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Previewing The 2025-26 Free Agent Class: Catcher

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A number of teams (and their fanbases) have already turned their attention towards the offseason. Identifying free agent targets is a big part of that prep work, so it’s worth taking a look at the players who’ll be available at each position. We’ll start things off with catchers. Ages listed are for the 2026 season.

Starting Catchers

J.T. Realmuto (35)

Now in his mid-30s, Realmuto is no longer the all-around superstar he was at his peak. Still, he remains a perfectly solid starting backstop who is as reliable in the lineup as any in baseball. Realmuto led the majors with 132 starts and 1151 1/3 innings behind the plate. He’d also logged the heaviest workload of any catcher in 2022-23, and only a five-week absence for a knee sprain kept him from doing the same in 2024.

Realmuto is still an exceptional athlete for the position. He’s an elite catch-and-throw defender, leading the league with an average pop time of 1.86 seconds on throws to second base. He cut down almost 30% of attempted basestealers at a time when the league average is around 22%. Statcast has increasingly soured on his pitch framing and blocking metrics, but the former might not be quite as valued a skillset with the forthcoming strike zone challenge system.

The righty-hitting Realmuto put up a .257/.315/.384 slash across 550 trips to the plate. He hit 26 doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs. It’s technically his first below-average offensive season since his 2015 rookie year. It’s nevertheless solid production, and he took a .266/.321/.403 line into September before slumping in the final month.

Realmuto has a good shot at a two-year deal as he enters his age-35 season. He’s now in year seven in Philly. Extending that arrangement makes the most sense. If that doesn’t come to pass, he could fit on the Angels, Padres or Rays. The Nationals arguably have the biggest need at the position of any team, but his age might not align with a Washington club that has yet to pull out of the rebuild.

Potential Regulars/Timeshare Options

Victor Caratini (32)

Caratini has been a high-end backup for most of his career. While he has never gotten to 400 plate appearances or 100 starts in a season, he’s a switch-hitter with serviceable career numbers from both sides of the plate. Caratini hit .263/.329/.406 in 660 plate appearances while splitting time with Yainer Diaz in Houston over the last two seasons. He’s a capable receiving catcher and adept at blocking balls in the dirt. Caratini’s biggest weakness is a below-average arm that makes him vulnerable in the running game. Opponents were successful on 57 of 64 stolen base attempts (an 89% rate).

This is Caratini’s second trip to free agency. He commanded a two-year, $12MM deal last time around. He has done enough to get another two-year contract at a slightly higher annual value this winter. Kyle Higashioka landed two years and $13.5MM last offseason, and he’s three years older than Caratini.

Danny Jansen (31)

Jansen was one of the more quietly productive two-way catchers in Toronto early in his career. His tenure with the Blue Jays was marred by injuries, and while he’s been mostly healthy over the past two seasons, his numbers have dropped. His defensive metrics have been up and down for the past couple seasons. He had a terrible second half in 2024 that left him to sign an $8.5MM pillow contract with the Rays. Jansen hit .204/.314/.389 over 73 games with Tampa Bay and was traded to Milwaukee this summer.

There’s not much playing time available when you’re backing up William Contreras, so Jansen only made 16 starts with the Brew Crew. He has impressed in that time (.254/.346/.433 with three homers in 78 plate appearances) but hasn’t rebuilt the value it seemed he’d have when he was out to an excellent start to his walk year in ’24. He’s probably looking at a two-year deal at most, ideally with a team that can offer semi-regular playing time.

Backups

Elias Díaz (35)

Díaz was an All-Star with the Rockies a couple seasons back. His production has trended down the past two years, and he’s coming off a .204/.270/.337 slash over 283 plate appearances with the Padres. He has an excellent arm but has gotten mixed grades for his receiving skills over his career.

Mitch Garver (35)

Seattle will pay Garver a $1MM buyout on a mutual option to conclude a disappointing two-year free agent deal. Garver had been a key contributor to the Rangers’ championship team in 2023. The Mariners hoped he’d carry that power into T-Mobile Park, but he hit just .187/.290/.341 across 720 plate appearances with Seattle. A primary DH with Texas, Garver started 42 games and logged almost 400 innings behind the dish while backing up Cal Raleigh this season.

Austin Hedges (33)

Hedges is probably the worst hitter in MLB, but his defensive reputation is so strong that he continues getting opportunities as a backup. The Guardians have signed him to $4MM deals in consecutive offseasons.

