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Tigers Outright Akil Baddoo

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The Tigers announced that outfielder Akil Baddoo has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. Detroit designated him for assignment last week as the corresponding move for the Alex Cobb signing.

Baddoo was a Rule 5 success story in 2021, when he hit .259/.330/.436 with 13 homers across 461 plate appearances in his debut season. The lefty-swinging outfielder hasn’t maintained that form over the last three seasons. Baddoo struggled to a .212/.302/.331 slash in 178 games between 2022-23. The Tigers kept him on optional assignment for most of the ’24 season. Baddoo only played in 37 MLB games, hitting .137/.220/.301 while striking out in 27 of his 82 plate appearances (32.9% rate).

Strikeouts were also an issue in Triple-A. Baddoo fanned at an elevated 26.5% clip across 377 trips to the plate with Toledo this year. He walked at a strong 12.7% rate to post a respectable .340 on-base mark, but it was a roughly league average offensive showing in the International League. It was moderately surprising that the Tigers tendered him an arbitration contract with a $1.6MM projected salary.

Baddoo will stick in the organization and should receive a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training. He’ll likely begin the season in Toledo and try to hit his way back into the outfield mix alongside Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, and Matt Vierling.

Third Base Options For The A’s

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After largely sleepwalking through recent offseasons, the A’s have woken up ahead of their temporary move to West Sacramento with splashes both in the free-agent market and trade market. Luis Severino (three years, $67MM) and Jeffrey Springs (Joe Boyle, Will Simpson, Jacob Watters, Competitive Balance draft pick) now stand atop the rotation depth chart.

Some of the maneuvering could be due to a desire to draw in fans from a new market. Some could be early groundwork to convince the eventual long-term fans in Las Vegas that this isn’t the same spendthrift A’s club we saw in Oakland. More realistically, a good portion of the spending is simply to boost payroll enough to avoid a grievance from the MLBPA. The A’s already had their status as a revenue-sharing recipient revoked once after failing to sufficiently utilize the funds they receive from that arena; they were only reinstated as a recipient in the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement.

With that in mind, it’s worth looking ahead to what the remainder of the offseason might hold. General manager David Forst was candid about his desire to add a third baseman last week, and he stated that he’s open to further rotation moves as well. With regard to third base, the A’s have plenty of options but will likely need to get creative. The two most oft-discussed third base options on the market right now are free agent Alex Bregman and trade candidate Nolan Arenado.

The A’s might be spending, but they’re almost certainly not going to dole out the $200MM+ required to sign Bregman. Arenado, meanwhile, has a full no-trade clause and would need to green-light a trade to the A’s in order to spend the next three seasons playing in a Triple-A facility. Arenado’s agent, Joel Wolfe, suggested that if a trade indeed comes together, his client will want it to be to a team capable of being a perennial contender. The A’s have made some waves this winter, but I don’t think anyone’s convinced they fit that description just yet.

So, where could they turn? Let’s run down some of the in-house options and handful of potential outside fits who could jump to the front of the line for playing time…

In-House Candidates

Darell Hernaiz, Max Schuemann, Brett Harris, CJ Alexander

A click through the results that quartet posted this past season will reveal why the A’s are so open to the idea of adding at the hot corner. Each of Hernaiz, Schuemann and Harris logged over 100 plate appearances with the A’s. None hit well in the majors. Harris and Hernaiz hit some in Triple-A, but both are generally regarded as fringey prospects for different reasons. Harris is a good defender and has good bat-to-ball skills but offers little power and plodding speed. Hernaiz has an even better hit tool with more power but far more questions about his glovework. Alexander was an August waiver claim who’s already 27 and has all of eight MLB plate appearances. He ripped apart Triple-A pitching this year but struggled in his first taste of that level as a 26-year-old in 2023.

