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Marlins To Sign Christopher Morel

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The Marlins and outfielder Christopher Morel have agreed to a major league deal, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez. It’s a one-year deal, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, though Morel can be controlled beyond 2026 via arbitration. The salary for the ISE Baseball client hasn’t yet been publicly reported. Morel is expected to mostly play first base for the Fish, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Morel, 26, has occasionally thrust himself into the spotlight with his ability to put the ball over the fence. However, he also strikes out a lot and hasn’t been able to find a true defensive home. The end result has been a clearly talented player struggling to fully establish himself as a viable big league regular.

Coming up as a prospect, Morel played a lot of shortstop and third base, with some time in the outfield and at second base also mixed in. He debuted with the Cubs in 2022 and showed off his power by hitting 16 home runs in 425 plate appearances. However, he also struck out in 32.2% of those trips to the plate. In 2023, he added another 26 homers in just 429 plate appearances, an even better rate than the previous year. His strikeout rate dropped a bit but stayed quite high at 31%.

Defensively, the Cubs bounced him around the diamond but without him fully taking hold of any one spot. His glovework was graded as subpar at shortstop, third base and in the outfield. He was more passable at second but the Cubs didn’t have regular playing time there due to the presence of Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson up the middle.

More to come.

Royals Finalizing Extension With Maikel Garcia

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The Royals and infielder Maikel Garcia are finalizing a five-year contract extension that’ll contain a club option for a sixth season, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’d previously been under club control through 2029 but will now be on a guaranteed contract through 2030. Between that 2030 season and the 2031 club option, Kansas City is picking up control over two would-be free-agent seasons for the 25-year-old Garcia, who is represented by Wasserman.

Garcia, who’ll turn 26 in March, was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $4.8MM salary on the heels of a breakout showing in 2025. As a Super Two player, Garcia would have been arb-eligible four times and thus due three more raises in subsequent seasons.

Though Garcia has been a regular with the Royals for three seasons now, the 2025 campaign was the first in which he provided any real value with the bat. He was a valuable player in 2023-24, but that was primarily due to plus speed (combined 60 steals) and quality defense at multiple infield positions.

The 2025 campaign brought a full-fledged breakout. After batting just .249/.300/.344 in 1141 plate appearances from ’23-’24, Garcia erupted with a .286/.351/.449 showing in a career-high 666 plate appearances. He posted career-best tallies in home runs (16) and doubles (39), tied a career-high with five triples, swiped another 23 bags and notched career-best walk and strikeout rates of 9.3% and 12.6%, respectively.

Garcia continued on as a plus, versatile defender this past season. He spent the bulk of his time at third base but also appeared at second base, shortstop and in center field. Third base has been his most frequent and best position, evidenced both by superlative defensive grades (15 Defensive Runs Saved, 18 Outs Above Average in 1144 innings) and the first of what could very well end up being multiple Gold Glove Awards.

Garcia profiles as the Royals’ long-term option at third base. With shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. also signed long-term, Kansas City should have an outstanding left side of the infield, on both sides of the ball, for the better part of the next half decade. It’s always possible that Garcia slides to a different position somewhere down the road, but the Royals tendered Jonathan India a contract this offseason and plan to deploy him regularly at second base after using him at multiple positions in 2025.

More to come.

Front Office Subscriber Chat With Anthony Franco: TODAY At 2:00pm Central

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MLBTR’s Anthony Franco will be holding a live chat today at 2:00 pm Central, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers!

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Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt Signed Multi-Year Extension

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When the Guardians originally hired Stephen Vogt as their new manager following the 2023 season, it was announced that he’d signed a three-year contract covering the 2024-26 seasons. Vogt, however, isn’t coming up on the final year of his contract as it might have seemed. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Guardians quietly signed Vogt to a multi-year extension following the 2024 campaign. The new contract was never announced, nor was it reported at the time.

Vogt, 41, has been named American League Manager of the Year in each of his two seasons as Cleveland’s skipper. Under his watch, the Guardians have twice enjoyed late-season rallies to force their way into the postseason. The ’24 Guardians won 88 games and topped the Tigers in the ALDS before falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. In 2025, Cleveland won 92 games but lost to the Tigers in a 2-1 Wild Card series defeat. Overall, Vogt is 180-143 as a big league manager.

It’s not entirely clear how long Vogt’s new contract runs, but he’s likely signed through at least the 2028 season now. He’ll continue overseeing a club that’s anchored by perennial MVP candidate José Ramirez and is on the cusp of welcoming a new wave of top prospects who could comprise the Guardians’ long-term core.

