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White Sox To Sign Austin Hays

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2026 at 8:42am CDT

The White Sox have agreed to a deal with outfielder Austin Hays, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports. Hays is represented by the MAS+ Agency.

Earlier today, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that Hays was “said to be deciding this weekend” about his next landing spot, and Heyman listed the White Sox (along with the Padres, Cubs, Tigers, and Rangers) as one of the teams who had showed some level of interest in Hays at some point during the offseason. The Athletic’s Zack Meisel also wrote that the Guardians “put out feelers on” Hays, and previous reports this winter linked the Royals, Reds, Mets, Yankees, and Cardinals to Hays’ market.

More to come…

Diamondbacks Sign Junior Fernandez To Minor League Contract

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2026 at 7:51am CDT

The Diamondbacks released their list of Spring Training invites, and right-hander Junior Fernandez is one of the names attending Arizona’s big league camp. Fernandez inked his minor league deal with the D’Backs back in November, as per the righty’s MLB.com profile page.

It has been over three years since Fernandez last pitched in a Major League game. He had a brief stint with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2024 but his time in Japan was mostly spent recovering from injury. Beyond that cup of coffee in NPB, Fernandez pitched at the Triple-A level with the Blue Jays and Nationals in 2023, and with the Royals’ and Mets’ top affiliates last season. Over 43 combined Triple-A innings in 2025, Fernandez posted a 4.40 ERA and a very impressive 29.5% strikeout rate, but also an inflated 14% walk rate.

This has essentially been the story of Fernandez’s career, as his control problems have kept him from maximizing his upper-90’s velocity. At the MLB level, Fernandez has continued to issue walks but hasn’t been able to miss many bats — he has a 5.17 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate, and 13.9% walk rate over 54 big league innings with the Cardinals and Pirates from 2019-2022.

Fernandez turns 29 in March, and it remains to be seen if he still has any late-bloomer potential. Since his type of velocity isn’t easy to find, it’s easy to see why the D’Backs and other teams keep Fernandez chances, and there’s no risk for Arizona in bringing him to camp and seeing if a fix can finally be found for the right-hander’s command issues. A non-roster deal for Fernandez obviously won’t address Arizona’s stated need for bullpen help, but finding a hidden gem would be a huge boost to the team’s relief corps.

Twins Announce “Mutual” Parting Of Ways With President Of Baseball Ops Derek Falvey

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 11:59pm CDT

In a stunning and out-of-the-blue announcement, the Twins on Friday parted ways with longtime president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. General manager Jeremy Zoll will ascend from the team’s No. 2 spot on the baseball operations hierarchy to the top position (though his title is not changing). Executive chair Tom Pohlad offered the following statement within today’s press release:

“Over the past several weeks, Derek and I had thoughtful and candid conversations about leadership, structure, and the future of the club. We reached a shared understanding that the needs of the organization are evolving and that a leadership transition is the best way to move forward. I want to thank Derek for everything he has contributed to this organization. When he joined the Twins nine years ago, it was, in many ways, a watershed moment for this franchise. His leadership was transformational. He helped modernize every aspect of our baseball operations and led with strong values, intention, and purpose. Derek created a culture grounded in learning and in the belief that organizations grow when people grow. Under his leadership, the Twins captured three division titles and made four postseason appearances. We are grateful for his dedication, his integrity, and the impact he made here.”

Falvey offered his own statement:

“Following a series of thoughtful conversations with Tom that began after the ownership transition and progressed over the past few weeks, we both agreed this was the right time for us to part ways. Ownership transitions naturally create moments for reflection and honest dialogue about leadership, vision, and how an organization wants to move forward. Over the past several weeks we had those conversations openly and constructively and ultimately reached a shared understanding that this was the right step both for the organization and for me personally. … On a personal level, I’m looking forward to taking some time to be with my family, reflect and consider what comes next. I don’t have specific plans yet, but I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had here and excited about the next chapter when the time is right.”

