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Phillies To Sign Tucker Davidson To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies and left-hander Tucker Davidson have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Sammon doesn’t mention whether or not the ISE Baseball client will be in big league camp in spring training.

Davidson, 30 in March, pitched in the majors from 2020 to 2024. He logged 129 2/3 innings for the Braves, Angels, Royals and Orioles, allowing 5.76 earned runs per nine. He had better minor league numbers in that span, tossing 219 Triple-A frames with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 24.5% of batters faced against an 8% walk rate while also getting grounders on about half the balls in play he allowed.

With the lack of big league success, he exhausted his option seasons in that span. Instead of sticking around in North America for minor league opportunities, he took an offer to go overseas. Going into 2025, he signed with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization. That stint in the KBO seemed to go well, based on the numbers. He made 22 starts for the Giants with a 3.65 ERA, 22.5% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 46.4% ground ball rate.

Despite those decent results, the Giants decided to make a switch in August. They signed Vince Velasquez and bumped Davidson off their roster. Davidson then landed a minor league deal with the Brewers. He made six starts for their Triple-A club with a 4.68 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. His fastball averaged under 90 miles per hour but he also featured a splitter, sinker, slider and curveball.

The Phillies have a bit of rotation uncertainty going into the season. They will have Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker in four spots. Zack Wheeler will certainly be in there if he’s healthy but he’s recovering from surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome and may not be ready by Opening Day.

If Wheeler is on the shelf or anyone else gets hurt, Andrew Painter could step up. However, he still has no major league experience and posted a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A last year. Other inexperienced depth options on the roster include Yoniel Curet, Jean Cabrera and Alan Rangel. Davidson gives the Phils some more depth without taking up a roster spot.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Giants Designate Justin Dean For Assignment

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The Giants have designated outfielder Justin Dean for assignment, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. That’s the corresponding 40-man roster move for their signing of right-hander Tyler Mahle.

Dean, 29, has never played for the Giants. He was only just claimed off waivers from the Dodgers in early November, shortly after he won the World Series with Los Angeles. The Dodgers mostly used him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. He played in 18 games last year, making his major league debut, but only made two plate appearances. He then appeared in 13 postseason games without a plate appearance.

In the minors, Dean has been good for double-digit steals in each season of his career going back to 2018, with the exception of the canceled 2020 season. However, he’s never reached double digits in the home run department. He has 2,038 minor league plate appearances from 2021 to 2025 with a solid 12.1% walk rate but a high strikeout rate of 28.6%.

There was some recent improvement in terms of the punchouts, as he only struck out in 23.6% of his minor league plate appearances in 2025, a noticeable improvement compared to prior years. That helped him slash .289/.378/.431 for a 110 wRC+ in Triple-A last year while stealing 27 bases in just 90 games.

It’s the profile of a decent bench outfielder, as a floor. The Giants were intrigued enough to grab him off the wire a couple of months ago but he’s now been squeezed off their roster. Perhaps they are hoping he can be passed through waivers this time around, which would allow them to keep him as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have three years of big league service time nor a previous career outright, so he wouldn’t have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

He does have a full slate of options, so perhaps he will appeal to other organizations looking for a depth piece of the speed-and-defense variety. He’ll be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Giants could take five days to field trade interest.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Rockies Interested In Veteran Rotation Additions

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The Rockies are looking for a few veterans to eat innings in their rotation, general manager Josh Byrnes tells Thomas Harding of MLB.com. “We’ve played out scenarios where we would attempt to bring in two guys who can stabilize that area — who can not only pitch well but know how to give us some bulk innings, which any team needs,” Byrnes said. “That’s probably how we’re trying to map it out. There is a lot of unknown with what pops up in trades or free agency, but we need to add in that area.”

It’s a sensible target for the club. The Colorado rotation was historically bad in 2025. The club’s starters had a combined earned run average of 6.65. According to a post from Harding back in October, that was the highest rotation ERA of any club since the stat became official in 1913. Coors Field obviously plays a role in the struggles but the numbers were bad even compared to previous Colorado clubs. The group was further thinned out at season’s end when Germán Márquez became a free agent. In short, there’s nowhere to go but up.

