Poll: Is Bo Bichette Or Jorge Polanco The Better Value For The Mets?
As part of their offseason overhaul, the Mets brought in Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco to bolster their infield. Polanco received a two-year, $40MM deal in December. Bichette, one of the top free agents, signed a three-year, $126MM pact in January with opt-outs after 2026 and 2027. Crucially, Bichette and Polanco will be playing new positions. The former will man the hot corner, while Polanco will split time between first base and DH.
Between the two, Bichette is the superior offensive talent. Apart from an injury-plagued 2024 season in which he only played 81 games, Bichette has been at least 20% better than average by wRC+ in every campaign since 2019. Last year, he tied for the 25th-lowest strikeout rate (14.5%) among 145 qualified hitters in the league. His overall line was .314/.357/.483 was good for a 134 wRC+, the best full-season mark in his career.
Polanco is coming off his own career season. In 524 plate appearances with the Mariners, he hit .265/.326/.495 with a 132 wRC+ that nearly matched Bichette’s performance. Polanco also cut his strikeout rate in half, going from 29.2% in 2024 to 15.6% in 2025. His track record before 2025 was solid, if a step below Bichette. From 2019-24, Polanco could generally be counted on for 15-25% better-than-average offense, with 2020 (82 wRC+) and 2024 (93 wRC+) being exceptions.
Neither one of them is a strong defender. Bichette has exclusively played shortstop during the regular season, only venturing to second base during the 2025 World Series (and only because he was injured). His range graded out in just the first percentile in 2025, while Statcast took negative views of his arm strength and sprint speed as well. Overall, his glovework was valued at -12 Defensive Runs Saved and -13 Outs Above Average, the latter being a career-worst mark. It always seemed that he would move to a different position long-term, and now the Mets will slot him in at the hot corner. On the one hand, that makes sense given the acquisition of defensive stalwart Marcus Semien to man the keystone. However, it is questionable in that Bichette typically struggles on balls in play from right-handed hitters, which he will see in abundance at third base.
Meanwhile, Polanco began his career as a shortstop but has only played second and third base since the start of 2023. In 2024, he was worth -1 DRS and -10 OAA as a full-time second baseman. In 2025, he combined for -4 DRS and -4 OAA between second and third base, although he only played 330 1/3 defensive innings, with the Mariners deploying him as a DH in 88 out of 138 games. Like Bichette, Polanco is viewed negatively by Statcast for his range and arm strength, although the latter won’t matter as much at the cold corner. Furthermore, whereas Bichette struggles with balls in play from right-handed hitters, the opposite is true for Polanco. From 2024-25, he was worth -2 OAA on balls in play from righties, compared to -12 OAA on balls in play from lefties. Just as Bichette will be more exposed to right-handed contact at third, Polanco will be exposed to contact from lefties at the cold corner.
The question of which player is the better value to the Mets may come down to finances. While the Mets are well-positioned to take on expensive contracts, the current front office under president of baseball operations David Stearns shows a clear preference for short-term deals. Bichette can opt-out after 2026, so there’s a chance his deal turns into a one-year, $47MM pact ($42MM AAV plus a $5MM opt-out bonus). On the one hand, that gives the team long-term flexibility, but it could also be a lot for someone who is already not a strong defender and who is now learning a new position.
Polanco’s deal does not contain opt-outs, so the Mets are on the hook for $40MM in guaranteed money through 2027. He is half as expensive as Bichette, but his offense has more risk in that he ran a worse-than-average strikeout rate as recently as 2024. Should Polanco regress in that area, his overall output may not be up to par with the typical first baseman. His walk rate has also fallen year-over-year since 2022, whereas Bichette’s has stayed relatively constant (albeit below-average). In addition, Polanco is four years older than Bichette and more likely to decline as he plays into his 30s.
What do MLBTR readers think? Does Bichette’s offense justify his high AAV, even with the defensive questions at third base? Will Polanco repeat last year’s performance and take advantage of a less demanding position? Which one provides the better value at their current salary? Let us know in the poll.
Is Bo Bichette or Jorge Polanco the better value for the Mets?
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Injury Notes: Vasil, Neto, Jung, Wheeler
White Sox right-hander Mike Vasil left today’s Spring Training game with elbow soreness, the team announced. He is set to undergo further testing. Vasil started the game with 3 2/3 scoreless innings before issuing two walks, calling for the trainer, and ultimately departing. That continued his effort to build up as a starter after working mostly in relief in 2025. In 101 innings over 47 appearances (three starts), he posted an excellent 2.50 ERA, albeit with less-shiny peripherals including a 4.32 FIP. On the plus side, Vasil induced groundballs 51.4% of the time and provided plenty of value by eating innings. Though he proved himself in the bullpen last year, he had an outside shot at joining the rotation in 2026, according to manager Will Venable.
The Sox open their season on March 26 on the road against the Brewers, so Vasil may not have time to fully build up if he is anything more than day-to-day. If he misses time, the club will roll with Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, and Erick Fedde in the rotation behind 2025 All-Star Shane Smith. Given that he’s stretched out for multiple innings, Vasil could return to long relief at first then join the rotation later if there’s an injury.