Falvey was hired to lead Minnesota’s baseball operations following the 2016 season. Originally given the title of “chief baseball officer,” he hired Thad Levine — who stepped down and left the Twins last offseason — as general manager underneath him. That pairing led the Twins for the next eight years, with Falvey twice being extended and eventually being given the “president of baseball operations” moniker.

Last winter, after Levine left the club, the Twins announced that Zoll would be elevated to the GM position. Falvey stayed on as the president of baseball operations and actually took on an even larger role, picking up president of business operations Dave St. Peter’s responsibilities when St. Peter stepped down and moved into an advisory role. The dual president titles for Falvey seemed to make him entrenched with the Twins for the long haul; to see him not only cede baseball operations oversight but leave the club entirely just 15 months later is genuinely shocking.

Of course, quite a bit has changed with the Twins since Falvey’s ascension to president of baseball and business operations. St. Peter’s decision to step down came not long after the Pohlad family announced its intent to explore a sale of the team. The Twins thought they had a buyer lined up in Justin Ishbia, co-owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and a minority owner of the division-rival White Sox. Momentum toward that sale fell through, however, when the White Sox offered Ishbia a path to increase his stake in the club and eventually purchase the majority stake from current owner Jerry Reinsdorf (several years down the road).

The Twins never found a buyer for the majority share of the club, due largely to reported debt in excess of $400MM (on top of what was said to be a $1.7 billion asking price). Instead, they welcomed in a trio of minority stakeholders who purchased their shares at that $1.7 billion valuation, thereby cleaning up a significant portion (if not the entirety) of the debt. Craig Leipold, owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, was the most recognizable name among the new stakeholders.

The Pohlad family retained majority ownership of the team, continuing its four-decade run, but there were still changes made. Joe Pohlad, the nephew of predecessor Jim Pohlad and grandson of the late Carl Pohlad (who originally purchased the team in 1984), was removed from his position as executive chair after just three years. Tom, his older brother, assumed the executive chair role and was approved by the league as the team’s new control person. He’s now temporarily assuming Falvey’s duties as president of business operations, though this morning’s press release indicates that the Twins will immediately commence a search to bring in a new president for the business side of their operations.

The Twins have had an up-and-down run in the American League Central during Falvey’s time as their baseball operations leader. On the surface, parting with the president of baseball operations after a 92-loss season and in the midst of an ownership shakeup doesn’t sound all that surprising. And, had this move taken place immediately following the season, it presumably would not have been all that eye-opening.

However, the timing of the move makes it borderline unprecedented. Teams don’t make baseball operations shifts of this magnitude two weeks before spring training commences and when the heavy lifting of an offseason has (presumably) already taken place. As The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman notes, the Twins just held their annual media luncheon one week ago; Falvey was the keynote speaker.

Further details and comments from Twins brass will surely continue to filter out in the days, weeks and months to come. It’s not yet clear whether the change in baseball operations leadership will prompt a change of trajectory with regard to the roster. Falvey has previously been vocal about his desire to keep stars Byron Buxton, Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, even after last July’s deadline sell-off. One would assume he and Zoll were aligned on that front, but it’s at least possible now that a different lead voice will give way to a different strategy. If nothing else, other clubs are going to circle back to check in with Zoll about the potential availability of those veterans (and, presumably, catcher Ryan Jeffers, who is entering his final season of club control).

On the other side of the coin, Minnesota’s payroll currently projects for just $108MM, per RosterResource. That’s about $30MM shy of last year’s levels and miles below the club-record payroll from 2023, when the Twins approached $160MM. Ownership isn’t going to push spending back to that level, but it’s possible that Zoll is more amenable to bringing in further veteran pieces than his former boss was.

In the immediate aftermath of the leadership shuffle, there’s no clear way to glean just what the change will mean for the Twins’ roster, but today’s announcement stands as the latest development in what has been the most tumultuous two-year stretch for the Twins organization since they were nearly contracted in the early 2000s.

Athletics Extend Jacob Wilson

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 11:58pm CDT

The A’s have extended another member of their young core, announcing a seven-year contract, plus a club option for an eighth year, for shortstop Jacob Wilson. The PSI Sports Management client will reportedly be guaranteed $70MM.

