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Pirates Make Four-Year Offer To Kyle Schwarber

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the Pirates have made a four-year offer to free agent slugger Kyle Schwarber. Rosenthal adds that the proposal is likely worth more than $100MM.

The club has been mentioned multiple times as Schwarber’s market takes shape this offseason. He’s not the only big bat they’ve been in on, as they also pursued Josh Naylor before he re-signed with Seattle. Rosenthal notes the Pirates remain an unlikely landing spot for Schwarber, though GM Ben Cherington previously said the team has “more [financial] flexibility” than they’ve had in prior offseasons.

Schwarber had a career year at just the right time. As a pending free agent, he launched 56 home runs to lead the National League. He posted a career-high 152 wRC+, which ranked behind only Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in the NL. Schwarber had a strong case for NL MVP if not for the two-way dominance of Ohtani.

While the free agent market features prodigious power hitters like Pete Alonso and Eugenio Suarez, plus high-upside thumpers like Munetaka Murakami, it’s hard to find an available slugger who matches Schwarber’s consistency. The 32-year-old has hit at least 38 home runs in all four seasons with Philadelphia. He’s topped 100 runs in each campaign, while averaging more than 108 RBI per year. Schwarber had a minimum stint on the IL for a hamstring strain in 2024, but has otherwise been healthy, reaching 150 games every season in Philly.

The note that the Pirates’ offer to Schwarber is in the nine figures isn’t a surprise. We had him getting $135MM over five years in our Top 50 Free Agents article. If Pittsburgh were to lure Schwarber on that kind of commitment, it would be a historic deal for the franchise. As Rosenthal points out, the club’s record free agent contract is $39MM to Francisco Liriano back in 2014. Cherington and his cohorts did give Bryan Reynolds a $106.75MM deal, though it was a contract extension.

Pittsburgh’s largest outlay in free agency last offseason was $5.25MM to Andrew Heaney. The club has spent more than $10MM just once this decade, giving Aroldis Chapman $10.5MM prior to the 2024 season. The Pirates haven’t handed out a multi-year contract in free agency since re-signing Ivan Nova for three years and $26MM ahead of the 2017 season. They also grabbed Daniel Hudson for two years and $11MM that offseason.

RosterResource has Pittsburgh’s payroll at $64MM for 2026. The team was at $87MM in each of the past two seasons. Nearly half of next year’s payroll will be going to Reynolds and Mitch Keller, who signed a five-year, $77MM extension in 2024.

A return to Philadelphia is among the most likely outcomes for Schwarber, though the two sides aren’t on the same page just yet. Boston, Baltimore, and San Francisco have also been mentioned as possible destinations. Cincinnati, Schwarber’s hometown team, is said to be in the mix.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Jeff Kent Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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Jeff Kent was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as revealed by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee tonight.  Kent received 14 of a possible 16 votes from the Era Committee, easily topping the 75% (12 of 16) threshold needed for induction to Cooperstown.  Of the other seven candidates under consideration, Carlos Delgado was the next-closest candidate with nine votes, and Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly each received six votes.  Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela all received less than five votes.

A veteran of 17 Major League seasons with the Blue Jays, Mets, Indians, Giants, Astros, and Dodgers from 1992-2008, Kent hit more homers as a second baseman than any other player in history, going yard 351 times from the position.  His resume includes four Silver Slugger awards and five All-Star nods, as well as the 2000 NL MVP Award when Kent was a member of the Giants.

Kent is primarily remembered for his six seasons in San Francisco and five seasons with the Mets.  Beginning his career as a well-regarded prospect in the Blue Jays’ farm system, Roberto Alomar’s presence in Toronto made Kent expendable, and the Jays dealt Kent for David Cone in August 1992.  Cone’s presence helped the Blue Jays capture the 1992 World Series, while Kent went onto establish himself as a solid regular during his time in New York.

The 1996 trade deadline saw Kent again on the move, this time to Cleveland.  During the 1996-97 offseason, the Tribe flipped Kent to San Francisco, where he truly rose to stardom.  Kent hit .297/.368/.535 with 175 homers over 3903 plate appearances and an even 900 games with the Giants from 1997-2002, teaming with Bonds to form a devastating one-two punch in the lineup.  The 2002 Giants reached the World Series for Kent’s only appearance in the Fall Classic, as the team fell just short in a seven-game loss to the Angels.  For his career in the postseason, Kent hit a solid .276/.340/.500 over 189 PA.

