Gavin Lux To Begin Season On Injured List
The Rays will be without Gavin Lux to begin the season. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports that Lux will begin the season on the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement. Richie Palacios had been optioned a few days ago but will now make the Opening Day roster in place of Lux.
More to come.
Braves To Place Spencer Strider On Injured List
Braves righty Spencer Strider is going to start the season on the injured list due to an oblique strain, manager Walt Weiss announced to the team’s beat this morning (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). The team hasn’t provided a formal timeline, but even Grade 1 oblique strains can sideline players for around a month.
Strider, 27, last pitched a full season in 2023. He made only two starts in 2024 before requiring UCL surgery that would sideline him into the 2025 campaign. The rehab from that surgery, combined with a hamstring strain, limited Strider to 23 starts last year. He pitched 125 1/3 innings but worked with diminished velocity and overall stuff, leading to a 4.45 ERA and rate stats that were markedly worse than their pre-injury levels.
The hope had been for a healthier Strider to bounce back closer to his brilliant 2022-23 form. Instead, he’ll be the latest addition to a list of key players who are unavailable to begin the year. It’s been a nightmare spring for Atlanta. The Braves have lost righties Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep for months following surgeries to remove loose bodies from their elbows. Left-hander Joey Wentz tore his ACL and is out for the season. Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim suffered a hand injury in a fall before even reporting to camp and will be out for more than a month to begin the year. Left fielder/designated hitter Jurickson Profar was suspended for the entire season following a second positive PED test.
Atlanta’s lack of pitching depth has been a story throughout camp. With Strider headed to the injured list, the Braves will open the season with Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes as their top three starters. Lopez pitched only once last year due to shoulder surgery. Holmes suffered a UCL tear last summer and rehabbed it without surgery.
Plans beyond that top trio are murky for the time being. Right-hander Bryce Elder and left-hander José Suarez are out of minor league options and will presumably both make the roster, though either could be bound for the bullpen. Bowman calls Suarez a “likely” starter to begin the season and adds that the club could consider selecting the contract of non-roster veteran Martín Pérez, who’d previously been informed he was not making the club. Right-hander Didier Fuentes is still ticketed for the bullpen, Weiss tells Bowman.
It’s a paper-thin rotation group at this point, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos make some form of addition to further stockpile some depth. There ought to be several veterans opting out of/being released from minor league deals in the final days of camp, and arms of varying quality will be designated for assignment due to the annual Opening Day roster crunch.
The Opener: Roster Decisions, Trades/Opt-Outs, Extensions
On the heels of big news out of Toronto earlier this morning, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. Roster decisions abound:
Opening Day is just around the corner, and as a result a flurry of roster moves have taken place over the past few days. That’s sure to continue going forward, as non-roster players breaking camp with the team will need to be added to the 40-man roster, while players without options remaining who don’t make their current team will need to be cut loose. Some big roster decisions yet to be made include whether top prospect Kevin McGonigle will break camp with the Tigers and whether Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena will be healthy enough to begin the season on the roster or require a trip to the injured list.
2. Trades, opt-outs, and signings galore:
As teams finalize their rosters and inform veterans on minor league deals that they won’t make the club, many of those veterans will have the opportunity to return to free agency. We’ve already seen southpaw Joey Lucchesi granted his release from the Giants, while catcher Reese McGuire managed to leverage his opt-out in the Brewers organization into a big league deal with the White Sox. In addition to those veterans moving in and out of free agency, the trade market is rife with possibilities at this time of year. The Nationals already took advantage of a roster crunch in New York by acquiring young infielder Jorbit Vivas from the Yankees, while some minor league veterans like Joe La Sorsa have upward mobility clauses in their contracts that can force a trade to a team willing to roster them.
3. Extension season continues:
Even amid the flurry of roster moves headed into Opening Day, springtime remains extension season all around baseball. It’s been a busy past few days on the extension front, as the Phillies inked southpaw Cristopher Sanchez to a new contract yesterday, locking up the lefty through his mid-30s, while this morning saw the Blue Jays extend GM Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider ahead of what would’ve been the final years of their contract. Outside of the deals that have already gotten done, the loudest buzz in terms of extensions involved star Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin, who was assigned to minor league camp over the weekend but also has mutual interest in an extension with his organization. Are there more deals on the horizon as Opening Day draws near?
Craig Kimbrel To Forgo Opt-Out, Stay With Mets
March 23: Kimbrel will forgo his first opt-out opportunity and remain with the Mets for the time being, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
March 22: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told the media (including SNY TV) that veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel was told that he won’t be breaking camp with the team. An Article XX(B) free agent, Kimbrel had the chance to trigger the first of three opt-out dates in his minor league contract this weekend, and Mendoza’s comments seemingly indicate that the right-hander hasn’t exercised an out clause, as Kimbrel is considering staying in the organization.
