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Orioles Re-Sign Zach Eflin

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The Orioles have reunited with Zach Eflin, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that Baltimore has signed the right-hander to a one-year free agent deal.  The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that Eflin will earn $10MM, and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner adds that the contract contains a mutual option for 2027.  Eflin is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

The $10MM guarantee breaks down as a $5MM salary, a $3MM signing bonus, and then a $2MM buyout on the mutual option, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.  As a reminder, mutual options are virtually never exercised by both parties, so Eflin’s deal is for all intents and purposes just a one-year pact.  There is some significant bonus money involved, as both Eflin’s buyout and option will increase by $1MM if he makes at least 15 starts, then by $1.5MM if he makes at 20 starts, and one final increase of $2.5MM if he hits the 25-start threshold.  The mutual option’s buyout can therefore max out at $7MM.

The O’s have been linked to several top-tier free agent pitchers this winter, and they also just swung a notable trade to land a hurler with frontline potential in Shane Baz.  The 32-year-old Eflin is more of a depth signing for the back of the rotation, and perhaps something of a flier given his uncertain health situation.  Eflin underwent a back surgery in August that came with a rather broad recovery timeline of 4-8 months, so the fact that he has now signed a contract after four months perhaps hints that his rehab is going quite smoothly.

It would be a welcome relief for both Eflin and the Orioles if he is able to pitch normally during Spring Training and be available for the Opening Day roster.  Assuming Eflin is ready to go by March 26, he’ll slot in as the fourth or fifth starter in a projected rotation that includes Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Baz, and Dean Kremer.  Tyler Wells had a line on a rotation spot but could take on a bullpen or a swingman role.  Albert Suarez is another swingman candidate, plus Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott, and Brandon Young are further rotation depth options in the upper minors.

If Baltimore still wanted to make a splash by signing or trading for more of a proven ace, the Eflin signing likely isn’t an obstacle.  Given how many injuries the Orioles rotation suffered in 2025, it is no surprise that the team wants as much depth as possible to both cover innings and deliver quality results going forward.

Eflin’s own injury woes contributed to the Orioles’ health problems, as lat and back injuries resulted in three separate stints on the injured list for the righty last year.  Eflin was limited to just 71 1/3 innings over 14 starts, and he struggled to a 5.93 ERA and a 16.2% strikeout rate.  The righty’s 4.2% walk rate was still excellent, however, and since a lot of the damage off Eflin came via a spike in his homer rate, his 4.49 SIERA was more respectable than his real-world ERA.

This isn’t the first time Eflin was plagued by injuries, as persistent knee issues bothered the right-hander earlier in his career with the Phillies.

More to come…

Andrew Heaney Announces Retirement

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Andrew Heaney is retiring after 12 Major League seasons, as the 34-year-old southpaw announced via his social media feeds.  Heaney finishes his career with a 4.57 ERA over 1136 2/3 innings as a starter and occasional reliever with six different MLB teams, including seven seasons with the Angels.

“I will miss the game greatly, but all of my experiences and the lasting relationships have made me a better person,” Heaney wrote.  “The routine of showing up to the yard every day and working to improve each time out has been a driving force for me…I am now ready to return my focus and energy to being a husband, father, family man, and active member of my community.  I’m retiring from baseball, but I hope to give back more than I received.  Thank you to all of you for the love and support you have given me.  Y’all know who you are.”

Heaney spent his final season with the Pirates and Dodgers, posting a 5.52 ERA over 122 1/3 innings.  After inking a one-year, $5.25MM deal with Pittsburgh last February, Heaney’s struggles kept him from being dealt at the trade deadline, and the Bucs ended up demoting him to the bullpen and then releasing him entirely at the end of August.  The Dodgers brought Heaney back on a minor league deal for what was technically his third stint in the organization, and he appeared in a single big league game in late September but wasn’t included on any of Los Angeles’ postseason rosters.

