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Brewers Sign Eddys Leonard To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers have added infielder Eddys Leonard on a minor league deal, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The pact includes an invitation to spring training.

Leonard will now join his fourth organization in the past four seasons. He spent last year in Atlanta’s minor league system. The Braves signed him in late March after he was released by the Tigers. Leonard elected minor league free agency last week.

The Dodgers signed Leonard as an international free agent in 2017. MLB.com ranked Leonard eighth among LA’s prospects back in 2022. He had posted a massive 145 wRC+ across two minor league levels in 2021.

Los Angeles designated Leonard for assignment midway through the 2023 season. They eventually worked out a trade with Detroit. Leonard slashed .302/.374/.530 in 40 games with Triple-A Toledo. Injuries limited him to 82 games in 2024. Leonard was a slightly above league-average hitter when available that season.

Leonard hit 20 home runs and added 11 steals across 494 plate appearances with Triple-A Gwinnett this past season. He played primarily in the infield with the Stripers, making six starts at first base, 28 starts at second base, 35 starts at third base, and one start at shortstop. He also made 32 starts at DH and one in right field. Leonard mostly played shortstop early in his career, but has bounced around the diamond in recent seasons.

Photo courtesy Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Kiké Hernández Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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Dodgers utilityman Kiké Hernández had surgery on Friday to repair a torn muscle in his elbow. The veteran announced the procedure in an Instagram post. Hernández said he suffered the injury in May and played through it the rest of the season, which led to the elbow tendon detaching from the bone.

The 34-year-old Hernández is currently a free agent. He signed a one-year, $6.5MM deal to return to LA this past offseason. Hernández is a three-time World Series champion (2020, 2024, 2025). He’s spent the majority of his 12-year career with the Dodgers, while also making brief stops in Houston, Miami, and Boston. It’s unclear how long Hernández will need to recover, but he noted that post-surgery rehab will prohibit him from playing with Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. The injury is to his non-throwing arm, which could improve his recovery timetable.

Hernández scuffled to a .203/.255/.366 slash line this past season. The elbow issue could’ve led to the down year, as he hit just .169 with an elevated 29.5% strikeout rate in 129 regular-season plate appearances after May. He missed most of July and August while tending to the injury. Despite the struggles, Hernández started every postseason game for the Dodgers. He piled up 24 strikeouts in 17 games, but hit a respectable .250 and popped a homer in Game 5 of the World Series.

A well-regarded lefty masher, Hernández once again had sizable splits this year. His batting average was almost identical against righties and lefties, but his OPS was more than 100 points higher when facing left-handed pitching. Hernández slugged .415 with six home runs in 108 plate appearances against lefties in the regular season. His slugging percentage fell to .333 against righties. He hit four homers in 148 plate appearances against same-handed pitching.

Hernández is best known for his defensive versatility, and the 2025 campaign was no different. He made at least nine starts at first base, second base, and third base, plus seven starts in the outfield. He even chipped in 5 1/3 innings on the mound. Hernández mostly played left field in the playoffs, while also appearing at center field and third base.

While Hernández isn’t under contract right now, it’s hard to imagine him in anything other than a Dodgers uniform. He’s played 920 games with the team since coming over from Miami in a trade headlined by Dee Strange-Gordon. Hernández signed with Boston after winning the 2020 title with LA, spending two and a half seasons with the Red Sox. He was traded back to the Dodgers midway through the 2023 season. Hernández has been a valuable contributor for the back-to-back champs, both on the field and in the clubhouse.

With Max Muncy back on a club option, LA will return the majority of the championship squad, outside of Game 7 hero Miguel Rojas (also a free agent). Even with stars around the diamond, the depth chart still has soft spots at second base and corner outfield. Hernández could be brought back for relatively cheap to fill his typical utility role.

Photo courtesy of Joe Lumaya, Imagn Images

Rays’ Neander Discusses Outfield, Catcher

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As the Rays map out their offseason plans, the front office has an area of the roster they’re highlighting as the priority. “The outfield is three spots we’ve got to get right. … I’d probably lean toward the outfield being the area that we’re spending the most time and energy, just trying to make sense of how to best put it together for next year,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com at the GM Meetings (relayed by MLB.com’s Adam Berry).

That’s not to say all three positions will be filled externally. Neander said the club needs to both “(assess) the players we have” while keeping an eye outside the organization for upgrades. They’ve already shuffled the mix in the first two weeks of the offseason. Kameron Misner was traded to Kansas City, while they’ve taken fliers on Ryan Vilade and Jake Fraley. It’s still not a lock that Fraley will be tendered an arbitration contract, which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects to land at $3.6MM.

