Angels To Create TV Network
There’s a bit more clarity on the broadcast situation for the Angels. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that the club has an agreement in place to purchase a portion of Main Street Sports and launch their own TV network. Some final details are still being worked out, so it won’t be officially announced until next week.
The new network will also involve the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and has not yet been named, but it will replace FanDuel Sports Network on cable and satellite providers in Southern California. Fans can also purchase a streaming package directly from the league. It would be $99.99 for just the Angels or $199.99 for the full league experience.
The Angels were one of nine MLB teams who had a deal with Main Street Sports as of a few months ago. That company, who owned the FanDuel Sports Network channels, has been having financial troubles for years as people move away from cable subscriptions and towards digital streaming. Main Street missed some payments to some clubs earlier this year, prompting all nine of them to terminate their deals. Within less than a month, six of them pivoted to having MLB handle their broadcasts.
Atlanta, the Tigers and the Angels were the three left up in the air. Atlanta launched BravesVision last month, a team-owned entity which will sell streaming rights to fans and work out TV deals in the future. The Tigers announced Detroit SportsNet earlier this week. It seems like MLB will be heavily involved in that one, as the network will be “powered by MLB” and subscribers can stream the Tigers through the MLB app. The network will broadcast the Tigers and the NHL’s Red Wings on television.
The Angels’ network will seemingly share some traits with Detroit SportsNet. Both will involve one MLB club and an NHL team. Both will also seemingly involve the MLB handling the streaming side of things.
This seems to be a positive development for fans. For those watching on television, nothing will really change. Even the on-air talent is expected to remain in place. For those who wants to stream the club locally with no blackouts, that is now possible. The impact for the club’s bottom line is less clear. As of a few years ago, the Angels were getting $125MM annually from their deal with Main Street, then known as Diamond Sports Group. Opening up local streaming will make up for some of that but surely not all.
RosterResource projects the Angels for a payroll of about $180MM this year, roughly $25MM shy of last year. That doesn’t account for the fact that Anthony Rendon agreed to defer most of his $38MM salary, saving the Halos about $30MM in the short term. Owner Arte Moreno recently spoke on the club’s financial situation and acknowledged that uncertainty with in the TV department was impacting spending. “Will it get back to $200 million? Probably,” Moreno said of the payroll. “We’ve got to get our TV thing worked out and we just have to improve our brand.”
Presumably, the new broadcast deal won’t immediately impact the roster. The Angels still have to work out things in terms of cable and satellite. They also presumably want to feel out the new streaming setup for a bit before making any rash decisions. There are still some notable free agents unsigned, including starting pitchers Lucas Giolito and Zack Littell. The Halos could use some extra depth in the rotation but it’s unclear if they plan to make a push for either of those two, or any other free agents.
Internally, the Angels will have a new leader on the business side. President John Carpino is going to retire on April 6th and will be replaced by senior vice president Molly Jolly. General manager Perry Minasian remains the front office leader on the baseball side.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good afternoon! Hope you're all enjoying some spring and/or WBC games today. (I've got Panama/Cuba on at the moment!)We'll get started around 2pm CT, but feel free to start asking questions ahead of time, as always.
- Let's get underway!
Giolito
- Why isn't Giolito signed? Surely there's a place in the Athletics, Braves, Phillies, Padres or Astros rotations.
Stevie M
- Does Minnesota have a plan at all? The team doesn't strike fear in me. With Pablo out, should they sign Giolito? He's familiar with the Central. I don't know how effective he is anymore, but it's a thought.
Steve Adams
- I imagine Giolito went into the offseason looking for the kind of multi-year deal he might've been in line for were it not for that season-ending elbow scare, and it just wasn't there. Most clubs are probably looking at him as a one-year guy now, since the majority of offseason budgets have been spent.Especially with Profar's money being freed up, I'm surprised Atlanta hasn't signed him. He's a clear upgrade over the guys duking it out for the fifth spot (Joey Wentz, Bryce Elder, Jose Suarez), and the rest of the Braves' rotation is wrought with injury risk.
- All of that applies to Zack Littell, too.
