Merrill Kelly To Begin Season On Diamondbacks’ 15-Day IL
Back problems have limited Merrill Kelly to just two Spring Training outings, and thus it isn’t any surprise that Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo announced today that Kelly would start the season on the 15-day injured list. Lovullo told reporters (including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports) that the club’s starting five will consist of Zac Gallen, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Michael Soroka, and Brandon Pfaadt while Kelly recovers.
More to come….
Reese McGuire Opts Out Of Brewers Contract
The Brewers announced that catcher Reese McGuire has become a free agent after exercising an out clause in his minor league contract. Rather than an Article XX(B) free agent situation, this was a specific clause in McGuire’s deal, and Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that McGuire can return to the Brewers if he doesn’t sign elsewhere within the next 72 hours.
William Contreras has Milwaukee’s starting catching job on lock, and Gary Sanchez was signed to a guaranteed big league deal in February. The Sanchez signing was a major roadblock to McGuire’s chances of winning the backup job, plus highly-touted catching prospect Jeferson Quero is at Triple-A and is likely to make his MLB debut before 2026 is over.
This crowded depth chart made it unlikely McGuire would be breaking camp with the team, which is probably why this interesting release clause was negotiated into his contract in the first place. McGuire has over five years of big league service time and can’t be optioned to the minors without his permission, so this 72-hour window gives him some time to access his options before deciding whether or not to accept a trip to the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate.
Catching depth is enough of a need around baseball that McGuire could find another job on a team with a clearer path to MLB playing time. McGuire has a good reputation as a defensive catcher, and he has carved out an eight-year career with four different teams at the Major League level, including a 44-game stint with the Cubs last year that saw the backstop hit .226/.245/.444 with nine homers over 140 plate appearances. That little power surge in Wrigleyville was an outlier, as McGuire has hit only .242/.286/.352 over his last 1040 PA.
Brewers Option Logan Henderson, Blake Perkins
TODAY: Lockridge and Sproat have been told they’re making the Opening Day roster, as per Adam McCalvy.
MARCH 19: The Brewers made a few camp cuts on Thursday. Starter Logan Henderson, outfielder Blake Perkins, and corner bat Tyler Black were all sent out and will open the season with Triple-A Nashville.
Two weeks ago, Henderson had seemingly been well positioned for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. There are at least two jobs up for grabs after the Freddy Peralta trade and with Quinn Priester beginning the season on the injured list. The Brewers have rotation roles committed to Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick and (assuming he’s fully built up) Brandon Woodruff.
The 24-year-old Henderson was firmly in the mix after impressing over his first five MLB starts a year ago. His odds of breaking camp were set back when he reported minor elbow soreness last week. Henderson had finished the 2025 season on the injured list with elbow inflammation. The team didn’t consider this recent flareup especially alarming — he’s already throwing again — but he hasn’t appeared in a Spring Training game in two weeks.
Skipper Pat Murphy indicated the demotion is largely about giving Henderson a chance to build his workload in the minors. “Part of this move is to make sure he can go post regularly,” Murphy told reporters (link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). “We’re not going to immediately build him up to five innings. We’re going to let him go two innings and see how he responds, two innings and see how he responds. Just make sure he’s responding each time because he’s had (an injury) history.”
This probably paves the way for Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison to round out the rotation. Harrison left yesterday’s appearance with a blister, but it’s not expected to be an issue moving forward. Robert Gasser and Shane Drohan are also still in the mix, with Drohan having the far more impressive camp of those two.
Acquired from the Red Sox in the Caleb Durbin trade, Harrison has allowed 12 runs (eight earned) across 9 2/3 spring innings. That’s obviously not ideal, but he has struck out 15 opponents while averaging 95 mph on his fastball. Sproat came over from the Mets as part of the Peralta return. He has allowed five runs with a 10:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over nine innings.
In any case, the Brewers will lean heavily on their bullpen while frequently shuttling starters up and down from Nashville. There’s more clarity on the position player side, which is down to 14 a week before Opening Day. The final camp cut will almost certainly be third catcher Reese McGuire, a non-roster invitee.
