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Red Sox Have Had Trade Talks Involving Jordan Hicks

By Darragh McDonald | January 30, 2026 at 2:38pm CDT

The Red Sox seemingly have enough pitching depth to consider trading some. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports that Patrick Sandoval, Brayan Bello and Jordan Hicks have been discussed in trade talks. Reporting back in December indicated that both Bello and Sandoval were garnering interest from other clubs.

It isn’t specified which party brought up Hicks in these trade talks but presumably the Sox have been trying to shop him, as opposed to other teams trying especially hard to acquire him. He has some good major league results on his track record but hasn’t been effective lately and his contract is not favorable.

Two years ago, the Giants signed him to a four-year, $44MM deal, hoping to convert him from the bullpen to the rotation. That experiment went well initially before Hicks seemingly ran out of gas. He posted a 1.59 earned run average through the end of April, but then had a 3.99 ERA in May, 5.24 in June and 8.40 in July.

He was moved back to the bullpen later in the year and also spent some time on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. He didn’t get things on track in 2025. He was eventually included in the Rafael Devers trade as financial ballast and finished the season with a 6.95 ERA between the two clubs.

Prior to signing that deal, Hicks had some decent results out of the St. Louis bullpen, riding his triple-digit velocity to a groundball-heavy approach. At the end of the 2023 season, he had a career ERA of 3.85. His 12.8% walk rate was high but he struck out 24.5% of batters faced and induced grounders on 60.4% of balls in play. Some teams probably have interest in him as a bounceback candidate but he is still owed $24MM over the next two years, so Boston would have to pay down most of that in order to line up a deal.

The commonality with Sandoval, Bello and Hicks as that they’re all making decent money, with Bello still owed $50.5MM through 2029, including the $1MM buyout on a 2030 club option. Sandoval will make $12.75MM in 2026.

RosterResource currently projects the Sox for a payroll of $197MM and a competitive balance tax figure of $266MM. They finished 2025 with a pure payroll of $209MM and a $247MM CBT calculation. If they are willing to spend to last year’s levels, the pure payroll has some wiggle room but perhaps the upcoming higher tax budget eats up some of that difference.

Trading one of these contracts could create some extra payroll room. The Sox could use a second base upgrade, though free agency doesn’t really have any amazing solutions remaining. Guys like Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ramón Urías are out there but arguably don’t provide a huge upgrade over Boston’s current group of Romy González, Nick Sogard and David Hamilton. The Sox are also looking for catching upgrades and presumably want to add another reliever or two while leaving some wiggle room for in-season maneuvering.

Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images

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Athletics Extend Jacob Wilson

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 2:31pm CDT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Mariners Sign Will Wilson, Jakson Reetz To Minor League Deals

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 1:41pm CDT

The Mariners announced a slate of 34 non-roster invitees to spring training Friday. Most of the names were internal invitees or previously reported free agent signings, but infielder Will Wilson and catcher Jakson Reetz are new additions to the group.

Wilson, 27, was a first-round pick by the Angels back in 2019, coming off the board 15th overall. The NC State product was traded to the Giants just six months later, with the Angels effectively using him as a mechanism to dump the remainder of Zack Cozart’s contract on San Francisco.

Wilson spent several years in the Giants’ system but never advanced beyond Triple-A. He reached minor league free agency last winter, signed with the Guardians, and eventually made his MLB debut with Cleveland. Wilson posted a respectable .246/.325/.435 slash in Triple-A (102 wRC+) but struggled in the majors with a .192/.267/.244 slash and 37% strikeout rate in 91 trips to the plate.

The righty-swinging Wilson had even splits in 2025 but has typically been more productive against fellow righties than against lefties. With the glove, he has plenty of experience at shortstop (2360 innings), third base (1029 inning) and second base (992 innings). He’s more briefly appeared in the outfield throughout his pro career, logging a small sample of 138 innings (total) between all three slots.

Reetz, 30, has appeared in parts of two big league seasons but has only 17 plate appearances to his credit. He spent the 2025 campaign with the Triple-A clubs for the Mets and Orioles, combining  for a .192/.307/.399 slash. That came in a relatively small sample of 228 plate appearances. Prior to 2025, Reetz had a much stronger track record in the upper minors. He’s a career .230/.331/.451 hitter in 983 Triple-A plate appearances and slashed .254/.368/.431 there as recently as 2024.