Right now, the club projects to have a couple of experienced arms in the mix. Kyle Freeland is going into his tenth big league season and is still under contract through 2026, with a conditional player option for 2027. Ryan Feltner has 339 2/3 innings under his belt. Those two have experience but don’t provide much in terms of optimism. Feltner has a career 5.19 ERA with average ground ball and walk rates but subpar strikeout numbers. Freeland’s ERA has been around 5.00 for three straight years now.

Antonio Senzatela was moved to the bullpen in August. Manager Warren Schaeffer said in September that the club planned to keep him there going forward, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Senzatela is signed through 2026 with a $14MM club option for 2027. Given his 6.65 ERA last year and the fact that there’s no buyout on that option, it will surely be declined.

Beyond Freeland and Feltner, the other rotation options are lacking in experience. Chase Dollander came into 2025 as one of the top pitching prospects in the league but he posted a 6.52 ERA in 98 innings in his rookie season. The 40-man roster also features Tanner Gordon, McCade Brown, Carson Palmquist, Gabriel Hughes and Bradley Blalock but everyone in that group has fewer than 110 big league innings pitched. Hughes hasn’t yet pitched in the big leagues. The other four names in that cluster have ERAs north of 7.00.

Given that context, adding a few veterans would make plenty of sense. They could stabilize the group and give the decision-makers some freedom in keeping the younger guys in the minors until they’re ready.

Getting those veterans to Colorado has usually been a challenge. Given the hitter-friendly environment up at altitude, free agent pitchers generally don’t want to sign with the Rockies. Looking at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, which has data going back to 2006, the club has only thrice signed a free agent pitcher to a deal with an eight-figure average annual value in that span. They signed Jorge De La Rosa to a three-year, $32MM deal back in 2010, then a one-year, $15MM deal with Jeff Francis in 2012, followed by a three-year, $52MM deal for Wade Davis in 2017.

Byrnes provided a hint of optimism, for what it’s worth. “There are different tiers of free agency,” the GM said. “It’s kind of interesting, without naming names. But with guys on shorter deals, I think there’s some intrigue. Everyone around the game knows it’s harder to pitch in Colorado, but I think a couple of guys want to take on that challenge, and we’ve brought in a pitching group that will turn over every rock to get at it and solve this thing.”

Without Byrnes providing any details, it can only be guessed what kind of free agents he’s talking about. It would make some sense for a pitcher towards the end of his career to be more game for the experiment, since he wouldn’t have to worry so much about a poor performance tanking his future earning power. That could align with the kind of short-term deal Byrnes alluded to.

Given the state of the club, the Rockies aren’t going to target the top available free agents like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez or Zac Gallen. But veterans like Wade Miley, Miles Mikolas, Alex Cobb, Jose Quintana, Patrick Corbin or Martín Pérez make speculative sense. They’re all 35 or older and will be looking at one-year offers in free agency.

The Rockies could also try to bring in starters via trade, though they don’t have a ton to offer other clubs. Any guys on their roster with trade value would ideally be flipped for prospects or controllable players. Perhaps they could take on an undesirable contract from another club, though that path also comes with challenges. The Blue Jays and Mets may be looking to move on from José Berríos and Kodai Senga, respectively, but grabbing someone like that would require the Rockies to take on a notable salary during rebuilding years. Berríos is slated to make $66MM over the next three years and Senga $28MM over the next two. Perhaps those clubs would be willing to eat some money to facilitate a deal but Berríos has an eight-team no-trade clause and Senga can block trades to ten teams. Given the state of the Rockies and the challenges of pitching there, it seems fair to assume that the Rockies would be blocked by both guys.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

Astros Notes: Valdez, CBT, Infield, Brown

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The Astros came into the offseason clearly needing rotation upgrades, due to a variety of injuries and the departure of Framber Valdez to free agency. Valdez is still unsigned but it always seemed likely that he and the Astros would part ways. That’s seems even more likely now that the Astros have added Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows and Ryan Weiss to their starting pitching group. General manager Dana Brown was asked about Valdez in an appearance on MLB Network and acknowledged that Valdez is still available but also spoke about him as though he’s already gone.

