The Nationals announced that they have signed a one-year deal with right-hander Josiah Gray to avoid arbitration. Gray will make $1.35MM in 2026, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. That’s the same salary he made in 2025 while recovering from elbow surgery.
More to come.
Former Padres right-hander Sean Reynolds is signing with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’ll be the first overseas stint for the Ballengee Group client.
Reynolds, 27, was non-tendered by the Padres last month. He pitched parts of two seasons with the Friars after coming over alongside first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper in the trade that sent lefty Ryan Weathers back to the Marlins. Reynolds was outstanding in a small sample with the ’24 Padres, yielding only one run while piling up 21 punchouts in 11 innings (42.9% strikeout rate). He was hit hard in 2025, however, surrendering 16 runs on 20 hits and 17 walks in 27 frames. The resulting 5.33 ERA was an eyesore, and Reynolds saw his massive 2024 strikeout rate quite literally halved (21.4%).
Health may have played some role in Reynolds’ 2025 struggles. He opened the year on the shelf due to a stress reaction in his right foot and was promptly tagged for five runs in only 1 2/3 innings upon returning from the injured list. Reynolds then settled in with a tidy 2.14 earned run average over his next 21 frames before being optioned to Triple-A El Paso. He pitched well for the Chihuahuas for the next couple months and was recalled in September — only to be tagged for six runs (with nine walks) in his final 4 1/3 big league innings.
Reynolds has been a pure reliever throughout his professional career and will presumably be used in that same role over in Japan. The righty sat 96 mph with his four-seamer this past season and coupled the pitch with a slider clocking in at an average of 86.1 mph. He won’t turn 28 until April, so with a strong year or two pitching in Asia, there’s potential for him to eventual return to North American ball.
The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Bryce Jarvis has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for their signing of Michael Soroka, which is now official.
Jarvis, 28 this month, was Arizona’s first-round pick in the 2020 draft. The Snakes took him with the 18th overall pick and signed him with a $2.65MM bonus. He was a notable prospect for a bit but his stock has been dropping effectively since he was drafted.
He posted lackluster results as he worked his way up the minor league ladder, working mostly as a starter. In 2022, he made 25 Double-A starts but allowed 8.28 earned runs per nine in the process.
In 2023, he had a 5.08 ERA on the farm, slightly better but obviously still not ideal. Nonetheless, the Diamondbacks called him up to work out of the big league bullpen. He posted a 3.04 ERA there, although that number was misleading. His 9.8% walk rate was subpar and his 13% strikeout rate well below average. A tiny .162 batting average on balls in play and a high strand rate of 74.5% helped him out.
It was a similar story in 2024. Jarvis posted a 3.19 ERA but with subpar numbers under the hood. In 2025, his luck corrected, as he had a 5.73 ERA. He also continued to make starts at the Triple-A level, but with an 8.47 ERA in those.
Over the past three years, Jarvis has logged 105 big league innings. His 3.69 ERA doesn’t look bad but his 15.8% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate are both poor figures. He would have allowed more runs if not for a .251 BABIP and 76% strand rate. His 4.97 FIP and 5.11 SIERA are likely more accurate representations of the work he has done so far.
Jarvis has now been bumped off the roster in Arizona and will be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Snakes could take five days to explore trades. Jarvis does have an option remaining, so it’s possible some club takes a shot on his draft pedigree and hopes for a breakout.
Photo courtesy of Joe Rondone, Imagn Images
After missing out on both Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber, the Red Sox continue to pursue upgrades for their lineup. One target they’re recently looked into, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, is Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras.
Of course, the Red Sox and Cardinals already completed one trade sending a notable veteran to Boston; right-hander Sonny Gray was traded to the Sox in exchange for righty Richard Fitts and minor league lefty Brandon Clarke earlier in the offseason. (The Cardinals included $20MM in cash to help facilitate the swap.) Like Gray, Contreras is a veteran on a pricey contract with a full no-trade clause who St. Louis would like to move in order to clear payroll and create opportunities for younger players.
However, while Gray was very clear about his willingness to waive his no-trade clause this winter, Contreras has been more on the fence. The catcher-turned-first-baseman said at season’s end that he would consider certain scenarios but preferred to remain in St. Louis. Contreras has reportedly warmed a bit to the idea of approving a trade as the offseason has progressed, but he’s still going to be particular about his potential destination. It’s not yet clear to which teams Contreras would be willing to approve a trade, but he’d presumably prefer a contender. Boston clearly checks that box.
