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Reds To Sign Michael Chavis To Minor League Deal

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The Reds and infielder Michael Chavis have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The CAA Sports client also receives an invite to big league camp in spring training.

Chavis, 30, returns to North America after a brief stint overseas. He signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in July. However, he hit just .171/.267/.352 in 38 games for the Dragons.

The Reds have overlooked that small-sample disappointment and brought him aboard via a non-roster pact. Chavis was once a notable prospect, getting selected by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2014 draft. He had a breakout season in 2017 when he launched 31 home runs in the minors. Baseball America ranked him as the #85 prospect in the league going into the 2018 season.

He made a major league debut with a bit of a splash in 2019, hitting 18 home runs in just 382 plate appearances, but with some asterisks. That was the juiced-ball season, so Chavis was one of 151 players to reach the 18-homer mark that year. He also struck out in 33.2% of his plate appearances.

The strikeouts would continue to be a problem and bumped his stock down. In the coming years, he would bounce from Boston to Pittsburgh and Washington while continuing to whiff. He currently has 1,186 big league plate appearances on his statsheet with a 31.9% strikeout rate in those. His 5.4% walk rate is also subpar. Despite launching 42 home runs, his .238/.283/.401 batting line translates to an 80 wRC+, indicating he’s been 20% below average overall.

For the Reds, there’s no real harm in bringing him aboard via a minor league deal. For what it’s worth, his minor league production has been more viable. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has 740 Triple-A plate appearances, only striking out 22.3% of the time. He slashed .270/.339/.483 in that sample for a 103 wRC.

He can also provide plenty of defensive flexibility. He has big league experience at the three non-shortstop infield positions as well as the outfield corners.

The Reds have a lot of moving parts in their position player mix. Matt McLain could be the second baseman but he missed all of 2024 while injured and then had poor offensive results in 2025. Sal Stewart has second base experience in the minors but the Reds utilized him at first and third in the big leagues. Though he performed well down the stretch, he still has just 58 big league plate appearances. The hot corner should be locked down by Ke’Bryan Hayes after he was acquired at the deadline in 2025. If Stewart takes over at first, that could push Spencer Steer to the grass, the same way that Gavin Lux and Noelvi Marté have been largely pushed from the infield to the outfield. Steer, Lux and Marté were all around league average at the plate in 2025. Christian Encarnacion-Strand is also in the corner infield mix but is coming off two straight challenging seasons.

Chavis gives Cincy a bit of experience depth behind that group and can step in if there are openings due to injuries or underperformance. Chavis still has an option remaining, meaning he could be easily sent back to the minors if he gets a 40-man spot at some point.

Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images

Owen White Signs With KBO’s Hanwha Eagles

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The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they have signed right-hander Owen White. The Wasserman client will make $1MM in the form of a $200K signing bonus and a salary of $800K. Hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net for relaying the news, translated into English.

White, now 26, was a notable prospect a couple of years ago. The Rangers drafted him 55th overall in 2018 but his professional debut wouldn’t come until a few years later. He missed 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and then the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020.

Once he was back in action, he hit the mound running. Between 2021 and 2022, he tossed 115 2/3 innings in the minors, allowing 3.42 earned runs per nine. His 7.5% walk rate was strong and his 34.1% strikeout rate excellent.

The Rangers gave him a 40-man spot in the 2022-23 offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. Going into the 2023 campaign, Baseball America ranked White as the #59 prospect in the league.

Since then, however, White has hit a number of speed bumps. He got shelled in his first major league appearances and his results also backed up in the minors. He tossed 207 2/3 innings for the Triple-A Round Rock Express over 2023 and 2024 with a 4.90 ERA. The Express play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but White’s 18.3% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate were both poor figures.

That performance pushed White to the fringe of the Texas roster. He was designated for assignment in December 2024. His past prospect status still attracted a number of teams. Prior to the 2025 season, he went to the Reds, Yankees and White Sox via small deals or waiver claims.

He spent 2025 with the Sox but was mostly kept on optional assignment. He threw only seven big league innings, allowing seven earned runs. Combined with his brief MLB appearances with the Rangers, he now has an unfortunate 12.86 ERA in 14 total innings in the majors.

He also tossed 81 Triple-A innings in Chicago’s system. His 4.44 ERA wasn’t awful and he got grounders on 46.7% of balls in play but his 18.8% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate were subpar.

