Cubs, Pete Crow-Armstrong Agree To Extension
The Cubs and star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong are finalizing an extension, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Once the deal is complete, the Cubs will have one of the sport’s best defensive players signed for the long haul.
Chicago tried to get a deal done with Crow-Armstrong during last year’s Spring Training. He was coming off a modest .237/.286/.384 season as a rookie, but the Cubs clearly felt he had another gear offensively. There has never been any doubt regarding the elite center field defense.
The sides couldn’t reach an agreement last spring. Crow-Armstrong’s asking price has certainly jumped 12 months later. He took a huge step forward from a power perspective, connecting on 31 home runs with 72 extra-base hits overall. He stole 35 bases, making him one of seven players to go 30-30 last year. He also led all outfielders with 24 Outs Above Average, while tying for second among center fielders (behind Ceddanne Rafaela) with 15 Defensive Runs Saved.
For a good portion of the season, Crow-Armstrong looked to be on track for a top three MVP finish. He was on an offensive tear for four months, hitting 27 homers with a .272/.309/.559 slash line through the end of July. His bat went ice cold to close the season, as he stumbled to a .188/.237/.295 mark over his final 200 trips to the plate.
The tough finish “dropped” Crow-Armstrong to ninth in NL MVP balloting. He deservedly earned his first All-Star selection and Gold Glove nods. He finished the season as a slightly above-average hitter, posting a .247/.287/.481 line across 647 plate appearances. Crow-Armstrong had a tough postseason (batting .185 without an extra-base hit in eight games) but was much better this spring while playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
Crow-Armstrong’s late-season slump highlights some remaining concerns about his offensive consistency. He’s one of the most aggressive hitters in the league, swinging at nearly 60% of the pitches he has seen in his career. No other player who took 500 plate appearances had a higher swing rate.
Only Yainer Diaz and Michael Harris II expanded the strike zone more often. As a result, Crow-Armstrong has walked in fewer than 5% of his career plate appearances. He has gone down on strikes at a slightly elevated 24% rate. The approach leaves him with a low floor from an OBP perspective that’ll probably continue leading to a streaky offensive game.
At the same time, Crow-Armstrong clearly has a ceiling that few players in the league can match. The glove isn’t going to slump. He’s an elite runner and athlete with a fantastic arm and an excellent first step. The defense alone would give him a high floor even if he had minimal offensive upside. Crow-Armstrong can also carry a lineup when he’s going well, as he showed for the first two-thirds of last season. He has above-average bat speed and plus power, particularly against right-handed pitching.
The lefty hitter posted a .271/.315/.523 mark with 24 homers when holding the platoon advantage. He really struggled against southpaws, batting .188/.217/.376 with seven longballs in 188 plate appearances. The defense is so good that the Cubs won’t use him as a platoon player, but they’re surely hoping to see more competitive at-bats against lefties moving forward.
It’s possible that’ll come with experience. Crow-Armstrong is entering his age-24 season. It’s unlikely he’s ever going to become a patient hitter, but it’s fair to project him some improvements to his selectivity as he gets into his mid 20s. If he plateaus at 10-15 percent better than average offensively, he’d remain one of the better all-around players in the National League. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each valued him around 5-6 wins above replacement a year ago. Crow-Armstrong’s all-out playing style has also made him a favorite of the fanbase and arguably the face of the franchise.
Crow-Armstrong is two days shy of having two full years of service time. He would have qualified for early arbitration as a Super Two player next offseason. He was five years away from reaching free agency, when he would have hit the market at age 29.
Jackson Merrill’s nine-year, $135MM extension with the Padres last spring is the top guarantee for a player with between one and two years of MLB service. Merrill and Crow-Armstrong have similar profiles as star center fielders with power but some on-base concerns. Crow-Armstrong is the superior defender, though Merrill is a very good outfielder in his own right. The latter probably has a slightly higher offensive floor because he makes more contact.