Selected ninth overall by the Marlins in the 2012 draft, Heaney debuted in the Show in 2014 but was dealt after the season to the Dodgers as part of a major seven-player trade that brought Dee Strange-Gordon to Miami (and Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes to Chavez Ravine).  The Dodgers then flipped Heaney to the Angels that same day in another trade for Howie Kendrick, which has some historical import as the last time the two Los Angeles clubs engaged in a player-for-player swap.

A Tommy John surgery and some other injuries limited Heaney during his time in Anaheim, but he delivered a 4.51 ERA over 569 1/3 innings his long stretch in an Angels uniform.  The tenure ended when Heaney was dealt to the Yankees at the 2021 trade deadline, and that winter he returned to L.A. for a more proper stint with the Dodgers when he signed a one-year, $8.5MM free agent deal.  Injuries were again a factor for Heaney during this year, but he had a 3.10 ERA and a whopping 35.5% strikeout rate over his 72 2/3 frames.

The Oklahoma City native’s next contract brought him a bit closer to home, as Heaney inked a two-year, $25MM deal with the Rangers in the 2022-23 offseason.  The deal was a hit for both the pitcher and the team, as Heaney had a 4.22 ERA with Texas while staying generally healthy — his 160 innings in 2024 and 147 1/3 innings in 2023 were the second- and third-highest single-season innings totals of his career.  During the 2023 postseason, Heaney had a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings over five games as a starter and reliever, helping the Rangers win the World Series.

Home runs were a constant issue for Heaney throughout his career, and his 199 career homers allowed inflated his ERA and perhaps kept him from breaking through as a front-of-the-rotation arm.  Still, Heaney carved out a long and successful career for himself as a starter on the strength of his strikeout ability (23.8% career strikeout rate) and quality control (7% walk rate).  Despite his struggles in 2025, it seemed like Heaney still had more in the tank if he’d chosen to continue pitching, and perhaps could’ve reinvented himself as a full-time relief pitcher.

Instead, Heaney has decided to hang up his glove and will now move onto his post-playing endeavors.  We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Heaney all the best, and congratulate him on a fine career.

Latest On Tigers, Alex Bregman

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The Tigers made a strong push to sign Alex Bregman last offseason, offering the third baseman a six-year, $171.5MM deal (with some deferred money) that included an opt-out clause for Bregman following the 2026 season.  With Bregman back on the market this winter, the Tigers are again in the mix, but in more of a “lukewarm” fashion, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

This more or less echoes Petzold’s last report on Bregman from earlier this month, and “the Tigers haven’t shown any new movement” in subsequent weeks, a source tells Petzold in his latest piece.  Since Detroit was apparently the only team to offer Bregman a contract longer than four years last year, Petzold suggests the Tigers may be trying to leverage this interest into seeing if they could possibly wait out the rest of Bregman’s market.

The Blue Jays, Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox are Bregman’s other known public suitors, and Petzold adds the detail that Chicago and Boston “haven’t shown a willingness to offer a long-term contract.”  This was the case last winter as well, as the Cubs reportedly offered Bregman a four-year deal (with multiple opt-outs) in the $115MM-$120MM range, and the third baseman ended up signing a three-year, $120MM deal with the Sox that allowed him to opt out after each of the first two seasons.

Bregman is entering his age-32 campaign, and he hit .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs over 495 plate appearances for Boston in 2025.  His season was marred by a quad strain that sidelined him for just under seven weeks, as well as a deep slump over the last five weeks of the season.  These flaws notwithstanding, Bregman’s hot start earned him his third career All-Star nod, and his veteran influence within the young Red Sox clubhouse was heavily praised.

It was an altogether solid year for Bregman, and an across-the-board improvement over his 2024 slash line.  However, it may not have been the type of standout campaign that inspires a team to make the type of five- or six-year offer it wasn’t willing to make last offseason, though Bregman isn’t tied to a qualifying offer this time around.

