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White Sox To Sign Munetaka Murakami

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The White Sox are in agreement with infielder Munetaka Murakami on a two-year deal worth $34MM, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Passan adds that Murakami is expected to play first base in Chicago.

Murakami, 26 in February, arrives in the majors as perhaps the most anticipated NPB hitter to move stateside since Shohei Ohtani. The slugger set an NPB record with 56 home runs in a single season at 22 years old, and he continued to make an international name for himself with Team Japan during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. A career .270/.394/.557 hitter across 892 Central League games for the Yakult Swallows, Murakami boasts true 80-grade power that could completely change an up-and-coming White Sox lineup that already includes highly regarded youngsters like Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel.

That combination of power and unusual youth for a free agent led many to believe that Murakami would be able to secure one of the most lucrative contracts of the offseason. On MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list published at the outset of the offseason, Murakami landed as the #4 free agent available with a predicted contract of $180MM over eight years. It was easy to imagine at least one team being willing to roll the dice on Murakami’s tantalizing upside in order to lock him up for his entire prime, but teams were more hesitant to commit to Murakami than expected. Few teams were publicly connected to the slugger, and reports from all corners of the baseball world indicated that teams were feeling gun-shy about his contact rate in NPB, which would’ve been the lowest in baseball in the majors last year if carried over.

While teams weren’t willing to go to the high levels expected when Murakami was first posted, it does appear that he may have left some guaranteed money on the table in taking this deal. Passan reports that some teams did try to get involved in Murakami’s market by offering long-term deals with lower annual salaries. That sort of deal would have guaranteed Murakami a longer runway to work things out at the big league level, but would have limited the financial upside available to him. Instead, he took a short-term deal that will offer him a healthy annual guarantee that’s on par with the AAV of the five-year deal Murakami’s countryman Seiya Suzuki signed with the Cubs across town five years ago.

That comes with just two guaranteed years in the majors, but if Murakami is able to establish himself he’ll head into free agency ahead of his age-28 season. That should leave him in line for a far more substantial payday during the 2027-28 offseason, should he prove himself capable as the sort of middle-of-the-order power bat he has the potential to be. For a player looking to adjust to the majors, it’s hard to imagine a more forgiving environment than the south side of Chicago. The White Sox have average 108 losses per season over the last three years and posted arguably the worst season in MLB history back in 2024. While young players like Montgomery and Teel have begun to impact the major league roster, expectations for the club could hardly be lower at this point.

While any dreams Murakami may have had of hoisting a World Series trophy in his rookie season as a big leaguer are likely to be dashed by his decision to sign with the White Sox, playing on a team with low expectations for this year should allow him a low-pressure environment to make any adjustments to his game that might be necessary in order to maximize his success without the risk of losing his spot in the lineup to another player in the midst of a pennant race. The White Sox seem to want Murakami to be able to focus on maximizing his offense as much as possible, as the longtime NPB third baseman will be moving to first base in Chicago. Scouts nearly universally expressed skepticism about is ability to handle the hot corner at the big league level, so a move to first base should put less pressure on Murakami to prove himself as a defender and allow him to focus more fully on his work at the plate.

Should Murakami successfully prove himself in the majors, he would help anchor a budding core of young hitters for the White Sox. Montgomery and Teel both enjoyed excited seasons at up-the-middle positions last year, and they’ll be joined in the lineup by players like third baseman Miguel Vargas, second baseman Chase Meidroth, and catcher/DH Edgar Quero who enjoyed seasons last year that made them look like solid complementary pieces for the future. Luis Robert Jr. also figures to offer the Sox some star power alongside Murakami if he’s healthy enough to handle something close to a full slate of games in center field and remains on the team amid persistent trade rumors.

