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Rich Hill Not Planning To Play In 2026

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Left-hander Rich Hill doesn’t want to use the word but it seems to be leaning towards retirement. Appearing on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, Hill was asked by host Rob Bradford if he was retiring and said “I don’t have any plans on playing next year.” The situation is somewhat analogous to that of Joe Kelly, who announced on the same podcast last month that he didn’t want to use the word “retire” but wasn’t planning on playing anymore.

“I’m looking for open possibilities to stay in the game of baseball and be a contributory factor,” Hill continued. “I enjoy the work aspect of whatever it might be that’s next. I think that’s one thing that… why athletes get hired in other positions and other… outside of sports is because they are highly-driven people that want to succeed. And that’s something that I’m looking forward to.”

It’s not shocking that Hill is slowly wafting into the next stage of his career. Though he did pitch in the 2025 season, he was easily the oldest player in the league. He was 45 years old when he suited up for the Royals and will turn 46 in March. Though he has continued pitching to an age when most other players have called it quits long ago, he did so with some unconventional approaches. He waited until midseason to sign in 2024 in a deliberate attempt to be more fresh for a stretch run.

If this is indeed the end, it will wrap up one of the more unique arcs of a player in recent history. Hill was drafted by the Cubs way back in 2002 and made his major league debut in 2005. He didn’t find immediate success but had a really good season in 2007, posting a 3.92 earned run average over 32 starts.

But from there, he went into a really challenging period of his career. He struggled with results and health for many years, leading him to be bounced between the majors and minors and between various different organizations. From 2008 to 2014, he tossed a total of 153 innings split between the Cubs, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, the Angels and Yankees. He posted a 5.41 ERA over that stretch.

2015 would turn out to be an incredible comeback season. He started the year on a minor league deal with the Nationals. He opted out of that contract in June and signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He made just two starts for that club but struck out 21 opponents in 11 innings. That was enough to get him back into affiliated baseball via a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

Boston called him up in September and he made four starts as the season was winding down. In those, he logged 29 innings with a 1.55 ERA. He had a mammoth 34% strikeout rate, a tiny 4.7% walk rate and a strong 48.4% ground ball rate. That was a tiny sample size but the Athletics made a bet on it, signing Hill to a one-year, $6MM deal for 2016. That wager paid off handsomely, with Hill giving the A’s 14 starts with a 2.25 ERA.

At that year’s deadline, he was traded to the Dodgers alongside Josh Reddick, with the A’s getting Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton in return. Hill gave the Dodgers six starts with an ERA of 1.83 and then three postseason starts with a 3.46 ERA.

The Dodgers were happy enough with that showing to bring Hill back via a three-year, $48MM contract. That was a pretty staggering deal for a 37-year-old who was not too far removed from being in indy ball but it worked out well. He logged 327 innings over those three seasons with a 3.30 ERA, plus 37 postseason innings with a 2.43 ERA.

After that deal ran its course, Hill went into his 40s and mercenary mode. He signed a series of one-year deal with the Twins, Rays, Red Sox and Pirates. In 2023, he seemed to wear down as the season went along, not surprising for a 43-year-old. His 4.76 ERA with Pittsburgh was still respectable but he collapsed after a deadline deal to the Padres, posting an 8.23 ERA after the swap.

As mentioned, he then tried to think outside the box to continue as an effective big league pitcher. He planned to intentionally sign at midseason in 2024 in order to spend more time with his family and also save his bullets for the second half and postseason. He stayed unsigned until inking a minor league deal with the Red Sox in August. He did get called up but only for four relief appearances before being released. In 2025, he signed a minor league deal with the Royals in May. He got called up in July but was designated for assignment after just two starts.

Given the unusual shape of his career and his willingness to buck conventions, it’s possible he’ll change his mind and find his way back to the mound. But if Hill doesn’t make it back to the majors, he will finish with 1,418 innings tossed over 388 games for 14 different clubs. In that time, he posted a 4.02 ERA but will likely be best remembered for the 2015-2021 run which saw him post a 3.15 ERA in his late 30s and early 40s. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings over $75MM, most of that coming to Hill in his late-career surge. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute him on a fine career, which may or may not be done, and wish him the best on whatever is next.

Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images

Rangers Designate Dom Hamel For Assignment

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The Rangers announced that right-hander Dom Hamel has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for right-hander Jakob Junis, whose one-year deal with Texas is now official.