Free Agency Route

Paul DeJong: Big flies, slick plays and punchouts galore. Anyone who signs DeJong at this point in the 31-year-old’s career knows that’s what they’re getting. DeJong has fanned in at least 30% of his plate appearances in each of the past three seasons. He’s also slugged 44 home runs in his past 1119 plate appearances and delivered strong glovework on the left side of the infield. He’s typically been a shortstop, but both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average were bullish on his defense in 328 1/3 innings at third base last year between the White Sox and Royals. DeJong can very likely be had on a one-year deal, and the allure of an everyday gig to begin the season would hold appeal, given that many of his suitors are going to view him as more of a bench piece.

Yoan Moncada: This is the biggest upside play on this winter’s crop of options at the hot corner. Moncada is still 29 years old (30 in May). He was the consensus top prospect in the sport at one point and was so touted as a prospect that the Red Sox paid more than $60MM (signing bonus and penalty taxes combined) to sign him under the former iteration of MLB’s international bonus pool system. Moncada looked like a star in 2019 and 2021 but has battled injuries since. Dating back to Opening Day 2022, he’s posted a .236/.291/.387 slash. He’s been playing Winter Ball in Puerto Rico, but Francys Romero reported that he’s stepping away — in part because of an injury scare after fouling a ball into his right foot recently but also perhaps because he’s on the cusp of an agreement with a big league team. Moncada can’t be too picky about where he plays, and of all the names available on short-term deals, he’s the one who could most plausibly erupt with a rebound that turns him into a coveted trade candidate.

Jorge Polanco: At 31 (32 in July), Polanco isn’t as “upside-y” as Moncada, but he has a longer track record of hitting in the big leagues. From 2018-23, the switch-hitter slashed .270/.338/.455 for the Twins — highlighted by a 33-homer season in 2021. He became the latest established hitter to flop following a trade to Seattle, though October knee surgery revealed that perhaps there was more than just the pitcher-friendly environment impacting his struggles. Polanco’s agency says he’s healthy now and he very superficially looks the part — MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes and I saw him multiple times at the Winter Meetings in Dallas as he met with interested clubs — and if so, he should be a strong rebound candidate. Polanco hit .255/.335/.454 as recently as 2023. The Astros are one team considering him as a third base option, and the A’s could do the same. Polanco could also be insurance at second base, should Zack Gelof’s 2024 struggles continue.

Josh Rojas: The 30-year-old Rojas hasn’t hit much these past two seasons (.234/.304/.337), but he’s played the heck out of third base for the D-backs and the Athletics’ division-rival Mariners. Like Polanco, he has ample experience at second base and can provide a safety net in the event that Gelof struggles. Rojas was non-tendered by the Mariners as they look for offensive upgrades in the infield while facing tight budgetary constraints from ownership. From 2021-22 in Arizona, he hit .266/.345/.401 (106 wRC+) while walking in nearly 11% of his plate appearances. If he can come close to that level of production while replicating his brilliant 2024 defense (+6 DRS, +7 OAA), he’d be a steal at the one-year deal he’ll likely command.

Trade Route

Brett Baty, Mets: The former No. 12 overall pick (2019) and longtime top prospect has mustered only a .215/.282/.325 line in his first 602 MLB plate appearances, although those have been spread across three seasons. Baty is a .273/.368/.531 hitter in 416 Triple-A plate appearances and has shown improving strike zone awareness even in the majors. He walked at a 9.4% clip last year and cut his strikeout rate from 28% in 2023 down to 24.6% in 2024. Baty fanned in 21.2% of his Triple-A plate appearances and walked at a 12.4% clip in 2024. The emergence of Mark Vientos has at least temporarily blocked Baty’s path to the majors, although if Pete Alonso signs elsewhere in free agency, then Vientos could slide to first base and create another chance for Baty. Still, the Mets are getting hits on Baty, and they’re likely open to moving him for the right return. He wouldn’t help the A’s boost payroll, as he’s not yet into arbitration … but if the A’s wanted to take on a portion of Starling Marte’s contract to lower the cost to acquire Baty, the Mets might have interest in that.

Alec Bohm, Phillies: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Can’t blame the Phillies for reportedly asking about Mason Miller when talking to the A’s about Bohm — just as you can’t blame them for reportedly looking at Logan Gilbert and George Kirby in Seattle. It doesn’t sound as though the Phils have a realistic price tag on Bohm right now, but that could change as the winter wears on. If they get to the point where they’d look at moving Bohm for some optionable back-of-the-rotation arms, the scenario becomes more plausible. Bohm is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.1MM next year. The Phillies are looking to shake up their offense and could move Bohm to address other needs and create an opening for a new acquisition of their own.

