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Previewing The 2025-26 Free Agent Class: Shortstop

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A number of teams (and their fanbases) have already turned their attention towards the offseason. Identifying free agent targets is a big part of that prep work, so it’s worth taking a look at the players who’ll be available at each position.

We’re moving to shortstop, where there is one guy clearly above the rest of the pack, though even he comes with notable question marks. The market behind him will be shaped by a couple of key option decisions. Ages listed are for the 2026 season.

Previous entries in this series: catcher, first base, second base, third base

Top of the Class

Bichette will hit free agency at a relatively young age and coming off a strong season at the plate. Apart from an injury-marred 2024, his offense has been consistently above average. Through the end of 2023, he had a .299/.340/.487 line and 126 wRC+. He has never drawn tons of walks but is also tough to strike out. He had a 143 wRC+ in his brief 2019 debut but then was in the 120-129 range in four straight seasons after that.

As mentioned, he struggled badly while playing through a number of injuries last year. The end result was a .225/.277/.322 line and 70 wRC+. This year, until recently, he was healthy and back to his old self. He finished 2025 with a .311/.357/.483 line and 134 wRC+.

There’s no doubting the bat but there are other questions. Bichette’s defense has never been highly rated. Defensive Runs Saved has given him a -19 grade in his career. Outs Above Average puts him at -32. His 2025 season resulted in -12 DRS and -13 OAA. Those numbers from this year were both last among shortstops.

Then there’s the health stuff. Bichette has dealt with lower body injuries in three straight seasons now. Right knee and quad injuries sent him to the injured list late in 2023. Last year, it was mostly his right calf which was causing him problems. This year, he suffered a sprain of the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a collision with Yankee catcher Austin Wells, as seen in this clip from MLB.com. He’s now been out more than a month, having missed the end of the regular season and all of Toronto’s postseason run so far.

In recent years, strong everyday shortstops like Willy Adames, Dansby Swanson, Javier Báez and Trevor Story have earned guarantees in the $140-$182MM range. Bichette is a better hitter than anyone in that group was when they hit free agency. He’s also a year younger than they all were. The questions about his defense and health should dock him somewhat but he should still have plenty of earning power. Perhaps not many clubs view him as a viable shortstop but the bat is good enough that it might not matter. Marcus Semien got $175MM to move to second base and Bichette could follow that path.

Two Big Option Decisions

Kim can opt out of the final year of his contract, which would mean leaving $16MM on the table. He isn’t coming off a great season, having hit just .234/.304/.345 for a wRC+ of 82. However, he is at least healthy. Last offseason, he got a two-year, $29MM guarantee even though he was recovering from shoulder surgery and was slated to miss the beginning of the season. He’s unlikely to secure a massive deal, but another two-year deal with an opt-out should be available to him, especially with so few viable alternatives on this list.

Prior to his shoulder surgery, he had a strong run with the Padres. From 2022 to 2024, he slashed .250/.336/.385 for a 106 wRC+ while stealing 72 bases and providing quality defense at various positions. FanGraphs credited him with 10.5 wins above replacement over those three seasons, a pace of 3.5 WAR annually. He didn’t immediately bounce back in 2025 but perhaps he can find a new gear now that he’s further removed from surgery.

Story is arguably in the inverse position of Kim. He had a better season in 2025 but has less of a case for opting out. He had roughly league average offense this year but that includes a slow start after three injury-marred years. Once he got in a groove, he stayed in it. He had a .216/.260/.326 line and 59 wRC+ through the end of May but then slashed .289/.334/.492 for a 124 wRC+ from June onwards. He also stole 31 bases on the year.

However, his defense was graded poorly and he is about to turn 33 years old. He has two years and $55MM left on his deal. Despite his strong season, his age and injury history may scare teams away from investing in him. He may be tempted to trigger the opt-out, as that forces the Sox to decide whether or not to keep him by triggering his 2028 club option. But since his contract looked like an albatross just a few months ago, the Sox might be happy to let him walk. They could try Marcelo Mayer at short and then use Story’s money to re-sign Alex Bregman or add pitching.

