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Offseason In Review: Tampa Bay Rays

By | at March 13, 2026 10:12am CDT

The Rays are always trying to walk a fine line between prioritizing the present and the future. Currently, they have even more future uncertainty than usual, but that didn’t stop them from constantly tinkering with the roster. They made over a dozen trades, including three separate three-team deals, while also working the waiver wire and signing a few free agents.

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $30.5MM
Total spending: $38MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The Rays generally run one of the lowest payrolls in the league. Despite that, they have found a decent amount of success over the years thanks to a strong player development system and an unsentimental approach to player retention. They usually strike a balance between fielding a strong big league team in the present while also keeping the future pipeline flowing.

It feels like the current moment in time is a bit more future-focused than usual. The Rays made the playoffs in five straight seasons from 2019 to 2023, but they dipped below .500 in the past two. At the 2025 trade deadline, they acted primarily as sellers. They picked up Adrian Houser and Griffin Jax but sent out Taj Bradley, Danny Jansen, Zack Littell and others.

Beyond the roster situation, there are plenty of other important factors at play. Due to hurricane damage, the team couldn’t play at Tropicana Field in 2025. They had to relocate to Steinbrenner Field, normally the home of the Tampa Tarpons, the Single-A affiliate of the Yankees. It’s also the spring training home for the Yankees, so it’s a decent facility, but it’s not huge. With the smaller capacity and the costs of moving for the year, the club’s finances were presumably not great last year.

The damage to The Trop also had domino effects. It scuttled a deal for a new stadium and ultimately contributed to the ouster of owner Stuart Sternberg. Late in 2025, Sternberg reached a deal to sell to a group led by real estate developer Patrick Zalupski. That deal didn’t become official until the end of the season.

The Rays appear to be on track to return to The Trop for the start of the 2026 campaign, but the plans beyond that are less certain. Their lease at that venue only runs through 2028. Zalupski and his group have plans to build a new stadium, as part of a mixed-use development, by the start of the 2029 season. However, it’s unclear if they can pull it off. They are hoping to get government funding to cover half the costs and it doesn’t appear they have strong support for that arrangement. Whispers of a potential move to Orlando can be heard from the corners, or sometimes the city is plainly evoked from a dais.

There’s also the Wander Franco situation lingering in the background. He is technically still owed millions through 2032 but hasn’t been paid in a while. Due to the sexual abuse allegations against him, Franco has been on the restricted list since 2024. It’s unlikely the Rays will have to pay him again, but the legal process is still playing out, so his contract is technically still on the books.

On top of all that, there’s the broadcast revenue situation. Like many clubs, the Rays have been hit hard by cord cutting. As of a few years ago, they were getting about $56MM annually from their regional sports network deal with Diamond Sports Group. That company, now known as Main Street Sports, appears to be circling the drain. The Rays were one of nine clubs to walk away from the company in January, and they’ll now be one of the teams letting MLB handle the broadcast side of things. That arrangement can help the club reach more fans via blackout-free local streaming but it leads to a worse revenue situation. Travis Sawchik of MLB.com says teams in this position only bring in about 50% of the previous RSN set-up.

Put it all together and it seems like the Rays aren’t as focused on near-term contention, but they never fully rebuild. Their 2025-26 offseason would somewhat resemble their 2025 trade deadline, as they leaned a bit more to the sell side but still looked to backfill what they sent out.

First up was the Pete Fairbanks decision. He had been a big part of the roster for many years but was in line for a big raise. He previously signed an extension with the Rays, a deal that paid him $3.67MM annually from 2023 to 2025. There was a $7MM club option for 2026, but Fairbanks through a series of escalators based on innings pitched and games finished, he pushed the option value up to $11MM — effectively triple what he was making before.

Despite the big jump, that still would have been a fair price for Fairbanks, but it seems the Rays didn’t want to pay it. They shopped around and seemed to get a bit of interest but not enough for them to pull the trigger on a deal. They bit the bullet and paid his $1MM buyout, sending him to free agency. He eventually secured a $13MM deal from the Marlins, so there was perhaps a bit of surplus value in his option, but not enough for any club to offer the Rays an enticing trade return in the first couple days of the offseason.

In the month of December, the buy/sell hybrid was on full display. Early in the month, they agreed to free agent deals with outfielder Cedric Mullins and left-hander Steven Matz. Shortly thereafter, they pulled off two big trades on the same day. On December 19th, they sent Shane Baz to the Orioles for four prospects and a draft pick. They also sent Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery to the Pirates in a three-team trade, getting prospects Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito from the Astros in return.

The two trades were clearly made with an eye on the future. Baz is 26 years old, turning 27 this year, and still has three years of club control remaining. He could have been a key cog in the rotation for the next few years. Perhaps the Rays felt the package was too good to pass up. Three of the four prospects they received were generally considered to be in Baltimore’s top 10-15 prospects before the deal, and the Rays got a draft pick as well.

It’s also possible they felt like selling high on Baz, in a sense. His 4.87 earned run average in 2025 was well below average, but it was easily his healthiest season. He was once one of the top pitching prospects in the sport but hasn’t been able to stay on the field due to injuries (including UCL surgery). Baz doubled his previous career highs in terms of both starts made and innings pitched. The Rays could hold him, hope for continued health and big gains in results — or cash him in now, when he was still something of an upside play. They cashed him in.

The Lowe trade was a classic and expected Rays move. Over the years, they have traded many core players just before they hit free agency. Since Lowe is slated for free agency after 2026, it wasn’t a shock to see him sent out the door.

Mangum and Montgomery were more controllable but perhaps not deemed core pieces. Mangum is a talented speed-and-defense outfielder with questionable offense. The Rays already have a few of those and seemingly felt Mangum was expendable. Montgomery is a reliever with exceptional stuff but significant control problems. Maybe he’ll click in Pittsburgh, but the Rays generally don’t have trouble finding good relievers. Parting with this group also netted Melton, who’s currently a top-100 prospect and could fill a long-term role in the outfield. He’s already made a brief (and rocky) MLB debut but hit .286/.389/.556 in Triple-A last season.

The Mullins signing effectively replaced some of the outfield depth lost by trading Mangum. The Rays had also flipped Kameron Misner, Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters in smaller deals earlier in the winter. Mullins is coming off a bit of a down year but was still a useful player, and his deal isn’t huge, as it essentially pays him like a second-year arbitration player.

Matz hasn’t been a full-time starter in a while but is coming off a good year of mostly relief work, as he posted a 3.05 ERA between the Cardinals and Red Sox. The Rays are going to try to stretch him back out, replacing some of the innings lost by trading Bradley and Baz, as well as Adrian Houser becoming a free agent.

The three-team Lowe trade left a hole at second base but the Rays addressed that in January… with another three-team Lowe trade. They sent Josh Lowe to the Angels in a swap that netted them Gavin Lux from the Reds. Lux was in a super utility role in 2025, playing the outfield more than the infield, but the Rays plan to plant him at the keystone. They believe the consistency will help him focus on getting the most out of his bat.

Josh Lowe seemed to have a breakout in 2023 but declined in the two seasons since, so the Rays are moving on as part of a larger outfield shake-up. Jake Fraley seems to have one spot. The Rays claimed him, non-tendered him and re-signed him in quick succession early in the offseason. Mullins will have a spot next to him. Chandler Simpson could have another. They also picked up Melton and could find space for him as the season rolls along. Smaller deals also netted Justyn-Henry Malloy, Ryan Vilade and Víctor Mesa Jr..

In February, the opportunity for yet another three-team trade came along. The Rays obviously cannot help themselves in this arena. Jon Becker of FanGraphs was among those to point out that the Rays have been involved in five of the past six three-team trades in MLB, the exception being the Tommy Edman/Erick Fedde/Miguel Vargas trade from 2024 involving the Dodgers, Cardinals and White Sox.

In Tampa’s third and final three-team trade of the winter, they were a minor player. The headliner was Brendan Donovan, who went from the Cardinals to the Mariners. The prospect talent went to St. Louis. But the Rays snuck in there to get infielder Ben Williamson from the Mariners while sending prospect Colton Ledbetter and a competitive balance round B draft pick (#72 overall) to the Cards.

Williamson hasn’t hit much but has received good grades for his third base defense. The Rays have Junior Caminero at the hot corner but his bat is better than his glove. Williamson could serve as a defensive replacement for him occasionally, and he has minor league experience at second and shortstop. He’ll give the Rays a right-handed bat who can provide some extra cover at those spots as well.

It’s a bit surprising that the Rays gave up a prospect and a pick to get a guy who seems like a utility player, but there’s also a logic to it. Ledbetter is a nice prospect but seems to be decent at most things without a standout tool. He may end up being a bench/depth piece somewhat similar to Williamson, as an outfielder, but not for a few years.

As for the pick, the Rays have shown a willingness to flip those for big leaguers, even if they’re not stars. They traded a pick last year for Bryan Baker, a good reliever but not an elite closer. “We’re drafting players, and the goal is to turn them into big leaguers,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said to Adam Berry of MLB.com at the time of the Baker trade. “And this draft pick turned into a big leaguer very quickly.”

The Orioles used that pick they received for Baker to draft Slater de Brun … whom the Rays then acquired in the Baz deal. Tampa Bay also received a higher pick (#33 overall) in that trade, then flipped a competitive balance round B pick to the Cards in the Williamson/Donovan trade. In a sense, it’s emblematic of their overall approach. Buy here, sell there.

They capped off their winter with another free agent signing, getting Nick Martinez on a one-year deal worth $13MM. Martinez has been baseball’s preeminent swingman in recent years. Over the past four years, he has made 61 starts and 131 relief appearances, posting a 3.67 ERA in that time. He has been better as a reliever but serviceable as a starter. The Rays will begin the season using him in the rotation.

At the end of all the wheeling and dealing, the Rays go into 2026 with a rotation of unknowns. They subtracted Bradley and Baz in the past year but added Matz and Martinez. Ryan Pepiot is probably the guy with the least risk. Shane McClanahan has ace-caliber stuff and should be back after missing the past two seasons due to injury. Drew Rasmussen was healthy in 2025 but has a lengthy injury history. Martinez and Matz should have spots but could get pushed to the bullpen if other guys step up. Yoendrys Gómez, Ian Seymour, Joe Boyle, and Jesse Scholtens are all on the 40-man roster. Brody Hopkins is one of the club’s top prospects and he could push for a debut in 2026.

