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Cubs Claim Justin Dean

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The Giants announced that outfielder Justin Dean has been claimed off waivers by the Cubs. San Francisco had designated him for assignment last week to open a roster spot for Tyler Mahle. Chicago had multiple 40-man vacancies and doesn’t need to make a corresponding move. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to relay the transaction.

Dean, 29, just made his major league debut with the Dodgers last year. He was mostly used as a pinch runner and late-game defensive replacement. He appeared in 18 games for the Dodgers but only made two plate appearances. He then appeared in 13 postseason games as part of the Dodgers’ World Series run, but without making a plate appearance in any of those.

His speed gives him a decent floor as a guy who can steal some bases and run the ball down on the grass. From 2021 to 2025, he swiped 176 bags in 213 attempts in the minors, an 82.6% success rate.

His offense is more questionable but his 2025 was encouraging. Throughout his minor league career, he has drawn free passes but also been punched out at hefty rates. From 2021 to 2024, he had a nice 12.2% walk rate but an ugly 29.6% strikeout rate. In 2025, he was only struck out 23.6% of the time while keeping his walk rate at a healthy 11.2%. The result was a .289/.378/.431 line and 110 wRC+ in Triple-A, though that was propped up by a .380 batting average on balls in play.

The Dodgers bumped him off their 40-man at the end of the season. The Giants grabbed him off waivers and held him for a couple of months but ended up putting him back on the wire. For the Cubs, he’s a fine depth add, especially since they had multiple roster spots open. Dean still has a full slate of options and doesn’t need to be on the big league roster.

Chicago’s outfield alignment projects to feature Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki in starting roles. Kevin Alcántara, James Triantos and Pedro Ramírez are on the 40-man roster and could be candidates for bench roles. Triantos and Ramírez have no big league experience and still have options, so the Cubs would likely prefer them to be getting regular reps in the minors as opposed to sitting in the big league dugout. Alcántara has been optioned for extended stretches in each of the past three years but could qualify for a fourth option.

Since Dean is himself optionable, he could either be getting regular playing time in the minors or he could be in the majors, providing speed and defense off the pine. He has just 52 days of service time, so he can be cheaply controlled for the foreseeable future, as he won’t qualify for arbitration for at least three years.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Giants Aggressively Pursuing Second Base Upgrade

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That the Giants are in the market for help at second base is well known at this point, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that San Francisco has been particularly “aggressive” in its pursuit of late, with recent talks regarding a pair of NL Central standouts: Nico Hoerner of the Cubs and Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals. Both were known targets for the Giants already, but it’s notable that they’re ostensibly ramping up their efforts to make a deal happen.

Giants second basemen were among the least-productive in all of baseball in 2025, hitting a combined .217/.273/.343. The resulting 73 wRC+ (indicating they were 27% worse than average at the plate) ranked 27th in the majors, leading only the Angels, A’s and Rockies. Tyler Fitzgerald led San Francisco with 233 plate appearances as the team’s second baseman, followed by Casey Schmitt (193), Christian Koss (137) and Brett Wisely (43). All four posted well below-average numbers with the bat while playing second base (though Schmitt hit better while playing other positions and was close to league-average with the bat overall).

Either Donovan or Hoerner would stand as a major upgrade. Both will play next season at 29 years old. Both are established contact hitters with defensive versatility, although the presence of Matt Chapman and Willy Adames on the left side of the infield would lessen the Giants’ need to take advantage of that positional flexibility. Donovan, who agreed to a one-year deal worth $5.8MM to avoid arbitration last week, is controlled through the 2027 season. Hoerner is owed $12MM in the final season of his three-year, $35MM contract this season.

Donovan figures to be the more readily available of the two in trade talks. The Cardinals are in the early stages of a multiyear rebuilding effort under new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. They’ve already shipped out Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras in separate trades to the Red Sox, and they’ve been fielding interest in lefty JoJo Romero while also working to find a taker for Nolan Arenado. Donovan’s remaining two years of club control don’t align with a realistic path to contention in St. Louis, and of all the team’s offseason trade assets, he stands as the one most likely to net a significant return.

Since making his MLB debut four years ago, Donovan has done nothing but hit. He carries a lifetime .282/.361/.411 slash in the batter’s box (119 wRC+) and has regularly proven to be one of the game’s toughest strikeouts. He drew a walk in 8.2% of his plate appearances in 2025 (9.1% career) and fanned at only a 13% clip (13.5% career). Donovan’s power is below average — he’s never topped 14 homers in a season — but he’s a former All-Star and Gold Glove winner who can also handle third base and the outfield corners (and perhaps some shortstop, in a pinch).

Hoerner is statistically one of Donovan’s most comparable hitters. Over the past five seasons, his .285/.342/.388 line (106 wRC+) closely resembles Donovan’s production. Hoerner runs far more often (131 steals to Donovan’s 15) and would be a plus defender at shortstop if not for the fact that he slid over to second base in deference to Dansby Swanson at shortstop.