Kent spent his final six seasons with the Astros (2003-04) and Dodgers (05-08), and remained an offensive force at the plate until his production finally trailed off in his 17th and final MLB season.  Over 2298 career games and 9537 PA, Kent hit .290/.356/.500 with 377 home runs, 1518 RBI, and 1320 runs scored.

Despite his impressive career numbers, Kent didn’t gain much traction during his 10 years on the writers’ ballot, as he never received more than 46.5% of the vote.  A crowded ballot during Kent’s era didn’t help, yet his subpar defense and surly reputation probably also didn’t help curry much favor with voters.  Clubhouse controversy followed Kent during his time with the Mets and Giants, and his stint in San Francisco included a well-publicized feud with Bonds.  There is some irony, therefore, in the fact that Kent is finally making it into Cooperstown while on the same Era Committee ballot as his former Giants teammate.

Formerly known as the Veterans Committee, the Era Committee is the latest incarnation of the process that for decades has given some fresh evaluation and a second chance to players initially overlooked on the writers’ ballot.  This year’s version of the Era Committee focused on players whose greatest contributions came during the “Contemporary Baseball” (1980-present) era.  Next year’s ballot will focus on managers, executives, and umpires from the Contemporary Baseball era, and the 2027 ballot will consider candidates from the “Classic Baseball” era (prior to 1980) before Contemporary Players are again considered in 2028.

A rule change introduced this year added an extra layer of intrigue (or even controversy) to this year’s proceedings.  Because they received less than five votes on this year’s ballot, Bonds, Clemens, Sheffield, and Valenzuela must be omitted from the next voting cycle, and can’t return to the Contemporary Players ballot until at least 2031.  If any of these four players then don’t receive at least five votes in 2031 or on any future ballot, they are no longer eligible for inclusion on any Contemporary Players ballot.

The aim of this new rule is to allow more candidates to be included on Era Committee ballots on a regular basis.  The concept of permanent disqualification from ballots, however, has been viewed by some as a way for the Hall of Fame to sidestep the ongoing controversy about Bonds, Clemens, Sheffield, or other prominent superstars (i.e. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro) who were linked to PEDs.  While obviously Era Committee rules could again be altered down the road, for now, the path to Cooperstown has gotten even narrower for Bonds, Clemens, or Sheffield.

The results of the writers’ ballot will be announced on January 20, with such players as Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones seen as strong candidates to finally get over the 75% threshold after multiple years on the ballot (nine years for Jones, four years for Beltran).  Any players elected on January 20 will join Kent in being officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26 in Cooperstown.

The 16 members of this year’s Era Committee could vote for as many as three players, and as few as zero players.  This year’s Era Committee was comprised of seven Hall of Famers (Ferguson Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Perez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Yount), four former MLB general managers (Doug Melvin, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins, Terry Ryan), two current MLB owners (the Brewers’ Mark Attansio and the Angels’ Arte Moreno), two media members (the Athletic’s Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark), and historian Steve Hirdt.

Mariners, Pirates Linked To Ketel Marte

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The list of teams connected to Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte continues to grow. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Mariners and Pirates are among the teams interested in dealing for the three-time All-Star.

Heyman also linked the Red Sox, Rays, and Tigers to Marte, echoing this morning’s report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Those squads join the Phillies and Blue Jays, who reportedly inquired about Marte last month. John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports noted in mid-November that at least seven teams had checked in on Marte’s availability, though he didn’t mention any by name. It’s unclear if this group comprises the seven teams Gambadoro was referencing, but we’ve now reached that number across the various reports.

With Jorge Polanco and Eugenio Suárez heading into free agency, Seattle has some vacancies to fill in the infield. A reunion with either player is an option, and there are also a handful of internal candidates to fill those spots, though a deal for Marte would be a desirable route. The 32-year-old has been one of the most productive players at his position over the past decade. Marte finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 2019 and came in third in 2024. He’s won the Silver Slugger award in back-to-back seasons.

Marte slashed .283/.376/.517 this past season. He topped 25 home runs for the third straight year. Various injuries and absences led to Marte playing just 126 games, but he exceeded 550 plate appearances for the fourth consecutive year. Outside of recurring hamstring problems in 2021, Marte has been remarkably durable during his nine seasons in Arizona.

