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American League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25

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Every American League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.

Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the AL, while the National League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

  • The Angels announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Gustavo Campero and catcher Sebastian Rivero. Campero is a depth outfielder who has hit .202/.272/.346 over the past two seasons. Rivero operated as the club’s third catcher for most of the season but spent the final few weeks on the active roster. Neither player had been eligible for arbitration. All their arb-eligible players were easy calls to retain.
  • The Astros technically made one non-tender, dropping infielder Ramón Urías after he was designated for assignment earlier in the week. He’d been projected at $4.4MM.
  • The Athletics officially non-tendered outfielder JJ Bleday, the club announced. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday, so this was inevitable unless they found a trade partner. Bleday had been projected at $2.2MM.
  • The only non-tenders for the Red Sox were first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and reliever Josh Winckowski, each of whom had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Lowe was projected at $13.5MM, while Winckowski was at $800K.
  • The Guardians non-tendered outfielder Will Brennan and relievers Sam Hentges and Nic Enright. The latter had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Hentges hasn’t pitched since undergoing shoulder surgery in September 2024. He underwent a right knee procedure a few months ago and will be delayed this offseason. Brennan only appeared in six MLB games this year and underwent Tommy John surgery while in the minors in June. He’d been projected at $900K.
  • The Mariners non-tendered reliever Gregory Santos, reports Francys Romero. He’d only been projected at $800K, narrowly above the MLB minimum, so the move was about dropping him from the 40-man roster. Seattle acquired the 26-year-old righty from the White Sox over the 2023-24 offseason. He has only made 16 MLB appearances with a 5.02 earned run average over the past two years because of lat and knee injuries. Seattle also non-tendered relievers Trent Thornton and Tayler Saucedo (the latter of whom was designated for assignment on Tuesday). Thornton had been projected at $2.5MM and is coming off a 4.68 ERA through 33 appearances. He suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in August.
  • The Orioles non-tendered swingman Albert Suárez, the team announced. Everyone else in their arbitration class was offered a contract, surprisingly including first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Suárez, 36, was a solid depth starter in 2024. He was limited to five MLB appearances this past season by a flexor strain but is not expected to require surgery.
  • The Rangers non-tendered each of Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb. MLBTR covered those moves in greater detail.
  • The Rays only non-tendered outfielders Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley, each of whom had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reported last night that the Rays were open to bringing back Fraley at a lower price than his $3.6MM arbitration projection.
  • The Royals non-tendered outfielder MJ Melendez and reliever Taylor Clarke, per a club announcement. Melendez, who’d been projected at $2.65MM, was an obvious decision. The former top prospect never developed as hoped and is a career .215/.297/.388 hitter over parts of four seasons. Clarke isn’t as big a name but comes as the more surprising cut. He’d been projected at just $1.9MM and is coming off a 3.25 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate over 55 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
  • The Tigers are non-tendering utility player Andy Ibáñez, according to Romero. He’d been projected at $1.8MM. The righty-hitting Ibáñez had been a solid short-side platoon bat for Detroit between 2023-24. His production against southpaws dropped this year (.258/.311/.403), limiting his value. The Tigers optioned the 32-year-old to Triple-A in early June and kept him in the minors until shortly before the trade deadline. Detroit also dropped the six pitchers they’d designated for assignment earlier in the week: Tanner Rainey, Dugan Darnell, Tyler Mattison, Jason Foley, Jack Little and Sean Guenther.
  • The only Twins non-tender was outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who’d been designated for assignment this morning to make room for the Alex Jackson trade. Everyone in the arbitration class was brought back.
  • The White Sox non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, as first reported by Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. The lefty hitter turned in a solid .263/.356/.400 line in 93 games this past season. Tauchman has gotten on base at plus rates in three straight years but was also non-tendered by the Cubs a year ago. The 34-year-old (35 next month) had been projected for a $3.4MM salary. The Sox also announced they’ve dropped lefty reliever Cam Booser and first baseman Tim Elko. Neither had been eligible for arbitration. The former posted a 5.52 ERA in 39 appearances after being acquired from the Red Sox last winter, while the latter hit .134 in his first 23 MLB games despite a 26-homer season in Triple-A.
  • The Yankees announced five non-tenders. Relievers Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross, Jake Cousins and Ian Hamilton were all cut loose, as was pre-arbitration righty Michael Arias. Leiter, who’d been projected at $3MM, never clicked in the Bronx after being acquired at the 2024 deadline. He posted a 4.89 ERA in 70 innings as a Yankee. Hamilton, Effross and Cousins were all projected just above the MLB minimum but are cut to clear roster space. Hamilton was on and off the active roster and posted a 4.28 ERA in 40 big league frames this year. Effross was limited to 11 appearances and has been plagued by various injuries for the past three and a half years, while Cousins is working back from Tommy John surgery. Arias has never pitched in the big leagues and could be brought back on a minor league deal.

