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Red Sox Interested In Isaac Paredes; Astros Showing Interest In Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Mike Burrows

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With Framber Valdez now a free agent and the rotation still smarting from an injury-plagued season, the Astros are known to exploring the market for young, controllable starting pitching.  As per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, pitchers on Houston’s radar includes the Pirates’ Mike Burrows, and Red Sox left-handers Payton Tolle and Connelly Early.

Adding to the intrigue is Boston’s interest in Astros infielder Isaac Paredes, as Rosenthal writes that the Red Sox view Paredes as a candidate to play third base, or to cover first base if Alex Bregman re-signs with the team.  “Bregman still appears to be the Red Sox’s No. 1 target,” according to Rosenthal, but the Sox are casting a wide berth for other infield candidates in the event that Bregman signs elsewhere.

Paredes is projected for a $9.3MM salary via the arbitration process this winter, and he has one further year of arb control remaining as a Super Two player.  Between these two years of affordable control, Paredes’ ability to handle either corner infield slot as well as second base, and his potent bat makes him a valuable asset, though he has already been traded four times in his career, including twice within the last 18 months.  The Rays dealt Paredes to the Cubs at the 2024 deadline, and Chicago then included Paredes as part of the Kyle Tucker blockbuster last winter.

In his first season in Houston, Paredes spent two months on the injured list due to a severe hamstring strain, but mostly lived up to expectations by hitting .254/.352/.458 with 20 home runs over 438 plate appearances.  As such, Astros GM Dana Brown said last month that moving Paredes “would be weakening our lineup.  So right now, we have no interest in trading him.”

Of course, the “right now” left the door open, and the lure of one of Boston’s young southpaws could make the Astros more amendable to a trade.  Moving Paredes would have the side benefit of clearing some space within the crowded Houston infield, which has Paredes, Christian Walker, Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena, and Carlos Correa all lined up for four infield positions since the Astros are planning to primarily use Yordan Alvarez as the DH.  Dealing Paredes also shaves $9.3MM off of the payroll, freeing up more money for the Astros to address other needs.

Early and Tolle each made their MLB debuts in 2025.  A second-round pick in the 2024 draft, Tolle made it to the Show just 13 months after his draft date, thanks to some standout numbers at three different levels of Boston’s farm system.  It might have been a bit too much too soon for Tolle, as he posted a 6.06 ERA across his first 16 1/3 innings in the bigs, and the Sox soon transitioned him into a bullpen role both in September and for the Wild Card Series against the Yankees.

Early, a fifth-round pick from the 2023 draft, made the better first impression, delivering a 2.33 ERA, 46.7% grounder rate, 5.1% walk rate, and 36.1% strikeout rate across four starts and 19 1/3 innings.  Due in part to a lack of healthy rotation depth, the Red Sox even entrusted Early with the start in the pivotal Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, and the young southpaw was tagged for four runs (three earned) over 3 2/3 innings in a 4-0 New York victory that ended Boston’s season.

The Sox wouldn’t normally have much interest in moving either of these highly-touted young hurlers, and it might still be unlikely that either Tolle or Early are actually dealt.  However, the additions of Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo have added to Boston’s rotation depth, and those two pitchers now look set to join Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello as the top four in the projected rotation.  This leaves Tolle and Early as two of several pitchers (i.e. Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Kyle Harrison and more) competing for perhaps just one rotation job.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier and other reporters that the club had indeed received calls about their starters, as “I think teams have recognized that there’s appeal to controllable starting pitching.  If there are opportunities to use some of that depth in order to address other areas of the roster, we’d be willing to do it.”

The Red Sox and Pirates lined up on a notable pitching-for-hitting trade earlier this week, as Oviedo was the primary return heading to Boston while the Bucs picked up a promising young outfielder in Jhostynxon Garcia.  In the wake of that trade, Rosenthal wrote that Pittsburgh was still willing to discuss trading other starters besides Paul Skenes, and Pirates GM Ben Cherington said the same Monday at the Winter Meetings.

