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Rays Sign Cedric Mullins To One-Year Deal

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December 6: The team has officially announced the signing. Right-hander Yoniel Curet was designated for assignment to make room for Mullins on the 40-man. Mullins’ one-year deal also includes a mutual option for 2027. Topkin reported the option is for $10MM, with a $500K buyout.

December 3: The Rays and outfielder Cedric Mullins are in agreement on a one-year deal, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It’s worth $7MM, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Mullins is represented by Cope Sports Management. The Rays have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move for this Mullins deal to become official.

Mullins and the Rays will both be hoping that he can engineer a bounceback season in 2026. Now 31, he has spent the past few seasons primarily with the Orioles, serving as a well-rounded center fielder capable of providing a bit of pop, some speed and quality defense. However, 2025 was his worst season since he became a full-time major leaguer.

Back in 2021, he had a tremendous breakout year. He hit 30 home runs, stole 30 bases and ran the ball down in the outfield. He slashed .291/.360/.518 for a 136 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with six wins above replacement.

That season now looks like an outlier. His subsequent campaigns haven’t been quite as good but he’s still been a very useful well-rounded contributor. The past four seasons have seen Mullins finish with a home run tally between 15 and 18, barely half of his 2021 total but still nothing to sneeze at. His stolen base numbers have oscillated but stayed near the 30ish range. He only swiped 19 in 2023 but he was limited to 116 games that year.

From 2022 to 2024, even with the diminished power, he slashed .244/.311/.407 for a 103 wRC+. He stole 85 bases and mostly got good review for his glovework. He tallied 7.7 fWAR, about two to three wins per season.

He got out to a hot start at the plate in 2025. At the end of April, he had six home runs, a .278/.412/.515 line and 163 wRC+. With free agency just a few months away, he seemed to have a shot at a nine-figure deal. Unfortunately, he went cold after that and never really recovered. From May 1st to the end of the season, he put up a dismal .198/.263/.355 line. A deadline deal to the Mets didn’t help get him back on track.

Ultimately, his full 2025 line of .216/.299/.391 isn’t too bad. The 94 wRC+ indicates he was only 6% below league average, but it’s obviously not ideal for a free agent to hit the open market riding a five-month slump.

His glovework is also arguably less stable now, perhaps not shocking for a guy who is now 31 years old. Outs Above Average still considers him an above average fielder but by a smaller margin now. He was credited with at least 10 OAA in both 2021 and 2022 but was below five in each of the two most recent seasons. Defensive Runs Saved ranked him as a strong defender a few years ago but tagged him with a -4 grade in 2024 and -14 in 2025, dropping him to -11 DRS for his career.

The combination of trends left Mullins with diminished earning power but he’s a sensible flier for the Rays to take. They used a mishmash of different guys in their outfield group in 2025. Each of Chandler Simpson, Jake Mangum, Josh Lowe, Christopher Morel and Kameron Misner took between 216 and 429 plate appearances as an outfielder for Tampa this year, with others appearing for smaller samples as well. None of those five guys had even league average offense this year. Misner and Morel were designated for assignment at the end of the season. Misner was traded to the Royals. Morel was non-tendered and is now a free agent. The Rays recently brought in another outfielder by signing Jake Fraley.

Last month, Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander admitted that upgrading the outfield would be a target for this offseason. However, spending big has never really been the club’s style. That’s presumably extra true after a season in which they had to move to a minor league park, which led to extra expenses and then smaller crowds. The Rays decided to pass on picking up an $11MM club option for Pete Fairbanks, despite a fairly affordable $10MM price difference between that option and the $1MM buyout.

The Rays wouldn’t be serious contenders for signing someone like Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger. Even if they were willing to splurge on a mid-market free agent, this year doesn’t really have any outfielders who fit the description. Trent Grisham would have been in there but he accepted a qualifying offer from the Yankees. That left the Rays with the trade market and then free agents like Mullins, Harrison Bader, Mike Yastrzemski and others.

RosterResource currently estimates the Rays for a $77MM payroll in 2026, before factoring in Mullins. They finished 2025 at $88MM. It’s unknown how much they plan to spend next year but they will be pretty close to last year’s outlay once Mullins is officially on the books.