McCalvy notes that the Perkins option means Brandon Lockridge is heading north with the club. The speedster won the fourth outfield role by hitting .314 with four homers and three steals in 12 games this spring. He’ll join Gary Sánchez, Jake Bauers and utility infielder David Hamilton on the season-opening bench.
Rangers Release Ryan Brasier
The Rangers announced that right-hander Ryan Brasier has been released from his minor league contract. As an Article XX(B) free agent, Brasier could use the first of three opt-out dates if Texas didn’t add him to its 40-man roster this weekend, and the Rangers have apparently chosen to let Brasier explore his options elsewhere.
The 38-year-old was having a tough time of it in camp, with a 7.36 ERA over 7 1/3 spring innings. It wasn’t specified if Brasier exercised his opt-out clause or if the Rangers just released him, yet it didn’t seem like there was much chance he would be part of the Opening Day bullpen.
Brasier has had plenty of ups and downs over a nine-season MLB career, with the highs including World Series rings with the 2018 Red Sox and 2024 Dodgers. His move to Los Angeles partway through the 2023 season seemed to get Brasier back on track, as he had a 1.89 ERA over 66 2/3 innings in a Dodgers uniform. L.A. still chose to designate Brasier for assignment and then trade him to the Cubs last winter, and Brasier posted a 4.50 ERA, 4.8% walk rate, and 19% strikeout rate over 26 innings for Chicago.
Groin problems limited Brasier’s playing time in 2025, and a calf strain also kept him on the injured list for a good chunk of the 2024 campaign. Between these health concerns, his so-so numbers with the Cubs, and his age, Brasier was limited to just the non-guaranteed deal with Texas this winter. He’ll probably have to settle for another minors contract in his next destination as well, as Brasier didn’t do much to boost his stock in Cactus League play.
Nationals Release Drew Smith
The Nationals announced that right-hander Drew Smith has been released. Smith signed a minor league deal last month, and the Nats had to make a decision by this weekend about including the righty on the 40-man roster, or else Smith could trigger the first of three built-in opt-out dates within his contract.
Smith hasn’t pitched in the majors or minors since June 2024, as a UCL surgery kept the veteran reliever in rehab and recovery mode for the entirety of the 2025 season. Back in November, the Mets declined their $2MM club option on Smith’s services for next year, sending him to free agency for the second straight winter. The minor league deal with Washington seemed to provide a good opportunity for Smith given the unsettled state of the Nats’ bullpen, and 5 1/3 scoreless innings this spring seemed to be boost for Smith’s bid for a roster spot.
Instead, the Nationals have decided to move on from the 32-year-old. It could be that the Nationals wanted to focus more on younger arms, or the timing of the opt-out clause forced the Nats into a decision they didn’t yet want to make about Smith’s status. As is sometimes the case with the Article XX(B) deadline, Smith could possibly re-sign with Washington on a fresh minors deal in a few days, with today’s release just a means to sidestep the first opt-out deadline and give the team a little more time to evaluate their options.
If Smith does test the market, he might well find some interest given his past track record with the Mets. Smith posted a 3.48 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, and 9.3% walk rate for New York over 196 1/3 innings from 2018-24. That walk rate spiked upward in 2023-24 but his 29.1K% in 2024 was also a career best, and Smith has pretty evenly solid numbers against both right-handed and left-handed batters over his career.
Phillies Acquire Carter Kieboom From Guardians
The Phillies have acquired infielder Carter Kieboom from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations, as reported by MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins shortly before the Guards officially announced the trade.
Kieboom signed a minor league deal with Cleveland during the offseason and had only a .512 OPS over 26 Spring Training plate appearances. Since Kieboom didn’t appear to be in the Guardians’ plans, the Phillies stepped in to trade for the 28-year-old, likely just as a depth option for Philadelphia at the Triple-A level.
At one point it seemed like Kieboom was going to be a prominent division foe for the Phillies, as the former first-rounder was a top-100 prospect during his time in the Nationals’ farm system. However, Kieboom just hasn’t produced against big league pitching, with just a .200/.297/.300 slash line to show for 516 career plate appearances in the Show. He didn’t play in the majors at all in 2024, and a minor league deal with the Angels last winter resulted in only three MLB games for Kieboom in 2025.
