Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners, though it’s been a long time. Due to a busy offseason with lots to talk about, we haven’t asked our listeners for questions since October.
Now that camps have been open for about three weeks, the newsflow has slowed, so it’s time to open up the mailbag for the first time in months. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
Do you have a question about something that happened over the winter? A camp battle? The upcoming season? If you have a question on those topics or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Cubs Notes: Crow-Armstrong, Amaya, Rolison
Spring training is a common time for extensions but it doesn’t seem like there’s too much smoke between the Cubs and Pete Crow-Armstrong. The outfielder was asked about the topic on Foul Territory this week but downplayed the urgency. “There will be talks, there have been talks,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re not really in any rush to do anything. I’d like to keep it that way just ’cause I’m going to go out and play regardless… There’s bigger fish to fry right now than getting me paid.”
The Cubs and Crow-Armstrong had some extension talks around this time last year. At that time, he had almost one full season under his belt. In 2024, he showed off his speed-and-defense floor but with subpar offense.
Since then, he has raised his stock, as he got his offense above league average in 2025. He still didn’t draw many walks but he did hit 31 home runs, helping him put up a .247/.287/.481 line and 109 wRC+. That came in inconsistent fashion, however. He hit 25 of those homers in the first half, with 17.6% of his fly balls clearing the fence. The league average home run to fly ball rate was 11.9% last year. In the second half, that rate regressed to 7.8% for Crow-Armstrong, leading to just six long balls after the break.
The overall season was strong but it’s fair to be a bit skeptical about his offense going forward. His 4.5% walk rate last year was higher than just four other qualified hitters in the league, so he needs to provide value when he puts the bat on the ball. That happened in 2025 but with a season-long 14.2% home run to fly ball ratio that was a few ticks above par. Statcast had his hard hit rate and average exit velocity in the 42nd and 43rd percentile, respectively, so the extra home runs may have been backed by a bit of luck.
What he can provide at the plate going forward is up in the air but the speed and defense are legit. He swiped 35 bags last year and got excellent grades in center. He has a tremendous floor but the ceiling is more of a question. Whether he and the Cubs can line up on a price point for an extension remains to be seen. His service time count is at one year and 170 days, just two days shy of the two-year mark. That means he can be controlled for five more seasons but is essentially a lock to be a Super Two guy after this year, giving him four arbitration seasons instead of the standard three.
Elsewhere on the roster, catcher Miguel Amaya has been doing some first base drills, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Amaya has a bit of first base experience from the minors but not much lately. In the past four seasons, his time at the position was just two games at Double-A in 2023.
There’s a logic to seeing if Amaya is viable at first, as it would expand the versatility of the roster. It seems likely that the Cubs will carry three catchers, with Carson Kelly and Moisés Ballesteros also there alongside Amaya. The only one of the three who can be optioned is Ballesteros, but he hit so well last year that the Cubs seemingly want him to get into the designated hitter spot with some regularity.
That could leave Amaya somewhat squeezed behind the plate but there’s a path to some at-bats at first. The Cubs have Michael Busch slated to be the regular first baseman but he’s a lefty who hasn’t hit southpaws yet. The Cubs were planning on having Tyler Austin serve as Busch’s right-handed platoon partner but Austin recently had knee surgery and is going to miss months.
Amaya hits from the right side but has reverse splits in his career thus far. He has a .254/.321/.416 line against righties but has hit just .193/.256/.298 against lefties. That makes him a less than ideal platoon partner for Busch but his ability to play the position could still help the Cubs. Theoretically, they could have someone like outfielder Chas McCormick hit for Busch late in games, then have someone else come in to play first base. Even putting the platoon issues aside, they don’t have a clear backup first baseman while Austin is out.
Levine also relays that left-hander Ryan Rolison has caught the attention of manager Craig Counsell early in camp. Rolison was just claimed off waivers from the White Sox last month. He has a 7.02 earned run average in his big league career so far, which is obviously not impressive. But he’s coming off a good season in the minors with the Rockies. The former first round pick logged 29 2/3 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League last year with a 3.34 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 48.8% ground ball rate.
Even if he has a good spring, it’ll be hard for him to earn an Opening Day spot. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams just explored in a piece for Front Office subscribers, the Cubs are one of the teams in the majors with the fewest players likely to be optioned. In the bullpen, they project to open the season with guys who can’t be optioned in six of the eight spots. Of the other two, one of them is closer Daniel Palencia, who isn’t getting sent down. The other is Javier Assad, who could end up in Iowa but the Cubs may be reluctant to send him down after he’s been solid for the past few years.
