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Nationals To Trade Jose Ferrer To Mariners For Harry Ford

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The Nationals are sending reliever Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners for catcher Harry Ford, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Andrew Golden of the Washington Post was first to report that the two sides were nearing a Ferrer trade. Golden also reported pitcher Isaac Lyon is heading to Washington in the deal. Both teams have announced the trade.

Seattle adds a flamethrower from the left side to complement Andres Munoz and Matt Brash in the backend of the bullpen. The price is somewhat steep, as Ford ranks 42nd in MLB.com’s top 100 prospect rankings. Lyon was taken in the 10th round of the 2025 draft. He made a handful of appearances at Single-A this past season.

Ferrer emerged as Washington’s closer after Kyle Finnegan was shipped to Detroit at the trade deadline. He picked up 11 saves over the final two months of the season. The 25-year-old’s 21.9% strikeout rate and mid-4.00s ERA don’t scream shutdown closer, but he had an excellent 2.85 SIERA and an elite 4.9% walk rate on the year. Ferrer put together a stretch of 14 straight scoreless appearances shortly after taking over as closer, though he did falter over his final few appearances.

Ferrer has made 142 appearances out of the Nationals’ bullpen since his debut in 2023. He has a career 4.36 ERA, but his xERA and xFIP are both below 3.50. While he hasn’t piled up strikeouts, Ferrer’s upper-90s sinker has helped him rank among the best relievers in ground ball rate. Ferrer is under team control through 2029. He won’t reach arbitration until the 2027 campaign.

Ford has been a top 5 prospect in Seattle’s system since getting taken in the first round of the 2021 draft. The 12th overall pick slotted in at fifth among the Mariners’ prospects in 2022, per MLB.com. He reached the top spot in 2023, and most recently slotted in at fourth. Ford has hit at every minor league stop, while also providing significant contributions as a base stealer.

The 22-year-old Ford slashed .283/.408/.460 with 16 home runs and seven steals at Triple-A this past year. He struck out less than 20% of the time while posting a massive 16.2% walk rate. Ford briefly debuted with the big-league club, mostly operating as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. He went 1-for-6 in eight appearances.

The 16 home runs with Tacoma were a career high for Ford, though the seven steals were a disappointing total after he swiped 35 bags at Double-A in 2024. Ford’s elite walk rate has allowed him to consistently put up huge on-base numbers. Outside of a .377 OBP in 2024, he’s been at or above .400 in each season of his minor league tenure. Ford’s power outlook is more gap-to-gap than over-the-fence, but his combination of speed and on-base skills gives him a unique offensive profile, particularly for a catcher.

With Cal Raleigh landing a six-year extension before the 2025 campaign, Ford was going to be blocked in Seattle for the foreseeable future. He’ll head to Washington to join a catching group that struggled with injuries and production last season. Recurring concussion issues limited Keibert Ruiz to 68 games in 2025. He briefly returned to the team in early July, then went right back on the IL and never made it back to the big-league squad. Riley Adams handled the majority of the reps behind the plate, along with brief cameos from Drew Millas and Jorge Alfaro. Washington’s backstops ranked 29th in OPS. Adams is back on a one-year split deal, while Alfaro is a free agent.

Lyon made four starts with Modesto this past year. The 21-year-old righty will head to Fredericksburg to continue honing his craft. Lyon is the son of former pitcher Brandon Lyon.

Photo courtesy of Rafael Suanes, Imagn Images

Rockies Outright Warming Bernabel

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Infielder Warming Bernabel has been outrighted off the Rockies’ 40-man roster, the team announced. Bernabel has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. Colorado’s 40-man is now at 37 players.

The 23-year-old Bernabel made his MLB debut in July. He got off to a torrid start, going 14-for-28 with three home runs in his first seven games. Bernabel cooled off significantly after that incredible first week, hitting just .189 with one homer the rest of the way. A concussion cost him a couple of weeks in September. He finished his first foray at the highest level with a 78 wRC+ over 40 games.

More to come…

Blue Jays Outright Yariel Rodriguez

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The Blue Jays are outrighting Yariel Rodriguez off their 40-man roster, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi.  Reporter Francys Romero had the news earlier this afternoon that Rodriguez was being designated for assignment, though the Sportsnet item clarifies that Rodriguez wasn’t DFA’ed, but has already cleared outright waivers.

