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Offseason In Review: Houston Astros

By | at March 21, 2026 12:11pm CDT

Houston’s front office had a difficult task this offseason: acquire multiple starters despite limited payroll flexibility and one of the sport’s weakest farm system. They pulled that off, albeit at the cost of subtracting from an already thin outfield. They weren’t as successful in balancing a heavily right-handed lineup or figuring out how they’ll divide playing time in a crowded infield.

Major League Signings

2026 commitments: $21.45MM in salary plus $9.975MM posting fee
Total future commitments: $57.95MM plus posting fee

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

For the second straight offseason, the Astros faced an expected free agent departure of one of their core players. They made a six-year offer to Alex Bregman in 2024, but they seemingly made little or no effort to bring back Framber Valdez. Houston made the southpaw a qualifying offer to pick up a draft choice after the fourth round once Valdez inevitably signed elsewhere.

The rotation depth behind Hunter Brown was an issue even with Valdez on the team. Another elbow surgery for Luis Garcia brought an unfortunate end to his time in the organization, as the Astros had no reason to tender him a contract for his final arbitration season. Adding at least one mid-rotation arm was the main priority for GM Dana Brown and his staff. It’d be a challenge with owner Jim Crane reportedly looking to keep the team’s luxury tax number below the $244MM base threshold.

That pointed to the trade market as the priority. Acquiring affordable starting pitching comes at a significant cost in young talent. Houston dangled center fielder Jake Meyers in what they thought might be a sell-high situation after a career year. Teams had enough skepticism about Meyers’ bat that he wasn’t going to lead the return for a mid-rotation arm, however.

Houston and the Rays had conversations about righty Shane Baz at the Winter Meetings. It didn’t result in a deal but set the stage for the rotation move the Astros would make. Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported at the time that the Rays were particularly keen on pitching prospect Anderson Brito as part of the Baz return. Tampa Bay would land Brito and the Astros would get their controllable starter two weeks later — just in a more circuitous way.

The Pirates had entertained trading a starter for offense. Pittsburgh was never going to move Paul Skenes and was highly unlikely to give up Braxton Ashcraft or Bubba Chandler. Right-hander Mike Burrows was the best fit for that kind of move. He looks like a solid third or fourth starter and has less than a year of service time. He’s the kind of player who has significant appeal on the trade market but wouldn’t be as difficult for Pittsburgh to relinquish than any of their potential top-of-the-rotation arms.

Meyers wasn’t the kind of bat the Pirates needed. Isaac Paredes might have been, but he’s more valuable to the Astros than to Pittsburgh. The righty-hitting Paredes taps into every ounce of his middling raw power by pulling the ball in the air. He’s a perfect fit for Houston’s Daikin Park and its short left field porch. For Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, the toughest in the league for right-handed home run hitters? Not so much.

That’s where the Rays reenter the picture. Pittsburgh wasn’t interested in flipping Burrows for prospects. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, is constantly balancing the present and future while focusing on maximizing asset value. Houston parted with two of the better prospects in a weak farm system, sending outfielder Jacob Melton alongside Brito to Tampa Bay. The Pirates got slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe, fourth outfielder Jake Mangum, and a hard-throwing bullpen flier in Mason Montgomery from the Rays. Houston landed Burrows.

The 26-year-old righty is coming off a 3.94 ERA over 96 innings in his first real look at the big league level. Burrows posted solid strikeout and walk marks with a four-pitch mix led by a 95 mph fastball. It took him a while to establish himself, largely because of a 2023 Tommy John surgery, but it’s reasonable to view him as an above-average starter who is at least two years from his first significant earnings.

Burrows slotted behind Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier as Houston’s third starter. The back end was still an issue. It initially seemed the Astros would piece it together internally and with very modest free agent additions. They added hard-throwing Nate Pearson on a $1.35MM deal at the beginning of the offseason. They brought in 29-year-old righty Ryan Weiss — who topped out at Triple-A in affiliated ball but pitched well with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles last year — for $2.6MM.

Given the budget constraints, even the Houston front office surely didn’t anticipate landing one of the winter’s most discussed free agents. Tatsuya Imai was the top pitcher available from Japan via the posting system. The 27-year-old righty is coming off a 1.92 ERA with an NPB-leading 27.8% strikeout rate for the Seibu Lions. He averages around 95 mph with his fastball but is capable of running the heater into the upper-90s when he needs it.

Imai’s youth, velocity, whiff rates, and improving control all pointed to a potential nine-figure contract. That never materialized, as teams apparently had enough trepidation about the command and quality of his secondary stuff (particularly the changeup) to stay away from a long-term deal. Evaluators who are most bullish on Imai feel he fits into the middle of a big league rotation. The more pessimistic ones project him as a reliever — though whatever team won the bidding would only do so because they feel he’ll be a capable starter.

The depressed market allowed the Astros to jump in. As Imai’s 45-day posting window came to a close, he signed a three-year deal with Houston that included opt-outs after the first two seasons. It’s a $54MM guarantee that’ll pay him $18MM in year one (a $16MM salary plus a $2MM signing bonus). Imai will decide whether to pass on at least $36MM to retest free agency a year from now. The deal includes escalators that’d raise the price of the player options if Imai throws at least 80 innings this season.

Houston also paid a $9.975MM posting fee to the Lions. The fee is proportional to the contract’s $54MM guarantee and paid in full even if Imai opts out. There’s a decent chance the Astros are paying $27.975MM for one season. That’s a pretty sizable sum. That said, more than a third of that money is in the posting fee, which does not count toward the Astros’ luxury tax number. They kept the CBT commitment at $18MM without going beyond three years, an outcome few would have envisioned at the start of the offseason.

A front four of Brown, Javier, Imai and Burrows is solid. They’ll only need to patch together one rotation spot between Weiss, Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Blubaugh and Spencer Arrighetti. Minor league signee Peter Lambert has had a decent camp, while the Astros acquired swingman Kai-Wei Teng in a minor trade with the Giants. Pearson will build up as a starter as well, but he’s beginning the season on the injured list after experiencing elbow soreness this spring.

McCullers will probably open the season as the fifth starter based on his standing in the organization. He’s unlikely to have a long leash after turning in a 6.51 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. His fastball is back up to 93 mph this spring after landing closer to 91 last season, but various injuries have clearly taken a toll on his stuff and command.

Manager Joe Espada said this afternoon they’ll open with a five-man rotation but are likely to go to a six-man starting staff in the middle of April (relayed by Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). Imai is accustomed to pitching once a week, as all starters do in NPB. The Astros only have two off days between Opening Day and April 22. Assuming they eventually go the six-man route, Weiss or Arrighetti could pick up a few starts.

The front office did a good job getting the rotation into decent shape. It came at the cost of a few subtractions on the position player side. Trading Melton removed a left-handed hitter from the outfield. They also made a few downgrades to the bottom of the order and the bench in cost-saving moves.

Houston non-tendered second/third baseman Ramón Urías, who’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz at $4.4MM for his final arbitration season. They traded utility player Mauricio Dubón to the Braves for glove-only shortstop Nick Allen. That wound up saving $4.7MM in the difference between their respective arbitration salaries.

Houston spent all offseason trying to move right fielder Jesús Sánchez, who disappointed after a deadline acquisition from the Marlins. They lined up a deal in Spring Training that sent Sánchez to the Blue Jays for Joey Loperfido, a move that saved another $6MM.

They’re plenty familiar with Loperfido, whom they drafted and developed before trading to Toronto in the Yusei Kikuchi deal at the 2024 deadline. He hit .333/.379/.500 in 104 MLB plate appearances last season, but a 27:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio puts a damper on those numbers. Loperfido was a league average hitter over a bigger sample in Triple-A (.264/.341/.401 in 373 PAs). He’s a better fit as a left-handed bench bat than an everyday player.

The Astros easily led the majors in plate appearances by right-handed hitters. They had a total of seven players who took at least 40 at-bats from the left side. Five of them are off the 40-man roster, four out of the organization entirely. Victor Caratini hit free agency and signed a two-year deal with Minnesota. Sánchez and Melton were traded. Taylor Trammell and Cooper Hummel were waived. The only ones returning are Yordan Alvarez and rookie outfielder Zach Cole.

Houston’s desire for more lineup balance was no secret, yet this was a lot less successful than the rotation pursuits. The Astros didn’t come away with a left-handed hitter either at second base or in the outfield (except Loperfido, who was acquired for the lefty-hitting Sánchez). Brendan Donovan, who would have been an ideal roster fit, landed elsewhere in the division with the Mariners. Houston’s lack of farm depth and expendable starting pitching limited their options in this regard.

That led to plenty of late-offseason chatter about flipping an infielder. They would’ve needed to eat money to deal first baseman Christian Walker, who is owed $40MM over the next two seasons and coming off a replacement level showing. Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Carlos Correa obviously weren’t getting moved.

That left Paredes as the only infielder who was both a realistic trade candidate and had the ability to net a significant return. Dana Brown said in November that the Astros had “no interest” in moving the corner infielder, who was one of their best hitters on a rate basis. The front office softened that stance by Spring Training but nothing came together.

Houston enters the year with a lopsided position player group. They want Altuve playing mostly second base again after he struggled with last year’s left field experiment. Walker and Correa are the primary corner infield tandem. Peña will be the everyday shortstop with Alvarez working mostly as a designated hitter. That leaves Paredes as a dramatically overqualified bench bat on paper.

The situation should sort itself out before long. Correa and Alvarez have notable injury histories. Paredes himself is coming off a significant hamstring strain that cost him most of the second half. Altuve and Walker are in their mid-30s. There’s value in giving all those players rest days.

Peña will play essentially every day once he’s healthy. He broke his right ring finger during the World Baseball Classic and is questionable for Opening Day. The Astros could slide Correa to shortstop and pencil Paredes in at third base if Peña requires an injured list stint. That’d be a rough defensive infield, so they could also opt to live with Allen’s bat in the nine spot to play him at shortstop and keep Correa at the hot corner.

Trade rumors on Meyers quieted after the Astros dealt Melton. Meyers is now a key piece as the primary center fielder. Second-year outfielder Cam Smith should retake the right field job from Sánchez. Smith impressed defensively in his first year as an outfielder, but his bat wilted at the end of his rookie season.

Left field is wide open. Loperfido will get some work there, while Altuve and Alvarez figure to make occasional starts. Brice Matthews is a middle infielder by trade but has worked in the outfield this spring given the much clearer path to playing time on the grass. The Astros would love for Cole to stick on the roster as a left-handed power bat. He struck out at a 35% rate in the minors last season and has fanned 17 times in 44 plate appearances this spring. The swing-and-miss might push him off the active roster.

The Astros didn’t do much to replace Caratini, a high-end backup catcher. Yainer Diaz is the clear #1 option behind the plate. César Salazar is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. Houston brought back 2022 World Series champion Christian Vázquez on a minor league deal to compete with Salazar for a bench spot.

Houston was similarly quiet in addressing the bullpen. Their only MLB bullpen add was the selection of Roddery Muñoz in the Rule 5 draft. Some of their rotation depth pickups (e.g. Weiss, Pearson, Teng) could pitch in relief. That could have an indirect impact on the bullpen by giving the Astros the flexibility to use Blubaugh or Arrighetti in relief. Minor league signee Christian Roa, a Houston native and Texas A&M product, has had a great camp and is probably pitching his way onto the roster.

The Astros have already announced they’ll open the season without Josh Hader and Bennett Sousa. Hader has been bothered by a biceps issue after last year’s season-ending capsule injury in his shoulder. Sousa strained his oblique. They’re still well positioned from the left side with Bryan King and Steven Okert in the late innings. Plugging Bryan Abreu in as closer leaves their right-handed setup group rather thin.

It’s a top-heavy roster, one with a few obvious areas (left field, bullpen, left-handed bat) they’ll hope to address at the deadline. They’re estimated around $10MM below the luxury tax line, so they should have some flexibility for in-season maneuvering. There’s also the possibility that Crane reverses course and signs off on going past the threshold, as he did when Correa was available last summer.

The Astros are perennially in win-now mode. This season could be an inflection point for the organization after their first playoff miss in eight years. Espada and Dana Brown are entering the final years of their respective contracts.

Crane said in January they weren’t likely to discuss extensions until seeing how the 2026 season plays out. “I think we’ll go through this year like we always do, evaluate it and then make the decision at the end of the year,” the owner said. “We won’t probably do any extensions now. But I’m not saying that’s impossible. We haven’t talked about it yet. We’ve been focused on getting what we need to compete this next year.”