“We’ll have a high bar” for such trades, Cherington told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Colin Beazley and other reporters.  “Will more likely consider that if [the return is] something that’s coming back immediately into our lineup.  [We’re] also open to adding pitching.  We’re not only engaged on position players; we’re talking about adding pitching, too.  If we did trade a starter, [it] probably increases the motivation to add back to the pitching also.”

Moving Burrows could therefore be the first step in a chain reaction of moves for the Pirates, who are intent on upgrading their lineup this offseason.  This has manifested itself in a surprising pursuit of Kyle Schwarber and interest in other notable free agents and trade targets like Kazuma Okamoto, Ketel Marte, Brendan Donovan, Jorge Polanco, Ryan O’Hearn, and more.

Entering his age-26 season, Burrows still has less than a full year of MLB service time under his belt.  The right-hander made his big league debut in the form a single-game cup of coffee in 2024, and then posted a 3.94 ERA over 96 innings with Pittsburgh this year, starting 19 of his 23 appearances.  Burrows backed up his ERA with a solid 24.1% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

Over 291 1/3 innings in the Pirates’ farm system, Burrows had a 3.58 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate, and 9.18 BB%.  He missed big chunks of the 2023-24 seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery, which is probably why the righty hasn’t gotten as much attention as some of the other top-100 hurlers in the Pirates’ farm system.  This could conceivably make Burrows a little more available than the likes of Braxton Ashcraft or Thomas Harrington, though only the Bucs know how they’re internally ranking their various rotation candidates.

Scott Harris: No “Untouchables” On Tigers Roster

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Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris shared mostly generalities when speaking with the media on the first day of the Winter Meetings, reiterating that his club continues to look for starting and relief pitching, and wants “to try to find a way to improve our offense without blocking” some star position-player prospects in the minor league pipeline (i.e. Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark).

When asked about the persistent trade rumors surrounding Tarik Skubal, Harris unsurprisingly didn’t shed any light on whether or not the Tigers might leaning towards keeping or dealing the star left-hander.  What the executive did cover was his broad stance on trade discussions, and why he hasn’t outright stated that Skubal isn’t going anywhere before the pitcher is eligible for free agency next winter.

“I’ve been pretty clear since I’ve been here, I don’t believe in untouchables at any level,” Harris told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen and other reporters.  “So anyone in our organization, at any level.  It’s not a commentary on Tarik specifically.  Sort of a blanket team-building approach.  I think I can’t do my job without listening.  I can’t do my job without exploring anything that may or may not have legs.  Some are maybe very likely moves, and some are going to be extremely unlikely.  But you can’t actually fully vet those opportunities unless you are willing to listen.  So that’s how we’re doing it.”

It’s a logical position for a PBO to take, since you never know when a team might emerge with an outlandish trade offer that is too good to pass up.  Reports indicate that Skubal is unlikely to be dealt, both because the Tigers’ “asking prices are enormous” (as per ESPN’s Buster Olney) and because keeping Skubal atop the rotation obviously gives Detroit a much better chance of winning the World Series in 2026.

How the Tigers will build around Skubal in what might be his final year with the club remains to be seen.  Detroit has been linked to such prominent free agent or trade targets as Alex Bregman, Ranger Suarez, Michael King, Zac Gallen, Kenley Jansen, Pete Fairbanks, and Ketel Marte, though the team’s most significant new acquisition over the first month of the offseason is Drew Anderson’s one-year contract.  Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda are the only free agents to sign multi-year contracts over Harris’ three-plus years in change of the front office, with the two pitchers each signing for two years apiece.  (In Flaherty’s case, he picked up a player option for that second year rather than test free agency again.)

