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The Opener: Rule 5 Draft, Polanco, Relief Market

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As the Winter Meetings continue, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Rule 5 Draft today:

Baseball’s annual Rule 5 Draft is scheduled to take place at 1pm CT this afternoon. International players and high school draft picks who signed in 2020 and college draft picks signed in 2021 who have not yet been added to their club’s 40-man roster are vulnerable in today’s draft, where any club can select them for a $100K fee. If the player does not stick on their new club’s 26-man roster for the entire season, he must be offered back to his original club for $50K. Teams must have open space on their 40-man roster to select a player in the draft, meaning the Twins, Orioles, Braves, Rays, and Diamondbacks would each need to clear space on their 40-man roster before the draft begins in order to participate.

Players selected in the Rule 5 draft occasionally go on to impact their team in the future, as free agent outfielder Anthony Santander famously did following his selection in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft. 2025’s draft saw White Sox right-hander Shane Smith and Marlins catcher Liam Hicks stick with the clubs that drafted them on the 26-man roster through the entire year, while right-hander Mike Vasil was claimed off waivers by the White Sox and remained in Chicago for the whole year as well. Smith, in particular, is noteworthy for earning an All-Star appearance and down-ballot consideration in AL Rookie of the Year voting thanks to his 3.81 ERA in 29 starts for Chicago. Will a similarly valuable diamond in the rough be unearthed today?

2. Could the Pirates pivot to Polanco?

The Pirates were among the teams most aggressive in pursuing slugger Kyle Schwarber, but after he turned down the club’s four-year, $120MM offer they could still look to reallocate at least some of those resources to other pursuits in their efforts to upgrade the offense. Pittsburgh has been connected to infielder Jorge Polanco in the past, and Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported yesterday that the Pirates were expected to put an offer on the table for the switch hitter’s services soon. Will Polanco be the big free agent fish Ben Cherington’s front office has been working to land, or will they end up looking elsewhere for offensive talent to support Paul Skenes and the rest of their excellent rotation?

3. Relief market buzzing:

The market for relievers has been the busiest part of free agency so far this winter, and yesterday was no exception as Edwin Diaz landed with the Dodgers on a three-year agreement. Diaz wasn’t the only significant name to come off the market yesterday either, as the Pirates signed southpaw Gregory Soto to a one-year deal and the Tigers re-upped with Kyle Finnegan on a two-year pact. That takes three more late-inning arms off the market and leaves the teams still in the market for top relievers running low on options. Robert Suarez is now the best option on the market and is drawing interest from a pair of new suitors, but he’s hardly the only interesting option available. Brad Keller, Luke Weaver, Tyler Rogers, Seranthony Dominguez, and Pete Fairbanks are all also still available after landing on MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents list. Who will be the next to sign?

Astros Receiving “Minimal” Interest In Christian Walker

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The Astros kicked off the offseason by downplaying the idea that they would consider dealing away either third baseman Isaac Paredes or first baseman Christian Walker to clear the infield logjam the summer’s Carlos Correa trade created, but more recent reporting has suggested at least some discussions involving Paredes with the Red Sox. Chandler Rome of The Athletic discussed situation in Houston with more detail yesterday, noting that the club’s plans to use Yordan Alvarez as a regular DH and Jose Altuve at second base more frequently in 2026 leave the club with limited options to squeeze both Paredes and Walker into the lineup on a regular basis. That would seemingly indicate that a trade is likely to be in the cards, but Rome added that the club has received little interest in Walker’s services this winter.

That’s not exactly shocking news, given the lackluster inaugural season Walker put together with the Astros. In 154 games with Houston, Walker slashed just .238/.297/.421 with a wRC+ of 99 and 1.1 fWAR. The season wasn’t all bad, as Walker did hit .250/.312/.488 after the All-Star break. That second half performance saw him swat 15 homers in 263 plate appearances and post a 120 wRC+ that was exactly in line with what he had done in Arizona from 2022-24, offering some reason for optimism headed into the veteran’s age-35 season in 2026.