A few other injury updates from around the league:
- Angels shortstop Zach Neto injured his left hand on a head-first slide into home in today’s game against the Mariners. He was set to undergo tests after the game, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Neto ended the 2025 season on the injured list with a left hand strain, and he underwent surgery in 2024 to fix a right shoulder injury that he incurred from a head-first slide. Today’s injury doesn’t seem nearly as serious, with manager Kurt Suzuki saying “it was a little more optimistic” after he spoke to Neto in the dugout. If Neto misses time, one of Vaughn Grissom or Oswald Peraza could draw some early starts at shortstop for the Halos.
- Rangers third baseman Josh Jung took six plate appearances on a back field today, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He’ll take a few more tomorrow, then play against the White Sox on Monday. Jung has been out of action since February 24 due to a Grade 1 adductor strain, though manager Skip Schumaker downplayed the severity of the injury. Jung batted .251/.294/.390 with a 91 wRC+ in 131 games in 2025. He stayed healthy outside of a minimum IL stint at the start of the year, but it marked his first below-average offensive campaign since his 26-game debut in 2022. Both Jung and Shumaker seem confident that the former will be ready for Opening Day.
- Phillies ace Zack Wheeler threw a live batting practice session today, his first time facing hitters since undergoing thoracic outlet surgery in September. He will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, manager Rob Thomson told reporters including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. That could set him up to appear in at least one game before the end of Spring Training, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Granted, this is more of an expected progression in Wheeler’s rehab than a sign that he will make an early return. Wheeler himself emphasized that “We’ve still got a long way to go,” while Thomson said last month that Wheeler could be back in action not “too far beyond” Opening Day.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Offseason In Review: Athletics
The Athletics continue to lock up their core their long-term extensions, but there’s a short-term focus as well, as the A’s seem to be aiming to return to contention this year.
Major League Signings
- Aaron Civale, SP: One year, $6MM
- Mark Leiter Jr., RHP: One year, $2.85MM
- Scott Barlow, RHP: One year, $2MM
2026 spending: $10.85MM
Total spending: $10.85MM
Trades And Claims
- Acquired 2B/OF Jeff McNeil and $5.75MM from Mets for RHP Yordan Rodriguez (Mets will also pay $2MM buyout of McNeil’s $15.75MM club option for 2027 if A’s decline the option)
- Acquired minor league RHP A.J. Causey from Royals for RHP Mitch Spence
- Acquired minor league RHP Luis Burgos from Yankees for IF Max Schuemann
- Claimed IF/OF Andy Ibanez off waivers from Dodgers
Option Decisions
- None
Notable Minor League Signings
- Nick Anderson, Joey Meneses, Wander Suero, Joel Kuhnel, Michael Stefanic, Geoff Hartlieb, Nick Hernandez, Chad Wallach, Brian Serven, Cade Marlowe, Brooks Kriske, Matt Krook, Ben Bowden, Bryan Lavastida
Extensions
- Tyler Soderstrom, OF: Seven years, $86MM (includes $2MM buyout of $27MM club option for 2033)
- Jacob Wilson, SS: Seven years, $70MM (includes $2MM buyout of $26MM club option for 2033)
Notable Losses
- Spence, Schuemann, Sean Newcomb, JJ Bleday, Osvaldo Bido, Grant Holman, Ken Waldichuk, Willie MacIver, Michel Otanez
After the 2024 A’s went 69-93 in their final season in Oakland, the 2025 squad improved to 76-86 in the first season of its temporary residency in West Sacramento. While the cities and ballparks were drastically different, both editions of the Athletics were much better in the second half of the season than in the first. Last year’s Athletics even got off to a 20-16 start before a brutal 3-24 stretch in May and June torpedoed their season, though the club then recovered to go 53-46 the rest of the way.
Obviously any team would seem a lot better if you erased their worst month from the ledger, but the evidence is growing that the A’s may have (once again) put together the pieces of a contender after a lengthy rebuild. The common belief was that the A’s were going to wait until they moved to Las Vegas before truly committing to winning, except the roster might be ahead of schedule.
A team planning to just tread water, after all, doesn’t try to land two former All-Star infielders at (by the Athletics’ standards) fairly substantial prices. The A’s obtained Jeff McNeil from the Mets before the club made its rather surprising bid to trade for Nolan Arenado, and the Athletics’ offer involved eating more of Arenado’s remaining salary than the $11MM taken on by the Diamondbacks once Arenado was ultimately dealt to Arizona.
Whatever the specifics of the Athletics offer were in terms of cash and prospects, it was reportedly enough to meet the Cardinals’ approval….but not Arenado’s. The third baseman’s no-trade protection gave him full approval over his next team, and while Arenado apparently didn’t expressly reject going to the A’s, moving to the D’Backs held more appeal. While the Diamondbacks were only 80-82 in 2025, they won the NL pennant in 2023, a good core of talent is still in place, and (perhaps more importantly) the Snakes aren’t spending the next two years in a minor league ballpark.