He exhausted his final option season in 2025, meaning he will be out of options going forward, making it harder for him to cling to a roster spot. The Sox passed him through waivers unclaimed in October and he became a minor league free agent shortly thereafter.

If White had stayed in North America, he surely would have been limited to minor league deals. Even if he earned a roster spot with some club in 2026, his salary likely would have been near the $780K league minimum. By heading overseas, he gets a bigger guarantee and an opportunity to showcase himself on a notable stage.

It has become quite common for pitchers to reinvent themselves in Asia and return to North America for big paydays. This offseason alone has seen Cody Ponce, Anthony Kay, Drew Anderson, Foster Griffin and Ryan Weiss get deals with MLB clubs after pitching in Japan or South Korea in 2025. They all got at least a $2.6MM guarantee with Ponce getting all the way up to $30MM. White is still quite young and could go down this path if he’s able to find a new gear with the Eagles.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Nationals To Sign Matt Mervis To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals and first baseman Matt Mervis have agreed to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp in spring training. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that Mervis and the Nats had a deal in place. Andrew Golden of The Washington Post specified that it was a minor league deal with a camp invite.

Mervis, 28 in April, hasn’t found much major league success yet. He has appeared in 78 big league games over the past three seasons, stepping to the plate 261 times split between the Cubs and Marlins. He hit ten home runs in that time but also had a subpar 7.7% walk rate and an awful 34.5% strikeout rate. He currently sports a career batting line of .165/.238/.322.

That lack of offense is deadly for his viability. He is one of the slowest players in the majors and can only play first base. He needs to hit to provide value.

The reason he has been given a few major league chances is because his minor league production is vastly superior to what he’s done in the big leagues. He first gained attention as a minor leaguer with the Cubs in 2022. That year, he went from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, hitting 36 homers on the year.

Since then, even as he has floundered in the majors, he has continued hitting fairly well on the farm. From 2023 to 2025, he has stepped to the plate 1,058 times at the Triple-A level with various clubs. His 25.8% strikeout rate in that time is still a bit high but far better than his big league work. He has also drawn walks at a strong 11.9% clip and hit 56 home runs. He has a combined .257/.354/.510 line and 112 wRC+ in that span, indicating he’s been 12% above league average.

The Cubs traded him to the Marlins last offseason. The Fish outrighted him off their 40-man in June and released him in August. He then landed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks but didn’t get called up down the stretch and became a minor league free agent at season’s end.

The Nats are a sensible landing spot for him. Not only was he born and raised in the D.C. area but the first base spot is fairly wide open in Washington. They had Nathaniel Lowe as their regular at that position this year but released him in August. They mostly used Josh Bell the rest of the way. He became a free agent after the season and subsequently signed with the Twins.

As of now, Washington’s top first basemen are Andrés Chaparro and Luis García Jr. Chaparro has a .203/.268/.358 batting line in 205 big league plate appearances. García has mostly been a second baseman in his career but his poor defensive grades might get him bumped to first, where he has only 16 big league innings of experience. Even if he can stick at first defensively, he probably doesn’t have the bat for the position, with a career .266/.299/.410 line and 93 wRC+.

With that situation, the Nats clearly need upgrades. Since they are rebuilding, they probably won’t make a big splash there. As spring training approaches, they could perhaps take a low-cost flier on a free agent, depending on who remains unsigned. Guys like Ty France, Rhys Hoskins, Dominic Smith, Carlos Santana, Rowdy Tellez or Justin Turner are some theoretical possibilities.

For now, they have added some non-roster depth. They signed Warming Bernabel to a minor league deal not too long ago and have now brought Mervis into the fold as well. If Mervis can earn a roster spot, he still has an option season remaining and also has less than a year of service time. If he finally clicks in the majors with his hometown team, he can be cheaply retained into the foreseeable future.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images

Mets To Sign Mike Baumann

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The Mets and right-hander Mike Baumann have agreed to a deal, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman doesn’t specify whether it’s a major or minor league deal for the CAA Sports client. The Mets have a full 40-man roster and would need to open a spot for Baumann if he’s going on there.