It isn’t yet known if this is tied to any upcoming roster move.  A 40-man roster spot wasn’t immediately needed for the Jays, as the club has only 38 players on their current 40-man.  Cody Ponce’s three-year contract has yet to be officially announced, but once that deal is complete, the Jays will now still retain two vacancies on their 40-man with Rodriguez now apparently on his way out.

It’s a somewhat surprising move on paper, as Rodriguez had a 3.08 ERA over 73 innings out of Toronto’s bullpen in 2025, and he received some high-leverage work in a set-up role in the earlier part of the year.  He was also included on the Blue Jays’ rosters for both the ALDS and ALCS, and he was charged with three earned runs over 2 2/3 innings of work before being left off the World Series roster.

The 3.08 ERA was seemingly a positive step forward from the 4.47 ERA that Rodriguez posted over 86 2/3 innings as a starting pitcher in 2024 (his first season in the majors), though a look under the hood reveals some pretty similar peripherals.  Rodriguez’s 22.1% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate in 2025 were both a tick backwards from his 2024 statistics.  After posting a 4.46 SIERA that almost matched his ERA, there was a much larger gap between the righty’s 3.08 ERA and 4.27 SIERA in 2025, as Rodriguez was aided by a .228 BABIP and an 81.2% this past season.

Two seasons of middling strikeout rates and hefty walk totals left the Blue Jays ready to move on from the right-hander, less than two years after Rodriguez signed a five-year, $32MM free agent contract.  $17MM remains on that contract, in the form of a $5MM salary in 2026, $6MM in 2027, and then a $6MM player option for 2028 or (if Rodriguez does opt out), a $10MM club option that the Jays can exercise to retain him for the 2028 campaign.

Unsurprisingly, no team was willing to claim away this remaining contract on waivers, and thus Rodriguez has now been outrighted off the 40-man.  He is still in the Toronto organization, as Rodriguez doesn’t have the necessary service time or a past outright on his resume that he would need to give himself the ability to decline the outright assignment in favor of free agency.  This means that the Blue Jays could still select Rodriguez’s contract back to the 40-man at any point, whether in the offseason or during the 2026 campaign.

However, the outright clearly puts Rodriguez in line as something of a secondary option within Toronto’s bullpen plans, and likely makes him a trade candidate for the remainder of the winter.  While no team was going to eat all of that $17MM deal, the Jays could explore (or continue exploring, as they’ve surely checked around about trade possibilities) moving Rodriguez as part of a swap of unwelcome contracts, or the Jays could eat a significant chunk of the $17MM to help accommodate a trade.

It has already been a busy offseason for the Blue Jays, who have signed Ponce and Dylan Cease to multi-year contracts, and Shane Bieber is also staying in the rotation after declining to opt out of the final year of his deal.  This puts the Jays in line for approximately a $267.9MM payroll and a $282.5MM luxury tax number (projections courtesy of RosterResource), and this is before Toronto addresses its lineup or bullpen needs heading into the 2026 campaign.

The four largest payrolls in Blue Jays history have come in each of the last four seasons, as ownership has been willing to foot increasingly large bills on the both the salary and tax fronts.  The Blue Jays paid the luxury tax in both 2023 and 2025, and their current 2026 projection already has them just shy of the $284MM tax threshold and the third penalty tier.

Given how the Jays have already signed Cease and have been linked to many other big names this offseason (i.e. Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, and old friend Bo Bichette), clearly more spending is still to come.  That said, only the front office knows exactly what the budget actually is, and trimming some excess salary like Rodriguez could free up some extra dollars that could be put towards some higher-ceiling talent.  The fact that Toronto has two open 40-man roster spots heading into the Winter Meetings is perhaps a hint that the Jays might be anticipating another new acquisition sooner rather than later.

Cubs, Giants, Angels, Tigers Among Teams Interested In Zac Gallen

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TODAY: Both The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale expanded on Feinsand’s link between Gallen and the Cubs, writing that Chicago indeed has interest in the free agent.  Giving up draft compensation to sign Gallen isn’t a deal-breaker for the team, Mooney notes, as the Cubs have shown interest in other players (i.e. Ranger Suarez, Michael King) who rejected qualifying offers.