Presumably, Mullins will be penciled in as the everyday center fielder as the Rays hope he finds a way to return to form. Their remaining outfielders can battle over the playing time in the corners, with Mullins perhaps acting as a veteran mentor for them.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images

Nationals Trade Jose Ferrer To Mariners For Harry Ford

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The Nationals and Mariners lined up on a trade sending lefty reliever Jose A. Ferrer to Seattle for rookie catcher Harry Ford and minor league pitcher Isaac Lyon. Both teams have announced the trade.

Seattle adds a flamethrower from the left side to complement Andres Munoz and Matt Brash in the backend of the bullpen. The price is somewhat steep, as Ford ranks 42nd in MLB.com’s top 100 prospect rankings. Lyon was taken in the 10th round of the 2025 draft. He made a handful of appearances at Single-A this past season.

Ferrer emerged as Washington’s closer after Kyle Finnegan was shipped to Detroit at the trade deadline. He picked up 11 saves over the final two months of the season. The 25-year-old’s 21.9% strikeout rate and mid-4.00s ERA don’t scream shutdown closer, but he had an excellent 2.85 SIERA and an elite 4.9% walk rate on the year. Ferrer put together a stretch of 14 straight scoreless appearances shortly after taking over as closer, though he did falter over his final few appearances.

Ferrer has made 142 appearances out of the Nationals’ bullpen since his debut in 2023. He has a career 4.36 ERA, but his xERA and xFIP are both below 3.50. While he hasn’t piled up strikeouts, Ferrer’s upper-90s sinker has helped him rank among the best relievers in ground ball rate. Ferrer is under team control through 2029. He won’t reach arbitration until the 2027 campaign.

Ford has been a top 5 prospect in Seattle’s system since getting taken in the first round of the 2021 draft. The 12th overall pick slotted in at fifth among the Mariners’ prospects in 2022, per MLB.com. He reached the top spot in 2023, and most recently slotted in at fourth. Ford has hit at every minor league stop, while also providing significant contributions as a base stealer.

The 22-year-old Ford slashed .283/.408/.460 with 16 home runs and seven steals at Triple-A this past year. He struck out less than 20% of the time while posting a massive 16.2% walk rate. Ford briefly debuted with the big-league club, mostly operating as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. He went 1-for-6 in eight appearances.

The 16 home runs with Tacoma were a career high for Ford, though the seven steals were a disappointing total after he swiped 35 bags at Double-A in 2024. Ford’s elite walk rate has allowed him to consistently put up huge on-base numbers. Outside of a .377 OBP in 2024, he’s been at or above .400 in each season of his minor league tenure. Ford’s power outlook is more gap-to-gap than over-the-fence, but his combination of speed and on-base skills gives him a unique offensive profile, particularly for a catcher.

With Cal Raleigh landing a six-year extension before the 2025 campaign, Ford was going to be blocked in Seattle for the foreseeable future. He’ll head to Washington to join a catching group that struggled with injuries and production last season. Recurring concussion issues limited Keibert Ruiz to 68 games in 2025. He briefly returned to the team in early July, then went right back on the IL and never made it back to the big-league squad. Riley Adams handled the majority of the reps behind the plate, along with brief cameos from Drew Millas and Jorge Alfaro. Washington’s backstops ranked 29th in OPS. Adams is back on a one-year split deal, while Alfaro is a free agent.

Lyon made four starts with Modesto this past year. The 21-year-old righty will head to Fredericksburg to continue honing his craft. Lyon is the son of former pitcher Brandon Lyon.

Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reported the Mariners were nearing a Ferrer deal. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Ford was heading to Washington. Golden was first with Lyon’s inclusion. Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.

Rockies Outright Warming Bernabel

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Infielder Warming Bernabel has been outrighted off the Rockies’ 40-man roster, the team announced. Bernabel has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. Colorado’s 40-man is now at 37 players.

The 23-year-old Bernabel made his MLB debut in July. He got off to a torrid start, going 14-for-28 with three home runs in his first seven games. Bernabel cooled off significantly after that incredible first week, hitting just .189 with one homer the rest of the way. A concussion cost him a couple of weeks in September. He finished his first foray at the highest level with a 78 wRC+ over 40 games.