The Blue Jays tendered contracts to all unsigned players on the 40-man roster.

Diamondbacks To Re-Sign James McCann

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The D-Backs are re-signing veteran catcher James McCann to a one-year deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It’s a $2.75MM guarantee with another $500K in bonuses for the Ballengee Group client, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. The bonuses are tied to McCann’s time on the active roster, according to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert.

McCann commands a big league deal after settling for a minor league contract last time around. The former All-Star signed a non-roster deal with the Braves and spent the first couple months of the season with their top affiliate in Gwinnett. McCann’s deal included an automatic out if any team were willing to add him to the big league roster. That opportunity arose when Gabriel Moreno broke his right index finger in the middle of June.

The Snakes initially signed McCann to back up Jose Herrera while Moreno was on the shelf. It didn’t take long for him to surpass the light-hitting Herrera on the depth chart. McCann recorded nine hits (including a pair of home runs) and six walks over his first nine games with the Diamondbacks. His production tanked from there, as he hit .232/.267/.364 over his final 106 trips to the plate. The early hot streak was still enough to finish with a respectable .260/.324/.431 batting line in 42 games.

Moreno returned in August. The Diamondbacks jettisoned Herrera instead of McCann, keeping the veteran as Moreno’s backup for the final five weeks. He’ll get a chance to reprise that role for a full season. Adrian Del Castillo had been the only other listed catcher on the 40-man roster. He’s more of an emergency/third option rather than a true backup, as his bat has always been well ahead of his glove. McCann has never graded as an excellent defender, but he’s a competent receiver with an acceptable arm who has long been highly regarded for his work with pitchers.

The D-Backs have a full 40-man roster but probably won’t finalize the contract until after this evening’s non-tender deadline. Any of Kevin Ginkel, Jake McCarthy, Ryan Thompson or the rehabbing A.J. Puk could be dropped from the roster. McCann’s signing pushes their projected payroll (courtesy of RosterResource) to $145MM pending those arbitration decisions.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Reblias, Imagn Images.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Hey everyone, hope you're well!
  • Going to wrap right at 2:00 Central with the NT deadline but it's still pretty dead right now so we'll get this going a little early

Unclemike1526

  • Players who accept the qualifying offer have some kind of trade protection right? I mean a FA can't be traded for so long after they sign to prevent teams from signing them and trading right? Exactly what are the rules concerning those situations? Thanks

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah this is the same as if the player was a major league free agent who signed an MLB deal. Can't be traded without consent until June 15

A's Fan

  • Do you see any world where the A's could potentially be in the running for a Zac Gallen?  Say they considerably overpay, 5 Years/125 million.

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah I assume that'd get it done. Think it would go pretty badly though
  • I'm already basically out on Gallen. The stuff gets incrementally worse each year, assume the HR rate will continue to climb. He'd be my pick to lead MLB in home runs allowed next season if he signed in that park

Michael

  • I listened to the Podcast, and I feel Tucker is a hard one to predict.  But, it feels like he might be a player the Giants or Angels would seriously consider.  Thoughts?

Anthony Franco

  • Would probably have the Angels a little behind the Jays, Yankees and Giants as likeliest options -- Halos are still a little cluttered in the corner OF and they have so many other needs to address -- but neither would be all that surprising to me

Thompson

  • Final prediction for Jonah Heim and Adolis Garcia?

Anthony Franco

  • I'll go García NT. Heim tendered but traded later in the offseason
  • Hopefully the Rangers at least wait until the end of the chat to prove me wrong haha

Michael

  • Do you see any scenario in which AA is in on Bichette?  Or do you think the Dubón trade ends any other activity at SS for the Braves (Bichette or Kim)?