Merrill was a year younger than Crow-Armstrong is now. Unlike Crow-Armstrong, he was not on track to qualify as a Super Two player, but he was trending towards hitting free agency by age 27. Merrill probably left some money on the table as well, though his deal is the most obvious comparison point for talks between the Cubs and Crow-Armstrong’s camp.
More to come.
Astros Finalize Season-Opening Rotation
The Astros announced their season-opening rotation on Monday afternoon. Hunter Brown, Mike Burrows, Cristian Javier and Tatsuya Imai will take the ball in that order for their four-game opener against the Angels. The Halos will counter with José Soriano and Yusei Kikuchi for the first two contests but haven’t announced anything beyond that.
Lance McCullers Jr. has claimed Houston’s fifth starter spot. He’ll go against Ranger Suárez in the first game of next week’s three-game set against the Red Sox. That leaves Spencer Arrighetti and Ryan Weiss outside the rotation picture to begin the year. Weiss seems likely to wind up in the bullpen, while Arrighetti will begin the season in the minors. The Astros optioned him to Triple-A Sugar Land this evening.
It’s Arrighetti’s first minor league stint (not including injury rehabs) since April 2024. The righty held a rotation spot for the majority of the ’24 season. He tossed 145 innings of 4.53 ERA ball spanning 29 appearances. Arrighetti spent the bulk of last year on the injured list. An errant fly ball during batting practice struck his hand and broke his thumb, sidelining him between April and August. Arrighetti went back down in September with elbow inflammation. He was limited to seven starts and allowed a 5.35 ERA across 35 1/3 frames.
There’s a good chance Arrighetti is back up before long. Manager Joe Espada said over the weekend that the Astros are likely to use a six-man rotation once mid-April comes around (via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The team has a stretch of 13 consecutive game days between April 10-22. Imai is also accustomed to pitching once a week, the schedule for starting pitchers in Japan.
Arrighetti is eligible to be recalled right as that part of the schedule begins. Espada indicated he’ll be under consideration for the sixth starter job once the Astros need to make that decision (link courtesy of Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Weiss, Kai-Wei Teng and AJ Blubaugh are other possibilities, though they might all be better suited for multi-inning relief work.
The bigger question is whether McCullers will solidify his hold on a starting spot. The veteran righty pitched his way out of the rotation by the end of last season, finishing the year with a 6.51 ERA across 55 1/3 innings. He managed a league average 22.3% strikeout rate but walked more than 14% of opponents while allowing too many home runs. McCullers has issued four walks and hit a batter while recording five strikeouts over eight innings this spring. He has allowed three runs on six hits.
Various arm injuries have clearly taken a toll on McCullers’ stuff and command. On the plus side, his velocity has ticked back up a bit this spring. He has averaged around 93 mph on his four-seam fastball and sinker after sitting in the 91-92 range a year ago.
Rockies To Select T.J. Rumfield, Brett Sullivan
The Rockies will carry first baseman T.J. Rumfield and catcher Brett Sullivan on their Opening Day roster, manager Warren Schaeffer announced over the weekend (link via Thomas Harding of MLB.com). Colorado also tabbed Ryan Feltner as their fifth starter, meaning Chase Dollander will begin the season in the bullpen.
It’s the first major league call for the 25-year-old Rumfield. Colorado added the lefty-swinging first baseman in a trade with the Yankees in January. They sent hard-throwing reliever Angel Chivilli to New York. A former 12th round pick who went unselected in December’s Rule 5 draft, Rumfield isn’t a highly touted prospect. He’s coming off a strong season in Triple-A, though, and the Rockies offered a much clearer path to playing time than he would’ve had behind Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt in the Bronx.
Rumfield hit .285/.378/.447 with 16 homers across 587 plate appearances in the minors last season. He worked walks at a 12% clip while striking out at a lower than average 18.4% rate. Rumfield’s middling batted ball metrics probably held him back from getting a look as a Rule 5 draftee. His 36.6% hard contact rate and 87.8 mph average exit velocity would be at the lower end for an MLB first baseman.