It would be quite the full-circle moment if Seattle were able to acquire Marte. The club signed him as an international free agent in 2011. He debuted with the Mariners in 2015, posting a 112 wRC+ over 57 games. He struggled in a bigger role the following season, while also missing time with a thumb sprain and mononucleosis. Seattle shipped Marte and Taijuan Walker to Arizona following the 2016 season in a blockbuster deal that brought back Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and Zac Curtis. Segura and Haniger had productive tenures with the Mariners, but didn’t reach anywhere near the heights that Marte has in Arizona.

Seattle already used one of their primary trade chips this offseason, sending Harry Ford to Washington for Jose A. Ferrer, but the organization has plenty more exciting prospects to include in a potential Marte deal. MLB.com ranked the Mariners’ farm system behind only the Twins and Dodgers in its 2025 midseason update.

Pittsburgh has also executed a notable trade this offseason, acquiring Jhostynxon Garcia and a pitching prospect for Johan Oviedo and a couple of minor leaguers. Garcia will join the outfield mix alongside fixtures Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, but the club could still use some additions in the infield.

The Pirates shuffled through a litany of players at second base this past season, with Nick Gonzales (359 plate appearances) and Adam Frazier (189 plate appearances) earning the most reps at the position. Frazier was shipped to Kansas City at the trade deadline, and Gonzales could slot in at shortstop next season. That leaves Nick Yorke and Tsung-Che Cheng as the current top candidates to handle the keystone in 2026. Recent waiver claim Marco Luciano could also factor into the infield calculus, though he strictly played outfield and DH last season.

Pittsburgh ranked 23rd in OPS at second base last year. The club didn’t have much success at the other positions either, finishing dead last in scoring. The Pirates have been bottom 10 in runs for seven straight seasons. They’ve been the lowest-scoring team three times in that span. Moving Oviedo for Garcia is a step toward addressing that weakness, but a Marte deal would obviously provide a massive jolt to the offense. Pittsburgh slotted in at ninth in the aforementioned farm system rankings on MLB.com. It would likely take significant prospect capital to pry Marte away from Arizona.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

Cardinals Notes: Nootbaar, Cameron, Pitching

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As one of the few teams in baseball in true rebuild mode, the Cardinals are open to offers on most players on their roster, yet some of the Cards’ most-cited trade candidates may be a little more available than others.  Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears from sources on rival teams that the Cardinals don’t seem to be “actively seeking to trade” outfielder Lars Nootbaar.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Nootbaar won’t be dealt, of course, but there are also some obvious reasons why the Cardinals might want to wait until beyond this offseason to move the 28-year-old.

Injuries have been a subplot of Nootbaar’s career, and while he hit new career highs in games played (135) and plate appearances (583) in 2025, he underwent surgery in October on both of his heels.  The surgery was meant to address Haglund’s deformities, which are bone spurs that develop on the heel bone near the base of the Achilles tendon.  It seems likely that playing through this discomfort led to Nootbaar’s underwhelming numbers in 2025, and it isn’t yet known if the recovery from the procedure will allow Nootbaar to be ready for Opening Day.

Between the health question mark and Nootbaar’s 96 wRC+ (from 13 homers and a .234/.325/.361 slash line), St. Louis would probably be selling low if Nootbaar was traded this winter.  As such, it makes sense that the Cardinals would hang onto Nootbaar for now and see if he’s able to bounce back in the first half of the 2026 season, so a trade deadline move might be more realistic.

Trading Sonny Gray to the Red Sox cleared $20MM off of the Cardinals’ payroll ledger for 2026, and the team would also save a lot of money if Nolan Arenado or Willson Contreras were traded.  There isn’t any similar financial pressure involved with a potential Nootbaar trade, as he is projected to earn $5.7MM this winter in the second of three trips through the arbitration process.  That extra year of control gives the Cards more flexibility in allowing Nootbaar to get fully healthy before more properly shopping him to any interested teams.

President of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has been open about his team’s desire to add starting pitching, whether it’s younger arms or (likely on short-term deals) more experienced hurlers.  The Gray trade brought Richard Fitts and prospect Brandon Clarke into the fold, and St. Louis is expected to seek out more pitchers in other trades or in free agency.  Whether or not the Cards explore free agent pitchers will hinge on what they can land on the trade front, Goold writes, so it may be yet be a while before the Cardinals look too deeply at signings given how much interest they’re getting in their various trade chips.

