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Picollo: “Safe To Say” Salvador Perez Will Return To Royals In 2026

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The Royals expect to retain longtime catcher and team captain Salvador Perez for the 2026 season. “I think it’s safe to say that one way or another, Salvy will be in a Royals uniform in ‘26,” general manager J.J. Picollo told reporters (including Jaylon Thompson of The Kansas City Star). “What we do beyond that is still to be determined. But there are some things that we still need to work through and talk about.”

The simplest path would be for the team to exercise their $13.5MM option for next season. Picollo didn’t commit to that course of action, leaving open the possibility of reworking the deal as part of an extension. Speculatively, they could try to hammer out a new contract that lowers next season’s salary while locking in some guaranteed money for Perez during his age-37 campaign in 2027. Picollo said the sides have “already started those discussions” about potentially reworking the deal (link via The Associated Press).

Perez, 35, has played all 15 of his big-league seasons with Kansas City and is a franchise icon. He currently ranks 7th in franchise history in games played with 1,707, 6th in hits with 1,712, 2nd in home runs with 303, and 2nd in RBI with 1,016. Altogether, he has been worth 35.5 bWAR in his career, good for 4th in Royals history among position players behind George Brett, Amos Otis, and Willie Wilson. He has been named an All-Star nine times while winning five Gold Gloves and finishing 7th in AL MVP voting in 2021 on the back of a 48-homer campaign.

His 2025 offensive numbers were largely in line with his career output. In 155 games, Perez batted .236/.284/.446 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI. His walk rate of 4.4% was slightly lower than last year’s 6.7% mark, while his strikeout rate of 19.5% was roughly the same. His 95 wRC+ was close to average overall but above average for his position, placing 7th among qualified catchers between William Contreras and J.T. Realmuto. All told, his offensive contributions were valued at 1.6 bWAR.

His defensive numbers were a different story. Continuing a trend from recent seasons, Perez split time behind the plate and at first base in 2025. In 92 games behind the plate, he was valued at -15 DRS, which ranked last among catchers with at least 500 innings at the position (Perez played 761 2/3 innings there). Statcast still thinks highly of Perez’s pop time, which ranks in the 68th percentile, but his arm strength and framing rank in the 2nd and 15th percentiles, respectively. He graded at -3 DRS and committed one error in 30 games at first base.

Defensive woes aside, Perez is widely valued in the Royals clubhouse for his veteran presence and leadership. He is the last remaining active player from the 2015 club that won the World Series (in which he was the Series MVP), and he was named team captain in 2023. He also works well as a mentor to the team’s young pitchers and catchers, including Carter Jensen, who rates as the Royals’ No. 2 prospect and the No. 66 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB.com.

Jensen made his big-league debut in 2025 and will compete for a roster spot next year, which may allow Perez to spend more time at first base and DH. Kansas City traded away longtime backup Freddy Fermin at the deadline. Luke Maile is an impending free agent, which will leave Perez (assuming some kind of contract is worked out) and Jensen as the only two catchers on the 40-man roster going into the offseason.

Whether they simply pick up his club option or sign him to a new deal, the Royals are making sure their franchise player stays on as an elder statesman for an upstart roster looking to compete in 2026. The club finished with an 82-80 record in 2025, good for 3rd place in the AL Central. Their team ERA of 3.76 ranked 6th in the majors thanks to strong seasons from Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic, and Noah Cameron. Ace Cole Ragans missed time due to injury but will return in 2026 with a full offseason to rest and get back into form. On the offensive side, Kansas City ranked 22nd in the league with a team wRC+ of 93, although they have two highly valuable players in Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia to build around. If they can find some complementary pieces around those two and Perez while maintaining their pitching strength, the club may be a dark horse candidate to win the AL Central next year.

Pirates Make Changes To Coaching Staff

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The Pirates are making several changes to their coaching staff. Pitching coach Oscar Marin will not have his contract renewed, as first reported by Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Assistant pitching coach Brent Strom and third-base coach Mike Rabelo will also not be returning, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

It was earlier reported that GM Ben Cherington and manager Don Kelly would remain in their current roles. Cherington has been in charge of the front office since November 2019, while Kelly had served as interim manager since taking over for Derek Shelton in May. Kelly had noted on Monday that he and Cherington would meet to discuss the possibility of coaching changes. It appears the staff will indeed see some turnover as the Pirates look to improve in 2026 following a 71-91 season which saw them finish last in the NL Central.

