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Cubs Sign Hunter Harvey

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2:08PM: Harvey’s deal is a one-year pact, as per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

1:03PM: The Cubs and right-hander Hunter Harvey have agreed to a contract, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma.  The deal will become official once Harvey (a Beverly Hills Sports Council client) passes a physical.

Harvey is looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2025 season that saw the reliever make just 12 appearances out of the Royals bullpen.  A teres major strain in early April kept Harvey out of action until late July, and he pitched in just six more games before being sidelined for good by a Grade 2 adductor strain.  The frustration of these two significant injuries was compounded by the fact that Harvey was looking great when healthy — he didn’t allow a run over his 10 2/3 innings pitched, while issuing one walk against 11 strikeouts.

Between these injuries and the back problems that marred the end of his 2024 campaign, Harvey ended up pitching only 16 1/3 innings in a Royals uniform after Kansas City acquired the righty from Washington in July 2024.  Unfortunately, health concerns are nothing new for Harvey, as his time as a top-100 prospect in the Orioles’ farm system was frequently interrupted by stints on the injured list.

It wasn’t until the 2022 season that Harvey (now with the Nationals) finally got an extended taste of MLB playing time.  He proceeded to post a 3.17 ERA, 27.83% strikeout rate, and 6.36% walk rate over 145 relief innings during his time in D.C., working in a high-leverage role and occasionally as a closer with the Nats.

Harvey has been prone to allowing a lot of hard contact, but his control and strikeout ability has allowed him to get out of jams when allowing baserunners.  Harvey has always been a hard thrower, though his 96.1 mph fastball in 2025 was the slowest velocity he has posted in his MLB career.  Of course, it’s hard to draw conclusions from that sample size of 10 2/3 IP, and it is certainly possible that Harvey will regain a tick or two on his heater once healthy.

Availability is the lingering question for Harvey, yet there is plenty of upside for the righty as he enters his age-31 season.  He is an ideal fit for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who has traditionally shopped for lower-cost bullpen arms who can (if everything works out) provide plenty of bang for the buck.

Chicago’s two-year, $14.5MM deal with Phil Maton counts as a relative splurge by Hoyer’s bullpen spending standards, but the Cubs have now signed Maton, Harvey, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and old friend Caleb Thielbar in what has quietly become a pretty extensive remodel of the relief corps.  Daniel Palencia remains as the Cubs’ first choice for saves, but Harvey now provides some backup as a reliever with some ninth-inning experience.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team pursue more veteran relievers on relatively inexpensive contracts, in order to give the Cubs as much depth as possible in advance of what Chicago hopes is a deeper postseason run.  The Cubs have been linked to a number of bigger-ticket position players and starting pitchers, but Maton’s deal remains their largest investment in a new player this offseason.

Reds Designate Keegan Thompson For Assignment

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The Reds announced that right-hander Keegan Thompson has been designated for assignment.  The move creates a 40-man roster spot for outfielder JJ Bleday, whose signing is now official.

Thompson just signed a split contract with the Reds in early November, but since he is out of minor league options, Cincinnati has to first expose the righty to the waiver wire before he can be removed from the 40-man and sent to Triple-A.  Because Thompson has been outrighted off a 40-man roster in the past, he can opt for free agency if he clears waivers and the Reds outright him now, though Thompson would have to walk away from the money owed to him for the 2026 season.  The split contract will pay Thompson $1.3MM for his time spent on Cincinnati’s big league roster.

As he enters his age-31 season, Thompson is looking to return to the majors for the first time since the 2024 campaign.  His 3.64 ERA over 227 1/3 MLB innings is quite respectable, and working exclusively in a relief capacity with the Cubs in 2024 boosted Thompson’s strikeout rate to a personal best of 28.3%.  These numbers and Thompson’s ability to cover multiple innings seemingly made him a pretty interesting bullpen weapon for the Cubs, yet the team may have been disenchanted by Thompson’s lack of control.  The righty’s walk rate ballooned to 14.7% over 59 big league innings during the 2023-24 seasons.

Chicago designated Thompson for assignment last March and subsequently outrighted him off the 40-man, resulting in Thompson spending his 2025 season entirely with Triple-A Iowa.  Thompson had a 4.50 ERA over 64 innings in Iowa, but also a 29.5% strikeout rate and an 8.9% walk rate that failed to capture the Cubs’ attention for another look in the Show.

Teams in need of bullpen help could potentially claim Thompson off waivers, though a claiming team would also be absorbing the split contract’s potential $1.3MM price tag.  It might not be a huge price to pay if a rival club sees a benefit in Thompson’s ability to chew up bullpen innings, or if its coaching staff views Thompson’s control as a correctable issue.  In lieu of a claim, Thompson might pass on another trip to the open market and opt to remain in Cincinnati’s organization, as he likely anticipated a potential DFA at some point during the winter.