Taken together, it’s easy to see Murakami as the centerpiece of an offseason that has seen the White Sox take small steps towards a return to competitiveness at the big league level. The NPB star isn’t the only player the White Sox have deigned to add to the roster this winter; lefty Anthony Kay signed a two-year deal worth $12MM after his own successful stint in Japan, and the club is reportedly among the teams interested in former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, as well. Those moves are unlikely to vault Chicago into a playoff spot by themselves, especially in a competitive AL Central where the Tigers and Guardians made it to October with Kansas City putting together a very aggressive offseason in their own right.

Immediate playoff contention, however, isn’t likely to be the expectation; it’s not often that a team qualifies for the playoffs the year after losing 100 games, much less two years after losing 120. Instead, these additions should allow the White Sox to foster a more competitive environment for their young core as they reach the majors and, if things go ell, build towards playoff contention in 2027 and beyond while reinvigorating fans who have been left wanting by the team’s latest rebuild, which saw the club part with beloved players like Lucas Giolito and Garrett Crochet.

These steps forward also allow the White Sox to pull their payroll out of the league’s basement. Following the Murakami signing, RosterResource projects the club for an $84MM payroll in 2026, a figure that jumps up to nearly $102MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s more or less in line with last year’s $85MM payroll and pulls the White Sox just out of the bottom five in the majors at this point. Of course, that figure is still extremely modest and leaves plenty of room for a team in a large market like Chicago to add additional salary, whether that’s a late-inning arm like Fairbanks or perhaps a veteran starting pitcher who can help anchor the club’s rotation. It should also be noted that the White Sox will pay a posting fee to the Swallows as a result of signing Murakami. That posting fee figures to land at approximately $6.6MM, given the relatively modest total guarantee Murakami landed.

White Sox, Red Sox Among Teams With Interest In Munetaka Murakami

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NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami’s posting window closes at 4pm CT time on December 22. With just over a day left for Murakami to sign with an MLB club, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the White Sox are among the teams that are presently engaged in talks with the slugger’s camp. Chris Cotillo of MassLive adds that the Red Sox have “kicked the tires” on Murakami, as well as fellow NPB infielder Kazuma Okamoto. Okamoto’s posting window closes on January 4.

Murakami’s time on the market has been unusually quiet for a player of his status. These reports of interest on the part of Chicago and Boston are the first significant reports tying Murakami to any of MLB’s 30 teams, as his representation has seemingly played things very close to the vest regarding his market. The 25-year-old has surely received interest from other clubs as well that has simply gone unreported, of course, but Murakami’s market doesn’t seem to be quite as strong as expected even when factoring in that reality.

Geoff Pontes of Baseball America suggested in an appearance on Foul Territory this past week that the slugger’s market has been “softer” than he and his representation were expecting entering the offseason. MLBTR ranked Murakami as the #4 free agent on the market this winter, predicting an eight-year, $180MM contract for the young slugger as part of our Top 50 MLB Free Agents list. That ranking accounts for Murakami’s top-of-the-scale power and extreme youth heading into free agency; Yoshinobu Yamamoto was just six months younger than Murakami when he landed a $325MM contract from the Dodgers, while the fact that Juan Soto was headed into his age-26 season was a key factor in him landing a record-shattering $765MM deal last winter.

With that said, Murakami’s low contact rates have raised some eyebrows around the baseball world since his posting, and it’s not hard to see why. The Athletic’s Eno Sarris illustrated the concerns with Murakami’s lack of contact in NPB by sharing a list of players with comparable contact rates and exit velocities in the majors in recent years. The resulting group includes some stars like Nick Kurtz (and Shohei Ohtani if the parameters adjusted to be somewhat more favorable to Murakami), but it includes a far larger group of middling players, ranging from decent regulars like Matt Wallner to early-career flame-outs like Aristides Aquino. There’s certainly reasons to believe Murakami will be a great deal better than those players, of course; his raw production in NPB is nothing short of otherworldly. Even so, the risk in the young slugger’s profile is real, and it’s not necessarily a shock that teams might shy away from giving him a massive contract until and unless he can prove his style of play works at the big league level.