Colorado added Bernabel as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2018. He showed a consistent ability to make contact and rack up hits in the lower levels of the minors before running into a roadblock at Double-A in 2023.  Bernabel hit just .225 with Hartford, while striking out at a rate above 20% for the first time as a professional. He posted tepid results at the same level in 2024, but was bumped to Triple-A this past year and performed well. Bernabel hit .301 in 75 games with Albuquerque, earning a promotion to the big-league club.

Bernabel has played corner infield primarily, with the majority of his appearances in Colorado coming at first base. Bernabel has also spent time at DH, which might be a better long-term fit. Scouts graded him as a mediocre to poor fielder, and he recorded -2 Outs Above Average in his brief stint with the Rockies.

If Bernabel is going to find success at the highest level, he’ll need to find a way to impact the ball better. He posted an underwhelming 32.5% hard-hit rate and an 85.4 mph average exit velocity. Bernabel managed just three barrels on 114 batted balls. He did pull the ball at an elevated 42.1% rate, which could help his subpar batted ball metrics lead to modest power, but the home run binge to begin his MLB career seems to have been an aberration.

Blue Jays Outright Yariel Rodriguez

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The Blue Jays are outrighting Yariel Rodriguez off their 40-man roster, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi.  Reporter Francys Romero had the news earlier this afternoon that Rodriguez was being designated for assignment, though the Sportsnet item clarifies that Rodriguez wasn’t DFA’ed, but has already cleared outright waivers.

It isn’t yet known if this is tied to any upcoming roster move.  A 40-man roster spot wasn’t immediately needed for the Jays, as the club has only 38 players on their current 40-man.  Cody Ponce’s three-year contract has yet to be officially announced, but once that deal is complete, the Jays will now still retain two vacancies on their 40-man with Rodriguez now apparently on his way out.

It’s a somewhat surprising move on paper, as Rodriguez had a 3.08 ERA over 73 innings out of Toronto’s bullpen in 2025, and he received some high-leverage work in a set-up role in the earlier part of the year.  He was also included on the Blue Jays’ rosters for both the ALDS and ALCS, and he was charged with three earned runs over 2 2/3 innings of work before being left off the World Series roster.

The 3.08 ERA was seemingly a positive step forward from the 4.47 ERA that Rodriguez posted over 86 2/3 innings as a starting pitcher in 2024 (his first season in the majors), though a look under the hood reveals some pretty similar peripherals.  Rodriguez’s 22.1% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate in 2025 were both a tick backwards from his 2024 statistics.  After posting a 4.46 SIERA that almost matched his ERA, there was a much larger gap between the righty’s 3.08 ERA and 4.27 SIERA in 2025, as Rodriguez was aided by a .228 BABIP and an 81.2% strand rate this past season.

Two seasons of middling strikeout rates and hefty walk totals left the Blue Jays ready to move on from the right-hander, less than two years after Rodriguez signed a five-year, $32MM free agent contract.  $17MM remains on that contract, in the form of a $5MM salary in 2026, $6MM in 2027, and then a $6MM player option for 2028 or (if Rodriguez does opt out), a $10MM club option that the Jays can exercise to retain him for the 2028 campaign.

Unsurprisingly, no team was willing to claim away this remaining contract on waivers, and thus Rodriguez has now been outrighted off the 40-man.  He is still in the Toronto organization, as Rodriguez doesn’t have the necessary service time or a past outright on his resume that he would need to give himself the ability to decline the outright assignment in favor of free agency.  This means that the Blue Jays could still select Rodriguez’s contract back to the 40-man at any point, whether in the offseason or during the 2026 campaign.

However, the outright clearly puts Rodriguez in line as something of a secondary option within Toronto’s bullpen plans, and likely makes him a trade candidate for the remainder of the winter.  While no team was going to eat all of that $17MM deal, the Jays could explore (or continue exploring, as they’ve surely checked around about trade possibilities) moving Rodriguez as part of a swap of unwelcome contracts, or the Jays could eat a significant chunk of the $17MM to help accommodate a trade.

It has already been a busy offseason for the Blue Jays, who have signed Ponce and Dylan Cease to multi-year contracts, and Shane Bieber is also staying in the rotation after declining to opt out of the final year of his deal.  This puts the Jays in line for approximately a $267.9MM payroll and a $282.5MM luxury tax number (projections courtesy of RosterResource), and this is before Toronto addresses its lineup or bullpen needs heading into the 2026 campaign.