Multi-Positional Types

Castro had a solid few years with the Twins but his production cratered at the worst time. He slashed .251/.334/.395 for a 107 wRC+ over 2023 and 2024 while stealing 47 bases and bouncing all around the diamond. His numbers this year were right on that pace until he was traded to the Cubs. After the swap, he hit .170/.245/.240 for a wRC+ of 40. That awful finish will cut into his earning power and he’s not a strong enough defender to be an everyday shortstop anyway. But he can play there in a pinch while also being an option basically everywhere else. He doesn’t have a ton of juice but even light-hitting utility types have value. The Blue Jays gave Isiah Kiner-Falefa $15MM over two years heading into 2024, for instance, and IKF has never had an above-average offensive season.

Speaking of which, that two-year pact is about to expire, meaning IKF will be back out there again this winter. The Jays traded him to the Pirates last year but got him back via a waiver claim here in 2025. He hit .266/.302/.356 for a wRC+ of 84 over the course of the deal but was still worth 2.8 fWAR thanks to his 26 stolen bases and strong glovework at various positions. He’s currently getting a decent amount of playing time from a club on the doorstep of the World Series. It’s not the most exciting profile but IKF is a more viable defensive shortstop than Castro. Considering the lack of options on the market, someone should be able to find a role for him.

Rojas has said he plans to retire after 2026 and hopes that he can stay with the Dodgers for his final season. He’s been pretty solid in the past couple of years, hitting .273/.328/.404 for a 105 wRC+ while continuing to be a viable defender around the dirt. If it’s not with the Dodgers, some other club would be happy to utilize him in a similar bench/utility role.

Minor League Deal Candidates

Rockies To Narrow Front Office Search To Finalists Next Week

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With the Nationals hiring Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations, the Rockies are the only team searching for a new front office head. That could soon be coming to an end, as Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports that the Rox will narrow to a group of finalists next week.

Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post hears similarly and writes that the Rox still have yet to determine whether the new hire will be given the title of general manager or president of baseball operations. That could be based on whomever they hire. If they tab a GM from another club, they’d need to give that person the president of baseball ops title to represent a promotion.

There are three known interviewees for the Rox’s top job: Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, Guardians AGM Matt Forman, and Blue Jays vice president of baseball strategy James Click. It’s not clear how many other candidates are under consideration. Click is the only one of those three who has experience running a baseball operations department. He led the Astros between 2020-22, winning a World Series in the last of those seasons. He clashed with owner Jim Crane, though, and the Astros moved on after Click rejected a one-year extension offer on the heels of the championship.

While the front office leader is the most significant hire, Saunders reports that the team is also set to hire a chief revenue/strategy officer. That person will work mostly on the business side, though the stated goal is for increased revenues to be reinvested back into the team’s notoriously thin baseball operations infrastructure.

According to Saunders, the front office search is being headed by executive vice president Walker Monfort — the son of owner Dick Monfort. It’s not entirely clear how the baseball operations staff is structured in the interim. Former GM Bill Schmidt and assistant GM Zack Rosenthal are both out, and the team did not name an interim general manager. It stands to reason they’ll want their new top executive in place by the end of the month. The World Series could end as soon as October 28 in the event of a sweep. The trade market reopens the day after the World Series and the first few days of the offseason see plenty of waiver activity.

Giants Interview Vance Wilson In Manager Search

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The Giants interviewed Royals third base coach Vance Wilson as part of their managerial search earlier this month, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Wilson is also a candidate to interview for the Twins’ position, Rogers adds.

The 52-year-old has worked as K.C.’s third base coach for the past six seasons. He’d spent the preceding two years as bullpen coach, giving him eight seasons on an MLB staff. Wilson has worked under each of Ned Yost, Mike Matheny and Matt Quatraro.

The Royals interviewed him during the hiring cycles that resulted in the Matheny and Quatraro hirings. While Wilson didn’t get the top job on either case, Kansas City has valued him enough to keep him on staff through multiple managers.