It would be quite a shock if Baumann landed a major league deal. The 30-year-old spent the 2025 season with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He wasn’t exactly dominant over there. He tossed 15 innings at the top NPB level with a 4.20 earned run average and 11 innings in the minors with a 4.09 ERA.

At the top level, he did strike out 25.3% of batters faced in that small sample but he also gave out walks to 16% of opponents. In the minors, he had a 20.9% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.

If it’s just a minor league deal, then it’s fine for the Mets. It adds some depth without using up a roster spot. Baumann has a bit of major league experience. He tossed 167 1/3 innings over the 2021 to 2024 seasons with a 4.95 ERA, 20% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 42.7% ground ball rate.

Those numbers weren’t elite but Baumann’s arsenal clearly intrigued teams. His four-seamer and sinker both averaged in the upper 90s. He also featured a low-90s slider in addition to a knuckle curve and a changeup which both averaged in the high-80s.

He began the 2024 season with the Orioles, the club he had played for since being drafted in 2017. But he exhausted his final option season in 2023, meaning his grip on a roster spot had loosened. Over the course of the 2024 season, he went from the O’s to the Mariners, Giants, Angels and Marlins via small trades or waiver claims.

After that hot-potato season, he tried to find a bit more security by heading to Japan. It didn’t pan out, so he has come back to North America and will join the Mets. Assuming this is a non-roster pact, he will try to pitch his way onto the club’s roster. Even if he does so, hanging onto his spot will be tricky on account of his aforementioned out-of-options status.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Marlins To Sign Pete Fairbanks

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The Marlins and reliever Pete Fairbanks are in agreement on a contract, according to Will Sammon of the Athletic. It is a one-year, $13MM contract for the Republik Sports client, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the deal includes a $1MM signing bonus and another $1MM in incentives based on appearances. Fairbanks will also receive a bonus of $500,000 if he is traded. The deal is pending a physical.

Fairbanks, who turned 32 last week, is coming off a 2.83 ERA in 60 1/3 innings for the Rays in 2025. Tampa held an $11MM club option on his services for 2026, but they instead paid him a $1MM buyout. We at MLBTR ranked him No. 44 on our Top 50 Free Agents list and projected a two-year, $18MM contract. He now heads to the Marlins on a shorter deal with a higher annual salary and figures to be the team’s closer next year.

The right-hander debuted in 2019 and has pitched 265 1/3 innings with a 3.19 ERA in his seven seasons with the Rays. In that time, Fairbanks has struck out 30.0% of hitters against a 9.3% walk rate thanks to an upper-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider which he uses 44.1% of the time. He also gets groundballs at an above-average 45.1% rate and generally keeps the ball in the park, allowing just 0.81 HR/9.

He has also frequently dealt with injuries, making seven trips to the injured list from 2021-24. He had better health luck this year, as he avoided the injured list and set a career high with 60 1/3 innings pitched. When he’s healthy, Fairbanks is a dominant back-end reliever. In 151 innings as the Rays’ closer from 2023-25, he had a 2.98 ERA while posting a 18.9% K-BB rate and earning 75 saves, which was 12th-highest in the league in that span.

That largely continued in 2025, albeit with a drop in Fairbanks’ advanced metrics. After striking out 37.0% of hitters as recently as 2023, that has fallen to 23.8% in 2024 and 24.2% in 2025. That is still plenty effective, especially as he has lowered his walk rate from 10.9% in 2023 to 7.4% this year. However, it has also come with an uptick in average exit velocity. Hitters averaged 85.7 mph off the bat against Fairbanks in 2023, but that rose to 90.2 mph in 2025. Meanwhile, his four-seamer now sits at 97.3 mph after averaging 98.9 mph in 2023.

Nonetheless, the fact that the current version of Fairbanks has better-than-average strikeout and walk rates with 90th-percentile fastball velocity means that he is still an effective reliever. If anything, the move by the Rays to decline his option was financially motivated. Tampa Bay’s payroll usually ranks near the bottom of the league (29th out of 30 in 2025). They previously signed Fairbanks to a three-year, $12MM extension in January 2023. While $4MM was a comfortable price range for the team, $11MM may have simply been too high a price to commit to one reliever, even one as effective as Fairbanks.

