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Thyago Vieira, Josh Winder To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | February 27, 2025 at 2:20pm CDT

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo revealed today that right-handers Thyago Vieira and Josh Winder will both require Tommy John surgery, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Both righties had been in camp as non-roster invitees but each will now miss the entire 2025 season.

Vieira, 32, was claimed off waivers from the Orioles in June. The following month, the Snakes put him back on waivers and passed him through unclaimed. He was invited to big league camp and could have earned his way back into the majors. However, that clearly won’t come to pass now.

The righty debuted in the majors back in 2017. He pitched in Japan from 2020 to 2022 but was in each major league season around that. He has 66 2/3 big league innings pitched in the majors between the Mariners, White Sox, Brewers, Orioles and Diamondbacks. He has a 5.81 earned run average, 20.8% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate. He’ll turn 33 in January of 2026 as he approaches the one-year anniversary of this surgery.

Winder, 28, was a promising prospect not too long ago but injuries have derailed him in recent years. In 2021, he posted a 2.63 ERA across 14 minor league starts. Baseball America ranked him the #6 prospect in Minnesota’s system going into 2022.

Despite the solid results, shoulder issues cropped up in 2021 which impacted him for the next few years. He spent time on the minor league injured list due to shoulder injuries in each season from 2021 to 2023. Last year, he was on the major league IL for the first couple of months of the campaign due to a scapular stress fracture.

Around those shoulder issues, Winder tossed 110 2/3 major league innings from 2022 through 2024, posting a 4.39 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. But he was mostly kept in the minors after getting healthy last year and had a 6.15 ERA at the Triple-A level, pitching mostly in relief. The Twins outrighted him off the roster at season’s end.

He elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, presumably hoping for a fresh start with a new club. Instead, he’ll have to spend the rest of the year rehabbing with an eye on returning at some point in 2026. He’ll celebrate his 29th birthday this coming October. Since neither Winder nor Vieira had a 40-man roster spot, they won’t collect service time for the upcoming season.

For the Snakes, they have a strong relief group overall, something that MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a detailed look at. These injuries will deprive them of some non-roster depth, though there are still many unsigned pitchers who could be brought aboard as reinforcements. As Opening Day nears, other guys will also shake loose as clubs make their final camp cuts.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Josh Winder Thyago Vieira

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Poll: Yankees’ Third Base Battle

By Nick Deeds | February 27, 2025 at 1:25pm CDT

The Yankees have remodeled their roster in a big way this offseason after losing Juan Soto to their intracity rivals in Queens, bringing in players like Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Devin Williams, and Cody Bellinger in order to bolster a roster that came into the winter with a number of holes. But apart from adding Goldschmidt at first, they haven’t addressed the infield. Goldschmidt and Anthony Volpe figure to lockdown first base and shortstop respectively, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is currently penciled in as the club’s starting second baseman after playing third in deference to Gleyber Torres last year.

Chisholm’s likely move back to second leaves a hole at the hot corner, however, and the club’s options to filling that void leave much to be desired. With two years and $30MM remaining on his six-year, $90MM contract with the club, veteran DJ LeMahieu may seem like the obvious favorite to open the season as a starter for the club. Unfortunately, however, the now 36-year-old veteran took a tumble in terms of productivity last year. Injury woes delayed his start to the season and ultimately limited him to just 67 games, but even when LeMahieu was healthy enough to play his work wasn’t up to snuff. The veteran hit just .204/.269/.259, leaving him with a career-worst 52 wRC+ that was 15th from the bottom among all hitters who had at least 200 plate appearances last year.

It’s worth noting that LeMahieu’s underlying performance wasn’t quite as dire as his actual on-field production last year. LeMahieu’s .299 xwOBA far outstrips his actual wOBA of .239, with that expected number actually being better than the expected production of a handful of last year’s quality infield regulars like Luis Rengifo and Tyler Fitzgerald. LeMahieu’s barrel rate of 5.8% was perfectly in line with his numbers from the previous two seasons, and while his hard-hit rate was down, that drop wasn’t enough to justify his complete power outage in 2024, when he hit just five doubles and two homers in 228 trips to the plate. His .229 batting average on balls in play was also almost comically low, and his 15.4% strikeout rate remained excellent.