Outfield prospect Chase DeLauter made his big league debut in 2025. He’ll be joined by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana at some point in 2026, and fellow top prospects like infielder Angel Genao and catcher Cooper Ingle could make their debuts this coming season as well. Bazzana and Ingle both reached Triple-A in 2025; Genao held his own as a 21-year-old in Double-A. Pitching prospect Khal Stephen, acquired from the Blue Jays in the deadline deal sending Shane Bieber to Toronto, dominated up through the Double-A level in ’25 and could be an option to join Vogt’s rotation in 2026.

Though the Guardians are unlikely to ever field a payroll that’s consistently in the top half of the league, the presence of Ramirez, some quality arms (e.g. Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee), looming young prospects and a perennially successful player development department should continue to put Vogt and the Guardians organization in position for success within the American League Central.

Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro Signs Five-Year Extension

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Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro has signed a five-year contract extension, Rogers Communications (which owns the Jays) announced Friday.

“The opportunity to lead the Blue Jays organization over the past 10 years has been incredibly fulfilling,” Shapiro said in a statement within today’s announcement. “Together we have built an organization with people who care deeply about baseball and take immense pride in being Canada’s team. I am grateful and honoured to be able to continue that work.”

Shapiro, 58, has spent the past decade as the Blue Jays’ president and CEO. He’d previously been the general manager and, eventually, team president in Cleveland. His past contract ran through the end of the calendar year. Current Jays general manager Ross Atkins was hired away from Cleveland by Shapiro; he’d previously been their vice president of player personnel.

Both Shapiro and Atkins have now signed multiple long-term extensions to remain in place as the top decision-makers for the Jays. Shapiro is now locked in through the 2030 season. Atkins signed a five-year extension back in 2021 and is currently signed through the end of the 2026 campaign.  Given the Jays’ run to Game 7 of the World Series, it stands to reason that Atkins could be in line for an extension of his own at some point in the coming months.

Under Shapiro and Atkins, the Jays have won 89 or more games in four of the past five seasons. They hadn’t had any playoff success — save for the 2016 season, though that was a largely inherited club from the prior regime — but broke through in a major way in 2025 when they toppled the Yankees and Mariners in the ALDS and ALCS before coming just two outs away from the franchise’s first World Series victory since the 1992-93 repeat.

While the Jays have often been runners-up for prominent free agents in recent seasons (e.g. Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani), this year’s World Series push and the team’s $500MM investment in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have perhaps helped to establish the Jays as more of a free agent destination. Right-hander Dylan Cease just inked a seven-year contract, and Toronto has shown interest in both Kyle Tucker and in re-signing star infielder Bo Bichette, who reached the open market for the first time in his career this offseason. Ownership’s decision to commit to another extension with Shapiro is both a vote of confidence in the team’s current core and vision, as well as a signal that Toronto will be continuing in win-now mode for the foreseeable future.

MLBTR Podcast: Winter Meetings Recap

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

  • An Agent’s Perspective with B.B. Abbott – Also, Cease, Williams, Helsley, And Gray – listen here
  • Some “Classic Baseball Trades,” Nimmo For Semien, And Ward For Rodriguez – listen here
  • Offseason Preview Megapod: Top 50 Free Agents – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

The Opener: Alonso, Signings, Relief Market

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

1. Alonso’s introductory press conference:

The Orioles are holding an introductory press conference for newly-minted first baseman Pete Alonso today at 4pm local time in Baltimore. Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias, principal owner David Rubenstein, and agent Scott Boras will be on hand to give statements and take questions alongside Alonso. The presser should offer some insight into  Alonso’s free agency and departure from the Mets, as well as the Orioles’ future plans — both this offseason and in the longer term.

2. Signings to be made official:

With this year’s Winter Meetings now in the rearview mirror, there’s a number of reported signings that have yet to be made official. Agreements between outfielder Lane Thomas and the Royals, reliever Mark Leiter Jr. and the Athletics, left-hander Hoby Milner and the Cubs, lefty Steven Matz and the Rays, right-hander Michael Soroka and the D-backs, closer Kyle Finnegan and the Tigers, and southpaw Gregory Soto and the Pirates have yet to be finalized and formally announced. Most notably, the Dodgers have yet to announce their signing of Edwin Diaz.