DECEMBER 5: Right-hander Zac Gallen didn’t have the platform season he envisioned heading into free agency, but the former Cy Young finalist and All-Star nevertheless turned down a qualifying offer from the D-backs and hit the open market last month. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants have had conversations with Gallen’s camp (video link). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand adds the Angels and Tigers to the list of teams with interest in Gallen. He also indicates that the Orioles, Cubs and Braves have at least looked into Gallen. Meanwhile, John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports recently suggested a D-backs reunion was unlikely.

Gallen, who turned 30 in August, struggled through four brutal months to begin the 2025 season but ended with a flourish. Through the time of the trade deadline, the right-hander was lugging a 5.60 ERA toward the finish line. That ugly ERA came despite roughly average strikeout and walk rates (22.1% and 8.6%, respectively). He was getting hammered by the long ball, yielding 23 homers in his first 127 frames of the season (1.63 HR/9).

From August onward, Gallen looked more like his typical self. His strikeout rate dipped two percentage points, to a below-average 20.3%, but his walk rate improved to 7.1%. Most importantly, he cut back on the home runs. Gallen yielded just eight round-trippers in his final 65 innings — a rate of 1.11 per nine innings, which falls far more closely in line with his career mark (1.05).

Even with a 3.32 earned run average over his final 11 starts, Gallen closed out the year with an unsightly 4.83 ERA overall. It’s not a strong mark, but Gallen and Boras are surely hoping that track record and impeccable durability will carry his market. Gallen started 33 games in 2025 and is tied with Jose Berrios for the fourth-most starts in MLB (126) dating back to 2022. His 734 innings rank third in the sport during that time, trailing only Logan Webb and Framber Valdez. Gallen has only been on the major league injured list three times in his career — a pair of short stints due to hamstring strains in 2024 and 2021 and a month-long IL stay for a mild elbow sprain back in ’21.

The Giants are a sensible fit. They’re looking for rotation help but not keen on handing out the type of six- and seven-year deals we’ll see for many of the market’s top names. Giants brass has seen him more than most pitchers over the years, as an ultra-durable stalwart in a division rival’s rotation. President of baseball operations Buster Posey even personally faced Gallen eight times, going 2-for-6 with a pair of walks and a home run.

San Francisco has the aforementioned Webb atop the rotation and signed through 2028. No. 2 starter Robbie Ray is signed only through the 2026 season. Right-hander Landen Roupp positioned himself for a rotation spot with a nice showing through 22 starts in his age-26 season. Other candidates at the moment include Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Kai-Wei Teng, Trevor McDonald and Carson Seymour. It’s a fine collection of depth, but there’s also plenty of uncertainty (hence the focus on rotation upgrades).

Gallen wouldn’t need to be the Giants’ ace but would give them a reliable source of innings and a big track record on which to dream. The Giants’ projected payroll, per RosterResource, is a bit under $169MM. That’s right about the same level at which they opened the 2025 season, but Giants ownership has topped $200MM payrolls in the past — even as recently as 2024. There’s room to add to the budget.

The Angels’ projected payroll is in a near-identical spot to that of the Giants, but the Angels trotted out a $203MM Opening Day mark just this past season. Mike Trout and Yusei Kikuchi are the only players signed beyond the 2026 season, and only Trout is signed beyond 2027.

In Anaheim, Gallen would join a rotation currently fronted by Kikuchi and Jose Soriano. Beyond that duo, the Angels are likely to give former top prospect Reid Detmers, who had a strong season in the bullpen in ’25, another look in the rotation next season. They’ve also acquired Grayson Rodriguez from the Orioles and signed Alek Manoah to a one-year deal this winter. Former top prospect Caden Dana headlines the depth options — a group also including Mitch Farris, Sam Aldegheri, Walbert Urena, Jack Kochanowicz and prospect George Klassen, who has not yet been added to the 40-man roster. There are some talented arms in the mix, but as with the Giants, the Halos simply lack stability behind a pair of generally established veterans atop the rotation.

Over in Detroit, the Tigers have some more stability but less depth. Having the best pitcher on the planet on the roster is a nice start, of course, and the Tigers can follow Tarik Skubal with Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson and sophomore Troy Melton. Adding Gallen would push Melton to the top depth option, presumably in Triple-A, alongside Keider Montero, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ty Madden and prospect Jaden Hamm (not yet on the 40-man roster).

The Tigers have one of the cleanest long-term payroll sheets of any club in MLB. Javier Baez’s six-year contract runs through 2027. He and Colt Keith — playing on a six-year, $28.6425MM extension — are the only two players guaranteed anything beyond the 2026 season. Adding Gallen would give the Tigers some 2026 stability and protect them in the event that Skubal, Flaherty and/or Mize all depart in free agency next winter.

