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Marlins Acquire Prospect Carlos Martinez From Giants

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The Marlins have acquired minor league catcher Carlos Martinez from the Giants, according to announcements from both clubs. The Giants receive international bonus pool space in return. The amount of pool space changing hands wasn’t specified. No corresponding move is necessary since Martinez wasn’t on the 40-man roster.

Under the international bonus pool system, each team has a finite amount they can spend on international amateurs each year. Broadly speaking, the bigger-market teams get smaller pools and vice versa, in the name of competitive balance. Teams are allowed to trade pool space in increments of $250K but no team can increase its initial pool size by more than 60%.

Per Ben Badler of Baseball America, Miami started with a relatively larger pool of about $7.3571MM. The Giants began with the smallest pool of $5.44MM, tied with three other clubs. That was because they paid the competitive balance tax in 2024 and then signed Willy Adames, who had rejected a qualifying offer from the Brewers, ahead of the 2025 season.

The Giants gave out the biggest bonus for any individual player in this class when they signed Venezuelan shortstop Luis Hernandez for $5MM, using up the vast majority of their pool. This deal gives them a bit more wiggle room for other signings, though it’s unclear exactly how much. Conversely, the Marlins don’t appear to have given any one player more than $1MM, at least with the deals Badler has tracked at BA.

The amount traded isn’t likely to be huge, as Martinez isn’t a top prospect. The 18-year-old was just signed by the Giants as part of last year’s international class and was given a modest bonus of $47.5K. He slashed .143/.259/.242 in 27 games in the Dominican Summer League last year.

It’s the second year in a row that these two clubs have lined up on a swap of this nature. Last year’s deal featured a player much closer to the majors, as the Giants sent right-hander William Kempner to Miami for pool space. Kempner was going into his age-24 season and pitched well enough in the minors last year to get a spot on Miami’s 40-man roster in November.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Marlins Designate Osvaldo Bido For Assignment

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The Marlins announced today that they’ve designated right-hander Osvaldo Bido for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Bradley Blalock, whose previously reported acquisition from the Rockies is now official.

Miami only claimed Bido off waivers from the Rays four days ago. They’re already the 30-year-old righty’s fourth organization of the offseason. Bido spent the 2024-25 seasons with the A’s and finished the season on their roster. He’s since bounced to the Braves, Rays and Marlins. Today’s DFA could mean he lands with a fifth different club in what would be a span of under two months.

Bido spent seven seasons in the Pirates system before making his MLB debut as a 27-year-old in 2023. He’s spent the past two seasons with the A’s. Listed at a wiry 6’3″ and 175 pounds, he’s pitched 193 2/3 innings in the majors and pitched to a 5.07 earned run average. It’s been a roller-coaster run, with poor numbers in ’23, strong output in ’24 and more struggles in ’25. Overall, metrics like SIERA (4.60) and FIP (4.67) view him a bit more favorably, but Bido has typically pitched like a swingman or sixth starter.

Bido averages 94.7 mph on  his four-seamer and sinker alike. He’s only a bit worse than average in terms of strikeout rate (20.9%) and walk rate (9.6%), but home runs were a major issue in 2025. Bido is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, and a 2024 season spent pitching home games in the cavernous Oakland Coliseum during the Athletics’ final season there treated him well; conversely, a move to West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, which played like an absolute launching pad, did Bido no favors. He served up 13 big flies in only 44 1/3 home innings this past season, compared to just six on the road (35 1/3 innings).

The Marlins will presumably hope to pass Bido through outright waivers and retain him as non-roster depth. In that scenario, he’d be invited to big league camp to compete for a job on the Opening Day staff and head to Triple-A if he fails to make the club. But Bido has now failed to make it through waivers three different times this winter, never once making it past the tenth team in terms of waiver priority. Even if none of the clubs that has already claimed him earlier in the winter has interest in doing so again, it’s still possible that another club (or multiple clubs) in the remaining two-thirds of the league will place a claim this time around.

Marlins Acquire Bradley Blalock

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1:30pm: The Rockies and Marlins officially announced the deal. The Rockies receive minor league right-hander Jake Brooks in return. Brooks was an 11th-round pick of the Marlins in 2023. He posted a 4.33 ERA across 116 1/3 innings last year, split between High-A and Double-A. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December of 2026 if he doesn’t have a 40-man spot by then. The Fish designated Osvaldo Bido for assignment to open a roster spot, which you can read more about here.