Hamel, 27 in March, has never pitched for the Rangers. He was just claimed off waivers from the Mets in late September, during the final weekend of the regular season. He stuck on the roster for a few months but has now been squeezed off.

His major league track record is one of the smallest possible. He tossed one scoreless inning for the Mets on September 17th. He was then designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles. Baltimore put him back on waivers a few days later, which is when the Rangers claimed him.

Hamel came up as a starting pitcher in the Mets’ system but struggled with control. He was primarily used as a multi-inning reliever in 2025 with some encouraging results. He tossed 67 2/3 Triple-A innings over 31 appearances. 11 of those were technically starts but were mostly of the opener variety. His 5.32 earned run average wasn’t especially impressive but his 25.2% strikeout rate was above average. Perhaps more importantly, given his past issues with control, he only walked 7.4% of batters faced.

He did allow 12 home runs in that time, which helped push more runs across the board. Despite those issues with the long ball, he generated enough interest to be claimed off waivers twice late last season.

The Rangers will now have a week to determine his next steps. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could field trade interest over the next five days. Hamel still has a couple of options remaining, which could help him land elsewhere as a depth piece. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Rangers as non-roster depth since he does not have a previous career outright nor three years of big league service time.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Mariners, Bryce Miller Avoid Arbitration

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The Mariners announced that they have avoided arbitration with right-hander Bryce Miller by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option for 2027. Miller will make a $2.4375MM salary in 2026, according to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. The club option is worth $6.075MM and has a $15K buyout, so Miller is guaranteed $2.4525MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The club option is voided if Miller finishes in the top five of Cy Young voting in 2026. He will still be controllable via arbitration through 2029 regardless of how the contractual situation plays out.

Miller was one of 18 players who did not have a deal in place when the arbitration filing deadline passed earlier this month. He just qualified for arbitration for the first time this offseason as a Super Two player, meaning he will go through the process four times instead of the standard three. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $2.4MM salary. Miller filed at $2.625MM and the Mariners at $2.25MM.

A gap of just $375K is a drop in the bucket for a major league baseball club but it compounds when looking at the bigger picture. A player’s subsequent trips through arbitration see his salary grow as a percentage of where he started. Therefore, a $375K gap can actually lead to a swing of millions over three years, or four in this case.

Most teams these days adopt a “file and trial” approach, which means they cut off negotiations of one-year deals after the filing deadline. This is to give them leverage in pre-deadline talks and also to prevent players from filing absurdly high numbers in an attempt to set out an aggressive bargaining stance. An arbiter can only pick the player’s or the team’s number, not a midpoint.

Even if a team does have a “file and trial” policy, exceptions are made for deals that are longer than one year, even if that extra year is an option. That gives the club a path to avoid a potentially contentious hearing while sticking to their policy, in a sense. A deal with an option can’t be used as a comparison point in future arb hearings as well, which is a factor.

Arbitration hearings are generally viewed as part of the business but occasional situations have cropped up where the relationships between a player and a team appeared to have been damaged. Three years ago, Corbin Burnes said as much in the wake of his hearing with the Brewers. Miller and the Mariners have staved off any possibility of that scenario by meeting roughly in the middle between their two filing numbers.

As mentioned, the club option is mostly a measure to avoid this agreement being used as a future comp. Even if it is voided or turned down, Miller would remain under club control through 2029 via arbitration.

There will now be no more than 16 hearings this year. Since the 18 players filed earlier this month, Cade Cavalli and the Nationals reached a new agreement and now Miller is off the list as well. Miller was the last Mariner in the arb class without a determined salary, so the club is now wrapped in that department.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Nationals Claim Mickey Gasper, Designate Andry Lara For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that they have claimed utility player Mickey Gasper off waivers from the Twins. Minnesota designated him for assignment last week when they claimed Vidal Bruján, another utility player. The Nats designated right-hander Andry Lara for assignment in a corresponding move.

Washington’s new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni is already familiar with Gasper. Toboni was an assistant general manager with the Red Sox when that club took Gasper from the Yankees in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. Gasper made a brief debut with Boston in 2024 but was traded to the Twins last winter. Between the two clubs, he has a .133/.250/.195 line in 133 big league plate appearances.

Toboni and the Nats are putting more stock in his minor league track record, where he has generally had a strong approach at the plate and has also provided defensive versatility. He took 588 Triple-A plate appearances over the past two years with 22 home runs, a 13.8% walk rate and 13.6% strikeout rate. He produced a combined line of .312/.420/.531 in that sample, production which translated to a wRC+ of 154.