On the position player side of things, the Rays sent out a number of outfielders but also brought in a bunch. At second base, they subtracted Lowe and replaced him with Lux. In the process of all their moves, they added a lot of talent to the system, though whether they made the 2026 team better is debatable. Both the Projected Standings at FanGraphs and the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus project the Rays to finish last in a strong American League East.

Ultimately, it feels like a transition period for the franchise. The roster wasn’t bad but also wasn’t good enough in the past two years. They have a new owner and an uncertain future in terms of their stadium. The Franco deal may or may not come off the books at some point. Their broadcast revenue is up in the air. It’s a lot of uncertainty, but the front office seemed to operate in classic Rays fashion this offseason.

How would you grade the Rays' offseason?

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Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Tampa Bay Rays

Offseason In Review: San Diego Padres

By | at March 12, 2026 5:00pm CDT

Despite some in-fighting among ownership, the Padres brought back one of their key free agents. The Friars took their usual approach of signing a notable player from an Asian league and adding a bunch of cheap veteran free agents just before Spring Training. As has frequently been the case, they’re also heading into the season with a new manager.

Major League Signings

2026 commitments: $24.5MM
Total future commitments: $99.45MM

Trades and Claims

  • None

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The Padres’ offseason began in usual fashion. Immediately after being bounced by the Cubs in the Wild Card Series, San Diego faced questions about their leadership continuity. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller was headed into the final year of his contract. Manager Mike Shildt had led the team to consecutive playoff appearances, but that didn’t ensure he’d be back.

After initial reporting that the Padres planned to retain Shildt, he stepped down in the middle of October. Excellent reporting from Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune contextualized that decision. Acee’s column goes into detail about how Shildt’s managerial style wound up alienating many of his assistant coaches, while the 57-year-old skipper said he’d become worn down by the position. (Shildt would remain in baseball but in a lower-profile role by accepting a player development job with the Orioles six weeks later.)

This wasn’t quite the same situation as the Padres’ previous two managerial changes. The 2024 move to allow Bob Melvin to leave for the Giants reportedly stemmed from an acrimonious relationship between Melvin and Preller. Jayce Tingler’s ouster at the end of 2021 came after he’d seemingly lost the clubhouse amidst a second half collapse. In any case, the result was a fourth managerial hiring process in seven years — and a remarkable sixth full-time skipper during Preller’s lengthy run at the top of baseball operations.

Preller’s own contract status would linger over the offseason, but it was apparent early on that he’d be back for 2026 at least. The Padres conducted their managerial search throughout the postseason and into the first few days of the offseason. They settled on former reliever Craig Stammen, who had been in the organization’s player development department but had no coaching or managerial experience. It was an unexpected hire considering initial reporting suggested the likes of Ryan Flaherty, Nick Hundley, Ruben Niebla, and Albert Pujols were in the running.

San Diego kept the well-regarded Niebla on staff as pitching coach despite passing on him for the managerial vacancy. The Padres brought in Randy Knorr as bench coach and tabbed former outfielder Steven Souza Jr. as a first-time hitting coach. Stammen had ties to both men (Knorr as a coach, Souza as a teammate) from his time in the Nationals bullpen.

Once the manager was settled, the front office could turn its attention to the roster. They faced a handful of free agent losses. Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez obviously weren’t coming back. Cease was going to price himself out of San Diego, while the Padres had prepared for Suarez’s departure by trading for Mason Miller last summer.

The Padres had a number of option decisions. Most of them were obvious: Suarez’s opt-out, Michael King declining a mutual option, the team exercising a bargain $6.5MM option to keep left fielder Ramón Laureano. The club bought out depth starter Kyle Hart but quickly circled back on a cheaper one-year deal. They dropped Elias Díaz and Tyler Wade, while lefty reliever Wandy Peralta passed on the chance to opt out of the remaining two years and $8.9MM on his deal.

San Diego issued qualifying offers to Cease and King, both of which were expected. They opted not to make a QO to Luis Arraez, setting the stage for him to join the division rival Giants on a $12MM deal. Ryan O’Hearn was ineligible for a qualifying offer as a midseason trade pickup, not that the Padres would have given much thought to offering him a $22.025MM salary. O’Hearn’s production after the trade was just alright and it doesn’t seem like San Diego made much effort to bring him back before he signed a two-year deal with Pittsburgh.

Of their impactful free agents, King became the priority. Some of that was driven by a glaring need for rotation help beyond Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, the latter of whom missed all of last season rehabbing Tommy John surgery. Although San Diego’s interest in re-signing King was natural, it came as a moderate surprise they got the deal done. The Padres have curtailed free agent spending since Peter Seidler’s 2023 passing. Even last offseason’s four-year, $55MM deal with Pivetta came late in the winter when the righty was amenable to a heavily backloaded contract with opt-outs after the second and third seasons.

The Padres were also facing some geographic disadvantages. King attended high school in Rhode Island, played collegiately at Boston College, and spent the first five seasons of his career with the Yankees. He said he entered the offseason preferring to land with an East Coast team. That changed when the Padres put forth a three-year, $75MM offer that included opt-out chances after the first and second seasons. King might’ve been able to land a bigger guarantee elsewhere, but he’s able to remain with a team he knows well with a chance to cash in next offseason.

King pitched at a borderline ace level during his first season in San Diego. He was out to an even stronger start to the ’25 campaign before encountering a troublesome nerve issue in his throwing shoulder. That shelved him for nearly three months, and he battled knee inflammation upon his late-season return. Although a fully healthy King is clearly one of the team’s three best starters, the Padres used him out of the bullpen in their playoff series.

It’s an upside play for pitcher and team alike. The Padres are hopefully paying King $22MM ($12MM signing bonus, $5MM salary, and a $5MM option buyout) for one excellent season. He’d be positioned to retest the market at age 32 without being attached to a qualifying offer. He’d likely try to max out the contract length and guarantee at that point.

Slotting King back into the #2 spot in the rotation is far more valuable to the Padres than the fourth round pick they would have received as compensation for his departure. They did land one compensatory draft choice when Cease signed his seven-year deal with the Blue Jays — a deal that shattered whatever the Padres would have been willing to offer.

Even with King in the fold, the rotation remained the roster’s biggest question. Yu Darvish missed a couple months last season with an elbow issue. He looked a shell of his former self when healthy enough to pitch, allowing a 5.38 ERA in 15 regular season starts (plus two runs on four hits in one playoff inning). There were early whispers that the 39-year-old Darvish could walk away from the remaining three years on his contract.

That may still be the case, but all that’s known for now is that the righty won’t be available in 2026. Darvish underwent an internal brace surgery to address UCL damage in his elbow. He made his most recent statement on his long-term future in January, saying that he and the team have had conversations about terminating his contract (presumably with some kind of deferral or buyout structure). He hasn’t made any decisions on retirement. Darvish is signed through his age-41 season for a combined $43MM: $15MM this year, followed by $14MM salaries in 2027-28.

The Padres poked around the market for a second significant rotation move. They reportedly made a three-year, $50MM offer to Merrill Kelly. He opted to return to Arizona on a two-year deal at a higher annual rate. The Padres were loosely tied to Framber Valdez as his free agency lingered but never seemed likely to make the money work.

They’ll round out the rotation with internal arms and reclamation projects. Randy Vásquez is expected to get the fourth starter role on the heels of a decent 2025 season. They added Griffin Canning on a $2.5MM deal after last June’s Achilles tear. Canning had posted a 3.77 ERA across 16 starts with the Mets before the injury. He’ll probably be on the injured list into May but should be locked into a rotation spot once he’s healthy.

San Diego signed longtime Rockies righty Germán Márquez to a $1.75MM contract to round out the staff until Canning returns. Márquez hasn’t been good since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. He’s coming off a near-7.00 ERA over 26 starts last season. He was bombed for a 7.32 mark outside Coors Field. The big league deal is less about projecting improved performance at normal altitude and more a flier on a fastball that still sits around 95 mph.

It’s a similar situation for Walker Buehler, who came aboard on a minor league contract. Buehler’s fastball sat around 94 mph last season, well down from the upper 90s heat he brought before undergoing his second Tommy John procedure in 2022. He’s in the 92 mph range this spring, though it’s common for pitchers to add a tick or two as they build up into game shape.

Buehler isn’t guaranteed a roster spot but could push Márquez for the fifth starter role. It’s also possible the Padres start Musgrove on the injured list to avoid pushing him too quickly, which would open another early-season rotation spot. The Padres tendered JP Sears a $2.75MM arbitration contract even though he was a non-factor after coming over in the Miller trade. He’s on the 40-man roster and likely starting the season in the minors. That’s also true of Hart and minor league signee Marco Gonzales, while they’ll face a decision on the out-of-options Matt Waldron once he’s back from the injured list.

The Padres understandably felt good about the bullpen despite losing Suarez. Miller is probably the best closer in MLB. Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez could all find themselves in setup roles. Peralta and Yuki Matsui are under contract as lefty middle relievers. San Diego’s only 40-man roster moves were depth fliers on Daison Acosta and Ty Adcock, both of whom will open the season in Triple-A.

There was more work to do on the position player side. The Padres have one of the most top-heavy offensive groups in the league. That isn’t going to change, but they made a few moves to deepen a lineup losing Arraez and O’Hearn.

The most notable was a four-year deal for KBO infielder Sung-mun Song. The 29-year-old has had an excellent last two seasons for the Kiwoom Heroes after a middling career until that point. Scouting reports project him as a utility player at the MLB level. That’s the role he’ll play in San Diego at a modest $2.8MM average annual value.

Song, a lefty hitter, has spent most of his career at second or third base. He’ll back up Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado at those respective positions. The Padres also planned to get him shortstop and outfield work this spring, though that’s been halted by some oblique trouble that seems likely to delay his team debut by a few weeks.

