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Astros Sign Carlos Perez, Amos Willingham To Minors Deals

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The Astros released their list of non-roster Spring Training invitees yesterday, and two of the names heading to camp are catcher Carlos Perez and right-hander Amos Willingham, who signed minor league deals with Houston back in November.

Now entering his age-35 season, Perez will look to continue his tour of the AL West by winning a job on the Astros’ roster.  Perez played 184 of his 278 career big league games with the Angels, and he has also suited up for the Rangers and Athletics during his five MLB seasons.  Most of Perez’s time in the majors came during the 2015-18 seasons, as he didn’t resurface again in the Show until he played in 66 games with the A’s in 2023.

Perez was non-tendered after the season but returned to the A’s on a minor league deal for 2024, and he then moved onto the Cubs last offseason on another minor league pact, with neither agreement resulting in any MLB playing time.  Over 859 career plate appearances in the majors, Perez has hit only .218/.265/.327.  His all-time Triple-A numbers (.279/.353/.505 over 3055 PA) are far superior, with the caveat that Perez has played most of his Triple-A career in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Yainer Diaz is Houston’s starting catcher but the backup role is now in flux since Victor Caratini signed with the Twins.  Cesar Salazar is the top current choice as Diaz’s understudy and Perez is the only other catcher in the organization with any big league experience.  Perez could push Salazar for a roster spot in Spring Training, though since Astros GM Dana Brown said earlier this month that the team was still on the lookout for backup catching help, both Salazar and Perez could be pushed down the depth chart.

Willingham made his MLB debut by pitching 24 1/3 innings over 18 appearances with the Nationals in 2023, but he tossed just a single inning in one game for Washington in 2024.  The righty has a 7.11 ERA to show for his brief time in the bigs, but he has a 3.62 ERA and 23% strikeout rate to show for his 104 1/3 innings in Triple-A, albeit with a 10.27% walk rate that is on the high side.  The Georgia native signed a minor league deal with the Braves last offseason that didn’t lead to a call-up, and Willingham actually spent most of his year at the Double-A level while also battling injuries.

Willingham made some changes to his pitching repertoire last year.  After previously using a fastball-slider combo as his two primary pitches, he threw his cutter over half the time in 2025, with his 94.4mph fastball reduced to a 37.3% usage rate.  He’ll head to Spring Training with the hopes that this revamped arsenal can lead to a job in the Astros’ bullpen, and Willingham has a minor league option remaining.

Dodgers Likely To Keep Teoscar Hernandez

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Teoscar Hernandez’s name surfaced in trade rumors earlier this winter, and now that Kyle Tucker is joining the Los Angeles outfield, it created some natural speculation that the Dodgers could clear room by moving Hernandez elsewhere.  Even with Tucker in the fold, however, it is more likely than not that Hernandez will still be a Dodger on Opening Day, according to both The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.

The Dodgers’ plan is likely to move Hernandez over to left field, with Tucker taking his customary right field position.  Andy Pages and Tommy Edman would be the primary center field options with Alex Call in a reserve outfield role, and Edman is also perhaps the top option within an unsettled second base mix that also includes Miguel Rojas, Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland, and new acquisition Andy Ibanez.  A reunion with Enrique Hernandez at some point this offseason also can’t be ruled out.

Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts and GM Brandon Gomes both downplayed the idea of a Hernandez trade back in December, and even Rosenthal’s initial report about the trade talks indicated that it was “unlikely” the Dodgers would move on just a year after signing Hernandez to a three-year, $66MM free agent contract.  The remaining money on that deal is broken down as $12MM in 2026, $14.5MM in 2027, and a $6.5MM buyout of a $15MM club option for the 2028 season.

Half of that $66MM guaranteed has already covered in the form of a $23MM signing bonus and a $10MM salary for 2025, plus $23.5MM of the total $66MM is deferred until 2031.  A team trading for Hernandez would therefore be taking on only $33MM over a two-year period, with the remaining deferrals reducing that overall price tag.

This modest remaining cost likely led a few outfield-needy teams to at least float the idea of a Hernandez deal with Los Angeles, and the Royals were cited as one of the interested clubs.  While money isn’t exactly an object for the free-spending Dodgers, moving Hernandez would’ve provided the team with some luxury tax relief, and opened up some more room in the outfield for other players.  Call or Edman could get more playing time on the grass, which then removes Edman from the second base battle.  Several of the Dodgers’ top prospects are outfielders, so the likes of Josue De Paula could’ve had more room for a Major League debut in 2026.

In keeping Hernandez, the Dodgers avoid any potential pitfalls with depth or untested players as L.A. tries to win its third consecutive World Series title.  There’s also the possibility that Hernandez’s trade market was a little thin in the wake of a so-so year for the veteran.  Hernandez still hit 25 homers, but his .247/.284/.454 slash line over 546 plate appearances translated to only a 102 wRC+, and his walk rate plunged to a career-low 4.8%.

Hernandez also had only a 107 wRC+ in 2023, though he bounced back from that season to hit more like his old self in his first year with the Dodgers in 2024.  Another rebound performance shouldn’t be ruled out as Hernandez enters his age-33 season, but his subpar defense means that his value is limited if he isn’t hitting.

While trading a proven big leaguer like Hernandez might not be in the cards for the Dodgers, the champs have enough depth all over the diamond that they could turn to any number of less-established players as trade chips.  Rosenthal suggests that right-hander Bobby Miller or minor league outfielder Ryan Ward could be players Los Angeles is more open to trading.

