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Marlins Claim Garrett Acton, Designate Victor Mesa Jr. For Assignment

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Garrett Acton off waivers from the Marlins, according to announcements from both clubs. Mami designated outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. for assignment as a corresponding move. Colorado designated Acton for assignment back on January 22nd when they signed Willi Castro. DFA limbo is supposed to be capped at one week. It’s unclear why Acton remained in limbo for almost two weeks.

Mesa, 24, and his older brother Victor Victor Mesa were once notable defectors from Cuba. Their father Victor Mesa had played in the Cuban National Series for 19 years and coached the Cuban team in the World Baseball Classic. The two sons left the island in 2018 in the hopes of pursuing deals with MLB clubs. Both brothers signed with the Marlins in October of 2018.

At that time, the elder brother was considered the stronger prospect, but things didn’t pan out for him. He never really put up good numbers in the minors. He has been off the radar since June of 2023, when he walked away from the team and hasn’t played anywhere since.

The younger Mesa stuck with the Marlins. The club added him to the 40-man roster in November of 2023 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He got to make his major league debut in 2025, taking 38 plate appearances in 16 games. He put up a .188/.297/.344 line in that small sample.

His numbers in the minors have been a bit better than that but he’s been on the injured list a decent amount. Over the past two years combined, he has taken 579 plate appearances on the farm with 20 home runs, a .266/.330/.437 line and 106 wRC+. He stole nine bases and played all three outfield spots. Prospect evaluators generally see Mesa as a depth outfielder at this point. He still has an option remaining, so perhaps he would have interest to some other clubs. The Marlins will likely place him on waivers in the coming days.

More to come.

Royals, Vinnie Pasquantino Avoid Arbitration

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February 3rd: Pasquantino will make $4.2MM in 2026 and $6.9MM in 2027 for a combined guarantee of $11.1MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He will also get an extra $200K in 2027 for getting to 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances. His base salary in 2027 can also jump based on awards voting in 2026. It would increase by $4MM with an MVP win, $3MM if he finishes second through fifth in the voting, $2MM for finishing sixth through tenth, $1.5MM for 11th to 15th, and $1.25MM for 16th to 20th. He would get an extra $1MM for being selected All-MLB first team and $750K for the second team, though the max he can jump is $4.6MM.

January 30th: The Royals and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino will avoid an arbitration hearing. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports that he and the club have agreed to a two-year deal worth more than $11MM, with a chance for him to max out close to $16MM via incentives. Exact figures have not yet been publicly reported.

Pasquantino just qualified for arbitration for the first time going into 2026. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a salary of $5.4MM. He was one of 18 players who did not have a deal in place through the arbitration filing deadline earlier this month. He and his camp filed at $4.5MM while the Royals filed at $4MM.

Most teams these days adopt a “file and trial” approach, which means they cut off negotiations of one-year deals after the filing deadline. This is to give them leverage in pre-deadline talks and also to prevent players from filing absurdly high numbers in an attempt to set out an aggressive bargaining stance. An arbiter can only pick the player’s or the team’s number, not a midpoint. Even if a team does have a “file and trial” policy, exceptions are made for deals that are longer than one year.

Arbitration hearings are generally viewed as a normal part of the business but occasional situations have occurred where the relationship between a player and a team have been damaged. Corbin Burnes said as much after his hearing with the Brewers three years ago. Pasquantino and the Royals have avoided that situation by agreeing to this multi-year pact, covering the first two of his three arbitration years. He will also be eligible for arbitration in 2028, before he’s slated to reach free agency.

There will now be no more than 14 hearings across the league this year. As mentioned, 18 players didn’t have a deal as of the deadline. Since then, Cade Cavalli, Bryce Miller, Joe Ryan and now Pasquantino have reached new deals to avoid hearings. The Royals still have one potential hearing on the docket, as they don’t yet have an agreement in place with left-hander Kris Bubic, who was projected for a $6MM salary. He filed at $6.15MM and the team at $5.15MM.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images

Reds Designate Ben Rortvedt For Assignment

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The Reds announced that catcher Ben Rortvedt has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to open a 40-man spot for infielder Eugenio Suárez, whose signing is now official.

Rortvedt, 28, has never appeared in a game for the Reds. Cincinnati just claimed him off waivers from the Dodgers in November. At the time of that waiver claim, it was reported that Rortvedt and the Dodgers had already signed a deal for 2026 to avoid arbitration. The backstop will make $1.25MM this year.