The Padres wanted to balance the lineup by adding a pair of veteran right-handed bats. San Diego signed lefty masher Miguel Andujar to a one-year, $4MM deal. He’s coming off an excellent .318/.352/.470 showing between the A’s and Reds. The market was nevertheless cold on him because of his lack of defensive value, injury history, and aggressive offensive approach.

Andujar will get the majority of the designated hitter work while backing up Laureano and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the corner outfield. The Padres wanted another righty hitter to platoon with Gavin Sheets at first base. Paul Goldschmidt would have been an ideal fit, but he declined an offer from San Diego to return to the Yankees. The Padres pivoted to Nick Castellanos after he was released by the Phillies.

The move comes at literally no cost financially. Castellanos is playing for the league minimum salary in San Diego (which the Padres would have paid to whoever else was taking that roster spot regardless). The Phillies are eating the rest of his $20MM salary. Castellanos should still be a decent power bat against lefty pitching. Any risk is in adding a player who had no first base experience until this spring and whose time in Philadelphia ended with a highly publicized rift with manager Rob Thomson.

The Padres opted not to make a move behind the plate, where they’ll rely on the Freddy Fermin/Luis Campusano pair. They don’t have clear backups behind Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill at shortstop and in center field, respectively. They’d been hoping to get Song up to speed for that role by Opening Day. A season-opening injured list stint would create a spot for one of Will Wagner, Mason McCoy or minor league signee Ty France as a utility infielder. The out-of-options Bryce Johnson probably wins the fourth outfield role.

They could benefit from one more depth move in the final two weeks of Spring Training, but it doesn’t seem to be a priority. San Diego didn’t make a single waiver claim for a second straight offseason. They also didn’t make any trades despite Preller’s affinity for massive swings. There was a rumor out of the Winter Meetings about talks with the Mets concerning a potential blockbuster involving Miller, Pivetta and Laureano. There’s no indication that progressed, and the Padres stood pat from a trade perspective.

That surely won’t be the case this summer. The Padres mostly sat out last offseason’s trade activity as well before making three big deadline trades (Miller/Sears, Laureano/O’Hearn, and Fermin). If they’re in the running for a playoff spot, it’s in their nature to be aggressive. With Pivetta and King both able to opt out next winter, adding a controllable starting pitcher figures to be a priority. If the team underperforms, either or both veteran righties could be on the trade block themselves.

Preller will lead the deadline with long-term financial comfort. He and the organization finally reached agreement on a multi-year extension last month. That’s of particular importance given the likelihood of a major shakeup at the ownership level. In early February, the Seidler family resolved most of their litigation against one another. That paves the way for the family to move forward with a sale that could be in place as soon as Opening Day. The most recent reporting indicated they were weighing five offers and could pull north of $2.5 billion for the franchise.

The repercussions of a potential sale won’t really be felt until next offseason at the earliest. Last winter was a fairly typical Padres offseason, one they’ll hope was sufficient to maintain their status as the Dodgers’ top challenger in the NL West.

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals San Diego Padres

Poll: Who Will Be The Odd Man Out In The Twins’ Rotation?

By | at March 12, 2026 12:52pm CDT

The Twins traded 11 players at least year’s deadline, shipping out several rental veterans and a series of controllable relievers that left them with one of the game’s worst pitching staffs in the second half. That hit to the team’s more immediate competitiveness came with the upside of adding to an already impressive cache of starting pitching talent, however. Spring injuries to Pablo López and David Festa have thinned the herd, but the Twins have more viable starters than they can fit into a five-man rotation.

Righties Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are locked into spots. Ryan has been one of the American League’s most consistent starters in recent seasons. Ober has been a solid third/fourth starter for the bulk of his career but saw his 2025 numbers tanked by a catastrophic June. Simeon Woods Richardson is a heavy favorite to land a rotation spot since he’s out of minor league options and pitched well down the stretch in 2025.

Looking at the team’s optionable starters, there are a few who seem unlikely to make the rotation at this point. Lefties Kendry Rojas and Connor Prielipp and righties John Klein and Andrew Morris have yet to make their MLB debuts. They’ll likely start off in Triple-A, though any of the bunch could fight his way into a rotation spot later in the year. Putting Woods Richardson in the rotation and eliminating the players who have yet to debut in the majors from the conversation leaves three arms — Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and Zebby Matthews — for two spots.

Bradley, acquired last summer for Griffin Jax, is the most experienced at the big league level of the three. Once a consensus top-25 prospect in the sport, he made it to the majors with Tampa Bay in 2023 and has mostly stuck in their rotation since. He’s not yet enjoyed much in the way of results as a big leaguer, however, as demonstrated by his 4.86 ERA in 75 appearances (73 starts).

Bradley’s ERA+ peaked at 97 in 2024 and sits at just 85 for his career. His peripherals are better than his results, and his career 4.00 SIERA does offer some confidence about his ability to perform at the big league level. He won’t turn 25 until next month. Bradley is still young enough to be capable of breaking out in a big way, but he’s also young enough that spending time at Triple-A is hardly outlandish.

Matthews is about ten months older than Bradley but is less experienced in the majors. The right-hander has a similar resume in a smaller sample. He’s made just 25 big league starts, and while his 5.92 ERA is ugly, a 4.41 FIP and 3.80 SIERA both offer some reason for optimism.

Matthews has a career 24.7% strikeout rate against a 6.6% walk rate. That’s good for a K-BB% on par with high-end arms like Kevin Gausman and Freddy Peralta. Much of his struggles in terms of results surely has to do with an incredibly high .359 BABIP, which figures to come down across a larger sample. He also took a notable step forward in 2025 relative to 2024, as his barrel rate plummeted from 14% down to a more acceptable 9.9%, while his hard-hit rate dropped to 38.8%. Matthews’ struggles at the big league level might be enough to keep him out of the rotation to start the year, but the underlying metrics on the former top-100 prospect could warrant a longer look.

As for Abel, the right-hander is by far the least experienced in the majors. He made his MLB debut just last year and won’t turn 25 until August. He posted a 6.23 ERA in a 39 inning cup of coffee last year between the Phillies and Twins. That would make it easy to write Abel off for the Opening Day roster, but he has considerable pedigree as a recent top-100 prospect and has opened eyes this spring with a dominant performance. Abel has fired off ten scoreless innings in three starts with 13 strikeouts, good for a 39.4% clip.  Bradley (seven runs in 14 innings, 19-to-5 K/BB) and Matthews (seven runs in six innings) haven’t been as sharp. Spring numbers only count for so much, of course, but Abel has made a stronger case for himself than his competition.

How do MLBTR readers expect the Twins to decide who gets left out of the Opening Day rotation? Will they leave off Abel due to his lack of experience, overlook Matthews’ strong peripherals, or not be swayed by Bradley’s experience? Have your say in the poll below:

Who will be the odd man out in the Twins' rotation?

  • Zebby Matthews 54% (1,435)
  • Mick Abel 35% (916)
  • Taj Bradley 11% (288)

Total votes: 2,639

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MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls Minnesota Twins

Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates

By | at March 11, 2026 7:09pm CDT

The Pirates went into the winter with a lot of pitching and almost no hitting. They spent the offseason smoothing out that imbalance and the team looks better going into 2026. Is it enough to get them back to the playoffs for first time in over a decade?

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $35.25MM
Total spending: $50.25MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The Bucs have been stuck in a rebuilding pattern for a while. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2015 and haven’t topped 82 wins in any season since then. They flirted with contention in recent seasons, though in the era of the expanded playoffs, that just means they floated near .500 for parts of the summer.

They have graduated a lot of exciting pitching prospects to the majors in recent years but have struggled to hit. The 2025 team scored 583 runs, lowest in the majors. The team had a combined .231/.305/.350 batting line, which translated to an 82 wRC+, indicating the squad was collectively 18% worse than league average. The only guy on the team with a wRC+ greater than 101 was Spencer Horwitz, who started the season on the injured list due to wrist surgery and did most of his damage in the second half.

Despite the clear deficiencies on the roster, there was a case for making a strong push this offseason. Paul Skenes has just four years of club control remaining and may not spend all of that in Pittsburgh. His salary will increase via arbitration in 2027 and he may not sign an extension, so he could be traded before reaching free agency, currently slated for the 2029-30 offseason. Konnor Griffin became the top prospect in baseball in 2025 and put himself in position to make a major league debut in 2026. If you’re not going to invest around these stars, then when?

The club has not been active in free agency historically. They have never given a free agent $40MM in franchise history. Since Ben Cherington took over as general manager in 2019, he had never signed a free agent to a multi-year deal or signed a one-year deal worth as much as $11MM. But in the early offseason, Cherington suggested they could add $30-40MM to the payroll. That wouldn’t be too exciting for a lot of clubs but would be an increase for the Bucs. There was also the trade market, as they appeared to have enough starting pitching that flipping some for offense seemed possible.

Given the weakness of the lineup, the Bucs had the freedom to target almost any bat, regardless of position. Quickly, it became clear that Cherington’s words weren’t completely hollow, as he went after some of the top available guys. It was reported in mid-November that the club had made a strong offer to Josh Naylor before he had re-signed with the Mariners and they were also in the mix for Kyle Schwarber. Signing either would have required shattering their $39MM franchise record for a free agent deal. They were also connected to guys like Kazuma Okamoto and Jorge Polanco in the early offseason.

Their first notable move wasn’t for a surefire lineup boost, but it did feature the pitching-for-hitting framework that was expected. There were five players in the deal but the headline was that the Bucs sent righty Johan Oviedo to the Red Sox for outfield prospect Jhostynxon García. Oviedo had shown some promise in 2023 when he posted a 4.31 earned run average over 32 starts. He missed 2024 due to surgery, returned in 2025 and put up a 3.57 ERA with more strikeouts but also more walks.

Oviedo has two years of club control remaining and may have some upside but the Pirates had enough starting pitching talent to part ways with him. By doing so, they added an intriguing but unproven outfielder to their roster. García has been on some top 100 prospect lists but has just five big league games under his belt. He should have a chance to earn some playing time but his path would eventually be crowded by the rest of Pittsburgh’s offseason moves.

