A modest $8MM price tag for such frontline pitching only adds to Peralta’s trade value.  Every team can fit Peralta into their budget at that price, so apart from the clubs that are in clear rebuilding mode, virtually every other team in baseball will have reason to check in with Arnold about Peralta’s availability.  The Crew would certainly land a substantial trade package in return for Peralta, which is why Arnold can’t help but listen to offers.  As Arnold put it back in July when describing his team’s stance on trade offers, “Obviously it’s important for us to never close the door…It’s something that we can never exclusively say no on anything.”

Since Milwaukee is also operating under its standard limited budget, Peralta and his $8MM salary arguably carries more value to the Brewers than any other contender.  Peralta’s contract has proven to be a tremendous bargain for a club that has often traded away star players prior to free agency, as the option years in Peralta’s deal kept his salaries in check.  As McCullough notes, other ex-Brewers like Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader, or Devin Williams were more expensive due to rising arbitration salaries, plus a starter like Peralta making $8MM is a much different scenario than a closer like Hader or Williams earning a hefty portion of a mid-sized payroll.

Brandon Woodruff and Jose Quintana each have mutual options in their contracts but are expected to become free agents this winter.  If those starters left and Peralta was traded, Milwaukee’s 2026 rotation lines up as Quinn Priester, Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick as the likely top four starters, with Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers, Carlos Rodriguez, or Aaron Ashby also in the mix for rotation work.  It’s not a bad group, but there is a distinct lack of MLB experience, and signing a lower-cost veteran arm (i.e. Quintana) would raise the rotation’s floor but not necessarily the ceiling.

Reading about the possibility of a Peralta trade only adds to the sting of the last week for Milwaukee fans, as the Brewers were unceremoniously swept out of the NLCS by the Dodgers.  Brewers fans know the drill by now when it comes to trading star players, of course, and the club’s run of success over the last decade has been due in part to the front office’s ability to successfully reload the roster.  Looking back at Hader’s trade to the Padres in 2022, for instance, that deal brought the Brewers back Gasser, as well as Esteury Ruiz, who was later flipped as part of the three-team swap that brought William Contreras to Milwaukee.

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