“Well, look, Framber’s still out there,” Brown said. “We don’t know how that’s going to play out. But we know that we had to get some starting pitching. So, we’ve been able to acquire three starters because we know Framber is still on the market. Us getting Mike Burrows is big, and Ryan Weiss, that was also big. So, we added those three guys. When you’re losing Framber — he’s still on the market, he’s out there — but if you don’t get him, of course, you’re losing those innings. So, adding these guys, we feel really good about it. They’re all pretty good competitors as well.”

It’s not especially surprising that things are playing out this way. Valdez is one of the top free agents of this winter’s class. At the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR predicted him for a $150MM guarantee over five years, $30MM in terms of average annual value. The Astros generally don’t like to spend huge money on pitching. Their franchise record guarantee for a pitcher is the $85MM extension for Lance McCullers Jr. back in 2021. Back in December, it was reported that the club had some contact with Valdez’s camp, but that was before the Imai deal.

Beyond their natural aversion to spending on pitchers, the Astros seemingly came into this winter with a tight budget, due to their preference for avoiding the competitive balance tax. They had enough wiggle room to add Imai, but his three-year, $54MM deal comes with an AAV of $18MM. That’s still a decent number but well below the projections for Valdez. Weiss is only guaranteed $2.6MM on a one-year deal. Houston had to give up a couple of notable prospects to get Burrows but he’s still making the league minimum.

RosterResource currently projects the Astros for a CBT number of about $238MM. That puts them about $6MM below next year’s base CBT threshold of $244MM. In recent years, the club’s modus operandi has been to get close to the line without going over, though they ended up surging over the line in each of the past two years.

Going into 2024, they were a bit under the line until Kendall Graveman required season-ending shoulder surgery in mid-January. Suddenly feeling the bullpen was too weak, Houston signed Josh Hader and flew over the tax line. In 2025, they were under the tax line for most of the season but then jumped at the chance to pick up Carlos Correa, going into CBT territory in the process.

Once again, they have positioned themselves just under the tax, though final status isn’t calculated until the end of the season. That means that they could decide to pay the tax once again for the right opportunity.

“Everybody writes that I’m afraid of the luxury tax,” owner Jim Crane said yesterday, as relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic. “I’m not necessarily afraid of it but I run the team like a business and there’s only so much resources you can put into it without going deep in the hole. We don’t operate like a lot of the bigger market teams but you’ve seen over the years we’ll spend the money when we think it’s right and we’ll be aggressive when we have to be.”

Taking the comments of Brown and Crane together, it seems possible that the Astros may have already made their most significant moves of the winter. A few depth transactions would still be likely but the roster might be mostly set. It’s theoretically possible for the Astros to trade an infielder, which would open up a bit of a playing time logjam and also potentially some payroll space, but Brown also downplayed that.

“I think there’s a chance where we can get all of these guys a ton of at-bats,” Brown said in the MLB Network appearance linked above, “whether it’s the DH slot, whether it’s giving some guys some time off. I don’t think all these guys are going to play 162 games, right? You have guys that may play 140 and so there’s going to be some at-bats. It protects you when you want to give guys rest. So, we’re looking at this in many ways. But, you know, we still are listening to other teams. We have teams calling us about some of our players. We’ll still listen.”

The Astros currently have Correa at third, Jeremy Peña at shortstop, Jose Altuve at second base and Christian Walker at first base. That leaves Isaac Paredes potentially splitting time at the corners with Correa and Walker. He has second base experience but hasn’t played there since 2023. Altuve played some outfield in 2025 but didn’t grade out well there. Yordan Alvarez should get most of the DH time. He can also play the outfield, where the Astros have Jake Meyers, Cam Smith, Jesús Sánchez, Zach Cole and Zach Dezenzo.