Turning to the clubs with reported interest in Murakami, the White Sox are a very interesting fit. The slugger is certainly young enough to be part of the next competitive team on the south side; he’s just two years older than star rookies Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel. That makes him an intriguing fit for the Sox, especially if he signs with the club on a long-term deal. Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa are the club’s projected starters at the infield corners at the moment, but neither player is locked in strongly enough to prevent the addition of Murakami.

A short-term deal could also be possible, as well; the White Sox signed Erick Fedde to a two-year deal two winters ago and rode a strong first half to secure a three-way trade involving Fedde that brought back Vargas. A similar approach could be employed here as well, at least in theory. Chicago might be a particularly appealing destination for the young slugger given their lack of competitive expectations this year; it could allow him the opportunity to make necessary adjustments at the big league level without the pressure of a pennant race, and perhaps the White Sox would be more comfortable than most clubs trying Murakami at third base despite widespread concerns about his ability at the position.

As for the Red Sox, Murakami could provide the sort of elite slugger than the Red Sox lost when they traded away Rafael Devers over the summer. That makes the fit between the sides plausible, but there are certainly questions and obstacles as well. For one, the Red Sox are entering a clear win-now window after making the playoffs last year, and might not be willing to play Murakami through any struggles that could come with his adjustment to the majors. For another, the Red Sox are already extremely left-handed and have Triston Casas in-house as a first base/DH option with plenty of upside in his own right. Boston would need to be confident that Murakami would be a substantial upgrade over Casas in order to commit significant dollars to him for the same role.

While a pursuit of Murakami from Boston can’t be ruled out, the quote from Cotillo about Boston “kicking the tires” on the slugger suggests more of a reserved approach to his market. That’s an understandable path to take, particularly given that Okamoto could be a better fit. Okamoto is older than Murakami and lacks his countryman’s elite power, but he’s enjoyed a much more steady career in NPB without contact rate concerns, offers more playable defensive skills at third base, and is a right-handed hitter who more effectively complements the Red Sox lineup. That solid fit is part of why the Red Sox have been linked to Okamoto on occasion throughout the winter, even as they pursue a reunion with third baseman Alex Bregman.

Blue Jays Interested In Alex Bregman

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Add the Blue Jays to the list of potential suitors for free agent Alex Bregman. Toronto officials have been in contact with Scott Boras, the third baseman’s agent, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Red Sox, Cubs, and Diamondbacks have also been connected to Bregman.

Toronto has already been a major player in free agency this offseason, though the additions have come on the pitching side. The club snagged one of the top starters on the market in right-hander Dylan Cease. They locked down reliever Tyler Rogers on a three-year deal. In a year with several intriguing arms arriving from overseas, the Blue Jays landed one of the highest-upside options in Cody Ponce. Toronto has been tied to some of the biggest bats on the market, including Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, and Bo Bichette. Bregman now joins that esteemed group.

Boston is reportedly pushing for a Bregman reunion. The third baseman opted out of a three-year, $120MM deal with the club after one season. He had a strong campaign with the Red Sox, providing middle-of-the-order thump to go with steady glove work. Chicago is back in the mix after coming up short last year. The Cubs reportedly offered Bregman a four-year deal this past offseason, though the total value fell short of his agreement with the Red Sox. The Diamondbacks recently joined the race for Bregman. Arizona seems like a long shot to land the stud free agent, but the club does have a vacancy after trading Eugenio Suárez at the deadline.

Toronto’s current plan at third base seems to be a combination of Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, and Davis Schneider. Clement will be penciled in at second base with Bichette hitting the market. Barger is the top option for third base duties, at least against righties. Schneider could pick up second base reps against lefties, with Clement sliding to third. Infielders JoJo Parker and Arjun Nimmala are among Toronto’s top prospects, though they’re unlikely to contribute at the big-league level for a few more years.

