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Braves Re-Sign Raisel Iglesias

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The Braves announced they’ve re-signed free agent closer Raisel Iglesias to a one-year, $16MM deal. The PRIME client returns for what’ll be a fifth season in Atlanta on the same salary he made in 2025.

As is often the case with Braves moves, the signing comes out of the blue. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos suggested at the GM Meetings the team was more focused on addressing shortstop and upgrading the starting rotation while keeping the bullpen on the back burner. That apparently changed with the opportunity to keep Iglesias, who remains a high-end reliever as he enters his age-36 season.

The 11-year veteran carries a 2.35 earned run average in 218 2/3 innings since the Braves acquired him from the Angels at the 2022 trade deadline. He’s fourth in MLB with 113 saves since the start of that season. Iglesias posted a sub-3.00 ERA each season between 2020-24 as one of the steadier closers in the league.

Things seemed as if they might come off the rails early in 2025. Iglesias gave up an early-season home run barrage, including five longballs in April alone. He surrendered seven round-trippers before the end of May and carried an ugly 5.91 ERA through the first two months. The switch flipped over the summer, as Iglesias was one of the league’s best late-game arms from the beginning of June onward. He reeled off 46 frames of 1.96 ERA ball while striking out 29.3% of opponents over the season’s final four months. Iglesias only gave up one home run in that time despite a massive 54.5% fly-ball rate.

The truth certainly lies somewhere between those two extremes. Iglesias wasn’t going to continue giving up homers on a quarter of fly-balls, as he did early in the year, nor will he maintain the sub-2% homer/fly rate he posted later in the season. That’ll be the main concern moving forward, but his strikeout and walk profile remains strong. Iglesias punched out 27.4% of opponents against a tidy 6% walk rate. He turned in a 3.21 ERA overall while going 29-34 in save chances — coming up just shy of the sixth 30-save showing of his career.

MLBTR ranked Iglesias as our #32 free agent and the #5 reliever in the class in predicting a two-year, $26MM contract. He did not command the second year for what would have been his age-37 campaign. The Braves were apparently one of at least two teams that offered a sizable one-year deal. Francys Romero reports that the Dodgers also made an offer around $16MM but Iglesias declined to remain in Atlanta. L.A. and the Blue Jays were the only other teams publicly linked to Iglesias in what turned out to be a brief stay on the open market.

Toronto and Los Angeles are two of a number of teams that remain in the market for a late-inning reliever. Edwin Díaz is almost certainly going to command the largest contract in the class despite rejecting a qualifying offer from the Mets. Devin Williams has gotten a lot of attention in the first few weeks of the offseason. Robert Suarez should command a multi-year deal at a hefty salary. Ryan Helsley, Kyle Finnegan, Emilio Pagán and Kenley Jansen are among the many other unsigned closers.

Iglesias returns at the back of an Atlanta bullpen that still needs a lot of work. They’re getting Joe Jiménez back after he missed the entire ’25 season recovering from knee surgery. Dylan Lee is a high-end option from the left side. Atlanta dropped right-handed setup arms Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley at the beginning of the winter, so another righty alongside Jiménez in the late innings is a must. They’ll balance that against the yet to be addressed starting pitching and shortstop holes.

The Braves now have 13 players on guaranteed contracts that’ll combine for $192.5MM next season. They’re operating with a very light arbitration class that features a number of non-tender candidates. That group is unlikely to add more than $4-8MM to the books. The Braves opened last season with a player payroll around $208MM. They’d likely need to go beyond that mark to address the rotation and shortstop, especially if they fill the latter position by re-signing Ha-Seong Kim. RosterResource projects them for roughly $208MM in luxury tax commitments, putting them well shy of the $244MM base threshold. The Braves are believed to have stayed below the CBT line this year but had paid the tax in 2023 and ’24.

Image courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images.

Joe Jiménez Recently Underwent “Cleanup” Knee Procedure

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Braves reliever Joe Jiménez underwent a “cleanup” surgery on his left knee, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (including David O’Brien of The Athletic). The right-hander missed the entire ’25 season after undergoing surgery to repair cartilage damage in that same knee last November.

While the framing of the surgery as a “cleanup” doesn’t sound especially alarming, the timeline isn’t clear. Anthopoulos said the team won’t know how long he’ll miss until late December at the earliest. That raises some question about his availability for the start of the season, which would be a tough blow for a bullpen that is already lacking right-handed setup options.

