The Opener

As the start of Spring Training creeps closer, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Cubs Convention begins today:

The Cubs are holding their 38th annual fan convention at the Sheraton Grand in Chicago this weekend. The convention begins at 6pm CT this evening, though the majority of festivities take place on Saturday. Manager Craig Counsell, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, and chairman Tom Ricketts are expected to be in attendance, and it’s possible there will be some interesting quotes that come from their public appearances. The guest set to get the most attention from Cubs fans is surely Sammy Sosa. Sosa had not been welcomed back into the Cubs organization following the conclusion of his 13-year stint in Chicago back in 2004, and though tensions between the two sides lasted 20 years and multiple ownership groups, a thaw in relations finally occurred last month when Sosa issued a statement apologizing for “past mistakes” in a tacit acknowledgement of his participation in the steroid era.

A number of current and former players in addition to Sosa are expected to be in attendance this weekend as well, including newly-acquired outfielder Kyle Tucker. Tucker settled on a $16.5MM salary for 2025 in order to avoid arbitration yesterday after the Cubs acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Astros last month. This weekend’s convention also takes place one day after the Cubs unveiled their new alternate home uniforms for the 2025 season, which will be featured during Friday day games at Wrigley throughout the summer. For more details on the Cubs Convention (including ticket pricing), you can visit the event website here.

2. Choo to be honored ahead of Rangers FanFest:

The Rangers are hosting their 2025 FanFest on Saturday at Globe Life Field. More details on the event can be found here, but one former player expected to be in attendance is 16-year MLB veteran Shin-Soo Choo, who spent the final seven years of his big league career in Texas. In advance of tomorrow’s FanFest, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes that Choo will be honored with the Mark Holtz Alumni Award at the team’s awards banquet this evening. A career .275/.377/.447 hitter, Choo was an All-Star with the Rangers at the age of 35 back in 2018 before wrapping his MLB career up in 2020. Since then, he’s headed back home to South Korea and played four more seasons with the SSG Landers. Choo retired at the end of the 2024 campaign at the age of 42 after 24 seasons in professional baseball.

3. Upcoming DFA resolutions:

Two players who were previously designated for assignment should see their situations resolved today: infielder Livan Soto and right-hander Amos Willingham. Soto was DFA’d by the Orioles last week after Roansy Contreras was claimed off waivers by the club, while Willingham was DFA’d by the Nationals to make room for Jorge Lopez on the 40-man roster. Both played figure to either be claimed off waivers by a rival club today or, should they clear waivers, be outrighted to the minor leagues to serve as non-roster depth for their respective club. Willingham has just 19 games of MLB experience under his belt with a 7.11 ERA, while Soto has batted .351/.407/.494 in 87 trips to the plate at the big league level across three MLB seasons. Willingham has a much stronger Triple-A track record than his brief big league run might indicate (3.47 ERA, 23.3 K%), while Soto is the opposite, having posted a .266/.362/.385 slash that’s much lighter than his production in limited MLB work.

As the offseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Teams weighing trades of bonus pool money?

Yesterday, the Giants made two trades to pick up additional international bonus pool money. In doing so, they shipped out catcher Blake Sabol to the Red Sox and righty Will Kempner to the Marlins. More teams could follow suit in that regard, as both the Dodgers and Padres are in the market to add additional funds to their bonus pools amid their respective pursuits of NPB right-hander Roki Sasaki. Those clubs aren’t likely to be alone in the looking to make deals involving bonus pool space. Sasaki’s presence on the market has caused the Dodgers to allow several committed players to look elsewhere, while the Padres have been holding off on finalizing deals in anticipation of Sasaki’s decision. The Dodgers, Friars and Jays have all held off on finalizing deals with international prospects as of yet, as have several other clubs. Even teams that aren’t finalists for Sasaki might be cagey with finalizing deals, knowing that they could have the ability to trade for some extra bonus space and scoop up a prospect who’d been gearing up to sign with L.A., San Diego or Toronto.