Tampa Bay has a lot of semi-interesting outfielders but no one locked into an everyday position. Chandler Simpson, Jake Mangum, Jonny DeLuca and Josh Lowe would probably get the majority of the playing time as things stand. Simpson is the sport’s best base stealer and has elite contact skills, but there’s zero power and he probably doesn’t have the defensive feel to play a good center field. Mangum has a similar contact-only offensive profile. He’s a very good base stealer in his own right and a more natural defender than Simpson, but he feels more like a fourth outfielder than a regular.

DeLuca is yet another speed and defense outfielder with minimal power. He has a little more pop than Mangum provides but has a similarly aggressive approach. DeLuca lost most of the ’25 season to right shoulder and left hamstring injuries. Lowe has a typical right field profile and hit 20 homers a couple seasons ago, but he’s coming off a career-worst .220/.283/.366 showing across 435 plate appearances. He’s entering arbitration and projected at $2.9MM.

Richie Palacios, Christopher Morel and Tristan Peters all occupy 40-man roster spots as well. Palacios bounces between second base and the outfield corners. He was limited to 14 MLB games by a knee sprain. Morel has been a disappointment since coming over from the Cubs in the Isaac Paredes trade. He’s a poor defender who has hit .208/.277/.355 in 495 plate appearances with Tampa Bay. He’s projected for a $2.6MM arbitration salary and could be traded or non-tendered. Peters is a 26-year-old rookie with four MLB games under his belt and unspectacular numbers in Triple-A.

The front office needs to decide whether anyone from that group projects as a long-term everyday player. Rays outfielders hit .251/.306/.356 last season overall. They were last in MLB with 35 home runs. It’d be a surprise if they didn’t add someone who can provide more stability via free agency or trade, even if Neander indicated the heavy lifting probably needs to come internally. “You’re banking on the group you have — a little better health, a little more performance, and then maybe it’s supplemented from the outside,” he told Feinsand.

Neander touched upon two other uncertain positions: shortstop and catcher. He told MLB.com that the club will keep an eye on both markets but broadly expressed confidence in the internal options, especially behind the plate. The Rays are well-positioned defensively at both spots but have limited offensive ceilings.

Taylor Walls and Carson Williams are set to compete for the shortstop job. Walls is well established as a plus-plus defender who isn’t going to provide anything at the plate. Williams, 22, is one of the organization’s top prospects. He’s highly regarded defensively and certainly has more power upside than Walls, but it’s an open question whether he’ll make enough contact to be a regular. Williams struck out at an untenable 34% clip in Triple-A this year and fanned in 44 of his first 106 MLB plate appearances. He hit .172 over 32 games and should probably begin next season in the minors.

Neander said they’d look for ways to make that “a little bit stronger competition than we (have) now.” It’s a weak free agent class, though. They’re obviously not signing Bo Bichette or bringing back Ha-Seong Kim. They’re left with mostly glove-first utility types like Walls behind that. There aren’t many obvious trade candidates available either, but it’s possible they’ll look to waivers or minor league free agency to at least bring in another depth piece.

Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia are lined up behind the dish. Neander praised Fortes as a defender and expressed confidence there’s more in the tank with Feduccia, who hit .151 in 36 games after being acquired from the Dodgers as part of the three-team Zack Littell deadline deal. The 28-year-old Feduccia is a career .278/.387/.452 Triple-A hitter who never had an opportunity behind Will Smith in Los Angeles. It’s not surprising the Rays aren’t moving off him after two bad months in his first real look against big league pitching.

“If we can find a way to be better at that position, we will, but those are two guys we appreciate. If we roll into next year and that’s where we are — a lot of players, we’re counting on development from where they were, and that certainly applies to those two and [we] think that they can give us more than they did this year,” Neander said. J.T. Realmuto and Victor Caratini are the only real options on the free agent market, assuming they don’t bring Danny Jansen back. Trade candidates include Jonah Heim, Luis Campusano and J.C. Escarra.

Blue Jays Showing Interest In Raisel Iglesias

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The Blue Jays are among the teams with interest in free agent closer Raisel Iglesias, reports Francys Romero. That’s a logical fit with Toronto on the hunt for a late-game arm. They’ve also been linked to Edwin Díaz at the top of the relief market.