Most of those teams have spots available on their 40-man roster, so making the signing official is little more than a formality. For the Diamondbacks, Rays, and Tigers, however, their full rosters mean a corresponding move will be necessary in order for each club to finalize their respective additions. That will likely come by designating a player for assignment, though it’s also possible that those clubs could look to work out a minor trade to clear 40-man space.

3. Top relief options dwindling:

Right-hander Robert Suarez came off the board yesterday when he signed in Atlanta, and in doing so he joined Diaz, Devin Williams, Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Helsley and Kyle Finnegan as established closers who have already found a home this winter. That leaves the pickings as relatively slim for clubs interested in adding to the back of their bullpen at this point. Right-hander Brad Keller, who emerged as an outstanding setup man and part-time closer for the Cubs this past year, longtime Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, veteran submariner Tyler Rogers, and former Yankees righty Luke Weaver are among the top remaining arms on the market. Who will be next to sign?

Braves Sign Robert Suarez

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The Braves further solidified the back of their bullpen Thursday, announcing the signing of former Padres closer Robert Suarez on a three-year, $45MM contract. Suarez, a client of Primo Sports Group, became a free agent at season’s end when he opted out of the final two years and $16MM on his five-year contract with San Diego. He’ll be paid $13MM in 2026 and $16MM in both 2027 and 2028, per the team. There are reportedly no deferrals in the contract. Atlanta designated lefty Ryan Rolison for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster (more on that move here).

The 34-year-old Suarez (35 in March) went directly from Mexico to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball late last decade and, after establishing himself as one of the top relievers in NPB, has broken out as a top-tier reliever in the majors. Originally signed on a two-year deal with the Padres, he opted out after one year and inked a five-year, $46MM extension that afforded him another opt-out provision after the third year, which he took last month.

Now Atlanta-bound, Suarez has consistently posted quality numbers in high-leverage spots for the Friars. Dating back to his 2022 MLB debut, he’s posted a 2.91 ERA with a 26.5% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in 210 innings. Suarez sits just under 99 mph with his four-seamer and complements the pitch with a changeup that got great results in ’22-’23 but has been hit hard the past two seasons. It hasn’t led to poor results, however, because Suarez’s fastball and sinker both grade out as dominant offerings.

Suarez joins right-hander Raisel Iglesias, who re-upped on a one-year, $16MM contract earlier in the offseason, to form a potent one-two punch at the back of new manager Walt Weiss’ bullpen. Notably, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Iglesias will continue to serve as the closer in Atlanta. Suarez will operate as his primary setup man (and, of course, can handle save opportunities in the event that Iglesias is unavailable or suffers an injury). Setup work is nothing new for Suarez, who in 2022 helped set up for Taylor Rogers and in 2023 was a key setup arm for Josh Hader.

On the surface, a three-year, $45MM contract for a high-end reliever feels fairly well in line with contractual norms around the game. However, Suarez’s camp did quite well to get him the third guaranteed year. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, this is the first deal of three or more years for a 35-year-old (or older) reliever since Will Harris signed for $24MM with the Nationals prior to the 2020 season. Before that, you’d have to go all the way back to Ryan Madson’s three-year pact with the A’s back in 2015 to find another example of a bullpen arm being paid for this long of a term at Suarez’s age.

Adding Suarez brings Atlanta’s 2026 payroll up to about $241MM. RosterResource estimates that the team is carrying more than $236MM worth of luxury-tax considerations, which places them within $8MM of the 2026 season’s $244MM first-tier luxury threshold. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has already checked several items off his winter to-do list, though Atlanta still figures to be open to additions at shortstop, on the bench and/or on the pitching staff. That said, re-signing Iglesias, acquiring utilityman Mauricio Dubon and bringing in both Suarez and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski (on a two-year, $23MM deal) has removed some of the urgency to make further additions.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and the terms of the contract. The Athletic’s Will Sammon first reported the year-to-year breakdown.

Marlins Notes: Fairbanks, Mullins, Matz, Marsee

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The Marlins entered the offseason targeting late-inning relief help. They haven’t come away with anything thus far, as they’ve evidently balked at the prices in a free agent bullpen market that has moved quickly.

Pete Fairbanks is one player known to be on their radar. He’s a logical fit as a proven closer who has ties to president of baseball operations Peter Bendix from their time in Tampa Bay. However, Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral of Fish On First wrote this week that Fairbanks’ market is likely to push beyond Miami’s comfort zone.

