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Athletics Designate Ken Waldichuk For Assignment

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The Athletics announced that they have designated left-hander Ken Waldichuk for assignment. That open a 40-man spot for infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil, whom they acquired from the Mets today.

Waldichuk, 28 in January, was once a notable prospect with the Yankees. He was flipped to the A’s as part of the 2022 deadline deal sending Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Bronx. Waldichuk had a somewhat encouraging debut with the A’s in 2022, making seven starts with a 4.93 earned run average, 22.6% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate.

His results backed up in 2023 with a 5.36 ERA in 141 innings. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since then, having undergone Tommy John surgery in May of 2024. In July of this year, he was activated from the injured list and optioned to the minors. He posted an 8.17 ERA in his minor league outings in 2025, walking 15.9% of batters faced. He qualified for arbitration at season’s end as a Super Two player. He and the A’s avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $825K next year, a bit above the $780K league minimum.

DFA limbo normally lasts a week but that clock is paused between Christmas and New Year’s. The A’s will have some time to either trade Waldichuk or put him on waivers. This year’s results weren’t great but he could perhaps see improved numbers when he’s further removed from his surgery. He still has a couple of options, so he could appeal to clubs who are looking for pitching depth and have a roster spot for a reclamation project.

If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he does not have three years of service time nor does he have a previous career outright. If that comes to pass, the A’s can try to get him back on track without him taking up a roster spot.

Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images

Athletics Acquire Jeff McNeil

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The Mets have traded infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil to the Athletics along with cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. The Mets receive right-hander Yordan Rodriguez in return. The A’s designated left-hander Ken Waldichuk for assignment to open a 40-man spot, which you can read more about here. New York is reportedly sending $5.75MM to cover part of McNeil’s $15.75MM salary in 2026 and will cover the $2MM buyout on McNeil’s $15.75MM club option for 2027 if the A’s don’t pick it up.

Once again, the Mets are moving on from a long-tenured player as they overhaul their roster this offseason. They traded Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers last month. In recent weeks, Pete Alonso signed with the Orioles and Edwin Díaz with the Dodgers. Díaz was acquired by the Mets in a trade ahead of the 2019 season. Nimmo, Alonso and McNeil were all drafted by the Mets, Nimmo back in 2011, McNeil in 2013 and Alonso in 2016.

McNeil debuted in the big leagues in 2018 and played in eight different seasons as a Met. Through the 2022 campaign, McNeil had appeared in 516 games, stepping to the plate 2,039 times. He established himself as one of the hitters most likely to put the ball in play. His 6.8% walk rate was a bit lower than league average while his 11.9% strikeout rate was barely half of par. He showed a bit of pop with 46 home runs in that span, though 23 of those were in the 2019 juiced-ball season. Put it all together and McNeil slashed .307/.370/.458 for a 130 wRC+ over those five seasons, indicating he had been 30% better than league average on the whole.

In addition to his skills at the plate, he swiped a few bags and provided the Mets with a good amount of defensive versatility. He spent most of his time at second base but also appeared at third base and the outfield corners, generally getting good marks for his glovework. FanGraphs credited him with 15.3 wins above replacement in that span.

Going into 2023, the Mets signed him to a four-year, $50MM contract extension, just ahead of his age-31 season. That deal hasn’t been a disaster but McNeil’s production has declined since then. Up until he signed that pact, he had a .332 batting average on balls in play. That’s roughly 40 points better than typical league averages, a tremendous boost for a guy who puts the ball in play so often. But in the past three seasons, his BABIP has been just .269, which has led to a .253/.326/.389 line and 102 wRC+. Thanks to his glovework, he’s still been worth about two fWAR per year over the course of his extension so far.

The infield picture in Queens has become jumbled in recent years. Francisco Lindor has been a mainstay at shortstop since 2021. McNeil has been at second a lot but has also been moved around as the Mets have tried to find time for a crop of younger infielders consisting of Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña.

As those players have been earning more playing time, to varying degrees, trade rumors around McNeil have picked up. The Mets further loaded up the infield by acquiring second baseman Marcus Semien from the Rangers as the return in the Nimmo trade.

