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Padres Place Yu Darvish On Restricted List

By | at March 25, 2026 6:19pm CDT

The Padres finally announced their Opening Day roster on Wednesday evening. It more or less finalized a number of already known moves, though the biggest development is that starter Yu Darvish has been placed on the restricted list. Alden González of ESPN first reported that was the plan.

Darvish underwent elbow surgery last November. He won’t pitch at all in 2026. The expectation had been that he’d spend the season on the 60-day injured list. The Padres instead place him on the restricted list, which is for players who are under contract but are unavailable to play for various reasons. The restricted list is best known for its use when a player is suspended, though it’s more commonly briefly used when a player is away from the team for personal matters.

Players on the restricted list do not count against their clubs’ 40-man rosters, though that’s also true for those on the 60-day injured list. The more notable distinction is that teams are not required to pay players while they’re on the restricted list. It isn’t publicly known whether the team will continue paying Darvish any or all of his $15MM salary.

Of course, a team cannot place a player on the restricted list and avoid paying his contract merely because he suffered an injury. There’s surely more to this situation going on behind the scenes. There have been reports dating back to the end of last season about the sides negotiating some way to void the remaining three years on his deal. Darvish provided a statement in January, saying that he has not decided on retirement but confirming that the team, his camp, and the MLB Players Association have had conversations about terminating his contract. There hadn’t been any further updates on his situation until today.

His deal runs through 2028 and contains $43MM in remaining guarantees for his age 39-41 campaigns. The Padres would no doubt love to negotiate some kind of buyout or deferral plan that frees up short-term payroll space and lowers their luxury tax number. González points out that the still unsigned Lucas Giolito would be a sensible target for a team with questions in the back half of the rotation.

In 2024, Darvish agreed to a restricted list placement to attend to a family matter. He had previously been on the injured list at the time. The Padres offered to allow him to remain on the IL but Darvish opted to spend more than a month on the restricted list instead, voluntarily bypassing nearly $4MM in salary (link via Dennis Lin of The Athletic). The pitcher’s agent, Joel Wolfe, praised the team’s handling of the situation while noting that Darvish “just didn’t feel it was right to collect the money if he wasn’t fully committed to the rehab and coming back.”

There’ll presumably be an update from the team and/or Darvish’s representatives before long. The most immediate effect is that he’s off the 40-man roster. That’s a formality but was needed to officially select the contracts of Walker Buehler and Ty France, both of whom made the team last week.

San Diego placed seven more players on the injured list. Infielders Sung-Mun Song and Will Wagner went on the 10-day injured list, as both players are dealing with right oblique strains. Pitchers Jason Adam (recovery from left quad surgery), Griffin Canning (recovery from left Achilles surgery), Bryan Hoeing (flexor surgery), Joe Musgrove (elbow inflammation), Matt Waldron (which the team announced only as “surgery” after being a little more specific in February), and Yuki Matsui (left groin strain) all land on the 15-day injured list.

Adam was the only one of those players who held out hope of making the Opening Day roster. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Monday that he’d open on the injured list. It’s mostly to buy time for Adam to continue building up, as he made just two appearances at the end of Spring Training. He should be back sometime in April. In the meantime, this allows the Padres to carry both hard-throwing rookie Bradgley Rodríguez and the out-of-options Ron Marinaccio on the Opening Day roster.

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Offseason In Review: Minnesota Twins

By | at March 25, 2026 5:23pm CDT

Following a 2025 trade deadline fire sale, the Twins idled for half the offseason then feigned an effort at putting together a contender — all while slashing payroll to its lowest levels in a decade.

Major League Free Agent Signings

2026 commitments: $16MM
Total commitments: $23MM

Option Decisions

  • Team declined $2MM option on RHP Justin Topa in favor of $225K buyout (Topa remained under control via arbitration, agreed to $1.225MM salary for 2026)

Trades and Waiver Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

To call the past 18 months or so tumultuous for the Twins would be an understatement. After spending more than a year looking for a buyer, the Pohlad family pivoted and instead brought in several new minority stakeholders. They’d piled up more than $400MM in debt borrowing against the franchise, and that served as a major impediment to securing a buyer for the majority stake in the team. It was clear last summer — shortly after the team’s 11-player fire sale in July — that the Pohlads planned to keep the team in the family after failing to find a buyer. They originally announced that two new limited stakeholders were joining the ownership group, but the process of formally introducing those new partners dragged out for months.

The process was so elongated that as of the GM Meetings in November, longtime president of baseball operations Derek Falvey conceded that he had yet to be given a budget for the 2026 season. Falvey contended from the jump that he hoped to be able to add to the roster, but the Twins’ early inertia seemed to signal that the entire organization was in a holding pattern, from ownership on down to baseball operations.

One thing that became clear almost immediately was the need for a new manager. Rocco Baldelli was fired after seven seasons on the job. No manager would’ve succeeded with the collection of arms masquerading as a bullpen following last year’s deadline teardown, but Baldelli and Falvey had both seen speculation about their job security in recent seasons. Would that have been the case had ownership not slashed payroll immediately following 2023’s division title and playoff run? Perhaps not, but the Twins never really found the continuity for which they hoped under that leadership pairing even before the budget cuts.

A full-fledged search for a new skipper brought the Twins to … Baldelli’s former right-hand man, Derek Shelton. He’d served as bench coach for Baldelli prior to being hired as the manager in Pittsburgh, where he was fired last May. The Twins also considered former Minnesota hitting coach James Rowson (now with the Yankees), former Mariners skipper Scott Servais and Padres bench coach Ryan Flaherty before settling on Shelton.