Fairbanks hit free agency when the Rays bought out his $11MM club option. They were unable to find trade interest at that price point within the first few days of the offseason. Fairbanks could command a two-year contract at a slightly lesser annual sum. His strikeout rates have dropped closer to league average over the past couple seasons, but he’s coming off a 2.83 ERA with 27 saves across 60 1/3 innings. Fairbanks still sits above 97 MPH and got swinging strikes on nearly 13% of his offerings this year. He fits alongside the likes of Emilio Pagán and Kyle Finnegan, who commanded two-year contracts in the $19-20MM range.

The Fish have yet to sign a free agent this offseason. They’ve shown interest in a few players who have wound up elsewhere, including a pair who are headed to Bendix’s old team. Azout noted that the Marlins were involved in the market for swingman Steven Matz before he agreed to a two-year, $15MM contract with the Rays. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported last week that the Marlins pursued Cedric Mullins prior to his $7MM deal to become Tampa Bay’s new center fielder.

Mullins would not have gotten everyday center field reps in Miami. Jakob Marsee is locked in there after an excellent half-season debut. The 24-year-old hit .292/.363/.478 with five home runs in his first 234 big league plate appearances. His .357 average on balls in play is due for some amount of regression, but he showed excellent plate discipline and contact skills with solid batted ball metrics. Marsee also graded as a slightly above-average defender in 475 innings.

The Marlins could use a veteran outfielder in a corner. Kyle Stowers can play either corner spot, which gives them some flexibility in that regard. Mullins has a below-average arm and would likely have been ticketed for left field, pushing Stowers to right. Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernandez and Dane Myers would be in the mix for playing time right now. They’re all in their mid-late 20s and have struck out at such alarming rates in the upper minors that it’s unlikely any of them is a long-term regular.

Miami is reportedly willing to spend more than usual this offseason, though they’ve yet to put that into action. They kicked around extension numbers with Stowers but reportedly faced an approximate $50MM divide. They’re planning to reengage with young starter Eury Pérez on a potential long-term deal after beginning those conversations in Spring Training.

Marsee stands as another logical candidate after his impressive first few months. Fish On First reports that there’s some interest on both sides about a long-term deal, though the team has yet to make an offer. Extension conversations frequently pick up later in the offseason and into Spring Training, so there’s plenty of time.

Hitters who sign extensions within their first year of MLB service are often top-tier prospects. That’s not the case with Marsee. He was a sixth-round pick by San Diego who was generally viewed as the second best of the three prospects traded to Miami for Luis Arraez. (The centerpiece, former first-round pick Dillon Head, is coming off a .223/.334/.318 season in A-ball.) Marsee entered the 2025 season as the #12 prospect in the Miami organization, according to Baseball America. He didn’t appear on any Top 100 lists.

The closest recent comparison point is probably Ceddanne Rafaela, though even he’d been more highly regarded before his MLB debut than Marsee was. The Red Sox signed him to an eight-year, $50MM guarantee with a club option for a ninth season. They’re very different players stylistically. Rafaela was an elite defensive outfielder whose extremely aggressive approach led to questions about the hit tool. Marsee isn’t as athletic but is a much more polished hitter who has had more big league success than Rafaela did at the time.

However, Rafaela had garnered some Top 100 fanfare and signed his deal in his age-23 season. Marsee turns 25 in June. The Fish are probably reluctant to put a $50MM offer on the table a couple months into his career. That’s reportedly close to what they offered Stowers, who is two years further along and is coming off an All-Star season. Marsee is under club control through his age-30 campaign.

Rays Have Discussed Pepiot, Baz In Ketel Marte Trade Conversations

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The Rays are among a number of teams that have been tied to Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte. Arizona general manager Mike Hazen has consistently downplayed the chance of a deal coming together on their MVP-caliber second baseman, but he hasn’t slammed the door shut given the team’s need for starting pitching.

Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that conversations with the Rays have kicked around a framework that would send both Ryan Pepiot and Shane Baz to the desert. Piecoro writes that nothing is believed to be close on that front and the Rays are not necessarily any kind of frontrunner. Indeed, he adds that the Diamondbacks have had conversations with another team interested in Marte that would be built around a bigger-name starting pitcher.

Whether or not talks with Tampa Bay progress, the mention of multiple controllable starters hammers home the high asking price which the Diamondbacks have set. Pepiot landed in Tampa Bay as the centerpiece of the Tyler Glasnow return two offseasons ago. He’s the team leader with 297 2/3 innings pitched since the start of 2024.