The four-year, $50MM extension McNeil signed with the Mets in January 2023 didn’t contain any no-trade language, so New York was able to freely move the veteran to West Sacramento. The cost to the Athletics was a lottery-ticket type of prospect in 18-year-old righty Yordan Rodriguez, and the Athletics’ willingness to pay $10MM of the $15.75MM McNeil is set to earn in the last guaranteed year of his contract. The Mets will also kick in $2MM to cover the buyout of McNeil’s $15.75MM club option for 2027 if the A’s decide against bringing McNeil back for his age-35 season.
As to what McNeill can do at age 34, the two-time All-Star should provide some needed help at second base. McNeil hit .243/.335/.411 with 12 home runs over 462 plate appearances in 2025, translating to a 111 wRC+. That’s a solid step up from his 98 wRC+ over the 2023-24 seasons, though not in the realm of the 140 wRC+ McNeil posted in his All-Star 2022 campaign. McNeil had a surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome after last season, though questions about his health status have seemingly been answered by the fact that he is playing regularly in Spring Training.
The A’s received only 0.3 bWAR from its second basemen in 2025, as well as -0.3 bWAR from the third base position. The two infield slots were therefore the obvious target areas for the Athletics this winter, and McNeil could possibly help at both positions since he has played some third base in the past (though not since 2022). The likelier scenario is that McNeil primarily stays at the keystone, with some part-time usage in center field platooning for Denzel Clarke.
Since the reports of the Arenado trade talks only surfaced after the Diamondbacks trade, it is fair to wonder what other infield options the A’s quietly pursued over the offseason. There wasn’t much public buzz in terms of specific free names linked to the A’s, apart from their interest in reuniting with Miguel Andujar (before he signed with the Padres) and a much more prominent offer to Ha-Seong Kim. The Athletics were reportedly willing to give Kim a four-year, $48MM pact before Kim chose a shorter-term commitment in the form of a one-year, $20MM to return to the Braves.
Maybe Kim has some regrets over his decision since he’ll miss at least the first month of the season recovering from a torn finger tendon. From the Athletics’ perspective, the offer may have held appeal to Kim if he wanted some security after injuries have dominated the last 18 months of his career, and Kim would’ve fit anywhere around the infield. That includes Kim’s usual shortstop position, if the A’s had moved Jacob Wilson to either second or third.
Had Kim accepted the offer, he would’ve become the second-priciest free agent signing in A’s history, after the club’s three-year, $67MM deal with Luis Severino last offseason. Between the Severino deal and the Athletics’ spate of contract extensions over the last year, it is becoming less unusual (if not entirely “normal”) to see such dollar figures attached to an organization that has long been associated with small payrolls.
To be clear, nobody is confusing the A’s for the Dodgers when it comes to financial might. But, RosterResource estimates the Athletics’ 2026 payroll at $94.6MM, with a $145.8MM luxury tax number. If the Athletics’ spending spree began last offseason as a way to avoid a players’ union grievance, the club has now gotten itself well beyond the $105MM minimum threshold, and also established two more players as roster cornerstones.
Tyler Soderstrom was first up on Christmas Day with an extension that will guarantee the left fielder at least $86MM over the next seven seasons. Wilson then agreed to a seven-year, $70MM in late January, establishing Wilson as a key piece of the Athletics’ infield over the long term. Between these two contracts and the Brent Rooker/Lawrence Butler deals from last offseason, that makes it four extensions in 14 months for a team that signed only one player (Khris Davis) to an extension between May 2014 and December 2024.
Most teams wait until the end of Spring Training to concentrate on extension talks, so more business may be yet to come, given reports of the Athletics’ interest in extending both first baseman Nick Kurtz (the reigning AL Rookie of the Year) and catcher Shea Langeliers. The duo are respectively represented by Excel Sports Management and the Boras Corporation, and both agencies are known for rarely pursuing early-career extensions for their clients. Langeliers may not fit the “early-career” designation since he has four MLB seasons under his belt and was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, but locking up Langeliers could be tricky regardless.
Even if no extensions are reached, Langeliers is arb-controlled through 2028 and Kurtz just completed his first MLB season. Between those two, Soderstrom in left field, Rooker at DH, Butler in right field, and Wilson somewhere in the infield, that’s six spots in the lineup already covered for at least the next three seasons. Clarke has already shown himself to be an superb defensive center fielder even if his bat is still a work in progress, and outfield prospect Henry Bolte is expected to make his big league debut at some point in 2026. The same could be true of 19-year-old shortstop prospect Leo De Vries, acclaimed as one of baseball’s top minor leaguers and a huge part of the Athletics’ future.
McNeil is part of the bridge to the De Vries era in the infield, but third base remains a question mark as Opening Day approaches. The A’s could certainly look to the trade market for more third base help before the end of Spring Training, or the hot corner could be a priority at the deadline if the team is in contention. A trade scenario could hinge somewhat on De Vries’ timeline, or if any of the current internal options for third base can step up.
“The Other” Max Muncy is probably the favorite for the starting job if his glovework is up to the task. Utilityman Andy Ibanez was claimed off the Dodgers’ waiver wire to provide some experienced depth at third base and around the infield in general, with Max Schuemann removed from the mix after he was designated for assignment and subsequently dealt to the Yankees. Darell Hernaiz and Brett Harris provide more depth, and at least one if not both will begin the season at Triple-A. Zack Gelof is still in the picture, as the 2023 breakout rookie is trying to rebound from a pair of rough seasons due to under-performance and injury.