They got most of the way there, though they’re behind the Mariners on paper. Preseason projections from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus have the Astros closer to the Rangers (and potentially the A’s) as the second or third-best team in the AL West than to Seattle at the top of the division. Can they overcome the odds to reclaim first place, or will they at least find themselves back in a crowded American League Wild Card picture?

How would you grade the Astros' offseason?

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Houston Astros MLBTR Originals

Poll: Who Will Win The AL Central?

By | at March 20, 2026 4:34pm CDT

With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB’s 30 clubs and teams are now focused on the incoming season and being the team to raise the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, however, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The AL Champion Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East yesterday with 39% of the vote. Today, we’ll be moving on to the AL Central. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:

Cleveland Guardians (88-75)

The Guardians managed to sneak their way into an AL Central title in the eleventh hour last year, overtaking the Tigers at the very end of the year thanks to a 20-7 September. They immediately got bounced from the playoffs by Detroit, however, and their response to that quick exit this postseason has left something to be desired. That seemed like a setup for a big offseason, but no such eventful winter occurred. Deserved as Jose Ramirez‘s latest extension may have been, it does nothing to improve the team for 2026. The only potential impact player the team has added anywhere on the roster is veteran first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is in camp on a minor league deal but is all but certain to make the team. More or less running back a roster that won 88 games last year isn’t the worst idea in the world, but it’s easy to feel as though last year’s division champs may have been overtaken by their rivals who made bigger splashes over the offseason.

Detroit Tigers (87-76)

The Tigers took the Mariners to Game 5 of the ALDS before falling just short, and now they’ll be looking to make the most out of what is likely to be Tarik Skubal‘s final season with the organization. A reunion with Gleyber Torres was the only big move on offense (although the impending debut of top prospect Kevin McGonigle could still transform the team’s lineup this year), but the Tigers were very active in overhauling their pitching staff. Framber Valdez joins Skubal at the front of the rotation and helps cushion the blow of losing Reese Olson to shoulder surgery, while Justin Verlander provides some mid-rotation stability in his homecoming at 43 years old. In the bullpen, the addition of a second future Hall of Fame veteran in Kenley Jansen and a reunion with Kyle Finnegan should create a solid back of the bullpen for a Tigers team that had the second-worst bullpen in the AL by FIP last year. Those additions seem likely to be enough to make the Tigers the favorite to finally claim the AL Central crown for the first time since 2014, though that also seemed likely to be the case last year.

Kansas City Royals (82-80)

The Royals had a middling season last year where they remained on the periphery of playoff relevance but never quite cracked the top tier of contenders. They wound up finishing just barely above .500, but will enter 2026 with hopes of a return to the postseason. Better health from Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic should go a long way for the club, as could the ascension of top prospect Carter Jensen as the heir apparent to franchise catcher Salvador Perez. In terms of external additions, the outfield will now feature Isaac Collins, Starling Marte, and Lane Thomas in addition to incumbents Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel, while Matt Strahm was brought in to fortify a high-leverage relief mix that already included Carlos Estevez and Lucas Erceg. With a handful of solid (if unspectacular) additions and an exciting young talent coming up from the minors, it’s not hard to imagine the Royals having a better year in 2026. Will that be enough to win the division?

Minnesota Twins (70-92)

2025 was a tough year for the Twins, as the organization was unable to lock down the sale both ownership and fans were hoping for off the field, while the team on the diamond struggled badly and wound up getting blown up at last summer’s trade deadline. Minnesota was saved from the basement of the AL Central by the lowly White Sox, but this offseason a change in control person, the hiring of a new manager, and the sudden departure of team president Derek Falvey led to instability at the top of the organization without much movement on the roster to show for it. Josh Bell and Victor Caratini are both solid complementary additions to the lineup, but neither makes up for the loss of Carlos Correa. A rotation that looked like the team’s strength lost Pablo Lopez before the season even began, while Taylor Rogers and others will be asked to save the bullpen after the losses of Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louis Varland. There’s plenty of interesting young talent (Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Luke Keaschall, Taj Bradley) on the roster, but a whole lot would have to go right for the Twins to fight their way back to the top of the AL Central this year.

Chicago White Sox (60-102)

The White Sox are still in the midst of what figures to be a lengthy rebuilding process, but more optimism can be found in the organization than has been the case for quite a while now. Young, impactful players like Shane Smith, Colson Montgomery, and Kyle Teel are beginning to establish themselves at the big league level, and the White Sox put in some effort to supplement that budding young core with external additions. Munetaka Murakami is the big addition who could easily add 40 home runs to the White Sox lineup if he pans out, but Anthony Kay, Sean Newcomb, and Seranthony Dominguez could all prove to be savvy additions to the roster as well on he pitching side. It would be a shock if these moves were enough to pull Chicago all the way to the top of the AL Central, but it seems possible that their days of losing 100 games a year are coming to a close.

Who do MLBTR readers think will win the division when all is said and done? Will the Guardians manage to come out on top for the third straight season despite virtually no additions? Will the Tigers finally break through in Skubal’s final season before free agency? Will the Royals’ busy offseason be enough to help them take a leap forward? Or will the Twins or White Sox shock the baseball world? Have your say in the poll below:

Who will win the AL Central in 2026?

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Offseason In Review: Texas Rangers

By | at March 20, 2026 10:10am CDT

The Rangers tried to walk the line of remaining competitive while simultaneously scaling back payroll. It led to a pair of major trades and a chunk of small free-agent and waiver acquisitions.

Major League Free Agent Signings

2026 spending: $17.95MM
Total spending: $27.45MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Extensions

  • None yet

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The Rangers entered the offseason with a hefty slate of impending free agents. As many as four viable big league rotation arms (Merrill Kelly, Tyler Mahle, Jon Gray, Patrick Corbin) and four quality relievers (Shawn Armstrong, Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Danny Coulombe) hit the market at season’s end. Texas created further holes on the roster by non-tendering right fielder Adolis Garcia, catcher Jonah Heim and another solid middle reliever, Jacob Webb.

Despite all the departures on the pitching side of things, it seemed early that reimagining an offense that had grown stagnant and regularly struggled against fastballs and velocity was a goal. Texas had tried to do that the prior offseason by parting with Nathaniel Lowe and bringing in Joc Pederson and Jake Burger to reshape the heart of the order. It didn’t work out. Pederson and Burger had career-worst seasons. Texas hit .234/.302/.381 as a team. The resulting 92 wRC+ was tied for fifth-worst in baseball. Rangers hitters ranked 18th in home runs but just 22nd in runs scored. They were 26th in each of batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

That prompted a second and more aggressive shuffle of the offense. The Rangers found no takers for Garcia and Heim at their projected arbitration prices and ultimately non-tendered the pair, losing two key contributors from their 2023 World Series roster for nothing. Three days later, Texas dumped the final three seasons of Marcus Semien’s contract on the Mets, taking on the final five seasons of Brandon Nimmo’s eight-year contract in return.

Nimmo walked at a career-low 7.7% rate in 2025 and struck out more often than Semien, but he was a far more productive hitter overall in 2025. He’s also two years younger. Nimmo may have been traded straight up for Semien, but he’s effectively stepping into the roster spot created by Garcia’s non-tender. He can be reliably counted on for more walks and an on-base mark 40 to 50 points higher than Garcia. At least in 2025, he hit for more power as well. Nimmo makes the Rangers younger (relative to Semien) and provides a higher floor than had been the case with the whiff-prone Garcia.

The only other addition of note to the lineup this winter came in yet another attempt to solidify the team’s struggling catching corps. After Heim regressed in 2024, the Rangers signed Kyle Higashioka to a two-year contract last winter. That contract worked out reasonably well, but Higashioka will be 36 in a month and has never topped last year’s 327 plate appearances or logged even 700 innings behind the plate. With Heim out the door and no immediate heir-apparent coming from the farm, the Rangers needed some form of addition.

The free agent market was thin behind the plate — as is typically the case — but Texas scooped up one of the market’s better options when signing Danny Jansen to a two-year contract. Jansen draws poor framing grades but posted a solid 24.1% caught-stealing rate last year and typically receives good marks from Statcast for his ability to block balls in the dirt. He also draws walks at a high rate each season (12.5% in ’25, 10.8% since ’20) and has above-average pop. Jansen is strikeout-prone but not egregiously so. Although both Jansen and Higashioka hit from the right side, Jansen has better career splits in right-on-right matchups, while Higashioka has more conventional platoon splits. They probably won’t be used in a strict platoon, but Jansen will get more starts versus righties and generally see a larger workload than Higashioka.

Beyond Nimmo and Jansen, the Rangers’ lineup will remain mostly unchanged. They’ll rely on better health for Corey Seager and better performances from names like Pederson, Burger and Josh Jung, each of whom disappointed relative to expectations and projections in 2025. It’s certainly a risk, given that this lineup has a similar structure to the one that’s fallen flat in each of the past two seasons, but the Rangers were clearly working with a limited budget and did their best to make some changes where they could.

One final addition will likely be former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen. He signed a minor league deal after spring training was already underway. Cutch and the Pirates reunited in 2023 and he spent three seasons with his original organization, but the Buccos were hunting bigger fish this winter and opted to move on after McCutchen’s bat fell to about league-average over the past two seasons (slightly below that in 2025). At 39 years old, McCutchen isn’t going to dial things back to his peak form, but he can still hit lefties, which makes him a nice complement for Pederson. And, if Pederson can’t right the ship after last year’s calamitous .181/.285/.328 batting line (76 wRC+), Texas could move on entirely and turn DH reps over to McCutchen. Even if he’s “only” a league-average bat, that’d be a substantial improvement over Pederson’s 2025 output.

The other big change in the lineup isn’t due to a new acquisition but rather a change in role. Josh Smith has been a utility player for his first four seasons with Texas but is now in line for regular at-bats at second base, in place of Semien. Smith has posted a .254/.336/.380 line in semi-regular work over the past two seasons. It’s unremarkable production, but Smith had a strong four-month run to begin the ’25 season before a largely BABIP-driven swoon weighed down his production late in the year. He was hitting .277/.354/.420 through his first 380 plate appearances but batted only .195/.293/.252 in his final 183 plate appearances — all while experiencing a drop of more than 60 points in his average on balls in play.

Smith has never had a set, everyday role. He played seven different positions last year (in addition to a handful of DH appearances). Sam Haggerty‘s presence on the bench gives him a right-handed platoon partner if the Rangers prefer to go that route. They probably should, given that Smith is a career .223/.309/.322 hitter versus lefties to Haggerty’s .280/.362/.446. (Haggerty is a switch-hitter, but he’s delivered only a .202/.277/.279 slash as a left-handed hitter.)

As has typically been the case in recent years, the pitching staff was a prominent focus — both the bullpen and the rotation. Texas got nice performances from Robert Garcia and Cole Winn in 2025, and they brought Chris Martin back for one more go-around even though he’d previously hinted at retirement.

The Rangers had success building nearly an entire bullpen from small-scale free agent deals last winter and will try to replicate the strategy in 2026. It’s a clear risk, as relievers are the game’s most volatile performers on a year-to-year basis. The Texas farm is light on impact arms, however, particularly after dealing six minor league pitchers to acquire Merrill Kelly, Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe in separate trades.

Last offseason, Texas brought in Martin, Shawn Armstrong, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb and Luke Jackson (in addition to trading for Robert Garcia, who’s controlled through 2029). This winter it was more of the same. Martin is back on another one-year deal, and he’s joined by Jakob Junis, Jalen Beeks, Tyler Alexander and Alexis Diaz, although the former will have to earn his way back onto the roster.

Diaz inked a $1MM contract after being non-tendered by the Braves but was designated for assignment and passed through waivers when Texas signed Beeks earlier this month. It’s at least possible that was the plan from the jump; we increasingly see teams sign experienced players to low-cost, one-year deals and then pass them through waivers to stash as Triple-A depth, knowing they won’t reject the outright assignment to the minors because doing so means forfeiting any guarantees on the contract (for players with fewer than five seasons of service anyhow). Even if that wasn’t the initial intent, Diaz didn’t do himself any favors by allowing eight runs with four walks and a hit batter in 1 2/3 frames this spring.