Wilson, 23, was the sixth overall pick in the draft in 2023. He made his big league debut with a late cup of coffee the following season but broke out as an All-Star in 2025. The second-generation star — his father is longtime Pirates infielder Jack Wilson — finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind his own teammate, Nick Kurtz. Wilson slashed .311/.355/.444 with 13 home runs, 26 doubles, five steals and a tiny 7.2% strikeout rate.

Wilson’s pure hit tool is nearly unrivaled. Among the 560 big leaguers who took even 40 plate appearances this past season, his 7.5% strikeout rate was the second-lowest, behind multi-time batting champion Luis Arraez. Like Arraez, the quality of contact when Wilson puts the ball in play is generally not great. He averaged just 84.6 mph off the bat with a paltry 2.2% barrel rate and 24.1% hard-hit rate. That penchant for weak contact hasn’t stopped him from racking up singles. His hitter-friendly home park in West Sacramento probably overstates his modest power, but Wilson did connect on six round-trippers away from Sutter Health Park and could be reasonably projected to hit around 10 homers per season.

Though he doesn’t post off-the-charts chase rates, Wilson does swing more often than the average hitter (both off the plate and within the zone). He’s an aggressive hitter whose preternatural bat-to-ball skills and frequent swings lead to plenty of early contact. That limited Wilson to just a 5.2% walk rate in his first full season, which is pretty well in line with the 5.9% walk rate he’s posted in his limited minor league time thus far. Even if he never posts a high walk rate, though, Wilson figures to continue posting strong on-base percentages simply due to his knack for collecting hits.

Defensive metrics don’t paint him in an especially favorable light at shortstop. He was dinged for minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-2 Outs Above Average in his first full season of shortstop work at the major league level. Statcast credits him with well above-average arm strength but below-average range.

An eventual move to second or third base might yield better defensive results, but that likely won’t happen until lauded prospect Leo De Vries pushes for a look at shortstop. He’s still only 19 years old with just 21 Double-A games under his belt, so at least for the time being, Wilson will be expected to reprise his role as the Athletics’ shortstop. Questions about his range have persisted since his prospect days, but scouting reports praise his solid hands and he showed a clear knack for flashy, acrobatic plays during his debut campaign.

The A’s already controlled Wilson for another five seasons. Today’s agreement locks in two free-agent years and gives the team an option over what would have been a third. Wilson wouldn’t have been arbitration-eligible until the 2027-28 offseason.

The seven-year, $70MM term aligns closely with but also surpasses recent extensions for Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar (seven years, $63.5MM) and Wilson’s own teammate, Lawrence Butler (seven years, $66.5MM) when both were in the same service bucket in which Wilson currently resides (between one and two years). His $70MM guarantee falls a bit shy of Michael Harris II’s $72MM deal over in Atlanta, but that was an eight-year pact compared to Wilson’s seven.

As can be seen in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker (available to Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers), Wilson’s extension stands as the eighth-largest guarantee ever made to a player with under two years of big league service. It’s the second-largest deal in Athletics franchise history, trailing only the recent seven-year $86MM extension for teammate Tyler Soderstrom, who scored a larger deal due to the fact that he has an extra year of service time over Wilson.

Wilson’s extension is the latest step in the Athletics’ ongoing effort to lock up their exciting core of position players. Wilson, Soderstrom, Butler and slugger Brent Rooker (five years, $60MM) have all put pen to paper on long-term deals over the past 15 months. The A’s picked up control of multiple free agent years for each of those players.

The A’s have yet to come to terms on a deal with the aforementioned Kurtz, whose price tag will surely be higher. Kurtz played in just 117 games and took 489 plate appearances but still bashed 36 home runs while logging a sensational .290/.383/.619 slash line (170 wRC+). Even if the A’s can’t come to terms on a long-term deal with the 2024 No. 4 overall pick, he’s under control for another five seasons. Plus, this slate of affordable long-term deals for his young teammates will make it easier to stomach what will surely be enormous arbitration paydays if Kurtz continues on his current trajectory.