The Schwarber dream died on December 9th, when he returned to the Phils on a five-year, $150MM deal. The Bucs reportedly offered him a four-year deal in the $120MM range. That obviously wasn’t enough but it signaled that there was indeed some change in the pocket.

On the same date that the Schwarber news dropped, the Bucs did get a deal done, but with a reliever. They agreed to a one-year deal with Gregory Soto worth $7.75MM. Soto had a 4.40 ERA over the past three years but with perhaps more interesting numbers under the hood. His 9.4% walk rate was around average for a reliever, while his 25.9% strikeout rate and 48.4% ground ball rate were a few ticks better than par. A .325 batting average on balls in play and 67.7% strand rate seemed to hurt him, which is why his 3.55 FIP and 3.55 SIERA were more optimistic. If his ERA trends closer to those other metrics, it could be a nice bit of business for the Pirates.

A little over a week later, the Pirates made their first surefire upgrade to the lineup. Like the Oviedo-García swap, this one would see the Bucs trading from their rotation depth. In a three-team trade, they sent Mike Burrows to the Astros in order to receive infielder Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery from the Rays. Burrows was a steep price to pay, as he has six years of club control remaining. But the Pirates had several such arms in their rotation mix and didn’t have room for all of them.

The biggest upgrade for 2026 is Lowe, though he is just a rental, since there is one year left on his contract. But he’s one of the top power bats at the second base position. He has 81 home runs over the past five years. Only four primary second baseman have more. The four guys ahead of him all played a larger sample of games in that span, which speaks to some injury trouble Lowe has had, which is the main knock against him. Though he doesn’t count as a free agent, the Bucs are taking on his contract and will pay him $11.5MM this year.

Mangum and Montgomery are more complementary pieces of the trade but still potentially impactful. Mangum’s first year in the big leagues saw him steal 27 bases and get strong grades for his glovework. His bat was a bit below par but he was still useful on the whole. He has five years of club control and a full slate of options. Even if he’s just a fourth outfielder type, he has value. If his bat finds a new gear, then that’s even better. Montgomery has huge strikeout stuff but poor control. He’s a project but one with upside if things break right. He also comes with five years of club control and has options.

The Bucs were clearly not content to stop after Lowe. In the coming days, they would be connected to guys like Eugenio Suárez and Yoán Moncada. Just before the holiday break, they pulled the trigger on a free agent addition, a two-year deal with Ryan O’Hearn worth $29MM. While a notch below the Schwarber/Naylor pursuits, it was still somewhat notable as the biggest free agent deal of Cherington’s tenure.

O’Hearn isn’t a superstar but has been solidly above average at the plate. Over the past three years, he has 46 home runs, a .277/.343/.445 line and 121 wRC+. He has some ability to play the outfield but is more of a first baseman. It initially seemed like he and Horwitz would share first base and the designated hitter spot, but this would change in the coming months.

The Pirates were still hunting for more offense, getting connected to various bats throughout January. They also showed some interest in Framber Valdez as he lingered unsigned, though that seemed like an odd fit and he eventually landed with the Tigers.

They did apparently have room for one arm in the rotation after their recent trades, as they landed José Urquidy on a one-year deal worth $1.5MM. The Bucs usually sign a cheap left-hander late in the offseason. Since PNC Park is so tough on righty power, those lefties can usually outperform their contracts. Urquidy is right-handed but is basically filling that role since he has reverse splits in his career.

There was one more clear lineup boost to come, as the Pirates signed Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12MM deal in February. It’s a bit risky since Ozuna is 35 years old and coming off a down year, by his standards. His season was weighed down by a summer slump which coincided with him battling a hip injury. Perhaps he can bounce back with a full season of health but that’s no guarantee at his age.

In addition to the risk, the addition also gummed up the lineup a little bit. Ozuna is just a designated hitter at this point in his career. He didn’t play the field at all in 2024 or 2025 and was in the outfield for just 14 innings in 2023. If he’s in the DH spot most days, Lowe is at second and Horwitz is at first, that means O’Hearn will have to be in the outfield almost every day. He’s never started more than 23 games on the grass in any season of his career, so that will be new for him, but it seems the Bucs are willing to make that compromise as they try to add as much thump to the lineup as possible.

In addition to displacing O’Hearn, there are other ripple effects. With Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz in the other two outfield spots, guys like García and Mangum will be pushed to fourth outfielder roles or maybe even the minors. It also effectively closed off any chance of another reunion with Andrew McCutchen. He seemed frustrated by the situation but eventually moved on, signing a minor league deal with the Rangers.

The Bucs added one more guy into the depth picture with a spring trade. They sent reliever Kyle Nicolas to the Reds in exchange for infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan. Nicolas is almost like a righty version of Montgomery, with big stuff but poor control. If he puts it together in Cincinnati, this one could sting, but it’s also possible that doesn’t happen. Callihan has just four big league games under his belt but strong minor league numbers. He played first base, second base and left field last year, so he provides depth in a few spots.

It was a busy offseason and it feels like there’s more optimism surrounding the Pirates than there has been for quite some time. When combining free agents and the money they took on in the Lowe deal, they added roughly $50MM to the 2026 payroll.

Despite trading away several arms, they project to have a rotation including Skenes, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler and Urquidy. Jared Jones will return from his surgery rehab at some point, perhaps as early as late May. Prospects Thomas Harrington and Hunter Barco will be lurking in Triple-A.

The lineup will need incumbent guys like Reynolds and Cruz to bounce back but the Bucs have added Lowe, O’Hearn and Ozuna as three everyday upgrades. Guys like Garcia, Mangum and Callihan will be pushing for jobs over time. The left side of the infield feels like a weak spot but Griffin should be up to take over shortstop at some point, maybe as soon as Opening Day. That would leave guys like Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales and others fighting over third base.

Is this enough to get them over the hump? The National League Central is in fairly healthy shape. The Cardinals are rebuilding but the Brewers, Cubs and Reds all made the playoffs last year. Did the Pirates add enough to leapfrog someone?

How would you grade the Pirates' offseason?

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Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images

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Poll: Who Will Be The Braves’ Fifth Starter?

By | at March 11, 2026 11:38am CDT

The Atlanta rotation has had a rough go of it this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both hit the injured list before Spring Training games even began, and now they’ve been followed by the loss of lefty Joey Wentz to a season-ending ACL tear. The timelines for Waldrep and Schwellenbach aren’t yet clear, but they figure to miss significant time following surgeries to remove loose bodies from their elbows. (Schwellenbach is already on the 60-day IL.) That leaves the Braves with a lot of uncertainty in the rotation. Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez are coming off injury-marred 2025 seasons, but they’ll be relied on for mid-rotation innings behind Chris Sale and Spencer Strider.

There’s still one rotation spot open. Wentz was in position to make a play for that spot and had a decent spring showing: two runs, three hits, four walks, one hit batter, six punchouts in 5 2/3 innings (3.18 ERA). His injury opens the competition up to a larger group.

The on-paper favorite is likely to be right-hander Bryce Elder, who made 28 starts for the Braves last year. Elder is still just 27 years old and was an All-Star back in 2023 thanks to a big first half, but in his past 52 starts he’s posted a 5.63 ERA with a below-average 18.4% strikeout rate against an 8.3% walk rate. Metrics like SIERA (4.56) and FIP (4.76) have been a bit better kinder, but Elder is approaching 300 innings with an ERA north of 5.50 over the past two and a half calendar years.

Elder’s status as the presumptive favorite is more about incumbency, being on the 40-man roster and being out of minor league options. He hasn’t made a strong case this spring, turning in a lackluster 6.48 ERA in three starts. That leaves the door wide open for someone else to grab the job.

Left-hander José Suarez is also out of minor league options and on the 40-man roster. He has an uneven big league track record but pitched well between 61 2/3 minor league innings and 19 1/3 major league frames for Atlanta last winter. He’s allowed four runs in 6 2/3 spring innings. Suarez gave the Angels 207 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball in 2021-22 before being tagged for a 6.91 ERA in 86 innings across a pair of injury-marred seasons in 2023-24.

The most prominent non-roster veteran in camp is southpaw Martín Pérez. The lefty has allowed only one run in five spring innings and is coming off a season where he posted decent numbers (3.54 ERA, 4.24 FIP) in 56 innings for the White Sox. Flexor and shoulder injuries shortened his 2025 season, and the days of Pérez’s blip of All-Star-caliber work with the Rangers (2.89 ERA, 3.9 fWAR in 2022) are likely behind him. Still, he has the potential to be an effective back-end starter.

Those aren’t the only options for the role. Veteran Carlos Carrasco is in camp, but after posting a 9.88 ERA in three starts for Atlanta last season and allowing nine runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 spring innings this year, he seems unlikely to be the top choice. Didier Fuentes made his MLB debut last year and has tossed four scoreless innings this spring, but he won’t celebrate his 21st birthday until June and might be better served with more time in the minors. Top pitching prospect JR Ritchie enjoyed a strong season at Triple-A last year and has looked good so far this spring (3.38 ERA in eight innings). He’s not yet on the 40-man roster.

Another possibility that can’t be entirely ruled out is an external addition. Lucas Giolito remains available and seems like an obvious fit — despite an apparent lack of interest on Atlanta’s part thus far. Other veterans like Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin remain unsigned, too. Any of those pitchers could be added to the mix with the intent of them eventually taking over the fifth starter job, but the team would likely need to trade for a player that’s already been pitching for another club in order to add someone who will immediately be ready to join the rotation at the start of the season. A free agent like Giolito would surely need to get work in at extended Spring Training at this point.

How do MLBTR readers think the Braves will round out their rotation? Will they give the job to Elder and hope for better results than last year? Will they go with a young prospect like Fuentes or Ritchie, or perhaps a veteran like Pérez or Carrasco? Perhaps they’ll eschew all those options for an external addition? Vote now in the poll below:

Who will be the Braves' fifth starter this year?

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Poll: Will The Astros Be Able To Add Another Outfielder Before Opening Day?