The four largest payrolls in Blue Jays history have come in each of the last four seasons, as ownership has been willing to foot increasingly large bills on the both the salary and tax fronts.  The Blue Jays paid the luxury tax in both 2023 and 2025, and their current 2026 projection already has them just shy of the $284MM tax threshold and the third penalty tier.

Given how the Jays have already signed Cease and have been linked to many other big names this offseason (i.e. Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, and old friend Bo Bichette), clearly more spending is still to come.  That said, only the front office knows exactly what the budget actually is, and trimming some excess salary like Rodriguez could free up some extra dollars that could be put towards some higher-ceiling talent.  The fact that Toronto has two open 40-man roster spots heading into the Winter Meetings is perhaps a hint that the Jays might be anticipating another new acquisition sooner rather than later.

KBO League’s LG Twins Re-Sign Yonny Chirinos, Austin Dean

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The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization announced earlier this week that right-hander Yonny Chirinos and first baseman Austin Dean have been re-signed to new contracts for the 2026 season.  Right-hander Anders Tolhurst is also being brought back, as the Twins will be retaining their entire trio of foreign-born players from the previous season.

Dean earns the largest contract of the group with $1.4MM in guaranteed money ($1.1MM salary, $300K signing bonus) and another $300K available in incentives.  Chirinos also got a $300K signing bonus, as well as $900K in guaranteed salary, and up to $200K more in incentives.  Tolhurst will receive $800K in salary, a $200K signing bonus, and can get another $200K in incentive bonuses.

All three players were key contributors to a Twins team that won the Korean Series in 2025, and Dean also played a big role in the franchise’s 2023 championship team.  Dean has spent the last three seasons with the Twins, hitting .315/.384/.560 with 86 homers over 1686 plate appearances.  His distinguished resume with the Seoul-based team also includes a KBO All-Star nod in 2023 and two Golden Glove Awards.

Dean hit .228/.286/.390 over 365 PA and 126 games with the Marlins, Cardinals, and Giants from 2018-22, and had trouble sticking in the majors after getting most of his playing time with Miami in 2018-19.  Now entering his age-32 season, Dean has found a nice niche for himself with the Twins, and might well have several more years ahead of him in the KBO League.

Chirinos is another former big leaguer who emerged as a solid member of the Rays’ pitching mix in 2018-19, but a Tommy John surgery threw his career off track.  After posting a 3.65 ERA over 234 1/3 innings from 2018-20, Chirinos spent the entire 2021 season rehabbing and then delivered only a 5.31 ERA across 122 innings with the Rays, Braves, and Marlins over the 2022-24 campaigns.

The move to Seoul helped get Chirinos back on track, as he posted a 3.31 ERA across 30 starts and 177 innings.  A strong groundball pitcher in the minor leagues, Chirinos took that ability to new heights with a 59.8% grounder rate with the Twins.  A tiny 4.9% walk rate also helped him avoid damage, even if he didn’t miss many bats with an 18.6% strikeout rate.

Tolhurst was a 23rd-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2019 draft, and he didn’t receive any MLB playing time during his four seasons in Toronto’s farm system.  He made it as far as Triple-A Buffalo in 2025, posting a 4.67 ERA in 71 1/3 innings with the Bisons.  With seemingly no promotion to the Show on the horizon, Tolhurst was released in August so he could make the jump to the KBO League, and he made an instant impact with his new team.  Tolhurst had a 2.86 ERA over 44 innings with the Twins, and he was the winning pitcher in both Game 1 and the series-clinching Game 5 of the Korean Series.

Orioles Designate Ryan Noda For Assignment

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The Orioles announced that first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda has been designated for assignment.  The club also announced the previously-reported waiver claims of Will Robertson and Drew Romo, and Noda’s DFA clears the final 40-man roster spot Baltimore needed to officially add Robertson and Romo.

Noda also came to Baltimore on a waiver claim last August, as the O’s claimed the 29-year-old away from the White Sox to create some roster depth in the wake of the trade deadline.  Noda ended up appearing in seven big league games in an Orioles uniform, with 14 plate appearances.  Combined with his 45 PA for Chicago, Noda ended up with a .106/.276/.170 slash line to show for his 59 total PA at the MLB level in 2025.

