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Tigers Sign Four Pitchers To Minor League Deals

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December 19th: Guenther will make $787K if he cracks the roster, per Petzold.

December 18th: The Tigers have made a handful of depth additions in the past few days. Relievers Jack Little and Sean Guenther return on minor league contracts after being non-tendered, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. They’re adding left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus on a minor league deal that’d pay him at a $1.3MM rate if he makes the big league roster, reports Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press. Righty reliever Cole Waites will also be in camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a minor league deal last week, as first reported by Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston.

Guenther is the only of the four pitchers who has appeared in a game for the Tigers. The left-hander has pitched 31 1/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball over the past two seasons. He didn’t miss enough bats to support the excellent run prevention mark and has been an up-and-down middle reliever. Guenther missed the final three months of the ’25 season working back from hip surgery. Detroit used the non-tender deadline to drop him from the 40-man roster with an eye towards bringing him back on a minor league contract.

They did the same thing with Little, whom they’d claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh a couple weeks earlier. The 27-year-old righty (28 in January) debuted with two appearances for the Dodgers this year. He spent the rest of the season in Triple-A, where he turned in a 4.06 ERA with a modest 20.2% strikeout percentage over 62 innings.

De Jesus, 29, returns to affiliated ball after two seasons in Korea. He spent a year apiece with the Kiwoom Heroes and the KT Wiz. De Jesus worked out of the rotation and posted a sub-4.00 ERA while starting 30 games in both seasons. He struck out 24% of opponents with a 3.81 earned run average in 335 combined frames. The Venezuela native pitched in two MLB games for the Marlins in 2023.

Waites also most recently appeared in the big leagues two years ago. He allowed seven runs in eight innings for the Giants between 2022-23. He underwent elbow surgery late in the ’23 season and has missed most of the past two seasons. The 27-year-old Waites owns a 4.46 ERA in 43 career appearances at the Triple-A level.

The Opener: Holiday Rush, Starting Pitching Free Agents, Murakami

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Here are three things we’re keeping an eye on going into the final weekend before the holiday break…

1. Last-minute shopping?

The hot stove tends to slow down a bit around the holidays and Christmas is on Thursday next week. Will that spur teams and players to get some things done before the shops close? Already this morning, before this post could even go up, the Padres agreed to a deal with Sung Mun Song and the Phillies traded Matt Strahm to the Royals for Jonathan Bowlan.

2. Rotation market moving?

The starting pitching section of free agency has been moving a bit slower than other segments. The Blue Jays quickly snapped up Dylan Cease but then things went quiet for a few weeks. Things have seemingly picked up a bit, as Michael King, Merrill Kelly, Dustin May and Adrian Houser have come off the board in the past week. Tatsuya Imai, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Zac Gallen and others are still out there and could perhaps see their markets pick up.

3. Ticking clock for posted players.

Players coming from NPB or KBO who are posted for MLB clubs only have a set amount of time to negotiate deals. Song got a deal done just before his posting window was set to close. Munetaka Murakami is now the one with the least amount of sand in the hourglass, as his posting window closes on December 22nd. Imai and Kazuma Okamoto have until early January but might want to get something done before the holidays.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

Royals Acquire Matt Strahm

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The Royals are acquiring left-hander Matt Strahm in a trade with the Phillies, according to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that right-hander Jonathan Bowlan is headed to Philadelphia in return for Strahm’s services. The clubs have subsequently announced the trade.

It’s a reunion for Strahm and the Royals, as Kansas City drafted the lefty in the 21st round of the 2012 draft. Strahm made his big league debut for the Royals in 2016 and spent parts of two seasons with the club before being shipped to the Padres in a six-trade alongside Travis Wood and Esteury Ruiz in order to acquire Trevor Cahill, Brandon Mauer, and Ryan Buchter. Strahm had a career 3.81 ERA and 4.12 FIP in 56 2/3 innings at the time of the trade. He’ll now return to Kansas City nearly a decade later with more than 500 MLB innings and an All-Star appearance under his belt.

Much of Strahm’s tenure with the Padres was fraught with injuries and ineffectiveness, but a solid season with Boston back in 2022 convinced the Phillies to bring him into the fold. Since arriving in Philadelphia, the lefty has emerged as one of the league’s most effective relievers. He has a 2.71 ERA in 212 2/3 innings of work over the past three years with a 2.82 FIP and a 3.01 SIERA. That’s the eighth-most innings of any pitcher with ten starts or fewer over the past three seasons, and among qualified relievers his ERA ranks 10th, his FIP ranks 15th, and his SIERA ranks 21st.

