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Marlins Claim Brett de Geus, Desigate Seth Martinez For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they have claimed right-hander Brett de Geus off waivers from the Pirates. The latter club designated him for assignment last week. In a corresponding move, the Marlins designated fellow right-hander Seth Martinez for assignment.

de Geus, 27, has never pitched for the Pirates. They acquired him from the Blue Jays in a cash deal last month. Though when they were able to sign Andrew Heaney last week, de Geus was the roster casualty.

He has bounced around the league quite a bit, pitching for the Mariners, Marlins and Jays last year. His major league work to this point hasn’t been great, as he has a 7.48 earned run average in 61 1/3 innings. His 16.6% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are both poor marks, but he has generated ground balls on 52.5% of balls in play.

Those grounders are likely why he keeps garnering interest from so many clubs, despite the poor run prevention. He also tossed 39 Triple-A innings last year with a 5.31 ERA, getting grounders at a 56.6% clip.

The raw stuff is also intriguing. de Geus averaged 96.4 miles per hour on his sinker last year and 98 mph on his four-seamer, in addition to throwing a knuckle curve, cutter and splitter. He didn’t translate that arsenal into good results last year but clubs clearly think it’s possible, including the Marlins, as they claimed him off waivers in August. They bumped him off the roster a month later, with de Geus claimed by the Jays, but the Fish have now taken the chance to bring him back into the fold again.

He still has options and therefore won’t need to be guaranteed a roster spot. He also has just a bit more than a year of service time, meaning he can theoretically be affordably controlled for years to come if things click for him.

Martinez, 30, was himself just claimed off waivers a week ago. He is out of options and therefore has less roster flexibility than de Geus. With the quick claim and DFA, it’s possible the Marlins claimed Martinez with the plan to put him right back on waivers in short order. He has less than three years of service time and no previous career outright, so he would stick with the Marlins as non-roster depth if he can be passed through waivers unclaimed.

The righty tossed 137 1/3 innings for the Astros over the past four years with a 3.93 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. Over that same timespan, he also threw 105 innings in the minors with a 2.66 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. He got put on waivers at the end of last season, getting claimed by the Diamondbacks, though the Snakes put him back on waivers when they signed Kendall Graveman.

The Fish will now have one week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Martinez, whether that’s a trade or another trip to the waiver wire. The waiver process can take as long as 48 hours, so any trade interest would have to be explored in the next five days.

Thyago Vieira, Josh Winder To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo revealed today that right-handers Thyago Vieira and Josh Winder will both require Tommy John surgery, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Both righties had been in camp as non-roster invitees but each will now miss the entire 2025 season.

Vieira, 32, was claimed off waivers from the Orioles in June. The following month, the Snakes put him back on waivers and passed him through unclaimed. He was invited to big league camp and could have earned his way back into the majors. However, that clearly won’t come to pass now.

The righty debuted in the majors back in 2017. He pitched in Japan from 2020 to 2022 but was in each major league season around that. He has 66 2/3 big league innings pitched in the majors between the Mariners, White Sox, Brewers, Orioles and Diamondbacks. He has a 5.81 earned run average, 20.8% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate. He’ll turn 33 in January of 2026 as he approaches the one-year anniversary of this surgery.

Winder, 28, was a promising prospect not too long ago but injuries have derailed him in recent years. In 2021, he posted a 2.63 ERA across 14 minor league starts. Baseball America ranked him the #6 prospect in Minnesota’s system going into 2022.

Despite the solid results, shoulder issues cropped up in 2021 which impacted him for the next few years. He spent time on the minor league injured list due to shoulder injuries in each season from 2021 to 2023. Last year, he was on the major league IL for the first couple of months of the campaign due to a scapular stress fracture.

Around those shoulder issues, Winder tossed 110 2/3 major league innings from 2022 through 2024, posting a 4.39 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. But he was mostly kept in the minors after getting healthy last year and had a 6.15 ERA at the Triple-A level, pitching mostly in relief. The Twins outrighted him off the roster at season’s end.

He elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, presumably hoping for a fresh start with a new club. Instead, he’ll have to spend the rest of the year rehabbing with an eye on returning at some point in 2026. He’ll celebrate his 29th birthday this coming October. Since neither Winder nor Vieira had a 40-man roster spot, they won’t collect service time for the upcoming season.

For the Snakes, they have a strong relief group overall, something that MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a detailed look at. These injuries will deprive them of some non-roster depth, though there are still many unsigned pitchers who could be brought aboard as reinforcements. As Opening Day nears, other guys will also shake loose as clubs make their final camp cuts.

MLBTR Podcast: Atlanta’s Pitching Depth, Iglesias, Jobe, Castillo, And More!

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors for a mailbag episode. We spent the entire show answering questions from listeners, including…

  • Can the Braves seriously go into the season with this rotation depth? (1:50)
  • Could the Braves add to the bullpen before the season starts? (9:25)
  • Why is David Robertson not signed? (13:00)
  • Could the Mets and Jose Iglesias reunite on a one-year, $5MM deal with a vesting option? (17:10)
  • Should the Cubs have signed Jose Iglesias instead of Justin Turner? (24:35)
  • Could there be a battle forming for the final rotation spots for the Tigers between Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda and Jackson Jobe? (30:35)
  • Are the Mariners waiting for a pitching injury on another team to trade Luis Castillo? (38:05)
  • When a team like the Dodgers does significant deferrals, what year’s payroll does the money go on? (43:50)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Padres Re-Sign Reiss Knehr To Minor League Deal

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Right-hander Reiss Knehr and the Padres have reunited on a minor league deal, as first reported by Mad Friars. It’s unclear if the ACES client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee or if he’ll head to minor league camp.