Marin, 42, is perhaps the most notable of the changes. He had been serving as the Pirates’ pitching coach since December 2019, shortly after Cherington took over the front office. In that time, the team improved from a 5.08 ERA in 2021 (16% below average by ERA+) to a 3.76 ERA this year (14% above average). The starting rotation, in particular, benefited from a dominant sophomore effort by Paul Skenes, while the bullpen was anchored by Dennis Santana and David Bednar, before the latter’s trade to the Yankees.

The pitching outlook for next year is promising. As it stands, Skenes will be joined by Mitch Keller (barring an offseason trade) at the front of the rotation, while Bubba Chandler and Mike Burrows should be in the mix for season-opening spots. Jared Jones is recovering from UCL surgery but could be back within the first couple months. All three pitchers are controlled through at least 2028. Santana could return as the team’s closer in 2026, though he’s an impending free agent who could be in trade rumors himself. Braxton Ashcraft and Justin Lawrence also performed well out of the ’pen in 2025 and remain under team control for several years, although Ashcraft may be in contention for a rotation spot himself.

Strom, 76, has been the assistant pitching coach for just under a year, having been hired in November 2024. He had previously served as the pitching coach for the Astros from 2014-21, followed by a stint with the Diamondbacks for the 2022-24 seasons. He is known among players for blending an old-school mentality with an appreciation for analytics. While there were initial reports that Strom was contemplating retirement, the longtime coach tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that he does not intend to retire and is open to offers from other teams. Strom told Rosenthal that he made the decision to leave the Pirates and informed the club of that call six weeks ago.

Rabelo, 45, was originally hired by the Pirates as an assistant hitting coach in 2020 before becoming their major league field coordinator in January 2021. He has served as the third-base coach since the 2022 season and has also acted as a bench coach since Kelly’s elevation to the manager post in May. This year, Pirates baserunners tied for last in the majors in extra bases taken on hits with 103.

Heading into the offseason, the club appears to be making these changes with the hope of building on their pitching core and making marginal improvements on offense. The Pirates are expected to carry a bottom-tier payroll once again, although they only have $31MM on the books in the contracts for Keller and Bryan Reynolds and might look to make marginal upgrades through one-year deals for free agents. If the team can add additional offensive pieces to complement Reynolds, Spencer Horwitz, and Oneil Cruz while the pitchers take another step forward, the club may look to finish at .500 in 2026.

Pohlads Discuss Previous Sale Exploration, Club Finances

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The Pohlad family decided to maintain its controlling stake in the Minnesota Twins when new investors emerged and gave the club a chance to pay down a significant amount of the team’s $500MM debt. That’s according to two members of the Pohlad family, executive chair Joe Pohlad and his brother Tom, who spoke to Bill Lukitsch of the Minnesota Star Tribune.

“That was really the driver,” Joe said, then revealing the $500MM number. Previous reporting had mentioned a debt of around $400MM or $425MM but it seems it was actually notable higher than those numbers.

The exact identities of the minority investors are currently unknown, as the Pohlads have not disclosed details, pending approval of the partnership by the league. The piece does mention that the investors are from Minnesota and the East Coast, though little is known beyond that. Once approved, Lukitsch notes that the deal will clear some of the debt and give the Pohlads more room to invest in payroll and stadium upgrades.

The family had been exploring a sale of the franchise since late last year, reportedly seeking $1.7 billion from investors. As mentioned, Joe said the debt was the main driver behind the intended sale. Tom also noted: “We never wanted to sell. But we also had to think about what’s in the best interest of the Twins, what’s in the best interest of the community.” With these minority investors, the Pohlads are going to hold majority ownership and hopefully pay down some or all of the debt.