- (Well, not the part about the elbow scare)
- Twins, too, make an easy and obvious fit for either Giolito or Littell. They've lost Lopez. Festa's shoulder is flaring up. Ryan already had a minor back thing. And the Pohlad du jour there, Tom, has spoken openly about wanting to be aggressive since stepping into the executive chair position
- With the other teams listed for Gio... he probably doesn't want a short-term deal to pitch in a hitter-friendly minor league park (A's), and he'd cost the Phillies more than double because of the luxury tax. Padres don't seem to have any money left (hence the cheap nature of all their late signings).Astros, I just disagree that they need him. Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows ... that's a pretty decent top four, and they have Ryan Weiss, Lance McCullers, Spencer Arrighetti, AJ Blubaugh, Colton Gordon and Miguel Ullola as options at the back of the rotation. Their owner, Jim Crane, also doesn't want to pay the luxury tax -- and they're about $10MM shy of it right now.
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A’s Have Shown Interest In Extension With Shea Langeliers
The A’s have been the most active team in baseball when it comes to extending young players over the past year and are still trying to ink a few members of their young core of hitters to long-term deals. In addition to their recent extension offer to reigning AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, the A’s have made some efforts to sign catcher Shea Langeliers, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Athletics general manager David Forst and his staff have reached long-term deals with outfielder Lawrence Butler (seven years, $65.5MM), shortstop Jacob Wilson (seven years, $70MM), outfielder Tyler Soderstrom (seven years, $86MM) and designated hitter Brent Rooker (five years, $60MM).
Langeliers, 28, is a fairly natural extension candidate but also could be tougher to sign than many of his teammates. Unlike Butler, Wilson and Soderstrom, he’s already reached arbitration and commanded a notable year-one salary, agreeing to terms on a $5.25MM for the upcoming season. With another pair of arbitration raises looming before he reaches free agency in the 2028-29 offseason, Langeliers could realistically take home between $25-30MM over his three arbitration season.
Langeliers is also represented by the Boras Corporation, and while the narrative that Boras clients don’t sign extensions is a bit overstated, there’s no denying that such occurrences are rare. As can be seen in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, there have only been seven extensions of three or more years for Boras clients over the past decade. There haven’t been any extensions for Boras-repped players in Langeliers’ service class (between three and four years) that have bought out free agent seasons in that time (Contract Tracker link).
[Related: What would it cost for the A’s to continue their run of extensions?]
Acquired from the Braves in the trade that sent Matt Olson to Atlanta, Langeliers has steadily improved his offensive profile each year in the majors. He’s fresh off a breakout .277/.325/.536 batting line (132 wRC+) with a career-high 31 homers and a career-low 19.7% strikeout rate. Langeliers doesn’t walk a ton but tied with Colorado’s Hunter Goodman for second-most home runs among all big league catchers in 2025 (trailing only AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh). He also ripped 29 home runs in 2024, and his combined 60 round-trippers over the past two years give him sole possession of second place among all catchers in that regard (again, trailing Raleigh).
Defensively, Langeliers is somewhat lacking. He posted quality caught-stealing rates in the first few seasons of his career but dropped to a career-worst 15.6% in 2025. He improved upon what were previously poor grades for blocking balls in the dirt and framing pitches, but Statcast still ranked him average or slightly below in both categories. The 2025 version of Langeliers wasn’t a liability with the glove, but he’s pretty firmly established himself a bat-first option at the position.
Sorting our Contract Tracker for extensions among catchers who have already reached arbitration reveals a few recent comps of note. Langeliers probably wouldn’t be enticed by Alejandro Kirk‘s five-year, $58MM deal at this juncture, and the A’s would presumably balk at locking him in for the $105MM guarantee ($99.4MM in new money) that the Mariners gave to Raleigh. The man he replaced behind the plate for the A’s, Sean Murphy, signed a six-year, $73MM deal that might be more in the ballpark of market value for Langeliers.
It’s not entirely clear whether Langeliers is amenable to an extension, but it’s somewhat notable that they’re still working to get their most prominent unsigned regulars locked up on long-term deals.