McNeil’s defensive versatility meant the Semien trade didn’t completely kick him out the door but it was perhaps telling that the Mets acquired one of the most reliable, everyday guys to cover the position McNeil has played most often. Since McNeil will turn 34 years old in April and has just one guaranteed year remaining on his contract, a deal did feel likely. The Jorge Polanco signing added even another layer. He is expected to primarily play first base and serve as the designated hitter but some time at second or third base is possible as well.

The trade possibility was complicated by the fact that McNeil’s health is at least somewhat in question. It was reported in November that McNeil underwent a thoracic outlet procedure at the end of the 2025 campaign. His agent characterized the procedure as minor and said the expectation would be for McNeil to be back to normal in time to be a full participant in spring training.

The procedure doesn’t seem to have dissuaded the A’s, who have been looking for upgrades at the second and/or third base positions. The A’s have been rebuilding for a while and have had a lot of success at developing their young position player prospects. They have almost a full lineup of controllable players but they came into this offseason with some room to add on the infield. Jacob Wilson is the club’s shortstop and Nick Kurtz the first baseman, but the other two spots were wide open.

Zack Gelof flashed some home run pop when he debuted in 2023 but his strikeout problems have worsened since then and he was injured for most of 2025. Various other young players have received sporadic auditions while veterans like Luis Urías and Aledmys Díaz have also floated through.

McNeil will likely be the club’s regular second baseman in the upcoming season but his flexibility also allows them to pivot as things develop. Wilson is not an especially strong defender at shortstop, so he could end up pushed to second or third. He will probably stick at short for the time being but prospect Leo De Vries, acquired in the Mason Miller trade, is looming. He’s only 19 years old but he is one of the best prospects in the league and has already played in 21 Double-A games.

Wilson’s arm strength was ranked by Statcast in the 80th percentile this year, so handling the hot corner is a possibility, though the A’s might prefer to have him stick up the middle. As they sort that out, guys like Max Muncy, Darell Hernaiz, Max Schuemann, Brett Harris and Gelof will be trying to earn playing time as well. Injuries and further acquisitions will inevitably change the situation but McNeil can move around as circumstances dictate. He even played a bit of center field this year, so he can give the A’s some coverage for Denzel Clarke, who is an elite fielder but questionable hitter.

The A’s could have turned to the free agent market and tried to do so. They reportedly offered Ha-Seong Kim $48MM on a four-year deal, which works out to $12MM per year. Instead, Kim decided to bet on himself with a one-year, $20MM deal with Atlanta, as he will hope to return to free agency with a better platform.

Once Kim was gone, the A’s weren’t left with amazing options. Bo Bichette is still out there but the A’s are not going to meet his asking price and he wouldn’t want to play in a minor league park even if they did. Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suárez shouldn’t be quite as expensive as Bichette but those situations would be somewhat comparable. Below that tier, the top free agents are utility types like Ramón Urías, Willi Castro and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

McNeil has a better track record than those guys and isn’t prohibitively expensive. Since the Mets are covering $5.75MM of his salary in 2026, the A’s will only have to pay him $10MM, a bit less than they were willing to pay Kim annually. If McNeil has a good year, they can pick up his $15.75MM club option for 2027 but they can also walk away for nothing since the Mets have agreed to cover his buyout.

RosterResource estimates that the A’s are slated to spend $87MM on next year’s club. It’s unclear where they want the budget to be but that’s already $8MM higher than last year. They could still use some pitching but it’s unclear how much more they are willing to spend.

The A’s are also parting with a lottery ticket prospect. Rodriguez is a Cuban righty who just signed with the A’s this year for a $400K bonus. He tossed 15 1/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League with 20 strikeouts but eight walks and two wild pitches. He’s still only 17 years old, turning 18 in January, and isn’t properly on the prospect radar yet. Baseball America says he was not going to be one of the Athletics’ top 30 prospects for the upcoming year. If he’s ultimately able to contribute anything for the Mets, it won’t be for quite some time.

The Mets will take the flier on Rodriguez and see if they can cash him in later. For now, it’s about moving some money off the payroll and likely opening themselves up for further transactions. It’s unclear what their next moves will be but an outfield acquisition feels inevitable after sending out both Nimmo and McNeil. Vientos, Polanco and Baty are projected to share the infield corners and the DH spot unless the Mets shake things up with an external addition. Further moves on the pitching side are surely forthcoming.

