The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Littell, Giolito
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. WBC pool play continues:
Pool play in the World Baseball Classic remains underway, with Samurai Japan (3-0) and Korea (2-2) both having advanced out of the pool stage of the tournament. Those two clubs will be the quarterfinalists from Pool C. In Pool A, the favorites to advance are Puerto Rico and Cuba, both of which have 2-0 records. The same can be said for the Dominican Republic and Venezuela in Pool D given their own 2-0 records. The most interesting pool at the moment is Pool B, where each of the United States, Italy, and Mexico have perfect 2-0 records. The winner of tonight’s game between Team USA and Team Mexico will be an overwhelming favorite to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. The U.S. will send reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes to the mound against former Orioles right-hander Manny Barreda.
2. Littell contract to be finalized:
The Nationals and right-hander Zack Littell have reportedly agreed to one-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2027. That deal was pending a physical, however, and the exact dollar amount of the deal has not yet been reported. Financial details figure to become available at some point in the near future, and the deal should be finalized quickly in the interest of getting the righty into camp with the Nats; there are just over two weeks until the regular season begins. The Nationals will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate the addition of Littell, and the club has no obvious 60-day IL candidates after already transferring Trevor Williams and DJ Herz earlier this spring.
3. Giolito stands alone:
Now that Littell has a deal, right-hander Lucas Giolito stands alone as the final member of MLBTR’s top 50 free agents list who has yet to land a deal somewhere. MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a look at a handful of teams that remained plausible candidates to add a starter like Giolito to the mix back in February, and many of those teams still make some sense for his services. Clubs like the Braves and Phillies that look like plausible fits on paper have indicated a lack of interest in the right-hander to this point.
Of course, the nature of pitcher injuries (particularly in Spring Training) is such that any given pitch thrown by a player expected to be in the rotation mix for their team could lead to an injury that creates an opening for Giolito. That’s been all too apparent in Atlanta, where injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep at the start of camp have more recently been compounded by an injury to Joey Wentz. Wentz was carted off the field with an apparent right knee injury sustained while covering the bag on a grounder to first. Initial reports were that Wentz seemed to have avoided a major injury, but he was still being sent for imaging. If he’s forced to miss some time, perhaps losing a third rotation option would push the Braves to consider some external additions.
Mariners Add Jacob Nottingham To Minor League Coaching Staff
March 9: Nottingham was brought in as a player on a minor league deal but will actually be converting to coaching, according to a report from Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. It’s unclear what Nottingham’s exact role in the Mariners organization will be. The news presumably ends Nottingham’s playing career, and we at MLB Trade Rumors wish him all the best in his upcoming move to coaching.
March 8: The Mariners have re-signed catcher Jacob Nottingham to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Nottingham’s MLB.com profile page. It’s unclear if the deal includes an invite to big league camp for the 30-year-old.
Nottingham is a veteran of four MLB seasons but hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2021 season. A one-time top-100 prospect who was initially drafted by the Astros, he was involved in the 2015 Scott Kazmir swap between the Astros and A’s before being flipped to the Brewers in the Khris Davis deal ahead of the 2016 season. Nottingham lost his prospect shine during his time in Milwaukee and served mostly as an up-and-down catcher for the Brewers from the time of his MLB debut in 2018 until 2021, when he was claimed off waivers by the Mariners. He returned to the Brewers via trade shortly thereafter but was eventually DFA’d by Milwaukee and plucked off waivers by Seattle for a second time later in the year.
Then 26 years old, Nottingham ended the 2021 season with a career .184/.277/.421 slash line across 130 plate appearances in 54 MLB games, which remains his career slash line in the big leagues to this day. Since being outrighted off the Mariners’ roster in 2021, he’s bounced between the Mariners’, Giants’ and Nationals’ minor league systems and also enjoyed a 44-game stint in the independent Mexican League back in 2024. In 293 career minor league games, Nottingham owns a .235/.321/.415 slash line line that’s generally solid by the standards of a catcher. Those numbers are somewhat inflated by years spent in the Pacific Coast League, however, and Nottingham’s 2025 campaign left much to be desired. He appeared in just 17 games in Tacoma for the Mariners organization last year, and in those limited opportunities he struggled to the tune of a .193/.277/.298 slash line.