As was the case last spring, the Rangers’ bullpen looks shaky on paper. All of Martin, Beeks, Junis and Alexander have had success at times but lack consistency (hence being available on short-term contracts). Garcia’s performance was strong but less than elite. Winn posted a pristine 1.51 ERA, but metrics like SIERA (4.13) and FIP (3.90) aren’t buying it because of the former top prospect’s mediocre 21.6% strikeout rate and sub-par 10.5% walk rate.

There are other potential upside plays in the mix. The Rangers claimed righty Michel Otañez off waivers from the division-rival A’s, selected righty Carter Baumler from the from the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft (by way of a trade with the Pirates), and signed veterans Ryan Brasier and Josh Sborz to minor league contracts. Baumler was an over-slot ($1.5MM) fifth-rounder who posted a 2.04 ERA with a 29% strikeout rate between High-A and Double-A last year. Otañez sits upper 90s with his heater and misses bats in droves but also has a career 14% walk rate in the majors. Sborz was a key bullpen piece for much of 2023 but has been hampered by injuries since. Brasier has a nice track record but is 38 years old and has had a tough spring.

Perhaps the Rangers can defy the odds again, but this is a tough way to build a bullpen with any sort of regularity. Relievers are inherently volatile, and that volatility often necessitates going out and adding help at the deadline if the club is in contention. That could lead to trading away some potential down-the-road bullpen arms, creating a bit of a vicious cycle.

The other side of the pitching staff, once again, proved a core focus for the Rangers. Since being installed as president of baseball operations, former big league right-hander Chris Young has repeatedly focused on deepening his pitching staff. That’s in part due to the old adage that there’s no such thing as “too much” pitching — which a former pitcher understands keenly — and also in part due to difficulty in developing homegrown arms.

Former No. 2 overall pick Jack Leiter was a bright spot in 2025, but fellow top prospect Kumar Rocker couldn’t get off the ground floor. Winn was once a top-tier rotation project who’s fizzled out in a rotation role and is now in the ‘pen. Other prominent Rangers pitching prospects like Owen White, Hans Crouse, Dane Dunning and Brock Porter (to name a few recent examples) have largely plateaued — if not before reaching the majors then not long after.

The struggles to develop homegrown pitching have led the Rangers to routinely go outside the organization to get it. They did so again this winter, bringing former trade acquisition and 2023 rotation savior Jordan Montgomery back on a one-year deal that’ll potentially plug him into the rotation once he’s recovered from UCL surgery. The larger move, of course — arguably their signature move of the offseason — was the trade for Washington’s MacKenzie Gore.

Texas sent a five-player package, headlined by 2025 first-rounder Gavin Fien, to Washington to pry Gore loose. The package notably lacked a consensus top-100 prospect, though the Nats presumably have Fien in that group on their internal rankings. One would imagine the Nationals at least asked about names like Sebastian Walcott and Caden Scarborough and were rebuffed. Washington had a thin system that badly needed depth, however, so diversifying their risk by acquiring a bushel of prospects rather than one or two higher-end names is a reasonable approach.

In that sense, the trade worked out for both parties. The Nats add a smattering of talented young players to their system, including last summer’s No. 12 overall pick (Fien). The Rangers added two years of Gore without surrendering the very best their system has to offer.

Gore will spend the next two seasons in Texas. He’s a former No. 3 overall pick who once ranked as the sport’s top pitching prospect. Injuries and poor performance stemming from mechanical issues delayed his arrival in the majors, but he’s started 89 games over the past three seasons now and done so with a respectable 4.15 ERA. Gore looked to finally be breaking out in full last summer. He made the All-Star team and entered the break with a terrific 3.02 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. A brutal four-start stretch saw him rocked for 23 runs over his next 15 2/3 innings. He then rebounded with a 3.74 ERA down the stretch.

Gore now joins Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Leiter to form an impressive quartet. The depth thereafter isn’t great, in part because the Rangers shipped out three nearly MLB-ready starters for Kelly last summer. Lefty Jacob Latz is the favorite for the fifth spot on the starting staff. Rocker, Jose Corniell and David Davalillo are depth options on the 40-man roster, and Young brought in veterans like Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber on minor league deals. Both Montgomery and southpaw Cody Bradford could be ready to return from the IL early this summer.

It’s a talented but top-heavy group, and the Rangers are at some risk of that depth being exposed if deGrom and/or Eovaldi run into further injury troubles. Eovaldi hasn’t started 30 games since 2021. DeGrom made 30 dominant starts last season but combined for 35 starts in the four seasons prior.

The Rangers have the makings of a solid veteran core on both the offensive and pitching side of things. Their defense should be good but perhaps not to the extent of last season, given the subtraction of Semien’s all-world glove at second and Garcia’s quality glove in right field. The bullpen will need several things to break right, and the bench and minor league depth options are a bit lacking.

Better health from Seager and center fielder Evan Carter, rebounds from Burger/Pederson, and a step forward from standout left fielder Wyatt Langford — who has superstar potential — would go a long way toward pushing the Rangers back into the postseason mix.

How would MLBTR readers grade the Rangers’ offseason? Have your say in the poll below:

How would you grade the Rangers' offseason?

  • C 48% (356)
  • B 31% (229)
  • D 12% (92)
  • F 5% (35)
  • A 4% (27)

Total votes: 739

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Texas Rangers

Poll: Who Will Win The AL East?

By | at March 19, 2026 3:34pm CDT

With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB’s 30 clubs and teams are now focused on the incoming season and being the final team standing to raise the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, however, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. That series starts today with the AL East. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:

Toronto Blue Jays (94-68)

The Blue Jays only narrowly won the AL East last year, with the division coming down to a tiebreaker. They made a much more convincing case for themselves as the top dog in the division come the postseason, however, as they easily dispatched the Yankees in the ALDS and went on to make it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series before losing that final game against the mighty Dodgers by just a hair. They went on to have an aggressive offseason in their efforts to stay at the top of the totem pole. The Jays lost Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt to free agency, but managed to retain Max Scherzer while adding Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to a rotation that already boasts Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage. Their efforts to improve on the pitching side didn’t ignore the bullpen either, as Tyler Rogers was brought in to support Jeff Hoffman and Louis Varland in the late innings. Losing Bichette certainly hurts for Toronto’s offense, but Kazuma Okamoto figures to be an able replacement as a right-handed bat in the middle of the order, and the team also bolstered their outfield depth with the addition of Jesus Sanchez. Will that be enough to maintain control in the East, or will Toronto brass regret missing out on Bichette and Kyle Tucker this winter?

New York Yankees (94-68)

The Yankees only lost the East by a hair last year. Their plan for this season appears to be running back last year’s squad and hoping that the return of Gerrit Cole can push them over the edge. Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, Trent Grisham, and Paul Blackburn are all returning via free agency. With that being said, the team didn’t make any significant additions aside from bringing back the old guard when it comes to free agency. Their lone major addition to the roster this offseason was a trade with the Marlins that brought back southpaw Ryan Weathers, who has never thrown even 100 innings in a season but does sport a solid 3.74 ERA across his last 24 outings. That addition to the rotation mix is matched by a substantial loss in the bullpen, however, as both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver eschewed the Bronx in favor of Queens during free agency. Perhaps the additions of Cole (as he returns from a season lost to Tommy John surgery) and Weathers will make up for those losses, but the Yankees will also have to contend with the injury bug; Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Anthony Volpe are all starting the season on the injured list, while Clarke Schmidt is already lost for the year to elbow surgery.

Boston Red Sox (89-73)

The Red Sox certainly had a busy offseason, but it’s not exactly the ones fans were expecting. Alex Bregman is suddenly a Chicago Cub. Both Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu remain with the Red Sox. While the team’s elite outfield remains intact, the infield looks somewhat suspect. The addition of Willson Contreras at first base should provide some reliability that former top prospect Triston Casas has not been able to so far in his career, but the Red Sox will be banking on another solid season from Trevor Story after his bounce-back in 2025 while turning to Marcelo Mayer at second base and Caleb Durbin at third base. All three of those players have the opportunity to be solid, but only Mayer has a ceiling comparable to the impact Bregman offered and fans in Boston need not be reminded of the risks associated with handing the keys to a young player at second base after Kristian Campbell‘s rookie year. On the other hand, the team’s pitching looks better than ever. Garrett Crochet nearly won the Cy Young award last year, and this season he’ll be supported by both Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray to give the Red Sox one of the more impressive potential playoff rotations in the game. Will that be enough to win the AL East this year, given the club’s lack of impact hitting additions?

Tampa Bay Rays (77-85)

The Rays are coming off back-to-back seasons where they finished just a bit below .500. After the rest of the division spent the offseason loading up on talent for the 2026 campaign, a lot will need to go right for the Rays to improve this year. Junior Caminero is a superstar at third base but the losses of Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks figure to be a tough blow this year. In typical Rays fashion, the club’s additions aren’t necessarily impactful on paper. None of Jake Fraley, Gavin Lux, Cedric Mullins, Steven Matz, and Nick Martinez had impact seasons last year but they’ve all shown themselves to be more than capable of being effective major leaguers in the past. Additionally, young pieces like Ryan Pepiot and Carson Williams could plausibly take the sort of step forward Jonathan Aranda did last year, therefore joining Aranda and Yandy Diaz as strong pieces of Caminero’s supporting cast. Will all that be enough to overcome the Rays’ high-spending rivals?

Baltimore Orioles (75-87)

The Orioles had a disaster of a 2025 season but they resolved to fix their flaws in this offseason and made a strong effort to do just that. Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward brought in reliable, right-handed power that a lineup stacked with upside but lacking in floor desperately needed. A revamped rotation featuring not just a healthy Kyle Bradish but also a reunion with Zach Eflin plus the additions of both Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt certainly offers more upside than last year’s group, even if they failed to sign the surefire ace they entered the season widely expected to target. That improved rotation is also being supported by a bullpen that brought back Andrew Kittredge after dealing him away at the trade deadline and added Ryan Helsley in order to replace injured closer Felix Bautista. The bones of a very deep and talented team are clearly present in Baltimore but whether they can rise from fifth in the division all the way to first will surely depend on the health and performance of their core pieces like Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Adley Rutschman. Gunnar Henderson remains a good bet to earn himself MVP votes but will the rest of that elite group of youngsters be able to start to catch up to him?

After a busy offseason all around the AL East, which team is most likely to come out on top this year? Will the Blue Jays hold on after their near-miss at a championship last season? Will the Yankees be able to get better results with the same roster? Will the Red Sox or Orioles be able to make an unorthodox offseason into a success despite notable misses on some stated goals for the winter? Or will the Rays once again work the magic that’s made them so successful in the past and surprise the league? Have your say in the poll below:

Who will win the AL East in 2026?

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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays

Offseason In Review: Washington Nationals

By | at March 19, 2026 1:41pm CDT

The reloaded rebuild officially got underway in D.C., as the MacKenzie Gore trade signaled that the Nationals are still years away from contention.

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $14.75MM
Total spending: $14.75M

Trades And Claims

Option Decisions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

Acquiring young players is a key plank of any rebuild, but the Nationals took it a step further by also beginning a youth movement off the field.  Newly-hired president of baseball operations Paul Toboni is only 36 years old, new general manager Anirudh Kilambi is 32, new manager Blake Butera is only 33, and most of Butera’s new coaching staff are also under age 40.  (Bench coach Michael Johns is the relative greybeard of the group at age 50.)

This wasn’t an entirely intentional goal for Toboni or Nats ownership, as more experienced names like Brandon Hyde, Rocco Baldelli, and interim manager Miguel Cairo also drew interest in the managerial search.  The end result, however, is clear — the Nationals have brought a lot of fresh perspectives into the overhauled organization, following the 19-year tenure of former PBO Mike Rizzo and longtime manager Davey Martinez.

The Rizzo/Martinez era was highlighted by the Nationals’ 2019 World Series title, but the team has now posted six straight losing seasons since that championship year.  Heading into 2025, Washington had some buzz as a darkhorse playoff contender, as it seemed like the team’s young core was starting to gel and a full breakout might be in the offing.  Instead, the Nats were 37-53 at the time of Rizzo and Martinez’s firing in early July, and they finished with a 66-96 record.

Given the circumstances, it was never likely that Toboni was being hired to win in 2026.  The only question was how active Toboni might be in tearing the roster down, or standing pat to take 2026 as something of an evaluation year for the organization (similar to Scott Harris’ quiet first offseason as the Tigers’ president of baseball ops).  While Washington didn’t go into full fire-sale mode or anything, the decision was made to move one of the team’s more obvious trade candidates in Gore.

