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Athletics To Sign Scott Barlow

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The Athletics and right-hander Scott Barlow have agreed to a deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. It’s a one-year pact with a $2MM guarantee for the Warner Sports Management client and performance bonuses worth $1.3MM. The A’s have a full 40-man roster and will need a corresponding move to make this official.

Barlow, 33, has a fairly established profile at this point in his career. He walks too many guys but is still a somewhat effective setup guy thanks to his ability to strike guys out, induce ground balls and limit damage.

Over the past three years, Barlow has thrown 191 1/3 innings for the Royals, Padres, Guardians and Reds. He has allowed 4.28 earned runs per nine. He gave free passes to a huge 13% of batters faced but also punched out opponents at a 26.3% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 44.1% pace. Statcast has considered his average exit velocity and hard hit rate to be 90th percentile or better in each of those three seasons. He earned 16 saves and 42 holds in that time. He throws his sweeper more than any other pitch but also features a four-seamer, slider, curveball and sinker.

More to come.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Hey all, hope you're doing well!
  • Steve and Darragh are getting killed by the waiver deluge today so I'll keep this one right around an hour to chip away at that after
  • Let's get it rolling

Tigers lover

  • Thanks for the chat, Anthony! Scott Harris and the Tigers finally finally finally put their chips in and got Framber... and they had to, this next year might be their biggest opportunity, before they lose the best pitcher in the game. With these guys now as Tigers' one-two punch, how do you rank American League contenders?

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah love this for them, finally showed a sense of urgency to win now. I expected them to add a starter but figured it'd be more in the Bassitt/Giolito range
  • Clear team to beat in the Central. They were before really, but this just widens the gap. I don't think there really is a hierarchy of AL contenders. Guess I'd give the edge to Seattle as the best team but it's as muddled as any year I can remember
  • If you wanted to argue for the Tigers or any non-Rays team in the AL East for that spot, I wouldn't have much pushback. Baltimore's probably a stretch with that pitching staff but wouldn't be all that surprising if they mash their way back to the top of the division either

Rays Apologist

  • Do the Rays still sign one of the free agent lower tier starters or are they pretty much finalized as a squad now? Was hoping for a Littell reunion.

Anthony Franco

  • I think there's one more coming. Boyle's probably not a starter. I like Seymour but there's not much after that if he wins the fifth starter job. Littell would make sense, sure

Paul

  • Hello Anthony. The Red Sox can’t be done can they? I know the pickings are getting slim. They need a RH power bat desperately. Are Tyler O’Neill or Nick Castellnos options? I’m assuming it wouldn’t cost much of a package to acquire either one of them.

Anthony Franco

  • Seems like Contreras was the righty power bat. TON or Castellanos wouldn't get much playing time
  • If you want to wait for the Phillies to release Castellanos, sign him for the minimum and cut Yoshida, maybe that could work. It'd add a little bit of balance. Is Castellanos signing up for that when he can decide where he wants to go because everyone's offering him the same salary? I don't know

Tom Rickets

  • Does 6 years and $120 million get Nico Hoerner back to the Cubs?

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Rays Designate Brett Wisely For Assignment

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The Rays announced that they have designated infielder Brett Wisely for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for them to acquire outfielder Víctor Mesa Jr. from the Marlins, a move that was previously reported.

Wisely, 27 in May, has been riding the DFA carousel for quite a while. The Giants designated him for assignment in the middle of September. He was claimed off waivers by Atlanta but got another DFA from that club in January. The Rays sent cash considerations to get both Wisely and Ken Waldichuk from Atlanta but subsequently bumped both from the roster. Waldichuk was claimed off waivers by the Nationals earlier this week.

The hope with Wisely is seemingly to get him to the minors as non-roster depth. He is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he has less than three years of service time and does not have a previous career outright.