Anthony Franco

  • Bo would be so out of character for them. I don't see that one. Don't see why Dubón would take them out of the mix on HSK, just offers them cover if the asking price is outlandish
  • I'm not sure the post-surgery version of Kim is all that much better than Dubón frankly, but the league seems to like HSK more than I do

Bruce Stringbean

  • What kind of deals would you expect for Max Kepler and Austin Hays?

Anthony Franco

  • One year each. Around $7M for Kepler and $4-5M for Hays

El Chupacabra

  • Royals need a RH outfielder.  Morel, Fraley, and Bleday were recently DFA’d. Which should they go for?

Anthony Franco

  • Fraley and Bleday are lefty hitters and Morel's barely an outfielder, so if you're looking specifically for a righty bat, none of them
  • I think Fraley's the best player of the group and would be fine if they tossed him $3M as a platoon option in LF

Joe from Milwaukee

  • Jarren Duran for Freddy Peralta straight up. Why says no and why?

Anthony Franco

  • Hmm I see the logic for both but I'd pass if I were Milwaukee
  • Duran has the extra control years obviously but he's already around $8M, so the arb price is probably going to be $10-12M by '27 and above $15M two years from now. It's quickly into "should they listen to offers on Duran" territory for them
  • Obviously they could get something back down the line but the costliest arb years are going to have huge surplus value, and they'll get a pick after the first round in '27 if they hold Peralta all year (barring injury). I'd rather have the more valuable player for the upcoming season at that point

The Mayor

  • Could you see the Tigers adding Harrison Bader to the outfield mix?

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Seven Arbitration Trade Possibilities

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MLBTR published our annual list of non-tender candidates last night. The Astros and Braves already swapped infielders in the Mauricio Dubón/Nick Allen trade with the NT deadline 24 hours away. That indicates both players will be tendered by their new teams but may not have been offered contracts by their original clubs (especially Dubón with Houston).

Essentially everyone who was included on the non-tender list could be a trade candidate. There are a few who are obviously not going to attract any interest at their projected price because of injuries or underperformance (e.g. Nathaniel Lowe, Evan Phillips). Teams could shop any of their more borderline candidates before tomorrow. The Rangers are doing so with Adolis García and Jonah Heim. The Astros would undoubtedly be open to moving on from Jesús Sánchez. Players like Ryan Mountcastle, Jonathan India and Luis García Jr. seem likelier than not to be cut loose if no trade comes together.

They're not the only somewhat costly arbitration-eligible players who could be on the move. There are a few others who didn't strike us at MLBTR as plausible non-tender candidates but wouldn't be especially surprising trade possibilities. These players should have modest surplus value yet still might be better served with a change of scenery or on a team that has more budgetary flexibility to accommodate a mid-level salary. Projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Spencer Steer, Reds 1B ($4.5MM projection, controllable through 2028)

Acquired from the Twins as part of the 2022 Tyler Mahle deadline deal, Steer looked like a building block of the Cincinnati lineup a couple seasons ago. He hit .271/.356/.464 with 37 doubles and 23 home runs in his '23 rookie season. Even with questions about his long-term defensive fit, the bat looked like it'd play.

The numbers have backed up over the past two years. Steer has still reached the 20-homer mark in both seasons, but his rate metrics are down across the board. His batting average has respectively landed at .225 and .238. The on-base percentage has been below .320 in both years. Steer's overall slugging output is also down despite the similar home run tallies. He has hit fewer doubles (21 this season) as his batted ball metrics have regressed.

Steer graded well defensively at first base and was a finalist for the NL Gold Glove award. That's a nice development, but he's still limited to bat-first positions that require him to hit to be productive. He came up as a third baseman but hasn't played there in two years. Steer is athletic enough to play some corner outfield, but his grades out there have been poor. He also played through a shoulder injury this year that impacted his throwing, leading the Reds to be cautious about how much work they gave him anywhere other than first base. Cincinnati should be in the market for an impact bat, and first base has free agent possibilities ranging from Pete Alonso to Ryan O'Hearn. That could make Steer expendable. The Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox and Diamondbacks are speculative trade partners.

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Braves, Connor Thomas Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves recently signed left-hander Connor Thomas to a minor league contract, (h/t to Matt Eddy of Baseball America). It’s possible that’s a two-year deal, as the 27-year-old underwent UCL surgery in July and will miss most or all of the ’26 season.