Wilson has never managed in the major leagues, but he has seven seasons of managerial experience in the K.C. farm system. He played parts of eight MLB seasons as a backup catcher with the Mets and Tigers. He’s one of a few former catchers on the radar for the Giants. Nick Hundley and Kurt Suzuki have also interviewed, with Hundley reportedly viewed as a favorite. Minnesota is known to have spoken with Nick Punto, Derek Shelton, James Rowson and Ramón Vázquez as part of their search to replace Rocco Baldelli.

Cardinals Announce Surgery For Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Ivan Herrera

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A trio of Cardinals underwent surgical procedures in recent weeks, the team announced Friday. Lars Nootbaar had surgery on both heels, and Brendan Donovan underwent a sports hernia repair on October 7. Ivan Herrera had surgery on his elbow to remove bone spurring on Oct. 15. John Denton of MLB.com was among those to report that Nootbaar’s procedure was to shave down Haglund’s deformities. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was among those to note that the recovery timetables are uncertain.

Nootbaar is coming off his healthiest big-league season. The 28-year-old played a career-high 135 games and topped 500 plate appearances for just the second time. Nootbaar missed a few weeks at the end of July with a rib injury, but that was his only IL stint. He was also sidelined for a brief stretch in August with a knee issue.

While Nootbaar stayed on the field in 2025, he struggled to produce at the plate. He slashed an underwhelming .234/.325/.361, resulting in a career-low 96 wRC+. Nootbaar maintained his solid plate discipline numbers, but he fell off significantly in the power department. His .361 SLG was a career-worst by more than 50 points, and his .128 ISO was unbefitting of a corner outfielder.

Nootbaar is arbitration-eligible this offseason. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $5.7MM salary.

Donovan dealt with multiple injuries in 2025, with a groin strain in August costing him the most time. He initially tried to play through the injury, but eventually landed on the IL. Donovan appeared in just eight games over the final few weeks of the regular season.

The injuries capped what was shaping up to be a career season for Donovan. He hit .329 through May, before a turf toe issue popped up. Donovan earned a trip to the All-Star game and still had an OPS near .800 heading into the break. His numbers trailed off from there, but the final line was strong. Donovan finished with career-best marks in batting average and slugging percentage to go with an excellent 119 wRC+.

Donovan is also heading to arbitration. Swartz projected him for a $5.4MM salary, just behind Nootbaar.

Herrera battled several injuries himself this season, though the elbow issue is his first of the upper-body variety. He missed most of April with knee inflammation, then a hamstring strain cost him three more weeks in the summer.

A three-homer game put Herrera on the map in the first week of the season. He piled up 11 RBI in the Cardinals’ first seven games. Herrera continued to mash after the knee injury, maintaining an OPS over .900 before the hamstring injury. He scuffled in July and August, but bounced back with a massive September. Herrera wrapped up his first full big-league season with a strong .284/.373/.464 slash line. He’s been a standout at the plate whenever given the opportunity. He even saw some outfield reps this past season as St. Louis tried to find ways to get him in the lineup.

The Cardinals have several options behind the plate, which made it easier for Herrera to spend the majority of his time at DH. A potential trade could clear out some of that depth, but Herrera should find regular at-bats in the Cardinals’ lineup next year, whether at catcher or DH.

Reds Plan To Keep Elly De La Cruz At Shortstop

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Elly De La Cruz has led the league in errors the past two seasons, but the Reds intend to keep him at shortstop, at least for the time being. President of baseball operations Nick Krall spoke to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com for a piece about Cincinnati’s top prospects. With shortstop prospect Edwin Arroyo knocking on the door of the majors, Krall was asked if there were plans to move De La Cruz off the position. “As of right now, no,” Krall told Sheldon.

