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Rangers Trade Marcus Semien To Mets For Brandon Nimmo

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In an intriguing one-for-one swap of prominent veterans, the Mets and Rangers have agreed to a trade that will send second baseman Marcus Semien to Queens in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo.  New York is also sending $5MM to help Texas offset some of the difference between the two players’ remaining salaries.

Reports emerged earlier this week that the Mets were open to moving Nimmo, though as of Thursday, trade talks reportedly hadn’t developed to the point that the Mets had approached Nimmo about waiving his contract’s no-trade clause.  Mike Puma of the New York Post wrote today that the team raised the subject of the Texas trade with Nimmo on Friday.  After a day’s consideration and a chat with Rangers ace (and his former Mets teammate) Jacob deGrom, Nimmo agreed to approve the deal.

Given the trade buzz this week, it isn’t entirely shocking to see the veteran outfielder’s time in New York come to an end.  That said, a straight-up swap for Semien is eye-opening, given how Semien is coming off a dismal year at the plate and comes with a significant future price tag in his own right.

Semien has $72MM and three seasons remaining on the seven-year, $175MM free agent deal he signed with Texas during the 2021-22 offseason.  Nimmo is owed $101.25MM through the 2030 season, as he has completed three years of the eight-year, $162MM free agent he signed to remain with the Mets in December 2022.  Since luxury tax figures are re-calculated to account for just remaining money owed in the wake of trades, Semien’s tax number is $24MM, and Nimmo has a $19.25MM figure (when factoring in the $5MM Texas is getting from New York).

The Mets are therefore taking on a slightly bigger tax hit while reducing the amount of overall dollars owed, while the Rangers are reducing their tax number but adding more overall money to their books.  That adds an interesting wrinkle for a Texas club that was expected to reduce payroll this winter, though it is worth noting that the Rangers cleared a good chunk of money off the books (a projected $21.1MM) on Friday with four non-tenders.

While the financial elements can’t be overlooked, the trade is also something of an old-school, need-for-need “baseball deal” that allows both the Mets and Rangers to address needs.  Beginning with Texas, the team was prioritizing a different offensive approach based around contact hitting and getting on base.

Nimmo’s strikeout rates have been overall middling throughout his career, though his chase and whiff rates have been consistently above average.  His walk rates had also been strong before suddenly dropping to 7.7% in 2025, in a career-low for the outfielder over a full season.  Still, Nimmo hit .262/.324/.436 with 25 homers over 652 plate appearances, translating to a 114 wRC+ over 652 plate appearances as New York’s everyday left fielder.  Public defensive metrics have also looked a lot more fondly on Nimmo’s glovework since he moved to left field from center field.

Since Adolis Garcia has now been non-tendered, Nimmo can slide into the left field position in Arlington, with Evan Carter or (probably more likely) Wyatt Langford moving into Garcia’s old spot in right field.  Second base is now opened up for Josh Smith or Ezequiel Duran in the short term, and top prospect Sebastian Walcott could also potentially find a home at the keystone depending on how long Corey Seager remains at shortstop.  The Rangers could also now explore the market for trade or free agent options at second base, with Semien no longer in the picture.

Selected 13th overall by the Mets in the 2011 draft, Nimmo has spent his entire career with the Amazins, becoming a fan favorite due to his consistent offense.  Injuries were a major hindrance for Nimmo earlier in his career and he is entering his age-32 season, but he has played in at least 151 games in each of his last four seasons.

In short, it seems like the Rangers feel more comfortable about paying Nimmo a bit of extra money over a longer term than they were paying Semien over his age 35-37 seasons.  A picture of durability throughout his career, Semien suffered a rare serious injury in 2025, as he was limited to 127 games by a Lisfranc sprain and a small fracture in his left foot.  Beyond just the health issue, Texas was perhaps more concerned about Semien’s dropoff at the plate over the last three seasons.

2023 was Semien’s last year as a premium hitter, as he hit .276/.348/.478 with 29 homers over 753 PA for the Rangers’ World Series team.  Semien delivered a 128 wRC+ that year, and his key role in Texas’ first championship will forever make him a beloved figure in Arlington.  After that dream season, however, Semien dropped to a 101 wRC+ in 2024, and then a subpar 89 wRC+ in 2025.  A .251 BABIP over the last two seasons is a partial explanation, yet the bigger culprit is a sizeable decline in power.