Luke Maile (35)

Maile signed an offseason minor league deal with the Royals. He spent a good portion of the season on the big league roster but only got into 25 games. He hit .244/.346/.356 across 54 trips to the plate. Maile is a career .209/.277/.320 hitter but has a strong defensive rep.

Martín Maldonado (39)

There’s been speculation about retirement for the 39-year-old Maldonado, who finished the season on the Padres’ playoff roster with Díaz nursing an oblique injury. A former Gold Glover and World Series champion on the 2022 Astros, Maldonado has built a career off his rapport with pitching staffs and game-calling ability.

James McCann (36)

McCann was playing on a minor league deal with Atlanta when the Diamondbacks offered him an MLB opportunity on June 22. They expected the veteran to be a temporary fill-in while Gabriel Moreno was on the injured list. McCann played well enough to stick around and push previous backup Jose Herrera off the roster once Moreno was healthy. He finished the season with a .260/.324/.431 line over 42 games and might’ve earned himself a big league deal in 2026.

Gary Sánchez (33)

Sánchez landed an $8.5MM contract from the Orioles last winter. He won’t come close to that this time around, as wrist and knee injuries limited him to 29 games. Sánchez hit .231/.297/.418 across 101 plate appearances. He missed the entire second half with a right knee sprain.

Christian Vázquez (35)

Minnesota’s signing of Vázquez on a three-year, $30MM deal did not work out. He hit .215/.267/.311 during his time in the Twin Cities, falling behind Ryan Jeffers on the depth chart early into his tenure. He’s coming off a .189/.271/.274 showing and probably looking at a minor league deal, though he remains a quality defender.

Club Options

Tom Murphy (35)

Murphy missed the entire season with a back injury. In late August, he told Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle that the team misdiagnosed what turned out to be a herniated disc as an oblique strain. The interview is worth a read in full for more context, but Murphy also blasted an outside spinal clinic that the team recommended for what he called “100% malpractice” after they treated the wrong disc. Murphy said at the time that he’d had no contact with the front office since suffering the injury in Spring Training and called his injury-riddled two seasons with the Giants “an absolute nightmare.” Suffice it to say, he won’t be back in San Francisco. The team will pay him a $250K buyout.

Salvador Perez (36)

Perez almost certainly won’t make it to the market. The Royals have a $13.5MM club option. General manager J.J. Picollo has more or less confirmed that Perez will stick in Kansas City, though they could work out some kind of multi-year deal rather than picking up the option. Picollo said they’ve already begun those conversations with the franchise icon.

Third/Fourth Catchers

Rangers Hire Skip Schumaker As Manager

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The Rangers have officially named Skip Schumaker their new manager. The 2023 NL Manager of the Year signed a four-year contract to become the 21st full-time skipper in franchise history. Schumaker’s hiring comes just four days after the team announced that future Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy would not be back for a fourth season.

“We are thrilled to announce this promotion and have Skip leading this club in the dugout,” president of baseball operations Chris Young said in a press release. “Over his past year as a senior advisor to our baseball operations group, Skip has proven to be driven, passionate and thorough in everything he does. He has a winning spirit and energy, and we are fortunate that someone so highly regarded in the industry has agreed to become our manager.”

The team also released a brief statement from Schumaker himself. “I am honored and excited for this opportunity to manage the Rangers,” he said. “While I attained a good understanding of the organization through my front office role this past season, the conversations with Chris Young, (general manager) Ross Fenstermaker, and others this week have only intensified my interest in this opportunity. I can’t wait to begin the work for 2026.”

This move has been telegraphed for almost a year. As mentioned in the club’s announcement, Schumaker joined the Texas organization last November as a senior advisor. That came a few weeks after he stepped down as manager of the Marlins after two seasons. It immediately raised speculation that Schumaker would be the successor whenever the 70-year-old Bochy decided to go in a different direction.

The rapidity of the hiring confirms this was the preferred outcome. Young told reporters this morning the club was not speaking with any candidates outside the organization (relayed by Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News). It was only a matter of days for the team to finalize a contract that gets Schumaker back in the dugout.

A utility infielder during his playing career, Schumaker was a longtime role player for the Cardinals. He began his coaching days in San Diego, then returned to St. Louis as Oli Marmol’s bench coach for the 2022 season. Schumaker got his first managerial opportunity with the Marlins one year later. He signed a two-year deal with a club option for the ’25 campaign to lead what was viewed as a rebuilding Miami team.

