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MLBTR Podcast: Three-Way Trade, Murakami’s Short-Term Deal, And Willson Contreras To Boston

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

  • The Mets Sign Jorge Polanco, And The Braves, Blue Jays And Royals Make Moves – listen here
  • Winter Meetings Recap – listen here
  • An Agent’s Perspective with B.B. Abbott – Also, Cease, Williams, Helsley, And Gray – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

The Opener: Corner Infield Market, DFA Resolutions, Christmas Eve Transactions

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As you’re getting ready to hang your stockings by the chimney with care, here are three things to watch for (other than Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve:

1. The corner infield market is heating up:

On Sunday morning, the White Sox came to terms on a two-year, $34MM contract with NPB first baseman/third baseman Munetaka Murakami. Later that day, the Red Sox swung a trade with the Cardinals to acquire a slugging corner infielder of their own, first baseman Willson Contreras. Then, on Tuesday, it was the Pirates who joined in on the fun, coming to terms with Ryan O’Hearn on a two-year, $29MM guarantee.

In addition to those recent moves, corner infielders have overrun the rumor mill lately. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported over the weekend that Blue Jays officials have had “recent contact” with Scott Boras regarding his client Alex Bregman. The star third baseman is the top unsigned corner infield free agent from MLBTR’s Top 50 list. Mariners GM Justin Hollander also reconfirmed his team’s interest in reuniting with third baseman Eugenio Suárez, while Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that, before the Pirates signed O’Hearn, they had “multiple virtual meetings” with Kazuma Okamoto, another All-Star first baseman/third baseman from NBP.

One also has to wonder if more corner infield-related trade rumors are soon to come. One of Ryan Mountcastle or Coby Mayo is likely to be on the trade block now that Pete Alonso is ensconced at first base in Baltimore, and Triston Casas could be on the move after Contreras’s arrival in Boston. What’s more, the fact that the Cardinals have now traded Contreras and Sonny Gray only seems to make a Nolan Arenado deal more likely. While any notable trades and signings probably won’t take place on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, keep an eye out for the next big corner infield transaction that’s surely on its way.

2. DFA resolutions coming for Noel and Wiemer:

Today marks a week since the Guardians and Giants DFA’d outfielders Jhonkensy Noel (also known as Big Christmas) and Joey Wiemer, respectively. There hasn’t been any news about either player since, but that should change today. When a player is designated for assignment, his team has seven days to either trade him or pass him through waivers. If no trade comes together and the player goes unclaimed, his team can send him outright to the minor leagues. Neither Noel nor Wiemer has the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment, so if they do clear waivers, the Guardians and Giants will be able to keep them in their organizations.

3. Last-minute holiday shopping?

Yesterday featured two official major league signings and news of another, with Jacob Webb joining the Cubs, Sean Newcomb joining the White Sox, and O’Hearn reportedly agreeing to terms with the Pirates. Today, however, is likely to be a slow news day around Major League Baseball. Trades and free agent signings are almost as rare on Christmas Eve as they are on Christmas Day. Of course, that doesn’t mean a move is out of the realm of possibility. Just last year, the Twins sent left-handed reliever Jovani Morán to the Red Sox in exchange for catcher/utility man Mickey Gasper on December 24.

Some of the biggest Christmas Eve transactions in MLB history include Mark McGwire re-signing with the Athletics in 1992 (five years, $28MM) and Reggie Jackson returning to the Athletics on December 24, 1986 for what would be his final season. Funnily enough, the A’s are also one of just three teams in the last decade to sign a major league deal with a free agent on Christmas Eve. The Cubs officially signed Drew Smyly in 2022, the Mets came to terms and announced a deal with Dellin Betances in 2019, and the A’s finalized a contract with Mike Fiers on the holiday in 2018. Fiers would go on to throw a no-hitter for Oakland the next May.

Pirates To Sign Ryan O’Hearn

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The Pirates and first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with a $29MM guarantee. The ACES client can also earn an extra $500K each year via incentives: $100K for 450 plate appearances, another $100K for 475, then $150K for 500 and 525 plate appearances. Pittsburgh has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move for this to become official.

O’Hearn, now 32, has been enjoying a late-career breakout over the past three seasons. He played parts of five seasons with the Royals from 2018 to 2022 with just a .219/.293/.390 line to show for it.