While the Tigers have made some bigger pursuits like their bid for Bregman last offseason, Motown fans won’t be satisfied about the team’s direction or its willingness to spend big until the Tigers actually land a major target.  As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal opined in a recent column, Harris’ cautious approach to trades or free agents doesn’t lend itself fully capitalizing on what might be a limited window of opportunity with Skubal on the roster.  There’s still plenty of time this winter or at the trade deadline for Detroit to add more top-tier talent, though it remains to be seen how aggressive the Tigers will be in these pursuits.

Braves, Pirates, Rockies Interested In Willi Castro

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Willi Castro entered free agency on a down note, as he hit only .170/.245/.240 over 110 plate appearances with the Cubs after Chicago acquired the utilityman from Minnesota at the trade deadline.  Despite the sour finish, Castro is still drawing attention from multiple teams, as ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reports that the Braves, Pirates, and Rockies are among the interested suitors.

Castro landed the final spot on MLBTR’s ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, with a prediction of a two-year, $14MM contract as Castro enters his age-29 season.  The multi-year pact reflects Castro’s extreme versatility as a player who has lined up at every position but catcher over his seven Major League seasons.  While Castro is an average defender at best, his ability to at least capably handle multiple spots around the diamond makes him a bit of a Swiss Army knife type and a very useful guy to have on a bench.

As evidenced by his time with the Twins, Castro was also capable of taking on a more regular role in the event of injuries to a starting player.  Castro hit .250/.335/.398 with 31 homers and 56 steals (out of 73 attempts) over 1388 plate appearances in a Twins uniform, and he has virtually even career splits as a switch-hitter.

Atlanta’s starting lineup is more or less set, apart from the question mark that is the shortstop position.  The Braves already picked up one utility player when Mauricio Dubon was acquired from the Astros, so Dubon and Castro could each get action at shortstop, or both could be mixed and matched all over the diamond as circumstances warrant.  President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has said his team prefers to rotate several players through the open DH spot, so Castro or Dubon could be utilized in the field whenever another regular is getting a DH day.  There has been speculation that Ozzie Albies could be a trade chip this winter, so it is possible more playing time might open up at the Braves’ second base position.

The Pirates’ position-player mix is a lot less settled, so Castro could conceivably be used all over the infield in timeshares with any of Nick Gonzales, Nick Yorke, or Jared Triolo.  If Castro can get his bat back to the slightly above-average level of production he showed in Minnesota, that will counts as an upgrade for a Bucs team in sore need of offensive help.  Because Castro can be moved all over the diamond, his acquisition also wouldn’t prevent Pittsburgh from seeking out further bats at basically any position.  At something in the neighborhood of $14MM, Castro is also inexpensive enough that even a budget-conscious team like the Pirates could afford a signing.

Colorado basically needs help everywhere coming off a 119-loss disaster of a season.  Ezequiel Tovar is the starting shortstop but Castro could be viewed as an everyday option at any of the other three infield positions, with second or third base probably more likely than regular duty at first base.  Installing Castro into the outfield mix could also make the Rockies more open to dealing from their current crop of outfielders.

Even if Castro is signed to a multi-year contract, the Rockies might look to flip him to a contender at the trade deadline in order to pick up a couple of prospects, as Minnesota did last summer.  The same deadline flip tactic could conceivably be employed by the Braves or Pirates as well, though these two teams have much higher hopes of contending in 2026 than the Rockies.

The Opener: Schwarber, Alonso, Draft Lottery

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Three things we’ll be keeping an eye on as the Winter Meetings continue in Orlando…

1. The Schwarber Watch continues

While most believe Kyle Schwarber will eventually re-sign with the Phillies, the veteran slugger continues to draw tons of interest from around the league.  The Mets are the latest team linked to Schwarber’s market, joining the Phillies and such other clubs as the Giants, Orioles, Red Sox, Pirates (who have made a four-year offer), and Reds (Schwarber’s hometown team).  ESPN’s Buster Olney, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, and other pundits have heard that Schwarber might be the first major position-player free agent to decide on a new team, so if Schwarber makes his choice during the Winter Meetings, that could open up more movement for other players.