It was a busy year of transactions for Noda, as starting in November 2024, he went from the A’s to the Angels to the Red Sox to the White Sox and finally to the Orioles on a series of waiver claims and (in the case of the move to Boston) a trade.  This is the third time Noda has been DFA’d, but he has neither the required three years of MLB service time or the past outright assignment on his resume to decline an outright if he clears waivers and the Orioles assign him to Triple-A.  That means Noda will remain in Baltimore’s organization if outrighted off the 40-man, though his past history suggests that another waiver claim is certainly possible.

The Athletics selected Noda out of the Dodgers’ organization as a pick in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, and it looked like a shrewd move for the A’s after Noda hit .229/.364/.406 with 16 home runs over 495 PA during the 2023 season.  This solid rookie performance didn’t carry forward, however, as Noda followed up with only a .137/.255/.211 slash over 111 PA in 2024, and he spent the majority of that season in the minors.

Strong minor league production has kept Noda in the minds of teams looking to add roster depth on the waiver wire, though his Triple-A numbers dropped to .188/.409/.361 and 10 home runs over 291 PA.  Since those plate appearances were split over four different teams in four organizations, it seems possible that the transactional whirlwind played a part in Noda’s dropoff at the plate.  He still maintained his ability to get on base, and Noda is still a player capable of handling first base or either corner outfield slot, plus some center field work in a pinch.

KBO League’s SSG Landers Sign Drew VerHagen

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The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced a one-year contract with right-hander Drew VerHagen for the 2026 season.  VerHagen will earn $800K in guaranteed money ($750K salary, $50K signing bonus) and another $100K is available to the 35-year-old righty in contract incentives.

A veteran of eight Major League seasons, VerHagen has a 4.98 ERA over 281 2/3 innings with the Tigers (from 2014-19) and Cardinals (2022-23), working primarily as a long reliever with a few spot starts.  He also has a significant amount of experience pitching in Japan, as VerHagen pitched with the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball during both the 2020-21 seasons and then again over the last two seasons.

Overall, VerHagen has a 3.68 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, and 6.65% walk rate in 283 1/3 innings with the Fighters.  His most recent season, however, was his least-successful in NPB.  VerHagen delivered only a 6.08 ERA over 26 2/3 frames with the Fighters in 2025, and spent the bulk of the season with the Fighters’ minor league affiliate.

VerHagen will now look to turn the page in a new league and a new country.  He’ll take up one of the Fighters’ allotted roster spots for foreign-born pitchers, essentially replacing Drew Anderson (who is returning to MLB on a one-year deal with Detroit).

Diamondbacks Sign Jacob Amaya, Taylor Rashi To Minor League Deals

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The Diamondbacks signed infielder Jacob Amaya and relievers Taylor Rashi and Gerardo Carrillo to minor league contracts, as announced by their Triple-A affiliate in Reno. All three players will get non-roster invitations to Spring Training.

Amaya joins the system after spending the 2025 season with the White Sox. He appeared in a career-high 36 games but only batted .106 with one extra-base hit (a double) in 73 trips to the plate. The 27-year-old spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Charlotte. He hit .250/.352/.420 with nine homers across 219 plate appearances. He posted decent batted ball metrics but struck out in 29% of his trips to the dish.

A former 11th-round pick of the Dodgers, Amaya is a light-hitting utility player. He has nearly 5000 professional innings at shortstop and has logged more than 1100 frames at second base. Amaya has played some third base as well and should provide a solid glove around the infield. He’ll compete with Tim Tawa for the utility job in camp but is probably ticketed for Reno to begin the season.

Rashi returns after being non-tendered a couple weeks ago. The Snakes dropped him from the 40-man roster to make room for James McCann, whom they re-signed that day. The 29-year-old righty pitched 10 times this past season, allowing eight runs across 16 1/3 innings. He recorded 22 strikeouts while issuing eight walks. Rashi only throws 90 MPH but turned in an impressive 3.48 ERA while striking out a quarter of opponents over 67 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League this year.

Carrillo has yet to pitch in the majors. A former Dodgers prospect who was traded to the Nationals as part of the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner deal in 2021, he topped out at Double-A in the Washington system. The 27-year-old righty briefly got to Triple-A last year with the Rangers but spent the bulk of the season at Double-A Frisco. He posted a 3.69 ERA with a 26.8% strikeout rate against generally younger competition.