Given Nottingham’s limited playing time last year and struggles when he did take the field, it’s hard to imagine him being a significant part of the backup catcher conversation for Seattle. Cal Raleigh is, of course, the undisputed top catcher in not only the organization but all of baseball. The Mariners are planning on having Andrew Knizner back Raleigh up this year, although Jhonny Pereda is also on the 40-man roster while Mitch Garver, Brian O’Keefe, and Jakson Reetz are all in camp as non-roster invitees. Some of those depth options figure to have opt-outs in their contracts and could look for greener pastures elsewhere in the likely event they don’t make the MLB club. That’s where Nottingham could come into the picture as a depth piece who is familiar with the organization and can serve as a veteran mentor for pitchers at Triple-A.
Nationals To Sign Zack Littell
The Nationals have signed right-hander Zack Littell to a one-year, Major League contract that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season. Financial teams of the contract aren’t yet known. The deal will become official when Littell passes a physical, and when Washington makes a corresponding move for the CAA Sports client to create space on the 40-man roster.
Littell ranked 35th on MLB Trade Rumors’ list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and was predicted to earn a two-year, $24MM deal. He’ll have to settle for just a one-year pact, and the righty could be on the move again relatively soon if the rebuilding Nationals move him at the trade deadline.
Littell, 30, is a veteran of eight big league seasons but spent most of that time in a bullpen role. In the first five seasons of his MLB career, Littell posted a 4.08 ERA (104 ERA+) with lackluster peripherals in 169 2/3 innings of work. After the 2022 campaign, Littell rode the DFA and waiver claim carousel throughout the 2022-23 offseason. He eventually wound up with the Red Sox to start the season, but he made just two appearances in the majors before being once again designated for assignment. That led him to the Rays, with whom he managed to transform himself from a fringe member of the 40-man roster into a solid mid to back of the rotation arm.
Upon arriving in Tampa, Littell moved into a swing role for the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He posted a 3.93 ERA with a nearly matching 3.99 FIP in 87 innings split between 14 starts and 12 relief appearances. Littell’s 19.8% strikeout rate in those outings was hardly exciting, but he made up for it with pinpoint command that allowed him to post a 2.5% walk rate and an 8.2% barrel rate.
That control and command style was enough to earn him a full-time rotation job headed into the Rays’ 2024 season, and he rewarded the team with a career year. In 29 starts for the Rays in 2024, Littell posted a 21.5% strikeout rate against a 4.7% walk rate while pitching to a 3.63 ERA (110 ERA+) with a 3.81 FIP. His 156 2/3 innings of work made him just one of just 71 pitchers to throw more than 150 innings that year, and only 15 of those pitchers surrendered fewer runs than Littell.
Littell remained generally effective in terms of run prevention last year as he posted a 3.81 ERA (111 ERA+) in a career-high 186 2/3 innings of work across 32 starts for the Rays and Reds. Unfortunately, those solid results were not paired with similar peripherals. A look under the hood reveals Littell’s strikeout rate plummeted to just 17.1%, while his barrel rate jumped to 9.8% as he allowed the second-most homers in all of baseball last season. Perhaps some of that can be explained by Littell pitching his home games at the hitter-friendly Steinbrenner Field and Great American Ballpark, but a 4.88 FIP with a 4.40 SIERA suggested that Littell was more of a back-end starter than his results may have indicated.
The result was a soft free agent market for Littell this offseason, with minimal interest in his services being reported. A reunion with the Rays once seemed to be on the table, but Tampa Bay instead brought in Steven Matz and Nick Martinez. No other clubs were publicly connected to the right-hander’s services for most of the winter, though plenty of pitching-needy teams like the Braves and Athletics emerged as speculative fits.
The Nationals were the ones to ultimately bring Littell into the fold, with some past connections possibly helped complete the deal. New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni formerly worked in the Red Sox front office, new manager Blake Butera spent years managing in Tampa’s farm system, and new pitching coach Simon Matthews was the Reds’ assistant pitching coach in 2025, so all three have direct familiarity with Littell’s work.
