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Cardinals Designate Matt Koperniak For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 4:40pm CDT

The Cardinals announced that outfielder Matt Koperniak has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for right-hander Dustin May, whose signing is now official.

Koperniak, 28 in February, has been with the Cards since signing with them as an undrafted free agent in 2020. From 2021 to 2023, he produced pretty solid results as he climbed the minor league ladder. Across those three seasons, he stepped to the plate 1,399 times. His 10.1% walk rate and 16.1% strikeout rate were both solid figures. He produced a combined line of .293/.375/.441, which translated to a wRC of 112, indicating he was 12% better than league average at the plate.

He seemed to find a new gear in 2024, his first full season at Triple-A. He hit 20 homers and slashed .309/.370/.512 for a 128 wRC+. That may have been a bit fluky, as he got some help from a .351 batting average on balls in play, but the Cards seemed to believe in him. They added him to the 40-man roster in November of that year to keep Koperniak out of the Rule 5 draft.

He spent 2025 back at Triple-A on optional assignment and his results backed up. His home run tally dropped to 14, despite taking 23 extra plate appearances. His BABIP dropped to a more average-ish .283. He finished the season with a .246/.317/.382 line and 85 wRC+.

The Cards are rebuilding and will be giving playing time to younger players in 2026 but Koperniak wouldn’t have been at the front of the line after that performance. He’s instead been bumped off the roster and into DFA limbo. The Cards will now see if there’s any trade interest in him. If not, he’ll be put on waivers. He does still have a couple of options remaining and is considered a strong defensive outfielder, with experience at all three spots. If some club out there likes him, they could acquire him and keep in Triple-A as depth as they hope for a bounceback at the plate.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Dustin May Matt Koperniak

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Orioles Sign Albert Suárez To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 4:05pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have signed right-hander Albert Suárez to a minor league deal. The righty will presumably receive an invite to big league camp in spring training, though the O’s didn’t explicitly say so.

Suárez, now 36, signed a minor league deal with the Orioles ahead of the 2024 season. At that time, he had spent a number of years pitching in Japan and South Korea. The deal worked out well for Suárez and the O’s last year. He was added to the roster in April and gave Baltimore 133 2/3 innings as a swingman with a 3.70 earned run average.

Unfortunately, 2025 wasn’t as pleasant. A subscapularis strain in his throwing shoulder put him on the shelf after just one appearance. He came off the injured list in September and made four appearances before going back on the IL, this time due to right elbow discomfort. The team announced in October that Suárez had a mild flexor strain and would avoid surgery.

Suárez crossed three years of service time in 2025, qualifying him for arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for just $900K, barely above next year’s $780K league minimum. The O’s decided not to tender him a contract after his injury-marred season. That sent him to free agency without being exposed to waivers, allowing them to re-sign him in a non-roster capacity.

Assuming he’s healthy in the spring, he can try to earn his way back onto the roster. Baltimore’s current rotation mix includes Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich, Tyler Wells, Chayce McDermott and Brandon Young. The O’s are expected to add to that group before the offseason is out. As the season goes along, injuries will surely pop up and Suárez may be needed for a spot start or a long relief role.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Albert Suarez

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Royals Sign Lane Thomas

By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 4:05pm CDT

December 17th: The Royals have officially announced their signing of Thomas.

December 11th: The Royals and outfielder Lane Thomas are reportedly in agreement on a one-year contract. The Wasserman client receives $5.25MM with another $1MM available via incentives. Kansas City has a couple of open 40-man spots and won’t need to make a corresponding move once the deal is official.

Thomas and the Royals will be looking for a bounceback season, as he just suffered through an injury-marred 2025 campaign with Cleveland. Early in the season, he missed about a month due to a right wrist bone bruise. In the latter months of the season, he went on the injured list a couple of times due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He required surgery in September with a projected recovery time of three to four months. Around those IL stints, he got into 39 games and hit just .160/.246/.272.

Prior to that, he had a solid run as a decent regular in the bigs, suiting up for the Cardinals, Nationals and Guardians. From 2021 to 2024, he got into 510 contests, hitting 67 home runs and stealing 66 bases. He produced a .248/.313/.426 line over that four-year span, which translated to a 103 wRC+, indicating he was 3% better than league average.