2. Potential movement on the infield market:

There’s been some movement on the infield market since the calendar flipped to January, kicked off by Josh Rojas signing with the White Sox on Jan. 2. Since then, Amed Rosario and Donovan Solano have landed deals in D.C. and Seattle, respectively, while Thairo Estrada finalized his December agreement to sign in Colorado. That movement has left relatively few bench players still available on the infield with Whit Merrifield, Jose Iglesias, and Paul DeJong among the most notable options available. Meanwhile, the infield market’s rumors have primarily been focused at the top of the market where there’s been plenty of buzz about the markets of both first basemen Pete Alonso and third basemen Alex Bregman in recent days. With rumors churning at the top of the market and a number of lower-level signings occurring in recent weeks, could more deals be on the horizon?

3. Will Sasaki spur movement in the rotation market?

Aside from an occasional one-year deal for a veteran arm like Justin Verlander or Charlie Morton, the rotation market has quieted in the aftermath of right-hander Corbin Burnes signing late last month. Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, Max Scherzer, Andrew Heaney and Jose Quintana are among the quality veterans who still remain available in free agency. Luis Castillo and Dylan Cease have seen their names come up in trade rumors, but there’s been seemingly little movement on those markets in the New Year. One potential wrinkle in the market is Sasaki, particularly since the Padres could feel more comfortable dealing from the rotation were he to land in San Diego. Other clubs like the Mariners, Cubs, Yankees and Rangers were at least loosely involved in his market until recently and may have been holding off on significant decisions while waiting on a resolution to his free agency. Those clubs, now informed that they’re out of the running, will have to turn to alternative plans. With a decision looming from Sasaki, could the wider market start to move again in the coming days?

With less than a month until pitchers and catchers begin reporting for Spring Training, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. International signing period opens:

The 2025 signing period for international amateurs has begun and will remain open until December 15. Teams have set bonus pools ranging from $7,555,500 to $5,146,200 for the upcoming period that they can allocate however they see fit — including trading bonus allotments in $250K increments. (A team can only acquire a maximum of 60% of its originally allotted pool, however.) The most highly-regarded prospects in the class have had handshake agreements in place with MLB clubs for years before they were old enough to sign, so for many players at the top of the class their destination is already known. Among the top prospects available are Dominican shortstop Josuar Gonzalez (tied to the Giants), Venezuelan-American shortstop/outfielder Andrew Salas (tied to the Marlins), Dominican shortstop Elian Peña (tied to the Mets) and Cuban outfielder Kevin Alvarez (tied to the Astros).

2. Sasaki officially eligible to sign:

Of course, the presence of right-hander Roki Sasaki, who was posted by NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines last month, is a major disrupting force in the current international class. Sasaki, 23, is regarded as among the most talented pitchers in the world and has four years of NPB experience under his belt already. Unlike the typical teenage prospects that come to the majors through the international amateur system, Sasaki is viewed as big league ready and could be a front-of-the-rotation starter in year one. Whoever ultimately signs Sasaki will likely use most if not all of their bonus pool in order to do so, which could force their more traditional international prospects to look for deals elsewhere.

He recently narrowed down his potential landing spots to three finalists: the Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays. A poll of MLBTR readers yesterday suggests that the majority of fans expect him to sign in L.A., with nearly 52% voting for the Dodgers. The Padres have received 33% of the vote at the time of writing. Toronto lags behind at 15%. While Sasaki is officially eligible to sign as of today, he could wait another few days in order to give teams the opportunity to trade for additional dollars in their bonus pool. Sasaki must sign by Jan. 23, when his posting window comes to a close.

3. Burnes presser today:

The Diamondbacks are set to formally introduce right-hander Corbin Burnes at a press conference scheduled for 1pm local time this afternoon. Burnes surprised the baseball world last month by signing a six-year, $210MM guarantee with Arizona after weeks of rumors connecting him to the Giants and Blue Jays. He was nearly universally ranked as the top pitcher available in free agency this winter (aside from, perhaps, Sasaki) and should give the Snakes one of the most formidable rotations in baseball, joining Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Brandon Pfaadt (and perhaps Jordan Montgomery, if he’s not traded). In addition to Burnes himself, principal owner Ken Kendrick and GM Mike Hazen are both set to be on hand for today’s press conference.