Unlike the Cardinals, however, the Cubs are in clear win-now mode. Trading Hoerner just days after agreeing to a five-year deal with Alex Bregman would offset much of the good brought about by that Bregman signing. Given that, it seems quite likely that the Cubs would seek immediate MLB talent in any trade involving Hoerner, and the cost of acquisition would be fairly steep. Chicago could always move former top prospect Matt Shaw to second base — he might be the heir-apparent there now anyhow — but the Cubs could also simply keep all three infielders for the 2026 season and use Shaw in a utility role before handing second base to him full-time in 2027.

Payroll-wise, the Giants should have little problem fitting either player into the picture. RosterResource currently projects a $185MM payroll for San Francisco. That’s up a few million from last year’s levels but also a ways shy of the $200MM franchise record set back in 2018. And considering the fact that over the past 18 months, ownership has made three separate nine-figure commitments (Chapman’s $151MM extension, Adames’ $182MM contract, the $250MM+ remaining on Devers’ contract), it stands to reason that they’re at least open to further additions.

It bears mentioning that there’s no indication from Passan that Hoerner and Donovan are the only two targets on which the Giants are focused. The free-agent market still has one high-profile option in Bo Bichette, and even if he lands elsewhere, that deal itself could create some potential avenues for the Giants to explore. If Bichette were to sign in Philadelphia, for instance, the Phillies might be more inclined to part with Bryson Stott than would otherwise be the case. If he ended up in Boston, the Red Sox might have some additional infielders to discuss in trades. There are various paths the Giants can consider and other needs left to address on the roster (namely the bullpen), but having added Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser in the rotation, it appears second base is their focus for the time being.

Cubs, Corbin Martin Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs are in agreement with right-hander Corbin Martin on a minor league contract, reports Marquee’s Lance Brozdowski. The 30-year-old will presumably get a non-roster invite to MLB camp.

Martin was on and off Baltimore’s big league roster throughout the 2025 season. He wound up throwing 18 innings, allowing 15 runs (12 earned). That actually lowered his career earned run average to 6.54 across 75 2/3 frames over parts of four seasons. Martin had similarly rough numbers with Triple-A Norfolk, allowing a 5.82 ERA in 34 appearances. He recorded an average 22.5% strikeout percentage while issuing walks at a huge 13.6% clip.

A former second-round pick of the Astros, Martin was a highly-regarded prospect whom the Diamondbacks acquired in the Zack Greinke trade. Injuries threw him off track. The 6’2″ righty underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and missed the entire ’23 season on account of a torn lat tendon. His control, which was solid enough early in his minor league career, has held him back at the upper levels. Martin has walked more than 12% of opponents in the big leagues and Triple-A alike.

The Cubs are intrigued enough by the raw stuff to give him a look on a non-roster deal. Martin’s heater sits in the 95-96 MPH range and he has a slider and curveball. It’s a good enough arsenal to miss bats but he’ll need to be around the strike zone more consistently to secure a spot in Craig Counsell’s relief group. Martin has exhausted his minor league option years, meaning the Cubs would need to keep him in the majors or expose him to waivers if they call him up.

Cubs To Sign Tyler Beede To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs and right-hander Tyler Beede have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. The ACES client will presumably be invited to big league camp in spring training.

Beede, 33 in May, has had a uniquely winding career but is not coming off a good year. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins in April of 2025. He made seven appearances for Triple-A St. Paul but allowed eight earned runs in nine innings via 12 hits and nine walks while striking out seven opponents. He was released in June and then landed a deal with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He posted a 5.48 ERA for the Ducks and then signed with the Diablos Rojos in the Mexican League. He posted a 7.43 ERA in three starts for that club.

Those are obviously not great numbers but Beede has shown more potential in the past. As a youngster, he was highly-touted enough to be a first-round pick twice. The Blue Jays selected him 21st overall in 2011 but he didn’t sign and went to Vanderbilt. Then in 2014, the Giants took him 14th overall. He was a notable prospect for a bit but never became a star in the big leagues. By the end of 2022, he had logged 187 innings, mostly with the Giants but also with the Pirates. He had a 5.34 ERA in that time.

He went overseas for the 2023 season, signing with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. That went pretty well, as he posted a 3.99 ERA. His 16.4% strikeout rate wasn’t too impressive but he got grounders on 57.4% of balls in play. He returned to North America by signing a minor league pact with the Guardians. He made that club’s Opening Day roster but posted an 8.36 ERA in 14 innings and was bumped from the roster in early May.

The Cubs surely aren’t banking on Beede for much but there’s no real risk on a minor league deal. Chicago likes to build bullpens on the cheap. From the end of the 2019 season to the end of the 2025 season, they didn’t sign any relievers to multi-year deals. They built a decent relief corps for their 2025 team via a series of unheralded pickups, including Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar and others.

