Martín Pérez Declines Mutual Option With White Sox
The White Sox announced that left-hander Martín Pérez has declined his end of a $10MM mutual option for 2026. He will take a $1.5MM buyout and return to free agency. The Sox also announced that they triggered their club option on outfielder Luis Robert Jr., a decision that was previously reported.
Pérez, 35 in April, is coming off a mostly lost season. He signed with the Sox in January, a $5MM guarantee in the form of a $3.5MM salary for 2025 plus the aforementioned buyout on the mutual option. He made just four starts before elbow inflammation put him on the injured list. He was diagnosed with a flexor strain and didn’t return to the club until August. He finished the year with a 3.54 earned run average in 56 innings.
Given that he’s now one year older and is coming off a less impressive walk year, he should have less earning power compared to last offseason. That makes it somewhat surprising that he is turning down his end of the option. Perhaps he figured the club was going to turn him down anyway, so he proactively walked away and therefore avoided the awkward situation in which he would trigger his end but then be rejected by the team.
He will now return to free agency and look for his next opportunity. His 19.3% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate in 2025 weren’t especially impressive but he’s never been a huge strikeout guy. He at least finished the season healthy and could get another deal to serve as a veteran back-end guy in 2026.
The White Sox currently project to have a fairly inexperienced rotation. Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Grant Taylor, Yoendrys Gómez and Jonathan Cannon are some of the best options currently on the roster but no one in that group has more than 256 big league innings. Perhaps the Sox and Pérez could reunite but both parties will now be able to explore alternatives.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Brewers Announce Three Option Decisions
The Brewers announced decisions on three options decisions today. First baseman Rhys Hoskins and left-hander Jose Quintana both had mutual options declined and are now free agents. The club also turned down a club option on catcher William Contreras, who remains under club control via arbitration.
Contreras, 28 in December, qualified for arbitration for the first time a year ago. He and the Brewers couldn’t agree on his salary for 2025, his first of three arb years, prior to the January 15th filing deadline. Late in January, they avoided a hearing by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option. It was a $6.1MM guarantee in the form of a $6MM salary for 2025 and a $100K buyout on a $12MM club option for 2026.
In the season which just ended, Contreras still put up decent numbers but he played through a finger fracture and wasn’t quite at his previous level. His .260/.355/.399 line translated to a 113 wRC+, indicating he was 13% above league average, but he was 26-39% better than par in the three previous seasons.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Contreras for $11.1MM in his second arbitration season, a bit below the value of the club option. Presumably, Milwaukee’s internal projections are somewhat similar. They will give Contreras the $100K buyout for now. Later, they will try to get him signed for his second arbitration season with a salary below $12MM, therefore saving a few bucks.
The other two decisions were more straightforward. Mutual options are mostly an accounting measure designed to move part of the guarantee to the end of the deal. It’s been more than a decade since a mutual option was exercised by both parties.
Hoskins, 33 in March, signed with the Brewers going into the 2024 season. He had missed the entire 2023 campaign due to a torn ACL. It was a two-year deal with an opt-out halfway through. He would make $12MM in 2024 with a $4MM buyout on an $18MM player option, followed by an $18MM mutual option for 2026 with a $4MM buyout.
Ideally, Hoskins would have returned to form before heading back to free agency, but it didn’t play out that way. He hit .214/.303/.419 in 2024. That translated to a 101 wRC+, indicating he was barely above average. That wasn’t awful but also wasn’t good enough for a guy who isn’t an especially strong defender or baserunner. He triggered his player option and returned to Milwaukee for 2025.
His bat ticked up slightly this year, as he hit .237/.332/.416 for a 109 wRC+, but he missed about two months with a sprained left thumb. He got Wally Pipped by Andrew Vaughn while he was out and was left off the club’s playoff roster.
The Brewers will move on while Hoskins will look for a new opportunity elsewhere. His reputation should be enough for a major league deal but his age and recent performance will likely limit him to one-year deals.
Quintana, 37 in January, lingered in free agency last offseason. The Brewers grabbed him in March, signing him to a one-year deal with a $4MM guarantee. That broke down as a $2MM salary and a $2MM buyout on a $15MM mutual option.
