Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Phillies Rumors

Phillies Re-Sign Kyle Schwarber

By | at

The Phillies are bringing him back. Slugger Kyle Schwarber has returned to the Phils on a five-year contract, the team announced. It’s reportedly a $150MM guarantee that pays the Excel Sports Management client an even $30MM per season. The Phils had multiple 40-man vacancies and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

The deal is a testament to Schwarber’s elite talents as it sets new precedents in a few different ways. Schwarber is primarily a designated hitter, having played the outfield just 13 times combined over the past two years. He is also turning 33 years old in March.

Those are both qualities which tend to tamp down a player’s earning power. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the biggest guarantee for any free agent age-33 or older was Josh Donaldson’s $92MM deal with the Twins, which was signed when he was still a capable third baseman. Pure designated hitters also tend not to get paid. Per the Contract Tracker, Shohei Ohtani is the only free agent DH to get to nine figures. He was obviously a special case as a two-way player and superstar. J.D Martinez signed a five-year, $110MM deal with the Red Sox in 2018. He was still an outfielder at the time but did become more of a DH over the course of that pact.

Schwarber himself has proved to be a special case, as he just keeps getting better at the plate. He has always been a guy who strikes out and walks a lot, with notable power mixed in. From 2017 to 2021, he was generally good for about 30 home runs per year. He got to 38 in 2019, but that was the year with the juiced balls.

Over the past four years, Schwarber has never finished with fewer than 38 long balls. He’s reached 46 in three of those four. In 2025, he set a new personal best with 56. He has also erased his previous platoon issues. In 2024, he slashed .300/.407/.490 for a 152 wRC+ against lefties, compared to a .218/.342/.482 line and 124 wRC+ otherwise. In 2025, those lines were .252/.366/.598 and .232/.364/.541 for respective wRC+ numbers of 162 and 146.

On top of the statistics, Schwarber has received praise for his leadership and clubhouse presence during his time with the Phillies. They clearly wanted to bring him back but plenty of other teams were interested as well. The Mets, Pirates, Reds, Red Sox, Orioles and Giants were all connected to him in recent weeks. The Bucs even reportedly made an offer of four-years and $120MM, a very bold gesture for a club that has never signed a free agent for more than $39MM.

But amid all that interest from other clubs, it always seemed like the safe bet would be Schwarber returning to Philadelphia. He was clearly beloved in the city and in the clubhouse. The Phils have a number of other needs but they have been aggressive spenders in recent years and it seemed like they would likely top whatever deal Schwarber got elsewhere. They have done so and, as mentioned, set new benchmarks for free agent deals for a hitter this age or a designated hitter of any age. MLBTR predicted he could secure a five-year, $135MM deal. He got those five years but did a bit better than predicted in terms of the average annual value.

Per RosterResource, the deal brings the Phils up to a payroll of $270MM and a competitive balance tax figure of $289MM. At the end of 2025, those numbers were $291MM and $314MM. If they plan on getting to a similar spot in 2026, they have about $20MM left to play with.

They still have a few things on the to-do list. In addition to Schwarber, they also want to bring back catcher J.T. Realmuto, who also became a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. Remaking the outfield and adding to the pitching staff are also on the agenda. $20MM wouldn’t be a ton to do all of that, so perhaps they will be willing to raise the payroll again, though they could also try to accomplish a few things on the trade market.

For the other teams, it’s possible that this opens the offseason floodgates. The position player section of free agency has been slow moving so far. Early on, Trent Grisham and Gleyber Torres accepted qualifying offers. The Mariners and Josh Naylor quickly reunited. For the past three weeks, there have been no multi-year deals for free agent hitters.

Now that Schwarber is off the board, the clubs who fell short will be pivoting to other options. Some of those clubs won’t be players for Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette but perhaps Cody Bellinger, Pete Alonso, Eugenio Suárez, Alex Bregman and others will see their markets heat up in the coming days and weeks.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the five-year, $150MM agreement. Bob Nightengale of USA Today had the even salary breakdown. Photos courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Phillies Extend Rob Thomson

By | at

The Phillies are getting the band back together. The club and manager Rob Thomson have signed an extension which runs through 2027. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was among those to relay the news.

The news is notable but unsurprising. Thomson took over as the Philly skipper in the middle of the 2022 campaign when Joe Girardi was fired. Since then, the club has been very successful and Thomson has received consistent praise for his handling of the star-laden roster.