Knehr, 28, missed the 2024 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in the previous summer. The Padres outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of the 2023 season. He spent the entire 2024 campaign on the injured list for Triple-A El Paso, then became a free agent at season’s end.

Prior to that lengthy layoff, he was a depth arm for the Friars. He spent the 2021 through 2023 seasons getting frequently optioned to El Paso and back. Over those three years, he tossed 48 1/3 innings in the majors, allowing 5.96 earned runs per nine. His 15.5% strikeout rate and 13.2% walk rate were both subpar figures. That was mostly relief work, with a few “starts” lasting a few innings, topping out at four frames.

As one would expect, his minor league work was more interesting. In 2021, he tossed 75 2/3 innings on the farm over 16 starts and three relief appearances. He had a 3.57 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. In 2022, he posted a dismal 6.88 ERA in a swing role at the Triple-A level, but got back on track the following year. In 2023, he tossed 36 2/3 innings for El Paso, almost exclusively in relief. His only start lasted just three innings. He had a 3.93 ERA for the Chihuahuas, pairing a 27.3% strikeout rate with a 7.3% walk rate.

With those intriguing Triple-A numbers in 2023 and a lost season in 2024, perhaps the Friars will keep him in a relief role from now on. If he shows some health and effectiveness, he will provide the club with a bit of extra non-roster depth. If his contract is selected, he is now out of options but he has barely a year of service time.

On The Future Of The Blue Jays

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A lot can change in a year for a baseball team. Around this time in 2024, FanGraphs gave the Tigers a 28.9% chance of making the playoffs and had the Cardinals as the favorites to win the National League Central.

Detroit had a middling first half and sold at the deadline, trading Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers for prospects. They surged to the playoffs without Flaherty, then re-signed him this winter and now enter 2025 as clear contenders. The Cardinals kept their hopes alive through most of 2024, acquiring Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham and Shawn Armstrong at the deadline. But when that fell short, they decided to hit the reset button and don’t seem to be planning to compete anytime soon. Even their offseason reboot plans were scuttled, with various players using their no-trade clauses to block deals the front office surely hoped to make.

Going into 2025, the Blue Jays are perhaps the club with the widest spectrum of possible outcomes. On the one hand, a lot of the roster is the same club that played at a pretty consistent 90-win pace over the 2020-23 period. They had an injury-marred season in 2024 but bolstered the roster in the winter in an attempt to return to contention in 2025. With the expanded playoffs, getting back into the mix this year is entirely possible.

The American League East seems wide open. The FanGraphs Projected Standings have all five clubs with a 35-71% chance of getting a postseason spot, with the Jays at 38.3%. The PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are somewhat similar, with the Jays at 48.5% and no club higher than 72.3%. For the entire American League, both projection systems have 12 clubs in the 19-71% range, with only the Angels, Athletics and White Sox lower than that.

The other side of the coin is well known at this point. The club is losing its grip on several of its key players. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the most notable, as he’s an impending free agent that the club hasn’t been able to sign to a long-term deal. The same is true of Bo Bichette, the club’s other longtime core piece. Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Chad Green and Erik Swanson are also slated for the open market this fall. George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Yimi García, Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk are on pace to be free agents after 2026. José Berríos can join that latter group by opting out of the final two years of his deal. All could be trade candidates this summer if things aren’t going well.

That situation extends beyond the roster. President Mark Shapiro is reportedly going into the final year of his contract. General manager Ross Atkins is reportedly only signed through 2026. Manager John Schneider is signed through 2025 with a club option for 2026. Around the baseball world, there is an expectation that a poor season will lead to significant changes. If the Jays are bad again in 2025, no one would really be shocked if Shapiro, Atkins and Schneider are all gone.

Even if the team does manage to put together a good season in 2025, there will be questions to be answered about the future. As mentioned, several players are set to qualify for free agency in this coming winter or the one after that.

Whether they can replace some of those players internally is tough to say. Industry evaluations of the system as a whole are not strong. Baseball America ranks the farm system 23rd in the league. Keith Law of The Athletic and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN recently put them 24th.

That’s not necessarily shocking, as the club has been putting a priority on the big league roster lately. Bassitt and Springer had rejected qualifying offers, so the Jays had to give up a draft pick for each of those deals. The same is true of the upcoming draft, as Anthony Santander also rejected a QO.

Of the club’s five first-round picks from 2018 to 2022, they eventually traded three. They sent Jordan Groshans to the Marlins in the Anthony Bass/Zach Pop deal, Austin Martin to the Twins in the Berríos trade and Gunnar Hoglund to the Athletics in the Matt Chapman trade. The other two, Alek Manoah and Brandon Barriera, are both recovering from Tommy John surgery right now. Other notable prospects like Ricky Tiedemann and Landen Maroudis are also working back from TJS.

That has left the club with a clear lack in top-end talent. Baseball America has just one Jay on their top 100, with Tiedemann having literally the last spot. The lists from FanGraphs, ESPN, MLB Pipeline and Law all have two or three Jays on them but no one in the top 60.

A person looking for optimism could focus on the volume of guys who are either borderline top 100 guys or just outside of that designation. In addition to their recent top 100 list, Baseball America also released a list of every player who received at least one vote from one of their writers. They build their top 100 by having several contributors submit a top 150 ranking, then use a points system to combine those different lists.

As mentioned, the Jays ultimately only got one guy on there with Tiedemann taking the final spot, but he was one of seven different players to receive a vote. That means that at least one BA staffer considered Jake Bloss, Arjun Nimmala, Alan Roden, Josh Kasevich, Orelvis Martínez or Trey Yesavage to be a borderline top 100 guy. Some of those guys appeared on the other linked top 100 lists. Only one club had more than 11 players on that vote-getter list from BA, while some clubs had as few as three.

