Cubs, Nico Hoerner Agree To Extension
March 27th: Hoerner’s deal is for $141MM over six years, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal starts next year, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, so it’ll run through 2032. That will be Hoerner’s age-30 through age-35 seasons. Hoerner’s pact is in the range of free agent deals for middle infielders. Trevor Story and Javier Báez each got $140MM over six. Hoerner just barely goes past those two, while coming in a bit under Marcus Semien‘s $175MM, Swanson’s $177MM and Willy Adames‘s $182MM, which were all seven-year deals. However, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that there is deferred money in the deal. That will knock down the net present value to the mid-$130MMs, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post.
March 26th: The Cubs and infielder Nico Hoerner have agreed to an extension, reports Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation. It’s a six-year deal, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Hoerner was slated for free agency after this year, with 2026 being the final season of his previous extension. The financial aspects of this new agreement have not yet been publicly reported.
Hoerner, 29 in May, has been the a key part of the Cubs for several years now. He doesn’t have a ton of power but provides strong offense with a consistent contact approach. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has almost 2500 plate appearances. His 6.4% walk rate and 10.2% strikeout rate are both well below league average. He only has 33 home runs in that time. But the contact approach has resulted in a .284/.339/.389 line and 105 wRC+ for that span. He finished each of those four seasons with a wRC+ from 102 to 109.
He combines that offense with strong attributes in other facets of his game. He has stolen 123 bases in that four-year span, with at least 20 in each season. Defensively, he is considered to be good enough to handle shortstop but has been bumped to the other side of the bag by the presence of Dansby Swanson. That has made him one of the best defensive second basemen in the league. Dating back to the start of 2023, the year he moved to second base, he has 32 Defensive Runs Saved and 35 Outs Above Average. The DRS total is behind only Andrés Giménez and Brice Turang, while the OAA number is behind only Giménez and Marcus Semien.
The combination is a valuable one. FanGraphs has credited him with a little more than four wins above replacement per year for a total of 17.4 fWAR since the start of 2022. He didn’t finish any of those four seasons lower than 3.8 fWAR.
Three years ago, the Cubs and Hoerner agreed to their first extension, a three-year deal worth $35MM. That was a bit of an odd deal, as it bought out Hoerner’s two arbitration seasons and then just one free agent year. Hoerner delayed his path to the open market for a relatively modest price.
As that deal played out, Hoerner became a plausible trade candidate for a few reasons. For one, he was getting closer to free agency, which often leads to increased trade speculation with many players. The Cubs also had some infield prospects pushing towards the majors, with Matt Shaw making his major league debut last year. The Cubs could have traded Hoerner to address another area of the roster, then put Shaw at second base. Given that another club could have put Hoerner at shortstop, perhaps that would have increased the trade return.
Instead, the Cubs are locking in another piece of their core. Third baseman Alex Bregman is signed through 2030 and Swanson through 2029. They agreed to a long-term deal with Pete Crow-Armstrong just a few days ago, so he’s going to be signed through 2032. Assuming this Hoerner deal starts in 2027, it will also run through 2032.
After 2026, the Cubs were facing a potentially huge amount of roster turnover. Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Hoby Milner, Dylan Carlson, Michael Conforto and Tyler Austin are all impending free agents. Matthew Boyd, Hunter Harvey, Carson Kelly and Caleb Thielbar all have mutual options for 2027 but those are almost never picked up by both sides, so they should all be considered impending free agents as well. That is still something the club will have to plan for but locking in Hoerner takes one thing off the to-do list.
One player who could be impacted by this deal is Shaw. He played third base last year but the Bregman signing bumped him into a utility role for 2026. With Hoerner’s impending free agency, it was possible to imagine that being a one-year arrangement, as Shaw could then take over at the keystone starting in 2027. That’s no longer possible.
Shaw is going to be playing some outfield this year, so perhaps he could take over a corner next year with the impending departures of Happ and Suzuki, though that depends on him proving viable on the grass. He is still under club control for six seasons, so it’s also possible to imagine him being a future trade chip, if he could find a better path to infield playing time with another club.