They have been in a somewhat similar lane here going into the 2026 season. They did give a two-year deal to Phil Maton, worth $14.5MM. Apart from that, they have given one-year deals to Thielbar, Hunter Harvey, Hoby Milner and Jacob Webb, each worth $6MM or less. They’ve added Collin Snider and Jeff Brigham on minor league deals and now add Beede into the mix. Beede was mostly a starter earlier in his career but has been doing more bullpen work in recent seasons.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Yankees Have Shown Interest In Nico Hoerner, Luis Robert Jr.

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At the start of the offseason, it felt inevitable that the Yankees and Cody Bellinger would reunite. That may still happen but it seems up in the air at the moment. Talks between the two sides have seemingly stalled out. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports today that both sides have been exploring alternatives lately. Bellinger has interest from other clubs. Meanwhile, the Yankees have been touching base with free agents Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker, who they have been connected to previously. They’ve also checked in on trade candidates Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox and Nico Hoerner of the Cubs. The Yanks’ interest in Hoerner was first reported by Pat Ragazzo of SI.

Bellinger spent 2025 in the Bronx and it seemed to go well. He hit 29 home runs and slashed .27/.334/.480 for a wRC+ 125. He stole 13 bases and played all three outfield slots as well as first base. He appeared to be especially comfortable in Yankee Stadium, slashing .302/.365/.544 there. He opted out of the final season of his contract, taking a $5MM buyout and leaving a $25MM salary on the table. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Bellinger to have enough juice for a five-year, $140MM deal.

It was reported on New Year’s Day that the Yanks had made an offer to Bellinger. A few days later came reports of a second offer. No details of either offer were initially revealed but further reporting indicated the sides weren’t close to a deal. Subsequent reporting has put the Yankee offer at five years and over $30MM annually, putting the guarantee somewhere in the vicinity of $155MM. That hasn’t been enough to get a deal done with Bellinger hoping to get to seven years.

It seems the two sides have taken a break from the staredown to look elsewhere. Heyman says they continued talking over the weekend but each party is considering alternatives. Heyman mentions the Dodgers, Giants and Mets as clubs believed to have interest in Bellinger. Those clubs have all been tied to Bellinger via rumors earlier this winter but are imperfect fits. All three could use outfield help to varying degrees but they also appear to be trying to avoid long-term commitments at the moment.

Since the hold-up between the Yankees and Bellinger appears to be the length of their offer, it’s hard to envision any of these clubs outbidding the Yankees. Any of the three could perhaps change their stance to take advantage of this opportunity but it also could be more likely that those clubs would prefer to get Bellinger via another short-term, opt-out laden deal. It’s unclear if he would want to do that after going down that road a couple of years ago, but it presumably depends on where things go in the next few weeks.

The Blue Jays have also been connected to Bellinger this winter but it seems they are more focused on Bichette and Tucker with Bellinger perhaps a backup plan. The Cubs were also connected to their old friend Bellinger this winter but signing Alex Bregman is presumably their big splash of the winter.

For the Yankees, they could perhaps increase their offer but are also seeing what else is on the menu. With Hoerner, it’s unclear if the Cubs have any interest in trading him but he has been in rumors and it’s arguable they should consider it. Hoerner is a good player but is a free agent after 2026. With the Cubs recently signing Bregman, their infield is now a bit cluttered. Putting Bregman at third bumps Matt Shaw to the bench.

If they wanted to, the Cubs could trade Hoerner and then move Shaw to second base. That would declutter things a bit and also should bring back something of note. Hoerner’s $12MM salary this year is very affordable considering his production. He doesn’t hit a ton of home runs but rarely strikes out, relying on his contact, speed and defense to provide value. It’s a combination that works, as FanGraphs has credited him with 3.9 wins above replacement or more in each of the past four years.

It could also give the Cubs a bit more breathing room in terms of the competitive balance tax. The Cubs went narrowly above the CBT in 2024 but have otherwise stayed under the line in each season from 2021 to the present.

RosterResource currently estimates them for a CBT number of just over $243MM, putting them less than a million from this year’s line. A team’s CBT number isn’t calculated until the end of the year, so in-season moves can move a club up or down. If the Cubs want to avoid the tax in 2026, creating some space now could be something they consider to give them more ability to make moves at the deadline.

For the Yankees, Hoerner wouldn’t help replace Bellinger in the outfield but he should make the team better. Though he has largely been a second baseman for the Cubs, he is considered good enough to be a shortstop. He has just been on the other side of the bag in deference to Dansby Swanson.

The Yanks have an uncertain shortstop situation at present, hence their previous connection to Bichette. Anthony Volpe is coming off a down year and may not be ready for Opening Day 2026 as he recovers from shoulder surgery. José Caballero currently projects as the top shortstop for the early season, though he has mostly been a utility guy in his career. If the Yanks add a shortstop, then he could return to that role.

The thinking with signing Bichette had a couple of attractions. He could upgrade the shortstop position now, then second base in the future. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is currently the club’s second baseman but he is slated for free agency after the upcoming season. With the Yanks having shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. waiting in the wings, Bichette could cover short for a year and then slide to the other side of the bag with either Lombard or a resurgent Volpe at short.