The volume of the Jays’ system also appeared to show up at ZiPS, the projection system from Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs. ZiPS had five guys on the top 100, six guys in the top 200 and 20 in the top 500. In that latter category, only three clubs were ahead of the Jays. The Rays had 24, with the Reds and White Sox at 21.

This quantity-over-quality assessment probably aligns with the observations of anyone earnestly following the club. They have an army of guys who are not really considered top prospects but seem perhaps capable of being major leaguers in the near future. This includes guys like Will Wagner, Joey Loperfido, Jonatan Clase, Charles McAdoo, RJ Schreck, Adam Macko and Lazaro Estrada. They also have some guys who are no longer prospects and aren’t fully established but still have some future potential, such as Bowden Francis, Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes, Leo Jiménez and Addison Barger.

Perhaps a few nice developments in there could make the future look a little better. But even if that comes to pass, there will still be the unanswered question of the club’s star power. The club’s attempts to sign players like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and others have come up just short. As mentioned, their overtures to Guerrero haven’t worked.

The one benefit of all those misses, and the large slate of impending free agents, is that the future payroll is fairly clean. By 2028, only Santander, Berríos, Andrés Giménez and Yariel Rodríguez will be guaranteed deals. Berríos has an opt-out after 2026. Santander and Rodríguez can opt-out after 2027, though the club can void those opt-outs by triggering club options. The Giménez deal is guaranteed through 2029 with a club option for 2030.

Though Guerrero hasn’t signed a long-term deal yet, he did leave the door open to consider a future offer if the club circled back to him. It’s also possible that he could reach free agency and re-sign, the same way that star players like Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso re-signed with the Yankees and Mets respectively. The Jays could also pivot to some other notable free agent next winter, such as Kyle Tucker, Munetaka Murakami, Dylan Cease or Zac Gallen.

While starting this piece, I considered using cliches like “shifting sands”, “fog of war”, “up in the air”, “multiverse” or “over the horizon” in the title. The point I was hoping to make is that there’s almost nothing that can be known about the Jays right now. It’s entirely plausible that they’re good this year, but also just as possible that they’re bad. Making the playoffs is totally within reason, but everyone could be traded and everyone could be fired. They could see a few of their many young guys step up and cement themselves as future pieces, offsetting the upcoming free agent departures. The system could look barren as they kick off a yearslong rebuild. They could sign a franchise-altering mega contract or they could not.

Many fans have already made up their minds about the Blue Jays but it seems like everything will be on the line this year with so much to be determined. Regardless of the outcomes, it should be interesting.

The Other Outfielder The White Sox Would Love To Trade

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The White Sox are one of the few clubs in baseball firmly in rebuild mode. They went 81-81 in 2022, followed by a 61-101 showing the year after. Last year, they reached a historic low, setting a modern-day record with 121 losses.

In that time, they have been willing to trade any established big league player for prospects. At the 2023 deadline, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Jake Burger, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Keynan Middleton and Kendall Graveman were sent out. Prior to the 2024 season, Dylan Cease, Aaron Bummer, Gregory Santos and others were flipped. At the most recent deadline, Michael Kopech, Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, Eloy Jiménez, Paul DeJong and Tanner Banks packed their bags. This offseason, Garrett Crochet was the headliner.

There’s not much left to move at this point. Luis Robert Jr. is the big name still on the roster. Since he had an injury-marred 2024, the Sox have held him for now, hoping that a healthy and productive showing in 2025 will increase his trade value leading up to the deadline.

Whether a trade comes together or not, the Sox aren’t committed to Robert. He’s entering the final guaranteed season of his contract. There are $20MM club options for 2026 and 2027. Those give him more upside if he bounces back but the Sox will presumably decline the first of those if he has another wasted season.

The only player with a guaranteed contract beyond this year is Andrew Benintendi. His five-year, $75MM pact runs through 2027. The Sox would presumably love to trade him as well, as the first two years of that pact haven’t gone well. Last summer, it was reported that the Sox were shopping him. They also reportedly explored some scenarios where Benintendi and Crochet would be packaged together, though they wisely didn’t go down that path, which would have resulted in a lesser prospect package coming back for Crochet.

The Sox don’t really need to the cost savings. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they had a payroll near $200MM as of a couple of years ago. That was down to $123MM last year. RosterResource projects them to be at just $81MM in 2025. As mentioned, Benintendi is the only deal on the books after this year. He will make $16.5MM in both 2025 and 2026, followed by $14.5MM in 2027. That’s a total of $47.5MM over three years, or $15.83MM in terms of average annual value.

That’s not superstar money. Players like Joc Pederson, Anthony Santander, Michael Conforto, Tyler O’Neill, Gleyber Torres, Ha-Seong Kim and Jurickson Profar got AAVs in the $14-19MM range this winter. Those are mostly solid-but-flawed regulars, rather than stars.

Unfortunately, Benintendi hasn’t been near “solid-but-flawed” lately. Through the end of 2022, Benintendi had hit .279/.351/.431 for a 109 wRC+. In his first two years with the Sox, his line has been down at .246/.309/.374, which translates to a 90 wRC+. His defense has also taken a turn for the worse. Prior to coming to Chicago, Outs Above Average was already not a fan, giving Benintendi a grade of -16 for his career, but Defensive Runs Saved had him at +25. Over the past two years, he’s been worth -18 OAA and also -16 DRS.

Perhaps health played a bit of a role there. Benintendi spent some time on the injured list last year due to left achilles tendinitis. His 26.7 mile per hour sprint speed was the lowest of his career, so maybe that impacted his ability to run the ball down.

Regardless, it’s been a rough couple of years. Needless to say, Benintendi will need a big bounceback to have any trade value at all. Though it may look bleak now, there is actually a reason to have some hope, as Benintendi finished the 2024 season on a strong note.

