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Angels To Sign Kirby Yates

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2:13pm: Yates is guaranteed $5MM, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

1:17pm: The Angels have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent reliever Kirby Yates, reports Ari Alexander of 7News. The right-hander’s agreement is still pending a physical. Yates is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Yates gives the Angels yet another veteran reliever with some closing experience who’s in need of a rebound — in his case, ahead of what’ll be his age-39 season. The Halos will hope to finally get a full workload out of Robert Stephenson in the final season of his three-year, $33MM contract. They’ve also signed former Jays closer Jordan Romano and veteran reliever Drew Pomeranz to low-cost, one-year contracts this offseason as well.

If healthy — a major caveat, given the injury history in question here — Yates could be the best of the bunch. The two-time All-Star led the NL with 41 saves back in 2019 and has twice posted full seasons with an ERA shy of 1.20, including as recently as the 2024 season with Texas.

Since an age-30 breakout with the Padres, the late-blooming Yates has pitched 355 innings with a 2.84 earned run average, 97 saves, 65 holds and only 13 blown save opportunities. He’s fanned a whopping 35.1% of his opponents along the way (backed by a huge 15.7% swinging-strike rate) and walked 9.6% of the batters he’s faced. Coincidentally enough, the Angels were the team from which the Padres claimed Yates off waivers. They’d picked Yates up themselves via waivers the prior October. He pitched only one inning as an Angel and was tagged for two runs.

Yates now returns for a second stint with the Angels. The signing reunites him with veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux, who was Yates’ pitching coach with the ’24 Rangers. Yates saved 33 games and posted an immaculate 1.17 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate that season.

That performance was enough to land him a hearty $13MM guarantee on a one-year deal with the Dodgers. But while Yates landed the first World Series ring of his career, the marriage didn’t go particularly well. He was thrice placed on the injured list — twice for hamstring strains and once due to a lower back injury — and pitched only 41 1/3 innings. The veteran righty’s 5.23 earned run average was one of the worst marks of his career, and his 92.8 mph average four-seam velocity was his lowest since 2013. Yates still punched out an excellent 29.6% of his opponents, but he was doomed by home runs, yielding an average of 1.96 round-trippers per nine frames.

While Yates has typically been excellent when healthy, he’s had his share of injuries. He pitched only 4 1/3 innings in 2020 due to bone spurs in his elbow. He signed with the Blue Jays in free agency that offseason but never pitched an inning for Toronto. He required Tommy John surgery at the end of spring training. From 2020-22, Yates pitched only 11 1/3 innings in the majors.

The Angels will bet on Yates’ track record and hope for better help. Between Yates, Stephenson, Romano and Pomeranz, they certainly aren’t lacking talent at the back end of the bullpen — but there’s a clear lack of consistency and durability. They’ll hope to add flamethrower Ben Joyce to that mix at some point this season, though his timetable for a return from last May’s surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder remains murky.

It’s not entirely clear where the Yates signing takes the Angels’ payroll. RosterResource projected them for a payroll around $172MM this morning, but that was before the Angels and Anthony Rendon agreed to defer the payment of the final year and $38MM on his contract for a reported three to five seasons. Details surrounding that still-fresh arrangement have yet to surface in full, but it’s clear that the Angels are quite a bit south of the roughly $206MM payroll figure at which they ended the 2025 campaign.

Angels, Anthony Rendon Restructure Contract; Rendon Will Not Return To Team

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1:40pm: Rendon is not officially “retiring,” Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register adds. He’ll still count against the team’s roster for the time being, although with the two sides agreeing to part ways, it stands to reason that the Angels could release him at any point. He’ll be paid regardless.

1:15pm: The Angels and Anthony Rendon have agreed to a restructured version of his contract that will defer the $38MM he is still owed for the next three to five seasons, reports Sam Blum of The Athletic. Rendon will not return to the team. His tenure with the Angels is over.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported in late November that the two parties were working on a buyout of sorts regarding the final year and $38MM on the seven-year, $245MM contract Rendon signed following his monster 2019 season. It proved to be a catastrophic misstep for the Halos — one of the least-productive major signings in the sport’s history. Rendon played in only 257 games for Anaheim, slashing just .242/.348/.369 with 22 home runs in 1095 plate appearances. Of a possible 1032 games he could have played with the Angels, Rendon will wind up appearing in just under one-quarter of them.