Hoener wouldn’t be quite the same acquisition, barring an extension, as he is only signed through 2026. Still, that would likely have appeal for the Yankees in a different way. They could upgrade the middle infield for now without making a huge commitment. After 2026, depending on how things go with Lombard, Volpe, Hoerner and Chisholm, they could then decide about how to invest in the middle infield for the long term.

They would, however, have to give the Cubs something of value in return. As mentioned, it’s unclear if the Cubs have any interest at all in flipping Hoerner. Even if they do, they would presumably be looking for some kind of win-now upgrade, likely on the pitching staff. With the Yanks looking for pitching help themselves, it may be challenging to line up a deal that makes sense for both sides.

As for Robert, he is surely available but also tricky to value. He has shown borderline MVP upside but is coming off two years marred by injuries and underperformance. In 2023, he hit 38 home runs and stole 20 bases, slashed .264/.315/.542 and got strong grades for his center field defense. But since then, he has made a number of trips to the injured list while slashing .223/.288/.372 for a wRC+ of 84.

The White Sox are rebuilding and will surely trade Robert but are seemingly hoping to trade him at peak value. He wasn’t moved in 2025 even though it was the final guaranteed year of his contract. They picked up a $20MM option for 2026. Teams like the Yankees and others might want to buy low but the Sox are likely motivated to wait. After his down year, it would make sense to hold him until the deadline, with the hope of him getting back in form and therefore increasing his trade value.

The Yankee outfield currently projects to include Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham in two spots. If the season started today, Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones would battle for a third. Domínguez is coming off a rough year in 2025, with an average bat and poor defense. Jones hit 35 home runs in the minors last year but also struck out 35.4% of the time, creating some doubt about how viable his bat will be in the majors.

Acquiring Hoerner wouldn’t do much to change that picture but perhaps the Yanks would be more comfortable with the uncertainty of the Domínguez/Jones combo with a stronger infield. Bringing back Bellinger, signing Tucker or acquiring Robert would strengthen the outfield group, bumping Domínguez to more of a part-time role and keeping Jones in Triple-A.

There are many moving pieces here as the offseason moves into the final weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Tucker, Bichette and Bellinger are the top position players still out there, with a lot of overlapping interest. The Jays are seemingly in on all three, considered by some to be the favorites for Tucker but a Bichette reunion also makes sense. Like Bellinger, Bichette is considering other options. He is meeting with the Phillies today, although that is a bit complicated, as Philadelphia would seemingly have to move on from both J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm to fit Bichette onto the roster and into the budget. The Red Sox just missed on Bregman and could turn to Bichette but they don’t seem too keen on big long-term investments. The Dodgers, Giants and Mets may be looking to get opportunistic if a nice short-term opportunity becomes possible.

It’s a bit of a game of musical chairs with the Yankees and Bellinger some of the key participants. Bregman just found a seat in Chicago but others will have to sit soon. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about a month, so the music is slowing down.

Photo courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images

Dave Giusti Passes Away

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Former big league right-hander Dave Giusti has passed away, the Pirates announced this morning. He was 86 years old.

“We are saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in this morning’s press release. “He was a vital member of our World Series winning team in 1971 and spent seven of his 15 big-league seasons with the Pirates before eventually making Pittsburgh his home. We extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Ginny, his daughters, Laura and Cynthia, and the entire Giusti family.”

Giusti made his major league debut in 1962 — his age-22 campaign — with the Houston Colt .45s and posted an inauspicious 5.62 earned run average through his first 73 2/3 innings. He didn’t pitch in the majors in ’63 and logged only 25 2/3 MLB frames in ’64. In 1965, he established himself as a member of Houston’s staff, tossing 131 1/3 innings with a 4.32 ERA. That was a ways higher than the 3.50 league average at that time (77 ERA+, 125 ERA-), but it kicked off a run of four seasons that saw Giusti log regular work as a starter in Houston. From 1965-68, he pitched a combined 814 innings with a 3.90 ERA.

Houston traded Giusti to the Cardinals in the 1968-69 offseason. The Cardinals lost him to the Padres in October 1968’s expansion draft, only to reacquire him two months later. He spent one season with the Cards (3.61 ERA, 99 2/3 innings) before being traded to the Pirates, with whom he’d make his lone All-Star team, tally three separate top-10 finishes in National League Cy Young voting, and win a World Series.

Giusti had been almost exclusively a starting pitcher over his final seasons in Houston, but he made only one start with Pittsburgh in 1970 and only three over his seven seasons in black and gold. Giusti transitioned near seamlessly to relief at a time when doing so wasn’t nearly as common as it is in today’s game. He saved 26 games for the Pirates in 1970, pitching 103 innings with a 3.61 ERA along the way.