Other teams’ trade endeavors could also delay matters.  For instance, Goold notes that some teams interested in Brendan Donovan for their second base vacancy also have interest in the Rays’ Brandon Lowe or even the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte.  If one of those players is dealt elsewhere, that eliminates one Donovan suitor, but also puts more pressure on other interested teams to up their offers to St. Louis in order to land a second baseman (though Donovan’s versatility also doesn’t limit his market just to keystone-needy teams).

Perhaps related to both the Cardinals’ pitching search and the Royals’ known interest in Donovan, Goold reports that the Cards “have had interest before in” Kansas City’s Noah Cameron.  The 26-year-old southpaw is coming off an impressive debut season that saw Cameron finish fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 2.99 ERA over 138 1/3 innings.

Between Cameron’s ability and multiple remaining years of team control, it would take a whole lot to pry the left-hander away from the Royals.  While K.C. president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo has discussed his team’s openness to trading from its pitching depth for much-needed outfield help, Cameron would likely be one of the last arms the Royals would prefer to move.  That said, adding a real impact bat to the lineup might require an impact pitcher in return, and Donovan’s market has been so crowded that the Royals might make to make a special offer to break away from the pack.

Rays Interested In Zack Littell

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The Rays are known to be looking to add some veteran depth to their rotation, and such former Tampa players as Zach Eflin and Adrian Houser are known to be on the team’s radar.  Yet another ex-Ray is also being eyed for a reunion, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Zack Littell is also drawing interest from the club.

Littell first arrived in Tampa in May 2023, after the Rays claimed the right-hander off waivers from the Red Sox.  At the time, Littell had started only four of his 147 career games in parts of six Major League seasons, and had delivered inconsistent results as a reliever.  However, in yet another win for the Rays’ excellent pitching development staff, Littell went from a multi-inning reliever to a proper starter by season’s end, and he then became a rotation staple over the next two seasons.

Over 376 2/3 innings in a Tampa Bay uniform, Littell posted a 3.68 ERA, 19.39% strikeout rate, and a superb 3.92% walk rate.  Littell has had trouble keeping the ball in the park and he doesn’t miss many bats, but his elite control and durability made his transition to the rotation a very successful one.  With the Rays falling out of contention at the deadline, Littell was dealt to the Reds as part of a three-team trade that also involved the Dodgers, and Littell had a 4.39 ERA over 53 1/3 innings to help Cincinnati reach the playoffs.

Only ten pitchers in all of baseball topped Littell’s 186 2/3 innings pitched in 2025.  These ability to eat innings would be a major help to any rotation, but especially a Tampa Bay staff that has a few question marks behind Drew Rasmussen and Ryan Pepiot.  Shane Baz was only so-so in his first full MLB season, Ian Seymour looked good as a rookie but has only 57 big league innings under his belt, and Shane McClanahan hasn’t pitched in over two years due to injury.  Topkin’s piece includes the positive note that McClanahan is having “a somewhat normal offseason” throwing progression as he recovers from the nerve issue that sidelined him for all of 2025, and the next checkpoint will come when McClanahan starts throwing off a mound in mid-January.

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Littell 35th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, and projected the righty for a two-year, $24MM contract.  A three-year deal isn’t out of the question since Littell is entering his age-30 season and there’s plenty of value in a durable arm who can reliably cover innings, yet in terms of average annual value, Littell’s asking price should remain within the Rays’ limited spending range.

In comparison to the other known pitching targets, Littell will cost more than Eflin or Houser, but also brings more to the table in terms of reliability.  This could make the front office more willing to make what counts as a significant financial plunge for the Rays, though more money could be freed up by trading other players off the current roster.

Cubs Have Interest In Eugenio Suarez

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The Cubs have interest in Eugenio Suarez as they explore the third base market, according to a report from Francys Romero of Beisbol FR.

While Chicago doesn’t appear to be getting involved in the sweepstakes for outgoing superstar Kyle Tucker, that doesn’t mean they won’t be active in other areas of free agency this winter. The Cubs haven’t been shy about their focus being on adding a starter to the front half of their rotation, and they’ve been connected to players like Michael King, Tatsuya Imai, Zac Gallen, and Ranger Suarez amid those efforts. They also remain in the market for bullpen help even after signing Phil Maton and missing out on Ryan Helsley when the latter signed in Baltimore last month.