Walker is making $20MM annually through 2027. Paredes is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $9.3MM salary in his penultimate arbitration season. Given the somewhat crowded infield picture and the tight budget, there’s an argument for the Astros trading someone to free up some cash. However, based on Brown’s comments, it seems the club is leaning towards keeping the whole group and portioning out playing time with some off-days to keep everyone fresh.

Perhaps a trade will come together, given Brown’s admission that they will listen when other teams call. But if the status quo holds, that doesn’t leave much room for any more notable rotation additions, unless the Astros decide to again shoot over the CBT line. Barring that scenario, the Astros will likely open the season with a six-man rotation consisting of Hunter Brown, Imai, Burrows, Weiss and Cristian Javier with guys like Nate Pearson, AJ Blubaugh, Spencer Arrighetti, Jason Alexander, McCullers and Miguel Ullola in the mix for starts.

Speaking of Hunter Brown, Dana Brown was asked about the possibility of signing the righty to an extension and GM said they will broach the subject at some point. “We had some discussions with Hunter Brown about two years ago and we expect that to heat up again. Look, he’s got Boras, so it won’t be easy. But at the end of the day, we will definitely talk to Hunter Brown about an extension at some point.”

It was reported last year that Hunter expressed interest in an extension prior to the 2024 season but talks went nowhere and he lated hired Scott Boras to represent him. Boras clients do sometimes sign extensions but it’s a bit of a rare occurrence, as the GM alluded to.

What also complicates matters is that Brown has taken his performance up quite a bit since then. He posted a 5.09 earned run average in 2023, his first full season in the bigs. He dropped that to 3.49 in 2024 and then 2.43 last year, finishing third in 2025 American League Cy Young voting behind Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet.

Hunter is now three years from free agency, meaning his earning power could be pushing towards the upper levels of Houston’s comfort zone. The Astros signed Javier to a $64MM extension going into 2023, when he was between three and four years of service. Brown’s demand could be reasonably in that range and would only get higher as he gets closer to free agency. Crochet just set a new bar for guys within two years of the open market, signing a $170MM deal with the Red Sox last winter. Given the gap in those numbers, Houston would surely be wise to get something doon sooner rather than later.

A big extension for Brown has the potential for increasing the club’s CBT number. Even if the deal is structured so that his salary increases gradually over the years, a player’s CBT hit is calculated based on a contract’s average annual value. Perhaps the Astros would like to first sign Hunter to a one-year deal for 2026, where he’s projected for a $5.7MM salary. They could then have the extension start in 2027 so that it doesn’t impact the 2026 CBT. That would increase the CBT hit in future seasons but the McCullers deal is off the books after 2026 and it’s possible Imai will also opt out after one season in Houston, freeing up some future CBT room.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

Cardinals Acquire Justin Bruihl, Designate Zak Kent For Assignment

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The Cardinals have acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. Bruihl had been designated for assignment by Cleveland last month. Right-hander Zak Kent has been designated for assignment by the Cards today in a corresponding 40-man roster move.

It’s the second cash deal of the winter for Bruihl, who will turn 29 in June. The lefty began the offseason with the Blue Jays but was bumped off the roster when Toronto signed right-hander Tyler Rogers last month. The Guardians sent some cash north of the order to grab Bruihl but then designated him for assignment three days later when they signed Shawn Armstrong. DFA limbo normally lasts a maximum of one week but there are different rules around the holidays, so Bruihl was hanging out there for almost three weeks.

He now finally has some resolution and it could be a good spot for him to carve out some big league playing time. Bruihl posted good numbers in 2025 but exhausted his final option season, which pushed him to the fringes of Toronto’s roster. The Jays have been busy upgrading their pitching staff for another run at competing in 2026 and bumped Bruihl off. Cleveland had one of the best bullpens in the league last year and was also going to have a tough time keeping the southpaw around for long.