Some of this group could also be used at second base, allowing McNeil to play the outfield if circumstances warrant. The A’s non-tendered JJ Bleday and thus created some need for outfield depth, but McNeil, Bolte, Ibanez, rookies Carlos Cortes and Colby Thomas, or even Gelof could all chip in.
Third base notwithstanding, the Athletics look solid enough around the diamond to make some noise in a pennant race. Playing at Sutter Health Park should give the offense an added boost, so if the A’s can get just an adequate amount of production from its pitching staff, that might be enough for the team to slug its way into playoff contention.
That outcome, of course, is a lot easier said than done. Both the Athletics’ rotation and bullpen struggled in 2025, as pitchers (understandably) had difficulty adjusting to the hitter-friendly West Sacramento ballpark. Better pitching is the team’s most obvious path to a winning record in 2026, yet the A’s will go into the new season with a lot of the same staff in place.
Last winter’s big investment in Severino didn’t pay off, as his public complaints over Sutter Health Park generated more of a stir than the 4.54 ERA he posted over 162 2/3 innings. There was some speculation that Severino could be traded in the wake of his comments, though the $42MM owed to the right-hander over the next two seasons was an obstacle to a deal, and Severino’s ability to opt out next offseason is another wrinkle. Moving Severino also would’ve created another hole to fill in the rotation, so the A’s can only hope year two for Severino brings more comfort in his home ballpark.
Severino and Jeffrey Springs account for two rotation slots, and Luis Morales is looking to build off a rookie season that saw the right-hander post a 3.14 ERA over his first 48 2/3 innings in the majors. Jacob Lopez looks to be ahead of J.T. Ginn and Jack Perkins in the battle for the fifth starter’s role, though all of this trio and Joey Estes, Gunnar Hoglund (who has been sidelined by injuries this spring) and top prospect Gage Jump could all make starts at some point in 2026.
The other rotation spot is going to the Athletics’ biggest free agent signing of the winter, as Aaron Civale joined the club for $6MM guaranteed on a one-year deal. Civale posted a 4.85 ERA over 102 combined innings with the Brewers, White Sox, and Cubs, and his last two seasons have seen some more homer-prone tendencies that might not play great in Sacramento. The A’s aren’t asking Civale to be an ace, but rather to eat some innings and provide some more veteran ballast since Lopez and Morales are still establishing themselves as big league pitchers.
Sean Newcomb was arguably the Athletics’ best reliever last season, but the left-hander departed in free agency to sign with the White Sox. The A’s also parted ways with Osvaldo Bido and Mitch Spence, who each struggled in swingman roles in 2025. Filling the gaps in the bullpen are veteran right-handers Mark Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow, who signed for a combined $4.85MM on one-year deals.
The two will join with Hogan Harris, Justin Sterner, and perhaps others in what the A’s are planning to be a closer committee. Harris might be the favorite for the majority of save opportunities, but as maybe the only left-hander projected to be part of the Athletics’ pen, the team might need him for situational work more than the ninth inning. Luis Medina might be an intriguing name to watch in a closing capacity, as the former starter will be used as a reliever in order to ease him back to action since he missed all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
It’s not an imposing group on paper, yet the A’s may have been limited in what they could add to their pitching mix. Bringing a frontline starter wasn’t happening for both salary and ballpark-related reasons, and signing even a mid-tier starter might’ve also been a tough sell for those same reasons. Lucas Giolito is the most prominent starter still on the market in mid-March and could be available at a relative bargain price, yet even if Giolito is feeling some desperation after his long stint in free agency, even he might not want to pitch in Sacramento unless he is out of other alternatives.
On the trade front, the A’s reportedly weren’t willing to shop any of their more prominent hitters for a starter, further hampering their attempts to acquire pitching. If a particularly intriguing offer for a controllable arm was on the table, the Athletics might’ve thought differently, yet swinging such a trade would’ve meant that this hypothetical pitcher was using two of those controllable years at Sutter Health Park.
To again reference the possibility of the A’s adding at the deadline, pitching is certainly the clearest need. It should also be noted that any of the Athletics’ offseason additions could easily become deadline trade chips if the team doesn’t show any progress. Acquiring so many players on just one-year commitments makes it easy for A’s general manager David Forst to pivot if his club is again out of the running by midseason.
Forst’s own employment status isn’t officially known since his last contract expired after the 2025 season, yet he has been running the front office as per usual and it appears to be just a matter of time before he’s officially extended (if a new deal hasn’t already been quietly reached).
After over 25 years in a variety of roles within the A’s front office, Forst has dealt with all manner of challenges. He now faces the tricky decision about how to best proceed with a lineup that seems ready to contend, but a pitching staff that may not be able to seriously progress until the team moves to Las Vegas or until its next wave of prospects (Jump, Jamie Arnold, Wei-En Lin) are ready for the Show. The Athletics may need several things to break their way to score a playoff berth, but at least a winning record certainly seems feasible for 2026.
How would you grade the Athletics' offseason?