It’s a homecoming for the Tifton, Georgia, native. Thomas played his college ball at Georgia Tech and was selected by the Cardinals in the fifth round in 2019. He spent the 2023-24 campaigns at Triple-A Memphis, posting impressive numbers following a move to the bullpen in the latter year. Thomas tossed 90 1/3 innings across 56 appearances, pitching to a 3.39 earned run average. He didn’t miss many bats but attacked the strike zone and got a lot of ground-balls and weak contact.

The Brewers grabbed Thomas in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. He pitched well enough in Spring Training to break camp and make his MLB debut. It didn’t go as planned, as he was bombed for eight runs on a trio of homers in two mop-up innings in a blowout loss to the Yankees. Thomas pitched against the Reds six days later, surrendering four more runs on six hits across 3 1/3 frames. He went on the injured list after the second appearance and went under the knife a few months later.

Milwaukee dropped Thomas from the roster at the beginning of the offseason. He’ll rehab with his hometown club and try to factor into a long relief role once he’s healthy down the line. Thomas sits in the 89-90 MPH range with his fastball and uses four pitches (sinker, cutter, changeup, sweeper) at similar rates.

Orioles Add Brady North, Hank Conger To Coaching Staff

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The Orioles are adding Brady North and Hank Conger to Craig Albernaz’s first coaching staff. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reported that North was coming aboard as an assistant hitting coach. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reported Conger’s hiring as bullpen coach.

North had been an assistant hitting coach in Tampa Bay for the past four seasons. The 34-year-old had previously worked as a minor league hitting instructor in the Rays’ farm system. His first season in the organization (2019) overlapped with Albernaz’s year as a minor league field coordinator. North is now on to the second team of his coaching career. He’ll work underneath first-time hitting coach Dustin Lind, whose hiring was reported a couple weeks ago.

Conger, 38 in January, played parts of seven seasons in the big leagues as a catcher. He moved into coaching in Korea in 2020, holding a position with the Lotte Giants for two seasons. Conger returned stateside over the 2021-22 offseason to join Rocco Baldelli’s staff in Minnesota. Conger spent three years as first base coach and this past season as an assistant bench coach. He was also the catching coach for all four seasons. The Twins moved on from Conger when they brought in new manager Derek Shelton.

Assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer had been the interim bullpen coach. Plassmeyer and pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek are expected back, as is pitching coach Drew French (link via Jake Rill of MLB.com). Conger will also be on the pitching side, working with a relief group that’ll probably be without Félix Bautista for the entire season.

The O’s reacquired Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs, the first of what should be multiple bullpen moves. President of baseball operations Mike Elias is already on record about wanting to add a closer. (Francys Romero reported last night that Baltimore was one of the teams that had expressed interest in Raisel Iglesias before he re-signed with the Braves.) Baltimore’s bullpen was 25th with a 4.57 ERA this past season.

North and Conger should get the O’s coaching staff pretty close to complete. They’ve also hired Donnie Ecker (bench coach), Jason Bourgeois (first base coach), Miguel Cairo (infield coach) and Joe Singley (catching coach/field coordinator) while retaining third base coach Buck Britton. Baltimore did have two assistant hitting coaches in 2025, so it’s possible they’ll add another voice on the offensive side to work with Lind and North.

Braves Notes: Dubon, Seager, Holmes

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Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos met with reporters on Wednesday after the team acquired Mauricio Dubón from the Astros for Nick Allen. Anthopoulos confirmed the Braves view him as a potential starting shortstop while leaving the door open to pushing him back into a utility role if they land an upgrade.

“Our underlying data on him at shortstop is good and strong,” Anthopoulos said (link via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). “But I think he’s good at second, good at third, and good at the corners. He can play center field. We like the contact and the speed, as well.” Anthopoulos said Dubón’s job “will be determined by what else we do this winter and even in Spring Training.”

There’s no indication the Braves will be a factor for Bo Bichette. The only other clear free agent upgrade is Ha-Seong Kim, who declined his $16MM player option. Anthopoulos made clear at the beginning of the offseason that the Braves wanted Kim back, but it remains to be seen if they’ll meet his asking price on what will presumably be a multi-year deal.