Over the next several years, Giusti was a pivotal endgame arm for the Bucs. He saved a career-high 30 games in 1971, pitching to a 2.93 ERA in 86 regular-season frames before tossing 10 1/3 shutout innings during the playoffs as the Pirates went on to win the World Series. Overall, Giusti pitched 618 regular-season innings with the Pirates from 1970-76, piling up 133 saves and a recording a tidy 2.94 earned run average along the way.

The Pirates traded Giusti to the A’s in the 1976-77 offseason — part of a nine-player swap that included notable names like Phil Garner, Rick Langford and Tony Armas. Giusti pitched 85 2/3 innings between the A’s and Cubs, working to a 3.89 ERA in the 15th and final season of his major league career.

Giusti retired with a career 100-93 record, 145 saves, a 3.60 ERA and 1103 strikeouts in 1716 2/3 innings pitched. He won a World Series with the Pirates in ’71, made the All-Star team in ’73, garnered MVP votes in ’70 (sixth) and ’71 (14th), and drew Cy Young votes in ’70 (fourth), ’73 (seventh) and ’74 (ninth).

Fans of Giusti will want to check out Jason Mackey’s tribute to him over at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, wherein former teammates Milt May and Steve Blass discuss the right-hander’s transition to the bullpen, the efficacy of his signature palmball, and the never-give-in mentality that made him such a natural fit for high-leverage spots late in the game. We at MLBTR extend our condolences to Giusti’s family, friends, former teammates and the countless fans he amassed over a lengthy and successful big league career.

Details Of Red Sox’ Pursuit Of Alex Bregman

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2:19pm: Cotillo reports that Boston’s offer to Bregman was for five years and $165MM with significant deferrals.

2:09pm: Alex Bregman is headed to Chicago after landing with the Cubs on a five-year, $175MM contract that was first reported last night. That’s a crushing blow for the Red Sox, who were long reported to be prioritizing a reunion with Bregman after he opted out of the final two years and $80MM on his contract with the club back in November. In the aftermath of Bregman’s departure, reports out of Boston are shedding some light on the efforts the Red Sox made to retain their All-Star, and where that offer ultimately fell short.

According to a report from The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham last night, the Red Sox “did not come close financially and were not willing to give Bregman a full no-trade clause, which the Cubs did.” Today, reporting from Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive confirmed that the Red Sox were unwilling to offer Bregman a no-trade clause and added that the team cited “organizational policy” regarding no-trade protection in doing so. That, McAdam writes, “proved to be a sticking point” for Bregman, who has young children and values stability for them as he heads into his third consecutive year in a new city.

As for the financials, McAdam writes that the five-year offer from Boston was “reasonably competitive,” but added that it fell short of Chicago’s offer financially. Like the Cubs’ offer, which includes $70MM in deferred money, the Red Sox offer also included significant deferrals. Those deferred payments were scheduled out differently, however, as McAdam notes that the Red Sox proposed a payment plan “stretching out decades.” The exact payment details of Chicago’s offer aren’t yet known, McAdam notes that the decades-long payment structure Boston offered widened the gap between the two offers and reduced the value of the Red Sox’ offer further than the already-lower sticker price, relative to the Cubs’ offer.

Exactly how the two offers stack up will be easier to judge once more details come out about Bregman’s contract details in Chicago, but in any case it seems the offer that the Red Sox reportedly considered “aggressive” came up well short of what Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office managed to put together. As a result, the Red Sox will have to turn elsewhere in their search for another middle-of-the-order bat for their infield. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was among the reports to suggest in the aftermath of Bregman’s signing that the other top infielder on the market, shortstop Bo Bichette, could be the player they pivot to. Bichette figures to sign for even more than Bregman, did, however; MLBTR predicted an eight-year, $208MM contract for the infielder at the outset of the offseason.

Some of that, of course, has to do with the contract length. Perhaps an eight-year deal for Bichette, which would run through his age-35 season, would be just as or even more appealing to the Red Sox than signing Bregman through his age-36 season on a five year deal. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that this Red Sox front office has not yet given out a contract longer than three years via free agency. If the team has an aversion to long-term deals more generally, it would be difficult for the Red Sox to outbid rival suitors for Bichette like the Phillies and Yankees that have no qualms about signing free agents to lengthy contracts.

If the Red Sox aren’t willing to splurge on Bichette, the pickings for replacement Bregman become a lot slimmer. Eugenio Suarez offers big power and could be a fit on a shorter-term deal in free agency, but he struggled in the second half last year, will play this year at 34 years old, and is a lackluster defender at the hot corner. Turning to the trade market, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reportedly shortly before the new year that the Red Sox had narrowed their focus to five infield options: Bregman, Bichette, Ketel Marte, Isaac Paredes, and Brendan Donovan. With Bregman now in Chicago and Marte having been officially taken off the market by Arizona, that leaves Paredes and Donovan as the two primary alternatives to Bichette in that report.