It is anyone’s guess if a late-career breakout of some kind may still be possible, but for now, Kieboom would be happy with sticking on a Major League roster in any capacity. Kieboom has primary been a corner infielder for the last few years with a handful of games at second base, so he could provide some utility infield depth should the Phillies ever have a need to select him to the 26-man roster.
Padres To Select Ty France’s Contract
The Padres have told first baseman Ty France that he has made the Opening Day roster, the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee reports. France will need to have his contract officially selected before the Padres take the field on March 26, but the team has an open space on its 40-man roster.
As per the terms of the minor league contract France signed last month, he’ll earn a $1.35MM salary for making San Diego’s roster. It also officially completes the full-circle nature of France’s signing, as he was drafted by the Padres (as a 34th-round pick) in 2015 and he broke into the majors with the club in 2019.
Now 31 years old, France returns to the Padres as the AL’s reigning Gold Glove winner at first base, and with a track record as a pretty solid regular during his time with the Mariners. Over the last two seasons, however, France’s offense has dipped to a subpar .245/.312/.363 over 1025 plate appearances with the Mariners, Twins, Mariners, and Blue Jays.
Some big numbers in camp helped France earn his spot on the 26-man, and his selection also just about ensures that Sung-Mun Song will begin the season on the 10-day injured list. Song has been battling oblique tightness and only resumed swinging a bat this past week, so he’ll need more time to get fully prepared for his debut in North American baseball.
Song’s injury created room for France, even if he’ll join a crowded first base picture. Gavin Sheets is ostensibly the starting first baseman but he probably won’t face much left-handed pitching, allowing room for France, Miguel Andujar, or newly-converted first baseman Nick Castellanos (all righty bats) to get playing time. The DH spot is also a revolving door in San Diego, giving the team more leeway in finding at-bats for all of these players.
As an Article XX(B) free agent, France has the ability to exercise the first of three opt-out dates in his minor league contract this weekend if the Padres didn’t add him to the 40-man roster. It isn’t known if France actually triggered his opt-out or if the Padres added him to the roster in advance of any decision, but the end result is that France is now sticking around in San Diego.
Orioles Option Dean Kremer To Minors
The Orioles trimmed their spring roster to 43 players with four more cuts today. The team announced that right-handers Hans Crouse, Nestor German, and Trey Gibson were all reassigned to the minor league camp, and in a much more surprising move, right-hander Dean Kremer was optioned to the minor league camp.
Kremer’s move was due to roster needs, rather than a reflection of his performance. Between Opening Day and April 10, the Orioles have three off-days, meaning that even a five-man rotation isn’t really needed for a team that had to choose between six starters. Trevor Rogers, Chris Bassitt, Kyle Bradish, and Shane Baz had four of those rotation spots covered, leaving Kremer and Zach Eflin as the likeliest candidates for the fifth starter’s job.
Eflin underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure last August, leaving his availability for Opening Day in question. The O’s felt good enough in Eflin’s overall health to sign the righty to a one-year, $10MM contract in December, and Eflin has progressed well enough in camp that a stint on the injured list no longer seems necessary.
It leaves Kremer as the odd man out, despite his solid work in Baltimore’s rotation over the last four seasons. The right-hander has a 3.95 ERA over 599 1/3 innings from 2022-25, with a 7.4% walk rate and 20.3% strikeout rate. Kremer is lacking in punchouts and velocity, but he has been a durable starter with mostly strong control, and he has been increasingly good at inducing soft contact over the last two years.
In all likelihood, Kremer will be back in the Show once the Orioles get onto a more regular schedule, or even earlier if an injury arises. It remains to be seen how Baltimore will deploy its starters over the course of the season or if a six-man rotation could eventually be used, but injuries or ineffectiveness usually end up solving any temporary pitching surpluses. For now, at least, the O’s are in the rare “good problem to have” position of too many healthy starters for too few rotation spots.