2. Polar warning in Orlando

Pete Alonso will be among the free agents there in person at the Winter Meetings, taking the trip up from his Tampa-area home to meet with some of his suitors face to face.  The Mets are naturally familiar enough with Alonso that they won’t be meeting with their longtime slugger, but the Orioles and Red Sox are two of the clubs expected to sit down with Alonso to discuss a possible contract.  Given the overlap in their list of suitors, Alonso is one of the free agents who might particularly benefit if Schwarber signs fairly quickly, as plenty of hitting-needy teams may logically turn to Alonso as a power source.

3. Draft Lottery takes place

The fourth MLB Draft Lottery will be held today at 4:30PM CT, and 15 non-playoff teams are eligible to win a top-six selection in the 2026 draft.  (The 119-loss Rockies aren’t eligible because they won a lottery picks in each of the previous two drafts, and the Nationals and Angels aren’t eligible because teams that pay revenue-sharing funds can’t receive lottery picks in consecutive drafts.)

This leaves the White Sox with the best odds (27.73%) of landing the first overall pick, though as we’ve seen in the first three years of the draft lottery’s existence, the numbers don’t always work out as the chalk would suggest.  The Pirates were one of three teams with an equal share of the top odds when they won the 2022 lottery (and the chance to draft Paul Skenes in 2023), but the Guardians had only a two percent chance of winning when they got lucky in the 2023 lottery, and the Nationals had just the fourth-highest odds when they won last year’s lottery.  Beyond just the 1-1 pick, the lottery has led to plenty of shakeups within the top six, so teams with winning records like the Astros, Mets, or Royals still have an outside shot at a high first-round pick.

Braves Sign James Karinchak To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed right-hander James Karinchak to a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports.  Should Karinchak make Atlanta’s roster, he’ll earn $840K in guaranteed money, as per 7News Boston’s Ari Alexander.  He’s represented by Gaeta Sports Management.

Best known for his days as a strikeout artist in Cleveland’s bullpen, it has now been more than two years since Karinchak last pitched in a big league game.  His 2024 workload consisted of just 6 2/3 innings in the minors due to shoulder problems, and after the Guardians outrighted him and allowed Karinchak to enter free agency last winter, he landed with the White Sox on a minor league deal.  Karinchak posted a 2.45 ERA and a 28.1% strikeout rate over 29 1/3 innings for Triple-A Charlotte before he was released in June.

Those seemingly strong numbers in Triple-A were undermined by a 16.5% walk rate, which is essentially the story of Karinchak’s career.  He owns an eye-popping 36.3% career strikeout rate over his MLB career, and he also posted a 3.10 ERA over 165 2/3 innings with Cleveland from 2019-23.  However, a 14.1% walk rate and some problems with the home run ball limited Karinchak’s effectiveness, plus injuries like his shoulder woes or a teres major strain in 2022 provided further obstacles.

The Guardians have one of baseball’s more celebrated pitching development staffs, so the fact that the Guards chose to move on from Karinchak doesn’t bode well for the possibility that he might solve his control problems.  Still, Karinchak’s strikeout potential is so tantalizing that it isn’t at all surprising to see teams like the White Sox or Braves take minor league fliers on the righty to see if he can get things on track, or perhaps Atlanta’s coaches think they might have a fix.  Karinchak is still only 30 years old and he has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, so there’s hidden-gem potential for the Braves if Karinchak can manage even average control.

Padres To Spend “At A Similar Level To” 2025 Payroll

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Since former owner Peter Seidler passed away in November 2023, the Padres have cut back on the sky-high spending the team became known for during Seidler’s quest to bring a World Series to San Diego.  After finishing the 2023 season with a 40-man payroll of roughly $257.2MM, that number was reduced to just under $172MM in 2024, before bouncing back up to roughly $221MM in 2025.  (All numbers via Cot’s Baseball Contracts, though RosterResource had the Padres’ 2025 payroll at around $211.1MM.)