While any hope of LeMahieu returning to his former status as a clearly above-average contributor is likely misplaced with his 37th birthday approaching this July, it’s certainly not impossible to imagine a bit better luck on batted balls allowing him to be a roughly average regular so long as his defense holds up. That might be enough to assure him of a nearly everyday role with the Yankees to open the season, at least as things stand. While rolling the dice on a rebound from an aging veteran like LeMahieu is sure to a cause queasy feelings among fans, his competition for the job isn’t exactly robust.

The player in the third base competition coming off the best 2024 season is Oswaldo Cabrera. The switch-hitting utility man had an up-and-down season last year, hitting .247/.296/.365 (88 wRC+) overall while primarily playing third base but also mixing in time at every position on the diamond other than catcher and center field. His bat was quite inconsistent throughout the year, however. After a torrid ten-game stretch to open the season where he managed three home runs among twelve hits, Cabrera hit just .221/.269/.304 with a wRC+ of 62 across the rest of the first half, totaling 198 plate appearances in that time.

While the 25-year-old turned things around down the stretch and hit a respectable .271/.319/.424 after the All-Star break, that production came in a reduced role that saw him take just 92 trips to the plate across the final ten weeks of the season last year. That late-season uptick in production combined with the fact that he’ll only turn 26 later this week might be enough to convince Yankees brass that he’s worthy of another shot as a regular, but it would also be understandable if the club saw it as a signal that Cabrera is best suited for a utility role where his versatility can be best maximized and he can be more easily protected from tougher match ups.

The final top contender for playing time on the Yankees infield at the moment is Oswald Peraza. Still just 24 years old, Peraza is a former top-100 prospect who has yet to make a name for himself in the big leagues, having hit just .216/.297/.315 (74 wRC+) in 259 trips to the plate at the big league level over the past three seasons. Peraza is considered a quality defender all around the infield and has gotten only sporadic playing time in the majors to this point, so it’s fair to argue that he has the highest chance of blossoming into an above-average regular of the Yankees’ three primary third base options this year.

With that being said, however, Peraza’s prospect star lost its shine for a reason. A shoulder issue slowed him out of the gate last year, delaying the start of his season until May. And when he finally made his season debut, he found himself struggling to hit even at the Triple-A level with a pedestrian .246/.341/.394 line across 406 plate appearances. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Peraza is out of options, meaning that the Yankees would have to carry him on the big league roster as he not only attempts to bounce back from a tough season in the minors last year but also attempts to produce against major league pitching for the first time in his career.

Other internal options beyond this trio are few and far between. Jorbit Vivas is on the 40-man roster but has yet to make the majors, posted weaker numbers than Peraza at Triple-A last year, and has a minor league option remaining. Pablo Reyes is in camp as a non-roster invitee but is a career .248/.309/.349 (78 wRC+) hitter in the majors who posted a brutal 23 wRC+ in brief stints with the Red Sox and Mets last year. Braden Shewmake and Andrew Velazquez are also in camp with the club but have yet to show an ability to hit major league pitching to this point in their careers. While an external addition would make plenty of sense for the club, the pickings on the free agent market are very slim at this point, and the Yankees have signaled they don’t have the budget space necessary for a pursuit of a high-dollar solution like Nolan Arenado without first offsetting the cost by trading a veteran like Marcus Stroman.

How do MLBTR readers think the situation at third base will play out for the Yankees? Will they lean on LeMahieu in hopes of a bounceback? Should they turn to Cabrera despite his inconsistency and value as a utility player? Or could they give the reins to Peraza in hopes he can continue to develop at the big league level? Have your say in the poll below:

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MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls New York Yankees DJ LeMahieu Oswald Peraza Oswaldo Cabrera

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Zach Neto Ruled Out For Opening Day

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2025 at 12:29pm CDT

Angels shortstop Zach Neto will not be ready for Opening Day, manager Ron Washington announced to the Halos beat this morning (link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Neto underwent shoulder surgery back in November, and the team said at the time that his Opening Day would be in jeopardy. However, Washington suggested that the 24-year-old shouldn’t need to miss too much time beyond Opening Day. An April activation from the injured list is possible, it seems.