10:49am: The Marlins are acquiring right-hander Bradley Blalock from the Rockies in exchange for a minor league pitcher, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Blalock was designated for assignment by Colorado last week in order to make room for Michael Lorenzen on the 40-man roster. The Marlins will need to make a corresponding move to clear 40-man roster space for Blalock once the deal becomes official.

Blalock, 25, was a 32nd round pick by the Red Sox back in 2019. He was traded to the Brewers prior to his big league debut in the deal that brought Luis Urias to Boston. He made his first trip to the majors in 2024, but pitched just one scoreless frame for Milwaukee before being shipped to Colorado in a trade that netted the Brewers righty Nick Mears. Since arriving in Colorado just before the 2024 trade deadline, Blalock has made 20 appearances (including 18 starts) for the Rockies. Those haven’t gone especially well, as he’s posted an 8.25 ERA across 88 1/3 innings of work with the club so far.

Some of that can surely be attributed to the perils of pitching at Coors Field, but even Blalock’s underlying metrics have been deeply troubling. In 58 2/3 frames this season, Blalock posted a minuscule 9.8% strikeout rate against an 8.4% walk rate that nearly matched the punch outs. That was the lowest K-BB% among pitchers with at least 50 innings last year. While a .332 BABIP and a 57.3% strand rate both suggest there could be room for positive regression relative to this year’s brutal 9.34 ERA, a 5.67 xFIP and 6.05 SIERA leave little room for enthusiasm about Blalock’s season in 2026.

Of course, that doesn’t mean decent production from the righty is impossible. Blalock still has youth on his side, having just celebrated his 25th birthday last month, and perhaps a Marlins team that has found a lot of success developing pitchers in recent years can help get the righty on track. Even if Blalock’s skills don’t take a step forward in his new organization, the righty could still benefit enough from getting away from Coors Field (where he has a career 10.85 ERA) that he proves to be an adequate depth option for Miami. The Marlins were in need of depth behind their starting rotation after trades of Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers hollowed out the team’s deep cachet of arms a bit.

The starting rotation in Miami remains strong on paper, even after those deals. Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez figure to a lead a rotation that also includes Braxton Garrett, Max Meyer, and Janson Junk with top propsects Thomas White and Robby Snelling on the way. Blalock will join Ryan Gusto, Osvaldo Bido, and others in the group of depth arms behind the team’s primary starting options. While that puts him fairly far down the depth chart, the number of significant injuries Marlins pitchers (including Alcantara, Perez, and Garrett) have suffered in recent years makes Blalock pitching meaningful innings for the Marlins this year a legitimate possibility. That could change, however, if the team adds a more established veteran pitcher to help eat innings. That’s a move that’s been rumored and speculated upon frequently in the aftermath of their moves to deal away Cabrera and Weathers, but it’s unclear how the addition of depth arms like Blalock and Bido in recent weeks would impact those efforts.

Marlins Claim Osvaldo Bido

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Osvaldo Bido off waivers from the Rays, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. Tampa Bay designated Bido for assignment last week. Miami has an open spot on the 40-man roster after trading lefty Ryan Weathers to the Yankees, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary.

Bido turned 30 this past October. He spent seven seasons in the minors with the Pirates prior to making his debut as a 27-year-old rookie in 2023, and he’s spent the past two seasons pitching with the A’s, who signed him to a big league deal in the 2023-24 winter after Pittsburgh cut him loose. The wiry 6’3″, 175-pound righty has had an up-and-down run in the majors across the past three seasons, posting ugly numbers in 2023 and 2025 but logging 63 1/3 innings of 3.41 ERA ball with solid rate stats in 2024.

Overall, Bido has pitched 193 2/3 innings as a big leaguer. In that time, he carries a collective 5.07 earned run average. Metrics like SIERA (4.60) and FIP (4.67) are a bit kinder, but he’s pitched like a serviceable swingman/sixth starter for much of his time in the league. Bido averages 94.7 mph with both his four-seamer and sinker. His strikeout rate (20.9%) and walk rate (9.6%) are both worse than league average, but not by much. He’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher but hadn’t been especially prone to home runs until the 2025 season — though that was surely due to the Athletics’ temporary home at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento playing like an absolute launching pad; Bido surrendered 13 home runs in 44 1/3 home innings but just six in 35 1/3 frames on the road.