The question going into next season, naturally, is just how much the team has available to spend, and the answer appears to be that same $211MM-$221MM range.  “We anticipate payroll will remain at a similar level to last year….We’re operating the club as we have for the last five or six years,” Padres chairman John Seidler told the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee and other reporters on Monday at the Winter Meetings.

This latest update from Seidler himself essentially restates the approach that Acee reported as the Padres’ direction back in November, when the Seidler family announced they were exploring a potential sale of the team.  That doesn’t mean the Padres won’t still be looking to shed or re-allocate some payroll space, as evidenced by reports that the club is open to moving Nick Pivetta or Jake Cronenworth.

Cot’s projects that the Padres have about $196.2MM allotted to its 2026 payroll, with a $233.2MM luxury tax number.  RosterResource’s calculations are a bit higher on both fronts, with a $201.3MM payroll and a $234.5MM tax number.  That leaves A.J. Preller’s front office with only a little bit of payroll room before hitting the 2025 figure, and a similarly low level of breathing room to keep San Diego under the $244MM tax threshold.  The Padres got under the tax line in 2024 to reset themselves to first-timer status, so they’ll pay a reduced penalty for crossing the secondary threshold again in 2025.  Presumably ownership would be okay with another tax bill in 2026 as a cost to keeping the team in contention.

Dylan Cease has already left in free agency to sign with the Blue Jays, and Michael King, Robert Suarez, and Luis Arraez are the most prominent of San Diego’s other free agents.  Yu Darvish will also miss the 2026 season in the aftermath of an internal brace procedure, so starting pitching is therefore clearly the biggest need for the team.  A seemingly counter-productive move like a Pivetta trade would therefore be geared towards getting some salary off the books, perhaps adding multiple arms back in the return, and maybe getting out from under the uncertainty of Pivetta’s player opt-out following the 2026 campaign.

Intriguingly, Acee also hears from a pair of sources that Preller is working on at least one blockbuster-type deal.  No specific players were named as being involved, and Acee notes that it isn’t certain if these talks will lead to a trade any time soon, or if the talks are anything more than speculative.  Preller is no stranger to swinging huge trades, so it isn’t surprising that the president of baseball operations is again exploring a headline-making move as he looks to make the final touches necessary to finally get San Diego back to the World Series.

Preller also said Monday that some flexibility could be built into the Padres’ spending, once the team has a better idea of what kind of moves — big or small — could be realistic.

“We’ll have an idea about where we’re at from a payroll number and then see what’s out there in terms of conversation coming out of this week.  And then that could be a higher number [or a] lower number.  I think it really just depends a little bit on the conversations about who’s out there and what we think we can do,” Preller said.

Rays Sign Logan Davidson To Minor League Contract

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The Rays have agreed to a minor league deal with infielder Logan Davidson, 7News Boston’s Ari Alexander reports.  The contract contains an invitation for Davidson to attend Tampa Bay’s big league spring camp.

Selected 29th overall by the Athletics in the 2019 draft, Davidson didn’t make his debut in the Show until this past May at age 27, and he ended up hitting .167/.222/.286 over 47 plate appearances with the A’s and Angels.  The A’s designated the infielder for assignment in July and he was claimed off waivers by the Astros, only to be DFA’ed again and claimed off waivers by Los Angeles in September.  The Angels then outrighted Davidson off their 40-man roster at the end of October, and he entered into minor league free agency.

Tampa is always on the lookout for multi-positional players, and Davidson fits the bill with a lot of experience at all four infield positions, plus at least some work in all three outfield slots.  Shortstop has been Davidson’s most frequent position over his minor league career, though he has mostly been utilized as a corner infielder in recent years.