Rolison still has one option remaining, so he’ll probably start the season in Triple-A. Even if that’s the case, injuries are inevitable over a long season, so perhaps Rolison will be well positioned to get the call when the time comes. Caleb Thielbar and Hoby Milner project as the bullpen lefties to open the season. Rolison, Luke Little and Riley Martin are optionable lefties on the 40-man.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images
Dodgers Notes: Snell, Graterol, Miller
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters, including Jack Harris of the California Post, and provided some updates about the players on the roster and their health or lack thereof. Perhaps most notably, the skipper said left-hander Blake Snell is making a bit of progress in his ramp-up but is probably running out of time to be ready for Opening Day.
The Dodgers won the World Series a few months ago but did so with a lopsided pitching staff. The bullpen was fairly shaky, so they leaned hard on their starters, even using them in relief. Snell tossed five innings in the first game of the World Series, 6 2/3 in the fifth game, then an inning and a third out of the bullpen in the seventh game. In January, Snell admitted that he was exhausted by the end of the series.
He and the club are planning for a deliberate buildup here in camp, focused more on the long term than Opening Day. That’s a luxury the Dodgers can afford since the roster is so strong that they can downplay the importance of regular season games, making sure their players are focused on being healthy in October. With this approach in mind, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the only pitcher on the roster to throw at least 113 innings last year.
There’s no real reason for Snell and the Dodgers to push for him to be ready for Opening Day. The rotation should still be strong even without him in it. Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan should have four spots locked. Roki Sasaki will likely take the fifth. Guys like River Ryan, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Kyle Hurt, Gavin Stone or Landon Knack could step up to make starts, if needed.
Turning to the bullpen, Roberts also said right-hander Brusdar Graterol is in a “holding pattern” and has not thrown off a mound lately. It was already known that he wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day but it’s notable that he’s still not making much progress.
Graterol was a key piece of the Dodger bullpen from 2020 to 2023, posting a 2.69 earned run average over 173 2/3 innings, but has hardly thrown for the past two years. Shoulder problems and a hamstring strain capped him at seven outings in 2024. Surgery on that shoulder wiped out his 2025 and it seems he’s still not fully over the hump. Similar to the Snell situation, the Dodgers can afford to not rush him and let him get to full health, but it would be encouraging to see some progress.
Roberts also noted that right-hander Bobby Miller has not yet thrown off a mound this spring due to some unspecified arm/shoulder issue. He is hoping to ramp up in the next few weeks but that is presumably contingent on the issue subsiding.
Miller is a wild card on the roster. He seemed to break out in 2023, making his major league debut with a 3.76 ERA in 124 1/3 innings. But he posted an ugly 8.52 ERA in 2024 and then spent most of 2025 on optional assignment with a 5.66 ERA in Triple-A. He was moved from the rotation to the bullpen in July but his results didn’t improve, with a 5.91 ERA after that switch. He struck out 28.6% of batters faced in that relief role but also gave out walks at a big 13.2% clip. He still has a couple of options, so the Dodgers can keep tinkering with him in the minors as long as they continue to deem him worthy of a spot on the 40-man.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Phillies Sign Connor Gillispie To Minor League Deal
The Phillies have signed right-hander Connor Gillispie to a minor league deal, per multiple sources. Steve Potter of PhilliesBaseballFan.com was first on the deal last week. It’s unclear if Gillispie will be invited to big league camp.
Gillispie, 28, has 34 innings of big league experience between the Guardians and Marlins. He has featured a five-pitch mix including a low-90s four-seamer in addition to a cutter, sweeper, changeup and curveball. Unfortunately, he has allowed 25 earned runs in that time, 7.15 per nine innings. His 20% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 36.2% ground ball rate have all been under league average.
Miami designated him for assignment in June. He was claimed by the Twins but kept on optional assignment. He was passed through waivers and outrighted in August, then became a free agent at season’s end.
Gillispie also struggled in the minors last year, posting a 7.23 ERA over ten starts and two relief appearances. He has had better results on the farm in the past. In 2024, he logged 113 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.05 ERA. His 10.1% walk rate was a bit high but he was able to punch out one quarter of the batters he faced.
The Phils start the season somewhat shaky in the rotation. Zack Wheeler is trying to work his way back from last year’s thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. If he starts the season on the injured list, the Phils will open the campaign with Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker in four spots. Nola is coming off the worst season of his career. Walker’s performance has been up-and-down in recent years, prompting occasional moves to the bullpen. Prospect Andrew Painter could take the final rotation spot but he had a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A last year.
