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Pirates Hire Kristopher Negron, Tony Beasley To Coaching Staff

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The Pirates will be hiring Kristopher Negron as their new bench coach and Tony Beasley as the third base coach, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Negron has been on the Mariners’ coaching staff for the last four seasons, while Beasley returns to the Pirates organization after spending over a decade with the Rangers.

After concluding his six-year MLB playing career, Negron took on an assistant role in Seattle’s player development department in 2020 and then was the manager at Triple-A Tacoma in 2021.  He was then promoted to the big league staff as the first base coach before acting as the Mariners’ third base coach in 2025.

Negron (who turns 40 in February) now takes on his highest-profile coaching job yet, as Don Kelly’s chief lieutenant.  Kelly was Pittsburgh’s bench coach himself when he was promoted to the manager’s job in May when Derek Shelton was fired, and though Gene Lamont essentially filled the bench coach role in a capacity as an advisor to Kelly, the position wasn’t officially filled until now.

Beasley is a familiar face in Pittsburgh, having spent six seasons with the Bucs as a minor league player and then several seasons as a manager, coach, and instructor at both the minor and Major League levels.  Beasley’s previous stint on Pittsburgh’s MLB staff came in 2008-10, when was the club’s third base coach.

Once that stint ended, Beasley moved on to four years in the Nationals’ farm system as a manager and instructor before he joined the Rangers as their third base coach prior to the 2015 season.  Beasley’s time in Texas included a World Series ring with the 2023 team and a 48-game stint as interim manager in 2022 after Chris Woodward was fired.

Negron and Beasley are the latest new faces on a revamped Pittsburgh coaching staff, as Bill Murphy was also hired as the new pitching coach a few weeks ago.  The Pirates liked enough of what they saw from Kelly to give him a contract extension at season’s end, and the skipper is now apparently getting some input in reshaping his staff.  In a sense there’s nowhere to go but up for a team that has endured seven straight losing seasons, and still hasn’t gotten out of rebuild mode despite the presence of Paul Skenes and an overall enviable amount of pitching depth.

Mariners Looking To Retain 2025 Roster, Add Bullpen Help

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After winning the AL West and reaching Game 7 of the ALCS, it isn’t surprising that the Mariners are looking to stick with a successful formula.  That means “ideally keeping as much of the group that we had last year, that we really believed in, together,” general manager Justin Hollander told the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish and other reporters at the GM Meetings this week.

“Our offseason is largely going to start with the guys who were on the team last year and try to bring as many back as possible,” Hollander said, with the M’s “then filling in the rest of the roster as required.”  To this end, Hollander said the team has been in contact with the agents for their six free agents — Josh Naylor, Jorge Polanco, Eugenio Suarez, Caleb Ferguson, Luke Jackson, and Mitch Garver.

“I think they know how we feel, and don’t really believe in progress or no progress,” Hollander said.  “When you get to a deal, you get to a deal, but I think everybody’s aware of where we’re at right now and that we do have interest, and we’ll just keep playing it day by day until we can get deals or have to pivot elsewhere.”

Hollander naturally didn’t give any hints about the details of these negotiations, though logic would dictate that the Mariners won’t be re-signing all six players.  The M’s have been open about their desire to retain Naylor, so the common belief is that Naylor and Polanco are the most likely internal free agents to re-up for new contracts, while the other four will probably be playing elsewhere in 2026.

The potential departures of Ferguson and Jackson coincide with Seattle’s desire to add to its bullpen, which Hollander said was another “area of focus for us this offseason.”  Led by star closer Andres Munoz, the Mariners’ relief corps was more solid than a surefire plus in 2025, as the club’s collective 3.72 ERA (ninth of 30 teams) was undermined by control problems and middling strikeout numbers.  Beyond these numbers, Hollander also acknowledged “the realities that our high-leverage group just worked really hard for an extra month of the season.  We would be silly not to expect that to take a toll over time….Making the bullpen deeper and longer is important.”