The Phils finished that 2022 campaign with a modest 87-75 record but that was enough to nab a Wild Card spot. They then went on a deep postseason run, losing the World Series to the Astros in six games. They followed that up with a 90-win campaign in 2023. That led to another Wild Card spot and a trip to the NLCS. The two most recent seasons saw the Phils win 95 and then 96 games. They won the National League East in both of those, though they were felled in the NLDS each time.

The lack of postseason success seemingly hasn’t dampened the vibes from the team. Rather, it’s led to more of a “job’s not done” type of attitude. The Phils are also reportedly reuniting with designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and would like to do the same with catcher J.T. Realmuto.

The one player who has seemingly not gelled with Thomson is Nick Castellanos. The outfielder was benched for a game in June due to what Thomson referred to as “an inappropriate comment,” per ESPN. Later in the year, Castellanos publicly called out Thomson for what he called “questionable” communication. Castellanos remains on the roster but the Phils are reportedly hoping to trade or release him, which is perhaps an indication of how the club feels about the spat.

After the 2024 season, Thomson was going into the final season of his contract. Teams generally prefer their managers and front office personnel to not be in lame-duck status, so he and the Phils worked an extension running through 2026. One year later, finding themselves in the same situation, they have once again tacked an extra year onto the deal.

Though he’s relatively new to managing, Thomson has been in the game a long time and is now 62 years old. He was actually planning to retire in 2022 before getting to sit in the manager’s chair. It seems that he and the Phils are happy to keep things rolling forward but they have continually kept the deals fairly short, perhaps allowing Thomson to re-evaluate his long-term plans after each season.

For now, the Phils will opt for a good amount of continuity. As mentioned, things have generally been going quite well in recent years. Ideally, they can have another season of regular season success in 2026, perhaps with a bit of extra postseason magic.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Bill Streicher, Oncea-Imagn Images

NL East Coaching Notes: Mattingly, Doolittle, Marlins

By | at

Coaching staffs are coming together around the league. The Nationals and Marlins have made recent additions, while the Phillies are close to bringing a former manager back to the division.

  • Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that the team is looking to hire Don Mattingly as a bench coach. “It’s not official, but we have really focused on speaking with Don and trying to make that happen, and we’re hopeful that it will,” Dombrowski said. Mattingly has been a bench coach in Toronto for the past three seasons. It was reported shortly after the Blue Jays’ World Series loss that he wouldn’t be returning to the team. Mattingly previously spent seven seasons coaching in the NL East, as the Marlins manager from 2016 to 2022.
  • Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni shared details on manager Blake Butera’s coaching staff with reporters, including Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports. The list includes recent additions Corey Ray as first base coach and Grant Anders as bullpen catcher, but one of the more notable names is the lone holdover, Sean Doolittle. Washington is retaining the former closer as an assistant pitching coach. Doolittle came on board with the title of pitching strategist in 2024, shortly after his retirement as a player. The lefty saved 75 games for the Nats across five seasons.
  • The Marlins are expected to hire Blake Butler as an infield coach, reports Isaac Azout of Fish On First. He’s taking over for Tyler Smarslok, who took a gig as field coordinator with the Nationals. Butler has been a minor league coach in Pittsburgh’s system since 2020. He’s managed Single-A Greensboro for the past two seasons.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images

Phillies Interested In Cody Bellinger

By | at

Much of the buzz surrounding the Phillies this winter has concerned their efforts to re-sign one or both or Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto.  Since either of those free agents might well end up leaving Philadelphia for another team, the Phils have also been doing their due diligence on other major free agents or trade targets, including Tatsuya Imai and Ketel Marte.

Cody Bellinger’s name can now also be added to the list, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that the Phillies “have interest in” the former NL MVP.  The Phils join the Yankees, Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Blue Jays as teams known to have some level of interest in Bellinger’s services.

Since it is known that re-signing Schwarber is the Phillies’ chief priority, Bellinger might represent the team’s backup plan if Schwarber heads elsewhere.  While Bellinger doesn’t have Schwarber’s power or overall offensive consistency, there are plenty of reasons why Bellinger would make perhaps even more sense as a fit in the Phillies’ lineup.

Bellinger is also a left-handed hitter, and is coming off a strong 2025 campaign that saw him hit .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs over 656 plate appearances for the Yankees.  It was more than enough for Bellinger to decline his $25MM player option for the 2026 season and re-enter the free agent market, looking for the long-term nine-figure deal that has eluded him in previous trips to the open market.