A change of scenery could perhaps get Semien’s bat going, even if Citi Field is known as a pitcher-friendly ballpark.  Semien does bring a right-handed hitting element to a Mets lineup that leaned left, and has now subtracted an everyday lefty swinger in Nimmo.  Beyond just Semien’s offense and his reputation as a clubhouse leader, he remains an outstanding defensive second baseman who just won his second career Gold Glove.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns stated that run prevention was a chief area of improvement for his team, so installing Semien at second base is a big defensive upgrade.  Removing a solid defender like Nimmo from left field is a hit unto itself, yet Jeff McNeil could make up some of the difference since left field now looks to be McNeil’s primary position with Semien locked into second base.  McNeil could also get part-time work in center field, or it is possible he might also end up on another roster, as rival teams have been discussing McNeil in trade talks.

It is a little surprising to see New York make such a prominent move to address second base, given how first and third base were the far more unsettled infield positions heading into the winter.  Pete Alonso’s free agency leaves first base open, and Brett Baty now looks to be staying at third base with Semien on board.  Top prospect Jett Williams is expected to make his MLB debut in 2026, and the outfield could now be Williams’ future position since Semien and Francisco Lindor have accounted for the middle infield.  Semien’s addition also brings fresh questions about how the Mets will incorporate Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna, and Ronny Mauricio into the infield mix, or if any of these players (or Baty) could now be trade chips.

Nimmo’s departure also means that the Mets could make a larger move to address their outfield.  The club was already expected to be looking for center field help, and Juan Soto could possibly be shifted over to left field if the Mets wanted to acquire a new right fielder.  This will probably spark some inevitable Kyle Tucker speculation, but Cody Bellinger is already known to be a player on the Amazins’ radar.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report that the two teams were in the final stages of a deal involving Semien and Nimmo, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman had the additional detail about the $5MM heading to Arlington.  The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported that Nimmo has agreed to waive his no-trade clause. 

Inset pictures courtesy of Jerome Miron (Semien) and Vincent Carchicetta (Nimmo) — Imagn Images

Mets Interested In Robert Suarez

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While the Mets remain engaged with Edwin Diaz about a new contract, the club is keeping its bases covered by also checking in with other major free agent closers.  Reports from earlier this week cited the Mets as one of the many teams involved in Devin Williams’ market, and The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports that New York has been in touch “multiple times recently” with the reps for both Williams and Robert Suarez.

This makes the Mets the first club publicly linked to Suarez this winter, though it is probably safe to assume that most or all of the clubs in on Williams are similarly exploring Suarez’s asking price.  MLB Trade Rumors ranked Williams 16th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents and projected him for a four-year, $68MM contract, while Suarez ranked 21st and got a three-year, $48MM projection.  (Diaz was the top closer in our list, ranked 13th with a projection of four years and $82MM.)

Diaz and Williams are both entering their age-32 seasons, whereas Suarez is turning 35 in March.  The age gap will alone put some limitations on Suarez’s market, even if teams should still be open to giving him a high average annual salary within a shorter-term contract.  Raisel Iglesias (who turns 36 in January) took a one-year, $16MM deal to return to the Braves, though Iglesias’ fairly quick departure from the market could indicate that he simply preferred to return to Atlanta over more fully waiting around to see if he could land at least one more guaranteed year.

Indeed, Suarez’s age might even be something of a selling point in regards to how teams are approaching the bullpen market.  Diaz is reportedly looking for a contract akin to his previous five-year, $102MM deal with New York, and while the Amazins have interest in bringing Diaz back, Sammon writes that the team would prefer a shorter-term pact.  If Suarez’s age might naturally leave him looking at something like a three-year contract as a ceiling, that might work out just fine for the Mets or other teams who are wary about lengthy commitments to relief pitchers.

Suarez felt comfortable enough about his chances in free agency that he chose to opt out of the final two years (and $16MM) on his contract with the Padres.  There’s certainly no indication that Suarez is slowing down, either in the figurative or literal sense.  Suarez’s 98.6mph fastball is still among the highest velocities in the game, and he posted a 2.97 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate, and a 5.9% walk rate over 69 2/3 innings in 2025.  Over his two seasons as San Diego’s closer, Suarez has closed out 76 of 87 chances and twice been named to the NL All-Star team.  He has also carried his strong performance into October, with a 2.45 ERA over 14 2/3 career postseason innings.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25

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Every National League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.

Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the NL, while the American League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

  • The Braves announced that right-handers Alek Manoah and Carson Ragsdale were not tendered contracts. Both had been acquired earlier in the offseason via waivers, and both are now free agents. Manoah was projected to earn $2.2MM. Ragsdale was not arb-eligible.
  • The Brewers tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
  • The Cardinals chose not to tender contracts to lefty John King, catcher Yohel Pozo and righty Sem Robberse, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Jorge Alcala, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, was also non-tendered, John Denton of MLB.com adds. King and Alcala were both projected for a $2.1MM salary. The others were not arb-eligible.
  • The Cubs non-tendered catcher Reese McGuire, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. He hit .226/.245/.444 through 140 plate appearances in a backup catcher role and was arb-eligible for the final time. He’d been projected to earn $1.9MM. Right-hander Eli Morgan, who was projected to earn $1.1MM, was also non-tendered, according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.
  • The D-backs non-tendered left-hander Tommy Henry, who’d already been designated for assignment, and right-hander Taylor Rashi. Neither was eligible for arbitration. They tendered contracts to their entire arb class.
  • The Dodgers did not tender a contract to closer Evan Phillips, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He was only under club control for one more season and projected for a $6.1MM salary but underwent Tommy John surgery in June. Dodgers righty Nick Frasso, who was not arb-eligible and finished the season on the 60-day IL, was also non-tendered, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
  • The Giants non-tendered left-hander Joey Lucchesi, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Lucchesi pitched to a solid 3.76 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate and strong 7.3% walk rate in 38 1/3 innings and had been projected for a $2MM salary. San Francisco also non-tendered catcher Andrew Knizner, who was designated for assignment this afternoon when the Giants acquired Joey Wiemer from Miami.
  • The Marlins tendered contracts to all of their eligible players, per Isaac Azout of Fish On First.
  • The Mets are non-tendering right-hander Max Kranick, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Kranick, 28, posted a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings with the Mets this year. It was his first big league opportunity since a five-inning cameo with the Pirates back in 2022. Kranick’s season came to an abrupt end back in July due to flexor tendon repair surgery. Southpaws Jose Castillo and Danny Young were also non-tendered, Sammon adds. Young had Tommy John surgery back in May. Castillo was a waiver claim who pitched for four different teams in 2025.
  • The Nationals tendered contracts to their entire roster, per a team announcement.
  • The Padres announced that lefty Omar Cruz and righty Sean Reynolds were non-tendered. Neither was arbitration-eligible. They tendered contracts to every member of their arbitration class.
  • The Phillies non-tendered righties Michael Mercado and Daniel Robert, neither of whom was arbitration-eligible. They’re both free agents. The Phils tendered contracts to all of their arb-eligible players otherwise.
  • The Pirates non-tendered outfielders Alexander Canario and Ronny Simon, as well as righties Colin Holderman and Dauri Moreta. All four were designated for assignment earlier in the week. Holderman was projected for a $1.7MM salary and Moreta for $800K. The others weren’t arb-eligible.
  • The Reds announced that catcher Will Banfield and right-handers Carson Spiers and Roddery Munoz were not tendered contracts. They’re all free agents. None of the three were arbitration-eligible, but by non-tendering them rather than designating them for assignment, Cincinnati bypasses the need to place them on waivers and can try to quickly re-sign any of the bunch to minor league deals, if the Reds are so inclined.
  • The Rockies non-tendered first baseman Michael Toglia, the team announced. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week, making today’s non-tender all but a formality.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/21/25

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The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is this afternoon at 4pm CT. Throughout the day, we’ll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.

These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.

Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.

All salary projections in this post come via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the day as deals are announced and/or reported. Salary figures are from The Associated Press unless otherwise noted.

Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images

Mets Planning To Non-Tender Danny Young

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The Mets are planning to non-tender left-hander Danny Young, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Tomorrow at 4pm Central is the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible or pre-arb players. Once Young is officially non-tendered, he’ll become a free agent and the Mets will open a 40-man roster spot.

Young, 32 in May, underwent Tommy John surgery in May. He will therefore begin the 2026 season on the injured list. Sammon notes that the lefty has started throwing and could return in the first half of next year. Young has under two years of service time and has not yet qualified for arbitration, so the Mets won’t be saving any money by making this move. However, they have a full 40-man roster. There’s no injured list in the offseason, so Young would have to stay on the 40-man all through the winter if they wanted to keep him into next year.

There’s only one day in the year where a club can cut a player and send him directly to free agency without exposing him to waivers. That day is the non-tender deadline, which happens to be tomorrow, November 21st. Perhaps that will give the Mets a chance to quickly re-sign Young to a minor league deal and keep him in a non-roster capacity, though he will have the chance to speak with the 29 other clubs.