The Fish outperformed expectations in 2023, winning 84 games and snagging a Wild Card spot. Unsatisfied with the team’s player development pipeline, owner Bruce Sherman made a change atop the front office at year’s end. Peter Bendix was brought in as president of baseball operations. General manager Kim Ng stepped down rather than work as the #2 executive after leading the front office for the preceding three seasons.

Bendix was unconvinced that Miami’s winning season really opened a contention window. They’d gotten to the playoffs despite being outscored by 57 runs. The Phillies comfortably swept them out of the first round. Ownership certainly wasn’t going to approve significant free agent spending. As Bendix geared up for the team’s latest rebuild, the Marlins agreed to void their option on Schumaker’s contract. He managed out a 100-loss season in 2024 and confirmed the long-apparent news that he would not be back for a third year in South Florida as soon as the season ended.

The sour finish has not detracted from Schumaker’s reputation as one of the sport’s top young managers. It doesn’t appear as though he seriously pursued a position last offseason. He was loosely tied to the White Sox vacancy that eventually went to Will Venable — ironically, the previous presumed successor to Bochy in Arlington — but decided to spend a season in the Texas front office while keeping his options open for 2026.

Schumaker steps into a dugout that might be in the midst of its own youth movement. The Rangers have disappointed in each of the past two seasons after winning the World Series during Bochy’s first year. The franchise has dealt with revenue losses related to the collapse of its local broadcast contract, leading to what is expected to be a reduced payroll. In announcing Bochy’s departure, Young told reporters the club was dealing with financial uncertainty and would place more emphasis on development of young players.

A roster shakeup was necessary anyhow. Their veteran lineup simply hasn’t been good enough over the past two seasons. It’d be a surprise if at least one or two of Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Jung and Jake Burger weren’t traded or non-tendered. Texas still has four huge contracts on the books for Jacob deGrom, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Nathan Eovaldi. They’ll be saddled with Joc Pederson’s $18.5MM salary when he inevitably exercises his player option.

Trading any of deGrom, Eovaldi or Seager would signify a greater teardown than seems likely. They’d need to eat a lot of the remaining three years and $72MM on Semien’s contract to find any interest, and Pederson stands a better chance of being released than traded. There’s a good chance all five of those players are back, but there should be significant turnover among their group of arbitration-eligible hitters.

A 1-2 punch of deGrom and Eovaldi may alone be enough to keep them in the playoff hunt next year if both aces can stay healthy. They’ll need more foundational lineup pieces around Seager, Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and eventually top prospect Sebastian Walcott if they’re to have consistent success throughout the Schumaker era.

There are now seven open or uncertain managerial positions around the game. The Giants and Twins fired Bob Melvin and Rocco Baldelli, respectively, at season’s end. The Angels announced they were not exercising Ron Washington’s club option for 2026, nor would they bring back interim skipper Ray Montgomery. Brian Snitker retired after leading the Braves for nine and a half seasons. The Nationals (Miguel Cairo), Rockies (Warren Schaeffer) and Orioles (Tony Mansolino) ended the year with interim managers after midseason firings. None of those teams have announced whether their interim candidates will get the position on a full-time basis.

Image courtesy of Orlando Ramirez, USA Today Sports.

Lawrence Butler Undergoes Patellar Tendon Surgery

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The A’s announced that Lawrence Butler underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his right knee. The outfielder also received a platelet-rich plasma injection to address patellar tendonitis in his opposite knee. The club didn’t announce a specific recovery timeline but said that Butler will rehab during the offseason in preparation for Spring Training.

Butler is coming off a middling season. He hit .234/.306/.404 while striking out at a 28.4% rate across 630 plate appearances. Butler still managed a 20-20 showing, but all three slash stats regressed from his excellent 2024 campaign. He had a particularly poor second half, hitting .203/.268/.351 with a strikeout rate narrowly above 30% after the All-Star Break.

The knee issues could explain some of that downturn. General manager David Forst told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com on Tuesday that Butler played through the right knee injury for the final few weeks of the season. The 25-year-old remains one of the organization’s core lineup pieces. Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson already look like stars. Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom, Shea Langeliers and Butler all have All-Star ceilings, giving the A’s a lineup that runs at least six deep.