Just a few years removed from being one of the game’s top pitching prospects, Miller performed well in his 2023 rookie season but has struggled to an 8.85 ERA over 61 MLB innings since Opening Day 2024.  He appeared in only two Major League games in 2025 while continuing to battle control problems at the Triple-A level.  Ward is an eighth-round pick from the 2019 draft who crushed Triple-A pitching in 2025, and while he likely would’ve already gotten a chance in the Show in a less star-studded organization, Ward is entering his age-28 season and probably isn’t in the Dodgers’ long-term plans.

Sung Mun Song To Miss Four Weeks Recovering From Oblique Injury

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Padres infielder Sung Mun Song will require about four weeks of recovery time due to an oblique injury, according to Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency.  Song sustained the injury during a recent batting practice session.

The projected recovery period just about matches up with the start of San Diego’s spring camp, so Song might not miss any time at all as he prepares for his first big league Spring Training.  As always, of course, oblique-related injuries are notoriously tricky to gauge, so the four-week timeline perhaps represents a best-case scenario.  Song will also be missing out on offseason prep time in general, so depending on his progress, the Padres could place him on the 10-day injured list to begin the season if Song still needs a little more time to ramp up.

As Yoo notes, the more immediate matter for Song even before Opening Day is the World Baseball Classic in March.  That said, it wasn’t known if Song was intending to play for the South Korean national team or if he was skipping the WBC to focus on his debut season in the majors.  Yoo writes that Song didn’t take part in the South Korean team’s preliminary camp that opened on January 9, hinting that Song might not have been in the team’s plans even if healthy.

Song wasn’t on the national team’s radar during the last WBC in 2023, as the infielder didn’t really start to produce big numbers in the KBO League until the 2024 season.  Song broke out with 19 homers and a .340/.409/.518 slash line over 602 plate appearances for the Kiwoom Heroes that year, and followed up by hitting .315/.387/.530 with 26 home runs in 646 PA in 2025.

This put Song onto the radar of Major League teams, and after the Heroes agreed to post him, San Diego signed Song in December to a four-year contract worth $15MM in guaranteed money, with a player opt-out prior to the 2029 season and a club option for the 2030 season.  Manny Machado is occupying Song’s primary position of third base, but Song’s ability to also play first and second base should allow him plenty of playing time bouncing around the Padres’ infield, plus the team has also considered him as an outfield candidate.  There’s plenty of intrigue in how the 29-year-old will adjust to MLB pitching, though this oblique issue is an unwelcome first hurdle to Song’s Padres career.

Rays Looking To Trade For Catchers, Had Interest In J.T. Realmuto

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The catching position has long been a weak link in Tampa Bay, and the Rays at least considered making a big move to solidify the position this winter.  The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Tampa showed some interest in signing J.T. Realmuto before Realmuto re-signed with the Phillies yesterday for three years and $45MM.

The Rays rarely make major forays into the free agent market, and it was widely assumed that Realmuto would eventually return to Philadelphia.  Beyond these two points, however, it makes plenty of sense why the Rays would’ve checked in Realmuto, given both their needs behind the plate and the fact that Realmuto lingered on the open market until mid-January.  Had the Phillies successfully signed Bo Bichette, for instance, Realmuto’s chances of a reunion might’ve gotten a lot slimmer, leaving the door open for the Rays (or another catcher-needy team) to swoop in with an offer.

Zach Eflin’s three-year, $40MM deal from the 2022-23 offseason represents the biggest contract the Rays have ever given to a free agent.  This isn’t far under what Realmuto got from the Phillies, and if Philadelphia had dropped out of the Realmuto market altogether, there might’ve been opportunity for the Rays to make a similar offer, or perhaps even a matching average annual value on a two-year deal.  In fact, MLB Trade Rumors projected a two-year, $30MM deal for Realmuto, but the Phils ended up adding a third year with the same $15MM average annual value.

Besides the Phillies, the Red Sox were the only other team known to have interest in Realmuto this winter.  The Rangers were a speculative suitor, but reports indicated that the team’s limited budget wouldn’t allow for such a pursuit.  Among other contenders or would-be contenders, the Giants, Reds, Pirates, or Marlins might’ve made sense, but there wasn’t any indication that any of these clubs (several of whom are also operating within reduced payrolls) made any push for Realmuto.

As per usual in Tampa Bay, there has been a lot of offseason roster shuffling, with some relatively pricier players moved out and other players brought in to fill holes in a somewhat less expensive manner.  Steven Matz, Cedric Mullins, and Jake Fraley were all signed for a combined $25MM, so the Rays added three players for slightly more than the $22.5MM they would’ve owed Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks had the two been retained.  The end result is a payroll that will probably look pretty similar to last year — RosterResource estimates the Rays’ 2026 payroll at around $80.1MM, in comparison to their $78.9MM payroll from 2025.

Signing Realmuto might well have resulted in the Rays having to unload another prominent salary to make the numbers fit.  Losing someone like Yandy Diaz to add Realmuto might not have been a welcome tradeoff for Tampa’s lineup, but since Diaz is entering the last guaranteed year of his contract, perhaps that’s a move the Rays would’ve been open to making making in order to finally shore up the catching position.

President of baseball operations Erik Neander said in November that the Rays were keeping an open mind about catchers, saying that “if we can find a way to be better at that position, we will, but those are two guys [Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia] we appreciate.  If we roll into next year and that’s where we are — a lot of players, we’re counting on development from where they were, and that certainly applies to those two and [we] think that they can give us more than they did this year.”

Fortes and Feduccia are currently lined up as the Rays’ top two catchers, with Logan Driscoll and non-roster invite Blake Sabol as the only other backstops in the organization with any MLB experience.  In a sign of how the position has been a revolving door for the Rays, Fortes and Feduccia have each been with the team just since July, as the duo were respectively acquired from the Marlins and Dodgers in deadline trades.