Wisely has taken 466 trips to the plate so far in his big league career but has produced a tepid .214/.265/.319 line. Despite that lack of offense, his defensive versatility is appealing. He has experience at all four infield spots and has a little bit of outfield experience as well. It’s also possible there’s a bit more in the bat, as he has hit .276/.375/.436 in the minors over the past three years, leading to a 113 wRC+.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Rays could take five days to explore trade interest. If they hope to pass Wisely through waivers, they will probably put him on the wire sooner rather than later. The 60-day injured list opens up next week, adding some extra roster spots which could potentially be used for moves like waiver claims.

Photo courtesy of Matt Krohn, Imagn Images

Marlins Trade Victor Mesa Jr. To Rays

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Major League Baseball’s two Florida clubs made a small trade Friday, with Miami sending outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. to Tampa Bay in exchange for minor league infielder Angel Brachi. The Marlins had designated Mesa for assignment earlier in the week. Both teams have announced the swap.

Mesa and his older brother, Victor Victor Mesa, are the sons of Cuban baseball legend Victor Mesa, who had a 19-year career in Cuba’s top league and who has previously managed Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic. Both, particularly the older Mesa brother, were high-profile international prospects back in the 2018-19 offseason, but neither panned out after signing together with Miami. Victor Victor never reached the majors, and Mesa Jr. was designated for assignment after just 38 plate appearances in The Show.

All of those plate appearances for the younger Mesa brother came in 2025. He appeared in 16 games and hit .188/.297/.344 with a homer, two doubles and as many walks as strikeouts (five apiece). He had a nice showing in 171 Triple-A plate appearances (.286/.352/.460), but that was the first time Mesa Jr. has hit at even an average level in the minors.

The 24-year-old Mesa Jr. is regarded as a solid defensive outfielder and has shown more pop than some expected him to at the time of his signing. He ripped 18 homers in 123 games during the 2023 season, popped 13 round-trippers in just 83 games in ’24 and added another seven in 42 Triple-A contests last season (plus the one home run in 38 MLB plate appearances).

Mesa Jr. still has a minor league option remaining. He’ll give the Rays another candidate to take some at-bats in a somewhat patchwork outfield. The Rays signed Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley to one-year deals this winter and figure to plug them into center field and right field, respectively, at least against right-handed pitching. Left fielder Chandler Simpson is baseball’s fastest player and most prominent base-stealing threat, but he’s not a good defender, rarely walks and has no power of which to speak. Jonny Deluca, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Richie Palacios, Ryan Vilade and top prospect Jacob Melton are the other outfield options on the 40-man roster.

Brachi is something of a lottery ticket — a 19-year-old former high-profile international signee who has spent the past two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He did not rank among Tampa Bay’s top 30 prospects on Baseball America’s recent update on their sytem.

The Rays signed Brachi for an $800K bonus out of his native Dominican Republic. He struggled badly there as a 17-year-old in ’24 (.247/.348/.276 with no homers, three doubles and one triple in 206 plate appearances). Brachi had a breakout at the plate repeating that level in 2025, however, erupting for a .337/.453/.408 batting line in a larger sample of 228 turns at the plate.

Brachi has virtually no power at the moment and isn’t projected to grow into much. His immense Summer League OBP is a bit misleading, as he’s only walked in 8.7% of his plate appearances but has somewhat incredibly been plunked 30 times in 434 overall plate appearances. Brachi is a plus runner who’s still a bit inefficient on the basepaths (35 steals in 48 tries) but could develop into a big running threat. He’s played shortstop, second base and third base in pro ball.

Francys Romero first reported that Mesa was headed to Tampa Bay. Kevin Barral of Fish On First reported that it was a trade (not a waiver claim) and that Miami was receiving one prospect in return.

Angels Designate Kaleb Ort For Assignment

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The Angels announced that right-hander Kaleb Ort has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to open a spot for left-hander Brent Suter, who has now been officially signed to a one-year deal.

Ort, 34, has been riding the DFA carousel quite a bit this year. He was with the Astros last year but that club designated him for assignment in early January. He then went to the Yankees and Angels via waiver claims and has now been designated for assignment yet again.