The Blue Jays’ third basemen ranked 10th in OPS last season. Clement and Barger split the role fairly evenly, with Will Wagner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa occasionally mixing in. Barger emerged as a crucial cog in the middle of the lineup, launching 21 home runs in his first extended stint at the highest level. Clement bounced around the infield, seeing time at all four spots. He played in a career-high 157 games, providing league-average numbers at the plate. Clement also set a postseason record with 30 hits. Third base isn’t a position that seems like a glaring weakness, but a longer-term view of the roster makes Bregman a more sensible fit. George Springer and Daulton Varsho are both free agents after 2026. Their potential departures would open up outfield and DH opportunities for Barger, Schneider, and company.

While Clement and Barger are solid players, Toronto would have no issue reshuffling the lineup to make room for an addition like Bregman. The 31-year-old has a career 133 wRC+. After three straight seasons with at least 23 home runs, Bregman hit 18 in 114 games in his lone season in Boston. A quad strain cost him a month and a half, but he was on track to maintain his standard power numbers. Bregman was worth +3 Outs Above Average this past year. He’s now at +18 over the last five seasons.

The additions of Cease and Rogers, among others, pushed Toronto’s estimated payroll to roughly $272MM, per  RosterResource. That’s already $14MM above the club’s 2025 mark. It’s well beyond the Blue Jays’ $217MM payroll from 2024. It’s a new level of spending for a squad that fell just short of bringing home a title this past year.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Yankees To Re-Sign Paul Blackburn

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The Yankees are expected to re-sign right-hander Paul Blackburn, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’s a one-year deal worth $2MM. The Boras Corporation client can earn an additional $500K through incentives.

Blackburn landed with the Yankees after getting released by the Mets in August. He made eight appearances with the club, recording a 5.28 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning. Blackburn had been a starter for the majority of his career, but worked strictly as a reliever with the Yankees. The now 32-year-old had a miserable debut with the team, allowing seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings to begin his time in the Bronx. He bounced back from there, holding opponents to just two earned runs over his next 12 innings.

Blackburn spent the first seven years of his big-league career with the Athletics. He offered modest results as a back-of-the-rotation depth piece, with stretches of above-average performance. The Mets picked up Blackburn in a minor trade at the 2024 deadline. He struggled through five starts with the team to close that season. Blackburn dealt with spine and knee injuries heading into the 2025 campaign. He didn’t appear in a game until June, and then missed another six weeks with a shoulder issue. Blackburn tossed five scoreless innings in his first outing of the season. He then gave up at least three runs in each of the next five appearances.

While Blackburn was solely a reliever for the Yankees, the contract incentives suggest there might be room for a rotation spot. He gets $100K if he reaches 80 innings, and an additional $100K for each 10-inning milestone he hits up through 120 innings. New York has a relatively soft rotation behind Max Fried and Cam Schlittler. Luis Gil, Will Warren, and Ryan Yarbrough will likely fill out the rest of the staff. Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, and Clarke Schmidt are currently on the mend.

Guardians Designate Justin Bruihl For Assignment

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The Guardians have designated left-hander Justin Bruihl for assignment, the team announced. Bruihl’s removal from the 40-man roster opened up a spot for right-hander Shawn Armstrong, who was signed earlier this week.

Cleveland acquired Bruihl for cash considerations on Wednesday after Toronto designated him for assignment. The Blue Jays were also making room for a reliever addition, designating Bruihl as the corresponding move after signing Tyler Rogers.

Bruihl joined the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent in March. He put together 42 solid innings at Triple-A, earning a promotion to the big-league club. The 28-year-old lefty made 15 appearances with Toronto, recording a 5.27 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. Bruihl punched out 27.7% of the hitters he faced, though it came with a 10.8% walk rate. The brief stint was enough to earn Bruihl a postseason roster spot. He made one appearance in the ALDS, getting knocked around for a couple of runs on three hits while securing just one out. Bruihl was not on the postseason roster following the series against the Yankees.

Bruihl has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons for four teams. He’s put together a 4.72 ERA across 94 appearances. The lefty debuted with the Dodgers in 2021. He maintained a semi-regular role in the bullpen over the next three seasons. Bruihl was dealt to Colorado in August 2023. He had brief stints with the Rockies and Pirates before landing in Toronto.