With several young players now under contract for the long haul, the Athletics shouldn’t have to worry about any potential grievances regarding their use of revenue-sharing funds. The A’s reportedly needed to push their CBT payroll up to $105MM or more last winter or else face potential ramifications, but they’re now at $139MM in that regard, per RosterResource.

Impressive as the Athletics’ collection of young bats is, the team’s pitching still leaves plenty to be desired. They’ll hope to change that this coming season when top prospects like Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold make their climbs through the system. Both rank within the game’s top 50 or so prospects. Jump, a 2024 second-rounder, already reached Double-A this past season. Arnold has yet to throw a professional pitch, but the Florida State standout was one of the top arms in last year’s draft class, coming off the board with the No. 11 pick.

The Athletics still have another two seasons to play in West Sacramento before their targeted 2028 move to their new home on the Las Vegas strip. So long as the group of Wilson, Soderstrom and Butler remain healthy, the A’s should have an exciting young core to market as they look to attract new fans in their new home.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and the terms of the contract.

Is Anyone Even Trying To Win The AL Central?

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 11:56pm CDT

Yet another offseason of hyperaggressive spending and mind-boggling CBT payrolls from the Dodgers and Mets (and, this winter, the Blue Jays) has led to increased talk of competitive balance ahead of the impending conclusion of the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement. Owners are again expected to push for a salary cap -- though that's a perpetual goal and would absolutely have been the case regardless of how the usual suspects spent in free agency this winter -- and they'll have plenty of fan support in that regard.

Fans, particularly those of small market teams, feel a clear sense of defeatism, knowing their clubs will rarely (or in some cases never) be players for the top names in free agency. The Dodgers were close enough to losing in the World Series that it's not fair to say they can freely buy themselves a championship -- the Mets spent more in 2025 and missed the postseason entirely -- but it's fair to say they're spending enough to give themselves something like a 95% chance of making the postseason and entering as the favorite.

The other side of the cap argument, of course, is that it would assuredly usher in the implementation of a salary floor -- a level at which teams must spend on payroll or else be subject to some degree of penalization. There's already a weak "floor" in place for revenue-sharing clubs, but it seems to lack any semblance of teeth. The A's felt compelled to spend enough to push their CBT payroll up to $105MM last year -- roughly 1.5 times the amount they receive annually from revenue-sharing -- but that was seemingly because they're the only club to have been actually stripped of revenue-sharing status in the past. The Marlins were supposedly in the same boat this winter, and they've thumbed their nose at the idea of spending, as evidenced by a CBT payroll in the $80MM range.

I can see the arguments for a cap/floor system. I'm skeptical that it would actually force the game's lowest-payroll clubs to spend in meaningful ways, but that's another topic -- and one that we'll surely debate ad nauseum in the year to come as CBA talks intensify.

But whether it's a salary floor, firm penalties for not spending revenue-sharing funds in tangible ways, or greater access to draft/international resources for non-playoff clubs who remain competitive, something has to give. Right now, there's at least one entire division content to sit on its hands as the five respective front offices seemingly embody that same level of defeatism felt by their small- and mid-market fan bases.

If the Dodgers are a budding dynasty, it's unequivocally fair to say that's in part because of their limitless spending capacity. But it's also because there are teams seemingly content to throw their hands up and ask, "why even bother?" At a certain point, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy -- and I'd argue that at least with regard to the AL Central, we've reached that point. Let's look at each AL Central club's offseason to date.

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Giants Notes: Lee, Matos, Rotation, Closer

By Anthony Franco | January 30, 2026 at 11:51pm CDT

The Giants officially announced their two-year deal with Harrison Bader on Friday afternoon. President of baseball operations Buster Posey and general manager Zack Minasian conducted a conference call with the beat to introduce their new outfielder.

Posey confirmed that Bader will be the everyday center fielder, a move that pushes Jung Hoo Lee into right field on most days (link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). It doesn’t appear the incumbent center fielder had any issue with the change. “Jung Hoo was great,” Posey said of his reaction to the signing. “Also there’s an understanding on our end and to Jung Hoo that there’s a chance that he could still be getting reps in center field. But our plan is to have Bader playing center field.”