Atlanta acquired Jiménez from the Tigers going into the 2023 season. He turned in a 3.04 ERA and re-signed on a three-year, $26MM free agent deal. The first season was a success, as the 6’3″ hurler fired 68 2/3 frames of 2.62 ERA ball. Jiménez wasn’t able to build off that two-year run last season and evidently didn’t recover as smoothly as hoped from last fall’s procedure.

The Braves re-signed Raisel Iglesias to a $16MM deal this evening. He’ll be back in the ninth inning. Jiménez projects as their top right-handed setup man if healthy. Atlanta declined options on Tyler Kinley and Pierce Johnson to keep as much financial breathing room as possible with needs in the rotation and at shortstop. They brought in a potential stopgap at the latter position with tonight’s acquisition of Mauricio Dubón from Houston. They remain in the market for a better shortstop and still need at least one starter. Uncertainty with Jiménez only magnifies their need for a righty leverage piece in front of Daysbel Hernández.

Braves Acquire Ryan Rolison

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The Braves have acquired left-hander Ryan Rolison from the Rockies, according to announcements from both clubs. The Rockies, who designated Rolison for assignment yesterday, receive cash considerations in return. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count climbs to 38.

It’s a buy-low move for Atlanta. Rolison was a first-round pick back in 2018, getting selected 22nd overall by the Rockies. He signed with a bonus just north of $2.9MM. He was one of the club’s top prospects in the years after that draft selection but hasn’t yet delivered on his potential.

His trajectory to the majors was thrown off in a few ways. The minor leagues were canceled in 2020 on account of the pandemic. The next few years were curtailed by various injuries, most notably shoulder problems. He was capped at 71 2/3 minor league innings in 2021, missed the entire 2022 season, threw 11 frames in 2023 and then 46 1/3 innings in 2024. He had initially been a starter but has been mostly working out of the bullpen more recently.

In 2025, he finally made it to the show but the results weren’t impressive. He tossed 42 1/3 innings for Colorado this year, allowing 33 earned runs for a 7.02 ERA. His 13% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate were both subpar figures.

If one wanted to look for signs of optimism, his minor league numbers are worth a glance. He tossed 29 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In that environment, he had a 3.34 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 48.8% ground ball rate.

Rolison got nudged off the roster in Colorado but Atlanta had some space and will give him a shot. He still has an option year remaining, so his new club can keep him in the minors as left-handed depth, if they so choose. His service time count is at two years and 114 days, meaning he still hasn’t qualified for arbitration and can be controlled for four seasons. That could extend to five if he ends up spending a large amount of time on optional assignment.

Atlanta seems to have a fondness for getting relievers out of Colorado. In recent years, they have grabbed guys like Pierce Johnson, Brad Hand and Tyler Kinley to bolster their bullpen group. Now they’ll take a shot on Rolison. His overall track record isn’t great but he’s a former first-rounder who is optionable and controllable, while the cash they gave up is presumably minimal. They also won’t be relying on him as he’s probably seventh or eighth on the lefty relief depth chart behind Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee, Dylan Dodd, José Suarez, Joey Wentz, Hayden Harris and/or Josh Walker.

Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images

Braves, Chadwick Tromp Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves and catcher Chadwick Tromp agreed to a minor league contract earlier this week, according to the MiLB.com transaction tracker. The BSE Agency client will probably get a non-roster invite to Spring Training and open the season at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Tromp qualified for minor league free agency last week after finishing the year in the Red Sox’s farm system. The Aruban-born catcher had hit just .135/.183/.167 in 28 games for Boston’s top affiliate. That predictably did not get him an MLB look. Tromp had made eight big league appearances earlier in the season, splitting that time between Atlanta and Baltimore. He’d begun the season as Atlanta’s backup catcher behind eventual Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, as Sean Murphy was sidelined by a broken rib for the first couple weeks.

Once Murphy returned, the Braves pushed the out-of-options Tromp off the roster. He elected free agency and signed with Baltimore on a minor league deal. Tromp didn’t hit well at any level last season, and he’s a career .245/.318/.398 batter over parts of eight Triple-A seasons. He owns a .221/.230/.390 line in 178 major league plate appearances spread across six years.

The Braves aren’t going to expect Tromp to provide much at the plate. They clearly like him as a defender and clubhouse presence, so he’s a fine depth add. Baldwin and Murphy are the only two catchers on the 40-man roster. The latter is coming off season-ending hip surgery. He’s expected to be fully ready for Spring Training. Tromp wouldn’t have a great path to the active roster if Baldwin and Murphy are healthy, though the team could opt to carry three catchers if they plan to DH one of Murphy or Baldwin on an everyday basis. Tromp is the only other catcher in the organization with MLB experience.