A few other factors complicate Bregman’s market.  Bo Bichette and Kazuma Okamoto are still free agents, and Okamoto’s posting window is up on January 4.  It could be that the teams in on Okamoto (including both the Red Sox and Blue Jays, as per reports) could be first waiting to see where he lands before moving on other infield targets.  Boston and Toronto have also each shown interest in free agent Bo Bichette and trade candidate Ketel Marte, and moving Marte’s contract might be Arizona’s first step towards freeing up enough payroll space to go after Bregman.

While Bichette is thought to be the Blue Jays’ priority and Bregman perhaps Boston’s preferred target, the two teams have been connected to so many infielders that the Tigers, Diamondbacks, and Cubs could stand out since it seems like Bregman is the only big-name infielder on their radar.  Chicago’s offseason has been dominated by multiple bullpen additions and reports linking the Cubs to multiple free agent starters, but there hasn’t been a ton of buzz about any major position-player adds to replace Kyle Tucker.  That said, the Cubs also met with Pete Alonso during the Winter Meetings, so it isn’t as if the team is closing itself off from a pursuit of a premium bat.

As Petzold notes, there is certainly a scenario where Bregman’s other suitors all either stand pat or make other acquisitions, leaving the Tigers as perhaps the only club still open to giving Bregman a longer-term deal.  Depending on how things play out, Bregman and agent Scott Boras could conceivably pivot to another shorter-term, higher average annual value type of contract with an opt-out or two.  Bregman didn’t sign with the Red Sox last winter until mid-February, which could be a sign that Bregman is happy waiting until he gets an acceptable offer, or he might prefer more stability this time rather than another protracted stay in free agency.

Since the Tigers have yet to sign a free agent to a deal longer than two years in the Scott Harris era, Motown fans would prefer that the club is a little more proactive or aggressive in finally landing a big target.  Being patient with Bregman naturally creates the risk that he’ll just sign elsewhere, leaving Detroit now having to play catchup if the team wants to make a significant lineup upgrade.  The Tigers are one of the teams to explore the idea of trading for Marte, so that might present some type of alternative if Marte is also still in Arizona when Bregman comes off the board.

Cubs Sign Hunter Harvey

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TODAY, 3:04PM: The one-year contract is worth $6MM in guaranteed money, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.

SATURDAY, 2:08PM: Harvey’s deal is a one-year pact, as per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

1:03PM: The Cubs and right-hander Hunter Harvey have agreed to a contract, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma.  The deal will become official once Harvey (a Beverly Hills Sports Council client) passes a physical.

Harvey is looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2025 season that saw the reliever make just 12 appearances out of the Royals bullpen.  A teres major strain in early April kept Harvey out of action until late July, and he pitched in just six more games before being sidelined for good by a Grade 2 adductor strain.  The frustration of these two significant injuries was compounded by the fact that Harvey was looking great when healthy — he didn’t allow a run over his 10 2/3 innings pitched, while issuing one walk against 11 strikeouts.

Between these injuries and the back problems that marred the end of his 2024 campaign, Harvey ended up pitching only 16 1/3 innings in a Royals uniform after Kansas City acquired the righty from Washington in July 2024.  Unfortunately, health concerns are nothing new for Harvey, as his time as a top-100 prospect in the Orioles’ farm system was frequently interrupted by stints on the injured list.

It wasn’t until the 2022 season that Harvey (now with the Nationals) finally got an extended taste of MLB playing time.  He proceeded to post a 3.17 ERA, 27.83% strikeout rate, and 6.36% walk rate over 145 relief innings during his time in D.C., working in a high-leverage role and occasionally as a closer with the Nats.

Harvey has been prone to allowing a lot of hard contact, but his control and strikeout ability has allowed him to get out of jams when allowing baserunners.  Harvey has always been a hard thrower, though his 96.1 mph fastball in 2025 was the slowest velocity he has posted in his MLB career.  Of course, it’s hard to draw conclusions from that sample size of 10 2/3 IP, and it is certainly possible that Harvey will regain a tick or two on his heater once healthy.

Availability is the lingering question for Harvey, yet there is plenty of upside for the righty as he enters his age-31 season.  He is an ideal fit for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who has traditionally shopped for lower-cost bullpen arms who can (if everything works out) provide plenty of bang for the buck.