Beyond that projected front five, there’s not a ton of depth. Alan Rangel is on the roster but has just five big league games under his belt. Jean Cabrera and Yoniel Curet also have roster spots but haven’t cracked the big leagues yet. Bryce Wilson and Tucker Davidson are in camp as non-roster guys. Wilson had a 6.65 ERA in the bigs last year. Davidson’s last season with more than one MLB appearance was 2023.
Gillispie gives the Phils another arm for some more non-roster rotation depth. If he eventually gets selected to the roster, he still has an option remaining, so he could be shuttled to Triple-A and back.
Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images
Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers
For a long time, it seemed like it would be another conservative offseason for the Tigers, but the boldest strike of the Scott Harris era finally came. The Tigers now look like the strongest team in MLB’s weakest division, in what could be their final season with Tarik Skubal.
Major League Free Agent Signings
- LHP Framber Valdez: Three years, $115MM (includes opt-out after 2027, $40MM mutual option for 2029 with $5MM buyout, $20MM signing bonus deferred until 2030)
- 2B Gleyber Torres: One year, $22.025MM (accepted qualifying offer)
- RHP Kyle Finnegan: Two years, $19MM (includes $2.25MM buyout on $10MM mutual option for 2028)
- RHP Justin Verlander: One year, $13MM ($11MM deferred until 2030)
- RHP Kenley Jansen: One year, $11MM (includes $2MM buyout on $12MM club option for 2027)
- RHP Drew Anderson: One year, $7MM (includes $10MM club option for 2027)
2026 spending (not including deferred money owed to Valdez and Verlander): $68.275MM
Total spending: $187.025MM
Trades and Waiver Claims
- Claimed RHP Jack Little off waivers from the Pirates (later non-tendered and re-signed to minor league deal)
- Claimed RHP Dugan Darnell off waivers from the Pirates (later non-tendered and re-signed to minor league deal)
- Traded RHP Chase Lee to Blue Jays for LHP Johan Simon
- Traded OF Justyn-Henry Malloy to Rays for cash considerations
Option Decisions
- RHP Jack Flaherty exercised $20MM player option
- Team declined $4MM club option on RHP José Urquidy, no buyout
- Team declined $6MM club option on RHP Randy Dobnak in favor of $1MM buyout
- Team declined $10MM mutual option on RHP Paul Sewald in favor of $1MM buyout
Notable Minor League Signings
- Tomás Nido, Jack Little, Tanner Rainey, Sean Guenther, Enmanuel De Jesus, Cole Waites, Tyler Mattison, Scott Effross, Dugan Darnell, Burch Smith, Bryan Sammons, Phil Bickford, Corey Julks, Konnor Pilkington, Austin Slater, Colin Poche
Extensions
- None yet
Notable Losses
- Chris Paddack, Rafael Montero, Paul Sewald, José Urquidy, Tommy Kahnle (unsigned), Alex Cobb (unsigned), Alex Lange (released), Andy Ibáñez (non-tendered), RJ Petit (Rule 5 draft), Chase Lee, Justyn-Henry Malloy
The Tigers hired Scott Harris as president of baseball operations in September of 2022. The team was in a rut at that point, having not made the playoffs since 2014. They finally pulled out of rebuilding mode by making the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
Despite the return to contention, the front office’s approach has generally come across as risk-averse. Last winter, they signed a number of free agents but mostly on the modest side. They were all one-year deals except for their two-year deal with Jack Flaherty. Even that pact was seemingly designed to be a one-year arrangement, with Flaherty having an opt-out halfway through.
The Tigers were quite good for most of the 2025 season, but their deadline was a bit underwhelming. Acquiring Chris Paddack, Charlie Morton, Rafael Montero, Kyle Finnegan and Paul Sewald wasn’t an exciting haul. The Finnegan pickup worked quite well, but Morton was eventually released and Paddack moved to the bullpen. The Tigers remarkably lost their hold on the division lead when they went 7-17 in September and finished second to the Guardians. They limped into the postseason, won the Wild Card series (against Cleveland) but were eliminated in the ALDS.
Going into this winter, it was fair to wonder whether the urgency would get cranked up. With Tarik Skubal entering his final year of club control before reaching free agency, the 2026 season seemed like a good time to put some chips on the table.
The uncertainty there also led to plenty of trade speculation around Skubal, which was understandable from fans of other clubs. Since he’s so talented and with no signs of an extension being viable, it was a logical dream. But from Detroit’s point of view, they went into the winter with a strong team in the most wide-open division in the league. Keeping Skubal and going for a title always seemed the far likelier play.