Willi Castro/Jose Miranda, Twins: The Twins are deep in infielders. They’re almost certainly not going to move former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis or Brooks Lee, the No. 8 pick from the 2022 draft. Carlos Correa is entrenched at shortstop, and the Twins have repeatedly downplayed speculation about a trade regarding their highest-paid player. Castro makes more sense as a trade candidate, given that he’s entering his final season of club control and projected to earn $6.2MM as the Twins face payroll issues amid a potential sale. But, he can play anywhere on the field, is beloved in the clubhouse and just hit .251/.344/.395 with good defense and plus baserunning across the past two seasons. Miranda could be a go-to bat at first base; he excelled as a rookie in 2022, didn’t hit in 2023 before undergoing shoulder surgery, and bounced back with a .284/.322/.441 line in a resurgent 2024. The Twins still have Edouard Julien as a potential option at first base. Top infield prospect Luke Keaschall is rising quickly. They could move one of Miranda or Castro and possibly even pair him with Chris Paddack to fill multiple needs for the A’s while trimming payroll and adding some young talent in the process.

Nolan Gorman, Cardinals: All the talk in St. Louis is about trading Arenado to open playing time for young hitters, but what about possibly trading some of those young hitters themselves? Gorman feels like a change of scenery candidate after being unable to solidify himself as a big leaguer despite looks in three different seasons. He has clear plus power but some notable contact issues. The Cards, even if they move Arenado, might like to get Jordan Walker back to third base and could prefer Thomas Saggese or Brendan Donovan at second base. This year’s first-round pick, JJ Wetherholt, could rise quickly. We’re also still only four months removed from president of baseball operations John Mozeliak saying this about Gorman before optioning him to Triple-A:

“Obviously, it’s a game of production up here and at some point, you’ve got to consistently produce, or we have to find someone who can. I mean, that’s what it ultimately comes down to, and these are hard messages to hear. It can be frustrating, but this is what ends up defining you. With our offensive struggles this year, I think you can strictly look at the inability for consistent performance, day in and day out.”

Mozeliak has since changed his tune, telling The Athletic’s Katie Woo earlier this winter that the club hoped to get Gorman close to 600 plate appearances next season. Even if that’s true, Gorman has had multiple auditions and hasn’t yet claimed a spot. Walker, Saggese and Wetherholt are all in the mix for playing time around shortstop Masyn Winn and first baseman Willson Contreras (Wetherholt more in the second half of 2025). If the A’s offer the right young player(s), they’d have a chance at buying four years of Gorman. As with Baty, he wouldn’t do anything to bump payroll (unless paired up with, say, Steven Matz), but he’s an intriguing candidate.

Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates: Had the Pirates known Hayes would run into chronic back troubles that would send him to the IL five times over the first three seasons of his contract extension, they’d have thought twice about guaranteeing the former top prospect $70MM. Hindsight is 20/20. At the time of the extension, Hayes was a recent top pick who’d hit .282/.342/.432 through his first 506 plate appearances while playing flat-out elite defense. The plus-plus glovework is still there, but in a possible 482 games since putting pen to paper, Hayes has suited up just 352 times and batted .250/.303/.369 in that time. He’s still owed $43MM over the next five years on what was a front-loaded contract extension. That front-loading will make him easier to trade than a more conventional backloaded deal, and Hayes’ sensational glovework gives him a high floor whenever he’s on the field. The always payroll-crunched Bucs surely wouldn’t mind escaping the remainder of this deal.