How NL Teams Have Addressed Their Weakest Positions Of 2025

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Opening Day is a little under three months away, so there’s still lots of time for clubs to fill roster holes.  As the new year approaches, however, let’s look at what each team has thus far done about fixing its biggest problem area from last season.  Using Baseball Reference’s position-by-position bWAR ranking as a guide, let’s begin with the 15 National League clubs…

Braves (Shortstop/left field, 0.8 bWAR): Claiming Ha-Seong Kim off the Rays’ waiver wire gave Atlanta a boost at the shortstop position late in the season, and perhaps laid the groundwork for Kim’s decision to return to the Braves on a one-year, $20MM contract.  A shoulder surgery in late 2024 delayed Kim’s 2025 debut until July, but a full and healthy season from the infielder should result in a nice upgrade for the Braves’ infield.  Even before Kim re-signed, Atlanta made another shortstop-related move by trading incumbent shortstop Nick Allen to the Astros for utilityman Mauricio Dubon, giving the Braves a solid backup option all over the diamond.  As for left field, Mike Yastrzemski was signed to deepen the outfield mix altogether, but having a full season of Jurickson Profar should alone help the position.  Profar missed 80 games due to a PED suspension, but posted a 122 wRC+ over 371 plate appearances in 2025.

Brewers (Shortstop, 0.7 bWAR): Joey Ortiz’s defensive work earned a standout +12 Outs Above Average, though the Defensive Runs Saved metric was less flattering, giving Ortiz a -2 for his 1217 2/3 innings at shortstop in 2025.  There was no debate about Ortiz’s hitting, as his .230/.276/.317 slash line over 506 PA resulted in the third-lowest (67) wRC+ of any player in baseball who took at least 500 trips to the plate.  There has been speculation that Brice Turang could be moved to shortstop if the Brewers feel more offense is needed from the position, though that would then require a replacement for Turang at second base (or for Chad Durbin at third base, if Durbin shifted over to the keystone).  Milwaukee’s had a pretty quiet offseason so far, and might be waiting to see where the bigger names in the infield market might land, in order to then explore options in the second or third tier of available free agents or trade targets.

Cardinals (Right field, -0.8 bWAR): Since the Cardinals are in rebuild mode, the club is prioritizing playing time for its youngsters, rather than necessarily looking for veteran upgrades.  This means Jordan Walker will get another chance as the primary right fielder, but it is worth wondering if this might be Walker’s last chance in the wake of unproductive 2024-25 seasons.  Between Walker’s struggles and Lars Nootbaar’s recovery from heel surgery, St. Louis could look to bring in a veteran outfielder on a one-year deal just to give the team some cover on the grass.  The Cardinals’ rebuild efforts could also bring another younger outfielder into the mix, perhaps in exchange for any of Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, or Nolan Arenado.

Cubs (Bullpen, 0.4 bWAR): Between re-signing Caleb Thielbar and bringing new additions Phil Maton, Jacob Webb, and Hoby Milner into the fold, Chicago has invested $24.25MM into its bullpen revamp this winter.  This counts as a spending spree by Jed Hoyer’s standards, as the president of baseball operations has traditionally eschewed devoting much payroll space to the pen.  Andrew Kittredge was traded to the Orioles in what was essentially a cost-cutting move to avoid Kittredge’s $9MM club option for 2026, but the Cubs also had bigger relief names (i.e. Robert Suarez, Pete Fairbanks, and Ryan Helsley) reportedly on their radar before these pitchers signed elsewhere.  It leaves open the possibility that the Cubs might look to swing a trade for another reliever with closing experience, if the team would prefer to move Daniel Palencia into more of a high-leverage role rather than a strict closer deployment.

Diamondbacks (First base, -0.2 bWAR): Pavin Smith missed roughly half of the season due to injury, and even when healthy, Smith was shielded from left-handed pitching.  A right-handed hitting platoon partner seems like a must for the D’Backs, and while Luken Baker was just inked to a minor league deal, there has been rumors that Paul Goldschmidt could potentially be returning to the desert.  Beyond the first base position, Arizona also didn’t get much from left field (0 bWAR) or center field (0.1 bWAR) due to rough seasons from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Alek Thomas.  Some kind of outfield help will be needed since Gurriel will be out until mid-2026 due to recovery from a torn ACL, and top prospect Jordan Lawlar has gotten some center field work in winter ball, just in case the D’Backs wanted to move him out of the infield picture.