“Now he is deciding whether he wants to stay, which looks like he’s leaning that way,” Mendoza said. “He likes it here, he wants to win, but he also is going to look around for opportunities. But there’s a good chance he stays back here in Florida, to continue to pitch and [wait] until the opportunity presents.”
Kimbrel has a 4.50 ERA over six Grapefruit League innings for the Mets, with five walks and five strikeouts. It wasn’t the kind of performance that would help what was already something of a longshot bid to make New York’s roster, and it could be that Kimbrel is fine pitching in the minors for now. Given how the Mets cycled through an endless amount of relievers last season, Kimbrel may figure it won’t be too long before he is needed in Queens, even if his call-up would come with the added wrinkle of a contract selection to the 40-man roster.
Making the Mets’ roster would also guarantee a $2.5MM salary for Kimbrel, and since New York is over the highest level of luxury tax penalization, the Mets would pay more than double that amount in additional taxes. While money isn’t exactly a top concern for the big-spending Mets, it isn’t absolutely no concern, and the front office may feel a reliever on a minimum salary is a better investment both financially and results-wise than what Kimbrel can offer at age 37.
Kimbrel has been bouncing around the league for the last few years, showing some flashes of his old All-Star form but without much consistency. In 2025, Kimbrel had a 2.25 ERA and a 34.7% strikeout rate over 12 innings with the Braves and Astros, but with a hefty 14.3% walk rate as well. Control has been an issue for Kimbrel even during his prime years, and he has also been hurt by an increased tendency to allow home runs.
There could still be a market elsewhere for Kimbrel’s services, if another team feels he still has something in the rank. Mendoza noted that playing for a contender seems to be a priority for Kimbrel, so he might not want to sign with just any team if he does re-enter the open market.
Blue Jays Extend Ross Atkins, John Schneider
The Blue Jays announced this morning that they’ve signed GM Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider to contract extensions. Both were entering the final seasons of their current contracts, but Atkins has re-upped on a five-year deal that will take him through the 2031 season while Schneider will return on a two-year deal that lasts through the 2028 campaign.
The news is hardly surprising following Toronto’s impressive run in the playoffs last year, where they secured the AL pennant and came just shy of besting the Dodgers in seven games during the World Series. While Toronto ultimately lost Game Seven of that series, it’s easy to see that ownership is pleased with the club’s performance. Not only was the team green-lit to acquire Dylan Cease and pursue other big names on the free agent market like Kyle Tucker this winter, but Blue Jays chairman Edward Rogers also decided to give team president and CEO Mark Shapiro a five-year contract extension back in December that runs through 2030. Once Shapiro received in extension, both Atkins and Schneider were widely assumed to eventually follow suit around the league.
Atkins joined the Jays prior to the 2016 season, and he’s overseen the beginning of the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. era in Toronto. While Guerrero signed with the organization as an international amateur a few months before Atkins and Shapiro arrived, every professional game he’s played during his career has been with them at the helm of the club. Guerrero has been the face of Toronto’s return to relevance after a rebuilding period early in Atkins’s tenure with the organization, from the second year of his career in 2020 onward the Jays have made the postseason four times in six years with a 472-398 record overall. That’s roughly an 88-win pace over the last six years, and under Schneider’s leadership over the past three years they’ve gone 257-229 they’ve managed a roughly 86-win pace with two playoff berths.
It may have seemed to be a no-brainer that the club would decide to keep the good times rolling with their current group after this year’s run to the World Series, but that was hardly a guarantee this time last year. One year ago, Guerrero had not yet signed an extension, the club had whiffed on both Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in free agency during back-to-back offseasons, and the Jays were coming off a deeply disappointing 88-loss season that saw the club sell at the trade deadline and called their longer-term viability as a contender into question. It’s fortunate that the organization’s banner year in 2025 answered those questions, because it’s not hard to imagine another poor performance on the field from the club last year ending in changes to the front office and dugout rather than contract extensions for the organization’s leadership.
As Atkins, Schneider, and Shapiro head into the 2026 season and look ahead to at least a few more years running the Blue Jays together, long-term deals for Guerrero, Cease, Alejandro Kirk, and Andres Gimenez figure to make them all staples of the organization going forward. Other pieces under long-term control include Trey Yesavage, Anthony Santander, Kazuma Okamoto, Louie Varland, and a collection of young hitting talent headlined by Addison Barger. It’s a solid group overall, though the next few years will also see the team contend with the impending free agencies of George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and other key members of the roster who will need to be replaced.
