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Orioles Claim José Suarez, DFA Marco Luciano

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The Orioles announced they have claimed left-hander José Suarez off waivers from the Braves. It wasn’t previously reported that Atlanta had bumped Suarez from their roster but they apparently tried to quietly sneak him through waivers. The Orioles have swooped in to claim him and have designated outfielder Marco Luciano for assignment as the corresponding move. Atlanta’s 40-man count drops to 39.

Suarez avoided arbitration with Atlanta on a $900K deal in November. The 28-year-old southpaw had seemed a non-tender candidate after spending the majority of the season in Triple-A. Acquired from the Angels in a Spring Training swap for former third overall pick Ian Anderson, Suarez made just seven MLB appearances for the Braves. He pitched 19 1/3 innings and surrendered five runs (four earned), albeit with a middling 16:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Injuries hampered Suarez for much of the season, but he pitched well when healthy at Triple-A Gwinnett. He posted a 3.53 ERA over nine appearances, fanning 28% of opponents against a 5% walk rate. Suarez is out of options, however, meaning the O’s cannot send him to Triple-A without exposing him to waivers.

There’s a decent chance they’ll do that eventually. Baltimore is the most active team in MLB in claiming depth players only to look to run them through waivers themselves. Suarez has a little over four years of MLB service time. That means he could refuse a minor league assignment if he clears, but he’d forfeit his salary to do so. If the O’s keep him on the roster into Spring Training, he’d compete for a long relief role.

Luciano has found himself amidst the aforementioned waiver churn. The one-time top prospect has gone from the Giants to Pittsburgh to Baltimore this offseason. He’ll very likely be waived again within the next five days. Luciano once ranked among the sport’s top 15 minor league talents at Baseball America. He was then a teenage shortstop with massive raw power upside in a 6’1″ frame. His bat has stalled against higher level pitching and he has moved to left field after struggling with errors on the dirt.

San Francisco gave Luciano limited looks in 2023 and ’24. He hit .217/.286/.304 while striking out 45 times in 126 trips to the plate. The Giants kept him in Triple-A for the entire 2025 season. Luciano connected on 23 home runs while walking more than 15% of the time, but he struck out at a near-31% rate. He whiffed on more than 35% of his swings against Triple-A pitching. While Luciano hits the ball hard when he makes contact, the swing-and-miss and limited defensive profile have dropped his stock. He’s also out of minor league options, so he’ll need to stick on an MLB roster or continue bouncing around via DFA limbo.

The Braves Need To Make A Rotation Splash

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The Braves have been aggressive this offseason, signing four free agents (Raisel Iglesias, Ha-Seong Kim, Robert Suarez and Mike Yastrzemski) to deals that pay eight figures annually. They also bolstered their infield depth with the Mauricio Dubón trade, taking on nearly $5MM for the difference in arbitration salaries between Dubón and Nick Allen.

Their free agent activity has already been out of character compared to Alex Anthopolous' previous offseasons. They love to re-sign their players, so it wasn't a huge surprise they brought Kim and Iglesias back, yet they hadn't given out more than one free agent deal with a $10MM+ annual value in an offseason since 2020. Their four such contracts this offseason are more than they'd dished out in the previous four winters combined.

It's still not enough. They've ticked off shortstop and late-inning relief. Those were indeed key needs, but neither was as worrisome as the rotation. Injuries exposed Atlanta's lack of starting pitching depth in 2025. They haven't done anything to address that thus far, and they should be as motivated as any team in MLB to add a mid-rotation arm before Opening Day.

The Braves will enter the season with a rotation that'd line up as Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Hurston Waldrep and one of Reynaldo López or Grant Holmes. If they could push a "turn off injuries" button, they'd be in excellent shape. Every team wishes they could keep pitchers healthy, of course, but the Braves look particularly vulnerable. AJ Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery in June and isn't coming back until the second half at the earliest. Their other six starters have limited track records or durability questions, and no one behind that group should be starting games at the MLB level.

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Braves Hire Johnny Washington As Hitting Coordinator

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The Braves are hiring Johnny Washington as minor league hitting coordinator, reports Sam Blum of The Athletic. The 41-year-old has spent the last two seasons as MLB hitting coach with the Angels.