The Dodgers were likely hoping that figure was high enough that no other club would claim him off waivers. Rortvedt is out of options and therefore can’t be sent to the minors while staying on the 40-man roster. Since he has at least three years of big league service time, Rortvedt has the right to reject outright assignments. But since his service clock is less than five years, he would have to forfeit his salary commitments in electing free agency. Had he cleared waivers, he likely would have stayed with the Dodgers as non-roster catching depth.

Instead, the Reds claimed him and have held him for the past few months. They might now be hoping that they get to keep Rortvedt as non-roster depth instead of the Dodgers. With this DFA, Cincinnati now has Jose Trevino and Tyler Stephenson as the only two catchers on the 40-man roster. Will Banfield is their most experienced non-roster guy at the moment, even though he has just seven big league games on his track record.

Rortvedt’s career has been up and down but he would be a solid depth option. He showed his potential by having a decent showing with the Rays in 2024. He stepped to the plate 328 times and put up a .228/.317/.303 line. That line led to an 87 wRC+, indicating he was 13% below league average. But since catchers are usually about ten points below the rest of the league, that’s not bad for a part-time backstop. Rortvedt’s glovework also got decent reviews, enough for FanGraphs to credit him with 1.4 wins above replacement for the year, even with that so-so offense.

Things backed up with Tampa last year. He hit .095/.186/.111 in his 70 plate appearances before getting outrighted off the roster. He was flipped to the Dodgers at the deadline as part of the three-team trade which saw the Reds gets Zack Littell. The Dodgers called him up in September when Will Smith was injured and Rortvedt bounced back somewhat, with a .224/.309/.327 line in a small sample of 58 plate appearances for the eventual World Series champs.

The Dodgers liked him enough that they seemingly hoped to keep him around as relatively expensive depth behind Smith and Dalton Rushing. The Reds will now have a maximum of one week of DFA limbo to work with. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could field trade interest but will likely place Rortvedt on waivers at some point in the next five days. If another team claims him, the Reds would likely need to add some veteran depth via minor league deals.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Astros, Isaac Paredes Avoid Arbitration

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The Astros have avoided an arbitration hearing with infielder Isaac Paredes, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The two parties settled on a one-year deal worth $9.35MM, landing right at the midpoint of the team’s $8.75MM submission and the $9.95MM sum submitted by Paredes’ camp at CAA. Houston and catcher Yainer Diaz had their arbitration hearing yesterday, per the Associated Press. A result is expected today.

Paredes, 27 in a few weeks, came to Houston as part of last winter’s Kyle Tucker blockbuster and enjoyed a solid year in the Astros’ infield. He missed nearly two months due to a hamstring injury but still popped 20 homers while batting .254/.352/.458 over 438 plate appearances when healthy.

While Paredes was on the shelf, Houston reacquired Carlos Correa in a deadline salary dump deal with the Twins. The ’Stros installed Correa at the hot corner in deference to standout shortstop Jeremy Pena. Since Paredes was sidelined into late September, the Astros didn’t have to deal much with the sudden glut of position players they had, but that won’t be the case heading into 2026.

Paredes appears to be a man without a position. Correa and Pena will again man the left side of the infield. The left field experiment for Jose Altuve didn’t prove all that fruitful, and Altuve is expected back at second base for the bulk of 2026. Christian Walker’s first year as an Astro was a disappointment, but he’s signed for two more years and owed another $40MM, so he’ll be back at first base. Yordan Alvarez will see occasional time in left field but will still take the majority of the Astros’ DH at-bats. Prospect Brice Matthews, a natural middle infielder, will likely be pushed to the outfield by the infield logjam.

All of that has led to plenty of speculation about a potential trade, though general manager Dana Brown has said repeatedly that he doesn’t feel obligated to trade from the group. Were there any interest in the remainder of Walker’s deal, perhaps that’d change things, but other clubs have understandably been unwilling to take on that $40MM on the heels of a down season for the 35-year-old.

While there’s no immediate spot for regular at-bats for Paredes, that doesn’t necessarily matter. It takes all of one injury for him to have an everyday spot in the lineup, after all, and even if the entire group stays healthy, he can play fairly regularly by spelling Correa at third, Walker at first, Altuve at second and Alvarez at DH. Correa and Alvarez, in particular, have lengthy injury histories and are prone to missing chunks of time.

This was the third of four trips through the arbitration process for Paredes, a Super Two player. He’s controlled through the 2027 season and will be owed one more arbitration raise next winter. The 27-year-old Diaz is arb-eligible for the first time this winter. He and his reps at PRIME submitted a $4.5MM figure, while the team countered at $3MM.