Phillies Extend Cristopher Sanchez
For the second time in less than two years, the Phillies have announced a contract extension with Cristopher Sanchez. The left-hander’s previous extension in June 2024 gave the team control over Sanchez’s services through the 2030 season, but this new contract now locks Sanchez into the fold through at least the 2032 season for $91MM in new money. Sanchez is represented by Mato Sports Management.
The new deal keeps Sanchez’s $3MM salary in place for the 2026 season, and he’ll also earn the $6MM in 2027 and the $9MM in 2028 that was promised to him under the terms of his old extension. The Phillies previously held a $15MM club option on Sanchez for 2029 and a $16MM club option for 2030, but those options years have now been guaranteed under the new extension at those prices. Sanchez will then earn $30MM in each of the 2031 and 2032 seasons, and Philadelphia holds a $44.5MM club option ($1MM buyout) for the 2033 campaign. Sanchez can also earn up to $13MM extra via incentive bonuses over the course of the contract.
Sanchez’s four-year, $22.5MM extension from June 2024 had already proven to be a huge bargain for the Phillies, as the southpaw continued to produce throughout the 2024 campaign and then took a step forward by finishing second in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2025. It would’ve been easy for the Phillies to sit back and continue benefiting from the surplus value created by the extension, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski took the long view towards Sanchez’s future in Philadelphia.
“We kind of assumed years four and five were a no-brainer as far as we were going to pick those up,” Dombrowski told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and other reporters. “So we couldn’t even imagine a scenario in which we wouldn’t. Now we start talking beyond that. And we thought that somebody of Cristopher’s stature, we’d rather get this done now, while he’s still at the age that makes sense for us.”
It naturally isn’t uncommon for teams to sign their stars to multiple extensions over the course of their careers, as we’ve seen recently with the Guardians and Jose Ramirez back in January or the Diamondbacks with Ketel Marte last year. Those deals weren’t quite the same as the Sanchez extension, however. Both Ramirez and Marte had more than a decade of MLB experience under their belt and had already played out significant portions of their initial team-friendly extensions. In addition, those teams had the motive of restructuring their star’s previous deal to include deferred money.
That’s not to say Sanchez is undeserving of his new payday, of course. After earning a trip to the All-Star Game in 2024, Sanchez cemented his ace status with a superb 2025 season. The lefty spun a 2.50 ERA with a 2.55 FIP in 202 innings of work, striking out 212 batters across 32 starts. He paired his 26.3% strikeout rate with a 5.5% walk rate and a 58.3% ground ball rate, giving him a lower SIERA than every qualified starter in the NL and the third-lowest in baseball behind Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet.
By measure of fWAR, Sanchez’s 2025 season was a top-20 campaign by a qualified starter since 2015, tied with Cy Young-winning campaigns by future Hall of Famers like Chris Sale (2024), Max Scherzer (2017), and Justin Verlander (2019). Sanchez ultimately finished second behind Paul Skenes in Cy Young voting last year, but nonetheless established himself as among the upper-echelon of starters in today’s game with that performance.
Clearly, the Phillies are betting on Sanchez to age well like those other elite arms did by signing him to a big-money extension for his mid-thirties. Philadelphia has been unafraid of signing players well past their prime years previously, as shown by the fact that Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are under contract through their age-37 seasons, while Jesus Luzardo‘s new contract extension includes a club option for his age-34 campaign.
With this new contract, Sanchez joins Luzardo (2032 club option) and Trea Turner (contract guaranteed through 2033) as the only three players under team control beyond the expiration of Bryce Harper‘s contract in 2031. This restructured contract for Sanchez could be an interesting data point for Harper and agent Scott Boras, as the two-time MVP and future Hall of Famer has previously publicly expressed a desire to extend or restructure his contract with Philadelphia to keep him in town beyond the 2031 campaign. Of course, those previous attempts were before this past offseason’s comments from Dave Dombrowski critical of Harper that drew the superstar’s ire, prompting trade speculation that Dombrowski later firmly shut down.
Sanchez’s extension was first reported by FanSided’s Robert Murray. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported the total of money involved in the deal, while Francys Romero of Beisbol FR had the details about the performance incentives and Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer had the extension’s year-to-year financial breakdown.