By | at March 10, 2026 6:58pm CDT

One of the biggest predicaments of the Astros’ offseason has been their as-of-yet unsuccessful efforts to reshape their outfield mix. After losing Kyle Tucker in a trade to the Cubs last winter, the team not only missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade but struggled to find production in the outfield. Their 88 wRC+ on the grass was the eighth-weakest in the majors, and while strong defense from Jake Meyers in center field helped to raise their ranking in terms of fWAR, the club’s outfield still ranked just 20th in baseball even by that measure.

Things have arguably gotten worse in the outfield for Houston this winter, depending on who you’d take between Jesus Sanchez and Joey Loperfido. As presently constructed, Meyers figures to handle center field with some combination of Loperfido, Cam Smith, Zach Cole, Brice Matthews, and Zach Dezenzo platooning in the corners. Smith is the only one with even 400 plate appearances at the big league level for his career of that group, and he’s a 23-year-old coming off a middling rookie season after getting just 32 games in the minors (and only five above High-A) before making his debut. It’s a very unproven group, and it’s been no secret that even after the calendar flipped to March with Opening Day just weeks away, the Astros are hoping to find a way to add some additional stability to their outfield.

For most of the offseason, the industry consensus was that they were most likely to accomplish that by dealing away Isaac Paredes. Paredes, at least on paper, was blocked all over the diamond after the team acquired Carlos Correa to play third base at last year’s trade deadline. With Correa at third, Christian Walker at first, and Yordan Alvarez at DH, there wasn’t much of anywhere for Paredes to play. Perhaps the team was still holding out hope that the right deal would come through at some point but a recent finger fracture suffered by Jeremy Pena perhaps changes that calculus. If Pena has to miss time, Correa could be thrust back into the role of everyday shortstop, which would leave the hot corner for Paredes to get regular at-bats to open the season.

That means a major trade for someone like Jarren Duran is extremely unlikely at this point. With that being said, though, there are certainly other ways the team could look to improve its outfield even as Opening Day creeps closer. Free agency (Jesse Winker, Jason Heyward) offers a couple of interesting if unexciting options who could likely be brought into camp on a minor league deal.

The best NRI candidates have been picked over by other clubs at this point, but if a player like Michael Conforto (who the Astros reportedly had interest in before he signed with the Cubs) or Mike Tauchman fails to make their current team out of camp, then it’s entirely possible they could opt out of their current deals and find a home in Houston.

It’s even possible that a deal involving a player on another team’s major league roster isn’t completely out of the question. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored a handful of little-discussed trade candidates who could make sense for the Astros last month. While there’s no guarantee any of those players are available, it’s fair to think a team like the Twins (who have all of Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Alan Roden, and James Outman vying for just a few spots in their outfield mix) could be willing to part with one of those pieces. That would be especially intriguing for Minnesota if the Astros were open to listening on some of their pitching depth, given that the Twins will be without Pablo Lopez this year and David Festa is also slated to start the year on the injured list.

What do MLBTR readers think of the Astros’ outfield situation? Will they be able to find some external help before the season begins? Or will they enter the year with some combination of their internal players handling the corners? Have your say in the poll below:

Will the Astros add another outfielder before Opening Day?

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Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals

By | at March 10, 2026 2:01pm CDT

Improving the offense (and in particular the outfield) was the key focus of the Royals’ offseason, and there was plenty of speculation that K.C. would again look to move an arm for a bat.  Instead, the Royals hung onto their rotation depth and made some moves that still leave the lineup with a few question marks.

Major League Signings

2026 spending: $7.15MM
Total spending: $7.15MM

Trades And Claims

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

After reaching the playoffs in 2024, the Royals hoped to significantly upgrade their lineup last winter, except the trade that brought Jonathan India to Kansas City from Cincinnati (with Brady Singer going to the Reds) ended up being the Royals’ biggest offensive addition.  General manager J.J. Picollo was open with his frustration, telling Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star in February 2025 that “that’s probably the one area in the two years we haven’t been able to reach our goal of getting that [offensive bat].  It’s a little disappointing, but we can’t force teams to make trades they don’t want to make.  We were active in the free-agent market; we just weren’t able to land the guys.”

Thirteen months and another offseason later, an argument can be made that the Royals have again had to settle for a half-measures approach.  To be clear, the additions of Isaac Collins, Starling Marte, and Lane Thomas should help the outfield, although that’s in part because there was really nowhere to go but up.  The Royals’ outfield combined for a dismal -1.7 bWAR in 2025, so even if Collins and Marte just replicate their combined 3.1 bWAR from last season, that’s already a substantial step forward.

That said, Royals fans were surely hoping that the team’s biggest free agent expenditure of the offseason would be on a player who didn’t also have a sub-replacement year.  Thomas played in only 39 games with the Guardians due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and then multiple IL stints due to plantar fasciitis that eventually led to foot surgery in late September.  Over 142 plate appearances for Cleveland, Thomas hit only .160/.246/.272, translating to -0.6 bWAR and just a total wash of a year for the 30-year-old.

Thomas isn’t far removed from a 23-homer, 109 wRC+ 2023 season with the Nationals, and he was still hitting well before his bat cratered following a trade to the Guards at the 2024 deadline.  It could be that a change of scenery to another AL Central team will help Thomas get his career on track, but he can’t be counted on as a sure thing for 2026.  For a Royals club working within a limited budget, committing $5.25MM to Thomas carries some extra risk, especially since he might end up being just a part-time player.

Kyle Isbel will continue to get regular work in center field, as his excellent defense makes up for the lack of punch from his left-handed bat.  Thomas (a right-handed hitter) could end up platooning with Isbel in center, or take platoon duties or even everyday duties in right field depending on Jac Caglianone‘s development.  The Royals would like nothing more than to see Caglianone start to live up to his top-prospect potential, though his first 232 plate appearances in the majors resulted in a measly .157/.237/.295 slash line.  Given Caglianone’s bigger-picture importance to the organization, the Royals would have no problem relegating Thomas to platoon duty if it means Caglianone has a sophomore breakout.

Collins is expected to hold down the everyday left field job in 2026 and potentially for years to come.  Kansas City’s most notable trade of the winter saw Collins and righty reliever Nick Mears acquired from the Brewers in exchange for left-hander Angel Zerpa.  Milwaukee may yet explore moving Zerpa back into a starting role, but on paper, the Royals were able to land a controllable (through 2030) outfielder as well as some more bullpen help without dealing from their rotation depth.

The trade made some sense for both teams, beyond just the Royals’ outfield need and the Brewers’ surplus on the grass.  From the Brewers’ perspective, they may have felt they were selling high on a late bloomer (Collins turns 29 in July) who didn’t make much hard contact in 2025 and may have benefited from a .326 BABIP.  Teams may have figured Collins out a bit, given how his numbers cooled off drastically over the season’s last six weeks.  For the Royals, Collins brings a switch-hitting bat, good left field defense, very strong walk and chase rates, and room to grow after his fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting.  Milwaukee has plenty of outfield depth, and Zerpa has an extra year of control over Mears, who like Collins struggled down the stretch (5.89 ERA in his final 20 appearances).

Marte signed with K.C. two weeks into Spring Training, bringing another notable name into the position-player mix.  Nobody expects Marte to return to his old All-Star form at age 37, and he’ll likely spend most of his time at DH with only a handful of outfield appearances.  But, Marte hit a respectable .269/.331/.398 with 16 homers over 699 plate appearances for the Mets in 2024-25 working in this same part-time capacity.  The Royals will happily take those numbers for the low cost of $1MM and some incentive bonuses.

Kameron Misner was also acquired from the Rays in an early-offseason trade.  Between Misner, John Rave, Drew Waters, and utility types Tyler Tolbert and Michael Massey, the Royals have depth on hand as they try to finally establish some stability in their outfield mix.

Marte may end up sharing DH at-bats with either Salvador Perez or Carter Jensen.  The Royals will want to try to give Jensen at-bats beyond just a backup catching role, and also give Perez a fair amount of rest days (which opens the door for Jensen to get more reps behind the plate).  The rest of the infield picture is set, with Maikel Garcia at third base, Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop, India at second base, and Vinnie Pasquantino at first base.

India’s return is the only surprising element of the otherwise stable K.C. infield.  The Royals opted to give India another chance by signing him to an arbitration-avoiding one-year, $8MM contract, rather than simply non-tendering the veteran second baseman.

While it seems like the team simply believes India can bounce back in his second year in Kansas City, committing $8MM to this belief is another matter.  Owner John Sherman indicated in October that the Royals would be spending at roughly the same levels as their $138MM payroll from last year, and as per RosterResource, K.C. has around $148.6MM on the books for 2026.  India and Thomas combine for $13.5MM of that number, and one has to wonder whether the Royals could’ve done more with that money than investing in two players who simply weren’t productive in 2025.

Letting India go would’ve created another hole to address at second base, though since Collins has some experience there, the Royals could’ve still acquired him and toggled him between both the keystone and left field.  Even after agreeing to India’s contract, the Royals were still linked to a couple of prominent infield trade targets.  Kansas City was among the many teams who had interest in Brendan Donovan, though the utilityman might well have seen more time in the Royals’ outfield than the infield.  The Royals’ interest in the Nationals’ CJ Abrams indicated a scenario of Abrams moving to second base (since Witt obviously wouldn’t be moved off shortstop) and India then perhaps dealt back to Washington or dealt elsewhere.

Abrams and Donovan were just two of the many players linked to the Royals in hot stove chatter.  On the free agent front, K.C. had some interest in re-signing old friends Mike Yastrzemski and Adam Frazier, and other outfielders like Harrison Bader, Adolis Garcia, Austin Hays, and JJ Bleday were all reportedly on the radar.  Most of this group ended up signing one-year deals on modest salaries, though Yaz (two years, $23MM from the Braves) and Bader (two years, $20.5MM from the Giants) might have been beyond Kansas City’s preferred price range.

Without much to spend in free agency, the Royals featured in several trade rumors over the winter.  Apart from exploring MacKenzie Gore‘s availability as part of their talks with the Nats, most of the Royals’ reported targets were outfielders, including Boston’s Jarren Duran, Houston’s Jake Meyers, and the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernandez.