Reetz has strong framing marks and solid grades for his ability to block balls in the dirt, per Baseball Prospectus. He struggled to throw runners out on the bases in 2025, but even after posting a mere 15% caught-stealing rate this past season, his career mark is a robust 29%.

Both Wilson and Reetz will be long shots to win jobs with the Mariners, but both provide some experienced depth to stash in Triple-A Tacoma. Wilson will be behind bench options Leo Rivas, Ryan Bliss and Miles Mastrobuoni, to say nothing of young infielders Ben Williamson, Colt Emerson and Cole Young. All six are on the 40-man roster, and Emerson and Young are particularly touted prospects. As for Reetz, he’s at best fourth on the team’s catching depth chart. American League MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh leads the way, with veteran Andrew Knizner backing him up and recent waiver claim Jhonny Pereda also holding a 40-man roster spot.

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Nationals Claim George Soriano, Designate Tsung-Che Cheng For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | January 30, 2026 at 1:00pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have claimed right-hander George Soriano off waivers from the Braves. Atlanta designated him for assignment earlier this week when they claimed José Suarez off waivers from the Orioles. To open a spot for Soriano today, Washington has designated infielder Tsung-Che Cheng for assignment.

Both players involved here have been riding the DFA carousel this winter. Soriano finished the 2025 season with the Marlins but has since gone to Baltimore, Atlanta and now Washington via waivers. Cheng was on the Pirates as of a few months ago but has gone to the Rays, Mets and Nationals via the waiver wire. For each of these two and many others this winter, it seems that several teams are hoping to pass the player through waivers, therefore keeping him as non-roster depth.

Soriano, 27 in March, hasn’t found major league success yet. He logged 118 innings for the Marlins over the past three years, allowing 5.95 earned runs per nine with a 22% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 38.7% ground ball rate. He exhausted his three option years in that time.

But he did just wrap up a strong season in the minors. He tossed 42 2/3 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.32 ERA. He struck out 28.8% of batters faced, gave out walks at an 8.8% clip and induced grounders on 55.7% of balls in play. He averages about 96 miles per hour with both his four-seamer and sinker while also featuring a slider and a changeup.

Teams are clearly intrigued by Soriano but seemingly prefer to have him aboard in a non-roster capacity. If he is passed through waivers at some point, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he has less than three years of service time and does not have a previous career outright.

Perhaps the Nats will put him back on waivers later but they could certainly use the arms. The Washington bullpen had a 5.59 ERA last year, worst in the majors. They subtracted from the group when they traded Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners for catcher Harry Ford. If Soriano can hang onto his roster spot, he can be controlled for five full seasons.

Cheng, 24, still has an option remaining but his appeal is nonetheless borderline enough for him to be barely clinging to a 40-man spot. He appears to have a decent floor as a speed-and-defense infielder. Throughout his minor league career, he has played a bunch of the three infield spots to the left of first base, generally getting good reviews for his glovework. He’s been good for 20-ish steals per year in the minors as well.

The bat is more of a question. He hit well through Single-A but has struggled at the upper levels. Over the past two years, he has a combined .217/.319/.312 batting line on the farm, which translates to an 81 wRC+. He was also sent to the plate seven times in the majors and struck out three times without getting a hit.

It appears he has some appeal as a glove-first depth infielder but not enough for any club to put him firmly in their plans. The Nats will likely put him back on waivers soon. DFA limbo can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so he should be back on the wire at some point in the next five days.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

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Giants Sign Harrison Bader

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 12:03pm CDT

January 30th: The Giants officially announced Bader’s signing today. They opened a 40-man spot by trading Kai-Wei Teng to the Astros yesterday.

January 26th: The Giants have a notable upgrade to their outfield defense in place, reportedly agreeing to a two-year, $20.5MM contract with free agent outfielder Harrison Bader. The Vayner Sports client can earn an additional $500K via incentives, bringing the deal’s maximum value to $21MM.

Bader, 31, has been a free agent for three consecutive offseasons but now lands the multi-year deal that’s previously eluded him. He signed one-year deals with the Mets and Twins, respectively, over the past two winters. Bader turned in a career-best performance in Minnesota and was red hot for the Phillies down the stretch after joining them in a deadline swap, and the market has rewarded that strong 2025 performance.