D.C. is unlikely to compete for a playoff spot this year as they reboot their rebuilding efforts under Toboni. As such, the team has pursued just short-term and relatively inexpensive veteran signings like Littell and Miles Mikolas, and made another move for the future in trading MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers. The Gore trade diminished an already questionable Washington rotation, so Littell will reinforce a starting five that seems set to include Mikolas and another new signing in Foster Griffin. The last two spots in the rotation figure to go to some combination of Cade Cavalli, Brad Lord, Josiah Gray, Jake Irvin, and Mitchell Parker.
ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan were the first to report the agreement between the two sides, with Joel Sherman of the New York Post reporting that Littell had signed a guaranteed contract. The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka (multiple links) had the details about the one-year term and mutual option, and Littell needing to pass a physical.
Inset photo courtesy of Joe Puetz — Imagn Images
Make Or Break Year: Alec Bohm
Players highlighted in the “Make Or Break” feature normally fall into one of a few familiar categories. Sometimes it’s a former star prospect running out of chances to prove they belong in the majors, or perhaps it’s an established star trying to bounce back after a down year or two, or maybe it’s a veteran trying to get their career on track after an extended injury absence.
Alec Bohm doesn’t exactly fit any of these models. In fact, one could argue Bohm has already been “made” in the sense that he was an All-Star in 2024, and is coming off four seasons as the Phillies’ top choice at third base (as well as a part-time first baseman), with 8.0 fWAR to show for his 560 games and 2352 plate appearances from 2022-25. He has an above-average 105 wRC+ at the plate over those four seasons, and Bohm’s third base glovework has improved from terrible to at least palatable, and even pretty good depending on the metric of choice.
This is the track record of a solid, Major League-caliber player, and it’s a resume that Bohm is rightfully proud of achieving. “You look at it in the grand scheme of things, out of all the players, a very small number that have ever played in the big leagues, there’s not a lot of them that get to arbitration,” Bohm recently told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. “Then the list gets even smaller of those who get to arbitration, get to free agency. Then the list gets even smaller when you talk about guys who get to 10 years and beyond.”
“When you kind of zoom out and look at it from a different perspective, I’ve done a lot of great things. I’ve had a pretty good career for myself, made it a lot further than a lot of people can say. I’m definitely proud of that, and want to keep building on it.”
Bohm’s issue, in some ways, is a matter of framing. Bohm can be described as a decent or okay player…or as “just a” decent or okay player. The Phillies haven’t really been hurt by having Bohm take a regular spot in their lineup, nor is he at fault for the team’s inability to get over the hump for a World Series championship. (Bohm’s .225/.327/.333 slash line over 150 postseason plate appearances isn’t good, but he is far from the only Philadelphia hitter to struggle in the playoffs.)
Because Bohm’s production has always evened out to roughly average, however, it creates the sense that the Phillies could do better at the hot corner. It also doesn’t help that Bohm’s perception that he was a top prospect and the third overall pick in the 2018 draft. Though Rosenthal notes that Bohm’s production has bettered a lot of other prominent names from that draft class, the infielder is (rightly or wrongly) a victim of the high expectations that come with being a top draft choice. In a sense, Bohm represents a larger issue clouding this otherwise successful run of Phillies baseball — the team hasn’t gotten much from its farm system, as the roster has been built most around free agents and trades.
Along these same lines, Bohm has been the subject of trade rumors for the better part of two years. Bohm’s 3.4 fWAR season in 2024 was the best of his career, as he had a 113 wRC+ from hitting .280/.332/.448 with 15 homers over 606 PA, and he also delivered +4 Outs Above Average as a third baseman. The down side of his career year was that Bohm slumped badly after the All-Star break, and the Phillies’ response to this breakout campaign was to shop Bohm to address other needs.