Dodgers (Bullpen, -0.4 bWAR): Los Angeles won the 2024 World Series when the bullpen carried a shaky rotation, and the team’s latest championship came after the rotation stepped up big to bail out a shaky bullpen.  Tanner Scott was a bust in the first season of his four-year, $72MM contract, but since the Dodgers have the financial might to double down on addressing problems, the club made an even bigger splash by inking Edwin Diaz to a three-year, $69MM pact earlier this month.  Signing one of the sport’s top closers is a clear and obvious way to correct a major flaw, and solidifying the ninth inning should theoretically have the ripple effect of strengthening the rest of the bullpen.  Beyond the relief corps, L.A. left fielders also combined for a -0.3 bWAR, due in large part to Michael Conforto’s struggles.  Since Conforto won’t be brought back in free agency, Los Angeles could use Andy Pages more regularly in left field if Tommy Edman is now healthy enough for regular center field duty.  As always with the Dodgers, of course, another major acquisition is always a possibility, and the team has been linked to such headline names as Kyle Tucker and old friend Cody Bellinger.

Giants (First base, 0.1 bWAR): Rafael Devers played only 28 games at first base in 2025, and top prospect Bryce Eldridge had just four games at the position during his debut season in the Show.  This duo looks to have the first base/DH situation covered in San Francisco for years to come, so the cold corner doesn’t appear to be any kind of priority for the Giants this winter….unless Eldridge is perhaps traded.  Besides first base, left field was also a weak link with just a 1.0 bWAR, but the Giants seem likely to give Heliot Ramos a chance to bounce back from his underwhelming 2025 campaign.

Marlins (First base, -0.5 bWAR): Christopher Morel enjoyed a 26-homer season with the Cubs in 2023, but his production drastically fell off over the last two seasons.  It was enough for the Rays to non-tender Morel in November, but Miami stepped in to give Morel a one-year, $2MM contract and a shot at the first base position.  Morel has never played first base during his pro career, yet it seems like a logical spot for a player who has struggled defensively at multiple other positions.  Given how little the Marlins got from the first base spot in 2025, in a sense there’s nowhere to go but up in giving Morel a chance.  While the Marlins aren’t likely to be big spenders in general this winter, Morel’s deal is inexpensive enough that it wouldn’t necessarily prevent the team from pursuing a more proven first base option if one emerged on the free agent or trade markets.  The Fish also got only 0.2 bWAR from the designated hitter spot, so there’s some room there for Morel or another hitter, depending on how much time Miami wants to give Agustin Ramirez as either a DH or a catcher.

Mets (Designated hitter, 1.3 bWAR): The DH spot edged out the Mets’ collective 1.4 bWAR in center field as the least-productive position the board, but the rotation’s 6.6 fWAR was also among the lowest for any starter group in the game.  In what has been a fascinating offseason thus far in Queens, the Mets have said goodbye to Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil, while Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco were acquired to fill the gaps in the infield.  The DH spot might well more of a revolving door than a position that has a regular player taking the at-bats, but such center field candidates as Luis Robert Jr., Brenton Doyle, and even Bellinger have been mentioned.  Any number of high-profile moves could be plausible for a New York team that seems to be overhauling itself on the fly, while still planning to contend in 2026.

Nationals (Bullpen, -3.9 bWAR): It may surprise you to learn that the Rockies didn’t have baseball’s least-productive group of pitchers in 2025, as even Colorado (at 0.9 bWAR) finished ahead of the collective -0.6 bWAR posted by Washington’s pitchers.  The Nats were dragged down by their bullpen’s terrible performance, and not only have the Nationals not done anything to upgrade their relief corps, but they sent one of their more productive relievers in Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners in exchange for catching prospect Harry Ford.  Newly-hired president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has been busy revamping the team’s front office and dugout staff, without much attention paid to date to Washington’s on-field product.  This includes the bullpen, as well as first base (-0.4 bWAR) and third base (-0.3 bWAR) as other particular weak links on an overall underachieving Nationals team.  While there’s plenty of offseason left, it certainly doesn’t seem like the Nats will be spending big to make a push to contend, so expect any or all of these holes to be filled by lower-cost additions.  If anything, D.C. might continue tearing things down if a rival team makes a good enough offer for MacKenzie Gore or CJ Abrams.

Padres (Left field, -0.1 bWAR): This is another case of a position that has already been addressed, as Ramon Laureano did a great job of stabilizing the left field position after being acquired from the Orioles at the trade deadline.  The Padres made the easy call of exercising their $6.5MM club option on Laureano for 2026, though interestingly, the outfielder’s name has also come up in trade talks with the Mets.  It remains to be seen if those talks were anything beyond names being floated, or if San Diego could be clearing room for some kind of longer-term left field answer.  Assuming Laureano stays in left field, his presence probably keeps Gavin Sheets as San Diego’s primary DH, which should help boost the 0.3 bWAR the Padres got from the DH spot in 2025.  The catcher position also generated only 0.3 bWAR, but the Padres are hoping their deadline trade for Freddy Fermin helps solve matters behind the plate.