Lee had a decent amount of right field experience in Korea. He has played exclusively up the middle over his two seasons in the majors. Lee’s physical tools are strong. He’s an above-average runner with plus arm strength. His first step and routes weren’t as polished, and defensive metrics weren’t fond of his overall work. Statcast graded him five runs below average, while Defensive Runs Saved had him a glaring 18 runs worse than an average center fielder. No player had a worse DRS mark at the position.

The 27-year-old should grade more favorably in his new position. He’s a much better athlete than most corner outfielders. There’ll still be plenty of ground to cover in home games thanks to Oracle Park’s massive right-center gap. The move to a corner will put a little more pressure on the bat. Lee is coming off a solid but unspectacular .266/.327/.407 slash across 617 plate appearances. That’s much better than the .241/.303/.395 league mark for center fielders but lands more middle-of-the-pack in right, where the average player batted .247/.319/.422 last year.

Right field was the biggest weak point in the San Francisco lineup. After they traded Mike Yastrzemski at the deadline, their right fielders hit .202/.249/.376 across 194 plate appearances. Drew Gilbert projects as a fourth or fifth outfielder. Luis Matos was a well-regarded prospect but hasn’t found much success on either side of the ball over three MLB seasons. Matos is out of minor league options and will be a player to watch in camp, as he’ll either need to win a bench job or be taken off the 40-man roster.

Pushing Lee to right field leaves second base as the last potential position of need. The Giants have looked for upgrades over Casey Schmitt, with reports tying them to various trade targets (e.g. Brendan Donovan, Nico Hoerner, CJ Abrams). Posey declined to go into specifics in response to a question about trading for a second baseman, but that appears to be a bigger priority than further augmenting the rotation. The Giants stayed away from the top of the market, instead signing back-end arms Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser to short-term deals.

Even as Framber Valdez remains unsigned, Posey downplayed the desire to add another starter. “We’re happy with our rotation right now, with some of the adjustments that Houser made last year, and we feel like Mahle is in a good place physically,” he said (relayed by John Shea of The San Francisco Standard). “You’re never going to close doors, but we feel good with the group that we have.”

They’ve taken a similar approach to the bullpen despite losing key contributors Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers and Randy Rodríguez (the latter to Tommy John surgery) from last season. They’ve taken one-year fliers on Sam Hentges and Jason Foley, both of whom are returning from shoulder surgeries. There’ll be plenty of high-leverage innings available as first-year manager Tony Vitello evaluates the group. That extends to the closer role. Ryan Walker has the most ninth-inning experience of their relievers but is coming off an uneven year.

Walker tells Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle that he’s hoping to win the job, though it seems like it’ll be an open competition in Spring Training. “As we sit here today, I think we’re hoping that Ryan Walker can get back to his 2024 form. But without discussing it with Tony in depth, I guess the way that I would see it now is that we’ll see who steps up,” Posey told reporters (including Slusser). “We’re not coming into this season necessarily with one guy that we say, ‘You are going to be the closer.’ There’s a chance that somebody takes the reins and does slot in to that closer role as we get into the season, but right now I wouldn’t say that there’s one person that we’re targeting for the ninth inning.”

Hall: D-Backs Continuing To Pursue First Base, Pitching Help

By Anthony Franco | January 30, 2026 at 10:32pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have spent the offseason pursuing pitching while looking for a right-handed hitting first baseman to pair with Pavin Smith. Those remain targets as Spring Training approaches, team president Derrick Hall reiterated this morning.

“There’s enough opportunity out there that we can still see a move or two that can impact our team,” Hall said at a charity golf event on Friday (links via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com and Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic). The team president added the front office is “still trying to find another complementary first baseman, and I think we can still look to improve our pitching, both starting and relievers, but we still have some moves to make. We’re not done.”