Since there are still more than two weeks before Opening Day, we can’t entirely rule out the possibility of a late-spring swap involving any of the outfield trade candidates.  Hernandez is the least-likely of the group due to his hefty remaining salary.  Meyers is the most established player within the Astros’ own shaky outfield, so it could be tricky for Houston and Kansas City to line up on a deal that addresses both teams’ needs.  The Red Sox and Royals, meanwhile, seemed like logical trade partners for most of the winter due to Boston’s outfield glut.  No deal came together between the two sides, perhaps because the Royals weren’t interested in moving Cole Ragans.

It isn’t known exactly what players or offers were bandied about during all of these negotiations, but to return to Picollo’s words from last winter, “we can’t force teams to make trades they don’t want to make.”  This naturally doesn’t absolve the front office of their responsibility to improve the team, but in relation to the 2025-26 offseason, perhaps the Royals’ rotation depth wasn’t quite as enticing as it seemed in terms of trade talks.

Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha weren’t going anywhere after being recently signed to extensions, so the trade speculations focused around the likes of Ragans, Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron, Ryan Bergert, and Stephen Kolek.  There didn’t seem to be much chance that K.C. would move Ragans in the wake of an injury-shortened down year, which is only natural given that he looked like an ace when healthy in 2024.

Bubic showed some front-of-the-rotation ability in 2025 before a rotator cuff strain ended his season early, and while Bubic drew some trade buzz, the combination of his health status and his impending free agency after the 2026 season may have limited his trade value.  For Cameron, Bergert, or Kolek, maybe the offers for any of these more back-end rotation types didn’t meet Kansas City’s expectations, if the plan was to bring back an everyday outfielder.

Again, it’s not out of the question that the Royals could still trade a starter in what remains of the offseason.  Or, perhaps crucially, the Royals might be more open to moving a starter closer to the deadline, once the team has a better sense of its rotation mix.  The 2025 rotation was hit with a number of injuries, so it makes sense that Kansas City wouldn’t want to trade away any starters unless the return was too good to ignore, or if the club was more confident in its starting pitching depth.

Turning to the relief corps, the Royals had to fill some gaps in the bullpen after Hunter Harvey signed with the Cubs, Taylor Clarke was non-tendered, and Zerpa was traded.  Mears hasn’t shown much consistency over his six MLB seasons, but 2025 was his best year yet, with a 3.49 ERA and a 5.9% walk rate over 56 2/3 relief innings for Milwaukee.  Alex Lange was another inexpensive free agent signing, with the Royals spending $900K to see what the righty can do after a lat surgery sidelined him for almost all of the 2024-25 seasons.

Zerpa’s role as the top southpaw relief option was filled by Matt Strahm, who broke into the majors with the Royals in 2016.  Kansas City’s late-game trio of closer Carlos Estevez and set-up men Strahm and Lucas Erceg looks to be a strong group, as Strahm looks to continue his excellent recent track record as a workhorse reliever.  He posted a 2.71 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate, and a 6.2% walk rate over 212 2/3 innings for the Phillies during the 2023-25 seasons.

The Phillies were open to moving Strahm for a few reasons — some tension existed between Strahm and the coaching staff, and Philadelphia has other lefties in their pen, so the Royals’ offer of righty Jonathan Bowlan was a fit for both sides.  Kansas City was also willing to absorb the $7.5MM owed to Strahm in the final year of his contract, which represents the Royals’ largest investment in new talent this offseason.

Three extensions represented the Royals’ biggest overall spends of the winter, including a deal with Pasquantino covering two of his arbitration-eligible years.  The biggest investment was a long-term extension with Garcia that will pay the All-Star at least $57.5MM through 2030, with a club option for 2031.  The Royals gain cost certainty through Garcia’s extended (as a Super Two player) arbitration years, and control over what would’ve been Garcia’s first two free agent-years.  It’s a nice deal that reflects Garcia’s emergence as both an offensive and defensive force, and his breakout was of massive import to a team in need of hitting.

It was a foregone conclusion that the team was planning to at least exercise its $13.5MM club option on Perez for 2026, and the Royals took it a step further with a two-year, $25MM extension covering the 2026-27 seasons.  The deal includes $12MM in deferred money, freeing up some shorter-term savings for the Royals and giving Perez a soft landing for what could potentially be the final two seasons of his big league career.  Moving on from Perez and entrusting the catching job to Jensen and (further down the road) top prospect Blake Mitchell might’ve made sense from a pure logic standpoint, but there’s also obvious value for the Royals in retaining Perez, one of the most beloved players in franchise history.

Manager Matt Quatraro also got in on the extension action, as the skipper’s new contract keeps him in Kansas City through at least the 2029 campaign.  The 2026 season was the final year of Quatraro’s previous deal, and there was little doubt the Royals were going to keep a skipper who has delivered consecutive winning seasons (and a playoff appearance in 2024) to bring the team out of a rebuild period.

Perhaps the most interesting wrinkle of the Royals’ offseason came not exactly off the field, but to Kauffman Stadium’s field itself.  The team is slightly reducing the dimensions of the spacious outfield and lowering the wall from 10 feet to around 8.5 feet, all in the name of making the notoriously pitcher-friendly ballpark more conducive to power hitters.  As Picollo told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters, the aim is “a very fair ballpark. We don’t want it to turn into a bandbox and every ball up in the air turns into a home run. We just want hitters to be rewarded when they hit the ball well, particularly in the gaps.”

Maybe there’s a metaphor here for the Royals’ offseason, as the team is also hoping that some minor adjustments to its roster can yield larger results.  After winning 82 games in 2025, a return to the playoffs certainly seems plausible if the Royals can get more offense and the pitching stays healthy.  Kansas City’s chances are helped by playing in the relatively weak AL Central.  Giving Witt and Garcia more established lineup support would’ve been helpful, but the Royals are hoping that Caglianone and/or Jensen can deliver as much or more than the new additions.

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2025-26 Offseason In Review Kansas City Royals MLBTR Originals

Offseason In Review: New York Mets

By | at March 9, 2026 8:42pm CDT

The Mets responded to a disappointing 2025 season by undergoing a major roster overhaul for 2026, all while sticking to the front office’s preference of avoiding long-term commitments.

Major League Signings

2026 spending (not including Melendez): $86.75MM
Total spending (not including Melendez): $240.75MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The 2025 season was a huge disappointment for the Mets. They had just gone to the NLCS the year before. They added Juan Soto in the offseason. They had every expectation of being one of the best teams in the league and got out to a good start. On June 12th, they had a 5.5 game lead over the Phillies in the National League East. It was all downhill from there. They scuffled through the end of the season, going 21-32 in August and September. They finished 83-79, the same record as the Reds. Cincinnati got the final N.L. Wild Card spot via tiebreaker.

In the clubhouse after the final game of the regular season, just minutes after being eliminated, first baseman Pete Alonso told members of the press he would be opting out of his contract. He had almost departed the prior offseason, only returning after lingering unsigned into February. Edwin Díaz would undoubtedly be opting out as well. A few days after Alonso’s forthright comments, it was reported that the Mets were planning a big shakeup of the coaching staff. Rumors of clubhouse discord would eventually seep out.

It seemed like big changes were possible as the club looked to get in position for a better campaign in 2026. It didn’t take long for the dominoes to fall. There were early offseason trade rumors surrounding longtime Mets like Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil. It wasn’t immediately clear how to take those rumors, especially since Nimmo had been with the club since 2011 and had a full no-trade clause on his deal.

Just three weeks into the offseason, Nimmo was traded to the Rangers for Marcus Semien in a rare one-for-one swap of veterans on big contracts. Nimmo would later say he approved the trade essentially because it seemed like the Rangers wanted him more than the Mets did.

For the Mets, the trade checked a few boxes. On the financial side of things, they actually took on more money in the short term. Nimmo is making $20.25MM in each season of the rest of his deal, Semien $26MM for the next two years and then $20MM in the final season. But Nimmo’s deal still has five years left on it, compared to Semien’s three.

Under president of baseball operations David Stearns, the Mets have shown a preference for higher average annual values on shorter deals. Apart from the Soto pact, which was a special case due to his youth, Stearns hasn’t signed anyone to a deal longer than three years since taking over as the club’s front office leader. That preference was clearly at play in the 2025-26 offseason, with the Nimmo/Semien swap fitting the pattern.

It also shored up the club’s defense, something that was a stated goal. Nimmo was once a center fielder but had largely been in left field in 2024 and 2025, reducing some of his value. Semien, despite being his mid-30s, continues to be a reliably above average second baseman in terms of his defense.

More changes came the following month. On December 1st, it was reported that the Mets would be signing reliever Devin Williams to a three-year, $51MM deal. Many felt that was a lot of money for a guy who’d just posted a 4.79 earned run average, but it’s actually somewhat of a buy-low situation.

Williams was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball prior to his 2025 season in the Bronx. He went into that campaign with a career ERA of 1.83. The ERA spike with the Yanks seemed fluky since his stuff appeared to be the same and he still racked up strikeouts and ground balls. His 55.2% strand rate on the year was bizarrely low, more than 20 percentage points below the rest of his career. ERA estimators like his 2.68 FIP and 2.67 SIERA thought he was pretty close to his previous self. Stearns, who was familiar with Williams from their time together in Milwaukee, is betting that 2025 was indeed a fluke.

That didn’t necessarily close the door on a Díaz reunion. The Mets have almost no real budgetary limitations and certainly had room in the bullpen for two elite relievers. However, it was reported on December 9th that Díaz would be signing with the Dodgers.

That seemed to be a bit of an unusual situation. The three-year, $69MM sticker price was a bit below expectations. The Mets had offered him $66MM over three years, which was arguably a better offer because it reportedly had less deferred money compared to the Dodger deal. Some reports said the Mets were willing to go higher but were a bit caught off-guard when he quickly accepted the offer from Los Angeles. Later reports also said Atlanta put a five-year offer out to Díaz. The dollar value of that offer was not revealed but perhaps Díaz just wanted to join the World Series champs and jumped at the chance.