In terms of the glovework, Gasper has plenty of ability to move around. He has experience as a catcher, plus the three non-shortstop infield positions and has spent a bit of time in left field as well. He has even more versatility when considering he is a switch hitter who has options remaining.

Despite the strong numbers, Gasper isn’t likely viewed as a core piece. He was originally a 27th round draft pick back in 2018 and took a while to get to the majors. Though he has a short résumé, he’s already 30 years old.

But for the Nats, there’s a logic to bringing him aboard. Washington is rebuilding and has a roster in flux. They project to have CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. on the infield but both are theoretical trade candidates, with Abrams controlled for three more seasons and García two. Brady House was once considered the third baseman of the future but he hit poorly in his first taste of the majors. Prospect Harry Ford could be the catcher of the future but he has just eight big league plate appearances.

Amid all that uncertainty, Gasper gives the club a bit of depth all over. As the season rolls along, there will be inevitable injuries and fluctuations in performance, plus potential transactions. Gasper can bounce around to multiple positions in the big leagues or be kept in the minors as depth, depending on what happens with others on the roster. He has less than a year of service time, meaning he can be cheaply retained for the foreseeable future, if he manages to hold onto a roster spot.

To bring aboard Gasper, the Nats have bumped Lara off the roster. Now 23, he was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. At that time, he had just wrapped up a strong minor league season. He tossed 134 2/3 innings between High-A and Double-A with a 3.34 earned run average, 24.3% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. His 2025 didn’t go nearly as well. He made his major league debut but allowed 14 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings. He also struggled in the minors, with a 7.55 ERA in 56 inning across multiple levels.

Lara was an international signing of the previous front office. President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo was fired in 2025 and eventually replaced by Toboni. It seems that Lara’s poor season in 2025 and a shake-up in Washington have pushed him off the roster. The Nats will now have a week to figure out Lara’s fate. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could take five days to explore trade interest. Lara still has a couple of club options, which could help him land with another club as depth.

Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images

Padres Have Shown Interest In Freddy Peralta

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Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta is not a lock to be traded but plenty of other clubs are interested. He’s already been connected to the Astros, Giants, Mets, Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves this offseason. Today, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the Padres have checked in with the Brewers while Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers remain engaged.

The widespread appeal is understandable as Peralta is both good and cheap. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has given the Brewers 738 1/3 innings, allowing 3.30 earned runs per nine. His 9% walk rate in that time was close to league average while he struck out a big 29.6% of batters faced. He just wrapped up a 2025 season in which he posted a 2.70 ERA with a 28.2% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate.

Milwaukee signed Peralta back in 2020, before he was established as a viable big league starter. That deal turned into a massive win for the Brewers, as it was only a $15.5MM guarantee over five years. It also included $8MM club options for 2025 and 2026. By the time those options rolled around, they were obvious bargains and picked up without hesitation.

That salary on a one-year commitment is very appealing for all teams. The top starting pitchers often make in the range of $25MM to $45MM annually on multi-year deals. This offseason has seen Dylan Cease, Ranger Suárez and Michael King land average annual values in the $25-30MM range. In short, Peralta’s deal is a steal.

That makes him very appealing to all clubs. For big spending teams, Peralta is a theoretical rotation upgrade without the big contract. Most of the top spenders are also facing huge tax bills, in many cases more than doubling the cost of signing any free agent. For teams with payroll crunches, it’s also obviously helpful to be able to get a top arm without a big price.

It also makes Peralta valuable for the Brewers, who are never big spenders. But the fact that Peralta is nearing free agency puts them in a tricky spot. Their low payrolls usually make it hard for them to sign their players for the long term, which can lead to them being traded as free agency nears.

In recent years, players like Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader have been traded as their respective windows of control were shrinking. But with Willy Adames, Milwaukee decided to hold onto him until he hit the open market. They collected compensation in the form of an extra draft pick after he rejected a qualifying offer and then signed with the Giants.

Peralta could go either way. President of baseball operations Matt Arnold downplayed the trade possibility back in November but the club is also reportedly concerned about its payroll. Earlier this month, they were one of nine teams who terminated broadcast deals with Main Street Sports. It’s possible they could negotiate a new deal or pivot to having MLB handle things but they will almost certainly bring in less broadcast revenue in 2026 compared to the year prior.