After posting 29 errors in 2024, De La Cruz racked up another 26 this past season. He’s been at least three errors clear of the next-closest defender in each of the past two seasons. Durability is somewhat at play here. De La Cruz has been remarkably healthy in his first two full seasons in the big leagues, appearing in at least 160 games both times. More games equal more fielding opportunities, though De La Cruz has also struggled on a per-chance basis. He finished with the third-worst fielding percentage among qualified players in 2025.

De La Cruz has tantalizing tools at the position. He averaged 92.2 mph on throws in 2025, which ranked in the 93rd percentile. De La Cruz posted standout marks in terms of range last season, with StatCast having him at 14 Outs Above Average. That mark plummeted to -3 this past year, though.

Center field has been rumored as a future destination for De La Cruz. It’s a path many struggling infielders have taken over the years, with Oneil Cruz serving as the most recent notable example. Cruz finished second in errors last season with 26. While a couple of those miscues came in the outfield, 24 of them were at shortstop. Pittsburgh moved Cruz to the outfield full-time in 2025, opting to go with the sure-handed Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop.

While Arroyo might not be an immediate MLB option, Cincinnati has alternatives already on the big-league roster. Matt McLain made 52 starts at the position when he first debuted in 2023. The same goes for Noelvi Marte, who played a handful of games at shortstop when he first joined the Reds. Santiago Espinal has plenty of experience up the middle, but he’s likely ticketed for a utility role. Cincinnati now has Ke’Bryan Hayes at third base to buttress the left side of the infield, which should allow some flexibility with the shortstop decision.

No matter where he plays, De La Cruz’s bat will be in the lineup. He’s been the engine of the offense the past two seasons, topping 20 homers and scoring 100+ runs in back-to-back years. De La Cruz has at least 35 stolen bases in all three of his MLB seasons, including a league-leading 67 swipes in 2024. De La Cruz has trimmed his strikeout rate in each year of his career. He hit a career-best .264 this past season.

Despite De La Cruz’s struggles, Cincinnati only had the 11th-most errors last season. They ranked 21st in fielding percentage. A full season of Hayes should boost those marks.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Good evening everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week!
  • Looking forward to another of these, let's get it started

Twins

  • They can say its not a rebuild all they want but what we're seeing seems clear. Why not just rip the band aid off, trade Pablo and Joe Ryan for a ton, and start over?

Bradke Hrbek

  • Imagine a world where the Twins aren't inclined to continue their trade deadline fire sale this offseason... what kind of trade offer would convince them to give up Joe Ryan anyway?

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah I expect both Ryan and Pablo to go by the deadline at the latest. Two years on each and even if they're hoping for an accelerated rebuild, the bullpen and bottom part of the lineup are in such bad shape that it's not fixable in one offseason
  • As far as Ryan goes, I assume it looks pretty similar to the Crochet deal. I was a little lower on that one for the White Sox because I'm not a huge Braden Montgomery fan. But I assume Chicago viewed that as two of the 50-60 best prospects in MLB with Teel/Montgomery, a solid third piece in Meidroth, and then a lottery ticket reliever in Gonzalez
  • Ryan's not as good as Crochet is now but I think it's debatable whether he's as valuable as Crochet was then. Higher ceiling with the lefty working in the upper 90s with huge strikeout rates, but Crochet had yet to show he could hold that level over a full season with an ace workload

Astros fan

  • If Alonso leaves, do you think the Mets would have any interest in Christian Walker? How much of his salary do you think they would be willing to pay?

Anthony Franco

  • I'd rather just see what Vientos can do there, but I'm probably lower on Walker than the rest of the MLBTR staff. I'd need the Astros to pay him into the $8-10M range annually to consider it, and only after I've exhausted other options on the FA market
  • The defensive grades collapsed. He was essentially unplayable in the first half, very good in July and August, then pretty bad again in September. Chase up a little bit, contact way down. The trend lines are rough

Guarded Indian

  • Not so much a question as a statement, but I really hope you guys are wrong about Nick C. coming to Cleveland.  I'd rather run it with Kwan, Delauter, Valera in the OF, Manzardo at DH with Kayfus at first.  Unfortunately, this does seem exactly like the kind of move my Guards would do.