At the same time, Rumfield doesn’t have much more to prove against minor league pitching. He has posted above-average numbers at every stop, including nearly two full seasons in Triple-A. He’s an advanced contact hitter with a quality approach. That was on display this spring as well. Rumfield batted .280 with four homers and remarkably struck out just one time in 58 plate appearances in camp.
There’s a decent chance he’s the starting first baseman on Opening Day. Colorado had the worst first base group in the majors a year ago. They moved on from Michael Toglia over the winter, acquiring Rumfield and Edouard Julien as options at the position. Julien could also factor in at second base depending on how the Rox use utility player Willi Castro.
They can move Castro between second and third, though Schaeffer announced that infielders Ryan Ritter and Kyle Karros also made the team. They account for two bench spots, while Sullivan wins a third as the backup catcher. (The final bench spot is undetermined, as infielder Tyler Freeman is questionable for Opening Day with back soreness.) Sullivan beat out Braxton Fulford for the #2 catcher role; the latter was officially optioned yesterday.
Colorado added Sullivan on a minor league deal over the winter. The 32-year-old played in three big league games with the Pirates last year. He has 43 games and 112 MLB plate appearances under his belt, batting .204/.250/.291 with a pair of home runs. Sullivan had a big camp, hitting .378 with a pair of homers and three walks and strikeouts apiece in 16 games. Fulford hit .270 with three longballs, eight strikeouts and one walk.
Sullivan showed enough that the Rox want to keep him around to back up Hunter Goodman. He’s out of options, so he’ll need to stick on the MLB roster or be exposed to waivers. The Rockies will need to officially select Rumfield’s and Sullivan’s contracts on Wednesday. They can do so without designating anyone for assignment. Pierson Ohl and RJ Petit recently underwent Tommy John surgeries and can be placed on the 60-day injured list.
Meanwhile, the news on the pitching side comes as a surprise. Feltner and Dollander were competing for the final rotation spot behind Kyle Freeland and free agent signees Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano. Neither pitcher seized the job during camp. Feltner gave up 13 runs while walking 10 batters in 11 2/3 innings. Dollander surrendered 11 runs (10 earned) with seven walks and three hit batters across 14 frames.
Given Dollander’s pedigree as a former top 10 pick, it seemed that a rebuilding Colorado team would prefer to have him continue to start. They’ve opted for Feltner instead but apparently don’t believe Dollander would benefit from working out of the Triple-A rotation. He’ll join Antonio Senzatela as a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen.
Aside from Freeman’s health, the bullpen is the last unknown part of the Opening Day roster. There a couple middle relief spots up for grabs and one out-of-options player (Keegan Thompson) trying to maintain his spot on the 40-man roster.
Red Sox Option Payton Tolle; Connelly Early To Break Camp
The Red Sox will carry one of their two top left-handed pitching prospects on the Opening Day roster. Boston optioned Payton Tolle to minor league camp this evening, alongside righties Tyler Uberstine and Zack Kelly.
Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News reports that Connelly Early has been informed he’ll break camp. Chris Cotillo of MassLive adds that righty Johan Oviedo is also going to be on the active roster, leaving some questions about how the Sox will order their rotation.
Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray are lined up for the first two games of their opening series in Cincinnati. Ranger Suárez and Brayan Bello are expected to start the first two games of next week’s set in Houston, so one of Early or Oviedo will start on Sunday against the Reds. If the Red Sox don’t want to run a six-man rotation, they could use an Early/Oviedo tandem start or have the latter work out of the bullpen to begin the year.
Early and Tolle each debuted late last season. Tolle throws a bit harder and places a little more highly on most prospect rankings. Early found more small sample success and was tabbed to start Game 3 of last fall’s Wild Card Series against the Yankees. Both pitchers showed well this spring. Early struck out 16 while allowing only four runs (three earned) over 17 innings. Tolle fanned 13 opponents across 10 2/3 frames of three-run ball.
Oviedo, acquired from the Pirates over the offseason in a trade built around rookie outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, pitched 11 1/3 innings of two-run ball this spring. He struck out 14 but struggled with his command, issuing six walks and hitting a batter. Oviedo entered camp as the favorite for the fifth starter role after turning in a 3.57 ERA with a 25% strikeout rate over nine starts last year. He had missed all of 2024 and the first half of ’25 due to Tommy John surgery and a subsequent lat injury.