Fortes is a glove-first catcher who has hit only .224/.280/.345 over 1174 plate appearances in the majors.  Feduccia also hasn’t hit in the Show but only in the limited sample of 119 PA, with 102 of those trips to the plate coming after the trade from Los Angeles.  Formally a well-regarded prospect in the L.A. farm system, Feduccia has strong Triple-A numbers and might be something of an untapped resource as a hitter, though he is already 28 years old.

With Realmuto back in Philadelphia and Victor Caratini now signed by the Twins, the top two options on the free agent catching market quickly left the board in 24 hours’ time.  Rather than sort through other free agents who might not represent clear upgrades, the Rays seem to prefer looking for trade help, as Rosenthal writes.  The pickings are pretty slim on this front as well, but teams like the Royals, Cardinals, or Pirates could conceivably have enough available catching depth to match up with Tampa Bay as trade partners.

Blue Jays Reportedly Offered 10-Year, $350MM Deal To Kyle Tucker

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Kyle Tucker’s four-year, $240MM contract with the Dodgers ended an intriguing trip through free agency for the outfielder, as Tucker opted for a shorter-term deal with an extremely high average annual value and some built-in flexibility (opt-outs after the 2027 and 2028 seasons) over a longer-term pact.  Multiple reports suggested that Tucker’s only true long-term offer on the table came from the Blue Jays, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes that the terms of Toronto’s offer were $350MM over ten years.

This is more in line with the 11-year, $400MM projection that MLB Trade Rumors predicted for Tucker at the start of the offseason.  That price tag was naturally going to keep many teams out of the bidding from the onset, but even among the larger-market teams, there seemed to be a reluctance to give Tucker a long-term commitment — perhaps due to the injuries that cost him time over the last two seasons, and contributed to his second-half slump with the Cubs last year.  The Mets were Tucker’s other primary suitor but New York was reportedly only willing to offer a frontloaded four-year deal worth $220MM with multiple opt-outs.

In terms of pure dollars, the $350MM would’ve tied for the seventh-priciest deal in baseball history, and only 15 contracts have ever topped a $35MM average annual value.  It would’ve been the largest free agent deal in Blue Jays history but not their largest contract altogether, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 14-year, $500MM extension from last spring takes that title.  The Jays have gone bigger in the past, however, as they made Shohei Ohtani an offer similar to the heavily-deferred ten-year, $700MM pact that the superstar took from the Dodgers during the 2023-24 offseason.

This now marks the fourth time in three offseasons that the Jays have made a huge push for a player who eventually signed with the Dodgers, between Tucker, Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki.  Given how the latter three played major roles in Los Angeles’ World Series triumph over Toronto last fall, missing out on Tucker as well adds some sting to the Blue Jays’ unsuccessful pursuit.  It also didn’t help that longtime shortstop Bo Bichette then signed with the Mets on a three-year, $126MM deal that also included two opt-outs, leaving Toronto coming up short on seemingly their top two position-player targets of the offseason.

That being said, the Kazuma Okamoto signing filled a hole in the Blue Jays’ infield, and led to some speculation that signing Tucker for the outfield was more of priority for the Jays than reuniting with Bichette.  There’s also the fact that Toronto had years to discuss long-term extensions with Bichette when he was under team control, and the acquisition of Andres Gimenez from the Guardians last winter seemed to hint that the Jays were preparing for a post-Bichette era at shortstop.

Had Tucker accepted the Blue Jays’ offer, he would’ve joined Guerrero as the team’s lineup cornerstones for the next decade.  He also would’ve solidified a Jays outfield that has George Springer and Daulton Varsho both scheduled to hit free agency next winter, even though Springer primarily worked as a DH in 2025.  The Jays are certainly hoping that Anthony Santander (their biggest signing from last offseason) can rebound from what was essentially a lost 2025 campaign, and Okamoto’s signing probably means that breakout star Addison Barger may be utilized more as a right fielder than as a third baseman.

For now, Toronto’s regular outfield looks pretty similar to their 2025 plan — Varsho in center field, Springer and Santander perhaps splitting time between DH and one corner slot, and some combination of Barger, Nathan Lukes, and Davis Schneider all getting time in the other corner spot.  Barger figures to play some third base and Schneider can play second base, further aiding manager John Schneider’s ability to find at-bats for everyone.

Of course, it is also possible that the Blue Jays might still bolster their outfield picture with another new face.  Cody Bellinger has been on the Jays’ radar both this winter and in past offseasons, and he is reportedly looking for a longer-term deal than the five-year deal in the $155MM range the Yankees have apparently put on the table.  The Mets have also been linked to Bellinger’s market, though that could change now that the Amazins have splurged on Bichette.  The Jays’ willingness to offer Tucker 10 years obviously doesn’t mean they’ll readily offer Bellinger anything beyond five years, but Toronto has been so aggressive in free agency that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team pivoted to the best outfielder remaining on the open market.

Landing Tucker would’ve been another coup in what has already been an expensive offseason in Toronto.  Dylan Cease’s seven-year, $210MM contract is the biggest free agent deal in franchise history, and the Jays have also invested heavily in Okamoto (four years/$60MM), Tyler Rogers (three years/$37MM), and Cody Ponce (three years/$30MM).  The Blue Jays’ payroll has already soared to record heights, with RosterResource’s projection of a $310.5MM luxury tax number already putting the Jays over the maximum penalty line of $304MM.  This comes with a 90 percent surcharge for the Jays as a penalty for their second consecutive year as tax payors, so Tucker’s $35MM AAV for 2026 would’ve come with a big tax hit of $31.5MM.

As much as ownership is clearly willing to spend in pursuit of a championship, one wonders if Tucker (or Bichette) represented a special circumstance, and the Jays aren’t willing to spend to such a huge extent for Bellinger or any other prominent free agents remaining.  Toronto could look to lower-cost free agents or to the trade market to address any other roster holes.

