The Nationals are sending left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s a five-for-one deal, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. All the names in the deal haven’t been reported yet but Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the headliner going to Washington is shortstop Gavin Fien. Right-hander Alejandro Rosario is also in the package, per Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post.
More to come.
The Red Sox pivoted quickly after losing out on third baseman Alex Bregman, bringing lefty Ranger Suárez in to join an already deep rotation. They’re still in the market for help on the infield, and comments from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow at Suárez’s introductory press conference perhaps shed some light on the potential moves they could yet have in store (links (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Rob Bradford of WEEI and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic).
“I don’t think there’s a question anymore that the identity of our team and the strength of our team is going to be our pitching and our ability to prevent runs,” Breslow said .
Breslow, unsurprisingly, wouldn’t comment directly on whether any subsequent additions are on the horizon. The third-year baseball ops leader acknowledged (via Bradford) that “teams call about some of our depth” but added that it’s “hard to tell” whether anything will come together in the near future, just given the sudden nature with which offseason negotiations can either accelerate or crumble at any given point.
Regarding the team’s in-house options, McCaffrey reports that the organization prefers Marcelo Mayer at third base rather than at second base. That’s not necessarily set in stone, and the Sox would presumably be open to Mayer at second base if an unexpected opportunity arose at the hot corner, but it’s nevertheless notable that that’s where they’d lean, all else being equal. Breslow emphasized that the Red Sox “will be very mindful of the defensive skill set” of any addition to the infield. McCaffrey suggests that the ideal target for the Red Sox would be a plus defensive second baseman.
That’s not great news for Eugenio Suárez, who has drawn some level of interest from Boston, Pittsburgh and the incumbent Seattle. (Surely, others are also in the mix to varying extents.) The 34-year-old is fresh off a 49-homer campaign and would absolutely give the Sox the power bat they said they were targeting early in free agency, but Breslow’s comments following the Bregman pivot seem more focused on defense, and Suárez was dinged for negative grades by both Defensive Runs Saved (-6) and Outs Above Average (-3) between the D-backs and Mariners this past season.
On the flip side, it only further strengthens the idea of Boston taking a genuine run at Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner or, to a lesser extent, Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan. Hoerner is the premier second base defender in MLB and is earning $12MM in the final season of his contract. He hit .297/.345/.394 with a microscopic 7.6% strikeout rate and 29 steals this past season. The Cubs have at least heard out interested teams on Hoerner, particularly after signing Bregman, but they’d need immediate MLB-ready help on the pitching side of things to even consider moving him. It’s also feasible that they could listen on young infielder Matt Shaw, but he’d also come with a lofty ask given his six years of remaining club control.
Circling back for a third separate trade with the Cardinals, where Breslow’s predecessor Chaim Bloom is running baseball operations, would be highly unusual — but the fit is sensible. Bloom obviously is quite familiar with many of Boston’s farmhands, and the Cardinals are looking to max out Donovan’s trade value while he still has two seasons of club control left. Donovan is a left-handed hitter and isn’t as strong defensively as Hoerner, making him a lesser fit, but the multiple seasons of control and ability to pretty seamlessly slide to third base or left field — depending on team health/needs — is certainly appealing.
Payroll-wise, there shouldn’t be much off the table for the Sox. RosterResource pegs them at about $197MM in actual cash payroll, which is down from 2025’s mark and not close to the franchise-record $236MM Opening Day mark. Their $265MM luxury tax ledger is far heftier, thanks in large part to backloaded deals for Suárez, Roman Anthony, Brayan Bello, Kristian Campbell and Ceddanne Rafaela. They’re second-time payors who are currently in the second penalty tier, thus subjecting them to a 42% tax on the the next $19MM or so that they spend.
If the Red Sox were to add another $20MM or more to the CBT ledger, that’d bump the tax rate to 75% for subsequent additions and, more notably, drop their top pick in the 2026 draft by ten spots. That’s probably the primary deterrent to spending beyond that point, though with the possible exception of Eugenio Suárez, none of the potential infield targets in question would thrust Boston into the third tier of penalization anyhow.
Readers — Red Sox fans in particular — are encouraged to check out the three linked pieces in full, as each has more extensive quotes from Breslow on the team’s offseason goals and the team’s pursuit of (Ranger) Suárez.
The Marlins have acquired minor league catcher Carlos Martinez from the Giants, according to announcements from both clubs. The Giants receive international bonus pool space in return. The amount of pool space changing hands wasn’t specified. No corresponding move is necessary since Martinez wasn’t on the 40-man roster.
Under the international bonus pool system, each team has a finite amount they can spend on international amateurs each year. Broadly speaking, the bigger-market teams get smaller pools and vice versa, in the name of competitive balance. Teams are allowed to trade pool space in increments of $250K but no team can increase its initial pool size by more than 60%.