Bellinger had a 125 wRC+ last season, which is a few notches below the 152 wRC+ Schwarber posted during his 56-homer season.  Over the 2023-25 seasons, the gap is narrowed to a 135 wRC+ for Schwarber and a 123 wRC+ for Bellinger.  In terms of how the two have produced their numbers, it’s a tale of two somewhat opposite skillsets.  Bellinger makes a lot of contact and rarely strikes out, though he doesn’t generate much hard contact.  Schwarber makes a ton of loud contact, but with the tradeoff of plenty of strikeouts.  Both hitters perform well against left-handed pitching so there isn’t a platoon concern, but Bellinger hit far better at Yankee Stadium than he did in road games in 2025.

That aforementioned 2023-25 span also reveals an advantage for Bellinger in fWAR (11.4 to 9.1), as Schwarber being essentially a DH-only player and a subpar corner outfielder leaves him trailing far behind Bellinger in defensive value.  As this defensive skillset translates to the Phillies, Bellinger could fill in at first base whenever Bryce Harper needs a DH day.  More regularly, Bellinger would be playing in the outfield, perhaps in right field since Nick Castellanos is expected to be traded or maybe just released entirely.  A corner outfield slot is a better fit for Bellinger than center field duty, yet Bellinger could be a part-time answer to the Phillies’ needs in center.

For all of the rumors swirling around Bellinger as a trade candidate and free agent in recent years, this is the first time Philadelphia has been properly linked to his market.  This doesn’t necessarily mean the Phillies had no interest in the past, but other players were possibly just higher on the wishlist, plus the team’s first base/outfield/DH picture has been relatively crowded.

Between Bellinger’s defensive pluses and the fact that he is over 28 months younger than Schwarber, Bellinger got a slightly higher spot on MLB Trade Rumors’ ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.  Bellinger was eighth on our list and Schwarber ninth, with very similar contract predictions — Bellinger five years and $140MM, Schwarber five years and $135MM.

While these are only projections, it isn’t likely that Bellinger represents much or any of a savings for the Phillies as a Schwarber alternative.  Bellinger isn’t attached to a qualifying offer, which undoubtedly has some extra appeal to a Phillies team that would pay a steeper penalty for signing a qualified free agent since Philadelphia spent above the luxury tax threshold in 2025.  By that same token, the Phils would receive a compensatory pick after only the fourth round of the 2026 draft if one of their own qualified free agents (Schwarber and Ranger Suarez) signed elsewhere.

Astros, Orioles Among Clubs Interested In Ranger Suárez

By | at

Left-hander Ranger Suárez is one of the top free agent starting pitchers still available. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Astros, Cubs and Orioles are the clubs most likely to pluck him away from the Philadelphia, though the Phillies remain in the mix. Feinsand adds that the Mets and Tigers are also involved in the southpaw’s market. Jeff Passan of ESPN adds that Suárez has long been a target of Houston and Baltimore.

Suárez, 30, has been pretty consistent in terms of his results in recent years. He’s generally been able to combine decent strikeout and walk rates with strong ground ball numbers. However, he also has some question marks since his velocity isn’t huge by modern standards and some injuries have prevented him from being a workhorse.

Over the past four seasons, Suárez has tossed 588 1/3 innings for the Phillies, allowing 3.59 earned runs per nine. He punched out 21.9% of batters faced in that time and gave out walks at a 7.5% pace, both marks being close to typical league averages. His 50.8% ground ball rate in that span was quite strong.

He has spent at least some time on the injured list in each of those campaigns. Back problems are a recurring issue but there was also an elbow strain and a hamstring strain mixed in. Due to those injury setbacks, he has never hit the 160-inning mark in any season of his career. As for the velocity, he was able to average in the 93-94 mile per hour range with his fastball a few years ago. However, over the past two seasons, he’s been in the 91-92 mph range.

It’s not a perfect profile but Suárez is still one of the better arms out there. At the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Suárez could secure a five-year, $115MM deal. He was the fourth starting pitcher on the list, behind Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Tatsuya Imai. Cease has signed with the Blue Jays but Valdez, Imai and Suárez remain three of the most attractive starting pitchers available. Suárez rejected a qualifying offer from the Phillies, meaning any other team that signs him would be subject to the associated penalties.