Some of the offseason moves came fairly quickly. In mid-October, just a few days after being eliminated from the playoffs, it was announced that manager A.J. Hinch had been extended. The deal actually took place during the season but the announcement was held until after.
Not long after that, a few of the chess pieces moved into place. Or rather, they stayed in place. In early November, Flaherty surprisingly decided to trigger his $20MM player option instead of heading to the open market. He wasn’t coming off a great season but still would have had a shot at beating that price point as a somewhat reliable mid-rotation starter. It also would have been possible that the Tigers made him a $22.025MM qualifying offer, giving him a chance to feel out the market. If he didn’t find much to inspire confidence, he could have then decided to return to Detroit with a slight bump over his existing contract. But perhaps due to his extended stay in free agency last time, Flaherty decided to skip the whole thing and just stay in Detroit for another year.
A few days later, the Tigers made a somewhat surprising call of their own, issuing a QO to second baseman Gleyber Torres. They had signed him going into 2025, a one-year deal worth $15MM. He had a strong first half but then slumped in the second as he played through a hernia that ultimately required surgery after the season was done. It didn’t seem like he had done much to increase his earning power in the one year from when he signed for $15MM, but the Tigers were apparently comfortable giving him a raise of almost 50%. Torres was comfortable with that raise as well, as he accepted the QO.
From there, the Tigers shifted their focus to pitching. They were connected to many of this winter’s free agents, including Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley, Pete Fairbanks, Michael King, Ranger Suárez and many others.
In the first few weeks of December, they added a few arms to the staff. Drew Anderson signed a one-year deal worth $7MM. He’s not a household name in North America, as he’s been pitching in Asia for the past four years, starting with two in Japan and then two in South Korea. His results in the KBO in 2025 were excellent. Anderson posted a 2.25 earned run average with a 35.3% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 45.9% ground ball rate.
It’s not a guarantee that he will translate that to the majors, but it’s not a huge gamble for the Tigers, relatively speaking. Cody Ponce was only slightly better than Anderson in the KBO last year but he had enough juice to get a three-year, $30MM deal from the Blue Jays. Anderson was exclusively a starter in 2025 and looked to have a path to a rotation job with Detroit at the time of the signing. But he also has some relief experience and his ultimate role would depend on what other moves the Tigers made by the end of the winter.
Then came a couple of bullpen additions. In mid-December, the Tigers added Kenley Jansen on a one-year deal worth $11MM and brought back Finnegan on a two-year deal worth $19MM. As mentioned, Finnegan was the club’s best deadline pickup. The Tigers altered his pitch mix, having him throw way more splitters at the expense of his fastball. The result was a massive increase in strikeout rate — from 19.6% with the Nationals to 34.8% with the Tigers. Given that quick jump, it made sense to keep the relationship going.
Jansen is 38 years old and isn’t as dominant as he once was, but he has remained a reliably impactful arm. He has pitched at least 44 innings in each full season dating back to 2011. He didn’t finish any of those with an ERA higher than 3.71. Despite a career-low strikeout rate, Jansen posted a 2.59 ERA in 2025.
On the position player side, the Tigers sniffed around but didn’t bite into anything. They had made a strong push to sign Alex Bregman last winter but weren’t nearly as involved this time around. They were connected to players like Ketel Marte and Ha-Seong Kim without a lot of smoke.
In the end, they’re essentially going into 2026 with the same position player group as they had in 2025. That could be a little worrying for fans, considering that the team stumbled through the second half last year. It seems the club is hoping the big offensive boost comes from within. That could come from better health from incumbent players, including Torres, but also the arrival of some touted prospects.
Kevin McGonigle is a consensus top five prospect in the sport, with many evaluators placing him second behind Konnor Griffin of the Pirates. McGonigle spent the second half of 2025 in Double-A and crushed. He hit 12 home runs in 206 plate appearances and slashed .254/.369/.550 for a 162 wRC+ despite an unlucky .230 batting average on balls in play.
Evaluators aren’t convinced he will stick at shortstop in the long run, but that’s a spot the Tigers have open for now. Zach McKinstry and Javier Báez could be bumped into utility roles. The most likely path forward is that McGonigle starts 2026 in Triple-A, but he could quickly hit his way to the majors. Even if the Tigers aren’t prepared to break camp with him, McGonigle has a good shot to force his way into the majors before too long.
