Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Rays Outright Brian Van Belle

By | at

The Rays announced that right-hander Brian Van Belle went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay had designated him for assignment last week when cutting their roster down to 40.

Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports that Van Belle underwent elbow surgery that will cost him the entire 2026 season. The 29-year-old had finished the year on the injured list with what was initially diagnosed as elbow inflammation. That was apparently serious enough to necessitate surgery that’ll prevent Van Belle from building off this year’s brief MLB debut. The Miami product made four appearances after being acquired from the Reds as part of the three-team Zack Littell deadline deal. He gave up five runs over 8 1/3 innings while picking up his first win.

Van Belle will remain in the farm system without occupying a 40-man roster spot next season. He could get a look in Spring Training in 2027. He’s coming off a cumulative 3.17 ERA in 105 Triple-A innings between the Red Sox, Reds and Rays systems. Van Belle’s fastball sits around 90 MPH, but he has a plus changeup and excellent control.

Roansy Contreras Signs With NPB’s Rakuten Eagles

By | at

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced they’ve signed right-hander Roansy Contreras for the 2026 season. The Rep 1 Baseball client had been on the Rockies’ 40-man roster. Colorado announced this afternoon that he was being released to pursue an overseas opportunity, dropping their roster count to 38.

Contreras is a former top pitching prospect who has spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues. He was a key part of the Pirates’ return from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade and found a bit of early success out of the Pittsburgh rotation. Things went off the rails in the 2023 season, though, and he has bounced around as a journeyman reliever over the past few seasons. Contreras has pitched for four clubs over the last three years. He owns a 5.48 earned run average across 149 1/3 big league frames in that time.

The 26-year-old spent most of this past season in Triple-A in the Baltimore system. Contreras started 14 of 28 outings for their top affiliate in Norfolk, working to a 3.73 ERA despite a middling 17.8% strikeout rate in 91 2/3 innings. Baltimore called him up at the end of August but put him back on waivers after one appearance. Colorado claimed him for the final month of the season. Contreras gave up eight runs over 8 1/3 innings before suffering a season-ending hand contusion.

There’s a decent chance the Rockies would have pushed him off the 40-man roster this offseason. He’s out of options, so even if he held the roster spot all winter, he would’ve needed to win a bullpen job out of camp or be placed back on waivers. It’s understandable he’d rather take the guaranteed payday and try his luck in Japan rather than battle for low-leverage work at Coors Field. Contreras is young enough to be an interesting MLB free agent a couple years from now if he misses more bats in NPB.

Braves Claim Carson Ragsdale, Josh Walker

By | at

The Braves have claimed left-hander Josh Walker and right-hander Carson Ragsdale off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Both pitchers were designated for assignment by Baltimore a week ago. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count goes from 35 to 37.

This is the second time Atlanta has grabbed Ragsdale from the waiver wire. The first came in the middle of September, but the O’s claimed him back about a week later. Ragsdale, 28 in May, just made his major league debut in 2025. He made two appearances for the O’s, allowing eight earned runs in five innings. That is obviously a small and unimpressive sample, so Atlanta is presumably putting more stock in his minor league track record.

Prior to 2025, Ragsdale had been in the Giants’ system. He generally flashed a high-strikeout and high-walk profile. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 267 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.07 earned run average. He struck out 32.1% of batters faced while giving out walks 9.8% of the time.

The Giants put him on their 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. His results backed up this year, so they designated him for assignment at the end of July. That led him to Baltimore, Atlanta and then Baltimore again via the waiver wire. He finished 2025 having thrown 89 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.22 ERA, 19.5% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate.

It obviously wasn’t a good year but Ragsdale is not too far removed from being a notable prospect for the Giants. Going into 2025, Baseball America ranked him #17 in the system while FanGraphs had him at #11. He still has a couple of options, so Atlanta can keep him in Triple-A, either continuing his development as a starter or perhaps moving him to the bullpen.

Walker, 31 in December, is a straightforward lefty reliever. His major league track record isn’t especially long, with 26 appearances scattered over the past three seasons, pitching for the Mets and Blue Jays. He has a 6.59 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. His minor league work is intriguing, however. From 2022 to 2025, he tossed 131 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.90 ERA. His 11.6% walk rate was certainly high but he also punched out 30.5% of batters faced in that time with a steady diet of grounders as well.