Phillies (Right field, -0.9 bWAR): Adolis Garcia’s diminished numbers over the last two seasons led the Rangers to non-tender the former ALCS MVP, but the Phillies stepped in to sign Garcia to a one-year, $10MM deal.  Despite Garcia’s struggles over the last two years, he was still more productive (3.0 bWAR to 0.0 bWAR) in that span in Nick Castellanos, and at the very least Garcia will be a huge defensive upgrade.  It is an open secret that the Phillies want to move on from Castellanos, and the team may end up just eating the $20MM owed to Castellanos in the final year of his contract if a trade partner can’t be found to cover at least a slim portion of that money.

Pirates (Second base, 0.0 bWAR): Beyond the goose egg from keystone, the Buccos also got 0.1 bWAR from center field, 0.4 bWAR from the DH position, and 0.6 bWAR from left field.  The team responded to this lackluster offensive showing with one of the busiest Pirates offseasons in years, as Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Jake Mangum have all been acquired in a spate of trades and signings.  With O’Hearn and Spencer Horwitz likely handing the bulk of first base/DH duties, Lowe will probably be spending most of his time at second base, giving Pittsburgh an established veteran bat in what should be a big step forward at the position.

Reds (Third base, -0.4 bWAR): Ke’Bryan Hayes was acquired at the last trade deadline, and while his outstanding glovework improved the hot corner from a defensive standpoint, it wasn’t enough to drag the position’s overall production into the bWAR plus column.  Third base was just one of three infield positions that posted subpar bWAR numbers, as the Reds also got -0.3 from their second basemen and -0.1 from their first basemen.  All in all, Cincinnati’s collective 8.1 bWAR from non-pitchers was the lowest of any team in baseball in 2025 apart from the Rockies, making it a real testament to the Reds’ pitching staff that Cincinnati still reached the postseason.  The Reds haven’t done much of anything yet with their infield or with their offense as a whole, apart from a one-year deal with JJ Bleday signed just today.

Rockies (Rotation, -3.2 bWAR): The Nationals had a collective 11.9 bWAR in 2025, ranking 29th of the 30 teams.  Coming up 30th with an unspeakable -3.8 bWAR were the Rockies, as Colorado suffered through a nightmare of a 119-loss season.  The grim set of numbers include negative bWAR totals at first base, second base, DH, right field, and the outfield as a whole.  At the bottom of the barrel, however, was the rotation, as the Rockies’ starter ERA of 6.65 was the worst in modern baseball history.  New president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta hasn’t done much to address the rotation or much of anything roster-wise yet, perhaps due to the fact that DePodesta himself wasn’t hired until early November, after the offseason had officially gotten underway.  Whatever starting pitching adds the Rockies make figure to be of the low-cost variety on either the free agent or trade front, as Colorado is only in the early stages of what promises to be an extensive rebuild.

Reds Sign JJ Bleday

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10:31AM: The contract will pay Bleday $1.4MM in guaranteed money, plus more is available via incentives, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes.

9:30AM: The Reds have signed outfielder JJ Bleday, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.  MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon adds that the contract is a one-year Major League contract, and that the signing will become official once Cincinnati makes another move to clear a spot on its full 40-man roster.  Bleday is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Selected fourth overall by the Marlins in the 2019 draft, it looked like Bleday had broken out in 2024, when he hit .243/.324/.437 with 20 homers over 642 plate appearances during the Athletics’ final season in Oakland.  This 120 wRC+ at the plate was enough to power Bleday to 3.2 fWAR during the season, despite some very rough (-19 Defensive Runs Saved, -3 Outs Above Average) reviews of his defensive performance in center field.

One would’ve expected that, if anything, Bleday’s bat would’ve become even more potent as the A’s moved to Sutter Health Park, yet he instead struggled through a brutal 2025 campaign.  Bleday delivered only a 90 wRC+ from a .212/.294/.404 slash line and 14 homers over 344 PA, and he played in just 98 big league games as he was twice demoted to Triple-A.  Bleday’s barrel numbers and strikeout rate both dropped off considerably from 2024, falling to below-average marks.  The A’s moved Bleday out of center field, but his glovework was still passable at best as a corner outfielder.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Bleday to earn $2.2MM in his first of three trips through the arbitration process.  The Athletics chose to move on entirely by designating Bleday for assignment in November, and he was then cut loose at the non-tender deadline.  The Reds now control Bleday through the 2028 season, and since he has a minor league option remaining, Cincinnati can send him back to down to Triple-A if necessary.