Even with that optimism, however, it’s easy to see why rival clubs wouldn’t be especially excited about taking on the final two years and $40MM owed to an aging first baseman who posted numbers just a tick below league average last year alongside his highest strikeout rate and lowest walk rate since becoming an MLB regular. Walker’s declining discipline would surely make it hard for the Astros to get a significant return for his services, which could leave the team better off hoping for a return to form and instead listening to offers on Paredes.

That would be a real blow to the team’s lineup, as Paredes delivered a .254/.352/.458 (128 wRC+) performance in 102 games before being sidelined by a hamstring injury shortly before the trade deadline. Losing that sort of offensive impact from a lineup that posted a pedestrian wRC+ of 100 last year would be difficult, but a healthy season from Alvarez would surely help to make up for the loss of Paredes even if quality regulars like Walker, Correa, and Altuve don’t bounce back. That could make a trade that ships out Paredes in exchange for pitching help sensible for the Astros, especially given the team’s logjam around the infield.

With star shortstop Jeremy Pena just two seasons from free agency and the market for quality shortstops this winter extremely thin, there’s been some speculation about his own availability in trades. While a trade of Rome could allow Correa to slide back to shortstop while Paredes reclaims his native third base, Rome reports that GM Dana Brown firmly shut that notion down. When asked if he was discussing Pena in trade talks, Brown was emphatic in his denial.

“No,” Brown said, as relayed by Rome. “His name has not come up and I think teams understand if you’re a winning team and you’re trying to go back to the postseason, there’s no way you can trade your starting shortstop.”

The team’s apparent plans leave increasingly limited options for the team to keep both first base options in the fold, and Rome suggests that Paredes learning left field could be the only way to fit both Paredes and Walker in the lineup on a regular basis next year. That assumes Alvarez will be an everyday DH and Altuve will return to second base on a regular basis, as comments from Brown and manager Joe Espada have suggested. That would leave room for occasional starts for Paredes at second base or DH on days off or during rare cameos for either player in left field, but it hardly seems likely to be a significant number of at-bats.

Rome’s suggestion of Paredes trying left field comes with real obstacles. The 26-year-old has zero experience anywhere in the outfield as a professional, which makes the possibility of a move to left seem fairly remote. Altuve had never played the outfield prior to picking up the position last spring, but moving to the outfield could come with additional considerations for Paredes so soon after a major hamstring injury. Perhaps playing time could be juggled between six players for five spots in the lineup even without Paredes spending time in left, though Rome noted that the players themselves might not be content with being asked to sit regularly.

Turning back to Walker, if the Astros were motivated to move him Rome suggests that he’s not unmovable. Walker’s track record, veteran presence, and strong second half were surely be enough to find a take for his services on the trade market in at least some capacity, though Houston would surely have to eat a chunk of his salary and/or accept a fairly minimal return in order to facilitate that sort of deal. The Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Padres are among the teams who could theoretically use help at first base this winter, though many of those clubs may prefer their internal options to swinging a trade for Walker.

Padres Not Inclined To Trade High Leverage Relievers

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The Padres are getting calls on their high leverage relievers, according to to a report from Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday afternoon. Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, and David Morgan have all drawn interest from rival clubs, per Acee, though the report emphasizes that while the Padres have fielded calls on those players they aren’t inclined to move anyone from that group.

“There’s a lot of teams (from which) we have taken incoming calls,” president of baseball operations AJ Preller told reporters, as relayed by Acee. “…It’s nice when people are calling you, and they have interest in your players. At least then, you have some options. But I think the focus has been on the starting pitching and how do we fill that without taking away from the bullpen or from the lineup.”

Preller went on to double down on his desire to keep his team’s elite bullpen together.

“Anytime you have multiple people in one spot, you at least can listen to those types of conversations,” Preller said, per Acee. “But it’s not easy to find impact players, so you don’t take that for granted. And we have a lot of performers in our pen that have been impactful here the last couple years. It’s probably been why we’ve been in the playoffs the last few years. There’s a lot of reasons, but that’s been a big one. … So we don’t take that lightly. It’s not like, ‘Hey, we have a lot of really good pitchers, so we can afford to kind of take our level down in the bullpen.’”