Trading Peralta wouldn’t save the Brewers a ton of money but it would allow them to theoretically bolster other areas of the roster without having to spend on free agents. However, no offer has compelled them to pull the trigger yet, with pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training in less than three weeks.

The Padres make a lot of sense as a landing spot for Peralta. Rotation depth was a concern for them throughout 2025 and then they lost Cease and King to free agency at season’s end. Shortly thereafter, Yu Darvish underwent UCL surgery, ruling him out for the entire 2026 campaign.

They have since brought back King but further bolstering the rotation would make sense. Currently, they project to have King, Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove in three spots, followed by a cluster of potential depth options including Randy Vásquez, JP Sears, Kyle Hart and Matt Waldron.

Even within that group, there are notable questions. King is coming off a season impacted by injuries. Pivetta has been in some trade rumors due to his back-loaded contract. Musgrove will be coming back from missing 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Vásquez had a nice 3.84 ERA last year but just a 13.7% strikeout rate. Sears, Waldron and Hart all had poor seasons.

Adding to that group makes sense but the Friars have seemingly been walking a financial tightrope for a few years. Their payroll peaked in 2023 but the offseasons since then have seen them trying to work around an apparent lack of spending capacity. That seemed to motivate the Juan Soto trade two offseasons ago. Last winter, they were able to sign Pivetta but with an unusual structure. It was $55MM over four years but with just a $3MM signing bonus and $1MM signing bonus in the first year.

RosterResource projects the payroll for $220MM next year, which is a bit above last year’s spending. The competitive balance tax figure is pegged at $262MM, above the base threshold of $244MM. The Padres reset their tax status in 2024 but paid the tax last year. That means they would be second-time payors in 2026, which leads to a 30% base tax rate. Going above $264MM would increase the tax rate to 42% on spending beyond that line.

That presumably makes the Padres at least somewhat unwilling to spend big on a free agent like Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen or Chris Bassitt. Rosenthal writes that their preferred spending range is $8MM to $12MM and he floats Nick Martinez, Lucas Giolito and Justin Verlander as guys who could theoretically fall to that range.

Though Peralta’s $8MM salary would undoubtedly be appealing, especially if they move Pivetta and his $19MM salary in 2026, the Brewers would want something notable in return. Subtracting from the big league roster would be counterproductive and the Padres have also traded away a large number of prospects in recent years, including sending top prospect Leo De Vries to the Athletics in last year’s Mason Miller deal. Lining up on a deal with Milwaukee may be tricky.

Turning to the Dodgers, Woo notes that their interest presumably indicates at least some level of concern from the club in relation to the current rotation mix. The Dodgers have a great starting group on paper but questions with most of the individuals. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is only guy still on the roster who topped 91 innings pitched last year. Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Emmet Sheehan, Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki all came in under that line due to various different health situations. The Dodgers presumably don’t expect the whole group to stay healthy for 2026.

They also seem better positioned than the Padres to offer the Brewers the kind of young, controllable pitching they would probably want in return. Sheehan and Sasaki are both still in their pre-arb years. The same is true of guys like Ben Casparius, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Justin Wrobleski, Gavin Stone, Landon Knack and others.

Woo also floats outfielder Ryan Ward as a possibility, with the recent Kyle Tucker signing blocking his path. She writes that the Dodgers were considering a platoon of the lefty-swinging Ward and righty Alex Call before landing Tucker, so Ward may now be expendable. The Brewers subtracted from their outfield this offseason when they traded Isaac Collins to the Royals alongside Nick Mears to acquire left-hander Ángel Zerpa. They still have a decent group including Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Blake Perkins and others.

Whether the Brewers can be compelled to complete a trade remains to be seen. Without Peralta, their rotation would still consist of a pretty good group including Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers and others, plus whatever they can get in return in the Peralta trade. But they could also just hold Peralta to make another run in 2026. If Peralta is healthy a season from now, he would be a lock to reject a QO, netting the Brewers a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images

Twins Hire Ryan Pressly For Player Development Role

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Retired right-hander Ryan Pressly has been hired by the Twins, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. According to Declan Goff of SKOR North, Pressly will be working in player development with both major and minor leaguers.

Pressly, 37, just announced his retirement as a player a couple of days ago. It seems he doesn’t plan to sit by the fire smoking a pipe and reading the paper. He has quickly launched the next stage of his life with this gig with the Twins.