Hoerner would have made for a fascinating free agent case. Second basemen normally don’t get massive paychecks in free agency but Hoerner could have marketed himself as a shortstop and perhaps some clubs would have viewed him as one. Teams also normally pay more for power than contact. A speed-and-defense profile can get paid but it’s also risky since those attributes fade over time. It would have been a unique free agency test case but that’s moot now.
The 2026-27 free agent class is particularly light in terms of hitters. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently took a look at the group in a post for Front Office subscribers. While recent offseasons have had clear standout bats like Corey Seager, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker, the upcoming winter doesn’t quite have that kind of star power. Franco highlighted Bo Bichette, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, Daulton Varsho and Hoerner as the top position players in the class.
Hoerner certainly would not have been the best hitter in that bunch but the speed and defense put him up there in terms of overall value. Teams looking for middle infield help next winter will have to cross one name off what was already a somewhat flimsy list.
As of this writing, the numbers on the deal have not been reported. That makes it difficult to assess the long-term impact for the Cubs. What can be said is that they do have a good amount of payroll space available in the future. As mentioned, they have long-term commitments to Swanson, Bregman and Crow-Armstrong but that’s essentially it. Phil Maton and Shelby Miller are the only other players with guaranteed deals for 2027. By 2028, it’s just Bregman, Swanson and Crow-Armstrong.
Photos courtesy of Michael McLoone, David Banks, Imagn Images
Astros Outright César Salazar
The Astros announced today that catcher César Salazar has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Sugar Land. He had been designated for assignment earlier this week when Houston set its Opening Day roster. He’ll stick in the organization as non-roster depth.
Salazar, 30, has effectively been Houston’s #3 catcher for several years. Yainer Diaz has been the primary guy since 2023. Martín Maldonado split the time with him in his first year, then Victor Caratini replaced Maldonado for 2024 and 2025. Salazar got sporadic playing time in that mix, playing in 36 games over the 2023 to 2025 seasons. He has a decent defensive reputation but produced a .232/.318/.268 batting line in his 67 plate appearances.
He exhausted his final option last year, meaning he is now out of options. With Caratini departing in free agency this offseason, Salazar was bumped up into the #2 spot by default. However, the Astros grabbed Christian Vázquez via a minor league deal a few weeks ago. They decided to add him to the roster for Opening Day, meaning Salazar had to be bumped off.
This is Salazar’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time. That means he does not have the right to elect free agency, so he’ll report to the Space Cowboys. He could be the first man up if Diaz or Vázquez suffers an injury as the Astros don’t have another catcher on the 40-man roster. His main competition would be Carlos Pérez, who is in the system via a minor league deal and will be in Sugar Land as well.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Orioles Sign Shane Baz To Extension
The Orioles announced that they have signed right-hander Shane Baz to a five-year deal covering the 2026 to 2030 seasons. The Cornerstone Baseball Group client will reportedly be paid $68MM in that span. He was previously slated to reach free agency after the 2028 season and had agreed to a $3.5MM salary for 2026. This deal adds four more guaranteed years for $64.5MM in new money. MLBTR has learned that Baz will get a $4MM signing bonus and $1MM salary in 2026, followed by salaries of $7MM, $10MM, $21MM and $25MM in the next four years.
Baltimore is evidently quite confident in their ability to get the best out of Baz, a pitcher who is clearly talented but who still comes with some question marks. Baz is a former first-rounder and top prospect but injuries had held him back to the point where he had barely 100 big league innings going into 2025. He did pitch 166 1/3 innings last year but with an uninspiring 4.87 earned run average. Despite that, the O’s surrendered a package of four prospects and a draft pick to get him a few months ago and are now making a big financial commitment to him for years to come.
The Pirates took Baz with the 12th overall pick back in 2017. Before reaching the majors, he was flipped to the Rays in the 2018 Chris Archer trade. Baz debuted with the Rays late in 2021, making three starts. In the minors that year, he posted a 2.06 earned run average while striking out 37.9% of opponents and limiting walks to a 4.4% clip.
Going into 2022, he was considered one of the top pitching prospects in the sport but he required arthroscopic elbow surgery in April of that year. He came back later that season and made a few more starts but then elbow issues popped up again. He underwent Tommy John surgery in September and missed the entire 2023 season.