In 501 plate appearances between Minnesota and Philadelphia last year, Bader slashed .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers, 24 doubles, a triple and 11 steals (albeit in 18 attempts). His 7.8% walk rate was the second-best he’s posted in a 162-game season, though 2025’s bloated 27.1% strikeout rate was also his worst full-season mark since 2019. Much of Bader’s success can be attributed to an increase in playing time and a hefty .359 average on balls in play, but it bears mentioning that his 10.2% barrel rate and 40.3% hard-hit rate were personal bests in a full big league season.

Strong as last year’s performance was — 22% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+ — offense has never been Bader’s calling card. He’s been clearly above average in four of his nine MLB campaigns, but on the whole, Bader is a .247/.313/.401 hitter in a bit more than 3000 career plate appearances, which just barely shy of average. His glovework, however, is among the best in all of baseball, regardless of position.

Bader has played 5925 innings of center field defense in his career and been credited with a gaudy 51 Defensive Runs Saved and 67 Outs Above Average. He played more left field than center field in Minnesota, largely in deference to Byron Buxton, and notched positive marks in both DRS (7) and OAA (3) through 496 frames.

Overall, Bader has played 6799 innings of outfield defense in the majors, dating back to his 2017 MLB debut. In that time, only four outfielders — Mookie Betts, Kevin Kiermaier, Daulton Varsho, Michael A. Taylor — have bested his 67 DRS. No outfielder in that time has topped Bader’s 77 OAA. Francisco Lindor, Nick Ahmed, Nolan Arenado and Ke’Bryan Hayes are the only four majors leaguers at any position with a better OAA total in that time.

With Bader turning 32 in June, it’s fair to at least wonder whether he’ll begin to slow down over the next two seasons. However, there’s no reason to think that’ll be the case — at least based on recent history. This past season’s average sprint speed of 28.8 feet per second was actually an improvement over Bader’s 2024 mark of 28.2 ft/sec and right in line with his 2023 mark. He’s no longer covering the flat-out elite 30 ft/sec he did earlier in his career, but Bader’s 2025 sprint speed still landed in the 85th percentile of all big league position players. He’s a clear plus runner.

It’s a near certainty that Bader will take that plus speed and range to Oracle Park as the Giants’ new center fielder. Jung Hoo Lee handled the bulk of center field work in San Francisco this past offseason but ranked as one of the worst defenders in the game along the way (-18 DRS, -5 OAA). Lee’s arm strength sat in the 91st percentile of big league outfielders, per Statcast, but his range was near the bottom of the scale. Lee should have the arm to move to right field, where his lack of range would be better suited. Even if Bader’s bat regresses and checks in a bit shy of average, the defensive upgrade alone will be enormous for the Giants.

Assuming even distribution of that $20.5MM, Bader’s contract bumps San Francisco’s actual cash payroll to a projected $195MM, per RosterResource. Their luxury tax payroll is quite a bit higher, clocking in at about $221.5MM, but that still leaves more than $20MM between their current standing and the $244MM threshold at which luxury penalties begin. San Francisco has paid the tax in the past, but only rarely. They were over the line in 2024, which stands as their only time exceeding the threshold in recent memory.

For the time being, it doesn’t seem likely that the Giants will climb back to that level of spending. San Francisco is in the market for a second baseman but has been looking at the trade market — specifically, affordable targets like CJ Abrams and Brendan Donovan (“affordable” in terms of salary — not necessarily prospect capital). They’ve added Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle to the rotation and could continue to poke around the rotation and bullpen markets, but ownership has publicly expressed an aversion to signing any free agent pitcher to a long-term deal, making a run at a top free agent like Framber Valdez feel unlikely.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the two-year agreement. Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the financial terms.

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Front Office Subscriber Chat With Anthony Franco

By Anthony Franco | January 30, 2026 at 11:56am CDT

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Braves, Martín Pérez Agree To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | January 30, 2026 at 10:45am CDT

The Braves and left-hander Martín Pérez have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The Octagon client will presumably be in major league camp in spring training.

Pérez, 35 in April, is coming off a mostly lost season due to injury. He signed a one-year, $5MM pact with the White Sox to serve as a veteran innings eater on the rebuilding club. That didn’t work out as the southpaw was on the injured list by mid-April for inflammation in his throwing elbow. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with a flexor strain and it was questionable whether he would make it back from the IL.