Between this defensive versatility and his switch-hitting bat, Davidson brings some pluses to the table as he’ll look to compete for a bench job in Spring Training.  Davidson has a respectable .271/.367/.441 slash line and 27 home runs over 1002 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, with the caveat that his Triple-A career has been spent entirely in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Mets Notes: King, Senga, Scott, Minter, Alonso

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The Mets were linked to Michael King’s market earlier this week, and the team’s interest is developed enough that the two sides had a video meeting, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports.  Sherman adds that King’s past experience pitching in New York with the Yankees is a plus for the Mets, and the likelihood that King will sign a somewhat shorter-term contract matches the Amazins’ preference to avoid long-term commitments to pitchers.

MLB Trade Rumors did project King for a four-year, $80MM deal, while ranking the right-hander 14th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents.  At least eight other teams besides the Mets have been connected to King, so it’s possible there’s enough interest for King to lock in a four-year guarantee just because frontline pitching is such a valued asset.  That said, the 2024 season represents King’s only full season as a starter, as he was limited to 15 starts and 73 1/3 innings with the Padres last season due primarily to a pinched nerve in his shoulder, and then a bout of knee inflammation.

King felt confident enough in his market to reject San Diego’s qualifying offer, and so any team that signs the righty will have to cough up some kind of draft compensation.  For a luxury tax-paying team like the Mets, the penalty for signing a qualified free agent is particularly steep, as New York would have to surrender $1MM in international bonus pool money as well as their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2026 draft.

There has been speculation that King might be open to accepting a shorter-term contract with an opt-out clause or two, perhaps so he could re-enter the market as soon as next winter on the heels of a healthy and productive season.  Giving up two picks for just one year of King carries some risk for the Mets even if that would fit their short-term window, and if King has a good enough year that he’s willing to opt out, that’s also a boost to the pitching staff.  Given how New York’s rotation was beset by injuries in 2025, the Mets would probably prefer to add a pitcher with more of a proven track record of durability, but acquiring such a player could come with a higher price tag of years or money.

Speaking of the Mets’ injury-plagued rotation, president of baseball operations David Stearns gave a few updates on the staff while speaking with SNY’s Ben Krimmel, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (multiple links), and other reporters at the Winter Meetings.  Perhaps the most noteworthy update focused on Kodai Senga, who Stearns said is feeling “as good physically as he has since that 2023 season.”  The executive called this “the most encouraging development we’ve had in terms of our offseason player progression,” and said Senga was planning to return to the U.S. from Japan to throw around the end of December.

After bursting onto the MLB scene with a fantastic 2023 campaign, Senga pitched in just one game in 2024, and then more injuries and a downturn in form led to the righty tossing just 113 1/3 frames for the Mets this past season.  Senga got off to a terrific start in 2025 but never seemed the same after a month-long stint on the IL due to a hamstring strain.  After posting a 5.90 ERA over what ended up being his final 39 2/3 MLB innings of the season, Senga agreed to be optioned to Triple-A in September, and he allowed five earned runs over two starts and 9 2/3 innings with Syracuse.

Reports indicate that the Mets are open to trading Senga, and moving on from the last two years and $28MM of his contract.  For his part, Senga wants to stay with the Mets, and his 10-team no-trade clause gives him some degree of control over his fate.  Considering how the Amazins need pitching themselves, simply keeping Senga is also certainly an option, especially if the club is encouraged that he’ll be able to stay healthy.  Then again, Stearns’ comments may also be read as an executive perhaps trying to calm any doubts about Senga’s health in order to help facilitate a trade.

In other rotation news, Stearns said Christian Scott will be fully ready for the start of Spring Training.  Scott underwent a Tommy John/internal brace hybrid procedure in September 2024 that kept the right-hander sidelined for the entirety of the 2026 campaign.  This absence made Scott a bit of a forgotten man behind other highly-touted Mets pitching prospects, yet it wasn’t along ago that Scott was himself a well-regarded arm who made a rapid climb up the minor league ladder.  Scott made his MLB debut in 2024, posting a 4.56 ERA over nine starts and 47 1/3 innings before being sidelined by injury.