The other clubs listed by Feinsand are all known to be in the market for rotation help, too, so none of the bunch is particularly surprising. It’d be out of character for the Braves to sign Gallen, unless his market collapses and he signs a short-term pillow deal (either one year or two years with an opt-out). Atlanta hasn’t given more than $30MM to a free agent starting pitcher under president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos. The Orioles are likely searching for ceiling over stability, so unless they’re confident they can get Gallen back to his 2022-23 form, he’s probably not Plan A or B in Baltimore. The Cubs are already counting on one bounceback from a notable starter (Shota Imanaga), though Gallen fits the spending profile they’ve pursued in offseasons more than the other names at the top of the market.

Even coming off a down year, Gallen will likely find a multi-year pact. Even if he prefers to bet on himself with a shorter-term deal, he’s precisely the type of former All-Star for whom the Boras Corporation has frequently negotiated two-year deals with opt-out pacts. We predicted a four-year deal for Gallen on our annual ranking of the sport’s Top 50 free agents, believing that the market will value his durability and track record enough to get him paid nicely — albeit not to the extent he’d have enjoyed coming off a more typical season. Gallen will presumably be presented a variety of contract structures, many of which will have opt-out opportunities or convoluted multi-year player and club options alike. The deal he ultimately accepts will hinge on his personal level of risk aversion.

KBO League’s LG Twins Re-Sign Yonny Chirinos, Austin Dean

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The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization announced earlier this week that right-hander Yonny Chirinos and first baseman Austin Dean have been re-signed to new contracts for the 2026 season.  Right-hander Anders Tolhurst is also being brought back, as the Twins will be retaining their entire trio of foreign-born players from the previous season.

Dean earns the largest contract of the group with $1.4MM in guaranteed money ($1.1MM salary, $300K signing bonus) and another $300K available in incentives.  Chirinos also got a $300K signing bonus, as well as $900K in guaranteed salary, and up to $200K more in incentives.  Tolhurst will receive $800K in salary, a $200K signing bonus, and can get another $200K in incentive bonuses.

All three players were key contributors to a Twins team that won the Korean Series in 2025, and Dean also played a big role in the franchise’s 2023 championship team.  Dean has spent the last three seasons with the Twins, hitting .315/.384/.560 with 86 homers over 1686 plate appearances.  His distinguished resume with the Seoul-based team also includes a KBO All-Star nod in 2023 and two Golden Glove Awards.

Dean hit .228/.286/.390 over 365 PA and 126 games with the Marlins, Cardinals, and Giants from 2018-22, and had trouble sticking in the majors after getting most of his playing time with Miami in 2018-19.  Now entering his age-32 season, Dean has found a nice niche for himself with the Twins, and might well have several more years ahead of him in the KBO League.

Chirinos is another former big leaguer who emerged as a solid member of the Rays’ pitching mix in 2018-19, but a Tommy John surgery threw his career off track.  After posting a 3.65 ERA over 234 1/3 innings from 2018-20, Chirinos spent the entire 2021 season rehabbing and then delivered only a 5.31 ERA across 122 innings with the Rays, Braves, and Marlins over the 2022-24 campaigns.

The move to Seoul helped get Chirinos back on track, as he posted a 3.31 ERA across 30 starts and 177 innings.  A strong groundball pitcher in the minor leagues, Chirinos took that ability to new heights with a 59.8% grounder rate with the Twins.  A tiny 4.9% walk rate also helped him avoid damage, even if he didn’t miss many bats with an 18.6% strikeout rate.

Tolhurst was a 23rd-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2019 draft, and he didn’t receive any MLB playing time during his four seasons in Toronto’s farm system.  He made it as far as Triple-A Buffalo in 2025, posting a 4.67 ERA in 71 1/3 innings with the Bisons.  With seemingly no promotion to the Show on the horizon, Tolhurst was released in August so he could make the jump to the KBO League, and he made an instant impact with his new team.  Tolhurst had a 2.86 ERA over 44 innings with the Twins, and he was the winning pitcher in both Game 1 and the series-clinching Game 5 of the Korean Series.