As Toboni plainly told the media after Gore was dealt to the Rangers, “we lost 96 games last year. To turn it around in one year and make the playoffs….not to say it can’t be done, but it’s a challenge.  What we want to do is make sure we build this really strong foundation, so when we do start to push chips in, we can win for an extended period of time.”

Gore is only arbitration-controlled through the 2027 season, thus making him superfluous to a Nats team that doesn’t look like it will be trying to compete within the next two years.  As one might expect, a controllable, 27-year-old southpaw who has shown some front-of-the-rotation upside drew a lot of interest, as reports indicated that up to half of the league checked in on Gore’s availability.  The Orioles, Royals, and Yankees were all publicly mentioned as Gore suitors, but it was Texas who sealed the deal with a five-prospect trade package.

The preseason top-100 prospect rankings from Baseball America and MLB Pipeline didn’t include any of the five players from the Gore trade, with Gavin Fien (the 12th overall pick of the 2025 draft) ranked highest of the group by both outlets as the fifth-best prospect in the Nats’ farm system.  According to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, Toboni was very high on Fien last summer when Toboni was still working as the Red Sox assistant GM and running Boston’s draft room, except the Rangers took Fien just before Boston could make the 15th overall selection.

This may well have been the ace up the Rangers’ sleeve in winning the Gore bidding, and since Fien just turned 19, he also fits into what seems to be a longer-term blueprint for Toboni.  Abimelec Ortiz is the only player of the five who could conceivably reach the big league roster before 2028, and Ortiz may have a ceiling on his potential as a powerful but raw slugger who has struggled against lefties and may be limited to first base duty.

Given all of the interest in Gore, D.C. fans may have been a little dismayed that the team opted for a trade package that looks like quantity over quality, in terms of true blue-chip prospects.  Ironically, many Mariners fans had similar feeling when top-100 list fixture Harry Ford was dealt to Washington for Jose A. Ferrer in early December, as the Seattle fanbase felt a highly-touted catching prospect should’ve brought back more than “just” a relief pitcher.

Ferrer is a hard-throwing left-hander who projects as another high-leverage arm for a Mariners team that is trying to win it all in 2026.  Since he was controlled through 2029, Ferrer wasn’t viewed as an obvious trade candidate, yet Toboni may have been looking to sell high on a reliever who (despite impressive velocity) has shown to be more of a grounder specialist than a strikeout artist.

Ford was the 12th overall pick of the 2021 draft, but his potential as Seattle’s catcher of the future was quickly usurped by Cal Raleigh‘s rise to stardom.  While Ford will begin his 2026 season with Triple-A Rochester, his path to future playing time in Washington isn’t nearly as crowded, even though Keibert Ruiz is still under contract through at least the 2030 season.  Just three years removed from signing an eight-year, $50MM contract extension, Ruiz struggled both offensively and defensively in 2024-25, and the Ford trade may indicate that the writing on the wall about Ruiz’s status with Washington’s new front office.

Trading Ruiz will be difficult given his contract and lack of recent success, so even a decent first half (or however long it is before Ford to be called up) likely wouldn’t be enough to recoup much trade value.  While Ruiz is probably not going anywhere, the same might not be true of Jacob Young or CJ Abrams, who each drew trade buzz this past winter but now look to at least make it to Opening Day in a Nationals uniform.

Young is a fantastic defensive center fielder who hasn’t yet hit at the MLB level, so the Nats could look to move him if the team feels Young’s bat just won’t come around.  The Joey Wiemer waiver claim was probably more about adding outfield depth than the Nationals finding a potential Young replacement in center, but it does give D.C. an alternative if a center field-needy team suddenly came calling with a tempting offer.

Abrams and Gore were two of the principles in the blockbuster trade package the Nationals received from the Padres for Juan Soto in 2022, and like Gore, Abrams has been solid if not a true finished product yet at the big league level.  Abrams’ last two seasons have seen him hit well in the first half before tailing off badly in the second half, plus his shortstop glovework is well below par.

Such teams as the Royals and Giants were linked to Abrams’ market this winter, with both of those teams surely viewing Abrams more as a second baseman than a shortstop.  Since Abrams is arb-controlled through 2028, Washington isn’t in any kind of a rush to trade him immediately, and waiting a bit longer might be a preferable option for both the Nats and rival teams.  A consistent 2026 campaign from Abrams would both make suitors more comfortable in making a solid offer for the infielder, and the Nationals more likely to land their desired asking price.

More future-focused moves came in the form of Griff McGarry’s selection in the Rule 5 Draft, and the trades that respectively brought right-handers Andre Granillo and Luis Perales from the Cardinals and Red Sox.  Control problems stalled McGarry’s progress as a starter in the Phillies’ farm system, but the Nats could give him a look all year on the big league roster in order to evaluate the right-hander and fully secure his rights.  Granillo also issued a good deal of walks during his time in the St. Louis farm system, but he is a big league-ready reliever with 21 innings of experience in the Show.  Perales is a hard-throwing righty still working his way back from a Tommy John surgery, and Toboni is obviously quite familiar with Perales from their time in the Boston organization.

Since the Nationals still have a season to play in 2026, they also made some moves to more directly address the current roster.  Any of Zack Littell, Miles Mikolas, or Foster Griffin could find themselves on the move at the trade deadline as rental pieces, but for now, they’ll reinforce a D.C. rotation that badly needed some stability.

Littell could be considered the de facto ace, given that he had a 3.88 ERA and an elite 4.2% walk rate over 186 2/3 innings with the Rays and Reds last season.  However, Littell’s penchant for allowing home runs and his lack of velocity or strikeout power were all reasons why the veteran was still a free agent less than two weeks ago, and why he was available for a one-year, $7MM deal.  That’s still quite a decent price for even just an innings eater, and Nationals Park should prove to be a little friendlier to Littell than his homer-happy home stadiums in 2025.

Mikolas has a similar resume as a low-strikeout pitcher with excellent control and the ability to cover innings, and he has a longer track record in rotations since Littell only became a full-time starter in 2023.  Mikolas has posted only a 4.98 ERA over 529 1/3 innings since the start of the 2023 season, and his pinpoint control has only been able to do so much to paper over the right-hander’s diminishing effectiveness.

After posting a 6.75 ERA over eight MLB innings with the Royals and Blue Jays from 2020-22, Griffin revived his career with a 2.57 ERA across 315 2/3 innings with the Yomiuri Giants over the last three seasons.  The 30-year-old represents an intriguing wild card for the Nationals, and Washington’s ability to offer Griffin a clear-cut rotation job might’ve helped the Nats win the bidding amidst multiple teams interested in Griffin’s market.

The free agent trio with join Cade Cavalli (tabbed as the Opening Day starter) and Jake Irvin in the Nationals’ starting rotation.  DJ Herz and Trevor Williams are expected to make midseason returns from elbow surgeries and could slot into an rotation spot opened up by a pre-deadline trade.  Any of Josiah Gray, Andrew Alvarez, Mitchell Parker, swingman Brad Lord, Jake Eder, or Perales could all end up getting starts before 2026 is out, either due to injuries, trades, or because the Nats want to audition as many starters as possible.

Evaluation is really the key word for this year’s District squad.  This is a very young Nationals roster without a lot of Major League experience, and the bullpen in particular will be very inexperienced unless a minor league signing like Cionel Perez or Drew Smith makes the team.  Among the position players, even the more seasoned members of that group (i.e. Ruiz, Luis Garcia Jr.) are probably more focused on trying to re-establish themselves as quality big leaguers than they are being relative mentors to their younger teammates.

While Washington is probably going to have one of the worst records in baseball, this chaos can be a ladder.  There is plenty of room here for youngsters to step up and become part of future plans, and to put a couple of building blocks in place for the Nationals’ next winning roster.  It will also be interesting to see how Butera (the youngest Major League manager in over 50 years) adjusts to being a skipper in the big leagues, and if he can become the latest ex-Rays staffer to find success in another organization.

How would you grade the Nationals' offseason?

  • C 33% (388)
  • D 33% (388)
  • F 18% (204)
  • B 13% (146)
  • A 3% (38)

Total votes: 1,164

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Washington Nationals

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Angels

By | at March 19, 2026 12:16pm CDT

The Angels made a managerial change and overhauled the coaching staff. They otherwise did little to improve a 90-loss roster and again enter the season as one of the American League’s worst teams on paper.

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $18.2MM
Total future spending: $18.2MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

  • None

Extensions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

At the end of their 10th straight losing season, the Angels announced they were making a managerial change. Neither Ron Washington nor interim skipper Ray Montgomery — who took over in the second half while Washington recovered from bypass surgery — would be back. Montgomery remained in the organization in a front office role, while Washington would land in San Francisco as infield coach on Tony Vitello’s first MLB staff.

Albert Pujols was the early frontrunner. Talks fizzled out a couple weeks later, reportedly after Pujols and owner Arte Moreno couldn’t agree on coaches and financial terms. The Halos also interviewed longtime center fielder Torii Hunter before landing on former catcher Kurt Suzuki as their new manager. Suzuki was highly respected as a player and has spent three seasons with the organization in a special assistant role, though he has no prior coaching or managerial experience.

Suzuki signed a one-year contract, which is rare. Most teams tend to give their top front office personnel and their manager multi-year security. Suzuki evidently didn’t have that kind of bargaining power. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a one-year contract, but that didn’t lead to much optimism that Moreno would be willing to spend on a roster littered with holes — especially after talks had collapsed with the candidate whom they initially targeted.

General manager Perry Minasian is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, which has a club option for 2027. Moreno may be keeping his options open for wholesale changes next winter. There’s also some thought that the owner may be averse to any kind of multi-year commitments when the ’27 season could be impacted by a lockout.

In the interim, the front office and coaching staff can only try to make the best of the situation. Suzuki made a handful of noteworthy coaching hires. He tabbed John Gibbons as bench coach. They hired well-respected pitching coach Mike Maddux away from the Rangers.

The boldest hire was to bring in three-time All-Star Brady Anderson as hitting coach. Anderson is a first-time hitting coach who hadn’t worked in affiliated ball since 2020, but he clearly has a wealth of playing experience from which to draw. Recently retired players Adam Eaton and Max Stassi also joined the staff as first base and catching coach, respectively.

They’re going to have their work cut out for them. The managerial process indeed foreshadowed a quiet offseason. Like many teams, the Angels found themselves with broadcast revenue uncertainty after their renegotiated TV deal with Main Street Sports collapsed. The Halos wound up creating their own network and streaming arrangement, but they’re no longer working with fixed rights payments. Their revenue will be tied to subscriptions.

That provided a simple justification to more or less eschew free agency. They spent a total of $18.2MM over six one-year contracts, none of which exceeded $5MM. That’s despite a pair of moves that created plenty of short-term cash savings.

The first, their most significant transaction of the winter, was the Taylor Ward trade. The Angels had one too many right-handed hitting corner outfielders. Playing Jo Adell as a regular center fielder isn’t viable. Mike Trout wanted to return to playing defense. Jorge Soler will get a rebound opportunity between DH and right field.

Trading one of Ward or Adell for starting pitching felt like a must. The Angels lined up a one-for-one swap sending Ward to the Orioles for righty Grayson Rodriguez. Once the top pitching prospect in MLB, Rodriguez pitched pretty well between 2023-24 before elbow and shoulder injuries threw his career off track.

The Angels control the 26-year-old Rodriguez for at least four seasons. He also has a pair of minor league options that give the team some flexibility if he struggles after a lost ’25 campaign. There’s risk given the health history, but this is the kind of upside play the Angels should be taking. They’ll need a lot of players to hit the higher end of their realistic range of outcomes to be competitive. Rodriguez has a ceiling that few of their internal arms possess. His command has understandably been erratic this spring, but he’s averaging 95 mph on the fastball and should open the season in the rotation.

It comes at a cost, of course. Ward hit 36 home runs a year ago. He has been an above-average offensive player in five consecutive seasons. Still, this was the one area of MLB depth the Angels could leverage in a trade. Ward’s general profile — a righty power bat with middling on-base marks — is also one the Angels had in abundance.

They ranked fourth in MLB last year in home runs and easily led the league with 188 homers from righty batters. No team struck out more often or had a lower batting average, while only the Rockies and Guardians had a worse on-base percentage. There’s something to be said for breaking up that redundancy, at least once the opportunity to acquire a talented starting pitcher with cost control presented itself.