Tigers To Sign Drew Anderson

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The Tigers and right-hander Drew Anderson have agreed to a deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It’s a one-year pact with a club option for 2027. The salary figures haven’t yet been publicly reported. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports that the Tigers expect the righty to be a starter, as he has been doing in Korea for the past couple of years. The Tigers have a 40-man vacancy and won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Anderson, 32 in March, bounced around the big leagues a few years ago. He got brief looks in five straight seasons from 2017 to 2021, spending time with the Phillies, White Sox and Rangers. He posted a 6.50 earned run average in 44 1/3 innings spread across those five seasons.

He went overseas for the 2022 season, joining the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He had a pretty good run as a Carp, posting a 3.05 over two seasons in Hiroshima. On the heels of that performance, he tried coming back to North America. The Tigers gave him a minor league deal in January of 2024. He didn’t make the team out of camp and was pitching for the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization by the end of April.

His first year in Korea went quite well. He tossed 115 2/3 innings over 24 appearances with a 3.89 ERA. His 10.7% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 31.9% of batters faced and got grounders on 45.8% of balls in play. The Landers re-signed him for 2025 and his performance this year was even better. He made 30 starts and logged 171 2/3 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 35.3% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 45.9% ground ball rate.

In the past few days, a handful of teams have agreed to deals with players returning from stints overseas. The Astros agreed to a one-year, $2.6MM deal with Ryan Weiss, who had been pitching in Korea. Anthony Kay, who has been in Japan, got a two-year, $12MM deal from the White Sox. The Blue Jays made a big splash by agreeing to a three-year, $30MM deal with Cody Ponce.

Anderson’s numbers in 2025 were fairly close to Ponce’s in a few areas. Ponce’s 36.2% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate were both slightly ahead. His 45.7% ground ball rate was just barely behind Anderson’s. Ponce posted a 1.89 ERA, coming out slightly ahead of Anderson.

While the numbers might suggest a narrow gap between the two, the industry consensus is that Ponce is further ahead of Anderson based on his stuff. To illustrate, this piece from Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan of FanGraphs pegged Ponce as a #4 starter on a good team who should earn $20-25MM on a two-year deal, fairly close to what he eventually secured. Anderson, on the other hand, split the two writers. Without naming names, they say one of them felt Anderson could be a decent back-end guy while the other felt he would likely end up as a reliever.

It’s still unknown how much the Tigers are spending but they are making a bet that Anderson can hack it as a big league starter. Detroit’s rotation will be fronted by Tarik Skubal, with Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty in behind him. Anderson will presumably be competing for the #5 spot in spring training alongside guys like Keider Montero, Troy Melton, Ty Madden and Sawyer Gipson-Long. The Tigers have been connected to free agents such as Zac Gallen, Ranger Suárez and Michael King, so it’s possible they change up the picture between now and when camp opens.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Marlins Outright Zach Brzykcy

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The Marlins announced that they have sent right-hander Zach Brzykcy outright to Triple-A Jacksonville. That indicates the Fish put him on waivers in recent days and he went unclaimed. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reported the move prior to the official announcement. The righty will stay in the system as non-roster depth. Miami’s 40-man roster count will drop to 39, perhaps allowing them to make a pick in next week’s Rule 5 draft.

Brzykcy, 26, has never pitched for the Marlins. He had spent his entire career with the Nationals until the Fish claimed him off waivers last month. The Nats added him to their 40-man roster two years ago, to keep him out of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. Since then, he has mostly been in the minors. He has just 28 2/3 big league innings, having allowed 32 earned runs in that time, giving him an ugly 10.05 ERA at the moment.

On the farm, he has shown big strikeout stuff but control issues. He missed the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery. Over the past two years, he has thrown 61 1/3 innings in the minors with a 4.70 ERA. His 13.6% walk rate is quite high but he’s also punched out 28.7% of batters faced.

Since this is Brzykcy’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to reject this assignment in favor of free agency. He will therefore stick with the Marlins in a non-roster capacity and provide them with some depth.

Photo courtesy of Rafael Suanes, Imagn Images

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