Valdez is a fairly similar pitcher, since he’s also a ground ball guy, but he edges past Suárez for a few reasons. Though he’s two years older, he’s been more durable. While Suárez has never got to 160 innings, Valdez got to at least 176 in each of the past four seasons, including three with at least 192 frames. His ground ball rate is usually in the 60% range, about 10 points ahead of Suárez. His velocity has also been a few ticks above Suárez of late. MLBTR predicted Valdez for $150MM over five years.

The Astros just lost Valdez to free agency and need help in the rotation due to a large number of injuries. They seem to have a tight budget, with an apparent desire to avoid the competitive balance tax. It therefore makes sense that they might look to pivot to Suárez as a way to effectively replace Valdez at a discount.

RosterResource has Houston’s CBT number around $220MM, putting them roughly $24MM below next year’s base threshold of the tax. Signing Suárez would likely put them right up against the line but they could also create some more room by trading someone like Jake Meyers, Jesús Sánchez or Christian Walker.

Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias has publicly admitted that the club is looking for a front-of-rotation starter to slot next to Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish. They have generally avoided big splashes on the pitching side. They also needed rotation help last year and ended up giving one-year deals to Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, relatively older guys without much upside. It’s possible they make a bolder strike this offseason, having been connected to Imai, Valdez and others.

The Cubs are also known to be on the lookout for rotation upgrades. They have a number of decent arms already on the roster but clearly want to raise the ceiling by adding a playoff-caliber arm. They were interested in Cease before he came off the board and have also been connected to Imai, Michael King and others.

RosterResource has them less than $50MM away from the tax line, which they have generally tried not to cross in recent years. They could also consider a big offensive upgrade, such as going after Alex Bregman. Getting both a big-name starter and Bregman could push them close to that line.

The Tigers have a big ace in Tarik Skubal but could upgrade the group behind him. As of now, Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty are his best supports but the club could get an external upgrade and bump each of those guys down a peg. They haven’t been signing top free agents for a while but the tier below seems possible. They have been connected to King and now Suárez this offseason.

The Mets dealt with a lot of rotation injuries in 2025, forcing them to rely on rookies Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat. There’s talent there but the club clearly wants to make additions after a narrow playoff miss. They have been connected to Imai as well as Joe Ryan of the Twins.

They have a lot of moving parts in their offseason. Acquiring Marcus Semien might push Jeff McNeil to the trade block. They also might want to flip out Kodai Senga as they also add to the rotation. They may or may not re-sign Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz. They also might be in the markets for Cody Bellinger and other free agents.

As for the Phillies, they could try to bring back Suárez but it might not be their priority right now. Zack Wheeler may miss the beginning of the season due to thoracic outlet syndrome surgery but it’s possible he can rejoin the club fairly early in the campaign. Once back, he would slot into the rotation with Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and Andrew Painter.

The Phils could bolster that group but they also have other things on the to-do list. They want to re-sign Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto while also remaking their outfield. Amid all of that, it’s possible one of these other clubs has a chance to lure Suárez away.

Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

Phillies Re-Sign Michael Mercado To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Phillies have re-signed right-hander Michael Mercado to a minor league deal, reports Steve Potter of philliesbaseballfan.com. Presumably, the righty will also receive an invite to big league camp in spring training.

Mercado, 27 in April, was just non-tendered last month. He hadn’t yet qualified for arbitration but the non-tender deadline is the only day in the year when a player can be sent directly to free agency without being exposed to waivers. By taking that path with Mercado, the Phils gave him a chance to sign with the other 29 clubs but it also gave them the chance to quickly bring him back in a non-roster capacity.

The Phils initially acquired Mercado from the Rays in November of 2023. He was about to become a minor league free agent at that time but the Phils wanted him enough that they stopped that from happening. They sent right-hander Adam Leverett and cash considerations to Tampa and immediately gave Mercado a 40-man spot before he could hit the open market.

Since being acquired, he has worked both as a starter and a reliever for the Phils, with some strikeout stuff but also a lack of control. He has thrown 118 2/3 Triple-A innings over the past two seasons, allowing 3.11 earned runs per nine while striking out 22.9% of batters faced but issuing walks at a 12.5% clip. An 80.6% strand rate seemed to help him out with run prevention, leading to a less optimistic 4.48 FIP. Regardless, the Phils gave him some occasional big league looks, which he didn’t take advantage of. He currently has an 11.81 ERA in 16 big league innings.