Casey Schmitt, Giants: Another former high pick with big defensive skills, Schmitt has posted a tepid .219/.264/.369 slash in 390 big league plate appearances across the past two seasons. His defensive grades at shortstop have been surprisingly down for a player whom scouting reports praised in that regard, but plenty of plus defensive shortstops slide down the defensive spectrum to third base in the majors. Schmitt has strong grades for his small sample of 296 MLB frames at the hot corner. He’s a career .286/.343/.460 hitter in Triple-A. The Giants have nowhere to put him except in a utility role, now that Matt Chapman and Willy Adames own the left side of the infield and Tyler Fitzgerald is ticketed for regular work at second base. That might be a fine role for Schmitt, too, but the Giants have other candidates for that role. You could argue 27-year-old David Villar also works for the A’s, but he’s older and has failed in the majors in a larger sample; he’s also out of minor league options and doesn’t have near Schmitt’s defensive acumen. Schmitt is another player who won’t do anything to add to the payroll, but he’s a recently well regarded prospect who’s now blocked from a path to regular playing time.

Breslow: Red Sox Still Pursuing Starters, Right-Handed Bats

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The Red Sox came up short in free agent pursuits of Juan Soto and Max Fried, but they made their first major strike of the offseason when they pried Garrett Crochet from the White Sox in exchange for a package of four prospects headlined by catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery — their top picks in each of the past two drafts. Boston now controls Crochet through the 2026 season, making him a multi-year contributor alongside Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and perhaps Lucas Giolito — depending on his 2026 option. The Sox, however, don’t plan to stop there. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today that he’s still in the market for more rotation help (audio link).

“Teams that win in the postseason, they pitch,” said Breslow. “The ability to build out both quality and depth in our rotation is something that’s going to serve us well over the season. I think we saw what happened last year, when later in the season, our bullpen got tired and we had a couple unfortunate injuries with our rotation. We didn’t quite have the depth built up to step in and replace them. So, that’s a focus of ours. We’ll continue to be aggressive in pursuing starting pitching, but we’ll also start to shift our focus to continuing to address the bullpen.”

Breslow’s comments align with recent reporting on the Sox’ offseason efforts. In the week since landing Crochet, they’ve been connected to trade candidate Luis Castillo and to free agents John Means and Jack Flaherty. They were previously reported to be readying an offer to Corbin Burnes. Means, coming off early June UCL surgery, would be a pure depth addition with an eye toward the late stages of the 2025 season. Burnes, Flaherty or Castillo, clearly, would represent a potential major upgrade to a rotation already including Crochet, Giolito, Houck, Bello and Crawford.

Giolito is recovering from his own UCL procedure and might not be ready for Opening Day. Even if the Sox get a relatively healthy season out of him, there’s reason to think they could use another starter. Injuries on the starting staff are practically inevitable, first and foremost. Beyond that, Giolito’s workload will probably be managed in his first post-surgery season. Crochet’s 2024 season was his first full, healthy season as a starter. Another established arm would allow Boston to ease Giolito into the mix and provide some extra insurance should one of the other starters get hurt.

Addressing the pitching staff has been just one of multiple stated goals throughout the winter. The focus on Soto and the rotation clearly took priority, but Breslow is still mindful of needs within the lineup. “Also, we’ll take a look at trying to balance out the lineup a little bit and potentially do that via the addition of a right-handed bat,” he added during his radio hit.

Certainly, the pursuit of balancing the lineup and upgrading the pitching staff could be intertwined. Boston has explored trade possibilities involving both Triston Casas and Wilyer Abreu this offseason. Moving a left-handed bat could clear a path for the Sox to sign a righty-swinging outfielder like Teoscar Hernandez (if they deal from the outfield) or to move Rafael Devers across the diamond to first base (if they move Casas). That, in turn, could free up the possibility to trade for Nolan Arenado or to sign Alex Bregman in free agency. Boston could take the more direct approach of adding a right-handed bat to play second base while waiting on the development/arrival of top prospect Kristian Campbell (who can play multiple positions anyhow).

There are various avenues for Breslow & Co. to explore, but the second-year baseball operations leader’s comments Tuesday only reinforce that the Crochet acquisition was the first of what should be several notable offseason transactions.

Royals, Kyle Wright Avoid Arbitration

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The Royals announced that they have avoided arbitration with right-hander Kyle Wright and also signed new deals with lefties Evan Sisk and Noah Cameron. Wright’s deal is for $1.8MM, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The salaries for Sisk and Cameron haven’t been reported but they are pre-arb players and likely set to make something near the $760K league minimum.