Eury Perez Only Untouchable Starter In Marlins’ Pitching Trade Talks

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There has been speculation all winter that the Marlins will add hitting help by trading one of their starting pitchers.  Eury Perez appears to be the only name that is off limits, as The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal write that the Fish are “at least listening on offers” for pitchers besides the 22-year-old right-hander.

Given how the Marlins have talked about a contract extension with Perez’s camp in the past and are expected revisit those talks this offseason, it’s no surprise that Perez is being held out of any broader trade negotiations.  Perez is already under team control through the 2029 season and doesn’t even become arbitration-eligible until next winter, so there is zero urgency on Miami’s part to move a pitcher who looks like a cornerstone.  Of course, the Marlins’ stance could change if a team approached them with a truly huge trade proposal for Perez, but barring that type of Godfather offer, Perez will surely be staying put.

There’s also the fact that if the Marlins actually did look to deal Perez now, they’d be doing so at something less than peak value.  Perez has still thrown only 186 2/3 innings in the majors, split almost evenly between 91 1/3 innings in his 2023 rookie season and 95 1/3 frames this past year.  In between, of course, the 2024 campaign was a total wash for Perez due to Tommy John surgery, and his recovery from the procedure kept the righty from making his 2025 debut until June 9.

The return to action went fairly smoothly, as Perez posted a 4.25 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate in 2025.  This was an identical match to his 2023 walk rate and only a slight drop from his 28.9K% in his rookie year, and while Perez had a 3.15 ERA in 2023, his SIERA totals over the two seasons (3.94 in 2023, 3.80 in 2025) were pretty much the same.  Perez did allow a ton of hard contact in 2025, but his fastball velocity and fastball spin rates both remained elite post-surgery.

Now further removed from the TJ procedure and with a normal offseason, Perez is being eyed as a major piece of the Marlins rotation both in 2026 and into the future.  His import to the rotation only grows if the Marlins do end up moving another starter, which seems like a logical tactic for the Fish to address their lineup holes.  Sammon and Rosenthal describe a starter trade as “a strong possibility” for the Marlins, while ESPN’s Jeff Passan goes a step further by writing “Miami is almost certain to move a starting pitcher this winter.”

Braxton Garrett missed all of 2025 due to UCL revision surgery and Max Meyer had a season-ending hip surgery in June, so it can be assumed that these two pitchers are probably also unlikely to be dealt coming off such significant injuries.  Thomas White and Robby Snelling are two of the Marlins’ top prospects, and since the Fish aren’t far removed from being in full rebuild mode, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix isn’t likely to move such key minor leaguers before they’ve even reached the Show.  Any of Dax Fulton, Ryan Gusto, Adam Mazur, or Janson Junk probably wouldn’t bring back much of a trade return.

This leaves perhaps the likeliest trade candidates as Edward Cabrera, Sandy Alcantara, or Ryan Weathers.  Alcantara is the Marlins’ highest-paid player and has been the subject of trade rumors for years, yet now that Miami is seemingly on the verge of returning to contention, the Fish may be moving away from the idea of moving him whatsoever.  Recent reports indicate that Alcantara is now expected still be with the club in 2026, and the Marlins will only move Cabrera for a big trade return.

Cabrera and Weathers are each controlled through 2028, so again, there is no reason Miami necessarily has to move either of these arms prior to Opening Day.  Both pitchers have lengthy injury histories, however, and the Marlins might be willing to sell relatively high (on Cabrera in particular) before another health issue impacts future trade value or keeps either pitcher off the Marlins’ own mound.

Orioles Designate Ryan Noda For Assignment

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The Orioles announced that first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda has been designated for assignment.  The club also announced the previously-reported waiver claims of Will Robertson and Drew Romo, and Noda’s DFA clears the final 40-man roster spot Baltimore needed to officially add Robertson and Romo.

Noda also came to Baltimore on a waiver claim last August, as the O’s claimed the 29-year-old away from the White Sox to create some roster depth in the wake of the trade deadline.  Noda ended up appearing in seven big league games in an Orioles uniform, with 14 plate appearances.  Combined with his 45 PA for Chicago, Noda ended up with a .106/.276/.170 slash line to show for his 59 total PA at the MLB level in 2025.