That’s an elite combination of quality and quantity that virtually any bullpen would benefit from adding, and the Royals are no exception. Strahm figures to join closer Carlos Estevez and righty Lucas Erceg at the back of the Kansas City bullpen to create the best late-inning trio the Royals have had since the 2015 club’s “three-headed monster” of Greg Holland, Wade Davis, and Kelvin Herrera. With solid arms like Nick Mears, John Schreiber, and Daniel Lynch IV set to cover the middle innings, it’s not hard to imagine the Royals entering 2025 with one of the stronger top-to-bottom bullpens in the American League thanks to this trade.

The loss of Strahm will surely sting for the Phillies somewhat, but the club remains fairly well set up in terms of their late-inning mix. Jhoan Duran remains one of the league’s top closers, and the recently-acquired Brad Keller was one of the top setup men in the majors last year with the Cubs. From the left side, Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks should form a quality duo, and Alvarado in particular has offered elite production in the past. Strahm’s name has long been in trade rumors this winter, and clearing his $7.5MM salary off the books could help the Phillies in the pursuit of a reunion with catcher J.T. Realmuto or help them to afford the addition of another outfielder, who could help contribute alongside Brandon Marsh, Adolis Garcia, and top prospect Justin Crawford.

Aside from the financial incentive to make the trade, the Phillies will also receive the services of Bowlan, a 29-year-old righty who made his big league debut in 2023 but just got his first extended look in the majors last year. Bowlan pitched quite well across 44 1/3 innings for Kansas City in 2025, posting a 3.86 ERA with a 3.97 FIP in that time. He struck out 25.6% of his opponents with a 9.4% walk rate and a solid 48.7% ground ball rate. That ability to generate both strikeouts and grounders should make Bowlan an effective, low-cost addition to a Phillies pen that has plenty of solid options in the late innings but has plenty of spots still fairly unsettled. With less than one year of service time under his belt, Bowlan can be controlled through the end of the 2031 season, affording Philadelphia the opportunity to bring in an arm that could be part of their relief mix for years to come.

Padres To Sign Sung-Mun Song

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The Padres are in agreement with infielder Sung Mun Song on a contract, according to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided. According to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, it’s a three-year deal that guarantees Song around $13MM.

Song, 29, has broken out in a big way over his last two seasons playing for the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. After typically being a slightly below average hitter by that league’s standards in the early years of his career, Song exploded with a .340/.408/.518 (143 wRC+) slash line across 602 plate appearances during the 2024 season. He flashed 20/20 potential at the plate and walked at a career-high 10.6% clip while primarily playing third base for the Heroes. He followed up on that season with an even better year in 2025, as he slashed .315/.387/.530 (151 wRC+) with 26 homers, 25 steals, and 37 doubles in 646 trips to the plate.

Those dominant back-to-back campaigns in the KBO league were enough to convince Song to try his hand in the majors, and the Heroes made Song’s goal a reality when they posted him for MLB clubs last month. That opened a 30-day window (set to close on the 21st of December) for Song to negotiate with MLB clubs. Song has typically been viewed by scouts as a step below MLB Gold Glove winner Ha-Seong Kim, the best South Korean player to make the jump to the majors in recent years, and there’s been some debate about whether he’s more of a utility player or a proper starter at the big league level.

Song’s reported price tag is certainly affordable enough for the Padres to stomach in the event he’s more of a bench piece than a regular. A multi-year pact that pays Song less than $5MM annually figures to be quite affordable for San Diego; Jose Iglesias earned $3MM last year after being added to San Diego’s roster on a minor league deal to fill out the club’s bench mix. Song figures to fill a similar role this year to the one Iglesias held last season, chipping in around the infield and serving as a pinch-hitter.

While Song has primarily played third base throughout his career in the KBO league, that position is manned by Manny Machado in San Diego. Perhaps the Padres will look to get Machado occasional DH reps headed into his age-33 campaign, but aside from those occasional fill-in days Song figures to spend most of his time at first and second base, both of which are positions he logged significant time at in South Korea. Jake Cronenworth is currently slated to serve as San Diego’s second baseman next year, though his name has popped up in trade talks this winter. First base meanwhile, is unsettled after the departure of Luis Arraez. Gavin Sheets has some experience at the position but may be better suited for DH duties. As a result, first base could be Song’s best shot at regular reps, though it’s possible a trade of Cronenworth or the addition of a more traditional first base option like Paul Goldschmidt or Rhys Hoskins changes things.