They also cleared nearly $12MM between Ward’s final arbitration salary and Rodriguez’s pre-arbitration sum. They saved more money in the short term by closing the book on Anthony Rendon’s tenure. The Angels and Rendon negotiated a buyout to defer his $38MM salary at $7.6MM annually over the next five years. Rendon will still get paid in the long run, but the buyout reduces the net present value while shifting more than $30MM of the team’s commitments from this year to future seasons.

Tyler Anderson ($13MM), Kenley Jansen ($10MM), Evan White ($8MM), Luis Rengifo ($5.95MM) and Kyle Hendricks ($2.5MM) all came off the books as free agents. Some of those savings would be reallocated to raises among the arbitration class, but the Angels would have had a lot of spending capacity if ownership were willing to match last year’s level.

Instead, the rest of the offseason featured lower-ceiling moves. Alek Manoah’s third-place Cy Young finish in 2022 might make his signing seem like an upside play, but there’s not much reason for optimism he’ll get close to that level again.

Manoah’s stuff hasn’t returned since he battled elbow injuries that required Tommy John surgery in 2024. A fastball that once averaged around 94 mph is in the 91-92 range this spring. Pitching-starved clubs like the Rockies and Nationals passed on the chance to claim Manoah off waivers last fall. The Braves, whose lack of rotation depth decimated them last year and remains an issue, declined to tender him an arbitration contract in the $2-3MM range. Teams clearly don’t have much optimism.

The Angels signed Manoah for $1.95MM, so it’s not as if the deal itself is going to cripple them. The problem is the Angels didn’t make any other moves to add a clearer upgrade at the back of the rotation. Manoah entered camp as the projected fifth starter. A rough Spring Training (16 runs with 14 walks over 15 1/3 innings) might push him back to Triple-A.

Manoah as a seventh or eighth starter would be fine. It doesn’t work as well for a team that was counting on him to win a season-opening rotation spot. José Soriano and Yusei Kikuchi return as the team’s top two starters, with the former tabbed for his first career Opening Day assignment. Reid Detmers is moving back to the rotation after a strong season in relief. He’s the third starter, likely followed by Rodriguez.

If they send Manoah down, the last spot falls to one of Jack Kochanowicz, Sam Aldegheri or an aggressive promotion for a prospect like George Klassen or Ryan Johnson. Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register wrote yesterday that Kochanowicz and Johnson appear to have pulled ahead.

Kochanowicz had a near-7.00 ERA across 23 MLB starts a year ago. Johnson, a 2024 second-rounder, broke camp as a reliever last season without previously pitching in a minor league game. He struggled and was demoted all the way to High-A in May. He built back up as a starter and turned in a 2.05 ERA with a near-30% strikeout rate across 57 1/3 innings. He’s a good prospect who is having an impressive spring, but he hasn’t started a game above A-ball.

Shaky as the rotation depth seems, the bullpen might be in worse shape. None of last year’s three best relievers are returning to the late innings. Jansen signed an $11MM free agent deal with the Tigers. Detmers is back in the rotation. They traded Brock Burke to the Reds in a three-team deal to acquire outfielder Josh Lowe from Tampa Bay.

The Angels added four veteran relievers via cheap free agent contracts. Kirby Yates, Drew Pomeranz, Brent Suter and Jordan Romano all signed one-year deals. Yates and Romano are former All-Star closers who are reclamation projects. The soft-tossing Suter had a career-high 4.52 ERA over 67 2/3 innings with Cincinnati. Pomeranz was easily the best of this group last year, tossing 49 2/3 innings of 2.17 ERA ball with a 28% strikeout rate for the Cubs. He’s also 37 years old, has an extensive injury history, and didn’t pitch in MLB between 2022-24.

That magnified the importance of getting Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson back in high-leverage situations. Joyce underwent shoulder surgery last May and will open the season on the injured list, but he’s throwing bullpen sessions and could be back a few weeks into the year.

Stephenson’s first two seasons with the Halos were ruined by elbow issues and a bout with thoracic outlet syndrome. He seemingly entered camp healthy but unfortunately suffered yet another elbow injury last week. The team hasn’t announced a diagnosis, but the right-hander acknowledged the brutal news that he’s dealing with more ligament damage. He’s evaluating his treatment options and another season-ending surgery seems possible.

Suzuki suggested the Angels will open the season with a closer committee between Yates, Romano and Pomeranz. It’s less than ideal. They’ll hope for the flamethrower Joyce to take the job midseason. The middle relief group is wide open. Minor league signees Hunter Strickland and Nick Sandlin are competing with holdovers Ryan Zeferjahn, Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman.

There wasn’t a ton of turnover on the position player side. Lowe replaces Ward in the outfield mix, adding some balance by bringing in a lefty bat. Lowe has fought oblique issues for a couple seasons and is coming off a tough year, hitting .220/.283/.366 over 435 plate appearances. He had a 20-30 campaign with the Rays back in 2023 and is under arbitration control for three seasons. The Angels parted with a solid middle reliever in Burke and a mid-tier pitching prospect (Chris Clark) to see if they can get Lowe back on track.

Although Minasian said the Halos were comfortable using Lowe in center field, he’s better served replacing Ward in left. It certainly looks like Trout will be back in center. The Angels moved the three-time MVP to right field last year, hoping it’d reduce the physical toll he has taken. Trout sustained a bone bruise in his left knee by the end of April anyway. He missed a month and was a full-time designated hitter for the rest of the season.

Trout said last month he wants to return to center field. The Angels are open to the idea and have started him in center seven times this spring. He has played four games as a DH and twice in left field — a position he hasn’t played in the regular season since 2013. It seems safe to assume Trout isn’t starting 140 games as a center fielder, but he’ll be out there more often than not for as long as he’s healthy. They’ll have a corner pairing of Lowe and Adell while occasionally starting Soler in a corner and using Trout as a DH.

Two spots on the infield were locked in. Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto will play almost every day at first base and shortstop, respectively. The Halos opted for stability at the hot corner, re-signing Yoán Moncada to a $4MM deal. The switch-hitter hasn’t topped 104 games in a season since 2022. He was reasonably productive when healthy last year, though, batting .234/.336/.448 in around half a season of playing time.

Moncada will begin the season at third base. There’s a decent chance they’ll need players to fill in there throughout the year given his injury history. Second base was wide open with Rengifo hitting free agency and certainly not coming back after a tough season.

The Angels took a flier on Vaughn Grissom, who is out of options. Grissom is a former highly-regarded prospect whom the Red Sox acquired from the Braves for Chris Sale. It turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in years, as Grissom hit .190 without a home run in 31 games in a Boston uniform. He didn’t appear in MLB last season, batting .270/.342/.441 across 418 Triple-A plate appearances.

It’s a fine change-of-scenery move that echoes last summer’s deadline trade for Oswald Peraza. The prospect cost was minimal. They sent last year’s eighth-round pick, Isaiah Jackson, to Boston. Grissom is in his mid-20s and battled injuries throughout his Red Sox tenure. He had a pair of hamstring strains in 2024 and missed the final month last year with plantar fasciitis. He has been banged up again this spring, recently receiving a cortisone shot for a left hand issue.

The Angels already optioned Christian Moore, taking him out of consideration for the season-opening second base job. Peraza and Grissom each need to be on the MLB roster or injured list if the Angels don’t want to expose them to waivers. Adam Frazier, Jeimer Candelario and Chris Taylor are all in camp on minor league contracts. Frazier seems likeliest to make the team, largely because he’s a left-handed contact bat in a lineup that doesn’t have many of those.

Behind the plate, it’ll be a Logan O’Hoppe/Travis d’Arnaud combination for a second straight year. O’Hoppe’s performance on both sides of the ball took a major step back last season. There’s not much to do but hope for a rebound from the 26-year-old catcher, whom the Halos control for another three seasons.

As Spring Training got underway, Moreno met with the media to attempt to justify the quiet offseason. He pointed to the TV revenue drop as necessitating the payroll cut while rhetorically asking whether “one or two players substantially (changes)” the team’s record. It’s almost certainly true that the Angels are more than one player away from being competitive, but that’s in large part because Moreno’s own impatience has kept the team from building the kind of minor league pipeline needed for consistent success.

Ironically, those were Moreno’s less irksome comments. He also claimed that “winning is not in (fans’) top five” priorities when attending a game. That’s clearly not true of the entire fanbase, even if there are surely some whose only concern is a fun day at the park. It wouldn’t be a surprise if some players or coaches privately bristled at the comment as well.

It leaves the Angels in a similar spot as they’re in almost every year. They have a few talented players but one of the thinnest rosters in the American League. FanGraphs projects them for 72 wins with roughly 5% playoff odds. Baseball Prospectus is even more bearish, with a 66-win forecast that has them as the worst projected team in the AL (better only than the Rockies overall). They don’t look any closer to snapping an 11-year playoff drought.

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Los Angeles Angels MLBTR Originals

33 Veterans With Looming Opt-Out Dates

By | at March 17, 2026 11:59pm CDT

The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement implemented a series of uniform opt-out dates for Article XX(B) free agents who sign a minor league deal in free agency at least 10 days before the start of the regular season. That designation mostly falls on players with six-plus years of MLB service time who finished the preceding season on a major league roster or injured list. Some contracts for players coming over from a foreign professional league like Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization will also have language written into their contracts allowing them to qualify as a XX(b) free agent despite a lack of six years of service.

The three uniform opt-out dates on those contracts land five days before Opening Day, on May 1 and on June 1. With the regular season set to kick off next Wednesday, the Article XX(b) free agents who are in camp on minor league contracts will have the opportunity to opt out this weekend. (That presumably does not apply to Tommy Kahnle, who agreed to his minor league contract with the Red Sox eight days before the start of the regular season.) A player triggering one of these out clauses gives his club 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

There are other ways to secure opt-outs in contracts, of course. Many players who don’t qualify for XX(b) designation will still have opt-out opportunities negotiated into their minor league deals in free agency.

For this list, players with negotiated opt-out dates will be marked with an asterisk; all others are Article XX(b) free agents who have uniform opt-out dates on March 21, May 1 and June 1. Spring Training stats are through play on Monday, March 16.

Orlando Arcia, INF, Twins: The Twins don’t have a clear backup option for Brooks Lee at shortstop. Lee is making the move to shortstop full-time for the first time in his big league career. There are concerns both about whether he can hit well enough to handle the everyday gig and whether he can play a passable shortstop with the glove. Arcia has had a decent spring but has competition on the 40-man from slick-fielding/light-hitting utilityman Ryan Kreidler. Arcia had a nice run with the 2022-23 Braves but has hit .214/.263/.337 in 816 MLB plate appearances since.

Ryan Brasier, RHP, Rangers: Brasier’s average fastball is down more than a mile per hour this spring, per Statcast, and he’s fanned just two of his 34 opponents while yielding seven runs (six earned) in 7 1/3 frames. The 38-year-old hasn’t walked anyone yet. Brasier has missed time due to injury in each of the past two seasons, posting a combined 4.00 ERA in 54 frames between the Dodgers and Cubs. Texas had a pretty open bullpen mix earlier in the winter but has signed four free agent relievers (five, counting the since-DFA’ed Alexis Díaz) to big league deals this winter and made a Rule 5 pick. Brasier will have a hard time cracking the roster.

Walker Buehler, RHP, Padres: Buehler has had a middling spring but is one of the favorites for a spot at the back of an already thin Padres rotation that has been further whittled down by injuries and the poor performance of free agent pickup Germán Márquez. Outside of his 2024 World Series heroics, Buehler has produced below-average results since returning from his second Tommy John surgery a couple years ago. His last healthy, productive season was back in 2021. The Padres don’t have a ton of options though, so he has a good chance to crack the roster.

Andrew Chafin, LHP, Twins: Chafin is sitting in the upper 80s with his fastball this spring, but he’s held opponents to a couple runs in five innings after logging a 3.03 ERA over his past 267 1/3 MLB frames (including a 2.41 ERA in 33 2/3 innings in 2025). The Twins’ bullpen is in shambles after last July’s sell-off and an offseason neglecting the relief corps (and the roster in general). He should have a decent chance to crack the roster.