That’s an understandable stance to take. San Diego had MLB’s best bullpen by ERA, xERA, and fWAR in 2025. Granted, that’s with Robert Suarez in the fold, but it also only accounts for half a season of Miller’s impact. While trading from that strength could make some sense to improve a rotation that’s losing Dylan Cease and Michael King, it’s worth remembering that none of the team’s top relievers has an especially high salary; Estrada and Morgan will play next year on a pre-arbitration salary, while Morejon and Miller are projected to make a combined $7MM total via arbitration in 2026 by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. With such negligible salaries, trading any of that quartet wouldn’t open up the sort of payroll space necessary to land an impactful starter.

Reluctant as the club may be to trade from its bullpen, the Padres do find themselves in a bind at this point. Acee notes that San Diego needs to add at least two starters this offseason to replace King and Cease, and the club is known to be planning to spend at a similar level to last year. Perhaps the team’s reported willingness to move players making more significant salaries like Jake Cronenworth and Nick Pivetta will allow them to shed the sort of salary needed to add a starter or two in free agency.

Failing that, however, it’s not inconceivable that the Padres could trade a reliever for a starter. The Marlins notably have starting pitchers (including Edward Cabrera and former Padre Ryan Weathers) that they’re willing to trade this winter, and are known to be in the market for a closer this winter. Bringing someone like Morejon or Estrada into the fold as the primary piece of the return for a starter’s services could allow Miami to bring in the closer they’re looking for without having to pay a premium for someone like Suarez or Pete Fairbanks on the open market.

As the Padres look to upgrade their rotation mix, Acee continues to report that Preller’s front office is working on a “blockbuster” trade. Neither the names involved in those discussions nor the other team (or teams) Preller is negotiating with are named, but Acee does emphasize that the Padres will not be trading Fernando Tatis Jr. this winter. While a Tatis trade would clear significant salary off the books and surely bring in a massive return, Tatis has shown himself to be a consistent five-to-six win player when healthy and losing him would be a brutal blow to the Padres’ goal of keeping their competitive window open headed into 2026. Tatis may not be on the move this winter, but Preller’s willingness to get creative and aggressive on the trade market make it impossible to completely rule out a trade involving virtually any other player on the roster or in the farm system.

Braves, Cubs Among Teams Interested In Robert Suarez

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Edwin Diaz came off the market on Tuesday when he signed a three-year deal with the Dodgers earlier today. Now that both he and Devin Williams are off the board, veteran right-hander Robert Suarez stands as the clear top option available on the market for closers this winter. It didn’t take long after Diaz’s deal was reported for MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand to report that Suarez’s market was starting to gain traction. Feinsand highlighted the Mets, Blue Jays, and Braves as the “most aggressive suitors” for the righty’s services. New York and Toronto have both been connected to Suarez already this winter, but Atlanta is a newly-reported suitor. Meanwhile, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR throws the Cubs’ name into the mix as well, reporting that Chicago is exploring the closer market and adding that Suarez is “one of the ideal candidates” for the club.

Suarez, 35 in March, has been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons. He’s sporting a 2.87 ERA and 3.17 FIP with 76 saves in 134 2/3 innings of work across those two campaigns. This year, he struck out 27.9% of his opponents with a 5.9% walk rate, giving him a 21.9% K-BB ratio that ranked 26th among qualified relievers this year. Those excellent numbers are enough to make him one of the league’s top relievers, although the right-hander’s age and imperfect track record (including a middling 2023 season where injury limited him to just 26 appearances) figure to limit the length of his contract somewhat. MLBTR predicted Suarez for a three-year, $48MM deal as the #21 free agent on our Top 50 MLB Free Agents list for the offseason.

That would be a hefty sum for a team like the Braves to pay for a closer when they already have longtime closer Raisel Iglesias in the fold, particularly when Atlanta is also in the market for help at shortstop and in the rotation. With that said, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time the club committed significant dollars to their bullpen. Iglesias, Joe Jimenez and Aaron Bummer are both on significant contracts already, and players like Pierce Johnson and Will Smith have been guaranteed significant dollars by Atlanta in the past.