Such teams as the Athletics, Mariners, Royals, Angels, and White Sox were all linked to Bohm-related rumors in the 2024-25 offseason, with the idea being that the Phils would move Bohm and then sign one of Alex Bregman or Willy Adames to play third base. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was at least aiming high in shopping Bohm offers, and perhaps too high — reports indicated that George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Mason Miller, and Garrett Crochet were some of the players the Phillies wanted in return for trade packages involving Bohm.
There weren’t as many public reports about Bohm’s market this offseason, maybe in part because Bohm’s production dropped to a 105 wRC+ (.287/.331/.409 with 11 homers over 464 PA) and he was limited to 120 games due to a left rib fracture and shoulder inflammation. Philadelphia was again looking to upgrade at third base, coming just short of signing Bo Bichette in a scenario that would’ve turned Bohm into an obvious trade chip for the remainder of the winter.
Going forward, top prospect Aidan Miller is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026, and then step into an everyday role at either second or third base in 2027. This puts pressure on second baseman Bryson Stott for one, but it’s a more direct threat to Bohm since he is slated to become a free agent next offseason. As Rosenthal puts it, “at this point, perhaps even more than before, Bohm is playing for the other 29 teams.” There’s even a non-zero chance Bohm could be dealt in-season depending on how the Phillies feel about Miller’s ability to immediately contribute in the majors.
For his part, Bohm hasn’t been worried about the trade speculation or his impending free agency, saying he is just concerned about playing. “I don’t really take any of it personally, think too far into it. It’s all out of my control. I can’t do anything to prevent it….I don’t stew over it. It’s just part of the business side of it,” Bohm said.
A midseason trade would make Bohm ineligible for the qualifying offer, so that would remove any draft compensation from his free agent case. Assuming Bohm remains a Phillie throughout 2026, a qualifying offer could be a moot point anyway, as it would probably take a huge jump in production for Philadelphia to even consider issuing Bohm a QO. If Bohm delivers his usual type of season, there’s a decent chance he’d just accept the offer and take a big one-year payday (this year’s QO was worth $22.025MM) rather than deal with both the vagaries of his own market, plus the added uncertainty of how the inevitable lockout will interrupt the 2026-27 offseason. Adding a $22MM-ish salary to an already hefty payroll likely isn’t in the Phillies’ interest, when Miller could just take over at third base for a minimum salary.
Qualifying offer aside, Bohm is the type of mid-tier free agent we’ve seen get squeezed by the market in the past. Teams without much payroll room might feel they can more or less replicate Bohm’s production with a cheaper veteran or maybe two platoon options. Bigger-spending teams could take the Phillies’ approach and seek for more prominent names at third base, with Bohm then becoming a fallback option at most. Between the lockout and potential changes made in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams may not be likely to make an early commitment to a mid-level player like Bohm until they know exactly how baseball’s business structure will change.
The easiest way for Bohm to change the narrative, of course, is to have a terrific 2026 season. He needs to hit better against right-handed pitching and keep more consistent over the course of a full year, and while this is naturally easier said that done, we’ve seen flashes of how good Bohm can be when he’s been in the midst of one of his hot streaks. Again, it isn’t as if Bohm is a bad player — his hard-hit ball rates are solid, and he is borderline excellent at making contact and avoiding strikeouts. Bumping his walk and barrel rates even up to average levels would make Bohm a more dangerous threat at the plate.
Bohm turns 30 in August, and he could benefit from a fairly thin class of free agent third basemen next winter. Teams have shown they’ll pay for star-level production or even star-level potential, but it’s a trickier free agent environment for players like Bohm who have a decently high floor but a seemingly limited ceiling. A two-year deal (maybe three years max) of roughly $10MM in average annual value seems plausible for the 2024 version of Bohm, so he’ll need to at least top those numbers to avoid fielding a slate of one-year, prove-it type of offers next winter.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Mark P
- The Weekend Chat is never late, nor is it early….regardless of daylight savings. We’ll take a minute for some questions to file in (or for you to remember to adjust your clocks) before we get underway.
Pirates guy
- Where do you see the pirates rotation falling in the NL Central? Is it the best
Mark P
- A good chunk of the Pirates’ rotation is still operating on potential more than proven MLB results, so I think I’ll still put the Cubs slightly ahead overall.