Offseason In Review: Houston Astros
Houston’s front office had a difficult task this offseason: acquire multiple starters despite limited payroll flexibility and one of the sport’s weakest farm system. They pulled that off, albeit at the cost of subtracting from an already thin outfield. They weren’t as successful in balancing a heavily right-handed lineup or figuring out how they’ll divide playing time in a crowded infield.
Major League Signings
- RHP Tatsuya Imai: Three years, $54MM plus $9.975MM posting fee to NPB’s Seibu Lions (deal allows Imai to opt out after ’26 or ’27 seasons)
- RHP Ryan Weiss: One year, $2.6MM (including buyout of ’27 club option)
- RHP Nate Pearson: One year, $1.35MM (arbitration eligible through ’27)
2026 commitments: $21.45MM in salary plus $9.975MM posting fee
Total future commitments: $57.95MM plus posting fee
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RHP Mike Burrows from Pirates in three-team trade sending OF Jacob Melton and minor league RHP Anderson Brito to Rays
- Traded 2B Mauricio Dubón to Braves for SS Nick Allen
- Traded OF Jesús Sánchez to Blue Jays for OF Joey Loperfido
- Acquired RHP Kai-Wei Teng from Giants for minor league C Jancel Villarroel
- Selected RHP Roddery Muñoz from Reds system in Rule 5 draft
Option Decisions
- None
Notable Minor League Signings
- CJ Alexander, Cavan Biggio, Sam Carlson, Tom Cosgrove, Peter Lambert, Anthony Maldonado, Carlos Pérez, Christian Roa, Riley Unroe, Amos Willingham, Jack Winkler, Christian Vázquez
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Framber Valdez, Victor Caratini, Jacob Melton, Anderson Brito, Mauricio Dubón, Jesús Sánchez, Ramón Urías (non-tender), Chas McCormick (outright), Luis Garcia (outright, still unsigned), Kaleb Ort (lost on waivers), Pedro León (lost on waivers), John Rooney (outright), Kenedy Corona (outright)
For the second straight offseason, the Astros faced an expected free agent departure of one of their core players. They made a six-year offer to Alex Bregman in 2024, but they seemingly made little or no effort to bring back Framber Valdez. Houston made the southpaw a qualifying offer to pick up a draft choice after the fourth round once Valdez inevitably signed elsewhere.
The rotation depth behind Hunter Brown was an issue even with Valdez on the team. Another elbow surgery for Luis Garcia brought an unfortunate end to his time in the organization, as the Astros had no reason to tender him a contract for his final arbitration season. Adding at least one mid-rotation arm was the main priority for GM Dana Brown and his staff. It’d be a challenge with owner Jim Crane reportedly looking to keep the team’s luxury tax number below the $244MM base threshold.
That pointed to the trade market as the priority. Acquiring affordable starting pitching comes at a significant cost in young talent. Houston dangled center fielder Jake Meyers in what they thought might be a sell-high situation after a career year. Teams had enough skepticism about Meyers’ bat that he wasn’t going to lead the return for a mid-rotation arm, however.
Houston and the Rays had conversations about righty Shane Baz at the Winter Meetings. It didn’t result in a deal but set the stage for the rotation move the Astros would make. Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported at the time that the Rays were particularly keen on pitching prospect Anderson Brito as part of the Baz return. Tampa Bay would land Brito and the Astros would get their controllable starter two weeks later — just in a more circuitous way.
The Pirates had entertained trading a starter for offense. Pittsburgh was never going to move Paul Skenes and was highly unlikely to give up Braxton Ashcraft or Bubba Chandler. Right-hander Mike Burrows was the best fit for that kind of move. He looks like a solid third or fourth starter and has less than a year of service time. He’s the kind of player who has significant appeal on the trade market but wouldn’t be as difficult for Pittsburgh to relinquish than any of their potential top-of-the-rotation arms.
Meyers wasn’t the kind of bat the Pirates needed. Isaac Paredes might have been, but he’s more valuable to the Astros than to Pittsburgh. The righty-hitting Paredes taps into every ounce of his middling raw power by pulling the ball in the air. He’s a perfect fit for Houston’s Daikin Park and its short left field porch. For Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, the toughest in the league for right-handed home run hitters? Not so much.