By the time the ownership situation was finally resolved in December, we were already nearly halfway to spring training. The changes proved more substantial than expected. Minnesota announced three, not two, new limited partners. More notably, Tom Pohlad was named the team’s new executive chair and league-approved control person, taking over daily oversight of the team from his younger brother, Joe, who’d only ascended to that role about three years prior. Joe Pohlad is still listed as a board member on the Twins’ web site, though Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote earlier this month that Joe is no longer with the organization in any capacity.

As if the Pohlad family palace intrigue wasn’t confounding enough, the Twins would soon see their entire baseball operations outfit upended. After spending nearly the entire offseason as the Twins’ baseball ops leader, Falvey was suddenly and unexpectedly ousted on Jan. 30 — just two weeks before spring training commenced. He’d held his post as the Twins’ baseball operations leader since 2016.

The Twins announced it as a “mutual parting of ways.” Both Falvey and Tom Pohlad made public statements that struck the general tenor one would expect. Pohlad thanked Falvey for his years of service and his work to modernize the club; Falvey thanked the family for the opportunity and voiced a love for the organization. Both parties publicly stated that a change was likely best. In the aftermath, Falvey conceded that he and Joe Pohlad had a different working relationship and that Tom wanted to run things “a little differently.” Jeremy Zoll, who’d been promoted from assistant general manager to GM the offseason prior (after GM Thad Levine left the organization), is now running baseball operations.

All of that behind-the-scenes drama left the Twins in an odd spot. Once new ownership was in place, it seemed there was a green light for some modest spending, but that’s a much different revelation in mid-December than in early November. The Winter Meetings had come and gone by the time the front office had any sort of direction on spending. A significant portion of the offseason’s free agent and trade options had come off the board.

Between Tom Pohlad’s ascension to executive chair and Falvey’s departure, the Twins did make some small additions. Josh Bell inked a one-year deal to help plug a gap at either first base or designated hitter. Victor Caratini signed a two-year deal to both give the club a credible backup to Ryan Jeffers and to provide a catching option in 2027 — an important factor to consider with Jeffers up for free agency at season’s end. Old friend Taylor Rogers returned on a low-cost $2MM deal — a bargain price with which it’s hard to find fault.

The earlier stages of the offseason had presented some smaller-scale additions. The Twins picked up reliever Eric Orze in a trade with the Rays and a right-handed corner bat, Eric Wagaman, in a small swap with the Marlins. They also added glove-first, out-of-options catcher Alex Jackson in a bit of a head-scratching trade with the Orioles. They didn’t give up a prospect of great note to get him (5’5″ utilityman Payton Eeles), but Jackson has never hit in the majors and wasn’t going to stick on the Orioles’ roster all winter. The Twins could perhaps have picked him up as a minor league free agent or signed a comparable player to a minor league deal in free agency. Instead, they locked Jackson in on a $1.35MM salary, and he’ll now open the season in Triple-A and off the 40-man roster; the eventual Caratini signing left him with no role on the roster, and he’s now been passed through waivers.

When the calendar flipped to February, it was fair to wonder whether the Twins might have some late splashes up their sleeve. Payroll was down more than $30MM from the prior season and more than $50MM from the 2023 peak. The Twins reportedly showed at least cursory interest in Framber Valdez before he signed with the Tigers and in Freddy Peralta before he was traded from the Brewers to the Mets. Tom Pohlad publicly confirmed that he made a multi-year offer to Valdez, though further details aren’t clear. Still, on Feb. 1, Pohlad publicly stated that there were “still some investments to be made” in the roster prior to Opening Day. A couple weeks later, he told the team’s beat, “I want to be aggressive.”

The Twins had ample opportunity to act on some of those statements. Beyond Valdez, names like Eugenio Suárez, Zac Gallen, Nick Martinez, Zack Littell and Chris Bassitt remained unsigned. (Giolito still hasn’t signed.) The Twins seemed like a decent fit to land one of the remaining arms, continuing their trend of being an active February shopper that we’d seen in recent seasons. When top starter Pablo López suffered a UCL tear during his first spring bullpen session and former top prospect David Festa incurred a shoulder injury not long after, the fit grew even more obvious.

The Twins, however, not only stood pat on adding a starter. They opted to forgo making almost any more additions whatsoever. The Twins picked up left-hander Anthony Banda after he was squeezed out of the World Series champion Dodgers’ bullpen and designated for assignment, swinging a small trade sending international bonus pool space in the other direction. It was a nice enough value move, but it was hard to imagine a club that traded five relievers the preceding summer would go the entire offseason with its only notable bullpen acquisitions being Banda, Orze and Rogers.

That’s precisely how things played out, however. The Twins never added another starter after losing López for the season and Festa for at least the short term. Despite a wide-open bullpen mix and the clear ability to entice a veteran reliever by offering an easy path to ninth-inning work, Rogers and Banda were the lone veteran arms brought in. The Twins added Liam Hendriks, Andrew Chafin and Dan Altavilla on minor league deals, but none made the club. The former two have already been released. Waiver claim Zak Kent joined in March and won a spot in what can charitably be described as one of the five or six worst on-paper bullpen groups in the game.

Instead, the Twins are betting almost entirely on in-house upgrades and breakouts. It’s more than fair to want to get long looks at righties Taj Bradley and Mick Abel after both were focal points of the returns in last year’s deadline sell-off. But the Twins really only have six viable rotation options to begin the season, and that’s giving a lot of credit to three pitchers (Bradley, Abel and the already-optioned Zebby Matthews) who were once touted prospects but haven’t proven anything in the majors yet.

They Twins are a Joe Ryan injury away from the rotation being a bounceback hopeful (Bailey Ober), an out-of-options former top prospect who almost lost a roster spot last year (Simeon Woods Richardson) and that Bradley/Abel/Matthews trio. It should be noted, too, that the team’s inability to pick a lane led to holding onto Ryan, who entered the offseason as an obvious trade candidate and would have fetched a massive haul. It’s possible he’s the most sought-after trade chip at the deadline, but if Ryan suffers an injury of note, the decision to both hold onto him and forgo even a half-hearted effort to build out a competitive roster will be one of the great missed opportunities in recent memory.