Adding relief help of any kind is the priority, yet Divish feels the Mariners might make a point of adding a southpaw.  Gabe Speier is currently the only left-hander projected to be part of Seattle’s bullpen, and minor leaguers Jhonathan Diaz and Tayler Saucedo are the only other southpaws on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.

Tatsuya Imai To Be Posted For MLB Teams This Offseason

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The Saitama Seibu Lions announced (Japanese language link) on their official team website that they have accepted Tatsuya Imai’s request to be posted to Major League teams.  Once Imai is officially posted, he’ll have 45 days to work out a contract with a big league team, or else he’ll return to the Lions for the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball season.

It has been over two months since reports first surfaced about the likelihood of Imai’s availability this winter, and today’s news officially confirms the three-time NPB All-Star as one of the most intriguing arms of the 2025-26 free agent class.  Imai has a 3.15 ERA over 963 2/3 career innings with the Lions, with a 22.31% strikeout rate and a 11.52% walk rate.  While that career walk rate is on the high side, Imai has reduced that number in each of his last four seasons, and he had a very solid 7.02% walk rate over 163 2/3 innings in 2025.

Imai is only 27, and doesn’t turn 28 until May.  Between his age and an intriguing four-pitch arsenal (headlined by a fastball in the 95-99mph range and a plus slider), there’s a lot to like in terms of how Imai’s success in NPB might translate against Major League hitters.  This upside led MLBTR to place Imai seventh on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and we’re predicting a six-year, $150MM deal even though some evaluators feel Imai projects as a back-end starter or even as a reliever in the majors.

Imai qualifies for full free agency next offseason, so the Lions may feel that they can at least earn some money back via a posting fee by letting Imai go now rather than 12 months from now.  As per the terms of the MLB-NPB posting system, any Major League team that reaches an agreement with Imai will owe the Lions a staggered fee depending on the size of the deal, and on any future earnings (i.e. options, bonuses, etc.) attached to that initial contract.

The Lions will get 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the contract’s next $25MM, and 15% of any money above the $50MM mark.  So if Imai were to sign a deal matching MLBTR’s $150MM projection, his new team would owe the Lions a $24.375MM posting fee on top of Imai’s $150MM salary.

Lucas Giolito Wants To Return To Red Sox, Says He’s “Fully Healthy” After Late-Season “Freak Injury”

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After UCL surgery cost him the entire 2024 season, Lucas Giolito returned in 2025 to post solid results (3.41 ERA in 145 innings) in the Red Sox rotation before the injury bug arose just prior to the start of Boston’s Wild Card Series with the Yankees.  Right flexor irritation and a bone issue kept Giolito off the playoff roster and unable to do anything besides watch as the Sox were eliminated in three games.

Adding to Giolito’s frustration was the fact that after getting the diagnosis and beginning some rehab work, “within three days, my elbow felt 100 percent fine again,” the right-hander told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford on the latest edition of the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast (partial transcript here).  With no UCL damage discovered and the inflammation subsided, Giolito planned to quickly start a throwing program with the intention of returning later in the playoffs, except Boston’s run was cut short early.

As the offseason and Giolito’s free agency now begins, he said that is now “fully healthy,” even though he understands the complications that bought on by his late flexor issue.  He said he is “happy to prove that I’m fully healthy in any way possible” to any skeptical front offices, and that the injury is completely behind him.

“There’s no injury, or whatever injury there was is gone.  It was a weird, freak thing that popped up at the worst possible time, not only for the Red Sox but for myself and in general,” Giolito said.  “Just the worst possible time.  It makes my free agency harder.  It prevented me from pitching in the playoffs where I had been a part of the rotation pretty much the entire year.  It was just a very, very tough one to swallow.  I still don’t like thinking about it.”