The Royals designated O’Hearn for assignment in December of 2022. The Orioles saw enough potential in him to acquire him by sending cash considerations to Kansas City. Baltimore designated him for assignment shortly thereafter and passed him through waivers.

If you’ve ever wondered why a team would acquire a player and put him on waivers a week or two later, O’Hearn provides the explanation. The O’s opened a roster spot for other moves while keeping O’Hearn in a non-roster capacity. He had a strong spring in 2023 but Baltimore still sent him to the minors to begin the season, maintaining depth.

By the middle of April 2023, O’Hearn was back in the big leagues and has been on an upward trajectory since then. He hit 14 homers for Baltimore that year and slashed .289/.322/.480 for a 118 wRC+. His 4.1% walk rate was quite poor and he benefited from a .340 batting average on balls in play but it was a fantastic upgrade over his previous work.

More improvements came in 2024. His .264/.334/.427 batting line again led to a 118 wRC+, an exact match for the year prior, but it felt more earned this time. His BABIP dropped to a below-average .282 while his walk rate more than doubled to 9.3%.

In 2025, a year he split between the O’s and Padres after a deadline trade, he increased his walk rate yet again to 10.7%. His 17 home runs were a career high. His batted-ball luck turned again, as he posted a .330 BABIP. That all led to a .281/.366/.437 line and 127 wRC+.

He also seemed to have less of a platoon split. Like many lefty hitters, he has often struggled against southpaws. But in 2025, he had a .278/.358/.474 line and 135 wRC+ against lefties. That was in just 109 plate appearances and he had a .358 BABIP in the split but it was an encouraging development nonetheless.

In addition to his work at the plate, O’Hearn provided some defensive versatility. He mostly played first base but also logged around 150 outfield innings in each of the past three seasons.

The entire package lined O’Hearn up for a nice payday, though he wasn’t quite at the level of guys like Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso or Josh Naylor. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted O’Hearn to secure a two-year deal worth $26MM. He’s gone just a shade beyond that.

Few would have predicted the Pirates to be the club to pay O’Hearn. They have been one of the least active clubs in free agency in the past decade. They haven’t given any free agent a multi-year deal since Ivan Nova’s three-year pact back in 2016. Their last multi-year deal for a free agent hitter was two years and $8MM for John Jaso in 2015. The largest free agent guarantee in franchise history is still the three-year, $39MM deal for Francisco Liriano from 2014.

But they have clearly come into this offseason determined to overhaul their lineup. The past few seasons have seen them develop a big stockpile of pitching talent but they have had far less success with developing their position player prospects.

The Bucs flirted with contention in 2023 and 2024 but without making the postseason. The 2025 club sputtered and never really felt in it. The offense was a big part of the disappointment this year. The club had a collective .231/.305/.350 line and 82 wRC+, with the Rockies the only club with less offensive production. Spencer Horwitz was the only individual on the team with a wRC+ greater than 101.

Before the 2025 campaign was even over, it seemed likely that they would focus on adding offense this winter. The general expectation was that they would do that by trading from their deep supply of starting pitchers, which they have done, but they have been surprisingly active in free agency as well.

They reportedly offered Naylor a contract somewhere in the range of $80MM, before he returned to the Mariners on a deal paying him $92.5MM. They offered Schwarber around $120-125MM before the Phils brought him back with a $150MM deal.

Being a runner-up for a free agent is only worth so much but it has been clear that the Pirates are now more willing to spend than in other offseasons. They have also been connected to Jorge Polanco, before he signed with the Mets, Kazuma Okamoto, who is still a free agent, and some other hitters.

O’Hearn isn’t quite as exciting as Schwarber would have been. It’s also true that the club still has the embarrassing record of having never given a free agent $40MM. Still, O’Hearn is their biggest free agent splash in years and becomes one of their best hitters.

As mentioned, the Bucs have also used their pitching surplus to add more offense. They acquired Jhostynxon García in the trade sending Johan Oviedo to Boston. They sent Mike Burrows to Houston in a three-team trade that brought back Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum from the Rays, alongside lefty reliever Mason Montgomery.

Time will tell if there’s more to come before Opening Day. For now, O’Hearn jumps into a position player that group which could develop in a few different ways.

The Pirates don’t really have a full-time designated hitter, with Andrew McCutchen currently unsigned. He has repeatedly re-signed with Pittsburgh in recent years but there have been some hints that the two sides are a bit less likely to reunite for 2026.