Presumably, Pressly has a lot of wisdom to pass on to younger players after the twists and turns of his baseball journey. He just wrapped up a professional career that lasted almost two decades. He was drafted by the Red Sox with an 11th-round pick back in 2007. He was never really a top prospect and was left unprotected in the 2012 Rule 5 draft, which is how the Twins were able to get him from the Sox.

That proved to be the springboard for him to establish himself as a major leaguer for 13 seasons. The Twins traded him to the Astros in 2018 but that doesn’t seem to have created any sour feelings between him and the organization, based on the fact that he is now rejoining the Twins in a new capacity.

Now he’ll pivot to helping other players who are in the earlier stages of their journeys. This is the second time in a week that the Twins have brought back one of their recently-retired players for a new role. Michael A. Taylor was hired as an outfield instructor a week ago.

Photo courtesy of Brad Rempel, Imagn Images

Several Teams Showing Interest In Miguel Andujar

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Free agent infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar is drawing widespread interest, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post, with the Rangers, Padres, Cardinals, Reds, Cubs and Athletics listed as some of the clubs in the mix.

Andujar, 31 in March, is coming off his best season in years. He missed a little over a month due to an oblique strain but got into 94 games, split between the A’s and Reds after a deadline trade. He generally puts the ball in play a lot, avoiding both strikeouts and walks, and that continued to be the case last year. In his 341 plate appearances, his 5% walk rate was quite low but he was also only struck out at a 14.4% clip.

He produced a .318/.352/.470 batting line, production which translated to a wRC+ of 125, or 25% better than league average. There was likely a bit of good luck in there, as his .348 batting average on balls in play was quite high, but it would have been a good showing even with neutral luck. He slashed .277/.315/.399 over 2023 and 2024 for a wRC+ of 103, with a decreased .306 BABIP in that stretch.

Andujar hits from the right side and has strong platoon splits. For his career, he has a .297/.332/.475 line and 121 wRC+ against lefties, compared to a .275/.307/.427 line and 101 wRC+ without the platoon advantage. It was even more extreme last year, as Andujar had a .389/.409/.578 line and 171 wRC+ against southpaws. Against righties, he held his own with a .290/.331/.429 line and 108 wRC+.

Defensively, he doesn’t play a premium position but does provide some versatility, as he lined up at the four corner spots last year. He doesn’t get great marks anywhere but the ability to move around is helpful when a club is looking to play matchups.

Andujar can therefore be of theoretical use to any club with a lefty in a corner somewhere. The A’s employed Andujar in 2024 and part of 2025 and could do so again. They have Nick Kurtz at first with the outfield corners manned by Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler. They could potentially be more competitive in 2026 but could also trade Andujar at the deadline again. Last year, they were able to get pitching prospect Kenya Huggins from the Reds.

The Rangers project to have Brandon Nimmo in left. Evan Carter is another lefty, with notable struggles against southpaws, and projects to be the club’s center fielder. There has been some suggestion that Wyatt Langford could take some center field playing time, which could make room for a righty bat in a corner. Joc Pederson projects to be the designated hitter. He is coming off a poor season but has crushed righties and flailed against lefties in his career.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom recently said the Cards have room for a righty-hitting outfielder. The club projects to have lefty Lars Nootbaar in one corner, with Alec Burleson at first base and Nolan Gorman possibly getting lots of playing time at third. The Cards are rebuilding but Andujar could help the club protect their current players and then perhaps be traded at the deadline, just as he was last year.

The Reds just had Andujar for the final two months of the 2025 season and could once again slot him in. They traded Gavin Lux to the Rays but project to have lefty JJ Bleday in one outfield corner. The Cubs have Michael Busch at first base and Moisés Ballesteros is probably the favorite to take over the designated hitter spot. The Padres project to have some combination of Jake Cronenworth, Sung Mun Song and Gavin Sheets covering first base, second base and designated hitter.

Andujar isn’t likely to command too much on the open market as a short-side platoon player. Guys like Austin Hays and Randal Grichuk are somewhat comparable players who each got one-year, $5MM deals last offseason. Rob Refsnyder just got $6.3MM from the Mariners on a one-year deal last month.