Bleday is a left-handed hitter, which makes him something of an imperfect fit in a Reds outfield that already includes such lefty-swingers as TJ Friedl, Gavin Lux, and Will Benson.  Noelvi Marte is a right-handed hitter, but he is also likely the only outfielder slated for everyday duty in the wake of his successful transition to the right field position in 2025.  Today’s move could indicate that the Reds are thinking about parting ways with Lux or Benson, or since this entire group is pretty inexpensive, Cincinnati could wait until Spring Training to figure out exactly how the outfield playing time will be split.

A bounce-back candidate like Bleday is far from any kind of clear-cut upgrade to the Reds lineup.  Cincinnati squeaked into the postseason despite middling numbers at best in most offensive categories, and the multi-positional flexibility of most of the Reds’ current players gave the team plenty of room to maneuver in considering offseason moves.  Such names as Brandon Lowe (since dealt to the Pirates), Jake Meyers, and Luis Robert Jr. have reportedly been on the Reds’ trade radar, and the club even considered an uncharacteristic free agent splash with a five-year offer in the $125MM range for Kyle Schwarber.  However, that specific pursuit seemed linked to Schwarber’s local ties to the Cincinnati area, and the Reds are very likely not spending anything close to that number for any other free agent bat.

In that sense, Bleday is a better fit within the Reds’ limited budget, and perhaps a sign that the Reds will be focusing more on trades than free agents.  If the move to Sutter Health Park didn’t agree with Bleday, perhaps playing in another hitter-friendly venue (and a proper big league stadium) like The Great American Ballpark will do the trick.  Bleday isn’t likely to be the last of the Reds’ offensive additions, as a better lineup would help the club take a step forward as true contenders.

Kohei Arihara Signs With NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

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Former Rangers right-hander Kohei Arihara’s bid to return to MLB is over. The veteran will remain in NPB, signing a four-year deal with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, reports Yuri Karasawa of World Baseball Network (Yakyu Cosmopolitan on X). Arihara will earn about $15.4MM, adds Karasawa.

After three seasons with the SoftBank Hawks, Arihara became a free agent on December 2. Reports emerged in late November that the righty was considering coming stateside. Instead, he’ll head back to the team he debuted with back in 2018. Arihara’s solid results with the club from 2018 to 2020 earned him a big-league look with the Rangers. After two injury-plagued MLB seasons, Arihara returned to NPB in 2023. He posted three strong years with the Hawks, including a 2.36 ERA over 26 starts in 2024.

It’s unclear if Arihara was generating interest at the MLB level. The notion that he would leave NPB may have been a negotiating tactic, and it seems to have worked. As Karasawa points out, the AAV of Arihara’s contract approaches $4MM, a hefty number by NPB standards. 

Arihara’s stint in MLB was ruined by a serious shoulder injury. After a handful of decent outings to open his career, the righty was slowed by an arm issue that ended up being an aneurysm in his throwing shoulder. Surgery knocked him out until the final month of the 2021 season. He was hammered for nine earned runs over 12 innings once he returned to the mound. Arihara made it back up with the Rangers the following year, but posted a 9.45 ERA across 20 innings. He was designated for assignment in September 2022 and hit free agency at the end of the season.

Photo courtesy of Jim Cowsert, Imagn Images

Padres Considering Song In Outfield

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San Diego landed Sung Mun Song on a four-year, $15MM deal last week. The KBO star is headed toward a versatile role with the Padres, which could include opportunities in the outfield. Song never appeared in the outfield during his time in the KBO, but manager Craig Stammen mentioned the position as a possibility.

“Wherever we can get his bat in the lineup, that’s what we’re going to try to do. And we want to find a spot for him where he can be productive for the Padres, and there’s a lot of different places that I think he can fit,” Stammen told reporters, including Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News.

Song has bounced around the diamond in his career, spending considerable time at first base, second base, and third base. He’s been mostly at the hot corner in recent seasons, including 108 starts at the position in 2025. The Padres obviously have Manny Machado locked in at third base, though he could spend more time at DH as he enters his age-33 season.

The right side of San Diego’s infield is far less settled. Luis Arraez is a free agent, which leaves Jake Cronenworth and Gavin Sheets as candidates for first base. Mason McCoy and Will Wagner are the current options at second base, along with Cronenworth. Song might have the inside track for reps at the keystone, given the unproven competition.

The Padres’ outfield is set in stone with the trio of Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Ramon Laureano, so it’s interesting that Stammen mentioned Song as an option on the grass. He did reference the Dodgers and their usage of players like Enrique Hernandez, Miguel Rojas, and Tommy Edman as an example of an elite team with movable parts. Song could match the multi-faceted defensive contributions of those players, even if the outfield discussion doesn’t amount to in-season reps.