Reds Sign Eugenio Suarez

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February 3rd: The Reds made the Suarez deal official today. Catcher Ben Rortvedt was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

February 1st: Eugenio Suarez is returning to Cincinnati, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the slugger has signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Reds that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season.  Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the option is worth $16MM, though mutual options are rarely triggered by both sides.  The deal will become official once the Reds clear a spot on their 40-man roster, and presumably when Suarez passes a physical.  Suarez is represented by Octagon.

Reports emerged last week that the Reds had interest in a reunion with the third baseman, who hit .253/.335/.476 with 189 homers over 3730 plate appearances during the 2015-21 seasons.  The continued uncertainty over the Reds’ broadcast deal with Main Street Sports was said to be a holdup for the team in how much money they had available to pursue Suarez or other targets like Austin Hays (who signed with the White Sox yesterday).

With an agreement now in place with Suarez, it could be that the Reds have gotten some clarity about how they’ll proceed with MSS or perhaps a new broadcasting agreement with Major League Baseball itself.  Alternatively, Suarez’s acceptance of just a one-year deal and arguably a discount price may be another reason why the two sides were able to line up on a contract.

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Suarez 20th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, and projected him for a three-year, $63MM deal.  The one-year, $15MM pact falls well short of that prediction in both years and average annual value, as it could be teams were wary of making a larger commitment to a strikeout-prone player who turns 35 in July.  Suarez’s third base glovework also dropped in 2025, as he posted -6 Defensive Runs Saved and -3 Outs Above Average.

With the bat, however, Suarez hit 49 home runs in 2025, matching his career high set with the Reds in 2019.  Suarez’s overall slash line of .228/.298/.526 reflects his power-heavy output, as he delivered a below-average walk rate for the second consecutive season.  Though Suarez’s 29.8% strikeout rate put him in the fifth percentile of all batters, he maxed out when he did make contact, with strong hard-contact and barrel rates.

It has been a strange two-season run for Suarez, who sandwiched a superstar-level campaign in between two mediocre half-seasons.  Suarez had only a .591 OPS over his first 315 PA of the 2024 season with the Diamondbacks, before he caught fire and hit .276/.336/.593 with 60 homers over 766 PA from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025.  Unfortunately, Suarez then drastically cooled off after he was dealt to the Mariners at the trade deadline, but he somewhat rebounded to get some key hits during Seattle’s postseason run to Game 7 of the ALCS.

This rather extreme streakiness could be another reason Suarez’s market never really took off this winter, as teams were justifiably not sure exactly which version of Suarez they’d get in his 13th big league season.  The Mariners had some interest in a reunion, and other teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, and Pirates were also linked to the slugger.

Pittsburgh was the other finalist for Suarez’s services, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.  As per MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates were willing to offer a $15MM average annual salary to Suarez and also offered him a second guaranteed year.  In taking just a one-year contract, Suarez seems to be hoping to fully re-establish his market by having a big season in 2026 and then re-entering free agency next winter.  It was also very likely to Cincinnati’s benefit that Suarez is already very familiar with the organization from his previous seven-year run in the Queen City.

While the Pirates are on the way up, Suarez may have been more interested in joining a Reds team that actually did make the playoffs in 2025.  Cincinnati reached the postseason on the strength of its rotation, as the lineup was average at best in most offensive categories, and 21st of 30 teams in home runs.  Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer combined for 43 homers as the Reds’ top two home-run hitters in 2025, so Suarez alone tops that total.

Suarez steps right into an everyday role in the Reds’ lineup, though it will be interesting to see where exactly Suarez is deployed.  Ke’Bryan Hayes is arguably the best defensive third baseman in the game, so Suarez is more likely to see a lot of action as a DH and possibly at first base.  Suarez’s MLB history as a first baseman consists of just three late-game appearances, all of which came last year.  The Reds will surely give Suarez plenty of time at the position this spring to see how Suarez fares at the cold corner, and Steer and Sal Stewart will also receive at-bats in the first base/DH mix.  Stewart can also play some second base and Steer could play left field, with Steer’s right-handed bat complementing the left-handed hitting JJ Bleday on the grass.

Bleday and Dane Myers were the only notable offensive adds the Reds made prior to today, with the two outfielders more or less replacing Hays and Gavin Lux (who was dealt to the Rays as part of the three-team deal with the Angels that brought reliever Brock Burke to Cincinnati).  Suarez now represents a major boost to the Reds’ lineup, and a source of stability on a team that is still waiting to see what it has in players like Steer, Stewart, Matt McLain, or Noelvi Marte.  Even De La Cruz was more good than great in 2025, but EDLC figures to benefit with Suarez providing protection behind him in the lineup.