He has appeared in four major league seasons so far. He got cups of coffee in 2022 and 2023 before finally getting a nice opportunity with the Mets in 2024. He tossed 37 2/3 innings that year with a 4.54 earned run average. His 10.9% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 29.1% of batters faced and induced grounders on 53.3% of the balls in play he allowed. His 64.3% strand rate seemed to push more runs across the board, which is why he had a 3.64 FIP and 3.22 SIERA.

Unfortunately, his aforementioned surgery prevented him from carrying things over into 2025 and pushed him to the fringes of the roster. Once he hits the open market, he’ll assess his opportunities, whether that’s with the Mets or elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images

Mets Have Not Asked Brandon Nimmo About Waiving No-Trade Clause

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It was reported recently that the Mets are making outfielder Brandon Nimmo available in trade talks. Andy Martino of SNY characterizes those talks as preliminary, noting that Nimmo and his representatives have not yet been asked about the possibility of waiving his full no-trade clause.

It appears that the Mets have a few moving pieces in their early offseason planning. There have also been rumors about infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil and right-hander Kodai Senga being available in trades. Today, reporting from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic notes that the Mets may need to trade from their roster before targeting other pursuits.

The piece mentions that this is both due to the roster fit and the financial picture, though the money is presumably not that big of an issue. Under owner Steve Cohen, the Mets have been one of the top-spending clubs in baseball. RosterResource currently projects them for a $253MM payroll and $256MM competitive balance tax figure in 2026. At the end of 2025, those numbers were $340MM and $337MM. Even without moving money away, there should be powder dry for additions.

The roster situation is a bit more interesting. The piece mentions Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman as completely speculative names that the Mets could pursue, depending on how their trade talks go. Currently, there’s not a great path to getting Tucker onto the roster, with the Mets having Nimmo and Juan Soto in the corners. The designated hitter spot is open and could make it more viable to have all three in the lineup regularly, but the fit would be much easier if Nimmo were moved.

It would be a somewhat similar situation with Bellinger, who the Mets have already been connected to. He’s a bit of a better fit than Tucker since he can play center field and first base, but he’s spent more time in the outfield corners than anywhere else in recent seasons.

With Bregman, there are the many unanswered questions of the Mets infield. Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña have all been jockeying for playing time in recent years. Since all of them can play multiple infield positions, there are many possible combinations. The ideal arrangement would depend upon if Pete Alonso comes back, if the Mets sign someone like Bregman or Munetaka Murakami, and so on. There’s also the McNeil factor, as he has mostly played second base and the outfield corners. He has dabbled at third but hasn’t played there since 2022. He played some center field in 2025 but didn’t get great marks for his work out there.

When considering the names currently on the roster, the guys who could be traded away and the guys who could be added, there are infinite possibilities for how it ends up. Based on the reporting, it appears the Mets are using the early parts of the offseason to explore those possibilities. If they can line up a trade they like, perhaps they would then pivot to replacing a traded player by pursuing a free agent. If the roster ends up with more continuity, then perhaps they get less ambitious with their free agent pursuits. If they make any traction, then perhaps Nimmo will be approached about his no-trade clause, but it seems things are still very theoretical at the moment.

One way or another, the Mets are sure to be on the lookout for relievers. They’ve already been connected to Devin Williams. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reports that the Mets were interested in Raisel Iglesias before he re-signed with Atlanta last night.

Mets relievers had a collective 3.93 earned run average last year, which placed them 15th out of the 30 clubs in the majors. After the season, Edwin Díaz opted out of his contract and became a free agent at season’s end. Tyler Rogers, Ryan Helsley, Gregory Soto and Ryne Stanek also departed for the open market.

Given their needs in the bullpen, the Mets will probably be connected to just about every available reliever. They have the resources to go after top guys like Díaz and president of baseball operations has also shown a penchant for getting creative in targeting lower-cost additions.

Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

Mets Finalize 2026 Coaching Staff

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The Mets announced their full coaching staff for the 2026 season today. Some of last year’s staff are coming back and some of the new hires have already been reported. The new developments today include the confirmation of Justin Willard as the new pitching coach. Prior to the official announcement, Willard confirmed to Rob Bradford of the Baseball Isn’t Boring Podcast that he had been hired in that role. Also, the Mets promoted J.P. Arencibia to catching coach, Dan McKinney to assistant pitching coach and Gilbert Gomez to first base and outfield coach.

