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Marlins Designate Josh Simpson For Assignment

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The Marlins announced they’ve designated left-hander Josh Simpson for assignment. That opens a 40-man roster spot for fellow southpaw John King, who has officially signed his one-year deal.

Simpson made his MLB debut last June. He pitched in 31 games but was rocked for a 7.34 ERA across 30 2/3 innings. The 6’2″ southpaw got ground-balls at a 54% clip with a solid 23.8% strikeout rate but struggled with control. Simpson walked almost 15% of batters faced and gave up nearly 1.5 home runs per nine innings. Poor batted ball luck didn’t help matters, but the command has been an issue for most of Simpson’s career. He has walked 11.6% of opponents in the minor leagues.

A Columbia product who signed for $25K as a 32nd-round pick in 2019, Simpson was never a marquee prospect. He pitched well enough through Double-A that Miami added him to the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft in 2022. He was called up the following September but didn’t get into a game during his five days on the active roster. Simpson was optioned back to Triple-A, then missed the majority of ’24 because of a nerve injury in his forearm that required surgery. The Fish dropped him from the 40-man roster at the end of that season.

To Simpson’s credit, he pitched well enough in Triple-A last year to earn his way back up and avoid a “phantom ballplayer” career arc. He worked to a 3.41 ERA across 34 1/3 innings at Triple-A Jacksonville, albeit with lesser strikeout and ground-ball marks than he had in the majors. The Marlins will likely place him back on waivers within the next five days. Simpson would be able to decline an outright assignment and elect free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Marlins Sign Chris Paddack

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Feb. 12: Miami has officially announced the Paddack signing. Right-hander Ronny Henriquez was placed on the 60-day IL to open up room on the 40-man. Henriquez had internal brace surgery in December and is expected to miss the 2026 season.

Feb. 9: The Marlins are reportedly in agreement on a one-year, $4MM guarantee with back-end starter Chris Paddack. The Boras Corporation client can earn an additional $500K in performance bonuses. Miami, which had been looking to add an affordable starter after trading Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster once the signing is official.

Paddack returns to the organization that drafted him in the eighth round in 2015. He hadn’t advanced beyond Low-A before the Marlins traded him to the Padres for closer Fernando Rodney at the following summer’s deadline. It ended up being a win for San Diego, albeit not as convincing as it once seemed to be. Rodney struggled to a 5.89 ERA over 39 appearances with Miami. Paddack’s climb to the big leagues was set back by Tommy John surgery that occurred almost immediately after the trade, but the righty reemerged as a strong prospect and broke camp in 2019.

He had a very good rookie season, pitching to a 3.33 earned run average across 26 starts. Paddack looked like a mid-rotation arm at the time, but his numbers quickly regressed. He struggled between 2020-21, and the Padres traded him to Minnesota in a deal for reliever Taylor Rogers on Opening Day 2022. Paddack blew out a few starts into his debut season with the Twins, requiring his second Tommy John surgery in the process. He was limited to two relief outings at the tail end of the ’23 campaign.

Paddack’s 2024 return season was again hampered by arm issues, most notably a forearm strain that shut him down shortly after the All-Star Break. He avoided the injured list last year for the first time in five seasons but simply didn’t pitch well. Paddack had an ERA pushing 5.00 over 21 starts when the Twins traded him to the Tigers at the deadline. He was hit hard in three of his first five outings in Detroit and moved to the bullpen in early September. Paddack returned to the rotation for two starts to close the regular season and was scratched from the Tigers’ playoff rosters.

The 30-year-old finished the season with a 5.35 earned run average across 33 outings. He logged a career-high 158 innings but allowed 94 earned runs, the most in the American League. Paddack’s formerly above-average strikeout rates dropped to a disappointing 16.7% as his swinging strike percentage fell below 10% for the first time. He has always struggled with the home run ball and hasn’t had the swing-and-miss stuff to make up for that in recent years.

Paddack’s four-seam fastball averaged 93.7 mph last season. That’s down a touch from its peak in 2021 but a near match for the velocity he showed during his career-best rookie year. The bigger issue is that opponents teed off on the changeup — a .263 average and .491 slugging mark — that had been his best pitch. Paddack has never had a good breaking ball or an overpowering heater, so he’ll need the changeup to be much more effective if he’s to recapture mid-rotation form.

The righty has always had excellent control. He has never walked even 6% of opponents in a season. Paddack continues to attack the strike zone but the stuff was far too hittable last season. Pitching his home games at loanDepot Park could help mitigate some of the home run issues. Paddack enters camp with a strong chance to open the year as Clayton McCullough’s fifth starter.

Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcantara are locked into the top two spots. Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett are each entering camp healthy, though both pitchers are coming back from surgeries. Janson Junk, Ryan Gusto and Adam Mazur are depth options on the 40-man roster, while top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling loom in the upper minors. Snelling pitched very well over 11 Triple-A starts last year and could break camp. White only made two starts at the top minor league level and seems destined to begin the season in Triple-A.