But the Cardinals are rebuilding and should therefore have a bit more breathability in their relief group. JoJo Romero is currently the top lefty in their projected bullpen but he is one year away from free agency, making him likely to be traded in the coming weeks. If Romero is dealt, that would leave Bruihl and Nick Raquet as the two lefty relievers on the St. Louis 40-man roster. Raquet was called up late in the 2025 season and has just two big league innings under his belt.

Bruihl has thrown 89 2/3 innings over multiple seasons between the Dodgers, Rockies and Blue Jays. Toronto only let him throw 13 2/3 big league innings in 2025 but he fared decently, despite posting a 5.27 earned run average. His 10.8% walk rate was a bit high in that small sample but his 27.7% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate were both a few ticks better than average. He also logged 42 Triple-A innings last year with a 3.43 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 58.4% ground ball rate.

The Cards could perhaps sign some veterans before Opening Day but it’s a decent landing spot for Bruihl to get some more time in the majors. If he succeeds with the Cardinals in 2026, they could keep the relationship going. He currently has one year and 112 days of service time, meaning he’s five years away from free agency. He would also be affordable for the rebuilding club, as he is still in his pre-arbitration years.

Kent, 28 in February, has never pitched for the Cardinals. He was just claimed off waivers from the Guardians a month ago. He made his major league debut with the Guards last year, posting a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. His 21.1% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 37.3% ground ball rate were all a bit worse than league average.

He does have some interesting minor league numbers. He tossed 38 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.84 ERA. He got grounders on 54% of balls in play at that level and struck out 31.4% of batters faced, though he also gave out walks at a high clip of 13.2%.

Like Bruihl, Kent is out of options, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last month that he is eligible for a fourth option year. Perhaps that will help him latch on somewhere else. The Cards will now have seven days of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Kent. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they will have a maximum of five days to field trade interest.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Valdez, Suarez Among Orioles’ Targets In Continuing Rotation Search

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Jan. 6: Both Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez remain under consideration by the Orioles, reports Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner. The O’s have already been reported to have interest in both lefties, but that was prior to their recent slate of pitching acquisitions and prior to their $155MM signing of Alonso, so it’s notable that they’re still shopping in the deep end of the free agent pool even after spending a combined $195MM in free agency and taking on another $26MM or so via trade.

Jan. 5: The Orioles have made a couple of rotation moves in recent weeks but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re done. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report today that the club is still looking for another starting pitcher, which could be either via free agency or the trade market.

Adding to the rotation has been an obvious goal for quite a while. Baltimore starters posted a collective 4.65 earned run average in 2025, which was better than just six other clubs in the majors. At season’s end, Tomoyuki Sugano and Zach Eflin became free agents, further thinning out the group.

Accordingly, the O’s have been connected to a wide number of free agents and trade candidates this winter. They made a notable move a couple of weeks ago, sending four prospects and a draft pick to the Rays for Shane Baz. A week ago, they brought back Eflin via a one-year, $10MM deal with a mutual option for 2027.

If the season started today, the rotation would feature Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Baz and Eflin in four spots. Dean Kremer would be the favorite for the final slot. Guys like Tyler Wells, Chayce McDermott, Cade Povich and Brandon Young also on the roster but have options and could be sent to the minors if everyone is healthy. Albert Suárez is back on a minor league deal and prospect Trey Gibson is also lurking as another non-roster option.

That’s a decent group, and a team source describes it as “adequate” to The Athletic. For a club looking to rebound from a nightmare season, it’s understandable that they still want more. That’s especially true considering it’s hard to rely on this collection of arms.

Bradish just returned from Tommy John surgery late last year and made just six starts. He only made eight starts in 2024 before the surgery, so that’s just 14 starts and 77 1/3 innings over the past two years. Wells is similar, having made just seven starts over the past two years due to his own elbow surgery. Rogers was great last year but limited to 18 starts by a knee injury. Due to multiple ailments over his career, he’s never topped 133 innings in a big league season. Baz took the ball 31 times in 2025 and logged 166 1/3 frames but that was his first time going beyond 14 starts and his first time hitting the 80-inning mark. Eflin underwent back surgery in August. He recently said he’s hoping to be ready by Opening Day but that doesn’t seem to be a lock.