Inset photo courtesy of Bill Streicher — Imagn Images
AL East Notes: Gil, Bastardo, Lux
Since the Yankees play only nine games during the season’s first 13 days, manager Aaron Boone announced today (to the Athletic’s Chris Kirschner and other reporters) that the team will use a four-man rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers during this rather staggered portion of the schedule. This leaves Luis Gil in a bit of an awkward spot as an unnecessary fifth starter, though pitching coach Matt Blake suggested that Gil could be used in a piggyback capacity during Weathers’ first outing. It is also possible Gil could be left off New York’s Opening Day roster altogether — he could bide his time in the minors until he’s needed, and the Yankees could use his roster spot on an extra reliever.
After winning AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2024, Gil was limited to 11 starts and 57 innings last season due to a right lat strain. Gil’s peripherals were unimpressive, and his whopping 5.74 SIERA indicates that the right-hander was quite fortunate to manage a 3.32 ERA. The fact that Gil has been relegated to this uncertain role for the start of the season perhaps indicates that the Yankees still have some questions about the righty, though Blake was encouraged by some adjustments Gil made to his release point.
More from around the AL East…
- The Blue Jays‘ bullpen continues to take final form, as manager John Schneider told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae and Shi Davidi) that Tommy Nance will make the team, while Yariel Rodriguez, non-roster invite Jorge Alcala, and Rule 5 Draft pick Angel Bastardo won’t be part of the Opening Day roster. In Bastardo’s case, this means the Jays must offer the right-hander back to the Red Sox, work out a trade with Boston to officially obtain Bastardo’s rights, or perhaps trade Bastardo to another team interested on carrying him on their active roster all season. Bastardo was actually selected in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, but a Tommy John surgery cost him the entire 2025 season and thus Toronto retained his R5 status for the coming season.
- Gavin Lux‘s shoulder remains a bit of a question mark for the Rays as Opening Day looms, though the second baseman was able to return to the lineup for today’s game with the Blue Jays. Lux’s first camp with the Rays was initially slowed by some oblique discomfort, and then a sore throwing shoulder that has limited him to seven Grapefruit League games to date. Manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that due to the “time crunch” created by Thursday’s opener, “we’ve got to get [Lux] going for him to be ready to go.” If Lux needs a 10-day injured list stint to give himself more time to get right, Topkin suggests the Rays could add Richie Palacios to the roster, or perhaps explore the market for a new depth infielder.
Diamondbacks To Add Jonathan Loaisiga, Joe Ross To Opening Day Roster
10:05PM: Right-hander Joe Ross is also making the team, as per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Diamondbacks will have to create another 40-man roster spot before selecting Ross, who inked a minor league contract last month. The numbers haven’t been there for Ross this spring, but Piecoro writes that Ross’ ability to pitch multiple innings gave him an advantage in the bullpen competition.
10:47AM: The Diamondbacks are adding right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga to their Opening Day roster, according to a report from Jorge Castillo of ESPN. Arizona’s 40-man roster is full, so a corresponding move will be necessary to officially select Loaisiga’s contract.
Loaisiga, 31, is joining a new club for the first time after spending his first eight MLB seasons with the Yankees. Signed by the Giants out of Nicaragua back in 2013, Loaisiga made just 13 starts for San Francisco’s Dominican Summer League affiliate before suffering injuries that sidelined him for the next two years. He was released by the organization in 2015 and caught on with the Yankees ahead of the 2016 season, where he continued to climb the minor league ladder as a starter and actually began his MLB career in a swing role.
The right-hander didn’t convert to short relief full-time until 2021, but looked utterly dominant once he did. Loaisiga turned in a 2.17 ERA with a 2.58 FIP and 3.01 SIERA in 70 2/3 innings of work for the Yankees that year. He struck out a respectable 24.4% of his opponents while walking just 5.7% and generating ground balls at a 60.9% clip. That dominant showing was enough to push Loaisiga into New York’s high leverage mix, and headed into 2022 it was easy to dream on him as the next dominant Yankees reliever. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way. His 2022 campaign was a struggle and saw him post below league average results (4.13 ERA) with only slightly better peripheral numbers (3.57 FIP, 3.76 SIERA). In the three years since then, he’s managed just 50 total appearances at the big league level due to a laundry list of injuries.
Those 50 appearances work out to a combined 3.51 ERA that’s decent enough, but his grounder rate has dropped to 52.0%, his strikeout rate now sits at a concerning 15.2%, and the righty’s 5.13 FIP (4.09 SIERA) both suggest those solid run prevention numbers are the result more of good luck on batted balls and sequencing than his underlying performance. With so many health and performance related red flags, it wasn’t a shock that Loaisiga needed to take a minor league deal this offseason. The one he landed with the Diamondbacks figured to give him a strong shot to make the roster, however, as the majority of their late-inning mix is set to start the season on the injured list.