A.J. Minter is also returning from a season-ending surgery, as the reliever’s 2025 campaign was cut short by a torn lat muscle in May.  The lengthy rehab process could extend into the 2026 season, as Stearns said it isn’t a guarantee that Minter will be ready by Opening Day, though Minter isn’t expected to miss much time if he does need to begin the year on the injured list.

The Mets have gotten little return on last offseason’s two-year, $22MM investment in Minter, and it isn’t great that there’s still a question mark hanging over his immediate availability for 2026.  The veteran southpaw’s 2024 campaign was also hampered by hip problems that eventually required a season-ending surgery, so it has been some time since Minter was fully healthy.  Between Minter’s status and the free agency of Edwin Diaz and several other members of the 2025 relief corps, it is no wonder that New York continues to be focused on more bullpen additions, beyond their three-year deal with Devin Williams.

Stearns also addressed Pete Alonso’s upcoming visit to the Winter Meetings, as Alonso (who lives in Tampa) is expected to head to Orlando to conduct in-person meetings with the Orioles, Red Sox, and any other teams interested in his services.  While the Mets remain interested in re-signing the Polar Bear, Stearns said “I think Pete knows us really well, and I think we know Pete really well.  I think he’ll take the time here to perhaps meet with organizations he doesn’t know quite as well, and I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”

Padres Make Three New Hires To Coaching Staff

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The Padres are expected to hire Bob Henley, Ryan Goins, and Kevin Plawecki to the team’s revamped coaching staff under new manager Craig Stammen, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports.  Henley will coach third base, Goins will be an infield coach, and Plawecki will move from being a minor league catching instructor for the Padres to a new role as the big league catching coach.  First base coach David Macias will return in his role, and Nick Punto will also return for a second year on San Diego’s staff in an unspecified role.

Henley (who turns 53 in January) has spent almost his entire baseball career in the Expos/Nationals organization, save for a single game with the Pirates’ A-level affiliate in 2002.  Selected by Montreal in the 26th round of 1991 draft, Henley spent his first seven pro seasons as a player in the Expos’ farm system, and his only 41 career MLB games came in a Montreal uniform in 1998.  Elbow problems then essentially ended his career, and Henley then spent 11 years as a manager and field coordinator at the minor league level for the organization, bridging the Expos’ move to Washington.

Promoted to the third base coach job for the start of the 2014 season, Henley spent the next eight seasons in the role, before moving into a player development job at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign.  Henley made a brief return to the coaching staff as a Major League field coordinator last July, as the Nationals had to make some alterations to the staff once Davey Martinez was fired as manager.

Stammen pitched with the Nationals from 2009-15, so there’s plenty of familiarity between the Padres skipper and his new third base coach.  Plawecki is also a known quantity to Stammen from their shared time working in San Diego, and Plawecki’s brief time as a player in the Padres’ minor league system.  Goins has no past ties to Stammen or the Padres, but he is no stranger to SoCal, after working on the Angels’ coaching staff for the last two seasons.

Goins is a veteran of eight Major League seasons (2013-20), spent primarily with the Blue Jays.  Despite a lack of hitting, Goins’ solid glove helped him carve out a niche for himself as a part-time player, and he’ll now look to impart his defensive wisdom onto the Padres’ infielders.  Goins worked as the Angels’ infield coach in 2024 and 2025, though he was promoted to a bench coach role last June in the wake of Ron Washington’s medical leave.  Bench coach Ray Montgomery became the Halos’ interim manager, thus creating a vacancy in the bench coach job.