Per Ben Badler of Baseball America, Miami started with a relatively larger pool of about $7.3571MM. The Giants began with the smallest pool of $5.44MM, tied with three other clubs. That was because they paid the competitive balance tax in 2024 and then signed Willy Adames, who had rejected a qualifying offer from the Brewers, ahead of the 2025 season.
The Giants gave out the biggest bonus for any individual player in this class when they signed Venezuelan shortstop Luis Hernandez for $5MM, using up the vast majority of their pool. This deal gives them a bit more wiggle room for other signings, though it’s unclear exactly how much. Conversely, the Marlins don’t appear to have given any one player more than $1MM, at least with the deals Badler has tracked at BA.
The amount traded isn’t likely to be huge, as Martinez isn’t a top prospect. The 18-year-old was just signed by the Giants as part of last year’s international class and was given a modest bonus of $47.5K. He slashed .143/.259/.242 in 27 games in the Dominican Summer League last year.
It’s the second year in a row that these two clubs have lined up on a swap of this nature. Last year’s deal featured a player much closer to the majors, as the Giants sent right-hander William Kempner to Miami for pool space. Kempner was going into his age-24 season and pitched well enough in the minors last year to get a spot on Miami’s 40-man roster in November.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
The Dodgers held a press conference yesterday to officially introduce recent signee Kyle Tucker. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman spoke to the media and downplayed the possibility of anything else really notable happening in the remainder of the offseason. As relayed by reporters such as Jack Harris of The California Post and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, he said the roster “feels pretty set” and that no further “seismic” moves are forthcoming. When asked if they are in the market for starting pitching, he said “We are not.”
It’s always possible that Friedman could be withholding information for the purposes of negotiating with other clubs or free agent players, as front office executives are known to play loose with the truth from time to time. For a Dodgers-specific example, about a year ago, general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed the possibility of a Gavin Lux trade after the club signed Hyeseong Kim. Lux was traded to the Reds three days later.
But it also wouldn’t be a shock if the Dodgers were indeed done with major moves at this point. The roster was already really good, as they just won the World Series. Most of that roster is still intact, as none of the core guys reached free agency at season’s end. They have already made two major upgrades by adding Edwin Díaz to the bullpen and Tucker to the outfield. They have few weak points, if they have any at all.
Looking at the rotation specifically, there’s plenty of talent on paper. They have Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan as the likely top six names on the chart at the moment.
The argument for adding would be related to the uncertainty in that group. Yamamoto was the only one of those six to eclipse 91 innings pitched in the regular season last year. Ohtani didn’t pitch in 2024 while recovering from UCL surgery, then he underwent surgery on his non-throwing shoulder at the end of that season. Sheehan underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024. Both returned to the mound in June of 2025. Snell, Glasnow and Sasaki have notable injury histories and missed time due to shoulder troubles last year.
Given the question marks in there, it could be compelling to add. The Dodgers were connected to Freddy Peralta earlier this month and were reportedly still engaged as of two days ago. He’s no longer an option for the Dodgers, however, as the Brewers traded him to the Mets last night. For the record, Friedman’s comments were made before that trade went down. Even with Peralta off the board, free agency still has Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen and others. MacKenzie Gore is one of a few theoretical trade candidates potentially still available.
Hoping for all their projected starters to stay healthy would be a risky move for the Dodgers but their depth should be better than last year. River Ryan and Kyle Hurt both underwent Tommy John surgery 2024, Ryan in August and Hurt in July. Gavin Stone missed 2025 due to shoulder surgery. Those three should be better positioned health wise going into 2026. They all have options and could be in the Triple-A rotation alongside guys like Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack.
If Friedman is being genuine and plans to hold with the incumbent group of starters, that would be defensible since the group has the chance to be healthier than in 2025. So many of these guys were recovering from surgery for at least part of the 2025 season but those procedures are all now a bit further in the rear-view. On the other hand, new injuries are inevitable, so adding some depth via minor moves could be in order.
Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images
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The Tigers have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent outfielder Corey Julks, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll presumably be in big league camp as a non-roster player.
Julks, 30 next month, has seen big league time in three consecutive seasons — albeit just 13 plate appearances with the White Sox this past season. He’s played roughly the equivalent of one full major league season, appearing in 165 games and tallying 565 plate appearances as a big leaguer. In that time, he’s slashed .234/.288/.337 with nine homers, 23 doubles, 20 steals (in 25 tries), a 7% walk rate and a 24.4% strikeout rate. Julks became a free agent after the White Sox passed him through outright waivers following the 2025 season.