The former third-round pick owns a 3.75 earned run average while striking out a little more than a quarter of opposing hitters. He’s a decent strike-thrower who sits around 95 MPH with his heater and has a plus changeup. Pepiot’s slider is a distant third offering, and the changeup has made him a reverse splits pitcher. He has held left-handed hitters to a .192/.287/.354 batting line with a near-28% strikeout rate over the past two seasons. Righties have hit .243/.303/.420 while punching out at a 23% clip.

Pepiot is unlikely to develop into an ace, but he’s an established mid-rotation starter who turned 28 in August. He has a little over three years of service time, so he’s under arbitration control through 2028. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.7MM salary. Teams place a premium on an affordable #3-type starter. The Rays presumably aren’t shopping Pepiot, but it’s a testament to Marte’s offensive impact that the righty would be on the table in those conversations.

Baz, 26, has also come up in trade talks with the Astros. The 6’3″ righty is a former top prospect who has yet to reach his upper mid-rotation ceiling. That’s partially due to some early-career injuries, including Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2023 season. He posted a 3.06 ERA across 14 starts when he returned in ’24. That earned him a spot in Kevin Cash’s rotation this year, but Baz had an up-and-down performance. He concluded with a 4.87 ERA across 166 1/3 innings. That’s despite a solid 24.8% strikeout percentage and 11.6% swinging strike rate.

The pure upside might be higher with Baz than it is with Pepiot. He sits 97 MPH and gets above-average movement on an 85 MPH knuckle-curve and 90 MPH cutter. Baz has plus stuff and is a decent enough strike thrower. He has been held back by a lack of start-to-start consistency. He allowed one run or fewer 10 times (including seven scoreless appearances) but also had 10 outings in which he gave up five or more runs.

Baz also has between three and four service years and is eligible for arbitration through 2028. He’s projected for a $3.1MM salary. Teams are probably divided as to whether they’d prefer Pepiot’s stability or Baz’s raw stuff, but both pitchers have significant trade value. They’re two of the three returning Tampa Bay pitchers (alongside Drew Rasmussen) who topped 100 innings. The Rays are likely to give Steven Matz a starting opportunity, but they’d certainly need to backfill the rotation if they traded two starters. Shane McClanahan hasn’t pitched since 2023. Joe Boyle and Ian Seymour have limited track records.

The Diamondbacks would require a monster return built around MLB starting pitching to move Marte. He’s coming off a .283/.376/.517 showing with 28 home runs. Marte is the best second baseman in the league and is signed for a bargain $102.5MM over the next six seasons (the final of which is a player option year).

“I think it’s a risky deal when you’re talking about trading really, really good players at all,” Hazen told Piecoro. “It’s something that we have to at least listen to in our job. It’s not something that you really look forward to, necessarily, when you have the players that we do. But it’s also the reality of our team and where we are that I have to consider some things.”

Arizona agreed to terms with Michael Soroka on a one-year deal this week. He’ll be in the rotation alongside Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt. (They’re unlikely to get Corbin Burnes back from Tommy John surgery before August.) Nelson was the only one of that trio who found much success this year. The D-Backs need to add another two starters and don’t have a ton of payroll space to address that via free agency. They’re also looking for bullpen help and could upgrade at third base or in the outfield.

While Marte is the best second baseman at least loosely available on the trade market, the Rays ironically have the second-best such option. Brandon Lowe is coming off a 31-homer season in which he hit .256/.307/.477 over 553 plate appearances. Lowe is entering the final season of his contract and is set to make $11.5MM. The Rays have reportedly gotten hits from the Pirates and Reds (surely among others) about his availability.

President of baseball operations Erik Neander touched on Lowe’s trade candidacy from the Winter Meetings (link via Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times). He called the two-time All-Star an “important, impactful player who provides power at a position that is hard to find.” Neander acknowledged the Rays’ history of shopping players whose control windows were closing but praised both Lowe and Yandy Díaz as longtime contributors.

“Our history is our history. We’ve made (trades) with players that are established, that are impactful contributors that as they get their way closer to free agency, we’ve made plenty of those decisions. But we’ve also made decisions the last few years to kind of continue to roll forward with these guys. We greatly appreciate them and are more than happy to ride in the next year and see what this team can do.”

Both clubs could go in a few different directions over the coming weeks. There’s no guarantee either will end up moving their star second baseman, but the trade market has yet to really pick up as most of the top free agent hitters continue weighing their options.

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