The veteran did eventually come back in August but landed back on the IL in September due to a shoulder strain. Around the IL stints, he gave the White Sox 56 innings with a 3.54 earned run average, 19.3% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 39% ground ball rate.

For most of his career, Pérez has been a finesse lefty. His fastball has never averaged more than 94.2 miles per hour and has usually been a tick or two below that. He was in the 91-92 mph range in 2023 and 2024. He dropped down below 90 in 2025 but the injuries may have played a part in that. He has a six-pitch mix with a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup.

He has mostly been able to provide passable results. In his 1,631 2/3 career innings, he has a 4.41 ERA despite striking out just 16.3% of batters faced. His 8.3% walk rate is around average and his 48.4% ground ball rate is a few ticks better than par. He managed to get his ERA down to 2.89 with the Rangers in 2022, and parlayed that into a $19.65MM qualifying offer for 2023, which he accepted. But that campaign looks like a clear outlier, as he was back in the 4.50 ERA range for the next two seasons.

Atlanta has a good rotation on paper but with question marks all throughout the group. Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López, Hurston Waldrep and Grant Holmes are likely the top six options right now. Sale won a Cy Young in 2024 but has generally been pretty injury prone in the seasons around that and will turn 37 soon. Schwellenbach missed the final three months of 2025 due to an elbow fracture. Strider missed most of 2024 due to ulnar collateral ligament surgery and posted a 4.45 ERA in his return last year. Shoulder surgery limited López to one start last year. Waldrep had a strong 2025 but still has fewer than 65 big league innings under his belt. Holmes has a partially torn UCL and is trying non-surgical rehab but will be a question mark until he ramps up in camp.

Given all that uncertainty, depth will be important. Bryce Elder is on the roster but posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the past two seasons. Prospect Didier Fuentes was rushed to the majors in 2025 and looked overmatched, allowing 20 earned runs in 13 innings.

Atlanta was connected to free agents Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt earlier this week, so perhaps a significant move will be forthcoming soon. For now, Pérez gives them a bit of extra depth without taking up a roster spot. He’ll look to pitch his way onto the roster. His chances of succeeding will naturally depend on his own performance but also on the team-wide health situation as things develop in the coming months.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

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

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 9:53am CDT

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

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

Falvey offered his own statement:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Minnesota Twins Newsstand Derek Falvey Jeremy Zoll Tom Pohlad

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Orioles Interested In Lucas Giolito

By Darragh McDonald | January 30, 2026 at 9:47am CDT

The Orioles are known to be looking for more starting pitching. They’ve been connected to Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander and Zac Gallen in recent weeks. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that Lucas Giolito is also someone they are seriously considering. Giolito has also received reported interest from Detroit and Atlanta in the past month.

The O’s have made a few moves to address their rotation already this offseason. They acquired Shane Baz from the Rays and re-signed veteran Zach Eflin. They also subtracted Grayson Rodriguez, trading him to the Angels for Taylor Ward.

As of now, they should have Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Baz and Eflin in four spots. The fifth spot would most likely go to Dean Kremer, who has pretty consistently posted an earned run average in the low 4.00s for a few years now.

All teams need more than five starters to get through a season in the modern game, so depth is important. Tyler Wells missed most of the past two seasons due to ulnar collateral ligament surgery but was a viable back-end starter before that. Chayce McDermott, Cade Povich and Brandon Young have roster spots but haven’t clicked in the majors yet. They all have options and can be kept in Triple-A as optionable depth. Albert Suárez is in the mix on a minor league deal for some veteran non-roster depth. Trey Gibson doesn’t have a roster spot yet but he is one of the top pitching prospects in the league and has already reached the Triple-A level, so he should be pushing for a debut in 2026.

It’s a decent group on the whole. Arguably, they need upside more than they need additional depth. They don’t really have anyone you would call an ace. Rogers ended up having a great 2025, finishing with a 1.81 ERA. However, he started the season on the injured list, recovering from a right knee subluxation. Even once he was healthy, he was kept in the minors for a while. He didn’t get recalled for good until June. Bradish missed most of the past two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Baz has intriguing upside but just posted a 4.87 ERA last year.