The lefty had a decent year, making 24 starts with a 3.96 earned run average, though he worked around a subpar 16% strikeout rate. His .259 batting average on balls in play was on the low side, which is why measures like his 4.81 FIP and 5.04 SIERA feel his ERA should have been about a full run higher. He’ll take his buyout and look for his next opportunity. Despite the low strikeouts, a solid veteran innings eater like Quintana will still be in line for a major league deal.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, Imagn Images
Rockies Decline Mutual Option On Kyle Farmer
The Rockies have declined their end of a $4MM mutual option on infielder Kyle Farmer for the 2026 season, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports. Farmer will instead get a $750K buyout and head into free agency.
The decision is not a surprise. Farmer, 35, has long been a glove-first utility guy in the majors. The Rockies signed him just under a year ago to provide a veteran boost to their young infield. The deal guaranteed him $3.25MM in the form of a $2.5MM salary plus the aforementioned $750K option buyout.
Farmer got into 97 games for Colorado this year, stepping to the plate 300 times. He slashed .227/.280/.365 for a wRC+ of 65. Even though he’s never been a huge threat at the plate, that was a drop from the .250/.310/.391 line and 89 wRC+ he carried into the year.
The Rockies, with no current front office leader, have made the easy decision to move on. They could perhaps bring Farmer back to serve as a multi-positional bench piece again, but they will have a few months to consider other available options as well. Farmer will look for his next opportunity, which could be a minor league deal or a major league pact at a lower price point.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
Braves Release Nathan Wiles
The Braves have released right-hander Nathan Wiles, according to Lindsay Crosby of the Braves Today podcast. The righty will become a free agent once he clears release waivers, if he hasn’t already.
Wiles, 27, came to Atlanta’s organization in a trade from the Rays back in March. He was added to Atlanta’s 40-man roster on April 22nd and tossed one inning that day, allowing three earned runs in his major league debut. He was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett the next day. He was recalled a few times over the remainder of the season but was always optioned back down without making an appearance, so he still has just the one big league game on his track record.
Throughout his time in the minors, he has generally produced cromulent results without a ton of strikeouts but also without many free passes. Over 438 minor league innings in his career, he has allowed 4.48 earned runs per nine with a 21% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate. That includes 112 2/3 innings in 2025 over 19 starts and six relief appearances with a 3.04 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate.
This release frees up a roster spot for Atlanta. RosterResource pegs the club for a 40-man count of 37, once all free agents officially hit the open market and guys are reinstated from the injured list. They have club options on Chris Sale, Tyler Kinley, Ozzie Albies and Pierce Johnson, so they’ll need to open one more spot if they plan to pick up all those options. They will presumably want to add some players before the Rule 5 protection deadline, in addition to signing free agents or making trade acquisitions, so more moves may be over the horizon. Wiles, meanwhile, will look for his next opportunity.
Photo courtesy of Jordan Godfree, Imagn Images
Braves Name Walt Weiss New Manager
The Braves have a new manager and it’s an internal hire. The club announced today that Walt Weiss is the club’s new skipper. Weiss has been the club’s bench coach for many years but now gets a chance to take on a bigger role. Weiss reportedly signed a three-year contract with an option for 2029.
Weiss, 61, played in the majors from 1987 to 2000. The final three seasons of his playing career were spent in Atlanta. After hanging up his spikes, he pivoted into other roles with the Rockies, first as a special advisor to the front office. He then moved into the manager’s chair and was the skipper in Colorado for four years, beginning in 2013. The club had a losing record in all four of those campaigns, finishing each with between 66 and 75 wins, before Weiss resigned.
Going into the 2018 season, Atlanta hired Weiss to the bench coach position, working as top lieutenant to manager Brian Snitker. That was actually a few days before it was reported that Alex Anthopoulos would be the club’s new front office leader. Atlanta had been rebuilding for the previous few years but they emerged as contenders in that 2018 campaign. They went 90-72, their first of what would eventually be six straight National League East division titles. They won the World Series in 2021.
After the 2022 season, Weiss got some reported interest from the Marlins for their managerial vacancy, though he turned down an interview request. He stayed in Atlanta, continuing to work under Snitker. Snitker announced about a month ago, just before his 70th birthday, that he would not be returning for another season as manager. The club kept their managerial search pretty close to the vest, leading mostly to speculation about who might replace Snitker.
Weiss will now be tasked with turning the club around after a rough patch. After those aforementioned six straight division titles, they slipped to second place and a Wild Card berth last year. Here in 2025, they dropped all the way down to 76 wins and a fourth-place finish.
Expectations will continue to be high, as there is still a lot of talent on the roster. The poor results in 2025 involved several notable injuries and a PED suspension for Jurickson Profar. The club still has a core featuring Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Chris Sale and many others. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will surely look to bolster the club for a return to form in 2026.