Washington is an experienced instructor who has three seasons as a big league hitting coach on his résumé. He held that role for one year in San Diego (2019) amidst four seasons in various roles with the Padres. Washington then spent a season coaching hitters in Korea with the Hanwha Eagles before returning to affiliated ball as an assistant with the Cubs. He made the jump to Los Angeles two years later under skipper Ron Washington (no relation).

The Angels ranked 27th in scoring over the last two seasons. They were one of the better power-hitting teams in MLB, finishing fourth with 226 home runs a year ago. The team’s approach didn’t progress as needed, as they’re one of three teams — alongside the White Sox and Rockies — that had an on-base percentage below .300 between 2024-25. No team had a higher strikeout rate last season, and only Colorado fanned more often within the past two years.

It’s difficult to parse a coach’s performance from the roster with which they’re working. The Halos have a lineup mostly stacked with right-handed power hitters. Zach Neto has developed into a quality hitter, while Jo Adell has become a potent power bat even if his OBP still leaves much to be desired. On the other end, Logan O’Hoppe went backwards last year after showing offensive promise during his first two seasons.

The Halos moved on from Ron Washington at the end of the season. New skipper Kurt Suzuki overhauled the staff, including a fascinating hitting coach hire. They tabbed three-time All-Star Brady Anderson, who hasn’t worked in affiliated ball since 2020.

Twins Claim Vidal Brujan, Designate Mickey Gasper

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The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan off waivers from the Braves, who’d designated him for assignment last week. In a corresponding move, Minnesota designated catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper for assignment. The Twins’ 40-man roster remains at capacity.

Originally signed by the Rays as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic, Brujan spent four years (2019-22) holding a spot on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list. He’s now 28 years old, out of minor league options, and has yet to hit at the major league level, however.

Brujan split the 2025 campaign between the Cubs, Orioles (one plate appearance) and Braves. The switch-hitter came to the plate 95 times overall and slashed .253/.305/.310 in that time. He’s now logged MLB action in each of the past five seasons — suiting up for the Rays and Marlins in addition to that 2025 trio of clubs — but mustered only a tepid .199/.267/.276 batting line in 645 turns at the plate.

Brujan’s once-plus speed has fallen off considerably. Statcast pegged him in the 37th percentile of big leaguers last season in terms of average sprint speed. He has decent contact skills (21.6% strikeout rate since ’22), draws walks at a nearly average clip (7.8% in that same span) and has experience at every position on the diamond other than catcher (including 3 2/3 innings of mop-up relief).

Though he hasn’t hit in the majors, Brujan has a solid track record in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .273/.356/.450 with a 10.6% walk rate and just a 16.5% strikeout rate in a little over 1000 plate appearances. Since he’s out of minor league options, the Twins won’t be able to send him to Triple-A unless he first clears waivers.

That presents something of a “logjam” of fringe-y, out-of-options players in the Twins’ bench mix. Backup catcher Alex Jackson was acquired in a trade and signed to a $1.35MM contract for the upcoming season. His spot is presumably safe. Brujan will compete with outfielder James Outman (acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for Brock Stewart this past July), former top prospect Edouard Julien and utilityman Kody Clemens — all out of options themselves — for a spot on Minnesota’s bench. It’s also plausible that the Twins simply hope to stash him as depth in Triple-A and will try to run Brujan through waivers themselves in the weeks ahead.

The 30-year-old Gasper, acquired from the Red Sox in a Dec. 2024 trade that sent left-hander Jovani Moran to Boston, loses his 40-man spot in the wake of today’s claim. He appeared in 45 games for the Twins and took 110 plate appearances, batting .158/.257/.232 with a pair of homers. Like Brujan, he’s a switch-hitter with a strong Triple-A track record but no MLB success of which to speak. Gasper raked at a .285/.385/.531 clip with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul this past season and carries a lifetime .303/.406/.512 batting line at the top minor league level.