Beyond Langeliers and Kurtz, the A’s don’t have any clear extension candidates. If they want to be especially aggressive, they could take a run at top pitching prospects Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold before either makes his MLB debut, although the latter has yet to even pitch in a professional game after being drafted with the No. 11 overall pick last summer, so that’d probably be a discussion for next spring rather than this one. Jump, 23 next month, was the No. 73 overall pick in 2024 and now ranks as a consensus top-100 prospect. He was excellent between High-A and Double-A last year and should be in line to make his major league debut in 2026.
Jeremy Peña Diagnosed With Finger Fracture
March 6: General manager Dana Brown said this morning that it’s “too early” to tell if Peña will be ready for Opening Day (via Kawahara). Peña himself added that Opening Day is the goal, but he’s not yet sure how the injury will heal. That Peña and the team are even leaving the door cracked for the shortstop to be on the roster is a welcome development for Astros fans, however.
Kawahara writes that moving Correa over to shortstop would be the top option if Peña misses time, though slick-fielding utilityman Nick Allen could also get a few extra innings there. With regard to potential trades involving the Astros’ collection of infielders, Brown suggested that he’ll remain open if other clubs come calling but didn’t sound motivated to actively pursue trade scenarios while Peña is banged up.
“Right now, we like where we are,” said Brown. “We have a good club. We have pretty good depth.”
March 5: The Astros announced that shortstop Jeremy Peña has a fracture in the tip of his right ring finger. He will be reevaluated in two weeks. Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle was among those to relay the update.
Peña was playing for the Dominican Republic team yesterday in an exhibition contest against the Tigers in advance of the World Baseball Classic. In the third inning, he fielded a grounder from Wenceel Pérez behind the second base bag. Peña was able to make the play and throw out Pérez but was seen looking at his finger. He was later removed from the contest.
Yesterday, Dionisio Soldevila of Grandes en los Deportes reported that Peña had suffered a fracture. The Astros initially pushed back on that report, saying that Peña had cracked his fingernail and was still undergoing testing, but a fracture is the diagnosis after all. The WBC final is on March 17th, so it appears that the D.R. team will have to proceed without Peña at shortstop for the whole tournament.
As for the Astros, time will tell if Peña can get healthy in time for their season opener or not. They will start their campaign on March 26th, three weeks from today. Perhaps Peña will have enough time to heal up. If not, injured list stints can be backdated by three days, so there’s a potential scenario where he makes a quick trip to the IL and is back in a week.
At least temporarily, this alleviates the logjam the Astros have been facing on the position player side. For most of the offseason, trade rumors have swirled due to the club seemingly having one more infielder than necessary. Isaac Paredes has been the guy most often at the center of that trade speculation. He was Houston’s third baseman for most of last year but he suffered a significant hamstring strain which prompted the Astros to acquire Carlos Correa to replace him.
With Paredes now healthy going into 2026, the infield is a bit cluttered. On paper, the Astros have Peña at short, Correa at third, Jose Altuve at second and Christian Walker at first. Yordan Alvarez can play left field but will be the designated hitter most days. Paredes could bounce around the infield with some time in the DH spot when Alvarez in left.
It’s a bit inelegant, which has led to all the rumors, but this Peña injury also demonstrates how quickly the surplus could evaporate. If he has to miss some time, the Astros could slide Correa over to short, which would allow Paredes to have a regular playing time at third.
This Peña injury doesn’t appear to be major, so things could get tight again fairly quickly, but another injury at some point is likely. Correa and Alvarez have both had some notable injury troubles over the years. Altuve and Walker have been more reliable but Altuve will be turning 36 soon and Walker is approaching his 35th birthday. The logjam is only really a problem is everyone is healthy at the same time.
Perhaps the odds of a Paredes deal have decreased somewhat with this development. On the other hand, the Astros still want to add another lefty bat into their outfield group and appear to be against their budget limit, so there could still be a case for a Paredes trade if the right offer comes along. More information on Peña’s status and the club’s plans should be forthcoming as Opening Day gets closer.
Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images
Offseason In Review: New York Yankees
The Yankees mostly opted for the status quo, as their 2026 club will look a lot like the 2025 version. A few small differences could take them up a notch.