There are prospects behind the current group of starters, many of whom will be ready this season. Connor Prielipp is already a top-100 prospect, and the Twins are quite high on fellow southpaw Kendry Rojas. Left-hander Dasan Hill has gotten some top-100 love, and righty Andrew Morris lacks ceiling but is a near-MLB-ready back-of-the-rotation option. It’s not as though the organization is wholly lacking depth, but the Twins’ inaction and sole reliance on these untested arms doesn’t square with Pohlad’s assertion that there is/was room to invest and that he hopes to be aggressive.

The bullpen with which the Twins will break camp includes Rogers, Banda, Orze, Kent, Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Kody Funderburk and Cody Laweryson (who made his MLB debut with the Twins last year, briefly went to the Angels on waivers, and is now back with the Twins). It’s frankly hard to fathom that a team that shipped out Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe last July would do so little to add to the relief corps in a meaningful way. As with the rotation, it simply doesn’t gel with the comments Pohlad has made since Falvey’s departure.

In the lineup, there’s a bit more cause for hope, but the group is still underwhelming. Byron Buxton had his best season ever in 2025, slugging 35 homers and swiping 24 bags. Top prospect Luke Keaschall has done nothing but hit since being taken in the second round of the 2023 draft, and he burst onto the MLB scene with a .302/.382/.445 slash that was followed by an even bigger spring performance (.377/.411/.717). Jeffers is quietly one of the better offensive catchers in the game. Bell isn’t a great hitter, but he’s been above average every season of his career other than 2020 and is annual 20-homer threat. Caratini is coming off a solid offensive showing in Houston.

There’s upside beyond the veterans. Matt Wallner has immense power (and an equally immense strikeout rate). Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee are former high picks and top prospects who have battled injuries but have notable ceilings, at least at the plate. Consensus top-100 prospects Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper are all close to MLB-ready.

There’s no immediate room in a crowded Twins outfield for either Jenkins or Rodriguez, however, which begs the question as to why a budget-crunched Minnesota club tendered a $4.475MM contract to a plodding lefty corner outfielder, Trevor Larnach. Perhaps they felt they’d be able to trade him for a bullpen arm, but Larnach looks like a square peg on a roster that’s already full of defensively limited hitters with glaring platoon issues. His presence on the roster surely helped push Alan Roden, who came over alongside Rojas in the Varland trade and outperformed Larnach this spring, to Triple-A St. Paul.

The bench is also something of an island of misfit toys. Caratini is nominally part of that group as the backup catcher, but he’s a better hitter than many of the actual bench players and will probably see a fair bit of run at DH. Kody Clemens went on an otherworldly tear after being acquired early last season but cooled off later in the year. James Outman‘s lack of minor league options always made him an odd target for the Twins last summer, particularly considering his long-running contact issues and his status as yet another left-handed outfielder on a roster chock-full of them. Tristan Gray, 30, and the since-optioned Eric Wagaman, 28, were acquired in small trades and are fringe big leaguers. Austin Martin was once a top pick but is now more of a utility player with a limited MLB track record.

It’s technically not out of the realm of possibility that with good health and plenty of breakouts/rebounds for young players (e.g. Abel, Bradley, Jenkins, Lewis, Lee) that the Twins silence doubters and take advantage of the weak AL Central to hang around the Wild Card chase in the first half. (If they do so, Pohlad could get another crack at making good on converting his words into actual action.) It is, however, extremely unlikely. The Twins look like one of the weakest teams in the majors, entirely reliant on young players exceeding expectations that were set in place by a gutted roster and an ownership group seemingly unable to get out of its own way.

“I’d love to get off this payroll thing for a second. Let’s judge the success of this year on wins and losses, and on whether we’re playing meaningful baseball in September,” Pohlad said in February. Based on the way the remainder of the offseason played out following those comments, it’s hard to imagine he’ll actually have to wait until September for that introspection.

How would MLBTR readers grade the Twins’ offseason? Have your say:

How would you grade the Twins' offseason?

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2025-26 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Minnesota Twins

2025-26 Offseason In Review Series

By | at March 25, 2026 5:20pm CDT

Opening Day has arrived, and MLBTR’s annual Offseason In Review series is finished. Find links to all 30 entries here.

NL West

NL Central

NL East

AL West

AL Central

AL East

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2025-26 Offseason In Review

Rockies Outright Keegan Thompson

By | at March 25, 2026 5:12pm CDT

5:12pm: Thompson has already cleared waivers and is indeed accepting the outright assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Although Colorado announced the DFA this afternoon, they apparently placed him on waivers earlier in the week.

12:37pm: The Rockies announced they’ve designated reliever Keegan Thompson for assignment. The right-hander is out of options and didn’t win a spot in Warren Schaeffer’s bullpen. Colorado selected the contracts of backup catcher Brett Sullivan and rookie first baseman T.J. Rumfield, each of whom was informed they’d made the team over the weekend. Thompson’s DFA cleared one spot on the 40-man roster, while the other was opened with Pierson Ohl (Tommy John surgery) going on the 60-day injured list.

Colorado also optioned hard-throwing righty Seth Halvorsen, who walked 12 batters in five innings this spring. They  made five more season-opening IL placements. First baseman Blaine Crim (left oblique strain), utility player Tyler Freeman (back tightness), and outfielder Zac Veen (right knee contusion) all land on the 10-day injured list. Righties McCade Brown (shoulder inflammation) and RJ Petit (Tommy John surgery) open on the 15-day injured list. Colorado will move Petit to the 60-day IL whenever they need a 40-man roster spot. Freeman’s injury means first baseman/outfielder Troy Johnston claims the last bench role.