Bido is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to either break camp with the Fish — presumably in a long relief role — or else clear waivers before he can be sent to Triple-A. Miami has been on the lookout for some rotation depth after trading not only Weathers but also righty Edward Cabrera. Bido provides some for the time being, but an out-of-options journeyman coming off a 5.87 ERA is far from a lock to stick on the roster.

At the moment, Miami’s rotation will include Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez and (health-permitting) Braxton Garrett. There’s no shortage of other arms to compete for starting jobs. Former top prospect Max Meyer will be healthy after a long injury layoff. Janson Junk, like Bido, came to the Marlins as a journeyman long reliever last year but pitched well enough to carve out a spot on the big league roster in ’26 — whether as a starter or swingman. Righty Ryan Gusto, acquired last July for Jesus Sanchez, offers a similar skill set. Former top prospects Dax Fulton and Adam Mazur have missed time with injury but should be healthy and in the mix for innings. Most notably, top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling — two of MLB’s most highly regarded left-handers — are both on the cusp of the majors.

There’s plenty of talent in the mix for Miami’s rotation but also a lot of injury risk and uncertainty. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them bring in a veteran starter, even if only on a non-roster invitation to spring training, in order to add some stability to the current group.

MLBTR Podcast: The Cubs Land Cabrera And Bregman, Remaining Free Agents, And Skubal’s Arbitration Filing

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Marlins Trade Ryan Weathers To Yankees

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The Marlins moved another starter, trading Ryan Weathers to the Yankees for four prospects: outfielders Dillon Lewis and Brendan Jones and infielders Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus. New York already had two openings on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves were necessary. Both teams have announced the deal.

It’s the second significant rotation move in as many weeks for Miami. The Fish swapped Edward Cabrera to the Cubs for a package led by rookie outfielder Owen Caissie on Wednesday. It’s surprising to see them pull the trigger on another deal to subtract a controllable starter. Cabrera and Weathers have each had trouble staying healthy, and Miami evidently preferred to stockpile position players over the pair of talented but risky starters.

Weathers, a 26-year-old lefty, is the son of longtime big leaguer David Weathers (who coincidentally was traded from the Florida Marlins to the Yankees at the 1996 deadline). This is the second time that Ryan Weathers finds himself on the move. The Padres selected him with the #7 overall pick in the 2018 draft. He made it to the majors within three years, no small feat for a pitcher who signed out of high school, but struggled in scattered looks with San Diego. The Friars dealt him to Miami at the ’23 deadline for first baseman Garrett Cooper.

The Weathers acquisition came a few months before Miami installed Peter Bendix atop baseball operations. Weathers has shown mid-rotation potential over the past couple seasons but hasn’t been able to put together a full showing. A strained index finger on his throwing hand cost him three months in 2024. He missed the first six weeks last year after suffering a forearm strain during Spring Training. Weathers returned and pitched well over five starts before going down again — this time with a lat strain that knocked him out into September.

Weathers has been limited to 24 starts and 125 innings over the past two years. He turned in a 3.74 earned run average with a solid 22% strikeout rate and lower than average 6.8% walk percentage. Weathers has pushed his average fastball into the 96-97 MPH range and can miss bats with his changeup and sweeper. At full health, he has looked like a potential third or fourth starter. He hasn’t been healthy for more than a couple months at a time since 2023.

Miami and Weathers settled on a $1.35MM salary last week. This offseason was his first of arbitration eligibility. He’ll go through the process at least twice more and won’t hit free agency until the 2028-29 offseason at the earliest. The Yankees are currently in the third tier of luxury tax penalization and taxed at a 95% rate on spending up to $304MM. Weathers’ modest salary means New York only takes on roughly $1.3MM in taxes to add him.

There’s also some roster flexibility, as the southpaw has one minor league option remaining. Weathers should break camp in Aaron Boone’s rotation assuming he gets through Spring Training healthy. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón will open the season on the injured list, while Clarke Schmidt could miss the entire year after last July’s Tommy John procedure. Weathers slots alongside Will Warren and Luis Gil as their projected third through fifth starters behind Max Fried and Cam Schlittler. Any of Weathers, Warren or Gil could be optioned to Triple-A if everyone’s healthy once Rodón and/or Cole return.