Iglesias remains one of the better relievers in MLB as he enters his age-36 season. The Cuban-born righty is coming off a 3.21 earned run average in 67 1/3 innings for the Braves. Iglesias went 29-34 in save chances, narrowly missing what would have been his sixth career 30-save campaign. Iglesias punched out an above-average 27.4% of opponents while limiting walks to a 6% clip. He got swinging strikes nearly 15% of the time while still getting opponents to frequently chase outside the strike zone.

In aggregate, this year was Iglesias’ worst since at least 2019. That’s mostly attributable to an early-season home run spike. He gave up seven longballs before the end of May and carried a near-6.00 ERA into June. Once he got the home runs in check, Iglesias looked like his usually excellent self. He turned in a 1.96 ERA with a 29.3% strikeout percentage over the final four months. Opponents hit .163/.224/.219 with one homer in their last 174 plate appearances.

Jays general manager Ross Atkins has already said they’re not committed to keeping Jeff Hoffman in the ninth inning. Signing a closer would allow manager John Schneider to use Hoffman as a multi-inning leverage arm earlier in games. Hoffman allowed the second-most home runs (15) among MLB relievers this year. The longball is the biggest concern with Iglesias as well but not to the same extent.

Iglesias’ age is going to cap him at a maximum of two years. He should command an eight-figure annual salary. The Braves didn’t find much trade interest with Iglesias making $16MM this past summer. He elevated his stock by allowing just one run in 23 2/3 frames after the deadline, so it’s not out of the question that he commands something similar to this year’s salary on the open market. That’d especially be true if he takes a one-year guarantee, though MLBTR predicted he’d command a two-year contract at $13MM annually.

The Dodgers are the only other team that has been publicly connected to Iglesias this offseason. The Braves don’t have an obvious closing replacement and will probably stay in touch, but president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said this week that they’re focused on shortstop and the rotation in the short term. If Iglesias receives strong two-year offers this month, he could sign elsewhere before the Braves are ready to pivot to the bullpen.

Blue Jays Outright Nick Sandlin

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The Blue Jays outrighted Nick Sandlin off the 40-man roster, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. Sandlin has over three years of service time and will surely elect free agency in the coming days.

It’s effectively an early non-tender of the righty reliever. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Sandlin for a $2MM salary if he were tendered an arbitration contract. That’s not a huge amount, but the Jays soured on his future enough that they didn’t want to lock him into a middle relief role going into next season.

This drops their roster count from 38 to 37. Teams need to decide which eligible prospects they want to keep out of the Rule 5 draft by Tuesday evening. The Jays have an extra spot available than they would have had if they’d waited until Friday’s non-tender deadline to make the cut.

Toronto acquired Sandlin as a secondary piece of last winter’s Andrés Giménez trade. The Southern Mississippi product had pitched to a 3.27 earned run average over parts of four seasons in Cleveland. Sandlin never had great control, but he missed a good number of bats behind a plus slider and a promising splitter. The Jays hoped he could take on a higher-leverage role after being more of a sixth/seventh inning type in a loaded Cleveland bullpen.

Injuries kept that from happening. Sandlin went down three weeks into the season with a lat strain. He returned in mid-June but was shut back down after nine appearances by elbow inflammation. The latter injury ended his year. Sandlin tossed 16 1/3 innings overall. He gave up seven runs (four earned) with 16 strikeouts and eight walks. He recorded five holds and a save but also surrendered three leads.

Sandlin’s stuff was diminished. He averaged career lows on both his slider (78.4 MPH) and four-seam fastball (91.4). While he has never been a flamethrower, his heater was in the 94-95 MPH range during his rookie season and sat between 92-93 last year. Other teams evidently share the Jays’ concerns about the diminished velocity. Sandlin cleared waivers, suggesting no club wanted to take a flier and tender him at that projected $2MM price.

A’s, Joey Meneses Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics are in agreement with first baseman Joey Meneses on a minor league contract, reports Francys Romero. The deal includes an invite to MLB camp, according to Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The MAS+ client spent this past season in Triple-A in the Mets organization.

Meneses is coming off a .265/.322/.447 line with 11 homers at the top minor league level. He put the ball in play but didn’t walk much and posted average batted ball marks. That wasn’t going to be enough to force his way onto the MLB roster behind Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos. He’ll have a similarly uphill path to a big league job with the A’s. They have Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker locked into first base and designated hitter, respectively.