It was reported earlier this month that Willard was highly likely to be the new Mets pitching coach. It has seemingly taken a few weeks to cross the Ts and dot the Is but he has now been officially put into his new gig.

The Mets and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner parted ways after 2025, which was their sixth season together. The club’s pitchers had disappointed in 2025, with a collective 4.04 earned run average, which put them 18th out of 30th in the majors. However, the club also suffered a number of injury setbacks and it’s always tough to parse the contributions of a coach from the players on his team. Regardless, the Mets are changing things up. Hefner quickly landed a new pitching coach gig within the division. He’s heading to Atlanta for 2026.

Willard, 35, spent the 2018 to 2023 seasons working with the Twins in the minor leagues as a pitching coach and pitching coordinator. He then got hired by the Red Sox going into 2024 to serve as that club’s director of pitching. As mentioned, it’s tough to know when to give a coach credit for the performance of the players. For what it’s worth, the Red Sox finished fifth in the majors in 2025 with a collective 3.72 ERA.

As for the three promotions, they all get bumped from the minors to the majors. Arencibia, 39, is the biggest name of the bunch. He played in the majors from 2010 to 2015, suiting up for the Blue Jays, Rangers and Rays. He spent the three most recent seasons in the Mets’ system, serving as bench coach and assistant hitting coach for Triple-A Syracuse. He was primarily a catcher during his big league career and Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that he recently helped Francisco Alvarez, who was optioned to Triple-A for about a month in June and July.

Gomez, 33, has spent the past seven seasons in the system. He’s been the manager of High-A Brooklyn for the past two of those. McKinney, 31, has been in the system for three years. He was pitching coach for Single-A St. Lucie in 2023, High-A Brooklyn in 2024 and then Double-A Binghamton in 2025.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Mets Release Frankie Montas, Select Nick Morabito

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November 19th: Montas has now been released, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

November 18th: The Mets announced that they have designated Frankie Montas for assignment, and the team has requested unconditional release waivers on the right-hander.  The transaction removes Montas from the 40-man roster, allowing the team to select the contract of outfield prospect Nick Morabito in advance of today’s Rule 5 deadline.  The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported on Morabito’s selection earlier today.  Reporter Michael Marino was the first to pass on the news that Montas would be designated for assignment, with SNY’s Andy Martino providing the later update that Montas was being released.

The DFA period is essentially irrelevant since no team will claim or make a trade offer for Montas, who is owed $17MM in 2026 and will miss all or most of the season while recovering from a torn UCL.  As such, today’s move closes the book on Montas’ Queens tenure after less than a year, as he signed his two-year, $34MM free agent deal with the Mets last December.

Montas ended up tossing just 38 2/3 innings over nine appearances in a Mets uniform.  Montas suffered a lat strain in Spring Training and didn’t make his Mets debut until June, and he then struggled to a 6.28 ERA and lost his rotation job.  Even worse injury news emerged in late August, as Montas underwent UCL surgery.  It wasn’t known if Montas had a Tommy John surgery or a brace procedure, but either way, 2026 is going to be another lost year for the veteran righty.

Unsurprisingly, Montas didn’t trigger the opt-out clause after the first year of his contract, and thus he remains on the Mets’ books for a $17MM salary in 2026.  Montas probably won’t land his next contract until next winter, and a minor league deal seems like the next step for a pitcher with such a shaky recent track record.  Beyond his disastrous 2025 season, Montas also appeared in just one game in 2023 due to shoulder surgery, stemming from shoulder issues that led to a rough end to his 2022 campaign.

He recovered to toss 150 2/3 innings of 4.84 ERA ball with the Reds and Brewers in 2024, which was enough to convince the Mets that Montas might be close to regaining his early-career form as a staple of the Athletics rotation.  Instead, the signing will go down as a total bust for David Stearns’ front office, and one of several ill-advised pitching moves that contributed to New York’s disappointing 83-win season.

Morabito was a second-round pick for the Mets in the 2022 draft, and his selection to the 40-man roster means that rival teams won’t be able to select the 22-year-old in December’s Rule 5 Draft.  Known for his excellent speed, Morabito has stolen 130 bases in 160 attempts during his pro career, including 49 swipes for Double-A Binghamton in 2025.  This was Morabito’s first time playing Double-A ball and he hit .273/.348/.385 with six homers and 27 doubles to go along with his impressive stolen-base total.