Anthopoulos has surely gotten to know Weiss well over the past eight years and feels he is the man to skipper the club back to greatness. What remains to be seen is if Weiss will shake up the coaching staff, but hiring a new bench coach to replace himself should be one item on the to-do list.
David O’Brien of The Athletic reported the three-year deal with the option. Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series. They aren't losing any major contributors to free agency, so they'll go into the winter with a really strong roster and the ability to bolster it further.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH: $560MM through 2033 ($68MM of salary deferred annually)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP: $260MM through 2035 (deal includes multiple opt-out chances, beginning after 2029 or any season in which he is traded)
- Mookie Betts, SS: $235MM through 2032 (includes $40MM of signing bonus still to be paid out; $10MM of salary deferred annually in 2026-27, $11MM annually 2028-32)
- Blake Snell, LHP: $104MM through 2029 ($13.2MM of salary deferred annually; deal includes conditional club option for 2030)
- Will Smith, C: $83.45MM through 2033 ($5MM of salary is deferred annually)
- Tyler Glasnow, RHP: $81.5625MM through 2028 (2028 is either $21.5625MM player option or $30MM club option)
- Tanner Scott, LHP: $56MM through 2028 (includes $15MM of signing bonus still to be paid out; $5.25MM of salary deferred annually; deal includes 2029 conditional option)
- Freddie Freeman, 1B: $54MM through 2027 ($12MM of salary deferred annually)
- Tommy Edman, IF/OF: $52MM through 2029 (includes $3MM buyout on $13MM club option for 2030; $6.25MM of salary deferred annually)
- Teoscar Hernández, OF: $33MM through 2027 (includes $6.5MM buyout on $15MM club option; deal also includes conditional 2029 option; $8MM of salary deferred annually)
- Blake Treinen, RHP: $13.5MM through 2026 (includes $2.5MM of signing bonus still to be paid out)
- Hyeseong Kim, IF/OF: $9MM through 2027 (including $1.5MM buyout of $10MM two-year club option for 2028-29)
Other Financial Commitments
- Owe $4MM buyout to released IF/OF Chris Taylor
Option Decisions
- Team has $10MM club option on 3B Max Muncy with no buyout
- Team has $3.65MM club option on LHP Alex Vesia with $50K buyout (Vesia would remain controllable via arbitration even if option is declined)
2026 guarantees (assuming both options are picked up): $283.15MM ($127.7MM deferred)
Total future commitments: $1.559 billion ($792.55MM deferred)
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Brusdar Graterol (5.167): $2.8MM
- Tony Gonsolin (5.152): $5.4MM
- Evan Phillips (5.136): $6.1MM
- Alex Vesia (5.078): $4.1MM (Dodgers hold a $3.65MM club option with a $50K buyout)
- Anthony Banda (4.135): $1.7MM
- Brock Stewart (4.093): $1.4MM
- Ben Rortvedt (3.135): $1.3MM
- Michael Grove (3.031): $800K
- Alex Call (2.161): $1.5MM
Non-tender candidates: Graterol, Gonsolin, Phillips, Banda, Stewart, Rortvedt, Grove
Free Agents
- Clayton Kershaw (retiring), Michael Conforto, Kirby Yates, Enrique Hernández, Miguel Rojas, Michael Kopech
The Dodgers have a strong willingness to bet on talent and not worry so much about injury concerns. That is partly due to their almost unlimited budget, which allows them to take risks other clubs may not be able to afford. It's also because the lineup is so good that they are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs each year, which gives them the wiggle room to let their players get healthy as opposed to rushing them back during the regular season.
This has led to some inconsistency in how things end up when October rolls around. In 2023, they were so banged up that they were swept out of the ALDS by the Diamondbacks. In 2024, the Dodgers had just enough of a rotation to win the title. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler were the three traditional starters as the club relied heavily on the bullpen. In 2025, that flipped. The bullpen had been stripped down by injuries but the rotation had Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani all healthy. Manager Dave Roberts tried to avoid his traditional relievers as much as possible. He often allowed his starters to pitch deep into games. In Game Seven of the World Series, he used all four of Ohtani, Glasnow, Snell and Yamamoto.