Jacob deGrom, Ronald Acuna Jr. Named Comeback Players Of The Year

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The main event of Thursday’s award revelations came with the BBWAA’s announcement that Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge repeated as MVP winners. Major League Baseball also conducted its award ceremony tonight, revealing a handful of honors that are not decided by the writers.

Most notably, the league named Jacob deGrom and Ronald Acuña Jr. the respective Comeback Players of the Year. deGrom’s comeback from Tommy John surgery technically occurred at the end of the 2024 season. The two-time Cy Young winner made three late-season appearances last year. He took the ball 30 times this past season and worked to a 2.97 earned run average with 185 strikeouts across 172 2/3 innings. He earned his fifth All-Star nod and finished eighth in AL Cy Young balloting in his age-37 season.

Acuña bounced back from the second ACL tear of his career. The 2023 NL MVP had suffered the season-ending left knee injury on May 26, 2024. He made it back almost one year to the day later. The Braves activated Acuña from the injured list on May 23. He’d return to superstar form, hitting .290/.417/.518 with 21 homers in 95 games. Acuña went back on the injured list around the trade deadline with right Achilles tightness. He only missed a couple weeks and came back to hit .268/.402/.437 down the stretch despite an injury-riddled Atlanta team being well out of contention. It’s the second straight season in which a Brave was named NL Comeback Player of the Year. Chris Sale received that honor last season.

MLB announced a few other honors. Ohtani and Judge repeated as the respective Hank Aaron Award winners as the league’s best hitters. Ohtani yet again won the Edgar Martinez Award as MLB’s best designated hitter. Aroldis Chapman and Edwin Díaz won the respective Reliever of the Year honors. Díaz is free agency’s top reliever coming off a 1.63 ERA across 62 appearances. Chapman turned in a 1.17 ERA over 61 1/3 frames in what is arguably the best season of his fantastic career. He re-signed with the Red Sox on a $13MM deal in August. The BBWAA will reintroduce its own Reliever of the Year Award in 2026.

Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold was named Executive of the Year for the second consecutive season. Milwaukee won an MLB-best 97 games and advanced to the NL Championship Series despite having an Opening Day payroll around $115MM. That was the eighth-lowest mark in the majors.

MLB also announced its 1st and 2nd teams. These are not league specific and are designed to honor the best players at each position. Those are as follows:

1st Team

2nd Team

Braves Claim Carson Ragsdale, Josh Walker

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The Braves have claimed left-hander Josh Walker and right-hander Carson Ragsdale off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Both pitchers were designated for assignment by Baltimore a week ago. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count goes from 35 to 37.

This is the second time Atlanta has grabbed Ragsdale from the waiver wire. The first came in the middle of September, but the O’s claimed him back about a week later. Ragsdale, 28 in May, just made his major league debut in 2025. He made two appearances for the O’s, allowing eight earned runs in five innings. That is obviously a small and unimpressive sample, so Atlanta is presumably putting more stock in his minor league track record.

Prior to 2025, Ragsdale had been in the Giants’ system. He generally flashed a high-strikeout and high-walk profile. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 267 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.07 earned run average. He struck out 32.1% of batters faced while giving out walks 9.8% of the time.

The Giants put him on their 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. His results backed up this year, so they designated him for assignment at the end of July. That led him to Baltimore, Atlanta and then Baltimore again via the waiver wire. He finished 2025 having thrown 89 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.22 ERA, 19.5% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate.

It obviously wasn’t a good year but Ragsdale is not too far removed from being a notable prospect for the Giants. Going into 2025, Baseball America ranked him #17 in the system while FanGraphs had him at #11. He still has a couple of options, so Atlanta can keep him in Triple-A, either continuing his development as a starter or perhaps moving him to the bullpen.

Walker, 31 in December, is a straightforward lefty reliever. His major league track record isn’t especially long, with 26 appearances scattered over the past three seasons, pitching for the Mets and Blue Jays. He has a 6.59 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. His minor league work is intriguing, however. From 2022 to 2025, he tossed 131 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.90 ERA. His 11.6% walk rate was certainly high but he also punched out 30.5% of batters faced in that time with a steady diet of grounders as well.

The southpaw bounced around the league in 2025, going from the Jays to the Phillies via a small trade and then to the Orioles via waivers. He exhausted his final option season along the way and is now out of options.