The Blue Jays made a notable arsenal change, having Bruihl emphasize his sinker instead of his cutter. He’d typically prioritized a cut fastball, though he did lean on his sweeper as his primary pitch in his time with Pittsburgh. Bruihl had never used the sinker more than 31.7% of the time in the big leagues heading into 2025. He pushed it to 51.1% this past season, while basically scrapping the cutter (7.3% usage). Sinker/sweeper isn’t a typical swing-and-miss combo, so it’s interesting that Bruihl posted the best strikeout numbers of his career. Toronto may have unlocked something in terms of sequencing or location, in addition to the arsenal adjustment, that led to better strikeout results.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Tigers Designate Justyn-Henry Malloy For Assignment

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To clear a 40-man roster spot for reliever Kyle Finnegan, the Tigers have designated outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy for assignment. It’s the first DFA in Malloy’s young career. He appeared in 52 games with Detroit last season.

Detroit acquired Malloy and lefty Jake Higginbotham from Atlanta in a December 2022 trade that sent right-hander Joe Jimenez to the Braves. Jimenez has dealt with injury issues, but has provided strong work in the Atlanta bullpen when healthy. The Tigers haven’t had much to show for their end of the deal. Malloy has hit .209 across 357 plate appearances in his two big-league stints with the club. He’s struck out at a massive 32.8% rate at the MLB level. Higginbotham spent two seasons in Detroit’s minor league system, topping out at Triple-A (one game). He signed with San Diego as a minor league free agent last offseason.

The Braves took Malloy in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. He zoomed through the system, reaching Triple-A in 2022. Malloy compiled a sterling 144 wRC+ across three levels that season. MLB.com ranked him seventh among Detroit’s prospects in 2023. He slugged 23 home runs at Triple-A in his first season in the organization. Malloy continued to do damage with Toledo in 2024, though his strikeout rate ticked up to 28%. He earned a promotion in June and spent the majority of the remainder of the season with the Tigers. Malloy showed some power with eight home runs, but he struck out at a massive 37% clip.

Malloy has a good sense of the strike zone, as evidenced by a career 12% walk rate and a sub-20% chase rate. It’s making contact when he does choose to swing that’s been the problem. Malloy had a hefty 36.6% whiff rate in 2024. He improved that number to 29.1% this past season, though that mark was still well below average. Malloy trimmed his strikeout rate to a reasonable 25.2% in 2025. Unfortunately, his batted ball metrics fell off. Malloy posted a decent 37.8% hard-hit rate in his debut year, but it tumbled to 31.1% this season. After recording a double-digit barrel rate in 2024, that mark plummeted to 4.1% this year.

Most of Malloy’s at-bats came as a DH or pinch-hitter in 2025. He’s totaled -4 Outs Above Average in his career. Malloy came up as a third baseman, but he’s only played the outfield since joining the Detroit organization. He was a bat-first prospect, and he’s trending toward a DH-only future.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Guardians Sign Shawn Armstrong

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December 20: Cleveland has officially announced the addition of Armstrong. The right-hander will earn $4MM in 2026, reports Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. The deal also includes an $8MM mutual option for 2027, with a $1.5MM buyout. Left-hander Justin Bruihl was designated for assignment to clear space on the 40-man for Armstrong.

December 18: The Guardians and right-hander Shawn Armstrong have agreed to a deal, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The ISE Baseball client will be guaranteed $5.5MM on a one-year pact with a mutual option. The Guards have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this deal official.

Armstrong returns to his original organization. He was drafted by Cleveland back in 2011 and pitched for them in the majors from 2015 to 2017. In the almost decade since then, he has spent time with the Mariners, Orioles, Rays, Marlins, Cardinals, Cubs and Rangers.

Despite that nomadic journey, his performance has been fairly steady in some respects. His earned run average has wobbled from year to year, but that’s not unusual for relief pitchers, who pitch a small number of innings annually and can have ERA swings from a few bad games. From 2019 to 2025, Armstrong tossed at least 36 innings in each full season with at least 52 frames in five out of six. His strikeout rate finished between 22% and 27% in each of those. His walk rate has finished below 9.2% in six straight seasons.