Neto, 24, was the 13th overall pick in the 2022 draft and has quickly (and quietly) cemented himself as the Angels’ everyday shortstop. While other top picks and prospects have garnered more fanfare, Neto (like so many Angels draftees) sprinted through the minors. He made his MLB debut less than a year after being selected, and while he didn’t hit much as a rookie in 2023, he played sharp defense at shortstop and did enough to land the Opening Day shortstop job in 2024.

Last year brought a true breakout on both sides of the ball. Neto hit .249/.318/.443 — about 14% better than average, by measure of wRC+ — adding 23 homers, 34 doubles, a triple and 30 stolen bases (in 40 tries). Defensive Runs Saved pegged him as a plus defender, though Statcast was more bearish after agreeing on his quality glovework in 2023. Neto’s 18 errors could certainly use some cleaning up, but it’s clear that even with the uneven performance in ’24 he still has strong defensive tools; he ranked 13th among 60 qualified shortstops in terms of arm strength last year, per Statcast.

It’s long looked possible, if not likely, that Neto would require some time on the shelf to begin the season. Now that that’s cemented, the Angels have a few options they can take. Most straightforward would be simply installing utilityman Kevin Newman as the shortstop to begin the season. The Halos inked Newman on a one-year, $2.75MM deal early in the offseason. He’s a glove-first utility option who can provide sound defense while waiting for Neto’s rehab to complete.

Elsewhere in camp, the Angels have former All-Star Tim Anderson looking to reignite his career after a pair of calamitous seasons in 2023 (White Sox) and 2024 (Marlins). He’s on a minor league deal. Infielders Scott Kingery and Kyren Paris are both on the 40-man roster as well and could factor into the mix — whether as an option at shortstop or stepping into a bench role if Newman is pressed into everyday action.

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Los Angeles Angels Zach Neto

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Nationals Designate Stone Garrett For Assignment

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2025 at 11:39am CDT

The Nationals announced Thursday that they’ve designated outfielder Stone Garrett for assignment. His roster spot goes to righty Kyle Finnegan, whose one-year deal to return to the Nationals is now official.

Garrett, 29, has appeared in parts of three big league seasons between the Nats and D-backs. He’s a lifetime .276/.341/.492 hitter in the majors, good for 25% better than average at the plate, by measure of wRC+. However, that production has been buoyed by a hefty .369 average on balls in play that’s not going to be sustained over a larger sample than Garrett’s 361 MLB plate appearances. He’s also fanned in 30.2% of his career plate appearances, leading to further questions about his ability to sustain his level of output.

Garrett also saw only six big league plate appearances in 2024, spending the rest of the season in Triple-A with a disappointing .249/.348/.333 slash. That lack of production is likely attributable — to at least some extent — to left ankle/leg surgery performed in Aug. 2023. Garrett sustained fractures in his fibula and ankle when chasing down a fly-ball and crashing into the wall at Yankee Stadium. He spent eight-plus months recovering from that gruesome injury.

The strikeout issues Garrett has faced have plagued him against righties and lefties alike. However, Garrett has shown considerably more power against southpaws. With a 30.8% strikeout rate and .362 BABIP against lefties, he’s not going to sustain his .279/.333/.541 output against them. That huge .262 ISO against southpaws should be enough to make him a viable platoon candidate, even if his average and OBP are ticketed for decline. The Nats already have a full outfield with James Wood, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews, though, and righty-swinging Alex Call is a similar platoon fourth outfielder with roughly half the strikeout rate and better defensive skills.

While Garrett has some notable red flags, he’s still an optionable corner outfielder with genuine power against lefties. That’s a skill set that could fit him into the bench mix for plenty of clubs. He’s coming off a down year, but teams might take an optimistic outlook now that he’s 18 months removed from that devastating injury. The Nats will have five days to trade Garrett, and if they don’t have a deal in place at that point he’ll be placed on outright waivers and learn whether he’s been claimed or cleared 48 hours later.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Stone Garrett

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Scott Effross Diagnosed With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2025 at 10:53am CDT

Yankees right-hander Scott Effross exited his Grapefruit League debut after one pitch due to what looked to be a leg injury earlier this week. Manager Aaron Boone announced this morning that imaging has indeed revealed a notable injury: a Grade 2 strain of the reliever’s left hamstring (link via Greg Joyce of the New York Post). Effross received a platelet-rich plasma injection this morning and appears to be facing a relatively lengthy absence. “It’s going to take some time,” Boone told the Yankees beat.