Reds Slow Chase Burns After Range Of Motion Issue
Reds right-hander Chase Burns tossed just 24 pitches in his spring outing on Friday, a significant step back from the 68 he threw in his previous appearance. The approach was intentional, manager Terry Francona told reporters, including Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19. Burns’ abbreviated outing came after he experienced a limited range of motion in his throwing arm earlier in the week. “We’re nipping this in the bud right now,” Francona said.
The fact that Burns was still able to take the ball on Friday suggests concern should be minor, but the issue could shape how the young righty is handled early in the season. Francona added that the Reds’ medical staff is putting together a routine to help Burns avoid the range of motion issue between starts moving forward.
Cincinnati has an opening in the rotation with ace Hunter Greene undergoing elbow surgery. Burns seemed to enter camp with the inside track for the fifth starter job, with Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson as his main competition. Chase Petty and Julian Aguiar were long-shot candidates, but both have been sent back to minor league camp. Now, two of Burns, Lowder, and Williamson have the chance to enter the regular season with starting roles alongside Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, and Brady Singer.
Burns was the consensus top prospect in the Reds system heading into last season. He didn’t disappoint when he got the call, striking out eight Yankees in his June debut. The young righty was obliterated by the Red Sox in his second start, skewing his final line, but he was mostly as advertised across 13 appearances. Burns finished the regular season with a massive 35.6% strikeout rate over 43 1/3 innings. His 2.68 xFIP and 2.76 SIERA were significantly lower than his ERA (4.57). Burns retired five straight Dodgers in his lone postseason appearance.
The short Spring Training outing isn’t the first time Burns’ workload has been capped after an injury. He went down with a flexor strain in August that cost him about a month. When he returned, the Reds used him strictly as a reliever. He maxed out at two innings and 36 pitches following the injury.
Williamson is coming back from an arm issue of his own. He missed all of 2025 due to UCL reconstruction. The lefty emerged as a consistent member of the Cincinnati rotation in 2023, making 23 starts. He dealt with multiple arm injuries the following year, which eventually resulted in surgery.
The Reds acquired Williamson as part of the package they received from the Mariners in exchange for Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker in March 2022. He doesn’t overwhelm with velocity, but he showed a deep arsenal in his 2023 stint with Cincinnati. Williamson made a pitch mix tweak in 2024, pushing his cutter usage from 29.8% to 44.9%. He was using it more than his fastball before the arm problems popped up. Opponents hit just .179 against the cutter in Williamson’s limited 2024 sample.
Lowder is right up there with Burns in terms of prospect pedigree. His career also got off to a similarly positive start, until an arm injury derailed him. Lowder was called up at the end of the 2024 campaign. He breezed to a 1.17 ERA over six starts with the Reds as a 22-year-old. A 4.38 xERA suggested Lower had been pretty fortunate, but he entered last season with a good chance to contribute with the big-league club. Lowder hit the IL in late March with a forearm strain. He was limited to just 9 1/3 innings in the minors.
After Lowder struggled to miss bats in his initial big-league stint (17.2% strikeout rate), he’s been racking up punchouts. The righty had a 26.5% strikeout rate in his five rehab outings last year. He’s pushed it to 29.7% across three Spring Training appearances. Burns and Lowder could give the Reds some of the swing-and-miss ability they’ll be lacking while Greene is sidelined.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV of The Enquirer
AL Central Notes: Valera, Collins, Baldwin
Guardians outfielder George Valera has made a solid case for the left field job this spring. The 25-year-old has an .833 OPS across 10 games. Valera hasn’t been in the lineup since Monday, and manager Stephen Vogt revealed his dealing with a mild left calf strain. He’ll remain sidelined for a few more days, relays Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.
Valera made his debut in the final month of the 2025 campaign. He delivered a respectable 113 wRC+ in his brief stint with Cleveland. The lefty-swinging outfielder was on the bench in Game 1 of the Wild Card round with Tarik Skubal on the mound for the Tigers, but drew the start in right field for the next two games of the series. Valera homered off of Casey Mize in the first inning of Game 2, setting the tone for Cleveland’s lone win.
The Guardians struggled mightily to find consistent offense in the outfield last year. Steven Kwan had a fine season, but Cleveland finished dead last in OPS in both center field and right field. Angel Martinez was the main culprit in center, with Nolan Jones dragging down the numbers in right. The current plan for the upcoming season is for Kwan to move to center field, with Valera and top prospect Chase DeLauter handling the corners, at least against right-handed pitching. Martinez and Johnathan Rodriguez could factor in against lefties.
Outside of a stumble in his first taste of Triple-A, Valera has typically held his own as a hitter at every minor league level. Injuries limited his workload in 2025, but he slashed .255/.346/.457 in 28 games at Columbus.
A newcomer to the division is dealing with a minor injury of his own. Isaac Collins of the Royals is working through back/side tightness, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The outfielder hasn’t suited up for a spring game since Tuesday. Collins downplayed the issue to Rogers, describing the injury as something he doesn’t want to attempt to play through with Opening Day around the corner.
Kansas City acquired Collins and right-hander Nick Mears from the Brewers for Angel Zerpa in mid-December. The outfielder was a bit of a late bloomer, debuting as a 26-year-old with Milwaukee in 2024. He only appeared in 11 games that season, but emerged as an everyday player this past year.