The trade should increase Miami’s urgency to add an affordable starter via free agency. Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcantara are the only two locks for Clayton McCullough’s season-opening rotation. Braxton Garrett (internal brace) and Max Meyer (hip surgery) missed most or all of the 2025 season. They’re expected to be ready for Opening Day but should be on innings limits. Journeyman Janson Junk was a decent fifth starter, while Ryan Gusto and Adam Mazur have limited MLB experience.

There’s more upside coming through the pipeline. Highly-regarded prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling have reached Triple-A. Snelling dominated over 11 starts there and has a strong chance to win a rotation spot out of Spring Training. Former second-rounder Dax Fulton is on the 40-man roster and has also reached Triple-A, though he’s coming off a less impressive season in the high minors.

It remains a high-ceiling group, especially once White and Snelling take the mound at loanDepot Park. They’re short a veteran at the back end whom they can rely upon for some innings. It’s likely they’ll dip into free agency for a starter on a one-year deal, as they did last winter with the Cal Quantrill signing. They should aim a little higher this time around since it’s not out of the question they compete for a playoff spot in 2026. Maybe a multi-year deal candidate like Zack Littell or Nick Martinez winds up dropping into their price range as Spring Training approaches. Jose Quintana, Martín Pérez and former Miami draftee Chris Paddack are all locks for one-year deals and would be more comparable to the Quantrill pickup.

Lewis is the biggest get of the four prospects. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported last week that Miami evaluators were particularly bullish on the 22-year-old outfielder. His name came up in conversations between the teams when New York was pursuing Cabrera. While they didn’t find an agreeable package in those conversations, the Marlins found another way to add Lewis to the system.

A right-handed hitter, Lewis was a 13th-round pick in 2024 out of Queens University of Charlotte. While he didn’t enter pro ball with a ton of fanfare, he impressed pro scouts during his first full season. Baseball America recently ranked him eighth among Yankees prospects, while he slotted 16th in the system at MLB Pipeline.

Evaluators praise his center field defense and big exit velocities that hint at the raw power upside in his 6’3″ frame. He’s coming off a .237/.321/.445 slash with 22 home runs and 26 stolen bases in a pitcher-friendly setting in the low minors. Lewis struck out at a higher than average 23.5% rate, which is concerning for a college draftee who has yet to advance beyond High-A. There’s a decent amount of risk with questions about his hit tool and distance from the majors, but he’s another toolsy outfield pickup for a club that added Caissie last week.

Jones was another late-round college pick in 2024. A left-handed hitting center fielder out of Kansas State, he combined for a .245/.359/.395 line between High-A and Double-A. Jones walked in almost 15% of his plate appearances and stole 51 bases in 60 attempts. He’s listed at 5’10” and doesn’t have Lewis’ physical upside, but scouts praise his approach and speed. Baseball America ranked him 13th in the Yankees system, while he landed 15th on Pipeline’s ranking. There’s a decent chance he ends up as a fourth outfielder.

Jasso, 23, is a right-handed hitting corner infielder who spent last season in Double-A. He had a solid year, batting .257/.326/.400 with 13 homers. Jasso was a 2023 undrafted free agent whose minor league performance landed him in the back third of New York’s top 30 prospects. He should begin the season at Triple-A Jacksonville and could find himself in the MLB mix by the end of the year. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft next winter.

Miami rounds out the return with Matheus, a 21-year-old shortstop/third baseman out of Venezuela. The switch-hitter put together a .275/.365/.376 line with a 12.3% walk rate and 18.5% strikeout percentage in A-ball last year. Matheus is on the smaller side at 5’10” and hasn’t hit for more than five home runs in a season. He’s a lottery ticket potential utility player who’ll also be eligible for the Rule 5 draft after the ’26 season.

Jack Curry of The Yes Network first reported the Yankees were acquiring Weathers for four prospects. Craig Mish of SportsGrid had the full return. Image courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images.

Marlins Re-Sign Jesus Tinoco To Minor League Contract

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The Marlins signed Jesus Tinoco to a minor league deal earlier this week, according to the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Tinoco returns after electing free agency following an outright assignment off Miami’s roster in early November.

The length of the contract isn’t known, which is a key element since Tinoco isn’t expected to pitch in 2026 after undergoing flexor surgery last September.  It is possible the Marlins inked him to a two-year pact with an eye towards having Tinoco healthy and available for 2027, and giving him the 2026 season to rehab in a familiar environment.