The southpaw bounced around the league in 2025, going from the Jays to the Phillies via a small trade and then to the Orioles via waivers. He exhausted his final option season along the way and is now out of options.

He still has less than a year of service time but the O’s signed him to a major league deal earlier this month. The salary figures weren’t reported but Walker is presumably going to be paid at a rate nominally above league minimum. The idea of the O’s agreeing to such a deal is that it would theoretically make it more likely that he passes through waivers unclaimed and sticks around as non-roster depth.

Atlanta prevented that from happening in this case. They had multiple open roster spots and used one of them to grab Walker. For now, he gives them another lefty relief option, alongside Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee and others. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Atlanta tries to pass Walker through waivers later, so that they are the ones who get to keep him as a depth option without him taking up a roster spot.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images

Reds Claim Ben Rortvedt

By | at

November 13th: Prior to being put on waivers, Rortvedt and the Dodgers avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $1.25MM deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The Dodgers presumably hoped that Rortvedt would clear waivers and accept an outright assignment, therefore staying as depth without taking up a roster spot. However, the Reds prevented that from happening.

November 12th: The Dodgers announced that catcher Ben Rortvedt has been claimed off waivers by the Reds. There was no previous indication that Rortvedt had been designated for assignment, so this drops the Los Angeles 40-man roster count to 39. The Reds, meanwhile, go from 37 to 38.

Rortvedt, 28, has bounced around the league quite a bit. He has just 227 big league games under his belt but those have come with four different teams. He has suited up for the Twins, Yankees, Rays and Dodgers. He has put up good defensive numbers in that time but hasn’t hit much. Overall, he has a .190/.279/.270 batting line in 633 plate appearances.

Given the strength of his glovework, even a bit more offense can make him a valuable player. He showed that with the Rays in 2024. His .228/.317/.303 slash wasn’t great in a vacuum. It led to an 87 wRC, indicating he was 13% below league average overall. However, that’s not so bad for a catchers, as backstops are usually about 10% below par. Thanks to his glovework and that passable offense, FanGraphs credited him with 1.4 wins above replacement on the year.

He couldn’t keep it going into 2025. He started the year with a .095/.186/.111 performance and was outrighted to the minors by early June. He was then flipped to the Dodgers as part of the three-team deadline deal which sent Zack Littell to Cincinnati. Rortvedt was called up when Will Smith was injured and hit a more serviceable .224/.309/.327 down the stretch. With Smith still injured as the playoffs began, Rortvedt was the club’s regular behind the plate. He put up a hilarious .429/.500/.571 line in four games before Smith took over. Rortvedt stayed on the roster through the rest of the playoffs but didn’t play in the NLCS or World Series.

Going into 2026, Smith and Dalton Rushing project as the Dodgers’ top two catchers. Rortvedt is out of options. He’s also eligible for arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $1.3MM salary. Presumably, the Dodgers weren’t planning to tender him a contract. They put him on waivers and gave him a chance to land somewhere else.

The Reds are an interesting landing spot for Rortvedt. They had Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino as their primary catchers in 2025. Trevino has been a strong defender in his career but was closer to average in 2025. His bat has never been great but his .238/.272/.351 line in 2025 was below his own standards. He is signed through 2027 with a club option for 2028.

Stephenson, meanwhile, has never received strong grades for his work behind the plate. He has been a good hitter in his career, however. He was league average in 2025 but has shown the potential for more. He slashed .296/.369/.454 for a 120 wRC+ from 2020 to 2022. Over the past three years, he has a .246/.325/.414 line and 99 wRC+. Stephenson is heading into his final arbitration season with a projected salary of $6.4MM.