Thompson’s DFA wasn’t motivated by 40-man concerns but rather his out-of-options status. The Rockies opted to carry Jaden Hill and Zach Agnos in middle relief over Halvorsen and Thompson. They’re dedicating long relief roles to Chase Dollander and Antonio Senzatela. Trade pickup Brennan Bernardino is their only left-hander in the group, while they’ll use Jimmy Herget, Juan Mejia and Victor Vodnik in the late innings.

Colorado claimed Thompson off waivers from the Reds in January. He was on a split contract with Cincinnati that would have paid $1.3MM if he made the MLB roster and $350K for time spent in the minors. The Reds tried to sneak him through waivers but the Rockies placed a claim to take a look at him in camp. The 31-year-old righty had a tough spring, allowing 10 runs with six free passes (five walks and a hit batter) against four strikeouts over 12 innings.

There’s a decent chance Thompson sticks in the organization. He’ll likely go on waivers this week. If he clears, he’s unlikely to decline a minor league assignment and walk away from his $350K Triple-A salary. Thompson spent all of last year at the Triple-A level in the Cubs’ system. He turned in a 4.50 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of opponents across 64 innings.

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Twins Outright Alex Jackson, Re-Sign Matt Bowman

By | at March 25, 2026 4:55pm CDT

The Twins outrighted catcher Alex Jackson to Triple-A St. Paul, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Although Minnesota had announced this morning that he’d been designated for assignment, it seems they began the waiver process earlier in the week. Hayes also reports that righty reliever Matt Bowman is back with the club on a new minor league deal.

Jackson is expected to accept the assignment and start the season in the minors. He has the three years of service to elect free agency but hasn’t crossed the five-year threshold at which he’d keep his salary if he does so. Jackson avoided arbitration on a $1.35MM salary that he’d almost certainly not match if he tested the market and signed a minor league deal elsewhere.

Minnesota acquired Jackson from the Orioles in November. He had a path to the backup catching job behind Ryan Jeffers at the time. The Twins subsequently added Victor Caratini on a two-year deal, pushing the out-of-options Jackson off the roster. He has easily the most experience of any of their non-roster catchers, so he’d probably be first back up if Jeffers or Caratini suffer an injury.

Bowman is an organizational favorite who has had multiple stints with the club as a middle reliever. He was back in camp this year as a non-roster invitee. Bowman tossed 7 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run, striking out seven against two walks. Despite the strong showing, he lost out on a middle relief spot to Cody Laweryson and triggered an opt-out at the end of Spring Training. Bowman evidently did not find an immediate MLB roster spot elsewhere, so he’ll head to St. Paul and try to pitch his way into the big league bullpen during the season.

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Poll: Who Will Win The NL Central?

By | at March 25, 2026 4:03pm CDT

With the 2026 season set to begin today, the offseason is now complete for MLB’s 30 teams. Until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East, and the Tigers did the same in our poll on the AL Central, and the Mariners were predicted to win the AL West. Yesterday, MLBTR readers overwhelmingly voted (66%) to predict the Dodgers would win the NL West. Today, we’ll be moving on to the NL Central. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:

Milwaukee Brewers (97-65)

The Brewers were the best team in baseball by regular season record last year. While their close NLDS matchup against their division rivals from Chicago and a demoralizing sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the NLCS did little to answer questions about the club’s viability in October, they’ve won three straight division titles and haven’t finished a 162-game season with fewer than 86 wins since 2016. At some point, it becomes hard not to reward that consistency, and even after a winter where the club traded away Freddy Peralta, Isaac Collins, and Caleb Durbin without making any obviously impactful additions to the roster, it’s easy to imagine Milwaukee’s run of success continuing in 2026. Jackson Chourio is certainly capable of a breakout, and Jacob Misiorowski could make Brewers fans forget Peralta in a hurry if the flamethrowing righty takes a step forward.

Chicago Cubs (92-70)

The Cubs failed to win the division last season, lost to their division rivals in the ALDS, and watched superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker walk in free agency over the offseason. Despite all of that, however, Chicago is viewed by some around the game as the heavy favorite in the NL Central. That’s thanks to a busy offseason where they brought Alex Bregman into the organization and landed right-hander Edward Cabrera in trade. Those external additions, larger contributions from up-and-coming youngsters Moises Ballesteros and Cade Horton, and the healthy return of Justin Steele to the top of the club’s rotation should all help the Cubs make up for the loss of Tucker. The true x-factor for Chicago’s hopes in the division this year, however, will surely be the recently-extended Pete Crow-Armstrong. If he looks anything like he did in the first half of 2025, he should be in the MVP conversation and help lead the Cubs to new heights. If he’s more like his second half, however, the Cubs could find themselves on the outside looking in for what should be a competitive NL Central race this year.

Cincinnati Reds (83-79)

The Reds shocked many fans and analysts when they managed to squeak into the postseason last year, and this offseason saw them bring old friend Eugenio Suarez back into the fold to add some thump to a lineup that was lackluster for most of 2026. It was a strong addition to be sure, but the loss of both Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo for the start of the 2026 season will put a lot of pressure on young arms like Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Brandon Williamson to carry the team in the early parts of the season. If the team’s youngsters can do that until Greene returns to his spot at the top of the rotation, perhaps Suarez and Elly De La Cruz can create enough offense to get the Reds to the postseason in more convincing fashion this year.

St. Louis Cardinals (78-84)

The Cardinals finally executed their long-teased rebuild this offseason, dealing away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Arenado in the span of three months. The resulting team has plenty of reasons for hope in the future, including star prospect JJ Wetherholt, but for the time being, it’s hard to see this club as anything other than the obvious weak link in the NL Central. A banner rookie season from Wetherholt would need to be combined with big steps forward for players like Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Matthew Liberatore alongside a rebound for Dustin May if there’s going to be any hope of playoff baseball in St. Louis this year. That’s a tall order to say the least, but players like Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera at least look like solid building blocks for the future.