Put it all together and Armstrong has thrown 363 1/3 innings since the start of 2019 with a 3.96 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Despite that fairly solid trajectory, he settled for a modest $1.25MM deal with the Rangers for the 2025 season.

Texas was surely pleased with that investment. Armstrong averaged about 94 miles per hour on both his four-seamer and sinker while also mixing in a cutter, slider and curveball. He tossed 74 innings on the year with a 2.31 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. His .196 batting average on balls in play and 76.3% strand rate were unsustainably fortunate but his 3.07 FIP and 3.36 SIERA suggest he would have fared well even with neutral luck. He saved nine games and registered 12 holds for the Rangers.

Armstrong has parlayed that into a new deal worth more than four times his last one, the biggest payday of the 35-year-old’s career. The Guardians had a strong bullpen in 2025, as their collective 3.44 ERA was third in the majors behind only the Padres and Red Sox. They are down one key member, as Emmanuel Clase is under investigation for a gambling scandal and may never pitch in the majors again.

The Guards don’t usually have tons of money to throw around but have been busy augmenting their bullpen with minor moves. They have signed Colin Holderman and Connor Brogdon to big league deals. They acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays and selected Peyton Pallette from the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft. Those new arms will add to a group which includes incumbents Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and others.

Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images

Orioles Notes: Baz, Mayo, Rotation Additions

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After spending four prospects and a draft pick to acquire him, the Orioles have high hopes for right-hander Shane Baz. “He hasn’t fully tapped into his ceiling yet, so we see him as a front end of the rotation starter,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias told reporters this week, including Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore landed Baz with a package headlined by recent first-round picks Slater de Brun and Caden Bodine. He’ll likely slot in behind Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers as the club’s No. 3 starter. Baz posted an ERA up near 5.00 in his final season with the Rays. Elias cited Tampa Bay’s home venue as the potential culprit. “We see a lot of underlying information in his statistics and his performance this year suggests that he had bad luck. A lot of it was driven by the ballpark that the Rays were playing in.” Tampa Bay played its home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field this past season due to hurricane damage at Tropicana Field.

Baz did have significant home/road splits in 2025. He posted a 5.90 ERA in 16 home starts, compared to a 3.86 mark in 15 appearances on the road. Baz allowed 10 more home runs at George M. Steinbrenner Field than he did away from the venue. Interestingly, Camden Yards graded out as a slightly better hitter’s park than George M. Steinbrenner Field this past season, per Statcast’s Park Factors.

The big key for Baz could be righty/lefty splits at his new home. George M. Steinbrenner Field ranked third in Park Factor for right-handed hitters this past season, while Camden Yards was 19th. The Orioles recently moved the left field fences in after having pushed them back, and they also lowered the enormous “Walltimore,” though that side of the field has still been tough on righty bats. Baz has reverse splits, allowing much more damage to same-handed hitters this past season. Righties slugged 55 points higher against Baz than lefties, while striking out far less often and walking slightly more frequently. Baz struck out lefties at a solid 28.2% rate, but punched out righties at a middling 21.7% clip.

The swing for Baz helps solidify Baltimore’s rotation, though that doesn’t mean he’ll be the last addition. Elias said the front office will “stay hard at work” to continue improving the unit. Dean Kremer is locked into a starting spot, but the depth chart gets murky from there. Tyler Wells made it back after an extended injury absence to make four starts in September. Injuries have limited him to 37 innings over the past two seasons. Young arms Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott, and Brandon Young had opportunities in 2025, but none of them delivered notable results. Swingman Albert Suarez is back with the club on a minor league deal.