It’s a brutal blow for a talented but snakebit reliever who’s dealt with myriad injuries in recent years. Acquired by the Yankees in a 2022 trade sending Hayden Wesneski to the Cubs, Effross has managed only 16 big league innings for New York since that deadline swap. He pitched 12 2/3 excellent innings down the stretch in ’22 (2.13 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate) but required Tommy John surgery late in the year.

That operation cost Effross the entire 2023 season. The hope had been that he’d be ready to go for the 2024 season, but Effross began experiencing back pain in the 2023-24 offseason and required surgery that December. Recovery from that second operation shelved him into mid-July. He allowed two runs in 3 1/3 big league innings last summer, spending the bulk of his time pitching in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he threw quite well. In 35 1/3 minor league frames last year, Effross logged a 2.55 earned run average with a solid 23.4% strikeout rate, an even stronger 6.6% walk rate and a mammoth 61.7% grounder rate. His already pedestrian sinker velocity dipped from a pre-surgery high of 90.7 mph to 89.4 mph in Scranton, but Effross’ results were clearly sharp in spite of that decline.

The Yankees haven’t provided a firm timetable. Two years ago, on Feb. 13, the Yankees announced a Grade 2 hamstring strain for Nestor Cortes, who was shut down from throwing for two weeks but recovered well enough to take the mound for his season debut on April 3. Even injuries with the same diagnosis can come with different timeframes, however. Cortes, for instance, didn’t require a PRP injection, which already signals that the two injuries aren’t necessarily analogous.

With Effross out of the picture for the time being, Boone’s bullpen will feature Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr. and trade acquisition Fernando Cruz. Marcus Stroman is trending toward a relief role as well, though the Yankees have been working to trade him this winter. Right-hander JT Brubaker, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022 due to injury, is also in the mix given that he has five years of MLB service time and thus can’t be optioned without his consent. The Effross injury and a potential trade of Stroman could open the door for Clayton Beeter or a non-roster veteran like Tyler Matzek or Rob Zastryzny to win a job as well.

In 74 2/3 innings at the major league level, the 31-year-old Effross touts a 2.89 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate, 45.9% grounder rate and 0.72 homers per nine innings. He’s picked up 19 holds and four saves in 77 MLB appearances.

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New York Yankees Scott Effross

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Mets Sign Jose Ureña To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2025 at 10:52am CDT

10:52am: Ureña’s deal has a $2MM base salary and another $750K available via incentives, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

8:20am: Veteran right-hander Jose Ureña popped up at Mets camp this morning and tells Newsday’s Tim Healey that he’s signed a minor league deal with the club. He’ll join their big league camp for the remainder of spring training. Ureña is repped by Premier Talent Sports & Entertainment.

The 33-year-old Ureña adds some non-roster depth to a Mets rotation that’s already been hit by a pair of spring injuries. Left-hander Sean Manaea has an oblique strain that’ll likely prompt a season-opening IL stint, though he could return by mid-April. Right-hander Frankie Montas has a more significant injury — a lat strain that’s shut him down from throwing for more than a month. He’s likely looking at a mid-May return in a best-case scenario.

Ureña spent the 2024 season with the Rangers, working primarily out of the bullpen but also making nine starts over the course of the season. He totaled 109 innings with a solid 3.80 earned run average, though not all of his numbers looked quite so sharp.

Ureña’s 15.1% strikeout rate was among the lowest in the league, and his 8.4% walk rate was roughly average. He notched a strong 50.1% ground-ball rate and kept the ball in the yard nicely enough (1.07 HR/9), but metrics like FIP (4.62) and SIERA (4.66) felt like he had a fair bit of good fortune to reach that more impressive ERA mark. Ureña’s .273 average on balls in play was a bit shy of the .289 mark he carried into the season, and his 75% strand rate was also higher than both league average (72%) and his career mark prior to 2024 (69.5%).

On the whole, Ureña has a 4.76 ERA in 948 1/3 big league innings. He had some stretches early in his career where he delivered solid midrotation results for the Marlins but has since been hit hard more often than not as he’s moved into journeyman status. His solid 2024 run in Texas was the first time since 2018 that he’s posted an ERA south of 5.00.