The fit in Boston is a natural one. First base was a question mark throughout the 2025 season. Young slugger Triston Casas struggled through a cold spell for the first three weeks and then suffered a season-ending knee injury just as he was beginning to show signs of emerging from that slump. Boston turned to Romy Gonzalez, Abraham Toro and eventual free agent pickup Nathaniel Lowe for much of the season. Gonzalez thrived against left-handed pitching but was below-average against righties, as is typical for him. Toro struggled and was eventually outrighted off the roster. Lowe performed decently down the stretch but was non-tendered due to a hefty arbitration price and a poor four months to begin the season.
Acquiring Contreras, who’s batted .256/.356/.461 (130 wRC+) across the past four seasons, would add an everyday option to the lineup and allow Gonzalez to be deployed in more of a utility role. Though he’s new to first base, Contreras made a smooth transition to the position in 2025. The longtime catcher had a poor defensive reputation behind the dish but turned in solid marks for his glovework at his new defensive home. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric pegged him as a positive defender (+6), and Defensive Runs Saved had him as a nearly average defender (-1). Those numbers could feasibly improve a bit as he takes even more reps at the position.
Contreras is earning $36.5MM over the next two seasons and has a $5MM buyout on a $17.5MM club option for the 2028 season. That remaining $41.5MM in guaranteed money is roughly in line with market value — at least in terms of average annual value — for a first baseman who’ll turn 34 next May. Christian Walker landed a three-year, $60MM contract covering his age-34 through age-36 seasons just last winter, for instance.
For the Red Sox, the $20.75MM in remaining AAV would put them over the luxury tax threshold, though given their pursuit of so many notable free agents and trade targets, that doesn’t seem like it’ll be a big impediment this time around. If the Sox don’t want to go too far beyond the tax line, the Cardinals’ inclusion of $20MM in the Gray trade shows a clear willingness to pay down salary in exchange for a better return. Those prior talks surely gave both parties an idea of which remaining players in Boston’s system would be of interest. And while it may not be a deciding factor in Contreras’ decision, the familiarity of having former teammates like Gray and Aroldis Chapman already on the roster could be somewhat of a perk.
The White Sox announced that they have claimed left-hander Ryan Rolison off waivers from the Braves. Atlanta designated him for assignment this week as the corresponding move for their signing of right-hander Robert Suarez. The Sox had multiple 40-man vacancies and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.
Rolison, 28, was once a notable prospect with the Rockies. Colorado selected him 22nd overall in 2018, but then his path to the majors proved to be winding. The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic and then Rolison was held back by injuries, most notably shoulder troubles. He didn’t pitch much from 2021 to 2023, missing the entirety of the 2022 campaign.
He finally got to the majors in 2025 but wasn’t able to put up good numbers. He tossed 42 1/3 innings for the Rockies this year but allowed 7.02 earned runs per nine. His 47.9% ground ball rate was above average but his 13% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate were subpar.
He had more intriguing numbers in the minors. In the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, he tossed 29 2/3 innings with a 3.34 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 48.8% ground ball rate.
Despite that solid work for the Isotopes, the Rockies decided to move on. He was designated for assignment last month. Atlanta acquired him in a cash deal but he eventually got squeezed off their roster a few weeks later by further moves.
For the White Sox, it’s a sensible flier. They improved a bit in 2025 but nonetheless lost 102 games and are clearly still in rebuilding mode. That’s not ideal but the upside is that they are better positioned than other clubs to take chances on unproven guys. Rolison also still has an option year remaining, so he could be sent to Triple-A and back throughout the season. He has less than three years of service time, meaning he could be controlled through 2029 if he breaks out in Chicago.
Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images
December 12th: The Diamondbacks made it official today, announcing they signed Soroka to a one-year deal with a mutual option. Fellow righty Bryce Jarvis has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
December 8th: The Diamondbacks and free agent right-hander Michael Soroka are in agreement on a one-year deal that will reportedly pay the ISE Baseball client a guaranteed $7.5MM. Soroka can tack on an additional $2MM worth of incentives. The deal is pending a physical. Once complete, he’ll be penciled into the team’s rotation.