He was still rehabbing at the beginning of 2024 but eventually got back on the mound and showed some promise. He made 14 starts for the Rays that year with a 3.06 ERA, though his 21.6% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate were both around average. Going into 2025, Baz was finally healthy after many years of elbow issues, which had limited him to 119 2/3 career innings. He made 31 starts and logged 166 1/3 innings in 2025. Unfortunately, the overall results weren’t good. As mentioned, Baz had a 4.87 ERA on the year.
There are some reasons for optimism under the hood. The Rays were playing in a minor league park last year due to hurricane damage to Tropicana Field. It’s possible Baz may have been impacted by that, as he had a 5.90 ERA at Steinbrenner Field but a 3.86 ERA on the road. Normally, about 12% of fly balls turn into home runs at the major league level. For Baz, that number was 18.9% at home and 11.1% on the road last year.
For the whole year, home and away, Baz struck out a solid 24.8% of batters faced. His 9% walk rate was around average. His 46.7% ground ball rate was a few ticks better than par. His 3.95 SIERA was optimistic that he deserved to have an ERA about a run better than where it actually ended up. His fastball averaged 97 miles per hour on the year while he also mixed in a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup.
The Orioles are clearly of the mind that Baz still has his best days ahead of him. Back in December, they sent prospects Slater de Brun, Caden Bodine, Michael Forret and Austin Overn to the Rays, along with a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick, to get Baz and his three remaining years of club control. Three of those four prospects were taken in the first three rounds of recent drafts. The other, Forret, was a 14th-round pick but had become arguably the best prospect in the bunch. The draft pick will be the 33rd overall pick this summer.
There are some parallels to Baltimore’s journey with Trevor Rogers. He was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021 after he posted a 2.64 ERA over 25 starts for the Marlins. Then Rogers was injured and/or struggling for many years, diminishing his stock. From the start of 2022 to the 2024 deadline, Rogers only tossed 230 1/3 innings with a 4.92 ERA. The O’s felt they could get him back on track and sent Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby to the Marlins to get Rogers when he still had two-plus years of control remaining.
It took a while for that bet on Rogers to pay off but it did. He struggled with the O’s late in 2024 and had a knee injury at the start of 2025. After that, he was brilliant. He eventually made 18 starts for Baltimore last year with a 1.81 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. He got the Opening Day nod yesterday against the Twins and earned a win by throwing seven shutout innings.
Like with Rogers, Baz was plucked away from his Florida club, with Baltimore sending a notable prospect package down the coast. Both pitchers had displayed talent but had gone through some injury challenges and posted some underwhelming numbers. The Rogers pick-up has worked out very well. The O’s clearly feel good about getting similar results out of Baz.
Baz is currently 26 but this will be his age-27 season, with his birthday coming up in June. He was set to hit free agency a few months after his 29th birthday. He could have been in line for a nice payday at that point if he pitched well over the next three years. But all pitchers are aware of the potential for injuries, with Baz having direct experience in that department. Rather than betting on his own health, he is cashing in on a robust deal right now.
He will therefore delay his path to free agency by two years but could still be in line for a really nice payday at that point. In recent years, position players in their early 30s have seemingly had far less earning power than their late-20s counterparts. When it comes to pitching, you can still get paid if you’re still putting up numbers. Dating back to the 2021-2022 offseason, there have been seven free agent deals with an average annual value of $25MM or more for position players 31 or older. That number is 13 for pitchers.
In terms of recent extensions for pitchers between three and four years of service time, Baz is coming in under Logan Webb‘s $90MM, which is the top of the class. That’s understandable since Webb had already been established as a frontline pitcher at that point. Cristopher Sánchez is next on the list but that was a different case since he was already locked up via a previous extension. Baz is just a bit above Cristian Javier‘s $64MM deal with the Astros and Sandy Alcantara‘s $56MM deal with the Marlins. Both of those pitchers had better career numbers than Baz does now, but the deals are also a few years old at this point, so Baz seemingly creeps beyond them with some inflation.