Mets To Sign Bo Bichette

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The Mets wasted little time in changing gears after missing out on the offseason’s top free agent. They’ve reportedly agreed to a massive three-year, $126MM contract with free agent infielder Bo Bichette. The Vayner Sports client can opt out of the contract after this season and after the 2027 campaign, and if he chooses to do so he’ll pick up an additional $5MM bonus. The contract, which does not contain any deferred money and affords Bichette a full no-trade clause, is pending the completion of a physical.

It’s a stunning and near-immediate pivot for a Mets club that is barely 12 hours removed from losing out on Kyle Tucker, who just last night went to the Dodgers. Los Angeles outbid the Mets’ reported four-year, $220MM deal with a four-year, $240MM contract that gives Tucker two opt-out opportunities (post-2027 and post-2028). Having missed on that big swing, the Mets now pivot to the market’s next-best bat and next-best all-around free agent, bringing Bichette in on a $42MM annual value that ties Zack Wheeler for the sixth-largest in MLB history.

In landing Bichette, the Mets are not only pivoting from Tucker in arguably the most notable way possible — they’re also keeping him from a division rival that had emerged as the ostensible frontrunner. Bichette met with the Phillies earlier this week, and made him a seven-year offer worth around $200MM. They believed they were close to a deal last night, but the Tucker decision prompted a pivot from the Mets, who swooped in and stole him from their rivals. Bichette now lands a mammoth annual value that could grow even further (via that $5MM bonus) if he opts out and returns to the market next winter, ahead of what would still be only his age-29 season.

Though the fit isn’t necessarily as clean as Tucker would have been for a Mets club that already had a deep infield and was lacking in outfielders, Bichette adds a clear plus bat to manager Carlos Mendoza’s lineup. The 27-year-old (28 in March) has been a well above-average hitter in all but one of his seven major league campaigns — a 2024 season that was cut short by multiple calf injuries and a broken finger standing as the lone exception.

Bichette hit just .225/.277/.322 in 80 games during that awful 2024 campaign. He not only bounced back in 2025 but turned in arguably the best performance of his career on a rate basis, slashing .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs in 628 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+ (134), it was Bichette’s best season since his late call-up during the 2019 campaign (MLB’s juiced-ball season).

Even on its surface, Bichette’s 2025 season looks excellent. It doesn’t tell the tale of his finish, though, which had both positives and one very obvious negative. Bichette actually had a tepid start to his 2025 campaign. The underlying batted-ball data through his first month-plus was strong, but he hit just .275/.316/.363 through the first week of May. From that point forth, Bichette caught fire. Over his next 457 plate appearances, he laid waste to opposing pitchers at a .325/.372/.528 clip. That was 50% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+, and even that doesn’t fully do justice to Bichette’s jaw-dropping summer; over his final 238 plate appearances, the second-generation All-Star went supernova with a .381/.437/.591 slash (187 wRC+).

Unfortunately for both Bichette and the Blue Jays, that previously mentioned “very obvious negative” struck in early September when he suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his knee and missed the remainder of the regular season. He was also inactive for the early rounds of postseason play, only returning in the World Series. Bichette was clearly hobbled during the Fall Classic, limping to first base with ’88 Gibson-esque speed when putting the ball in play and displaying a lack of range at a new position: second base. Bichette’s shortstop glovework has been panned for years, and the Jays took the downtime as an opportunity to shift the defensively superior Andres Gimenez over to shortstop in his absence.

Despite the clearly injured knee, Bichette’s bat didn’t miss a beat in the World Series. He went 8-for-23 with seven singles and a titanic three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series. Had the Jays’ bullpen managed to hold the lead, that would-be game-winner would have trailed only Joe Carter’s walk-off blast in franchise lore. Of course, that’s not how the game turned out, but Bichette’s 442-foot bomb still served to further underscore that even at less than 100%, he was a clear impact bat.

Bichette now carries a lifetime .294/.337/.469 batting line with him to Queens. He’s been 20-35% better than an average hitter every season of his career with the exception of that 2024 outlier, and this past season’s 14.5% strikeout rate was a career-low. He couples those plus-plus contact skills with above-average power and high-end batted-ball data; Bichette averaged 91 mph off the bat this past season (72nd percentile), and his 48.8% hard-hit rate sat in the 83rd percentile of big league hitters.

The question for Bichette and the Mets is how well he can handle a move to third base. His shortstop deficiencies were largely due to sub-par range. He doesn’t have a plus throwing arm necessarily, but it’s closer to average — at least in terms of the average velocity on his throws, as measured by Statcast — than was the case with his bottom-of-the-scale lateral movement. Bichette averaged 82.3 mph on his throws across the diamond last year — below par in MLB but still an upgrade (at least in terms of pure arm strength) over the man he’ll be replacing at the hot corner, Brett Baty (81.2 mph). Bichette may not be a plus defender at third, but even average defense coupled with his bat and good health would result in All-Star output.

Baty could now bounce between multiple positions. He’s played second base and left field in the past, and the Mets would surely be open to experimenting with him at first base, too. The designated hitter slot provides more opportunities for all. It’s a similar range of possibilities to the one faced by Jorge Polanco, who inked a two-year, $40MM deal last month. Polanco will reportedly be used extensively at first base and designated hitter despite having virtually no prior first base experience.

For a team that has preached run prevention for much of the offseason, lining up with Bichette at third base and Polanco/Baty at first probably isn’t how they drew things up originally — but the offseason is a layered beast that rarely unfolds in alignment with even the best-laid plans. Even if the Mets’ infield defense (and outfield defense, for that matter) is lacking, it’ll be solid up the middle thanks to Francisco Lindor and Marcus Semien. It should also be a highly productive offensive unit — particularly if Semien’s bat can bounce back at all.