With Rortvedt now in the fold, the Reds have some options. Since Stephenson isn’t a strong defender, perhaps he could spend more time at first base this year, while leaving the catching duties to Trevino and Rortvedt. It’s also possible the Reds look to see if there’s any trade interest in Stephenson or Trevino. Alternatively, they could hold all three. They could tender Rortvedt a contract and then try to pass him through waivers later. Since his service time is between three and five years, he would have the right to elect free agency but would have to forfeit his salary commitments in exercising that right.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

A’s, Nick Anderson Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Athletics are in agreement with reliever Nick Anderson on a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The Gaeta Sports Management client would be paid at a $1MM rate if he cracks the MLB roster.

Anderson made 12 appearances with the Rockies this past season. He allowed 10 runs over 14 2/3 innings, striking out 10 while issuing a pair of free passes. The 35-year-old righty pitched in Triple-A with the Cardinals, Rox and Mariners. He combined for a 5.26 earned run average over 38 outings despite striking out an above-average 27.1% of batters faced.

A veteran of six big league seasons, Anderson has moved around as a depth piece since excelling in leverage spots with the Rays from 2019-20. Anderson has missed bats in Triple-A over the past couple years but hasn’t translated that into many whiffs against MLB competition. He still has mid-90s velocity and a career 3.43 ERA over 177 big league outings. That has gotten him various looks on minor league contracts over the past couple years.

The A’s have one of the younger bullpens in MLB. None of their projected relievers have even two years of service time. They’ll surely make more impactful bullpen pickups over the next couple months, but it’s no surprise that they’re looking to add an experienced arm like Anderson to compete for a middle relief spot in Spring Training.

Rays Return Rule 5 Pick Nate Lavender To Mets

By | at

The Rays announced that Rule 5 pick Nate Lavender went unclaimed on waivers and was returned to the Mets. He’ll be back in the New York organization without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster.

Lavender never got a shot with Tampa Bay. The former 14th-round pick had undergone internal brace surgery in May 2024. The Rays took a flier on him in the Rule 5 draft halfway through his rehab. They hoped he’d make it back in the second half of the ’25 season and battle for a spot in the big league bullpen. It didn’t happen, as it appears he suffered some kind of setback. Lavender didn’t pitch at any level this year and was designated for assignment when the injured list went away last week.

Rule 5 draftees need to spend their entire first season in the new organization on the MLB roster or injured list. Lavender met that criterion, but they also need to spend at least 90 days on the active roster in total. If that doesn’t happen in year one because of injury or suspension, the player’s Rule 5 status carries into the winter and following season.

The silver lining for the 25-year-old southpaw is that he spent a season on the major league injured list. He picked up a year of service time and, more importantly, was paid the $760K league minimum salary. That’s no small matter for a player who received a $125K signing bonus at draft time and had never before occupied a spot on a 40-man roster. That said, it’s obviously disappointing that he wasn’t healthy enough to audition for a long-term bullpen spot in Tampa Bay.

The Illinois product will try to earn that opportunity with the Mets. Lavender struck out nearly 37% of opponents while combining for a 2.98 ERA between the top two minor league levels in 2023. If he’s healthy, he’ll probably get a non-roster invite to big league Spring Training. Even if he doesn’t break camp, he could put himself on the radar for a midseason promotion if he continues missing bats at that level with Triple-A Syracuse.

Rays Release Bob Seymour To Pursue Opportunity In Asia

By | at

The Rays announced that first baseman Bob Seymour has been released to pursue an opportunity in Asia. No details were provided about which team or country he is heading to. He was already off the 40-man roster, as he was designated for assignment last week.

Seymour, 27, has spent his entire professional career with the Rays thus far. A 13th-round pick from the 2021 draft, he crushed homers throughout his minor league career but also struck out quite a bit. In 2024, he launched 28 long balls in 123 games, split between Double-A and Triple-A. He slashed .281/.351/.523 for a 139 wRC+ but was also punched out in 30.6% of his plate appearances. In 2025, he hit 30 homers in just 105 Triple-A games. He had a .263/.327/.553 line and 122 wRC+ while striking out at a 25.7% pace.

He got called up in mid-August and spent about the final six weeks of the season in the big leagues. He stepped to the plate 83 times but struck out in 32 of those, a 38.6% pace, leading to a rough .205/.253/.282 line.