The 33-year-old Meneses is likely to head to Triple-A Las Vegas. He’s a career .282/.338/.480 hitter over parts of five Triple-A seasons. Meneses played in the big leagues with the Nationals between 2022-24. He had a huge showing out of nowhere as a 30-year-old rookie, hitting .324 with 13 homers in his first 56 big league contests.

A rebuilding Washington team gave him a full year as a starting first baseman to see if they’d stumbled on a late-career breakout. That didn’t prove to be the case, as Meneses hit .261/.311/.370 in nearly 1000 trips to the plate in 2023-24. The Nationals dropped him from the roster at the beginning of last offseason.

Phillies Receiving Trade Interest In Lefty Relievers

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The Phillies have gotten trade calls on left-handed relievers Matt Strahm, José Alvarado and Tanner Banks, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Philadelphia could leverage their bullpen depth for help in a different area of the roster.

All three pitchers are affordable and above-average performers. Alvarado, who’ll make $9MM next season, is the most talented of the group. He’s the hardest-throwing lefty reliever in the game, averaging more than 99 MPH on his fastball. The 30-year-old dominated early in the season and took over the closer role until MLB suspended him for 80 games because of a failed performance-enhancing drug test. That made him ineligible for postseason play, but the Phillies welcomed Alvarado back for the end of the regular season and were confident enough in his ability to exercise a 2026 club option.

Jhoan Duran is locked into the ninth inning now. Alvarado projects as Philly’s top lefty setup arm. He’ll be eligible for the playoffs in future seasons, so it’s unlikely the Phillies are putting much stock in the PED suspension moving forward. Alvarado also finished the year on the injured list with a forearm strain but is expected to be fine going into Spring Training.

An Alvarado trade would be relatively surprising. It’s easier to see the Phils swapping one of Strahm or Banks for someone at a position of greater need. Strahm, who turned 34 on Wednesday, vested a $7.5MM salary for the upcoming season. He’s coming off a 2.74 ERA with an above-average 27.3% strikeout rate across 66 appearances. Strahm owns a 2.71 mark over three seasons in Philadelphia and led the team with 22 holds this year.

While Strahm remains a quality leverage option, the Phillies could have some concern about his trend lines. His strikeout rate dropped six percentage points relative to 2024, when he fanned a third of opponents. He averaged a career-low 92.3 MPH on his fastball and has seen his swinging strike rate dip in consecutive years.

Banks, also 34, is the least well known of the Phils’ lefty trio. He didn’t reach the big leagues until his age-30 season and spent his first couple seasons on a rebuilding White Sox team. Banks was an under-the-radar deadline pickup in 2024 and has turned in a 3.24 ERA with a league average 22.5% strikeout rate over 91 2/3 innings in Philadelphia.

His fastball sits in the low-90s, but he attacks the strike zone with a pair of breaking pitches and held lefty batters to a putrid .172/.213/.243 slash line this year. Banks has held his own against right-handed hitters as well, but he’s the kind of pitcher whom teams generally prefer in a middle relief/specialist role rather than as a true high-leverage arm. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $1.2MM salary in his first of three seasons of arbitration eligibility.

Teams seeking lefty relief help don’t have many free agent options. Gregory Soto is probably in line for the largest contract. He’s a power arm but has inconsistent command and has allowed more than four earned runs per nine in each of the past three seasons. Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner, Justin Wilson, Taylor Rogers and Danny Coulombe should be limited to one-year deals based on their age. Sean Newcomb or Caleb Ferguson could command a cheap two-year deal but aren’t ideal high-leverage options. Steven Matz, Ryan Yarbrough and NPB returnees Anthony Kay and Foster Griffin are swing types.

It’s a weak group, which could lead teams to turn to the trade market. The Cardinals are likely to move former Phillie JoJo Romero, who is going into his final season of arbitration. The rebuilding Nationals could hear teams out on grounder specialist Jose A. Ferrer. The Rays are down to two years of control on Garrett Cleavinger and would surely entertain offers, but they’re going to have a huge asking price. Every contender could evaluate the bullpen market. The Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Cubs are among the teams that could use another left-handed arm in particular.

While the Phillies have a good group of southpaws, they could use a more reliable right-handed setup arm than Orion Kerkering in front of Duran. They’re also in the market for outfield help and potentially a depth starter/swingman with Harrison Bader and Ranger Suárez hitting free agency. They’re prioritizing re-signing Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. They’d need to go outside the organization for a catcher if Realmuto signs elsewhere, as a Rafael Marchán/Garrett Stubbs pairing would be one of the worst offensive duos in the game. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged at the GM Meetings that they’re evaluating an otherwise weak catching market as a backup plan in case Realmuto doesn’t return (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer).