There are some other prospect who could also come up and make an impact, including Max Clark in the outfield, with Thayron Liranzo and Josue Briceño behind the plate. Like McGonigle, those three finished 2025 at Double-A, putting them somewhat close to the big leagues. Infielder Max Anderson isn’t ranked quite as highly as the other prospects covered here, but he hit .296/.350/.478 between Double-A and Triple-A as a 23-year-old. He’ll be in the mix as infield needs arise.
January brought a surprising plot twist to the Detroit offseason. The arbitration filing deadline came and went with the Tigers reaching deals with all their eligible players except for one. That’s a fairly normal occurrence — but the one holdout happened to be Skubal and the gap in the filing numbers was a shockingly high number of $13MM.
Many accused the Tigers of low-balling their star player, but their $19MM filing figure was backed by precedent. No pitcher had ever topped $20MM in arbitration before. Skubal’s camp was arguing that he deserved to buck precedent due to his tremendous accomplishments and because arbitration pitcher salaries had stagnated and fallen way behind hitters. David Price earned $19.75MM in 2015 and no one had pushed that number up in the decade since.
That big gap hung in the air for about a month, with Skubal’s hearing result not expected until February. The day after those filing figures were submitted, there was another development on the financial side. Nine teams, including the Tigers, terminated contracts with the floundering Main Street Sports, the company which owns the FanDuel Sports Network channels. That left the Tigers with uncertainty regarding their broadcast situation and its associated revenue. (It would later be reported by the Associated Press in February that MLB will handle the broadcasts.)
The Tigers were fairly quiet on the transaction front throughout January, which led to some real concern that the offseason would be yet another instance of the club avoiding bold moves. At that time, they had the same lineup as 2025. On the pitching staff, the changes were minimal. The rotation looked like it needed a nice upside play, but rumors in late January connected Detroit to swing types like Nick Martinez and Jose Quintana. With Skubal potentially costing the Tigers $13MM more than expected and the broadcast revenue up in the air, would the Tigers sit on their hands?
Before the Skubal hearing result came in, a resounding answer was sent rippling through the baseball world. It was reported on February 4th that the Tigers and left-hander Framber Valdez had a agreed to a three-year deal worth $115MM. That guarantee and the $38.3MM average annual value made it easily the most significant deal of the Harris era.
It did still have some Harris-ian qualities. This front office clearly likes to avoid long commitments, as mentioned earlier. Three years is the longest free agent deal given out by Harris, but there is an opt-out for Valdez after year two. Even in making their most significant free agent addition, the Tigers are still trying to avoid long-term handcuffs.
Still, it’s a big upgrade for 2026, arguably the best they could have hoped for. Valdez was considered by many the top free agent pitcher available this winter. Dylan Cease was projected to earn more money and did so, but that was mostly due to age difference. The 32-year-old Valdez is two years older than Cease but arguably as desirable from a pure skill standpoint. Valdez has a 3.36 ERA in his career. His strikeout and walk rates are usually around league average, while his ground ball rate is often one of the best in the league. Even if he’s only in Detroit for two years, Valdez increases the club’s chances of capitalizing on what could be Skubal’s final year in Detroit. And if Skubal does depart, Valdez can take over as the de facto ace for a year while the club moves into its post-Skubal era.
A few days later, an arbitration panel ruled in favor of Skubal, awarding him the $32MM salary for which he’d filed rather than the team’s $19MM figure. That’s potentially a seismic result for the players. Its impact on salaries might be felt for years to come. For the 2026 Tigers, it meant an extra $13MM on the books.
That didn’t stop the Tigers from adding, however. A few days later, they reunited with old friend Justin Verlander. His addition to the rotation also came with a subtraction, as it was announced that Reese Olson would miss the season due to shoulder surgery.
Perhaps the Skubal decision led the Tigers to lean on deferrals a bit more. The Valdez deal, which was announced before the Skubal decision but didn’t become official until after, features a $20MM signing bonus which is deferred and paid out from 2030 to 2039. Verlander will only get $2MM this year, with the other $11MM paid out in that same 2030-39 span. Would the Tigers have deferred less if they had beaten Skubal in the hearing?
That’s speculative and a fairly moot point. The larger takeaway here is that the Tigers have stepped on the gas pedal. They had run payrolls near $200MM in the past under previous owner Mike Ilitch. Since Mike passed in 2017, his son Chris has been in charge without the same level of spending. The club was rebuilding for his first few years, but their recent return to contender status didn’t vault them back up to that payroll level, until now. For 2026, RosterResource projects them for a $217MM payroll, with a $242MM competitive balance tax number that puts them right against payor status. Both numbers project to be franchise records.
