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White Sox Sign James Karinchak To Minor League Contract

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The White Sox announced that right-hander James Karinchak was signed to a minor league deal.  Karinchak’s contract contains an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp.

Shoulder problems kept Karinchak on the shelf for almost the entire 2024 season, as his only game action came in the form of seven appearances and 6 2/3 innings with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate.  It broke a string of five straight seasons of big league work for Karinchak, who has a 3.10 ERA and a huge 36.3% strikeout rate over his 165 2/3 career innings in the Show, all with Cleveland from 2019-23.

Despite those impressive numbers, Karinchak’s ability to miss bats came with the cost of missing the strike zone, as he also has a 14.1% career walk rate.  While it initially seemed as though Karinchak was going to be the latest success story for Cleveland’s pitching factory, his propensity for walks made him unreliable, and the Guardians sent to Triple-A on a few occasions to see if he could sort out his control.  Karinchak also started to get a bit homer-prone in 2021, and he missed half of the 2022 season while recovering from a teres major strain.

The Guardians outrighted Karinchak off their roster after the season and then allowed him to enter free agency, which was essentially an early non-tender (Karinchak was projected for a $1.9MM arbitration salary).  Karinchak is arbitration-eligible through the 2026 season, so the White Sox have two years of control over his services.  It’s not a bad flier to take on a pitcher who, despite his struggles and the caveat of his .248 BABIP, has still enjoyed quite a bit of bottom-line success at the MLB level.

As a division opponent of the Guardians, the White Sox saw plenty of Karinchak as an opponent, and the team will now get a first-hand look at him in camp to see what he can offer heading into his age-29 season.  Karinchak’s 174 big league games make him one of the more experienced players within an overall young pitching staff, and there’s naturally plenty of opportunity for Karinchek to win a bullpen job on such an unsettled roster.  While Karinchak’s top priority is naturally to show that he’s healthy and can still be effective against big league hitters, he might project as a trade deadline candidate for the rebuilding Sox if everything goes well.

GM Dana Brown: Astros Had “Positive” Talks With Alex Bregman, Signing “A Longshot”

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Just when it seemed like Alex Bregman’s time with the Astros was nearing an end, reports surfaced earlier this week that Houston’s six-year, $156MM offer to the third baseman from earlier in the offseason remained open, and that the club was perhaps considering a scenario that would see Jose Altuve move to left field, Isaac Paredes installed at second base, and Bregman back in his old spot at the hot corner.

Astros GM Dana Brown addressed the situation with MLB.com’s Brian McTagggart and other media members today, saying that the club indeed “had some conversations” with Bregman’s camp, with those talks moving in a “positive” direction.  While Brown described re-signing Bregman as “a longshot,” he noted that the door wasn’t closed on the chances of a reunion between the two sides.

“I would say [the door is] cracked,” Brown said.  “The fact that he’s still available, it just makes it interesting.  Like ’man, this guy is such a good player, he’s done so many wonderful things here.’  We’ll stick with the cracked door and see where our conversations lead.”

Houston almost addressed the third base position by acquiring Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals in December, but Arenado chose to exercise his no-trade clause.  While reports later surfaced that Arenado wasn’t entirely adverse to playing in Houston, at the time he had some concerns over the direction of an Astros team that had just a few days earlier traded away another star in Kyle Tucker.  However, once Arenado turned down the trade, the Astros pivoted to sign Christian Walker as their new first baseman, and thus Paredes was penciled into the third base slot.

Walker’s signing was officially announced just over a month ago, leaving Bregman as the odd man out in Houston even if the Astros never technically withdrew their original offer.  Suitors like the Tigers, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Cubs have all been linked to Bregman in varying degrees but no deal has been reached, which seems to have led the Astros to circle back.  As Brown plainly put it, “we never realized that Bregman would still be on the market at this point.”