Butler is one season into the second-largest contract in franchise history. He signed a seven-year, $65.5MM deal in Spring Training. He finished the season as the everyday center fielder but probably projects as their long-term right fielder. Denzel Clarke, who missed most of the second half with a groin injury, is a phenomenal center fielder. Their ideal defense has Clarke up the middle, but he’ll need to improve upon the 38% strikeout rate he posted in his rookie season to stick even at the bottom of the lineup.

D-Backs’ Tyler Locklear To Undergo Elbow, Shoulder Surgeries

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Diamondbacks first baseman Tyler Locklear will undergo surgery on both his left elbow and shoulder later this month, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. The rookie suffered a ligament tear in his elbow and a labrum injury in his shoulder.

The procedures make it likely that Locklear will open the 2026 season on the injured list. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM reports that the team is hopeful he’ll be ready for game action by the end of Spring Training. That wouldn’t give him much time to get used to facing MLB pitching, and the Snakes would probably have him open the season on the IL so he could go on a minor league rehab stint. It’s possible he’s back sometime in April, though there’s obviously a wide range of outcomes for a player coming off simultaneous significant surgeries.

Both injuries occurred on the same play. Locklear, a right-handed thrower, was playing first base against Boston on September 7. Connor Wong hit a grounder to third that Jordan Lawlar threw high and wide to first base. Locklear stretched his left arm up and away from his body while trying to keep his foot on the bag. Wong collided with Locklear’s arm as he ran through the base. The play resulted in a two-run error to give Boston a 5-4 lead they’d never relinquish. Locklear was knocked out for the season.

A former second-round pick by the Mariners, Locklear was the key piece of Arizona’s return in the Eugenio Suárez trade. Seattle hadn’t given him much of a big league opportunity. The D-Backs had traded Josh Naylor to the M’s a week earlier, so they plugged Locklear in as their primary first baseman. He had a tough time in his first regular look at big league pitching. The Virginia Commonwealth product batted .175/.267/.262 while striking out 37% of the time across 116 plate appearances.

While it wasn’t an impressive MLB look, Locklear has little left to prove against minor league pitching. He’d turned in a .316/.401/.542 slash with 19 homers and 18 stolen bases over 98 Triple-A contests in the Seattle system. That’s fantastic production even in the Pacific Coast League.

On Wednesday, Gambadoro downplayed the likelihood that the Diamondbacks would make a significant offseason move at first base. It’s unclear if the extent of Locklear’s injuries will change the calculus. The Snakes presumably still want to give him the opportunity to get more comfortable against big league pitching. Yet he’s likely to at least begin the season on the injured list and it’s not hard to imagine elbow and shoulder injuries impacting his swing even when he’s able to get back on the field.

Pavin Smith is the presumptive starter for the time being. He’s coming off a solid .258/.362/.434 showing overall, though the positives were mostly concentrated in a huge first month. Smith hit .222/.311/.351 while striking out a third of the time after the start of May. He missed all of September with a quad strain. The Snakes also don’t have a true designated hitter, leaving open the possibility of bringing in a veteran bat to fill one of those positions while letting Locklear, Smith and Adrian Del Castillo compete for playing time at the other.

Pete Alonso and Naylor top the free agent class at the position. That kind of splash is unlikely given Arizona’s greater need for additions in both the rotation and bullpen. A reunion with Paul Goldschmidt or a one-year deal for Rhys Hoskins or Dominic Smith could be on the table. Nathaniel Lowe is unlikely to be tendered a contract by the Red Sox, while Ryan Mountcastle or Spencer Steer may find themselves in trade rumors.

Giants Interview Kurt Suzuki In Managerial Search

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The Giants interviewed longtime MLB catcher Kurt Suzuki as they search for a new manager. Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle first reported that Suzuki was scheduled to interview on Friday afternoon, and FanSided’s Robert Murray confirmed this evening that indeed took place.

Suzuki, 42 tomorrow, has worked as a special assistant with the Angels for the past three seasons. The longtime MLB catcher jumped right into front office work after retiring as a player following the 2022 campaign. Suzuki appeared in parts of 16 big league seasons. He was an All-Star with Minnesota in 2014 and won a World Series as a member of the 2019 Nationals. That included a go-ahead homer off Justin Verlander in Washington’s Game 2 victory over the Astros.

While Suzuki never played for the Giants, he’s plenty familiar with the Bay Area. He played more than 700 games over two stints with the A’s when they were in Oakland. Suzuki was an A’s draftee who played there between 2007-12. He was traded back for a brief stint at the end of the 2013 season as well.