On the position player side, the Tigers are relying on their guys either improving, getting healthier or bubbling up from the minors — at least for now. If they have holes come July, they can patch them at the deadline. The pitching staff has clearly been upgraded. They can go into the season with a front five of Skubal, Valdez, Flaherty, Verlander and Casey Mize, with Drew Anderson in the mix as well. Jackson Jobe could return late in the year, as he is currently recovering from June Tommy John surgery. Troy Melton could also take a step forward, though he’s been slowed by elbow inflammation in camp and may not be ready for Opening Day.
Time will tell if this is Skubal’s final year in Detroit. It would have been criminal if the Tigers didn’t at least act like it was a possibility. Thankfully, they have been more aggressive than usual this winter as they try to take advantage of having the best pitcher alive, before it’s too late.
How do MLBTR readers grade Detroit’s offseason? Have your say in our latest poll:
How would you grade the Tigers' offseason?
-
B 55% (934)
-
A 22% (369)
-
C 18% (308)
-
D 3% (51)
-
F 2% (29)
Total votes: 1,691
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Marlins Notes: Mack, Ramírez, Junk
The Marlins have three catchers on their 40-man roster. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the club would prefer to open the season with Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks in the big leagues, with Joe Mack optioned to Triple-A, though it’s possible Mack could win a job.
Ramírez has shown a lot of promise with the bat but was arguably the worst defensive catcher in the majors last year. In 605 2/3 innings, he was behind the plate for 19 passed balls and 36 wild pitches. In terms of the passed balls, Ramírez lapped the field, with no other backstop allowing more than nine. Four catchers were present for a larger totals of wild pitches but they all had larger samples of playing time.
Modern analytics also agree. Ramírez was credited with minus-14 Defensive Runs Saved last year. The only guy worse was Salvador Perez at minus-15, in a larger sample of innings. Fielding Run Value had Ramirez at -12, worse than everyone except for Edgar Quero. Statcast ranked Ramírez as one of the worst catchers in terms of blocking and controlling the running game, though his framing was well regarded.
It feels inevitable that Ramírez will get moved to designated hitter or first base, where he has spent some time in the minors. The Fish don’t really have a slam-dunk first baseman standing in the way, as they’re going into the season with a hodgepodge group consisting of Hicks, Christopher Morel, Connor Norby, Griffin Conine and Graham Pauley. But the Marlins are apparently not quite ready to make that move. Jackson reports that they still want to give Ramírez a shot to show some improvement behind the plate and potentially stick as a viable backstop.
That could leave Mack trapped at Triple-A for a while longer, even though he feels like the long-term answer behind the plate. The 31st overall pick from the 2021 draft, Mack played 112 games last year, 99 of those at the Triple-A level. His 27.9% strikeout rate at that level was a bit high but he hit 18 home runs and slashed .250/.320/.459 for a 107 wRC+. That’s great production for a catcher, especially one with a strong defensive reputation like Mack. The Marlins added him to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Going into 2026, Mack is a consensus top 100 prospect, which means the prospect promotion incentive factors in. If the Marlins were to carry him on the roster early enough to get a full year of service time, he could net them an extra draft pick by playing well enough to garner awards consideration. If they don’t call him up that early, he could earn a full year of service retroactively with a top two finish in Rookie of the Year voting.
If Mack ends the 2026 season with a full year of service, he would be on pace for free agency after the 2031 season. If the Marlins hold him down long enough to not get a full year of service and he doesn’t get one retroactively, then that schedule would be pushed into the future by a year.
Turning to the pitching staff, right-hander Janson Junk suffered a right ankle sprain about a week ago and was in a walking boot for a while. It seems he is moving quickly past the issue. Per the MLB.com injury tracker, he was scheduled to throw 15 to 18 pitches off a mound yesterday. There hasn’t been word on him since, so he presumably threw without issue. He posted a 4.17 earned run average for the Marlins in a swing role last year. As of now, he will probably open the season as a long reliever but could earn a rotation job if injuries open a path for him.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Diamondbacks Notes: Kelly, Pfaadt, Mena
The Diamondbacks rotation is an early focus in camp. Right-hander Merrill Kelly was slated to be the Opening Day starter but a back issue has scuttled those plans, even though an exact diagnosis has proved elusive. Manager Torey Lovullo tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Kelly still has enough time to be stretched out for Arizona’s second series of the season.
The Snakes begin their season on March 26th with three games in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. They then have an off-day before starting a seven-game homestand with Detroit coming to town for three and Atlanta for four. Though Kelly won’t take the ball for Opening Day, it would be nice to get him in there at some point fairly early in the schedule.