He was slightly better in the second half of that stretch. Over 2023 and 2024, he hit 43 home runs and stole 52 bases. His combined .255/.312/.439 line in those two seasons translated to a 105 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with 4.3 wins above replacement, a bit better than two wins per year.

His defense has been more of a question mark. Outs Above Average has given him a minus-16 ranking for his career, but oddly considered him league average in center and subpar in the corners. Defensive Runs Saved has put a minus-18 mark on him, but most of that due to an odd minus-13 grade in 2024 alone.

He clearly has some wheels, as his sprint speed has been ranked in the 93rd percentile or above since he became a regular. With a bit of pop in the bat as well, he has been able to engineer some decent results when healthy.

The Royals have been struggling for years to get production from their outfield. In 2025, they got a collective .225/.285/.348 line from the grass. That resulted in a 73 wRC+, the worst such mark of any team in the majors.

Obviously, upgrading the outfield was going to be a priority this winter. It was recently reported that the club would be looking to add one outfielder via trade and another via free agency, with a right-handed hitter who can play center field being a specific target. The Royals currently project to have an outfield consisting of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel and John Rave. All three hit from the left side. Caglianone was a top prospect coming into 2025 but he didn’t hit at all in his first 232 plate appearances in the big leagues. Rave has just 175 big league plate appearances without much success either. Isbel has more experience but is a glove-first center fielder. They picked up Kameron Misner, another lefty, from the Rays in a trade a few weeks ago.

Thomas has pretty strong platoon splits in his career. He has been punched out in 28.2% of his plate appearances against righties with a .220/.287/.383 line and 84 wRC+. With the platoon advantage, his strikeout rate drops to 19.3%. He has a .292/.359/.500 line against southpaws for a 135 wRC+.

The Royals shouldn’t be done adding to their outfield. As mentioned, they have been looking to make two additions. This at least gives them a short-side platoon guy who can be slotted into any of the three outfield positions, while also perhaps coming off the bench for pinch-running opportunities. His health may be a bit of a question mark with the aforementioned surgery, but the estimated timeline should allow him to be healed up by spring training.

It’s a modest free agent add but the Royals apparently didn’t have much to spend. Owner John Sherman said a couple of months ago that the 2026 payroll would likely be similar to what they had in 2025. RosterResource currently projects them for a $139MM payroll in 2026. That’s already above where they finished in 2025, before even adding Thomas onto the ledger. Perhaps the next move will come on the trade market. There have been plenty of rumors suggesting the club may be looking to deal from its starting depth in order to get another bat.

Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported the Royals were signing Thomas. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the $5.25MM guarantee and $1MM in bonuses.

Photos courtesy of David Richard, Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

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Kansas City Royals Newsstand Transactions Lane Thomas

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Guardians Acquire Justin Bruihl, Designate Jhonkensy Noel For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 3:25pm CDT

The Guardians have acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. The Jays had designated the lefty for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot, the Guards designated outfielder Jhonkensy Noel for assignment.

Bruihl, 29 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Jays ahead of the 2025 campaign. He eventually earned a roster spot and had a decent season, in some ways. His 5.27 earned run average in the majors doesn’t look nice, but that came in a small sample of 13 2/3 innings. He also had a strong 27.7% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate in that time. His 10.8% walk rate was a bit high but he was really held back by a .459 batting average on balls in play. ERA estimators such as his 4.16 FIP and 3.42 SIERA were far more optimistic.

His minor league numbers look more like those latter metrics than his big league ERA. He tossed 42 innings for Triple-A Buffalo with a 3.43 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 58.4% ground ball rate.

Bruihl doesn’t throw especially hard. His two-seamer averaged just 90.2 miles per hour this year. He also mixed in a cutter at 87.5 mph and a 78.4 mph slider. He nonetheless managed to punch guys out and avoid hard contact. The Jays sent him between Triple-A and the majors this year but he was enough of a factor to be on their ALDS roster against a lefty-heavy Yankee lineup. He wasn’t carried on the roster for subsequent rounds.