His aforementioned IL stint for the achilles injury was from June 2 to June 12. At the time he landed on the IL, he had a brutal line of .195/.230/.284. After being reinstated, he hit .251/.326/.470 the rest of the way for a 124 wRC+. He hit 16 home runs in 322 plate appearances while also drawing walks at a 9.9% clip and striking out just 18.9% of the time. His .264 batting average on balls in play was actually below the .290 league average, so it wasn’t a product of batted ball luck.

It’s possible this was a fluke in another way. 16% of Benintendi’s fly balls left the yard in that stretch. That’s well above his 8.3% career rate and the 11.6% league average last year, despite his exit velocity and hard hit rate being near his previous levels. However, it’s also possible it came from a change in approach. In that hot finish in 2024, Benintendi pulled the ball at a 49.1% clip and also hit fly balls at a 43.9% rate. For his career, those numbers are just 36.6% and 38% respectively.

Whether that late-season surge was just a small-sample blip or a meaningful course correction remains to be seen. Like Robert, Benintendi’s trade value is at a low ebb and a big correction will be required for the Sox to be able to get anything in return. But if Benintendi can perform well to start 2025, it could then be legitimately framed as a year-long bounceback.

Given the aforementioned financial situation, the club should be willing to eat most or all of Benintendi’s deal. They aren’t a revenue-sharing club, so unlike the A’s or Marlins, they could bottom the payroll out without worrying about the possibility of an MLBPA grievance. Still, there are reasons for them to prioritize prospect returns as opposed to cost savings.

They aren’t likely to return to contention by 2027. Even if they do get good by then, Benintendi’s salary shouldn’t stand in the way of them making moves. Owners surely don’t love throwing money at a hopeless team, but the payroll will still be incredibly low in 2026 and 2027 even if the Sox are still paying Benintendi. If he is playing well this year, then perhaps a contending club with a tight payroll and/or competitive balance tax number would be enticed by the possibility of getting Benintendi at a low financial cost, giving up more prospect capital instead.

Robert will have much of the focus in 2025 and rightfully so. He has huge upside, having put together a borderline MVP performance in 2023. He will be one of the top deadline trade candidates if he gets anywhere near that. Benintendi won’t have as much of the spotlight but he will have his own chance to play his way into some attention. Though he’s been around for a while, he’s only 30 years old. His deal is underwater right now but isn’t atrocious by MLB standards. He’s had a rough couple of years but was legitimately good for the final three-plus months last year. Though he’s something of a forgotten man at this point, it’s possible he could play himself onto a contender over the next few months.

The Long-Term Catching Trade Market

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For teams looking for help behind the plate, free agency hasn’t been much help lately. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, last winter’s biggest deal went to Mitch Garver. The Mariners gave him $24MM with the plan of making him a primary designated hitter. Apart from him, Victor Caratini topped the class with $12MM. This offseason, Kyle Higashioka led the pack with $13.5MM.

Next winter’s class could be better, but probably not significantly so. J.T. Realmuto has been one of the better backstops in the game in the past decade but will be 35 years old by the start of the 2026 season. He also might just re-sign with the Phillies. Danny Jansen could have a bounceback on his one-year deal with the Rays this season, but he will still have a checkered injury history and a dismal 2024 campaign tamping down interest. Jose Trevino will draw interest from his excellent defense but he doesn’t hit much.

The 2026-27 class has some potentially attractive options in Alejandro Kirk, Ryan Jeffers, Tyler Stephenson and Jonah Heim, but they’ve all had inconsistent careers, so it’s anyone’s guess how they’ll look two seasons from now.

The trade market seems to be far more interesting as the current prospect pipeline is loaded with catchers. Baseball America’s Top 100 list features 11 backstops. The FanGraphs list has 16, MLB Pipeline 14, ESPN 12 and Keith Law of The Athletic 15.

Not all prospects work out and some of these catchers will end up getting moved to a corner position. But with many of these clubs already having a controllable backstop in the big leagues, future logjams are distinctly possible. Teams these days are generally fine having two catchers in a timeshare, but guys can still get squeezed onto the trade block. Gabriel Moreno didn’t have a path to playing time in Toronto a few years ago and got flipped to the Diamondbacks. Atlanta made Sean Murphy their primary catcher and sent William Contreras to Milwaukee. The Red Sox recently included Kyle Teel in the Garrett Crochet trade, presumably because they feel good about Connor Wong holding down the position for the next four years. The Yankees have Austin Wells, which allowed them to send Agustín Ramírez to the Marlins in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade.

Let’s take a look at some other clubs who could theoretically make a catcher available in the coming years, depending on how things develop. This list is subjective, so feel free to cook me in the comments if I missed one that you like. Teams sorted alphabetically.

Braves

As mentioned, Atlanta felt good enough about Murphy that they were willing to let Contreras go. They also made a big bet on Murphy by signing him to a six-year, $73MM extension shortly after acquiring him. The first year of the deal was excellent but Murphy’s results tailed off significantly in 2024, which has been a source of frustration for Atlanta fans as Contreras has thrived in Milwaukee.

Murphy now has footsteps behind him, as Drake Baldwin is considered one of the top catching prospects in the league. He’s already knocking on the door of the majors, having played in 72 Triple-A games last year. He walked in 15.6% of his plate appearances at that level while striking out just 16.2% of the time and hitting 12 home runs. His .298/.407/484 slash translated to a 135 wRC+.

With four years and $60MM left on the Murphy deal, plus a $15MM club option for 2029, Atlanta could look to flip Murphy and open a path for Baldwin. Though Murphy will have to bounce back in order to make that a possibility. If they can’t find good value on a Murphy deal, then perhaps Baldwin could follow Contreras and be the next catching prospect traded out of Atlanta. In either case, Chadwick Tromp currently projects as the backup to whoever the long-term #1 is.