Despite the obvious power, Seymour has never really ranked as a notable prospect. He only plays first base and doesn’t have wheels, which means he has to hit to provide value. Given how often he strikes out, it was going to be hard for him to be a viable big league bat.

He still has a full slate of options. Even if he were claimed off waivers after being designated for assignment this week, he was likely destined for another year of riding the bus in Triple-A. Instead, he’ll head overseas somewhere, presumably for a bigger paycheck and a better opportunity. If he finds success wherever he is going, perhaps he will return to North America someday.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images

Tony Gonsolin Elects Free Agency

By | at

The Dodgers announced Wednesday that right-hander Tony Gonsolin went unclaimed on waivers and elected free agency. He was designated for assignment last week. Gonsolin underwent a flexor repair and internal brace procedure on his right UCL back in August. The procedure came with a recovery timetable of eight to ten months.

Now 31 years old, Gonsolin looked like a potential rotation stalwart with the Dodgers early in his career. From 2019-22, he pitched a combined 272 2/3 innings with a 2.51 ERA while fanning nearly one quarter of his opponents and posting a solid 8.5% walk rate. A pair of IL stints due to shoulder inflammation, plus time off due to an ankle sprain and forearm inflammation, limited Gonsolin’s workload in that four-year period. (As did the shortened 2020 season, of course.)

Still, Gonsolin avoided major injury until the 2023 season, when recurring elbow troubles limited him to 103 frames with a 4.98 ERA. He eventually required Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for the entire 2024 campaign. A back injury hobbled him early in 2025, but Gonsolin did return to the mound for the Dodgers in late April. He started seven games, totaled 36 innings and posted a 5.00 ERA before landing back on the injured list with renewed elbow discomfort in early July. By mid-August, he was going back under the knife.

The 93.5 mph Gonsolin averaged on his fastball in this year’s return is a ways off from its 95.1 mph peak in 2020, but it’s also a bit higher than the right-hander managed to average in 2022-23. This year’s 12.2% swinging-strike rate and 24.2% strikeout rate were both comfortably better than league average. Gonsolin struggled with his command, both in terms of missing the strike zone entirely (11.5% walk rate) and lacking precision within the zone itself (2.25 HR/9), but there were some moderately encouraging signs even amid his struggles.

Given that he’s now facing another lengthy rehab that will extend from somewhere between next April and June, he’ll be capped on a short-term deal. Opportunistic clubs may look to buy low on a one-year deal, and we’ve seen pitchers in similar situations command even modest two year pacts.

Two years would be a surprise, given Gonsolin’s recent injury track record and just 36 MLB innings over the past two seasons, but it’s not entirely implausible. He could opt to increase his earning potential by waiting until he’s healthy to re-sign, but he should have interest from clubs this offseason and will be viewed as someone who could be a midseason reinforcement to a club’s pitching staff and/or a trade chip for a rebuilding club.

Tatsuya Imai To Be Posted November 19th

By | at

It was reported last week that right-hander Tatsuya Imai would be posted by the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball. His agent Scott Boras met with members of the media today at the general managers meeting and said the posting will become official on November 19th. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to pass it along.

Once the posting becomes official, it will open up a 45-day window for Imai and Boras to negotiate will all 30 major league clubs. Technically, they will have until early January to work something out. It’s probably fair to expect a deal to come together before the holidays, when the hot stove activity tends to slow down.

Imai should garner lots of interest based on his results and also his age. His earned run average in Japan has been 2.34 or lower in three straight seasons now, including a 1.92 mark in 2025. His strikeout rate has ticked up from 24.4% in 2023 to 26.3% last year and 27.8% this year. Meanwhile, his walk rate has dropped from 11.4% to 9.8% to 7% in those years.

He is currently 27 years old, turning 28 in May. Teams have shown that they value that youth. Recent deals for young players like Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jung Hoo Lee have surged beyond expectations.

Imai won’t have as much earning power as Yamamoto, who secured $325MM over 12 years. Yamamoto was even younger, having just turned 25 when he was posted, and also had the superior track record of performance. Still, Imai should find lots of interest. MLBTR predicted he could secure a $150MM guarantee on a six-year deal.