Adding another arm would make things a bit cluttered if everyone is healthy, but that’s a big if, considering the total track record of the group. Given the number of depth options, the O’s would presumably be looking for more upside with another rotation addition.

Rosenthal and Sammon mention Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen as free agent possibilities, in addition to trade candidates Edward Cabrera, Freddy Peralta and MacKenzie Gore. That appears to simply be a list of the best pitchers still available, as opposed to reporting on anyone the O’s are specifically targeting, though the club has been connected to those free agents as well as Cabrera and Gore earlier in the offseason.

RosterResource projects the O’s for a payroll of $147MM next year. They opened 2025 at $165MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Signing one of the Valdez/Suárez/Gallen trio would likely require the O’s to pay $20 to $30MM annually. That would involve going beyond last year’s spending but not by much. It’s also possible they could save themselves a few bucks if they can trade Ryan Mountcastle, now that the Pete Alonso signing crowds him out. Mountcastle is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $7.8MM salary this year.

The trade candidates would cost less financially. Peralta will make just $8MM next year. Gore and Cabrera are projected for $4.7MM and $3.7MM respectively. But of course, the O’s would have to send something of value to those other clubs in trade. As mentioned, the O’s just sent out a big package of prospects in the Baz deal, which may lower their desire to further deplete the farm system with another big trade.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Red Sox Sign Devin Sweet To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have signed right-hander Devin Sweet to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester but may get an invite to big league camp in spring training.

Sweet, 29, has a limited big league track record. He tossed 8 2/3 innings in 2023, split between the Mariners and Athletics. He allowed ten earned runs, giving him an unsightly 10.38 earned run average in that small sample.

The M’s called him up in July of 2023 but he was designated for assignment the following month and went to the A’s via waivers. In the 2023-24 offseason, he went to the Giants and Tigers via waiver claims. Detroit later passed him through waivers unclaimed in February of 2024. In November of 2024, the Phillies acquired him and added him to their 40-man, preventing him from becoming a minor league free agent. He was outrighted in August of 2025 and then became a minor league free agent at season’s end.

Despite his limited track record, the interest from all those clubs demonstrates his appeal. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 257 2/3 innings on the farm, with a 4.19 ERA. His 9.2% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 30% of batters faced. Unfortunately, he had a downturn in results in 2025. He logged 51 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.08 ERA, 21.2% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. That’s why the Phillies bumped him from the roster last summer and no one claimed him.

For Boston, there’s no harm in a non-roster deal for some extra bullpen depth as they see if Sweet can bounce back. If he eventually earns his way onto the roster, he still has an option year remaining and less than a year of service time, meaning he can provide roster flexibility and is still years away from qualifying for arbitration.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Mets To Sign Christian Arroyo To Minor League Deal

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The Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with infielder Christian Arroyo, reports Mike Puma of The New York Post. The O’Connell Sports Management also receives an invite to big league camp in spring training.

Arroyo, 31 in May, was once a notable prospect but he hasn’t been able to do much with scattered big league opportunities. In seven seasons from 2017 to 2023, he appeared in 295 games split between the Giants, Rays, Guardians and Red Sox. In his 992 plate appearances, his 21.7% strikeout rate was decent but he only walked 5.1% of the time and hit just 24 home runs. That led to a combined .252/.299/.394 line and 86 wRC+.

He did at least provide defensive versatility. He has experience at all four infield spots as well as right field. But the lack of offensive output has kept him in the minors for the past two years. He signed a minor league deal with the Brewers for the 2024 season and the Phillies for 2025, without getting called up by either club.

With the Phils last year, he went on and off the minor league injured list throughout the season. He got into just 45 Triple-A games on the year. His .314/.384/.485 line in those was quite strong but aided by a .375 batting average on balls in play.