Regardless of the reasons, the Mets were down another longtime franchise staple. He would not be the last. The very next day, on December 10th, it was reported that Alonso would be joining the Orioles on a five-year, $155MM deal. The Mets never seemed to interested in making a long-term investment in their franchise home run leader. It appeared they didn’t want to sign him to anything longer than three years, so he moved on.

Part of the reason the Mets seemed fine with letting Alonso walk is that, as mentioned, improving their defense was a priority this winter. Alonso has never received especially strong grades for his first base defense. Now that he’s 31 years old, he’s more likely to get worse over time than to suddenly improve.

That’s a sensible enough logic in a vacuum, but things got a little strange a few days later when the Mets pivoted to Jorge Polanco on a two-year, $40MM deal. The plan seems to be for Polanco to play a decent amount of first base, though he could also serve as the designated hitter and occasionally play second or third.

Polanco technically has experience playing first base in the big leagues but in the most limited way possible. On April 6th of 2025, Mariners right fielder Víctor Robles injured himself on a catch, recording the second out in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 4-4 game against the Giants. The Mariners removed Robles and shuffled their defenders around, putting Polanco at first. The Giants walked it off on the next pitch with a single to the outfield. That’s the extent of Polanco’s big league experience as a first baseman: one pitch, without having to make a play.

Polanco is coming off a great season at the plate, having hit 26 home runs with a .265/.326/.495 batting line, but there’s some risk. Recurring knee problems have been an issue for him in recent years. He played fewer than 120 games in each season from 2022 to 2024. His offense was below par in the final of those three, which allowed the Mariners to re-sign him for just one guaranteed year and $7.75MM. While he bounced back at the plate, he was almost exclusively a designated hitter in the first half. He gradually played more second base as the season went along but still served as the DH quite a bit.

Though Alonso’s defense was never ideal, his availability was incredible. He never started fewer than 133 games at first in any full season with the Mets. Suddenly pivoting to a guy with almost no experience at the position and notable injury concerns is a curious choice. Polanco can probably handle it, but it speaks to the club’s commitment to their desire for avoiding long-term contractual pitfalls.

Adding Polanco also pushed McNeil further out the door. He had already been in trade rumors, and the Semien acquisition blocked him from the position at which he has spent the most time. He was flipped to the Athletics just before the holidays in what was essentially a salary dump deal. Even though the Mets ate some money in the swap, the A’s took on $10MM of what McNeil is owed this year. Considering the Mets pay a 110% tax rate, that saved them more than $20MM.

Around the same time, they also made another bullpen addition, getting Luke Weaver for $22MM over two years. Weaver’s 2025 didn’t end in strong fashion, but he’s nonetheless coming off a strong two-year run with the Yankees. Over 2024 and 2025, he posted a 3.21 ERA over 148 2/3 innings, striking out 29.5% of opponents and walking just 7.8%. He’s not a replacement for Díaz, but he can pair with Williams for a strong one-two punch at the back of the bullpen.

Going into the holidays, the Mets had been busy but were also left in a weird spot, having seemingly made more subtractions than additions. At second base, they had effectively swapped in Semien for McNeil, with Polanco replacing Alonso at first. But trading Nimmo left a hole in the outfield which had not been filled.

In early January, there were still options. The top two free agent outfielders, Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, remained unsigned. The Mets were connected to both. They made a strong run at Tucker, once again in alignment with the preference for staying short term. They reportedly offered him a huge $220MM deal over four years, with a couple of opt-outs. The massive $55MM average annual value would have led to a tax bill of over $60.5MM for the Mets, meaning they were willing to shell out almost $120MM annually to get Tucker aboard.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers had similar thinking and went to $240MM over four, so he slipped through the Mets’ fingers. The Mets could have then pivoted to Bellinger but went in a different direction. They found another player willing to opt for a short-term deal with a juiced AAV, giving Bo Bichette a three-year deal worth $126MM, or $42MM per year. Factoring in the tax bill, that’s almost $90MM annually the Mets are sending out. There are opt-outs after each season, so perhaps Bichette will only be around for one year, but it’s a big commitment.

Bichette has been a shortstop for the majority of his career but seems unlikely to spend much more time there going forward. His defensive grades have never been terribly strong. Late in 2025, a knee injury put him on the shelf for the end of the season and the beginning of the playoffs. He was back with the Blue Jays for the World Series but clearly not still 100% healthy. He spent some time as the DH and also limped out to second base a few times.

The Mets had already committed themselves to a middle infield of Francisco Lindor at short and Semien at second. The plan is to move Bichette to third, a position where he has no experience and will have to learn it on the fly. That’s a gamble the Mets are willing to take in order to get Bichette’s bat into the lineup.

That will seemingly push Brett Baty into a super utility role where he bounces around the infield and maybe the outfield corners as well. Mark Vientos is in a somewhat similar spot but his 2025 struggles should put him a bit lower on the depth chart. He’ll be trying to hit his way back into the mix, though he has a narrower path since he’s only really capable of playing the infield corners. The Mets don’t really have a strict DH, so it’s possible for Baty or Vientos to earn more at-bats, perhaps with Polanco moving more towards a full-time DH role.

The Bichette addition still left them with their outfield unaddressed but they quickly checked that box. Just a few days later, they pulled the trigger on a trade for Luis Robert Jr.. To get him to Queens, they took on the entirety of his $20MM salary and will have to pay taxes on that as well. They also parted with some talent, sending utility player Luisangel Acuña and prospect Truman Pauley to the White Sox. Acuña has shown the potential to be a solid bench piece, but the additions of Semien, Polanco and Bichette to the infield made him less necessary. He’s also out of options and surely wouldn’t have gotten through waivers unclaimed.

Robert has the potential to be an excellent upgrade to the Mets outfield but is nowhere near a guarantee. He showed a huge ceiling in 2023, hitting 38 home runs and stealing 20 bases while providing strong center field defense. But in 2024 and 2025, he was on and off the injured list, being capped at 100 games in the former and 110 in the latter. His offense was subpar in both campaigns. The speed and defense give him a nice floor, in a sense, but he has to be on the field to provide that floor.

With Nimmo gone, Soto will be moving from right field to left field. Robert will take over in center. In right field, the Mets wanted to leave a path open for prospect Carson Benge but brought in some contingency plans. They already had Tyrone Taylor on the roster. Late in the winter, they added MJ Melendez on a split deal and Mike Tauchman on a minor league pact. If Benge doesn’t look ready by the end of spring, they have some ways to pivot.

Amid all of this shuffling on the position player side and in the bullpen, the rotation had largely been ignored for most of the winter. The Mets went into the offseason with a starting group consisting of Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and David Peterson. Just behind that group were optionable minor leaguers like Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong and Christian Scott.

It was a good group but one perhaps lacking an ace-like arm at the front. McLean showed the potential for that late in 2025 but he was only able to make eight starts before the winter arrived. The Mets were reportedly looking for an upgrade but (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) wanted to avoid long-term free agent deals.

They were connected to some of those free agents, like Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez, but always seemed more likely to make a big splash on the trade market. Rumors linked them to Joe Ryan, Nick Pivetta, and Edward Cabrera but they were able to land Freddy Peralta from the Brewers. They sent Sproat and prospect Jett Williams to Milwaukee to get Peralta and Tobias Myers.

Peralta is a very sensible fit for the Mets. Stearns is plenty familiar with him; he already acquired Peralta and extended him when he was running the Brewers. Peralta’s one year of club control and $8MM salary are appealing for any club, but they fit well for the Mets and their tax situation.

What remains to be seen is if Stearns can sign Peralta to another extension. He has access to bigger payrolls with the Mets than he did with the Brewers but has really tried to limit the length of deals. Peralta is well positioned to cash in as a free agent next winter and is seemingly angling for the kind of long-term deal the Mets don’t like.

It was a busy offseason for the Mets. They overhauled the roster, bringing in a lot of new faces while letting some of the familiar ones go. The lineup and rotation look really strong. But by sticking to his preferences in terms of contract length, Stearns has been forced to make some compromises. The Mets wanted to improve the defense but are going into the season projecting to have third and first base manned by guys with effectively no experience there. They’ve added an injury-prone center fielder and a 35-year-old second baseman. They made some bullpen additions but may not have really improved it since they lost one of the best closers in the league.

Does it all add up to a better team or have they mostly just shuffled the deck? Give your ranking of the offseason in the poll below.

How would you grade the Mets' offseason?

Vote to see results

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals New York Mets

Make Or Break Year: Alec Bohm

By | at March 8, 2026 10:19pm CDT

Players highlighted in the “Make Or Break” feature normally fall into one of a few familiar categories.  Sometimes it’s a former star prospect running out of chances to prove they belong in the majors, or perhaps it’s an established star trying to bounce back after a down year or two, or maybe it’s a veteran trying to get their career on track after an extended injury absence.

Alec Bohm doesn’t exactly fit any of these models.  In fact, one could argue Bohm has already been “made” in the sense that he was an All-Star in 2024, and is coming off four seasons as the Phillies’ top choice at third base (as well as a part-time first baseman), with 8.0 fWAR to show for his 560 games and 2352 plate appearances from 2022-25.  He has an above-average 105 wRC+ at the plate over those four seasons, and Bohm’s third base glovework has improved from terrible to at least palatable, and even pretty good depending on the metric of choice.

This is the track record of a solid, Major League-caliber player, and it’s a resume that Bohm is rightfully proud of achieving.  “You look at it in the grand scheme of things, out of all the players, a very small number that have ever played in the big leagues, there’s not a lot of them that get to arbitration,” Bohm recently told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.  “Then the list gets even smaller of those who get to arbitration, get to free agency.  Then the list gets even smaller when you talk about guys who get to 10 years and beyond.”

“When you kind of zoom out and look at it from a different perspective, I’ve done a lot of great things.  I’ve had a pretty good career for myself, made it a lot further than a lot of people can say.  I’m definitely proud of that, and want to keep building on it.”