Major League Signings
- OF Cody Bellinger: Five years, $162.5MM (includes opt-outs after 2027 and 2028, $20MM signing bonus)
- OF Trent Grisham: One year, $22.025MM (accepted qualifying offer)
- 1B Paul Goldschmidt: One year, $4MM
- LHP Ryan Yarbrough: One year, $2.5MM
- IF/OF Amed Rosario: One year, $2.5MM
- RHP Paul Blackburn: One year, $2MM
2026 spending: $85.525MM
Total spending: $195.525MM
Trades and Claims
- Selected RHP Cade Winquest from the Cardinals in Rule 5 draft
- Claimed RHP Kaleb Ort off waivers from Angels (later lost to Angels via waivers)
- Acquired LHP Ryan Weathers from Marlins for OF Dillon Lewis, OF Brendan Jones, IF Dylan Jasso, IF Juan Matheus
- Claimed OF Marco Luciano off waivers from Orioles (later outrighted)
- Claimed OF Michael Siani off waivers from Dodgers (later lost back to Dodgers via waivers)
- Claimed RHP Dom Hamel off waivers from Rangers (later outrighted)
- Acquired RHP Angel Chivilli from Rockies for 1B T.J. Rumfield
- Traded LHP Jayvien Sandridge to Angels for cash considerations
- Claimed OF Yanquiel Fernández off waivers from Rockies (later outrighted)
- Claimed RHP Osvaldo Bido off waivers from Angels
- Acquired IF Max Schuemann from Athletics for RHP Luis Burgos
Option Decisions
- OF Cody Bellinger declined $25MM player option in favor of $5MM buyout (later re-signed)
- Team exercised $3MM club option on LHP Tim Hill
- Team declined $5MM club option on RHP Jonathan Loáisiga
Notable Minor League Signings
- Rafael Montero, Randal Grichuk, Paul DeJong, Seth Brown, Jonathan Ornelas, Michael Arias, Yerry Rodríguez, Ali Sánchez, Zack Short, Adam Kloffenstein, Payton Henry, Dylan Coleman
Extensions
- None to date
Notable Losses
- Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Jonathan Loáisiga, Austin Slater, Mark Leiter Jr. (non-tendered), Scott Effross (non-tendered), Ian Hamilton (non-tendered), Jake Cousins (non-tendered, still unsigned), Allan Winans (signed with NPB club)
There was a lot to like about the Yankees in 2025, but they came up just a bit short of the ultimate goal. They won 94 games in the regular season, the same as the Blue Jays, with Toronto only taking the division title based on the tiebreaker rules. The Yanks got a Wild Card spot and took out the Red Sox but were felled by the Jays in the Division Series.
Going into the 2025-26 offseason, a lot of the key pieces would be remaining in place. The area with the greatest potential for change was the outfield, which was a strength in 2025. Aaron Judge won his third American League MVP Award. Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham enjoyed productive seasons (a breakout, career-best year in the latter’s case). Grisham and Bellinger both headed to free agency at the start of the offseason, the latter by triggering an opt-out in his previous contract.
Theoretically, the Yankees could have turned to some internal replacements, but there would be big risks there. Jasson Domínguez had an uneven year in 2025. His offense was passable but not too exciting. In 429 plate appearances, he hit just ten home runs. A 9.6% walk rate helped his on-base percentage, leading to a .257/.331/.388 line and 103 wRC+. He stole 23 bases but received awful grades for his left field defense. His minus-7 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-10 Outs Above Average were some of the lowest among big league outfielders.
There’s also Spencer Jones, who crushed 35 home runs on the farm last year, including 19 at Triple-A. However, he posted those homers while striking out in 35.4% of his plate appearances. Presumably, he’d strike out even more frequently against better competition in the big leagues. No qualified major leaguer struck out at a higher rate than 32.3% in 2025.
With some questions about both Domínguez and Jones, and the Yankees always in win-now mode, it seemed like the outfield would be a priority. One spot was quickly filled, as Grisham somewhat surprisingly accepted the qualifying offer. His career had been unimpressive prior to 2025, but the breakout was extreme. He hit 34 home runs and drew walks at a 14.1% clip. Grisham’s .235/.348/.464 line led to a 129 wRC+. His defensive grades slipped, but he was considered a strong fielder in every other season of his career, so it’s possible last year’s downturn was more of an odd, one-year blip than a true decline.