Finding ways to get Song’s bat in the lineup makes sense, considering his recent production in the KBO. The lefty hit a career-high .340 in 2024, while also setting career-best marks in home runs (19) and stolen bases (21). Song followed it up with a 25/25 campaign that included a career-high 103 runs scored. He’s always had good plate discipline, but Song has added a new level of power recently. After four straight seasons with a sub-.375 slugging percentage, he’s been above .500 the past two years.

Photo courtesy of Mike Watters, Imagn Images

Athletics Open To Higher Payroll, Extension With GM

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The Athletics were financially active last offseason, handing out considerable free-agent deals to  Luis Severino and José Leclerc, while also inking Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler to extensions. Reports of a potential grievance from the MLB Players Association if the club didn’t boost its CBT number likely spurred some of those moves. This offseason doesn’t have the same MLBPA considerations, but spending could still continue.

“I can tell you [payroll] is going to be higher,” owner John Fisher told Evan Drellich of The Athletic. “That’s something that we’re continuing to work on internally. At the end of the day, our goal is to put the greatest team on the field that we can, and payroll is an important part of that.”

Fisher took a step toward that promise on Christmas Day, when the club locked up Tyler Soderstrom on a seven-year, $86MM extension. The 24-year-old outfielder will now be under team control through his age-31 season. With Shea Langeliers just entering arbitration, and Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz still in the pre-arbitration phase, the Athletics have their hitting core in place for the foreseeable future.

The Athletics barely topped $50MM in payroll in 2022, per RosterResource. That number crept up to $59MM in 2023, and then $63MM in 2024. Last year’s $79MM mark pales in comparison to most other teams around the league, but it continued an upward trend for the franchise. The Athletics’ estimated mark is currently $99MM for 2026.

While not all of the spending worked out (Leclerc missed most of the season with injury, Severino struggled mightily at home), the Athletics did put together one of their better seasons this decade. The club finished 76-86, reaching 70 wins for the first time since 2021. They closed the season with a 35-29 stretch. Kurtz cruised to AL Rookie of the Year honors. Langeliers put together a massive offensive season. Denzel Clarke was an ESPN Top 10 regular with his work in center field. “It was everything that we could have hoped it would be and more,” Fisher said of the 2025 results.

The current architect of the roster is only under contract through 2026, but that could change soon. Fisher said the club is in extension talks with general manager David Forst. “I’m really proud of the work that he’s done, and how well we work together, and we’re continuing to have conversations about the future, and those conversations are ongoing.”

Forst’s previous contract ran out at the end of the 2025 campaign. Reports emerged shortly after the season ended that he’d be back for 2026, though the details of a new deal weren’t made available. Fisher’s comments suggest the sides are working on something that goes beyond next season.

Forst has been with the organization for 25 years. He first came on board as a scout in 2000. Forst took over as GM in 2022, with legendary executive Billy Beane serving in an advisory role. He’s had to navigate an extended rebuild, a city change, and home games in a minor league stadium. Despite the challenges, Forst has the team trending in the right direction. The recent extensions and the general willingness toward increased spending should give the club a shot to reach the postseason for the first time since the shortened 2020 season.

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images

Red Sox Notes: Contreras, Casas, Rafaela

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The Red Sox landed an impact bat in Willson Contreras on Sunday. The longtime catcher made the move to first base last season, and that’s expected to stick in Boston. “We see him primarily at first base, maybe some DH opportunities. But the more that we can get his bat in the lineup, the better off we’re going to be,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters, including Sean McAdam of MassLive.com.

Contreras bounced around a bit when he first came up with the Cubs, even logging innings at third base and the corner outfield spots, but spent the majority of his time behind the plate. He served as Chicago’s primary catcher from 2017 through 2021. Conteras split his time fairly equally between catcher and DH in 2022. He went to St. Louis in 2023 and continued to play both catcher and DH somewhat evenly. The Cardinals changed course this past season, slotting Contreras in as their primary first baseman. He also made the occasional start at DH.

Heading into 2025, Contreras only had 11 career appearances at first base. He made 119 starts at the position this past season. Contreras delivered fine to solid defensive results, depending on the metric. Outs Above Average looked favorably on Contreras, with a +4 grade. Defensive Runs Saved wasn’t as kind at -1. Given Contreras’ significant contributions as a hitter, Boston will likely be fine with close to average defensive numbers. The 33-year-old has posted a wRC+ of at least 124 in four straight seasons.

Boston has Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong penciled in as its two backstops. Narvaez had just six games of big-league experience when he was dealt from the Yankees to the Red Sox last offseason. He emerged as a reliable offensive contributor, hitting 15 home runs and slashing .241/.306/.419 across 118 appearances. Wong fell off significantly after a strong 2024. He failed to get on track at the plate after missing most of April with a broken finger. Wong has shown enough in the past to be relied on as a backup heading into next season, and it seems he’ll maintain that role if Boston isn’t interested in playing Contreras at the position.