Hays and Grichuk are out there again now, alongside Andujar. Other similar players in this market include Austin Slater, Tommy Pham, Starling Marte and Chas McCormick. There’s also Harrison Bader, though he should be a tier above this group. Since he is a strong defender in center, he is a viable everyday player and may be able to secure himself a two-year deal.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, Imagn Images

Yankees To Sign Seth Brown To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees and first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The Klutch Sports client will presumably be in big league camp during spring training.

Brown, 33, has had some big league success with the Athletics but is coming off a few uneven years. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he stepped to the plate 862 times for the A’s. His 27.3% strikeout rate in that time was certainly high but his 8.6% walk rate was close to average and he hit 45 home runs. He had a combined .22/.294/.457 batting line for those two years, leading to a wRC+ of 111, indicating he was 11 percent better than the league average hitter.

But his production tailed off from there. Over the next two campaigns, he took 778 plate appearances with a 7.1% walk rate and 28 home runs. His .227/.284/.392 line for those two years led to a 91 wRC+, putting him nine percent below average. Since he’s not a burner on the basepaths nor an amazing defender, the lack of offense put him on thin ice.

Last year was even worse. He struggled enough to get designated for assignment in May, clearing waivers a few days later. He crushed minor league pitching for a few games and got called back up in early June, but then hit the injured list due to left elbow lateral epicondylitis. At the end of June, he was released. He signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks and spent just over a month with their Triple-A team. He opted out of his deal in early August but then didn’t sign anywhere else.

Around those transactions, he took 76 big league plate appearances for the year with a dismal .185/.303/.262 line in those. His minor league production was far better, as he slashed .352/.416/.697 in 161 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. That was in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and he was helped by a .376 batting average on balls in play but his 159 wRC+ was impressive nonetheless.

For the Yankees, there’s little harm in bringing him aboard via a minor league deal. He doesn’t have a great path to big league playing time at the moment. The Yanks project to have Ben Rice at first base, Aaron Judge in one outfield corner, Jasson Domínguez in another, with Giancarlo Stanton in the designated hitter slot. Outfield prospect Spencer Jones could push for a job in spring training. The Yankees are also trying to re-sign Cody Bellinger. If they succeed, that would further crowd the outfield and first base charts.

All clubs make non-roster additions like this for extra depth, however, as twists and turns are inevitable over a long season. Stanton is 36 years old and hasn’t avoided the injured list over a full season since 2018. Judge is about to turn 34 and would ideally get some time in the DH slot himself. Domínguez hasn’t really established himself as a viable big leaguer yet and still has options. Rice could end up behind the plate if a catcher gets hurt. Jones hit 35 homers last year but also struck out in 35.4% of his plate appearances. The standoff with Bellinger might lead to him signing elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of Ed Szczepanski, Imagn Images

Braves Sign Jorge Mateo

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The Braves announced today that they have signed utility player Jorge Mateo to a one-year deal. The Movement Baseball client gets a $1MM guarantee, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Atlanta opened a 40-man roster last week when José Suarez was put on waivers and claimed by the Orioles. This move gets them back to a full 40-man roster.

It is probably not a coincidence that Atlanta is signing a shortstop-capable player one day after the unfortunate Ha-Seong Kim news. Atlanta announced yesterday that Kim hurt his hand, reportedly from slipping on ice, in South Korea. He underwent surgery in Atlanta to repair a torn tendon in his right middle finger. He is expected to miss four to five months, meaning he will be out for a decent chunk of the first half of the upcoming season.

Kim was previously slated to be the club’s everyday shortstop, with Mauricio Dubón in a multi-positional bench role. Kim’s injury suddenly vaulted Dubón up to being the club’s everyday shortstop, which would be a bit of a stretch for him. He has played the position in 107 games in his career, logging 721 innings, but last year’s 33 contests were a career high. He’s been credited with 13 Outs Above Average at the spot in his career but Defensive Runs Saved has him one below par.

The depth behind him was also lacking. Nacho Alvarez Jr. is on the roster and has shortstop experience in the minors but Atlanta kept him at second and third base last year. Even if he were a viable shortstop, he hasn’t hit much in his big league career yet. Aaron Schunk was signed to a minor league deal but his shortstop experience is also fairly limited and his offensive numbers are even worse than Alvarez’s to this point.

Going into the season with that kind of group would have been unacceptable for a team hoping to contend, so responding in some way was inevitable. Mateo isn’t a guarantee to help, as he is coming off a couple of injury-marred seasons, but there also wasn’t much else out there on the market. With Bo Bichette heading to the Mets, the top shortstop free agents are veteran utility types like Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ramón Urías.