Wright’s $1.8MM salary is the same he made in 2024. He missed the entire season while recovering from a shoulder surgery he underwent in October of 2023, still with Atlanta at that time. It was known that he wasn’t going to be a factor this year but the Royals traded for him anyway in a long-play move.

Under the arbitration system, a player’s salary almost never goes down, so the Royals had likely planned on something like this. Wright can be retained through 2026, so they have effectively committed $3.6MM over a two-year period to get his services in 2025, with a chance at keeping him around another year as well.

There’s risk coming off a notable surgery and lost season but Wright will be a bargain at those price points if he can get back to his 2022 form. That year, he tossed 180 1/3 innings across 30 starts for Atlanta. He allowed 3.19 earned runs per nine with a 23.2% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 55.6% ground ball rate. His shoulder problems limited him to a 6.97 ERA in 31 innings in 2023 before the surgery wiped out the entire 2024 campaign.

The Royals had a strong rotation this year but just traded Brady Singer to the Reds to get Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer. They currently have Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha in three rotation spots. Assuming Wright is healthy and back in form, he’ll be a strong candidate for a back-end spot. His competition will likely come from Kris Bubic and Alec Marsh. Bubic missed most of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery but returned this year and posted strong numbers out of the bullpen. Marsh had a solid 4.53 ERA at the back of the rotation in 2024, logging 129 innings.

Yankees Interested In Paul Goldschmidt

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The Cubs have seemingly been trying to trade first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger for weeks, with the Yankees the club most often connected to Bellinger. Recent reports have suggested that the two clubs have been facing a gap in negotiations, however. It was reported over the weekend by Jon Heyman of The New York Post that the Yankees were considering various alternatives, which was echoed this afternoon by Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Heyman’s report from the weekend suggested that the Yankees were considering trade candidates like Josh Naylor of the Guardians and Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers, as well as free agents Pete Alonso, Christian Walker or Carlos Santana. Nightengale’s framing is similar, saying that the Yankees are engaged with those three free agents as well as Paul Goldschmidt.

Those free agents will all come with very different price points, mostly due to age. Alonso is easily the youngest at 30 years old. Walker will turn 34 in March, Goldschmidt is 37 and Santana turns 39 in April. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Alonso for a five-year, $125MM deal, with Walker at $60MM over three years and Goldschmidt projected for $15MM on a one-year pact. Santana wasn’t mentioned after signing with the Twins for $5.25MM via a one-year deal last winter, though he could earn a raise after a strong 2024 season.

The Yankees still have several moving pieces in their offseason, so their first base move will come in conjunction with moves elsewhere. They also need a left fielder and one more infielder, likely a third baseman with Jazz Chisholm Jr. moving to second base, though adding at the keystone is also a possibility. Further bullpen moves could also be considered while the rotation arguably still has a surplus, even after the Yanks got Devin Williams for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin.

For those various openings, they have been connected to guys like Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Bellinger and others, as well as these various first base candidates. How much they spend on one spot could naturally have an impact on how much they spend on another. RosterResource currently projects the club for a payroll of $245MM next year, while they were in the $300MM range in 2024.

Goldschmidt will likely be relatively affordable compared to Alonso or Walker, at least in terms of contract length. Given his age and recent downturn in performance, he’s likely looking at a one-year deal. He won National League Most Valuable Player in 2022 by hitting 35 home runs and slashing .317/.404/.578 for a 175 wRC+, but he’s fallen off since.

Last year, it was 25 home runs, a .268/.363/.447 batting line and 122 wRC+. In 2024, he hit 22 homers with a .245/.302/.414 slash and 100 wRC+, indicating he was exactly league average at the plate for the year. Apart from his rookie debut in 2011, his walk and strikeout rates were both career worsts in 2024, coming in at 7.2% and 26.5% respectively.