Suzuki’s front office work has come under Angels’ general manager Perry Minasian, the brother of Giants’ GM and #2 executive Zack Minasian. He doesn’t have any coaching or managerial experience. He was highly respected as a player and had the added bonus of working as a catcher, a trait of many future managers.

It’s an unconventional but not unprecedented candidacy. Reigning American League Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt was hired by the Guardians going into 2024. Vogt had only retired as a player one season earlier, though he did spend the intervening year on Seattle’s coaching staff. Vogt has led the Guardians to consecutive playoff berths.

Former Giants bullpen coach Craig Albernaz has worked as Vogt’s bench coach and associate manager, respectively, over the past two seasons. Albernaz has long been viewed as a potential manager in his own right, and he was reportedly a finalist for both the Miami and White Sox vacancies last year. After Chicago hired Will Venable, Albernaz withdrew from consideration for the Marlins job. They subsequently hired Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough.

Given Albernaz’s previous ties to the Giants and to baseball operations president Buster Posey, he’s an expected candidate for the San Francisco job. Slusser writes that the 42-year-old is “likely to get a look” for the position, though it’s not known if he has an interview scheduled. Cleveland was bounced by the Tigers in the Wild Card Series yesterday.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Good afternoon everyone, hope you're doing well!
  • Going to stay around an hour on this one to buy some time for free agent/outlook work. Let's get rolling

Lance

  • Do you expect the Padres to be super active for any big moves?

Anthony Franco

  • They should be in on the top rotation trade candidates (Gore, Ryan, etc.). Not as easy to do now that they've traded De Vries but they've consistently found a way to make those kinds of trades work
  • Guessing the free agent approach will be more of what we've seen the last two years. Quiet early in the offseason and try to find ways to creatively structure deals for guys who fall through. Rotation is the priority -- though I could see there being enough uncertainty on King that he kind of falls back into their laps on some sort of opt-out deal -- but they could also be in for another bat
  • If it's February and Alonso still hasn't signed, could they jump in?

Drake

  • If Roki Sasaki continues to look as good as he does out of the pen do the Dodgers consider making the move permanent?

Anthony Franco

  • Nah. Maybe he struggles again as a starter next year and they think about it, but they need to give him another chance to start going into '26

David

  • Now that the Mets have moved on from most of their coaches, do you have thoughts in targets for pitching and hit?  Hefner was well regarded but my word, so many walks and full counts!  Thank you!

Anthony Franco

  • Feels to me like Hefner fell on the sword for the front office getting too cute with the pitching moves over the offseason, but that's life as a coach. The upcoming rotation class isn't great but I have to imagine they'll be more engaged at the top than they were last winter after things fell apart the way they did
  • You can put Tatsuya Imai with every big-market team but he's a potential mid-rotation guy who's uncommonly young for a free agent starter. Shane Bieber's only 30, rock solid, and at least won't come with draft compensation

607179

  • Have you any sense of why Oneil Cruz had the year he had? Is he fixable?

Anthony Franco

  • Some of it is batted ball stuff that'll normalize. He hits the ball so hard that I can't see him having a .262 average on balls in play again
  • Always going to be a ton of strikeouts but I still feel alright about him as an above-average hitter moving forward. Don't think he's long for center field, though, and the whole package adds up to a pretty good player who's super frustrating because you feel he should be more given how freakishly talented he is

ml25ad

  • Lots of different directions that the Cards can go in the offseason.  But if they do look to balance out their position player side of bats with so many LH's, what kind of return do you think each of Donovan, Burleson, Nootbaar, and Gorman could net?

Anthony Franco

  • They'd all have value, probably in the order you mentioned them. Donovan would bring back a lot, probably a little better than the return Miami got from the Yankees for Jazz
  • That was a weird one because Agustin Ramirez was a Top 100 caliber prospect for teams that thought he could catch and not especially valuable for those that didn't. But we can assume Miami was in the former camp (doesn't look promising), and the Cardinals should be able to get someone they value as a top 50-75 overall prospect for two years of Donovan as well

Hopeless Reds Fan

  • Am I wrong to think that this would be a perfect offseason for the Reds to trade Hunter Greene for a haul that could bring them back a mlb bat and a couple of really nice prospects?  With Abbott, Lodolo, Singer, Burns, Lowder, Williamson, Petty, etc... this may be the time?

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Jarred Kelenic, Three Others Elect Free Agency

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October 2nd: Kelenic, Díaz, Dunning and Williams have officially elected free agency, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic.