Chicago’s two-year, $14.5MM deal with Phil Maton counts as a relative splurge by Hoyer’s bullpen spending standards, but the Cubs have now signed Maton, Harvey, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and old friend Caleb Thielbar in what has quietly become a pretty extensive remodel of the relief corps.  Daniel Palencia remains as the Cubs’ first choice for saves, but Harvey now provides some backup as a reliever with some ninth-inning experience.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team pursue more veteran relievers on relatively inexpensive contracts, in order to give the Cubs as much depth as possible in advance of what Chicago hopes is a deeper postseason run.  The Cubs have been linked to a number of bigger-ticket position players and starting pitchers, but Maton’s deal remains their largest investment in a new player this offseason.

Marlins Sign Pete Fairbanks

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December 28: The Marlins have officially announced the Fairbanks signing. His Christmas Eve deal was pending a physical, which he seems to have passed. Miami had room on the 40-man roster after trading Dane Myers to Cincinnati yesterday. With Fairbanks now on board, the Marlins 40-man is back up to 40.

December 24: The Marlins and reliever Pete Fairbanks are in agreement on a contract, according to Will Sammon of the Athletic. It is a one-year, $13MM contract for the Republik Sports client, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the deal includes a $1MM signing bonus and another $1MM in incentives based on appearances. Fairbanks will also receive a bonus of $500,000 if he is traded. The deal is pending a physical. The Marlins have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this official.

Fairbanks, who turned 32 last week, is coming off a 2.83 ERA in 60 1/3 innings for the Rays in 2025. Tampa held an $11MM club option on his services for 2026, but they instead paid him a $1MM buyout. We at MLBTR ranked him No. 44 on our Top 50 Free Agents list and projected a two-year, $18MM contract. He now heads to the Marlins on a shorter deal with a higher annual salary and figures to be the team’s closer next year.

The right-hander debuted in 2019 and has pitched 265 1/3 innings with a 3.19 ERA in his seven seasons with the Rays. In that time, Fairbanks has struck out 30.0% of hitters against a 9.3% walk rate thanks to an upper-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider which he uses 44.1% of the time. He also gets groundballs at an above-average 45.1% rate and generally keeps the ball in the park, allowing just 0.81 HR/9.

He has also frequently dealt with injuries, making seven trips to the injured list from 2021-24. He had better health luck this year, as he avoided the injured list and set a career high with 60 1/3 innings pitched. When he’s healthy, Fairbanks is a dominant back-end reliever. In 151 innings as the Rays’ closer from 2023-25, he had a 2.98 ERA while posting a 18.9% K-BB rate and earning 75 saves, which was 12th-highest in the league in that span.

That largely continued in 2025, albeit with a drop in Fairbanks’ advanced metrics. After striking out 37.0% of hitters as recently as 2023, that has fallen to 23.8% in 2024 and 24.2% in 2025. That is still plenty effective, especially as he has lowered his walk rate from 10.9% in 2023 to 7.4% this year. However, it has also come with an uptick in average exit velocity. Hitters averaged 85.7 mph off the bat against Fairbanks in 2023, but that rose to 90.2 mph in 2025. Meanwhile, his four-seamer now sits at 97.3 mph after averaging 98.9 mph in 2023.

Nonetheless, the fact that the current version of Fairbanks has better-than-average strikeout and walk rates with 90th-percentile fastball velocity means that he is still an effective reliever. If anything, the move by the Rays to decline his option was financially motivated. Tampa Bay’s payroll usually ranks near the bottom of the league (29th out of 30 in 2025). They previously signed Fairbanks to a three-year, $12MM extension in January 2023. While $4MM was a comfortable price range for the team, $11MM may have simply been too high a price to commit to one reliever, even one as effective as Fairbanks.