Skeptics could point to Grisham’s larger body of work, with a .191/.298/.353 line over the previous three seasons combined, but there were reasons to believe Grisham could cash in on that strong season. Just one offseason earlier, Jurickson Profar had done precisely that. After years of subpar performances, Profar parlayed his strong 2024 season into a three-year, $42MM deal with Atlanta. Grisham went into free agency younger and with a better defensive reputation, so he had a case to top Profar’s guarantee.
MLBTR predicted Grisham could get $66MM over four years, even with the QO attached, but he decided to return to the Bronx for just one year at $22.025MM. A multi-year deal at that same annual value may not have been there, but a three- or four-year deal at a lighter rate with a larger overall guarantee seems like it would have been feasible. Grisham would be a bargain for the Yankees if he can come anywhere close to last year’s performance, and doing so would position him for a major contract next winter.
With Grisham back in the fold, the Yankees still had one outfield spot to consider. They were connected to various names both in free agency and via trade, including Kyle Tucker, Luis Robert Jr. and others, but a reunion with Bellinger always made a lot of sense. He had thrived in his one year in the Bronx. Bellinger hit .272/.334/.480 for a 125 wRC+ on the year overall but with a massive .302/.365/.544 line and 152 wRC+ when playing in Yankee Stadium with its short porch.
The two seemed a perfect match for each other, but the courting process dragged out nonetheless. Bellinger remained on the open market into January. Reports trickled out indicating that the Yankees had made him an offer, then another. There was reportedly an impasse, with the Yankees offering five years and Bellinger seeking a longer deal, but the two sides finally reached an agreement in late January.
The $162.5MM guarantee and five-year term were within the realm of expectations. MLBTR had predicted five years and a slightly lesser guarantee of $140MM. The Bellinger deal was particularly notable for being frontloaded and having two opt-outs. He’ll get a $20MM signing bonus and big salaries of $32.5MM in the first two years, followed by salaries just under $26MM in the final three. Since he can opt out after 2027 and 2028, it’s possible for him to bank $85MM in the first two years and then return to the open market after his age-31 season. The nature of that deal means that Bellinger’s hit for the competitive balance tax will be higher than usual.
After Bellinger was back in the fold, there was some speculation that Domínguez and/or Jones could end up on the trade block. To this point, however, there hasn’t been any strong indications that the Yankees have considered that route. With Grisham only signed for one more year and Bellinger potentially opting out after 2027, there are future opportunities available for those youngsters.
Though the outfield was the main target, the rotation needed some consideration as well. The Yankees will be getting Gerrit Cole back at some point in 2026, after he spent 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he still won’t be ready by Opening Day. They will also be without Carlos Rodón to start the season, as he had surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. Clarke Schmidt had UCL surgery in July of last year and will begin the season on the shelf as well.
The Yanks were connected to some big names over the winter, including Framber Valdez, Edward Cabrera, Michael King, Freddy Peralta, Tatsuya Imai and MacKenzie Gore. Their rotation strike ended up being less splashy than those options. They sent four prospects to the Marlins to acquire lefty Ryan Weathers.
Weathers was once a notable prospect and has shown some flashes of potential in the majors, but not over a long sample size. He had good results with the Marlins in 2024 and 2025 but some injuries limited him in both seasons. He tossed 125 innings over those two campaigns and produced a 3.74 earned run average, 22% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and 45.6% ground ball rate.
A more proven arm could have been preferable, but a nice benefit of Weathers is that he’s controlled for three more years and still has an option remaining. He should get a rotation job alongside Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Luis Gil to start the season. Like Weathers, each of Schlittler, Warren and Gil can be optioned. A stint in the minors for someone in that group is possible if everyone is healthy when Rodón and Cole return. In the meantime, the Yanks also brought back Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn to serve as veteran swingmen.
Paul Goldschmidt became a free agent after the 2025 season, but first base wasn’t a big priority since Ben Rice took over that job. The Yanks were able to bring Goldy back on a modest $4MM deal, seemingly to serve a more complementary role this time. His bat was around league average in 2025, but he still crushed lefties. Since the Yankee lineup skews left-handed, there’s a role for Goldschmidt. Amed Rosario was also brought back for similar reasons and the Yanks also added Randal Grichuk via a minor league deal.