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Sasaki decision draws nearer:

Roki Sasaki’s market is now down to three suitors. The Dodgers and Padres, long regarded as the heavy favorites to sign the 23-year-old Japanese star, are among the final two teams standing — as most would’ve anticipated. That the Blue Jays stand as the third and final entrant in the bidding, however, registers as an unexpected outcome. Toronto ostensibly has a legitimate chance at this point; Sasaki visited the city and saw the Jays’ home facilities over the weekend. The right-hander’s camp began informing teams yesterday that they’d been eliminated from the running, with the Giants, Rangers, Yankees, Mets and Cubs all learning they would not be Sasaki’s eventual destination.

Landing Sasaki would be something of a coup for a Jays front office that has finished runner-up in so many notable free agent and trade pursuits overt the past two offseasons. He’d give the Jays  rotation depth they badly need at the moment, and do so with front-of-the-rotation upside and a minimal salary, of course. That’d leave more funds both for bringing in another prominent bat to pair with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — whose extension status looms over the team as he approaches his final year before free agency.

2. What’s next for the Mariners?

Seattle’s desire to add infield help this winter has long been established, and yesterday they finally took a step toward that goal by signing veteran Donovan Solano to a one-year deal. Solano, 37, has been one of the league’s most consistent part-time bats since 2019. Though he’s never totaled more than 450 plate appearances in a season, the veteran has posted a robust .294/.353/.413 (112 wRC+) over the past six seasons. That includes a wRC+ of 118 in 309 trips to the plate with the Padres this past season.

As the roster is currently constructed, Solano would be in line for frequent at-bats against right-handers at third base while spelling Luke Raley at first base against southpaws. However, the Mariners have been seeking multiple infielders this winter — ideally a pair of corner infielders to help round out the offense. Adding Solano at an affordable rate could allow the M’s to spend a bit more heavily at the hot corner, be it via free agency or the trade market. A major splash for Alex Bregman almost certainly isn’t happening, but the Mariners reportedly had around $15-16MM to spend prior to adding Solano at $3.5MM.

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

With arbitration figures exchanged and Spring Training less than a month away, we’re nearing the point where the baseball offseason starts to give way to preseason excitement even as major free agents remain unsigned and team needs remain unfulfilled. Whether you have questions about what’s left for your team to do this winter or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

With less a month until pitchers and catchers begin reporting for Spring Training, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Kittredge to undergo physical:

Last week, the Orioles agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander Andrew Kittredge that guarantees the righty $10MM. According to Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun, Kittredge is set to undergo a physical today. It’s the final box to check before the deal can be made official. Physical exams rarely hold up deals from coming together, though it certainly happens. The Orioles, dating back to prior ownership and front office regimes, have a reputation for altering deals or backing out of them entirely due to concerns regarding a player’s physical. A new front office and owner hasn’t necessarily changed that, as the O’s reportedly backed out of an agreement with right-hander Jeff Hoffman last week due to an issue with his physical, leading Hoffman to sign with the Blue Jays instead. If Kittredge’s physical goes over without issue, the Orioles will need to clear a 40-man roster spot to accommodate his signing.

2. How will the Padres clear salary?

While Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is typically among the most active executives in the game, things have been extremely quiet for San Diego this winter. They’ve signed zero free agents to major league deals and have remained equally quiet on the trade market. That lack of activity has been caused by a payroll crunch, as reporting has suggested the club hopes to not only duck under the luxury tax in 2025 but also end the offseason with a payroll lower than the $208MM RosterResource currently projects. That’s led to plenty of discussion of both Dylan Cease and Luis Arráez in the rumor mill this winter. Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported over the weekend that the club prefers to hold onto Arraez and has at least entertained interest in closer Robert Suarez. With just a month to go until Spring Training begins and holes to be filled in the club’s outfield and starting rotation, the Padres are likely to put together some creative deals to address those holes and the current payroll predicament.

3. Rangers Winter Caravan begins:

After delays due to inclement weather, the Rangers are set to begin their Winter Caravan later today. The series of 13 fan events run from today until January 29 and are all free to attend. Today’s event is scheduled to run from 6:30pm to 8pm local time at the Audacy Showroom in Dallas and will feature appearances from left-hander Cody Bradford and All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien. The first 225 people in line for the event will be able to get autographs from both players. More information, including a full schedule of the events set to take place throughout the month, can be found here via MLB.com.