Those pitchers all have a higher ceiling, but everyone in the back-end mix has questions about their injury history or lack of MLB experience. That’s also the case for Paddack, but it’s an affordable move to add another starter after the Cabrera and Weathers trades. It’s a similar move to last year’s $3.5MM signing of Cal Quantrill shortly before camps opened.

The signing brings Miami’s payroll estimate to $72MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s a little above last year’s $65MM Opening Day mark, but Miami ranked dead last in spending. They’re again projected for the lowest team payroll in the majors, although they’re probably ahead of the Guardians in actual 2026 salary given the deferrals on Cleveland’s recent José Ramírez extension.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the agreement and $4MM salary plus $500K in bonuses. Craig Mish of SportsGrid confirmed it was a one-year major league deal.

Image courtesy of Matt Krohn, Imagn Images.

Jacob Stallings Joins Pirates’ Baseball Operations Department

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Longtime major league catcher Jacob Stallings has taken on a new role in the Pirates’ baseball operations department, Stallings tells Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Specifics surrounding his job are still being ironed out, but for now the plan will be for Stallings to be in Pittsburgh around once a month to consult with the front office and spend time visiting minor league affiliates throughout the year to work on the development of the organization’s young catchers.

Stallings tells Mackey that he played through notable back pain last season and knew as the year wore on that he was likely to retire following the 2025 campaign. The veteran backstop adds that playing for Skip Schumaker with the 2023 Marlins helped him to realize the type of impact a coach/manager whose playing career has just ended could have on players throughout the organization. Time will tell whether Stallings sticks in baseball operations or takes on more of a player development or even coaching role moving forward, but he’s jumping right back into the game following what appears to be the final season of his playing career.

Stallings, 36, opened the 2025 season on the Rockies’ roster. He’d re-signed on a one-year deal after hitting .263/.357/.453 as Colorado’s primary backstop the season prior. Things didn’t go nearly as well in ’25. Stallings hit just .143/.217/.179 in 93 plate appearances before being cut loose in Denver. He briefly latched on with the Orioles when they were hit with a litany of catcher injuries but appeared in only 14 games before being passed through waivers and electing free agency.

All told, Stallings appeared in parts of 10 major league seasons. The former seventh-round pick suited up for 577 games between the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Orioles, tallying 1922 plate appearances and batting .232/.311/.340 (77 wRC+). While Stallings was rarely a big threat with the bat, he for several years ranked as one of the game’s premier defenders behind the plate. He won a Gold Glove with the Pirates in 2021 and nabbed 21% of runners who attempted to steal against him in his career. That mark was weighed down by some low percentages later in his career, but from 2019-20 Stallings thwarted 36.2% of the runners who took off during his watch.

Stallings accrued more than seven years of major league service time and took home about $12MM in his playing career. He’ll now have a say in helping to guide the next generation of Pirates catchers and could use that opportunity as a launching point into any number of other career paths within the sport.

Readers — Pirates fans in particular — will want to check out Stallings’ interview with Mackey in full for quotes on his experiences mentoring younger catchers as a player, his relationship with Schumaker, some of the strengths he sees in new Pittsburgh skipper Don Kelly, and more.

Marlins Sign John King

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The Marlins announced the signing of left-handed reliever John King to a one-year contract. It’s reportedly a $1.5MM guarantee. King was non-tendered by the Cardinals back in November.

King, 31, spent three and a half seasons with the Rangers from 2020-23 before being traded to St. Louis at the ’23 deadline. He spent the next two and a half seasons in the Cardinals’ bullpen. The 6’2″ ground-ball specialist has a 3.70 ERA over his past 243 big league innings but is coming off a rough season in which he worked to a 4.66 earned run average with a career-low 12.6% strikeout rate in 48 1/3 innings.

While King has never been one to miss many bats, that 12.6% mark was still three percentage points south of his career mark entering the 2025 season. Last year’s 6.3% walk rate was a strong mark but still up from the prior season’s 5.6%. King’s 93 mph average sinker velocity was also its lowest since the 2022 season.

What King lacks in strikeouts, he at least partially makes up for in ground-balls. Opposing batters have an extremely difficult time elevating against the lefty’s arsenal. He sports a massive 61.5% ground-ball rate in his career and has run that number up as high as 66.9% (in 2023). As one might expect for an extreme ground-ball pitcher, King has done a nice job keeping the ball in the yard, with just 0.89 homers per nine frames in his major league career.

King has been more effective against fellow lefties than righties, holding same-handed opponents to a .251/.291/.337 slash in his career. Right-handers have hit him well, slashing .302/.353/.430 in 682 plate appearances.

The Marlins have been on the lookout for a lefty to join manager Clayton McCullough’s bullpen. Miami already had Andrew Nardi, Cade Gibson and Josh Simpson, but each comes with some degree of red flag. Nardi missed the 2025 season due to injury. Gibson logged a 2.63 ERA in 51 2/3 innings as a rookie last year but did so with sub-par strikeout and walk rates; metrics like SIERA (4.08) and FIP (3.76) weren’t nearly as bullish. Simpson posted decent minor league numbers but was rocked for a 7.34 ERA in 30 2/3 big league frames.