Of course, the addition of Bichette also makes a potential trade of Baty — and several other infielders — more likely. Clubs seeking third base help include the Mariners, Angels and Pirates (as explored at length yesterday), among others. Any could show interest in Baty, Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuña and/or Ronny Mauricio. Acuña, Vientos and Mauricio have all reportedly been available throughout the offseason anyhow. Some form of move seems likely, especially when considering both Acuña and Vientos are out of minor league options and looking to bounce back from poor seasons.

From a payroll vantage point, the Bichette contract is all the more staggering. Not only is the $42MM annual value the sixth-largest ever, it’s also only a fraction of what the Mets will actually have to pay due to this signing. New York was already on the cusp of the top tier of luxury penalization. Bichette catapults them $33MM north of that final cutoff point, per RosterResource’s estimates. They’ll pay a 95% tax on the first roughly $9MM of his annual value and a full-freight 110% tax on the remaining $33MM. Assuming an even distribution of his $126MM over the three-year term, the Mets would be paying more than $86MM for Bichette in 2026 alone. If he triggers that $5MM bonus upon opting out next winter, that’d also be subject to a 110% tax, bringing the Mets’ total bill on Bichette to about $97MM for just one year.

Moreover, the signing underscores the minimal amount that many big-market, CBT-paying clubs care about paying the 110% tax on short-term deals marquee players. The Dodgers’ signing of Tucker — just as will be the case with Bichette’s deal — has rekindled public outcry for a salary cap, but the players will likely only use these deals to illustrate the discrepancy between the middle and upper class of free agents; the union will surely argue that a cap would only further expand that gap and point out that half the money paid by CBT offenders is redistributed to other teams (in addition to standard revenue-sharing). That won’t fly with small-market owners, who’ll argue that they can’t compete with this type of expenditure. Both sides will dig in their heels.

It’s also fair to wonder whether this is a short-term blip or a burgeoning trend. Even big-market clubs seem increasingly against long-term contracts. For years, it was the Dodgers who tended to prefer short-term, high-AAV deals. But we’ve now seen the Mets limit their Tucker offer to four years and go three super-premium years on Bichette — while also declining to go beyond three years for Pete Alonso or Edwin Diaz. The Red Sox clearly prefer the trade market to free agency and surprised onlookers by even extending to five years to sign Ranger Suárez. The Yankees have reportedly been stuck on five years for their offer to Cody Bellinger while he seeks a seven-year term. Giants ownership publicly voiced an aversion to signing any pitchers to long-term contracts.

If baseball is indeed moving more toward NBA-style contracts — short term, ultra-high annual value — it’d mark a dramatic shift for a sport whose top players have overwhelmingly (albeit not always) preferred the stability of long-term arrangements, even if that means sacrificing some money on an annual basis. Time will tell, but that will all factor into both parties’ approach at the negotiating table next winter in an offseason that is widely expected to be impacted by a lockout and transaction freeze.

Turning back to the teams directly impacted by today’s signing, the Mets will part with their second- and fifth-highest selections in the 2026 draft as well as $1MM of space from next year’s bonus pool for international amateur free agents. That’s due to the fact that Bichette declined a $22.025MM qualifying offer. By that same token, the Blue Jays will be compensated with an extra pick. That selection will come after the fourth round of this summer’s draft — the lowest possible compensation — due to Toronto’s status as a luxury tax payor.

For the Jays, parting with Bichette has at least seemed possible throughout the winter but began to look more certain once they signed star NPB third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and plugged him into an already crowded infield. There was still some room for Bichette to return, but Toronto’s focus has reportedly been on Tucker. With Bichette now formally out of the picture, they’re lined up to go with Ernie Clement at second base, Gimenez at shortstop and Okamoto/Addison Barger at third base.

As for the Phillies, they’ve made their own immediate pivot, upping their offer to give longtime catcher J.T. Realmuto the third year he’s sought. Less than two hours after the Bichette agreement broke, Realmuto and the Phillies had a new deal in place. Philadelphia had reportedly only been comfortable signing one of Bichette or Realmuto, with the recent preference seeming to be the former. A Bichette signing would likely have led to Realmuto going elsewhere and one of Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott being traded. Trading either feels less likely — but certainly not impossible — now that Bichette is in Queens and Realmuto is staying put.

Even Bichette himself will now have major questions to consider in the near-term future. With a big season, he’ll assuredly opt out of his contract, cashing in $47MM (or thereabouts, depending on the division of salary) for one year and re-entering the market as a 28-year-old who can’t receive a qualifying offer. If he can do that and prove himself capable of playing an average or better third base, he could come out hundreds of millions ahead. That’s far from a given, though, and he’ll need to make that decision against the backdrop of a looming work stoppage.

It’s a dizzying sequence of interwoven, high-priced payouts for star players — the ramifications of which will reach further than we can accurately predict at this time. It seems clear that the Mets have at least one move coming with regard to their infield glut, and they’re still in search of help both in the rotation and in the outfield. With Tucker and Bichette coming off the board within a matter of 15 hours, Cody Bellinger suddenly stands as the top position player available — possibly with several clubs now keying in on him and providing more pressure for the incumbent Yankees to bridge the gap between their five-year offer and his seven-year ask. Will Bellinger similarly pivot to a short-term, high-AAV contract? If so, will that be in the Bronx or with a new club?

Questions abound, and there are surely several moves yet to be made, but the Mets are a more talented and more dangerous team now than they were this time yesterday — even if it’s not due to the player they were originally targeting. Their pivot is likely only just beginning, but adding a prime-aged, multi-time All-Star who has twice led the American League in hits is a pretty good first step in a pivot.

Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported the agreement and contract length. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman added the total guarantee and no-trade clause. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic added details regarding the opt-outs and lack of deferrals. Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reported that Bichette was likely to play third base in Queens.

Phillies To Re-Sign J.T. Realmuto

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The Phillies and J.T. Realmuto have an agreement in place to reunite on a new deal. It’s reportedly a $45MM guarantee over three years for the CAA Sports client, with incentives worth $5MM annually. The Phils have a full 40-man roster and will need a corresponding move to make this official.

At the beginning of the offseason, it seemed likely that Realmuto and the Phils would get back together. That has come to pass but there were some notable twists and turns along the way.

Back in early December, it was reported that the Phils had an offer out to Realmuto. No specifics of that offer were reported but it the two sides were apparently far enough apart to explore other options. Just over a week later, it was reported that the Phils were looking into other potential solutions behind the plate. An even more ambitious pivot came to light in January. With infielder Bo Bichette unsigned, the Phils seemed to genuinely pursue him. Various reports suggested that if the Phils signed Bichette, they would have to move on from Realmuto and third baseman Alec Bohm.

That appears to check out from a financial point of view. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Phils thought they were going to sign Bichette for $200MM over seven years, an average annual value of $28.57MM. Realmuto was projected for something around $15MM annually, with MLBTR predicting him for a $30MM deal over two years at the beginning of the offseason. Bohm is going to make $10.2MM in his final season of club control.

Essentially, it seems the Phils were willing to spend another $15MM to $20MM on upgrading the lineup. Signing Bichette and then trading Bohm would have added about that much. But the Mets swooped in and have an agreement in place with Bichette, a three-year deal with huge average annual values and opt-outs after each season. That not only deprived the Phillies of Bichette but also landed him with a division rival. Barely an hour later, the Phils have quickly pivoted to the more straightforward path, bringing back their longtime stalwart behind the plate.

Though it is somewhat straightforward to bring back Realmuto, this is still a notable commitment. Realmuto turns 35 in March and will therefore play this deal through his age-37 season. There’s decline risk with any position player that age but particularly with catchers. Every backstop in the majors in 2025 was in his age-36 season or younger, except for Martín Maldonado, who is now retired. Realmuto was already one of the oldest full-time catchers in the league last year. Salvador Perez is one year older but even he has started to spend more time at first base or as the designated hitter in recent seasons.

Realmuto and Perez have been the two workhorses of the position over the past decade-plus. Dating back to the start of the 2015, Realmuto has appeared in 1362 games and Perez 1304. However, Realmuto actually appeared as a catcher in 1,252 of those contests whereas Perez only put on the gear for 980. That kind of workload can be an argument for or against Realmuto. His ability to shoulder a massive workload relative to his peers is right there in the numbers but that could also be the very thing that works against him as he ages.

The signs of decline are already somewhat apparent. At the plate, Realmuto has clearly fallen from his peak. From 2018 to 2022, when he was in his late 20s and early 30s, he produced a combined .272/.339/.476 batting line. That resulted in a 118 wRC+, indicating he was 18% better than the league average hitter for that span. Over the past three years, he has slashed .257/.315/.421 for a wRC+ of 100. In 2025, he hit .257/.315/.384 for a wRC+ of 94. That’s still pretty good for a catcher, as backstops generally hit about 10% worse than the league-wide average, but the trend lines aren’t great.

There are yellow flags on the defensive side as well. Outlets like FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast ranked him as an above-average pitch framer from 2018 to 2022 but with negative grades over the past three years. His grades for controlling the running game and blocking pitches haven’t declined as consistently across all out those outlets but there has been a bit of downward creep. Statcast, for instance, had him as a subpar blocker in the past two years.

Taking the Perez route and coming out from behind the plate isn’t a likely in Philadelphia. As mentioned, Realmuto’s offense has been declining, which wouldn’t be ideal for him if he were at first base or in the designated hitter slot. The Phils don’t have those opportunities available for him regardless, with Bryce Harper locked in at first base and Kyle Schwarber essentially a full-time DH. Harper is signed through 2031 and Schwarber 2030.

All those concerns are presumably things the Phillies are aware of, thus explaining why they toyed with the idea of a future without Realmuto. But despite all the concerns, Realmuto was still the best free agent catcher available this winter and the Phils clearly needed to do something. Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs are on the roster but neither would have been an ideal everyday option behind the plate. Stubbs has 203 big league games under his belt with subpar offense and defense. Marchan’s big league numbers are a bit more encouraging but he has just 82 games under his belt.

In the end, the Phils are sticking with the devil they know. Though there are real concerns in the numbers, there are also the unquantifiable things to consider with a catcher. The Phils have seen Realmuto work with their pitchers for seven years now and presumably are happy to have him continue doing that for another three years.

It appears the 2026 Phillies are going to look a lot like the previous versions of the team, with a few modifications. Adolis García will take over in right field, with Nick Castellanos likely to be jettisoned at some point. Ranger Suárez is gone, having an agreement in place with the Red Sox, but the Phils will hope Andrew Painter can step up to replace him on the pitching chart. Justin Crawford will hopefully take over center field. Their two big free agents this winter, Schwarber and Realmuto, have been re-signed.

That leaves the Phils with the same core, which can be argued to be good or bad going forward. It has certainly been a good core in the past. They’ve won at least 87 games in four straight seasons. They made the World Series in 2022 and won the National League East in the past two campaigns. But Schwarber will turn 33 this year, as will Trea Turner and Aaron Nola. Harper’s already that age. Zack Wheeler turns 36 this year. As mentioned, Realmuto will be 35 in a few months. Everyone in that group is signed for at least two more seasons but often far more.