With the deadline for players and teams to exchange figures to file for arbitration now behind us, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend:

1. Orioles 40-man roster move incoming:

The Orioles made a move on the relief market last night, agreeing to terms with right-hander Andrew Kittredge on a one-year, $10MM deal that includes a club option for 2026. The move adds a veteran reliever with late-inning experience who can help set up for Félix Bautista alongside Yennier Cano, Seranthony Domínguez, and Gregory Soto. In order for the signing to be made official, however, the Orioles will have to first clear a 40-man roster spot that can then be given to Kittredge. Typically, that will involve a club designating a player for assignment, though occasionally clubs will work out a trade to create the necessary vacancy.

Speaking of Orioles 40-man moves, they’ll get clarity on their recent DFA of catcher René Pinto at some point today. Baltimore signed right-hander Charlie Morton to a one-year deal seven days ago and designated the 28-year-old Pinto for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Pinto appeared in each of the last three seasons with the Rays but was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in early November. Now that a full week has passed he’ll either be claimed by another club or outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, where the Orioles would be able to stash him as non-roster depth for the 2025 campaign.

2. Multi-year talks for players who exchanged figures?

Seventeen players exchanged salary arbitration figures with their teams yesterday after failing to come to terms on a deal prior to yesterday’s filing deadline. Those teams and players can continue to negotiate, as the figures exchanged merely set the potential price outcomes to be determined in an arbitration hearing. A deal can still be hammered out for any and all of those 17 players before hearings begin next month. Most clubs, however, employ a file-and-trial approach, meaning they no longer discuss straight one-year agreements once figures are exchanged.

That leaves open the possibility of negotiating a multi-year deal (or a one-year deal with an option, as the option year effectively renders it a multi-year deal and makes that agreement irrelevant as a data point/comp for arbitration negotiations in future offseasons). In all likelihood, at least a few of the players who exchanged figures will come to terms either on a true multi-year deal or on a one-year deal with an option — eliminating the need for a hearing. The Cardinals at least discussed multi-year deals with Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar this week, for instance. Just logically speaking, a two-year deal for someone like Washington’s Nathaniel Lowe — locking in his final two arbitration seasons — could make sense for both the team and player.

High-profile impending free agents like Kyle Tucker and Michael King seem quite unlikely to sign extensions (Tucker in particular) and seem destined for a hearing. However, talks for the majority of the players in this group of 17 figure to continue as clubs and players look to avoid a hearing.

3. Red Sox to host Fenway Fest this weekend:

The Red Sox are hosting Fenway Fest, the club’s winter fan event, tomorrow from 9am to 5pm local time at Fenway Park. Tomorrow will mark the first installment of Fenway Fest, which was announced last month as a replacement for the club’s previous two-day Winter Weekend event that began in 2015. Notably, chief baseball office Craig Breslow, team president Sam Kennedy, and team owner John Henry are not scheduled to appear at tomorrow’s event after appearing at previous Winter Weekend events (perhaps unsurprisingly so; Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic notes that ownership was roundly booed at each of the past two winter fan fest events).

This year’s event includes appearances by manager Alex Cora and a number of coaches as well as a long list of players and prospects that includes recently-acquired starter Garrett Crochet. Aside from player and personnel appearances, the event also includes a preview of the upcoming Netflix documentary covering the 2024 Red Sox. More details regarding the event, including ticket pricing, can be found here via MLB.com.

Here are three things we’ll be paying attention to around baseball this Thursday:

1. Arbitration filing deadline:

By noon CT this afternoon, all arbitration-eligible players must either agree on a contract for the 2025 season or both player and team must file for arbitration. The deadline for both sides to submit arbitration figures is later this evening at 7:00 PM CT. That means you can expect a significant number of players to sign their deals for the upcoming season today. While teams and players can continue negotiations after the filing deadline, many teams take what is known as a “file-and-trial” approach. In other words, they shut down contract discussions after the filing deadline and take all undecided cases to arbitration hearings.

You can find every arbitration-eligible player’s projected salary (from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) here.