Indeed, the club tried to trade Fairbanks after the season ended, but they couldn’t find any takers. That ended up being a moot point, as he garnered plenty of interest from teams around the league. The Marlins, Diamondbacks, White Sox, and Tigers were publicly known to be interested in the right-hander. Miami always seemed like a logical fit, given the connection between Fairbanks and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix from their time with the Rays.

With the addition of Fairbanks, the Marlins have fortified a bullpen which ranked 23rd in the league with a 4.27 ERA and 17th with a 14.1% K-BB rate in 2025. The best performer of the bunch was right-hander Ronny Henriquez. The 25-year-old pitched 73 innings over 69 appearances this year with a 2.22 ERA and a 32.3% strikeout rate. His 1.3 fWAR was a team high for relievers, while his peripheral stats were slightly higher than his ERA but still excellent. He also earned seven saves throughout the season. It was the best possible outcome for the Marlins, who acquired Henriquez as a waiver pickup last offseason. Unfortunately, news broke two days ago that the righty underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow. As a result, he will miss the entire 2026 season.

Including Henriquez, the team got a good amount of volume from its bullpen in 2025. Seven Marlins relievers pitched at least 50 innings, with Tyler Phillips’s 77 2/3 innings leading the group. He pitched to a 2.78 ERA and got groundballs at a well-above-average 55.6% rate, albeit with just a 16.6% strikeout rate and middling peripherals. Calvin Faucher and Lake Bachar had ERAs of 3.28 and 3.78, respectively, but with expected values in the mid-4.00s. Meanwhile, Anthony Bender, Cade Gibson, and Valente Bellozo had solid groundball rates but below-average strikeout numbers. The signing of Fairbanks upgrades the group with more velocity, strikeouts, and groundballs while covering for Henriquez’s injury and taking pressure off the younger arms.

According to RosterResource, the signing of Fairbanks brings the Marlins’ projected payroll to $73MM, a slight bump from $70MM in 2025. That figure includes just over $15MM for eight arbitration-eligible players, with $2MM of that going to the recently-signed Christopher Morel (previously non-tendered by the Rays). So far, Morel and Fairbanks have been the club’s only big-league free agent signings, though the club is reportedly willing to spend more than usual this offseason.

Photos courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck and Kim Klement, Imagn Images

Longtime Athletics Scout Will Schock Passes Away

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The Athletics announced today the passing of longtime scout Will Schock. He was 61. Schock had been a part of the organization since getting drafted by the team in 1987. General manager David Forst released a statement about Schock’s passing.

“Will was a beloved part of the A’s organization for the better part of the last four decades. After being drafted by and pitching for the A’s for five years, he dedicated his life to scouting and made a lasting impact on both our amateur and pro staffs. His easygoing nature always made him a joy to be around, and his passion for the game and its players made every conversation with him an opportunity to learn from his years in the game.

We were lucky to have him as a teammate and friend. Our thoughts are with his family today, particularly his mother Trubee, his sister-in-law Jeanine, and his longtime partner Mary Coons.”

Schock, a right-handed pitcher, was initially drafted by the Giants out of high school in 1982. He instead chose to pitch in college at the University of California, Berkeley. Schock was taken in the 22nd round of the 1987 draft by the Athletics. He spent five seasons in the A’s system, topping out at Triple-A. Schock also briefly pitched in the Reds organization. He wrapped up his playing career with a respectable 3.95 ERA across 121 minor league appearances.

We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to Schock’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images

Red Sox Continuing To Pursue Infield Help

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12:33pm: Speier’s report has subsequently been updated to highlight Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan as a fifth infielder the Red Sox are currently focused on.

Donovan, 29 next month, is among the most discussed trade candidates in baseball this winter. In addition to being a capable defender all over the infield and outfield, Donovan sports a career 119 wRC+ and has delivered 6.0 fWAR (5.3 bWAR) in just 271 games over the past two seasons. As a left-handed batter, Donovan wouldn’t be as effective in balancing a heavily left-handed Red Sox lineup as the right-handed Bregman, Bichette, and Paredes (or even the switch-hitting Marte), but he does come with two years of affordable team control.