Of the two, Paredes seems to be the better fit. Both are controlled for two seasons after this one, but Paredes is a right-handed hitter who seems likely to cost less in trade than Donovan. While Paredes has been pushed out of the Astros’ nominal starting lineup by the addition of Carlos Correa over the summer, Donovan’s market is known to have many suitors including the Giants, Mariners, and Royals. What’s more, Paredes is a right-handed hitter who primarily plays third base, making him a much cleaner replacement for Bregman than Donovan, a lefty hitter who has played all over the field but primarily plays second base. Paredes is also a marginally better hitter over the last four seasons (124 wRC+ vs 119) coming off a stronger platform season (128 wRC+ vs 119). Paredes (hamstring injury) and Donovan (sports hernia surgery) both ended their seasons with injury complications but are expected to be full-go for Spring Training next month.

Of course, it’s possible the club could look at other options now that their preferred targets have begun to dwindle. The Cubs, themselves, now have a surplus of infield talent after bringing in Bregman displaced Matt Shaw at third base. Adding another unproven youngster to a very young Red Sox roster likely wouldn’t be especially appealing, but Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner has garnered trade interest this winter and could be more available now that Bregman has freed up Shaw to take over the keystone following a hypothetical Hoerner trade. An elite defender at second base who has also posted strong grades at shortstop in the past, Hoerner is a well-regarded clubhouse presence who could help fill the leadership void created by the loss of Bregman.

With that said, his 109 wRC+ last year was a career-high, and his lack of power is unlikely to be especially attractive to a team like the Red Sox that finished middle-of-the-pack in homers last year and expressed an interest in bringing in a big-time slugger like Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso earlier this winter in hopes of improving that area of the offense. It’s also an open question as to whether the Cubs would even be especially inclined to deal Hoerner, as an infield of Bregman, Hoerner, Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch would be among the strongest in baseball headed into 2026. What’s more, Hoerner is slated to hit free agency following the 2026 campaign and the Red Sox may prefer to add a player under longer-term control for fear of finding themselves in this same predicament again next year.

Cubs Sign Jeff Brigham To Minors Contract

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The Cubs signed right-hander Jeff Brigham to a minor league contract, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports.  Brigham’s deal includes an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp.

Brigham (who turns 34 in February) is a veteran of six Major League seasons, with 120 2/3 innings pitched over 94 total games with the Marlins, Mets, and Diamondbacks.  Three of Brigham’s six seasons included four or fewer appearances, including his work with Arizona in 2025 — the righty posted an 8.10 ERA over four games and 3 1/3 innings.

The D’Backs signed Brigham to a minors deal last winter, and he hasn’t pitched since being released by the team last August while on the minor league injured list.  Injuries plagued Brigham for a good deal of the 2025 season, as he only pitched in 18 games (21 2/3 IP) in Arizona’s farm system in addition to his brief time in the majors.  This Cubs contract presumably indicates that Brigham is healthy and ready to vie for a bullpen job in Spring Training.

The bullpen has been a heavy focus for the Cubs this winter, with Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Hoby Milner, and Jacob Webb all signed to free agent deals.  Between this group and swingmen/backup starting options like Colin Rea and Javier Assad also in the mix, Brigham or any other non-roster invites face a tough competition to break camp with the team.  Brigham is also out of minor league options, which adds another layer of difficulty in his quest to both make the cut and remain on the 26-man roster.

Brigham has a career 4.85 ERA, with a 10.7% walk rate and an inflated home run rate contributing to his uninspiring ERA.  The right-hander has had trouble keeping the ball on the ground in the big leagues, though his 23.8% strikeout rate is respectable.  Over 191 2/3 career innings at Triple-A, Brigham has a 4.09 ERA, 30.27% strikeout rate, and 10.7% walk rate, with much better grounder rates but still some issues at limiting the long ball.

Cubs Acquire Edward Cabrera

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The Cubs and Marlins have completed one of the more notable trades of the offseason — a swap that’ll send righty Edward Cabrera from Miami to Chicago in exchange for top outfield prospect Owen Caissie and minor league infielders Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon.

Cabrera, 28 in April, is a former top prospect who has shown flashes of excellence in the past but wasn’t healthy enough to deliver on that potential until a breakout 2025 campaign. Though he still logged some IL time this past season, he turned in a career-high 137 2/3 innings with a strong 3.53 ERA and encouraging underlying numbers. Cabrera punched out 25.8% of opponents, logged a career-low 8.3% walk rate — far better than the 13.3% clip he carried into the season — recorded a 46.6% ground-ball rate and sat 97 mph on his four-seamer (and 96.8 mph on his sinker) in 2025.

Early in the 2025 season, Cabrera missed two weeks with blisters on his pitching hand — his second career IL trip due to blister troubles. His second IL trip in 2025 was more alarming, as it was prompted by an elbow sprain late in the year. That’s a far more worrying injury, but Cabrera returned after only three weeks and fired nine generally solid innings across his final two appearances, sitting 97.7 mph on his four-seamer and 97.9 mph on his sinker during that time. Given the trade interest in him this offseason and a deal now complete, it doesn’t appear there’s any current concern about a major elbow injury looming on the horizon.