For the Mets, there’s no harm in a non-roster deal to add some more depth. They have the middle infield spots settled with Francisco Lindor at shortstop and Marcus Semien at second base. At first base, Pete Alonso has departed for the Orioles. Jorge Polanco has signed with the Mets and could take over at first but he could also spend significant time in the designated hitter spot. That could allow Mark Vientos to spend time at first and leave Brett Baty as the regular at third. Ronny Mauricio, Luisangel Acuña and Jared Young are also on the roster and could be in the mix.

It’s a fairly crowded group but Mauricio and Young still have options, meaning the Mets could send them to Triple-A for regular at-bats, which could open up room on the bench. It’s also possible that another swap shakes things up, as the Mets are reportedly open to talking Vientos, Mauricio and Acuña in trade talks. If Arroyo is eventually able to earn a roster spot as a veteran bench/utility player, he is out of options.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement, Imagn Images

Phillies Interested In Randal Grichuk

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It was reported last month that the Phillies are looking for a righty-swinging platoon bat to add to their outfield mix. Today, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that Randal Grichuk is one specific name they are showing interest in.

The Phillies are likely to have a regular outfield of Adolis García in right, Justin Crawford in center and Brandon Marsh in left. Nick Castellanos is still on the roster but reporting throughout the winter has indicated the Phils are planning to move on from him before the season starts. That could be via a trade but he won’t have a ton of value due to his declining performance and $20MM left on the final year of his contract. If they can’t work out a trade in the coming weeks, he may just be released.

With the García/Crawford/Marsh trio, adding a righty-swinging complement makes a lot of sense, as Marsh and Crawford both swing from the left side. Marsh has a career .213/.278/.303 line and 61 wRC+ against southpaws, so it’s logical to shield him from those matchups as much as possible.

Crawford hasn’t even made his major league debut yet, but the Phils seem determined to give him a shot at taking the center field job this year. In the minors, his exposure to lefties has been limited. He only stepped to the plate 61 times against them in 2024 and just 91 times last year. His 2024 line was a fairly lackluster .263/.295/.439. He shot that up to .376/.411/.518 in 2025 but with a big spike in batting average on balls in play.

It’s hard to read much into the data with Crawford, since we’re talking about a small number of minor league events with no big league experience. Generally speaking, he’s a low-power contact-based hitter. He’s never hit more than nine home runs in a minor league season, as his production generally comes from putting the ball in play and using his speed. Time will tell how that approach translates against major league pitchers. Having a righty bat on hand to platoon with Marsh makes plenty of sense and perhaps Crawford as well, depending on how the latter fares in his first exposure to big league arms.

Grichuk fits the profile, as he swings from the right side and has been utilized as a lefty masher in recent years. He signed a $2MM deal with the Diamondbacks going into 2024 and provided excellent return on that modest investment. He was sent to the plate 279 times and slashed .291/.348/.528 for a 139 wRC+. That included a .319/.386/.528 line and 152 wRC+ against lefties.

Despite that solid season, Grichuk’s earning power didn’t improve greatly. He returned to the Snakes for 2025 with a $5MM guarantee. He wasn’t able to produce in quite the same way, as he slashed .228/.273/.401 for the year, getting flipped to the Royals at the deadline. His numbers were better against lefties last year but still not great, as he hit .227/.273/.430 for an 89 wRC+ in the split.

Obviously, the Phillies would be hoping for more of the 2024 version of Grichuk if they were to sign him. As an interesting sidenote, Grichuk and Castellanos actually have somewhat comparable profiles right now. Castellanos also didn’t have a great 2025 season but hit .269/.324/.506 against lefties in 2024, production that translated to a 124 wRC+. Each player is going into his age-34 season.

Perhaps it speaks to the poor relationship between Castellanos and manager Rob Thomson, who have publicly clashed a few times, that the Phils are seemingly plotting to get rid of Castellanos and replace him with a comparable player while potentially eating millions of dollars in the process. Castellanos was benched in June for some kind of inappropriate comment made to the skipper, per ESPN. Castellanos also publicly criticized Thomson for his communication skills. The Phils signed Thomson to an extension last month.