Going into 2026, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Dodgers target more pitching, but the rotation is actually in good shape. The four starters they were using in this year's playoffs are all healthy and under contract. Roki Sasaki wound up in the bullpen due to some shoulder trouble but he could be stretched back out next year. Guys like Emmet Sheehan, Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, Landon Knack, Bobby Miller and Justin Wrobleski worked both as starters and relievers in 2025 and could be in the mix for starts again next year. Each of Kyle Hurt, River Ryan and Gavin Stone spent 2025 recovering from surgery but should be factors next year. Top prospect Jackson Ferris now has 33 Double-A games under his belt and should be in Triple-A next year.
Nick Frasso finished 2025 hurt and his current status isn't clear. Tony Gonsolin will likely be non-tendered since he underwent internal brace surgery and will miss at least the first half of 2026, though the Dodgers could afford to pay him and hope for a late-season return if they wanted to. Michael Grove missed all of 2025 due to shoulder surgery and could also be non-tendered, though he can still be controlled for three more seasons.
However it plays out, it's an impressive collection of talent, even with Clayton Kershaw retiring. The club has been very active in adding pitching in recent offseasons. After their aforementioned rough ending in 2023, they added Ohtani. However, he wasn't an immediate upgrade to the staff since he was recovering from surgery at the time, so they also added Glasnow and Yamamoto. Coming into this year, they signed Snell.
With the depth suddenly looking overwhelming, the Dodgers may not be as aggressive on the free agent starting pitching market. In fact, there are so many names on the chart that they could probably trade some away, though they could also opt to hold and just have lots of depth on hand for the inevitable injuries that will arise.
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Giants Decline Club Option On Tom Murphy
The Giants have turned down their $4MM club option on catcher Tom Murphy. He will get a $250K buyout and become a free agent. Justice delos Santos of Mercury News was among those to pass the news along.
It’s one of the least surprising option decisions of the year. Ahead of the 2024 season, the Giants signed Murphy to a two-year, $8.25MM deal. He made a $4MM salary last year and this year, then could have made the same salary in 2026 if the Giants had picked up the option.
Murphy only played 13 games in 2024 and didn’t play at all this year. Last year, a left knee sprain was the culprit. This year, it was an oblique strain, or least that was the initial thought. In August, Murphy spoke with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and expressed frustration with the fact that his injury was actually herniated disk which was misdiagnosed. Even with the correct diagnosis, things didn’t get better, as a clinic recommended by the team initially treated the wrong disk.
Though it seems this situation was out of Murphy’s hands, he had an injury-prone reputation before becoming a Giant. He had generally hit well when healthy but had never played more than 97 games in a season and only twice had he even reached 50 games in a season. The signing was a bit of a gamble on him being healthy enough to be a viable backup but that clearly didn’t work out.
The Giants turning down their option was therefore the expected outcome. Presumably, Murphy will be focused on getting as strong and healthy as possible before looking for bounceback opportunities for the 2026 season. The Giants go into next year with Patrick Bailey as their primary backstop, with Andrew Knizner and Jesús Rodríguez also on the 40-man.
Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images
Rockies Turn Down Mutual Option With Thairo Estrada; Estrada Remains On Roster
The Rockies have turned down their end of a mutual option with infielder Thairo Estrada, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. For now, Estrada remains on the roster and the Rockies technically could retain him for 2026 via arbitration, though that seems unlikely.
Estrada, 30 in February, had some good seasons with the Giants. However, in 2024, he struggled enough to get outrighted off the roster midseason and became a free agent afterwards. The Rockies signed him to a one-year, $4MM contract coming into 2025. That broke down as a $3.25MM salary this year, followed by a $750K buyout on a $7MM mutual option.
If Estrada had bounced back to his 2021-23 levels, it would have been a nice buy-low move. Unfortunately, it turned into mostly a lost season. Estrada made separate trips to the injured list for a right wrist fracture, a sprained left thumb and a right hamstring strain. He only got into 39 games and slashed .253/.285/.370 for a wRC+ of 66.
Given that performance, the Rockies obviously weren’t going to crank up his salary by picking up the option. He does not automatically become a free agent, however, as he is still shy of six years of major league service. The Rockies could retain Estrada for 2026 via arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Estrada for a $3.8MM salary through the arbitration process.
Even at that price point, the Rockies are probably planning to move on, since Estrada is now coming off two straight years of struggle. If the Rockies don’t tender him a contract, he will become a free agent later in the offseason. He would then be looking for another bounceback opportunity, which could be a minor league deal or perhaps a modest major league pact.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
BBWAA Announces 2025 Awards Finalists
The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the finalists for the 2025 awards tonight. Those are top three vote getters (listed in alphabetical order) for the four biggest awards: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year. Winners will be revealed next week, as will each voter’s individual ballot.