Indeed, the club tried to trade Fairbanks after the season ended, but they couldn’t find any takers. That ended up being a moot point, as he garnered plenty of interest from teams around the league. The Marlins, Diamondbacks, White Sox, and Tigers were publicly known to be interested in the right-hander. Miami always seemed like a logical fit, given the connection between Fairbanks and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix from their time with the Rays.

With the addition of Fairbanks, the Marlins have fortified a bullpen which ranked 23rd in the league with a 4.27 ERA and 17th with a 14.1% K-BB rate in 2025. The best performer of the bunch was right-hander Ronny Henriquez. The 25-year-old pitched 73 innings over 69 appearances this year with a 2.22 ERA and a 32.3% strikeout rate. His 1.3 fWAR was a team high for relievers, while his peripheral stats were slightly higher than his ERA but still excellent. He also earned seven saves throughout the season. It was the best possible outcome for the Marlins, who acquired Henriquez as a waiver pickup last offseason. Unfortunately, news broke two days ago that the righty underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow. As a result, he will miss the entire 2026 season.

Including Henriquez, the team got a good amount of volume from its bullpen in 2025. Seven Marlins relievers pitched at least 50 innings, with Tyler Phillips’s 77 2/3 innings leading the group. He pitched to a 2.78 ERA and got groundballs at a well-above-average 55.6% rate, albeit with just a 16.6% strikeout rate and middling peripherals. Calvin Faucher and Luke Bachar had ERAs of 3.28 and 3.78, respectively, but with expected values in the mid-4.00s. Meanwhile, Anthony Bender, Cade Gibson, and Valente Bellozo had solid groundball rates but below-average strikeout numbers. The signing of Fairbanks upgrades the group with more velocity, strikeouts, and groundballs while covering for Henriquez’s injury and taking pressure off the younger arms.

According to RosterResource, the signing of Fairbanks brings the Marlins’ projected payroll to $73MM, a slight bump from $70MM in 2025. That figure includes just over $15MM for eight arbitration-eligible players, with $2MM of that going to the recently-signed Christopher Morel (previously non-tendered by the Rays). So far, Morel and Fairbanks have been the club’s only big-league free agent signings, though the club is reportedly willing to spend more than usual this offseason.

Photos courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck and Kim Klement, Imagn Images

Harold Castro Signs With KBO’s Kia Tigers

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The Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization have confirmed the four foreign players who will join their team for the 2026 season (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). The foursome includes right-hander James Naile, who is entering his third year with the Tigers and whose signing was announced last month; right-hander Adam Oller, who re-signed for a second year with the club; infielder Jarryd Dale, a former Padres prospect and Australian Baseball League player who spent 2025 with NPB’s Orix Buffaloes; and utility player Harold Castro, a six-year MLB veteran who is heading overseas for the first time in his career.

Castro, a client of the MAS+ Agency, spent more than a decade in the Detroit Tigers organization. He signed in 2010 as an international free agent out of Venezuela, and eight years later, he made his big league debut at Comerica Park. Over parts of five seasons with MLB’s Tigers, he played in 351 games, appearing at every position except catcher. His .286 batting average was impressive, and his defensive versatility was valuable, but that was about all he contributed. He didn’t hit for power, he rarely walked, and his defense graded out poorly (albeit in small samples) wherever he played. 

Detroit non-tendered Castro after the 2022 season, and he signed a minor league deal with the Rockies. The utility man cracked Colorado’s roster out of camp and stuck around all season, though he struggled to hit even at Coors Field. Finishing with a .589 OPS and 45 wRC+, Castro produced a -1.5 FanGraphs WAR, third-last among all MLB players in 2023.

The Rockies cut Castro soon after the season ended, and he would eventually sign with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He hit well with the Toros in 2024 and even better for Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League the following offseason, enough so that he landed a minor league offer from the Royals for the 2025 campaign. Despite Castro’s best efforts at Triple-A  – 21 home runs, a .307 batting average, and a 129 wRC+ in 99 contests – he never got the call to the majors. Yet, he clearly impressed the Kia Tigers, who signed the 32-year-old to a contract worth $1MM USD for 2026. He replaces Patrick Wisdom on their roster, who was no slouch in his first KBO season, hitting 35 home runs with a 126 wRC+.