The Cubs seem like a much clearer fit for Suarez, at least on paper. They’ve lost Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, and Andrew Kittredge from their bullpen this offseason. While they signed Phil Maton last month and Daniel Palencia remains a viable closing option, that’s still a lot of talent to lose from the late-inning relief mix. That makes it unsurprising that Chicago would be in the mix for a player like Suarez, although it’s worth noting that the Cubs have typically shied away from large multi-year commitments to relievers. Maton’s two-year deal is actually the first multi-year guarantee the team has signed a reliever to since Craig Kimbrel back in 2019, but a deal for Suarez would be on another level entirely; his annual salary would surely rival the $14.5MM total guarantee Maton landed.

The Mets and Blue Jays remain as perhaps the most obvious fits for the righty. While New York did bring Williams into the fold, they remained in on Diaz even after that signing. Now that Diaz has settled on Los Angeles, the Mets pivoting towards Suarez to strengthen the back of their bullpen is easy to understand, particularly after Williams delivered inconsistent results in the ninth inning as a member of the Yankees last year. The Jays, meanwhile, have long been known to be in the market for another high leverage reliever to pair with Jeff Hoffman in the late innings.

The number of quality closers on the market is dropping quickly, and if Toronto is hoping to add a high-end reliever with closing experience Suarez is undoubtedly the top option at this point. Keller and Tyler Rogers are alternative impact options still available who lack that ninth inning track record, while closers like Pete Fairbanks and Luke Weaver are still available but are coming off far less impressive seasons than the one Suarez just delivered in San Diego. The Marlins and White Sox are among the other teams known to be involved in the closing market this winter, though it would be a surprise to see either spend aggressively enough to land someone of Suarez’s caliber.

Shane Bieber Dealt With Forearm Fatigue Late In 2025 Season

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One of the winter’s earliest surprises was Shane Bieber’s decision to pick up a $16MM player option for the 2026 season rather than take a $4MM buyout and return to free agency. That choice was viewed as a head-scratcher around the league at the time, as the former Cy Young winner’s track record and the 3.66 ERA he posted in 59 innings between the regular season and playoffs with Toronto was likely enough to justify a solid multi-year deal.

A report this evening from The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon offers a bit more perspective on Bieber’s decision. Towards the end of the 2025 campaign, Bannon reports that Bieber was dealing with forearm fatigue. Bieber has since begun rehab work, and Bannon notes that Ross Atkins told reporters that the right-hander is “in a strong position.” While the Jays are currently taking things week-to-week with Bieber’s recovery process, Atkins noted that Bieber being ready to pitch on Opening Day remains “a very realistic outcome” though he stopped short of definitively saying Bieber would be part of the Opening Day roster.

That Bieber was dealing with a forearm issue just 13 appearances into his return from Tommy John surgery certainly seems to help explain his decision to exercise his 2026 player option. While there’s little doubt that Bieber could have beaten the $12MM he would’ve left on the table by declining the option in terms of overall guarantee, it’s plausible that teams would have been hesitant to commit a substantial average annual value to a pitcher coming off elbow surgery who was already rehabbing a fresh ailment. By sticking with Toronto this winter, Bieber gives himself the opportunity to rehab with the Blue Jays rather continuing his rehab as a free agent, and can now look to enter free agency next winter with what he’s surely hoping will be a full season of starts under his belt in 2026 to allay any concerns about the health of his arm going forward.

With Bieber’s status somewhat uncertain for Opening Day, it’s all the more understandable that the Blue Jays have been aggressive in adding to their rotation. Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, and Jose Berrios figure to make up the club’s Opening Day rotation if Bieber were to start the year on the injured list, though the depth provided by players like Yariel Rodriguez, Bowden Francis, and Eric Lauer is strong enough that the Blue Jays seem to be considering the possibility of trading Berrios this winter. Cease, Gausman, and Bieber are all surely locked into rotation spots when healthy, and Yesavage showed more than enough down the stretch and into the playoffs to warrant first crack at a rotation job headed into 2026.

That would leave just one spot available for Ponce, Berrios, and the team’s depth options to compete for in Spring Training, and so it would hardly be a shock to see the Jays make a move that ships a rotation piece out at some point this winter. At the same time, however, Bannon reports that the Jays remain interested in adding starting pitching even after landing both Cease and Ponce in free agency earlier this winter. While the team is overflowing with rotation options, not all of them are especially reliable. In addition to questions surrounding Bieber’s health, Ponce’s return from the KBO league this year will come with inherent question marks.