As of now, Lowe and Horwitz could be the regulars at second and first, respectively. Horwitz has a bit of second base experience but that was with the Blue Jays when the presence of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made it hard for him to get playing time at first. The Bucs kept him at first base in 2025.

Lowe isn’t a great defender, so perhaps he could see regular time in the DH spot, or Horwitz and O’Hearn could share first base and DH.

There’s also room for O’Hearn in the outfield. Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds should have two spots spoken for. Guys like García, Mangum, Jack Suwinski and Billy Cook are in the mix for playing time but O’Hearn playing the outfield could leave the DH spot open for Lowe.

That would then leave more second base playing time for guys like Nick Yorke, Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales. Triolo and Gonzales could also be factors at third base and shortstop but prospect Konnor Griffin might charge forward and become the shortstop before long, though he’s only 19 years old and hasn’t played the Triple-A level yet.

It’s possible the Bucs make even more moves in the coming months but a lot will be determined by the health and performance of the various moving parts on the roster.

RosterResource, assuming the O’Hearn deal has equal salaries in the two years, projects the Bucs for a $96MM payroll next year. That’s tiny compared to the other clubs in the league but high for them. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they got to just under $100MM in 2016 but have been below $90MM since 2017.

The coming weeks and months will shed light on if there’s more to come. For now, the Bucs have made yet another move to upgrade the lineup in 2026. This wouldn’t be an especially noteworthy commitment for any other club but it’s the biggest deal for Pittsburgh in quite some time. For O’Hearn himself, it’s got to be an especially gratifying day for a guy who was passed through waivers about three years ago.

FanSided’s Robert Murray first reported the Pirates were signing O’Hearn to a two-year, $29MM with $500K in incentives. Colin Beazley of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the incentive structure. Photos courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, John Jones, Imagn Images

The Giants Should Chase Upside On The Trade Market

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The Giants have been fairly quiet through the offseason's first two months. They've added back-end starter Adrian Houser on a two-year, $22MM deal with a club option. Their only other moves have been cheap fliers on rehabbing relievers Jason Foley and Sam Hentges.

While technically in line with their offseason plan to focus on pitching, their moves to date aren't the type that'll move the needle. Chairman Greg Johnson and general manager Zack Minasian have downplayed the chance of making a long-term investment on the pitching staff. There are still a handful of players on the open market who fit on paper. Any of Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez or Zac Gallen would upgrade the rotation. Top free agent hitters Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Bo Bichette happen to fit at their respective biggest problem areas on the position player side (right field and second base, respectively).

It's possible ownership doesn't want to meet the asking prices necessary for anyone in that group. The Giants project for a $176MM payroll, as calculated by RosterResource. That's narrowly above their $173MM Opening Day mark from 2025. That doesn't include the $17MM payment they owe to Blake Snell on January 15, as they agreed to defer the signing bonus on his contract for the '24 season.

They're also on the hook for one of the most expensive managerial situations in MLB. They owe fired skipper Bob Melvin a $4MM salary. They paid a $3MM buyout to the University of Tennessee to get Tony Vitello out of his contract. Vitello is reportedly set for a $3.5MM salary, meaning they're committing $10.5MM to the position for the first season.

Even with an estimated $40MM until they hit the luxury tax threshold, the budget could be tight for a marquee free agent. However, that doesn't mean the offseason needs to be exclusively depth acquisitions. The Giants have a few ways to chase the extra wins needed to push them from their annual .500 finish to more firmly in the Wild Card picture.

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Brewers Notes: Backup Catcher, Quero, Henderson

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The Brewers got through the 2025 season relying on only three catchers. William Contreras was second in MLB with 128 starts behind the dish. Eric Haase backed him up for the first half of the season. Milwaukee acquired Danny Jansen at the deadline and outrighted Haase off the 40-man roster in the corresponding move.

Haase elected minor league free agency at the end of the season. Jansen returned to the open market when the Brewers declined their end of a $12MM mutual option. He officially signed a two-year, $14.5MM deal with Texas last week. That leaves Milwaukee with only two catchers on the 40-man roster: Contreras and 23-year-old prospect Jeferson Quero, whose contract was selected over the 2023-24 offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

The Venezuelan-born Quero suffered a labrum tear in his throwing shoulder one game into the ’24 Triple-A season. He underwent surgery and missed the rest of the year. Quero missed the first couple months of the ’25 campaign because of a hamstring strain. He didn’t return to Triple-A action until the beginning of June. The right-handed hitter turned in a league average .255/.336/.412 batting line in 250 plate appearances the rest of the way.