King, like each of the other three lefty relievers on Miami’s 40-man roster, has some question marks of his own. He has more of a big league track record than any of his new southpaw teammates, however — enough to give the Marlins some veteran experience but not so much that he’s a pure one-year rental. King enters the 2026 season with 4.148 years of major league service time, meaning he’s still controllable through the 2027 season via arbitration. He’ll need to pitch well enough this year that his team feels he’s worth giving a raise and keeping for an additional year, but if he can bounce back to 2021-24 form, he’ll likely do just that.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the agreement and salary.

Marlins Notes: Meyer, Garrett, First Base

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With Spring Training on the horizon, the Marlins are hosting their annual FanFest today at LoanDepot Park. The club’s rotation was underwhelming last year outside of Eury Pérez and the since-traded Edward Cabrera, but today’s events offered updates on two key figures for 2026 in Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett.

Meyer spoke to reporters about his rehab from left hip surgery (link via Kevin Barral of Fish On First). He underwent the procedure for a labrum tear back in June. In October, general manager Peter Bendix told reporters that Meyer would be ready for Spring Training. That is indeed the case, as Meyer told reporters, “Everything feels good, how it should feel.” He added that he was able to start running halfway through his rehab and more or less followed a normal throwing program this offseason. Per manager Clayton McCullough, the team is committed to using Meyer as a starter rather than a reliever (link via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald).

The 26-year-old right-hander was the Marlins’ first-round draft pick in 2020. Since debuting in 2022, he has thrown 127 2/3 innings over 25 starts with a 5.29 ERA, a 21.5% strikeout rate, and a 7.3% walk rate. While his 49.4% groundball rate is strong, Meyer also allows a lot of hard contact. His average exit velocity of 91.2 MPH and 47.8% hard-hit rate are both worse than average. He’s particularly struggled to keep the ball in the yard, allowing 1.97 home runs per nine innings in his career.

Meyer’s 2025 consisted of a 4.73 ERA in 64 2/3 innings before the aforementioned hip surgery. That workload was actually a career-high for Meyer, who missed the latter half of 2022 and all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery. That said, he is still young, inexpensive, and a former Top-100 prospect. He’ll continue to get his chances in the rotation, though a full starter’s workload would be quite a reach even if he stays healthy.

The 28-year-old Garrett underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow in January 2025 and missed the entire season. He previously made just seven starts in 2024 before missing most of that season with a flexor strain and general elbow soreness. Per Jackson, Garrett is now healthy and will compete for a mid-rotation spot, with Sandy Alcantara and Pérez being locks at the front of the rotation.

Like Meyer, Garrett is a former first-round draft pick – No. 7 overall in 2016. Garrett has the more impressive track record of the two, having established himself as a mid-rotation arm from 2022-23. He threw 247 2/3 innings in that time over 48 appearances (47 starts), posting a 3.63 ERA with a 23.8% strikeout rate and an exceptional 5.1% walk rate. Garrett also induces groundballs 48.2% of the time and excels at getting hitters to chase, ranking in at least the 76th percentile in chase rate in 2022 and 2023.

That quality production came before two injury-ruined seasons, so it is fair to wonder if Garrett can return to his previous form. Like Meyer, he probably won’t be counted on for 150+ innings. That said, just having a healthy season will be a good outcome for the Marlins, who have traded Cabrera and Ryan Weathers and are counting on a separate return to form from Alcantara. Garrett has one option year remaining, so in the worst case scenario, he can be sent to Triple-A if he needs more time after a year off.

Turning now to the position players, McCullough implied that the Marlins will have “a lot of competition for playing time” at first base in 2026 (link via Barral). He specifically mentioned that Christopher Morel is “open to giving it a shot,” with Griffin Conine and Liam Hicks also being options. Morel and Conine are surprising candidates, as neither has played first base in the majors or minors. Hicks is the only one of the three with experience at the cold corner. Eric Wagaman was the team’s primary first baseman in 2025, though he was traded to the Twins last month.

Morel was signed by the Marlins in December after being non-tendered by the Rays. He was an above-average hitter in his first two seasons from 2022-23 but has struggled more recently, grading out 10% below average by wRC+ in 2025. He has bounced around at multiple positions and hasn’t graded out well at any of them. Conine debuted in 2024 and has exclusively played the outfield. McCullough merely described him as “open-minded” about first base, so it’s possible the club will give Conine reps in Spring Training but only consider him an emergency option. The left-handed hitting Hicks batted .247/.346/.346 with a 98 wRC+ last year but was 4% better than average against righties. The club could consider a timeshare with Hicks starting against righties and the right-handed hitting Morel against southpaws.

Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images

Marlins Trade Victor Mesa Jr. To Rays

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Major League Baseball’s two Florida clubs made a small trade Friday, with Miami sending outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. to Tampa Bay in exchange for minor league infielder Angel Brachi. The Marlins had designated Mesa for assignment earlier in the week. Both teams have announced the swap.