Despite some intriguing numbers this year, he got squeezed off Toronto’s roster this week. He exhausted his final option in 2025 and will be out of options going forward. With the Jays also having lefties Brendon Little, Mason Fluharty and Eric Lauer on the roster, they designated Bruihl for assignment.

The Guards are intrigued enough to bring him aboard. Their southpaw relief contingent is currently headlined by Erik Sabrowski and Tim Herrin but those two each walked more than 15.5% of batters faced in 2025. Joey Cantillo could be in the mix but he’s more of a long reliever. With Bruihl’s option status, he’ll have to perform but there’s a path for him to earn a job in the Cleveland bullpen. He has under two years of service time, meaning he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and can be controlled for five full seasons if he can hold a roster spot.

The unfortunate side effect of adding Bruihl is that the Guards have cut “Big Christmas” from the roster barely a week before the holiday he’s named after. Noel has shown some big power in his career but also has a poor approach at the plate. In his 351 big league plate appearances, 32.8% of them have ended in a strikeout while he has only drawn a walk 4.8% of the time.

Despite hitting 19 home runs, his .193/.242/.401 batting line translates to a 79 wRC+. He’s not a good defender nor is he a burner on the basepaths, so he really needs to hit to provide value. The homers help but the overall offense has been lacking.

Like Bruihl, he exhausted his final option season in 2025. That was going to make it harder for the Guards to keep him on the roster, especially with guys like Chase DeLauter and George Valera reaching the big leagues this year.

He’ll head into DFA limbo and see if the Guards can line up a trade or if anyone wants him on waivers. If he lands somewhere else, he can be controlled for five full seasons. Since he has less than three years of service and doesn’t have a previous career outright, he will not have the right to elect free agency if he is passed through outright waivers unclaimed.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Dennis Lee, Imagn Images

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Cleveland Guardians Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Jhonkensy Noel Justin Bruihl

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Orioles Outright Maverick Handley

By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 2:05pm CDT

December 17th: The Orioles announced today that Handley has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Romo was claimed by the Mets earlier today.

December 11th: The Orioles announced that catcher Maverick Handley has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for their signing of first baseman Pete Alonso, which has now been made official.

Handley, 28 in March, got to make his major league debut in 2025. The O’s began the season with Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez as their catching duo but both of those two suffered a few injuries during the campaign. Baltimore had to dip into some depth, which led to Handley getting 47 plate appearances across 16 games, but he struck out in 38.3% of those while walking just 4.3% of the time and put up a .073/.133/.073 line.

The O’s called up catching prospect Samuel Basallo late in the season and signed him to an extension. Rutschman can still be retained via arbitration through 2027. Those two should be the primary backstops in Baltimore for the time being. As of a few days ago, Handley and Drew Romo were on the 40-man as optionable depth. However, Romo was designated for assignment yesterday, so the O’s now have just two catchers on the roster and two potential depth guys in DFA limbo.

Handley does not have a previous career outright, nor does he have three years of big league service time. That means he would not have the right to elect free agency if he were passed through waivers unclaimed. The same is true of Romo. If one or both clear waivers, the O’s might be content with their catching depth situation. If they lose one or both, that should increase the chances of Baltimore looking for extra depth via the waiver wire or minor league deals.

For now, they have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Handley. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could take five days to talk trades with other clubs. His big league track record thus far is obviously unimpressive but in a tiny sample size. Dating back to the start of 2023, he stepped to the plate 765 times in the minors with solid 14% walk rate but only nine home runs. His .227/.352/.323 line led to a wRC+ of 87, which is not bad for a backup/depth catcher. If he lands with another club, he still has options and less than a year of service time.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Maverick Handley Pete Alonso

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Giants Still In The Market For Pitching

By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 1:58pm CDT

The Giants made a couple of additions to the pitching staff this week. They signed reliever Jason Foley and reportedly have an agreement in place with starter Adrian Houser. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants are still in the market for pitching additions, both in the rotation and the bullpen.

That’s not especially surprising. Foley is recovering from shoulder surgery and is expected to start the season on the injured list. The bullpen was a strength for San Francisco in 2025 but they traded Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers at the deadline. Randy Rodríguez required Tommy John surgery in September. Joey Lucchesi was non-tendered last month. The Giants have subsequently signed Sam Hentges and Foley but that’s not going to make up for what they’ve lost.