Michael Conforto, OF, Cubs: After a career-worst season at the plate with the Dodgers in 2025, Conforto took a minor league deal on a Cubs team that didn’t have a path to regular playing time. Seiya Suzuki is questionable for Opening Day after suffering a PCL sprain during the World Baseball Classic. That has cracked the door open for a depth outfielder, but the 33-year-old Conforto has logged a punchless .261/.320/.348 slash this spring. It’s a small sample of 25 plate appearances, of course, but he has competition from prospect Kevin Alcántara and fellow non-roster players Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick.

Paul DeJong, INF, Yankees: DeJong made sense as a Yankees NRI, given that shortstop Anthony Volpe will open the season on the injured list while recovering from shoulder surgery. New York needed a backup shortstop for interim starter José Caballero and didn’t have many options. They’ve since traded for Max Schuemann and given Ryan McMahon some spring shortstop reps. Manager Aaron Boone has voiced comfort with McMahon playing the position in a regular-season game if needed. DeJong could back up at multiple infield spots, but that’s also true of Amed Rosario, who’s on the 40-man roster and who hits lefties much better than DeJong. There doesn’t seem like a real chance for DeJong to make the roster, barring injuries.

Elias Díaz, C, Royals: Díaz is anywhere from third to fifth on the Royals catching depth chart. Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen will split duties to begin the season and aren’t in any danger of being displaced. Prospect Blake Mitchell and fellow veteran Jorge Alfaro were also brought to camp as non-roster invitees (though Alfaro has been playing with Colombia in the World Baseball Classic). Kansas City also signed Luke Maile (another XX(b) free agent) on a non-roster deal, but he left the club to deal with a personal issue before camp began. Bottom line: there’s a lot of competition for Díaz and no clear path to a spot.

Kyle Farmer, INF, Braves: Ha-Seong Kim was slated to play shortstop for Atlanta until he tore a tendon in his hand back in January. He’ll be back at some point — likely in May — but Kim’s injury prompted the Braves to sign Jorge Mateo to a big league deal and bring Farmer in on a non-roster deal. Utilityman Mauricio Dubón will start at short to begin the season. Mateo has the leg up on a bench spot, given that he’s on the 40-man roster, but Farmer has handily outperformed him this spring. Farmer can play all over the infield but does most of his damage against lefties. Mateo is one of the game’s fastest players and can play center field as well. Infielder/outfielder Brett Wisely, out of minor league options, is another bench candidate. He’s having a big spring as well. Farmer doesn’t have a great path to make the club.

Ty France, 1B, Padres: Back with the organization that drafted him, France is putting the ball in play and piling up singles in Padres camp. That’s what he’s done for the past three years, more or less. France had an under-the-radar run as a much stronger, middle-of-the-order bat from 2020-22 (.285/.355/.443), but he’s a righty-swinging platoon first baseman who lacks pop. That might still land him a bench job to platoon with Gavin Sheets early in the year, but he’ll need to fend off fellow non-roster righty first baseman Jose Miranda, who’s younger and having a better showing.

Adam Frazier, INF/OF, Angels: After Christian Moore was optioned to Triple-A, Frazier seems like the favorite to open the season as the Angels’ second baseman. He’s having a nice spring but hasn’t had an above-average season at the plate since 2021. From 2022-25, Frazier slashed .241/.302/.343. Former Yankees prospect Oswald Peraza is having a big spring and could push Frazier for second base reps, but the Angels have a thin enough roster that it’d be pretty easy to accommodate both.

Mitch Garver, C/DH, Mariners: It’s been a rough spring for Garver, who was always a long shot to break the roster with Cal Raleigh aboard and journeyman Andrew Knizner signing on a one-year, major league contract. Garver was a potent offensive force from 2018-23 between the Twins and Rangers (.254/.343/.488), but he had consecutive poor seasons with the Mariners in 2024-25 and is just 2-for-16 with nine strikeouts in 20 plate appearances this spring.

Randal Grichuk, OF, Yankees: The previously mentioned McMahon shortstop experiment could very well pave the way for Grichuk to make the roster. The Yankees’ bench will include catcher J.C. Escarra, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and aforementioned infielder Amed Rosario. There’s one spot up for grabs, and Grichuk’s track record as righty swinging outfielder who can handle all three spots and pummel left-handed pitching makes him a nice fit for a Yankees club needing a platoon partner for Trent Grisham.

Liam Hendriks, RHP, Twins: One of the best relievers in the game from 2019-22, the Aussie-born Hendriks has barely pitched in the three seasons since. That’s due both to Tommy John surgery and a frightening brush with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which he thankfully beat. Hendriks announced that he was cancer-free in Aug. 2023. He’s back with his original organization and trying to win a spot in a bullpen the Twins gutted at last year’s deadline when they traded five relievers. Hendriks struggled in Boston last year and has three walks (plus a hit batter) this spring against just two strikeouts. He’s 37, so he may not have much left in the tank, but the Twins have arguably the worst projected bullpen in the American League, so he could still have a chance.

Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Guardians: Hoskins has popped a couple spring homers with the Guards while punching out at a sky-high rate. The 33-year-old (as of today — happy birthday, Rhys!) was Cleveland’s only offensive addition of any real note this winter. He’s coming off a pair of disappointing seasons in Milwaukee after losing the 2023 campaign to a spring ACL tear. It’s not clear Hoskins can return to his previous heights as a 30-homer threat, but the Guardians’ anemic offense can certainly afford to find out.

Craig Kimbrel, RHP, Mets: Like Hendriks, Kimbrel is 37 years old and had a run as one of the sport’s top bullpen arms. The likely Hall of Famer was released by the Orioles in 2024 and only pitched a dozen MLB frames last year. He’s only allowed one run in four spring innings but has four walks and a pair of plunked hitters versus just two strikeouts. The Mets’ pitching staff already looks full. They have six starting pitchers, five relievers who can’t be optioned and two more with options but who’ve already been more or less declared to have made the team (Huascar Brazobán, Tobias Myers). It’s tough to see Kimbrel winning a spot, particularly when his fastball is sitting 92.6 mph, which would be a career-low by a wide margin.

Peter Lambert, RHP, Astros*: Lambert isn’t an XX(b) free agent, but Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported recently that his contract contains an opt-out clause. He’s allowed only one run in nine spring innings and has reportedly caught the eye of Houston brass with his performance and the quality of his stuff thus far. Houston’s roster is similar to that of the Mets: six starters and four set relievers who can’t be optioned (five once Josh Hader returns). Hader’s season-opening IL placement could create some room in the short-term, however.

Derek Law, RHP, Diamondbacks: Law had season-ending flexor surgery last July and is expected to be sidelined into April or May. He’s not going to take this opt-out and will spend the early portion of the season rehabbing with the D-backs, who signed him in free agency just six weeks ago.

Jonathan Loaísiga, RHP, Diamondbacks: The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro recently wrote that Loaísiga has the inside track for one of Arizona’s bullpen vacancies, and it’s easy to see why. From 2019-23, he posted a 3.30 ERA with an average strikeout rate, good command and a plus ground-ball rate. Injuries wiped out most of his 2024-25 campaigns, but he’s in camp with the Snakes this year and has held opponents to two runs in six innings with rate stats that look similar to his pre-injury levels. There’s a very good chance he makes the club.

Tim Mayza, LHP, Phillies: Mayza has generally been effective when healthy, but injuries limited him to 16 2/3 innings last year. He’s allowed five earned runs in 6 1/3 spring frames, albeit with a 6-to-1 K/BB ratio and a quality ground-ball rate. The Phillies have José Alvarado, Tanner Banks and trade pickup Kyle Backhus (five shutout innings, three hits, 6-to-1 K/BB this spring) penciled into the ‘pen. Mayza has a tough road barring a late injury.

Andrew McCutchen, OF/DH, Rangers: After a three-year run back where it all started in Pittsburgh, McCutchen voiced some frustration with the Pirates’ lack of communication before they ultimately signed Marcell Ozuna. Cutch signed a minor league deal with Texas and has hit the ground running (7-for-12, three doubles, five walks, three strikeouts). He’d make a right-handed complement for DH Joc Pederson and could see some time in the outfield, too. It’s likelier than not that he’ll make the team.

John Means, LHP, Royals: Means is still recovering from an Achilles rupture he suffered during his offseason workouts. He signed a two-year minor league deal with Kansas City. He’s not taking this opt-out. He’ll spend the year rehabbing with the Royals and try to win a spot on the 2027 staff.

Rafael Montero, RHP, Yankees: Montero’s arrival in Yankees camp has been slowed by visa issues. He’s not going to make the Opening Day roster at this point, but he could head to Triple-A once he sorts through the visa troubles.

Dylan Moore, INF/OF, Phillies: The versatile Moore has followed up a poor 2025 season (.201/.267/.374) with a rough showing in Phillies camp (.185/.281/.222 in 32 plate appearances). The suspension for outfielder Johan Rojas may still have opened a door for Moore to make the club as a right-handed bench bat.

Martín Pérez, LHP, Braves: Injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep and Joey Wentz have clearly opened the door for Pérez to potentially win the fifth starter’s spot in Atlanta. He’s had a nice spring, allowing four runs in nine innings with a 9-to-2 K/BB ratio and huge 58% grounder rate. Pérez was having a nice year with the White Sox in 2025 before a forearm strain wiped out most of his season. He has a 4.01 ERA over his past 705 MLB frames, dating back to 2020. Pérez, 35 in April, is a fourth/fifth starter but has a decent track record. The main thing working against him is that his primary rotation competitor, Bryce Elder, is out of minor league options. Atlanta could keep Elder in a swingman role, but doing so would mean jettisoning lefty José Suárez, who’s also out of minor league options. That seems like a plausible route, and Pérez should have a decent chance to make the club.

Brendan Rodgers, INF, Red Sox: Rodgers was competing for an infield job with the Red Sox but suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Austin Slater, OF, Tigers: Slater and journeyman Jahmai Jones are effectively competing for the same role: righty-swinging backup outfielder who can platoon with Kerry Carpenter and/or Parker Meadows. Slater has a long track record of solid offense versus lefties (.267/.357/.430) and is having a far better spring than Jones (.250/.382/.464 to Jones’ .143/.294/.214). Jones is younger and already on the 40-man roster, however, and he also mashed at a .287/.387/.550 clip with seven homers in 150 plate appearances in this role for Detroit last year.

Dominic Smith, 1B, Braves: Jurickson Profar‘s 162-game PED ban has opened the door for Smith to potentially make the roster as the team’s top DH option against right-handed pitching. He gave the Giants 225 plate appearances of above-average offense last summer (.284/.333/.417) and has had a solid showing this spring.

Drew Smith, RHP, Nationals: The Nats have one of the worst on-paper bullpens in baseball, if not the worst. Smith has been sharp in a small sample of 3 1/3 innings this spring after missing the 2025 campaign due to UCL surgery. The former Mets setup man logged a 3.35 ERA, 26.2 K% and 10.2 BB% in 161 1/3 innings from 2021-24. His 93.2 mph average heater is way down from the 95.2 mph he averaged in 2021-24, but Washington’s bullpen is so bleak that Smith’s track record alone should earn him a spot as long as he’s healthy.

Hunter Strickland, RHP, Angels: Back with the Halos on a minor league deal, this would be Strickland’s third straight season as an Angel if he makes the club. He’s pitched to a 3.30 ERA in 95 1/3 frames in Anaheim since 2024 and has fired four shutout frames in camp. The Angels’ bullpen is rife with uncertainty, and the organization knows Strickland well (although he’d be working with a revamped coaching staff in 2026).

Mike Tauchman, OF, Mets*: Tauchman isn’t an XX(b) free agent but has a March 25 opt-out opportunity negotiated into his deal. The 35-year-old left-handed hitter is coming off a three-year run in which he’s slashed .255/.359/.381 with a huge 13% walk rate. Tauchman is competing with top prospect Carson Benge for a roster spot. The Mets have minimal bench flexibility (Luis Torrens, Mark Vientos and Tyrone Taylor can’t be optioned), so for Tauchman to make the club he’ll probably need to beat Benge for the right field job. Failing that, he should draw interest from clubs seeking outfield help. The Astros, in particular, are looking for a left-handed hitter on the grass.

Chris Taylor, INF/OF, Angels: Taylor has had a nice spring (.235/.395/.441, nine walks, seven strikeouts in 43 plate appearances) and can play all over the diamond. Is that enough to outweigh the grisly .196/.284/.301 slash he’s posted in his past 371 major league plate appearances? It seems somewhat doubtful.