Meanwhile, Berrios struggled in the second half and was relegated to the bullpen for October while Yesavage is a young arm who threw a career high in terms of innings this past year between the majors, minors, and postseason. It seems unlikely the team would look to add another high-end arm to the rotation given their needs in the bullpen and lineup, but perhaps additional depth to join players like Francis and Lauer as depth pieces would be valuable, especially in the event that Berrios is traded or Bieber opens the season on the injured list.

Phillies Have Offer Out To J.T. Realmuto

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The Phillies secured a reunion with one of their key veteran free agents Tuesday morning when they signed Kyle Schwarber to a five-year deal, and now it appears their attention will return to their other veteran hitter who reached free agency last month. Philadelphia has an offer on the table for veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto, according to a report from Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. The details of that offer aren’t presently known, though The Athletic’s Matt Gelb adds that Realmuto is “expected” to ultimately return to Philadelphia in 2026 and suggests that he may do so on a two-year deal. Even so, Gelb makes clear that Realmuto is continuing to survey the free agent market.

The veteran backstop will play next season at the age of 35 and is coming off his worst season since his rookie campaign back in 2015. Realmuto slashed just .257/.315/.384 with a 94 wRC+ in 134 games this year. It’s the third-lowest on-base percentage and the lowest slugging percentage of his career, ignoring an 11-game cup of coffee during the 2014 season. Between Realmuto’s age and down season at the plate, it might seem likely that he would be poised to find a soft market in free agency this winter.

That’s not how things have played out, however. Realmuto has established a solid floor as a two-win regular behind the plate, and that’s allowed him to remain a valuable commodity due to a dearth of catching talent around the league. Danny Jansen and Victor Caratini are the next best options available in free agency behind Realmuto, but Jansen’s 72-game 2022 season is the only campaign in either player’s career where they’ve reached the 2.0 fWAR benchmark that Realmuto has established as a floor over the past three seasons.

Additionally, teams might be less concerned about Realmuto’s near-term future behind the plate given the fact that ABS is coming to the majors in 2026 by way of the challenge system; Realmuto has been a slightly below-average blocker and well above-average at controlling the running game behind the plate in recent years, but lackluster framing numbers have held back his overall defensive value. With the challenge system likely to reduce the impact of catcher framing, perhaps teams are a little more comfortable with using a catcher with a lackluster recent track record when it comes to pitch framing than they otherwise would have been.

Whether it’s Realmuto’s steady floor or the rule changes that will impact his job in 2026, he’s managed to garner some real interest around the league this winter. The Red Sox and Rangers are both known to have interest in Realmuto, though the fit in Texas has been downplayed by significant questions regarding the club’s ability to afford the expected price tag attached to the veteran. MLBTR predicted a two-year, $30MM guarantee for Realmuto, and as the Rangers look to cut payroll this winter it seems reasonable to expect that adding a $15MM salary to the books won’t be in the cards this winter barring a payroll-reducing trade elsewhere on the roster. The same is likely to go for other teams likely to pursue catching help this winter like the Rays and Padres.

That could make Realmuto’s market something of a two-horse race between Boston and Philadelphia, and with Carlos Narvaez locked in for the lion’s share of starts with the Red Sox next year it’s easy to see why the Phillies stand as the likely favorite. Should Philadelphia reunite with Realmuto this winter, however, both Zolecki and Gelb suggest that it might be difficult for the team to make other impact additions without first clearing salary elsewhere on the roster. Gelb notes that while Philadelphia is expected to carry a payroll north of $300MM in 2026, they’re already not too far off from that mark.

According to RosterResource, Philadelphia’s luxury tax payroll sits just under $289MM after the Schwarber deal. Assuming the Phillies plan on a payroll in the same vicinity as last year’s $314MM figure, that leaves the club with $25MM left to spend. Should Realmuto take up around $15MM of that money as the club projects, that would leave just $10MM for the team to use when revamping their outfield mix. That might not be enough to re-sign Harrison Bader, who the Phillies are known to have interest in, and could instead leave them looking at some of the lesser options available in a thin outfield market like Austin Hays, Mike Yastrzemski, Mike Tauchman, and Rob Refsnyder.