Pirates Hire Kristopher Negron, Tony Beasley To Coaching Staff

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The Pirates will be hiring Kristopher Negron as their new bench coach and Tony Beasley as the third base coach, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Negron has been on the Mariners’ coaching staff for the last four seasons, while Beasley returns to the Pirates organization after spending over a decade with the Rangers.

After concluding his six-year MLB playing career, Negron took on an assistant role in Seattle’s player development department in 2020 and then was the manager at Triple-A Tacoma in 2021.  He was then promoted to the big league staff as the first base coach before acting as the Mariners’ third base coach in 2025.

Negron (who turns 40 in February) now takes on his highest-profile coaching job yet, as Don Kelly’s chief lieutenant.  Kelly was Pittsburgh’s bench coach himself when he was promoted to the manager’s job in May when Derek Shelton was fired, and though Gene Lamont essentially filled the bench coach role in a capacity as an advisor to Kelly, the position wasn’t officially filled until now.

Beasley is a familiar face in Pittsburgh, having spent six seasons with the Bucs as a minor league player and then several seasons as a manager, coach, and instructor at both the minor and Major League levels.  Beasley’s previous stint on Pittsburgh’s MLB staff came in 2008-10, when was the club’s third base coach.

Once that stint ended, Beasley moved on to four years in the Nationals’ farm system as a manager and instructor before he joined the Rangers as their third base coach prior to the 2015 season.  Beasley’s time in Texas included a World Series ring with the 2023 team and a 48-game stint as interim manager in 2022 after Chris Woodward was fired.

Negron and Beasley are the latest new faces on a revamped Pittsburgh coaching staff, as Bill Murphy was also hired as the new pitching coach a few weeks ago.  The Pirates liked enough of what they saw from Kelly to give him a contract extension at season’s end, and the skipper is now apparently getting some input in reshaping his staff.  In a sense there’s nowhere to go but up for a team that has endured seven straight losing seasons, and still hasn’t gotten out of rebuild mode despite the presence of Paul Skenes and an overall enviable amount of pitching depth.

Mariners Looking To Retain 2025 Roster, Add Bullpen Help

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After winning the AL West and reaching Game 7 of the ALCS, it isn’t surprising that the Mariners are looking to stick with a successful formula.  That means “ideally keeping as much of the group that we had last year, that we really believed in, together,” general manager Justin Hollander told the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish and other reporters at the GM Meetings this week.

“Our offseason is largely going to start with the guys who were on the team last year and try to bring as many back as possible,” Hollander said, with the M’s “then filling in the rest of the roster as required.”  To this end, Hollander said the team has been in contact with the agents for their six free agents — Josh Naylor, Jorge Polanco, Eugenio Suarez, Caleb Ferguson, Luke Jackson, and Mitch Garver.

“I think they know how we feel, and don’t really believe in progress or no progress,” Hollander said.  “When you get to a deal, you get to a deal, but I think everybody’s aware of where we’re at right now and that we do have interest, and we’ll just keep playing it day by day until we can get deals or have to pivot elsewhere.”

Hollander naturally didn’t give any hints about the details of these negotiations, though logic would dictate that the Mariners won’t be re-signing all six players.  The M’s have been open about their desire to retain Naylor, so the common belief is that Naylor and Polanco are the most likely internal free agents to re-up for new contracts, while the other four will probably be playing elsewhere in 2026.

The potential departures of Ferguson and Jackson coincide with Seattle’s desire to add to its bullpen, which Hollander said was another “area of focus for us this offseason.”  Led by star closer Andres Munoz, the Mariners’ relief corps was more solid than a surefire plus in 2025, as the club’s collective 3.72 ERA (ninth of 30 teams) was undermined by control problems and middling strikeout numbers.  Beyond these numbers, Hollander also acknowledged “the realities that our high-leverage group just worked really hard for an extra month of the season.  We would be silly not to expect that to take a toll over time….Making the bullpen deeper and longer is important.”

Adding relief help of any kind is the priority, yet Divish feels the Mariners might make a point of adding a southpaw.  Gabe Speier is currently the only left-hander projected to be part of Seattle’s bullpen, and minor leaguers Jhonathan Diaz and Tayler Saucedo are the only other southpaws on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.

Angels Seeking Multiple Starters, Left-Handed Bat

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The Angels have quite a bit to achieve this offseason. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes that the club would like to add multiple starting pitchers and bullpen help. General manager Perry Minasian said from the GM Meetings that they’re also looking for offense, with preference for a left-handed bat.