The signing team will also owe the Lions a posting fee, on top of the guarantee they give Imai. The Lions will get 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the contract’s next $25MM, and 15% of any money above the $50MM mark. If Imai were to sign a deal matching MLBTR’s $150MM projection, his new team would owe the Lions a $24.375MM posting fee.

The righty has already been connected to the Mets. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported today that the Yankees will be looking at Imai, as well as Lucas Giolito. The Yanks go into 2026 with their rotation in flux. Due to injuries, it projects to be much different later in the year compared to the end of camp. Gerrit Cole is still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery and won’t be ready by Opening Day. Carlos Rodón underwent a procedure to remove loose bodies from his left elbow and is expected to start the year on the injured list as well. Clarke Schmidt had internal brace surgery in July and could rejoin the club in the second half.

With those absences, the Yankees project to start the season with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and Allan Winans in the rotation. Adding to that group would be an understandable target. It’s possible that things get tight later in the year as Cole, Rodón and Schmidt get healthy, but other injuries could also pop up along the way.

Giolito should be a far more affordable addition than Imai. MLBTR predicted him for a two-year, $32MM deal. He was once a borderline ace but hasn’t been at that level in a while. His ERA finished near 5.00 in 2022 and 2023. He missed 2024 due to internal brace surgery. He returned in 2025 and posted a 3.41 ERA but with less impressive stuff under the hood. HIs 19.7% strikeout rate was below league average and well below the 33.7% mark he had back in 2020. He also finished the season back on the IL with an elbow issue, though he says that has now passed.

There are plenty of other starting pitchers the Yankees could consider at different price levels. Presumably, their plans in the rotation will depend upon what they do elsewhere. They have to address their outfield, with Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham having both reached free agency. It’s also possible they look to remake a bullpen that was a source of frustration in 2025.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images.

Tigers Designate Alex Lange For Assignment

By | at

The Tigers announced that they have claimed right-hander Dugan Darnell off waivers from the Pirates. The Bucs designated him for assignment last week. To open a roster spot for Darnell, the Tigers designated righty Alex Lange for assignment.

Lange, 30, is not too far removed from being Detroit’s closer. He notched 26 saves for the club in 2023. He pitched 66 innings that year, allowing 3.68 earned runs per nine. He struck out 27.4% of batters faced and got grounders on 50.6% of balls in play, though his massive 15.6% walk rate was worrisome.

The bottom fell out from there. His 2024 started out poorly. Through 18 2/3 innings, he had a 4.34 ERA. That wasn’t an atrocious jump but there were worse signs under the hood. His grounder rate fell to 45.8% and his strikeout rate to 23.3%. His walk rate, which was already awful, climbed to 18.9%. The Tigers optioned him to the minors in May of that year. A few weeks later, he suffered an injury and required lat surgery. He missed the final few months of the season and began 2025 on the 60-day injured list. He wasn’t reinstated from the IL until August.

A few days after coming off the IL, he was optioned to the minors and spent the rest of the year there. That burned his third option, meaning he will be out of options going forward. He’s also eligible for arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $900K salary next year. He was likely going to be non-tendered next week but the Tigers have instead bumped him off the roster today to make this claim.

Lange will be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Tigers could take five days to explore trade interest. They probably won’t find much, given that Lange has been injured for most of the past two years. His work in Triple-A this year resembled his past self, not in a great way. He logged 23 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2025 with a 4.63 ERA, 29.6% strikeout rate and 54.7% ground ball rate but a 14.3% walk rate.

If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency. He doesn’t cost much and still has three years of club control, so perhaps some rebuilding club could take a shot on him and hope for a bounceback.

Darnell, 28, still has a limited track record. He made nine appearances with the Rockies in 2025, logging 11 2/3 innings. In September, he underwent surgery to address a torn left hip labrum. The timeline given at that time was eight months. The Pirates claimed him off waivers in October but have now lost him to the Tigers.

Since the major league track record is so shallow, the Bucs and Tigers were presumably more interested in his work on the farm. He has 255 1/3 minor league innings under his belt with a 3.74 ERA. That includes 53 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, with a 3.19 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate. He can give the Tigers some extra bullpen depth whenever he has recovered from his hip surgery.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

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