Lou Trivino, RHP, Phillies: Trivino returned from a two-year injury layoff to pitch 47 2/3 MLB frames with a 3.97 ERA last season. His strikeout and walk rates weren’t close to peak levels, however, and his velocity was down more than a mile per hour. It’s more of the same this spring. Trivino has given up six runs, walked five batters and tossed two wild pitches in seven innings. The Phillies only have two bullpen spots up for grabs (assuming Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley is returned to Miami). Trivino would fill one of those two with a veteran reliever who can’t be optioned. It seems rather unlikely.

Christian Vázquez, C, Astros: Houston GM Dana Brown has said at multiple points in camp that he hopes to add another backup catcher option. César Salazar is the only catcher on the 40-man roster other than starter Yainer Diaz. Vázquez and the ‘Stros reunited on a minor league deal earlier this month. He’s been playing for his native Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic but will get a chance to win the job now that he’s back with his former teammates, with whom he won a 2022 World Series. Vázquez hasn’t hit at all over the past four seasons but remains a plus defender.

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MLBTR Originals

Offseason In Review: Toronto Blue Jays

By | at March 17, 2026 2:00pm CDT

The Blue Jays reinforced their rotation, said goodbye to longtime shortstop Bo Bichette, and (again) lost a major free agent bidding war to the Dodgers.

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $70MM
Total spending: $340MM

Trades And Claims

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None to date

Notable Losses

The usual “Toronto is interested in everyone” rumors barely got a chance to get rolling before the Blue Jays made the early strike of signing Dylan Cease before the end of November.  Even with some deferred money involved, Cease’s seven-year, $210MM pact is the largest free agent signing in Jays history, and it was the first indication that the Jays would again be shopping at the top of the market.

The durable Cease has logged 942 1/3 innings since the start of the 2020 season, and he has never been on the big league injured list apart from a brief stint on the COVID-19 IL in 2021.  Beyond this ability to stay on the mound, Cease misses a lot of bats (29.7% strikeout rate over the last five years), and he is a hard thrower with some of the best fastball spin rates in the league.  The down side is that Cease has below-average control and he has been prone to giving up hard contact, which is why Cease’s ERAs (like his 4.55 mark with the Padres in 2025) can be higher than his peripheral numbers would reflect.

It is certainly possible the Jays think pitching coach Pete Walker and the team’s development staff can help Cease find more consistency, and ideally get him back to his 2022 AL Cy Young runner-up form.  Even the current version of Cease, however, is a pitcher the Blue Jays view as capable of starting playoff games come October.

Cody Ponce’s three-year, $30MM deal was another intriguing investment in the rotation.  Ponce’s MLB resume consists of a 5.86 ERA over 55 1/3 innings with the 2020-21 Pirates, but the right-hander then went overseas, spending three seasons in Japan before heading to the KBO League’s Hanwha Eagles in 2025.  The result was a sparkling 1.89 ERA, 36.2% K%, and six percent walk rate over 180 2/3 innings, and Ponce earned both KBO MVP and the Dong-Won Choi Award (the equivalent of the Cy Young) while helping lead the Eagles to a berth in the Korean Series.

The Blue Jays obviously wouldn’t mind if Ponce continues this form in his return to the majors, but more realistically, Ponce becoming a decent mid-range starter would still make his contract a relative bargain, when compared to the broader starting pitching market as a whole.  Ponce will be used as a starter, and if that role doesn’t work out, his skillset could perhaps translate well to relief work, so the Jays could still some return on their investment.

Cease and Ponce are the newcomers joining a pair of familiar faces returning to the Jays rotation.  Max Scherzer waited until early March to decide on his next team, and he opted for a return engagement in Toronto on a one-year, $3MM guarantee that includes up to $10MM in innings-based bonuses.  Shane Bieber was the first pitching domino to fall in the Jays offseason when he eschewed free agency altogether, passing on a opt-out clause to instead remain in his contract on a $16MM salary for 2026.

Bieber’s decision was a surprise at the time, though reports emerged in December that Bieber pitched through some forearm fatigue during the end of the 2025 season.  To that end, the Blue Jays will place Bieber on the 15-day IL to begin the coming season so that he can fully ramp up, since he has yet to start throwing off a mound this spring.

The Jays’ knowledge of Bieber’s situation surely informed their contract with Scherzer, which added to a rotation picture is overcrowded on paper.  If everyone is healthy, there technically won’t be enough starts to go around between Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios, Cease, Ponce, Scherzer, Bieber, and swingman Eric Lauer.

As is often the way in baseball, there’s no such thing as “too much” pitching.  Beyond Bieber, Berrios is also dealing with elbow inflammation and could be an IL candidate.  The Jays are giving Yesavage a gradual build as they manage his innings heading into the postseason hero’s first full Major League season.  Ponce is an unproven commodity in MLB action, and Scherzer is 41 with a checkered injury history.  Even beyond the names set for the 26-man roster, depth starter Bowden Francis will miss the season due to Tommy John surgery, and former top prospect Ricky Tiedemann dealt with some elbow soreness this spring as he continues his own return from a TJ procedure.

Even if Berrios had some hard feelings about the end of his 2025 season or Lauer would’ve preferred a clear-cut starting job, there should be enough starts to go around for everyone.  Since the Blue Jays are intent on winning the World Series, the team is building a pitching staff for a seven-month run, not just a six-month regular season.

This plan extends to the bullpen, which is why Tyler Rogers received a hefty three-year, $37MM contract on the open market.  Though Rogers is entering his age-35 season, the veteran right-hander has been the picture of durability, as well as having some of the best command of any pitcher in the sport.  An old-school outlier in today’s velocity-centric game, Rogers’ sinker doesn’t even reach the mid-80s, but he is a master at inducing grounders and soft contact.

Rogers is the only real new face within a bullpen that lost Seranthony Dominguez in free agency, and won’t have Yimi Garcia available at the start of the year.  Trade acquisition Chase Lee could become a part of the picture as the season develops, and Rule 5 selections Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles (selected in the last two R5s) will have trouble fitting onto the roster or staying in the Jays organization.

A minor league signing like Connor Seabold or Joe Mantiply could stand out, and a southpaw like Mantiply could benefit from the unsettled nature of the pen’s left-handed corps.  Brendon Little and Mason Fluharty struggled down the stretch and in the playoffs, and Lauer isn’t really a fit in a true left-handed specialist sense since he’ll be kept stretched out for at least multi-inning work if the Jays ever need to quickly call on him for a start.

Left-handed bullpen help could therefore be on Toronto’s radar come the trade deadline, and a more high-profile move for a closer also shouldn’t be ruled out.  Jeff Hoffman will return as the Blue Jays’ ninth-inning man, even though GM Ross Atkins suggested back in November that Hoffman was fine with moving into a set-up role if necessary.  The team’s explorations into the bullpen market bore out its interest in a new closer, as the Jays reportedly had interest in such free agents as Edwin Diaz, Robert Suarez, Raisel Iglesias, Pete Fairbanks, and Ryan Helsley.

Other pitchers on Toronto’s radar included relievers like Luke Weaver, Phil Maton, and Brad Keller, while such free agent starters as Framber Valdez, Michael King, and former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt drew at least some interest.  There was some speculation that the Jays could make a late push for Valdez after he lingered on the market into February, but the left-hander instead signed with the Tigers, and Toronto pivoted to Scherzer a month later.

Moving into the position-player ranks, Alex Bregman, Ketel Marte, Cody Bellinger, Munetaka Murakami, and Yoan Moncada were all linked to the Blue Jays at various points this winter.  These players were primarily viewed as backup plans for the Jays, however, as Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette were seen as Toronto’s biggest targets.  As the offseason continued and the markets for both players remained unclear, there was some thought that the Jays could even sign both Tucker and Bichette, if the team wanted to go all out with its spending.

As it turned out, both Tucker and Bichette will be playing elsewhere in 2026.  In Tucker’s case, the Blue Jays were reportedly the only suitor who made a major long-term offer, in the form of a ten-year, $350MM deal.  The Mets offered Tucker a four-year, $220MM contract with multiple opt-outs, and the Dodgers a slightly larger four-year, $240MM pact (also with opt-outs) that Tucker ended up signing.  Tucker could conceivably return to free agency as early as the 2027-28 offseason, but for the next two years, he’ll be joining the Dodgers’ push for more rings.

Bichette could be a free agent again next winter, if he triggers the first of the two opt-outs in his three-year, $126MM deal with the Mets, as New York quickly moved on from Tucker to sign another multi-time All-Star to a similar contract structure.  In Bichette’s case, it was the Phillies who offered a longer-term (seven years and between $190-$200MM) deal, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski felt “we were very close to having a deal done,” before Bichette chose New York over Philadelphia.

It isn’t known what the Blue Jays offered Bichette, or if the team necessarily even put a concrete offer on the table to its longtime infielder.  While re-signing Bichette seemed like a more realistic scenario for Toronto than pursuing a Bregman or a Bellinger, it always somewhat felt like Toronto was expecting Bichette to leave — even dating back to last winter, when Andres Gimenez was acquired from the Guardians as an unofficial shortstop-in-waiting.

The Kazuma Okamoto signing also cast more doubt on a Bichette return.  With Bichette, Tucker, and plenty of other position players still available, the Jays instead pivoted to sign the Japanese star to a four-year, $60MM deal.  Given how the Blue Jays like to move players around the diamond, Okamoto might see some time in left field or playing first base if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is getting a DH day, but Okamoto is expected to settle in as the regular third baseman.

As with all high-profile NPB signings, there’s risk in committing such a significant amount of money to a player with no experience in North American baseball.  There’s good reason to believe Okamoto’s high-contact approach can translate well to the Show, however, and Okamoto hit so well in Japan (.277/.361/.521 with 248 homers over 4494 plate appearances) that it was clear why he was drawing interest from multiple Major League teams before the Blue Jays won the bidding.

With Okamoto now at the hot corner, the rest of Toronto’s lineup consists of Gimenez at shortstop, Ernie Clement at second base, Guerrero at first base, Alejandro Kirk catching, George Springer at DH, and a starting outfield of Addison Barger, Daulton Varsho, and Jesus Sanchez.  The left-handed hitting Sanchez is expected to platoon with Davis Schneider in left field, and the presence of Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw as outfield depth could allow Barger to get some time back at third base if Okamoto needs an off-day, or has some difficulty adjusting to big league pitching.

Shoulder surgery will keep Anthony Santander out of this mix until at least July, as the slugger is already looking at what might be a second lost season in a row.  Santander was limited to 54 games in 2025 due to shoulder problems, and he hit only .175/.271/.294 over 221 PA.  The hope was that a healthy Santander could rebound and start providing some return in the second season of his five-year, $92.5MM contract, yet he’ll now again be sidelined until the second half.

Shortly after word broke about Santander’s surgery, the Jays landed Sanchez from the Astros in exchange for Joey Loperfido, another left-handed hitting outfielder with less MLB experience.  Sanchez has six seasons under his belt with the Marlins and Astros, and poor numbers against southpaws have kept the outfielder from thriving as a true regular.  As noted, the Jays only need him to be the strong side of a platoon with Schneider, and the team is hoping Sanchez can at least match his .253/.324/.450 career slash line against right-handed pitching.

Looking at the position-player depth chart as a whole, it isn’t much different from the offense that was one of the league’s best in 2025.  That said, replacing Bichette with Okamoto is an obvious downgrade for now based on Major League track record, even if the Jays will get a defensive boost by installing Gimenez at shortstop.  Counting on Barger or Clement to be regular starters also carries some risk, as their huge playoff performances came after much more ordinary production over the regular season.

After a 2024 campaign that saw almost the entire lineup struggle at the plate, the 2025 Blue Jays enjoyed a dream year that saw pretty much every batter significantly improve.  The question now facing the Jays is whether the truth about their position players falls somewhere in between, or if 2025 was just the start of an offensive awakening under hitting coach David Popkins.  Tucker, Bichette, or another proven veteran bat would’ve helped solidify the lineup quite a bit, and depending on how the season progresses, adding such a hitter might well be on Atkins’ shopping list at the trade deadline.

Aggressive moves and aggressive spending have become the calling card for the organization.  This winter’s investments have again brought the payroll to new levels — as per RosterResource‘s estimates, the Blue Jays have a $289MM payroll, and a whopping $318.1MM luxury tax number.  The latter figure puts the Jays well over the highest luxury tax penalization tier of $304MM, which means they’ll face a 90% surcharge on any dollar spent above the $304MM mark.