Pittsburgh Pirates (71-91)

The Pirates may have finished fifth in the NL Central last year, but it would be a shock to see them do so again in 2026. They’re a popular darkhorse pick to even take the division this year, and it’s not hard to see why. Reigning NL Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes might be the best pitcher on the planet, and he’s backed up by a strong rotation that also includes Bubba Chandler and Mitch Keller headed into 2026. Those pitchers will be supported by a completely rebuilt offense this year, as Brandon Lowe, Marcell Ozuna, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jake Mangum are all in place to help boost a lineup that relied on Spencer Horwitz, Oneil Cruz, and Bryan Reynolds as its middle of the order bats last year. A bullpen that lost David Bednar at last year’s trade deadline but added Gregory Soto over the winter comes with some questions, and the team’s defense seems likely to leave something to be desired, but this is easily the most competitive the Pirates have been in a decade.

How do MLBTR readers think the NL Central will shake out this year? Will Milwaukee’s dominance continue despite dealing away Peralta and others? Will the Cubs take that extra step even after losing Kyle Tucker? Have the Pirates or Reds done enough to bridge the gap and push themselves into the conversation? Or will the Cardinals’ expected rebuilding phase end before it even begins? Have your say in the poll below:

Who will win the NL Central in 2026?

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Joe La Sorsa To Stay With Pirates

By | at March 25, 2026 3:10pm CDT

March 25th: La Sorsa went unclaimed and will stay with the Pirates as non-roster depth, per Alexander.

March 22nd: La Sorsa has been told he won’t be breaking camp with the Pirates, so he’ll be triggering his clause tomorrow, Ari Alexander reports.

March 17th: Left-hander Joe La Sorsa has an upward mobility clause at the end of spring training in his minor league deal with the Pirates, reports Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston. If he triggers that clause, he’ll be offered up to the other 29 clubs. If any of them are willing to give him a roster spot, then the Pirates have to either give him a roster spot themselves or trade him to another club that will. If no club offers him a roster spot, then he can be sent to the minors as non-roster depth.

La Sorsa, 28 in April, agreed to a minor league deal with the Bucs right as free agency was beginning in early November. He hasn’t spent much time in camp because he joined the Italian team for the World Baseball Classic. The Azzurri went on a Cinderella run that just ended last night when they were eliminated by Venezuela in the semifinals. The lefty made four appearance for Italy, logging 2 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs via two hits and one hit-by-pitch while striking out four.

His major league track record consists of 57 innings thrown for the Rays, Nationals and Reds over the past three years. In that time, he has a 5.21 ERA, 17.5% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 39.2% ground ball rate. In 2025, he only made five appearances in the majors. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, posting a 2.59 ERA in 48 2/3 innings. His 21.2% strikeout rate and 42.1% ground ball rate at that level were close to average but he walked 13% of batters faced.

With the upward mobility clause, La Sorsa will get a major league roster spot as long as one of the 30 clubs is willing to give him one, whether that’s the Pirates or not. The Bucs should have Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery as their two primary lefties in the bullpen. Evan Sisk is also on the roster but he has already been optioned, so he should start the season in Triple-A. If La Sorsa does get a roster spot somewhere, he still has a minor league option remaining.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

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Blue Jays DFA Leo Jimenez; Rule 5 Pick Spencer Miles To Break Camp

By | at March 25, 2026 3:05pm CDT

3:05pm: The Jays have officially announced their roster, with both Jiménez and Bastardo designated for assignment.

1:04pm: The Blue Jays are designating infielder Leo Jiménez for assignment, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. He’s out of options and evidently did not win the final spot on Toronto’s bench, which is likely to go to Davis Schneider.

Toronto will carry Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles on the Opening Day roster, reports Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. He won the final spot in the middle relief group, which had seemingly been down to him and sidewinding righty Chase Lee. The Jays announced over the weekend that they would not carry their other Rule 5 selection Angel Bastardo, who’ll therefore be designated for assignment this afternoon if he’s not already on waivers.

Jiménez will probably land with another organization, as it seems likely he’ll attract trade or waiver interest. The Panama native has spent eight seasons in the Toronto system. His bat-to-ball skills and ability to play either middle infield position made him one of the organization’s better prospects. Jiménez has been a good minor league player but hasn’t hit in a limited look at the big league level.

Toronto gave the righty-hitting Jiménez 210 plate appearances as a rookie two seasons ago. He hit .229/.329/.358 while striking out in 28% of his trips. A deeper Jays infield and a handful of injuries kept Jiménez to 18 big league games last season. He didn’t play much in Triple-A either but hit .271/.416/.431 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts at that level in 2024.

Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes and backup catcher Tyler Heineman were locked into bench spots. The Jays were left to decide whether to carry Jiménez because he can play shortstop and couldn’t be optioned, or to turn to a more proven right-handed power bat in Schneider. They’re opting for the latter. Ernie Clement can slide to shortstop with Schneider at second base when Andrés Giménez needs a rest day. The Jays have five days to see if they can flip Jiménez for a marginal prospect return. They’d otherwise need to place him on waivers.

Miles was the final borderline Rule 5 decision around the league. The 25-year-old righty has barely pitched since being drafted by the Giants in the fourth round in 2022. A back injury preceded a Tommy John procedure that has kept him to a grand total of 14 2/3 minor league innings. The Giants left him off their 40-man roster, doubtful that another club would be willing to carry him on the MLB roster with such little professional experience.

It’s particularly surprising that an all-in Toronto team is taking that flier. That speaks to how strongly they feel about the caliber of his stuff, as they’re not in position to burn a bullpen spot on a pure development flier. Miles struck out 11 hitters over 9 2/3 innings this spring, allowing four runs on 11 hits and five walks. Baseball America credits him with a mid-90s fastball and plus curveball and ranked him the #22 prospect in the Jays’ system over the offseason.