That’s where the Rays reenter the picture. Pittsburgh wasn’t interested in flipping Burrows for prospects. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, is constantly balancing the present and future while focusing on maximizing asset value. Houston parted with two of the better prospects in a weak farm system, sending outfielder Jacob Melton alongside Brito to Tampa Bay. The Pirates got slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe, fourth outfielder Jake Mangum, and a hard-throwing bullpen flier in Mason Montgomery from the Rays. Houston landed Burrows.
The 26-year-old righty is coming off a 3.94 ERA over 96 innings in his first real look at the big league level. Burrows posted solid strikeout and walk marks with a four-pitch mix led by a 95 mph fastball. It took him a while to establish himself, largely because of a 2023 Tommy John surgery, but it’s reasonable to view him as an above-average starter who is at least two years from his first significant earnings.
Burrows slotted behind Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier as Houston’s third starter. The back end was still an issue. It initially seemed the Astros would piece it together internally and with very modest free agent additions. They added hard-throwing Nate Pearson on a $1.35MM deal at the beginning of the offseason. They brought in 29-year-old righty Ryan Weiss — who topped out at Triple-A in affiliated ball but pitched well with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles last year — for $2.6MM.
Given the budget constraints, even the Houston front office surely didn’t anticipate landing one of the winter’s most discussed free agents. Tatsuya Imai was the top pitcher available from Japan via the posting system. The 27-year-old righty is coming off a 1.92 ERA with an NPB-leading 27.8% strikeout rate for the Seibu Lions. He averages around 95 mph with his fastball but is capable of running the heater into the upper-90s when he needs it.
Imai’s youth, velocity, whiff rates, and improving control all pointed to a potential nine-figure contract. That never materialized, as teams apparently had enough trepidation about the command and quality of his secondary stuff (particularly the changeup) to stay away from a long-term deal. Evaluators who are most bullish on Imai feel he fits into the middle of a big league rotation. The more pessimistic ones project him as a reliever — though whatever team won the bidding would only do so because they feel he’ll be a capable starter.
The depressed market allowed the Astros to jump in. As Imai’s 45-day posting window came to a close, he signed a three-year deal with Houston that included opt-outs after the first two seasons. It’s a $54MM guarantee that’ll pay him $18MM in year one (a $16MM salary plus a $2MM signing bonus). Imai will decide whether to pass on at least $36MM to retest free agency a year from now. The deal includes escalators that’d raise the price of the player options if Imai throws at least 80 innings this season.
Houston also paid a $9.975MM posting fee to the Lions. The fee is proportional to the contract’s $54MM guarantee and paid in full even if Imai opts out. There’s a decent chance the Astros are paying $27.975MM for one season. That’s a pretty sizable sum. That said, more than a third of that money is in the posting fee, which does not count toward the Astros’ luxury tax number. They kept the CBT commitment at $18MM without going beyond three years, an outcome few would have envisioned at the start of the offseason.
A front four of Brown, Javier, Imai and Burrows is solid. They’ll only need to patch together one rotation spot between Weiss, Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Blubaugh and Spencer Arrighetti. Minor league signee Peter Lambert has had a decent camp, while the Astros acquired swingman Kai-Wei Teng in a minor trade with the Giants. Pearson will build up as a starter as well, but he’s beginning the season on the injured list after experiencing elbow soreness this spring.
McCullers will probably open the season as the fifth starter based on his standing in the organization. He’s unlikely to have a long leash after turning in a 6.51 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. His fastball is back up to 93 mph this spring after landing closer to 91 last season, but various injuries have clearly taken a toll on his stuff and command.
Manager Joe Espada said this afternoon they’ll open with a five-man rotation but are likely to go to a six-man starting staff in the middle of April (relayed by Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). Imai is accustomed to pitching once a week, as all starters do in NPB. The Astros only have two off days between Opening Day and April 22. Assuming they eventually go the six-man route, Weiss or Arrighetti could pick up a few starts.
The front office did a good job getting the rotation into decent shape. It came at the cost of a few subtractions on the position player side. Trading Melton removed a left-handed hitter from the outfield. They also made a few downgrades to the bottom of the order and the bench in cost-saving moves.