2. Brent Rooker press conference:

After officially announcing Brent Rooker’s five-year, $60MM contract extension on Wednesday, the Athletics will hold a press conference to discuss the move today in Sacramento (per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Rooker, 30, is coming off of a phenomenal year for the A’s. He ranked fifth in the American League in home runs, third in RBIs, and sixth among qualified AL batters in OPS and wRC+. At season’s end, he was awarded the AL Silver Slugger at DH and finished 10th in AL MVP voting. With the A’s forced to increase payroll this winter, it makes perfect sense they chose to extend their best hitter on a deal that buys out all three of his arbitration seasons and at least two free agent years.

3. Another 40-man move incoming from the White Sox:

The White Sox have already made a handful of 40-man roster moves in the past few weeks, such as DFAing Corey Julks, Braden Shewmake, and Jacob Amaya to make room for Cam Booser, Tyler Gilbert, and Josh Rojas, respectively. Soon, Chicago will have to make another transaction before finalizing the team’s biggest (relatively speaking) offseason addition yet: Martín Pérez.

The veteran starting pitcher agreed to a one-year, $5MM contract with the White Sox on Wednesday. Before officially announcing the deal, the club must open a space for Pérez on the 40-man roster. The last several players the White Sox have DFA’d have all been position players, making it increasingly likely they will part with a pitcher to add the southpaw Pérez.

With the offseason back in full swing after the holidays, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Giants 40-man roster move incoming:

Yesterday, the Giants reportedly brought future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander into the fold on a one-year deal. The club is rolling the dice on a return to form for Verlander after the first truly poor season of the right-hander’s career; Verlander mustered only a 5.48 ERA with a 4.78 FIP across 17 starts with the Astros last year. There’s certainly risk involved in expecting Verlander, who is more than four years older than San Francisco’s new president of baseball operations Buster Posey, to turn back the clock even by just a year or two. However, the 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner pitched like a starter that belonged in the front half of a playoff rotation as recently as 2023, and it’s hard to bet against Verlander’s pedigree.

Before Verlander can get to work with San Francisco, he’ll need to be officially added to the 40-man roster. That could happen as soon as today, and when it does the Giants will need to clear a roster spot. The most common way for clubs to do this is by simply designating a player for assignment, though occasionally clubs will work out a trade to clear that 40-man spot.

2. Are more extensions on the way?

Yesterday, the Rays hammered out an extension with right-hander Drew Rasmussen. The deal, which guarantees Rasmussen $8.5MM, covers his final two years of arbitration and includes a club option for the 2027 season — what would’ve been his first free-agent season. It’s a deal that was surely helped along by the impending deadline for players and teams to exchange figures ahead of arbitration hearings. The majority of arbitration-level players typically agree to deals before that deadline in order to a hearing, which makes the days leading up to that deadline a natural time for clubs to discuss longer-term extensions with players. With that deadline set to arrive tomorrow, it’s possible — if not likely — that we’ll see other extensions over the next day and a half. At the very least, there should be some early one-year agreements today.

3. Players in DFA Limbo:

We’re officially one week into 2025, which means that players who were designated for assignment while the MLB league offices were closed for the holidays should finally reach their long-awaited conclusion (though it’s worth noting that the rules surrounding the holiday freeze for players in DFA limbo are fairly nebulous in nature). It’s a situation that currently applies to three players: infielder Braden Shewmake, who was DFA’d by the White Sox on New Year’s Day; righty Hagen Danner*, who was designated by the Blue Jays back on Dec. 20; and left-hander Bailey Horn, who was DFA’d by the Tigers over the holidays to make room for the Gleyber Torres signing. At this point, the window for these players to be traded appears to have passed. Each figures to have already been exposed to waivers. The next step in the process for is to either clear waivers, providing their clubs the opportunity to outright them to the minors as non-roster depth, or be claimed by a new club and retain a 40-man roster spot in another organization.

*We initially and mistakenly omitted Danner from the original list of players in limbo. 

With the hot stove roaring back to life after going dormant over New Year’s, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. What’s next for the A’s?

The Athletics have engaged in their busiest winter in recent memory as they head from Oakland to West Sacramento. In December, the club added Luis Severino and Gio Urshela in free agency while swinging a trade for Jeffrey Springs. Last night, they kicked off 2025 by working out a five-year extension with current face of the franchise Brent Rooker. That extension also has the side effect of boosting the roster’s payroll for luxury tax purposes, with RosterResource now estimating the club’s tax payroll to be in the range of $97MM.