For the Orioles, they have been a bit more aggressive in terms of spending money lately. Mike Elias was hired to run the front office in 2018 when the club was rebuilding and owned by the Angelos family. Since then, they have become a contender and are now owned by David Rubenstein. For a long time, Elias never signed anyone to a deal worth $50MM or more. In the past eight months, the O’s signed free agent Pete Alonso $155MM, gave Samuel Basallo a $67MM extension and now this deal with Baz.
It’s now possible that Baz is the key cog in their long-term rotation. Rogers, Chris Bassitt and Zach Eflin are all slated for free agency after 2026. Kyle Bradish is under club control through 2028. Dean Kremer will be slated for free agency after 2027 as long as he gets at least 60 days of service time here in 2026. As those guys depart, they could perhaps be replaced by prospects like Trey Gibson or Luis De Leon, while external additions will presumably be brought in from time to time. As the picture fluctuates, Baz will be a fixture of the group, if Baltimore can push him down the same upside path as Rogers.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that the two sides were finalizing a five-year deal worth $68MM which would override his one-year deal for 2026. Photos courtesy of Morgan Tencza, Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
Jorge Alcala Triggers Assignment Clause In Blue Jays Deal
Right-hander Jorge Alcala has triggered an assignment clause in his minor league deal with the Blue Jays, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. Alexander writes that Alcala will now be available to all 29 teams, so it sounds like this is an upward mobility clause.
Alcala, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the offseason. He tossed 7 1/3 innings in Grapefruit League action but allowed seven earned runs via 12 hits and three walks while striking out six. He didn’t break camp with the club.
The upward mobility clause is a potential way for him to get to the big leagues with another team. The way such clauses usually work is that the player is offered up to the 29 other teams. If one of them wants to give the player a roster spot, the signing team then has to either give him a spot or trade him to another club that will. Alcala has enough service time where he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent, so he should only get claimed if a club is willing to put him directly onto its active roster. If no team claims him, the Jays can send him to Triple-A.
Alcala has a power arm, with both his four-seamer and sinker having averaged around 97 miles per hour in his career. However, his results have been up and down over the years. He had a 3.92 earned run average with the Twins back in 2021. He hardly pitched in 2022 and 2023 due to various injuries. He got back on track in 2024 by posting a 3.24 ERA, but then that spiked to 6.22 last year as he bounced to the Red Sox and Cardinals. He was non-tendered by St. Louis at the end of the year.
On the whole, Alcala has a 4.29 ERA in 218 1/3 innings. His 9.3% walk rate is around average for a reliever. Despite the big velocity, his 24.9% strikeout rate is only a bit above par for a bullpen arm. Typically, a player will know in about 48 hours if someone claimed him via his upward mobility clause, so Alcala should be able to head towards his destination at some point before the weekend is through.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Mets Outright Vidal Bruján, Ben Rortvedt
The Mets have sent infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján and catcher Ben Rortvedt through waivers unclaimed, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The two were designated for assignment when the Mets set their Opening Day roster earlier this week. Both players have the right to elect free agency but would have to walk away from the money on their contracts. That means they are likely to report to Triple-A and stick around as depth.
A player with at least three years of service time has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency. However, he needs five years of service to both reject an assignment and also keep his salary commitments in place. Both Bruján and Rortvedt are between three and five years. That means they would have to be willing to leave money on the table to choose free agency.
Bruján was once a top prospect but hasn’t clicked in the major leagues. He has a lot of defensive versatility but has a career batting line of just .199/.267/.276. He has exhausted his options and been bumped into fringe roster territory. He bounced from the Cubs to Baltimore and Atlanta last year. He finished the season with Atlanta and qualified for arbitration.
The team and Bruján avoided arbitration by agreeing to a split deal for 2026 which pays him $850K in the majors and $500K in the minors. They later tried passing him through waivers but the Twins claimed him. A week later, the Twins designated him for assignment and traded him to the Mets for cash. Presumably, Bruján won’t want to walk away from that deal. The minor league salary on that pact is actually not too far from this year’s major league minimum, which is $780K.
Assuming he reports to Triple-A Syracuse, he’ll try to position himself for a call-up at some point. He has experience all over the diamond but has spent a lot of his time in the middle infield. The Mets are currently rolling without a backup middle infielder. If something happens to Francisco Lindor, the fallback plan would be for third baseman Bo Bichette to slide over. If they decide to bring someone up later, it could be Bruján, though Ronny Mauricio is on the 40-man and will be playing in Triple-A on an optional assignment.