Gasper’s minor league track record, unique defensive versatility and pair of remaining minor league options could net him a look from another club, whether via waiver claim or perhaps a small trade. He’s not considered a good defensive catcher, but he’s an interesting third option at the position and is a switch-hitter to boot. Gasper has spent more time at first base than behind the plate in his pro career, and he’s also logged nearly 400 innings at second base in addition to cameos at the hot corner and in left field.

Rays Acquire Ken Waldichuk, Brett Wisely

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The Rays have acquired left-hander Ken Waldichuk and infielder Brett Wisely from the Braves, according to announcements from both clubs. Atlanta receives cash considerations or a player to be named later in return. Tampa designated right-hander Osvaldo Bido and infielder Tsung-Che Cheng for assignment to open 40-man spots for their new acquisitions.

All four players involved here have been riding the DFA carousel in recent months, to varying extents. Wisely was put on waivers by the Giants in September. Atlanta claimed him at that time but designated him for assignment last week when they claimed right-hander George Soriano. Waldichuk was DFA’d by the Athletics when they acquired Jeff McNeil and then claimed by Atlanta, then DFA’d again recently when Atlanta re-signed Tyler Kinley. Now Atlanta will convert those two players, who were already off the roster, into some cash or perhaps another player down the line.

The Rays will take advantage of Atlanta’s roster crunch to upgrade their pitching staff and infield. They are losing some cash, or maybe a PTBNL, as well as potentially losing Bido and Cheng. However, those two players were only recently acquired. The A’s put Bido on waivers in December, with Atlanta claiming him at that time, but he went to Tampa a couple of weeks later on another waiver claim. Cheng was claimed off waivers from the Pirates last month.

Waldichuk, 28, is coming off some recent struggles but was once a notable prospect with the Yankees. They traded him to the A’s as part of the 2022 deadline deal which saw them acquire Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino. Waldichuk made his major league debut with the A’s in 2022 and showed a bit of promise. His 4.93 earned run average was a bit on the high side but his 22.6% strikeout rate was around average and his 6.8% walk rate was strong.

But in 2023, he posted a 5.36 ERA in 141 frames. Tommy John surgery in May of 2024 put him out of action for a long time. He got back on the mound in 2025 but was optioned to the minors. He walked 15.9% of batters he faced on the farm last year, which led to an ugly 8.17 ERA. He qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player. He and the A’s avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $825K for 2026, a bit above the $780K league minimum.

His poor 2025 season and slight salary bump haven’t dissuaded teams from being interested. Tampa could use some cheap rotation help. They always have some budgetary concerns and have subtracted some notable starting pitchers in the past year. They sent Taj Bradley to the Twins at last year’s deadline and Shane Baz to the Orioles this offseason. They currently project to have Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane McClanahan, Steven Matz, Joe Boyle and Yoendrys Gómez in the season-opening rotation mix, health permitting.

Waldichuk still has options, so the Rays could send him to Triple-A and try to get him back on track. If it works out, there would be a long-term payoff. He can still be retained via arbitration for another four seasons. It’s also possible they try to pass him through waivers later in the offseason, which would allow him to stick around without taking up a roster spot.

Wisely should help in the middle infield, a clear area of weakness for the Rays. They traded second baseman Brandon Lowe to the Pirates this winter, which led to Cheng losing his roster spot in Pittsburgh. The Rays also moved on from Ha-Seong Kim last year.

Tampa has Taylor Walls, Carson Williams and Richie Palacios in their middle infield mix, though that group doesn’t provide much certainty. Walls has some chops with the glove but has been a poor hitter in his career. Williams was and is a notable prospect but he struck out in 41.5% of his plate appearances in his first taste of the big leagues last year. Palacios has been on the injured list for much of the past two years.

Claiming Cheng gave the Rays some optionable middle infield depth. Wisely is out of options but has a bit more big league experience. While Cheng has only appeared in three big league contests, Wisely has 168 games under his belt, with solid defense at all four infield spots and some experience in the outfield as well. He has only hit .214/.265/.319 in his big league career but has a more impressive .276/.375/.436 line at Triple-A over the past three seasons.