Collins posted a 122 wRC+ across 441 plate appearances in his first extended chance as a big leaguer. He chipped in nine home runs and 16 stolen bases. Braves catcher Drake Baldwin took home NL Rookie of the Year honors fairly comfortably, but Collins finished fourth in the voting, just behind former teammate Caleb Durbin.
Similar to the Guardians, the Royals had a tough time finding reliable offensive production in the outfield last season. The club made sure to address that need this winter, trading for Collins and signing Lane Thomas and Starling Marte. The two veteran additions are right-handed, making them sensible platoon partners for Kyle Isbel and Jac Caglianone. The switch-hitting Collins should be ticketed for an everyday gig in left field, assuming this injury isn’t too serious.
The White Sox outfield will be missing a familiar face this year, with longtime center fielder Luis Robert Jr. getting dealt to the Mets. His potential replacement is now dealing with an arm injury. Brooks Baldwin has been sidelined with elbow inflammation, per Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times. The versatile 25-year-old hasn’t appeared in a spring game for more than a week. “Talking to the trainers, we got an image, we got everything done,” Baldwin said. “But a lot of soreness in there, [we’re trying] to get it to calm down and take it day to day and see where we’re at.”
Baldwin spent the majority of the 2025 season with the big-league club, slashing .240/.290/.407 with 11 home runs across 103 games. He made 64 starts in the outfield, but also picked up double-digit appearances at second base, third base, and shortstop. Baldwin is headed for regular center field work this year, flanked by Andrew Benintendi and new arrival Austin Hays. If he’s forced to miss time, journeyman Derek Hill and former Yankee Everson Pereira would be candidates to see increased opportunities.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Astros Haven’t Yet Discussed Extension With Bryan Abreu
Bryan Abreu is slated to become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, and the reliever told The Athletic’s Chandler Rome that the Astros hadn’t yet engaged in any extension talks with his representatives at ISE Baseball. Abreu indicated he would be open to such negotiations, saying that “the dream of any baseball player” is to “stay with one team forever.”
Abreu signed for just a $40K bonus as an international free agent in 2013, and he has joined Jose Altuve ($15K), Framber Valdez ($10K), Cristian Javier ($10K), and Luis Garcia ($20K) as lightly-regarded international signings who had a giant impact on the last decade of Astros baseball. Abreu emerged as a bullpen force during Houston’s World Series year in 2022, and over the last four seasons, the right-hander has delivered a 2.30 ERA, 34.3% strikeout rate, and 95 holds over 281 2/3 relief innings. He also has a 2.49 ERA over 21 2/3 career postseason innings, highlighted by a inning of work during the Astros’ combined no-hitter against the Phillies in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series.
Walks have been a persistent issue for Abreu, and opposing batters made a lot more hard contact than usual against his offerings in 2025 than in past seasons. Still, only two pitchers have made more appearances than Abreu’s 275 trips to the mound over the last four years, and this combination of durability, upper-90’s velocity, elite strikeout power, and bottom-line results have quietly made Abreu one of the better relievers in the sport.
Assuming he keeps up his usual level of performance, a big multi-year payday awaits Abreu in free agency next winter, when he’ll hit the market in advance of his age-30 season. As Rome notes, the exact size of that contract could hinge on whether rival teams view Abreu as a set-up man or as a closer, which adds extra import to Abreu’s temporary role as Houston’s closer while Josh Hader begins the season on the injured list.
Abreu has 16 career saves on his resume, with seven of those saves coming last season after Hader’s season was ended in August by a capsule sprain in his throwing shoulder. In the 18 games and 18 2/3 innings after Hader’s final game on August 8, Abreu held opponents scoreless in 15 of those outings, though three multi-run outings boosted his ERA in that stretch to 3.86.
It is too small a sample size to draw any big conclusion, of course, and whatever Abreu does as the Astros’ fill-in closer this year probably won’t also move the needle in terms of gauging his next contract. As we’ve seen with reliever contracts in recent years, teams seem to be as willing to pay bigger money based on future projection than they are concrete past results. Abreu having both a strong track record and future upside in a closing role will likely serve him well in free agency.
This assumes that Abreu will test the market at all, as it isn’t too late for the Astros to explore negotiations. Teams generally wait until closer to the end of Spring Training to delve into extension-related business, though one would’ve imagined that the Astros might’ve broached the subject with Abreu’s camp at some point before now.
Houston has been active in locking up some members of their core over the years, while letting others (Valdez, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, etc.) simply play out their contracts or team control, and then walk away to other teams. Most of the Astros’ extensions were struck well before a player was so close to hitting the open market, though another prominent reliever in Ryan Pressly twice signed extensions in advance of his final year before free agency. Both of Pressly’s deals, however, were two-year pacts — it would take at least three years and very likely four to convince Abreu to forego the open market and stay put.
Some money will drop off the Astros’ books when Lance McCullers Jr.‘s contract is up at season’s end, and Tatsuya Imai has the ability to opt out of the remaining two years of his contract. Whether or not that makes the Astros more open to re-signing Abreu remains to be seen, as Houston still has several other hefty salaries on their long-term ledger. Of those contracts, Hader is owed $57MM through the 2028 season, so re-signing Abreu means that the Astros would have to be okay with committing a hefty chunk of payroll towards two relief pitchers.