Spending so much money on that veteran core has pushed the payroll up. RosterResource estimates the Phils to have a $281MM payroll and $317MM competitive balance tax figure. The annual breakdown of Realmuto’s deal hasn’t yet been reported but the CBT won’t be impacted by that, since that number is calculated based on AAV. The Phillies are in the highest possible realm of taxation, both because they have paid the tax in at least three straight years and because their CBT number is above the top threshold of $304MM.

They were just under that top line coming into today, facing a 95% tax rate. The Realmuto deal has blown them past it, well into the area where they pay a 110% tax on new spending. This will therefore add roughly $15MM to their tax bill this year on top of the money going to Realmuto himself.

Realmuto had a fairly quiet market but was connected to the Red Sox at one point. With Realmuto and Danny Jansen signed, the top remaining catcher free agents include Victor Caratini, Jonah Heim and others.

Ken Rosenthal and Matt Gelb of The Athletic first reported the two sides were close. Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Robert Murray of FanSided reported the agreement was in place and provided specifics of the contract. Photos courtesy of Kyle Ross, Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

D-Backs Notes: Arenado, Donovan, Bullpen, Puk

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The months of Nolan Arenado trade rumors came to a close on Tuesday when the Cardinals dealt the 10-time Gold Glove winner to the Diamondbacks. St. Louis paid his contract down to two years and $11MM, while Arizona parted with last year’s eighth round draft pick (Jack Martinez). The Cardinals had made no secret of their desire to shed a portion of Arenado’s salary and open space at third base for younger players, with Nolan Gorman likely to get the first run.

Arenado’s full no-trade clause gave him say over his destination. He had a limited number of teams to which he would have accepted a deal last offseason. He expanded that list this winter and discussed the decision on an introductory Zoom call with reporters. “Seeing where (the Cardinals) were headed the past few years, it was very evident that there’s a step they need to take,” Arenado said (link via Sam Blum of The Athletic). “Letting these young guys go and finding out who they are, and who their identity is. I think I’m just kind of in the way of that, in a sense. I kind of always felt like that last year.”

Asked about the appeal of the Diamondbacks specifically, Arenado pointed to their position player core built around Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte (video provided by Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). He noted the geographic proximity to his native Southern California and expressed excitement about the team’s playing style. He’ll take over as the everyday third baseman and should at least provide a strong glove, though it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank offensively. He’s going into his age-35 season on the heels of a .237/.289/.377 showing over 107 games.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that conversations with the Diamondbacks developed quickly. Arizona had been involved in the market for free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who agreed to a five-year deal with the Cubs on Saturday. It wasn’t until last Friday that reports emerged that they had firmly pulled Marte off the trade market. While the Cardinals and D-Backs had discussed Arenado throughout the winter, it seems talks accelerated in the wake of the Bregman/Marte developments.

Goold writes that the Snakes had also been among the teams to reach out to the Cards about Brendan Donovan. Their interest in the left-handed hitting utilityman had not previously been reported. That’s unlikely to mean much at this point. St. Louis is widely expected to trade Donovan, but teams like the Mariners and Giants appear more engaged. Arizona has Marte, Perdomo and Arenado in the three infield spots to the left of first base. Donovan would be an upgrade in left field, but a team with a second base need will probably be more motivated to part with high-end prospect talent.

Arizona’s focuses now seem to be a right-handed hitting first baseman and the bullpen. Franchise icon Paul Goldschmidt has made sense as a target in the former role all offseason, and the acquisition of his longtime St. Louis teammate only strengthens that fit. They may need to take more of a patchwork approach to the bullpen. This week’s one-year, $1.55MM deal to bring back Taylor Clarke is their only big league bullpen pickup to date.

Clarke projects as more of a middle or long reliever than a leverage arm. That’s true of essentially everyone in the Arizona ’pen until A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez return from last year’s elbow surgeries. General manager Mike Hazen acknowledged that while the front office would love to add an established late-game arm, that’ll be challenging at this stage.

“Would I like to have somebody that has a clear pedigree of pitching in the eighth and ninth inning? That’s an easier answer. I’m not sure what we’ll have access to in that way,” Hazen told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. He acknowledged they need to continue adding to the bullpen this offseason but suggested the biggest impact would probably come from internal improvements and hopefully getting Martinez and Puk healthy. Arizona prioritized upper minors pitching in last summer’s deadline activity. Brandyn Garcia, Juan Burgos and Andrew Hoffmann all came over as inexperienced but essentially MLB-ready bullpen pieces.

Of the injury returnees, it seems Puk is further along. Piecoro writes that the D-Backs hope to get the southpaw back within the first few months of the season, while Martinez is targeting a second half return. Puk underwent internal brace surgery in late June. Martinez required a full Tommy John reconstruction, which comes with a longer recovery timeline. It was the second elbow ligament procedure of each pitcher’s career, as they’d both had Tommy John surgeries during their prospect days.

Orioles Among Teams With Interest In Justin Verlander

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The Orioles have shown interest in Justin Verlander, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. While the O’s are the first club publicly tied to the future Hall of Famer beyond the incumbent Giants, Rosenthal unsurprisingly writes that Verlander has received interest from multiple teams.

Baltimore has made a pair of rotation additions this offseason. They sent four prospects and a draft pick to the Rays for Shane Baz, whom they control for three years. Baltimore also brought Zach Eflin back on a one-year, $10MM deal after an injury-riddled season. They’re in decent shape from a depth perspective. It still feels a little light at the top end. They’re banking on Kyle Bradish in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. Trevor Rogers was fantastic over 18 starts but was in Triple-A as recently as last May. Baz has shown upper mid-rotation talent but very little consistency on a start to start basis.