Ureña isn’t going to jump right into the Mets’ pitching plans, but there’s also little harm in seeing if a veteran arm coming of a nice rebound effort can sustain some of his production — especially early on while the rest of the pitching staff is a bit banged up. Even with Montas and Manaea ailing, the Mets have signaled they plan to stick with in-house arms, by and large. Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill give the Mets six experienced arms on which to rely. Top prospect Brandon Sproat could join the mix midseason.

As such, if Ureña is to make the club, it’d likely be as a swingman — but it’s equally or more likely that he’ll opt back into the market if he doesn’t make the club. As an Article XX(b) free agent (i.e. six-plus years MLB service, finished the prior season on a major league roster/injured list), Ureña will have a trio of uniform opt-out dates on his contract: five days before the season (March 22), May 1 and June 1.

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New York Mets Transactions Jose Urena

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The Opener: Team Debuts, Rotation Battles, Reds

By Nick Deeds | February 27, 2025 at 8:48am CDT

As Spring Training continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Pitchers making their team debut today:

It’s still the early days of spring, which means a number of players have not yet gotten into a game so far. As more players start making their first appearances, fans will continue to get their first looks at offseason acquisitions in their new settings. Today, perhaps the most notable among these is right-hander Luis Severino’s first appearance as an Athletic after he signed the largest free agent deal in franchise history back in December. Severino is slated to start the club’s 1:05pm MT game against the Padres, who will be countering with knuckleballer Matt Waldron.

Over in Florida, meanwhile, right-hander Cal Quantrill will make his on-mound debut for the Marlins at 1:05pm ET opposite the Cardinals and Andre Pallante. At that same time, Jack Flaherty will be kicking off his return to the Tigers with his first appearance for the club since being traded to the Dodgers over the summer. Flaherty will face Quinn Priester and the Red Sox. Coincidentally, the Tigers have announced that shortstop Trey Sweeney (who the club acquired from L.A. in exchange for Flaherty over the summer) will be batting leadoff in this afternoon’s game.

2. Pitchers battling for rotation spots:

Aside from the offseason acquisitions fans will be able to see pitch for their club for the first time today, a number of back-of-the-rotation pieces around the league are looking to make their case for an Opening Day rotation spot with their club. That group includes Waldron and Priester, both of whom are on the periphery of the fifth starter conversation in San Diego and Boston respectively.

Beyond those two aforementioned names, Landon Knack of the Dodgers (1:10pm MT vs Colorado), Jordan Wicks of the Cubs (1:05pm MT vs Anaheim), Matt Manning of the Tigers (1:05pm ET vs Tampa), Graham Ashcraft of the Reds (1:05pm MT vs Arizona), and Bryce Elder of the Braves (6:05pm ET vs Washington) are all scheduled to start games today as they look to muscle their way ahead of the competition for a vacant fifth starter job. None of these players are currently considered to be a favorite, with Waldron having perhaps the cleanest path to an Opening Day rotation job of the group, but a strong performance this spring could help these hurlers get noticed as they jockey for positioning on their club’s rotation depth chart.

3. Reds in the market for pitching depth:

The Reds have had a fairly busy offseason, which they kicked off by bringing in future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona. They’ve swung trades for Jose Trevino, Brady Singer, Taylor Rogers, and Gavin Lux since then while also bringing back Nick Martinez on the Qualifying Offer and signing Austin Hays to patrol the outfield. It’s possible they aren’t done yet, however, as reporting yesterday suggested that the club hopes to add another depth option to its rotation mix.

That’s understandable given the slow starts to the spring for lefty Andrew Abbott and prospect Rhett Lowder, particularly given the fact that non-roster veteran Wade Miley won’t be ready until May as he rehabs Tommy John surgery. Jose Quintana, Kyle Gibson, and Spencer Turnbull are all pitchers that seem likely to score big league deals even at this late stage of the offseason, while potential candidates for non-roster deals include Alex Wood, and Marco Gonzales.

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The Opener

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MLB Mailbag: Nationals, Painter, Royals, Yankees, Mets

By Tim Dierkes | February 26, 2025 at 11:59pm CDT

Today's mailbag gets into the Nationals' offseason approach, the accuracy of preseason win projections, what Andrew Painter will do this year, the Royals' outfield, how small market teams can compete, the Yankees' third base situation, the Mets' rotation, and more.