Early and Tolle are each rookie eligible and meet the prospect criteria for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. Unless the Sox recall Tolle within the first couple weeks of the season, they wouldn’t be able to net a draft choice if he wins Rookie of the Year. Early could land the Sox a pick if he holds his MLB roster spot all year and pitches well enough to meet the awards threshold: a Rookie of the Year win or top three Cy Young finish within his first three seasons.
Tigers Sign Connor Seabold, Transfer Beau Brieske To 60-Day IL
6:27pm: Seabold will break camp, manager A.J. Hinch tells Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press.
5:00pm: The Tigers announced that they have signed right-hander Connor Seabold to a split contract worth $800K at the big-league level. It hasn’t been reported what he would make if sent to the minors. To open a 40-man spot for Seabold, fellow righty Beau Brieske has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a left adductor strain.
Seabold, 30, quickly finds a new landing spot. He was in camp with the Blue Jays on a minor league deal but triggered a release clause in that deal and was cut loose a couple of days ago. Now he has landed a new deal and also gets a roster spot, at least for the moment.
He is out of options and can’t be easily sent to the minors. If he were to be passed through waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency since he has a previous career outright. However, he doesn’t have enough service time to both elect free agency and keep his salary commitments in tact. Since this is a split deal, it’s possible the minor league salary is notable enough that Seabold wouldn’t want to walk away from it.
Seabold’s track record to date isn’t especially impressive. He has thrown 119 innings, allowing 7.79 earned runs per nine. However, a decent chunk of that sample was at Coors Field, as Seabold pitched 87 1/3 innings for the Rockies in 2023.
It’s possible the Tigers are betting on a recent velocity spike. As reported by Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, the Jays were hoping to have Seabold serving in a multi-inning kind of role this year until his velo ticked up early in camp. He has averaged 92 to 93 miles per hour in his big league career but was suddenly hitting 96, with good induced vertical break to boot, so the Jays pivoted to considering him for a bullpen gig. The Jays also helped him add a slider. He faced 33 batters during official spring action and struck out 13 of them, a 39.4% clip.
It’s obviously a small sample and Seabold also walked four batters, hit three more and posted a 6.75 ERA. The Jays weren’t impressed enough to give him a roster spot even though they could have made it work. But perhaps there’s something to be unlocked with the extra life. If not, the Tigers are only committed to paying him barely above the league minimum for as long as he holds a roster spot.
As for Brieske, injuries wiped out most of his spring training. He was initially held back by some rib cage tightness. He overcame that issue and got back on the mound about two weeks ago but then a groin strain pulled him off again.
His exact timeline isn’t clear but his adductor strain is evidently serious enough that the Tigers don’t expect him back before late May. Since he effectively missed spring training, only making three appearances, he will presumably take some time to ramp up once he is healthy. Exceptions are sometimes made for guys recovering from UCL surgery but rehab assignments for pitchers are usually capped at 30 days.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
D-Backs To Select Ildemaro Vargas
The Diamondbacks informed infielder Ildemaro Vargas he’ll be on the Opening Day roster, manager Torey Lovullo tells Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. The Snakes reassigned fellow minor league signee Jacob Amaya to minor league camp yesterday.
Vargas finished last season on Arizona’s big league roster. The Snakes waived the switch-hitting utilityman at the beginning of the offseason, bringing him back on a minor league deal. Vargas is an organizational favorite as a depth infielder. This will be his seventh season logging some time with the Diamondbacks in the big leagues. They’ve been split among four separate stints dating back to 2017.
The 34-year-old Vargas batted .270/.292/.383 across 121 plate appearances a season ago. He had an excellent camp, hitting .378 with a pair of home runs and four doubles. That probably didn’t move the needle much for Arizona’s front office, as they’re not going to expect Vargas to morph into an offensive force at this stage of his career. He’s on the team for his defensive versatility and clubhouse presence. Arizona will run out an infield of Carlos Santana, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Nolan Arenado on most days.