Atlanta is taking a cheap bounce-back flier on Mateo, with a deal barely above next year’s $780K minimum salary. As mentioned, Mateo is coming off a few challenging seasons. In July of 2024, he was playing second base for the Orioles when he and Gunnar Henderson both slid for a ground ball. They collided and Mateo suffered a subluxation of his left elbow. He underwent surgery in August, prematurely ending his season.

Inflammation in that elbow put him back on the injured list in June of 2025. While on a rehab assignment, he suffered a hamstring strain which kept him on the shelf for July and August. Due to all those injury challenges, Mateo only played 111 games over the past two years combined. He also produced a lowly .214/.253/.362 line in that time. Baltimore made a fairly easy call to turn down a $5.5MM club option for 2026, sending Mateo to free agency.

Atlanta probably isn’t expecting much from Mateo offensively, as that has never been his forte. His career batting line is just .221/.266/.363, which translates to a wRC+ of 75, indicating he’s been 25% below league average overall. If healthy, he will surely provide value from a speed-and-defense perspective. He topped 30 steals in both 2022 and 2023. Over the past two years, despite the injury absences, he still swiped 28 bags. In 2025, he stole 15 bases even though he only got into 43 games.

With the glove, Mateo has 2,320 1/3 innings at shortstop, more than three times as many as Dubón. Mateo has been credited with 13 Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average in those. He also has experience at second base, third base and all three outfield positions.

Adding Mateo gives Atlanta a bit more depth and flexibility to cover for Kim’s absence. Dubón is a better hitter than Mateo, though he’s not exactly a slugger. His career .257/.295/.374 batting line translates to an 85 wRC+, ten points ahead of Mateo but 15 below par. Mateo has the edge in terms of speed. Defensively, OAA likes Dubón but DRS leans to the more-experienced Mateo.

Both players hit from the right side and have traditional splits, with better career numbers against lefties, so a platoon isn’t likely. Atlanta can perhaps have the two battle for shortstop playing time in spring training. Both have extensive experience at other positions as well, so a utility role is possible for either or both. Once Kim returns, he should push them both to the bench, though it’s entirely possible other injuries pop up around the roster between now and then.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

Phillies To Re-Sign J.T. Realmuto

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The Phillies and J.T. Realmuto have an agreement in place to reunite on a new deal. It’s reportedly a $45MM guarantee over three years for the CAA Sports client, with incentives worth $5MM annually. The Phils have a full 40-man roster and will need a corresponding move to make this official.

At the beginning of the offseason, it seemed likely that Realmuto and the Phils would get back together. That has come to pass but there were some notable twists and turns along the way.

Back in early December, it was reported that the Phils had an offer out to Realmuto. No specifics of that offer were reported but it the two sides were apparently far enough apart to explore other options. Just over a week later, it was reported that the Phils were looking into other potential solutions behind the plate. An even more ambitious pivot came to light in January. With infielder Bo Bichette unsigned, the Phils seemed to genuinely pursue him. Various reports suggested that if the Phils signed Bichette, they would have to move on from Realmuto and third baseman Alec Bohm.

That appears to check out from a financial point of view. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Phils thought they were going to sign Bichette for $200MM over seven years, an average annual value of $28.57MM. Realmuto was projected for something around $15MM annually, with MLBTR predicting him for a $30MM deal over two years at the beginning of the offseason. Bohm is going to make $10.2MM in his final season of club control.

Essentially, it seems the Phils were willing to spend another $15MM to $20MM on upgrading the lineup. Signing Bichette and then trading Bohm would have added about that much. But the Mets swooped in and have an agreement in place with Bichette, a three-year deal with huge average annual values and opt-outs after each season. That not only deprived the Phillies of Bichette but also landed him with a division rival. Barely an hour later, the Phils have quickly pivoted to the more straightforward path, bringing back their longtime stalwart behind the plate.

Though it is somewhat straightforward to bring back Realmuto, this is still a notable commitment. Realmuto turns 35 in March and will therefore play this deal through his age-37 season. There’s decline risk with any position player that age but particularly with catchers. Every backstop in the majors in 2025 was in his age-36 season or younger, except for Martín Maldonado, who is now retired. Realmuto was already one of the oldest full-time catchers in the league last year. Salvador Perez is one year older but even he has started to spend more time at first base or as the designated hitter in recent seasons.