Beyond his premium velocity and quality rate stats, Cabrera’s contractual situation always figured to hold broad-reaching appeal. He’s entering the second of four arbitration seasons as a Super Two player and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a highly affordable $3.7MM in 2026. He’s under club control all the way through 2028, and based on the fairly low starting point in his arbitration journey, those three seasons aren’t likely to cost much more than $20MM overall.

Cabrera will slot into a deep Cubs rotation mix, joining Rookie of the Year finalist Cade Horton and veterans Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga (who accepted a $22.05MM qualifying offer in November). Acquiring Cabrera likely pushes veteran swingman Colin Rea back into a long relief role to begin the season, though he’d be among the first men up in the event of an injury elsewhere on the staff.

Right-hander Javier Assad is also in the mix, though he missed nearly all of the 2025 season due to a severe oblique strain and posted a career-low 15% strikeout rate in the 37 innings he managed to tally late in the season. Assad still has minor league options remaining, so he could be sent to Triple-A to begin the year or else considered for a multi-inning relief role similar to the one Rea might occupy. Other options down in Triple-A include hard-throwing 26-year-old righty Ben Brown and former top prospect Jordan Wicks (also 26). Top prospect Jaxon Wiggins is not yet on the 40-man roster and has barely pitched in Triple-A, but he could be in line for a big league debut this coming season as well.

Of course, the Cubs will be eagerly awaiting the return of ace Justin Steele, ideally at some point in the season’s first half. The 30-year-old Steele was the team’s top starter from 2022-24, pitching a combined 427 innings of 3.10 ERA ball with plus strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates, but he made just four starts in 2025 before requiring UCL surgery in late April. Every rehab process is different, but it’s reasonable to expect that he could be back in June or July.

By the season’s second half, the Cubs could be looking at a rotation led by Steele, Horton and Cabrera, with veterans Taillon, Boyd, Imanaga and Rea among the options for the final couple spots. Injuries will almost always disrupt any team’s best laid plans, but that’s a quality group of arms that doesn’t even factor in Wiggins, who posted a 2.19 ERA and 31% strikeout rate in 18 starts (and one relief appearance) between Double-A and Triple-A last year.

On the Marlins side of things, Cabrera stood as an obvious trade candidate — but one who’d come at a fairly hefty price, given that salary and remaining club control. He landed on the back end of MLBTR’s Top 40 Offseason Trade Candidate list back in November.

It’s obviously not a financially driven move, but the Fish are deep in rotation options — with multiple top prospects nearing readiness — and have various holes in the lineup to fill. Swapping out Cabrera for a package headlined by Caissie works toward that end.

Even with Cabrera departing, Miami can roll out a rotation including Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Ryan Weathers and Braxton Garrett in the top four spots. Journeyman Janson Junk had a surprisingly nice showing with the Fish in 2025 and is an option either in the fifth spot or long relief. The same can be said for righty Ryan Gusto, whom the Marlins acquired in the deadline trade sending Jesus Sanchez to Houston. Former top prospects Max Meyer, Dax Fulton and Adam Mazur are all on the 40-man roster, too. Current top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling could both debut this coming season. White, in particular, is regarded as one of the top prospects in the entire sport.

Caissie should step right into the Marlins’ outfield next season. The 23-year-old slugger made his big league debut this past season, struggling in a tiny sample of 27 plate appearances, but is a former second-round pick and longtime top prospect who has shredded minor league pitching. That includes a 2025 campaign in which he slashed .286/.386/.551 (139 wRC+) with 22 homers, 28 doubles and a pair of triples in 99 games/433 plate appearances of Triple-A work.

Caissie is a lefty-swinging corner outfielder with big power and big swing-and-miss tendencies. He fanned in nearly 28% of his Triple-A plate appearances last year. He’s regularly been able to offset the damage of those strikeouts by walking at high clips, however. He drew a free pass in 13.2% of his Triple-A plate appearances last year and has an overall 13.6% walk rate in five minor league seasons.

Scouting reports on Caissie praise his plus throwing arm but predict he’ll be limited to corner work (despite some early-career experience in center field). He has the makings of a prototypical three-true-outcomes right fielder. The Marlins could go with 2025 breakout slugger Kyle Stowers in left field and Caissie in right, thus giving them a pair of high-powered bats to plug into the heart of their order for the foreseeable future.

Because Caissie only made a brief MLB debut this past season, he still has six full seasons of club control remaining. He’s still rookie-eligible, so the Marlins could potentially pick up a draft pick for him via MLB’s prospect promotion incentive program, depending on when he’s brought up for his Marlins debut and (of course) on how he fares in awards voting early in his big league tenure. Caissie was only selected to the major league roster last offseason, meaning he’s only exhausted one minor league option year and still has two remaining.