Brewers

As mentioned, William Contreras has been thriving since being traded to Milwaukee. He has slashed .285/.366/.462 for a 128 wRC+ over the past two years. His previously-maligned defense has improved significantly. He is controlled via arbitration through 2027. The backup job will likely go to Eric Haase this year, with Jorge Alfaro in camp as a non-roster invitee.

They also have Jeferson Quero, one of the top catching prospects in the league, knocking on the door. Though he’s only 22 years old now, he likely would have made his major league debut last year as a 21-year-old if it weren’t for a bite from the injury bug. In 2022, Quero appeared in 90 Double-A games as a 20-year-old. He started 2024 at Triple-A but suffered a subluxation in his right shoulder in the first game of the season. That led to surgery to address a torn labrum, wiping out the remainder of the campaign.

If he can stay healthy in 2025, Quero should be lurking in Triple-A. After missing essentially an entire season, the Brewers will probably want to keep him there for a while to get back into game shape. However, he’s already been on the 40-man for over a year now and is down to two option seasons. With Contreras under club control for three more seasons, things might get tight over time.

Cardinals

As part of their 2025 reset, the Cardinals are moving on from Willson Contreras as their catcher. Despite signing him to a big five-year deal, they never seemed to like his work behind the plate and even moved him off the position for a time in 2023. It seems they hoped to trade him this winter but he wasn’t willing to waive his no-trade clause, so he’ll move to first base instead, likely seeing time at designated hitter as well.

That will allow Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés to get the playing time this year. Herrera has been a top ten prospect in the Cards’ system for years. He’s hit .263/.389/.437 in the minors over the past four years for a 121 wRC+. He finally got some decent big league playing time last year and responded with a .301/.372/.428 line and 127 wRC+. Pagés doesn’t have the same prospect pedigree but is a solid defender and fine secondary catcher.

Herrera have five seasons of club control and Pagés six. The Cards also have a borderline top 100 catching prospect in Jimmy Crooks. A fourth-round pick from 2022, he played 90 games at Double-A last year, meaning he should be slated for Triple-A work in 2025. Of the aforementioned top 100 lists, only FanGraphs had him on there, but that outlet described him as “a glove-first catcher who does enough on offense to be the primary guy.”

Cubs

Going into 2025, the Cubs are are slated to have Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly as their catching duo. Amaya was once a notable prospect himself. Held back by some injuries, he is now out of options but seems to have solidified himself as a capable big leaguer. He’ll turn 26 in March and still has five years of club control remaining. Kelly is a solid veteran who just signed a two-year deal with the Cubbies this offseason.

Hanging around below them will be Moisés Ballesteros. He has hit .279/.366/.452 for a 128 wRC+ in his minor league career thus far. That includes 68 games at the Triple-A level last year, when he was just 20 years old.

His defense isn’t as highly rate as his offense, however. He has played some first base on the farm and there are those who feel he is destined to end up there. But he’s also only 21 and has reportedly improved his conditioning. The Cubs have a controllable first baseman in Michael Busch, as well as Seiya Suzuki likely to be the regular designated hitter, so things might get crowded one way or another.

Diamondbacks

As mentioned up top, Gabriel Moreno was squeezed out of playing time with the Jays and got sent to Arizona, where he’s been the primary backstop for the past two years. He’s under club control for another four years. José Herrera is likely to be the backup this year.

The club also has Adrian Del Castillo firmly in the mix. He put up a huge line of .312/.399/.603 in Triple-A last year. Even in the hitter-friendly context of the Pacific Coast League, his 144 wRC+ points to him being well above average. He also got into 25 major league games and hit .313/.368/.525.

His defense isn’t regarded as highly as his bat, so a move to a first base/designated hitter role down the line is possible, though he hasn’t played any first base yet. The Snakes have more of a path to playing time there with Christian Walker and Joc Pederson departing in free agency. They acquired Josh Naylor to cover first but he will hit the open market after the upcoming season.

Dodgers

The Dodgers have had Will Smith as their primary catcher for a while and it doesn’t seem like that will change anytime soon. About this time last year, he and the club agreed to an extension that will keep him in Los Angeles through 2033. Moving out from behind the plate won’t be possible for a while with Shohei Ohtani locked into the designated hitter spot through 2033. First baseman Freddie Freeman is signed through 2027. The club also has Austin Barnes as the backup, though he’s in the final year of his deal. Hunter Feduccia is on the 40-man and could perhaps take over for Barnes next year.

Hovering around all this is Dalton Rushing, one of the top prospects in the game. He’s hit .273/.410/.520 for a 153 wRC+ in his minor league career, which includes 37 Triple-A games. The Dodgers have given him some playing time at first base and left field to give him a better path to the big leagues. But that is arguably a waste of his skills behind the plate and he might be better utilized headlining a blockbuster trade.

Guardians

Going into 2025, Bo Naylor should be the regular behind the plate in Cleveland. His bat regressed in 2024 but he was still a useful contributor thanks to his defense. He’s under club control for another five years. Glove-first veteran Austin Hedges will be back to serve as Naylor’s partner.

Waiting in the wings is Cooper Ingle. A fourth-round pick from 2023, he has slashed .303/.426/.466 for a 153 wRC+ in his minor league career thus far. That includes 25 Double-A games last year, so getting to Triple-A in 2025 is a distinct possibility.

Ingle was only a part-time catcher at Clemson and is still considered an unfinished project defensively, but he showed enough development in 2024 that prospect evaluators think he’s viable to stick back there. The Guards might be patient with him but he should be ready for the majors well before Naylor is approaching free agency.

Mariners

The Mariners have Cal Raleigh, one of the best catchers in the game today. He can be retained via arbitration through 2027. Mitch Garver and Blake Hunt are candidates to be in the backup spot.