Realmuto and Perez have been the two workhorses of the position over the past decade-plus. Dating back to the start of the 2015, Realmuto has appeared in 1362 games and Perez 1304. However, Realmuto actually appeared as a catcher in 1,252 of those contests whereas Perez only put on the gear for 980. That kind of workload can be an argument for or against Realmuto. His ability to shoulder a massive workload relative to his peers is right there in the numbers but that could also be the very thing that works against him as he ages.

The signs of decline are already somewhat apparent. At the plate, Realmuto has clearly fallen from his peak. From 2018 to 2022, when he was in his late 20s and early 30s, he produced a combined .272/.339/.476 batting line. That resulted in a 118 wRC+, indicating he was 18% better than the league average hitter for that span. Over the past three years, he has slashed .257/.315/.421 for a wRC+ of 100. In 2025, he hit .257/.315/.384 for a wRC+ of 94. That’s still pretty good for a catcher, as backstops generally hit about 10% worse than the league-wide average, but the trend lines aren’t great.

There are yellow flags on the defensive side as well. Outlets like FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast ranked him as an above-average pitch framer from 2018 to 2022 but with negative grades over the past three years. His grades for controlling the running game and blocking pitches haven’t declined as consistently across all out those outlets but there has been a bit of downward creep. Statcast, for instance, had him as a subpar blocker in the past two years.

Taking the Perez route and coming out from behind the plate isn’t a likely in Philadelphia. As mentioned, Realmuto’s offense has been declining, which wouldn’t be ideal for him if he were at first base or in the designated hitter slot. The Phils don’t have those opportunities available for him regardless, with Bryce Harper locked in at first base and Kyle Schwarber essentially a full-time DH. Harper is signed through 2031 and Schwarber 2030.

All those concerns are presumably things the Phillies are aware of, thus explaining why they toyed with the idea of a future without Realmuto. But despite all the concerns, Realmuto was still the best free agent catcher available this winter and the Phils clearly needed to do something. Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs are on the roster but neither would have been an ideal everyday option behind the plate. Stubbs has 203 big league games under his belt with subpar offense and defense. Marchan’s big league numbers are a bit more encouraging but he has just 82 games under his belt.

In the end, the Phils are sticking with the devil they know. Though there are real concerns in the numbers, there are also the unquantifiable things to consider with a catcher. The Phils have seen Realmuto work with their pitchers for seven years now and presumably are happy to have him continue doing that for another three years.

It appears the 2026 Phillies are going to look a lot like the previous versions of the team, with a few modifications. Adolis García will take over in right field, with Nick Castellanos likely to be jettisoned at some point. Ranger Suárez is gone, having an agreement in place with the Red Sox, but the Phils will hope Andrew Painter can step up to replace him on the pitching chart. Justin Crawford will hopefully take over center field. Their two big free agents this winter, Schwarber and Realmuto, have been re-signed.

That leaves the Phils with the same core, which can be argued to be good or bad going forward. It has certainly been a good core in the past. They’ve won at least 87 games in four straight seasons. They made the World Series in 2022 and won the National League East in the past two campaigns. But Schwarber will turn 33 this year, as will Trea Turner and Aaron Nola. Harper’s already that age. Zack Wheeler turns 36 this year. As mentioned, Realmuto will be 35 in a few months. Everyone in that group is signed for at least two more seasons but often far more.

Spending so much money on that veteran core has pushed the payroll up. RosterResource estimates the Phils to have a $281MM payroll and $317MM competitive balance tax figure. The annual breakdown of Realmuto’s deal hasn’t yet been reported but the CBT won’t be impacted by that, since that number is calculated based on AAV. The Phillies are in the highest possible realm of taxation, both because they have paid the tax in at least three straight years and because their CBT number is above the top threshold of $304MM.

They were just under that top line coming into today, facing a 95% tax rate. The Realmuto deal has blown them past it, well into the area where they pay a 110% tax on new spending. This will therefore add roughly $15MM to their tax bill this year on top of the money going to Realmuto himself.

Realmuto had a fairly quiet market but was connected to the Red Sox at one point. With Realmuto and Danny Jansen signed, the top remaining catcher free agents include Victor Caratini, Jonah Heim and others.

Ken Rosenthal and Matt Gelb of The Athletic first reported the two sides were close. Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Robert Murray of FanSided reported the agreement was in place and provided specifics of the contract. Photos courtesy of Kyle Ross, Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

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