Soroka, still just 28 years old, is already signing the second free-agent contract of his career. He inked a one-year, $9MM deal with the Nats last offseason after an uneven year with the White Sox, wherein he struggled immensely as a starting pitcher before posting huge numbers as a reliever down the stretch. Washington plugged Soroka back into a starting role in 2025, eventually flipping him to the Cubs at the trade deadline. Soroka posted a middling 4.52 ERA in 89 2/3 innings (17 starts, six relief appearances) but continued to intrigue with sharp rate stats: 25.1% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate, 44.1% ground-ball rate.
Arizona is in need of help both in the rotation and in the bullpen, so even though Soroka is bound for the starting staff, he could be a fallback in the bullpen if the initial plan doesn’t work out. For now, he’ll join the trio of Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt as one of manager Torey Lovullo’s starters.
It still wasn’t that long ago that Soroka looked like one of the game’s most promising young arms. The 2015 first-round pick ranked as one of baseball’s top prospects prior to his debut with Atlanta, and the first two seasons of his career more than justified that billing. In 200 1/3 innings from his late-2018 callup through the end of the 2019 season, Soroka pitched to a sparkling 2.79 earned run average. His 20% strikeout rate was below-average, but he compensated for that with an excellent 5.9% walk rate, a 50.2% grounder rate and plenty of weak contact.
Injuries decimated the next several years of Soroka’s career and eventually pushed him out of the Braves’ plans. He’s twice torn his Achilles tendon and also missed time due to multiple shoulder injuries and a biceps strain. Soroka hasn’t reached even 100 innings in a major league season since that outstanding 2018-19 run; in fact, he’s pitched only 215 1/3 big league innings total since that time — just 15 more than he pitched in that initial MLB run.
Soroka will be one of multiple additions in general manager Mike Hazen’s rotation. The D-backs entered the offseason in dire need of pitching depth. Of the aforementioned trio of starters, only Nelson (3.39 ERA, 154 innings) posted quality bottom-line results last year. Both Rodriguez and Pfaadt posted ERAs north of 5.00, though each (Pfaadt in particular) was viewed more favorably by fielding-independent metrics.
Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has already indicated that payroll will decline after last year’s mark topped $200MM for the first time in franchise history. However, he’s also made clear that the team is fully intent on striving to contend despite that reduction. It’s not clear exactly where the ultimate budget lies, but Hazen and his staff should have plenty of spending room even with the budget scaling down. The addition of Soroka pushes next year’s projected payroll to just over $151MM, per RosterResource.
Arizona has also been looking into a reunion with righty Merrill Kelly, whom they traded to the Rangers in July ahead of his free agent departure this offseason. There’s mutual interest there, though Kelly’s annual salary will likely more than double what Soroka just commanded. Pete Fairbanks is a known target on the bullpen side of things, though he’s surely just one of many. The D-backs are also at least hearing out other clubs who inquire on star second baseman Ketel Marte, though a trade is seen as unlikely, and they’re listening to offers on lefty-swinging outfielders Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy.
Suffice it to say, it’ll be a busy few days for the D-backs in Orlando at this week’s Winter Meetings, though it’s unlikely the check off every item on their to-do list before MLB’s premier offseason event concludes.
Jesse Rogers and Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the one-year agreement between the two parties. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the salary terms, incentives and Soroka’s role.
The Dodgers announced that they have claimed outfielder Michael Siani off waivers from the Braves. Atlanta designated him for assignment when they signed Mike Yastrzemski earlier this week. The Dodgers had a couple of 40-man roster vacancies. This move technically brings them to 39 but Edwin Díaz will take the final spot once his signing becomes official.
Siani, 26, is a glove-first depth outfielder. He has appeared in the past four major league seasons, spending time with the Reds and Cardinals. He was sent to the plate 383 times in that span. His 6.3% walk rate and 27.9% strikeout rate thus far in his career are both subpar figures. His .221/.277/.270 batting line is well below average. His minor league numbers aren’t much better. He has a .217/.329/.337 line on the farm over the past three years.
But he has been able to provide value elsewhere. He has stolen 21 bases in 26 attempts. He has logged 1,014 innings on the grass, playing all three spots, but mostly in center. He has been credited with 17 Outs Above Average in that time and seven Defensive Runs Saved.
Siani still has an option, meaning he can be send to Triple-A without being exposed to waivers. Regardless, the Cards put him on the wire at the end of the 2025 season. Atlanta scooped him up but he lasted barely a month on their roster.