Breaking camp certainly doesn’t guarantee that Miles will spend the entire season on the roster. He’ll need to pitch well enough to hold an MLB job. The Jays would otherwise need to run him through waivers and offer him back to San Francisco.

Bastardo was a Rule 5 pick out of the Boston organization in 2024. He was recovering from Tommy John surgery and spent the entire ’25 season on the injured list. Teams need to carry a Rule 5 pick on the active roster for at least 90 days as soon as they’re healthy if they miss their entire first season due to injury. The Jays were never going to carry two Rule 5 draftees in the bullpen.

The 23-year-old Bastardo has far more minor league experience than Miles, but he showed signs of rust this spring. He walked seven batters and uncorked four wild pitches in 7 2/3 innings. He’ll go on waivers and will be offered back to the Red Sox if he clears. The selection still worked to the righty’s benefit financially, as he was paid the $760K major league minimum salary for his time on the injured list.

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Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves

By | at March 25, 2026 2:53pm CDT

The Braves’ offseason began with a managerial change. They brought back their shortstop, added a pair of high-leverage relievers, and upgraded their outfield. A series of Spring Training injuries has magnified their lack of activity on the rotation market, leaving questions about whether they did enough to avoid a repeat of their frustrating 2025 season.

Major League Signings

2026 commitments: $65.75MM
Total future commitments: $113MM

Trades and Claims

Option Decisions

Extensions

  • Signed LHP Chris Sale to one-year, $27MM deal covering 2027 season (deal includes $30MM club option for ’28)

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Despite a strong finish, the Braves finished the 2025 campaign 10 games below .500. They missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years, falling to fourth place in the NL East. That disappointing year came with questions about a managerial change. Brian Snitker was in the final year of his contract and turning 70 in October. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos had been adamant the team would welcome Snitker back if he wanted to continue, but the skipper was less committal.

Snitker announced at season’s end that he would not return to the dugout. He’ll remain with the team as a special advisor, a fitting transition for an organizational lifer whose time managing in the farm system dates to the early 1980s. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Braves have a new leader in the MLB dugout.

As is often the case with Atlanta’s player personnel moves, they were tight-lipped about their managerial search process. It’s unclear how many external candidates were under serious consideration. The Braves opted for continuity, elevating bench coach Walt Weiss to the position in early November. Weiss has been on the staff since the 2018 season and has four seasons of managerial experience. He led the Rockies between 2013-16, with Colorado winning between 66 and 75 games in those years.

Although Weiss was an internal hire, the Braves changed most of the coaching staff. Former Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino takes the bench coach role. They parted with longtime pitching coach Rick Kranitz, bringing in former Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner as his replacement. Hitting coach Tim Hyers returns for a second season.

Atlanta’s roster maneuvering began with a few notable option decisions. The team made easy calls to exercise their options on Chris Sale ($18MM) and Ozzie Albies ($7MM). Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim declined his $16MM player option, which had seemed increasingly likely as he generated a fair amount of buzz after Atlanta claimed him off waivers from the Rays. The Braves declined their $7MM option on setup man Pierce Johnson, who had struggled down the stretch. More surprisingly, they also bought out Tyler Kinley on what had seemed a reasonable $5.5MM option.

Anthopoulos said the team wanted to preserve as much financial flexibility as possible at the beginning of the offseason. They needed to do something at shortstop. Closer Raisel Iglesias was hitting free agency. Injuries had exposed a lack of rotation depth in 2025.

While acknowledging the need to acquire multiple relievers, Anthopoulos said in November that the priorities were shortstop and starting pitching (relayed by David O’Brien). “We’re going to focus on those spots. We’ll see where those lead us, what the acquisition costs are and all that, and then we’ll turn our attention to the bullpen,” he said from the GM Meetings.

That may well have been the plan, but it’s not how things played out. The free agent relief market moved much more quickly than the hitters or starting pitchers. Atlanta was as aggressive as any team in that arena. They started by re-signing Iglesias on a one-year, $16MM deal. The 36-year-old closer had overcome an early season home run spike to post a solid 3.21 ERA with an excellent strikeout and walk profile over 70 appearances.

The Braves would make a bigger bullpen splash three weeks later. They brought in two-time All-Star Robert Suarez on a three-year, $45MM contract in early December. Suarez has high-end velocity and has posted consecutive sub-3.00 ERA seasons. He led the National League with 40 saves, though the Braves confirmed that he’ll move into a setup role in deference to the incumbent Iglesias.

It’s a significant investment for a reliever’s age 35-37 seasons. Atlanta committed a combined $29MM to their 2026 payroll in their late-innings duo. They were clearly motivated to make a splash at the back of the bullpen. Jorge Castillo of ESPN reported that the Braves made a five-year offer to top free agent closer Edwin Díaz before they signed Suarez. Díaz opted for a three-year deal with the Dodgers instead (presumably at a much higher annual rate) and Atlanta moved quickly to the former Padres closer.

The Braves built out the bullpen with a handful of smaller free agent pickups. They brought Kinley back on a $4.25MM guarantee with a ’27 club option, confirming they made the right call to decline his slightly higher priced option for 2026.

Atlanta non-tendered and re-signed middle reliever Joel Payamps for $2.25MM. Danny Young and Ian Hamilton joined the organization on a split contract and non-guaranteed deal, respectively. Young will miss the majority of the season as he rehabs last May’s Tommy John surgery; Hamilton has already been outrighted off the 40-man roster.

The Braves should have one of the league’s stronger bullpens. Iglesias and Suarez are an elite one-two pairing. Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer offer Weiss a pair of quality left-handers, while Kinley and Payamps slot nicely into the middle innings. Daysbel Hernández is behind as he rehabs last year’s shoulder injury but should get a middle relief spot once he’s healthy. Out-of-options waiver pickup Osvaldo Bido nabs the final bullpen job for the time being.