It was a busy year of transactions for Noda, as starting in November 2024, he went from the A’s to the Angels to the Red Sox to the White Sox and finally to the Orioles on a series of waiver claims and (in the case of the move to Boston) a trade.  This is the third time Noda has been DFA’d, but he has neither the required three years of MLB service time or the past outright assignment on his resume to decline an outright if he clears waivers and the Orioles assign him to Triple-A.  That means Noda will remain in Baltimore’s organization if outrighted off the 40-man, though his past history suggests that another waiver claim is certainly possible.

The Athletics selected Noda out of the Dodgers’ organization as a pick in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, and it looked like a shrewd move for the A’s after Noda hit .229/.364/.406 with 16 home runs over 495 PA during the 2023 season.  This solid rookie performance didn’t carry forward, however, as Noda followed up with only a .137/.255/.211 slash over 111 PA in 2024, and he spent the majority of that season in the minors.

Strong minor league production has kept Noda in the minds of teams looking to add roster depth on the waiver wire, though his Triple-A numbers dropped to .188/.409/.361 and 10 home runs over 291 PA.  Since those plate appearances were split over four different teams in four organizations, it seems possible that the transactional whirlwind played a part in Noda’s dropoff at the plate.  He still maintained his ability to get on base, and Noda is still a player capable of handling first base or either corner outfield slot, plus some center field work in a pinch.

Blue Jays Interested In Kazuma Okamoto

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Kazuma Okamoto’s posting window closes in four weeks’ time, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that the six-time NPB All-Star is getting “big interest” from Major League teams.  The Pirates and Red Sox have already been linked to Okamoto’s market, and Heyman reports that the Blue Jays are also showing interest.

Okamoto was mostly a third baseman during his time with the Yomiuri Giants, but he also logged a good deal of time as a first baseman and corner outfielder.  While he wouldn’t get much time at first base in Toronto due to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s presence, Okamoto’s defensive utility undoubtedly has some appeal to a Blue Jays team that likes to mix and match around its lineup.  Third base would probably be Okamoto’s primary position in Toronto, yet his ability to also work in the corner outfield could make him something of a right-handed hitting version of Addison Barger, who is expected to continue operating as a third baseman/right fielder depending on what other winter moves the Jays end up completing.

Bo Bichette naturally looms as the biggest question mark hanging over the Blue Jays’ infield, as Toronto remains engaged with the former All-Star about a reunion.  If Bichette re-signs, it might make the infield a little too crowded for Okamoto as well, since that would have the ripple effect of pushing Barger into more or less everyday outfield duty, and leave little playing time for the likes of Ernie Clement or Nathan Lukes.  Likewise, if the Jays were to sign another prime offseason target like Kyle Tucker, that pushes Barger into more of a third base role, making Okamoto then redundant.

Trades could alter the roster situation, of course, but whatever team signs Okamoto would surely have designs on him as more than just a part-time player.  MLB Trade Rumors ranked Okamoto 19th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected a four-year, $64MM deal for the 29-year-old.  This contract doesn’t factor in the posting fee a big league team would also owe to the Giants, which hinges on the size of Okamoto’s deal — a $64MM contract would translate to an $11.5MM posting free, for instance.

Okamoto has 248 home runs and an outstanding .277/.361/.521 slash line over his career in Japan, though there are always questions about how exactly hitters will adjust in the move from NPB to MLB.  In Okamoto’s case in particular, Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen raised some concerns over how the infielder will adjust to the higher velocities of big league pitching, as Okamoto has been inconsistent against pitches over 94mph.

The Blue Jays are broadly an “in on everyone” team that at least checks in on pretty much every available free agent or trade target every winter.  It could be that their interest in Okamoto is an extension of his due diligence, since Okamoto wouldn’t be as clean a fit on Toronto’s roster as other winter targets.

That said, the Jays have already added Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to the rotation, and their continued explorations into other big-ticket names indicates that Toronto is prepared to be even more aggressive after coming so close to a World Series title in 2025.  The Blue Jays also have a longstanding interest in trying to establish themselves amongst Japanese players and fans, which has involved failed pursuits of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in the past.

Phillies Interested In Cody Bellinger

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Much of the buzz surrounding the Phillies this winter has concerned their efforts to re-sign one or both or Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto.  Since either of those free agents might well end up leaving Philadelphia for another team, the Phils have also been doing their due diligence on other major free agents or trade targets, including Tatsuya Imai and Ketel Marte.

Cody Bellinger’s name can now also be added to the list, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that the Phillies “have interest in” the former NL MVP.  The Phils join the Yankees, Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Blue Jays as teams known to have some level of interest in Bellinger’s services.