The signing of Song comes just one day after the club agreed to reunite with right-hander Michael King on a three-year, opt-out laden contract. According to RosterResource, the Padres project for a payroll just under $217MM in 2026, with a payroll of nearly $258MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s before the addition of Song to the payroll, which at the currently reported numbers would push the team’s payroll up to around $221MM and around $262MM for luxury tax purposes. That would put them just barely below the second, $264MM luxury tax threshold for 2026.

If the Padres don’t want to go over that line, they would need to subtract salary from the roster to make virtually any more additions to the roster. That’s far from impossible, as rumors have percolated around not only Cronenworth but also players like right-hander Nick Pivetta and Ramon Laureano. A trade of Pivetta would save $20.5MM in 2026 and $13.75MM for luxury tax purposes. Cronenworth being dealt would save roughly $12.3MM in 2026 and $11.5MM for luxury tax purposes. Laureano wouldn’t save nearly as much money, as he’s due just $6.5MM next season on the final year of his contract.

Of course, it’s also possible the Padres simply stand pat from here, though doing so without adding another bat to the first base/DH mix would certainly be risky. Perhaps an addition on the trade market that comes with a lower financial cost could make some sense if San Diego neither wants to exceed the second luxury tax threshold nor trade salary to make room in the budget. Players like Triston Casas of the Red Sox and Mark Vientos of the Mets could potentially be available this winter and remain under affordable team control.

Padres To Re-Sign Michael King

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The Padres have an agreement to re-sign Michael King to a three-year contract with opt-outs after the first two seasons. The Excel Sports Management client is reportedly guaranteed $75MM.

He’ll receive a $12MM signing bonus and a $5MM salary for the 2026 season. He’d collect a $5MM buyout if he opts out of the remaining two years and $53MM. King would make $28MM in 2027 if he opts in and would then have a $30MM player option for the ’28 campaign. While the Padres have yet to announce the deal, he has reportedly already passed his physical.

It’s a surprise strike for a San Diego team that had seemed likely to lose King and Dylan Cease in free agency. It wasn’t clear whether they’d have the short-term spending capacity to keep either pitcher. While they were never expected to come close to the $210MM guarantee which Cease received, they’ll bring King back on a short-term deal to help a rotation that was their top priority.

The 2026 season will be the righty’s third in San Diego. The Padres acquired King as the centerpiece of their Juan Soto return over the 2023-24 offseason. He had run with a limited rotation opportunity late in his final season as a Yankee after years of strong work out of the bullpen. San Diego committed to him as a full-time starter and was rewarded with a career season.

King pitched to a 2.95 earned run average with 201 strikeouts over 173 2/3 innings. He finished seventh in NL Cy Young balloting and entered his walk year as a candidate for a nine-figure contract. He looked on his way to a $150MM+ deal after getting out to an even better beginning to the ’25 campaign. He turned in a 2.59 ERA while striking out 28.4% of batters faced over his first 10 starts.

The Padres scratched King from his outing on May 24 with stiffness in his throwing shoulder. Then-manager Mike Shildt initially framed it as a minor issue that arose when the pitcher slept awkwardly. It proved a much bigger problem. King went on the injured list with what the team called inflammation. They subsequently determined it was a nerve injury that came with a nebulous timeline. He wound up missing almost three months.

King made his return on August 9. He made one start before going back down with left knee inflammation. That cost him another month, and he wasn’t as effective when he made it back for good in September. King didn’t get beyond five innings in any of his final four starts. He gave up 10 runs over 15 2/3 innings. Most of the damage came in an eight-run drubbing at the hands of the Mets on September 16. King’s final two appearances were scoreless, but those came with an uninspiring 7:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Padres didn’t fully trust King going into October. They opted for Nick Pivetta, Cease, and Yu Darvish to start in their Wild Card Series loss to the Cubs. King’s only playoff action was one scoreless inning of relief in the decisive Game 3. He struck out three of four batters while averaging 95.6 MPH on his fastball. That was his highest single game velocity of the season. That’s to be expected during a one-inning appearance with the heightened adrenaline of a must-win game, but it was an encouraging sign for the health of his shoulder.