Mets Claim Richard Lovelady
The Mets announced that left-hander Richard Lovelady has been claimed off waivers from the Nationals. Right-hander Justin Hagenman was placed on New York’s 60-day injured list in the corresponding move, as Hagenman will now miss the first two months of the season recovering from a rib fracture.
It’s a quick return to Queens for Lovelady, who was designated for assignment by the Mets in late January and then claimed by the Nationals. After a little over a month in Washington’s spring camp, Lovelady was DFA’ed again since the Nats needed roster space for the newly-signed Zack Littell.
Lovelady broke into the majors with the Royals in 2019, and he spent his first three big league seasons in Kansas City before a Tommy John surgery cost him the entirety of the 2022 season. Since recovering from his surgery, Lovelady has become a regular on the transactions list, as he has bounced around to multiple clubs in a series of trades, waiver claims, signings and re-signings. Since the start of the 2023 campaign, Lovelady has a 5.19 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, and 9.0% walk rate over 69 1/3 innings with five different teams at the Major League level.
This nomadic stretch includes multiple stints with the Mets over the last year, beginning last June when New York signed Lovelady after he’d opted out of a minor league contract with the Twins. Lovelady ended up posting a 6.30 ERA over 10 innings with the Amazins, while also being DFA’ed and outrighted three different teams. The southpaw refused the first of those outrights and elected free agency, but soon re-signed with the Mets.
Lovelady has been out of minor league options following the 2024 season, which is why he has been ping-ponged around without much roster security. While the Mets clearly see enough in Lovelady to keep re-acquiring him, he is likely viewed as no more than left-handed bullpen depth, and a possible candidate for another DFA if New York needs roster space. Lovelady is signed for 2026 on a split contract that he inked with the Mets in October, and is guaranteed a $350K salary in the minors and $1MM in the majors.
Hagenman was a 23rd-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2018 draft, and signing with the Mets last offseason helped pave the way for the righty to make his MLB debut in 2025 as part of the Mets’ revolving door of pitchers. Hagenman posted a 4.56 ERA across his first 23 2/3 innings in the Show, with an impressive 23 strikeouts against only two walks but also four homers allowed.
After spending most of his minor league career in a strict relief role, Hagenman has been used more as a swingman in Boston and New York’s Triple-A teams over the last two years. He was viewed as a longshot candidate to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster anyway, but this rib injury will now heavily delay Hagenman’s work even at Triple-A Syracuse. One minor silver lining is that the placement on the big league 60-day IL will earn Hagenman some Major League service time.
Quinn Priester Dealing With Nerve Issue
TODAY: Priester told McCalvy and other reporters that he hopes to be back in “late April, May, but I certainly think I’m on the optimistic side as a player. I want to be back as quick as possible. Ultimately, I’ll trust whatever the scheduling is, to make sure we do it right.”
MARCH 12: Brewers starter Quinn Priester met with a specialist this afternoon after being nagged by wrist soreness. Testing revealed that the righty is dealing with a nerve issue in his shoulder, manager Pat Murphy told reporters (links via Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com).
Murphy said the injury is “in that thoracic outlet syndrome family.” Any mention of TOS is concerning given how difficult it can be for some pitchers to overcome. The Brewers are still mostly downplaying their level of concern. Murphy expressed confidence Priester will be able to rehab without surgery. He’s continuing a light throwing program and is scheduled for a bullpen session next weekend.
The nerve pressure explains the recurring nature of Priester’s injury. He first felt the wrist discomfort in the second half of last season. He didn’t anticipate it being an issue this spring but battled it intermittently during his ramp-up period. Although it’s rooted in his shoulder, nerve pain can manifest throughout the arm. Max Scherzer, for example, battled an upper arm nerve injury between 2024-25 that mostly appeared as thumb soreness.
It was already apparent that Priester would open the season on the injured list. This diagnosis doesn’t inherently mean he’s facing an extended absence. However, it highlights the open-endedness of his recovery timeline. Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick project as Milwaukee’s top three starters to begin the season — assuming Woodruff builds back fully from last year’s lat strain. Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison could round out the group if Logan Henderson’s minor elbow discomfort puts him behind schedule for Opening Day.
Murphy also provided an update on depth outfielder Akil Baddoo, who suffered a left quad strain this week. The injury is more serious than the Brewers initially anticipated. Baddoo will need multiple weeks before he’s able to resume baseball activity. He’s obviously going to begin the season on the injured list and could be a 60-day IL candidate. Baddoo wasn’t in line for an Opening Day roster spot, but the Brewers liked him enough to sign him to a big league split deal over the offseason.
Robert Stephenson Sidelined With Possible UCL Damage
11:41AM: In what Stephenson described as “heartbreaking” news to Jeff Fletcher, the setback is related to possible UCL damage. Another surgery certainly appears to be a possibility, but Stephenson will first visit Dr. Keith Meister to discuss any non-surgical methods.