That will presumably be contingent on his body cooperating. He has been subject to a number of recent tests, including an MRI and a CT scan, without anything conclusive being discovered. While it’s encouraging that the tests keep coming back negative, Kelly has still been experiencing pain while throwing.
Time will tell how things play out with Kelly. If he does eventually require some time on the injured list, then the rotation jobs should go to Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodríguez, Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka. Pfaadt is also under the microscope somewhat, as Piecoro relays that he had some kind of issue with his side during the offseason. He appears to be fine now but the club is slow-playing his progression a bit.
Beyond that group, the depth is lacking in experience. Cristian Mena, Yilber Díaz, Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and Dylan Ray are on the 40-man roster. The latter three haven’t yet cracked the majors. Díaz has just 31 1/3 innings while Mena has only 9 2/3.
Mena is also unlikely to be available anytime soon. He didn’t pitch after June last year due to a strain of the teres major in his throwing shoulder. Per Piecoro, Mena has re-aggravated that teres major injury recently. His timetable isn’t exactly clear but he has been shut down from throwing for the time being.
If everything goes well, Soroka could end up in a long relief/swingman role, ready to jump into the rotation as soon as someone gets hurt as Kelly, Gallen, Rodríguez, Pfaadt and Nelson make starts. But Kelly’s status is up in the air and Pfaadt is being monitored closely. The depth was already on the light side and now Mena has been subtracted from it, at least for now. Non-roster guys with big league experience include Joe Ross, Thomas Hatch and Bryce Jarvis.
If the Snakes want to add to the group, there are still starting pitching free agents available. Lucas Giolito and Zack Littell are the two most notable ones but Patrick Corbin, Tyler Anderson and a few others are also out there. The club may be reluctant to add more money to the ledger, however, as they already stretched beyond their plans when grabbing Gallen a couple of weeks ago.
Photo courtesy of Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images
Athletics Have Made Extension Offer To Nick Kurtz
2:30pm: Kurtz tells Tyler Kepner of The Athletic that he is “Definitely open and interested” in a long-term deal but added that “It’s just about timing.”
1:10pm: The Athletics have made an extension offer to first baseman Nick Kurtz, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. No specifics of the offer have been reported and it’s unclear how likely it is for the two sides to reach an agreement.
The A’s have been busy on the extension front in recent years. It appears there is a dual motivation at play, connected to their ongoing move from Oakland to Las Vegas, with a stop in West Sacramento in between. Reportedly, they wanted to increase their spending in order to avoid a grievance from the MLBPA, so as to not risk losing their revenue-sharing status during the move. Also, it seems the club wants to have an exciting and consistent young core in place to help them build a fanbase when they get to Vegas, currently planned for Opening Day 2028.
About this time last year, they got two extensions done. They signed outfielder/designated hitter Brent Rooker to a five-year, $60MM pact, then inked Lawrence Butler to a seven-year, $65.5MM deal. They have continued down that road this offseason. It was reported on Christmas Day that they had agreed to a seven-year, $86MM deal with outfielder Tyler Soderstrom. That was followed by a seven-year, $70MM deal for shortstop Jacob Wilson about a month ago.
Kurtz is another sensible target. He just made his debut last year at the age of 22. His 30.9% strikeout rate was on the high side but he drew walks at a strong 12.9% clip and hit 36 home runs in only 489 plate appearances. He was the unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year, even though he wasn’t called up until late April.
Even though he missed part of the season, Kurtz was retroactively awarded a full year of service time for that award win, as part of the prospect promotion incentive rules. That means the A’s currently control him for another five seasons instead of six. He is going into his age-23 season and is slated for free agency after his age-27 season.
If the A’s want to sign him for longer than that, it makes sense to do it sooner rather than later. Players generally get more earning power as they approach free agency. The record guarantee for a player with one year of service time or less is Julio Rodríguez, who got $210MM from the Mariners. For guys with two years of service, Fernando Tatis Jr. got $340MM and Bobby Witt Jr. got $288.8MM. For guys who have pushed into their arbitration seasons, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has the record at $500MM.
That doesn’t mean that getting something done now would be easy, as MLBTR’s Anthony Franco examined in detail earlier this month in a post for Front Office subscribers. For one thing, Kurtz is represented by Excel Sports Management, an agency with even less of a track record of early-career extensions than the Boras Corporation.