In the bullpen, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver became free agents after 2025, but the Yankees seemingly tried to address those departures proactively. At the 2025 deadline, their three relief additions were David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird. Since all three would still be under club control for 2026, the Yanks may have felt less pressure to replace Williams and Weaver this winter.
Their most notable bullpen move was fairly modest, as they acquired Angel Chivilli from the Rockies. He is still unproven, with a 6.18 ERA in 90 1/3 innings. The Yanks will hope that getting him away from Coors Field will help. He has an intriguing arsenal with high-90s velocity and strong ground ball rates. Chivilli isn’t slated for free agency for at least five years and still has an option remaining. The Yanks also took a shot on Cade Winquest in the Rule 5 draft. He had a 3.99 ERA in the minors last year.
There was some chatter around Jazz Chisholm Jr. this offseason. Since he’s slated for free agency after 2026, there were some trade rumors and the possibility of an extension also came up. It never seemed especially likely that the Yanks would move on from him, and he indeed is still on the roster. The Yankees don’t do many extensions and still haven’t done anything with Chisholm, though he has said he’s open the possibility. It’s theoretically possible for momentum to build at any time, but Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported this week that substantive talks have still not occurred.
Ultimately, the roster is going to look very similar to last year’s. Shortstop Anthony Volpe will miss some time due to offseason shoulder surgery but could rejoin the club in April. José Caballero will cover that spot in the interim. Apart from that, the position player group is essentially identical. There’s a bit more change on the pitching side, but the staff is also going to have a lot of continuity.
There’s not really anything wrong with that. The Yankees were one of the best teams in the league last year. Running back mostly the same squad should put them in position to be really good again. It’s also possible they could be a bit better. They will get Cole back at some point, which should give them a boost, and they’ll get a full season from Schlittler, who just debuted last July. If Weathers can stay healthy, he’s another potential bonus. If there are obvious shortcomings on display in the next few months, the Yanks could address those at the deadline, but for now the roster has been tweaked more so than overhauled.
How would you grade the Yankees' offseason?
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Rangers Sign Andrew McCutchen To Minor League Deal
March 6: McCutchen passed his physical, and the Rangers have formally announced his signing.
March 5: The Rangers are bringing veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen aboard on a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Aegis Sports client’s base salary would be $1.25MM if he makes the team, per Grant. It can max out around $2.5MM if he makes the roster and hits his full slate of incentives, per Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports.
McCutchen, 39, is years removed from peak form but still turned in a .239/.333/.367 slash (95 wRC+) last year in what now looks like his final season with the Pirates. His .267/.353/.389 output against left-handed pitching was a bit above average, and he knocked lefties around at a heftier .261/.383/.410 clip as recently as 2023.
For the past three years, McCutchen has suited back up for his original club in Pittsburgh, where he was a first-round pick who broke out as a star and eventually won National League MVP honors. The hope for both McCutchen and the Pirates was that he’d return to play out his final seasons where it all began, leading a more competitive Bucs club back to the playoffs in the twilight of his career.
That storybook ending never came to be. Pittsburgh struggled in each of the past three seasons, finishing under .500 each year along the way. The Bucs fired manager Derek Shelton last May and took a more urgent and aggressive approach to building up their offense this winter. Pittsburgh acquired Brandon Lowe via trade and signed free agents Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna. They had even bigger targets throughout the winter (e.g. Kyle Schwarber, Josh Naylor, Kazuma Okamoto, Eugenio Suárez). All those pursuits cast doubt on whether there was room for one more go-around with McCutchen on what’d have been a more nostalgic/sentimental reunion. Last month’s signing of Ozuna all but confirmed that the book on the three-year reunion with McCutchen had been closed.
McCutchen now heads to the Rangers in hopes of grabbing a bench spot. His right-handed bat makes for a natural platoon complement alongside designated hitter Joc Pederson. Cutch could also see some time in the outfield corners when Texas faces off against left-handed starters, with Wyatt Langford shifting over to center field in place of lefty-swinging Evan Carter, who has just five hits in 68 career plate appearances against southpaws.