While the focus on Chicago’s offseason seems to primarily be on pitching, bolstering a lineup that appears poised to lose Tucker makes plenty of sense. The Cubs have been connected to Alex Bregman with relative frequency in recent days after being one of the final teams in on his market last winter. After a solid but unspectacular (93 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR) season from Matt Shaw at the hot corner last year and with second baseman Nico Hoerner ticketed for free agency after the 2026 season, it’s easy to see why the Cubs might want to bolster their infield mix this winter.

As for Suarez himself, he’d surely be a more affordable option than Bregman. The 34-year-old is coming off one of the best seasons of his career as he slugged 49 home runs and posted a 125 wRC+, but his market has been relatively quiet to this point in the winter. The Mariners are open to reuniting with Suarez, but are seemingly prioritizing a potential reunion with Jorge Polanco at this point. Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Brewers, and Astros were connected to Suarez on the trade market over the summer, but there have been no connections drawn between Suarez and any of those teams this offseason. That’s not necessarily a surprise, of course; trading for a few months of a player just before they hit free agency is a very different decision than signing them to what could be a multi-year commitment.

Even so, the fit between the Cubs and Suarez is a fairly apparent one. He would help boost the Cubs’ offense and provide cover for Shaw at third base, just as Bregman would, though he likely wouldn’t command nearly as much of a commitment in terms of years or dollars. MLBTR predicted Suarez would land a deal worth three years and $63MM in free agency this winter as part of our Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, where Suarez ranked 20th. By contrast, MLBTR’s prediction for Bregman (ranked 5th in this year’s class) landed at six years and $160MM. That difference can be attributed to the fact that Bregman is two years younger than Suarez and has been much more consistent throughout his career, in addition to being a significantly better defender at third base.

Even with Suarez’s flaws, that discrepancy in price tag could make him an appealing alternative to Bregman for a few reasons. The Cubs have treated the first luxury tax threshold as something of a soft cap in recent years, and according to RosterResource the club has just under $197MM in commitments for luxury tax purposes in 2026. The difference in AAV on MLBTR’s contract predictions for Suarez and Bregman sits at just under $6MM. That’s a relatively small amount compared to the roughly $46MM between the Cubs’ current spending level and the first threshold of the luxury tax, but that wiggle room could be meaningful if the team also looks to add a rotation arm in free agency.

Additionally, Chicago has seemingly been hesitant to add significant money to the books long-term outside of Dansby Swanson’s contract with the club. Maton (signed through 2027) became just the second player on the roster signed to a guaranteed deal beyond the 2026 season. While it stands to reason that more are likely to come throughout this winter, it’s fair to think the Cubs might value the long-term flexibility signing someone like Suarez would provide given how they’ve constructed the rest of their roster. For example, if the Cubs were interested in either extending Hoerner or re-signing him next offseason, committing to a multi-year deal for their second baseman might seem more palatable with a short-term deal for Suarez on the books rather than a long-term deal for Bregman.

It should be noted that while the Cubs have only been directly connected to Suarez and Bregman so far, they’re far from the only two third basemen who figure to be available this winter. NPB star Kazuma Okamoto is set to come over from Japan this winter and has spent most of his career at the hot corner. The aforementioned Polanco also has some limited experience at the hot corner. KBO infielder Sung-Mun Song, veteran Yoan Moncada, utility man Willi Castro and former Gold Glover Ramon Urias are among the lower-tier third base capable players on the market this winter.

Giants Could Make Bryce Eldridge Available In Trade Talks

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Top prospect Bryce Eldridge made his big league debut with the Giants in 2025, and while that cup of coffee in the majors last just ten games with lackluster results he still figures to be a major part of the San Francisco offense next with with the roster as presently constructed. Even with Eldridge’s on-paper importance to the future of the lineup, however, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier today that Eldridge “isn’t off the table” in trade talks as the front office heads into this year’s Winter Meetings.

That, of course, doesn’t necessarily make a trade of Eldridge particularly likely. It’s somewhat rare for players and prospects to be completely unavailable in trade talks as the majority of modern front offices have developed a willingness to listen on virtually any player. With that being said, it’s not often that a prospect with Eldridge’s pedigree winds up moving. The 21-year-old was San Francisco’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft and is a consensus top-20 prospect in the entire sport at this point. The slugger crushed 25 homers in just 102 games between Double- and Triple-A this year while hitting .260/.333/.510 overall across both levels. Few up-and-coming youngsters possess the raw power potential of Eldridge, who is listed at 6’7” and 240 pounds.