Giolito signed a two-year, $38.5MM deal with the Red Sox during the 2023-24 offseason that broke down as an $18MM salary for 2024 and then a player option for a $19MM salary in 2025.  Giolito’s internal brace procedure made it an easy call for him to exercise that $19MM option and remain in his Sox contract, and remaining in the deal also added a club option for 2026 worth at least $14MM.  Since Giolito then tossed at least 140 innings in 2025, the club option was converted to a $19MM mutual option with a $1.5MM buyout, giving Giolito the right to test free agency again if he declined his end of the mutual option.

That is exactly what happened earlier this week, and Giolito finds himself on the open market again.  He doesn’t have the qualifying offer attached to his services since the Sox didn’t issue him the one-year, $22.025MM offer.  Giolito told Bradford that he didn’t expect the QO due to his injury: “You end of the year hurt, it puts a bad taste in the team’s mouth.  It is what it is.  Now, the fortunate side is that it was like the most benign, weird, freak injury that went away after a few days.  So, now I’m like, great.  I’m having a fully healthy, amazing offseason.”

Sour ending notwithstanding, Giolito still viewed his 2025 campaign as “really, really positive” given his own success and Boston’s success in returning to the playoffs.  He is also hoping for an encore performance at Fenway Park in 2026 and beyond.

“I made it clear to everybody. I would love to come back here and continue to play for the Red Sox.  It’s the most fun I have ever had having a season with a team in the big leagues,” Giolito said.  “I felt like the way it ended left such a bad taste in my mouth, and the rest of the team, particularly me not being able to pitch in that playoff series.  It really sucked.  I was like I really hope I can come back, and it goes better for us next time.”

MLBTR ranked Giolito 27th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected the right-hander to land a two-year, $32MM contract.  There was a bit of flexibility within that projection since some teams may feel comfortable enough in Giolito’s health to add a club/vesting option for a third year, or perhaps even just a fully guaranteed third year.

This mid-range price tag should put Giolito on the radar for a lot of clubs, and a return to Boston certainly seems plausible since the Sox are still in need of pitching.  The expectation is that the Red Sox will pursue a frontline arm to team with Garrett Crochet atop the rotation, but adding this hypothetical ace and Giolito would only deepen the rotation and make the Sox better equipped for a longer postseason run.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

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Mark P

  • It’s the first official Weekend Chat of the 2025-26 offseason! Let’s take a minute for some questions to roll in, and then get….uh, rolling

John

  • Has the window to trade Coby Mayo closed?

Mark P

  • It’ll take a lot more than 340 plate appearances before the Orioles (or other teams) decide that the Mayo has gone bad.  Mayo started to hit a lot better in September, indicating perhaps that he was starting to figure it out against MLB pitching.
  • If the O’s did want to move Mayo for a more proven talent, there would be plenty of takers

Guest

  • Do the Jays sign any of their FAs?

Mark P

  • They already kinda have, if you count Bieber as a free agent.  And I think we all did, since nobody had Bieber passing on the opt-out on our bingo cards.

    Bringing back one of Scherzer or Bassitt is a possibility.  IKF/France/Dominguez are all likely gone, with Dominguez maybe the only one who’d draw some interest for a reunion since the Jays still need relief help.  Of course Bichette is the big question, and his choice will determine the rest of Toronto’s offseason

Armand

  • what happens first a big free agent signing or a big trade?

Mark P

  • Trade.  I guess it’s a matter of what you’d consider a “big” signing or trade, but most of the top free agents will wait a while to gauge their offers.  A larger trade could technically happen at any time.

Oz

  • What is your opinion of the Braves decision to not pick up the options on Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley?

Mark P

  • Pretty surprised, since when I wrote the Atlanta offseason outlook, I saw it as basically a foregone conclusion that both would be retained.
  • The Braves could pursue a reunion at a lower price tag with either pitcher, but seemingly just in the name of saving some money, declining both options left the Braves with even more to address in their pen

Guest

  • Chris Sale extension for ATL?

Mark P

  • Possible, but the Braves might’ve already been learned their lesson about committing extra money to a pitcher with Sale’s injury history.

Bart G.

  • You said “Mayo has gone bad” on purpose! I saw you!