Mercado is clearly not fully established in the majors yet but the Phillies presumably like his arsenal. He had averaged 95.8 miles per hour with his fastball in his big league career while also featuring a cutter, splitter, curveball and changeup. He’ll give the club some depth as he looks to earn his way back onto the roster. If he eventually gets his spot back, he still has one minor league option and just a handful of service days. That means he can still provide roster flexibility and cheap control.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Cubs, Phillies, Yankees Among Teams Interested In Tatsuya Imai

By | at

The Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball posted ace Tatsuya Imai for major league teams back on Nov. 19. The flamethrowing 27-year-old has until Jan. 2 to negotiate a deal with interested MLB clubs. The Mets, Cubs and Orioles have each been linked to the right-hander so far. The Cubs, in particular, are expected to be a “strong” player in Imai’s market, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. They also made an offer to Dylan Cease before the former Cy Young runner-up (and former Cubs draftee) signed with the Blue Jays last week, according to Levine.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds the Phillies and Yankees as another pair of teams in the running for Imai. He adds that Imai’s camp could schedule in-person visits with interested teams following next week’s Winter Meetings — if he hasn’t already agreed to a deal by that point.

The Cubs make a sensible fit for Imai, even after countryman Shota Imanaga accepted Chicago’s $22.025MM qualifying offer, opting to forgo free agency in the process. Manager Craig Counsell’s rotation currently includes Imanaga, Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Colin Rea. Ace Justin Steele is still on the mend from UCL surgery performed last April. He won’t be ready for Opening Day. Javier Assad and Ben Brown could both factor in, too, but both have bullpen experience and minor league options remaining.

Chicago’s interest in bolstering the rotation is well-known. Even after Imanaga opted to return, the Cubs have reportedly been seeking a playoff-caliber starter to add to the top portion of their staff. Imai isn’t necessarily a slam-dunk to fit that description, but his electric stuff and recent performance in NPB suggest he has that ceiling.

Imai, who’ll turn 28 next May, has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past four NPB seasons — headlined by a career-low 1.92 mark in 163 innings in 2025. Along the way, he’s steadily increased his strikeout rate while at the same time lowering his walk rate. Those improvements culminated in last year’s dominant season, wherein Imai punched out 27.8% of the batters he faced and cut his walk rate to a tidy 7%. He’s one of NPB’s hardest throwers, topping out around 99 mph and sitting more comfortably in the mid-90s. Imai complements that pitch with a slider, splitter and changeup.

Signing Imai would push Rea back into his familiar swingman role and could even create a logjam if everyone is healthy once Steele finishes off his rehab from surgery. That’s wishful thinking, however, given the proliferation of pitching injuries throughout the sport. And if the Cubs do manage to have a full contingent of healthy rotation arms at that point, it’d fall under the “good problem to have” cliche. A playoff rotation including a healthy Steele, Horton and Imai could be formidable.

The Phillies, meanwhile, haven’t been big players in free agency for pitchers — at least not to the extent they have with hitters — outside of retaining homegrown Aaron Nola on a seven-year contract. However, that decision is now one of many contributing to a far shakier outlook than we’re used to seeing with the Philadelphia rotation.

Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez broke out as a top-tier arm with this year’s runner-up finish in Cy Young voting, but the rest of the staff has more questions and/or dwindling club control. Ranger Suarez is already a free agent. Zack Wheeler underwent thoracic outlet surgery late in the season. He’s owed $84MM over the next two seasons. Nola struggled to the worst extent of his career, posting an ERA north of 6.00 in 2025. Jesus Luzardo is a quality mid-rotation arm but will be a free agent next winter. Taijuan Walker is also entering the final season of a four-year deal. He rebounded to an extent in 2025, but the first two seasons of that $72MM pact were a disaster. Andrew Painter has long been one of the game’s top pitching prospects, but he was hit hard in Triple-A during his return from 2024 Tommy John surgery.

Obviously, the Phillies already have a lot of money on the long-term books — but perhaps not to the extent some might think. Nola, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper are the only players signed beyond the 2027 season. A backloaded deal for Imai — likely one including at least one opt-out opportunity — could make his salary more manageable in years one and two. Those seasons would dovetail with the remaining years on the contracts of Wheeler (through 2027) as well as Walker (through 2026), Nick Castellanos (through ’26), Jose Alvarado (through ’26) and Matt Strahm (through ’26).