Whether Bregman takes that six-year, $156MM offer or the Astros perhaps bump the price a bit to help seal a deal, re-signing Bregman at any price would significantly boost the club’s payroll.  As per RosterResource’s projections, the Astros’ projected luxury tax number sits just over $244MM, putting the team above the first tax tier of $241MM.  Owner Jim Crane has implied that the Astros are willing to match last season’s $244MM payroll and $262MM tax number, as “it just depends on what players are available.”  Re-signing a known quantity like Bregman might well make Crane more comfortable about increasingly spending, though the Astros might also be moving some money off the books soon, if Ryan Pressly (owed $14MM in 2025) waives his no-trade clause to allow a proposed trade to the Cubs.

“Jim Crane has been very positive in terms of what this organization does to win….If we could do something that makes sense for this organization, we’ll do it.  If it doesn’t make sense financially, then we probably won’t do it,” Brown said.

Rockies Hire Charlie Blackmon For Special Assistant Role

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Charlie Blackmon’s 14-year playing career ended when he announced his retirement back in September, but the Rockies franchise icon is sticking around for a new front office job.  The Rox announced today that Blackmon has been named as a special assistant to general manager Bill Schmidt, and he “will assist in all areas of baseball operations,” as per the club’s press release.

The open-ended nature of Blackmon’s job description isn’t uncommon, as the special assistant role tends to vary from person to person and from organization to organization.  In Colorado’s case, their list of special assistants includes three former players (Todd Helton, Vinny Castilla, and now Blackmon) and former manager Clint Hurdle, all sharing their expertise with Schmidt.  While the Rockies are often accused of being an overly insular organization, it is worth noting that most teams routinely hire longtime former players for such special assistant jobs.

“Charlie has been an integral part of the Rockies organization for over a decade, both on and off the field,” Schmidt said in the press release.  “His leadership, deep understanding of the game and passion for this franchise make him the perfect fit to step into this new role.  We’re thrilled to have him bring his unique insight and experience back to the Rockies players and front office.”

A second-round pick for the Rockies in the 2008 draft, Blackmon spent his entire pro career with Colorado, and he ranks second to only Helton in most of the club’s all-time counting-stat categories.  Blackmon finished his standout career with 227 homers and a .293/.353/.479 slash line across 6825 plate appearances, and his resume also includes four All-Star nods, two Silver Slugger Awards, and the 2017 NL batting title.  That 2017 campaign was Blackmon’s greatest season, as he finished fifth in NL MVP voting while hitting .331/.399/.601 with 37 home runs, and helping the Rockies reach the playoffs via a wild card berth.

Red Sox Interested In Alex Bregman On Shorter-Term Contracts

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Alex Bregman and the Red Sox have been linked together for much of the offseason, and multiple reports have indicated that the Sox have indeed showed some level of interest in Bregman.  This interest is apparently in a somewhat limited capacity, however, as the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, writes that the Sox have been focusing on shorter-term offers with Bregman, with an eye towards signing him to “a deal of no more than four years” in length.

While four years is a pretty big commitment in the broad sense, it is certainly below the expectations that Bregman and his camp set at the start of the offseason.  The Astros are known to have made Bregman a six-year, $156MM offer to stay in Houston, but Bregman was reportedly looking to hit the $200MM plateau in his next deal.  It remains to be seen if that asking price is still realistic, but as of last week, Bregman was still looking for longer-term offers rather than considering a pivot to a shorter-term pact with opt-outs included.

In the most recent Bregman developments, KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reported yesterday that Bregman had received at least three offers of five or more years over the course of the offseason, though it isn’t known which teams made those offers or if they’re still on the table.  It would appear as though the Astros’ offer is still in play, as even though Houston signed Christian Walker and seemingly installed Isaac Paredes as their new third baseman, bringing back Bregman would see the Astros move Paredes to the keystone and longtime franchise icon Jose Altuve would move from second base to left field.

Against this backdrop, it would seem like the Red Sox are facing an uphill battle in convincing Bregman to sign for a maximum of four years.  It can probably be assumed that such a four-year deal carries a high average annual salary and an opt-out clause or two is attached, fitting the standard model of shorter-term contracts signed by other Scott Boras clients.  Such a deal would allow Bregman to re-enter free agency perhaps as early as next offseason, when he would aim to have another big platform season under his belt, and he would no longer be attached to a qualifying offer.