Mesa and his older brother, Victor Victor Mesa, are the sons of Cuban baseball legend Victor Mesa, who had a 19-year career in Cuba’s top league and who has previously managed Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic. Both, particularly the older Mesa brother, were high-profile international prospects back in the 2018-19 offseason, but neither panned out after signing together with Miami. Victor Victor never reached the majors, and Mesa Jr. was designated for assignment after just 38 plate appearances in The Show.

All of those plate appearances for the younger Mesa brother came in 2025. He appeared in 16 games and hit .188/.297/.344 with a homer, two doubles and as many walks as strikeouts (five apiece). He had a nice showing in 171 Triple-A plate appearances (.286/.352/.460), but that was the first time Mesa Jr. has hit at even an average level in the minors.

The 24-year-old Mesa Jr. is regarded as a solid defensive outfielder and has shown more pop than some expected him to at the time of his signing. He ripped 18 homers in 123 games during the 2023 season, popped 13 round-trippers in just 83 games in ’24 and added another seven in 42 Triple-A contests last season (plus the one home run in 38 MLB plate appearances).

Mesa Jr. still has a minor league option remaining. He’ll give the Rays another candidate to take some at-bats in a somewhat patchwork outfield. The Rays signed Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley to one-year deals this winter and figure to plug them into center field and right field, respectively, at least against right-handed pitching. Left fielder Chandler Simpson is baseball’s fastest player and most prominent base-stealing threat, but he’s not a good defender, rarely walks and has no power of which to speak. Jonny DeLuca, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Richie Palacios, Ryan Vilade and top prospect Jacob Melton are the other outfield options on the 40-man roster.

Brachi is something of a lottery ticket — a 19-year-old former high-profile international signee who has spent the past two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He did not rank among Tampa Bay’s top 30 prospects on Baseball America’s recent update on their sytem.

The Rays signed Brachi for an $800K bonus out of his native Dominican Republic. He struggled badly there as a 17-year-old in ’24 (.247/.348/.276 with no homers, three doubles and one triple in 206 plate appearances). Brachi had a breakout at the plate repeating that level in 2025, however, erupting for a .337/.453/.408 batting line in a larger sample of 228 turns at the plate.

Brachi has virtually no power at the moment and isn’t projected to grow into much. His immense Summer League OBP is a bit misleading, as he’s only walked in 8.7% of his plate appearances but has somewhat incredibly been plunked 30 times in 434 overall plate appearances. Brachi is a plus runner who’s still a bit inefficient on the basepaths (35 steals in 48 tries) but could develop into a big running threat. He’s played shortstop, second base and third base in pro ball.

Francys Romero first reported that Mesa was headed to Tampa Bay. Kevin Barral of Fish On First reported that it was a trade (not a waiver claim) and that Miami was receiving one prospect in return.

Marlins Claim Garrett Acton, Designate Victor Mesa Jr. For Assignment

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Garrett Acton off waivers from the Rockies, according to announcements from both clubs. Miami designated outfielder Víctor Mesa Jr. for assignment as a corresponding move. Colorado designated Acton for assignment back on January 22nd when they signed Willi Castro. DFA limbo is normally capped at one week. MLBTR has learned that Acton was placed on release waivers and claimed last week. A player claimed off release waivers has the right to reject the assignment while electing free agency and can take five days to make that decision.

Mesa, 24, and his older brother Víctor Víctor Mesa were once notable defectors from Cuba. Their father Víctor Mesa had played in the Cuban National Series for 19 years and coached the Cuban team in the World Baseball Classic. The two sons left the island in 2018 in the hopes of pursuing deals with MLB clubs. Both brothers signed with the Marlins in October of 2018.

At that time, the elder brother was considered the stronger prospect, but things didn’t pan out for him. He never really put up good numbers in the minors. He has been off the radar since June of 2023, when he walked away from the team and hasn’t played anywhere since.

The younger Mesa stuck with the Marlins. The club added him to the 40-man roster in November of 2023 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He got to make his major league debut in 2025, taking 38 plate appearances in 16 games. He put up a .188/.297/.344 line in that small sample.

His numbers in the minors have been a bit better than that but he’s been on the injured list a decent amount. Over the past two years combined, he has taken 579 plate appearances on the farm with 20 home runs, a .266/.330/.437 line and 106 wRC+. He stole nine bases and played all three outfield spots. Prospect evaluators generally see Mesa as a depth outfielder at this point. He still has an option remaining, so perhaps he would be of interest to some other clubs. The Marlins will likely place him on waivers in the coming days.

Acton, 28 in June, also has a very limited major league track record. Between the 2023 Athletics and the 2025 Rays, he has seven big league appearances, having allowed eight earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He missed the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Tampa put him on waivers at the beginning of November 2025, which is when Colorado claimed him.

He’s coming off an encouraging season in the minors. He logged 58 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, allowing 3.68 earned runs per nine. His 11.4% walk rate was high but he struck out 30.1% of batters faced. He averaged around 94 miles per hour with his four-seamer while also featuring a mid-80s slider and changeup.