There aren’t any teams that are known to be shopping an everyday shortstop. Washington could move CJ Abrams, but the asking price would be huge and they may be reluctant to trade him within the division. The rebuilding White Sox and Rockies have young shortstops they hope are foundational pieces (Colson Montgomery and Ezequiel Tovar, respectively).

There’s been some speculation about the Rangers entertaining offers on a highly-paid superstar as they face payroll constraints. It’d still be a huge surprise if Texas trades Corey Seager, who arguably remains the team’s best hitter and is signed for $31MM per season for another six years. It’s not clear if the Braves would have any interest in assuming a significant portion of the remaining $186MM on that deal. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that Atlanta is one of the clubs on Seager’s eight-team no-trade list. Even if the teams could line up a stunning blockbuster, they’d need to get the player to sign off.

The 31-year-old Dubón has started 81 MLB games at shortstop. He played a career-high 206 1/3 innings there this past season. Dubón has 721 career frames at the position. Defensive Runs Saved has him right around average, while Statcast grades him an excellent nine runs above par. Dubón, a two-time Gold Glove winner in a utility capacity, is established as a plus defender at second base and throughout the outfield. He’s an above-average runner with good hands and a plus arm. Dubón is unlikely to be as good a defensive shortstop as Allen was, but he’s not a complete zero at the bottom of the lineup, so he’s a better overall player.

The Braves need to weigh the value of the upgrade from Dubón to Kim against the cost it’d take to bring the latter back — which could pull resources from their need for a mid-rotation starter. There’s too much injury downside to rely on a rotation of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo López and Hurston Waldrep.

The Braves don’t have much in the way of upper level depth behind that quintet. That makes Grant Holmes’ health a big x-factor, even assuming they add at least one starter. Holmes turned in a 3.99 ERA while striking out a quarter of batters faced in 22 appearances this year. His season ended in July when he was diagnosed with a partial tear of the UCL in his elbow.

Ligament damage always raises a risk of surgery. Holmes is trying to rehab without going under the knife. Anthopoulos said the Braves are “really encouraged” by how things have progressed in the past four months (relayed by David O’Brien of The Athletic). They still won’t know whether Holmes can avoid surgery until he builds up the intensity during Spring Training, yet that’s a positive development at this stage.

A’s Agree To Minor League Deals With Ben Bowden, Geoff Hartlieb

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The Athletics agreed to minor league contracts with relievers Ben Bowden and Geoff Hartlieb. Matt Eddy of Baseball America noted Bowden’s signing on their latest transaction roundup, while the Hartlieb move is reflected on the MLB.com transaction log.

Bowden’s deal is a re-signing, as he spent the 2025 season with the A’s. The 31-year-old southpaw made 11 appearances, allowing six runs (five earned) across 10 2/3 frames. He struck out seven and issued five walks before suffering a season-ending lat strain. While that cost him his 40-man roster spot, the A’s like him enough as a depth option to bring him back. Bowden pitched well at Triple-A Las Vegas before his call-up, working 39 2/3 innings of 1.36 ERA ball while striking out a quarter of opposing hitters.

The A’s could lose Sean Newcomb to free agency. That leaves them with Hogan Harris as the only left-hander locked into the bullpen. Brady Basso and swingman Ken Waldichuk are the only other southpaws on the 40-man roster who aren’t set for rotation roles. The A’s will probably bring in a left-hander (or re-sign Newcomb), but there’s a decent path for Bowden right now to compete for a season-opening bullpen job.

Hartlieb, 31, is likely to begin the season in Triple-A. The journeyman righty made four MLB appearances between the Yankees and Tigers this past season. He gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings and has a near-8.00 ERA in his MLB career. Hartlieb posted strong underlying numbers in Triple-A, fanning 27.6% of opponents against a 7.6% walk rate over 53 1/3 frames. That gets him another non-roster opportunity for what’ll be his seventh Triple-A season.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes Post Infielder Sung-mun Song

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The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization have agreed to post infielder Sung-mun Song, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. The KBO posting window is 30 days (unlike the 45-day period for players coming over from Japan’s NPB). MLB teams will officially be able to negotiate with Song, whom Yoo adds has hired ISE Baseball to represent him, on Saturday morning. He’ll need to sign by 5:00 pm Eastern on December 21 or remain with the Heroes.