Bohm’s issue, in some ways, is a matter of framing.  Bohm can be described as a decent or okay player…or as “just a” decent or okay player.  The Phillies haven’t really been hurt by having Bohm take a regular spot in their lineup, nor is he at fault for the team’s inability to get over the hump for a World Series championship.  (Bohm’s .225/.327/.333 slash line over 150 postseason plate appearances isn’t good, but he is far from the only Philadelphia hitter to struggle in the playoffs.)

Because Bohm’s production has always evened out to roughly average, however, it creates the sense that the Phillies could do better at the hot corner.  It also doesn’t help that Bohm’s perception that he was a top prospect and the third overall pick in the 2018 draft.  Though Rosenthal notes that Bohm’s production has bettered a lot of other prominent names from that draft class, the infielder is (rightly or wrongly) a victim of the high expectations that come with being a top draft choice.  In a sense, Bohm represents a larger issue clouding this otherwise successful run of Phillies baseball — the team hasn’t gotten much from its farm system, as the roster has been built most around free agents and trades.

Along these same lines, Bohm has been the subject of trade rumors for the better part of two years.  Bohm’s 3.4 fWAR season in 2024 was the best of his career, as he had a 113 wRC+ from hitting .280/.332/.448 with 15 homers over 606 PA, and he also delivered +4 Outs Above Average as a third baseman.  The down side of his career year was that Bohm slumped badly after the All-Star break, and the Phillies’ response to this breakout campaign was to shop Bohm to address other needs.

Such teams as the Athletics, Mariners, Royals, Angels, and White Sox were all linked to Bohm-related rumors in the 2024-25 offseason, with the idea being that the Phils would move Bohm and then sign one of Alex Bregman or Willy Adames to play third base.  Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was at least aiming high in shopping Bohm offers, and perhaps too high — reports indicated that George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Mason Miller, and Garrett Crochet were some of the players the Phillies wanted in return for trade packages involving Bohm.

There weren’t as many public reports about Bohm’s market this offseason, maybe in part because Bohm’s production dropped to a 105 wRC+ (.287/.331/.409 with 11 homers over 464 PA) and he was limited to 120 games due to a left rib fracture and shoulder inflammation.  Philadelphia was again looking to upgrade at third base, coming just short of signing Bo Bichette in a scenario that would’ve turned Bohm into an obvious trade chip for the remainder of the winter.

Going forward, top prospect Aidan Miller is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026, and then step into an everyday role at either second or third base in 2027.  This puts pressure on second baseman Bryson Stott for one, but it’s a more direct threat to Bohm since he is slated to become a free agent next offseason.  As Rosenthal puts it, “at this point, perhaps even more than before, Bohm is playing for the other 29 teams.”  There’s even a non-zero chance Bohm could be dealt in-season depending on how the Phillies feel about Miller’s ability to immediately contribute in the majors.

For his part, Bohm hasn’t been worried about the trade speculation or his impending free agency, saying he is just concerned about playing.  “I don’t really take any of it personally, think too far into it. It’s all out of my control. I can’t do anything to prevent it….I don’t stew over it.  It’s just part of the business side of it,” Bohm said.

A midseason trade would make Bohm ineligible for the qualifying offer, so that would remove any draft compensation from his free agent case.  Assuming Bohm remains a Phillie throughout 2026, a qualifying offer could be a moot point anyway, as it would probably take a huge jump in production for Philadelphia to even consider issuing Bohm a QO.  If Bohm delivers his usual type of season, there’s a decent chance he’d just accept the offer and take a big one-year payday (this year’s QO was worth $22.025MM) rather than deal with both the vagaries of his own market, plus the added uncertainty of how the inevitable lockout will interrupt the 2026-27 offseason.  Adding a $22MM-ish salary to an already hefty payroll likely isn’t in the Phillies’ interest, when Miller could just take over at third base for a minimum salary.

Qualifying offer aside, Bohm is the type of mid-tier free agent we’ve seen get squeezed by the market in the past.  Teams without much payroll room might feel they can more or less replicate Bohm’s production with a cheaper veteran or maybe two platoon options.  Bigger-spending teams could take the Phillies’ approach and seek for more prominent names at third base, with Bohm then becoming a fallback option at most.  Between the lockout and potential changes made in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams may not be likely to make an early commitment to a mid-level player like Bohm until they know exactly how baseball’s business structure will change.

The easiest way for Bohm to change the narrative, of course, is to have a terrific 2026 season.  He needs to hit better against right-handed pitching and keep more consistent over the course of a full year, and while this is naturally easier said that done, we’ve seen flashes of how good Bohm can be when he’s been in the midst of one of his hot streaks.  Again, it isn’t as if Bohm is a bad player — his hard-hit ball rates are solid, and he is borderline excellent at making contact and avoiding strikeouts.  Bumping his walk and barrel rates even up to average levels would make Bohm a more dangerous threat at the plate.

Bohm turns 30 in August, and he could benefit from a fairly thin class of free agent third basemen next winter.  Teams have shown they’ll pay for star-level production or even star-level potential, but it’s a trickier free agent environment for players like Bohm who have a decently high floor but a seemingly limited ceiling.  A two-year deal (maybe three years max) of roughly $10MM in average annual value seems plausible for the 2024 version of Bohm, so he’ll need to at least top those numbers to avoid fielding a slate of one-year, prove-it type of offers next winter.

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MLBTR Originals Make Or Break Year Philadelphia Phillies

Poll: How Should The Blue Jays Manage Trey Yesavage’s Workload In 2026?

By | at March 7, 2026 7:25pm CDT

Trey Yesavage had a whirlwind season in 2025. After the Blue Jays drafted him in the first round in 2024, Yesavage opened 2025 at Single-A and immediately impressed with a 2.43 ERA in 33 1/3 innings. He continued that dominance in a brief stop at High-A and reached Double-A in mid-June, striking out 38.0% of hitters against a 9.0% walk rate at that level. Yesavage then held his own at Triple-A, not allowing a home run in 17 1/3 innings and continuing to post a high strikeout rate. His rapid ascent culminated in three appearances with the big-league club in September, followed by six more in the postseason, including two starts and a Game 7 relief appearance in the World Series.

Altogether, Yesavage threw 139 2/3 innings between the regular season and the playoffs, a marked increase over the 93 1/3 innings he threw at East Carolina University in 2024. Coming off his success last year, he will feature prominently in a rotation mix that also includes Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Cody Ponce, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber (when he returns from an expected stint on the injured list). However, considering Yesavage’s youth and rapidly escalating workload, it is reasonable to expect some kind of innings limit in 2026.

At this point in Spring Training, Yesavage is built up to one inning and has not yet appeared in a game, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. That is hardly unexpected, as even established starters are built up gradually to a full workload by the end of camp. Manager John Schneider confirmed that Yesavage’s slow build-up is intentional, with the plan being for him to get one more live batting practice session before joining games. Notably, Schneider downplayed the possibility of Yesavage starting the season as a reliever to limit his innings.

“Right now we still view him as a starter,” Schneider said. “And we want to keep that pretty regular. Last year was a year of disrupting a young guy’s routine as much as we could, so we want to be pretty regular with him.” Schneider’s comments bode well for Yesavage’s chance of being a starter for the full season. That said, it would not be surprising for the club to manage the rookie’s workload conservatively in the early going, especially if Berrios, Ponce, and Scherzer start the year healthy behind Cease and Gausman.

Per Schneider’s comments, the club wants to keep Yesavage on a regular schedule. That would seemingly put him in the rotation for the entire season, though with the question of how many innings he’ll be able to handle. Yesavage averaged less than five innings per start during the regular season and just over five in the postseason. At five innings per start, a full season of 33 starts would put him around 165 innings – yet another big increase in workload. A target of 140 innings could make more sense.

In that scenario, Yesavage could piggyback off Berrios or Ponce for the first month or so. That would give him the benefit of making shorter appearances while sticking to a starter’s routine and gradually building up. Of Berrios and Ponce, the former makes more sense partnering with Yesavage in a piggyback role. Berrios made 32 starts per season from 2021-24 but seemed to run out of gas as the 2025 season went on. His first-half ERA of 3.75 was solid, but that rose to 5.15 in 50 2/3 innings in the second half. He was demoted to the bullpen in late September and ended up not appearing in the postseason.

Piggybacking Yesavage and Berrios could help manage the former’s innings while allowing the latter to re-establish himself after his poor conclusion to 2025. In contrast, Ponce came over this offseason on a three-year, $30MM deal after a successful stint in the Korea Baseball Organization. He pitched 180 2/3 innings over 29 starts for the Hanwha Eagles in 2025, posting an excellent 1.89 ERA, a 30.3% K-BB rate, and ultimately winning that league’s MVP award. That recent track record and the magnitude of his contract make a hybrid role unlikely, though Ponce made three relief appearances in Japan last year and was mostly a reliever in his last MLB experience in 2021.

If the team prefers to keep Yesavage as a traditional starter, they might consider having him skip a few starts in the middle of the season. While that would be at least a temporary disruption to his routine, it might make the most sense from a roster management perspective. Six-man rotations are becoming more common as a way to manage workloads throughout the season, but they come with the challenge of having one less reliever. In lieu of giving him five days of regular rest, skipping a few of Yesavage’s starts (ideally around scheduled off days) could be a good compromise that keeps him fresh for the stretch run.

Another (less likely) option is to keep him as a starter for the regular season, then transition him to the bullpen if Toronto makes the postseason. Cease and Gausman are guaranteed spots in a playoff rotation, while Bieber makes a solid No. 3 and Max Scherzer comes with a wealth of postseason experience. Though Yesavage performed admirably as a starter this postseason, using him in a fireman role out of the bullpen could help the team get the most out of him while protecting his long-term health.

How do MLBTR readers think the Blue Jays should manage Yesavage’s workload in 2026? Be sure to let us know in the poll below:

How should the Blue Jays manage Trey Yesavage's workload in 2026?

  • Piggyback him with Berrios, Ponce, or Eric Lauer to start the season 50% (1,229)
  • Have him skip a few starts in the middle of the season 39% (944)
  • Starter for the regular season, reliever for the playoffs 11% (264)

Total votes: 2,437

Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images

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MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls Toronto Blue Jays
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