October 1st: The Braves have begun offseason roster housekeeping. Atlanta announced they’ve outrighted five players — outfielder Jarred Kelenic, right-handers Alexis Díaz and Dane Dunning, catcher Sandy León, and utility player Luke Williams — off the 40-man roster. They’ll all be minor league free agents in the next couple weeks.

Atlanta had 11 players finish the season on the 60-day injured list. They’ll all need to be activated or placed on waivers within five days of the end of the World Series. This clears five spots, and three more will open when Raisel Iglesias, Marcell Ozuna and Charlie Morton reach free agency. Ha-Seong Kim will need to decide on his $16MM player option. They’ll need to drop at least two more players (three if Kim doesn’t opt out) within the next few weeks.

These were all relatively easy cuts, though it marks an unceremonious end to Kelenic’s disappointing time in Atlanta. The Braves took a lot of dead money off Seattle’s books to acquire the former top prospect during the 2023-24 offseason. He hit .231/.286/.393 with a near-30% strikeout rate across 449 plate appearances in 2024.

Atlanta signed Jurickson Profar to replace him as the starting left fielder. With Ronald Acuña Jr. rehabbing ACL surgery and Profar getting suspended for a failed PED test, Kelenic had another shot early in the season. He batted .167 and played his way off the MLB roster by the third week of April. Kelenic’s only MLB appearance after that was as a pinch runner on July 30.

Things were equally bleak in Triple-A. The 25-year-old hit .213/.286/.309 with only four homers while striking out at a 27.6% clip with Gwinnett. Kelenic has never found sustained MLB success but had reliably hit Triple-A pitching until this year. As a former sixth overall pick, he’ll get minor league offers, but it’d be a surprise if he commands a major league contract.

The Braves grabbed Díaz off waivers from the Dodgers in early September. They had roster space to burn and wanted a look at a former All-Star closer who had recorded 28 saves with Cincinnati just last season. Díaz had an uphill path to a 2026 bullpen spot and certainly didn’t do much to convince the Braves to keep him around. He walked five batters and gave up five runs (four earned) in 2 2/3 innings. Díaz had a nightmare season between three teams, giving up 17 runs over 17 2/3 big league frames. He also struggled to a 5.61 ERA across 25 2/3 Triple-A innings.

Díaz made $4.5MM this year in his first trip through arbitration. He would’ve made something close to or matching that if he were tendered a contract. That’s an easy pass for the team coming off the season he had. Díaz has never had strong command, and his velocity and strikeouts have dipped since his excellent first two MLB campaigns. The 29-year-old could also be in minor league deal territory.

The Braves acquired Dunning from the Rangers in July. It was a salary dump for Texas and one of a number of buy-low fliers that Atlanta took as members of their pitching staff kept dropping to injuries. Dunning was an up-and-down reliever for the Braves and gave up 12 earned runs in 10 innings. León, a longtime third or fourth catcher, finished the season on the MLB roster after Sean Murphy underwent hip surgery. He appeared in five games and went 1-12. Williams got into 45 contests as the last man off the bench and designated position player pitcher in blowouts. He hit .129 and owns a career .212/.270/.280 slash over 349 plate appearances.

Rockies Expected To Consider Thad Levine In Front Office Search

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The Rockies officially parted ways with general manager Bill Schmidt this morning, finalizing what had become an expected decision after one of the worst seasons in MLB history. The Rox have already announced they’ll go outside the organization for their next baseball operations leader.

That alone is a change for a franchise that has promoted from within for its past two GM hires. Jeff Bridich and Schmidt had each been longtime members of the Colorado front office before ascending to the top of the staff. The Rockies will go in a different direction on the heels of their first three 100-loss seasons in franchise history. Yet given owner Dick Monfort’s reputation for loyalty that arguably tips into insularity, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the next GM has some history with the organization.

Schmidt’s ouster immediately sparked speculation about former Twins’ general manager Thad Levine, who had worked in the Colorado front office between 1999-2005. Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post listed him among five potential candidates for the position this morning. While that was a largely speculative tie, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi also suggested this evening that the Rockies are likely to consider Levine.

Despite holding the GM title in Minnesota, the 53-year-old Levine has never led a baseball operations department. He worked as the #2 executive under chief baseball officer/president of baseball operations Derek Falvey for eight seasons. He stepped down at the beginning of the 2024-25 offseason. Before that, Levine had spent over a decade as an assistant GM with Texas under Jon Daniels.