It’s middling big league production, but Julks has a long history of producing at the Triple-A level, where he’s spent parts of four seasons and slashed .279/.365/.486. Julks belted 31 homers and swiped 22 bags with the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate back in 2022, and by measure of wRC+, he’s been at least 18% better than average at the plate in all four of his Triple-A campaigns.
Julks doesn’t have a significant platoon split in his fairly limited MLB time — he’s been below average against both lefties and righties — but he’s a right-handed bat who’s pummeled lefties in recent minor league seasons. He slashed .301/.377/.484 against southpaws this past season and hit them at a .297/.381/.424 clip the year prior.
Defensively, Julks has experience at all three outfield spots but has primarily played the corners. He was credited with above-average sprint speed and arm strength in 2023-24 but below-average range in the outfield. He’s also played 415 innings at third base and another 28 at second base in the minors, but he’s primarily a corner outfielder who at best can make an emergency cameo at another spot on the diamond.
The Twins are bringing old friend Taylor Rogers back on a one-year, $2MM contract, per Ken Rosenthal and Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. Rogers, who’s represented by Frontline Athlete Management, spent the 2016-21 seasons in Minnesota, spending the latter three as their closer and earning an All-Star nod in 2021. Minnesota has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to create space for Rogers (and another one for recently signed catcher Victor Caratini).
A reunion with the 35-year-old Rogers makes sense for a Twins club that’s in dire need of steady arms in the bullpen. While the left-hander isn’t close to the peak form he showed late in his original run with Minnesota, he pitched to a solid 3.38 ERA with an above-average 24% strikeout rate in 50 2/3 innings between the Reds and Cubs in 2025. Rogers’ 10.4% walk rate was the second-highest of his lengthy career and more than double the 4.3% mark he posted over his best three seasons as a Twin (2019-21), but he was a useful middle relief arm in both Cincinnati and Chicago this past season.
Beyond the decline in command, Rogers has seen a fundamental decline in the strength of his repertoire. He averaged 95.7 mph on his sinker and 84 mph on his slider back in 2021. In 2025, those pitches were carried respective average velocities of 92.7 mph and 78.4 mph. Accordingly, Rogers has seen a notable drop in his swinging-strike rate and significant upticks in his opponents’ contact rate.
Rogers was traded from the Twins to the Padres just prior to Opening Day in 2022 — a deal that brought Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan back to Minnesota. (Brent Rooker was also shipped to San Diego in that deal, but he was cut loose by both the Friars and Royals before breaking out with the A’s.) He went on to sign a three-year, $33MM deal with the Giants, who traded him to the Reds late last offseason.
The Giants seemed to quickly sour on using Rogers in high-leverage spots. He collected a dozen holds and a pair of saves while pitching decently in year one of his contract but was moved to a middle-relief capacity the following season. In terms of leverage index, Rogers has worked primarily in low-leverage spots over the past two seasons. On the whole, the results over the life of that three-year contract were sound (3.16 ERA), but Rogers’ rate stats have faded steadily.
Even a lesser version of Rogers than the one remembered and beloved by many Twins fans will be an improvement to a Minnesota bullpen that was gutted at last year’s trade deadline. The Twins traded five relievers — Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Danny Coulombe, Brock Stewart — as part of a fire sale that netted a combination of MLB-ready young players (e.g. Mick Abel, Taj Bradley, Alan Roden) and well-regarded prospects (e.g. Eduardo Tait, Kendry Rojas). That slate of trades decimated what had been one of the best bullpens in the sport; Twins relievers posted the fourth-worst ERA in the sport following last year’s deadline.
There’s virtually no certainty in the Twins’ bullpen at present. Rogers immediately becomes the most experienced member of the group and, for now anyway, could be an option for high-leverage spots or even save opportunities. He’ll join Justin Topa, Cole Sands and Kody Funderburk (who excelled down the stretch following last year’s fire sale) as the only current members of the bullpen with even one full year of major league service time.
The Twins have a deep collection of young starters, several of whom could end up in the ’pen over the long run, but there’s clearly room to add another veteran arm here — if not multiple arms. Rogers’ modest $2MM guarantee bumps Minnesota’s payroll to just under $109MM, per RosterResource’s estimates.
That’s around $25MM lower than last year’s mark, so even with ownership scaling back payroll, the front office should still have sufficient resources to bring in another arm. Hard-throwing righty Seranthony Dominguez is among the relievers to whom the Twins have reportedly spoken, while other yet-unsigned relief options of note include Michael Kopech, Nick Martinez, Tommy Kahnle, Paul Sewald and Coulombe.
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Mets land their top-end starter:
A busy week for the Mets got even better last night when the team swung a deal with the Brewers to acquire right-hander Freddy Peralta. New York surrendered two top prospects (Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat) in order to land Peralta (and righty Tobias Myers), but in doing so they’ve finally addressed their long-discussed need for a top-of-the-rotation talent. Peralta finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting this past year and is a two-time All-Star.