Time will tell how it all plays out but it’s the latest sign that there’s a changing of the guard taking place in Queens. Semien isn’t a young player but he’s only signed for three years as opposed to Nimmo’s five, so that move was at least somewhat about avoiding long-term commitments to aging guys. Letting Díaz and Alonso walk while trading McNeil could also be moves about preventing the club from getting too old. The Mets are looking for rotation help but reportedly don’t want to commit to top free agents on lengthy deals.

Owner Steve Cohen has an almost unmatched willingness to spend but that led to inconsistent results in the first few years of his regime. He presumably brought in president of baseball operations David Stearns to make the tough, analytical decisions about how to use the resources. So far, the results under Stearns have also been uneven but it’s only been two seasons.

Clearly, there’s a desire to avoid long-term pitfalls. Apart from the Juan Soto deal, which was an exceptional situation due to his youth, Stearns hasn’t signed a contract longer than three years with the Mets. He has let fan favorites walk away in free agency and has also sent them packing himself. The fan base doesn’t appear too happy at the moment, especially after the disappointing 2025 campaign, so it will have to work out in the long run for Stearns to win them back.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the details of the trade. Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Jasen Vinlove, Imagn Images

Mariners Sign Rob Refsnyder

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The Mariners announced the signing of outfielder Rob Refsnyder to a one-year contract. It’s reportedly a $6.25M deal with another $250K available in incentives for the PSI Sports Management client. Seattle’s 40-man roster is now at capacity.

Refsnyder adds a potent right-handed platoon bat to Dan Wilson’s outfield. He has teed off on left-handed pitching as a member of the Red Sox. Refsnyder carries a .312/.407/.516 batting line with 19 home runs, 28 doubles, and one triple across 509 plate appearances with the platoon advantage over the past four seasons. He has a middling .235/.315/.355 slash in 435 trips to the dish against right-handers in that stretch.

It’s a limited profile, but few players are better in that role. Among hitters with 400+ PAs against southpaws going back to 2022, only Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt have a better on-base percentage. Refsnyder is sixth in batting average and 16th in slugging. He’s seventh in OPS — trailing Judge, Yordan Alvarez, Goldschmidt, Yandy Díaz, Jose Altuve and Ketel Marte.

That production has earned Refsnyder some decent earnings in the back half of his career. He was a journeyman minor league signee when the Sox added him over the 2021-22 offseason. Boston was the sixth team to give him some big league time when they called him up midway through June the following year. Refsnyder hit well enough to earn a little over $5MM on a pair of contracts covering the 2023-25 campaigns. He now secures his most significant payday for his age-35 season. Refsnyder is coming off a .269/.354/.484 showing in 70 games and had been a highly regarded clubhouse presence in Boston.

Refsnyder came up as an infielder in the Yankees system. He has been a full-time outfielder since 2020 and has been exclusively in the corners over the past two seasons. He could probably handle first base if the M’s wanted to give Josh Naylor an occasional breather against a tough left-handed opponent. Most of his work will come in right field and/or at designated hitter. Seattle has Randy Arozarena locked into left field, while righty-swinging Victor Robles should get a decent amount of right field playing time. Lefty hitters Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone could see time out there and are currently lined up for the bulk of the DH at-bats.

The signing pushes Seattle’s projected payroll to $157MM, as calculated by RosterResource. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said at the beginning of the offseason that the M’s were likely to open next season with a payroll close to this year’s season-ending mark around $166MM. The M’s don’t have a ton of glaring needs but could look for a multi-positional infielder who could provide a higher floor than Cole Young, Ryan Bliss, Ben Williamson and potentially top prospect Colt Emerson at second and third base.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the $6.25MM base and $250K in incentives. Images courtesy of Mark Rebilas, Imagn Images.

Phillies Sign Zach Pop To Major League Deal

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The Phillies announced that they have signed right-hander Zach Pop to a major league deal. Their 40-man roster count jumps to 39. Salary figures haven’t been reported.

It’s a bit surprising to see Pop command a big league deal. He bounced around during the 2025 season. He opened the year with the Blue Jays but was released shortly after Opening Day. Pop got to the big leagues for four appearances with the Mariners and pitched one time as a member of the Mets. He allowed 12 runs (11 earned) in just 6 2/3 MLB innings. That pushed his career earned run average to 4.88 over 162 1/3 frames spanning five seasons.