Of course, another option would be for the Phillies to look to shed payroll elsewhere on their roster in order to create financial flexibility. That the Phillies are planning to move on from Nick Castellanos this winter is one of the league’s worst-kept secrets. While they evidently plan to try and work out a trade involving the veteran in hopes of saving on at least some of his $20MM salary for next year, the club is lacking in leverage to get that sort of deal done and might wind up releasing him. Gelb suggests that a trade of someone like Alec Bohm or Matt Strahm could be a more likely way to save money, and either player would certainly have more value on the market than Castellanos.

Strahm is due $7.5MM in 2026 and has been a reliable setup man for the Phillies in each of the past three seasons, while Bohm has a 110 wRC+ at third base over the past two years and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for $10.3MM in his final trip through arbitration this winter. Trading both players would free up nearly $18MM in the budget, which would be more than enough to re-up with Bader and Realmuto while still leaving some money left over to add someone like Willi Castro or Yoan Moncada to the mix who could help Edmundo Sosa handle the hot corner until top prospect Aidan Miller is ready to step into the big league lineup. Zolecki notes that Miller could be ready as soon as this coming summer, while fellow top prospects Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford figure to have every opportunity to break camp with the team on Opening Day.

Jake Lamb Accepts Player Development Role With Diamondbacks

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Former All-Star third baseman Jake Lamb has accepted a player development role with the Diamondbacks, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. That presumably marks the end of the 35-year-old’s playing career, in which he accrued more than eight years of MLB service.

Lamb’s move into his post-playing days fittingly comes with his original organization. He was a sixth-round pick by the D-Backs in 2012 out of the University of Washington. Lamb got to the big leagues two seasons later and emerged as the team’s everyday third baseman for a few years. He hit .263 with six homers in 107 games during his first full season before breaking out as a surprise power threat.

Between 2016-17, Lamb connected on 59 home runs. He reached 30 doubles in both seasons and combined for 13 triples. The lefty-hitting infielder posted a .248/.345/.498 slash in more than 1200 plate appearances. Lamb was worth around six to seven wins above replacement over that stretch, and he earned an All-Star selection in 2017. He popped 30 homers and drove in 105 runs in his career season, one of 19 players to reach 30 homers and 100 RBI that year. He helped the Snakes to a postseason berth and went 6-13 across four playoff contests.

Unfortunately, Lamb injured his left shoulder while diving for a ground-ball early in the ’18 season. He initially returned within five weeks but landed back on the injured list around the All-Star Break. Testing revealed a rotator cuff injury that required season-ending surgery. Lamb returned in 2019 but was never able to get back to his pre-injury form.

The power that had been his calling card didn’t return. He hit .193 with six homers in 78 games. His average had fallen to .116 during the shortened 2020 season when the D-Backs moved on. Lamb bounced around as a journeyman corner bat for the next few seasons. He suited up with the Athletics, White Sox, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mariners and Angels between 2020-23. None of those stints lasted more than 43 games, and Chicago is the only other team for which he took 100+ plate appearances.

Lamb remained a productive Triple-A hitter through the 2023 season. His minor league numbers dropped over the past two seasons, though, and Triple-A stints with the Pirates and Giants didn’t result in another MLB opportunity. Lamb finishes his playing career with a .235/.326/.427 slash line across 2650 plate appearances. He connected on 96 home runs and tallied 342 RBI. He was a part of two playoff teams, as he also made four postseason appearances with the A’s in 2020. Congratulations to Lamb on a solid career and all the best in his post-playing days.

Tigers To Re-Sign Kyle Finnegan

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The Tigers are reportedly bringing back veteran reliever Kyle Finnegan on a two-year, $19MM contract. There are also $1MM in bonuses available for the Warner Sports Management client. Detroit’s 40-man roster is full, meaning they’ll need to make a corresponding move once the contract is finalized.

It’s yet another domino to fall in a quick-moving relief market. Detroit initially acquired Finnegan from the Nationals at the trade deadline. He carried a 4.38 earned run average with a sub-20% strikeout rate at the time. It frankly seemed underwhelming for the team’s biggest bullpen pickup. The Tigers correctly identified Finnegan as a player who had another level of upside with a change to his pitch mix, however.