None of that comes as a surprise since it aligns with reporting about the team’s plans over the winter, yet it’s notable that a high-ranking executive went on record to predict another acquisition. It seems they’re looking more at supplementary pickups, at least via free agency. General manager Mike Hazen said last week that the team didn’t have the budget space to spend on established high-leverage relievers on the open market. “We still have some room,” Hall said today of the club’s financial picture. “But for a big splash, we’re probably going to have to get creative, or look to move money if we’re going to do something really big.”

Although there aren’t many marquee players available as February nears, Zac Gallen remains unsigned. He rejected a qualifying offer in November and is one of two unsigned qualified free agents, along with Framber Valdez. There’s been some chatter that the Diamondbacks could circle back with Gallen, but that hasn’t seemed all that likely since the club brought Merrill Kelly back on a two-year deal that pays $20MM annually. Even if he settles for a two-year contract with an opt-out, Gallen would probably take them beyond their comfort zone unless owner Ken Kendrick makes an exception for a pitcher with whom he’s familiar.

Hall loosely alluded to the possibility of shedding money on the trade market, but there aren’t many clear ways to do that without subtracting key players from the roster. They cut off Ketel Marte talks and wouldn’t consider trading Corbin Carroll or Geraldo Perdomo. They’re one season into a five-year extension for Brandon Pfaadt. He’s only making $3MM this year, and the rotation is thin enough that they wouldn’t be inclined to sell low on him either way.

They’re not shedding the Corbin Burnes contract midway through rehab from Tommy John surgery. Teams aren’t going to take on any significant portion of the Eduardo Rodriguez or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. deals. No one in their arbitration class is making even $4MM. Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel or Alek Thomas are all coming off down years but play positions of need and wouldn’t move the needle much from a salary perspective.

Hazen suggested last week that they could turn to the trade market for relief help, though the biggest factor will be the injury recoveries for A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez. It’d be easier to find the short side platoon first baseman for cheap via free agency. A reunion with Paul Goldschmidt has made sense all winter. Rhys Hoskins, Wilmer Flores, Ty France, Carlos Santana and Justin Turner are also unsigned.

Dodgers Rotation Notes: Snell, Yamamoto, Sasaki

By Anthony Franco | January 30, 2026 at 9:15pm CDT

The Dodgers have made free agent moves in the lineup (Kyle Tucker) and bullpen (Edwin Díaz) to further load up the sport’s best roster. They’ve mostly sat out the rotation, confident in their internal arms.

L.A.’s pitching staff has carried heavy workloads on their runs to consecutive World Series. Jack Harris of The California Post writes that the club plans to keep a close eye on their veteran arms early in the season. That’s particularly true of Blake Snell, who tells Harris that he delayed his offseason throwing program after feeling “exhausted” at the end of the Fall Classic. The two-time Cy Young winner added that while he’s hopeful of being ready for Opening Day, that’s not a guarantee since the team is more focused on making sure he doesn’t put too much stress on his arm in camp.

Snell is among the three to five most talented pitchers in MLB. He’s dominant when healthy but availability has never been his strong suit. Snell has a pair of 180-inning campaigns but hasn’t reached even 130 frames in any of his other seven full seasons. Last year, he missed more than three months between April and the beginning of August with a shoulder issue. He was limited to 11 starts and 61 1/3 innings during the regular season.

He was around when it mattered most, logging 34 innings of 3.18 ERA ball during the World Series run. Snell started one game apiece in the Wild Card Series, Division Series and Championship Series. He worked at least six innings in each, including eight frames of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts in the first game of the NLCS, then came back for two more starts in the World Series.

Snell went five innings in Game 1 and logged 6 2/3 frames in Game 5. He gave up five runs and took the loss in both, but he came back on two days rest for his most important outing of the season. Snell logged an inning and a third out of the bullpen in Game 7, keeping a 4-3 deficit at one run to set up Miguel Rojas’ game-tying homer before coming back for the start of the bottom of the ninth.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto nevertheless outshone Snell in the Fall Classic. He deservedly took home Series MVP honors after getting the win in three of L.A.’s four victories. Yamamoto tossed consecutive complete games in Games 2 of the NLCS and World Series. He went six innings in Game 6, then came back on zero rest for 2 2/3 frames and 34 pitches as the decider went into extras. Yamamoto’s arm was so fatigued by the end of that game that he couldn’t lift his MVP trophy above his head without help from teammates.