Anthony Franco

  • I agree, don't love the fit there and would rather have Kayfus/Manzardo split 1B/DH. Seems like Nick feels differently (though he's also just highlighting a few possibilities for a low-stakes poll) and it's true that they need better out of right field, but I assume DeLauter's going to end up there. I wouldn't want Castellanos playing the outfield every day

Omar Minaya

  • Seems to be increasing smoke around a potential Skubal trade. How would you rank the potential suitors?

Alex

  • For so many reasons, I don't think it particularly likely from either side, but out of curiosity, if the Tigers were to make Skubal available, what sort of cost would teams be looking at? For my frame of reference, let's say it's the Cubs inquiring. It seems like something that would be so astronomical that no team would consider it, but to reference the Yankees/Soto trade a few years ago (which feels like a similar situation) it's not like that set the Yankees back too much. Is Skubal in another tier than Soto, or would we be looking at something similar?

Anthony Franco

  • I disagree that there's increased smoke about Skubal getting traded. They lowballed him on an old extension offer. It doesn't look great, but it's not like it impacted his 2025 performance
  • Doubt they're getting an extension done but I never expected them to. I'd be floored if they didn't hold him into next season and be prepared to QO him after what they hope is a long playoff run
  • If they did trade him, I think it's a better return than what San Diego got for Soto. He's making half the arbitration salary that Soto was and top-end pitchers take on an increased importance in the playoffs. A team is only trading for Skubal if they think they're inner circle contenders
  • But the Tigers are coming off consecutive playoff berths. They have an elite farm system already. They just squandered the division in part because they were too conservative at the deadline, and they're not under any short-term financial constraints with Skubal/Baez as their only notable contracts. If they trade Skubal now, at what point are they actually trying to win?

Tony Torcato

  • Should the Giants pull the plug on Marco Luciano, and possibly even Luis Matos? Heliot Ramos might also be on the bubble for his subpar defense in LF and regression at the plate, would you agree/disagree? Giants need to remake their outfield, and concentrate on pitching and defense to get back to a championship level, imo.

Anthony Franco

  • Pretty close to it. I probably wouldn't keep Luciano on the 40 all offseason, it's just not going to work. I still have a semblance of hope for Matos as a decent role player but he's out of options so he might get squeezed out during Spring Training
  • They're not cutting Ramos though. Even if they wanted to focus on outfield defense, they could trade him

Dan S.

  • Trent Grisham and Harrison Bader are coming off very good platform years, but both looked more like second-division regulars or part-time/platoon guys in recent seasons. Grisham's offensive breakout came with an alarming defensive drop and Bader's wOBA outperformed is xwOBA by a massive .043 points. What kind of contracts are they looking at this winter?

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Astros To Sign Nate Pearson

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The Astros are in agreement with right-hander Nate Pearson on a one-year, $1.35MM guarantee, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Pearson, a client of Excel Sports Management, is expected to work as a starter. The deal also includes performance bonuses.

Pearson will get the opportunity to pitch out of the rotation for the first time since his brief MLB debut in 2020. The hard-throwing righty made four starts as a rookie with Toronto. He’s made 118 appearances over the past five seasons, and all but two have been out of the bullpen. Pearson spent the last season and a half with the Cubs. He came to Chicago in 2024 via a midseason trade from Toronto.

Pearson made 11 appearances with the Cubs this past season. He broke camp with the team, but gave up 10 earned runs over his first 8 2/3 innings and soon found himself back at Triple-A. Pearson made it back up for a weekend in June, only to be hammered for five earned runs in his lone appearance. His final stint with the big-league club would be two solid outings in August, when he tossed four scoreless innings. In total, Pearson posted a 9.20 ERA across 14 2/3 MLB innings, including an untenable 7:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Chicago released Pearson during the final week of the regular season.