Mark P

  • I swear I’m not trying to steal Jacob Wysocki’s thunder as Mr. Mayo

HARRIS

  • Without a doubt my staff is thin. how much grace and goodwill would I recover after last summers debacle would I achieve if I sign J.V. for the back end of the rotation. we can certainly afford the 10-11 mill I believe. I mean I gave Cobb 15 and got nothing. Smart move for the club and the fan base?

Mark P

  • (The name refers to Tigers PBO Scott Harris, btw)

    A Verlander reunion would make a lot of sense for both the Tigers and presumably JV himself if he wants to pitch for a clear-cut contender.  It’d be such a fun storyline to see Verlander try and complete some unfinished business in winning Detroit a ring

Read more

Giants “Briefly Considered” Patrick Bailey Trade At Deadline

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The Giants were 2-12 in the 14 games leading up to the trade deadline, a cold stretch that convinced the team to deal away some impending free agents (i.e. Tyler Rogers, Mike Yastrzemski) and a controllable asset in Camilo Doval.  According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants also “briefly considered” the possibility of trading another notable player under longer-term control — catcher Patrick Bailey.

The way Rubin phrases the club’s thought process could mean that the Giants front office was simply doing due diligence in assessing its trade chips heading into the deadline, or perhaps another team made an interesting enough offer to at least get Buster Posey and company mulling the idea.  “There isn’t a strong motivation to trade” Bailey, Rubin writes, which makes sense given Bailey’s defensive excellence and pre-arbitration status.

Bailey was the 13th overall pick of the 2020 draft, and his emergence and Joey Bart’s struggles led the Giants to opt for Bailey as the team’s proverbial “catcher of the future.”  Through three Major League seasons, Bailey has hit only .230/.287/.340 over 1253 plate appearances, but he has won the last two Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible Awards for his superb glovework.  In addition to his latest Fielding Bible Award, Sports Info Solutions also named Bailey the defensive player of the year in all of baseball for the 2025 season.

Bailey fell just a couple of days short of Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility.  As a result, his first trip through the arb process won’t come until next winter, and he isn’t eligible for free agency until the 2029-30 offseason.  There’s no rush for San Francisco to move the 26-year-old, and trading Bailey would then leave the Giants trying to find a new backstop within a thin catching market.

Creating a new roster need probably doesn’t appeal too much to the Giants, whose offseason to-do lists includes a focus on both starting and relief pitching, plus right field or second base as areas of concern around the diamond.  That said, Rubin suggests the incoming Automated Ball-Strike challenge system might give the team some reason to move Bailey before the ABS system is implemented next season.  While Bailey is a strong all-around defensive catcher, his elite framing skills are his bread-and-butter, and Bailey’s ability to frame pitches (and steal strikes) could be hampered now that opponents are allowed to challenge umpire calls.

It remains to be seen exactly how the ABS system will impact day-to-day play in the majors, though we’ve already seen the system in use at the Triple-A level over the last four seasons, and big leaguers got a taste at last year’s Spring Training and in the All-Star Game.  It may be that the effect on Bailey or other excellent framers will be relatively minimal, though it could be argued that anything that diminishes his glovework has an outsized impact on his overall value, since Bailey isn’t providing anything at the plate.

San Francisco’s catching position should get some attention anyway this winter since the team might non-tender Andrew Knizner, creating the need for a new backup.  The Giants are likely to bring in a veteran or two to compete for the job in Spring Training, plus Jesus Rodriguez is an internal candidate for the role.  Rodriguez was one of the four prospects acquired from the Yankees for Doval, and Rubin notes that Rodriguez would’ve made his MLB debut with the Giants last year if Rodriguez hasn’t been set back by a shoulder injury.

Steve Hargan Passes Away

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Former big league right-hander and All-Star Steve Hargan passed away last week at age 83.  Hargan pitched with the Indians, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Braves from 1965-77, posting a 3.92 ERA over 1632 innings and 354 career games (215 of them starts).