Signing Imai would give the Phillies another large contract on the books but also offers protection against a potentially thinned-out starting group come 2027. Luzardo and Walker are free agents at that point. Painter hasn’t pitched in the majors yet. It’s hard to know what to expect from Wheeler and Nola in 2026 — let alone 2027. Imai (or another multi-year rotation acquisition) could provide some protection, although he’s obviously an untested commodity himself (at least against MLB opposition).

On paper, the Yankees’ rotation need is the least acute of this group. Gerrit Cole could be back relatively early in 2026. Max Fried was dominant in his first season in Yankee Pinstripes. Carlos Rodon was outstanding in 33 starts. Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren are all impressive-looking young starters. Clarke Schmidt could be back late in the season after July Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees already have three pitchers on contracts valued at $162MM or more. Imai would very likely require a fourth commitment of over $100MM and do so at a time when the team is facing questions in the infield and in the outfield. If the Yankees believe Imai can pitch at or near the top of a major league rotation, however, they could sign him and use some of their young pitching and/or prospect depth to make compelling offers for bats on the trade market. It’s a thin offseason with regard to free-agent hitters, after all.

Whoever signs Imai will need to do so within the next four weeks. His posting window closes Jan. 2. The team to sign him will also owe a separate release fee to the Lions in NPB. That fee will equal 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any guaranteed money thereafter. Additional earnings unlocked via incentives, escalators and club option years would also be subject to that 15% rate once they become guaranteed.

Latest On Mariners’ Bullpen Targets

By | at

Mariners general manager Justin Hollander publicly admitted a few weeks back that the club would be looking for bullpen upgrades. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that Seattle plans to add two relievers and hopes to have one locked down by the end of the Winter Meetings next week. Adding a lefty is a priority and Jude lists five names they are considering, with four of them being southpaws. They are Matt Strahm of the Phillies, JoJo Romero of the Cardinals, Jose A. Ferrer of the Nationals, as well as free agents Tyler Rogers and Hoby Milner. Rogers is the lone right-hander in that group. Jude also mentions that the Mariners had interest in right-hander Phil Maton before he signed with the Cubs.

Seattle had a decent bullpen group in 2025. Their relievers had a collective 3.72 earned run average, which was ninth in the majors. Andrés Muñoz is one of the better closers in the game. But just about any club can add an extra leverage arm or two and bump other guys down a peg. That’s particularly true for the Mariners from the left side, as Gabe Speier is their only established southpaw reliever at the moment. Robinson Ortiz is the other lefty reliever on the 40-man but he hasn’t yet made his major league debut.

It’s unlikely that the club will spend a lot on the relief group. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto suggested that the M’s will likely begin 2026 with a similar payroll to where they were at the end of 2025. RosterResource estimates that they are currently about $15MM shy of that target. They already re-signed Josh Naylor but could look to further bolster the infield by re-signing Jorge Polanco or Eugenio Suárez. Jude unsurprisingly suggests the M’s aren’t likely to go after a big name reliever like Edwin Díaz or Robert Suarez.

Strahm, 34, is the most established of the bunch. He now has ten big league seasons under his belt. Though he has pushed into his mid-30s, he has remained effective. He just tossed 62 1/3 innings for the Phils this year, allowing 2.74 earned runs per nine. His 7.8% walk rate was a bit better than average and his 27.3% strikeout rate was quite strong. He triggered a vesting option in his contract and will make $7.5MM next year.

All that makes him attractive for the Mariners but also valuable for the Phillies. It’s possible the Phils may be willing to move a lefty due to a relative surplus. They have reportedly received some trade interest since they have Strahm, José Alvarado and Tanner Banks. The Phils have a lot they want to accomplish this winter, including re-signing Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto while also remaking their outfield and perhaps bolstering the rotation. They have some money to spend but perhaps trading one of their lefties could leave them less reliant on spending their cash.

Romero, 29, is a much more straightforward trade candidate. The Cardinals are rebuilding and he is just one year away from free agency. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $4.4MM next year. Over the past three years, he has tossed 156 2/3 innings for the Cards with a 2.93 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 53.3% ground ball rate.

Ferrer, 26 in March, is also on a rebuilding club. However, he’s under club control for four more years and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration, so the Nats don’t really need to trade him anytime soon. They are surely hoping to return to contention within his window of control but they may be open to a trade anyway, given that a pitcher can get hurt at any time and reliever performance tends to be volatile.