He still has less than a year of service time but the O’s signed him to a major league deal earlier this month. The salary figures weren’t reported but Walker is presumably going to be paid at a rate nominally above league minimum. The idea of the O’s agreeing to such a deal is that it would theoretically make it more likely that he passes through waivers unclaimed and sticks around as non-roster depth.

Atlanta prevented that from happening in this case. They had multiple open roster spots and used one of them to grab Walker. For now, he gives them another lefty relief option, alongside Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee and others. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Atlanta tries to pass Walker through waivers later, so that they are the ones who get to keep him as a depth option without him taking up a roster spot.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images

David Fletcher To Retire

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Veteran infielder David Fletcher is retiring, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The 31-year-old spent the majority of his seven-year MLB career with the Angels.

Los Angeles took Fletcher in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. The 5’9″ infielder posted strong batted-ball skills at each level of the minors, reaching Triple-A in 2017. Fletcher put up a healthy 143 wRC+ over 58 games with Triple-A Salt Lake in 2018, earning a callup to the big-league club. Los Angeles had Andrelton Simmons penciled in at shortstop, but an Ian Kinsler trade opened up regular playing time at second base. Fletcher hit .275 over 307 plate appearances in his first taste of MLB action.

Fletcher delivered his best results in the shortened 2020 season. He slashed .319/.376/.425 across 49 games. Fletcher bounced around the infield, making starts at second base, shortstop, and third base. He also appeared once in right field. The strong campaign helped Fletcher land a five-year, $26MM extension just before the 2021 season.

Following the extension, Fletcher took over as the Angels’ full-time second baseman. He played a career-high 157 games in 2021. Fletcher earned strong defensive marks (9 DRS, 8 Outs Above Average) in 1,212 innings at second base. He also swiped 15 bags, after coming into the season with just 13 career steals. Fletcher’s production at the plate, however, trailed off considerably. He scuffled to a 69 wRC+ over 665 plate appearances. Fletcher was dropped from the leadoff spot to ninth in the order by May. He regained the leadoff spot midseason, but closed the year back in the nine hole.

Hip and hand injuries derailed Fletcher’s 2022 campaign. He was available for just 61 games. Fletcher once again performed well in the field, while he struggled as a hitter. He opened the 2023 season healthy, but went 2-for-16 in April and was demoted to Triple-A Sacramento. Fletcher appeared in just 33 games with the Angels that year. Los Angeles flipped him to Atlanta in December 2023, allowing the team some short-term financial flexibility.

Fletcher’s career would take some twists and turns after his tenure with the Angels. Atlanta passed him through waivers shortly after the trade. Unsurprisingly, no team wanted to pick up the rest of Fletcher’s deal, and he went unclaimed. He spent the majority of the season in the minors with Atlanta, but not as an infielder. Fletcher transitioned to pitching that season, utilizing a knuckleball to try to make an MLB comeback. He made 22 appearances across two levels, posting a 6.39 ERA. During the middle of the 2024 season, a report emerged linking Fletcher to the bookmaker used by Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. According to the report, Fletcher placed bets with the illegal Southern California gambling ring, though those wagers were not on baseball.

Fletcher ditched the pitching experiment and went back to the infield in 2025. He played in 83 games across Double-A and Triple-A this past season, slashing .185/.233/.258. Atlanta declined his $8MM club option last week. He elected minor league free agency, but will now head into retirement.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Fletcher on a solid career and wish him the best in his future endeavours.

Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images

Braves Focused On Shortstop, Rotation Early In Offseason

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There’s not a whole lot of mystery surrounding the Braves’ offseason needs. Ha-Seong Kim declining his player option leaves them back at square one at shortstop. They need more depth in a rotation that was battered by injury. They’re potentially losing three high-leverage relievers (Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley) to free agency.

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said on Tuesday that starting pitching and shortstop will take precedence early in the offseason. “We’re going to focus on those spots,” he told reporters (relayed by David O’Brien of The Athletic). “We’ll see where those lead us, what the acquisition costs are and all that, and then we’ll turn our attention to the bullpen.”

The Braves more or less telegraphed that course of action when they declined their club options on Johnson and Kinley. The latter was particularly surprising, as Kinley could have been retained for $5.5MM. That seemed a bargain price for a pitcher who’d turned in a 0.72 ERA over 25 innings after a deadline deal with the Rockies. Johnson seemed a slightly easier cut given his rocky finish to the season, but he’d still been a generally effective high-leverage arm over two and a half seasons with the Braves.