Acton still has a couple of options, so it seems the Marlins would rather have him as optionable bullpen depth than have Mesa as optionable outfield depth. If Acton sticks on the roster, he can be shuttled between Jacksonville and Miami fairly freely.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Avisail Garcia Announces Retirement

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Avisail Garcia announced his retirement on Monday afternoon. That concludes a career which spanned parts of 13 MLB seasons and included an All-Star appearance in 2017.

“Today I formally announce the end of my career in Major League Baseball after 12 seasons of dedication and hard work. Thank you to God for the blessing of fulfilling my childhood dream—of playing baseball at its highest level,” the 34-year-old outfielder wrote on social media. He goes on to thank his family, representation at Mato Sports Management, and former teammates and coaches.

Garcia began his career with the Tigers. An under-the-radar signee out of Venezuela as a 16-year-old, he developed into one of the better offensive prospects in the game by the time he reached the big leagues in 2012. Comparisons to teammate and Hall of Fame countryman Miguel Cabrera were always ill-advised, but the 6’4″ Garcia had the physique and power potential to fit in the middle of a lineup.

Although Garcia made a brief MLB debut and factored into a 2012 pennant run in Detroit, he didn’t get a regular look until he was traded to White Sox the following year. He was the headliner for Chicago in the three-team trade that sent Jake Peavy to the Red Sox. Detroit picked up Jose Iglesias from Boston on their end. Garcia took over as Chicago’s everyday right fielder, a job he would hold for most of the next five seasons.

Avisail Garcia | Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

Garcia lost most of the ’14 season to a labrum injury. He kicked off a run of five consecutive double digit homer seasons the following year. The aforementioned All-Star campaign was the best of his career, as Garcia batted .330/.380/.506 with 18 longballs across 561 plate appearances. Only Jose Altuve’s MVP season stood in his way of winning the AL batting title.

That was the lone above-average season of Garcia’s tenure with the Sox. He otherwise hit between .236 and .257 with an on-base percentage between .281 and .309 over his full seasons there. Garcia’s free-swinging approach would be an issue throughout his career, though it didn’t stop him from turning in two solid years after the White Sox non-tendered him at the end of the 2018 season.

One of those came with the Rays, who signed Garcia to a $3.5MM contract after the Sox cut him. He managed a 20-homer campaign while batting .282/.332/.464 in the regular season. The Rays secured a Wild Card berth, and Garcia hit .300 with a homer in five playoff games in his first October action since his rookie year. He returned to free agency in a much better position that offseason, leading to a two-year deal with Milwaukee that guaranteed $20MM.

Garcia’s first year with the Brewers was a disappointment, as he hit .238 with only two homers during the shortened season. He made up for it by popping a career-best 29 longballs a year later, slashing .262/.330/.490 and driving in 86 runs. He helped Milwaukee to a 95-win campaign and an NL Central title. Garcia hit the market at age 31. The Marlins bought into his power production and strong batted ball metrics and signed him to a four-year, $53MM deal.

That was a strong deal for the player but a big misfire for the team. Garcia’s production immediately tanked and he’d only play out a little more than half the contract. He hit .217/.260/.322 with 13 homers in 549 plate appearances in a Miami uniform. The Marlins released him in June 2024. Garcia underwent postseason surgery to address a fracture and a disc injury in his lower back. That sidelined him for the entire ’25 campaign and ultimately ended his career. He would have been limited to minor league offers even if he came back fully healthy, so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that he decided to move on to his post-playing days.

Garcia played in a little over 1100 big league games divided among five clubs. He topped 1000 hits and 500 RBI while connecting on 140 home runs. He was a lifetime .263/.316/.417 hitter. While it came with plenty of peaks and valleys, that amounts to league average offense overall. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference credited him around 8-9 wins above replacement, with both outlets valuing his 2017 season above 4 WAR. According to Baseball Reference, he earned more than $84MM and logged more than 11 years of major league service time. MLBTR congratulates Garcia on his career and wishes him the best in retirement.

Image courtesy of Imagn Images.

MLB To Take Over Broadcasts For Six Additional Teams

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4:37pm: Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal reports that the Tigers, Angels and Braves are all moving on from Main Street Sports as well. Friend writes that it’s likely that the Detroit and Los Angeles clubs will also turn their broadcasts over to MLB, although they haven’t closed the door on working out some kind of independent streaming deal on a different platform than MLB.tv.

Friend’s reporting is most interesting regarding the Braves. He writes that the team could launch its own network rather than turning distribution to the league. The Rangers went that route when their deal with Diamond collapsed last offseason. The Texas franchise created its own network that negotiated directly with distributors to set up cable, satellite and streaming deals on different platforms.

The Braves haven’t made anything official, though they’ve more or less confirmed they won’t be returning to Main Street. “The Atlanta Braves are aware of the reports regarding Main Street Sports Group,” the team said in a statement. “While disappointed with this development, we have been actively preparing for this outcome and are well on our way towards launching a new era in Braves broadcasting. … We look forward to sharing our path forward in the coming weeks.”