Steve asks:

The Nationals have now spent over $50 million in this offseason on new acquisitions. Do you like their strategy of building depth with upside players with lower $ risk per player to keep the books clean for the coming years?

OTOH, they could have gone all in and met Bregman's rumored price of $210 million over 7 years, and had enough money for Nathaniel Lowe and Ogasawara and adding Finnegan, Lopez and Poche for their bullpen and skipped signing Sims for the bullpen and Bell for DH.

Which route do you like better?

Just to review, the Nationals added Trevor Williams, Mike Soroka, Kyle Finnegan, Josh Bell, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Jorge Lopez, Lucas Sims, Amed Rosario, and Paul DeJong in free agency at a 2025 AAV cost of $38.75MM.  They also traded for Nathaniel Lowe, who is earning $10.3MM this year.

Despite adding $49MM in total '25 AAV, the team's CBT payroll is only $138MM.  The question is whether 2025 is/was the time for this team to pounce.  Owner Mark Lerner doesn't think so, based on comments made to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.  Referencing GM Mike Rizzo, here's what Lerner said to Svrluga:

“When Mike calls me in and says, ‘We really need to think about it,’ for next winter, we’ll talk about it,” Lerner said. “Right now, he doesn’t think — and I agree with him: There’s no point in getting a superstar and paying him hundreds of millions of dollars to win two or three more games. You’ve got to wait until — like Jayson. Jayson was right on the cusp of [the team] being really good, and it took us to the next level. That’s the ideal situation. It’s always on our mind.”  He paused. “You could get nauseous thinking about it,” he said, laughing.

Despite the additions, FanGraphs projects the Nationals for only 73 wins this year.  And even though - as I'll show later in the mailbag - teams sometimes outplay their projection by a dozen wins, that still might not be enough for a wild card.

The Nationals have three suspect lineup spots: Bell at DH, Keibert Ruiz at catcher, and Jose Tena/DeJong/Rosario at third base.  Bregman alone doesn't make this team a likely contender, and he turns 31 in March.  I don't think he fit as the team's Jayson Werth move.  I doubt Nolan Arenado would've accepted a trade to D.C., and he doesn't sense for this team anyway.

The Nats still owe $40MM to Ruiz and have a few catching prospects in the pipeline, so I can see why they didn't do anything there.  Likewise, adding a bigger bat than Bell might mean 74 or 75 wins instead of 73.

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Who Else Could The A’s Look To Extend?

By Anthony Franco | February 26, 2025 at 11:57pm CDT

Last week, Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported that the A's had opened extension negotiations with outfielder Lawrence Butler. General manager David Forst declined comment on Butler specifically but implied that he's not the only player with whom they've had discussions.

"We’ve had conversations with a couple other players other than (already-extended DH Brent Rooker), and those talks are ongoing," Forst told Drellich. "It is an important thing for us to lock guys up (heading) into Las Vegas and make sure that we keep the core of what we think is a really good young team together, ongoing."

MLBTR covered Butler's extension candidacy at the time of Drellich's report. With Forst's comments in mind, it's worth taking a speculative look at who else the A's may try to sign over the next few weeks.

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MLBTR Podcast: Atlanta’s Pitching Depth, Iglesias, Jobe, Castillo, And More!

By Darragh McDonald | February 26, 2025 at 11:55pm CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors for a mailbag episode. We spent the entire show answering questions from listeners, including…

  • Can the Braves seriously go into the season with this rotation depth? (1:50)
  • Could the Braves add to the bullpen before the season starts? (9:25)
  • Why is David Robertson not signed? (13:00)
  • Could the Mets and Jose Iglesias reunite on a one-year, $5MM deal with a vesting option? (17:10)
  • Should the Cubs have signed Jose Iglesias instead of Justin Turner? (24:35)
  • Could there be a battle forming for the final rotation spots for the Tigers between Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda and Jackson Jobe? (30:35)
  • Are the Mariners waiting for a pitching injury on another team to trade Luis Castillo? (38:05)
  • When a team like the Dodgers does significant deferrals, what year’s payroll does the money go on? (43:50)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Alex Bregman, The Padres Add Players, And No Extension For Vlad Jr. – listen here
  • Pete Alonso’s Deal, And Potential Landing Spots For Bregman and Arenado – listen here
  • Jack Flaherty Back To Detroit, Max Scherzer, And What’s Next For The Padres – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

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