In Ferrer’s career, he has an unimpressive 4.36 ERA but that might mask his true skills. He is a ground ball guy and the Nats have been one of the worst defensive clubs in recent years, so perhaps a change of scenery would help him unlock a new gear in terms of run prevention. In 76 1/3 innings for the Nats this year, his 21.9% strikeout rate was just shy of league average. His 4.9% walk rate and 62.6% ground ball rate were both excellent. His 4.48 ERA doesn’t look great but his 3.03 FIP and 2.85 SIERA provide more optimism about him thriving in a different environment.

Milner, 35 in January, has a somewhat similar grounder-heavy profile to Ferrer. He has logged at least 64 innings in four straight seasons now. Over that 2022-25 span, he has thrown 264 frames with a 3.55 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 51.1% ground ball rate. Despite the solid track record, he was only able to secure a one-year, $2.5MM deal from Texas last winter. Perhaps he’ll have some extra earning power after finishing another solid season but he’s also a year older.

Rogers, 35 this month, is one of the most unique pitchers in the game. Not to be confused with his lefty brother Taylor, Tyler is the submarining righty. He doesn’t rack up strikeouts but he is one of the best in the game when it comes to staying healthy, avoiding walks and inducing grounders as well as soft contact. He has logged at least 70 innings in five straight campaigns. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has 378 1/3 innings with a 2.71 ERA, 17% strikeout rate, 4.4% walk rate, 56.3% ground ball rate and consistently strong numbers in terms of exit velocity allowed. He is a free agent for the first time and should be in high demand but some teams may be scared off by his age and lack of velocity, as he can barely even get into the 80s with his fastballs.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Oncea-Imagn Images

Latest On Center Field Market

By | at

The center field market appears to have lots of demand. The Phillies, Mets, Rays, Orioles, Diamondbacks and Royals are all looking for upgrades at the position, according to reporting from Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic.

Those teams all make logical sense. The Phillies acquired Harrison Bader at the deadline but lost him to free agency a few months later. The Mets did the same thing with Cedric Mullins, who was terrible for them. The Rays had a rotating cast of characters in the outfield in 2025 and are known to be looking for upgrades. The Orioles traded Mullins and then trotted out Colton Cowser, who struggled while playing through broken ribs. The Diamondbacks have been waiting for Alek Thomas to break out for a few years now. The Royals have been struggling to get good production from the grass for a few seasons and are looking for upgrades.

That demand might outpace the supply. The free agent market doesn’t have a standout option. Trent Grisham would have been the headliner but he accepted a qualifying offer to return to the Yankees. Cody Bellinger is out there but he’s more of a corner guy who can play some center, as opposed to an everyday solution. Bader is available and coming off a nice season at the plate but that was fuelled by a .359 batting average on balls in play. Mullins, as mentioned, is coming off a dreadful campaign.

On the trade market, Luis Robert Jr. is available but he’s coming off two straight poor seasons. The Astros are open to moving Jake Meyers for pitching help but Meyers has generally been a light-hitting, glove-first type in his career. Perhaps the Rockies would be open to moving Brenton Doyle but he’s still controlled for four more seasons and it would be a sell-low move for Colorado after his poor 2025 campaign.

The Red Sox might be willing to move Jarren Duran to clear their outfield logjam but Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan report that the Sox are looking for a return commensurate with his excellent 2024 season as opposed to his 2025 results. Duran’s combination of offense, defense and speed led to FanGraphs crediting him with 6.8 wins above replacement in 2024. Baseball Reference was even more bullish, giving him 8.7 WAR. He regressed a bit in 2025 and ended up at 3.9 fWAR and 4.7 bWAR. He’ll make $7.7MM in 2026 and can be controlled via arbitration for another two seasons after that.

If the Sox don’t want to sell low on Duran and no one is meeting their asking price, then perhaps he’ll stay in Boston. It does feel like they have to move someone, however. Their outfield mix currently projects to include Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida and Jhostynxon Garcia. Anthony and Rafaela feel locked in because they have both signed extensions. Rafaela can also play second base but is the best defensive center fielder of the bunch.