The A’s reportedly need to get that number into the $105MM range in order to avoid risking a grievance from the MLBPA. That likely leaves just over $8MM in spending for the A’s to do this winter, at minimum. Club brass hasn’t ruled out the addition of another starting pitcher, and a reliever to serve as a veteran setup option for closer Mason Miller could also make plenty of sense.

2. Is the relief market coming to life?

Speaking of the relief market, that’s been by far the quietest corner of free agency this winter. Aroldis Chapman, Blake Treinen, and Yimi Garcia standing as the only notable signings, though there have been some notable trades (headlined by the trade of Devin Williams to the Yankees). The latest major free agent relief signing of the offseason took place yesterday, when the Rangers agreed to a one-year deal with veteran setup man Chris Martin. Meanwhile, the Braves became the latest team to be connected to top free agent reliever Tanner Scott as he reportedly seeks a deal that could guarantee him an annual salary in the $20MM range. It’s unclear how close Scott might be to signing, but with a glut of late-inning talent still available it’s difficult to imagine the dam not breaking sooner rather than later.

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

It’s time for the first weekday chat of 2025. Twenty-six of the players on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list for the winter have signed, putting us just beyond the halfway point in the offseason by that metric. Whether you have questions about what’s left for your team to do this winter or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for noon CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

As the 2024-25 offseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Could Santander’s market be heating up?

Over the weekend, reports surfaced that seemed to indicate the market for outfielder Anthony Santander could be heating up. The slugger has at least one offer on the table from the Blue Jays, and the Angels are also reportedly considered “frontrunners” for his services. He’s also been connected to each of the Tigers, Red Sox, and Yankees, though New York seems to be the least likely destination given that their reported interest stems from before Cody Bellinger was brought into the fold. The Dodgers’ recent move to re-sign Teoscar Hernandez may help to get Santander’s market moving further, seeing as it took a major alternative to the switch-hitter’s services off the board.

That’s not necessarily a guarantee, however. Santander is joined by first baseman Pete Alonso and third baseman Alex Bregman as the best remaining hitters on the market, and it’s fair to note that while Nolan Arenado’s availability on the trade market appears to be a factor holding up Bregman’s free agency, the market for Alonso did not heat up much following Christian Walker’s deal with the Astros. Santander’s reported asking price of $100MM over five years may serve as a sticking point in negotiations that drags things out a bit longer, particularly after Hernandez signed for just three years and $66MM.

2. Infielders coming off the board:

The hottest market in baseball right now is surely that for infielders—though not for top-tier options like Bregman or Arenado. Rather, recent days have seen a number of utility infielders come off the board. The Dodgers adding Hyeseong Kim on Friday stands out as the most notable transaction in this corner of the market, but Josh Rojas also inked a big league deal with the White Sox on Thursday while the Royals and Yankees both added players in this part of the market (Cavan Biggio and Andrew Velazquez, respectively) on minor league pacts. Could the next domino to fall be switch-hitting third baseman Yoán Moncada, who it was reported yesterday has received interest from the Cubs, Mariners, and Blue Jays? Jose Iglesias, Whit Merrifield, Amed Rosario, and Jorge Polanco are among the other hitters available in this tier of free agency.

3. Cartaya on the trade block:

The Dodgers made a somewhat surprising move on Friday when they opted to designate former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment. The 23-year-old was a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport as recently as the 2023 season but hit just .208/.293/.350 at Triple-A last year and is entering his final minor league option year. With Will Smith already in L.A. on a long-term deal and Dalton Rushing having leapfrogged Cartaya on the organization depth chart, it’s easy to see why that sort of performance made Cartaya expendable for the Dodgers. Even so, his status as a former top prospect and the ever-present need around baseball for upper-level catching depth could make Cartaya an attractive potential option on the trade market for rival clubs, to the point where it’s easy to imagine Cartaya not making it to the waiver wire. The Dodgers have only a few days to work out a trade before they’ll need to expose the catcher to waivers—could a deal come together today?