1:10pm: Major League Baseball will take over the broadcasts of six new teams in 2026, reports John Ourand of Puck. The six clubs are the Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Royals, Cardinals and Reds. That represents six of the nine clubs who terminated deals with Main Street Sports last month. That leaves the Braves, Tigers and Angels as the three clubs from that group of nine who still need to formalize broadcast plans for this year.

The company has seemingly been hanging by a thread for a long time. Cord cutting and streaming have been eroding the regional sports network (RSN) model for years. Previously known as Diamond Sports Group and operating under the Bally Sports logo, the company was in bankruptcy for most of 2023 and 2024. When they emerged from bankruptcy late in 2024, they changed the company name and switched to the FanDuel Sports branding. More trouble emerged recently as they reportedly missed payments to several teams, which is what prompted the nine teams to walk away last month.

In recent years, MLB has handled the broadcasts of several other clubs who saw RSN deals collapse. The Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Twins and Guardians were with the league in 2025. In those instances, the league largely kept TV broadcasts the same, retaining most of the personnel. For fans, this arrangement worked better as it did not involve local blackouts. Customers without cable packages could buy streaming packages directly from the league.

For teams, this expanded viewership but the financial situation wasn’t as good. Instead of a guaranteed fee from the RSN, they instead got a fungible amount of money based on streaming numbers. Clear numbers haven’t been made available but the industry consensus is that teams bring in less money via this model than they did via the previous RSN system. Travis Sawchik of MLB.com says the new model only brings in about 50% of the previous RSN set-up.

This often has on-field implications. Some of those teams, particularly the Padres and Twins, saw their player payrolls decrease in recent years. The lower spending capacity seemingly had an impact on Juan Soto being traded from the Padres to the Yankees a couple of years ago and Carlos Correa getting traded from the Twins to the Astros last summer, among other moves.

It was reported in September that ESPN would be acquiring the local rights for those five teams for the next three years. It’s unclear how that will impact local customers who have been paying the league directly to stream games. Also in September, it was reported that the Mariners would also be moving to the league. Last month, the Nationals announced that they would be moving to the MLB model.

Assuming the league will still be selling streaming packages for the five teams it was handling last year, then the league will have at least 13 teams in its portfolio in the coming season. With three clubs still outstanding, it’s possible MLB could get to more than half the league.

Commissioner Rob Manfred has previously spoken of his desire to market a streaming package like MLB.TV but without local blackouts. Controlling the rights for roughly half the league will make that more viable. Expanding the portfolio even further will be challenging. Most of the larger-market clubs still have pretty healthy RSN situations and would have less interest in jumping into a pooled system with these clubs.

That is part of a broader league strategy that will come into play in the next few years. A large number of the league’s broadcast deals expire after 2028. Manfred’s hope is to maintain as much flexibility as possible until then, at which point he could try to sell companies packages of combined rights. As an example of how this might play out, ESPN’s deal recently fell apart but then MLB pivoted to split it up and sell it to various companies. ESPN bought back some bits and acquired some new ones, while Netflix and NBC/Peacock acquired other components.

It will take a few years to see how that all plays out. In the shorter term, it could impact the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The current CBA expires December 1st of this year. Presumably, MLB doesn’t want those talks to lead to canceled games in 2027. Ratings and attendance have been up lately, with the faster pace of the pitch clock a possible explanation. Missed games due to a lockout would hurt that momentum, which wouldn’t help the league in selling rights the following year.

For fans of the teams involved in today’s news, new information about broadcast options should be forthcoming. The Cardinals already announced their streaming prices, which are $19.99 monthly or $99.99 for the full season. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald outlined the situation for Marlins fans today, with some more details still to be determined.

This could also impact player payroll for some clubs. Though the streaming model is a less certain source of revenue, these teams now at least have some clarity on what kind of money should be coming in this year. As of less than two weeks ago, the Reds were reportedly interested in players like Eugenio Suárez but reluctant to make more moves until they figured out the broadcast puzzle. They reportedly reached an agreement with Suárez yesterday.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Most clubs have a slightly earlier report date this year due to the World Baseball Classic. Last year, the Cubs and Dodgers had earlier report dates because they were had an earlier Opening Day than everyone else as part of the Tokyo Series. Gavin Stone was the first player to land on the 60-day IL in 2025, landing there on February 11th. According to MLB.com, every club has a report date from February 10th to 13th this year.

It’s worth pointing out that the 60 days don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until late May or beyond. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.

There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Justin Verlander, Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito, and more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment. If a team wants to pass a player through waivers, perhaps they will try to do so in the near future before the extra roster flexibility opens up.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time or who have uncertain recovery timelines from 2025 injuries.

Angels: Anthony Rendon, Ben Joyce

Rendon’s situation is unique. He underwent hip surgery a year ago and missed the entire 2025 season. He is still on the roster and signed through 2026. He and the club have agreed to a salary-deferment plan and he is not expected to be in spring training with the club. His recovery timeline is unclear, but general manager Perry Minasian said earlier this month that Rendon would be “rehabbing at home,” per Alden González of ESPN. If they were going to release him, they likely would have done so by now, so he seems destined for the injured list.