It is safe to say at this point that the front office doesn’t care about the short-term tax implications, or details like giving up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus money to sign Cease (a qualifying offer-rejecting free agent).  Last year’s playoff run and the near-miss in the World Series galvanized support for the Blue Jays all across Canada, creating both a ton of extra revenue for the Rogers Communications ownership group and a greater desire to finish the story with a championship in 2026.  The Jays will face tough competition just to retain their AL East crown, yet Toronto figures to be contenders again come October.

How would you grade the Blue Jays' offseason?

  • B 52% (1,094)
  • A 31% (655)
  • C 12% (260)
  • F 3% (57)
  • D 2% (42)

Total votes: 2,108

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Toronto Blue Jays

Poll: Who Will Win The 2026 WBC Final?

By | at March 17, 2026 10:22am CDT

Later this evening, the 2026 World Baseball Classic will come to a conclusion. It has been just as exciting as anticipated, with dominant performances from some of the elite teams combined with surprising upsets (such as Team Italy’s 4-0 record in the pool stage and Samurai Japan’s defeat at the hands of Team Venezuela in the quarterfinals). All of that leads into tonight’s game, where Team USA will take the field opposite Team Venezuela. Which country’s national team will emerge victorious?

Many have considered Team USA the favorite in this year’s iteration of the WBC since before the tournament even began. The club has boasted the tournament’s most star-studded roster, with Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal at the front of the rotation, Mason Miller in the back of the bullpen, and a lineup full of the game’s best hitters like Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, and Bobby Witt Jr. (among many others).

Team Venezuela’s lineup is impressive in its own right, with a combined 25 All-Star appearances between their starting lineup (14 of which belong to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Salvador Perez). Their pitching is a bit less impressive on paper, however. Ranger Suárez and Eduardo Rodriguez are solid arms who have earned big multi-year deals in the majors, but they aren’t the sort of perennial Cy Young favorites that Skubal and Skenes are. A bullpen featuring Daniel Palencia, Angel Zerpa, and José Buttó is certainly solid, but none of those arms can hold a candle to the elite production offered by Miller.

That disparity in pitching is likely a big part of why 52% of MLBTR readers predicted that Team USA would win this year’s WBC in a poll conducted at the outset of the tournament, while just 2% predicted Team Venezuela would be able to pull off a win. Since then, Venezuela has shown its might by taking down not only Samurai Japan, but also the only national team that’s managed to beat Team USA so far in the tournament: Italy.

Venezuela’s back-end relief arms have been lights-out, and players like Luis Arraez and Maikel Garcia have managed to come through in a big way throughout the tournament. Of course, Team USA has delivered the offensive firepower as well. That Judge and his .979 OPS in the tournament actually sits below that of four other hitters in the lineup (Gunnar Henderson, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Schwarber) says it all in terms of the United States’ offensive prowess.

If the USA’s national team is clicking offensively, and there’s a big discrepancy between the two pitching staffs, it might seem as though Venezuela remains an underdog headed into tonight’s final game. That might not be as cut-and-dry as it seems, however. That’s because Team USA’s pitching is not close to firing on all cylinders right now. Plenty of the team’s pitchers (including both Skubal and Skenes) have returned to MLB camp and aren’t available for the final game of the tournament. That’s led manager Mark DeRosa to tap Nolan McLean for tonight’s start, but McLean was shelled for three runs in three innings of work during his appearance against Italy. He’ll be facing a much more accomplished lineup tonight, and it’s hard to know if the 24-year-old rookie will be able to meet the moment.

If McLean falters, the bullpen supporting him seems unlikely to be as strong either. It’s not entirely clear who DeRosa will have at his disposal for the final game, but there’s whispers that one or both between Miller and top set-up man David Bednar could be unavailable based on their previous pitch counts. Players like Garrett Whitlock, Griffin Jax, and Tyler Rogers are certainly very talented and capable of handling late-inning roles, but that back-end trio looks much closer to Venezuela’s best bullpen arms than someone like Miller would. If Miller and Bednar are out, that figures to erode most of Team USA’s pitching advantage.

How do MLBTR readers think tonight’s final game will shake out? Will Team USA take the title, as many have assumed they would throughout the entire tournament, or will Venezuela manage to overcome the odds and be crowned this year’s WBC champs? Have your say in the poll below:

Who will win the 2026 WBC final?

  • Team USA 67% (4,402)
  • Team Venezuela 33% (2,144)

Total votes: 6,546

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Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Phillies

By | at March 16, 2026 7:46pm CDT

The Phillies are mostly running back the same squad as last year, but with a few key adjustments.

Major League Signings

2026 spending (not including Pop): $66MM
Total spending (not including Pop): $227MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

The Phillies went into the winter with a batch of notable players reaching free agency. Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suárez and Harrison Bader were among the players heading to the open market. The Phils generally run one of the top payrolls in the league, but it never seemed like they would have the money to bring back all of them.

Schwarber and Realmuto felt like the priorities. Losing Suárez would hurt the rotation, but the Phils could still hope for a good starting group without him. There would be some extra risk because Zack Wheeler required surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, but he is expected back fairly early in the 2026 season. Once he is back, four spots would be taken by Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo. The final spot could then come down to a battle between Taijuan Walker and Andrew Painter. Painter still has options and could be sent to Triple-A if he doesn’t win that battle. Walker has been nudged into a long relief role in the past and could wind up there again.

In center field, the Phils seemed committed to giving Justin Crawford a shot. He was pushing for a promotion in 2025 until they acquired Bader at the deadline. He is still not on the 40-man roster, but the Phils have more or less handed him the job for 2026. He has a particularly contact- and speed-based approach. He’s never hit ten home runs in a season but puts the ball in play and lets his legs do the work.

There is risk in relying on prospects with no major league experience but those are better fallback plans than the Phils had for the other spots. They didn’t have an everyday catcher waiting to take over for Realmuto and certainly didn’t have a Schwarber-esque bat to plug into the DH spot.

Schwarber’s market was hot, unsurprising for a guy who has been so good at the plate in recent years. It felt like the Phillies would match whatever other clubs were willing to offer — and that is exactly how it played out. The Pirates, shockingly, put forth an offer in the $120-125MM range over four years. The Orioles reportedly pushed the bidding up to $150MM over five years but the Phils got it done at that price. It’s a historic deal. Putting aside Shohei Ohtani, no primary designated hitter had earned a nine-figure deal in free agency before. No hitter, regardless of position, had reached nine figures going into his age-33 season.

For a 33-year-old DH to blow past both of those benchmarks and get to $150MM showcases just how good Schwarber has been. He just crushed 56 home runs last year while continuing to run elite walk rates. He has also erased his previous platoon issues, as he was actually better against lefties in both 2024 and 2025.

Bringing back Schwarber left Realmuto as the primary item on the to-do list but the Phils explored a different path. With Bo Bichette lingering unsigned into January, the Phils tried to take advantage by offering him a seven-year deal worth almost $200M. He decided to opt for the short-term route with high average annual values, accepting a three-year deal from the Mets worth $126MM with opt-outs.

With the Phils having Trea Turner and Bryson Stott in their middle infield, it seemed the plan was to put Bichette at third. The Phils could have then traded Alec Bohm and his $10.2MM salary, perhaps for catching. The Bichette offer was worth about $28MM annually, so they would have been adding about $18MM to the payroll if they were able to flip Bohm for a league minimum player or prospect. When Bichette went elsewhere, the Phils quickly turned to Realmuto and gave him $45MM over three years, or $15MM annually.

Bringing back Schwarber and Realmuto is nice, but there’s a bit of risk in continually committing to an aging roster. Both guys are now signed through their respective age-37 seasons. Turner and Bryce Harper are going into their age-33 seasons and still under contract into the next decade. Wheeler and Nola are in their mid-30s as well. There’s a financial aspect in hoping for Crawford and Painter to carve out roles on the 2026 club, but they also need some young guys to step up in order to avoid getting blindsided by the aging curve.

One area where change seemed to be guaranteed was right field. Manager Rob Thomson and Nick Castellanos had clashed a few times in the 2025 season. The organization seemed to have no questions about where they stood in terms of that spat. Within a few days of the Phils being eliminated from the playoffs, it was reported that Thomson would be back for 2026. He and the Phils would sign an extension in December.

Castellanos, on the other hand, was out the door. In mid-October, just a few days after the report of Thomson staying, it was reported that the Phils were going to move on from Castellanos. They held onto him throughout the winter to see if a trade could come together but it never did. He was released in February, just before camps opened for spring training.

In the interim, they had replaced him with Adolis García. He had been non-tendered by the Rangers after two down years. Castellanos is one of the worst outfield defenders in the league and García is pretty good with the glove, so he’ll certainly be an upgrade in that department. His offense is more questionable, as he is coming off a dismal .227/.271/.394 showing. He’s not too far removed from a 39-homer season in 2023 but is now 33 years old. Helping him get back on track will be pivotal to the Phillies’ success.

There was another bit of internal drama, but with no real consequences. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made some disparaging remarks about Harper’s 2025 season, which annoyed Harper and led to some brief trade rumors. Those rumors were quickly shot down and Dombrowski suggested the proverbial water had passed under the bridge.

A third note of clubhouse discord seemed to impact the club’s bullpen plans. Left-hander Matt Strahm was traded to the Royals for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan on Dec. 19. Dombrowski framed it as simply a product of circumstances. Bowlan is less established than Strahm, but he has big stuff, is still making the league minimum and can be controlled for six years. Strahm had one season left on his deal and will make $7.5MM in 2026. The Phils had three lefty relievers at the start of the winter, with José Alvarado and Tanner Banks being the other two. But in the days after the trade, it was reported that the Phils were motivated to move Strahm because he had regularly clashed with team officials.

Regardless of the motivation, a key piece of the bullpen had been subtracted. The Phils then used free agency to bolster the group, signing Brad Keller to a two-year deal worth $22MM. Keller was once a decent starter with the Royals but was largely in the injury wilderness in 2023 and 2024. He had a tremendous bounceback season out of the Cubs’ bullpen in 2025, tossing 69 2/3 innings with a 2.07 earned run average, 27.2% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball rate. Some clubs were interested in putting Keller back in a starting role but the Phils plan to deploy him as a reliever.

A few more notable developments popped up during spring training. Outfielder Johan Rojas has received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. He is the third member of the 2025 Phillies to receive a PED suspension, alongside Alvarado and Max Kepler. With the Phils giving Crawford the center field opportunity to start the season, Rojas was going to be a potential fallback plan if Crawford struggled.

It’s not a devastating loss, but it gives the Phils a bit less of a safety net in a position where they are taking a risk. Perhaps they’ll look to add some center field depth in the coming weeks as spring training ends and other clubs make their cuts, which will send some players to the waiver wire or back to free agency.

The other big development out of Phillies camp was the Jesús Luzardo extension. He and the club agreed to a five-year deal worth $135MM, beginning in 2027. That doesn’t impact the 2026 club but staves off a potential rotation pitfall a year from now. Both Luzardo and Walker were slated for free agency after 2026. The ’27 rotation projects to have a core four of Wheeler, Nola, Luzardo and Sánchez. With Walker’s impending departure, there’s a path for Painter or someone else to step up a seize a future spot. If not, the Phillies are never hesitant to spend in free agency.

On the whole, the Phils are mostly keeping the band together. The rotation is losing Suárez, but perhaps Painter can make up for his loss somewhat. The outfield has been shaken up a bit, with Crawford and García set to replace Bader and Castellanos. The bullpen has had a few changes as well.

But the core will largely be the same. With Schwarber and Realmuto back, those two will be lineup fixtures alongside Harper, Turner, Bohm, Marsh and Stott. It’s obviously a strong group, with an active streak of four straight postseason appearances. The playoff results have been more disappointing recently, but the regular season numbers keep getting better. They went from 87 wins in 2022 to 90, 95 and 96 in the next three campaigns.

It seems the club has tried to strike a balance. With most of those core players being in their mid-30s and signed for many years to come, there’s surely a concern about eventually getting too old at some point, but they do want to keep it going for now. They will try to get an injection of youth from Crawford and Painter. They almost got a bit more youth from the Bichette signing but couldn’t quite pull it off, which led to the Realmuto reunion and greater continuity.

How would you grade the Phillies' offseason?

Vote to see results

Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Philadelphia Phillies
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