Yamamoto won’t have the luxury of a slow spring buildup, as he has already signed on to try to help Japan defend their World Baseball Classic title. He’ll need to be ready for competitive game action when the tournament gets underway on March 6. Shohei Ohtani is also on the Japanese roster, though the team hasn’t announced whether he’ll pitch in the tournament.

Roki Sasaki is not expected to play in the WBC. His first major league season was up and down. He only made 10 appearances and logged 36 1/3 MLB innings during the regular season. Sasaki was out between April and September with a shoulder impingement. The Dodgers used him in short relief in the playoffs. Sasaki managed 10 2/3 innings of one-run ball despite walking five while recording only six strikeouts.

The Dodgers have maintained they view Sasaki as a starter going into 2026. Manager Dave Roberts reiterated as much when speaking with The California Post’s Dylan Hernandez this week, albeit with the note that he’d like the talented young righty to better develop his third pitch. Sasaki used his fastball half the time and his trademark splitter on around a third of his offerings last year. He used a low-80s breaking ball at roughly a 16% clip.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman appeared on Dodgers Territory this week and downplayed Sasaki’s need for a third pitch to an extent. “He was able to dominate in NPB with two pitches and frankly, I think he could here as well with being able to execute at a higher level,” Friedman said. “Last year, his delivery was out of whack, velocity was down a little bit. So it’s either adding that third pitch or elevating the pitch-making ability.”

Sasaki’s fastball was in the upper-90s and routinely touched triple digits in Japan. He averaged a solid but more pedestrian 96.1 MPH during his rookie season in the majors. Better health will hopefully lead to an uptick in stuff in year two. Sasaki projects as the fifth or sixth starter in a rotation that would likely also comprise Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan if everyone is available on Opening Day. River Ryan, Gavin Stone and Kyle Hurt should all be back from surgeries that cost them the ’25 season and are talented depth arms on the 40-man roster.

Poll: Will The A’s Add To Their Rotation This Winter?

By Nick Deeds | January 30, 2026 at 7:45pm CDT

The A’s made significant (at least by their standards) efforts to field a more competitive team last year. With talented youngsters in the majors and coming up from the minors, the club augmented the pitching staff with moves to add players like Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, and Jose Leclerc to the fold. Those moves, generally speaking, did not work out especially well and a brutal first half helped lead to the team trading Mason Miller to San Diego. Losing Miller from the team’s core is a massive blow, but that didn’t stop the team’s young hitters (particularly Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, and Jacob Wilson) from joining Brent Rooker to fill out the bones of a legitimate lineup down the stretch and keep the Athletics relevant ahead of their second year in Sacramento.

That’s led to an offseason that’s seen a bit more action, highlighted by the team’s successful trade for Jeff McNeil and a failed pursuit of Nolan Arenado. That the front office was willing to not only trade for Arenado, but take on more of his remaining contract than the Diamondbacks did, suggests at least some financial flexibility to make further additions. They’ve also remained active on the extension front, signing Soderstrom and Wilson to the two largest contracts in franchise history.

With the lineup looking as strong as it is, that would make the starting rotation a logical place to add. A’s starters were bottom four in the majors last year in terms of ERA, and their 4.93 FIP bested only Colorado. Their 808 1/3 innings from the rotation was also the sixth-fewest among MLB teams. Without Miller to help shoulder the load in the bullpen, improving the rotation seems like an obvious call for the team as they look to fight their way back into competitive relevance.