Tom argued that the team’s middle market revenues “don’t necessarily support” a top-class stadium or a consistently high-performing team. Twins fans may not be satisfied with that explanation, although it is true that attendance at Target Field declined to roughly 1.8 million in 2025, compared to nearly 2 million in 2024. That figure was at 2.3 million in 2019 and has not fully recovered in the years following the pandemic.

Beyond ticket sales, the club’s regional sports network deal with Diamond Sports Group (now Main Street Sports) was not renewed after the 2024 season. This led Major League Baseball to manage the team’s broadcasts in 2025, a situation generally understood give clubs less revenue than a traditional RSN deal. Revenue pitfalls aside, Tom acknowledges that fans are right to be dissatisfied with the team’s performance. “It’s been 34 years since the World Series, and, up until 2023, 21 years since we had a playoff win,” he notes, “and that’s unacceptable.”

The Pohlad family has controlled the Twins since purchasing the team for around $40 million in 1984. Carl Pohlad, the family patriarch, was the original control person until his passing in 2009. He was succeeded by his sons and eventually his grandsons, the aforementioned Joe and Tom. Since the start of 1985, the team has a record of 2976-3295 (.475). The team won the World Series in 1991 but hasn’t had a ton of postseason success since then. Fans have generally criticized the Pohlads in recent years for a lack of spending in payroll as well as the lack of playoff success.

Heading into the final day of the season, the Twins have posted a record of 70-91 (.435), ranking fourth in the AL Central. The team fared better early in the season but fell out of contention by the trade deadline, leading many to expect a sell-off. However, the sell-off ended up being much more vast than anticipated. In addition to trading pending free agents like Chris Paddack, Harrison Bader, and Willi Castro, they also traded star closer Jhoan Duran to the Phillies and controllable reliever Griffin Jax to the Rays. They also shed significant payroll by sending Carlos Correa to Houston, with Minnesota responsible for $33MM of the $103.4MM remaining on his contract at the time of the swap. All told, the Twins traded away 10 big-league players and signaled the start of a rebuild for the franchise.

The decrease in spending has even extended beyond payroll cuts. Earlier this month, the club announced that they will not renew the contracts of four people on their pro scouting staff, leaving just one major league scout heading into the offseason. On the one hand, the cuts follow the trend of teams relying less on traditional scouting in favor of analytics. However, as reported by Dan Hayes of the Athletic, the team’s decision to pare back its scouting department was about cutting costs rather than analytics.

It’s currently not confirmed if the Twins plan on making further payroll cuts or if they now feel better about the financial picture. Pitching-wise, the team has Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan under control through 2027, while Byron Buxton continues to lead the offense. The club also has four Top 100 prospects according to MLB.com, with outfielders Walker Jenkins (No. 14) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 67) finishing this year at AAA. The Twins could try to put another competitive team together or they could target further spending cuts by making players like Lopez or Ryan available in trades this winter.

AL Notes: Naylor, Chisholm Jr., Altuve, Cowser

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Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor was removed from Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Dodgers due to groin tightness, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Manager Dan Wilson described the move as precautionary, which is quite a relief for M’s fans as they gear up for the postseason. Naylor has been one of the team’s best hitters since being acquired from the Diamondbacks in July, batting .299/.341/.490 triple in 54 games with his new club. He has also been a positive on defense, posting five Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average at first base.

It makes sense for Seattle to play it safe with Naylor’s health. The team has already clinched the No. 2 playoff seed in the American League, which gives them a first-round bye through the Wild Card Series. Their first game is set for Saturday, October 4, against either the Guardians or the Tigers. With a week off until then, the club wants to make sure Naylor is at full strength for what will hopefully be a deep postseason run.