“There is concern right now for the state of my UCL, and my flexor,” Stephenson said. “I’m going to see if there’s a way we can rehab this thing and be able to pitch this year, but I don’t know what it looks like….It’s three years and I’ve got 10 innings to my name. It sucks. I just want to be on the field.”
9:52AM: Robert Stephenson is dealing with yet another injury concern, as Angels manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) that the right-hander has sustained some type of unspecified setback during his throwing sessions. Suzuki described the issue only as “a little setback,” but Stephenson will undergo tests to determine the extent of the matter.
Given the timing of this apparent injury and Stephenson’s checkered health history, it now seems very possible that he’ll begin the season on the Angels’ 15-day injured list. Even if this current issue is just a speedbump and Stephenson is back throwing in a few days’ time, his throwing progression could be scaled back a bit, plus the reliever has yet to pitch in any Cactus League games.
In his own words, Stephenson already went into Spring Training “a little bit behind everybody” after receiving an injection during the offseason to deal with some symptoms related to thoracic outlet syndrome. Still, it was just a week ago that Stephenson was feeling confident about his chances of making the Opening Day roster, as he had progressed to facing hitters during live batting practice sessions.
It’s an unwelcome start to Stephenson’s third season with the Halos, as the right-hander has barely pitched over the first two seasons of what was initially a three-year, $33MM contract. As per a clause in the contract, the Angels gained a $2.5MM club option for 2027 because Stephenson suffered a major elbow ligament-related injury — namely the Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2024 season.
Stephenson returned to appear in two games in May 2025, but a nerve-related biceps problem forced him back to the IL for almost three more months. He made it back to pitch in 10 more games for Los Angeles before a bout of elbow inflammation ended his season. Stephenson’s Angels resume consists of just 10 innings in 2025, with a 2.70 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, and 7.1% walk rate.
While a small sample size, Stephenson’s solid numbers provided some hope that he could again flash the high-leverage form he showed (albeit on an inconsistent basis) in past seasons with the Reds, Rockies, Pirates, and Rays. On the other hand, the TOS symptoms provided a new injury scare, and it remains to be seen what imaging might reveal about this latest situation.
In better news for the Angels’ relief corps, Fletcher writes that Ben Joyce has added sliders to his throwing repertoire during bullpen sessions, and minor league signing Nick Sandlin is expected to soon move into game action after a pair of live BP sessions. One of the highest-velocity pitchers in baseball, Joyce had a seeming breakout season in 2024, but missed almost all of 2025 due to shoulder surgery. Sandlin also barely pitched in 2025, as a lat strain and elbow inflammation limited him to 16 1/3 innings with the Blue Jays.
Red Sox Haven’t Discussed Extension With Connelly Early
Connelly Early burst into the Red Sox rotation with a 2.33 ERA over his first 19 1/3 innings in the majors last September, enhancing his status as a key part of Boston’s pitching future. Cementing that future potential in the form of a contract extension, however, doesn’t yet appear to be in the team’s plans, as MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and Chris Cotillo write that the Sox haven’t yet engaged with Early’s reps at Excel Sports Management about a long-term deal.
Part of the reason could be related to Early’s choice of agency, as Excel clients don’t usually pursue long-term extensions in general, and never so early in their big league careers. Using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker for reference, most of Excel’s extensions over the last two decades have been shorter-term deals covering two or three or a player’s arbitration years, without extending his team’s control. Former Excel client Freddie Freeman signed an eight-year, $135MM extension with the Braves back in February 2014, and Cal Raleigh signed his six-year, $105MM extension with the Mariners just under a year ago, but Freeman and Raleigh each had more than three years of MLB service at the times of those deals.
Early, by contrast, has only 20 official days on his service clock. Early and fellow southpaw Payton Tolle (31 days) each logged little enough time in their 2025 debut seasons that, as Smith and Cotillo note, the Red Sox can still gain an extra year of team control over the duo if they’re held in the minors for a certain amount of time in 2026 — Early 35 days, and Tolle 45 days.
Such considerations might factor into whether or not Early or Tolle make Boston’s Opening Day roster, but an extension would obviously overwrite things. Since Craig Breslow become the team’s chief baseball officer, the Red Sox have locked up Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Ceddanne Rafaela to long-term extensions when all three of those players had just a handful of MLB games under their belt.
Early didn’t quite have the same star-prospect status of that group, but the fifth-round pick from Boston’s 2023 draft class advanced to Double-A before the 2024 season was over. He really got himself on the radar with a 2.60 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate across 100 1/3 minor league innings (71 2/3 in Double-A, 28 2/3 in Triple-A) in 2025, leading to his late-season call-up.
If it wasn’t for the precedent of these other early-career extensions for Anthony and company, there probably wouldn’t be any discussion of a contract for Early given that he is still so new on the big league scene. The Red Sox may also want a bit more time to evaluate what they really have in Early, and if his promising development on the farm can truly translate to a good career in the majors.
Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray were new acquisitions this winter, and they’ll join Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello as the locks within the Sox pitching staff. Johan Oviedo is another new face acquired in a trade with the Pirates this winter, so he might have the edge on the fifth starter’s job even though Early and others are still competing. The likeliest scenario is that Early, Tolle, and (on rehab assignments) Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford start the season at Triple-A, acting as rotation depth.