However, this scenario would see Bregman returning to the market in advance of his age-32 season, when teams might have even more misgivings about offering him a longer-term contract.  And, as Bregman approaches his 31st birthday in March, he must certainly feel like he has already done enough in his outstanding career to merit a long-term commitment.  Speculatively speaking, it could be that Bregman is facing a decision between accepting the Astros’ sixth guaranteed year (and the familiarity of staying with the organization), or perhaps taking a five-year deal that offers less long-term security but more money.

A traditional big spender in free agency, the Red Sox have largely shied away from major free agent commitments in recent years.  Trevor Story (six-years, $140MM) and Masataka Yoshida (five years, $90MM) are the only free agents to receive three or more guaranteed years from Sox since October 2019, and the lack of result on those contracts may have only further soured ownership on opening the checkbook for lengthy open-market deals.  Boston’s biggest contract of any kind since October 2019 was its ten-year, $313.5MM extension with Rafael Devers, which presents another obstacle in the way of a Bregman deal.  The Sox have reportedly given some thought to moving Devers off the hot corner and across the diamond to first base, but Devers’ agent pretty firmly shot down that possibility back in November.

Boras said at the start of November that Bregman was open to a position change himself, and a move to second base instead of his longtime third-base spot.  Such flexibility would’ve seemingly expanded the number of suitors that might be interested in Bregman, and it was specifically viewed as a possible nod to the chances of Bregman landing in Boston, if Devers was indeed staying put at third base (though Bregman is a much better fielder).  Of course, the issue regarding Bregman anywhere in Boston’s infield is the fact that the Red Sox have star infield prospects Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer both knocking on the door of their big league debuts, so the Sox may not want to lock down second base for the forseeable future.

In a pure baseball sense, Bregman’s right-handed bat is an ideal fit for Boston’s lefty-tilted lineup, and a hitter of his caliber is an upgrade to virtually any team.  Bregman is also friendly with manager Alex Cora due to their past time together in Houston when Cora was the Astros’ bench coach, and past reports have indicated that Cora and Red Sox president Sam Kennedy are the chief drivers of Boston’s interest in Bregman, while chief baseball officer Craig Breslow perhaps isn’t quite as on board.  This split of opinion in management might perhaps explain why the Red Sox haven’t been as aggressive as others in courting Bregman, or offering him even a fifth guaranteed year.

Yordan Alvarez Discusses Late-Season Knee Injury, “Good To Go” For Spring Training

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The 2024 season came to a painful end both metaphorically and literally for Yordan Alvarez and the Astros, as the star slugger was hampered by a right knee sprain in the final week of regular-season action.  Alvarez missed Houston’s last six games of the schedule but was able to return for the team’s brief playoff run as a designated hitter, going 2-for-7 with a double and a walk in the Tigers’ two-game sweep of the Astros during the Wild Card Series.

The knee sprain was a little more serious than appeared at the time, as Alvarez told Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle through an interpreter that “there was a lot of damage” and “at the time of the injury, there was a lot of doubts” about whether or not a surgical procedure would be required.

“But the last three or four weeks, it’s been feeling great, so everything is good to go….Apparently, it wasn’t enough damage to have surgery, [because] the body’s been recovering good and I feel good to go,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez’s mention of that 3-4 week timeline is somewhat eyebrow-raising, as it would somewhat indicate that surgery remained on the table until pretty recently.  However, Alvarez declared himself ready for the start of Spring Training, and said he didn’t expect to have any limitations on his ability to play in left field.  “I’ve been running, training, and I haven’t had any setbacks, and it’s good,” Alvarez said.

This isn’t the first time knee problems have hampered Alvarez, since arthroscopic surgeries on both knees limited Alvarez to only two games during the 2020 campaign.  Alvarez has mostly been utilized as a DH during his career, but he has made 190 appearances as a left fielder over the last four years, giving the Astros a bit of extra flexibility in juggling their lineups.