Song, 29, is a left-handed hitter who has played all nine seasons of his career with that club. He posted a sub-.700 OPS every year between 2021-23 but has taken a leap forward at the plate over the past two years. Song hit .340/.409/.518 last year and is coming off an equally impressive ’25 campaign. He popped a career-best 26 home runs with a .315/.387/.530 slash across 646 plate appearances.

Among 30 KBO hitters with 500+ trips to the dish, Song finished sixth in both average and on-base percentage and was third in slugging. He also finished third in home runs (albeit well behind former MLB first baseman Lewin Díaz’s league-best 50 longballs). Song walked at a 10.5% rate while striking out 14.9% of the time. The strikeout rate would be excellent against big league pitching but is only a little better than average in Korea, where the velocity is lower and hitters put far more balls in play.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs gave Song a 45 FV grade, which is commensurate with a mid-level prospect from the typical organization’s top 30 list. Longenhagen credited him with plus power to the pull side and a plus arm at third base, where he has spent most of his KBO career. He’s a good athlete who stole 25 bases this year and has gone 46-48 in stolen base attempts over the past two seasons.

The biggest question is his pure hitting ability. Longenhagen writes that Song has shown a bit of a propensity to chase outside the strike zone and has an uphill swing path that can leave him vulnerable to pitches up in the zone, especially those on the outer half. Readers are encouraged to check out FanGraphs’ full scouting report for more details. Will Sammon and Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic wrote earlier this month that evaluators with whom they spoke viewed Song more as a utility player than a regular.

Song has some defensive flexibility, but an inability to play shortstop limits his value as a utility piece. He’s primarily a corner infielder who also has almost 1300 innings at second base. The Angels need a third baseman and are looking for a left-handed bat to balance a righty-heavy lineup. The Astros also want to bring in a lefty-hitting infielder, though they’d need to feel comfortable playing Song regularly at second base unless they trade one of Isaac Paredes or Christian Walker. The A’s are in the second and third base markets, while the Mariners could be as well depending on whether they re-sign their own free agents. The White Sox, Pirates, Marlins, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Tigers and Royals (with Maikel Garcia capable of playing second) could all be in the mix for a third baseman.

A signing team would owe a posting fee to the Heroes on top of whatever is guaranteed to Song. That’s proportional to the contract value: 20% of the first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% thereafter. It’d be surprising if Song tops $25MM, so the likeliest outcome is that the release fee will be 20% of the guarantee.

Song is the only KBO player known to be on the posting radar this offseason. First baseman Baek-Ho Kang was reportedly considering an MLB move, but he signed a four-year contract with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles this week. While Cody Ponce is expected to return to MLB after a dominant KBO season, he’ll do so as a free agent rather than via the posting system. There are three much higher-profile NPB players making the jump via the posting system: Tatsuya Imai, Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. Japanese righty Kona Takahashi is also being posted but will command a far lower contract than the other three.

Rays Sign John Rooney To Minor League Deal

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The Rays announced they’ve signed lefty reliever John Rooney and infielder Raynel Delgado to minor league contracts with invitations to big league Spring Training. Francys Romero first reported the Delgado signing last night.

Rooney elected minor league free agency after being outrighted by the Astros at the beginning of the offseason. The 28-year-old had a brief stint with Houston, who acquired him from the Marlins in a small trade in August. (Rooney could be traded after July 31 because he’d been on a minor league contract.) The Astros called him up for his big league debut three weeks later. Rooney struck out two of six batters faced while giving up a solo home run to Luis Vázquez in his only appearance.

The Astros placed him on the injured list after that game. Rooney underwent season-ending surgery to treat tennis elbow and remove bone spurs. He’ll try to work his way back to the big leagues with Tampa Bay next spring. Rooney sits just 90-91 MPH with his fastballs while leaning more often on a low-80s breaking ball. It missed a lot of bats in Triple-A, where he struck out 34% of opponents en route to a 2.56 ERA in 43 appearances between Miami’s and Houston’s affiliates. He held left-handed hitters to a .155/.282/.169 line with 37 strikeouts and nine walks in 85 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

Delgado, 26 in April, has not played in MLB. He’s a former sixth-round pick by Cleveland who spent last season with the Brewers top farm team. The left-handed hitter put together a solid .281/.363/.378 slash while stealing 40 bases in 48 attempts. Delgado is stretched at shortstop but can serve as a depth piece at either second or third base.

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