Newly-minted Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is certainly familiar with Boston’s farm system at this point, both due to trades involving Contreras and Sonny Gray from earlier this offseason and also due to his years spent as chief baseball officer for the Red Sox prior to Craig Breslow’s tenure at the helm. Notably, the competition for Donovan’s services figures to be steep. Seattle and San Francisco were previously reported as front-runners for the utility man’s services earlier this month, while the Royals, Guardians, Astros, and Pirates are among the other teams to have been connected to Donovan.

10:26am: The Red Sox have long been known to be looking for a right-handed bat to add to their infield mix, and they found one when they swung a trade with the Cardinals to acquire Willson Contreras. Contreras figures to settle into an everyday role with the club between first base and DH, but even with the veteran slugger in the fold Alex Speier of the Boston Globe notes that the Red Sox remain in the market for another big bat for their infield. Speier specifically highlights four potential targets for the Red Sox: free agents Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette, Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes, and Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte. While Speier acknowledges that alternatives to that group exist in both free agency and on the trade market, those four names appear to be the focus on Boston’s efforts at this point.

The specific names themselves aren’t exactly new information. Bregman, of course, was an impactful player for the Red Sox this past season after signing a three-year, opt-out laden deal with the club last offseason. After slashing .273/.360/.462 in 114 games and notching his third career All-Star appearance, Bregman opted out of the final two years of that deal to return to free agency. A reunion with Boston has long appeared to be the most obvious fit for Bregman, and the team’s interest in a reunion is well-established. With that said, the Red Sox are known to be hesitant about offering long-term deals in free agency; Bregman’s three-year pact with the Red Sox last year was the longest free agent contract Craig Breslow has doled out during his tenure as chief baseball officer. With Bregman known to be seeking a longer-term deal this winter, it’s unclear if the Red Sox would be willing to break with their established preference for shorter-term contracts in order to sign Bregman to a five- or six-year deal that would take him into his age-36 or -37 campaign.

As for Bichette, the Red Sox reportedly conducted a video meeting with him earlier this month. Bichette stands as the top infielder available in free agency this winter on the heels of a season where he slashed .311/.357/.483 for the Blue Jays in 139 games. Bichette isn’t quite as clean of a fit for the Red Sox as Bregman would be, in terms of position. A reunion with Bregman would allow Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer to stay at their current positions up the middle, while Bichette is a shortstop who has shown a willingness to play second base but may not feel the same way about the hot corner. With that said, most of Mayer’s time in the majors last year actually came at third while Bregman was injured. Perhaps, then, Bichette could be a preferable addition to Bregman. While he would require a contract just as long as (or perhaps even longer than) Bregman, Bichette is four years younger than Bregman. As a result, even an eight-year deal for Bichette wouldn’t come with as many years of expected decline as a five-year deal for Bregman.

Turning to the trade market, Marte has rivaled Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan as the most popular name available on the market this winter. While the Diamondbacks have made clear that they aren’t actively shopping Marte and expect to keep their star second baseman, the three-time All-Star has slashed .288/.374/.539 over the past two seasons with a wRC+ of 149, 10.9 fWAR, and 11.2 bWAR across 262 games. That’s the sort of production that compels teams to check in on a player if there’s any chance they could be available, and the Red Sox are among the teams to do so this offseason. Marte would be on Boston’s books through the end of his age-37 campaign if acquired, though the $102.5MM guaranteed left on that deal is very affordable compared to the going rate for star players.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to acquiring Marte would be the acquisition cost; while the Red Sox are known to be open to dealing from their controllable pitching depth, free agent deals for Merrill Kelly and Michael Soroka have helped to fill out the Diamondbacks’ rotation enough that the team might prefer to bring back some positional talent to help fill the void created by Marte’s departure. Trading an elite prospect talent like Mayer or Kristian Campbell would be a tough pill to swallow for the Red Sox, especially if paired with a controllable rotation arm like Connelly Early or Payton Tolle.