A change to even this limited outfield usage could be coming, since manager Joe Espada told Kawahara and other reporters during the Winter Meetings that “I would like to kind of cut back on the amount of reps that [Alvarez] gets in left field.”  While this isn’t a huge surprise given Alvarez’s most recent knee issue and his subpar defense, it is noteworthy considering the Astros’ lack of outfield depth.  With former right Kyle Tucker now traded to the Cubs, Houston’s Opening Day starting outfield looks like some combination of Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, Taylor Trammell, and utilityman Mauricio Dubon, with Shay Whitcomb as further depth and top prospect Jacob Melton expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2025.

It isn’t the most inspiring outfield mix on paper, which is why the Astros were linked to such free agents and trade targets as Jurickson Profar, Cody Bellinger, and Alex Verdugo at various points this offseason.  Verdugo remains unsigned, and he would fulfill the Astros’ particular stated goal of adding a left-handed hitter to their predominantly right-handed lineup.  Beyond external additions, however, Houston is also at least considering a more creative answer of moving Jose Altuve to left field, if Alex Bregman is re-signed to play third base and Isaac Paredes is moved into Altuve’s old second base spot.

Christian Walker will help some of the offensive void left by Walker’s departure, but if Bregman also heads elsewhere, a healthy and productive Alvarez will be more critical than ever to Houston’s lineup.  Since Alvarez made his MLB debut in 2019, his 166 wRC+ is second only to Aaron Judge (180) among all big league hitters, with Alvarez hitting .298/.390/.583 with 164 home runs over his 2688 career plate appearances.  The slugger has also hit .294/.393/.551 with 12 homers across 252 career PA in the postseason, including ALCS MVP honors in 2021.

Where Can The Rangers Find A Closer?

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The Rangers watched four key relievers hit the open market to begin the 2024-25 offseason. Closer Kirby Yates, who proved a bargain pickup on a one-year $4.5MM deal, reached free agency alongside David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin (who had a club option declined). Those four were the Rangers' top four late-inning options in the season's second half.

Beyond the difficulty of retaining any group of coveted free agents and/or rebuilding an entire relief corps, Texas faced financial difficulties. Re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and improving a lineup that struggled badly against fastballs were both priorities. Eovaldi cost more than most would've anticipated entering the offseason, benefitting from the hyper-aggressive free agent market for starters to the tune of a three-year, $75MM deal. Slugger Joc Pederson similarly commanded a stout $18.5MM-per-season annual value on his two-year deal. As with Eovaldi, that topped expectations.

Texas did trim some payroll and replace a bullpen arm in one fell swoop, trading the final two years of club control over first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals in exchange for five seasons of control over lefty Robert Garcia. The 28-year-old's 4.22 ERA last season isn't particularly exciting, but a big 29.9% strikeout rate and sharp 6.4% walk rate portend improvements in the ERA department moving forward.

The rest of the Rangers' bullpen dealings have been cost-efficient in nature. Texas brought old friend Chris Martin back on a one-year, $5.5MM deal earlier this month. They had the advantage of being Martin's hometown club, which held appeal to him in the final season of his career; he's announced he expects to retire after the 2025 season and reportedly turned down more money elsewhere to pitch his final year close to home. Free agents Hoby Milner (another Fort Worth area native), Shawn Armstrong and Jacob Webb signed for $2.5MM, $1.25MM and $1.25MM, respectively.

Meanwhile, the free agents who've bid farewell to the Rangers seem to be in demand. Leclerc commanded a $10MM guarantee on a one-year deal with the A's. Yates has reached a tentative agreement with the Dodgers, though financial terms are not yet clear and he's not yet taken his physical. The aggressive market for late-inning arms figures to allow Robertson to cash in on an eight-figure salary. Chafin has garnered interest from the Yankees and Cubs at varying points this winter and is surely talking to other teams as the market for relievers heats up. In the past week alone, we've seen Tanner Scott, Yates, Paul Sewald and A.J. Minter reach free agent agreements. The markets for Carlos Estevez and Kyle Finnegan are picking up. The Cubs are talking to the Astros about Ryan Pressly.