The Canadian-born righty made 20 appearances in the minors this year. He allowed a 4.19 ERA over 19 1/3 innings. His underlying numbers were more encouraging. Pop fanned more than a quarter of opponents against a manageable 8.9% walk rate. He got ground-balls at a massive 75% clip while sitting in the 96-97 MPH range with his sinker. Pop has always done a good job keeping the ball down, running a career 55% grounder percentage in the big leagues.

Philadelphia was intrigued enough by the stuff to give Pop one of their two vacant roster spots. Assuming he remains on the 40-man into Spring Training, he’ll get an opportunity to battle for a middle relief job in camp. Pop has exhausted his minor league option years, so the Phils cannot send him down without running him through waivers.

Philly has six bullpen spots accounted for if everyone gets through camp healthy. Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, José Alvarado, Tanner Banks and the out-of-options Jonathan Bowlan are locks. Right-hander Orion Kerkering should pretty safely be in there as well unless he has a terrible Spring Training. Pop and Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley either need to stick in the big leagues or be taken off the 40-man (and offered back to the Marlins after clearing waivers, in McCambley’s case).

Nationals Sign Foster Griffin

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December 22nd: The Nats announced the Griffin signing today.

December 16th: The Nationals are going to sign left-hander Foster Griffin, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. It’ll be a one-year, $5.5MM contract with another $1MM in incentives for the Excel Sports Management client. The Nats have 40-man vacancies and won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Foster GriffinGriffin, now 30, got some brief major league action a few years ago. He made seven appearances, split between the Royals and Blue Jays, over the 2020 and 2022 seasons. He has spent the past three years in Japan, pitching for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, with great success.

He tossed 315 2/3 innings over those three campaigns, allowing 2.57 earned runs per nine. He struck out 25.1% of batters faced, only gave out walks to 5.1% of opponents and kept about half of balls in play on the ground. In 2025, a leg injury limited him to just 78 innings but it was his best season in terms of run prevention. He posted a 1.62 ERA with a 25.1% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 48.9% grounder rate.

Despite the solid numbers, there are some questions about whether how his stuff will translate to North American ball. Griffin’s fastball only sits in the low 90s, fairly soft by modern standards. He succeeds with a deep arsenal which also includes a slider, cutter, changeup, splitter, curveball and two-seamer.

It has been a relatively busy winter in terms of guys returning to North America after stints overseas. Cody Ponce got $30MM over three years from the Blue Jays. The White Sox gave Anthony Kay $12MM over two years. Drew Anderson got one year and $7MM from the Tigers and Ryan Weiss got one year and $2.6MM from the Astros. All pitchers have had some success in Japan or South Korea but the price differences are likely down to the stuff. Ponce is 6’6″ and 255 pounds with a fastball that averages in the upper 90s with a splitter/kick change that is considered a plus pitch. Griffin isn’t tiny, as he’s listed at 6’3″ and 225 lbs., but his crafty, soft-tossing lefty profile is obviously different than that of Ponce.

It’s still an intriguing package. Recent reporting indicated teams were showing interest in Griffin and that he was putting a priority on an opportunity to prove himself in a rotation. Washington is a good landing spot for him in that regard.

The Nats have been rebuilding for years but have struggled to return to contention. The slow progress prompted major changes, as the club has overhauled almost the entire front office and coaching staff in the past few months. It’s expected that the new regime, led by president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, will be focused on long-term goals. They are one of the clubs best suited to take a chance on an unproven arm like Griffin.

As of right now, the Washington rotation consists of guys like MacKenzie Gore, Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray, Brad Lord, Griff McGarry, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and others. Gore is just two years away from free agency and is widely expected to be traded this offseason. Cavalli and Gray haven’t pitched much in recent years due to Tommy John surgery. Lord had decent results as a swingman in 2025. McGarry is a Rule 5 pick with no major league experience yet. Irvin and Parker have each logged over 300 big league innings but they each posted an ERA near 6.00 this year.