It’s easy to forget, but Rendon’s Angels tenure started out quite well. He played in 52 of 60 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and slashed a robust .286/.418/.497 with nine homers, 11 doubles, a triple and more walks (16.4%) than strikeouts (13.4%). It was precisely the type of star-level output for which the Angels hoped when signing the reigning World Series MVP after a sensational run in Washington; from 2017-19, Rendon had slashed .310/.397/.556 with the Nationals.

Everything fell apart from that point forth. Rendon’s 2021 season was cut short by hip surgery. His 2022 season ended early due to wrist surgery. He missed all of the 2025 season following a second hip surgery. Even in the 2023-24 seasons, when he avoided undergoing any kind of surgical procedure, Rendon was limited to just 90 games due to the combination of a fractured tibia (suffered when fouling a ball into his leg), a torn hamstring and an oblique strain.

As one would expect, as those injuries piled up, Rendon’s production wilted. Following his terrific 2020 campaign, he played in just 202 games with the Angels and hit .231/.329/.336 with poor defense. He was effectively a replacement-level player — and a frequently injured one at that. Rendon also sparked controversy off the field as well in 2023, when he was captured on video grabbing an A’s fan by the shirt after he’d been cussed at while leaving the field. Rendon swore at the fan and took a swipe at him after releasing his shirt. He was suspended for four games and fined by the league.

The Angels weren’t counting on Rendon for any contributions from Rendon in 2026 anyhow, but the restructure and deferral of his weighty $38MM salary gives the team some extra spending power this winter. Details surrounding the nature of the deferrals and how much — if anything — they’ll pay Rendon in 2026 are unclear. Blum, however, suggests that the Angels could use the newfound financial freedom to pursue a higher-profile free agent this winter. That doesn’t necessarily have to be at third base, although in Alex Bregman and NPB star Kazuma Okamoto, there are a pair of notable options at the position.

Many of the top names on the free agent market remain unsigned to this point. In addition to Bregman and Okamoto, none of Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez or Tatsuya Imai have signed yet. Imai’s 45-day posting window closes on Jan. 2. Okamoto’s posting window closes two days later.

Prior to the Rendon buyout/restructure, RosterResource projected the Angels’ payroll at about $172MM, which is roughly $34MM shy of their 2025 level. Depending on how the new arrangement has been structured, the Angels could be anywhere from $40-70MM shy of last year’s season-ending mark, which would give general manager Perry Minasian and his staff plenty of room to further augment the club.

Yankees Re-Sign Amed Rosario

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Dec. 30: The team has now formally announced Rosario’s new contract.

Dec. 13: The Yankees are re-signing infielder Amed Rosario to a one-year contract.  The deal pays Rosario $2.5MM in salary, plus another $225K is available in incentive bonuses.  Rosario is represented by Octagon.

Acquired from the Nationals at the trade deadline, Rosario hit .303/.303/.485 over 33 plate appearances and 16 games for New York, and his playing time was further limited by a 10-day injured list stint due to a left SC joint sprain.  Still, Rosario lived up to expectations by chipping in at second base, third base, and in right field, while providing the Yankees with a productive right-handed hitting bat.

That righty-swinging balance is a plus within a New York lineup that is heavy in left-handed batters, and having Rosario back will give the Yankees some platoon flexibility with either Ryan McMahon at third base or even Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base.  McMahon is a superb defender but a much lesser hitter than Chisholm, so Rosario will probably get most of his playing time spelling McMahon at least against southpaws.

Once regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects during his time in the Mets’ farm system, Rosario posted some okay offensive numbers as a regular with the Mets and Guardians.  His overall effectiveness was limited by a lack of walks, struggles against right-handed pitching, and subpar defending at the shortstop position.

Though he is only entering his age-30 season, Rosario now looks to have settled into a role as a part-time player who can fill in at multiple positions, though he doesn’t provide much defensive value anywhere.  His biggest plus is his ability to hit southpaws, as Rosario has a career .298/.336/.464 slash line in 1196 PA against left-handed pitching.

The Yankees clearly liked what they saw in Rosario last year, and after bouncing around to six different teams since the start of the 2023 season, Rosario probably appreciates some stability in returning to the Bronx for a full season in the pinstripes.  He receives a slight raise over the $2MM deal he received from Washington last winter.

With Rosario back in the fold, the Yankees have brought some experienced depth back into the infield mix.  Anthony Volpe will miss the start of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, so if Jose Caballero ends up getting a lot of the shortstop time in Volpe’s absence, Rosario’s presence helps fill the utility void on New York’s bench.  Brendan Donovan is another versatile player known to be on the Yankees’ trade radar, plus the club has also been more loosely linked to All-Star Bo Bichette, in what would be an even more seismic shake-up of the Bronx infield.