Given his age, those could be taken as signs of the start of a decline, though there’s perhaps some optimism to be found in his strong finish. He produced a line of .230/.291/.373 and an 87 wRC+ in the first half of 2024, then a .271/.319/.480 line and 120 wRC+ in the latter half. Either way, he shouldn’t be able to secure a massive payday this winter, but there’s also more risk with him than with someone like Alonso or Walker.

The Yankees will presumably be weighing all these different options as they decide where to put their resources. There’s nothing to say that they can’t get Bellinger and a free agent first baseman, as Bellinger could be slotted into left field, though the Yanks have other options there if they can’t line up with the Cubs on a trade.

Latest On Teoscar Hernandez

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The thinking that Teoscar Hernandez would sign early in the offseason or in the immediate aftermath of Juan Soto’s decision has not played out as such. The 32-year-old slugger remains unsigned, reportedly juggling interest from at least the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Yankees to this point in the winter. Hernandez and the incumbent Dodgers have been unable to bridge a gap in Hernandez’s asking price and the team’s offer. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com adds further context, reporting that Hernandez is seeking a three-year deal that’ll guarantee him $22-24MM annually.

A three-year deal in $66-72MM range would generally dovetail with expectations. Hernandez’s agent, Rafa Nieves, already stated earlier in the offseason that Hernandez had been seeking three years last offseason when they pivoted and took a one-year deal in Los Angeles. A three-year deal on the heels of the slugger’s rebound campaign in L.A. seemed (and still seems) reasonable, even though he’s now headed into his age-32 season after rejecting a qualifying offer (and thus attaching himself to draft pick compensation). That $22-24MM range would align with last year’s $23MM salary (though some of that was deferred, dinging the net present value a bit).

With Soto off the board, Hernandez and fellow slugger Anthony Santander are the top corner outfield bats on the free agent market. Santander is two years younger but is also reportedly seeking a five-year deal after swatting 44 homers for the Orioles in 2024. Both players rejected QOs. Hernandez is the more affordable of the two but is also older and more strikeout-prone. The presence of Cody Bellinger on the trade market and the recent emergence of the now-traded Kyle Tucker might’ve combined to slow things down for Hernandez’s market, speculatively speaking.

Hernandez turned in a .272/.339/.501 slash with a career-high 33 home runs last season before going on to hit .250/.352/.417 in postseason play. His 28.8% strikeout rate was an improvement over his 31.1% mark from 2023 but still sat about six percentage points higher than league average. His 8.1% walk rate was the second-best of his career but fell right in line with the 8.2% league average. At this point, teams can expect plus power, a below-average walk rate and more strikeouts than they’d prefer from Hernandez. He drew well below-average marks for his defense, but Hernandez has plus speed and above-average arm strength, per Statcast, so a team might think there’s enough raw talent to coax some better performance out of him.

The defensive concerns do make a multi-year reunion with the Dodgers a potentially problematic pairing, however. Hernandez has said he hopes to return — and the Dodgers are clearly open to a reunion. Beating the rest of the market when Hernandez is already 32 and there’s no DH opportunity thanks to the presence of Shohei Ohtani could make a long-term arrangement worrisome for Los Angeles in a way that’s not the case with other Hernandez suitors.

Yankees Sign Max Fried

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The Yankees made their biggest move of the winter official, announcing Tuesday that they’ve signed left-hander Max Fried to an eight-year contract. The CAA client will reportedly be guaranteed a staggering $218MM on the deal, which does not include an deferrals or opt-out provisions but does include a full no-trade clause. Fried receives a $20MM signing bonus that’ll be paid out in two equal in January 2025 and ’26. He’ll make $12MM in salary for each of the first two seasons and be paid $29MM annually between 2027-32. Fried is set to be introduced at a press conference on Wednesday, which is scheduled for noon ET.

After losing the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the Yankees had plenty of money to outspend the rest of the field for his services and made use of those resources. Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reported earlier this evening that the Yanks were willing to offer Fried seven years, but they were evidently willing to going beyond that to get the market’s top unsigned southpaw on what is the largest contract for a lefty pitcher in MLB history, outbidding the club’s fellow finalists for Fried’s services in Boston and Dallas. It’s not hard to see what they like about the southpaw. Dating back to his first full season in 2019, Fried has a 3.07 ERA in 824 2/3 innings pitched. Only one pitcher in baseball has bested him in both categories during that time: Gerrit Cole, who he’ll now share the front of the Yankees rotation with.