Some more notes from around the Junior Circuit…

  • Initial x-rays on Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. were negative, and he is set to undergo a CT scan as well, according to Erik Boland of Newsday. Chisholm was removed from yesterday’s 6-1 victory over the Orioles after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. The 27-year-old is having a great year for New York, posting a .243/.333/.482 triple slash that rates as 27% better than league average by wRC+ while continuing to provide good defense at the keystone. Heading into their final regular season game, the Yankees are tied with the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East, although they have clinched a postseason spot regardless. With that in mind, the club may give Chisholm the day off to rest up before a potential Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
  • Astros second baseman Jose Altuve told Chandler Rome of the Athletic that his right foot injury “is pretty painful,” adding that he “had no choice but to go out there and play.” Houston had been fighting for the last AL Wild Card spot recently, but with the Guardians defeating the Rangers 3-2 yesterday, the Astros were eliminated from postseason contention. Altuve has hit .265/.329/.442 in his age-35 season, good for a 113 wRC+, but his defense has graded out poorly. In addition to 66 games at the keystone with -8 DRS, he has also spent significant time in left field, earning -10 DRS in 47 games there. According to Rome, Altuve will meet with doctors to discuss his next steps, though it is unclear if surgery is on the table.
  • Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser played through two broken ribs which he incurred back in June, according to Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner. The 25-year-old previously missed time due to a thumb fracture as well as a concussion. Regarding this additional injury, he explained that even though he felt good enough to play, he was “still trying to find [his] way back” performance-wise. In 91 games this year, Cowser has batted just .198/.272/.390 with an 85 wRC+, with the injuries undoubtedly affecting his performance. Baltimore is out of postseason contention, so Cowser will look toward the offseason to get back to full strength in order to help his team in 2026.

Marlins Place Dane Myers On Injured List

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The Marlins announced today that outfielder Dane Myers has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee laceration. Fellow outfielder Joey Wiemer has been recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville to take his place on the active roster.

Myers, 29, had only recently returned from an IL stint for a right oblique strain. He played in seven games after that two-week absence before suffering this new injury in Tuesday night’s game against the Phillies. In the second inning, Myers was fielding a fly ball from Max Kepler when he collided with the outfield wall and injured his knee before eventually being carted off the field.

Today, Myers spoke about the issue, as seen in this video from MLB.com. He expressed some concern for player safety with some big league fields having dangerous elements. As an example, he mentioned Aaron Judge, who missed significant time last year after injuring his toe on some concrete at Dodger Stadium.

The frustration from Myers is understandable, as the Marlins have played well of late and are technically still alive in the National League playoff race. It’s a big long shot, as they are four games back of the Mets with five games to play and would have to leapfrog the Diamondbacks, Reds and Cardinals. Still, it’s surely not fun to be trying to mount a miracle comeback and have your season ended by bashing your knee off some weird metal protuberance.

In 106 games for Miami in 2025, Myers has batted .235/.291/.326 with a 72 wRC+ and a 23.1% strikeout rate compared to a 6.9% walk rate. Defensively, he has split time at all three outfield spots, with most of his appearances coming in center field. He has been worth 3 Defensive Runs Saved and one Out Above Average. He has also stolen 18 bases this year. Without Myers, the Marlins will proceed with an outfield mix consisting of Wiemer, Jakob Marsee, Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernández, Troy Johnston and Javier Sanoja.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images

Mets Designate Jose Siri for Assignment

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The Mets announced today that outfielder Tyrone Taylor has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow outfielder Jose Siri has been designated for assignment. Will Sammon of The Athletic reported Siri’s DFA prior to the official announcement.

Siri was acquired from the Rays in the offseason, with the Mets sending right-hander Eric Orze to Tampa in exchange. That deal has clearly been a bust for the Mets. Siri has spent most of the 2025 season on the injured list. When healthy, he hasn’t performed well.

Taylor’s return squeezes him off the roster. Siri is out of options and can’t be easily sent back down to the minors. He is making $2.4MM this year and would have been due a raise in arbitration going into next year. The Mets were probably planning to non-tender him this winter anyway, so he gets cut today instead.

The Mets surely knew they were getting a flawed player, but also one with clear attributes. In 2023, Siri hi 25 home runs for the Rays, stole 12 bases and provided strong center field defense. His 35.7% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate were both awful figures but the power still helped him produce a .222/.267/.494 line and 106 wRC+. When combined with his speed and defense, he was worth 2.6 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

His performance backed up a bit last year. He increased his walk rate slightly to 6.9%, though his strikeout rate also ticked up to 37.9%. His home run tally dropped to 18, in a larger sample of plate appearances. His .187/.255/.366 batting line and 78 wRC+ showed clear regression at the plate, but he still put up 1.8 fWAR thanks to his speed and defense.