Yates' agreement with the Dodgers rankled many Rangers fans who'd hoped they could bring the 37-year-old back as a finishing piece to the bullpen revamp. Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young, however, has indicated that while the door is still cracked for another acquisition, the bulk of the team's heavy lifting has likely been completed.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday that the Rangers never made a formal offer to Yates, recognizing where his market was headed while they faced payroll constrictions from ownership. Per Grant, if the Rangers add to the 'pen, it'd likely have to come via the trade market. They're about $6MM shy of the luxury-tax threshold, per Roster Resource, and staying under that $241MM cutoff is said to be a priority for the Rangers.

It's always possible they could strike gold on another Yates-sized reclamation project; Kendall Graveman and Scott Barlow are among the buy-low candidates with some track record as a successful late-inning reliever. Generally speaking, however, if the Rangers want to add a solid closing option, they're not going to find one for under $6MM in free agency.

With that in mind, let's run through some possible options for Young, GM Ross Fenstermaker and their staff as they peruse the market in hopes of adding one more high-leverage option.

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Stan Kasten, David Rubenstein Speak On MLB’s Economics

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The Dodgers introduced their latest big-ticket free agent signee on Thursday. Team president Stan Kasten was among those in attendance at the press conference to celebrate Tanner Scott joining the club on a four-year free agent deal.

Asked about the Dodgers’ second consecutive monster offseason, Kasten defended the organization’s spending. “This is really good for baseball. I have no question about it,” he told reporters (link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). Kasten pointed out that MLB’s playoff volatility reduces the chance for any individual team to post a dynastic run of World Series titles. He argued that the Dodgers’ roster-building approach should energize both their own fanbase and those of other clubs who want to see them fail.

“On the entertainment side, which is what we are, it’s really good when there’s one beloved team by their fans who come out in record numbers, leading all of baseball in attendance, while that same team can be hated and lead baseball in road attendance. That’s a win-win for baseball,” Kasten said.

Needless to say, not everyone outside Los Angeles shares that opinion. ESPN’s Jeff Passan published a lengthy column looking at both the Dodgers’ successful Roki Sasaki pursuit and their overall success in both free agency and internal player development. Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers have gotten backlash not only from opposing fans but from rival front offices. That’s in response to both L.A.’s overall willingness to spend and the level of deferrals they’ve included in most of those contracts. Readers are encouraged to check out Passan’s piece in full.

Cot’s Baseball Contracts projects the Dodgers for a luxury tax payroll around $375MM. The Phillies have the second-highest layout at roughly $308MM. The Yankees are the only other team above $300MM by that estimate. The gap between the Dodgers and the 30th-ranked Marlins is almost $300MM.

Passan writes that the payroll disparity (plus the $765MM guarantee which Juan Soto secured from the Mets) has led to a “rekindling” of talks amongst owners who hope for the implementation of a salary cap. New Orioles owner David Rubenstein, who purchased the franchise from the Angelos family last spring, is among those in support.

“I wish it would be the case that we would have a salary cap in baseball the way other sports do, and maybe eventually we will, but we don’t have that now,” Rubenstein told Yahoo Finance at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos. “I suspect we’ll probably have something closer to (the salary caps and floors) the NFL and the NBA have, but there’s no guarantee of that.”

A cap, of course, would need to be collectively bargained. Major League Baseball’s owners have attempted to implement a cap in many previous CBA negotiations. The MLB Players Association has refused to budge on that issue, as it remains strongly opposed to putting fixed limits on players’ earning power. The luxury tax is designed to curtail spending at the top of the market. It has indeed served as a deterrent for some big-market franchises but obviously is a barrier which teams are free to cross if ownership is willing.

“I think the big city teams have some advantages. Now, in Los Angeles, they have another advantage,” Rubenstein added. “They have Japanese players, [a] number of them that they got like Shohei, and people in Japan really love watching the Dodgers, and they sell a lot of merchandise in Japan for Dodgers players.”