A solid showing this spring further sealed the deal, as Loaisiga posted a 3.86 ERA in seven outings with seven strikeouts against just two walks. That’ll be enough to earn him a spot in the Diamondbacks bullpen to open the year, and he should have every opportunity to earn a high leverage role. Paul Sewald, Ryan Thompson, and Kevin Ginkel are among the other arms who will be vying for late inning roles as the season begins, though both A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez are expected back in the mix at some point this year.
Matt Bowman Exercises Opt-Out In Twins Contract
Right-hander Matt Bowman has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Twins, as per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Bowman isn’t an Article XX(B) player but he has a similar opt-out provision in his contract, so Minnesota now must decide between adding Bowman to the Opening Day roster or letting the reliever re-enter free agency.
Bowman allowed one hit over two scoreless innings in the Twins’ 7-3 win over the Braves today, and the righty has yet to be charged with an earned run over 7 1/3 frames of work in Spring Training. His spring work also included three more scoreless innings for Israel’s team during the World Baseball Classic.
It makes for an awfully strong case for a roster spot, yet Bowman is one of multiple pitchers competing for what appears to be just one opening in Minnesota’s bullpen. According to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, the Twins look to be going with Taylor Rogers, Kody Funderburk, and Anthony Banda as the three left-handers, and Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Zak Kent and Eric Orze as the right-handed contingent. Dan Altavilla, Cody Laweryson, and Trent Baker are Bowman’s primary competition for the last bullpen assignment, and Hayes suggests that Altavilla is “likely in the lead.”
If Bowman doesn’t break camp with the Twins, another move will be on the horizon for a player who has generated seemingly half of MLB Trade Rumors’ content over the last couple of years. Bowman pitched at the big league level for four different teams (including the Twins) during the 2024 season, then spent most of 2025 being repeatedly designated for assignment, outrighted, and selected again by the Orioles, before he was released at the end of August and then signed by the Astros.
Through all the transactions, Bowman posted a 5.20 ERA, 17.1% strikeout rate, and 7.7% walk rate over 55 1/3 innings in the Show during the 2024-25 seasons. His grounder rate dipped to 39.7% over the last two years, after sitting at an impressive 56.3% over his first five seasons in the bigs.
Orioles Made Gunnar Henderson An Extension Offer Last Spring
The Orioles made shortstop Gunnar Henderson an extension offer during last year’s Spring Training that wasn’t accepted, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes. It isn’t known if the two sides have revisited talks this year, though Heyman feels the chances of an agreement are a “long shot” at best. Henderson is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients usually eschew extensions in favor of eventually testing free agency.
Henderson is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and is set to become a free agent after the 2028 season at age 27. Between that relatively young age and the numbers he has already posted in his four big league seasons, Henderson and Boras may well have a record contract in mind for the shortstop’s entry into the open market, which could leave the Orioles priced out.
This isn’t to say that the O’s haven’t shown an increased willingness to spend since David Rubenstein bought the team in early 2024. Baltimore’s eight-year, $67MM deal with Samuel Basallo last August marked the team’s first long-term extension in over a decade, as the Orioles hasn’t yet locked up any of the other young talents amassed during their rebuilding period. This offseason, the O’s made a big splash in free agency by signing Pete Alonso (a Boras Corporation client, no less) to a five-year, $155MM deal that stands as the second-largest contract in franchise history.
It isn’t out of the question to suggest that it would take three times’ Alonso’s contract to extend or re-sign Henderson, given Boras’ penchant for pushing the market. Henderson would have to keep playing like a superstar, of course, and the 2025 season was a slight bump in the road since he hit a relatively modest .274/.349/.438 over 651 plate appearances, with 17 homers and 30 steals (in 35 attempts).
The shortstop still posted this 120 wRC+/4.8 fWAR production, however, while dealing first with an intercostal strain that sidelined him during Spring Training, and then a shoulder impingement that bothered him for most of the regular season. Returning to normal health should help Henderson regain his power in 2026, and perhaps he is gearing up for a season more akin to the 37 homers and .281/.364/.529 slash line he delivered in 2024.
Perhaps the Orioles want to see Henderson back at full strength before considering more extension talks, in order to determine if he is worth the kind of landmark investment it would take to keep him in the fold. Alonso and Basallo are the only long-term commitments on the Orioles’ books, so a mega-deal for Henderson perhaps isn’t out of the question if the O’s view him as their franchise cornerstone. As Heyman noted, however, the likelier scenario is that an extension isn’t reached. This would mean Henderson either walks in free agency, or Baltimore could conceivably look to trade him (maybe during the 2027-28 offseason) in order to gain a larger return.