Yankees Interested, Royals Remain Interested In Austin Hays

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The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports this morning that the Royals “remain interested” in signing Austin Hays, despite having recently acquired outfielders Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas. This lines up with previous reporting suggesting that president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo is still searching for upgrades after his outfielders finished last in MLB in runs scored, RBI, on-base percentage, OPS, wRC+, and FanGraphs WAR in 2025. Heyman first connected Hays and the Royals earlier this month.

Heyman also notes that the Yankees have “checked in” on Hays, although they might only be interested in adding him if they can’t re-sign Cody Bellinger, whom the New York Post reporter describes as their top target. In contrast to the Royals, the Yankees led the majors in most offensive categories from the outfield this past year, including runs scored, home runs, RBI, all three triple-slash metrics, wRC+, and fWAR. Bellinger was a key contributor to that effort, and it’s no surprise the Bronx Bombers would love to team him up with Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham once again. Their interest in retaining Bellinger is hardly breaking news.

This is, however, the first time the Yankees have been linked to Hays. Heyman reported a month ago that Kyle Tucker could be their “backup plan” if they missed out on Bellinger, and needless to say, Hays would not be the same kind of outfield upgrade. In fact, it’s less clear if Hays would be an upgrade at all. The young switch-hitter Jasson Domínguez certainly has a higher ceiling, while Amed Rosario, though limited in his outfield experience, is already on the roster to fill a righty-batting utility role. Whether the Yankees’ reported interest in Hays suggests a lack of faith in Domínguez to become an everyday player, a lack of faith in Rosario to play the outfield, or simply GM Brian Cashman doing his due diligence remains to be seen.

Yesterday, Heyman reported that the Mets’ front office had engaged in conversations about signing Hays. Considering the Mets lost several outfielders to free agency this winter and traded away two more, they could certainly find playing time for the veteran in 2026. Of course, he might be more of a plan B in Queens as well, with the Mets having also expressed interest in signing Bellinger and trading for White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Hays, 30, is coming off a solid season for Cincinnati. In 103 games and 416 PA, he slashed .266/.315/.453 with 15 home runs and a 105 wRC+. He also went 7-for-7 on the bases while playing capably in left field. As usual, he was particularly effective against left-handed pitching (.949 OPS, 155 wRC+). While Hays is unlikely to be an everyday player, at least not on a contending team, he has proven he can be a valuable role player over his eight MLB seasons with the Orioles, Phillies, and Reds.

MLBTR Podcast: Three-Way Trade, Murakami’s Short-Term Deal, And Willson Contreras To Boston

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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!

  • The Mets Sign Jorge Polanco, And The Braves, Blue Jays And Royals Make Moves – listen here
  • Winter Meetings Recap – listen here
  • An Agent’s Perspective with B.B. Abbott – Also, Cease, Williams, Helsley, And Gray – 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 Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

The Opener: Corner Infield Market, DFA Resolutions, Christmas Eve Transactions

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As you’re getting ready to hang your stockings by the chimney with care, here are three things to watch for (other than Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve:

1. The corner infield market is heating up:

On Sunday morning, the White Sox came to terms on a two-year, $34MM contract with NPB first baseman/third baseman Munetaka Murakami. Later that day, the Red Sox swung a trade with the Cardinals to acquire a slugging corner infielder of their own, first baseman Willson Contreras. Then, on Tuesday, it was the Pirates who joined in on the fun, coming to terms with Ryan O’Hearn on a two-year, $29MM guarantee.

In addition to those recent moves, corner infielders have overrun the rumor mill lately. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported over the weekend that Blue Jays officials have had “recent contact” with Scott Boras regarding his client Alex Bregman. The star third baseman is the top unsigned corner infield free agent from MLBTR’s Top 50 list. Mariners GM Justin Hollander also reconfirmed his team’s interest in reuniting with third baseman Eugenio Suárez, while Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that, before the Pirates signed O’Hearn, they had “multiple virtual meetings” with Kazuma Okamoto, another All-Star first baseman/third baseman from NBP.

One also has to wonder if more corner infield-related trade rumors are soon to come. One of Ryan Mountcastle or Coby Mayo is likely to be on the trade block now that Pete Alonso is ensconced at first base in Baltimore, and Triston Casas could be on the move after Contreras’s arrival in Boston. What’s more, the fact that the Cardinals have now traded Contreras and Sonny Gray only seems to make a Nolan Arenado deal more likely. While any notable trades and signings probably won’t take place on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, keep an eye out for the next big corner infield transaction that’s surely on its way.