“Is (a lefty hitter) the No. 1 pressing need? Is that ‘A’ on the checklist of things to do? No,” Minasian told reporters (link via Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). “But it is something we’ve talked about a ton. We want to be a more balanced offense. … There are some really attractive right-handed hitters that I’d love to have, that are just good hitters, that I don’t necessarily think anyone cares if they’re right-handed or left-handed. So does it have to be left-handed? No. Apples to apples? Of course, you choose left hand over right-handed.”

The Halos have three pitchers penciled into the Opening Day rotation: Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano and Reid Detmers. They don’t have much beyond that with none of Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Jack Kochanowicz or Mitch Farris securing a rotation spot. They’re likely to push 2025 second overall pick Tyler Bremner quickly, but it’d be surprising if the Angels were willing to carry him in the Opening Day rotation before he pitches in the minors at all. They skipped 2024 second-rounder Ryan Johnson right to the big leagues as a reliever this past season, but he struggled and was optioned in early May. Johnson built back as a starter and pitched well in High-A but still has no starting experience in the upper levels.

The bullpen could lose its two most reliable arms. Detmers, last season’s top setup man, is moving back to the rotation. Closer Kenley Jansen is a free agent. The Angels presumably would like to bring Jansen back after an excellent season. The four-time All-Star went 29-30 in save chances. He turned in a 2.59 ERA across 59 innings. Even that was inflated by one nightmare appearance against the Tigers in which he gave up six of the 17 earned runs he allowed all season. Jansen is probably limited to one-year deals at this stage of his career, though he could match last winter’s $10MM guarantee.

Left-hander Brock Burke enters the offseason as the Angels’ only reliable reliever. Minasian provided a positive update on talented but oft-injured righty Robert Stephenson, who finished the season on the shelf with elbow inflammation. Stephenson will not require surgery and is expected to be ready for Spring Training, Bollinger relays. Stephenson has the talent to pitch late in games, but his durability issues make him a wild card. The Angels clearly need to add multiple leverage arms.

While pitching figures to be the priority, the Halos have a few questions in the lineup. They don’t have an everyday center fielder or third baseman. Christian Moore projects as the starting second baseman, but he struggled as a rookie after being quickly pushed through the minors. There’s arguably a corner outfield glut with Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Jorge Soler and Jo Adell — who is miscast in center field and should stay in right, where he spent the final month of the ’25 season. Ward and Adell have already come up in trade rumors. One of them could be swapped for a player at a position of greater need, but that’d be nowhere close to all the work for the front office to accomplish.

The club’s preference would be to add a lefty hitter at one or two of those positions. No team gave fewer plate appearances to left-handed batters this year. Only the Astros leaned more heavily on pure righty bats. The Angels had an MLB-worst .224 batting average against righty pitching. They were 28th in on-base percentage (.299) and 24th in slugging (.394). Switch-hitters Luis Rengifo and Yoán Moncada hit free agency, leaving first baseman Nolan Schanuel as their only lefty hitter set for a significant role.

If they go into free agency for that need, it’d make most sense to focus on center field. Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger are available at the higher ends of the market. Cedric Mullins is a rebound candidate who’ll probably sign for one year.

There are far fewer lefty bats who could play second or third base. If neither Rengifo nor Moncada are retained, the best free agent options are Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez and Willi Castro. Polanco can play either position but saw a lot of DH work with the Mariners this year because of knee issues. Arraez hasn’t played second base regularly in two years because of limited range. Castro is a bat-first utility player who started the season well but went downhill after a deadline trade to the Cubs.

Players like CJ Abrams, Brendan Donovan or Brandon Lowe could be available in trade. That’d require the Angels to deal from an already bad farm system for short-term help on the heels of a 72-90 season. As Minasian noted, that could leave them to pursue a superior righty-hitting infielder even if it’s not ideal for lineup balance. Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suárez, Kazuma Okamoto, Ha-Seong Kim and Gleyber Torres are all right-handed hitting free agents who can play second and/or third.

Torres, who is weighing a qualifying offer from the Tigers, was apparently a target of the Angels last winter. Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic report that Torres rejected a multi-year offer from the Halos during the 2024-25 offseason because he doubted the team could contend. He signed a one-year, $15MM contract with Detroit. The Tigers made the playoffs for a second consecutive season and the Angels still have one of the worst rosters in the American League on paper.

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