Houston non-tendered second/third baseman Ramón Urías, who’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz at $4.4MM for his final arbitration season. They traded utility player Mauricio Dubón to the Braves for glove-only shortstop Nick Allen. That wound up saving $4.7MM in the difference between their respective arbitration salaries.
Houston spent all offseason trying to move right fielder Jesús Sánchez, who disappointed after a deadline acquisition from the Marlins. They lined up a deal in Spring Training that sent Sánchez to the Blue Jays for Joey Loperfido, a move that saved another $6MM.
They’re plenty familiar with Loperfido, whom they drafted and developed before trading to Toronto in the Yusei Kikuchi deal at the 2024 deadline. He hit .333/.379/.500 in 104 MLB plate appearances last season, but a 27:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio puts a damper on those numbers. Loperfido was a league average hitter over a bigger sample in Triple-A (.264/.341/.401 in 373 PAs). He’s a better fit as a left-handed bench bat than an everyday player.
The Astros easily led the majors in plate appearances by right-handed hitters. They had a total of seven players who took at least 40 at-bats from the left side. Five of them are off the 40-man roster, four out of the organization entirely. Victor Caratini hit free agency and signed a two-year deal with Minnesota. Sánchez and Melton were traded. Taylor Trammell and Cooper Hummel were waived. The only ones returning are Yordan Alvarez and rookie outfielder Zach Cole.
Houston’s desire for more lineup balance was no secret, yet this was a lot less successful than the rotation pursuits. The Astros didn’t come away with a left-handed hitter either at second base or in the outfield (except Loperfido, who was acquired for the lefty-hitting Sánchez). Brendan Donovan, who would have been an ideal roster fit, landed elsewhere in the division with the Mariners. Houston’s lack of farm depth and expendable starting pitching limited their options in this regard.
That led to plenty of late-offseason chatter about flipping an infielder. They would’ve needed to eat money to deal first baseman Christian Walker, who is owed $40MM over the next two seasons and coming off a replacement level showing. Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Carlos Correa obviously weren’t getting moved.
That left Paredes as the only infielder who was both a realistic trade candidate and had the ability to net a significant return. Dana Brown said in November that the Astros had “no interest” in moving the corner infielder, who was one of their best hitters on a rate basis. The front office softened that stance by Spring Training but nothing came together.
Houston enters the year with a lopsided position player group. They want Altuve playing mostly second base again after he struggled with last year’s left field experiment. Walker and Correa are the primary corner infield tandem. Peña will be the everyday shortstop with Alvarez working mostly as a designated hitter. That leaves Paredes as a dramatically overqualified bench bat on paper.
The situation should sort itself out before long. Correa and Alvarez have notable injury histories. Paredes himself is coming off a significant hamstring strain that cost him most of the second half. Altuve and Walker are in their mid-30s. There’s value in giving all those players rest days.
Peña will play essentially every day once he’s healthy. He broke his right ring finger during the World Baseball Classic and is questionable for Opening Day. The Astros could slide Correa to shortstop and pencil Paredes in at third base if Peña requires an injured list stint. That’d be a rough defensive infield, so they could also opt to live with Allen’s bat in the nine spot to play him at shortstop and keep Correa at the hot corner.
Trade rumors on Meyers quieted after the Astros dealt Melton. Meyers is now a key piece as the primary center fielder. Second-year outfielder Cam Smith should retake the right field job from Sánchez. Smith impressed defensively in his first year as an outfielder, but his bat wilted at the end of his rookie season.
Left field is wide open. Loperfido will get some work there, while Altuve and Alvarez figure to make occasional starts. Brice Matthews is a middle infielder by trade but has worked in the outfield this spring given the much clearer path to playing time on the grass. The Astros would love for Cole to stick on the roster as a left-handed power bat. He struck out at a 35% rate in the minors last season and has fanned 17 times in 44 plate appearances this spring. The swing-and-miss might push him off the active roster.