Terry Pendeldon
- I am crazy or can the marlins finish 2nd in the east (who knows who finish first) braves are cursed again, mets relying on a lot of young guys, phils 1 big injury. marlins have the bonus of zero pressure
Mark P
- While Miami did finish third in 2025, even matching that this year will be a quality feat. The Braves and Mets both had Murphy’s Law years, and even then, New York will finished ahead of the Fish.
- Not to say that the Marlins couldn’t have another solid season, but their lineup has a lot more question marks than any of their big three NL East rivals
Silky Johnson
- Did the Mets overpay for Peralta or did the Orioles underpay for Burnes? Seems like there’s a pretty big disparity in the prospect return
Mark P
- Peralta is earning only $8MM in 2026, while Burnes was earning over $15MM in his final year of team control. Peralta’s salary meant he had a wider field of possible suitors, since he could’ve fit into any team’s payroll. An argument can be made that Burnes also could’ve easily fit into payroll for just a one-year commitment, but still, the Brewers probably had a slightly tougher time finding trade partners
Tito
- I have the best rotation in the central and it’s not close
Mark P
- Hunter Greene’s elbow issue gives me pause about crowning the Reds’ rotation. But, it’s a testament to their depth that even if they did lose Greene for any extended amount of time, their rotation wouldn’t be devastated.
Atl
- What move can the Braves make if any now that Profar has been suspended?
Mark P
- Yastrzemski is already there, so the Braves have another quality everyday-ish type of outfielder who can take over left field. White or Mateo can spell Yaz against left-handed pitching if need be.
Gamel, Azocar, and Dominic Smith are all in camp on minors deals, so the Braves probably feel they have enough position-player depth for now to fairly account for Profar’s absence. (Now that I’ve jinxed it, watch AA swing a trade in the next ten minutes.) But since Atlanta now has a good chunk of payroll freed up by Profar’s suspension, investing that money into rotation depth might not be a bad idea
Krally
- Should the Reds have traded Greene in the offseason?
Mark P
- This question might have some 20-20 hindsight attached given what happens with Greene’s elbow, but I agree with the Reds’ decision to hang onto him.
Obviously we don’t know what exact offers might’ve been on the table for Greene, but it would’ve had to have a major return (or even a clear overpay) for the Reds to move a guy who has looked like a frontline starter when healthy. Having rotation depth is one thing, but purposely dipping into that depth to account for trading away your #1 is another thing altogether
He definitely is the player with the most upside in that trade right?NL East Notes: Wentz, Fulton, Miller
Joey Wentz and the Braves may have gotten relatively lucky after the left-hander was carted off the field with an apparent right leg injury during today’s game with the Rays. According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Wentz will undergo tests to determine the extent of the injury, but initial examinations indicate that Wentz likely isn’t dealing with anything too serious. Wentz hurt himself while covering first base on a bunt attempt in the fifth inning, and the cart ride may have been precautionary, as he was able to get to and from the cart without assistance or any overt discomfort.
While it seems like Wentz may be okay, his situation naturally drew concern given how Atlanta’s rotation depth has already been tested this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep each underwent surgery in February to remove loose bodies from their elbows, leaving both starters on the injured list for at least (and in a best-case scenario) the first two months of the regular season. These injuries created an opportunity for Wentz and other depth starters to compete for the fifth spot in the Braves’ rotation, and Wentz has helped his bid with a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 innings of Grapefruit League action. If this leg problem ends up sidelining Wentz for any decent amount of time, it could open the door for Bryce Elder or non-roster invite Martin Perez as the fifth starter.
More from around the NL East…
- Left-hander Dax Fulton was one of five players optioned to the Marlins‘ minor league camp today, though “he’s much closer than he was to be able to come up and really help us” in the majors, manager Clayton McCullough told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters. McCullough implied that Fulton could be called up to pitch out of Miami’s bullpen during the regular season, though the southpaw will continue to be stretched out as a starting pitcher in Spring Training. A second-round pick for Miami in the 2020 draft, Fulton was a well-regarded prospect before a UCL surgery cost him most of the 2023 season and the entirety of the 2025 campaign. Fulton returned to action in 2025 and posted a 5.38 ERA over 103 2/3 combined innings with the Marlins’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, starting 22 of his 23 games. While the Marlins don’t want to close the door on Fulton’s rotation potential at age 24, allowing him to make his Major League debut as a reliever would perhaps help ease Fulton’s transition to the Show.
- Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller is still battling lower-back problems, and seems like a candidate to begin the season on the Triple-A injured list. Miller played through a similar injury at the end of the 2025 minor league season, and the back issue has kept him off the field this spring. Despite the lingering nature of Miller’s bad back and the fact that the prospect visited the Phillies’ medical staff in Philadelphia on Friday, manager Rob Thomson told The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes and other reporters that the team isn’t too concerned about the injury, even though “we don’t have a timeline” as to when Miller might get back on the field. “I mean, he hasn’t swung a bat in two weeks. So, we just want to get him healthy, where there’s no pain, and get him back playing again,” Thomson said. A consensus pick as one of baseball’s top position-player prospects, Miller needs a bit more minor league seasoning (he played in just eight Triple-A games in 2025) but is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026, with an eye towards a starting role in the Phillies’ infield by 2027.
Porter Hodge, Jordan Wicks Likely To Begin Season On Cubs’ IL
Right-hander Porter Hodge and left-hander Jordan Wicks are each dealing with arm problems and will probably start the season on the 15-day injured list, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian). Hodge has a right flexor strain, while Wicks is dealing with radial nerve irritation in his left forearm.
Hodge hasn’t pitched since February 27, and he hasn’t looked right in any of his three Cactus League outings this spring, with a whopping 31.50 ERA to show for two innings of work. Counsell said Hodge’s flexor strain doesn’t appear to be serious in terms of a long-term absence, though the righty will be shut down for the next two weeks to heal up.
Wicks’ forearm issue was initially described just as irritation, with an MRI revealing no structural problems. Nerve problems can tend to linger, though the good news is that Wicks has been able to play catch, and Counsell is hopeful the southpaw will start throwing off a mound by the middle of March.
It was no guarantee that either pitcher was going to make the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, though today’s news means that both the rotation and bullpen depth charts have taken a hit. Wicks (the 21st overall pick of the 2021 draft) worked just as a reliever during his eight MLB appearances in 2025, though he has pitched mostly as a starter throughout the rest of his time in the majors and minors.
Despite his draft pedigree and some top-100 prospect attention during his time in the minors, Wicks has yet to establish himself as a big leaguer, with a modest 5.21 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate to show for 95 career innings with the Cubs. Past injuries haven’t helped (Wicks missed a big chunk of 2024 due to a forearm strain and an oblique strain), and Wicks spent 2025 being shuttled back and forth between Chicago and Triple-A Iowa with only sporadic usage in the majors.
Hodge burst onto the scene with a 1.88 ERA and 31.7% strikeout rate over 43 innings in his 2024 rookie season, albeit with the benefit of a .189 BABIP. Things didn’t go nearly as smoothly last year, as Hodge spent close to two months on the IL due to oblique and shoulder problems, and he posted only a 6.27 ERA over 33 innings of work. As per the SIERA metric, Hodge’s two big league seasons haven’t been too dissimilar (3.22 in 2024, 3.80 in 2025), and he remains an intriguing bullpen arm if he can stay healthy and figure out some control problems.
Rangers Claim Dairon Blanco
The Rangers have claimed outfielder Dairon Blanco off waivers from the Royals, according to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. Blanco was designated for assignment by the Royals last week to make room for Starling Marte on the club’s 40-man. The Rangers transferred southpaw Jordan Montgomery to the 60-day injured list to make room for Blanco on their own 40-man.