Grichuk is clearly superior in the field, however. Castellanos has never been a great defender. From 2018 to the present, he has been credited with minus-82 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-75 Outs Above Average. Those are the worst figures of any player in the majors for that span, regardless of position.

Grichuk, meanwhile, has been a strong defender in his career. His numbers have slipped to below average as he has pushed into his mid-30s but not by too much. Grichuk only has two center field innings since the start of 2024, which may work against him providing cover for Crawford in center. But Marsh is still arguably a viable center fielder, so it could still be possible to make the fit work.

Even if the Phillies don’t line up with Grichuk specifically, they will have other options to consider. Miguel Andujar, Austin Hays, Tommy Pham and Austin Slater are some other righty-swinging free agents who are available, none of whom should break the bank. Old friend Harrison Bader is out there but he might have enough juice to get a full-time job, as opposed to a short-side platoon role.

The Phils are one of the top-spending teams in the league but there have been some indications things are getting tight after their big deal to re-sign Kyle Schwarber. In addition to a platoon outfielder, they need to bring back J.T. Realmuto or do something else to replace him behind the plate.

The Phils opened last year with a payroll of $284MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. They are projected for $265MM next year, according to RosterResource. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Realmuto for a $30MM deal over two years. Between Realmuto and a platoon outfielder, the Phils would likely end up in the same range, though it’s still possible the offseason goes in some different directions. The Phils have reportedly explored the catching trade market, indicating a reunion with Realmuto isn’t guaranteed. They were also connected to Bo Bichette a few days ago, so perhaps there’s some chance of a big plot twist in the final weeks of the offseason.

Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images

Athletics Sign Brian Serven, Cade Marlowe To Minor League Deals

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The Athletics have signed catcher Brian Serven and outfielder Cade Marlowe to minor league deals, according to each player’s respective transaction tracker at MLB.com. The Prime Agency clients have both been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas for now but may be invited to big league camp in spring training.

Serven, 31 in May, spent 2025 with the Tigers on a minor league deal. He got into 62 contests for Triple-A Toledo with a .232/.335/.313 batting line. The Tigers didn’t call him up during the campaign and he returned to free agency at season’s end.

He does have 101 big league games on his track record from previous seasons, having suited up for the Rockies and Blue Jays. He only mustered a .187/.247/.293 line in his 299 plate appearances for those clubs but he got strong reviews for his work behind the plate. Outlets like FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus all considered him adequate in terms of blocking and controlling the running game and very strong in terms of pitch framing.

The A’s currently have just two catchers on their 40-man roster. Shea Langeliers is slated to be the regular with Austin Wynns projected to be the backup. Bringing Serven aboard gives them some experienced non-roster depth. If Serven is eventually needed in the big leagues, he may not hit very much but he will at least be a glove-first option for the A’s. If he’s added to the roster at some point, he still has an option and less than two years of service time. That means he can provide roster flexibility and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration.

Marlowe, 29 in June, joins a new organization for the first time. He was drafted by the Mariners in 2019. He was added to that club’s 40-man roster in November of 2022 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

He has shown some potential with the bat but also with big strikeout numbers. In his 109 big league plate appearances, his .240/.330/.406 line is decent but he has been punched out at a 31.2% rate. He also struck out 29.4% of the time at the Triple-A level over 2023 and 2024. His .246/.340/.419 line for Tacoma over those two seasons isn’t bad at first blush but actually translates to an 89 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

In February of 2025, the Mariners passed him through waivers unclaimed. He spent last year still in the system but in a non-roster capacity. He began the season on the injured list and didn’t make it into game action until July. He finished the year having played 46 Triple-A contests with a strong .316/.401/.474 line and 123 wRC+. He got some help from a .400 batting average on balls in play but his 23.6% strikeout rate was an encouraging improvement.

The A’s have a strong group of outfielders but there’s no harm in adding some extra non-roster depth. If Marlowe eventually gets a roster spot, he has a minor league option remaining and less than a year of big league service time.

Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images

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