Framber Valdez, arguably this offseason’s best free agent pitcher, remains unsigned. The Orioles have shown interest throughout the winter. They have enough controllable position player talent to make a move on the trade front if someone like Freddy Peralta or MacKenzie Gore becomes available. Rosenthal suggests that the Orioles could view Verlander more as a fallback option if they don’t come away with a higher-ceiling arm.

At age 43, Verlander no longer has that kind of upside. He showed last season that he still has plenty left in the tank, though. He made 29 starts for the Giants and pitched 152 innings of 3.85 ERA ball. Verlander recorded a 20.7% strikeout rate while walking around 8% of batters faced. His 11% swinging strike rate was his highest since he won his third career Cy Young with the Astros in 2022. Verlander has maintained a 94 MPH average fastball and pitched well after an early-season pec strain cost him a month. He turned in a 3.60 ERA behind a 22% strikeout percentage over his final 19 starts.

Like Valdez, Verlander has ties to Baltimore president of baseball operations Mike Elias. The O’s front office leader was an assistant general manager in Houston during the pitcher’s first season and a half with the Astros. Verlander would also align with Baltimore’s history of free agent spending under Elias. His front office has yet to sign a free agent starter to a multi-year deal, and they’ve frequently targeted older starters (e.g. Kyle Gibson, Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton) to secure shorter commitments. Verlander figures to sign one-year contracts for the remainder of his career.

Last winter’s rotation moves backfired. None of Morton, Sugano or Gibson met expectations and the rotation’s disastrous performance early in the season dug a hole from which the Orioles couldn’t recover. The O’s made a four-year offer to Corbin Burnes and took on a year and a half of Eflin’s contract via trade in 2024, so they’re not firmly committed to one-year commitments. Still, it’s true that signing Verlander would be more in line with their previous activity than a five- or six-year deal for Valdez would be.

The Orioles have opened the checkbook a few times this offseason, most notably on their $155MM Pete Alonso signing. RosterResource projects their 2026 payroll at $149MM, about $10MM below where they began the ’25 season. Alonso, Tyler O’Neill and Samuel Basallo are their only players signed beyond this season. O’Neill’s deal is up after 2027, while Basallo doesn’t make a salary north of $4MM until 2030 (the final year of Alonso’s contract).

Elly De La Cruz Declined Franchise-Record Offer From Reds In 2025

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The Reds made an unsuccessful effort at locking up Elly De La Cruz last spring. While details were sparse at the time, president of baseball operations Nick Krall revealed today the team made an official offer that would have topped their 10-year, $225MM franchise-record deal with Joey Votto.

“We made Elly an offer that would’ve made him the highest-paid Red ever,” Krall said (link via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic). “That’s not where he is and you respect that. It’s their career. You keep going and you keep working on what you can do today.” De La Cruz opted not to go into specifics, telling fans at Redsfest only that he leaves contractual matters to his agent, Scott Boras.

The offer came on the heels of De La Cruz’s first full season in the big leagues. He hit 25 home runs and led the majors with 67 stolen bases while batting .259/.339/.471 in a little under 700 plate appearances. A switch-hitting shortstop with a massive power-speed combination, De La Cruz was a top 10 MVP finisher in his age-22 season. He had arguably been MLB’s #1 prospect before his promotion. It was enough for the Reds to safely consider him the face of the franchise.

As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, any extension above Votto money would have been a record for a player with fewer than two years of service. Julio Rodríguez holds that mark on his extension with the Mariners. That technically comes with a $210MM guarantee but has a massive escalator/option structure that could push the value closer to half a billion dollars. The player’s earning ceiling climbs as they approach arbitration. Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 years, $340MM) and Bobby Witt Jr. (11 years, $288.78MM) each commanded much bigger guarantees when they signed extensions at exactly two years of service.

Krall didn’t specify where the offer to De La Cruz would have landed in comparison to those precedents. Witt is an MVP-caliber player now but had some similarities to De La Cruz at the time he signed his extension over the 2023-24 offseason. He was also a former #1 prospect with the tools to be a franchise shortstop. Witt had hit .276/.319/.495 with 30 homers and 49 steals in the season preceding his long-term deal. He was already a star but had yet to level up to the player who’d win a batting title with an OPS pushing 1.000. Witt’s deal also built in four opt-out chances that could get him to free agency as early as his age-31 season — a time when a decade-long contract could be in the cards.

Whatever the specifics, De La Cruz has thus far opted to bet on himself. That’s the usual path for Boras Corporation clients, especially those who have yet to qualify for arbitration. He played on a pre-arbitration salary last year and will do the same in 2026. De La Cruz will qualify for arbitration next offseason and is under club control for four seasons. He’s on track to hit free agency at age 28.

De La Cruz’s production backed up a little bit in his second full season. He hit .264/.336/.440 with 22 longballs and 37 stolen bases. His average and on-base percentage were essentially unchanged, but his power and baserunning each took slight steps back. It’s unlikely to change much about how the Reds view him. De La Cruz started all but one game as the Reds battled for the National League’s final playoff spot. Krall said earlier in the offseason that De La Cruz played through a strained left quad. The injury and potential fatigue wore on him in the second half, as he hit .236/.303/.363 after the All-Star Break. He had carried a .284/.359/.495 slash with 25 steals into the Midsummer Classic.

Cincinnati will probably take another run at extension talks this spring, though it’d be a surprise if they get anything done. He’ll remain the team’s most important position player in either case. Krall made clear they’re committed to De La Cruz at shortstop, where he has a cannon arm but has led MLB in errors in consecutive seasons. He should lead the way offensively if he’s fully healthy, with his physical gifts giving him one of the highest ceilings in the league.

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