That’s a reflection of a few facts. Ort is out of options. His major league track record isn’t amazing. However, he has big stuff, with a fastball that averages in the upper 90s. If he were to clear waivers, he would not have the right to elect free agency, since he doesn’t have a previous career outright and is shy of three years of service time. It seems several clubs are hoping to get Ort to the minors as non-roster depth but none have succeeded so far.

Despite the big arm, Ort hasn’t done too much to impress in the majors. He has thrown 122 1/3 innings, having allowed five earned runs per nine. His 23.7% strikeout rate is decent but he has also walked 10.5% of batters faced.

The Angels can take as long as five days before putting Ort back on the waiver wire but will probably do so sooner than that. The 60-day injured list opens up next week, which will give most clubs some extra roster spots and greater ability to make marginal moves such as waiver claims.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Dodgers Designate Anthony Banda For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that they have designated left-hander Anthony Banda for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for their claim of catcher Ben Rortvedt, a move that was previously reported.

It’s a little bit of a surprise to see Banda losing his roster spot. He’s been a serviceable member of the Dodger bullpen for a couple of years now, even making multiple playoff appearances over the past two years. The Dodgers also tendered him a contract for 2026, agreeing to a $1.625MM salary last month.

But there were also some worrying trends in his 2025 performance. In 2024, he had given the Dodgers 49 2/3 innings with a 3.08 earned run average, 23.9% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 44.4% ground ball rate.

His ERA mostly held steady last year, climbing marginally to 3.18, but with more concern under the hood. His strikeout rate dropped to 22.8%. His walk rate shot up to 12.7%. He only induced grounders on 39.4% of balls in play. His ERA would have climbed more if not for a .227 batting average on balls in play and 83.1% strand rate, both very fortunate numbers. His 4.52 FIP and 4.39 SIERA suggested he deserved far worse. He then got lit up in the playoffs, allowing six earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

The Dodgers also have plenty of other lefty options. Banda probably wouldn’t have pitched in the playoffs so much if not for Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia being unavailable, Scott due to injury and Vesia due to a family matter. Both Scott and Vesia are expected to be back next year. The Dodgers have also seen young guys like Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski take steps forward.

On top of Banda’s performance and the other lefties on hand, Banda is also out of options, which surely helped nudge him off the roster. The Dodgers tendering him a contract perhaps suggests they are hoping to pass him through waivers unclaimed, which would therefore allow them to keep him as non-roster depth.

It wouldn’t be the first time they tried that this winter. They signed Ben Rortvedt and Andy Ibáñez to modest deals of just over $1MM then later put both on waivers, seemingly hoping that no other club would take on the modest salaries. It didn’t work in either case. Rortvedt was claimed by the Reds in November, though the Dodgers claimed him back today. Also earlier today, Ibáñez was claimed by the Athletics.

It seems likely that Banda would be claimed as well, despite his shaky 2025. He has some major league success and the salary is not massive. He could also be retained via arbitration for the 2027 season by any acquiring club. Given the weak bullpens of some clubs around the league, especially the rebuilding ones, it seems unlikely that 29 clubs would pass on him.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Dodgers could take five days to field trade interest. If the interest is decent enough, perhaps they can find a club willing to part with some cash considerations or a lottery-ticket prospect. If they plan to put him on waivers, they should probably do so sooner rather than later. The 60-day injured list opens up next week, which will give most clubs some extra roster flexibility for moves such as waiver claims.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Athletics Designate Max Schuemann For Assignment

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The Athletics announced that infielder/outfielder Max Schuemann has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to open a spot for their claim of Andy Ibáñez, a move that was previously reported.

Schuemann, 29 in June, has been on 40-man roster for almost two years now. The A’s selected him to the roster in April of 2024. Since then, he has appeared in 234 games and stepped to the plate 672 times. His combined line of .212/.306/.297 leads to a 78 wRC+.