Plawecki also played in the majors for eight seasons (2015-22), with the bulk of that time spent in a backup and part-time catcher role with the Mets and Red Sox.  He played in the minors for two more seasons, and after spending 2024 with the Padres’ Triple-A team in El Paso, he retired to step into a new job as instructor for San Diego’s Arizona Complex League club.

Angels, Tigers Interested In Kenley Jansen

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The Angels and Tigers have each shown interest in free agent reliever Kenley Jansen, according to Ari Alexander of 7News Boston.  Both teams are known to be looking for high-leverage relievers, and Jansen is naturally a known quantity to the Halos after his strong results as the team’s closer in 2025.

Signed to a one-year, $10MM contract last February, Jansen recorded 29 saves in 30 chances for the Angels, while posting a 2.59 ERA over 59 innings.  His SIERA, however, was 3.94, as Jansen received quite a bit of good fortune in the form of a .195 BABIP and an 85.2% strand rate.  This batted-ball luck helped him avoid a lot of serious damage despite a very high 44.6% hard-hit ball rate and a below-average 8.1% walk rate.

While Jansen’s 24.4% strikeout rate was decent, it was also the lowest K% of his 16 MLB seasons, and a significant dropoff even from the 28.4% rate he delivered for the Red Sox in 2024.  Jansen’s signature cutter remains a deadly pitch, yet he has become increasingly reliant on the cutter in recent years, and threw it 81.4% of the time in 2025.  Obviously hitters are still having trouble fully capitalizing on this cutter-heavy arsenal, yet Jansen isn’t having a lot of success when mixing it up with his sinker or sweeper.

Between Jansen’s age (he turned 38 last September) and his shaky peripherals, it is fair to wonder if the right-hander might finally be slowing down after 16 Major League seasons.  It creates an interesting dilemma for teams in pursuit of back-end bullpen help, as nobody wants to be the club on the hook when or if Jansen’s production finally craters.  That said, Jansen is also one of the more accomplished closers in MLB history, and he got better as the 2025 season went on, with a sparkling 1.02 ERA over his last 35 1/3 innings of work.

Jansen said last summer that his hope is to pitch “at least” through the 2029 season, though obviously a short-term deal is in the cards for him this winter.  Before Jansen’s one-year pact with Los Angeles, his previous two trips to free agency yielded a two-year, $32MM deal with the Red Sox, and a one-year, $16MM deal with the Braves.  Assuming that he signs another one-year contract this winter, teams might feel the limited risk is worth it to see if Jansen can hold off Father Time for another season.

The Angels don’t have any obvious closer candidates waiting in the wings.  Injuries have limited Robert Stephenson to 10 innings over his two seasons with the Angels, while Ben Joyce missed almost all of the 2025 season due to shoulder surgery.  Reid Detmers is getting another shot as a starting pitcher, so while he might resurface as a bullpen candidate at some point, it might be asking a lot to insert Detmers into a closing role.  It would appear there might be some mutual interest in a reunion, as GM Perry Minasian is on record praising Jansen’s clubhouse leadership, and Jansen said he enjoyed his time pitching in Anaheim.

Then again, Jansen might also appreciate pitching for a team that has a better chance of competing for the postseason in 2026.  Whereas the Angels haven’t had a winning season since 2015, the Tigers have reached the ALDS in consecutive years, and upgrading a middling bullpen would be a step in the right direction.  As much as Detroit has relied on its “pitching chaos” strategy, having a clear-cut closer might help solidify things.

Will Vest performed quite well as the Tigers’ primary closer last year, but the Tigers’ interest in such pitchers as Pete Fairbanks, Kyle Finnegan, and (before he joined the Mets) Devin Williams indicates that the club wants to either augment its list of ninth-inning choices, or Vest could be moved into a fireman role.  Jansen’s decline in strikeouts could be a red flag, however, as Detroit is particularly eager to add more swing-and-miss to its relief mix.  Tigers relievers combined for just a 20.1% strikeout rate in 2025, the second-lowest bullpen K% in all of baseball.

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