RosterResource estimates a $126.1MM payroll for the Reds at the moment, which is a minor increase over their $118.7MM figure from the 2025 season.  President of baseball operations Nick Krall said in early November that the Reds would be spending at “around the same” levels as 2025, so it could be that the team is essentially done with significant offseason moves unless they can unload some salary.

This could again change depending on what happens with the Reds’ broadcast deal, or ownership might potentially green-light some more spending either now or during the season (perhaps once some ticket revenue starts rolling in).  The Reds seem to be well-positioned to make another run at a postseason berth in 2026, even though within the NL Central alone, the Pirates will be better and the Brewers and Cubs each figure to keep battling for the division crown.

Inset photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear — Imagn Images

Twins, Eduardo Salazar Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Twins and right-handed reliever Eduardo Salazar are in agreement on a minor league contract, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’ll presumably be in camp as a non-roster invitee later this month.

Salazar has pitched in each of the past three major league seasons, spending time with the Reds, Dodgers and Nationals, in that order. The 27-year-old righty has pitched 70 2/3 big league innings but been tagged for a grisly 5.99 ERA in that time. Salazar sat 95.1 mph with his four-seamer and 94.4 mph with his sinker in 2025, complementing that pair of heaters with a slider that averaged 87.5 mph. He’s fanned only 16% of his opponents in the majors against a 10.2% walk rate, but the right-hander does sport an encouraging 52.8% ground-ball rate.

Salazar’s production in the upper minors hasn’t been demonstrably better. He has a 5.71 ERA in 117 Triple-A frames with comparable strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates. That said, he did post quality swinging-strike and strikeout rates during his Triple-A time with the Nationals in 2024-25, which is notable given that Washington altered his pitch selection. He’d previously been almost exclusively a sinker/slider reliever with very occasional four-seamers and changeups. The Nats significantly upped his four-seam usage, so perhaps Minnesota is intrigued by what he’d look like with further tweaks to his pitch usage and/or pitch shapes.

There’s plenty of room in the Twins’ bullpen, should Salazar enjoy a nice performance in spring training or early in the season with the Twins’ Triple-A club in St. Paul. Minnesota had one of baseball’s best bullpens heading into the 2025 trade deadline and gutted it by trading Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Danny Coulombe and Brock Stewart as part of an 11-player fire sale. They’ve done virtually nothing to revamp the relief corps this offseason. Taylor Rogers returned on a $2MM deal for what will be his age-35 season, and the Twins picked up righty Eric Orze in a small trade with the Rays.

That pair will join holdovers Justin Topa, Cole Sands and Kody Funderburk in what looks like one of the weakest bullpens in the sport. The Twins have more young starting pitchers in the upper minors than they have rotation spots available, so perhaps some of David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Connor Prielipp and Marco Raya will end up in the bullpen rather than on the starting staff.

Regardless, the Twins represent a good opportunity for someone like Salazar as he tries to find his footing in the majors. Salazar is out of minor league options. If he’s added to the 40-man at any point, he’ll need to stick or else be exposed to waivers. If things click, he can be controlled for five seasons, but there’s a lot that needs to go right before that’s a real consideration.

Phillies Re-Sign Daniel Robert To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies are in agreement with reliever Daniel Robert on a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee after being dropped from Philadelphia’s roster at the tender deadline.

Robert landed in Philly last May via DFA trade with the Rangers. The 31-year-old righty made 15 appearances, allowing seven runs (six earned) across 13 innings. He struck out 15 but walked 10 out of 59 batters faced. Robert had better numbers in the minors, combining for a 2.67 earned run average across 30 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He struck out 27.3% of opponents against a sub-7% walk rate. A forearm strain cost him the final month of the season.

The Phillies cut Robert from the 40-man roster in November. The non-tender sent him to free agency without exposing him to waivers. Teams frequently try to circle back on minor league deals with pre-arbitration players in those situations. It took a few months but the Phillies follow that path with Robert, who’ll try to pitch his way back into the middle innings as long as he’s healthy during Spring Training.

Philadelphia doesn’t have a ton of bullpen opportunities available if everyone gets through camp healthy. Jhoan Duran, José Alvarado, Brad Keller, Tanner Banks, Jonathan Bowlan and Orion Kerkering have jobs secure. That’d leave two bullpen roles up for grabs unless the Phillies add a swingman late in the offseason. Free agent signee Zach Pop is out of options, while Rule 5 draftee Zach McCambley needs to break camp or be placed on waivers and offered back to the Marlins if he clears.