The Astros didn’t do much to replace Caratini, a high-end backup catcher. Yainer Diaz is the clear #1 option behind the plate. César Salazar is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. Houston brought back 2022 World Series champion Christian Vázquez on a minor league deal to compete with Salazar for a bench spot.
Houston was similarly quiet in addressing the bullpen. Their only MLB bullpen add was the selection of Roddery Muñoz in the Rule 5 draft. Some of their rotation depth pickups (e.g. Weiss, Pearson, Teng) could pitch in relief. That could have an indirect impact on the bullpen by giving the Astros the flexibility to use Blubaugh or Arrighetti in relief. Minor league signee Christian Roa, a Houston native and Texas A&M product, has had a great camp and is probably pitching his way onto the roster.
The Astros have already announced they’ll open the season without Josh Hader and Bennett Sousa. Hader has been bothered by a biceps issue after last year’s season-ending capsule injury in his shoulder. Sousa strained his oblique. They’re still well positioned from the left side with Bryan King and Steven Okert in the late innings. Plugging Bryan Abreu in as closer leaves their right-handed setup group rather thin.
It’s a top-heavy roster, one with a few obvious areas (left field, bullpen, left-handed bat) they’ll hope to address at the deadline. They’re estimated around $10MM below the luxury tax line, so they should have some flexibility for in-season maneuvering. There’s also the possibility that Crane reverses course and signs off on going past the threshold, as he did when Correa was available last summer.
The Astros are perennially in win-now mode. This season could be an inflection point for the organization after their first playoff miss in eight years. Espada and Dana Brown are entering the final years of their respective contracts.
Crane said in January they weren’t likely to discuss extensions until seeing how the 2026 season plays out. “I think we’ll go through this year like we always do, evaluate it and then make the decision at the end of the year,” the owner said. “We won’t probably do any extensions now. But I’m not saying that’s impossible. We haven’t talked about it yet. We’ve been focused on getting what we need to compete this next year.”
They got most of the way there, though they’re behind the Mariners on paper. Preseason projections from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus have the Astros closer to the Rangers (and potentially the A’s) as the second or third-best team in the AL West than to Seattle at the top of the division. Can they overcome the odds to reclaim first place, or will they at least find themselves back in a crowded American League Wild Card picture?
How would you grade the Astros' offseason?
Angels Release Hunter Strickland
The Angels announced that right-hander Hunter Strickland and utilityman Chris Taylor have been released. Taylor was known to be on the way out after he opted out of his minor league deal with the team yesterday, and Strickland may well be in the same situation as another veteran player in camp as a non-roster invite.
Strickland was making a good case for himself by posting a 1.80 ERA over five innings in Cactus League ball this spring, but it apparently wasn’t enough for the 37-year-old to land a spot in the Los Angeles bullpen. This release marks the end of what is technically Strickland’s fourth different stint with the Angels, and this familiarity could perhaps hint at another contract in the near future.
Because Strickland’s first opt-out date fell this weekend and the Angels had to make a decision, this release could be a way of navigating that deadline and getting the righty back in the organization on another minors deal soon. It would depend on how comfortable Strickland feels with the Angels, if he perhaps has gotten assurances he’ll be called up to the majors in short order, or if he can perhaps find another opportunity elsewhere.
Over 95 1/3 innings with the 2024-25 Angels, Strickland has posted a 3.30 ERA, though his 18.4% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate are nothing special. These secondary metrics and Strickland’s age perhaps limited him to non-guaranteed offers this winter, and it didn’t help that he missed a big chunk of the 2025 campaign with a shoulder injury. He has looked healthy this spring, and his solid numbers in camp may draw some attention from another team if he indeed doesn’t end up back in Anaheim.
Kirby Yates, Drew Pomeranz, Jordan Romano, and Brent Suter will all be part of the Angels’ bullpen, as the team loaded up on other veteran relievers on one-year contracts. The rest of the relief corps is a little uncertain, as much hinges on the health of rotation candidates Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah. Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson will be on the 26-man roster in some capacity, either in the pen or as starters if either of Rodriguez or Manoah begin the season on the 15-day injured list. Walbert Urena is also on the radar for a starting or relief role, adding to the Halos’ decisions heading into Opening Day.