A major-league agreement for Pearson might seem surprising given his recent output at the highest level, but his results were much better at Triple-A Iowa. Pearson recorded a 2.22 ERA with a stellar 30.6% K% across 38 minor-league outings. Free passes remained a problem (12.9% walk rate), but Triple-A batters hit just .170 against Pearson.

Houston is likely betting on pedigree here. Pearson was a first-round selection for Toronto back in 2017. His development was delayed by a broken arm and an oblique injury in 2018, but he broke through with a tremendous 2019 season in the minors. Pearson tossed 101 2/3 innings across three levels, notching a 2.30 ERA with a 30.7% strikeout rate over 25 starts. He entered the 2020 campaign as a top 10 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.

Pearson made five appearances with the Blue Jays in the shortened 2020 season before an elbow injury cut his year short. Injuries would continue to derail him moving forward. A litany of health issues capped Pearson at 45 2/3 innings in 2021 and 30 2/3 frames in 2022. He stayed healthy for 2023 and 2024, working exclusively as a reliever with the Blue Jays before being dealt to Chicago.

Houston has some uncertainty in the rotation heading into 2026. Framber Valdez is a free agent. The club lost Ronel Blanco, Luis Garcia, and Brandon Walter to Tommy John surgery. Spencer Arrighetti’s season ended prematurely due to elbow concerns. Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. were healthy to close the season, but have dealt with injuries of their own. Jason Alexander went from depth option to rotation mainstay after getting scooped up as a waiver claim. Hunter Brown is the only rock-solid member of the staff at the moment. Pearson comes with plenty of his own question marks, but the risk is minimal. He could return to a bullpen role if starting doesn’t work out.

Image courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images.

Red Sox Outright Isaiah Campbell, José De León

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The Red Sox have outrighted right-handers Isaiah Campbell and José De León to Triple-A Worcester, according to their transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates both players cleared waivers in recent days.

There was no previous indication that either player had been designated for assignment but these kinds of moves are common at this time of year, as most clubs are facing upcoming roster crunches. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series, meaning several players need to retake 40-man spots. Some will also become free agents but many clubs often end up with more than 40 players in the mix. RosterResource estimates the Sox at 43 players, even with the assumption that Alex Bregman will opt out while Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks will have their mutual options declined. These two outrights drop them to 41, meaning another move will still be required at some point in the coming weeks, unless Trevor Story also opts out.

De Leon’s removal isn’t surprising. He spent 2025 with the Sox on a minor league deal. He was added to the 40-man roster on the last day of the regular season. The Sox had already clinched a playoff spot and had nothing on the line. De León was given the ball to soak up some innings, allowing Boston to save some of their other arms for the playoffs. He tossed 6 2/3, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out eight.

A former top prospect, his career has been severely sidelined by injuries, including two Tommy John surgeries. He debuted way back in 2016 but has just 72 big league innings under his belt. He logged 75 1/3 innings for Worcester in 2025 with a 6.93 earned run average, 24.6% strikeout rate and 14.4% walk rate. Players can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if they have three years of big league service or a previous outright. De Leon qualifies on both accounts and should hit the open market soon.

This is Campbell’s first career outright and he doesn’t have three years of big league service. However, he was non-tendered after 2024, which should make him eligible for minor league free agency. The righty has 43 innings of big league experience. Most of that came with the 2023 Mariners. He was traded to the Red Sox going into 2024 for Luis Urías. The Sox have used him sparingly in the two seasons since, with fewer than ten appearances in each campaign. As mentioned, he was non-tendered after 2024 but then was re-signed via a minor league deal. He was added back to the 40-man in July.

His minor league track record is good but his results backed up this year. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 105 2/3 innings on the farm with a 2.04 ERA, 29.6% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. This year, it was 57 2/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Bob DeChiara, Imagn Images

Poll: Where Will Nick Castellanos Play Next Year?