In short, there’s very little locked into place in the Washington rotation, meaning Griffin should have a shot to hold down a spot. If he succeeds for the first few months of the season, he will likely end up on the trade block, allowing the Nats to potentially bring back more young talent for their rebuild. If it doesn’t work out, it’s a fairly modest bet from the team’s perspective, though it’s a huge amount of money for Griffin himself.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Raj Mehta, Imagn Images

Cubs To Sign Christian Bethancourt To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs and catcher Christian Bethancourt have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He would make $1.6MM if in the majors. He’ll presumably be in major league camp in spring training.

Bethancourt, 34, was a Cub in his most recent stint in the big leagues. Chicago rostered him in the second half of the 2024 season. He performed well in a small sample. He took 59 plate appearances in 24 games with a strong .281/.305/.509 batting line in that time.

Since his offense has been very up-and-down in his career, the Cubs presumably didn’t feel that kind of production was sustainable. He could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $2.5MM salary. Instead, the Cubs outrighted him off the roster and he elected free agency.

The Blue Jays signed Bethancourt to a minor league deal last offseason. He spent 2025 with Triple-A Buffalo without getting a call up to the majors. Toronto’s catchers stayed relatively healthy this year but Bethancourt also didn’t do himself any favors. As mentioned, his offense has been inconsistent and he hit .173/.219/.332 for the Bisons this year.

Though he’s coming off a down year at the plate, there’s no harm in this deal for the Cubs. They haven’t committed anything and things went well the last time they had Bethancourt around. Their catching situation is also a bit fluid right now. Reese McGuire got a decent amount of playing time in 2025 but he has been non-tendered.

The Cubs still have Carson Kelly, Miguel Amaya and Moisés Ballesteros but there are some questions in that group. Kelly is coming off a good year overall but hit just .218/.278/.318 in the second half. Amaya is still trying to get fully established as a big leaguer but spent most of 2025 on the injured list and only got into 28 games. Ballesteros is a great hitter but there are questions about his defense. Ballesteros is the only one of those three who can be optioned to the minors but the Cubs might want his bat in designated hitter mix in the majors.

Bethancourt gives them a bit of non-roster depth at the Triple-A level. As mentioned, he’s coming off a down year at the plate but he’s a veteran who made his major league debut over a decade ago. He has a decent defensive reputation, though more so for his work controlling the running game than his framing or blocking. If he eventually is added to the roster, he is out of options.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Padres Sign Sung-Mun Song

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December 22nd: The Padres officially announced their signing of Song today. The deal is actually a four-year pact worth $15MM, as per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, with the fourth year existing as a player option for Song.  There is also a $7MM mutual option for the 2030 season with a $1M buyout.  Song will get a $2.5MM salary in 2026, $3MM in 2027, $3.5MM in 2028, and (if he doesn’t opt out) $4MM in 2029.  The Padres will also pay Song a $1MM signing bonus broken up into a $500K installment in January, and then the other $500K coming in January 2027.

Song would also receive a $1MM bonus for winning NL Rookie of the Year honors, and there is a salary escalator if he achieves a top-five finish in MVP voting.  The Heroes will receive a $3MM posting fee from the Padres, representing the standard 20% posting fee attached to any contract worth $25MM or less for a KBO League player.

December 19th: The Padres are in agreement with infielder Sung Mun Song on a contract, according to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided. According to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, it’s a three-year deal that guarantees Song around $13MM.

Song, 29, has broken out in a big way over his last two seasons playing for the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. After typically being a slightly below average hitter by that league’s standards in the early years of his career, Song exploded with a .340/.408/.518 (143 wRC+) slash line across 602 plate appearances during the 2024 season. He flashed 20/20 potential at the plate and walked at a career-high 10.6% clip while primarily playing third base for the Heroes. He followed up on that season with an even better year in 2025, as he slashed .315/.387/.530 (151 wRC+) with 26 homers, 25 steals, and 37 doubles in 646 trips to the plate.

Those dominant back-to-back campaigns in the KBO league were enough to convince Song to try his hand in the majors, and the Heroes made Song’s goal a reality when they posted him for MLB clubs last month. That opened a 30-day window (set to close on the 21st of December) for Song to negotiate with MLB clubs. Song has typically been viewed by scouts as a step below MLB Gold Glove winner Ha-Seong Kim, the best South Korean player to make the jump to the majors in recent years, and there’s been some debate about whether he’s more of a utility player or a proper starter at the big league level.