In the rotation, Justin Verlander became a free agent at season’s end. The Houser signing will make up for that loss to some degree but the Giants will understandably want to do more. The club’s rotation had a collective 4.10 ERA this year, putting them 17th among big league teams. As of now, Logan Webb and Robbie Ray are the front two. Houser and Landen Roupp should have two more spots spoken for.

That leaves one spot for a group consisting of Kai-Wei Teng, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Trevor McDonald, Carson Seymour, Hayden Birdsong and Keaton Winn. That’s a lot of arms and they all have their varying levels of appeal but no one in that group is fully established as a viable big leaguer. Each of them has less than 108 big league innings and they can all still be optioned to the minors.

The club might want to leave a path open for one guy in that group to separate himself from the pack but that should happen anyway. No team gets through a full season these days without a few notable injuries on the pitching staff. Even if the Giants start the season with those guys all blocked from a rotation gig, there will be opportunities throughout the campaign.

The question will be how aggressive they plan on being in upgrading the rotation. Chairman/owner Greg Johnson and general manager Zack Minasian have both suggested the Giants would prefer to avoid long-term deals for pitchers.

The top end of the free agent pitching market is one area that has moved fairly slowly. Dylan Cease was quickly snapped up by the Blue Jays but Tatsuya Imai, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Zac Gallen and Michael King are all still available. Despite the club’s apparent preference to avoid lengthy deals, they have nonetheless been connected to Valdez and Gallen, so perhaps there is a scenario where they get involved there. If they go for another signing in line with their Houser deal, guys like Zack Littell, Chris Bassitt and Nick Martinez are out there.

There is also the trade market to consider. If the Giants want to avoid lengthy free agent deals, they could pursue guys like MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals, Kris Bubic of the Royals, Edward Cabrera of the Marlins, Kodai Senga of the Mets, Mitch Keller of the Pirates or many others.

Those guys have varying degrees of trade value. For instance, Bubic shouldn’t be too costly since he is a rental and finished 2025 on the injured list. Gore, on the other hand, pitched like an ace for much of this year and is still cheaply controlled for two seasons. The Giants are reportedly willing to consider trading prospect Bryce Eldridge. That doesn’t mean that they will actually move him but perhaps a notable trade is possible.

RosterResource currently pegs the Giants for a payroll of $180MM and a competitive balance tax figure of $203MM next year. It’s unclear where they want to end up but they are more than $40MM shy of the base threshold of the tax, which will be $244MM next year.

They are also on the lookout for upgrades at second base and the outfield. Whatever spending capacity they do have, they probably won’t dedicate all of it to pitching, but they could also address some of their other targets via the trade market. They are reportedly one of the frontrunners for the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan, alongside the Mariners.

Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images

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San Francisco Giants

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MLBTR Podcast: The Mets Sign Jorge Polanco, And The Braves, Blue Jays And Royals Make Moves

By Darragh McDonald | December 17, 2025 at 9:44am CDT

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…

  • The Mets signing Jorge Polanco (2:40)
  • The Braves making three signings: Robert Suarez, Mike Yastrzemski and Ha-Seong Kim (17:15)
  • The Blue Jays signing Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce (31:40)
  • The Royals extending Maikel Garcia, signing Lane Thomas and trading Ángel Zerpa to the Brewers for Isaac Collins and Nick Mears (46:10)
  • The Tigers making three signings: Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan and Drew Anderson (57:25)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Winter Meetings Recap – listen here
  • An Agent’s Perspective with B.B. Abbott – Also, Cease, Williams, Helsley, And Gray – listen here
  • Some “Classic Baseball Trades,” Nimmo For Semien, And Ward For Rodriguez – 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 Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Milwaukee Brewers New York Mets Toronto Blue Jays Angel Zerpa Cody Ponce Drew Anderson Ha-Seong Kim Isaac Collins Jorge Polanco Kenley Jansen Kyle Finnegan Lane Thomas Maikel Garcia Mike Yastrzemski Nick Mears Robert Suarez Tyler Rogers

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Rangers To Re-Sign Chris Martin