Levine’s name has come up in plenty of front office searches over the years, including with the Rockies in 2021 before Schmidt had been tabbed as the permanent general manager. He did not work in baseball operations this past offseason, but Morosi reports that he’d have interest in the Colorado GM job.

Marlins Notes: Alcantara, First Base, Garrett, Meyer

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The Marlins improbably remained alive in the Wild Card race into the season’s final week. While that was enabled largely by the Mets’ collapse, Miami finished just four games under .500 after a 100-loss season in 2024. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix spoke with reporters on Wednesday as he enters his third offseason.

Bendix’s biggest decision is whether to trade Sandy Alcantara. The Marlins held onto the former Cy Young winner at the deadline. Alcantara hadn’t found a groove in his first few months back from Tommy John surgery, and the Fish preferred not to sell low. He looked a lot sharper down the stretch, turning in a 3.70 ERA with a 23.1% strikeout rate in his final 10 starts. He tied for fourth in the majors with 65 2/3 innings pitched after the deadline. Everyone else in the top five had the benefit of an extra start.

The Fish will get calls from teams intrigued by Alcantara’s strong finish. Bendix dodged a question about whether he expected the two-time All-Star to remain in South Florida headed into next season. “I’m not going to speculate on any individual player,” he said (relayed by Isaac Azout of Fish On First). “We’re always looking for ways to improve our club and I’m going to stay as disciplined as possible in doing that.”

It’s the kind of generality that most executives express publicly when asked about specific players. It’s not an especially surprising response, though it does contrast with the club’s approach from last offseason. The Marlins had reportedly informed Alcantara by August that he wouldn’t be moved. Bendix more or less confirmed that publicly during the winter, saying in December that he was “really excited to see him pitch on Opening Day.” A trade this winter seems more plausible now that he’s healthy even if the Fish are closer to contention than they were 12 months ago.

Alcantara is headed into the final guaranteed season of the extension he signed over the 2021-22 offseason. He’ll make $17MM and is guaranteed at least a $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for ’27. If a deadline trade would’ve been mostly about salary relief, an offseason deal could net a legitimate prospect return. Alcantara finished with an underwhelming 5.36 ERA overall, yet he’d very likely command more than $19MM if he were a free agent this offseason.

Walker Buehler, for instance, pulled $21.05MM coming off a 5.38 ERA in fewer innings because of his pre-injury track record and two good appearances during the World Series. Alex Cobb got a $15MM deal at age 36 after making five combined starts between the regular season and playoffs. If Alcantara carries his second half form into next year, the extra year of control via the club option would also be a bargain.

While payroll is always a consideration for the Marlins, the front office shouldn’t be under financial pressure to deal Alcantara. He’s the only player on the roster making a salary of much significance. They’ll pay Avisaíl García a final $5MM buyout to end that disastrous free agent deal. They owe the Yankees $10MM annually for the next three seasons as part of the Giancarlo Stanton trade. That’s all in terms of guaranteed commitments. They have a lot of arbitration-eligible players — Anthony Bender, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera, Ryan Weathers, Andrew Nardi, Calvin Faucher and Max Meyer — but none who are going to break the bank individually.

Miami did almost nothing in free agency during Bendix’s first two seasons at the helm. They signed three players to major league deals (Tim Anderson, Cal Quantrill and Eric Wagaman) for a combined $8.7MM in guarantees. It’s clear they’ll do more than that this winter. FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun’s Craig Mish indicated over the weekend that they’ll likely pursue a late-inning reliever. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald echoes that sentiment and writes that they’ll try to bring in a free agent offensive upgrade as well.

The Marlins had a middle-of-the-pack offense this past season. They ranked 16th in runs and finished between 11th and 20th in all three slash stats. They were light on power, finishing above only the Padres, Cardinals and Pirates in home runs. Playing at loanDepot Park doesn’t do their hitters many favors, but they were tied for 22nd in road home runs. Kyle Stowers and Agustín Ramírez were their only 20-homer bats.

Miami didn’t get much production out of first base or designated hitter. They’ll probably want to keep at-bats available at the latter position for Ramírez, whose defensive numbers as a rookie catcher were terrible. They should upgrade on Wagaman and Troy Johnston at first base. It’d be a surprise if they made a serious push for Pete Alonso or Josh Naylor, but a mid-level target like Ryan O’Hearn could be within the range of outcomes.