Joyce underwent shoulder surgery in May and missed the remainder of the 2025 season. His current status is unclear. In August, he told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he didn’t know if he would be ready for spring training. He would only land on the 60-day IL if the Halos don’t expect him back before the end of May.

Astros: Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco, Brandon Walter

All three of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025. Wesneski was first, with his surgery taking place on May 23rd. Blanco followed shortly thereafter in early June. They will likely be targeting returns in the second half. Walter’s procedure was in September, meaning he will likely miss the entire season. All three should be on the 60-day IL as soon as Houston needs roster spots for other transactions.

Athletics: Zack Gelof

Gelof underwent surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder in September, with the expectation of him potentially being healthy for spring training. At the end of December, general manager David Forst told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com that Gelof would be “a little bit behind” in spring. He would only land on the 60-day IL if the A’s think he’ll be out through late May.

Blue Jays: Jake Bloss

Bloss underwent surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow in May. He was on optional assignment at the time and stayed in the minors for the rest of the season. Going into 2026, the Jays could keep him in the minors but they could also call him up and place him on the major league IL. Doing so would open up a roster spot but would also mean giving Bloss big league pay and service time.

Braves: Ha-Seong Kim, AJ Smith-Shawver, Danny Young, Joe Jiménez

Kim recently fell on some ice and injured his hand. He underwent surgery last week, and the expected recovery time is four to five months. The shorter end of that window only goes to mid-May, so perhaps Atlanta will hold off on making a decision until they watch his recovery, especially since they have other guys with clearer injury timelines.

Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery in June, so he shouldn’t be back until the second half and is therefore a lock for the 60-day IL once Atlanta needs a spot. Young underwent the same procedure in May, so he should also be bound for the IL.

Jimenez is more of a question mark. He missed the 2025 season due to left knee surgery. He required a “cleanup” procedure on that knee towards the end of the season. His timeline isn’t currently clear.

Brewers: None.

Cardinals: None.

Cubs: Justin Steele

Steele will probably be a bit of a borderline case. He underwent UCL surgery in April but it wasn’t a full Tommy John surgery. The Cubs described it as a “revision repair”. Steele had undergone Tommy John in 2017 as a minor leaguer.

Since Steele’s more recent procedure was a bit less serious than a full Tommy John, the club gave an estimated return timeline of about one year, putting him in line to potentially return fairly early in 2026. Given his importance to the Cubs, they would only put him on the 60-day IL if his timeline changes and he’s certain to be out through late May.

Diamondbacks: Corbin Burnes, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., A.J. Puk, Justin Martínez, Blake Walston, Tyler Locklear

The Snakes were hit hard by the injury bug in 2025. Burnes, Walston and Martínez all underwent Tommy John surgery. Burnes and Martínez had their procedures in June, so they should be targeting second-half returns and be easy calls for the 60-day IL. Walston would be a bit more borderline because his surgery was around Opening Day in late March last year. Puk had the slightly less significant internal brace procedure in June, so he could also be a borderline case.

Turning to the position players, Gurriel tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in September. He required surgery which came with a return timeline of nine to ten months, so he should be out until around the All-Star break.

Locklear should be back sooner. He underwent surgery in October to address a ligament tear in his elbow and a labrum injury in his shoulder. The hope at the time of that procedure was that he would be game ready to go on a rehab assignment around Opening Day and would therefore miss only about the first month. He would therefore only hit the 60-day IL if he doesn’t meet that timeline for some reason.

Dodgers: Brock Stewart

Stewart underwent shoulder debridement surgery in September. His timeline for 2026 isn’t especially clear. He will likely start the season on the IL but it’s unclear if he’ll be out long enough to warrant landing on the 60-day version.

Giants: Randy Rodríguez, Jason Foley

Rodríguez underwent Tommy John surgery in September, so he’s a lock for the 60-day IL and might even miss the entire 2026 campaign. Foley’s status is a bit more murky. He underwent shoulder surgery in May while with the Tigers. Detroit non-tendered him at season’s end, which allowed the Giants to sign him. He is expected back at some point mid-season. The Giants may want to get more clarity on his progress during camp before deciding on a move to the IL.

Guardians: Andrew Walters, David Fry

Neither of these guys is a lock for the 60-day IL. Walters had surgery to repair his right lat tendon in June with a recovery estimate of eight to ten months. Fry underwent surgery in October due to a deviated septum and a fractured nose suffered when a Tarik Skubal pitch hit him in the face. His timeline is unclear. It’s possible one or both could be healthy by Opening Day, so relevant updates may be forthcoming when camps open.

Mariners: Logan Evans

Evans required UCL surgery just last week and will miss the entire 2026 season. He was on optional assignment at the end of 2025, so the Mariners could keep him in the minors. Calling him up and putting him on the big league 60-day IL would open up a 40-man spot but would also involve Evans receiving big league pay and service time for the year.