That track record of dominance and durability that made Fried such an appealing target in the Bronx given the question marks that surround the rest of the club’s deep but flawed rotation mix. Carlos Rodón has been utterly dominant at times throughout his career, but he’s looked uneven in two seasons with the Yankees as he’s pitched to a 4.74 ERA and 4.77 FIP in 46 starts. Veteran righty Marcus Stroman has a long history of solid mid-rotation work, but he’s entering his age-34 season and did not make an appearance during the club’s run to the World Series this postseason. Nestor Cortes offers similar mid-rotation stability but struggled as recently as last year and is just one season away from free agency. Reigning AL Rookie of the Year winner Luis Gil and fellow youngster Clarke Schmidt both turned in promising seasons in 2024 but have checkered injury histories and minimal track records in the big leagues.

By contrast, Fried is the whole package. Since breaking out as a front-of-the-rotation arm with Atlanta, Fried’s 2.81 ERA is the third-best figure in all of baseball among qualified starters, bested only by Brandon Woodruff and Clayton Kershaw. While his 23.6% strikeout rate during that time doesn’t exactly jump off the page, his 6.3% walk rate is well above average and he’s also generated grounders at an impressive 54.2% clip that only Alex Cobb, Logan Webb, and Framber Valdez have bested. The southpaw’s grounder-heavy approach should serve as an excellent complement to Cole’s power-pitching reputation and form a fearsome combo at the top of the Yankees rotation for years to come.

That combination was sufficiently intriguing to the Yankees that they were willing to go well over the top to land their man. The #6 ranked free agent on MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB Free Agent list, Fried blew away the six-year, $156MM pact we predicted for him as well as other projections around the baseball world. Today’s pact is surely exciting news for Corbin Burnes and agent Scott Boras, to whom anyone hoping to land a top-of-the-rotation free agent this winter will now have to turn with both Fried and Blake Snell off the board. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports the Red Sox already began preparing an offer for Burnes this afternoon. The Blue Jays, another suitor for Fried, have also expressed interest in Burnes. Burnes landed as MLBTR’s #2 free agent of the winter behind only Soto and was predicted to land a seven-year, $200MM contract at the outset of the offseason but it would hardly be a surprise to see his camp’s asking price increase in light of Fried’s deal.

Turning back to the Yankees, their projected payroll for 2025 now sits at $257MM (per RosterResource). That’s still $46MM below last year’s total. Meanwhile, their $265MM luxury tax payroll is above the first two CBT thresholds; last season it sat above the fourth and highest threshold for penalties. In other words, the Yankees should still have plenty to spend on impact free agents to try to fill the Soto-shaped hole in the roster. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that signing Fried will cost the Yankees their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2025 draft in addition to $1MM in international bonus pool money.

They might be hesitant to sign a second QO-rejecting free agent and therefore forfeit their third- and sixth-highest draft picks as well. A look at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker reveals that while the Yankees signed three players who declined a QO during the 2022-23 offseason, two of them (Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo) were their own free agents and therefore did not cost the club anything beyond a hypothetical compensation pick. To find the last instance of the club signing multiple qualified free agents hailing from other teams in a single offseason, you would have to turn towards the 2013-14 offseason when the club landed Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brian McCann.

With that being said, some have compared the club’s approach to the free agent market in a post-Soto world to their approach that offseason, when they failed to re-sign star second baseman Robinson Cano. That could suggest at least some level of willingness to continue pursuing qualified free agents, particularly given the fact that they’ll receive a compensatory pick for the loss of Soto to help mitigate the losses. Christian Walker, Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, and Teoscar Hernandez are among the other qualified free agents to which the Yankees have been connected since Soto signed in Queens.