Cutting Kinley and Johnson saved the Braves $11.5MM. Another $16MM came off the books once Kim opted out. Some of that is offset by raises for Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider, Aaron Bummer and Reynaldo López. The Braves have $176.5MM committed to 12 players, though they’re likely to have one of the sport’s lightest arbitration classes. Dylan Lee and Nick Allen might be the only two arbitration-eligible players whom they tender contracts, and they’d project for less than $4MM between the two of them.

The Braves opened last season with a player payroll around $208MM. They should have a decent amount of spending capacity to at least make middle-tier free agent additions akin to last winter’s Jurickson Profar pickup. Their claim of Kim in the first place indicated they were willing to pay him $16MM. He’s presumably still their main target at shortstop, where there simply aren’t many alternatives.

Bo Bichette is the only other free agent regular at the position. He’d obviously be far more expensive than Kim would. The trade market looks barren, especially if the Nationals don’t want to trade CJ Abrams to a division rival. Maybe there’ll be a long shot trade option like J.P. Crawford or Ezequiel Tovar, but the likelier outcome is that the Braves would either need to stick with Allen or trade for a similarly low-upside stopgap if they don’t get a Kim deal done.

The rotation currently projects as Sale, Strider, López, Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep. That’d be an excellent group if all five pitchers made 30+ starts, but that’s not realistic. All but Waldrep missed time last season. López made just one start before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Schwellenbach broke his elbow and missed the second half. Sale is going into his age-37 season. Grant Holmes may or may not be able to pitch through an elbow sprain. The Braves can’t run things back with only Bryce Elder, Didier Fuentes, and maybe Alek Manoah as their depth arms.

Atlanta has not spent big on free agent pitching under Anthopoulos (though they reportedly made a run at Aaron Nola before he re-signed with Philadelphia on a seven-year deal). Could that change this offseason? Georgia native Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Michael King and Zac Gallen are among the more notable free agent starters available.

Luke Weaver and Brad Keller are candidates for the mid-tier “reliever to starter” conversion contract which the Braves tried with López. The Braves have one of the weakest farm systems in MLB, which would put them at a disadvantage in a bidding war for a top controllable trade candidate like Joe Ryan. They could accommodate a decent-sized salary on the trade market, though, which perhaps brings someone like Sonny Gray, Luis Severino, Robbie Ray or Jack Flaherty into play if they’re looking for a mid-rotation source of innings.

Emphasizing the rotation and shortstop could leave them looking for cheaper bullpen targets later in the winter. Lee, Bummer and Joe Jiménez (who missed all of last season rehabbing knee surgery) are their top internal options at the back end. They’ll need to add at least one right-hander who can pitch in leverage spots while overhauling the middle innings group.

Braves Add Tony Mansolino, J.P. Martinez To Coaching Staff

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Nov. 11: Mansolino will serve as the bench coach and work with the team’s infielders rather than his previously reported role of third base coach, according to David O’Brien of the Athletic. Instead, the Braves have hired Tommy Watkins to be the third base coach, per Dan Hayes of the Athletic. Watkins was a long-time Twins coach and was given permission to interview for the role with the Braves. O’Brien adds that Eddie Perez will be remaining as a major league coach for Atlanta. The club also officially announced Dustin Garneau as catching coach, Darnell Coles as assistant hitting coach, and Tony Diaz as a major league coach.

Nov. 7: The Braves on Friday announced the hiring of former Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino as their new third base coach. He’ll take over for Fredi Gonzalez, whose departure from the staff was reported earlier in the week. Atlanta also hired former Giants pitching coach J.P. Martinez — not to be confused with the former Braves outfielder of the same name — as their new bullpen coach.

The 43-year-old Mansolino took over for O’s skipper Brandon Hyde after Baltimore dismissed him back in mid-May. He’d been Hyde’s third base coach prior to that appointment — a role he’d held dating back to the 2021 season. Mansolino was previously a hitting coach and infield coordinator in Cleveland prior to being hired in Baltimore. A 26th-round pick by the Pirates back in 2005, he played professional from 2005-10 as an infielder Pittsburgh’s system and later on the independent circuit.

Mansolino guided the O’s to a 60-59 record, but that wasn’t enough to erase a disastrous start to the season. Baltimore finished last in the AL East with a 75-87 record. He was in the running for the Orioles’ full-time managerial gig moving forward, but that job went to Guardians associate manager and bench coach Craig Albernaz.