That could make another player on the trade market more attractive. While Paredes isn’t a star on the level of Marte, Bichette, or even Bregman, he would still bring impact to the Boston infield. The 26-year-old hit .254/.352/.458 (128 wRC+) in 102 games for the Astros last year and has slashed .239/.341/.442 (124 wRC+) since the start of the 2022 campaign. Paredes offers a consistent, bat-first profile at third base that should be attractive to the Red Sox, especially considering the slugger’s relative affordability. Paredes is slated to make his penultimate trip through arbitration this offseason, and with two years of affordable team control covering his age-27 and -28 seasons, the Red Sox need not commit to him long-term or be on the hook for any of the years following his prime.

As for his availability, Houston GM Dana Brown has publicly suggested the team has no desire to trade Paredes but he has still drawn interest from the Red Sox nonetheless. Notably, the presence of Carlos Correa and Christian Walker at the infield corners (to say nothing of Yordan Alvarez at DH) limits Paredes’s paths to playing time in Houston, which could make a trade more feasible. The Astros already brought in Mike Burrows to help fill out their rotation but could certainly still benefit from additional young pitching, which the Red Sox are more than capable of providing. Prior reports have indicated that Early and Tolle are both players the Astros are interested in, and moving one of those arms out as the centerpiece of a Paredes deal could make plenty of sense.

Angels, Padres Among Teams Interested In Kazuma Okamoto

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The Padres and Angels are among the teams to have shown interest in infielder Kazuma Okamoto, according to a report from Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Romero also mentions interest on the part of the Pirates, who have been frequently connected to Okamoto in recent weeks. The infielder is nearing the end of his 45-day posting window, which ends on January 4.

The 29-year-old Okamoto is coming off a season where he appeared in just 69 Central League games for NPB’s Yomiuri Giants. The infielder hit .327/.416/.598 in 293 trips to the plate for Yomiuri last year. That was good for an otherworldly 210 wRC+, as he slugged 15 homers with 21 doubles while posting identical 11.3% strikeout and walk rates. That scorching hot half-season isn’t reflective of Okamoto’s overall body of work, but his numbers are still impressive even over a larger sample. Since making his Central League debut back in 2018 at the age of 22, Okamoto has never hit fewer than 27 homers in a season. He’s walked at a 9.6% clip or better in every season of his career and has struck out more than 20% of the time just once, back in 2019 as a 23-year-old. Okamoto’s career .277/.361/.521 slash line in NPB play puts him in league with current MLB sluggers like Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki, although it should be noted that there have been concerns among scouts regarding Okamoto’s ability to hit high-end velocity.

A decent defensive third baseman with plenty of experience at first base as well, Okamoto could make sense as an addition at either infield corner depending on the needs of his acquiring club. If he were to sign with the Angels, Okamoto would surely handle the hot corner. Yoan Moncada is a free agent after handling third for Anaheim this past year, and Anthony Rendon figures to retire after an injury-riddled career with the Angels. That leaves playing time wide open at third base, and the Angels have been clear about their desire to bring help at the position into the fold this winter. While Okamoto (like any free agent coming over from NPB) comes with risk, it’s easy to see him offering an upgrade over internal options like Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom.

By contrast, it seems much more likely that Okamoto would handle first base for San Diego. Manny Machado is installed as the Padres’ third baseman for the time being, and the Hall of Famer has the better part of a decade remaining on his massive contract extension with the club. First base, however, is somewhat vacant after the departure of Luis Arraez in free agency earlier this winter. Gavin Sheets and Sung Mun Song appear poised to compete for playing time at the position, but both are left-handed and better suited for other positions than first. That could make Okamoto a very attractive addition, offering a steady right-handed bat at the position while still leaving room for Sheets and/or Song to get occasional reps there based on matchups.