By Darragh McDonald | December 16, 2025 at 5:30pm CDT

The Rangers and veteran right-hander Chris Martin are in agreement on a one-year deal, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The salary for the ISE Baseball client has not yet been publicly reported. Texas has a couple of 40-man vacancies and doesn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Not so long ago, it seemed like Martin was on his way out the door. Just over a year ago, in September of 2024, he said he was 95% sure that 2025 would be his final season. He turned 39 years old in June and made a few trips to the injured list during the campaign. The first IL stint was in May due to shoulder fatigue, followed by another in July due to a calf strain. Most ominously, his season was ended in late September due to a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Taken all together, it was fair to assume he would be hanging up his spikes. But just a few days ago, it was reported that he was planning to pitch in 2026. His current health status isn’t known but presumably the Rangers feel good about what he can contribute next year.

When he was healthy enough to be on the mound in 2025, his results were still good. He was still averaging in the mid-90s with his four-seamer and sinker, while also mixing in a cutter, splitter, slider and knuckle curve. Long one of the best control pitchers in the majors, he tossed 42 1/3 innings while only walking 4.6% of batters faced. He also struck out 24.7% of opponents and got grounders on 42.6% of balls in play. Put that all together and he allowed 2.98 earned runs per nine innings for the year.

The Texas front office has been given some budgetary constraints over the past few years. Last winter, they put together their bullpen primarily via a series of small one-year deals. In addition to Martin, they also signed Hoby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong. That actually ended up working quite well, as the Texas bullpen was pretty good in 2025. But since they limited themselves to one-year deals, almost the entire bullpen hit free agency at season’s end.

Going into 2026, they are looking to rebuild the relief corps but appear to again be working with limited resources. They recently signed lefty Tyler Alexander to a modest one-year deal. They also reportedly have an agreement with Alexis Díaz. The numbers on that deal haven’t been reported yet but it’s surely on the low side as well. Martin made $5.5MM in 2025. Given his age and the injuries he dealt with in 2025, he shouldn’t be in line for much of a raise, or any at all.

RosterResource currently projects the Rangers to have a 2026 payroll about $50MM lower than in 2025, but since they are expected to spend less on next year’s team, they should have less than $50MM to work with. They are looking to bolster the rotation and add a righty bat, but continuing to build out the bullpen is also on the to-do list.

Photo courtesy of Lon Horwedel, D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images

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Newsstand Texas Rangers Transactions Chris Martin

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Cubs Sign Hoby Milner

By Darragh McDonald | December 16, 2025 at 4:40pm CDT

December 16th: The Cubs have officially announced Milner’s signing.

December 11th: The Cubs and left-hander Hoby Milner are reportedly in agreement on a one-year deal. The MVP Sports Group will make $3.75MM plus incentives. The Cubs have multiple 40-man vacancies and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

Milner, 35 in January, is an unusual but effective southpaw. He doesn’t throw very hard, averaging in the high 80s with his fastball and sinker. But he nonetheless manages to get outs with an unorthodox sidewinding delivery, with his arsenal also featuring a slider and a changeup.

Over the past four seasons, Milner has thrown at least 64 innings in each campaign. Put together, he has logged 264 innings in that span, allowing 3.55 earned runs per nine. His 22.6% strikeout rate in that time was close to average while his 5.8% walk rate and 51.1% ground ball rate were both notably better than par. His Statcast data in that span has also been better than league average, with Milner having an 87 mile per hour exit velocity, 5.4% barrel rate and 35.5% hard hit rate. He earned one save and 49 holds over that four-year stretch.

That span did feature a fluky ERA spike, as Milner posted a 4.73 ERA with the Brewers in 2024. The Brewers could have retained him for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $2.7MM salary, but they non-tendered him instead. The Rangers scooped him up with a deal for $2.5MM plus incentives and benefitted from a bounceback, as Milner posted a 3.84 ERA in 2025.

The Cubs have now given him a slight raise in the hopes that he can keep things rolling in 2026. Cubs manager Craig Counsell is plenty familiar with Milner’s abilities, as he was the skipper in Milwaukee when Milner established himself as a viable big league reliever.