The first eight of Hargan’s 12 MLB seasons were spent in Cleveland, where he worked as both a starter and a reliever in his first two years before gaining a firm rotation foothold in 1967.  That breakout campaign saw Hargan post a 2.62 ERA and a league-leading six shutouts over 223 innings, and Hargan was named to the AL All-Star team for the first and only time in his career.  Hargan also hit his only career home run on June 19, 1967, in a rare instance of a pitcher hitting a walkoff homer — the righty capped off a complete-game victory over the Kansas City Athletics with a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth to give the Indians a 4-2 win.

Unfortunately, Hargan developed bone chips in his throwing elbow and underwent an ulnar nerve surgery in 1968.  As Hargan told SABR’s Gregory H. Wolf, “I was able to continue on with my career, but I wasn’t the same after that,” and Hargan felt he returned too quickly from his surgery.  Apart from some success in the second half of the 1970 season, Hargan’s numbers dropped off during the remainder of his time in Cleveland, resulting in both the loss of his rotation job and a 1973 season spent entirely in the minor leagues.

A trade to Texas helped Hargan gain a fresh start in his career, and he had a 3.81 ERA over 500 1/3 innings (starting 61 of 105 games) with the Rangers from 1974-76.  Taken by the Blue Jays in the expansion draft, Hargan pitched for Toronto during the team’s inaugural season but also bounced back to Texas and then to Atlanta in 1977, which ended up being Hargan’s last year of Major League action.  Carpal tunnel syndrome bothered Hargan late in his career, and after spending 1978 in the minors, he decided to retire.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Hargan’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Royals Sign Connor Kaiser To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced that Connor Kaiser has been signed to a minor league contract.  Kaiser was outrighted off the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster two days ago and he then elected free agency, so it was a short stay on the open market for the infielder.

Kaiser is a local product who was born in nearby Overland Park and he played his high school ball in Stilwell, Kansas.  A contract with his hometown team is a nice early birthday gift for Kaiser (who turns 29 on November 20) and perhaps an opportunity to win a bench job in Spring Training.  His primary position of shortstop is obviously covered by Bobby Witt Jr., but Kaiser has experience at all four infield spots, and could work himself into the Royals’ uncertain second base picture.

A third-round pick for the Pirates in the 2018 draft, Kaiser’s MLB resume consists of three games with the Rockies in 2023, and 11 games with the Diamondbacks last season.  Arizona signed Kaiser to a minors contract last winter and he got some playing time in the Show after the D’Backs dealt away starters Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor at the trade deadline, and after Lourdes Gurriel Jr. suffered a torn ACL at the start of September.  Kaiser’s brief stint saw him record his first two career big league hits, but his career slash line over 23 plate appearances is only .091/.130/.136.

Over 1006 career PA at the Triple-A level, Kaiser has hit .230/.347/.378 with 21 homers and 23 steals (in 28 attempts).  These modest numbers are diminished a bit more given that most of Kaiser’s Triple-A career has been spent in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.  Known as a strong fielder, Kaiser’s defense and versatility may be the keys to whatever playing time he ends up earning with the Royals in 2026, though it helps that he has all three minor league options remaining.

Giants Part Ways With Coaches Garvin Alston, Damon Minor; Pat Burrell “Unlikely” To Return To MLB Staff

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The Giants’ coaching staff continues to be overhauled, as Shayna Rubin and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle report that assistant hitting coach Damon Minor and bullpen coach Garvin Alston won’t be part of the 2026 staff.  Hitting coach Pat Burrell is also “unlikely to be part of the major league staff” but he’ll remain in the organization in another capacity.

Alston has been the bullpen coach for the last two seasons, and was pitching coach for the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate from 2021-23.  Prior to arriving in San Francisco, Alston was the Twins’ pitching coach in 2018, a bullpen coach for the Diamondbacks in 2016 and the Athletics in 2017, and worked with the A’s in a variety of different minor league coaching and coordinator roles from 2005-15.