Rortvedt’s situation is fairly comparable. He has a good defensive reputation but has hit .190/.279/.270 in his career. He finished last year with the Dodgers and quickly avoided arbitration by signing a $1.25MM deal for 2026. The Dodgers tried to pass him through waivers but he was claimed by the Reds. The Dodgers later claimed him back but a second attempt to get him through waivers led to the Mets claiming him.
For the Mets, they probably never planned to have Rortvedt on the Opening Day roster, since they have Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens as their catching tandem. They held Rortvedt as injury insurance but had to bump him from the roster this week because he is out of options. Now that he has cleared, he can continue to be injury insurance without taking up a roster spot. The Mets also have Hayden Senger on the 40-man, so he’ll be in Triple-A as optionable depth.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Anthony Franco
- Good afternoon, hope you've all had a good week!
- We've got regular season baseball again, exciting times! Let's get rolling
Mad Max
- Thoughts on Cubs and extensions? Comp to Anthony and Red Sox,what percentage can be applied of regret to Armstrong,Anthony,Merrill in 3 years? Which tema takes a step forward due to locking up young talent versus using up a position and payroll?
Anthony Franco
- I'd order them Anthony, Merrill, PCA on value but I'd happily have done any of them if I were the team. The track record on those extensions for high-end position player prospects who find immediate MLB success is pretty good
- If that guy becomes Ronald Acuña or Corbin Carroll, it's one of the three to five most valuable contracts in the game. Even if they go the Michael Harris II or (worse) Ke'Bryan Hayes path, it's not the end of the world. Risk-reward in these cases almost always points to the team being aggressive if the player is willing to sign early
- Cubs ones are a little weird because they follow a different path than the usual early-career extension. Typically a little shorter commitment that buys out one or two free agent years without attaching club options at the back end.
They did something similar with Happ and the first Hoerner deal. It reduces the long-term upside a little bit but they seem to prefer keeping the guarantee comparatively low (PCA would've beaten Merrill money if they went longer)
NL MVP candidates
- Did the MLBTR staff have a chuckle that nobody picked anyone other than Ohtani to win his fourth consecutive NL MVP? Granted the NL might be somewhat light on superstars compared to the AL (Judge, Bobby Witt Jr, Cal Raleigh, Julio, etc)... but nobody thought Juan Soto deserved a nod? He's a 40-40 guy now after all
Anthony Franco
- Ha, we did them all individually. I put mine in last before sending them out but deliberately avoiding looking at anyone else's picks when I wrote them all up. After four or five Ohtani picks, I wondered if it'd be unanimous
- He's so clearly the best player in MLB that I think any of us felt like picking someone else would come off as too contrarian, but I would still take the field. Not like it'd be a huge surprise if Soto, Acuña, Carroll, even Tatis jumped in there
Randy, the destroyer
- Who do you think gets squeezed off the Yankees roster when Volpe returns (assuming everyone stays healthy until then)? Their bench is Goldy, Grichuk, backup C Escarra and Rosario. Do they just drop Grichuk at that point?
Anthony Franco
- They're probably assuming someone's hurt in between (Stanton most likely), but if they avoid any injuries, I'd guess Rosario's the odd man out. Feels a little redundant if you're also carrying Caballero on the bench
- Could also option Volpe if Caballero and all the bench guys are performing. Doubt that's the plan right now but it would preserve all the roster depth and if Volpe looks shaky on the rehab assignment, wouldn't be that hard to justify
To ATL
- I'm a big fan of Ozzie Albies the person, but is he on a short leash if his bat doesn't come to life? .548 OPS in Spring Training, yikes.
Anthony Franco
- Eh I just don't think the Braves believe in Nacho Alvarez at all and I have tough time seeing the argument that even a diminished version of Albies is worse than Jorge Mateo or Kyle Farmer
- The first $7M option was a no-brainer because he played well in the second half and there was the relatively big buyout ($4M). That's not the case for the upcoming option, so I wouldn't be surprised if they move on at the end of the year. Could curtail his playing time once HSK comes back by using Dubón at second, but I don't think Ozzie's getting pushed off the roster in-season
Joe Ryan
- I'm guessing I'm gone shortly after the break. Or are ownership and the FO too directionless to move anyone at the deadline, just like they fumbled the winter?