Martinez, also 43, was San Francisco’s pitching coach in 2025 and an assistant pitching coach with the Giants from 2021-24. He broke into the coaching ranks in the low levels of the Twins’ system back in 2015. He served as a pitching coach with Minnesota’s Rookie-level and High-A affiliates before being named the organization’s overall minor league pitching coordinator in 2018 — a role he held until being hired by the Giants in the 2020-21 offseason.

Drake Baldwin Wins National League Rookie Of The Year, Earns Braves PPI Pick

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Braves catcher Drake Baldwin is the 2025 National League Rookie of the Year, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced. Cade Horton of the Cubs and Caleb Durbin of the Brewers finished second and third in the voting, respectively. Baldwin’s win will net Atlanta a bonus draft pick after the first round in 2026, via the Prospect Promotion Incentive. Horton earns a full year of service time from his top two finish. The full voting results can be found here.

Baldwin came into the year as one of the top prospects in baseball. Since he finished the 2024 season at Triple-A, he had a shot at a big league job to start 2025. However, Atlanta was set to open the season with Sean Murphy as the primary backstop. Rather than be a backup at the major league level, there was an argument for Baldwin to stick at Triple-A and get regular reps.

In early March, Murphy suffered a rib fracture, an injury with a timeline of four to six weeks. That opened the door for Baldwin to get an Opening Day job. He hit well in the spring and Atlanta added him to the roster prior to Opening Day. Though Murphy got healthy by early April, Baldwin had already started producing and he never really stopped. The two shared the catching duties fairly evenly for a few months, though Murphy returned to the injured list in September due to a right hip labral tear.

Baldwin finished the year with 446 plate appearances over 124 games. He hit 19 home runs and slashed .274/.341/.469 for a wRC+ of 125. That means he was 25% better than the league average hitter, though that’s even further above par for a catcher. Most outlets considered his defense to be a bit below average, but not by much. FanGraphs credited him with 3.1 wins above replacement on the year.

While Baldwin’s win is surely gratifying for him personally, it also benefits the team. The current collective bargaining agreement introduced measures to combat service time manipulation. If a team promotes a top prospect early enough for him to earn a full service year, then that player meets certain awards criteria, the team is awarded with an extra pick just after the first round in the next draft. Since Baldwin was a consensus top prospect who was up all year, his Rookie of the Year win gives Atlanta a PPI bonus pick in 2026.

Horton also came into the season as one of the top prospects. He had finished 2024 at Triple-A but with just five appearances at that level. He was sent back to Triple-A to start 2025 but the Cubs needed rotation help fairly early on, as Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga were both on the injured list by early May.

Horton was called up on May 10th. He stayed up with the club the rest of the way, though a rib fracture put him on the injured list late in September. He finished the season with 118 innings pitched, having allowed 2.67 earned runs per nine.

There was probably some luck in there. Horton’s 20.4% strikeout rate was subpar, though his 6.9% walk rate was good and his 42.3% ground ball rate right around average. His .258 batting average on balls in play and 78.3% strand rate were both to the fortunate side. ERA estimators like his 3.58 FIP and 4.26 SIERA feel his ERA should have been around a run higher, though the performance was still good enough for a second-place finish in the voting.

That is significant for Horton, as there’s a flipside to the aforementioned PPI bonuses for teams. If a top prospect is not promoted early enough in the season to get a full service year, he can earn one retroactively with a top-two finish in the Rookie of the Year voting. Horton only earned 142 service days this year, 30 shy of the 172 needed for a full season, but this vote result will get him bumped up to the one-year mark. That means he will be on pace to become a free agent after 2030 instead of 2031.

Durbin was not a top prospect to open the year, meaning PPI wasn’t a factor for him, but he had a good season regardless. Acquired from the Yankees last offseason, he was called up in April and took over the third base job in Milwaukee. He appeared in 136 games and stepped to the plate 506 times. He hit just 11 home runs and didn’t walk much but rarely struck out, leading to a .256/.334/.387 line and 105 wRC+. He also stole 18 bases and was credited with five Defensive Runs Saved and two Outs Above Average at the hot corner.

Several other players also received some recognition from the voters. Isaac Collins of the Brewers finished fourth, followed by Daylen Lile of the Nationals, Agustín Ramírez of the Marlins, Chad Patrick of the Brewers, Jakob Marsee of the Marlins, Jack Dreyer of the Dodgers, Matt Shaw of the Cubs, Jacob Misiorowski of the Brewers, Nolan McLean of the Mets and Heriberto Hernández of the Marlins.

Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Jordan Godfree, Isaiah J. Downing, Jeff Hanisch, Imagn Images

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