That pedigree is enough to make him a great choice to pair with Nolan McLean at the top of the rotation, but questions remain about what’s next for the Mets. Could the team look to make another addition, perhaps to add some insurance behind Carson Benge and Luis Robert Jr. in the outfield? New York still has a glut of starting pitching talent to dangle in subsequent trades. McLean’s dominant 2025 debut makes him a lock for the rotation. Veteran options include Peralta, David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, and Sean Manaea. Myers, top prospect Jonah Tong and former top prospect Christian Scott, who’s returning from 2024 Tommy John surgery, could all pitch in a big league rotation as well, though every member of that trio has at least one minor league option remaining.
2. Yankees land Bellinger:
The Yankees finally reunited with Cody Bellinger yesterday when he agreed to a five-year, $162.5MM deal that affords him the opportunity to opt out after the 2027 and ’28 seasons. The move helps to solidify the team’s outfield, setting the Yanks up to once again rely primarily on a trio of Bellinger, Aaron Judge, and Trent Grisham on the grass. That begs the question of what happens with young outfielder Jasson Dominguez and top prospect Spencer Jones, though both could certainly be kept as depth given that Grisham is on a one-year deal. It’s unclear at this point if the Yankees are done; Bellinger was the big fish the club was looking for, but they were also involved in the Peralta market prior to Milwaukee’s deal with the Mets. It’s possible they pivot elsewhere, though the Yanks have already deepened the rotation by acquiring lefty Ryan Weathers from the Marlins.
3. Post-Peralta rotation market:
Peralta’s trade to the Mets not only takes the top starting pitcher off the trade market, it also takes the most obvious suitor for high-end pitching off the table. That’s an interesting state of affairs given that the rotation market still boasts two starters with front-of-the-rotation pedigree: lefty Framber Valdez and, to a lesser extent given his down season in 2025, righty Zac Gallen. The Orioles have been known to be in the market for a front-end starter this winter, and while swinging a deal for Shane Baz added some upside, they haven’t landed a more established arm. The same can be said for the Cubs, who made a deal for promising righty Edward Cabrera earlier this month. Atlanta could use another arm but doesn’t typically spend at Valdez levels in free agency. The D-backs may not have payroll space. The Angels saved significant money with Anthony Rendon’s contract restructure but haven’t yet been prominent players in free agency.
The Mets make another splash, acquiring All-Star starter Freddy Peralta and swingman Tobias Myers from the Brewers for prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. The teams announced the blockbuster trade on Wednesday night. New York designated right-hander Cooper Criswell for assignment in a corresponding move.
After losing out on Kyle Tucker, the Mets have signed Bo Bichette and traded for Luis Robert Jr. and Peralta. Tonight’s move is arguably the biggest of the three, as Peralta gives them a legitimate #1 starter atop what had been a talented but volatile rotation. He’s coming off a career season that landed him fifth in NL Cy Young balloting.
Peralta set a career mark with 176 2/3 innings while managing a personal-best 2.70 earned run average. He punched out 28.2% of opponents behind a near-13% swinging strike rate while issuing walks at a 9.1% clip. Peralta’s underlying marks have been consistently strong over his five seasons as a full-time starter. He misses bats at a plus rate with solid command. He had been a little susceptible to the longball between 2023-24, which elevated his ERA slightly (3.77) over that span. A dip in homer rate was the biggest factor in last year’s results, but estimators like FIP and SIERA feel he has been more or less the same pitcher five years running.
The 6’0″ righty challenges hitters with his fastball, a 94-95 MPH offering that plays up because of its plus spin and life. He backs that up with a changeup that he’ll throw to hitters of either handedness and a pair of breaking balls (though he only uses his slider against righties). His willingness to attack hitters up in the zone with the fastball leads to a fly-ball approach and the occasional home run, but it’s a worthwhile tradeoff for the few baserunners he’ll allow. Opposing hitters have mustered a .210/.288/.367 batting line over the past three seasons.
Peralta also brings an excellent durability track record to stabilize a rotation that was light on established innings sources. He hasn’t required a single stint on the injured list in three years. He’s tied for fifth with 95 starts and ranks 15th with 516 innings over that stretch. Only Dylan Cease and Zack Wheeler have more strikeouts in that time. Peralta and Cease are the only pitchers to record 200+ strikeouts in each of the past three seasons. He battled some shoulder issues in 2021-22, including a lat strain that limited him to 18 appearances four years ago, but his recent health record has been clean.