That lack of offensive punch was clearly not doing it for the A’s. Upgrading the infield has been a target for them this winter. They acquired Jeff McNeil from the Mets and also had a deal in place for Nolan Arenado, although Arenado used his no-trade clause to get the Cardinals to trade him to the Diamondbacks instead. With Ibáñez available on the wire this week, they have grabbed him and bumped Schuemann into DFA limbo.

Despite the tepid offense, Schuemann might appeal to clubs for other reasons. He has stolen 21 bases in 23 attempts. He also provides defensive versatility, having played all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base. He also has a full slate of options, meaning he could be a longtime depth piece if some club is willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take five days to field trade interest. If they are hoping to get Schuemann through waivers unclaimed to keep him as non-roster depth, they will probably put him on the wire sooner. The 60-day injured list opens up next week, which will give most clubs extra roster space for marginal moves like waiver claims.

Photo courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images

Red Sox Claim Tsung-Che Cheng

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The Red Sox have claimed infielder Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from the Nationals, the team announced. The Sox had a vacancy on their 40-man roster, which is now full. They’ll need to open a spot to finalize this week’s reported agreement with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Cheng, 24, made his big league debut with the Pirates in 2025 but went hitless in seven plate appearances. He didn’t fare all that well in Triple-A last year either, hitting just .207/.305/.267 with one homer, 12 doubles and three triples in 410 turns at the plate. However, Cheng is a plus runner who swiped 20 bags despite that paltry OBP, and he’s also a capable defender at shortstop, second base and third base. The 5’8″ lefty swinger also has an excellent eye at the plate, evidenced by a career 12.5% walk rate in the minors.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been vocal about his desire to improve the club’s infield defense. Cheng isn’t going to secure a starting spot in the infield and may not even crack the Opening Day roster if he sticks with the Sox that long, as he has a minor league option remaining and can be sent to Triple-A without needing to be exposed to waivers. He’s a viable backup at any of shortstop, second base or third base who can work counts and run well, which makes him a potential bench option if he can improve his offense to some degree.

Then again, it’s far from certain Cheng will even be with the Red Sox at the end of camp. He’s been one of the most frequent riders of this offseason’s DFA carousel, bouncing from the Pirates, to the Rays, to the Mets, to the Nationals and now the Red Sox — all in the past month alone. The Red Sox are on the lookout for both a righty-swinging outfielder and another infielder (even after agreeing to terms with Kiner-Falefa), and if they bring in a veteran at either spot, Cheng could again find himself jettisoned into DFA limbo.

Angels Sign Brent Suter

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February 6th: The Angels officially announced their signing of Suter today.

February 5th: The Angels are closing in on a major league deal with free agent left-hander Brent Suter, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The Diamond Sports Management client would be the fourth veteran bullpen signing of the offseason for the Halos.

The 36-year-old Suter is a throwback in many ways — a soft-tossing, rubber-armed lefty who relies more on command and soft contact while often pitching multiple innings per outing. Last year’s 87.3 mph was the second-highest average velocity he’s posted on his four-seamer in any of his 10 big league seasons. His 89.1 mph average sinker was a career-high.

Obviously, Suter isn’t going to blow any hitters away with power stuff. However, he’s walked only 6.1% of his career opponents (6.2% in 2025) and perennially posts some of the league’s lowest exit velocity and hard-hit rates. Suter can still pick up some punchouts, but last year’s 18.2% mark was four percentage points shy of average. He hasn’t posted a league-average strikeout rate since 2021 and has an overall 18.8% mark in the four seasons since.

That hasn’t stopped Suter from being a generally effective relief option. Last year’s 4.52 ERA was a career-worst mark but was in part inflated by an abnormally low 69% strand rate. Playing his home games at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park didn’t help, as the 1.42 HR/9 he’s averaged over the past two seasons with the Reds is substantially higher than the 1.07 mark he carried into the 2024 season. That was surely a worthwhile trade-off for the Cincinnati native, who reportedly turned down some better offers to pitch for his hometown club the past couple seasons, but a move to Angel Stadium should bode well for the southpaw in terms of getting his home run rate back down.