At the moment, Quero stands as the favorite for the #2 catcher job by default. Contreras is the only catcher in the organization who has played in an MLB game. Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the Brewers have evaluated the market for a veteran backup but aren’t closing the door to Quero potentially breaking camp in that role. Assistant director of baseball administration Brenton Del Chiaro told Hogg that the young catcher is “pretty close” to big league readiness.

Quero showed promising contact skills against Triple-A pitching, albeit with a tendency to expand the strike zone. His combination of bat control and average pop gives him a reasonably high offensive ceiling for a #2 catcher. Quero’s calling card as a prospect had been his defense, particularly an arm that had been a weapon before the labrum injury. Baseball America’s scouting report notes that Quero’s pop times suffered in his first year back from the surgery. That’s reflected in an 18.9% caught stealing percentage that is well below the fantastic 34.6% mark he posted in Double-A in 2023.

The Brewers can option Quero to Triple-A for at least one more season. He’d be a candidate for a fourth option year as well because of the missed time in 2024. If they feel he’d benefit from more minor league time to hone his approach (or they want to see how his arm strength looks another year removed from the injury), they’d need to add someone from outside the organization. It’s not a position to which they’ll devote many resources given Contreras’ durability, but a player like Reese McGuire, Christian Vázquez or old friend Luke Maile could sign for slightly more than the league minimum. They’ll at least bring in an experienced catcher on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.

Quero isn’t the only prospect who’ll be looking to establish himself in camp. Right-hander Logan Henderson impressed over his first five MLB starts but suffered a season-ending elbow injury in August. Henderson was able to resume throwing bullpen sessions by the postseason and did not require surgery. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes that he’s following a normal offseason plan and will return to working off a mound within the next couple weeks.

Henderson will enter camp battling for a spot at the back of the rotation. Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff are lined up for the top two spots, barring a trade of the former. Quinn Priester is locked into the #3 role. Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers and potentially Angel Zerpa could be in the mix for back-end jobs. Zerpa would be in the bullpen if he doesn’t win a rotation role. Everyone from that group aside from Woodruff and Peralta have minor league options remaining, so the Brewers have a lot of flexibility in moving pitchers up and down from Triple-A Nashville.

A’s Likely To Rely On Internal Options At Third Base

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The A’s added to their infield with this week’s acquisition of Jeff McNeil from the Mets. The A’s sent a lottery ticket pitching prospect (Yordan Rodriguez) while taking on $10MM of the $17.75MM remaining on the veteran’s contract.

Adding help at one of second or third base had been on the A’s checklist since the beginning of the offseason. It seems they’re content with one outside pickup. General manager David Forst told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com that the A’s view McNeil as their primary second baseman. They’re planning to leave the third base job open for a Spring Training competition among a few players already on the roster.

“We’ll probably look internally at third base,” Forst told Gallegos. “Max Muncy did a really nice job there in his limited time. Darell Hernaiz has shown he can play the position. Brett Harris has a lot of experience at third base. So I like our internal options.” Forst didn’t specifically mention Zack Gelof, who is questionable for the start of exhibition play as he works back from September shoulder surgery. Gelof was a college third baseman but hasn’t played anywhere other than second since he reached Triple-A at the end of the 2022 season.

None of Muncy, Harris or Hernaiz showed a lot in limited big league playing time. Harris was the best of the group offensively, hitting .274 with a .349 on-base percentage. That came in just 84 plate appearances, and he was a .146/.276/.262 hitter in a similar amount of playing time as a rookie the year before. Muncy struck out in 31% of his first 220 trips to the plate in the big leagues, leading to a .214/.259/.379 slash. Hernaiz made a ton of contact with below-average exit velocities. He only managed two homers and a .231/.292/.306 line over 197 trips to the plate. Gelof showed some promise when he hit 14 homers in 69 games as a rookie in 2023. He led the American League in strikeouts in his first full season and battled injuries for most of the ’25 campaign, dropping him down the depth chart.

It’s one of the weakest third base groups in MLB on paper. 19-year-old top prospect Leo De Vries is likely to open the season in Double-A. It’s not out of the question that he forces his way to the big leagues before the end of the year, especially if the A’s hang around the playoff bubble. That won’t be a consideration out of the gate, so the A’s will need someone from their group of upper level infielders to take a step forward.