Virtually any team would be naturally intrigued at the idea of adding him to the middle of their lineup, and that should include the Giants. With that being said, Eldridge isn’t without his flaws. He struck out at a 30.8% clip at the Triple-A level this past year, raising concerns about his ability to make consistent contact against MLB-caliber pitching. Even aside from those concerns, however, it’s worth remember that the Giants’ midsummer trade for Rafael Devers gave them their first baseman of the future for the better part of the next decade. It would certainly be possible for the Giants to squeeze Eldridge into their lineup, doing so would substantially limit the club’s flexibility by locking down both first base and DH long-term.

The combination of Eldridge’s imperfect fit with the Giants’ roster after they brought in Devers as well as the team’s noted desire to avoid longer-term contracts this winter when looking to upgrade their pitching staff have made Eldridge a logical trade candidate. Even so, the argument for simply keeping an extremely gifted slugger whose service time clock has barely been started is certainly a strong one. 51% of respondents to a poll of MLBTR readers earlier this week believed that the Giants should hold onto Eldridge, and just 23% of respondents believed that the Giants should consider trading him without bringing in another impactful bat to make up for his absence from the 2026 lineup.

Of course, an acknowledgment that trading Eldridge isn’t entirely off the table remains far from the same as actively shopping him. It’s entirely possible that the Giants would only consider including Eldridge in a deal for a high-end player like Hunter Greene or Tarik Skubal who may not be entirely available in trade talks themselves. Rubin noted that while players of that caliber have been floated as potentially available, the specifics of this winter’s market are not yet set in stone. That too goes for the Giants’ level of involvement, per Rubin, which would lend credence to the idea that the Giants might only consider dealing Eldridge for certain impact players.

With that said, there’s a number of enticing trade candidates that have been bandied about this winter, even with players like Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez likely to be off the market. Edward Cabrera, MacKenzie Gore, Freddy Peralta, Kodai Senga, and Mitch Keller are all on the list of names that could at least theoretically be had on the trade market this winter. While the Giants surely wouldn’t be interested in parting ways with Eldridge for many of those players it’s far from impossible to see a team with a controllable, cost-controlled starter like Cabrera or Gore being able to convince the Giants to part with Eldridge in order to add another high-end arm to a rotation that already includes Logan Webb and Robbie Ray but is in major need of reinforcements.

Former Rangers Owner Tom Hicks Passes Away

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The Rangers announced this morning that Tom Hicks has passed away at the age of 79. Hicks owned the Rangers from 1998 to 2010. The club released a statement about Hicks’s passing.

“Mr. Hicks was a passionate and competitive owner and Texas Rangers fan,” the statement read. “The club extends its thoughts and prayers to Mr. Hicks’ wife Cinda, his six children and his entire family as they mourn a legendary Texas businessman, philanthropist, and sportsman.“

A private equity investor based in Dallas, Hicks made over $1B as part of a partnership that invested in soft drink brands Dr. Pepper and 7 Up and merged the two companies together in the late 1980s. Hicks moved into sports franchise ownership when he purchased the NHL’s Dallas Stars in 1995. It was just a few years later in 1998 that Hicks purchased the Rangers from an investment group managed by future U.S. President George W. Bush. He would later go on to purchase Liverpool F.C. in 2007.

The Rangers found immediate success under Hicks’s ownership with back-to-back AL West titles led by future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez. The team began to struggle in 2000, however, and that led Hicks to sign superstar Alex Rodriguez to a ten-year, $252MM contract that shattered records at the time during the 2000-01 offseason’s Winter Meetings. While A-Rod hit an incredible .305/.395/.615 over the 2001-03 seasons with 156 home runs and 27.0 fWAR, his supporting cast left much to be desired around the rest of the roster and the Rangers lost 90, 91, and 89 games during his three years with the franchise.

That spurred Hicks to trade Rodriguez following the 2003 season, and he was dealt to the Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias during the 2003-04 offseason. New York picked up $112MM of the $179MM remaining on Rodriguez’s contract. The Yankees went on to win the 2009 World Series with Rodriguez in tow, and A-Rod added two more MVP trophies to his mantle after winning his first with Texas in 2003. Meanwhile, the Rangers continued to struggle to break back into relevance. They did manage to win 89 games the year after the Rodriguez trade in 2004, but finished third in a highly competitive AL West and missed out on the postseason nonetheless.