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
White Sox Claim Bryan Hudson
The White Sox announced that they have claimed left-hander Bryan Hudson off waivers from the Mets. New York designated the lefty for assignment earlier this week. The Sox had a couple of open 40-man spots since they designated catcher Korey Lee and infielder Curtis Mead for assignment this week. Hudson is out of options and will need an active roster spot, so the Sox will have to bump someone off whenever he reports to the team.
The Sox claimed Hudson from the Brewers back in August. He was nudged off their roster in the winter when they signed outfielder Austin Hays. After being designated for assignment, he was flipped to the Mets for cash considerations. He didn’t have a good spring, allowing six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He didn’t make the Mets’ roster and is out of options, so he had to be bumped into DFA limbo.
For the Sox, they are presumably overlooking Hudson’s rough spring and focusing more on the potential he has shown in the past. He posted a 1.73 earned run average in 62 1/3 innings for the Brewers in 2024. He got some help from a .148 batting average on balls in play and a 94.2% strand rate but he still deserves some credit. His 26.8% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 41.2% ground ball rate were all average or better marks. His 3.60 FIP and 3.22 SIERA that year suggested he would have been pretty good even with more neutral luck.
Last year, his results backed up and he got sent to the minors, which exhausted his final option year and also got him pushed to the waiver wire. He finished the year with a 4.80 ERA in 15 big league innings between the Brewers and White Sox, as well as a 5.97 ERA in Triple-A.
Though it’s been a tough year-plus for Hudson, the Sox clearly like him, as this is the second time they have claimed him in the past eight months. They currently have Sean Newcomb, Chris Murphy and Tyler Gilbert as their southpaw relief contingent, though Murphy and Gilbert both have options and could end up sent down to the minors when Hudson joins the team.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Rawlings The Chosen One Now Available! (Sponsored)
Rawlings has returned with their latest in a line of products that have remained the standard for athletes of all ages for nearly 150 years. Just a year after being named “Youth Bat Of The Year” by Bat Bros, the Rawlings Icon is back with a new iteration: The Chosen One.
Like its predecessor, The Chosen One sports the “In/Tense” carbon composite construction and “Tuned Balance” performance technology, pairing a consistently powerful hitting surface with optimal weight distribution and balance. Instead of bringing this technology together into the two-piece Rawlings Icon, The Chosen One blends the optimally flexible handle into the powerful carbon composite barrel of the Icon, creating one of the most powerful experiences in BBCOR.
The Chosen One is the industry’s only one-piece composite BBCOR bat on the market. Its lack of a connective joint greatly reduces negative, hand-rattling feedback at contact while still allowing the perfect amount of flex with reduced durability concerns. The Chosen One is built to last.
The Chosen One stands out with a distinctive white barrel and handle, featuring premium “RevGrip” material engineered for unmatched cushion and tack. Striking gold font is used in the trusted Rawlings symbol, the now well-known “Icon” label, and the accompanying “The Chosen One” it uses to identify itself. It’s clear that style was just as much a goal as performance when it came to The Chosen One’s design.
The Bat Bros offered shining praise for The Chosen One, noting that it is “as good as every BBCOR bat in the game, if not better.” Its lightness and balance lead to high-quality, consistent contact. It’s what we’ve come to expect from one of the most respected brands across all levels of baseball across the world. “Be Iconic” in 2026 with the Rawlings Icon The Chosen One, and get the best out of your swing!
About Rawlings:
Established in 1887, Rawlings is an innovative leading global brand and manufacturer of premium baseball and softball equipment, including gloves, balls, and protective headwear. Rawlings unparalleled quality, innovative engineering and expert craftsmanship are the fundamental reasons why professional athletes, national governing bodies and sports leagues choose Rawlings. Rawlings the official baseball, glove, helmet, face guard and base of Major League Baseball®, the official baseball of Minor League Baseball® and the official baseball and softball of the NCAA® and the NAIA®. Rawlings acquired Easton Diamond Sports®, the official equipment supplier of Little League® Baseball and
Softball, Team USA Softball®, and USSSA® Softball, in 2020. The company is headquartered in St. Louis.