Baltimore’s busy offseason has mostly focused on the hitting side, but the club was linked to Michael King before he returned to San Diego, along with current free agents Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Tatsuya Imai. The Orioles have also been connected to Freddy Peralta, Edward Cabrera, and MacKenzie Gore in the trade market. Free agents like Valdez and Suarez are now a bit more intriguing for the Orioles following the Baz trade. Both pitchers rejected qualifying offers, so teams will have to forfeit their third-highest draft pick to sign them. As Jake Rill of MLB.com points out, Baltimore would’ve ceded the No. 46 overall selection prior to the Baz deal. Now that the team has sent their Competitive Balance Round A pick (33rd overall) to Tampa Bay, the penalty for signing a Valdez or a Suarez would be the 83rd pick, softening the blow of losing draft compensation.

The Orioles made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason when they brought in Pete Alonso on a massive five-year deal. The move could potentially block Coby Mayo, though Elias expressed optimism about finding at-bats for the former top prospect. “There is still a lot of playing time available for [Mayo] on a team that has Pete Alonso now,” Elias said. “We have first base reps, we have designated hitter reps, and the exploration of other positions — whether it’s third or something in the corner outfield.”

Mayo was originally drafted as a third baseman. He spent ample time at both corner infield spots in the minors, though the majority of his big-league experience has come at first base. Mayo appeared in 70 games at first base this past season, compared to just three games at the hot corner. The 24-year-old hasn’t played the outfield as a professional.

After being overmatched in his brief 2024 debut, Mayo continued to struggle for the first few months of this past season. He turned it on in September, slashing .301/.393/.548 across 24 games to close the season. Nearly half of Mayo’s 11 home runs came over the final month of the campaign. The young slugger continued to strike out at a near-30% rate, but showed flashes of the power potential that helped move him up Baltimore’s system. The Orioles have Jordan Westburg penciled in at third base and several young options in the outfield. The club could find part-time work for Mayo if they’re determined to get him at-bats, but it would likely need to come at multiple positions.

Photo courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images

Tigers Re-Sign Kyle Finnegan

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December 20: Detroit has officially announced the Finnegan deal. He’ll earn $8.75MM in 2026 and $8MM in 2027. The contract also includes a mutual option for 2028 at $10MM, with a $2.25MM buyout. Justyn-Henry Malloy was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Finnegan.

December 9: The Tigers are reportedly bringing back veteran reliever Kyle Finnegan on a two-year, $19MM contract. There are also $1MM in bonuses available for the Warner Sports Management client. Detroit’s 40-man roster is full, meaning they’ll need to make a corresponding move once the contract is finalized.

It’s yet another domino to fall in a quick-moving relief market. Detroit initially acquired Finnegan from the Nationals at the trade deadline. He carried a 4.38 earned run average with a sub-20% strikeout rate at the time. It frankly seemed underwhelming for the team’s biggest bullpen pickup. The Tigers correctly identified Finnegan as a player who had another level of upside with a change to his pitch mix, however.

In Washington, Finnegan had thrown his fastball around two-thirds of the time. He used his splitter at a roughly 30% clip and sporadically mixed in a slider. The Tigers encouraged him to dramatically scale up the use of the split-finger offering. It was about a 50-50 divide in August, and he used the splitter more than 55% of the time in September and into the postseason. The impact on his results was immediate.

Finnegan allowed only three runs in 16 regular season innings as a Tiger. He fanned 23 of 66 opponents, almost doubling his early-season strikeout rate. His swinging strike rate jumped by five percentage points. The righty secured four saves and three holds while surrendering just one lead. He missed a couple weeks in September with a groin strain but immediately stepped back into a high-leverage role for skipper A.J. Hinch. Finnegan added 7 1/3 frames of three-run ball in the postseason, albeit with only three strikeouts.

Between the two teams, Finnegan posted a 3.47 ERA with a 24% strikeout percentage across 57 innings. The overall numbers aren’t far off the marks he’d carried over the first five seasons of his career. Finnegan entered 2025 with a 3.56 earned run average and a 23.5% strikeout rate in nearly 300 major league outings.