Another theoretical trade option is Byron Buxton of the Twins. His contract gives him full no-trade protection through 2026, though it then drops to just a five-team no-trade list for the final two years of the deal. In the lead up to the 2025 deadline, as the Twins sold off a number of controllable relievers and sent infielder Carlos Correa back to Houston, Buxton repeatedly said he wasn’t interested in waiving that clause and wanted to remain a Twin for life.

That stance appears to have softened lately. Reporting last month from Dan Hayes of The Athletic suggested that Buxton would become more open to waiving his clause if the Twins continued tearing down the roster, perhaps by trading Joe Ryan or Pablo López. Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey pushed back on the notion that the Twins would be making more sell-side moves but they also haven’t done much this winter to tip the scales either way.

McDaniel and Passan, linked above, say that Buxton is willing to waive his no-trade clause. It’s unclear if they mean that in the same way as Hayes, where it’s conditional on the Twins going down the rebuild road. Presumably, if Buxton is asked to waive his clause at some point, that would be part of a rebuild regardless.

Buxton is an incredibly talented player who has dealt with a lot of injury issues. His career high in games played in 140, which was back in 2017. From 2018 to 2023, he never topped 92 contests in any one season. He got to 102 in 2024 and 126 this year. When on the field, the quality has been great. He just wrapped up a season in which he hit 35 home runs and stole 24 bases. He slashed .264/.327/.551 and was credited with 5.0 fWAR.

His unique contract reflects that uncertainty. He is being paid $15MM annually, a decent sum but about half of what most superstars get. However, he can make millions more based on plate appearances and MVP voting. For the Twins, or a theoretical team rostering him in the future, they’d be happy to pay him the extra since that means he’s on the field and producing. Buxton would surely garner lots of interest if the Twins made him available but it’s still not clear if the club will go down that road.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

Phillies, Kyle Schwarber Currently “Not Close To A Deal”

By | at

There has been plenty of mutual interest between the Phillies and Kyle Schwarber, leading to a sense around the league (and among MLBTR’s staff) that Schwarber’s free agent path will ultimately lead him back to the City of Brotherly Love.  It doesn’t appear, however, that a reunion is imminent, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki wrote earlier this week that the two sides “are not close to a deal.”

Zolecki didn’t specify if there has been any standstill in talks, or if there is a sizable gap between the two sides in terms of money or contract length.  By that same measure, there’s also nothing to indicate that talks couldn’t heat up with a single phone call.  All in all, the news shouldn’t be construed as a sign that Schwarber won’t eventually return, or that either party is favoring another option.

It has only been a little over three weeks since free agents have been allowed to negotiate with other teams, and most of the top names on the market are still testing the waters.  A couple of the most prominent early signings (Josh Naylor to the Mariners, Raisel Iglesias to the Braves) did involve players quickly opting to re-up with their former teams, which perhaps raised hopes among Philadelphia fans that a new deal with Schwarber might also resolved in rapid fashion.  A little over two years ago, Aaron Nola entered free agency but then worked out his seven-year, $172MM deal with the Phillies within just a couple of weeks of the market opening.

As Zolecki simply puts it, “there’s no reason to rush it” for Schwarber’s camp at this point, given how much interest the slugger is generating in the wake of his 56-homer season.  The Red Sox, Orioles, and (surprisingly) the Pirates have all been publicly linked to Schwarber’s market thus far, plus the Reds have been mentioned as a speculative contender since they need hitting help and Schwarber is from the Cincinnati area.  DH-only players entering their age-33 seasons don’t usually command the kind of attention Schwarber is garnering, but then again, Schwarber’s career year is just one of 23 seasons of 56+ home runs in baseball history.

The fact that Schwarber is essentially the Phillies’ top priority (give or take J.T. Realmuto) gives the slugger added leverage.  He and his agents can likely afford to wait and see what other offers emerge, with the comfort of knowing that Philadelphia might well match or top whatever rival offer is put on the table.  From the Phillies’ perspective, they will likely wait on Schwarber before proceeding with any other major offseason business, apart from matters that wouldn’t be impacted by Schwarber staying or leaving — i.e. negotiating with Realmuto, trying to trade Nick Castellanos, or perhaps looking for bullpen help.

There’s some risk for the Phillies in that if Schwarber signed elsewhere after taking several more weeks, the Phils could be left behind in their offseason shopping if other free agents have already left the market.  That said, rival agents are also aware of this scenario, and could advise their clients to wait on their own decisions just in case a Schwarber-less Phillies team suddenly broadens its free agent horizons.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top