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It appears the Nick Castellanos era in Philadelphia is coming to a close. Reporting yesterday indicated that the Phillies plan to either trade or release Castellanos this winter, ahead of the final season of his five-year contract with the club, following a year where he clashed with club manager Rob Thomson and struggled to produce at the plate or in the field. It remains to be seen whether Castellanos will be traded or released to sign somewhere else on the league minimum, but either way, it seems likely at this point that his next MLB game will come in a different uniform. Which team fits him best? A look at some of the most intriguing landing spots:

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians are perhaps the most straightforward fit for Castellanos available. They’ve already made clear they hope to upgrade their outfield mix. As a club without much money to spend most years, the fact that Castellanos could be had for a fraction of his salary (or perhaps even the league minimum) has to be enticing. Lackluster as Castellanos’s production was this year, he could be a good fit for a club that produced a wRC+ of just 70 from right field this year between players like Nolan Jones and Jhonkensy Noel. Castellanos perhaps fits best as a DH given his poor defensive abilities, but that opportunity could be available to him as well with Kyle Manzardo likely to take over first base duties after being blocked by Josh Naylor and Carlos Santana in previous years.

Kansas City Royals

Sticking in the AL Central, Castellanos would be an interesting fit for the Royals as well. Kansas City has struggled to find any sort of production in the outfield for years now. This past year, they got a 69 wRC+ (30th in MLB) from right field with a 75 wRC+ (29th in MLB) from left field. Castellanos would surely provide a major upgrade to either of those spots and is capable of playing every day if needed, which would be a step in the right direction for a team that has too often needed to platoon all around the roster recently. One major flaw with Castellanos’s fit in Kansas City, however, is the presence of Salvador Perez. Perez is expected to remain with the Royals next year, whether via club option or a fresh deal, and started 66 games at either DH or first base this year. Any first base starts would push Vinnie Pasquantino to DH, meaning that Castellanos would have to play the field frequently to be a fit for Kansas City’s roster.

San Diego Padres

The Padres might seem like an odd fit for Castellanos’s services at first glance, but San Diego has frequently had to get creative with some of its additions in recent years to balance its budget while filling holes in the roster. That figures to be true once again this winter, with both Dylan Cease and Michael King leaving major holes in the rotation as they head into free agency. Starting pitching figures to be the focus for the Padres this winter, which leaves the club to replace Luis Arraez and Ryan O’Hearn in the lineup at DH on what might be a shoestring budget.

Enter Castellanos, who won’t cost much but could capably handle regular duties at DH while also potentially spelling Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramon Laureano in the outfield corners. San Diego hasn’t been afraid to take risks on players in need of a rebound in the past. While not all of those shots have landed, they have found success with some, such as Gavin Sheets. If there’s a flaw with Castellanos’s fit in San Diego, it’s perhaps that Sheets played just 13 games at first base this year and the club might view him as their DH headed into the offseason.

Other Options

These teams aren’t the only ones for whom Castellanos would make sense, though they are perhaps the best fits. The Cubs are about to lose Kyle Tucker to free agency but they could slide Seiya Suzuki into the outfield more often, opening the DH spot for Moises Ballesteros. Guys like Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara are also around to bolster the outfield mix and are probably better than Castellanos at this point anyway. The Diamondbacks could use Castellanos as a right-handed complement to their heavily left-handed outfield and DH mix, but he might be able to do better than a pure bench role and Blaze Alexander might be better suited for that job anyway. Perhaps the Rangers could sign Castellanos to share time with Joc Pederson at DH and back up lefty outfielders like Evan Carter and Alejandro Osuna if they end up non-tendering Adolis Garcia, though even if that happens they might still prefer to try to reunite with him at a lower price point, given his superior defense. The Pirates got very little production from their offense last year but would be a better fit if Andrew McCutchen departs the club. The Giants got minimal production from right field this year but Rafael Devers is likely to be their everyday DH next year.

Where do MLBTR readers think Castellanos would fit best in 2026? Have your say in the poll below:

Latest On A.J. Preller

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Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is under contract through 2026. It’s been suggested by some that he is fairly safe in his job but a report today from Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic casts at least a bit of doubt on that. The report notes that an extension is possible but not guaranteed and goes into detail about some behind-the-scenes tensions between Preller and CEO Erik Greupner. The report adds that Greupner has a small stake in the team and is therefore a part owner.