Wisely jumps into Tampa’s infield group for now but it’s also possible they put him back on waivers between now and the start of the season in an attempt to retain him as non-roster depth, depending on what other moves they have in store. If he holds onto his roster spot, he comes with five full seasons of club control.

Cheng, 24, has shown some abilities as a low-power, high-contact hitter who has a solid floor in terms of speed and defense. In 2023, between High-A and Double-A, he stole 26 bases with a 9.7% walk rate and 18.7% strikeout rate. He slashed .278/.352/.456 for a 116 wRC+. That got him a 40-man roster spot with Pittsburgh going into the 2024 season but his offense tailed off in the past two seasons. He slashed just .217/.319/.312 in the minors in that time.

The Rays will have five days to either trade him or put him on waivers. He does still have an option remaining, which could appeal to clubs in need of infield depth. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, Tampa could keep him around.

Bido, 30, showed a bit of promise with the A’s in 2024. He posted a 3.41 ERA in 63 1/3 innings. His 10% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 24.3% of batters faced. He regressed last year, finishing the season with a 5.87 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.

He’s now out of options, which is making it tougher for him to cling to a roster spot. He has five years of club control, so there’s still enough interest for him to have been claimed off waivers twice this winter. Like Cheng, he’ll have to be back on the wire or be traded in the next five days.

Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images.

Braves Re-Sign Tyler Kinley

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The Braves announced they are bringing back right-hander Tyler Kinley on a one-year contract worth $4.25MM in guaranteed money. Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on the deal prior to the official announcement. The deal breaks down as a $3MM salary for the 2026 season, and there is a $1.25MM buyout on a $5.5MM club option for the 2027 season. Kinley is represented by Paragon Sports International. Left-hander Ken Waldichuk has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Atlanta declined its $5.5MM option on Kinley shortly after the season ended, opting to hand him a $750K buyout. The move was a bit of an eyebrow raiser at the time, considering the righty’s strong work once he joined the team, but it makes more sense now. The Braves get Kinley at a cheaper number while adding the ability to retain him in 2027.

The deal is indicative of Kinley’s impressive turnaround last season. The 34-year-old had an ugly 5.66 ERA in the first half with Colorado. It continued a troubling trend, as Kinley was coming off back-to-back seasons with an ERA over 6.00. Atlanta scooped him up at the trade deadline for a Double-A reliever. The Braves weren’t in contention, so acquiring Kinley was more about giving him an audition for 2026. The gambit paid off, as the veteran allowed just two earned runs in 24 appearances with the team.

Kinley often worked in high-leverage spots during his Rockies tenure. The role was given to him more out of necessity, not performance. Despite a 6.19 ERA in 2024, Kinley led the team with a dozen saves. He wrapped up his five-plus seasons in Colorado with a 5.05 ERA. Pitching half your games at Coors Field is no easy task, and Kinley’s underlying metrics were routinely better than his standard run prevention numbers. He had a SIERA close to or below 4.00 in each of his five full campaigns with the team. Kinley’s xERA was more than a run lower than his actual ERA on three occasions.

The Braves have already made several additions in the bullpen this offseason. The club re-signed Raisel Iglesias in mid-November, then doubled down by grabbing Robert Suarez in early December. Atlanta also brought back Joel Payamps and picked up veterans Ian Hamilton and Danny Young. Iglesias and Suarez are the clear 1-2 punch in the late innings, which likely leaves Kinley to pick up opportunities in the middle frames.

Braves Claim George Soriano, Designate Brett Wisely For Assignment

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The Braves have claimed right-hander George Soriano off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Baltimore designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot, Atlanta designated infielder Brett Wisely for assignment.

Soriano, 27 in March, spent his entire career with the Marlins until recently. The Orioles claimed him off waivers in November. Baltimore loves to claim players from the wire and then put them back out there later, hoping the player clears waivers and can stay in the Orioles’ system. They recently designated Soriano for assignment when they claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel. They later designated Noel for assignment when they claimed Marco Luciano.

In this case, Baltimore’s attempt to get Soriano through waivers has not worked, with Atlanta scooping him up. Atlanta has surely gotten some decent looks at the righty, as he has been playing within their division. He logged 118 innings for the Marlins over the past three years, allowing 5.95 earned runs per nine. His 22% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both a bit worse than average.