Caissie joins Stowers and breakout center fielder Jakob Marsee in comprising a talented and intriguing outfield core. The Marlins’ lineup, in general, has gotten more interesting over the past couple years, thanks largely to the emergence of Xavier Edwards alongside those young outfielders. Former top catching prospect Agustin Ramirez hit for power in his rookie campaign this past season but struggled to get on base and played extremely poor defense behind the plate. Marlins president Peter Bendix has emphasized that the club hopes to continue developing Ramirez behind the plate, but he could see time at first base and DH in 2026, especially once top catching prospect Joe Mack debuts.

Hernandez, 22, is a speed-and-defense shortstop who spent the 2025 season with the Cubs’ High-A affiliate. Baseball America recently ranked him 16th among Cubs farmhands heading into the 2026 season, noting that he has plus raw power but hits the ball on the ground far too frequently to ever tap into that pop. (This past season’s seven home runs were a career-high.) BA’s report notes that Hernandez has the tools to be an above-average defender but is often inaccurate with his throwing despite good arm strength.

Improving the accuracy on Hernandez’s throws seems like a more attainable goal than overhauling his offensive approach to get more loft without compromising his lower-than-average strikeout rate, but if the Marlins can fix both those traits, it’s possible they’ll have a starting-caliber shortstop on their hands. Those are big “ifs,” of course, particularly considering that Hernandez just hit .252/.329/.365 as a 21-year-old in his second stint with the Cubs’ High-A affiliate. He’s a project, but a capable shortstop coming off a 52-steal season (61 attempts) is a nice secondary piece to add to the system.

De Leon is the furthest from MLB-ready. He’s an 18-year-old who signed as part of Chicago’s 2024 international class. The 6′, 170-pound De Leon played with the Cubs’ Dominican Summer League club in 2024, hitting .277/.431/.433 in 181 plate appearances. He moved up to their Rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate in 2025 and slashed .276/.353/.500 in 153 turns at the plate. BA’s Geoff Pontes listed him as a sleeper prospect to watch heading into the 2026 season, citing his encouraging exit velocities and plus raw power.

With just 334 professional plate appearances under his belt and his 19th birthday still six weeks away, De Leon is a pure development project for Miami. He’s been a productive hitter in each of his two pro seasons, though, even with some moderately worrying swing-and-miss tendencies (28.8% strikeout rate in 2025). He’ll probably head to the Marlins’ Low-A affiliate to begin the 2026 season and doesn’t seem likely to be a potential major league factor until 2028 or 2029 at the earliest.

The Marlins remain a work in progress and will most likely enter 2026 as something of a playoff long shot, but there are a number of upward-pointing arrows on the roster, making it an encouraging time for Miami fans.

Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami first reported that a Cabrera trade between the two teams was near completion. Kevin Barral of Fish On First reported Caissie as the likely headliner. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com and Craig Mish of SportsGrid broke the news of the other two prospects in the deal. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that the medical review process had been completed and that the trade was official.

Cubs Claim Ryan Rolison

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The Cubs have claimed left-hander Ryan Rolison off waivers from the White Sox, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The Sox designated Rolison for assignment when they needed to open a 40-man roster spot for free agent signee Sean Newcomb. The Cubs currently have four vacancies on their 40-man, so a corresponding move isn’t needed.

A first-round pick by the Rockies back in 2018, Rolison didn’t make his major league debut until the 2025 season, as injuries significantly derailed his trajectory to the majors. He wound up tossing 42 1/3 frames for Colorado — 31 relief appearances, one start —  and being tagged for a grim 7.02 earned run average in that time. He pitched well out of the bullpen in Triple-A, however, notching a 3.34 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 48.8% ground-ball rate.

Rolison previously sat in the upper 80s and low 90s with his four-seamer while working as a starter, but his average fastball jumped to 93 mph this season while working in short relief. Home runs were a major issue for him in his debut campaign (2.34 HR/9), but despite that penchant for serving up the long ball, he actually induced a large amount of weak contact. When opponents did manage to barrel Rolison, those balls left the yard too often, but hitters still averaged a measly 87.5 mph off the bat against him.

It’s been some time since the former Ole Miss standout was a prospect of real note, but big league clubs clearly still see something in Rolison now that he’s healthy. He’s bounced from the Rockies, to the Braves, to the White Sox, to the Cubs now since his original DFA in Colorado. Following his DFAs with the Rockies and Braves, he didn’t even make it to waivers. The Braves and Cubs acquired him via small trades. And even in spite of those rough-looking numbers in his debut, he still wasn’t able to be passed through waivers by the South Siders.

Rolison has a minor league option remaining, so the Cubs don’t necessarily need to carry him on the Opening Day roster. He’s been used more in relief than as a starter in recent seasons, which isn’t a huge surprise for a former starter who lost about two years of his still-young career to a torn labrum in his left shoulder, which required surgery. The Cubs are quite deep in rotation options — particularly with a trade for Marlins righty Edward Cabrera reportedly in its final stages — and have deepened their bullpen this winter with signings of Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner and Caleb Thielbar. Rolison joins lefties Luke Little and Riley Martin as southpaw bullpen options who seem likely to begin the year in Triple-A Iowa.

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