There’s little sense citing McCutchen’s career .289/.387/.514 slash against lefties, since so much of that is influenced by otherworldly production during his MVP peak. However, even over the three seasons in his late-career return to PNC Park, McCutchen hit .244/.353/.392 in 435 plate appearances. That sort of production is more solid than eye-catching, but it’d still mark an upgrade over the awful .225/.290/.363 batting line the Rangers turned in versus left-handed pitching in 2025.
The Opener: WBC, Blanco, Song
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world heading into the weekend:
1. World Baseball Classic continues:
Coming off the heels of right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Samurai Japan’s dominant 13-0 victory over Chinese Taipei overnight (featuring Shohei Ohtani going 3-for-4 with a grand slam), we’re headed into a busy day in WBC pool play. Seven more games are on the schedule today, with highlights including Team USA’s first game (featuring a start from righty Logan Webb) against Team Brazil and a strong pitching matchup between Puerto Rico (Seth Lugo) and Colombia (Jose Quintana). Ranger Suarez (Venezuela), Javier Assad (Mexico), and Cristopher Sanchez (Dominican Republic) are all set to take the mound as well. Pool games will continue throughout the weekend, and fans awaiting ace southpaw Tarik Skubal‘s start for Team USA should tune in at 8pm ET tomorrow when he takes on Great Britain.
2. Blanco DFA resolution incoming:
Royals outfielder Dairon Blanco was designated for assignment this week week when the club added Starling Marte into their outfield mix. Blanco, a right-handed hitter capable of handling all three outfield spots, made his big league debut in 2022 and put up decent numbers for the Royals in a part-time role during the 2023 and ’24 seasons. He slashed .258/.316/.422 across 157 games in that time, and while he only appeared in nine MLB games last year, he’s stolen 59 bases in 73 attempts during his career (80.8%). Blanco would be an intriguing fourth outfielder for a number of teams, and he has options remaining that could boost his value in that sort of bench role. If Blanco is claimed off waivers when his DFA window expires, he’ll join his new team in the coming days. The Royals will have the opportunity to outright him to Triple-A as non-roster depth in the event that he goes unclaimed.
3. Song facing oblique injury:
New Padres utilityman Sung Mun Song exited yesterday’s Spring Training game due to what was described as “tightness” in his right oblique. Manager Craig Stammen told reporters after the game that Song’s removal was precautionary, but as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes, Song was sidelined by a similar oblique issue in January while working out back home in South Korea. Given that, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Padres exercise caution in the coming days. Oblique injuries are notoriously easy to aggravate if a player returns to baseball activities too soon, and San Diego is surely hoping to have Song healthy and ready to go in time for Opening Day, which is now less than three weeks away.
Tigers’ Josue Briceño Undergoes Wrist Surgery
March 6: Briceño told reporters (including Petzold) this morning that he expects to miss “a few months” following yesterday’s surgery.
March 5: Tigers catching prospect Josue Briceño underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right wrist yesterday and will miss a yet-unspecified (but presumably significant) period of time, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Briceño is considered one of the Tigers’ five best prospects and one of the 100 top prospects in the entire sport. He sits 40th on MLB.com’s top-100 list, 44th on the list of ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, 59th on Keith Law’s rankings at The Athletic and 76th on Baseball America’s 2026 top 100 list.
The 6’4″ Briceño has the makings of an offensive force behind the plate or at first base. He’s hit at basically every stop in the minors since signing as a teenager out of Venezuela back in 2022, including a stout .266/.383/.500 slash with 20 homers and a gaudy 14.9% walk rate in 442 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A this past season. Every single one of those plate appearances came before Briceño even celebrated his 21st birthday in late September.
There are substantial questions about Briceño’s ability to stay behind the plate. He has a strong throwing arm but draws generally poor reviews for his framing, receiving and ability to block pitches in the dirt. He’s on the tall side to be crouching behind the plate on a regular basis — though there have been a handful of 6’4″ and even 6’5″ catchers over the years — but that height would also serve him well at first base in the event that he switches positions on a more permanent basis down the road. For now, he’s been splitting time between catcher and first base in roughly 60-40 fashion, with more reps behind the dish than at first base.