Kurtz also shouldn’t be desperate for cash in the short term. He got a $7MM signing bonus after being drafted fourth overall in 2024. He also would have added around $2MM in 2025. The league minimum salary was $760K last year and Kurtz earned just under $1.3MM via the pre-arbitration bonus pool.
Considering those factors, as well as Kurtz’s prospect pedigree and rookie season, Franco concluded that it would probably take $150MM or more to lock up Kurtz now. He’s in a similar position to Rodríguez when he signed his $210MM deal with Seattle, though Rodríguez had more earning power as a strong defensive center fielder, whereas Kurtz is farther down the defensive spectrum as a first baseman. The $150MM range would get Kurtz beyond Roman Anthony, who only had a couple of months of big league experience and was one year further from free agency than Kurtz when he signed his $130MM deal.
Getting to that range would require the A’s to effectively double their franchise record, which is currently held by the $86MM deal for Soderstrom. The long-term books aren’t totally clean, as the four aforementioned extensions are there. However, none of those deals has an average annual value of even $13MM. The salaries do increase over time but none of the guaranteed seasons even reach $20MM.
If the A’s wait, they run the risk of Kurtz continuing to perform, which would gradually nudge his earning power closer to that of Guerrero. Even if they can’t get a deal done, they can control Kurtz through 2030. If they open in Vegas in 2028 as planned, they could still potentially have Kurtz for their first three campaigns in their new home.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: Twins And Orioles’ Injuries, The Guardians And Angels’ Quiet Offseasons, And Chris Sale’s Extension
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 to discuss…
- Twins right-hander Pablo López requiring Tommy John surgery (3:20)
- The Orioles losing Jordan Westburg due to a partially torn UCL in his elbow (13:15)
- The Guardians signing Rhys Hoskins to a minor league deal but doing little else this winter (23:45)
- Angels owner Arte Moreno making some curious statements (35:50)
- The Braves and Chris Sale signing an extension (47:35)
- Tony Clark resigning as executive director of the MLBPA and being replaced by Bruce Meyer (53:40)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings – listen here
- Twins Front Office Shake-Up, The Brendan Donovan Trade, Eugenio Suarez, And More! – listen here
- Examining MLB’s Parity Situation – Also, Bellinger, Peralta, Robert, And Gore – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Jonah Hinebaugh, Imagn Images
Latest On A.J. Minter
Mets left-hander A.J. Minter seems to be trending towards spending the first few weeks of the season on the injured list. He tells Anthony DiComo of MLB.com that he’s about a month behind the other pitchers in camp. He hopes to get into a Grapefruit League game before spring training is done but isn’t guaranteed to do so. The injury tracker at MLB.com lists his expected return as early May.
Minter, 32, underwent surgery to repair a torn lat in early May. It was known that his 2025 season would be ended by that surgery but his timeline beyond that hasn’t been clear. President of baseball operations David Stearns said in December that Minter was questionable for Opening Day. Now it seems that Opening Day has been ruled out. If he is healthy enough for game action near Opening Day, he should require a rehab assignment of a few weeks.
The lefty is coming off a few injury-marred seasons but had a really good run before that. From 2020 to 2023, he gave Atlanta 208 2/3 innings while allowing 2.89 earned runs per nine. He struck out 30.7% of batters faced while only giving out walks at a 7.8% pace.
In 2024, he was putting up similar numbers but made multiple trips to the IL due to left hip issues and ultimately underwent surgery. He missed the rest of that season and became a free agent, which is when the Mets signed him to a two-year, $22MM deal with an opt-out halfway through. He was healthy enough by Opening Day last year to break camp with the Mets but only tossed 11 innings before the lat strain popped up. After missing most of the 2025 campaign, he understandably decided not to opt out of the second year of his contract.
Minter will be looking to get back to that 2020-23 form with the Mets this year but it seems he will still miss a bit of time. That will leave the club to open the season without Minter in the southpaw relief group. Brooks Raley projects as the top lefty for now. They also have Bryan Hudson, whom they acquired from the White Sox a couple of weeks ago. Those are the only two healthy southpaw relievers on the roster. Sean Manaea and David Peterson are lefties but both should be in the rotation.
The Mets have a number of non-roster lefties with big league experience in camp, including Brandon Waddell, Joe Jacques, Anderson Severino and Nate Lavender. If the Mets want to bolster their depth, free agency still has some options, including Justin Wilson, Danny Coulombe, Joey Lucchesi and others. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mets work the waiver wire, as they were fairly active this winter in rotating players through the spots at the edge of their roster. It’s also possible some more arms become available when pitchers on minor league deals with other clubs don’t break camp and trigger opt-outs.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images