Minor will leave his role after just one season, but his time in the Giants’ organization stretches back a full decade due to nine years as the hitting coach at Triple-A Sacramento.  It isn’t known if Minor could also be retained in a different capacity, or if the Giants are moving on entirely.

Assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard will be the only member of the hitting coach trio remaining if Burrell also departs.  “Pat The Bat” was the first overall pick of the 1998 draft, and his 12-year playing career concluded with two seasons with the Giants (and a championship ring as part of their 2010 World Series squad).  Post-retirement, he remained with the Giants as a special assignment scout and then as a hitting coach with A-level San Jose beginning in the 2020 season.

San Francisco batters hit a collective .235/.311/.386 in 2025, with a 97 wRC+ that ranked 17th of 30 big league teams.  The Giants similarly finished below the league average in all three slash line categories, as well as 19th in home runs (173).  While the challenges of hitting at Oracle Park are well-known, a lot more was expected from a Giants lineup that added Willy Adames last winter, and Rafael Devers at midseason.

Bottom-line numbers aren’t always the reason why a team might be inspired to make a coaching change, yet the Giants’ decision to part ways with Alston is unusual since the team’s bullpen was a strength in 2025.  Even after Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers were dealt at the trade deadline, San Francisco still finished the season with the fourth-best bullpen ERA (3.48) in baseball.  One weak point, however, was the bullpen’s lack of strikeouts, as the relief corps’ 21% strikeout rate ranked 25th in the league.  This isn’t necessarily a strike again Alston’s work, of course, and if anything it could be viewed as a positive that he was able to get strong results out of a pen that didn’t miss many bats.

A managerial change usually leads to changes on the coaching end, so it isn’t too surprising that a lot of new personnel will be joining Tony Vitello as fresh faces in the San Francisco dugout.  Burrell, Minor, and Alston join J.P. Martinez, Ryan Christenson, and Matt Williams as coaches departing the staff.  Martinez is going from the Giants’ pitching coach to a bullpen coach job with the Braves, and Christenson is going from being the Giants’ bench coach to becoming the Athletics’ new first base coach.  In terms of incoming coaches, Jayce Tingler is the only new coach known to be joining the Giants’ ranks to date, with Tingler’s role yet to be revealed.

Diamondbacks Sign Aramis Garcia To Minors Contract

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The Diamondbacks have re-signed catcher Aramis Garcia to a new minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Presumably the new contract contains an invitation for Garcia to attend Arizona’s big league Spring Training camp, just like the previous minors deal Garcia signed with the D’Backs almost exactly one year ago.

Gabriel Moreno’s hand injury last June opened the door for Garcia to twice have his contract selected to the Diamondbacks’ active roster, though both of those promotions were soon followed by Garcia being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster.  Garcia had the right to elect free agency after either of those outrights but he chose to remain in the organization on both occasions.  He also was on track for minor league free agency once the season was over, but his time on the open market was pretty short, as he’ll now head back to the Diamondbacks.

Garcia’s time on the big league roster saw him appear in just two games in 2025, and he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his only four plate appearances.  Between not playing in the majors at all in 2023 and going hitless in seven PA (over three games) with the Phillies in 2024, it has now been over three years since Garcia’s last MLB hit, which speaks to his career path as a journeyman.  The catcher has hit .208/.245/.321 with 10 home runs over 331 career PA in the majors, suiting up with five different teams at the MLB level (and three more at the minor league level) since Garcia debuted during the 2018 season.

The D’Backs apparently liked what they saw from Garcia, both in his cups of coffee in the majors and in his more extended time at Triple-A Reno.  With the caveat that the Pacific Coast League is a very hitter-friendly environment, Garcia had an impressive .266/.385/.481 slash line in 296 PA for Reno in 2025.

As it stands right now, Moreno and Garcia are the only two catchers in Arizona’s organization with any big league playing experience, since James McCann is a free agent.  This makes Garcia the default as Moreno’s backup, but the Diamondbacks will surely add to their catching ranks between now and Spring Training, likely sending Garcia back to a Triple-A depth role once again.

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