The Opener: Cardinals, Arb Decisions, MLBTR Chat

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After one of the offseason’s biggest trades last night, here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye out for throughout the day today:

1. Cardinals press conference:

The Cardinals pulled off the aforementioned major deal yesterday. They sent Brendan Donovan to the Mariners as part of a three-way trade involving Tampa Bay, and in return received a haul of prospects and draft picks headlined by right-hander Jurrangelo Cijntje. As noted by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:15 am CT to discuss the trade. That figures to offer additional insight into the club’s negotiations regarding Donovan, and perhaps an update on future plans regarding other trade pieces (such as lefty reliever JoJo Romero) or free agent additions as Spring Training draws closer.

2. Arb Decisions to be handed down:

Arbitration hearings are underway, and yesterday saw panels listen to cases for Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish and Astros catcher Yainer Diaz. The Associated Press reports that decisions on both cases are expected to come today. Bradish filed at $3.55MM while Baltimore filed at $2.875MM. Diaz and the Astros, meanwhile, had a larger differential between their filing figures as Diaz landed at $4.5MM while Houston countered at $3MM. Edwin Uceta and Dylan Lee have both also been through their hearings, but decisions on those cases aren’t expected until later in the process because they’d potentially impact ongoing hearings. That leaves Bradish and Diaz to be the first cases resolved in this year’s slate. Teams won five of the nine cases that went to hearings last year, though players won seven of 12 cases in 2024.

3. MLBTR Chat today:

Pitchers and catchers will begin reporting later this month, but some offseason questions still remain. Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen are among the top free agents still available, and while yesterday’s Donovan trade took the last major trade piece off of the market, a surprise deal can never be ruled out. If you’re wondering what’s left for your favorite team to do before spring begins or simply looking for the latest hot stove buzz, MLBTR’s Steve Adams has you covered with a live chat scheduled for 1:00 pm CT today. Readers can use this link to ask a question in advance, follow along when the chat begins, and read the transcript after the chat concludes.

Angels Sign Jeimer Candelario To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have signed infielder Jeimer Candelario to a minor league deal, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Candelario’s deal comes with an invite to big league Spring Training.

Candelario, 32, will enter camp looking to find a roster spot ahead of what would be his 11th big league season. Signed by the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic as an amateur, he made his pro debut back in 2011 and made it to the majors for a five-game cup of coffee during Chicago’s World Series-winning 2016 campaign. He once again got into a smattering of games in an up-and-down bench role with the club in 2017 before being included alongside Isaac Paredes in a deadline trade with the Tigers where the Cubs landed catcher Alex Avila and Justin Wilson. After the deadline, he played in 27 games for Detroit down the stretch and hit an impressive .330/.406/.468 in 106 trips to the plate.

The switch-hitter would struggle at the dish over the next few years with the Tigers before breaking out during the abbreviated 2020 season. From 2020-21, Candelario slashed an excellent .278/.356/.458 with a wRC+ of 124, and led his league with 42 doubles in the latter season. Some across the board regression led to a tough 2022 campaign that saw the Tigers non-tender him, but he rebounded well in 2023 with a strong season (118 wRC+, 3.2 fWAR) for the Nationals and Cubs in order to return to free agency with a solid chance at landing a multi-year deal.

That deal eventually came with the Reds, who signed him to a three-year, $45MM contract that was set to run from 2024 through 2026. His first year in Cincinnati was a disappointing one, as he hit just .225/.279/.429 with a wRC+ of 89 in 112 games to go along with atrocious defensive numbers at third base. That down season came while he battled knee tendinitis and a fractured toe. Even with those injuries casting uncertainty over his performance, Candelario’s defensive struggles were still enough to lose him the third base job with the Reds entering 2025. He played just 22 games for the Reds last year (and posted an ugly 10 wRC+ in those 91 plate appearances) before being sidelined with a lumbar spine issue. When his rehab window for that injury ended in late June, the Reds opted to release him rather than give him another shot on their roster.

He eventually signed with the Yankees on a minor league deal to finish out last season, and wound up hitting just .203/.289/.357 at Triple-A without getting a call-up to the majors. As he returned to free agency this offseason, he represented an interesting flier a team could take at relatively low risk. Given that Candelario will earn his $13MM salary with Cincinnati this year even after being released, he’ll only cost a club that puts him on the active roster the prorated league minimum, which will come out of what the Reds have to pay him for this year.

The team that decided to take that flier on Candelario is the Angels, who currently figure to enter camp with Yoan Moncada, Vaughn Grissom, and Oswald Peraza in the mix for reps at third base with Nolan Schanuel locked in at first base and some combination of Mike Trout and Jorge Soler expected to handle DH. That seemingly leaves little room for Candelario to make the roster, but it’s certainly possible he could find his way into the mix at one of those positions with a strong performance in camp or an injury or two clearing the way for him to snag a roster spot.

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