The club also has Harry Ford, one of the top catching prospects in the league. The 12th overall pick from 2021, he’s hit .261/.404/.418 for a 129 wRC+ in his minor league career thus far. He spent all of last year at Double-A, getting into 116 games, and should be in Triple-A this year. He’s also stolen at least 23 bases in each of the past three seasons.

However, his stock is down a bit after a mixed 2024. There are some questions about whether he has the defensive chops to stick behind the plate. He got some time in left field last year and the early reviews weren’t favorable. While his offense has been good overall, he had diminished power in 2024, leaving him as more of an on-base guy. That’s a harder profile to pull off if he moves to an outfield corner or first base.

Marlins

In the short term, the catching situation behind the plate in Miami is rough. Nick Fortes currently projects as the starter despite a career batting line of .222/.275/.344. Liam Hicks, a Rule 5 pick who hasn’t played higher than Double-A, could be the backup.

But in the long term, things look much better. Both Agustín Ramírez and Joe Mack have shown up on top 100 prospect lists. Ramírez got into 68 Triple-A games last year and is already on the 40-man, meaning he may arrive first. He has hit .270/.361/.476 for a 127 wRC+ over the past four years, coming over to the Marlins in the aforementioned Chisholm trade.

Mack was selected 31st overall in 2021 and hit .252/.338/.468 for a 137 wRC+ last year, mostly in Double-A. He’s considered the stronger defender, so perhaps both can exist on the same roster down the road, with Ramírez spending some time at first base and/or designated hitter.

Orioles

It was a bit of a slog for Adley Rutschman in 2024, as his numbers tailed off badly in the second half. But that won’t change the fact that he’s the #1 catcher in Baltimore. The former first overall pick is strong at the plate and behind it, with three years of club control remaining. Gary Sánchez will be supporting him in 2025 after signing a one-year deal.

The question is how Samuel Basallo fits into the picture. He is one of the top prospects in baseball, with each of the aforementioned top 100 lists having him in the top 20. FanGraphs has him fifth overall and Keith Law third. He’s hit .286/.364/.477 for a 134 wRC+ in his minor league career. He just turned 20 years old in August. He spent most of last year at Double-A and also got into 21 Triple-A games.

There are some concerns around Basallo’s defense, which could push him to first base. He did play a bit of first last year, though that was partially due to a stress fracture in his right elbow. Despite being incomplete as a defender, many believe he still has lots of potential behind the plate due to his talent and youth.

Padres

Many in the industry view Ethan Salas as the catcher of the future in San Diego. He doesn’t turn 19 until June but will likely be the club’s regular at Double-A this year. His defense is already considered elite. His offensive numbers have been less impressive but that may be because the Friars have been incredibly aggressive in sending him to levels where he’s far younger than his competition.

Salas coming up and taking the job in the future would only be a problem if Luis Campusano gets back on track. Himself a former hyped-up catching prospect, Campusano seemed to finally break out in 2023 by hitting .319/.356/.491. That gave him plenty of run in 2024 but he responded with a dismal .227/.281/.361 performance. His defense was also poor, making him a sub-replacement level player for the year. The Padres went with Kyle Higashioka and Elias Díaz by the end of the year, leaving Campusano off their playoff roster.

Due to budgetary constraints in San Diego, Campusano should get a chance at redemption in 2025. He projects to share the catching duties with veteran Díaz, who was brought back via a modest deal this offseason. Campusano has less than three years of service time, meaning he can be controlled through 2028 if he gets things going again this year.

Pirates

Going into 2023, the Pirates had both Henry Davis and Endy Rodríguez on Baseball America’s Top 100 list. It seemed possible that two of them would be battling for the future catching job in Pittsburgh, but a lot has changed since then.

Rodríguez made his major league debut in 2023, with good defense but subpar offense. UCL surgery then wiped out his entire 2024 season. Davis didn’t seize the job while Rodríguez was out. He has a massive .290/.409/.535 line in the minors but has hit just .191/.283/.307 against major league pitching. His defense is also considered a tick behind that of Rodríguez.

The Bucs acquired Joey Bart early last season after he had been designated for assignment by the Giants, which turned into a great pickup. Around a couple of IL stints, Bart hit .265/.337/.462 in 80 games for the Pirates last year.

Bart is out of options and should have an Opening Day job locked in. Davis and Rodríguez can still be optioned but neither has much left to prove on the farm. They can also play other positions but Rodríguez seems likely to get a lot of value from his defense behind the plate. Davis hasn’t yet hit enough in the big leagues to justify a corner outfield spot. Jason Delay is also on the 40-man roster, though he’s also optionable. There are still many ways this could all play out but all of these guys are under club control for three more years or longer, so there could be a squeeze down the road.

Royals

The Royals have had Salvador Perez handling most of their catching duties for over a decade now. He’s entering the final guaranteed year of his contract but there’s a $13.5MM club option for 2026 with a $2MM buyout, making it a net $11.5MM decision. As Perez has started spending more time at first base or as the designated hitter, Freddy Fermin has taken a decent chunk of the playing time. He’s under club control through 2029.

The club also has a pair of notable catching prospects on the way, with both Carter Jensen and Blake Mitchell have appeared on some of the aforementioned top 100 lists. Jensen, 21, was a third-round pick in 2021. He’s hit .235/.361/.401 for a 117 wRC+ in his minor league career. There have been questions about his defense but he’s made positive strides there. He appeared in 41 Double-A games last year, so getting to Triple-A in 2025 should be doable with a major league debut not out of the question.

Mitchell, 20, was the eighth overall pick in 2023. He has slashed .226/.374/.405 for a 131 wRC+ in the minors thus far. He only got to High-A for five games late in 2024. His 2025 is also going to be delayed by hamate surgery, so he’s clearly behind Jensen when it comes to near-term MLB readiness.