Since it is known that re-signing Schwarber is the Phillies’ chief priority, Bellinger might represent the team’s backup plan if Schwarber heads elsewhere.  While Bellinger doesn’t have Schwarber’s power or overall offensive consistency, there are plenty of reasons why Bellinger would make perhaps even more sense as a fit in the Phillies’ lineup.

Bellinger is also a left-handed hitter, and is coming off a strong 2025 campaign that saw him hit .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs over 656 plate appearances for the Yankees.  It was more than enough for Bellinger to decline his $25MM player option for the 2026 season and re-enter the free agent market, looking for the long-term nine-figure deal that has eluded him in previous trips to the open market.

Bellinger had a 125 wRC+ last season, which is a few notches below the 152 wRC+ Schwarber posted during his 56-homer season.  Over the 2023-25 seasons, the gap is narrowed to a 135 wRC+ for Schwarber and a 123 wRC+ for Bellinger.  In terms of how the two have produced their numbers, it’s a tale of two somewhat opposite skillsets.  Bellinger makes a lot of contact and rarely strikes out, though he doesn’t generate much hard contact.  Schwarber makes a ton of loud contact, but with the tradeoff of plenty of strikeouts.  Both hitters perform well against left-handed pitching so there isn’t a platoon concern, but Bellinger hit far better at Yankee Stadium than he did in road games in 2025.

That aforementioned 2023-25 span also reveals an advantage for Bellinger in fWAR (11.4 to 9.1), as Schwarber being essentially a DH-only player and a subpar corner outfielder leaves him trailing far behind Bellinger in defensive value.  As this defensive skillset translates to the Phillies, Bellinger could fill in at first base whenever Bryce Harper needs a DH day.  More regularly, Bellinger would be playing in the outfield, perhaps in right field since Nick Castellanos is expected to be traded or maybe just released entirely.  A corner outfield slot is a better fit for Bellinger than center field duty, yet Bellinger could be a part-time answer to the Phillies’ needs in center.

For all of the rumors swirling around Bellinger as a trade candidate and free agent in recent years, this is the first time Philadelphia has been properly linked to his market.  This doesn’t necessarily mean the Phillies had no interest in the past, but other players were possibly just higher on the wishlist, plus the team’s first base/outfield/DH picture has been relatively crowded.

Between Bellinger’s defensive pluses and the fact that he is over 28 months younger than Schwarber, Bellinger got a slightly higher spot on MLB Trade Rumors’ ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.  Bellinger was eighth on our list and Schwarber ninth, with very similar contract predictions — Bellinger five years and $140MM, Schwarber five years and $135MM.

While these are only projections, it isn’t likely that Bellinger represents much or any of a savings for the Phillies as a Schwarber alternative.  Bellinger isn’t attached to a qualifying offer, which undoubtedly has some extra appeal to a Phillies team that would pay a steeper penalty for signing a qualified free agent since Philadelphia spent above the luxury tax threshold in 2025.  By that same token, the Phils would receive a compensatory pick after only the fourth round of the 2026 draft if one of their own qualified free agents (Schwarber and Ranger Suarez) signed elsewhere.

KBO League’s SSG Landers Sign Drew VerHagen

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The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced a one-year contract with right-hander Drew VerHagen for the 2026 season.  VerHagen will earn $800K in guaranteed money ($750K salary, $50K signing bonus) and another $100K is available to the 35-year-old righty in contract incentives.

A veteran of eight Major League seasons, VerHagen has a 4.98 ERA over 281 2/3 innings with the Tigers (from 2014-19) and Cardinals (2022-23), working primarily as a long reliever with a few spot starts.  He also has a significant amount of experience pitching in Japan, as VerHagen pitched with the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball during both the 2020-21 seasons and then again over the last two seasons.

Overall, VerHagen has a 3.68 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, and 6.65% walk rate in 283 1/3 innings with the Fighters.  His most recent season, however, was his least-successful in NPB.  VerHagen delivered only a 6.08 ERA over 26 2/3 frames with the Fighters in 2025, and spent the bulk of the season with the Fighters’ minor league affiliate.

VerHagen will now look to turn the page in a new league and a new country.  He’ll take up one of the Fighters’ allotted roster spots for foreign-born pitchers, essentially replacing Drew Anderson (who is returning to MLB on a one-year deal with Detroit).

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