This is now the third time Tinoco has joined the Marlins over his 14-pro career, which includes six seasons in the majors (from 2019-25 with the Marlins, Cubs, Rangers, and Rockies) and the 2023 season spent in Japan with the Seibu Lions.  Tinoco first arrived in South Beach after being dealt from Colorado in August 2020, and Miami then claimed Tinoco off waivers from the Cubs in July 2024.

Fifty-one of Tinoco’s 126 2/3 career Major League innings have come in a Marlins uniform, and he has a 3.00 ERA over his time with the Fish.  The numbers were even better before Tinoco posted a 5.12 ERA over 19 1/3 frames last year, and is fair to assume that he was never himself following an IL stint due to a back injury, and then a forearm strain that shut him down at the start of June.

Tinoco has a 3.98 ERA, 19.7% strikeout rate, and 11.3% walk rate over his big league career.  His 2024 campaign was his most promising performance, as he had a 3.32 ERA, 25.9K%, and 7.4BB% in 40 2/3 innings despite bouncing around to three different teams over the course of the season.  The drop in walk rate was a particularly good development, as Tinoco had previously struggled with his control in the majors and at times during his minor league career.

Tinoco relies on his slider and sinker as his primary offerings, and doesn’t make much use of his traditional four-seam fastball (which has mid-90s velocity).  It is an open question how Tinoco’s repertoire might develop once he returns to the mound in what will be his age-32 season, as Tinoco turns 31 this coming April.

Latest On Yankees’ Pitching Search

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The Yankees were known to be one of the teams talking with the Marlins about a possible Edward Cabrera trade, but with Cabrera now in a Cubs uniform, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports that the Bronx Bombers are looking elsewhere for rotation help.  The NY Post’s Jon Heyman reiterates that the Yankees continue to have trade interest in the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta and the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore, and the chances of a Tarik Skubal trade with the Tigers seems remote due to Detroit’s huge asking price.

As per offseason norms, the Yankees have been routinely connected to several major players on the free agent and trade markets, though the club has yet to swing a big transaction.  New York did bolster its pitching depth by re-signing Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn, but those aren’t the types of arms that would provide the certainty or the upside of a true front-of-the-rotation arm.

Sherman outlines the situation facing the Yankees’ rotation, as technically the team has enough starters between Max Fried, Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Yarbrough to cover innings until Carlos Rodon is back from elbow surgery (in late April or early May), and Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt are back from Tommy John surgery.  Of course, any injuries to the healthy pitchers or setbacks for the injured pitchers could throw this entire plan awry, and Schmidt’s availability for any of the 2026 season isn’t a sure thing since he underwent his TJ procedure last July.

Bringing in not just a depth starter, but a pitcher that could conceivably start a playoff game would naturally be a nice boost to the rotation picture.  Such an addition provides cover against not just injuries, but (as Sherman notes) the possibility that Schlittler might struggle in his first full Major League season, or that Fried might feel some wear after a career-high 195 1/3 innings pitched in 2025.

Interestingly, almost all of the starting pitchers linked to the Yankees on the hot stove this offseason have been trade targets, rather than free agents.  Given how Cody Bellinger seemingly remains New York’s top overall priority, it would seem like the Yankees are allocating their free agent dollars in that direction….or perhaps towards another top-tier option like Bo Bichette if a deal can’t be reached with Bellinger.

While the Yankees were reportedly interested in Tatsuya Imai earlier this winter, Heyman writes that the team was looking at Imai more as a reliever than as a starting pitcher.  As such, the Yankees didn’t make Imai an offer, since presumably the bidding got beyond New York’s comfort range for a relief pitcher.  Imai’s market ended up being narrower than initially thought, and the righty ended up signing with the Astros on a three-year, $54MM deal that includes opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

Heyman also provides some details on the Cabrera negotiations, as such New York prospects as right-hander Ben Hess and outfielder Dillon Lewis were mentioned, along with “a third lower-level prospect.”  It isn’t specified if these three players were all included in one offer to Miami, but the Marlins instead opted for the Cubs’ three-prospect mix of Owen Caissie, Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon.  The highly-regarded Caissie is the highest-ranked prospect of the group and he has already made his MLB debut, so he could be in Miami’s outfield as soon as Opening Day.  It is easy to see why the hitting-needy Marlins might’ve preferred Chicago’s offer, especially since the Yankees weren’t willing to include their own top hitting prospect in George Lombard Jr.