Jack Curry of YES Network was the first to report that Rosario was re-signing with the Yankees on a one-year deal.  Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Rosario’s $2.5MM salary, and ESPN’s Jorge Castillo added the news about the incentive bonuses.

Red Sox Notes: Giolito, Bullpen

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Despite declining his end of a mutual option for the 2026 season, right-hander Lucas Giolito was and is very open to returning to the Red Sox, the pitcher himself told WEEI’s Rob Bradford in a guest appearance on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast. However, Giolito also was realistic about the slim chances of that happening in the wake of Boston’s acquisition of Sonny Gray (and Johan Oviedo). Asked if the trades for Gray and Oviedo were a signal that the team plans to move on, Giolito replied, “That’s what I think,” adding that the “writing is on the wall” with regard to the fact that a reunion is unlikely.

Giolito delved further into his free agent experience a second time around, explaining that he’s more focused on what he can control this time around instead of stressing over the day-to-day of the process. He’s upped his workout regimen and is experimenting with reincorporating a sinker into his repertoire. He hasn’t thrown a two-seamer since the 2018 season but is working out at Cressey Performance Center this winter and working on an updated version of the pitch.

Though Giolito will likely be taking that new-look sinker to another club, the Red Sox don’t figure to be done on the pitching front. Tim Healey of the Boston Globe breaks down the team’s bullpen, highlighting the lack of established options beyond Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert while noting that at least one, if not two external additions could be in the cards for Breslow in the final few months of the offseason.

The Red Sox are paying Jordan Hicks $12MM in each of the next two seasons, so he’ll surely have a leash of some note, but he’s coming off a lost season in which he was rocked for a 6.59 ERA while posting a career-worst 18.5% strikeout rate. Manager Alex Cora talked up Jovani Moran as a potential left-handed option, but the 28-year-old has struggled through injury and poor performance since a promising rookie campaign with the Twins back in 2022.

While Boston is lacking in established southpaw options, much of the free agent market has thinned out considerably in recent weeks. A reunion with veteran Justin Wilson would make sense, speculatively speaking, but each of Steven Matz (Rays), Gregory Soto (Pirates), Hoby Milner (Cubs), Caleb Thielbar (Cubs), Caleb Ferguson (Reds), Drew Pomeranz (Angels) and Sean Newcomb (White Sox) has already signed this winter. Wilson, Danny Coulombe, Taylor Rogers, Andrew Chafin and Brent Suter are all still available. JoJo Romero is the most obvious name on the trade market, if the Red Sox want to circle back for what would be a third trade with the Cardinals.

Padres Sign Blake Hunt To Minor League Deal

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The Padres have signed catcher Blake Hunt to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Hunt’s MLB.com profile page. Hunt’s deal was first reported by MadFriars earlier this month.

Hunt, 27, was a second-round pick by the Padres back in 2017. He was a piece of the Blake Snell trade during the 2020-21 offseason and spent several years climbing up the Rays’ minor league system. Hunt hit quite well for the Rays’ Double- and Triple-A affiliates in 2023, slashing a combined .256/.331/.484 with 12 homers in 67 games, but ultimately was not added to the club’s 40-man roster during the 2023-24 offseason with minor league free agency looming. That led the Rays to deal Hunt to the Mariners, who did add him to their 40-man roster and were willing to give up minor league catcher Tatem Levins in order to do so.

After making the jump to Seattle, Hunt hit extremely well in the first month of the season at Triple-A with a .293/.372/.533 slash line in 24 games. That was a strong enough performance that the Orioles decided to take a chance on him and acquired him from Seattle in the deal that sent Mike Baumann to the Mariners in May 2024. He was called up to the majors in July of 2024 but did not make his big league debut before being designated for assignment by Baltimore. He remained with the Orioles through the end of the year in the minor leagues but hit just .179/.219/.278 across 42 games with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk.

During the 2024-25 offseason, the Mariners re-acquired Hunt and stashed him at the minor league level as depth behind their big league duo of Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver. Raleigh, of course, went on to have an MVP-caliber season in 2025 as he broke the single season record for home runs by a catcher. That left little room for Hunt to make it to the majors this past year, but his minor league slash line did manage to recover after a tough year in Baltimore. Across 62 games this year, Hunt slashed .272/.368/.452. That slash line is inflated due to the offensive environment in the Pacific Coast League, where Seattle’s Tacoma affiliate plays, but Hunt’s performance was still good for an above-average 108 wRC+.