MVP
American League
- Aaron Judge (Yankees)
- Cal Raleigh (Mariners)
- José Ramírez (Guardians)
National League
- Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
- Kyle Schwarber (Phillies)
- Juan Soto (Mets)
Cy Young
American League
- Hunter Brown (Astros)
- Garrett Crochet (Red Sox)
- Tarik Skubal (Tigers)
National League
- Cristopher Sánchez (Phillies)
- Paul Skenes (Pirates)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers)
Rookie of the Year
American League
- Roman Anthony (Red Sox)
- Nick Kurtz (Athletics)
- Jacob Wilson (Athletics)
National League
- Drake Baldwin (Braves)
- Caleb Durbin (Brewers)
- Cade Horton (Cubs)
Manager of the Year
American League
- John Schneider (Blue Jays)
- Stephen Vogt (Guardians)
- Dan Wilson (Mariners)
National League
- Terry Francona (Reds)
- Pat Murphy (Brewers)
- Rob Thomson (Phillies)
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The American League MVP race has been hotly debated for months and the arguments will probably continue for years after the award is given out. Judge has already won the award twice and he put up another monster season, hitting 53 home runs with a .331 batting average and .457 on-base percentage. Raleigh hit 60 home runs but his offense was otherwise a notch below Judge. Strictly based on the work done at the plate, Judge gets the edge. However, Raleigh’s performance is completely unprecedented for a catcher. It’s possible some voters give Raleigh the edge due to the extra work catchers have to do working with a pitching staff, on top of the wear-and-tear associated with the position.
Ohtani seems likely to repeat in the National League, given that he continued to hit at an elite rate and also returned to the mound this year. Skubal is expected to repeat as A.L. Cy Young winner, even though Crochet gave him a good run for his money this year. Skenes is generally considered the favorite in the N.L. Kurtz probably earned himself the hardware by launching 36 home runs. The N.L. Rookie of the Year race feels fairly wide open.
With awards voting, the Prospect Promotion Incentive has become a consideration in recent years. Brown has already earned the Astros an extra pick just by being a Cy Young finalist. Baldwin can also net Atlanta an extra pick, but only if he ultimately wins Rookie of the Year in the National League.
The awards will be announced as follows:
- Nov. 10: Rookie of the Year
- Nov. 11: Manager of the Year
- Nov. 12: Cy Young
- Nov. 13: MVP
Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images
Astros Receive PPI Pick For Hunter Brown’s Top Three Cy Young Finish
The Baseball Writers Association of America is announcing the finalists for the 2025 awards tonight. Astros right-hander Hunter Brown is one of the American League Cy Young finalists, alongside Tarik Skubal of the Tigers and Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox. Since Brown was eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive, the Astros will receive an extra pick after the first round of the 2026 draft.
The 2022-2026 collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA introduced measures to try to reduce service time manipulation. Previously, teams would often hold their top prospects down in the minors until a few weeks into the start of a season, thus gaining an extra year of club control over the player.
Under the new CBA, if a player is on two of the three top 100 prospect lists from Baseball America, ESPN and MLB Pipeline, then his club promotes him early enough in a season to earn a full service year, that player becomes PPI eligible. If the player wins Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top three of Cy Young or MVP voting in his pre-arbitration seasons, he earns the club an extra draft pick. Each player can only earn a club one extra pick total.
Brown got called up to the majors late in 2022 but maintained rookie status going into the following season, featuring prominently on top prospect lists. The Astros haven’t optioned him to the minors since then, so he’s been a mainstay on their roster for the past three full seasons. By being up for the full 2023 season, he became PPI eligible.
He has been PPI-eligible for the past three years but he didn’t receive any awards votes in 2023 or 2024. Here in 2025, he made 31 starts for Houston, logging 185 1/3 innings. He allowed only 2.43 earned runs per nine. His 28.3% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate were all above average.
He will likely finish third in the voting behind Skubal and Crochet but it’s enough for the Astros to get a bonus pick in 2026. That’s a nice bonus for them, as the club’s farm system isn’t especially well regarded at the moment.
Julio Rodríguez, Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson each earned their clubs bonus picks by winning Rookie of the Year. Bobby Witt Jr. didn’t win Rookie of the Year but earned the Royals an extra pick by finishing in the top three of MVP voting in 2024. Drake Baldwin is a finalist for National League Rookie of the Year in 2025 and can net Atlanta an extra pick if he ultimately wins the award.
Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images