In what might be an interesting tidbit to file away for any future Yankees/Marlins trade talks, Heyman writes that “Miami loves the super talented Lewis,” a 13th-round pick in the 2024 draft who finished his first full season of pro ball at high-A Hudson Valley.  Baseball America ranks Lewis as the eighth-best prospect in New York’s farm system, with Hess clocking in fifth place.

Latest On Marlins’ Rotation Plans

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After months of rumors, the Marlins finally dealt Edward Cabrera in a pitching-for-hitting trade, as the right-hander was dealt to the Cubs for a notable three-prospect package headlined by Owen Caissie.  With Caissie ready to make an impact in Miami’s outfield as early as this season, the Marlins bolstered their lineup at the potential expense of their rotation, though the Fish are perhaps one of the few teams with enough rotation depth to withstand the loss of Cabrera.

Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer, and Braxton Garrett are tentatively lined up as the starting five, with swingman Janson Junk likely the top depth option.  Adam Mazur and Ryan Gusto also have some big league experience, Dax Fulton looks to be ready for his MLB debut, and top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling could also both make their first appearance in the Show before 2026 is out.

Given how this group is long on injury history and mostly short on proven track records, however, a case can certainly be made that Miami could or should add to their starter mix.  Kevin Barral of Fish On First hears from a source that the Marlins could pursue an innings-eating veteran to add some more stability to the rotation.  In the other direction, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic write that “the Marlins remain open to further dealing from their rotation for the right return.”

The latter report doesn’t indicate that such a trade if necessarily likely, and it could just be another example of how president of baseball operations Peter Bendix is broadly open to discussing all offers out of due diligence.  Rosenthal and Sammon also note that it is still “unlikely” that Alcantara is traded, echoing multiple reports from throughout the offseason about the Marlins’ lack of appetite in moving the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner.

Trading away one of the younger arms for another MLB-ready young hitter could be more plausible if the right offer emerges, plus Miami could need to create some rotation space anyway if the team did bring in a veteran hurler.  This hypothetical veteran arm wouldn’t come with a big price tag, as Barral uses the comp of the Marlins’ signing of Cal Quantrill to a one-year, $3.5MM deal last winter.  Naturally Miami would be looking for better results from its next investment, as Quantrill posted a 5.50 ERA over 109 2/3 innings before he was put on waivers in August and claimed away by the Braves.

As one might expect, Bendix didn’t share many hints about adding or subtracting any pitchers when speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and Jessica Camerato) earlier this week.  While acknowledging the “can never have too much pitching” mantra, Bendix feels his team has plenty of internal options already for a spirited rotation battle in Spring Training, with even White or Snelling being candidates to break camp.

“I definitely don’t have a feel of who the starting five are going to be to open up the season,” Bendix said.  “I think there’s opportunity there, there’s a competition there, there’s open space there, there’s a chance for a whole bunch of guys to step up and earn a spot, and there’s nothing that we’re writing off at this point.”

Nine Teams Terminate Contracts With Main Street Sports

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The nine MLB teams who had contracts with Main Street Sports have terminated those contracts with the company. It’s possible that some of them eventually work out new deals with the broadcaster, which operates channels under the FanDuel Sports Network banner. The teams are the Braves, Reds, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Marlins, Brewers, Cardinals and Rays. Talks between the company and the teams are ongoing. Various elements of this developing story were reported by Evan Drellich of The Athletic, Alden González of ESPN, Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

The issue is due to the poor financial state of the company. They have recently missed payments to several teams, including the Cardinals and Marlins, but possibly others. The nine teams have cut ties with the company for now to keep them away from potential bankruptcy proceedings and explore other options, but it’s possible some teams will eventually sign new pacts with the company. Main Street is trying to find a buyer, though the reporting indicates talks with DAZN have fizzled out. Fubo TV might have stepped into the bidding but there are conflicting reports about that.

This is just the latest chapter in a saga that goes back quite a while, with cord cutting and streaming having chipped away the regional sports network (RSN) model. The company was previously known as Diamond Sports Group with channels marketed as Bally Sports. Going into 2023, 14 MLB clubs and many teams in other sports leagues had RSN deals with the company. But trouble emerged early that year when the company missed some payments. They filed for bankruptcy in March of 2023.