Blanco, 33 next month, played in the Cuban National Series through his age-22 season but didn’t make it to stateside ball until he was 25 years old back in 2018. Then a member of the Athletics, he was traded to the Royals the following year and eventually made his big league debut during the 2022 season with a five game cup of coffee. The following year he got a much larger role with Kansas City, however, and over the next two seasons he slashed a solid .258/.316/.422 in 270 plate appearances across 157 games. That’s slightly above league average production at the plate, though the vast majority of his production comes against left-handed pitching. Blanco sports a 137 wRC+ for his career against southpaws, compared to a 70 wRC+ against right-handers. It’s also worth noting that he gets a lot of value from his work on the base paths, where he went 55-for-67 (82.1%) in stolen base attempts in 2023 and ’24.
That makes Blanco a useful bench or depth option to be sure, but he ultimately found himself squeezed off the Royals’ roster after the team brought in Marte and Isaac Collins during the offseason to shore up an outfield mix that had rated out as among the worst in the majors in recent years. The Royals already had a crowded bench mix, and Blanco has yet to prove he’s capable of handling more than part-time duties at the big league level. That’s unlikely to be as much of a problem with the Rangers, who are relatively thin on outfield depth (especially when looking for players who can play center field capably) and have plenty of lefties in the lineup like Evan Carter, Joc Pederson, and Josh Smith who could benefit from being spelled against fellow southpaws.
Of course, that isn’t to say Blanco is guaranteed a spot on the team’s bench entering the season. He’ll have stiff competition from veteran Andrew McCutchen for a spot as a right-handed bat, while Sam Haggerty, Michael Helman, and Ezequiel Duran all offer more versatility than Blanco. With that being said, Blanco does have options remaining and could simply start the season in the minor leagues before waiting to get an opportunity in the majors at some point this year. At the very least, Blanco’s wheels should give him a strong argument to join the team when rosters expand in September and perhaps into the postseason if Texas manages to make it that far.
Robert Stock Recommended For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Surgery
Mets right-hander Robert Stock has been recommended for surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome, Stock told reporters (including Jon Heyman of the New York Post) this morning. Heyman adds that Stock indicated he’s suffering from the arterial TOS, and that he could potentially pitch before the end of the year. Stock was in camp with the Mets on a non-roster invite but is now facing a lengthy absence.
Stock, 36, has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons to this point in his career. A second-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2009, he made a strong impression with the Padres in 2018, his first season as a big leaguer. He posted a 2.50 ERA in 39 2/3 innings of work that year, but unfortunately he’s struggled at the big league level since then. In just 35 2/3 major league frames since, Stock sports a 7.57 ERA with nearly as many walks (31) as strikeouts (39). Stock did not appear in the majors from 2022-2024, instead bouncing between the KBO, the minor leagues, and independent leagues in both the United States and Mexico. In 2025, he returned to affiliated ball with the Red Sox. While he made just two abbreviated appearance in the majors, he pitched decently at Triple-A Worcester with a 3.92 ERA in 85 innings as a swing man.
That led Stock to sign a minor league deal with the Mets headed into 2026, and he figured to be a versatile depth option for the club’s pitching staff headed into the year. He’s pitched well so far this spring, including a strong three-inning appearance against the Marlins while preparing to pitch for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately, that outing ended with him reporting discomfort in his shoulder. That led to the MRI which ultimately revealed he was suffering from TOS. The specific kind of TOS Stock is suffering from is arterial TOS, the rarest form of the disorder. While baseball fans have become increasingly familiar with TOS in recent years, they’re likely to be more familiar with neurogenic TOS (the form of the disorder that players such as Stephen Strasburg and Chris Archer suffered from) and venous TOS, which Phillies star Zack Wheeler is currently working his way back from after being sidelined late last year by the disorder.
Arterial TOS is far less common than the other two versions, and its impacts on baseball players are far less widely understood; a 2024 study published in the American journal of sports medicine (link via NIH.gov) that looked at all 52 players who underwent surgical treatment for TOS between 2010 and 2017 notes that just one of those 52 players was suffering from arterial TOS. An article from Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com last month notes that arterial TOS can cause a feeling of coldness in the hand or even finger gangrene. Castrovince’s article notes that a return to play timeline of between nine and ten months is typical for pitchers who undergo surgery to correct TOS, though that can depend on the severity and form of TOS the player is facing. Stock’s hopes for his timeline are significantly more optimistic than that, as even a September return would be a turnaround of just six months.