Chicago had a decent relief corps in 2025. Their relievers had a collective ERA of 3.78, putting them just outside the top ten of MLB clubs. But at season’s end, Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz, Taylor Rogers, Michael Soroka, Aaron Civale and Ryan Brasier all became free agents. The Cubs flipped Andrew Kittredge to the Orioles in the early days of the offseason, getting cash considerations back in return.

The Cubs generally prefer to build their bullpens on the cheap. From 2020 until last month, they didn’t sign any free agent relievers to multi-year deals, part of the reason why they just lost so many arms to free agency. They broke that pattern recently by signing Phil Maton to a two-year deal, but Milner is another low-cost, short-term commitment to the relief group.

The southpaw contingent of the bullpen was particularly lacking before this move, with Thielbar, Pomeranz and Rogers all departing for the open market. That left Luke Little as the top option, despite having just 35 1/3 career innings with an 18.2% walk rate. Milner is now the most experienced lefty in the group, though the Cubs could make further additions before the offseason is through.

This move brings the Cubs to a $184MM payroll and $199MM competitive balance tax figure, according to RosterResource. It’s unclear where the Cubs want the payroll to end up. The base threshold of the CBT is $244MM next year, meaning the Cubs are $45MM away. They went narrowly over the tax line in 2024 but ducked back below in 2025. They are still on the hunt for a big rotation upgrade. They’ve been connected to free agent Alex Bregman. They will presumably be looking for more relievers. How it all plays out will depend on how much dry powder the Cubs have.

Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation was first on the deal. Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic noted it would be for one year. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the guarantee. Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Benny Sieu, Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Hoby Milner

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Braves To Sign Aaron Schunk To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | December 16, 2025 at 4:38pm CDT

The Braves will have infielder Aaron Schunk in camp as a non-roster invitee, reports Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That indicates the CAA Sports client and the club have agreed to a minor league deal.

Schunk, 28, changes organizations for the first time in his career. He was drafted by the Rockies in 2019, selected in the second round, and has been with that club a few weeks ago. With Colorado, he got into 55 big league games over the past two seasons. He stepped to the plate 131 times but struck out in 31.3% of those plate appearances and only drew a walk 3.1% of the time as he put up a tepid .222/.246/.302 line.

His minor league offense has been better but not outstanding. In 1,170 Triple-A plate appearances, he has a .291/.348/.468 line. That looks good at first blush all those trips to the plate took place in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, where that kind of production translates to an 89 wRC+. That indicates he was actually 11% worse than league average. The Rockies outrighted him off the roster in October and he elected free agency.

Defensively, his reputation is pretty strong. He is considered an above average third baseman and has also spent a lot of time at the middle infield spots. The left side of Atlanta’s infield has some uncertainty. Austin Riley has finished the past two seasons on the injured list. He underwent core surgery in August of 2025 and spent the final few weeks of the campaign on the IL. At shortstop, they just signed Ha-Seong Kim to take over there. He returned from shoulder surgery in 2025 but battled other injuries and only got into 48 games.

Atlanta has Mauricio Dubón on the bench to provide backup at those two spots, as well as others. Second baseman Ozzie Albies is also a bit of a question mark after two straight down seasons at the plate. Vidal Bruján and Brett Wisely are also on the roster but both are out of options and could be on the roster bubble. Nacho Alvarez Jr. is on the 40-man but Atlanta would presumably prefer to have him getting regular playing time in the minors.

If Schunk is eventually able to earn a 40-man spot, he still has an option, meaning he could be shuttled to Triple-A and back. He has less than a year of service time, meaning he could also be cheaply retained for years to come if that becomes a consideration.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Aaron Schunk

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    Padres To Re-Sign Michael King

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    Giants To Sign Adrian Houser

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    Padres To Re-Sign Michael King

    White Sox Expected To Hire Carlos Rodriguez As Assistant GM

    Tigers Sign Four Pitchers To Minor League Deals

    Mets Re-Sign Kevin Herget To Minor League Deal

    Pirates Finalize Coaching Staff

    John Means Suffers Achilles Rupture

    Blue Jays To Sign Jorge Alcala To Minor League Deal

    Padres To Sign Triston McKenzie To Minor League Deal

    Phillies Sign Brad Keller

    Phillies Notes: Outfield, Castellanos, Rotation

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