Perez is about to turn 35 but the Royals seem well positioned to pivot to the next era. Fermin has been a decent complement and can be kept around for another five seasons. With two top prospects on the way, perhaps the Royals might find themselves with a logjam, even without Perez.

Tigers

The Tigers have Jake Rogers as their primary catcher. He’s considered to be above average on defense. His offense is a bit shakier as he strikes out a bunch and doesn’t walk much, but he does have some power, with 31 homers over the past two seasons. He’s under club control through 2026.

There’s a chance Dillon Dingler could push him for some big league playing time. A former notable prospect, Dingler hit just .167/.195/.310 in his first 87 plate appearances at the major league level. However, he’s put up big numbers in the minors before, including a .308/.379/.559 line in Triple-A last year. He has less than a year of service time and still has two minor league options.

Detroit also has two notable catching prospects, as both Thayron Liranzo and Josue Briceño are on some of the aforementioned top 100 lists. Liranzo, 21, was acquired from the Dodgers in the Jack Flaherty deal. There are some questions about his work behind the plate but he has hit .254/.381/.475 for a 137 wRC+ in his minor league career. He spent all of last year at High-A and should be at Double-A in 2025.

Briceño, 20, has hit .283/.367/.439 for a 119 wRC+ in his minor league career. He didn’t catch a ton in 2024 but that was seemingly due to a knee injury as opposed to any concerns about his abilities back there. He got healthy by the end of the year and then went to the Arizona Fall League, putting up a massive .433/.509/.867 slash and winning MVP honors. He hasn’t yet reached the High-A level, so he’s a step or two behind Liranzo.

Rogers is only under club control for another two seasons, but by the time that clock runs out, it’s possible that Dingler, Liranzo and Briceño are all jockeying for position on the depth chart. If a few things go right, it’s possible the Tigers will have more catchers than they need.

White Sox

The White Sox have been aggressively rebuilding for a while now, trading away just about every viable major leaguer on the roster for prospects. Those many trades have returned three notable catching prospects. At the 2023 deadline, they added Korey Lee via the Kendall Graveman trade and Edgar Quero in the Lucas Giolito/Reynaldo López deal. More recently, Kyle Teel was one of the highlight pieces in the Garrett Crochet trade.

Lee, 26, has hit just .188/.227/.313 in his major league career thus far with rough defensive grades to boot. However, he was considered a top 100 guy not too long ago and could get back on track. The Sox should be able to give him lots of runway to try, since near-term competition won’t be possible after their historically bad 2024.

Even if Lee’s prospect shine is gone, the others still have it. Quero, 22 in April, has slashed .280/.397/.452 for a 132 wRC+ in his minor league career. Teel, 23, has hit .301/.404/.444 for a 141 wRC+. Both players have reached Triple-A, with Quero having played 26 games there and Teel 28. Either or both could plausibly be in the majors this year.

Teel is considered a stronger defender than Quero, so perhaps the latter will end up getting pushed out from behind the plate. Or perhaps the Sox will decide that using the trade block to bolster another part of the roster is the best path forward.

White Sox View Miguel Vargas As Primary Third Baseman

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White Sox manager Will Venable tells James Fegan of Sox Machine that Miguel Vargas is viewed as the club’s primary option at third base. He is playing a bit of first base in camp as well but will mostly line up at the hot corner.

Vargas, 25, became a key piece of the roster last summer. Prior to last year’s deadline. the Sox lined up a three-team trade with the Dodgers and Cardinals. Chicago gave up Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech, Tommy Pham and cash in that deal. In return, they received three minor leaguers, with Vargas being more of a high-profile addition than Alexander Albertus or Jeral Perez.

A few years ago, Vargas was a top 100 prospect. Baseball America gave him the #29 spot going into 2023. That’s largely on account of his huge numbers against minor league pitching, though he hasn’t yet translated that to the majors. He has hit .175/.273/.312 in 591 big league plate appearances thus far.

But over the past three years, he has hit .297/.412/.512 in 996 Triple-A appearances. That was in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but his 15.6% walk rate and 16.7% strikeout rate in that time were both great and wRC+ still considered him to be 31% better than league average.

Defensively, Vargas primarily played third base on his way up the minor league ladder, though the Dodgers moved him around the diamond. That was partially to improve his chances of cracking their crowded roster but also because his defense at the hot corner hasn’t been especially highly rated. He spent time at second base, first base and left field.

After acquiring him last year, the Sox gave him 36 starts at third and one in left. They overhauled their staff since then, bringing in Venable to be the new manager in 2025. It seems the new skipper doesn’t change the plan and they will give Vargas some run at the hot corner and see how it goes. Obviously, making offensive strides at the major league level is going to be important for Vargas but finding a viable defensive home is also going to be key. Now is a good time for the Sox to experiment, since they clearly have no hope of contending in the near term after their historically bad season in 2024. Vargas is still under control for five years, so there’s some time to come up with a clear answer.

The Sox signed infielder Josh Rojas to a one-year, $3.5MM deal last month. He has played more third base than any other position in his career, over 2,000 innings, but has over 1,000 innings at second as well. He’s also dabbled in the outfield corners, at shortstop and first base.

Perhaps Rojas will end up securing the second base job, if Vargas is at third. He will have some competition from Lenyn Sosa, though Sosa has hit just .229/.257/.347 in his big league career thus far and may get pushed into a bench/utility job. Rookie Colson Montgomery could perhaps take the Opening Day shortstop job. Infielders Jacob Amaya, Brooks Baldwin and Bryan Ramos are also on the 40-man roster with Brandon Drury and Nick Maton providing some non-roster depth.