Over the past seasons, Suter ranks 12th among all relief pitchers in innings pitched. He’s had just two IL stints along the way — three weeks for an oblique strain in ’23 and six weeks for a teres major strain in ’24 — and has logged a collective 3.76 ERA in that time. He’s typically been more of a long man or middle reliever but does have three saves and 24 holds in his career. He worked more than one inning in 22 of his 48 appearances with the Reds in 2025, topping out at 3 2/3 innings for his longest appearance of the season.

Despite restructuring the final season of Anthony Rendon’s contract such that it’ll defer his remaining salary over a five-year period, it’s been a quiet offseason for the Angels. They’ve added four relievers — Suter, Jordan Romano, Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates — on low-cost, one-year contracts. Yates ($5MM), Pomeranz ($4MM) and Romano ($2MM) will earn a combined $11MM. Suter’s deal will presumably be valued similarly to his three veteran counterparts. The team’s other moves include a buy-low trade of Rays outfielder Josh Lowe and re-signing Yoan Moncada for a year and $4MM.

That Lowe trade cost the Angels southpaw reliever Brock Burke. Signing Suter again gives the Angels a second lefty to pair with Pomeranz in a patchwork bullpen where the average reliever within is now about 33 and a half years old. Suter, Pomeranz, Yates and Romano will be joined by Robert Stephenson, Ryan Zeferjahn and out-of-options righty Chase Silseth. Recent waiver claim Kaleb Ort is out of options as well, so he’ll be in the Opening Day group unless he’s designated for assignment before that point; the Angels, notably, will need a 40-man move for Suter unless they wait until camp opens so they can move the aforementioned Rendon to the 60-day IL.

Dodgers Claim Ben Rortvedt

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The Reds announced that catcher Ben Rortvedt has been claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. Cincinnati designated him for assignment when they signed Eugenio Suárez earlier this week. The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster and will need to open a spot for Rortvedt.

The Dodgers clearly like Rortvedt as a depth catcher. They acquired him at last year’s deadline and he got some playing time down the stretch when Will Smith was hurt. After the season, he and the Dodgers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.25MM salary for 2026.

They then tried to sneak him through waivers, hoping that the salary would be enough to make other clubs pass, therefore allowing Rortvedt be in the minors as non-roster depth. They tried a similar move with infielder Andy Ibáñez, signing him to a $1.2MM deal and then putting him on the wire. It didn’t work in either case. The Reds claimed Rortvedt in November and the Athletics claimed Ibáñez today.

The Dodgers are taking this chance to bring Rortvedt back again. For now, he appears to be the clear #3 catcher behind Smith and Dalton Rushing. They could option Rushing to the minors but seemingly don’t think he has anything left to prove there, which is why they called him up last year and moved on from Austin Barnes.

Assuming Rortvedt is indeed third on the chart, he could be bound for the waiver wire again in the future. He is out of options and would have to be nudged off the 40-man if he’s not going to be on the active roster.

Time will tell how that plays out. For now, he’s back with the champs. His performance has been up and down in recent years. With the Rays in 2024, he posted a .228/.317/.303 line in 328 plate appearances. His 87 wRC+ indicated he was 13% below league average but that’s not bad for a part-time catcher. Thanks to some solid defense, FanGraphs credited him with 1.4 wins above replacement in that role.

Things turned sour in 2025. He slashed .095/.186/.111 and got outrighted to the minors. As mentioned, he was traded to the Dodgers and got some time filling in for Smith. In his 58 plate appearances, he hit .224/.309/.327, somewhat similar to his 2024 production. Teams clearly view him as a useful depth catcher but what remains to be seen is if he can hold onto a roster spot or if he can be passed through waivers.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

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