The Contreras addition immediately puts Triston Casas’ role into question. For his part, Breslow expressed optimism about Casas’ outlook. “We still have a ton of confidence and belief in Triston. What he needs to do is commit to doing everything possible to get back on the field. He’s doing that right now,” Breslow said, relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Casas is currently recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon that cost him most of 2025. His status for the start of next season is uncertain.

Casas has frequently come up in trade rumors this offseason, even before Boston acquired Contreras. The fact that the team added a player at his position could increase the chances he’s on the move. The main inhibitor toward a potential deal is Casas’ recent performance, both in terms of production and health. He hit just .182 over 29 games before going down with the knee injury. Casas was better in 2024, but also spent three months on the injury list with a rib strain.

It’s not just Contreras pushing Casas, either. Boston has another DH option in Masataka Yoshida, who’s been squeezed out of the outfield mix by Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, and Ceddanne Rafaela. Wilyer Abreu also performed well last year, mostly against right-handed pitching. Breslow didn’t sound overly concerned about the potential roster glut. “Those things tend to work out. (It’s an) opportunity to keep everybody fresh, to keep everybody involved and engaged at the same time.”

Sliding Rafaela to the infield could help alleviate some of the roadblocks for Casas and the young outfielders, but that isn’t the current intention of the club. “We’re a better team with Ceddanne in center field, and we’ll try to keep (him) there,” Breslow said, per Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH. Rafaela earned a Gold Glove in center field this past season.

After splitting his time between shortstop and center field in 2024, Rafaela was primarily on the grass this past season. He made 19 starts at second base, but the rest of his appearances came in the outfield. Rafaela was one of the most impactful defenders at any position in 2025. He tied for second with Alejandro Kirk in Statcast’s Fielding Run Value metric. Patrick Bailey was the only player to be more productive as a defender.

Second base is an area of need for the Red Sox at the moment. If the season started today, Boston would likely be rolling with an uninspiring platoon of Romy Gonzalez and Nick Sogard at the position. Kristian Campbell could factor into that mix, though he’ll need to show more in the minors to earn another big-league opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Latest On Edward Cabrera’s Market

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A pair of potential suitors may have fallen out of the Edward Cabrera race. Houston and Baltimore are no longer trade candidates for the talented right-hander, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson adds that Miami doesn’t want to sell short on Cabrera in a deal.

The Marlins’ starting rotation has been a frequent subject of trade rumblings throughout the offseason. Reports emerged in early December that the club was listening to offers on all of its starters, outside of Eury Perez. Sandy Alcantara has been the subject of frequent rumors the past few seasons, while Cabrera and Ryan Weathers have been floated as possible trade chips recently. It would take a massive offer to land Alcantara, notes Jackson.

The Orioles were specifically linked to Cabrera a few weeks back. The club has been connected to almost every high-end name in free agency and on the trade market, from Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez to Freddy Peralta and MacKenzie Gore. President of baseball operations Mike Elias was able to land a significant rotation upgrade last week, flipping several prospects and a draft pick for right-hander Shane Baz. Elias has said the organization will continue working to strengthen the rotation, though the recent trade might have ended their Cabrera pursuit, given the capital it took to pry Baz from Tampa Bay.

Baltimore and Miami joined forces on a deal at the 2024 trade deadline that worked out for both teams. The Marlins sent lefty Trevor Rogers to the Orioles for outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby. Rogers broke out as Baltimore’s top starter this past season, while Stowers delivered an All-Star campaign with his new team.

Houston has been in the market for young, controllable starting pitching this offseason. The club’s rotation was destroyed by injuries in 2025, with Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, and Brandon Walter all needing Tommy John surgery and Luis Garcia going down with another elbow injury. With Valdez hitting free agency, the Astros entered the offseason with Hunter Brown and a slew of unproven options to fill out the staff.

Just like the Orioles, the Astros made a notable move to address their pitching needs last week, acquiring Mike Burrows from the Pirates in a three-team trade headlined by Brandon Lowe. Similar to Baltimore, Houston spent significant prospect capital to land a young starter. Outfielder Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito went to the Rays in the deal. Melton was among the organization’s top prospects, while Brito was an up-and-coming name, albeit with minimal professional experience. Parting with both Melton and Brito to land Burrows likely affected Houston’s ability to put together a Cabrera package.

After periods of brilliance frequently cut short by injuries, Cabrera finally put together an extended stretch of strong results in 2025. The 27-year-old recorded a 3.53 ERA across a career-high 137 2/3 innings this past season. Cabrera maintained a solid 25.8% strikeout rate while pushing his walk rate into single digits for the first time.