If the A’s wanted to go outside the organization, they could probably get a veteran like Yoán Moncada or Ramón Urías on a cheap one-year deal closer to Spring Training. That doesn’t appear to be the current plan. The McNeil acquisition pushed their projected payroll to $87MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s $12MM above where they opened the ’25 season. They’ve yet to make any moves to upgrade a rotation which was 27th in ERA and 25th in strikeout percentage. Forst reiterated to Gallegos that acquiring a starter is the “first focus right now.”

Cardinals Looking To Add Right-Handed Hitting Outfielder

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The Cardinals’ offseason is focused mostly on the players they’re trading away. Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras have already been shipped out, and it’s possible that each of Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado and JoJo Romero will also find themselves on the move. That doesn’t mean they won’t make some short-term pickups. They’ve added Dustin May on a $12.5MM deal in the rotation, and president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom identified a profile they’re pursuing on the position player side.

Bloom told reporters that the Cardinals would like to add an outfielder, ideally one who brings right-handed power (links via John Denton of MLB.com and Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch). That’s an indirect consequence of the Contreras trade. Alec Burleson only made 38 starts at first base this past season. That’s likely to rise in 2026, as Bloom implied that Burleson could replace Contreras as the primary first baseman. Burleson made 72 starts in the corner outfield and 18 at designated hitter.

St. Louis has Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker as their projected corner outfield tandem. Nootbaar is down to two years of arbitration control and could be traded this offseason. Walker was a well below replacement level performer in 2025 and still has a minor league option remaining. A righty corner bat could also spell the lefty Burleson.

There aren’t a ton of options remaining in free agency. The Cards could kick the tires on a one-year deal for Miguel Andujar or Austin Hays, each of whom is coming off a big season with the platoon advantage. Old friend Tommy Pham is coming off a middling season against lefties but carries a .261/.368/.434 line in those situations over his career. Chas McCormick hasn’t hit in either of the past two years. He has a 20-homer season with a .273/.353/.489 showing in 2023 on his résumé.

The Cardinals could also look into a switch-hitting utility option like Willi Castro or Luis Rengifo. They’d have the added benefit of being able to fill in at second or third base if the Cardinals line up Donovan and/or Arenado trades. Nolan Gorman would be in line for the bulk of the third base playing time if Arenado is moved. Top prospect JJ Wetherholt should be up as the everyday second baseman at some point, assuming they trade Donovan, but the 23-year-old seems likely to open the season in Triple-A.

Nationals Hire Shawn O’Malley As Assistant Hitting Coach

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The Nationals announced their full 2026 coaching staff this afternoon. The only new development is the hiring of Shawn O’Malley as one of two assistant hitting coaches. Andrew Aydt’s hiring in that role was reported in November, while the Nats hired lead hitting coach Matt Borgschulte shortly before the Winter Meetings.

O’Malley joins a major league staff for the first time. The 37-year-old had a three-year playing career in the big leagues, appearing in 124 games from 2014-16. A switch-hitting utility player, O’Malley spent parts of 13 seasons in the minors. He was playing professionally through 2019 before moving into the coaching ranks. A Washington native and former Mariner player, O’Malley joined the Seattle organization as a minor league hitting instructor. He worked his way up from High-A to the Triple-A level by 2024.

Blake Butera is entering his first season as Washington’s manager. The rest of his staff is as follows: bench coach Michael Johns, pitching coach Simon Mathews, assistant pitching coach Sean Doolittle, bullpen coach Dustin Glant, base coaches Corey Ray and Victor Estevez, field coordinator Tyler Smarslok, catching coach Bobby Wilson, and development coach Grant Anders.

Phillies To Sign Levi Stoudt To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies and right-hander Levi Stoudt have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH. The righty is represented by Gaeta Sports Management.

Stoudt, now 28, was once a notable prospect. The Mariners selected him with a third-round pick in 2019. He missed the 2020 season, both due to the pandemic and because Stoudt was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Over 2021 and the first half of 2022, he tossed 168 2/3 innings in Seattle’s system with a 4.32 earned run average, 23.7% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate.

He was one of four players traded to the Reds in the 2022 deadline deal which sent Luis Castillo to Seattle. Cincinnati gave him a 40-man spot in November of that year to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Things didn’t work out with the Reds. He tossed 10 1/3 innings in the majors in 2023, allowing 11 earned runs. He also tossed 82 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level that year with a 6.23 ERA. His 15.1% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate were both poor figures.