Arizona will need to open at least three spots on their 40-man roster on Wednesday. Jonathan Loáisiga and Joe Ross also went into camp on minor league deals and secured MLB roster spots. Cristian Mena, Blake Walston, Tyler Locklear and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are all candidates to land on the 60-day injured list — particularly the pitchers. If the Snakes don’t want to rule at least three of them out through the end of May, they’d need to designate one or more players for assignment.
Additionally, Piecoro reports that the team is carrying Juan Morillo and Andrew Hoffman as the last two middle relievers in their Opening Day bullpen. Those players are already on the 40-man roster, so there aren’t any roster complications, but it interestingly leaves them without a lefty to begin the season.
Paul Sewald, Taylor Clarke, Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel are also in an all right-handed bullpen, while southpaws Brandyn Garcia and Philip Abner begin the season in Triple-A. The D-Backs open in Los Angeles against a Dodger lineup that includes Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy.
Rockies Release John Brebbia
The Rockies announced that right-hander John Brebbia has been released from his minor league deal. It’s unclear if he triggered an opt-out or was simply let go. In either case, he’ll head to free agency in search of his next opportunity.
Brebbia has some good seasons on his track record but is coming off a couple of rough campaigns, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal with Colorado, no pitcher’s first choice for a landing spot. He was looking to bounce back but his results in camp were mixed. On the one hand, he struck out 11 of the 37 batters he faced, a strong 29.7% clip. He hit one batter but did not issue a walk. On the other hand, he allowed three home runs. That led to seven earned runs crossing the plate in nine innings.
That evidently wasn’t enough for him to earn a spot with the Rockies, so he’ll be looking for opportunities elsewhere. The interest he receives will mostly be based on his past results. As mentioned, his recent work hasn’t been great. Since the start of 2024, he has a 6.41 earned run average. From 2017 to 2023, he logged 299 2/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate.
Since his past two seasons have been such a challenge, he’ll surely be limited to minor league offers in the coming days. He may even circle back to the Rockies on a new deal. Those kinds of reunions are fairly common when guys get cut just before Opening Day.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
A’s Trade Cooper Bowman To Rays
The Athletics and Rays announced a swap of minor league players. Infielder Cooper Bowman goes to Tampa Bay, while the A’s acquire right-handed reliever Gerlin Rosario. Neither player has appeared in the big leagues, nor are they on their respective clubs’ 40-man rosters.
Bowman is the closer of the two to the majors. A 26-year-old second baseman/left fielder, he was selected by the Reds in the 2024 Rule 5 draft. Bowman hit .120 in 13 Spring Training contests. Cincinnati passed him through waivers and returned him to the A’s halfway through camp. Bowman had a rough season in the minors, twice landing on the injured list and struggling when healthy. He hit .234/.328/.385 across 326 plate appearances, most of which came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
The A’s opted not to extend Bowman a non-roster invitation to big league camp this year. He’ll open the season with Tampa Bay’s top affiliate in Durham. Bowman has shown some stolen base acumen in the minors and posted solid offensive numbers back in 2024, when he hit .262/.351/.419 between the top two levels. He’ll provide non-roster second base depth with Richie Palacios pressed back into MLB action by the shoulder impingement sending Gavin Lux to the injured list.
Rosario, 24, spent the entire 2025 season at High-A Bowling Green. He worked to a 2.27 ERA across 47 2/3 innings, albeit with a modest 21.7% strikeout rate. He has never appeared in MLB camp. The A’s will probably send him to Double-A for the first time in his career.
Josiah Gray Diagnosed With Flexor Strain
Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray has been diagnosed with a flexor strain, the team announced. He has been placed on the 60-day injured list and will miss at least the first two months of the season. That opens a 40-man roster spot for lefty reliever Cionel Pérez, whose contract has officially been selected. Washington also placed righty reliever Paxton Schultz on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to March 22, with elbow inflammation.