Song’s reported price tag is certainly affordable enough for the Padres to stomach in the event he’s more of a bench piece than a regular. A multi-year pact that pays Song less than $5MM annually figures to be quite affordable for San Diego; Jose Iglesias earned $3MM last year after being added to San Diego’s roster on a minor league deal to fill out the club’s bench mix. Song figures to fill a similar role this year to the one Iglesias held last season, chipping in around the infield and serving as a pinch-hitter.

While Song has primarily played third base throughout his career in the KBO league, that position is manned by Manny Machado in San Diego. Perhaps the Padres will look to get Machado occasional DH reps headed into his age-33 campaign, but aside from those occasional fill-in days Song figures to spend most of his time at first and second base, both of which are positions he logged significant time at in South Korea. Jake Cronenworth is currently slated to serve as San Diego’s second baseman next year, though his name has popped up in trade talks this winter. First base meanwhile, is unsettled after the departure of Luis Arraez. Gavin Sheets has some experience at the position but may be better suited for DH duties. As a result, first base could be Song’s best shot at regular reps, though it’s possible a trade of Cronenworth or the addition of a more traditional first base option like Paul Goldschmidt or Rhys Hoskins changes things.

The signing of Song comes just one day after the club agreed to reunite with right-hander Michael King on a three-year, opt-out laden contract. According to RosterResource, the Padres project for a payroll just under $217MM in 2026, with a payroll of nearly $258MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s before the addition of Song to the payroll, which at the currently reported numbers would push the team’s payroll up to around $221MM and around $262MM for luxury tax purposes. That would put them just barely below the second, $264MM luxury tax threshold for 2026.

If the Padres don’t want to go over that line, they would need to subtract salary from the roster to make virtually any more additions to the roster. That’s far from impossible, as rumors have percolated around not only Cronenworth but also players like right-hander Nick Pivetta and Ramon Laureano. A trade of Pivetta would save $20.5MM in 2026 and $13.75MM for luxury tax purposes. Cronenworth being dealt would save roughly $12.3MM in 2026 and $11.5MM for luxury tax purposes. Laureano wouldn’t save nearly as much money, as he’s due just $6.5MM next season on the final year of his contract.

Of course, it’s also possible the Padres simply stand pat from here, though doing so without adding another bat to the first base/DH mix would certainly be risky. Perhaps an addition on the trade market that comes with a lower financial cost could make some sense if San Diego neither wants to exceed the second luxury tax threshold nor trade salary to make room in the budget. Players like Triston Casas of the Red Sox and Mark Vientos of the Mets could potentially be available this winter and remain under affordable team control.

Rangers Re-Sign Chris Martin

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The Rangers announced on Friday evening that they’ve brought back veteran right-hander Chris Martin on a one-year deal. The ISE Baseball client reportedly receives a $4MM guarantee that includes a $2MM salary and deferred $2MM signing bonus. He can also earn an extra $1MM in incentives based on innings pitched. He’ll get $200K each for throwing 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 frames.  Texas had a couple of 40-man vacancies and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Not so long ago, it seemed like Martin was on his way out the door. Just over a year ago, in September of 2024, he said he was 95% sure that 2025 would be his final season. He turned 39 years old in June and made a few trips to the injured list during the campaign. The first IL stint was in May due to shoulder fatigue, followed by another in July due to a calf strain. Most ominously, his season was ended in late September due to a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Taken all together, it was fair to assume he would be hanging up his spikes. But just a few days ago, it was reported that he was planning to pitch in 2026. His current health status isn’t known but presumably the Rangers feel good about what he can contribute next year.

When he was healthy enough to be on the mound in 2025, his results were still good. He was still averaging in the mid-90s with his four-seamer and sinker, while also mixing in a cutter, splitter, slider and knuckle curve. Long one of the best control pitchers in the majors, he tossed 42 1/3 innings while only walking 4.6% of batters faced. He also struck out 24.7% of opponents and got grounders on 42.6% of balls in play. Put that all together and he allowed 2.98 earned runs per nine innings for the year.

The Texas front office has been given some budgetary constraints over the past few years. Last winter, they put together their bullpen primarily via a series of small one-year deals. In addition to Martin, they also signed Hoby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong. That actually ended up working quite well, as the Texas bullpen was pretty good in 2025. But since they limited themselves to one-year deals, almost the entire bullpen hit free agency at season’s end.