The Reds designated him for assignment in the 2023-24 offseason. The Mariners grabbed him back via the waiver wire and kept him on optional assignment. They put him back on waivers in June. The Orioles claimed him but then passed him through waivers in July. Over 2024 and 2025, he had a 5.83 ERA in the minors with an 18.5% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate.

It’s been a while since Stoudt has been able to put up intriguing numbers but there’s an old saying that there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. Stoudt is still relatively young and could perhaps find another gear.

If he does so and earns a roster spot, he still has an option season, meaning the Phils could send him to Triple-A and back fairly freely for a year. He also has just ten days of big league service time, meaning he could be affordably controlled for years into the future, though a lot would have to go right before that even becomes a consideration.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Mets Interested In Austin Hays

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The Mets have interest in free agent outfielder Austin Hays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Hays was previously connected to the Royals but that was before Kansas City signed Lane Thomas and acquired Isaac Collins. They are reportedly still exploring the outfield market but might have less urgency in that pursuit now.

For the Mets, adding to the outfield seems like an inevitability. They had nine players take more than one plate appearance as an outfielder in 2025. Seven of them are gone. Cedric Mullins, Starling Marte, Jesse Winker, Jose Siri and José Azócar became free agents at season’s end. This offseason, Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Rangers and Jeff McNeil to the Athletics.

That leaves the Mets with Juan Soto and Tyrone Taylor as holdovers. Soto is obviously part of the plans in 2026 but Taylor should be on shakier ground. Taylor has a decent floor from his speed and his defense but he has had subpar offense for three years running now, including a .223/.279/.319 line and 70 wRC+ in 2025.

The Mets have already avoided arbitration with Taylor, signing him for $3.8MM in 2026. Despite that commitment, he would ideally be bumped into a bench role.

It’s possible that prospect Carson Benge eventually takes the center field job from Taylor. President of baseball operations David Stearns has said Benge will get a chance to earn a job out of camp. Benge can play all three outfield spots but the Mets presumably want to give him a chance to stick in center, where he would have more value.

Hays wouldn’t be the best available option for filling that spot, especially with Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger still on the open market, but he has a decent track record.

He has generally been good for offense a bit above average. He has a .262/.313/.435 line in his career, which translates to a 105 wRC+. His 2025 season was in line with that, as he hit .266/.315/.453, also for a 105 wRC+.

He has been graded as a good defender in his career but less so in the past two seasons. He’s been slapped with a minus-10 grade from Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-2 from Outs Above Average dating back to the start of 2024. He’s also had a few injury challenges and hasn’t been able to get beyond 103 games played in those two seasons.

Hays has his attributes but is a better fit as a complementary player than a full-time solution. He swings from the right side and has been a subpar hitter against righty pitchers in his career. However, he has a .282/.340/.479 line and 124 wRC+ with the platoon advantage. The split was even more extreme in 2025, with Hays batting .319/.400/.549 for a 155 wRC+ against southpaws.

An outfielder who can crush lefties is still worth something. The Mariners just gave Rob Refsnyder $6.25MM for a similar profile.

Benge is a lefty and he showed notable splits in the minors this year, with a .232/.407/.326 line against lefties compared to a .295/.379/.512 line against righties.

The Mets have also been frequently connected to Luis Robert Jr. in rumors. He has flashed a borderline MVP upside but has been fairly Hays-ian in the past two years. He has struggled to stay on the field and provided subpar offense but with big numbers against lefties.

Robert is going to earn $20MM next year and would require the Mets to send prospects to the White Sox in return. Chicago might be willing to eat some of the money but that would only increase their demands in the prospect department.

Perhaps the Mets view Hays as a more affordable alternative to Robert. Hays hasn’t played center since 2023 but did so fairly regularly before his mounting injuries in recent seasons. Perhaps a short-side platoon role would help him stay healthy and maximize his contributions.

That could bump Taylor down into a fifth outfielder role where he could be used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. Taylor is also a righty swinger but has fairly even splits in his career, making him less of a fit as a platoon guy.

Even if Hays is brought aboard, that shouldn’t finish the club’s work in the outfield. They’ve been connected to Bellinger and are a logical fit for Tucker. They’ve also reportedly shown interest in trade candidates such as Lars Nootbaar and Ramón Laureano. They presumably have interest in a number of other outfielders even if they haven’t been connected to them publicly.

Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images

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