One other avenue for improving the club signing Fried opens up is dealing a different starting pitcher, and with the club’s rotation now featuring seven starters it’s difficult to imagine the club not moving at least one if not two of their starters below Fried and Cole on the pecking order. Rodon’s weak results in the Bronx and hefty contract would appear to make a deal coming together involving him unlikely, but any of the club’s other four starters could reasonably be moved. Stroman and Cortes have frequently found their names in the rumor mill this winter as potential trade targets, though health question marks surrounding Cortes and Stroman’s lackluster 2024 campaign could hamper the potential return for either hurler. Schmidt and Gil would both surely bring back a far more interesting return but it’s unclear if the Yankees have much of an appetite for moving on from either youngster. While the club could dangling one or more of its starters in exchange for big league talent, it’s also possible that trading from the rotation could supplement the farm system and make the Yankees more comfortable losing the draft picks associated with additional qualified free agents signings.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first broke the agreement and the terms of the deal. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and Joel Sherman of the New York Post came through with additional details. The Post’s Jon Heyman had the specific salary breakdown.

Braves, Jordan Weems Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with free agent righty Jordan Weems, per MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes. He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee in spring training. Weems is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

Weems, who just turned 32, has spent the past three seasons with the Nationals, for whom he’s totaled 136 innings with a 5.03 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate out of the bullpen. He’s averaged 96.4 mph on his heater during that time, primarily coupling the pitch with a slider that’s averaged 87.7 mph in that same span. Washington passed Weems through waivers back in August, and he became a free agent following the season, as was his right as an outrighted player with three-plus years of big league service time.

Weems’ most effective season came with the Nats in 2023, when he pitched a career-high 54 2/3 big league innings with a 3.62 ERA and 25.9% strikeout rate. That solid showing was bookended by a pair of rough years with ERAs north of 5.00, however. During his three years with the Nationals organization, he’s also pitched to a 3.27 earned run average in 77 Triple-A frames.

The Braves have clearly been operating on a tight budget this winter, looking to stockpile depth in the outfield and bullpen on low-cost deals. Weems joins Enoli Paredes and Ray Kerr as non-roster invitees who’ve signed in the wake of Joe Jimenez’s knee surgery, which will cost the righty most and possibly all of the 2025 season. (Kerr is recovering from Tommy John surgery and will be out until the summer as well.) Atlanta has also inked outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and righty Connor Gillispie to split (non-guaranteed) major league contracts with low salaries.

At present, RosterResource projects the Braves for a $201MM payroll with just over $217MM of luxury obligations. That places Atlanta about $30MM shy of where it ended the 2024 season in terms of payroll — and nearly $60MM shy of last year’s luxury tax ledger. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said earlier this month that his club is willing to pay the luxury tax for what would be a third consecutive season, but to this point anyhow, most of Atlanta’s transactions have centered around scaling back spending and compiling affordable depth. That doesn’t preclude an eventual free agent strike of note and/or an impactful trade, but there’s been little to no inkling of such talks for Atlanta so far in the offseason.

Trey Cabbage To Sign With NPB’s Yomiuri Giants

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Dec. 17: Cabbage will sign with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Dec. 16: The Pirates released first baseman/outfielder Trey Cabbage, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports that Cabbage will pursue an opportunity in a foreign league. That opens a spot on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, which drops to 37.

Pittsburgh claimed Cabbage off waivers from the Astros last month. Houston had attempted to outright him off their roster at the beginning of the offseason. Cabbage could’ve battled for a spot in Spring Training with the Bucs, but there was no guarantee he’d have stuck on the roster all winter. Even if he’d held the 40-man spot, Cabbage has an option remaining and might’ve spent most of next year in Triple-A.

It seems his camp is finalizing a deal with a team in another league that’d presumably come with a better payday. Cabbage has an intriguing power-speed combination. He had a 30-30 showing with a .306/.379/.596 slash in Triple-A with the Angels in 2023. His minor league production wasn’t quite as strong this year (.243/.351/.474) but he made a career-high 45 MLB appearances with the Astros. MLB pitching has exploited Cabbage’s propensity for huge strikeout totals in the upper minors, fanning him at a near-41% clip. He’s a career .209/.245/.331 hitter in 147 big league plate appearances.

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