Going into 2026, they are looking to rebuild the relief corps but appear to again be working with limited resources. They recently signed lefty Tyler Alexander to a modest one-year deal. They also reportedly have an agreement with Alexis Díaz. The numbers on that deal haven’t been reported yet but it’s surely on the low side as well. Martin made $5.5MM in 2025. Given his age and the injuries he dealt with in 2025, he shouldn’t be in line for much of a raise, or any at all.

RosterResource currently projects the Rangers to have a 2026 payroll about $50MM lower than in 2025, but since they are expected to spend less on next year’s team, they should have less than $50MM to work with. They are looking to bolster the rotation and add a righty bat, but continuing to build out the bullpen is also on the to-do list.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Martin and the Rangers had a one-year deal. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reported the guarantee and the deferred signing bonus. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the incentives. Photo courtesy of Lon Horwedel, D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Steve Adams

  • Good morning, and happy holidays to all! I'll get going a bit earlier than usual today, 11am CT. Feel free to start sending in questions ahead of time, as always.
  • Good morning! Let's get underway

Guarded Indian

  • Is Fairchild Cleveland's answer for the RH hitting OF help or do they actually spend on someone else?  If Clase and Ortiz come off the payroll could they afford Bader?  I don't want Hays (injured) or Andujar (not great one defense).

Steve Adams

  • He's just a minor league depth add -- not any kind of answer. Fairchild is only a slightly above-average hitter in his career versus LHP.Hays, Andujar, Randal Grichuk and Rob Refsnyder are all out there as RHH outfielders to join the outfield mix there. I think any of the bunch make sense as a reasonable addition. None will cost too much

Ross the Boss

  • What could I get back for Berrios if I toss in $36mil in cash in a trade?  He had a down year, but a innings eating #4/5 at $10mil/season is still a very valuable commodity.  Ponce is now my #5, it would be essentially no more money for ownership, and I could recoup something of value for Jose.

Steve Adams

  • It might be reasonable to think Berrios is worth $10MM annually, but I doubt he'd get that over three years in free agency this winter. Most teams would be looking at him for one or two years. I don't think paying him down to 3/30 is enough to get anything of value.Three of four seasons with a sub-20 K%. Walk rate jumped to 8% this past year (still solid but much higher than his 6.3% over the four preceding seasons). Career-low four-seam and sinker velos. Tons of home runs. Poor finish from July onward.I think you're overvaluing Berrios.

Anthony

  • which under the radar FA Pitcher is the best buy low high rewards candidate?  1year / $5 - 10million.

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Cardinals, Jared Shuster Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals have agreed to a minor league contract with lefty Jared Shuster, reports MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. He’ll invited to major league camp next spring.

A first-round pick by Atlanta back in 2020, Shuster has pitched in parts of three big league seasons between the Braves and White Sox, combining to toss 141 2/3 frames. He’s been tagged for an ugly 5.27 ERA in that time. The 6’3″ southpaw has done a nice job avoiding hard contact to this point in his career (87.7 mph average exit velocity, 34% hard-hit rate) but doesn’t miss bats or limit walks at even average levels. He’s fanned only 15.5% of his opponents and issued walks at a 10.1% clip in the bigs.

Shuster, 27, sits 90-92 mph with his four-seamer as a starter and couples the pitch with a slider and changeup, both checking into the low 80s with their respective average velocities. He was averaging 92.6 mph on his fastball as a full-time reliever last year, but his results both in the majors and upper minors were rough.

The Cardinals have plenty of opportunity on the pitching staff, be it in the bullpen or the rotation. For now, the rotation figures to include Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Dustin May and Kyle Leahy. Andre Pallante will be a candidate to make starts but has also pitched in relief.

Trade acquisitions Richard Fitts (Sonny Gray) and Hunter Dobbins (Willson Contreras) join prospects Quinn Mathews, Brycen Mautz and Tink Hence as possible 2026 rotation candidates. In the bullpen, veteran JoJo Romero and 30-year-old rookie Nick Raquet (who tossed his first two MLB frames in 2025) are the only options on the 40-man roster — and Romero is very likely to be traded prior to spring training.

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