Teams like Baltimore and Atlanta are likely intrigued by his minor league numbers. He tossed 42 2/3 innings in Triple-A last year with a 2.32 ERA. He struck out 28.8% of batters faced and also kept batted balls on the ground at a 55.7% rate. He also held his walk rate to a more reasonable 8.8% rate at that level.

Soriano exhausted his final option season in 2025, which has pushed him to a fringe roster area. He’s now twice been put on waivers but twice been claimed. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he loses his roster spot yet again before the winter is out. For now, he has a spot with Atlanta. He has a bit more than a year of big league service time. That means he can be controlled for five full seasons and is still two years away from qualifying for arbitration.

Wisely, 27 in May, is in a somewhat similar position. He’s an infielder and not a pitcher but he has exhausted his options, giving him a tenuous hold on a roster spot thanks to tepid big league results. The Giants designated him for assignment in September, which led to Atlanta claiming him off waivers.

In 466 big league plate appearances, he has a line of just .214/.265/.319. But over the past three years, he has a .276/.375/.436 line and 113 wRC+ at the Triple-A level. He has also racked up a bunch of stolen bases in the minors and provides defensive versatility. He has experience at all four infield spots and all three outfield slots as well.

Like Soriano, he can be affordably controlled for five more seasons if he latches on somewhere. Given his multi-positional abilities and speed, perhaps he will find interest from a club looking to deepen its bench. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, Atlanta can keep him in a non-roster capacity. He can be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Atlanta could take five days to field trade interest, but they could also place him on the wire quicker than that.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Nine Teams Terminate Contracts With Main Street Sports

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The nine MLB teams who had contracts with Main Street Sports have terminated those contracts with the company. It’s possible that some of them eventually work out new deals with the broadcaster, which operates channels under the FanDuel Sports Network banner. The teams are the Braves, Reds, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Marlins, Brewers, Cardinals and Rays. Talks between the company and the teams are ongoing. Various elements of this developing story were reported by Evan Drellich of The Athletic, Alden González of ESPN, Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

The issue is due to the poor financial state of the company. They have recently missed payments to several teams, including the Cardinals and Marlins, but possibly others. The nine teams have cut ties with the company for now to keep them away from potential bankruptcy proceedings and explore other options, but it’s possible some teams will eventually sign new pacts with the company. Main Street is trying to find a buyer, though the reporting indicates talks with DAZN have fizzled out. Fubo TV might have stepped into the bidding but there are conflicting reports about that.

This is just the latest chapter in a saga that goes back quite a while, with cord cutting and streaming having chipped away the regional sports network (RSN) model. The company was previously known as Diamond Sports Group with channels marketed as Bally Sports. Going into 2023, 14 MLB clubs and many teams in other sports leagues had RSN deals with the company. But trouble emerged early that year when the company missed some payments. They filed for bankruptcy in March of 2023.

The company eventually emerged from bankruptcy in November of 2024 and then rebranded. Along the way, many of their deals with MLB clubs fell apart. In some cases, new deals were worked out. In other cases, the league took over broadcasting duties. The Rangers went a different route and launched their own RSN. Coming into 2026, Main Street has 29 deals with teams across MLB, the NBA and NHL.

The path of MLB handling the broadcasts will be available for all the clubs involved here. “No matter what happens, whether it’s Main Street, a third party or MLB media, fans are going to have the games,” commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday, per Blum.

The MLB path is largely inconsequential for fans. If anything, it’s a better arrangement. MLB still puts the games on cable. For cord-cutters, they have the option of streaming the club by paying the league directly, with no local blackouts.

For the teams, however, it’s not a great situation. RSN deals have been a big source of revenue over the years. The bankruptcy of Diamond/Main Street put many of them in a tough position. Renegotiating with the company meant accepting lower fees than they had been receiving on their previous deals. Going with MLB would allow them to potentially reach more fans but the revenue in that path is both lesser and not guaranteed, as the money is contingent on how many people sign up to stream.