2. DFA resolutions coming for Noel and Wiemer:

Today marks a week since the Guardians and Giants DFA’d outfielders Jhonkensy Noel (also known as Big Christmas) and Joey Wiemer, respectively. There hasn’t been any news about either player since, but that should change today. When a player is designated for assignment, his team has seven days to either trade him or pass him through waivers. If no trade comes together and the player goes unclaimed, his team can send him outright to the minor leagues. Neither Noel nor Wiemer has the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment, so if they do clear waivers, the Guardians and Giants will be able to keep them in their organizations.

3. Last-minute holiday shopping?

Yesterday featured two official major league signings and news of another, with Jacob Webb joining the Cubs, Sean Newcomb joining the White Sox, and O’Hearn reportedly agreeing to terms with the Pirates. Today, however, is likely to be a slow news day around Major League Baseball. Trades and free agent signings are almost as rare on Christmas Eve as they are on Christmas Day. Of course, that doesn’t mean a move is out of the realm of possibility. Just last year, the Twins sent left-handed reliever Jovani Morán to the Red Sox in exchange for catcher/utility man Mickey Gasper on December 24.

Some of the biggest Christmas Eve transactions in MLB history include Mark McGwire re-signing with the Athletics in 1992 (five years, $28MM) and Reggie Jackson returning to the Athletics on December 24, 1986 for what would be his final season. Funnily enough, the A’s are also one of just three teams in the last decade to sign a major league deal with a free agent on Christmas Eve. The Cubs officially signed Drew Smyly in 2022, the Mets came to terms and announced a deal with Dellin Betances in 2019, and the A’s finalized a contract with Mike Fiers on the holiday in 2018. Fiers would go on to throw a no-hitter for Oakland the next May.

Pirates To Sign Ryan O’Hearn

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The Pirates and first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with a $29MM guarantee. The ACES client can also earn an extra $500K each year via incentives: $100K for 450 plate appearances, another $100K for 475, then $150K for 500 and 525 plate appearances. Pittsburgh has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move for this to become official.

O’Hearn, now 32, has been enjoying a late-career breakout over the past three seasons. He played parts of five seasons with the Royals from 2018 to 2022 with just a .219/.293/.390 line to show for it.

The Royals designated O’Hearn for assignment in December of 2022. The Orioles saw enough potential in him to acquire him by sending cash considerations to Kansas City. Baltimore designated him for assignment shortly thereafter and passed him through waivers.

If you’ve ever wondered why a team would acquire a player and put him on waivers a week or two later, O’Hearn provides the explanation. The O’s opened a roster spot for other moves while keeping O’Hearn in a non-roster capacity. He had a strong spring in 2023 but Baltimore still sent him to the minors to begin the season, maintaining depth.

By the middle of April 2023, O’Hearn was back in the big leagues and has been on an upward trajectory since then. He hit 14 homers for Baltimore that year and slashed .289/.322/.480 for a 118 wRC+. His 4.1% walk rate was quite poor and he benefited from a .340 batting average on balls in play but it was a fantastic upgrade over his previous work.

More improvements came in 2024. His .264/.334/.427 batting line again led to a 118 wRC+, an exact match for the year prior, but it felt more earned this time. His BABIP dropped to a below-average .282 while his walk rate more than doubled to 9.3%.

In 2025, a year he split between the O’s and Padres after a deadline trade, he increased his walk rate yet again to 10.7%. His 17 home runs were a career high. His batted-ball luck turned again, as he posted a .330 BABIP. That all led to a .281/.366/.437 line and 127 wRC+.

He also seemed to have less of a platoon split. Like many lefty hitters, he has often struggled against southpaws. But in 2025, he had a .278/.358/.474 line and 135 wRC+ against lefties. That was in just 109 plate appearances and he had a .358 BABIP in the split but it was an encouraging development nonetheless.

In addition to his work at the plate, O’Hearn provided some defensive versatility. He mostly played first base but also logged around 150 outfield innings in each of the past three seasons.

The entire package lined O’Hearn up for a nice payday, though he wasn’t quite at the level of guys like Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso or Josh Naylor. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted O’Hearn to secure a two-year deal worth $26MM. He’s gone just a shade beyond that.