MLB Pipeline ranks Morabito 16th amongst all Mets prospects, and the scouting report notes that Morabito’s offensive potential is held back by his tendency to hit too many grounders.  His speed can turn some of those grounders into singles, of course, but “elevating on contact will be a big goal…if he is going to have a chance to be more than a speedy, high-contact fourth outfielder.”  Defensively, Morabito is seen as a decent outfielder who can handle all three positions, though his modest throwing arm probably makes right field his least-effective spot on the grass.

Randy Jones Passes Away

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The Padres announced Wednesday that two-time All-Star and former National League Cy Young winner Randy Jones has passed away. He was 75 years old. The team issued the following statement:

“With deep sorrow and heavy hearts, the Padres mourn the passing of our beloved left-hander, Randy Jones. Randy was a cornerstone of our franchise for over five decades, highlighted by becoming the first Padres pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in 1999, his impact and popularity only grew in his post-playing career, becoming a tremendous ambassador for the team and a true fan favorite. Crossing paths with RJ and talking baseball or life was a joy for everyone fortunate enough to spend time with him. Randy was committed to San Diego, the Padres, and his family. He was a giant in our lives and our franchise history. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Marie and the entire Jones family during this difficult time. RJ will be greatly missed.”

Jones was the Padres’ fifth-round pick in the 1972 draft and was in the majors as a 23-year-old the following season. The Fullerton native, born just about 100 miles north of the city where he’d eventually star on the mound, appeared in 20 games during his rookie season and immediately impressed with a 3.16 earned run average in 139 2/3 innings.

From that point, Jones became a fixture in San Diego’s rotation. A tough 1974 season saw him lead the National League with 22 losses, but he flipped the script in 1975-76, reaching 20 wins in both seasons. Jones logged an NL-best 2.24 ERA in 285 innings during the ’75 season and finished second in Cy Young voting to the legendary Tom Seaver. A year later, it was Jones’ turn to take home the hardware. He tossed an MLB-best 315 1/3 innings, including an incredible 25 complete games (five shutouts) and notched a tidy 2.74 earned run average. Coupled with 22 wins, that performance helped him beat out runners up Jerry Koosman, Don Sutton and Steve Carlton for what would be the lone Cy Young Award of his decade-long career.

Jones spent another four seasons in the Friars’ rotation but never returned to those lofty heights. He averaged 204 frames per season from 1977-80, working to a collective 3.62 ERA along the way. The Padres traded him to the Mets following the 1980 season, and he’d go on to pitch two years in Queens with a 4.69 ERA in 167 innings before being released.

Though Jones’ peak was fairly brief, he was one of the faces of his team in the mid-70s and is fondly remembered by fans for that pair of stellar, Cy Young-caliber seasons in ’75-’76. He retired with exactly 100 wins and a 3.42 earned run average compiled over the course of 1933 innings in the majors. We at MLBTR offer our condolences to the family, friends and countless fans of Jones — and to the entire Padres organization.

Nine Players Reject Qualifying Offer

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The deadline to accept the qualifying offer has passed. Four players — Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres, Brandon Woodruff, and Shota Imanaga — chose to accept the one-year, $22.025MM deal and remain with their current clubs. The remaining nine players rejected the deal. They are: Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber, Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette, Astros lefty Framber Valdez, Padres righty Dylan Cease, Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez, Mets closer Edwin Diaz, Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen, and Padres righty Michael King. All nine are now free agents.

There’s not much surprise in any of the nine players who rejected. Tucker, Schwarber, Bichette, Valdez, Cease, Suarez and Diaz were all locks. Gallen may have given some brief thought to accepting after a rough showing in 2025, but he finished strong and has a track record as a high-end starter who’s garnered multiple top-five finishes in NL Cy Young balloting. King was hobbled by nerve and knee injuries in an odd season but was dominant in 2023-24 and through the first two months of the current season. He was healthy late in the year and fanned three in his lone inning of postseason work. He’ll test the waters in search of a multi-year deal as well.

Now that this nonet has rejected qualifying offers, they’ll all be subject to draft compensation. Interested teams will need to surrender a draft pick (or multiple picks) and, in some cases, space from their bonus pool for international amateurs in order to sign any of this group. The extent of that draft compensation depends on the revenue-sharing and luxury tax status of the new team. MLBTR broke down which pick(s) each club would forfeit by signing a “qualified” free agent last month.

Similarly, the compensation for each player’s former club is dependent on revenue-sharing and luxury tax status — as well as the size of the contract signed by the player in question. MLBTR also ran through the compensation each team would receive if their qualified free agents turned down the offer and signed elsewhere.

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