MLBTR predicted a four-year, $64MM contract for Okamoto at the outset of the offseason. Whether either club would be willing to spend at that level to bring Okamoto into the fold remains to be seen. The Padres have spent significant money this offseason on Song and right-hander Michael King, but after doing so are pushing the boundaries of the team’s reported budget and seem more likely to try and offload salary elsewhere on the roster than bring it back into the fold. As for the Angels, it’s been a mostly quiet offseason in Anaheim without much substantial spending. That could certainly mean there’s room in the budget to add a bat like Okamoto, but it’s also fair to wonder if a team that has often been reluctant to spend significant dollars on position players in free agency in the years since Rendon’s disastrous contract would be willing to shell out a multi-year deal for a third baseman before the end of their previous third baseman’s contract is even official.

There are other suitors for Okamoto’s services to keep in mind, as well. The Pirates have been the team perhaps most frequently connected to Okamoto, and it wouldn’t be too much of a shock to see them bring the slugger in amid an unusually aggressive offseason given the significant hole the club faces at third base. He’s been connected to the Blue Jays and Red Sox as well this offseason, though both of those big market clubs seem to be focused on bigger fish like Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette at this point. Given the approaching end of Okamoto’s posting window, it’s increasingly likely the Okamoto will sign before either Bregman or Bichette sees their market resolve. That could make a deal with Boston or Toronto somewhat less likely, if those two clubs are hesitant to fill a roster spot that could otherwise be earmarked for a more impactful player.

Guardians To Sign Pedro Avila

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The Guardians are in agreement with right-hander Pedro Avila on a one-year, split contract, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. The deal is a split contract, though the exact salary figures he’ll make in the majors and minors are not yet known.

Avila, 29 next month, was designated for assignment by the Guardians less than a year ago. He caught on with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball not long after that, and went on to make 15 appearances for the Swallows in Central League play. Avila posted the results of a back-end starter in those outings, with a 4.04 ERA in 82 1/3 innings of work. While he struck out just 17.8% of his opponents, he generated a solid 43.9% ground ball rate and held opponents to an 8.7% walk rate. None of those numbers jump off the page on their own, but an impressive ability to limit home runs and hard contact allowed Avila to post a 3.09 FIP with a 3.38 xFIP during his time overseas.

Now that he’s returning stateside, Avila will get the opportunity to establish himself at the big league level. The righty signed with the Nationals out of Venezuela as an amateur back in 2015, but came up primarily through the Padres’ system and made his big league debut in San Diego back in 2019. He spent most of his career with the Padres, but didn’t get a significant look at the big league level until 2023, when he pitched to a solid 3.22 ERA with a 3.67 FIP in 50 1/3 innings of work as a swing man for San Diego. A rough start to the 2024 campaign saw the Padres cut Avila loose, however, and he was acquired by the Guardians in the middle of April 2024 as part of a minor trade.

Upon arriving in Cleveland, Avila served as a solid long relief option. The right-hander soaked up 74 2/3 innings of work across just 50 appearances with a 23.0% strikeout rate against a 9.4% walk rate. All told, his work in Cleveland was good for a 3.25 ERA and 3.76 FIP, and both those figures landed a solid amount above league average. That seemed likely to make Avila an easy choice to keep in the fold for 2025, but the Guardians made the surprising call to cut him loose last winter. Perhaps that was in part due to the fact that Avila was out of options, and as a result would have to be exposed to waivers in order to option him to the minor leagues.

This split contract offers a potential avenue towards using Avila as an up-and-down player this year despite his lack of options. By guaranteeing the right-hander a salary above the minor league rate and a larger sum of money for time in the majors, the Guardians make Avila a somewhat less attractive possible waiver claim for rival clubs. That should make Avila more likely to clear waivers if passed through, while also making Avila less likely to elect free agency if he successfully clears waivers. That’s because the right-hander would have to leave his guaranteed money with the Guardians on the table in order to depart via minor league free agency, something the righty is unlikely to be inclined towards doing. In other words, the split nature of the contract affords Avila a 40-man roster spot and a more significant salary than he otherwise would have made in both the major and minor leagues, while for the Guardians it creates additional roster flexibility that should be valuable to a club with a deep bullpen that lacks many candidates to be optioned.

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