In Washington, Finnegan had thrown his fastball around two-thirds of the time. He used his splitter at a roughly 30% clip and sporadically mixed in a slider. The Tigers encouraged him to dramatically scale up the use of the split-finger offering. It was about a 50-50 divide in August, and he used the splitter more than 55% of the time in September and into the postseason. The impact on his results was immediate.

Finnegan allowed only three runs in 16 regular season innings as a Tiger. He fanned 23 of 66 opponents, almost doubling his early-season strikeout rate. His swinging strike rate jumped by five percentage points. The righty secured four saves and three holds while surrendering just one lead. He missed a couple weeks in September with a groin strain but immediately stepped back into a high-leverage role for skipper A.J. Hinch. Finnegan added 7 1/3 frames of three-run ball in the postseason, albeit with only three strikeouts.

Between the two teams, Finnegan posted a 3.47 ERA with a 24% strikeout percentage across 57 innings. The overall numbers aren’t far off the marks he’d carried over the first five seasons of his career. Finnegan entered 2025 with a 3.56 earned run average and a 23.5% strikeout rate in nearly 300 major league outings.

The altered pitch mix and the strong finish to the season have certainly changed teams’ perceptions of him. At this time last offseason, Finnegan found himself non-tendered by the Nationals in lieu of a projected arbitration salary around $8MM. He waited until a week into Spring Training to return to Washington on a $6MM contract with deferrals. Finnegan commands the first multi-year deal of his career one offseason later. The terms essentially match MLBTR’s prediction of two years and $20MM.

Finnegan will again pair with Will Vest at the back of Hinch’s bullpen. He has plenty of closing experience from his time in Washington and could handle the ninth inning on days when the Tigers use Vest earlier in leverage situations. Detroit could stand to bring in another swing-and-miss arm at the back end. Even after acquiring Finnegan, the Tiger bullpen ranked 25th in strikeout rate. Assuming they build Troy Melton back up as a starter, Finnegan and Vest are their only two projected leverage relievers who sit around 96 MPH on average. They’re a little light from the left side, but Vest and Finnegan each excel against opposite-handed batters. That could allow them to pursue another righty and stick with Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter as their top southpaws.

The specific salary breakdown is unreported. Evenly distributed $9.5MM salaries would push Detroit’s projected payroll to roughly $157MM, according to RosterResource. That’s about $15MM north of where they opened this past season. The long-term books are still wide open. Javier Báez and Colt Keith are the only other players under contract for 2027. Keith’s respective $5MM salaries for 2028-29 and modest option buyout in 2030 are their only commitments after the ’27 campaign.

Edwin Díaz, Gregory Soto and Finnegan came off the board on Tuesday. Robert Suarez, Brad Keller, Luke Weaver, Tyler Rogers, Seranthony Domínguez and Pete Fairbanks are the remaining unsigned relievers who made MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents. Keller and Weaver could get consideration as starters, while Rogers and Domínguez are setup types. Suarez is the best reliever still available. Fairbanks and Kenley Jansen join him as unsigned established closers.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the Tigers and Finnegan were nearing a deal. Robert Murray of FanSided had the two-year, $19MM agreement with $1MM bonus. Image courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images.

Latest On Alex Bregman’s Market

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While the relief market has moved quickly, there hasn’t been a ton of activity on the position player front. Kyle Schwarber’s return to Philadelphia on a five-year contract might open things up. Teams like the Orioles, Red Sox and Pirates were in on Schwarber amidst their pursuit of various free agent hitters.

Alex Bregman is unlikely to be a fit for Baltimore or Pittsburgh, but he’s certainly on the radar for Boston. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe wrote this evening that the Red Sox are making Bregman a priority. The Sox enjoyed an excellent season from the three-time All-Star, who hit .273/.360/.462 with 18 homers across 495 trips to the plate. He’s also highly regarded as a clubhouse leader and could slot back in at third base, allowing the Sox to use Marcelo Mayer at second base.