A salary cap would not have directly influenced the Sasaki signing. His earning power was hard-capped by MLB’s international signing limit for amateurs. Sasaki qualified because he hasn’t turned 25. He signed for a $6.5MM bonus that is hundreds of millions of dollars below what he would’ve commanded had he been a true free agent. The Dodgers’ spending may have indirectly influenced his decision — he’s joining the defending champions on a roster that already had a pair of Japanese superstars in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — but the geographic and endorsement reasons for his signing are outside the purview of a cap.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that many fans are frustrated by how this offseason has transpired. More than two-thirds of respondents to a recent MLBTR poll indicated they hoped for a salary cap to be implemented during the next round of collective bargaining, which will take place after the 2026 season. Roughly half of respondents said they’d be willing to sacrifice the entire ’27 season to a work stoppage if it meant the league could successfully leverage the players union into agreeing to a cap. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald and Tim Dierkes discussed the situation in greater detail on this week’s edition of our podcast.

Deferrals are another source of agitation for many fans, particularly after Ohtani’s deal that deferred $680MM of his $700MM guarantee. The Dodgers are neither the first team nor the only current club to defer significant money. The Nationals had deferrals on a few deals (e.g. Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin) that were crucial to their 2019 World Series win. The Blue Jays deferred around two-thirds of the salary on Anthony Santander’s contract just this week. Still, the Dodgers have deferred a much greater amount of money than anyone else within the past year-plus. Ohtani, Will Smith, Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman and Tanner Scott have all deferred payments on recent contracts.

As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes covered shortly after the Ohtani signing, the deferrals are not really a workaround the luxury tax. In many cases, those contracts’ net present value — which adjusts the deferrals for inflation — ended up around expectations. As Passan notes, the CBA requires teams to set aside money for the future salaries within two years of signing a contract that includes deferrals. Passan points out that the deferrals and significant signing bonuses, which many of those deals included, are advantageous for the players to minimize taxes under California law though.

None of this will change in this offseason or next. We’re less than two years away from the expiration of the CBA and what seems likely to be another offseason lockout. These conversations will take on greater urgency as that draws nearer.

Dodgers Re-Sign Chris Okey To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers announced their group of non-roster invitees to big league camp. They revealed in that announcement that they’ve re-signed catcher Chris Okey to a minor league deal. Right-hander Justin Jarvis and outfielder Justin Dean, neither of whom has reached the majors, also receive MLB invites after signing minor league contracts earlier in the offseason.

Okey, who turned 30 last month, has nine games of major league experience. He appeared in seven games for the Reds in 2022 and suited up twice for the Angels two seasons ago. The former second-round pick signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers going into last season. He hit .236/.283/.327 through 45 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Okey carries a .242/.306/.363 batting line across 769 Triple-A plate appearances.

Will Smith, Austin Barnes and Hunter Feduccia are all on the 40-man roster. Top prospect Dalton Rushing (who also received an invite to big league camp) is likely headed back to Oklahoma City to start the season. Okey figures to back him up at the top minor league level. Feduccia still has two option years remaining and will probably also be in Triple-A as long as Smith and Barnes are healthy.

Jarvis, 24, is a former fifth-round pick by Milwaukee. The Brewers traded him to the Mets for Mark Canha at the 2023 deadline. Jarvis started 10 of 28 appearances between New York’s top two affiliates last season. He combined for a 4.55 earned run average with decent if unspectacular strikeout (21.9%) and walk (7.8%) marks. Dean is a 28-year-old who spent most of last year with Atlanta’s Double-A team. He hit .244/.332/.321 but stole 47 bases in 92 games. He can play all three outfield positions.

Cubs, Astros Still Discussing Pressly; Tigers No Longer In The Mix

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7:37pm: Nightengale reports that the Tigers are no longer in the running. If Pressly does agree to move, it’s expected to be to the Cubs.

6:57pm: The Astros have officially asked Ryan Pressly whether he’d approve a trade to the Cubs, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports that they’ve also asked the reliever if he’d accept a deal to the Tigers. Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic first reported this afternoon that the Tigers had been in discussions with Houston about Pressly.