After the 2025 campaign, Hunt became a minor league free agent and hit the market as an intriguing, bat-first depth option for a catching-needy club. He’s now found a home back with his first professional organization and figures to be the top depth option with Triple-A El Paso headed into 2026. The Padres have a fairly weak catching tandem as things stand, as Freddy Fermin profiles best as a part-time player while Luis Campusano figures to serve as the club’s backup at the moment after getting just 27 plate appearances at the big league level last year. That leaves a fairly open path for Hunt to force his way onto the MLB roster and perhaps make his big league debut after years of sitting on the cusp of doing so. If the Padres don’t make further additions behind the plate, it’s easy to imagine Hunt challenging Campusano for the job of backing up Fermin this spring with longtime top prospect Ethan Salas still likely to be years away from his own big league debut.

The Opener: Imai, Okamoto, Orioles

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Imai’s posting deadline approaches:

NPB right-hander Tatsuya Imai is entering the final days of his posting window and figures to sign with an MLB club any day now. Imai, 27, is among the more intriguing starters on the market this offseason coming off back-to-back seasons for the Seibu Lions where he posted dominant numbers. The righty was connected to the Cubs, Mets, Phillies, and Yankees among other clubs in the early weeks of the offseason but the rumor mill has been relatively quiet in the aftermath of the Winter Meetings earlier this month. How his market has developed in the weeks since that early interest from teams is unclear, but it seems reasonable to expect more information on the bidding for Imai’s services to become available any day now with his posting window set to wrap up at 4pm CT on January 2.

2. Okamoto begins meeting with teams:

The posting deadline for NPB infielder Kazuma Okamoto isn’t coming up quite as soon as Imai’s, as Okamoto doesn’t have to sign until January 4. Even so, rumors regarding the infielder’s future have been far more common in recent weeks as he comes off an elite (albeit injury-shortened) campaign with the Yomiuri Giants in 2025. Okamoto has been tied to the Pirates frequently this offseason, though connections have also been drawn between the 29-year-old and teams like the Angels, Padres, Red Sox, and Blue Jays. The latest reporting on Okamoto indicates that he’s headed to the U.S. for in-person meetings with teams, and a deal figures to come together quickly from there with less than a week remaining in his posting window.

3. Orioles continue to bolster rotation:

The Orioles re-signed right-hander Zach Eflin to a one-year deal over the weekend, and yesterday reporting indicated that a return to the mound by Opening Day is on the table for the righty even after he underwent season-ending back surgery back in August. That’s notable news not only because it suggests Eflin’s recovery from that procedure is going well, but also because it leaves Baltimore with a potential Opening Day rotation of Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Shane Baz, Eflin, and Dean Kremer with further depth behind those five arms. That’s a playable rotation that figures to be a significant upgrade over last year’s Opening Day quintet, but it lacks the sort of surefire front-of-the-rotation addition many expected from Baltimore this offseason. The addition of a more proven arm like Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez from here could certainly still be in the cards, but at this point it’s at least feasible that Baltimore will walk away from the offseason with only modest rotation upgrades and first baseman Pete Alonso as their big addition.

Kazuma Okamoto Travels To U.S. For In-Person Meetings With Teams

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Star Nippon Professional Baseball third baseman Kazuma Okamoto has traveled to the United States for a series of in-person meetings as he enters the final stretch of his 45-day posting window, per a report from Yahoo Japan (hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan). Okamoto and agent Scott Boras are narrowing the field of interested clubs as Okamoto nears his early-January deadline for an agreement.

To this point, each of the Blue Jays, Pirates, Red Sox, Padres and Angels have been prominently linked to Okamoto, who’ll turn 30 next June. The longtime Yomiuri Giants star, who’d been their team captain prior to being posted, is one of the most consistent sluggers in Japan. He’s a career .277/.361/.522 hitter in NPB who has reached 30 home runs in all but two of his 11 seasons. That includes 2025, when injuries limited him to 69 games, and 2024, when he “only” hit 27 homers in 143 games.

However, despite hitting a career-low 15 home runs this past season due to an elbow injury, Okamoto had the best production of his excellent NPB tenure on a rate basis. In 293 trips to the batter’s box, he slashed .327/.416/.598 with a robust 11.3% walk rate that matched his minuscule 11.3% strikeout rate. His 24.3% line-drive rate from this past season was a career-high, and Okamoto’s .271 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) was the second-best mark of his career, trailing only his 41-homer season from 2023.