[Related: The Best Fits For Alex Bregman]

Boston has been loosely linked to a number of marquee middle infielders as well. They’ve checked in on Ketel Marte and Brendan Donovan. A report tonight from Tim Healey of The Boston Globe suggested they’ve at least gauged the Rangers’ interest in moving Corey Seager, though WEEI’s Rob Bradford suggested those conversations haven’t gone anywhere. The Sox have had conversations with top free agent infielder Bo Bichette, but Julian McWilliams of CBS Sports downplayed that fit tonight as well. That all aligns with the idea that the Sox are more focused on Bregman or a pure power bat at first base (e.g. Pete Alonso).

In addition to Boston, Bregman has been tied to the Tigers and Cubs this winter. Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press wrote on Monday afternoon that Detroit’s interest had been fairly muted to this point compared to last offseason, when they are believed to have put forth the highest offer. The Tigers made a six-year proposal narrowly above $170MM a year ago. Bregman opted for a three-year deal with the Sox that allowed him to opt out and return to the market this winter.

Chicago reportedly made a four-year proposal in the $115MM range last offseason. They’re back in the market and met with Bregman via Zoom a few weeks ago, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. However, the Cubs’ interest is complicated by the presence of second-year third baseman Matt Shaw. After a slow start to his career, Shaw had a nice second half that tapped into some of the ability that made him a top prospect. The Cubs have Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson up the middle, so adding Bregman would make for a cluttered infield.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer spoke generally about reports that have tied the Cubs to external third basemen. “I’ve been surprised by the number of media reports that link us to different guys. There is zero lack of confidence in Matt. I would say the opposite,” Hoyer said on Monday (link via Jesse Rogers of ESPN). He didn’t refute interest in Bregman specifically, nor are executives allowed to do so under the CBA for any free agent. The Cubs aren’t closing the door on adding a high-end bat to replace Kyle Tucker, but they appear more focused on pitching.

Theoretically, the Cubs could sign Bregman and use Shaw as a trade chip for a mid-rotation starter. That doesn’t seem to be a strong consideration. “When a team calls a player ‘untouchable,’ it’s because his value is so high that it’s just unrealistic to think that anyone else would come over the top and give you something that’s even more than that value. That’s where Matt Shaw comes into play for us,” general manager Carter Hawkins told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “Is he untouchable? No.  No one’s untouchable, but the odds of somebody coming in and giving us an offer that would make us want to move him is really, really low.”

If the Tigers and Cubs stay on the periphery of the market, that could open an opportunity for a dark horse suitor. The Angels and Mets are speculative possibilities. Meanwhile, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic wrote that the Blue Jays could keep an eye on Bregman as a fallback if they don’t come away with one of Tucker or Bichette. The Jays don’t need a third baseman, but both Addison Barger (corner outfield) and Ernie Clement (second base) could play other positions. Toronto’s general willingness to cast a wide net makes them a viable dark horse, though it’d be a surprise if they seriously jumped in on Bregman while Bichette and Tucker are still unsigned.

Blue Jays To Hire Drew Butera To Coaching Staff

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The Blue Jays have reportedly made multiple additions to manager John Schneider’s staff. Former catcher Drew Butera is expected to be in the dugout next season, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. He’ll be joined by Eric Duncan and Cody Atkinson, reports Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.

Butera was a catching instructor with the White Sox for the past two seasons. He had previously been a bullpen catcher and catching coach with the Angels. Butera spent 12 seasons behind the plate in the big leagues. He played for five different teams, with his longest stints coming with the Royals and Twins. Butera won a World Series ring with Kansas City in 2015.

Duncan served as Toronto’s director of position player development in 2024, per Bannon. His first MLB coaching gig was with the Marlins as an assistant hitting coach in 2019. He also worked as a quality control coach with the team. Duncan was a first-round pick by the Yankees in 2003. He topped out at Triple-A as a player. New York hired him as a minor league coach in 2015.

Atkinson had been the Rangers’ minor league hitting director, per Bannon. He’s been in charge of the organization’s minor league hitting program since 2019, according to MLB.com. It’s unclear which roles the trio will fill, though it’s fair to assume Butera will contribute in the catching department, with Duncan and Atkinson helping out on the hitting side. The only news prior to today regarding Schneider’s staff had been the departure of bench coach Don Mattingly, who is being pursued by the Phillies.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

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