Paul Goldschmidt and Rhys Hoskins will be available on one-year deals and still have a higher floor than the in-house options. The Astros could look to offload part of the Christian Walker contract, while players like Spencer Steer or Triston Casas could be sell-low candidates. It’s not entirely out of the question that the A’s could consider swapping Tyler Soderstrom for a controllable starting pitcher. Maybe there’s a match with a Miami team that has a lot of talented, affordable arms. Almost all of them come with some kind of durability questions, though the Fish finished the season with an impressive front four of Alcantara, Cabrera, Weathers and Eury Pérez.

Garrett missed the entire season after undergoing UCL surgery in January. Meyer suffered a labrum tear in his left hip and went under the knife in June. Bendix told Jackson and other reporters that both pitchers are expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training.

Chaim Bloom Discusses Marmol, GM, Arenado, Gray

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Chaim Bloom was officially introduced as Cardinals president of baseball operations at a press conference on Tuesday morning. He takes control at a time when multiple reports have suggested they’re moving to a rebuild that’ll put Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and others back in trade rumors.

While Bloom pointedly avoided the term “rebuild,” his meeting with the media did little to dispel the overall notion. “We have talent here. We have more talent coming, and we have some of the makings of that core, but we need more. Our top priority will be to build our talent base for the long term,” he told reporters (link via Katie Woo of The Athletic). “That may mean hard decisions and short-term sacrifices, but to get where we want to go, we can’t take shortcuts — and we won’t.” Bloom subsequently added that while they’ll “hunt moves and decisions that allow (them to win) right now,” the focus will be on the long term if they need “to choose between short-term gratification and our bigger goal of contending consistently.”

None of that comes as a surprise. Arenado, Gray and Contreras have all confirmed they’d spoken to Bloom late in the season and understood where the organization was going. That’s the impetus for all three players saying they’re willing to consider waiving their no-trade clauses in the right circumstances (though Contreras said he’d still prefer to stay and be a veteran mentor).

Oliver Marmol will continue to oversee things in the dugout. Bloom confirmed the manager will be back for a fifth season (relayed by Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Marmol is under contract through the end of next season. Bloom indicated there haven’t been any extension talks to date but didn’t dismiss the possibility of having those conversations at some point.

There’s also an uncertain timeline on the club’s GM hire. Former general manager Michael Girsch was reassigned to vice president of special projects last offseason — a move that came in conjunction with the team’s announcement that Bloom would replace John Mozeliak as baseball operations president going into 2026. Bloom will eventually hire his own top lieutenant with the GM title but indicated that might not happen this offseason (via Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat).

Of course, most of the focus will be on the team’s expected roster turnover. The Cardinals will be motivated to try to trade Arenado, who is signed for two more seasons. They’re on the hook for $22MM of next season’s $27MM salary (though another $6MM of that is deferred) and his entire $15MM deal for 2027. They’d need to pay down the bulk of the money given Arenado’s declining offensive production. Bloom spoke of a general openness to kicking in cash in the right trades but definitively shot down the idea that they might simply release Arenado if no trade presented itself.

St. Louis would also need to eat some money on Gray. That’s less an indictment on the right-hander’s performance than a reflection of his contract structure. His three-year, $75MM free agent deal was heavily backloaded. Gray will make $35MM next season and is guaranteed a $5MM buyout on a $30MM option for 2027. It’s a $40MM commitment for one year, the kind of salary that has been reserved for late-career aces who were still performing at Cy Young levels (e.g. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Zack Wheeler).

Gray remains a very good pitcher but isn’t at that level. Assuming the Cardinals are willing to eat some of the money, there’d be plenty of teams intrigued by the idea of adding Gray to the rotation. The three-time All-Star has already acknowledged he’s willing to think about waiving his no-trade clause. Bloom said the front office will “see what’s out there, and if there’s something that could make sense for us that furthers our goals that he also wants to do, then we’ll explore” trade possibilities (via Woo).

However, he contrasted Gray’s situation with Arenado’s and implied that the Cardinals are a little less motivated to trade the former. “With Sonny, the situation is a bit different in that we do have a clear fit for him here,” Bloom said. Even in a non-competitive year, the Cardinals will need some level of veteran presence in the rotation. They’re not going to keep Gray for that reason alone, but they’ll already have ample opportunity for pitchers like Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy and Kyle Leahy to stake claims to rotation spots. The Cards aren’t going to be major players in free agency, but Bloom said they’ll be in the market for pitching depth in both the starting staff and the bullpen.

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