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns knows Peralta well from his time running baseball operations with Milwaukee. He’s probably the best starting pitcher who’ll get traded this offseason, so the Mets would surely have been involved even without that connection, but the familiarity only made him a more natural fit. Stearns also brought back closer Devin Williams on a three-year free agent contract as his biggest bullpen move of the winter.
The Stearns-led front office wisely locked Peralta up on an extension before his breakout. Peralta had been an unheralded amateur signee by the Mariners whom the Brewers acquired as one of three prospects in an Adam Lind trade when he was in rookie ball. He worked in a swing role with mixed results over his first two seasons. Milwaukee secured him on a $15.5MM guarantee with a pair of $8MM club options over the 2019-20 offseason. It almost immediately became one of the sport’s most team-friendly contracts.
Peralta is headed into the final season of that deal and playing on the second of those $8MM options. The Mets will happily pick up that salary and the associated $8.8MM luxury tax hit. RosterResource projects them for a $365MM competitive balance tax payroll. They ended last season with $347MM in CBT commitments and paid another $91.6MM in taxes.
This is much more affordable from a salary perspective than were the Bichette and Robert acquisitions, though the pitcher is less than a year from a monster payday of his own. He’s on track to hit free agency before his age-31 season and could command the second-largest contract in the class after Tarik Skubal. He’s a lock to reject a qualifying offer barring a major injury. The Mets would receive a compensation pick after the fourth round in ’27 if he walks. As a revenue sharing recipient, Milwaukee would’ve gotten a pick after the first round had they kept him (assuming he signed elsewhere for $50MM+).
The Mets will presumably make an effort to keep him long term, but the main focus is on 2026. Peralta slots ahead of touted rookie Nolan McLean at the top of the staff. Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, David Peterson and Kodai Senga are also penciled into what could be a six-man rotation — though the latter two have come up in trade rumors this offseason. Jonah Tong didn’t dominate the way McLean did after a late-season promotion, but he’s a top prospect who’ll be in the mix. They’re getting another touted arm, Christian Scott, back from elbow surgery.
Myers projects for a swing role but is likely to make some starts over the course of a 162-game season as well. The 27-year-old righty is more than a throw-in addition, as he has pitched well for Milwaukee over the past two years. Myers held a rotation spot for the majority of the ’24 season. He started 25 of 27 games as a rookie and posted an even 3.00 earned run average through 138 innings. He recorded a solid 22.3% strikeout rate while limiting his walks to a 6.3% clip.
An oblique strain sidelined Myers to open last season. The Brewers activated him in late April but optioned him to Triple-A after a handful of shaky appearances. Myers was up and down in a swing role for the remainder of the season. He was mostly squeezed out of the rotation by Milwaukee’s bigger arms, but he pitched well in the second half and finished the year with a 3.55 ERA across 50 2/3 frames. He had similar numbers over 12 starts with Triple-A Nashville.
Myers works in the 93-94 MPH range with his fastball. He uses a cutter and slider as his breaking balls and tweaked his changeup to more of a splitter midway through last season. The pitch got good results in a small sample, as opponents hit .108 while swinging through it almost 40% of the time. That should give him a better offering against left-handed hitters after he struggled with southpaws as a rookie.
The righty has between one and two years of service time. He won’t reach arbitration for another two seasons and is under club control through 2030. He has a minor league option remaining, which gives the Mets flexibility to move him between MLB and Triple-A Syracuse.
The Brewers deserve credit for helping Myers develop into a serviceable back-end starter. He’d once been a reasonably well-regarded prospect — Cleveland regrettably traded Junior Caminero to the Rays for him when the slugging infielder was in rookie ball — but he’d seemingly hit a wall in the upper minors. Milwaukee added him as a minor league free agent over the 2022-23 offseason, and he’s now a secondary but meaningful part of a trade that netted them a pair of top prospects.
Williams and Sproat each placed on the back half of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list, which was released this morning. BA had Williams as the slightly more highly regarded of the two, but they’re essentially within the same tier. Williams is a right-handed hitter whom the Mets took in the first round out of a Dallas-area high school in 2022. He’s on the shorter side at 5’7″ but has plus athleticism and an up-the-middle defensive profile. Scouts credit him with plus speed and a strong arm with more power than one might expect based on his size.
That athleticism was on display in the upper minors. Williams combined for 17 homers and 34 stolen bases while hitting .261/.363/.465 across 572 plate appearances. He looked no worse for wear after a right wrist surgery had cost him a good chunk of the ’24 season. Williams raked at a .281/.390/.477 clip in Double-A. He struggled after a second half promotion to Triple-A, where he hit .209 with a .285 on-base percentage across 34 games. That’s not a huge concern for a 21-year-old who would have been young for the level even if he’d spent the entire season in Double-A.