MLB handled the broadcasts of five clubs in 2025: the Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Twins and Guardians. It was reported in September that the Mariners would go down this route in 2026. This week’s reporting suggests the Nationals will likely leave MASN and join with the league as well.

In the cases of at least a few of these teams, the situation seems to had on-field implications by reducing the club’s spending capacity when it comes to player payroll. The Padres and Twins, for instance, have been trying to strike a delicate balance of staying in contention while having less to spend on players than the front office may have once anticipated.

That’s obviously a disadvantage compared to some big-market clubs, many of whom are co-owners in RSNs which are relatively healthy in larger population areas. In July of 2024, it was reported that the league and the MLB Players Association had agreed to redirect some competitive balance tax money to teams impacted by the television situation. This week’s reporting indicates that arrangement was for 2024 alone. There was no such deal in place for 2025 and there’s currently nothing lined up for 2026 either.

“The clubs have control over the timing,” Manfred said this week. “They can make a decision to move to MLB Media because of the contractual status now. I think that what’s happening right now clubs are evaluating their alternatives. Obviously they’ve made significant payroll commitments already and they’re evaluating the alternatives to find the best revenue source for the year and the best outlet in terms of providing quality broadcasts to their fans.”

With this situation and other disruptive developments in terms of MLB’s broadcast landscape, the league’s preference has been to not sign any new contracts that go beyond the 2028 season. It has been reported that many of MLB’s broadcast deals expire after that season. Manfred hopes to put together a league-wide streaming service with no blackouts and/or have a big auction of rights to various games, with multiple broadcasters bidding against each other.

A mini version of this happened recently when MLB’s deal with ESPN fell apart. The league then split up ESPN’s previous package, selling some of it back to ESPN along with other elements. Netflix bought the rights to Opening Day, the Home Run Derby and some other special events. NBC/Peacock bought Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card round from 2026 to 2028, as well as other events. ESPN acquired the local rights for the Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Guardians and Twins as part of their new deal.

All of this figures to hang over the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The current CBA expires after the 2026 season. Another lockout, like the one in 2021-22, is widely expected. Manfred has essentially admitted that one will occur by speaking positively about the lockout process.

Whether that lockout extends long enough to cancel games in 2027 remains to be seen. The players and the union are already concerned by a lack of spending from some clubs and the RSN situation will likely only exacerbate that. Some of the impacted clubs would likely welcome more revenue sharing but the bigger clubs wouldn’t be as keen on that. The owners are expected to push for a salary cap but the players are strongly opposed to that.

Manfred has made plenty of unpopular moves in his time as commissioner but he can currently point to a legacy that includes no games missed due to labor strife. Baseball’s popularity is also on the rise, despite the aforementioned TV disruption. Game Seven of the 2025 World Series was the most-watched game around the world since 1991. The uptick in ratings and attendance has been attributed by many to recent rule changes, particularly the pitch clock.

Disrupting the 2027 season would impact that legacy and also cut into baseball’s recent surge, which would be inopportune timing with the aforementioned future broadcast plans. Manfred is signed through 2029 and does not plan to seek another term after that.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

18 Players Exchange Filing Figures

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Teams and arbitration-eligible players had until 7:00 pm Central to agree to terms or exchange filing figures. The vast majority agreed to salaries, either this afternoon or before November’s non-tender deadline to ensure they were offered contracts at all.

There were 18 cases where team and player did not align — none bigger than the record $13MM gap between the Tigers and Tarik Skubal. Nothing formally prevents players and teams from continuing negotiations. However, virtually every team takes a “file-and-trial” approach to the process. Clubs will mostly refuse to continue talks about one-year deals after this date. They’ll often make exceptions for discussions involving multi-year contracts or one-year deals with a club/mutual option. It’s unlikely that all of these players will end up getting to a hearing, but the majority probably will.

If the sides go to a hearing, a three-person arbitration panel will either choose the player’s or the team’s filing figure. (Hearings will run between January 26 and February 13.) The arbitrators cannot pick a midpoint. That’s designed to prevent the parties from anchoring by filing at extremely high or low figures. Teams’ preferences for the file-and-trial approach follows a similar logic. The idea is to deter players from submitting a higher number from which they could continue to negotiate until the hearing begins.