It took until the 2009 season for the Rangers to be back on the upswing, when they won 87 games and once again narrowly missed out on a postseason berth with a roster headlined by Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and the rookie season of Elvis Andrus. That season was stained, however, by the club’s inability to sign first-rounder Matt Purke. Purke and the Rangers verbally agreed on a $6MM bonus after he was drafted, but the Rangers ultimately backed out of it. While Hicks contended that the club simply was unwilling to spend that amount to sign the 14th-overall selection in that year’s draft, team president Nolan Ryan suggested that the team’s finances were being closely monitored by the league at the time, who rejected the $6MM expenditure.

In January of 2010, Hicks announced that he had agreed to sell the Rangers to a group led by Ryan and Chuck Greenberg. The sale was delayed by a number of legal and financial issues throughout the year, including Hicks Sports Group filing for bankruptcy in May. The franchise was ultimate put up for public auction in August of 2010, which the group led by Ryan and Greenberg won. That ended Hicks’s tenure with the Rangers, and he went on to sell Liverpool a few months later as well as the Stars the following year.

While Hicks’s time with the Rangers ended in rocky fashion, the personnel who were hired to oversee the team during his tenure (including Ryan, GM Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington) managed to lead the Rangers to great success on the field in spite of this off-the-field drama. The Rangers won back-to-back AL pennants during the 2010 and ’11 seasons, with 90- and 96-win campaigns thanks to impact performances from stars Josh Hamilton and (in the case of 2011) Adrian Beltre.

MLB Trade Rumors extends our condolences to Hicks’s family, friends and loved ones.

Royals Interested In Re-Signing Mike Yastrzemski, Adam Frazier

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After doing some light buying at the trade deadline over the summer in order to keep themselves in contention, the Royals have some interest in reuniting with two of the rental bats they brought on board back in July. According to a report from Jaylon Thompson of The Kansas City Star, the club has interest in reunions with both outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and second baseman Adam Frazier.

That the Royals would want to bring Yastrzemski back into the fold is hardly a surprise. The 35-year-old veteran was a late bloomer with the Giants who didn’t debut in the majors until his age-28 season, but he’s been a consistently above-average hitter in seven seasons since then. Over the past three years, Yastrzemski is a .232/.322/.426 (107 wRC+) hitter with a 23.4% strikeout rate against an excellent 11.0% walk rate. He’s a consistent source of decent power as well, typically offering 15 to 20 homers and 20 to 30 doubles in a given season.

All of that already points to Yastrzemski offering a solid floor for an outfield that desperately needs stability, but Yastrzemski also impressed in a big way after being dealt from San Francisco to Kansas City down the stretch last year. While the team wasn’t able to squeak into the playoffs, Yastrzemski delivered a phenomenal performance with nine home runs and a 127 wRC+ in 50 games for the Royals while also walking (13.4%) more often than he struck out (11.8%). All of this occurred in a small sample of just 186 plate appearances, but if Yastrzemski could turn in a performance even close to that in 2026 he’d surely be one of the biggest bargains in this winter’s free agent class.

As for Frazier, a reunion for the 2026 campaign would mark the soon to be 34-year-old’s third stint in Kansas City across three seasons. Frazier struggled badly as a Royal in 2024, posting a wRC+ of 65 across 104 games in a part-time role. He rejoined the team in a trade with the Pirates at this summer’s deadline, however, and turned in a much more respectable performance. In 197 plate appearances with the Royals, Frazier slashed .283/.320/.402 with a wRC+ of 98 to lift his season-long figure across 134 games to 89. Frazier lacks the track record of consistent above-average offensive that Yastrzemski offers but would help back up Michael Massey and Jonathan India at second base, which proved to be a major hole for the Royals last season.

Neither player’s contract figures to break the bank, which is surely part of why Kansas City is interested in re-upping with both players. Club payroll isn’t expected to go up much in 2026 if it does at all, and with the team already projected by RosterResource for $139MM in payroll ($1MM more than last season) the Royals find themselves in a bit of a financial bind as they look to reshape their offense. They’ve already expressed a willingness to deal from their rotation mix in order to bring in offense, but with holes all over the outfield and on the bench they’ll surely need to add more than one bat if they hope to improve their offense in 2026. That’s where a cheaper free agent addition like Yastrzemski or Frazier could come in, providing roughly average production at an affordable rate.

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