Williams is a patient hitter who has worked a lot of walks in the minors. Although big league pitchers will be better positioned to attack the smaller strike zone, he has the makings of a potential top-of-the-lineup spark plug. Williams has played mostly shortstop and has experience at second base and in center field. He’s likely to begin the season at Triple-A Nashville and could challenge Joey Ortiz or Garrett Mitchell/Blake Perkins for playing time midway through the season.
Sproat, 25, is a big league ready rotation option. A second-round pick out of the University of Florida in 2023, he debuted as a September call-up. The 6’3″ righty made four starts, giving up 11 runs across 20 2/3 innings. Sproat otherwise spent the season in Triple-A, where he worked to a 4.24 ERA across 121 frames. He fanned 22.1% of opponents while issuing walks at a slightly elevated 10.4% clip. He has a six-pitch mix and works in the 96-97 MPH range on his sinker and four-seam fastball.
Baseball America’s scouting report credits Sproat with a plus changeup and slider. They write that he has the upside of an average or better starter, albeit with some relief risk based on his average control. He’s not as highly-regarded as McLean or Tong, but it’s not surprising the Mets weren’t willing to part with either of those prospects for a rental. McLean seems categorically untouchable. Michael Marino reported that Milwaukee had tried to involve Tong in discussions on Peralta but were quickly rebuffed. They then turned to a Williams/Sproat framework. It seems they needed to part with Myers to push the deal over the top.
Milwaukee wasn’t going to move Peralta without landing a strong prospect return. His salary was affordable enough that they didn’t need to trade him for salary relief. They certainly weren’t going to re-sign him, though, and it’s their usual operating procedure to hear clubs out on veteran stars who are approaching free agency. It doesn’t make a trade inevitable — they held Willy Adames and let him walk for a compensatory draft pick — but Peralta joins Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes and Williams as recent stars traded within a year or two of reaching the open market.
The Brewers never go into a full rebuild. They’re coming off a 97-win season and advanced to the NLCS. They’ll expect to compete for a fourth consecutive NL Central title. Milwaukee won the division in ’24 after the Burnes trade, which was the most direct parallel for their decision on Peralta. They also landed two prospects in that deal, Ortiz and left-hander DL Hall, who were borderline Top 100 talents who were at the MLB level. Williams and Sproat are probably a little more highly-regarded than the players they got in the Burnes trade, though their deal with Baltimore also included a competitive balance draft pick and didn’t involve the secondary piece in Myers.
Brandon Woodruff will slot atop the rotation after accepting the qualifying offer. Quinn Priester, Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser and Sproat could all battle for jobs. The Brewers haven’t closed the door on giving Angel Zerpa or Aaron Ashby rotation looks, though they’re each likelier to end up in relief. President of baseball operations Matt Arnold acknowledged that getting Woodruff back made them more comfortable parting with Peralta (relayed by Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
There’s a lot of upside with this group, but they’ll probably need to dip into the lower tiers of free agency for a back-end arm to provide innings. RosterResource projects their payroll around $126MM, roughly $11MM north of where they began the ’25 season. They should nevertheless be able to sign a starter for a few million dollars as Spring Training approaches. They wouldn’t have issued the QO to Woodruff if ownership weren’t willing to approve at least a slight payroll bump.
Milwaukee fans are familiar with the churn, but it’s surely a blow to lose another homegrown star and fan favorite. Peralta was third in franchise history in strikeouts and eighth in wins. He’s a two-time All-Star who has been a part of seven playoff teams over the past eight years. He’s out of the division but anchoring the rotation for what looks to be one of their top competitors in the National League.
Michael Marino first reported that the Brewers and Mets were discussing Peralta for Williams and Sproat. Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated indicated talks were accelerating, while Jeff Passan of ESPN first had the agreement. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported Myers’ inclusion. Respective images courtesy of Benny Sieu, Michael McLoone, Sam Navarro and Brad Penner — Imagn Images.
The Yankees and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger are going to reunite on a new contract. The Boras Corporation client reportedly gets a five-year deal with a $162.5MM guarantee, with no deferrals. He gets a $20MM signing bonus followed by salaries of $32.5MM in each of the first two years, $25.8MM in each of the next two, then $25.9MM in the final season. Bellinger can opt out after the second or third season, though those opt-outs are pushed by a year if the 2027 season is canceled by a lockout. Bellinger also gets a full no-trade clause. The Yanks currently have a 40-man vacancy and won’t need to make a corresponding move unless they fill that spot before this agreement becomes official.
It always seemed like a good bet that Bellinger would return to the Yankees, since their first season together was a success. But there was a standoff recently, as the club and Bellinger’s camp had a bit of a gap. It was reported earlier this month that the Yankees had an offer out to Bellinger. No details on that offer were revealed but it was reported a few days later that they had made a second offer.