Cabrera went down with an elbow sprain in early September, but returned in the final week of the season for a pair of outings. The brief comeback could’ve been an audition for trade suitors, showing interested teams that Cabrera was good to go for 2026. The righty is under team control through 2028. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Cabrera to earn $3.7MM in arbitration. An acquiring team would have him for three seasons at a reasonable cost.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Brayan Bello Receiving Trade Interest From Rival Teams

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The Red Sox have gotten a lot of calls about right-hander Brayan Bello, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.  The source who shared this information with Rosenthal/Sammon pushed back, however, on the idea that the Sox had “quietly shopped” Bello themselves, as one rival executive framed the situation.

On paper, it would seem odd that the Red Sox are trying to move Bello when they’ve spent most of the offseason trying to reinforce their rotation.  Bello is coming off a season that saw him post a 3.35 ERA over a career-best 166 2/3 innings, and the righty has tossed 486 games over 87 games (86 of them starts) for the Sox over the last three years.

Back in March 2024, the Red Sox showed their commitment to Bello by locking him up to a six-year, $55MM extension covering the 2024-29 seasons, and Boston holds a $21MM club option Bello for the 2030 season that includes a $1MM buyout.  Bello doesn’t even return 27 until May, so between his age and the long-term contract, it would seem like the Red Sox have a homegrown arm locked into the rotation for at least the remainder of the decade.

As Rosenthal and Sammon point out, however, it makes some sense that the Red Sox might at least be testing the waters about what they could get for Bello, given the value of controllable starting pitching.  Even if “control” in this sense reflects Bello’s extension rather than a player’s arbitration or pre-arb years, Bello’s remaining price tag of $50.5MM over the next four seasons seems like a fair price, and potentially even still a bargain.

While Bello has been solid over his four MLB seasons, it can be argued that the Red Sox were hoping for a bit more from a pitcher who posted much bigger strikeout numbers in the minors.  In the Show, Bello has only a 19.8% strikeout rate over 543 1/3 career innings, and his 17.7K% this season was the lowest of his career.  He has an unspectacular 8.3% career walk rate to go along with that lack of missed bats.

Bello has gotten good bottom-line results by limiting hard contact, and inducing a lot of grounders, with a 52.7% groundball rate for his career.  His 95.2 mph fastball has solid velocity but Bello’s sinker is his primary pitch, even if the sinker’s effectiveness hasn’t tended to vary in consistency.  Over his career, Bello’s 4.09 ERA isn’t much below his 4.26 SIERA, but that gap stretched much wider (3.35 to 4.55) in 2025.

The Red Sox entered the offseason with plenty of big league-ready or experienced arms in their organization, but there was a clear goal of raising the rotation’s ceiling with more established hurlers.  To date, Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo have been brought in via trades with the Cardinals and Pirates, respectively, and now project to be part of Boston’s 2026 rotation.  Richard Fitts and left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Clarke were dealt to St. Louis for Gray, lower-level righty Jesus Travieso was moved to Pittsburgh as part of the Oviedo trade, plus Boston sent right-hander Hunter Dobbins and two more lower-level arms to the Cardinals in a separate trade for first baseman Willson Contreras.

Whether the Red Sox are actually trying to actively trade Bello or are just listening to offers out of due diligence remains unclear, as the Rosenthal/Sammon item implies.  The truth may lie somewhere in between all of the common offseason hot stove terminology.  Still, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has said his team is open to moving controllable pitching “in order to address other areas of the roster.”

Trading Bello would be a much different animal than moving a pitcher like Fitts or Dobbins or someone else not even guaranteed of a big league job in 2026, yet in a sense, a Bello deal would be an elevated version of the raise-the-ceiling strategy.  If the front office has some misgivings over Bello’s ability to sustain his production, or he is no longer viewed as a pitcher who can reliably be counted on for a playoff rotation, the Red Sox could potentially look to deal Bello.  Speculatively, he could be dealt for a more clear-cut frontline pitcher with fewer years of control, or perhaps moved to address a need in the lineup.

Within that same notes post, Rosenthal and Sammon also write that the Red Sox remain engaged with the Cardinals about Brendan Donovan.  Boston is one of many teams linked to Donovan’s market, however, and the most recent reports suggested that the Mariners and Giants were the favorites to pry Donovan away from St. Louis.  That said, Cards president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has shown plenty of willingness to swing trades with his former Boston team, and Bloom’s time running the Sox front office overlapped with a big chunk of Bello’s career.  Speculatively, the length of Bello’s extension could make him a factor in a Cardinals rotation even after the team is through its rebuild period, even if the Cardinals are more likely to explore higher-end prospects in any Donovan trade package.

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