In any case, it seems the ball is firmly in Pressly’s court. Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes that the Astros have reached a “tentative” agreement with at least one of those teams, which is obviously conditional on Pressly waiving the no-trade rights. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score suggests that the Cubs feel the holdups on the no-trade protection are “resolvable.”

Pressly has full no-trade protection as a player with at least 10 years of MLB service and five-plus service years with his current team. He grew up in the Dallas area and has pitched in Houston since the 2018 trade deadline. His wife Katharine is a Houston native. It’s not out of the question that he and his family simply prefer to stay there.

Pressly combined for 110 appearances between 2023-24, which triggered a $14MM vesting option on his deal. That’s probably a little above market value but not dramatically so. José Leclerc and Andrew Kittredge each signed $10MM free agent contracts this winter. Blake Treinen, who is six months older than Pressly, landed two years at $11MM annually.

After serving as Houston’s closer between 2020-23, Pressly moved into a setup role last year. That was in response to their late strike to add Josh Hader on a five-year free agent deal. He had a solid season, working to a 3.49 earned run average through 56 2/3 frames. Pressly’s strikeout rate dropped to a league average 23.8% clip — his lowest mark since his 2018 breakout —  but he posted a solid 7.4% walk rate while picking up 25 holds.

The Cubs and Tigers have both been exploring the closer market. Each would presumably give Pressly the chance to return to the ninth inning. Chicago has a few less experienced pitchers (e.g. Porter Hodge, Nate Pearson, Tyson Miller) who could compete for saves. It’s a similar story in Detroit, where Beau Brieske, Jason Foley, Will Vest and Tyler Holton are part of what would projects as a closer by committee group. The Tigers have a strong relief group but lean heavily on their bullpen in games not started by Tarik Skubal. Adding Pressly would solidify the back end. He’s a known commodity for skipper A.J. Hinch, who managed him in Houston between 2018-19.

Mets, Adbert Alzolay Agree To Two-Year Minor League Deal

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The Mets and right-hander Adbert Alzolay have agreed to a two-year minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in August and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.

Alzolay, 30 in March, is not too far removed from being the Cubs’ closer. He broke into the majors as a starter and occasionally flashed some promise but also dealt with notable injury concerns. After missing most of the 2022 season due to a shoulder strain, the Cubs started using him in a primary relief role, which yielded very positive results.

In 2023, Alzolay tossed 64 innings across 58 appearances, allowing 2.67 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 26.5% of batters faced while only giving out walks 5.1% of the time. He took over the ninth inning duties for the Cubs, racking up 22 saves that year.

Unfortunately, the injury bug bit him again last year. He made 18 appearances in the first few weeks of 2024 with diminished results. His ERA was 4.67 and he only struck out 17.3% of opponents. The velocity was down on all of his pitches. He landed on the injured list in May due to a right forearm strain. He attempted a rehab assignment in July but that proved to be ill-fated, as he required Tommy John surgery in August.

The Cubs could have retained Alzolay for his recovery period. He was controllable via arbitration for two more seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $2.3MM salary for Alzolay in 2025. Since he’s not going to pitch much this year, he would have been slated for a very similar salary in 2026. That meant that the Cubs could have kept Alzolay through 2026 for less than $5MM but they decided to non-tender him instead.

For the Mets, this is obviously a long play. Alzolay won’t help the team immediately. Given his August surgery and the rough 14-month timeline to return from Tommy John, he could perhaps act as a wild card late in the 2025 season. But even if that doesn’t come to pass, he could factor into the club’s 2026 plans.

Since he is on a minor league deal, his service time clock won’t be moving until he’s added to the roster. He’s currently at four years and 50 days at the moment. Even a late-season return would only allow him to add a few days to that. As such, he’ll finish the 2026 season between five and six years. That means the Mets could then retain him via arbitration for the 2027 season.

Such an outcome would depend on the righty returning to form after his injury absence. His numbers tailed off in the 2024 season but it’s possible that he was already feeling the effects of his injured elbow, even though surgery was still a few months away.

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