Subsequent reporting on the negotiations suggested the Yanks had put forth a five-year offer worth more than $150MM, but with Bellinger’s camp hoping to get the length pushed to seven years. That gap seemingly put things on ice for a moment, with alternative paths available to both parties. The Yankees showed interest in other players, including outfielder Luis Robert Jr., while Bellinger still had potential fits with teams like the Dodgers and Mets.
But the market has changed quite a bit in the past week. The Dodgers and Mets got into a bidding war over Kyle Tucker, with the Dodgers coming out on top. The Mets then pivoted to signing Bo Bichette to bolster their infield, followed by trading infielder Luisangel Acuña to the White Sox as part of their package to land Robert.
Those moves took away some alternate paths from the Yankees but also removed a couple of logical landing spots for Bellinger. He had also been connected to the Blue Jays, Giants and Phillies throughout the winter but none of those clubs seemed to be strongly in the mix. The Yanks seemingly didn’t budge far from where their reported offer was a few weeks ago, though they did add the opt-outs. It was reported a few days ago that they were willing to include those.
Though Bellinger and Boras didn’t quite get the seven years they were looking for, the deal comes in fairly close to expectations from the beginning of the offseason. For instance, MLBTR predicted Bellinger to land a guarantee of $140MM over five years. Bellinger has secured himself a floor just above that. There’s also a path to boosting his future earnings again with more opt-out opportunities down the line.
He is now 30, turning 31 in July, so he will be 32 years old by the end of the 2027 season. Alex Bregman and Kyle Schwarber both just got five-year deals this offseason, with Schwarber going into his age-33 season and Bregman age-32. Schwarber got a $150MM guarantee and Bregman $175MM, though Bregman’s deals had deferrals which pushed the net present value pretty close to Schwarber’s guarantee.
For Bellinger, he can bank $85MM over the next two years, when factoring in the signing bonus and the front-loaded salaries. When his first opt-out decision comes around, he would still have three years and $77.5MM left on this deal. If he continues to be a productive player between now and then, he should be in a good position to opt out. The lockout-specific provision of the opt-outs appears to be a way for the Yankees to get at least two years of Bellinger’s services.
While Bellinger has maintained some future earning potential, he has also secured himself a strong base after a few years of uncertainty. When he first hit the open market, he had shown both huge upside and a massive downside. In 2019, then with the Dodgers, Bellinger was the National League MVP. He hit 47 home runs that year. Offense was up all around the league thanks to some juiced balls but Bellinger also drew walks at a 14.4% clip and only struck out 16.4% of the time. His .305/.406/.629 line led to a 161 wRC+, even in the heightened offensive environment of that season. He stole 15 bases and got strong reviews for his defense. FanGraphs credited him with 7.8 wins above replacement.
But his production backed up a bit in 2020 and he infamously injured his shoulder in the NLCS during a post-homer celebration with teammate Enrique Hernández, as seen in this video from MLB.com.
Bellinger underwent surgery after the season and his performance was awful for two years after. He slashed .193/.256/.355 over 2021 and 2022, getting non-tendered by the Dodgers after the latter campaign. He latched on with the Cubs for 2023, signing a one-year deal worth $17.5MM. He had a strong bounceback season in Wrigley, hitting 26 home runs and slashing .307/.356/.525 for a 135 wRC+.
Going into 2024, Bellinger and his reps at the Boras Corporation were hoping to cash in. He had seemingly put the low points behind him. He was still young, going into his age-28 season, and had shown MVP upside. The previous offseason, Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts had both secured 11-year deals. This was seemingly a way to lower the competitive balance tax hit of those deals, as a player’s CBT hit is calculated based on a deal’s average annual value.
MLBTR expected this trend to continue with Bellinger, predicting him for a 12-year deal worth $264MM. That seemed to be at least somewhat aligned with what Bellinger and Boras felt he could get, as they reportedly went out looking to top $200MM.
It did not play out that way. Though Bellinger’s 2023 season was a success, there was seemingly some concern about some lackluster batted-ball data. And with the injury-marred seasons still somewhat fresh in the collective memory, his market never quite developed as hoped.
It wasn’t just Bellinger, as several other players lingered unsigned that season. They came to be known as the “Boras Four”, as they were all repped by the same agency. Bellinger, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman and Jordan Montgomery all settled for short-term deals well below expectations. Bellinger returned to the Cubs on a three-year deal with an $80MM guarantee, with chances to opt out after each season.
The first season of that pact wasn’t a roaring success, as Bellinger was good but not great. He hit 18 home runs and slashed .266/.325/.426 for a wRC+ of 108. Bellinger decided to forgo the first opt-out opportunity and stick with the Cubs. The team didn’t hold up their end of the reunion, however, as they shipped Bellinger to the Yankees. It was effectively a salary dump. The Cubs got Cody Poteet in return, whom they designated for assignment a few months later.