The altered pitch mix and the strong finish to the season have certainly changed teams’ perceptions of him. At this time last offseason, Finnegan found himself non-tendered by the Nationals in lieu of a projected arbitration salary around $8MM. He waited until a week into Spring Training to return to Washington on a $6MM contract with deferrals. Finnegan commands the first multi-year deal of his career one offseason later. The terms essentially match MLBTR’s prediction of two years and $20MM.

Finnegan will again pair with Will Vest at the back of Hinch’s bullpen. He has plenty of closing experience from his time in Washington and could handle the ninth inning on days when the Tigers use Vest earlier in leverage situations. Detroit could stand to bring in another swing-and-miss arm at the back end. Even after acquiring Finnegan, the Tiger bullpen ranked 25th in strikeout rate. Assuming they build Troy Melton back up as a starter, Finnegan and Vest are their only two projected leverage relievers who sit around 96 MPH on average. They’re a little light from the left side, but Vest and Finnegan each excel against opposite-handed batters. That could allow them to pursue another righty and stick with Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter as their top southpaws.

The specific salary breakdown is unreported. Evenly distributed $9.5MM salaries would push Detroit’s projected payroll to roughly $157MM, according to RosterResource. That’s about $15MM north of where they opened this past season. The long-term books are still wide open. Javier Báez and Colt Keith are the only other players under contract for 2027. Keith’s respective $5MM salaries for 2028-29 and modest option buyout in 2030 are their only commitments after the ’27 campaign.

Edwin Díaz, Gregory Soto and Finnegan came off the board on Tuesday. Robert Suarez, Brad Keller, Luke Weaver, Tyler Rogers, Seranthony Domínguez and Pete Fairbanks are the remaining unsigned relievers who made MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents. Keller and Weaver could get consideration as starters, while Rogers and Domínguez are setup types. Suarez is the best reliever still available. Fairbanks and Kenley Jansen join him as unsigned established closers.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the Tigers and Finnegan were nearing a deal. Robert Murray of FanSided had the two-year, $19MM agreement with $1MM bonus. Image courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images.

Rangers Sign Andrew Velazquez To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have agreed to terms with infielder Andrew Velazquez on a minor league deal, the club announced this week. The pact includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training. Velazquez is represented by CAA Sports.

The 31-year-old Velazquez spent the 2025 campaign in the Yankees organization. He put together a standout season on the basepaths with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, swiping 25 bags in 106 games. Velazquez hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2023, but he’s piled up 58 steals over the past two seasons at Triple-A.

Arizona took Velazquez in the seventh round of the 2012 draft. After a couple of seasons in the low levels of the Diamondbacks system, he was traded to Tampa Bay along with Justin Williams for Jeremy Hellickson. Velazquez slowly moved up the ladder with the Rays, debuting with the big-league club in 2018. He appeared in 23 games with Tampa Bay from 2018 to 2019, before being dealt again, this time to Cleveland. Velazquez would continue to bounce around from there, spending time with the Orioles, Yankees, and Angels over the next few seasons.

Velazquez has never contributed much as a hitter at the highest level, recording a 48 wRC+ across 624 plate appearances. Speed is his main contribution on the offensive side, as he has 40 steals in 275 games. The Angels gave Velazquez the longest look, as he operated as their primary shortstop in 2022. The light-hitting Velazquez popped nine of his 12 career homers that season, though he slashed a meager .196/.236/.304 over 125 games. The defining moment of Velazquez’s career came the year prior, when the Bronx native was playing for his hometown squad. The light-hitting infielder slugged his first career home run in front of several family members at Yankee Stadium.

While he’s mostly played shortstop, Velazquez has experience at second base, third base, and all three outfield positions. He’s seldom graded as a plus defender, but his versatility could allow him to provide value to a big-league team. With Marcus Semien now in New York, utilityman Josh Smith is expected to step into an everyday role for the Rangers. Considering the extensive injury histories of Corey Seager and Josh Jung, Texas could use some reliable infield depth.

Photo courtesy of Mike Watters, Imagn Images

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