Few would have predicted the Pirates to be the club to pay O’Hearn. They have been one of the least active clubs in free agency in the past decade. They haven’t given any free agent a multi-year deal since Ivan Nova’s three-year pact back in 2016. Their last multi-year deal for a free agent hitter was two years and $8MM for John Jaso in 2015. The largest free agent guarantee in franchise history is still the three-year, $39MM deal for Francisco Liriano from 2014.

But they have clearly come into this offseason determined to overhaul their lineup. The past few seasons have seen them develop a big stockpile of pitching talent but they have had far less success with developing their position player prospects.

The Bucs flirted with contention in 2023 and 2024 but without making the postseason. The 2025 club sputtered and never really felt in it. The offense was a big part of the disappointment this year. The club had a collective .231/.305/.350 line and 82 wRC+, with the Rockies the only club with less offensive production. Spencer Horwitz was the only individual on the team with a wRC+ greater than 101.

Before the 2025 campaign was even over, it seemed likely that they would focus on adding offense this winter. The general expectation was that they would do that by trading from their deep supply of starting pitchers, which they have done, but they have been surprisingly active in free agency as well.

They reportedly offered Naylor a contract somewhere in the range of $80MM, before he returned to the Mariners on a deal paying him $92.5MM. They offered Schwarber around $120-125MM before the Phils brought him back with a $150MM deal.

Being a runner-up for a free agent is only worth so much but it has been clear that the Pirates are now more willing to spend than in other offseasons. They have also been connected to Jorge Polanco, before he signed with the Mets, Kazuma Okamoto, who is still a free agent, and some other hitters.

O’Hearn isn’t quite as exciting as Schwarber would have been. It’s also true that the club still has the embarrassing record of having never given a free agent $40MM. Still, O’Hearn is their biggest free agent splash in years and becomes one of their best hitters.

As mentioned, the Bucs have also used their pitching surplus to add more offense. They acquired Jhostynxon García in the trade sending Johan Oviedo to Boston. They sent Mike Burrows to Houston in a three-team trade that brought back Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum from the Rays, alongside lefty reliever Mason Montgomery.

Time will tell if there’s more to come before Opening Day. For now, O’Hearn jumps into a position player that group which could develop in a few different ways.

The Pirates don’t really have a full-time designated hitter, with Andrew McCutchen currently unsigned. He has repeatedly re-signed with Pittsburgh in recent years but there have been some hints that the two sides are a bit less likely to reunite for 2026.

As of now, Lowe and Horwitz could be the regulars at second and first, respectively. Horwitz has a bit of second base experience but that was with the Blue Jays when the presence of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made it hard for him to get playing time at first. The Bucs kept him at first base in 2025.

Lowe isn’t a great defender, so perhaps he could see regular time in the DH spot, or Horwitz and O’Hearn could share first base and DH.

There’s also room for O’Hearn in the outfield. Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds should have two spots spoken for. Guys like García, Mangum, Jack Suwinski and Billy Cook are in the mix for playing time but O’Hearn playing the outfield could leave the DH spot open for Lowe.

That would then leave more second base playing time for guys like Nick Yorke, Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales. Triolo and Gonzales could also be factors at third base and shortstop but prospect Konnor Griffin might charge forward and become the shortstop before long, though he’s only 19 years old and hasn’t played the Triple-A level yet.

It’s possible the Bucs make even more moves in the coming months but a lot will be determined by the health and performance of the various moving parts on the roster.

RosterResource, assuming the O’Hearn deal has equal salaries in the two years, projects the Bucs for a $96MM payroll next year. That’s tiny compared to the other clubs in the league but high for them. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they got to just under $100MM in 2016 but have been below $90MM since 2017.

The coming weeks and months will shed light on if there’s more to come. For now, the Bucs have made yet another move to upgrade the lineup in 2026. This wouldn’t be an especially noteworthy commitment for any other club but it’s the biggest deal for Pittsburgh in quite some time. For O’Hearn himself, it’s got to be an especially gratifying day for a guy who was passed through waivers about three years ago.

FanSided’s Robert Murray first reported the Pirates were signing O’Hearn to a two-year, $29MM with $500K in incentives. Colin Beazley of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the incentive structure. Photos courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, John Jones, Imagn Images

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