San Diego issued the $22.025MM qualifying offer. It was an easy call for King to decline in search of a multi-year deal. This arrangement functions as a bit of a pillow contract but with a much higher floor than the one-year QO would have provided. King would make $22MM if he opts out after one year. That result would be the same as if he’d accepted the qualifying offer.  The extra two guaranteed seasons afford him a lot more injury protection.

King’s guarantee technically falls just shy of MLBTR’s four-year, $80MM prediction. However, the higher average annual value and the opt-outs make this a stronger overall deal for the player. He’ll have a chance to return to free agency in advance of his age-32 season and cannot be tagged with another qualifying offer. A healthier season could position him for a four- or five-year contract.

Health is no small caveat. The ’24 campaign is the only time King has reached even 105 innings in a season. While that’s in part because the Yankees used him as a reliever, King missed extended stretches in 2021 (finger contusion) and ’22 (elbow fracture) in addition this year’s shoulder woes. The Padres are taking on some injury risk but get the upside of a potential top-of-the-rotation arm on a short-term deal.

King and Pivetta project as their top two starters. San Diego has reportedly discussed the latter in trade conversations but would need a huge return to move him. Joe Musgrove is back from Tommy John surgery and slots into the #3 rotation spot. They’ll be without Darvish for the entire season, so the final two starting jobs are up for grabs. Randy Vásquez and JP Sears lead the internal options, but the Padres could look for a cheaper back-end/swing type later in the winter. They’ll surely kick the tires on controllable arms in trade, as well, as both Pivetta and King can opt out.

San Diego’s projected payroll climbs to $218MM, as calculated by RosterResource. The backloaded nature doesn’t change the $25MM AAV used for luxury tax purposes. They’re up to a projected $259MM in tax commitments. They’ll exceed the $244MM base threshold for the second straight season. Repeat payors are taxed at a 30% rate for their first $20MM in overages. Re-signing King costs around $4.5MM in taxes.

The more significant development is that it moves them closer to the $264MM second tier, at which the rate climbs to 42%. The Padres had nearly $280MM in luxury tax commitments this year, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Their actual salary obligations were around $209MM, though, so it’s unclear how much more flexibility the front office has at its disposal. In addition to the need for a back-end starter, they should acquire another bat to plug in at first base or designated hitter and could use a better utility infielder than Will Wagner and Mason McCoy.

King’s deal is the second-largest of the offseason in what has been a slowly developing market for free agent starting pitchers. Cease is the only other starter who has signed for more than $40MM so far. The rotation market should pick up in the next few weeks. NPB star Tatsuya Imai needs to sign before his 45-day posting window closes on January 2. Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen join Imai as the top unsigned arms.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was first on the agreement, contract terms, and the note that the physical is already complete. Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images.

White Sox Expected To Hire Carlos Rodriguez As Assistant GM

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The White Sox are finalizing an agreement with Carlos Rodriguez to become an assistant general manager, reports James Fegan of Sox Machine. The team has yet to officially announce the news.

Rodriguez will join the Chicago organization after a 15-year run with the Rays. He had come up through  Tampa Bay’s international scouting ranks and eventually took the reins in that department. Rodriguez earned the AGM title over the 2021-22 offseason and had taken on a broader front office role over the past few years.

He stepped down at the end of the ’25 campaign to pursue other opportunities. The Rays promoted vice president of baseball process/strategy Hamilton Marx to fill the assistant GM vacancy. Marx will assume many of the international scouting responsibilities that Rodriguez had previously handled.

Fegan writes that Rodriguez is expected to have wide-ranging responsibilities. He’ll no doubt play a role in international operations but will also factor into the team’s decision-making on the MLB side. He’ll join Josh Barfield and Jin Wong as assistant general managers under front office leader Chris Getz.

Mets Re-Sign Kevin Herget To Minor League Deal

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The Mets are in agreement with reliever Kevin Herget on a minor league contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Paragon Sports International client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Herget returns to the organization after electing minor league free agency at the start of the offseason. The New Jersey native was on and off the roster a few times throughout the season. Herget pitched in six games as a Met and made one appearance for the Braves. He tossed 12 innings of five-run ball (four earned) with six strikeouts and three walks. The 34-year-old righty has worked 55 2/3 frames of 4.20 ERA ball over parts of four seasons.