For more information, please visit www.Rawlings.com.
This is a sponsored post from Rawlings.
Fantasy Baseball Subscriber Chat With Nicklaus Gaut
Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 1 pm Central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Jason Heyward Announces Retirement
After spending parts of 16 seasons in the majors, outfielder Jason Heyward is calling it a career. The five-time Gold Glove winner and 2016 World Series champion announced the end of his playing career this morning in an appearance on MLB Network (video link).
“After 16 major league seasons, I’m going to announce my retirement,” Heyward said. “I’m glad and happy to be stepping to the other side of the game. I look forward to being a potential mentor to any of the young players coming up — anybody that’s in the game right now. I feel like the game is in good hands. I look forward to being a fan and seeing what other ways I can give back. … Thank you to everybody that’s been there to support [me]. The fans, teammates, coaches, staff, ownership groups — thank you for allowing me to live out my dream.”
A Georgia native selected by Atlanta with the No. 14 overall draft pick back in 2007, Heyward debuted for his hometown Braves as a 20-year-old back in 2010. He entered that season ranked by Baseball America as the Game’s No. 1 overall prospect and wasted little time announcing his presence in the big leagues; with two men aboard in the first at-bat of his career, Heyward deposited a 2-0 fastball from Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano into the Braves’ bullpen and circled the bases with the first of his 186 major league home runs (video link).
Heyward hit .277/.393/.456 as a rookie and spent the next four seasons starring in his home state as a key force in the middle of the lineup. With Atlanta rebuilding in 2015 and Heyward only a year from free agency, the Braves flipped him to the Cardinals in a deal bringing young right-hander Shelby Miller to Atlanta.
That swap worked out nicely for both clubs. Heyward posted one of his best seasons with St. Louis in 2015, slashing .293/.359/.439 with elite defense. He rejected a qualifying offer following the season, and the Cardinals netted a compensatory draft pick. The Braves, meanwhile, got an All-Star season out of Miller before trading him to the D-backs for Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte.
Heyward went on to sign an eight-year, $184MM contract with the Cubs — a record deal for the team that still stands as the largest contract in franchise history. Though he’s credited for rallying the team during his now-infamous rain delay speech during Game 7 of the World Series, that eight-year commitment certainly didn’t pan out as the Cubs envisioned. He hit .230/.306/.325 in year one of the contract, and while his 2018-20 numbers were solid (.261/.347/.419), Heyward was released as the contract’s seventh year drew to a close. He won a pair of Gold Gloves in Chicago but batted only .245/.323/.377 in 2836 plate appearances as a Cub.
A 2023 pairing with the Dodgers brought about a resurgent season. Heyward, still playing out the eighth year of that Cubs contract (but in a different uniform) slashed .269/.340/.473 and popped 15 homers in 377 plate appearances with the Dodgers. He re-signed in L.A. but struggled, finishing the season with the Astros and eventually signing a one-year deal with the Padres ahead of the 2025 season. San Diego released him after 95 unproductive plate appearances.
Though Heyward never developed into the offensive force most expected, he finished his career with a lifetime .255/.306/.408 batting line — about four percent better than league-average production, by measure of wRC+. He swatted 186 home runs, swiped 126 bases and tallied 306 doubles, 41 triples, 879 runs scored and 730 runs batted in.
It’s often easy to understate just how excellent Heyward was with the glove. He won five Gold Gloves in his career and very arguably should have won more. He has the sixth-most Defensive Runs Saved (159) of any player at any position since the stat was introduced.
Thanks to his superlative defensive acumen, solid overall offense (looking at his career as a whole) and positive contributions on the basepaths, Heyward retires with 34.8 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, and 41.2 WAR by Baseball-Reference’s version of the stat. Not including his draft bonus, Heyward took home more than $211MM in salary. Focusing solely on his level of performance relative to the expectations associated with his free agent contract undersells the quality of Heyward’s play throughout his 16-year career. Few players ever achieve this level of accolade and production. Congratulations to Heyward on a very fine tenure in the big leagues, and best wishes in whatever the game has in store for him in the future.