Whether Stock is able to make it back to the mound this year or not, the Mets are fairly well equipped to handle losing him as a depth piece. Justin Hagenman, Christian Scott, and Jonathan Pintaro are all depth options for the rotation already on the 40-man roster, and that’s before considering top prospect Jonah Tong. As for the bullpen, the Mets have a deep group of non-roster invitees headlined by Craig Kimbrel, Adbert Alzolay, and Kevin Herget among others.
Tigers Didn’t Make Long-Term Offer To Tarik Skubal This Offseason
Tarik Skubal is scheduled to reach free agency next winter, and it would appear that any chances of an extension between the star southpaw and the Tigers are going from slim to none. As Skubal told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Tigers didn’t discuss a long-term contract with the left-hander this winter.
“There is no offer” from the team right now, Skubal said, and “there won’t be an offer until the end of the season….My focus is on playing baseball and winning this year. I’ll deal with the contract stuff at the end of the year, and then we’ll kind of see. And that’s fine. It’s their decision.”
There also weren’t any talks about even a one-year deal covering Skubal’s 2026 salary once Skubal filed for a $32MM figure in his final year of salary arbitration. This lack of talks was expected, since the Tigers adhere to the “file and trial” tactic adopted by most every big league team — if an agreement isn’t reached prior to the filing deadline, teams often cease all negotiations with the player unless the topic is a multi-year contract (or the work-around of a one-year deal with a mutual option attached for the following season).
Finding middle ground between the Tigers and Skubal in this particular situation may have been unlikely anyway, given how Skubal’s $32MM salary was meant to establish a new precedent for star pitchers (and, arguably all players) in their final year of arbitration eligibility. Detroit submitted a figure of $19MM, and the arbitration panel ruled in Skubal’s favor, in a very significant win for Skubal, agent Scott Boras, and the MLB players’ union.
As to the larger question of a long-term extension, the lack of fresh talks between the two sides is also perhaps not a surprise. Boras clients rarely opt for extensions over eventually testing free agency, and an even smaller number of Boras clients sign extensions when they’re this close to the open market. Assuming Skubal stays healthy and delivers another season akin to his 2024-25 performance, he is expected to command another precedent-setting free agent contract that would make him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history.
Given the circumstances, the Tigers certainly wouldn’t be getting any kind of hometown discount in extension talks, and if anything would’ve had to pay a premium to convince Skubal to forego free agency. Faced with this reality, the Tigers may have considered further negotiations about a long-term deal to be somewhat pointless, if the club simply isn’t prepared to pay Skubal a price tag that seems likely to land well north of $350MM.
The Tigers did make Skubal an extension offer last winter, and Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported in October that this offer was a four-year deal worth less than $100MM that would’ve covered the 2025-28 seasons (Skubal’s final two arbitration-eligible years and his first two free agent years). For context, Skubal went close to 11 months between MLB starts due to a flexor tendon surgery that sidelined him for parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, so it could be that the Tigers were thinking Skubal might jump at some financial security in the wake of a serious injury. However, given that Skubal looked superb after his return in 2023 and then won the AL Cy Young Award in 2024, Detroit’s offer seemed bafflingly low in both dollars and length.
All signs seem to be pointing to 2026 being Skubal’s final season in Motown, though that doesn’t necessarily mean there are any hard feelings between the player and the team. It could that the two sides recognize the reality of the situation, and (as Skubal alluded) plan to spend the year aiming towards their shared goal of a World Series championship. There was some speculation that the Tigers were considering dealing Skubal this offseason, yet that scenario never seemed too likely both due to both Detroit’s big asking price, and the plain fact that a World Series push is easier when arguably baseball’s best pitcher is on your roster.
The Framber Valdez signing indicates that the Tigers are preparing for a post-Skubal rotation, though Valdez’s $115MM free agent deal is only three years long, and contains an opt-out after 2027. Skubal and Valdez headline what looks like a very solid rotation that also consists of Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, and Tigers legend Justin Verlander returning to the Motor City to complete the unfinished business of winning a ring in a Tigers uniform.