A former 39th-round draftee, Herget has spent eight seasons in Triple-A. He turned in a 3.09 earned run average across 46 2/3 innings there between the New York and Atlanta affiliates in 2025. He struck out an above-average 26.1% of opponents with a sub-6% walk rate. He’s a sensible depth pickup who can compete for a long relief role in camp.

Herget has exhausted his minor league option years. If the Mets call him up at any point, they’d need to keep him on the MLB roster or designate him for assignment.

Pirates Finalize Coaching Staff

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The Pirates officially announced their coaching staff this morning. Most of the hirings had been previously reported, but the Bucs announced a few new additions. Most notable is the hiring of Thomas Whitsett as an assistant pitching coach under Bill Murphy.

Whitsett has ties to Murphy from the Houston organization. He had coached in the Astros system as a pitching coordinator and was most recently their Triple-A pitching coach in 2024. Whitsett had come through the college ranks after working at the University of Arizona. This is his first job on a big league staff.

Murphy and Whitsett are two of five new hires as Don Kelly enters his first full season as manager. The additions of bench coach Kristopher Negrón and third base coach Tony Beasley were reported last month. Pittsburgh also promoted Triple-A manager Shawn Bowman to the title of MLB field coordinator.

Chris Truby gets the title of infield coach after working with the generic title of major league coach for most of the 2025 season. Matt Hague (hitting coach), Christian Marrera and Jonny Tucker (assistant hitting coaches), Tarrik Brock (first base coach) and Miguel Perez (bullpen coach) are all back in their previous roles.

John Means Suffers Achilles Rupture

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Free agent left-hander John Means suffered an Achilles rupture while working out this week, he announced on social media. He underwent successful surgery yesterday. Means didn’t specify a recovery timeline but seems likely to miss the entire 2026 season.

It’s another devastating injury for a former All-Star whose career has been sidetracked by health issues. Means has made a total of 10 MLB appearances since the end of the 2021 season. He required Tommy John surgery early in ’22 and was sidelined until the following September. Means made it back for four regular season starts but missed the postseason because of renewed elbow soreness. That was an unfortunate precursor to a second elbow surgery, which he underwent after four starts in 2024.

Means has not appeared in the big leagues since then. He signed a $1MM contract with the Guardians last offseason. That came with a $6MM club option that gave Cleveland some upside if Means progressed well late in the season. He did make it onto the mound as part of a minor league rehab assignment but showed some understandable rust. Cleveland passed on the option and sent him back to free agency.

Making matters worse, Means said in his announcement that he was closing in on a contract with an unnamed team. That’s not going to go through now, though it’s possible his camp could look for a two-year minor league deal with an eye towards battling for a roster spot in Spring Training 2027. He’ll be approaching his 34th birthday by then and six years removed from his last mostly healthy season — a ’21 campaign in which he pitched to a 3.62 ERA across 26 starts for the Orioles.

Blue Jays To Sign Jorge Alcala To Minor League Deal

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The Blue Jays and right-hander Jorge Alcala have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH. The Nova Sports Agency client will also receive an invite to big league camp in spring training.

The Jays and Alcala will be looking for a bounceback. He has had some major league success but 2025 was a poor season for him. He bounced from the Twins to the Red Sox and Cardinals this year, tossing 55 innings between those three clubs, allowing 6.22 earned runs per nine. His 23.7% strikeout rate was decent but he walked 11.7% of batters faced and allowed 13 home runs.

The Cards could have retained him for 2026 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting Alcala for a $2.1MM salary next year. Unsurprisingly, his poor campaign prompted them to move on. He was non-tendered and became a free agent, which allowed the Jays to get him on this deal.

Looking further into the past, there are more reasons for optimism. Over 2020 and 2021, he tossed 83 2/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.55 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. He averaged over 97 miles per hour on his four-seamer. He recorded one save and 11 holds for the Twins.

The next two seasons were mostly washed out. Alcala spent significant time on the injured list due to various arm issues in 2022 and 2023. He only tossed 19 2/3 big league innings over those two years combined. He bounced back in 2024 by pitching 58 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.24 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate. His four-seamer averaged 98 mph as he recorded another 15 holds.

The Jays have made a few moves to add to their bullpen this offseason. They signed Tyler Rogers, acquired Chase Lee from the Tigers and selected Spencer Miles from the Giants in the Rule 5 draft. Alcala gives them a bit of extra depth without taking up a roster spot.

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

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