Atlanta’s relief corps took one notable injury hit over the winter. Former setup man Joe Jiménez is dealing with another seemingly significant left knee issue. He missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing surgery the prior offseason. Jiménez required a cleanup procedure to repair cartilage damage last November. He was placed on the 60-day injured list at the start of camp, and it’s unclear when (or if) the Braves anticipate him pitching this year.

Although the bullpen was fixed, the Braves had yet to fully address either the rotation or shortstop as the Winter Meetings concluded. The latter position was essentially a waiting game on whether Kim would re-sign. Atlanta never seemed interested in spending on Bo Bichette. Kim was the only other starting shortstop available in free agency. The trade market at the position was similarly barren.

The Braves gave themselves some cover as they awaited Kim’s decision. They lined up a trade with the Astros that sent last year’s starting shortstop Nick Allen to Houston for Mauricio Dubón. Allen is a superlative defender but probably has the lightest bat of any non-catcher in the league.

Dubón is a Gold Glove utility player who should be a capable defensive shortstop. He’s a below-average hitter but certainly provides more at the plate than Allen did last year. The Braves paid $4.7MM in the difference between the infielders’ respective arbitration salaries. Dubón will be a free agent next offseason.

Dubón raised the floor at shortstop while having the versatility to play a multi-positional role if the Braves brought Kim back. They were tied to free agent utility infielder Willi Castro as well, but they ended up landing their preferred target in the middle of December. Kim returned on a one-year, $20MM deal. He reportedly declined a four-year, $48MM offer from the Athletics to take the higher salary in a familiar setting. Kim picked up an extra $4MM over the player option value, while the Braves solidified shortstop.

That was the plan, at least. It’s on hold after Kim slipped on ice in his native South Korea and tore a tendon in his right middle finger. He flew back to Atlanta to undergo surgery that’ll sideline him for the first four to six weeks of the season. It magnified the importance of the Dubón pickup, as he’s penciled back in as the everyday shortstop to begin the year.

Immediately after the Kim injury, the Braves signed Jorge Mateo to a big league deal for marginally more than the league minimum. He’ll work as a backup shortstop who could be pushed off the roster once Kim is healthy. While shortstop is in flux, the rest of the infield is settled. Matt Olson and Albies will play every day on the right side. Austin Riley is back from last year’s core surgery to man third base.

Catcher Sean Murphy also underwent an operation at the end of the 2025 season — a labrum repair in his right hip, in his case. Murphy has apparently played through hip pain for years. He’s starting the season on the injured list. The Braves have one of the sport’s best young catchers in Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin. Murphy’s absence opens some at-bats at designated hitter. Atlanta could ease his workload even if he’s back from the injured list before the end of May.

That freed up enough playing time that the Braves felt comfortable adding left fielder Mike Yastrzemski on a two-year, $23MM deal. A multi-year contract came as a surprise for a player who turns 36 in August. Yastrzemski has a long track record as a slightly above-average regular. He’s coming off a big finish to the 2025 season after being traded from the Giants to the Royals at the deadline.

Yastrzemski joins Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. as the projected starting outfield. Righty-hitting Eli White can work as a short side platoon player to take some at-bats from Yastrzemski against lefty pitching. That was supposed to move Jurickson Profar to the primary DH role.

That plan was also scuttled, as Spring Training brought the news that Profar had again tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. It’s his second straight year serving a PED ban. This one comes with a 162-game suspension, so he’ll miss the entire season and forfeit his $15MM salary. He’s under contract for a matching amount next year in the final season of what has become a massive headache of a free agent signing. It’s unclear if the Braves intend to keep him around or will eat the money and move on.

First baseman Dominic Smith, who signed a minor league contract over the winter, is set to open the season as the DH against right-handed pitching. Smith had a solid half-season for the Giants last year (.284/.333/.417 in 63 games) and hit pretty well this spring. The Braves re-signed him to a split contract at the end of camp, giving him a 40-man roster spot. He’ll be paid at a $1.25MM rate while he’s on the MLB team.

Atlanta did the same with veteran infielder Kyle Farmer, who’ll provide a right-handed bat off the bench. Farmer hasn’t hit much over the past two seasons and is coming off a very difficult season, batting .227/.280/.365 across 300 plate appearances for the Rockies. He’s also making $1.25MM for time in the majors on a split deal.

Smith and Farmer each have the service time to refuse minor league assignments, but their respective contracts presumably come with solid minor league salaries that could incentivize them to accept a future assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett. Farmer beat out-of-options infielder Brett Wisely for the last bench spot.

The Braves still needed a backup catcher for the first month and a half of the season. Jonah Heim, non-tendered by the Rangers in November, will fill that role. He signed a $1.5MM contract on the heels of a second straight rough season. Heim was an above-average regular and the starter on Texas’ 2023 World Series team. He has hit .217/.269/.334 with declining defensive grades over the past two years.

For all the activity on the position player and bullpen fronts, the Braves did curiously little in the rotation. Their biggest starting pitching move was a minor league deal for veteran lefty Martín Pérez. Anthopoulos said in February that the team was comfortable with their depth and felt they’d only benefit from adding a playoff-caliber starter. That’s a much different message from his comments in November.

It’s true that the intervening three months raised the team’s confidence in Grant Holmes, who finished last season with a UCL sprain but has successfully rehabbed without surgery to date. They’re surely encouraged by the development of prospects JR Ritchie and Didier Fuentes (the latter of whom will open the season in the big league bullpen after a dominant spring).