It’s a tough blow for Gray, as he’d seemingly just gotten healthy after undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago. Gray missed the entire ’25 season rehabbing from the operation, which took place the previous July. The ligament damage was ominously preceded by a flexor strain diagnosis three months earlier.
The Nats hadn’t provided any indication that Gray was dealing with renewed elbow discomfort. His most recent Spring Training appearance came on March 7, though it’s common for teams to give pitchers additional rest in camp when they’re coming off a significant injury. The Nationals announced last week that Gray had been optioned and would begin the season in Triple-A. That’ll be rescinded with the flexor sending him to the major league injured list instead.
Manager Blake Butera will presumably provide some kind of update on Gray’s health outlook in the coming days. It’s not clear whether another procedure is a possible outcome, though any significant arm injury this close to a previous surgery is disheartening. Gray is making a $1.35MM salary this season and under arbitration control through 2027.
Reds Select Nathaniel Lowe’s Contract
March 23rd: The Reds made it official today, announcing that they have selected Lowe’s contract and placed Greene on the 60-day IL.
March 21st: Nathaniel Lowe has earned a spot on the Reds’ roster, reports C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The veteran first baseman signed a minor league deal with the club in mid-February. He’s set to make $1.75MM with the big-league squad, with an additional $250K available in incentives. Rosecrans notes that Lowe is expected to take the 40-man roster spot of Hunter Greene, who is headed to the 60-day IL after undergoing elbow surgery.
Cincinnati announced outfielders Rece Hinds and J.J. Bleday were optioned to Triple-A. Lowe and Dane Myers will round out the bench, along with backup catcher Jose Trevino and utilityman Spencer Steer. The Reds also sent right-hander Zach Maxwell to Triple-A. Left-hander Sam Moll has secured the final bullpen spot, per Rosecrans.
Lowe was dealt from the Rangers to the Nationals for reliever Robert Garcia last offseason. He hit just .216 in 119 games with Washington and was cut in mid-August. Lowe then latched on with the Red Sox. He recovered some value in Boston, slashing .280/.370/.420 across 119 plate appearances. The final result was still a career-worst 91 wRC+. The 30-year-old received minimal interest this winter, but a strong Spring Training will propel him to a major league gig. Lowe posted a 143 wRC+ in 15 spring games. He racked up seven extra-base hits, including three home runs.
Hinds did all he could to earn a job in the spring. He belted five home runs and drove in 11 across 43 plate appearances. The 25-year-old is known for his big power, but he also hit .410 in the limited Spring Training sample.
The Reds didn’t necessarily need to keep another first baseman, with Steer a capable backup behind Sal Stewart, but the decision came down to getting Hinds regular reps. “I was very careful with how I worded it with him,” manager Terry Francona said about breaking the news to the outfielder. “(Hinds) did enough to make the team, but the role is a bench role, and we want you to play.”
Bleday signed a one-year deal in late December. He made a strong case for a roster spot himself, launching four home runs and getting on base at a .364 clip. Bleday had seemingly emerged as a consistent contributor with the Athletics, slashing .243/.324/.437 with a career-best 20 home runs in 2024. He stumbled to a .656 OPS over the first two months of the 2025 campaign and found himself back in Triple-A. Bleday returned to the big-league club in August, but was designated for assignment at the end of the season. He and Hinds both have a minor league option remaining.
Maxwell, affectionately known as Big Sugar, will head back to the minors as the Reds opt for another lefty in the pen. The 6’6″, 275-pound righty with the triple-digit fastball delivered solid results in his first taste of the majors last year. Maxwell posted a 30.2% strikeout rate with an xFIP and SIERA just above 3.00. He punched out hitters at a 31% clip this spring, though a few shaky outings to begin Cactus League action led to a 5.40 ERA.
Moll is out of options, while Maxwell still has three left. The veteran gives the Reds another left-handed middle reliever while Caleb Ferguson is sidelined. Cincinnati also added Brock Burke in a trade this offseason. Brandon Williamson is in the pen, though he’ll be more of a long relief/piggyback starter option.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV of The Enquirer via Imagn Images