The company eventually emerged from bankruptcy in November of 2024 and then rebranded. Along the way, many of their deals with MLB clubs fell apart. In some cases, new deals were worked out. In other cases, the league took over broadcasting duties. The Rangers went a different route and launched their own RSN. Coming into 2026, Main Street has 29 deals with teams across MLB, the NBA and NHL.

The path of MLB handling the broadcasts will be available for all the clubs involved here. “No matter what happens, whether it’s Main Street, a third party or MLB media, fans are going to have the games,” commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday, per Blum.

The MLB path is largely inconsequential for fans. If anything, it’s a better arrangement. MLB still puts the games on cable. For cord-cutters, they have the option of streaming the club by paying the league directly, with no local blackouts.

For the teams, however, it’s not a great situation. RSN deals have been a big source of revenue over the years. The bankruptcy of Diamond/Main Street put many of them in a tough position. Renegotiating with the company meant accepting lower fees than they had been receiving on their previous deals. Going with MLB would allow them to potentially reach more fans but the revenue in that path is both lesser and not guaranteed, as the money is contingent on how many people sign up to stream.

MLB handled the broadcasts of five clubs in 2025: the Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Twins and Guardians. It was reported in September that the Mariners would go down this route in 2026. This week’s reporting suggests the Nationals will likely leave MASN and join with the league as well.

In the cases of at least a few of these teams, the situation seems to had on-field implications by reducing the club’s spending capacity when it comes to player payroll. The Padres and Twins, for instance, have been trying to strike a delicate balance of staying in contention while having less to spend on players than the front office may have once anticipated.

That’s obviously a disadvantage compared to some big-market clubs, many of whom are co-owners in RSNs which are relatively healthy in larger population areas. In July of 2024, it was reported that the league and the MLB Players Association had agreed to redirect some competitive balance tax money to teams impacted by the television situation. This week’s reporting indicates that arrangement was for 2024 alone. There was no such deal in place for 2025 and there’s currently nothing lined up for 2026 either.

“The clubs have control over the timing,” Manfred said this week. “They can make a decision to move to MLB Media because of the contractual status now. I think that what’s happening right now clubs are evaluating their alternatives. Obviously they’ve made significant payroll commitments already and they’re evaluating the alternatives to find the best revenue source for the year and the best outlet in terms of providing quality broadcasts to their fans.”

With this situation and other disruptive developments in terms of MLB’s broadcast landscape, the league’s preference has been to not sign any new contracts that go beyond the 2028 season. It has been reported that many of MLB’s broadcast deals expire after that season. Manfred hopes to put together a league-wide streaming service with no blackouts and/or have a big auction of rights to various games, with multiple broadcasters bidding against each other.

A mini version of this happened recently when MLB’s deal with ESPN fell apart. The league then split up ESPN’s previous package, selling some of it back to ESPN along with other elements. Netflix bought the rights to Opening Day, the Home Run Derby and some other special events. NBC/Peacock bought Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card round from 2026 to 2028, as well as other events. ESPN acquired the local rights for the Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Guardians and Twins as part of their new deal.

All of this figures to hang over the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The current CBA expires after the 2026 season. Another lockout, like the one in 2021-22, is widely expected. Manfred has essentially admitted that one will occur by speaking positively about the lockout process.

Whether that lockout extends long enough to cancel games in 2027 remains to be seen. The players and the union are already concerned by a lack of spending from some clubs and the RSN situation will likely only exacerbate that. Some of the impacted clubs would likely welcome more revenue sharing but the bigger clubs wouldn’t be as keen on that. The owners are expected to push for a salary cap but the players are strongly opposed to that.

Manfred has made plenty of unpopular moves in his time as commissioner but he can currently point to a legacy that includes no games missed due to labor strife. Baseball’s popularity is also on the rise, despite the aforementioned TV disruption. Game Seven of the 2025 World Series was the most-watched game around the world since 1991. The uptick in ratings and attendance has been attributed by many to recent rule changes, particularly the pitch clock.

Disrupting the 2027 season would impact that legacy and also cut into baseball’s recent surge, which would be inopportune timing with the aforementioned future broadcast plans. Manfred is signed through 2029 and does not plan to seek another term after that.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

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