Catcher is a clear position of depth for the Tigers, so Briceño wasn’t likely to make his big league debut this season anyhow. Former second-round pick Dillon Dingler hit .278/.327/.425 with 13 home runs and plus defense in 469 plate appearances last year, seizing the team’s starting gig in the process. Veteran Jake Rogers is on hand as a backup with plus defensive skills but declining production in the batter’s box. Twenty-two-year-old Thayron Liranzo, like Briceño, is another well-regarded catching prospect who played at the Double-A level last year. He had a rough showing there in his age-21 season but drew some top-100 fanfare of his own this time last year.
Dingler is controllable for another five seasons, so barring any major steps backward, he’ll likely hold down the position for the foreseeable future. Briceño (or Liranzo) could emerge as a backup candidate and part-time first baseman/designated hitter as soon as next season, depending on when he recovers from yesterday’s surgery. Rogers is a free agent at season’s end, and Briceño will need to be added to Detroit’s 40-man roster by mid-November to shield him from the Rule 5 Draft (if there is one; the 2021 Rule 5 Draft was scrapped due to the offseason lockout, and another lockout is expected this December). Liranzo was added to the 40-man in November of 2025 to keep him out of last year’s Rule 5.
Red Sox’s Vinny Nittoli Facing Elbow Surgery
Red Sox reliever Vinny Nittoli is weighing Tommy John or internal brace surgery, reports Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. The righty has been diagnosed with ligament damage in his elbow and is seemingly headed for a season-ending operation.
Nittoli is in camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a minor league contract last month. He made three appearances this spring, allowing four runs over 2 2/3 innings. Manager Alex Cora told Mac Cerullo of The Boston Herald on Wednesday that the team was awaiting imaging results after Nittoli reported elbow discomfort during his most recent appearance. The news obviously wasn’t what he had been hoping.
The 35-year-old Nittoli is on the 12th organization of a decade-long professional career. He has pitched at the highest level for five teams. His career high in MLB appearances with one team is seven, as he threw eight innings for the Athletics in 2024. Nittoli has had cups of coffee with the Mariners, Phillies, Mets and Orioles as well. He has logged 18 2/3 major league innings, striking out 13 against five walks while allowing five runs.
A former 25th round pick, Nittoli has spent six seasons at the Triple-A level. He owns a 4.76 earned run average in 223 innings despite a strong 28.3% strikeout rate. Nittoli combined for a 4.58 ERA with a 26% strikeout percentage and 8% walk rate between Baltimore’s and Milwaukee’s top affiliates last year.
Orioles Believed To Have Made Nine-Figure Offer To Ranger Suárez
The Orioles were among the teams most frequently tied to Ranger Suárez before the southpaw signed a five-year deal with the Red Sox. He commanded a $130MM guarantee to slot behind Garrett Crochet in the Boston rotation.
Baltimore was seemingly in a similar range. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Orioles are believed to have made an offer around $125MM. It seems likely that would also have been a five-year proposal at approximately $25MM annually.
It’s an offseason footnote at this point. Suárez got a slightly better deal to join an AL East competitor. The Orioles wound up turning to Chris Bassitt on a one-year, $18.5MM deal to build out the rotation. Bassitt should be a solid mid-rotation presence, while the O’s took a higher variance swing on the trade market. They sent four prospects and a draft pick to the Rays for Shane Baz in December.
The Post report doesn’t specify when the Orioles made their offer to Suárez. He didn’t sign with Boston until a month after the Baz trade. The O’s pursuit of high-end starting pitching extended beyond the Baz trade, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if their offer came at a similar time as the Red Sox’s one that got the deal done. Baltimore signed Bassitt three weeks later.
Until last offseason, the Orioles had not signed any players to a nine-figure deal under president of baseball operations Mike Elias. They weren’t entirely averse to such commitments. They reportedly offered Corbin Burnes four years and $180MM before he signed with the Diamondbacks in 2025.
They hadn’t actually signed any free agents for even $50MM+ until their Winter Meetings splash to add Pete Alonso for five years and $155MM. They were evidently willing to add another significant deal to the books. Suárez would also have been the O’s first free agent signee under Elias who had rejected a qualifying offer (thereby costing the signing team a draft choice).
Baltimore will open the season with a front five of Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Baz, Bassitt and Zach Eflin. They’ll probably go with a six-man rotation to also keep Dean Kremer in the mix as long as everyone gets through camp healthy.