At the same time, it’s difficult to justify completely eschewing the rotation market given the injury histories of their returning starters. Zac Gallen, Justin Verlander, Chris Bassitt, Zack Littell and the still unsigned Lucas Giolito were among the starters who lingered in free agency into February. Gallen was the only one among that group who was attached to a qualifying offer. They all signed one-year deals (or are virtually certain to do so, in Giolito’s case). Did the Braves not consider any of them an upgrade over Joey Wentz, Bryce Elder or José Suarez?

It seems likelier that payroll was the obstacle, though they haven’t reallocated any of the $15MM they’re not paying to Profar. If that’s the case, it raises questions about whether they’d have been better served adding a starter than committing as much money as they did to the back of the bullpen — or whether Kim is a significant enough upgrade over Dubón that it made sense to pay him $20MM (even if the finger injury itself was obviously unforeseeable).

The already flimsy rotation depth has taken a number of hits this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep each underwent surgeries to remove loose bodies from their elbows. They’ll miss most or all of the first half. Spencer Strider has an oblique strain that’ll cost him at least a few weeks. That would have drawn Wentz into the rotation, but he tore his ACL in a collision covering first base and will miss the whole season. They already knew that AJ Smith-Shawver wouldn’t be a factor after last June’s Tommy John procedure.

Sale is back at the top of the rotation. He has his own significant injury history, but he’s currently healthy and a Cy Young caliber arm when he’s on the mound. It’s pivotal that Holmes’ elbow holds up, as he’s the #2 starter for the time being.

Reynaldo López is seemingly the third starter. He made one appearance last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. A fastball that usually sits in the 95-96 mph range averaged 91.3 mph this spring. The velocity might tick up a little bit as he gets into the season but probably isn’t climbing by four miles per hour. Even if he’s currently healthy, it’s unlikely he’s throwing 140+ innings.

Elder and Suarez are fringe roster types. The Braves placed the latter on waivers a couple months ago, losing him to the Orioles only to claim him back a few weeks later. They’re now each in the season-opening rotation. They’re going to need Ritchie and Fuentes to excel as rookies. The former will begin the year in Triple-A but should be up before long. Fuentes is going to start in relief with a plan to option him a few weeks into the season to build up as a starter in the minors. That’s a sensible course of action, but he’s a 20-year-old who pitched a total of 70 innings last year. He’s not logging a full rotation workload.

They’ll need to stay afloat for a couple months to benefit from midseason injury returns and potential deadline pickups. It’s certainly not out of the question, but there’s limited margin for error in a division that features the Phillies and Mets.

The Braves did make one notable move on the rotation front, albeit one that has no real impact on the 2026 picture. They hammered out an extension with Sale this spring, paying him a $27MM salary for the ’27 season while adding a $30MM club option for 2028. It’s a sensible move to extend a relationship that has worked extremely well for both sides. It also removes the already long shot possibility that the Braves might have traded Sale at the deadline if they weren’t performing up to expectations.

They’re certainly hoping they’ll play well enough to approach deadline season as buyers either way. Few teams match the high-end talent the Braves possess. A team with Acuña, Baldwin, Olson, and Riley plus an excellent bullpen can certainly be dangerous. This is among the most top-heavy rosters in MLB, though, putting a lot of pressure on the team’s pitching development to overcome the injuries.

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Royals Designate Drew Waters For Assignment

By | at March 25, 2026 2:51pm CDT

The Royals designated outfielder Drew Waters for assignment as they finalized their Opening Day roster this afternoon. He’s out of options and did not make the team. Kansas City filled the open 40-man roster spot by selecting the contract of righty reliever Eli Morgan, though he was optioned to Triple-A Omaha and will not break camp.

Kansas City placed three players on the injured list. Reliever James McArthur (recovery from 2025 elbow surgery) and swingman Stephen Kolek (left oblique strain) go on the 15-day IL. Second baseman Michael Massey (left calf strain) hits the 10-day injured list. Those placements are retroactive to March 22. Massey was the only borderline case of the three. His absence means infielder Nick Loftin and center fielder Tyler Tolbert join Lane Thomas and Starling Marte on the season-opening bench.

Waters, a former second-round pick of the Braves, has played parts of four seasons with Kansas City. The 27-year-old has a .234/.300/.369 slash line while striking out 31% of the time in just under 700 career plate appearances. He batted .188 with one home run across 16 games this spring. Waters is an average runner who can play all three outfield spots. His defensive grades in center field have been fine but unexceptional, not enough to overcome the limited production at the plate.

Tolbert also has a modest offensive ceiling, but he’s a plus athlete who’s better suited to make an impact as a defensive replacement or pinch runner. He also has a couple minor league options remaining, so the Royals could send him or Loftin down once Massey is healthy. The Royals will trade Waters or, more likely, run him through waivers within the next five days.

Morgan signed a minor league deal in January. The 29-year-old had a strong camp, tossing 10 1/3 innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts. Morgan doesn’t throw hard but has an excellent changeup that helped him find success early in his career with the Guardians. His declining strikeout rate led the Guards to trade him to the Cubs last year. Morgan was rocked over seven appearances before going down with an elbow impingement that knocked him out for the remainder of the season. The Cubs non-tendered him in November.

Kansas City didn’t have room for Morgan on the Opening Day roster. They would have needed to jettison one of the out-of-options Alex Lange or Bailey Falter or demote lefty Daniel Lynch IV, whose velocity has ticked up this spring. They’ll keep Morgan in the organization by taking advantage of his remaining minor league option year. It’s likely that Morgan’s deal had some kind of upward mobility or opt-out clause that otherwise would have allowed him to explore other opportunities.

That also seems to be the case for veteran reliever Héctor Neris, who was in camp as a minor league signee. The MLB.com transaction log indicates he was released over the weekend once the Royals decided he wouldn’t break camp. Neris failed to record a strikeout while giving up 11 runs over 6 1/3 innings this spring.

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