Marlins: Ronny Henriquez

Henriquez underwent internal brace surgery in December and will miss the entire 2026 season, so he’s a lock for the 60-day IL.

Mets: Tylor Megill, Reed Garrett, Dedniel Núñez

All three of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2025 and are likely to miss the entire 2026 season, making them locks for the 60-day IL. Núñez went under the knife in July, followed by Megill in September and Garrett in October.

Nationals: Trevor Williams, DJ Herz

Williams underwent internal brace surgery in July. That’s a slightly less serious variation of Tommy John but still usually requires about a year of recovery. Herz underwent a full Tommy John procedure in April. Since that surgery usually requires 14 months or longer to come back, both pitchers are likely out until around the All-Star break and therefore bound for the 60-day IL once the Nats need some roster spots.

Orioles: Félix Bautista

Bautista underwent shoulder surgery in August, and the club announced his recovery timeline as 12 months. He’s a lock for the 60-day IL and may miss the entire season if his recovery doesn’t go smoothly.

Padres: Yu Darvish, Jhony Brito, Jason Adam

Darvish underwent UCL surgery in November and will miss the entire 2026 season. Instead of going on the IL, he may just retire, but it seems there are some contractual complications to be ironed out since he is signed through 2028.

Brito and Adam could be borderline cases. Brito underwent internal brace surgery in May of last year. Some pitchers can return from that procedure in about a year. Adam ruptured a tendon in his left quad in early September. In November, he seemed to acknowledge that he wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day. As of now, a trip to the 60-day IL seems unlikely unless he suffers a setback.

Pirates: Jared Jones

Jones required UCL surgery on May 21st of last year. The Bucs announced an expected return timeline of 10 to 12 months. The shorter end of that window would allow Jones to return fairly early in 2026. If it looks like he’ll be on the longer end of that time frame, he could wind up on the 60-day IL.

Phillies: Zack Wheeler

Wheeler underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome in September, with a timeline of six to eight months. As of now, it seems unlikely Wheeler would require a trip to the 60-day IL, but it depends on how his ramp-up goes. He’s also approaching his 36th birthday, and the Phils could slow-play his recovery.

Rangers: Cody Bradford

Bradford required internal brace surgery in late June of last year. He recently said he’s targeting a return in May. That’s a pretty aggressive timeline, but perhaps the Rangers will delay moving him to the 60-day IL until that plan is strictly ruled out.

Rays: Manuel Rodríguez

Rodriguez underwent flexor tendon surgery in July of last year and is targeting a return in June of this year, so he should be a lock for the 60-day IL.

Reds: Brandon Williamson, Julian Aguiar

Both of these pitchers required Tommy John surgeries late in 2024, Williamson in September and Aguiar in October. They each missed the entire 2025 season. Presumably, they are recovered by now and could be healthy going into 2026, but there haven’t been any recent public updates.

Red Sox: Tanner Houck, Triston Casas

Houck is the most clear-cut case for Boston. He had Tommy John surgery in August of 2025 and will miss most or perhaps all of the 2026 season. Casas is more borderline. He’s still recovering from a ruptured left patellar tendon suffered in May of last year. It doesn’t seem like he will be ready by Opening Day, but his timeline apart from that is murky.

Rockies: Jeff Criswell, Kris Bryant

Criswell required Tommy John surgery in early March of last year. With the normal 14-month recovery timeline, he could be back in May. Anything slightly longer than that would make him a candidate for the 60-day IL. Bryant’s timeline is very difficult to discern. He has hardly played in recent years due to various injuries and is now dealing with chronic symptoms related to lumbar degenerative disc disease. Updates will likely be provided once camp opens.

Royals: Alec Marsh

Marsh missed 2025 due to shoulder problems and is slated to miss 2026 as well after undergoing labrum surgery in November.

Tigers: Jackson Jobe

Jobe required Tommy John surgery in June of last year. He will miss most or perhaps even all of the 2026 season.

Twins: None.

White Sox: Ky Bush, Drew Thorpe, Prelander Berroa

These three hurlers all required Tommy John surgery about a year ago, Bush in February, followed by Berroa and Thorpe in March. Given the normal 14-month recovery period, any of them could return early in 2026, but they could also end up on the 60-day IL if the timeline pushes slightly beyond that.

Yankees: Clarke Schmidt, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Anthony Volpe

Schmidt is the only lock of this group. He required UCL surgery in July of last year and should miss the first half of the 2026 season. Cole is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in March of last year. His target is expected to be late May/early June, so he has a decent chance to hit the 60-day. However, given his importance to the club, the Yankees probably won’t put him there until it’s certain he won’t be back by the middle of May.

Rodón had surgery in October to remove loose bodies in his elbow. He’s expected to be back with the big league club in late April or early May, so he would only hit the 60-day IL if his timeline is pushed. Volpe required shoulder surgery in October. He’s not expected to be ready by Opening Day, but his timeline beyond that doesn’t seem concrete.

Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images

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