The story coming out of San Diego is seemingly changing daily. The Padres lost to the Cubs in the Wild Card round but had just finished their second consecutive season winning at least 90 games. They made the playoffs for the fourth time in six years. Just last week, it was reported that Preller and manager Mike Shildt would likely return to keep the good times rolling.

But this week, Shildt surprisingly stepped down from his post. Reports then emerged of significant tumult behind the curtain, with multiple staffers having apparently had an awful time working under Shildt. Staffers from Shildt’s time with the Cardinals reported similar behavior from him at that time.

Even as the sunlight was hitting Shildt’s terrible management skills, Lin wrote that many within the Padres still expected Preller to be extended. Today’s report is a bit less firm. The report notes that some Padres employees have observed increasing tensions between Preller and Greupner.

The report notes that Preller’s preferred choice for the manager role going into 2024 was Ryan Flaherty, though it’s suggested that Greupner and special advisor Eric Kutsenda may have overruled him to tap Shildt instead. Earlier this week, Lin reported that team sources said Greupner and Kutsenda were heavily involved in Shildt’s hiring.

There has been all kinds of turnover within the Padres since Preller was hired to run the front office in 2014. The Padres were rebuilding then but, as mentioned, have emerged and been quite successful over the past six years. Those rebuilding years saw the Padres cycle through managers but even the recent on-field success hasn’t stabilized the skipper position. Jayce Tingler had the gig for 2020 and 2021 but reported clubhouse discord led to him being fired and replaced by Bob Melvin. Melvin himself lasted two years before he jumped to the Giants amid whispers of a rough relationship between him and Preller.

Peter Seidler was the owner of the club until he died in November of 2023. His death led to plenty of friction at the ownership level as well. Kutsenda was named interim control person for a while but eventually passed that title to Peter’s brother John Seidler, though there has been an ongoing legal battle about control of the club. That battle also involves Peter’s widow Sheel, as well as his brothers Matt and Bob.

It seems there’s been constant churning in the power vacuum left by Peter’s death. It’s unclear exactly how things are currently structured but Preller is working for a group that he didn’t really choose to work for and that group is working with a president of baseball operations they didn’t hire. The lack of extension for Preller could be meaningless. It could also signify that the new group isn’t as keen on him as Peter was. It could also signify that Preller isn’t thrilled with the new arrangement.

Today’s reporting from The Athletic indicates that Greupner has taken on a prominent role behind the scenes. He and Kutsenda seemingly preferred Shildt over Flaherty as they wanted to make a safe pick and stop the game of musical chairs in the dugout. Shildt was in his mid-50s and had previous managerial experience, whereas Flaherty was only 37 years old at the time and was just a few years removed from his playing days.

The attempt to stabilize the dugout didn’t work out, as Shildt is now gone. Flaherty’s name has already been connected to the Padres’ opening. Based on today’s reporting, it seems like Preller would probably like to hire Flaherty. However, it appears he may not have the ability to make a unilateral decision, based on how things went down two years ago. Perhaps the Shildt situation not playing out as hoped will earn Preller a bit more leeway to make the call this time, though that’s completely speculative.

As pointed out by The Athletic, it’s also unclear if Preller’s contract status plays a role in the managerial search. For the new skipper, you would ideally like to know that the front office leader you are working with will be around for more than one season.

Perhaps all this is much ado about nothing. It’s entirely possible that Preller is extended, maintaining continuity for a franchise that has had a lot of recent success, though like the proverbial duck which is calm above the surface and furiously kicking below. A few weeks from now, maybe Preller is secured and a new manager is hired. Whatever the path forward, the Padres should probably figure it out soon. Offseason doings are just a few weeks away and the club has a lot of work to do, as Dylan Cease, Michael King, Ryan O’Hearn, Luis Arráez and others are becoming free agents, with Robert Suarez likely to opt out as well.

Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images

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