Last winter, Baltimore went with older veterans with theoretically stable floors but less upside, signing Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Kyle Gibson. Those moves mostly did not work out well and the rotation was a major flaw in 2025.

Whether Giolito can provide upside over the guys currently on the roster is debatable. He did once seem like a borderline ace but it’s been a few years since he showed that form. He made 72 starts for the White Sox over the 2019 to 2021 seasons with a 3.47 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate, getting at least one Cy Young vote in each of those campaigns. But his numbers dipped over the next two years, as his ERAs were closer to 5.00 with strikeout rates in the 25% range. He then missed 2024 due to UCL surgery.

In 2025, he bounced back, to a degree. He made 26 starts for the Red Sox with a 3.41 ERA. He was even better after a cold start, with a 2.51 ERA over his final 19 appearances. But he only struck out 19.7% of batters faced on the year. Even in that strong push over his final 19 starts, he only punched out 20.3% of batters faced. He wasn’t able to pitch in the playoffs due to flexor irritation and a bone issue in his throwing arm. He has said that the issue subsided shortly after the season ended.

Given Baltimore’s current rotation picture, they could surely use the 2019-2021 version of Giolito. His more recent output wouldn’t be as exciting as someone like Valdez but he would surely be cheaper. At the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Valdez to get $150MM over five years and Giolito $32MM over two years. With February just over the horizon, it becomes more likely that Valdez pivots to some kind of short-term deal with opt-outs, but he should still be more expensive that Giolito on an annual basis.

They should have a bit of powder dry. RosterResource projects the Orioles for a $148MM payroll next year. They started 2025 at $165MM, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. If they want to run a similar number this year, they should have $15-20MM to spend. If they could line up a Ryan Mountcastle trade, since he’s more or less blocked by Pete Alonso, that would free up almost $7MM more.

Photo courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images

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White Sox Sign Lucas Sims To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 9:01am CDT

The White Sox have signed right-hander Lucas Sims to a minor league contract, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. The TWC client presumably be in camp as a non-roster invitee when pitchers and catchers report next month.

Sims, 31, opened the 2025 season with the Nationals but was cut loose after just 19 appearances. The right-hander’s command evaporated entirely while pitching in D.C. He tossed 12 1/3 innings and was tagged for 18 runs in that time, thanks largely to a bloated 19.4% walk rate and a staggering seven hit batters. He also tossed three wild pitches. Sims went on to sign a minor league deal with the Phillies, but his command in Triple-A wasn’t any better; he issued walks at an 18.6% clip and plunked nine more batters in 34 innings.

Though 2025 was clearly a lost season, Sims had a decent track record prior. From 2020-24, he pitched 189 2/3 innings between the Reds and Red Sox, combining for a 3.89 ERA with a 29.4% strikeout rate. Command was an issue for Sims even during that more solid run (13% walk rate), but certainly not to the extent he showed between the Nats and Phillies last season.

Even as he struggled in 2025, Sims appears to have been healthy. He didn’t make a trip to the major league or minor league injured list, and he wound up tossing a combined 46 1/3 innings despite a two-week layoff between those two clubs. His 94.9 mph average four-seamer in the majors was right in line (slightly higher, actually) than the 94.4 mph he’d averaged across the past three seasons. He dipped to 93.8 mph in Triple-A, but that wasn’t a particularly notable drop from the prior season’s 94.2 mph average.

The White Sox recently signed veteran reliever Seranthony Dominguez to a two-year, $20MM contract. He’ll enter the season as the favorite for closing opportunities, barring another addition, while righties Jordan Leasure and Grant Taylor will give manager Will Venable a pair of setup options who each punched out more than 30% of their opponents in 2025 (34.4%, in Taylor’s case). Righty Mike Vasil and lefty Tyler Gilbert are likely ticketed for swing roles after pitching well in ’25. That’s especially true for Gilbert, who’s out of minor league options.

The rest of the bullpen spots are largely up for grabs. Chicago currently has two Rule 5 picks (Alexander Alberto and Jedixson Paez) on the 40-man roster. Other bullpen candidates include Brandon Eisert, Jairo Iriarte, Wikelman Gonzalez and out-of-options lefty Bryan Hudson. Sims joins lefty Ryan Borucki and righty Tyson Miller as one of the more experienced non-roster invitees in camp who’ll be vying for one of those final spots.

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