The Dodgers have some fluidity in their outfield group. On paper, they have Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages in two spots. There have been some trade rumblings around Hernández but general manager Brandon Gomes has pushed back on those. Pages had a good regular season but struggled in the playoffs and lost playing time. Tommy Edman could be involved but he’s recovering from ankle surgery right now and might be needed at second base. Hyeseong Kim is another multi-positional guy who could get some outfield time. Alex Call is in the mix.
Siani jumps into a depth group that also consists of Ryan Ward and Esteury Ruiz, all three of whom have options. Siani could be sent to Triple-A with those two but he could also carve out a bench role as a defensive specialist and pinch runner. He has less than two years of service time, meaning he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and can theoretically be retained for several years if the Dodgers find him useful.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
The Marlins and infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel have agreed to a major league deal, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez. It’s a one-year deal, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, though Morel can be controlled beyond 2026 via arbitration. The salary for the ISE Baseball client hasn’t yet been publicly reported. Morel is expected to mostly play first base for the Fish, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Marlins have an open roster spot but this will fill the 40-man once it’s official.
Morel, 26, has occasionally thrust himself into the spotlight with his ability to put the ball over the fence. However, he also strikes out a lot and hasn’t been able to find a true defensive home. The end result has been a clearly talented player struggling to fully establish himself as a viable big league regular.
Coming up as a prospect, Morel played a lot of shortstop and third base, with some time in the outfield and at second base also mixed in. He debuted with the Cubs in 2022 and showed off his power by hitting 16 home runs in 425 plate appearances. However, he also struck out in 32.2% of those trips to the plate. In 2023, he added another 26 homers in just 429 plate appearances, an even better rate than the previous year. His strikeout rate dropped a bit but stayed quite high at 31%.
Defensively, the Cubs bounced him around the diamond but without him fully taking hold of any one spot. His glovework was graded as subpar at shortstop, third base and in the outfield. He was more passable at second but the Cubs didn’t have regular playing time there due to the presence of Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson up the middle.
At last year’s deadline, the Cubs acquired Isaac Paredes from the Rays, with Morel being one of three players going back to Tampa. The Cubs later flipped Paredes to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker deal. The Rays still have Ty Johnson and Hunter Bigge from that swap but the Morel pick-up did not work out for them.
From the time of the trade through the end of 2025, Morel took 495 plate appearances as a Ray. He was punched out in 165 of those, exactly one third, also known as 33.3%. He hit just 14 home runs and produced a .208/.277/.355 batting line. That translated to a 78 wRC+, indicating he was 22% worse than the league average hitter in that time. The Rays mostly kept him in left field, where he received poor grades for his defense.
Morel crossed three years of service time in 2025, qualifying him for arbitration for the first time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $2.6MM salary next year. The Rays decided to move on and non-tendered him, sending him to free agency.
It was reported back in October that the Marlins would be looking for a lineup upgrade this winter. The team had some positive developments in their position player group in 2025 but no one took hold of the first base position. Seven different players lined up at the position during the season but Eric Wagaman was the only one to get more than 100 plate appearances at a first baseman. He finished the year with a .250/.296/.378 line and 85 wRC+.
Upgrading at first base was a sensible goal for the offseason. No one expected them to make a run at Pete Alonso but there had been some rumblings that the club could be more aggressive in free agency than in years past. Going after someone like Ryan O’Hearn or Rhys Hoskins seemed within the realm of possibility.
Instead, they are taking a shot on Morel, who has no professional experience at the position. First base is generally considered the least-demanding position on the diamond, so perhaps Morel can be more viable there than at the other spots he has tried, but there’s still risk in going with an unproven option.
There’s also risk within the bat, as mentioned. Though Morel has power, he has yet to prove he can strike out at rate less than 30% for a meaningful stretch of time. It is possible to strike out that much and still be good. Guys like James Wood and Riley Greene did so in 2025. Morel himself had a combined 115 wRC+ with the Cubs in the 2022-23 seasons, but his production tailed off more recently.
It’s a fairly low-risk move for the Marlins. Salary figures haven’t been reported but he’s surely not being paid much above the league minimum. It was reported yesterday by Edwin Hernández Jr. that Morel was getting interest from clubs in Japan. It’s unclear if he gave serious consideration to going overseas but the calls coming from Asia are perhaps a sign that his MLB interest was muted.
Though the Fish aren’t going to break the bank with this move, it’s perhaps disappointing for any fans who may have dreamt bigger after a somewhat encouraging 2025 campaign. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that no significant payroll increase is likely forthcoming. He adds that the Marlins will be looking to add another bat this winter but most likely via the trade market.