With that said, adding to the rotation could be easier said than done. Players have been generally hesitant to join the A’s given their ballpark situation. Sutter Health Park isn’t exactly major league caliber in the eyes of many MLB players, and if given the choice many would surely prefer playing elsewhere. What’s more, pitchers in particular might be hesitant to play there given how hitter-friendly the park played last year. Sutter Health’s Park Factor, according to Statcast, made it the second-most hitter friendly park in MLB last year behind Coors Field, with a substantial lead over third place (Comerica Park in Detroit). Between those challenges, lesser amenities as compared to most MLB ballparks, and the team’s uncertain ability to compete in a crowded AL West, pitchers might be hesitant about heading to Sacramento.

Fortunately, the A’s do have one thing benefiting them up their sleeve, and that’s the volume of starters still looking for teams. Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander, and Nick Martinez are among the biggest names left on the market, but there’s plenty of depth behind that group. Tomoyuki Sugano, Tyler Anderson, Jose Quintana, Marcus Stroman, and Patrick Corbin could be solid (if unspectacular) veteran innings eaters, while players like Walker Buehler, Jordan Montgomery, and German Marquez have shown real upside in the past and will be looking for the opportunity to bounce back this winter. (Montgomery is probably out until midseason after undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.) While some of those players might balk at the idea of pitching for the A’s, Spring Training is just a couple of weeks away and at least some of those players are surely hoping to avoid being caught without a team when pitchers and catchers report.

The A’s have not been publicly connected to the starting pitching market much this season. They’ve long been known to focus on trades rather than free agency due to the difficulties associated with selling free agents on joining the team, and most reporting about their trade pursuits has focused on the positional side of things. It’s possible the A’s are high enough on internal starting pitching options like Gunnar Hoglund, Henry Baez, Jacob Lopez, and Luis Medina that they aren’t willing to sacrifice the opportunity to give those young players a shot in order to bring in more proven talents with less upside. While adding to the rotation would surely help the team better contend in 2026, it’s not exactly a secret that the A’s main priority at this point is positioning themselves to do as well as they possibly can upon arriving in Las Vegas in 2028. Perhaps giving time to younger arms is the best way to accomplish that goal.

What do MLBTR readers think the A’s will end up doing? Will they manage to pull off a meaningful rotation addition? Or will they mostly head into Opening Day with the same group of young arms (plus Severino and Springs) that they have now? Have your say in the poll blow:

Phillies, Dylan Moore Agree To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | January 30, 2026 at 6:59pm CDT

The Phillies reached agreement with utilityman Dylan Moore on a minor league contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Klutch Sports client receives a non-roster invitation to MLB camp.

Moore is a veteran of seven big league seasons. He’d spent his entire MLB career with the Mariners until they released him last August. Moore signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and was quickly called up after Corey Seager needed an appendectomy. Moore spent the final month of the season on the MLB roster and appeared in 18 games as a Ranger.

That was a homecoming for the Central Florida product, who began his professional career as a seventh-round pick by the Rangers in 2015. Texas traded him to the Braves before he made it out of A-ball. Moore bounced around the minors before establishing himself in Seattle upon signing there as a minor league free agent.

A right-handed hitter, Moore has done the majority of his damage against left-handed pitching in his career. A .216 batting average against southpaws isn’t going to turn many heads, but he has walked at a 12% rate and has 28 homers in 819 career plate appearances with the platoon advantage. Moore didn’t produce against pitchers of either handedness last season, yet he was a decent role player for the majority of his time in the Pacific Northwest.

His offensive approach skews heavily toward the three true outcomes, particularly strikeouts and walks. Moore has a trio of double digit home run seasons and has stolen at least 11 bases in all but one year of his career. He’s not a burner but has generally done well to take extra bases when opportunities present themselves.

Moore will vie for a multi-positional role off Rob Thomson’s bench. He has experience everywhere on the diamond except catcher. He shouldn’t play much shortstop or center field but rates as a solid or better defender anywhere else. Edmundo Sosa will be the top utility infielder, while Otto Kemp has a similar defensive skillset to Moore and also hits right-handed. Depth outfielders Johan Rojas and Pedro León, plus non-roster invitee Bryan De La Cruz, also bat from that side. The Phils will have a lot of competition for potential platoon partners for Brandon Marsh and prospect Justin Crawford, who’ll go into camp with a good chance to win the center field job.

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