Like countryman Munetaka Murakami, Okamoto is a corner infielder whose glovework concerns big league teams. He’s considered a better defender at third base than Murakami but is still viewed by many clubs as a player who’ll likely spend most (if not all) of his first MLB contract as a first baseman and/or designated hitter. Those defensive concerns contributed significantly to Murakami settling for a two-year deal that fell well short of industry expectations. Defensive concerns surrounding Okamoto aren’t as prominent, nor does he have the alarming swing-and-miss profile that also contributed to the bearish market for Murakami. However, Okamoto is four years older. Next year being his age-30 season will likely limit the length of his forthcoming contract (though perhaps not to the same extent as Murakami).

Of the teams connected to Okamoto thus far, there’s no clear favorite. The Blue Jays presumably still have Bo Bichette ahead of him on their wishlist — possibly Alex Bregman as well. Boston has also been pursuing both Bregman and Bichette (likely in that order). The Pirates have already acquired one first base option, signing Ryan O’Hearn, and have another in Spencer Horwitz. If they were to make a real push for Okamoto, they’d need to be confident in his ability to play third base. The Angels have a clearer path to playing time at the infield corners (particularly third base). The Padres won’t be displacing Manny Machado at third base, so Okamoto would need to play first base, with Jake Cronenworth manning second base and KBO acquisition Sung Mun Song shifting to the outfield or a utility role.

Of course, it remains perfectly plausible that other, yet-unidentified clubs are in the bidding. The A’s, Mariners, Twins, Rangers, D-backs, Marlins, Mets, Cubs and Nationals all have varying levels of questions at the infield corners. Not all of those teams have significant money to spend this winter — the Rangers, Twins and D-backs are all known to be reducing payroll relative to recent seasons — but any of the bunch could get creative with backloaded contract structures and/or shed payroll by another means to make room if Okamoto is deemed a sufficient upgrade. That’s a largely speculative list, to be clear, but given Okamoto’s track record in NPB, it’d be a surprise if “only” five MLB’s 30 teams had any interest in signing him.

It bears noting that while Okamoto was originally set to be posted on Nov. 19, MLBTR has confirmed that his posting didn’t become official until Nov. 21. That pushes his window to sign a contract with a big league club from the original Jan. 2 to Jan. 4. Whichever club signs him will owe the Giants a posting/release fee equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. That fee comes on top of the value of the contract itself. Subsequent earnings (club/player options, performance incentives, award bonuses, etc.) fall under that umbrella as well, once they’re officially reached.

D-Backs Re-Sign John Curtiss To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks re-signed reliever John Curtiss to a minor league contract last week (link via Arizona Sports). The righty will presumably get a non-roster invitation to Spring Training.

Curtiss returns to the desert for a second season. He’d elected free agency when the D-Backs waived him at the beginning of the offseason. The 32-year-old spent the second half of the year on the MLB roster. Arizona selected his minor league contract at the end of June. Curtiss went on to toss 36 2/3 innings of 3.93 ERA ball. He picked up three holds and even secured a late-season save, his first in the big leagues since 2020.

That marked Curtiss’ heaviest MLB workload in four years. Although the results were solid enough, he only managed a 17% strikeout rate with a 9% swinging strike mark. His fastball sat in the 94 MPH range and he leaned on a low-90s cutter as his main secondary pitch.

Curtiss was miscast for some of the high-leverage spots in which the Diamondbacks were forced to use him late in the season. He has a decent path to winning a middle relief role if he pitches well during camp. A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez will be on the injured list. They’ve yet to make any MLB additions to a bullpen that needs at least two new leverage arms. They’ve brought in Isaiah Campbell and Junior Fernández on minor league deals this winter.

Reds Remain Open To Outfield Addition

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The Reds made a pair of depth additions to the outfield last week. They brought in glove-first center fielder Dane Myers in a small trade with Miami while signing JJ Bleday to a $1.4MM reclamation deal. Neither player should be locked into everyday roles, but they’ll each compete for playing time alongside TJ Friedl and Noelvi Marte. Both acquisitions have a minor league option remaining and can be sent to Triple-A Louisville without going on waivers.

Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic write that the Reds are open to acquiring another outfielder, which they suggest is likelier to come via trade than free agency. Their left field mix is likely to feature Bleday, Gavin Lux and Will Benson — each of whom hit from the left side. Friedl is also a left-handed hitter, leaving Marte and Myers as their top right-handed options. Marte is going to be the everyday right fielder. Myers has good career numbers against left-handed pitching (.297/.360/.456) but has been almost unplayable against righties.