Unless otherwise noted, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported all filing figures for those who didn’t reach agreements. The list of players who could go to a hearing this winter (service time in parentheses):

Angels

  • Reid Detmers (3.159): Filed at $2.925MM, team filed at $2.625MM

Astros

  • Isaac Paredes (4.160): Filed at $9.95MM, team filed at $8.75MM
  • Yainer Diaz (3.035): Filed at $4.5MM, team filed at $3MM

Blue Jays

  • Eric Lauer (5.091): Filed at $5.75MM, team filed at $4.4MM (first reported by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet)

Braves

  • Dylan Lee (3.150): Filed at $2.2MM, team filed at $2MM

Brewers

Marlins

Mariners

  • Bryce Miller (2.153): Filed at $2.625MM, team filed at $2.25MM

Nationals

Orioles

  • Keegan Akin (5.083): Filed at $3.375MM, team filed at $2.975MM
  • Kyle Bradish (3.160): Filed at $3.55MM, team filed at $2.875MM

Rays

  • Edwin Uceta (2.150): Filed at $1.525MM, team filed at $1.2MM

Reds

Royals

Tigers

Twins

  • Joe Ryan (4.033): Filed at $6.35MM, team filed at $5.85MM

Braves Claim Ken Waldichuk, Designate Vidal Brujan

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The Braves have claimed left-hander Ken Waldichuk off the Athletics’ waiver wire, as announced by both teams.  Infielder Vidal Brujan was designated for assignment to clear space on Atlanta’s 40-man roster.

The A’s designated Waldichuk for assignment on December 22 in a corresponding move for the Jeff McNeil trade, and Waldichuk then had an extended stay in DFA limbo through the unofficial holiday roster freeze.  The southpaw’s situation has now finally been resolved (by coincidence) on Waldichuk’s 28th birthday, and he’ll celebrate by heading to Atlanta looking for a fresh start to his career.

Once a top-100 ranked prospect, Waldichuk posted a 5.28 ERA over 175 2/3 innings for the then-Oakland team during the 2022-23 seasons.  While the results didn’t stand out, there was hope Waldichuk could continue to develop into a rotation piece for the Athletics, but a Tommy John surgery then interrupted the lefty’s career.  The May 2024 procedure kept Waldichuk from pitching at all in 2024, and he returned to toss 54 innings of minor league ball last season.  There was clearly still some rust, as Waldichuk had an 8.65 ERA and a 15.9% walk rate over 51 Triple-A frames.

Waldichuk is entering the first of four arbitration-eligible seasons as a Super Two player, and he had already agreed to a $825K salary for the 2026 season.  The Braves would therefore have plenty of control over Waldichuk if he can develop into a late bloomer as a starter or reliever on Atlanta’s pitching staff, and it makes for a low-cost risk on the team’s part.

Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is traditionally aggressive in taking fliers on former top prospects, and Waldichuk will take the roster space of another such player in Brujan.  The payroll impact is basically even, as Brujan had avoided arbitration (in the first of three arb years) by agreeing to a split contract worth $825K for time spent in the majors.

Brujan was a regular on top-100 lists during his time in the Rays’ farm system, but he simply hasn’t hit at the MLB level.  Over 645 plate appearances in the Show, Brujan has batted only .199/.267/.276 with five home runs, and his career has taken a journeyman’s path.  Since Tampa Bay dealt Brujan to Miami in November 2023, Brujan has suited up for four different teams — the Marlins in 2024, and then the Cubs, Orioles, and Braves all during the 2025 campaign.  Atlanta claimed him off Baltimore’s waiver wire in August, and Brujan’s .268/.362/.317 slash line over 47 PA for the Braves represents one of the better offensive stretches of his career.

Now entering his age-28 season, Brujan could still appeal to yet another team intrigued by his past blue-chip status, though is out of minor league options.  Initially a middle infielder, Brujan has experience at second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions as he has tried to increase his marketability by becoming a utilityman.  With over three years of MLB service time, Brujan would have the ability to reject an outright assignment if he clears waivers, though he would have to surrender his 2026 salary in re-entering free agency.

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