But as mentioned, his 2025 season has not looked like that at all. He fouled a ball off himself in April and suffered a fractured left tibia. He was expected to miss eight to ten weeks but he ended up missing about five months, getting reinstated from the injured list earlier in September. When not on the IL, his performance has been decidedly lacking. It has only been 36 plate appearances but Siri struck out in 47.2% of those and has produced a .063/.167/.125 line.

Taylor hasn’t been great this year, but his tepid .218/.277/.315 line is still well beyond Siri’s production. The Mets acquired Cedric Mullins at the deadline to try to fortify the center field position. That hasn’t really worked out either, as Mullins is hitting .188/.287/.291 since joining the Mets, but that’s also a notch above Siri’s performance this year and Mullins has a greater track record as well. Brandon Nimmo started a game in center this week as well, though he’s back in left today with Taylor taking over up the middle.

Time will tell how the Mets fill the position going forward but they have decided there was no room for Siri. With the trade deadline having passed long ago, the only choice will be to put Siri on waivers. He would have no appeal to other clubs in the short term. As mentioned, he’s been in poor form. He also wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming team. He can be controlled via arbitration for two more seasons, so it’s theoretically possible for another club to have interest in claiming him with an eye on next year.

If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment, as a player with at least three years of big league service time. It’s possible he would decide to accept such an assignment, however. If the Mets make the playoffs and someone gets injured, he could be added back to the roster and perhaps play a role in the postseason.

There would also be a small financial consideration, as he has less than five years of service time. That means he would have to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to elect free agency. At this late stage of the campaign, that would be just a few thousand dollars, but the combination of that cash and the possibility of factoring into the playoffs could be enough for him to accept. In that scenario, he would have another chance to elect free agency at season’s end.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

Cubs Release Nate Pearson

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The Cubs have released right-handed reliever Nate Pearson, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. The club had designated him for assignment on Saturday. He has made 11 appearances at the big-league level in 2025, most recently on August 8, before being optioned to Triple-A Iowa on August 12, where he has pitched since. He will now enter free agency with an eye toward a minor-league deal for 2026.

Pearson, 29, has not had much success in the majors this year, pitching to a 9.20 ERA in his 14 2/3 innings with the Cubs. In that small sample, he struck out just seven hitters while issuing 10 free passes and surrendering 22 hits. In his career, Pearson owns a 5.17 ERA over 156 2/3 innings with a more serviceable 23.1% strikeout rate and a 10.7% walk rate. The former first-round draft pick debuted in 2020 for the Blue Jays and made a total of 93 appearances for them from 2020-24, followed by 30 appearances with the Cubs.

The righty has fared much better in the minors this year. In 38 appearances with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, Pearson has pitched to a 2.22 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. He still walked 24 batters, although the strikeouts may be appealing to clubs looking for relief depth in the offseason. Pearson has just over four years of service time and two years of arbitration control remaining. He might garner interest as a reclamation project, especially if his new club can harness the swing-and-miss potential while cutting back on the free passes.

Mets Outright Wander Suero

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Mets right-handed reliever Wander Suero has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. The club recently called him up to serve as bullpen depth, but he didn’t make it into a game before being designated for assignment on Saturday. He now has 48 hours to either accept the assignment or elect free agency.

The 34-year-old righty has only pitched 6 1/3 big-league innings in 2025, which came during a stint with the Braves. In those innings, Suero allowed eight earned runs and served up three home runs while striking out seven. He has pitched 199 2/3 innings in his career, the bulk of them coming in 2018-21 with the Nationals before moving to the Dodgers, Astros, Braves, and Mets. He has a 4.96 career ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate, an 8.8% walk rate, and 1.17 homers allowed per nine innings.

Suero has fared much better at the Triple-A level this year, pitching 48 1/3 innings with a 1.29 ERA and only two home runs allowed. He has also struck out 32.5% of hitters while walking just 6.6%. Suero has been outrighted before, which means he has the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency. As a player with more than three years of service time who is no longer on the 40-man roster, he can become a minor-league free agent at the end of the season (unless he’s added back to the 40-man roster at some point before then).

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