The Reds have some flexibility in their positional alignment. They limited Spencer Steer mostly to first base this year after he suffered a shoulder injury in Spring Training. If they feel better about testing his arm after a healthy offseason, he could pick up a few more starts in left field. Playing Steer in the outfield against left-handed pitching would free more first base at-bats for Sal Stewart, who is coming off a .309/.383/.524 showing in Triple-A. Stewart reached the big leagues late in the season and connected on five home runs in 18 games. He’s one of the organization’s most exciting offensive players, though it remains to be seen if he can handle more than spot starts at a position other than first base or designated hitter.

Acquiring a center fielder could also push Friedl into a full-time left field role. That’s easier said than done given the limited supply of center fielders on the trade market. Houston dangled Jake Meyers for starting pitching before trading Jacob Melton as part of a package to acquire Mike Burrows from Pittsburgh. The White Sox have discussed Luis Robert Jr. with the Reds, among other clubs, but his $20MM salary is a significant obstacle. Even if Chicago might be willing to pay down a portion of the contract, that’d increase their prospect demand for their talented but inconsistent center fielder.

Sammon and Woo report that the Reds have not considered trading Friedl. He’s under arbitration control for three seasons and led the team with a .364 on-base percentage (min. 200 plate appearances). Friedl was at the top of Terry Francona’s batting order for the entire year. He has serviceable range in center field but a below-average arm that would make him a better fit in left if the Reds were able to land a clear upgrade in center.

Cincinnati’s payroll projection sits around $111MM, as estimated by RosterResource. The Reds opened the 2025 season at just under $116MM. President of baseball operations Nick Krall said at the beginning of the offseason that he anticipated a similar number next year.

Dodgers Trade Esteury Ruiz To Marlins

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8:48pm: The teams officially announced the trade, and Miami confirmed that Wagaman has been designated for assignment.

6:47pm: The Dodgers are trading outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Marlins for minor league pitcher Adriano Marrero, reports Francys Romero. Miami reportedly plans to designate first baseman Eric Wagaman for assignment in a corresponding move. This drops L.A.’s roster count to 39.

Ruiz is best known for stealing an AL-leading 67 bases as a member of the Athletics in 2023. That’s the only season in which he has appeared in even 30 games at the big league level. Ruiz batted .254/.309/.345 with five home runs in 497 trips to the plate. He only walked at a 4% clip and, despite showing his plus speed on the bases, graded poorly as a center fielder.

It clearly wasn’t what the A’s had in mind when they chose Ruiz over William Contreras as the centerpiece of their return in the three-team Sean Murphy trade the previous offseason. He spent most of the ’24 season in Triple-A and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee at year’s end. The A’s cut bait this past April, designating Ruiz for assignment and trading him to Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old has only taken 88 trips to the dish at the MLB level over the past two seasons. He’s coming off a big year in Triple-A, where he hit .303/.411/.514 while going 62-73 in stolen base tries. Ruiz has shown a more patient plate approach against minor league pitching than he did during his big league run a few seasons back.

Miami preferred Ruiz to Dane Myers, another righty-hitting backup outfielder whom the Marlins traded to Cincinnati last week. Myers is a superior defensive option in center but doesn’t have Ruiz’s upside as a base stealer. Ruiz is three years younger and has better career Triple-A numbers, as he owns a .315/.418/.505 line with an 18% strikeout rate at the top minor league level. Myers has fanned in 23% of his Triple-A plate appearances and owns a .295/.380/.440 mark in 98 games. Ruiz has played in more hitter-friendly settings, but the youth and superior contact skills make him a more intriguing depth piece. Both players are entering their final minor league option year.

The Dodgers making a roster-clearing move will fuel speculation as to whether they have anything imminently planned on the free agent or trade front. To this point, there hasn’t been any indication that Los Angeles has any kind of pending move lined up. DFA limbo is frozen between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so this presumably isn’t a move to accommodate a waiver claim.

Whether they have any follow-up moves on the horizon, the Dodgers add a lottery ticket arm to the farm system. Marrero is an 18-year-old righty out of Cuba. He pitched this year in the Dominican Summer League. Marrero wasn’t ranked among Miami’s top 30 prospects but signed for a decent $350K bonus. In September, Baseball America’s Ben Badler credited the 6’3″ hurler with a three-pitch mix (low-90s sinker, sweeper, and changeup) that gets promising lateral movement. BA ranked Marrero among the 20 most intriguing pitching prospects in this year’s amateur signing class.

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