The Cubs ate $5MM in the swap, leaving the Yanks theoretically on the hook for $47.5MM over two years, though with Bellinger still having another opt-out remaining. As mentioned earlier, the Yankees and Bellinger turned out to be a great match. He hit 29 home runs on the year and slashed .272/.334/.480 for a 125 wRC+. Yankee Stadium and its short porch in right field seemed to be a good fit for him, as he slashed .302/.365/.544 at home on the year. He stole 13 bases overall and continued to get good grades for his glovework, earning 4.9 fWAR.
Bellinger triggered his opt-out and took another crack at free agency, which led to this pact. As mentioned, it’s possible that Bellinger will return to the open market yet again in the future. For now, though it came about in circuitous fashion, he has pushed his earning floor above the $200MM he was looking for a few years ago.
His three-year deal with the Cubs paid him $27.5MM in each of the first two years. He collected a $5MM buyout when he opted out of the final season, meaning he banked $60MM on the pact. Combined with this deal with the Yankees, he’ll earn $222.5MM even if he doesn’t trigger either of the opt-outs in this deal.
For players taking the short-term route and hoping for more earnings later, this is another example of how the path is viable. It doesn’t always work out, as Montgomery will surely tell you, but the hit rate is pretty decent. Chapman, Snell, Bellinger, Bregman, Carlos Rodón, Pete Alonso and Carlos Correa have all signed two- or three-year deals with opt-outs and then later signed a longer deal worth nine figures.
For the Yankees, this gets their outfield back to its 2025 level. Both Bellinger and Trent Grisham became free agents at the end of last season but both have now re-signed. They project to line up in two outfield spots with Aaron Judge in another and Giancarlo Stanton in the designated hitter slot. Bellinger can also play a bit of first base but the Yanks could give Ben Rice the regular job there after his breakout season. Rice can also catch, so perhaps Bellinger would slide to first base if Rice is needed behind the plate.
It’s possible the Yankees now look to move some outfield depth in the wake of this deal. Jasson Domínguez was once a top prospect but had an underwhelming season in 2025. He was roughly league average at the plate but with poor defensive metrics. The Yankees also have Spencer Jones pushing for a job after he hit 35 home runs in the minors last year but he also struck out in 35.4% of his plate appearances.
Neither Domínguez nor Jones has a great path to playing time right now. That could change as the season goes along. Stanton is 36 years old and has made at least one trip to the injured list in seven straight seasons now. Judge will turn 34 soon. Even if he himself stays healthy, the Yanks may want to put Judge in the DH slot if Stanton is hurt.
Perhaps the Yankees will keep both Domínguez and Jones around as depth for such situations, as both players are still optionable, but either or both could also be trade fodder. Club owner Hal Steinbrenner has previously expressed a desire to keep the payroll beneath $300MM. The Yanks are now a bit over that. RosterResource has them at $304MM in terms of pure payroll, with a $318MM CBT number.
That CBT number is over the top tier, which is $304MM. Since the Yankees have paid the tax in at least three consecutive years, that puts them in the highest possible tax bracket. They were at about $285MM or so before the Bellinger deal, so they paid a 95% tax on the part of the deal pushing them to the top line and then a 110% tax on the part that went beyond it. In the end, they’re adding more than $30MM in taxes to their ledger, on top of what they are paying Bellinger. They still arguably need some pitching help, so perhaps they would trade from their outfield depth instead of adding more money via free agency.
For the other clubs in the league, this further narrows down the list of available options. As of the start of the year, there were still many players available in free agency or in trade, but the dominos have been falling in quick succession lately. The Cubs got a deal done with Bregman, which prompted the Red Sox to sign Ranger Suárez and the Diamondbacks to get Nolan Arenado. The Tucker deal pushed the Mets to Bichette and Robert, which may have helped the Phillies reunite with J.T. Realmuto and pushed Bellinger to get back together with the Yankees. The Realmuto deal seemingly led to Victor Caratini signing with the Twins. All that happened in the past 11 days.
Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training in less than three weeks. With Bellinger now off the board, the top unsigned free agents include Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Eugenio Suárez, Harrison Bader, Chris Bassitt and others. There are still a few theoretical trade candidates out there, including Brendan Donovan and MacKenzie Gore.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that the Yanks and Bellinger were in agreement on a deal. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the five-year length and guarantee. Brendan Kuty of The Athletic first reported the lack of deferrals. Passan then reported the opt-outs, signing bonus and no-trade clause. Nightengale then reported the salary for the first two seasons. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported the full salary breakdown. Nightengale added the detail of the opt-outs being pushed in the event of the 2027 season being canceled. Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
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