Morel is probably not guaranteed anything in terms of playing time. If he doesn’t thrive with his chance in Miami, they could go back to Wagaman and also have guys like Connor Norby, Agustín Ramírez, Liam Hicks, Griffin Conine, Graham Pauley, Deyvison De Los Santos and others in the mix. If Morel doesn’t pan out, he is out of options. If it does work, he could theoretically be retained through 2028 via arbitration.
It’s a defensible enough signing in a vacuum but seems to be an omen of another frugal offseason for the Marlins, which has become a habit under president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. Two years ago, their biggest deal was $5MM for Tim Anderson. Last winter, it was $3.5MM for Cal Quantrill. This is their first free agent deal of the 2025-26 offseason. Time will tell if they have anything bigger in the works.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
The Royals and infielder Maikel Garcia are finalizing a five-year contract extension that’ll contain a club option for a sixth season, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Wasserman client will be guaranteed $57.5MM on the deal, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com, though he can eventually earn something close to $85MM on the pact via the option and some escalators.
Garcia, who’ll turn 26 in March, had previously been under club control through 2029 but will now be on a guaranteed contract through 2030. Between that 2030 season and the 2031 club option, Kansas City is picking up control over two would-be free-agent seasons. Garcia was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $4.8MM salary on the heels of a breakout showing in 2025. As a Super Two player, Garcia would have been arb-eligible four times and thus due three more raises in subsequent seasons.
Though Garcia has been a regular with the Royals for three seasons now, the 2025 campaign was the first in which he provided any real value with the bat. He was a valuable player in 2023-24, but that was primarily due to plus speed (combined 60 steals) and quality defense at multiple infield positions.
The 2025 campaign brought a full-fledged breakout. After batting just .249/.300/.344 in 1141 plate appearances from ’23-’24, Garcia erupted with a .286/.351/.449 showing in a career-high 666 plate appearances. He posted career-best tallies in home runs (16) and doubles (39), tied a career-high with five triples, swiped another 23 bags and notched career-best walk and strikeout rates of 9.3% and 12.6%, respectively.
Garcia continued on as a plus, versatile defender this past season. He spent the bulk of his time at third base but also appeared at second base, shortstop and in center field. Third base has been his most frequent and best position, evidenced both by superlative defensive grades (15 Defensive Runs Saved, 18 Outs Above Average in 1144 innings) and the first of what could very well end up being multiple Gold Glove Awards.
Garcia profiles as the Royals’ long-term option at third base. With shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. also signed long-term, Kansas City should have an outstanding left side of the infield, on both sides of the ball, for the better part of the next half decade. It’s always possible that Garcia slides to a different position somewhere down the road, but the Royals tendered Jonathan India a contract this offseason and plan to deploy him regularly at second base after using him at multiple positions in 2025.
That left-side infield duo of Garcia and Witt will now be the Royals’ only players signed beyond the 2027 season, though right-handers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha can be retained via club options. Kansas City also controls lefty Cole Ragans and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino — another extension candidate — through the 2028 season. Team captain and franchise icon Salvador Perez is signed through 2027 and seems likely to continue re-signing in Kansas City until he opts to retire. That could increasingly be as a designated hitter, given the emergence of top catching prospect Carter Jensen (with fellow backstop Blake Mitchell not far behind him).
Between his previously projected $4.8MM salary in 2026 and what would have been three arbitration raises, it’s reasonable to think that Garcia’s four arbitration seasons might’ve cost somewhere in the vicinity of $35-40MM. That’s obviously just a rough approximation, but the extension seemingly values the free agent year around $17-22MM, depending on how bullish one is on Garcia’s earning power in free agency. In a best-case scenario, Garcia could have topped $40MM in earnings and hit free agency ahead of his age-30 campaign.
The Royals are clearly buying into him as a perennially productive regular, and if that proves to be the case, they’ll be rewarded handsomely with an extension that could play out like a bargain. For Garcia, this type of contract would’ve been unfathomable just nine months ago. As is the case in any extension scenario, it’s possible he could’ve earned more going year-to-year and reaching free agency at a younger age. However, it’s plenty understandable that a player who signed for under $100K as a 16-year-old back in 2016 and had well below-average offensive output in his first two MLB seasons would jump at the opportunity to lock in a deal that guarantees nearly $60MM and could top $80MM if that option is picked up.
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