Elsewhere on the roster, right-hander Prelander Berroa has been diagnosed with a grade 1 elbow strain, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Merkin says “it looks as if” Berroa can avoid Tommy John surgery “in the short term,” with next steps to be determined.

Berroa, 25 in April, came to the Sox as part of the Gregory Santos trade about a year ago. He has a 3.05 earned run average in 20 2/3 innings thus far in his career between the M’s and White Sox. Control has been an issue, with a 17.6% walk rate in the big leagues thus far. However, he’s also shown huge strikeout stuff, punching out 31.9% of major league hitters faced.

Obviously, a Tommy John surgery would be unwelcome, leading to an absence of over a year. The Sox will explore other options for the time being to see if there’s a way to get him back on the mound that doesn’t involve a surgeon’s scalpel.

Carmen Mlodzinski Getting Stretched Out As Starter In Camp

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Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski is getting stretched out as a starter this spring, he tells Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That seems to be a consistent position for him, as general manager Ben Cherington tells Hiles that the righty has broached the subject before.

“I think from the time he first pitched out of the bullpen for us, literally from that day, he’s been pretty consistent in his communication with us that, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team, and I don’t want to give up on starting,’” Cherington said. “We encourage that. Open communication. He’s taken advantage of the forums he’s had to continue to express interest in that in a really professional, thoughtful way. We agreed at the beginning of last season that we heard him, and we felt like we were going to ask him to pitch in the ’pen for now.

“We see examples all over the game of guys doing that and going back to the rotation at some point in the future. So at the end of the season, we had a chance to sit down again and agreed that it made sense for him to put himself in a position this offseason, give himself a chance to be a starter. We agreed that we’d get his volume built in spring training to some point, probably at least three innings, and then we’ll assess and see where we are. Just continue that communication with him.”

Mlodzinki, now 26, was drafted in 2020. He spent 2021 and 2022 working primarily as a starter in the minors. In the second of those two seasons, he logged a 4.78 earned run average in 105 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.

Since then, he’s mostly been in a relief role, which has includes some big league success. He has 86 2/3 innings under his belt at this point with a 2.91 ERA. That includes five “starts”, though those were opener outings, none longer than two innings. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate are each a bit shy of average for a reliever, though his 46.7% ground ball rate is strong. He has one save and 16 holds.

Despite the decent bullpen results, Mlodzinski hasn’t given up on the dream of being a starter. It’s not uncommon these days for a guy with some relief success to try stretching out. It doesn’t always work but some success stories includes Garrett Crochet, Seth Lugo and Reynaldo López.

Mlodzinski has thrown six pitches in his major league career, according to Statcast: a four-seamer, slider, cutter, sweeper, changeup and sinker. He also has fairly neutral splits. Righties have hit .222/.312/.324 against him with lefties actually posting a worse line of .216/.289/.302.

His diverse arsenal and platoon-neutral results could perhaps allow him to turn a lineup over a few times, but he will have a hard time cracking a crowded Pittsburgh rotation. The Bucs have a controllable core three of Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller. They signed Andrew Heaney to add a veteran back-end guy. Bailey Falter and Johan Oviedo are options for a spot, as are younger guys like Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington. Like Mlodzinski, Caleb Ferguson is going to get stretched out in camp to see how it goes.

With all of those options, it’s likely Mlodzinski ends up in the bullpen, but it’s still notable that it’s on the table. In such situations, a pitcher sometimes needs the stars to align in order to find the right opportunity. As an example, Michael King worked mostly as a reliever for the Yankees for a while. In 2023, they fell out of contention and gave him a rotation job down the stretch. He pitched well enough that the Padres acquired him in the Juan Soto deal and gave him a starting role in San Diego, which he flourished in.

Now is the best time of year for a club to experiment with roles like this. After being stretched out, it’s fairly easy for a guy to then pivot to a relief role for the season, whereas doing the opposite in the middle of the summer is difficult. Mlodzinski and the Bucs can try it out and see what happens, even if it doesn’t immediately get him a rotation job. He also still has options, so staying stretched out in the minors is another possibility. It’s always possible that injuries or midseason trades open up some doors over a long season.

Harold Ramírez Signs With Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

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First baseman/outfielder Harold Ramírez has signed with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. There’s a $0 buyout for MLB affiliates.

Ramírez, 30, appeared in the past six major league baseball seasons with a unique profile. He would rarely walk, strikeout or hit home runs. As a player who put the ball in play almost as much as any other, his production was among the most susceptible to variations in batted ball luck.

Over the 2019 to 2021 seasons, he suited up for the Guardians and Marlins, getting 818 plate appearances in that time. His .315 batting average on balls in play was actually a bit above league average, which is usually in the .290-.300 range. But thanks to a walk rate of just 4% and only 18 home runs in that time, his .271/.308/.405 batting line led to a 92 wRC+, indicating he had been 8% below par overall.

His fortune turned with the Rays in the next two seasons. Over the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, he took 869 trips to the plate with Tampa. His 4.7% walk rate was still quite low and he hit another 18 home runs but his BABIP spiked to .354 in that time. That helped him hit .306/.348/.432 for a 122 wRC+.

Regression came in 2024. His BABIP dropped to .320 and he only walked 2% of the time, with just two homers in 246 plate appearances. That included a brief stint with the Nationals after the Rays released him. After the Nats also released him, he finished the year on a minor league deal with Atlanta, hitting .231/.278/.275 in 97 Triple-A plate appearances.

Ramirez has played first base and the outfield in his career but isn’t considered a strong defender, so his offensive drop-off last year really put a dent in his value. By taking a job in Mexico, he’s surely hoping to carve out some regular playing time and show that he can still swing it. If he looks to be in good form, the no-cost buyout could lead some club to pick him up.

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