MLBTR Chat Transcript
Mark P
- Welcome to the Weekend Chat! We’ll start up once a few questions start piling into the queue…
Pirates 2026 World Series Champions
- Pirates are 3-0 in spring training. Are they the greatest team of all time??
Mark P
- Yes. The next CBA will be built around how to level competitive balance so powerhouse teams like Pittsburgh can be held in check.
Jason
- What do you see with #4 and #5 starter for Braves.
Mark P
- It’ll be Holmes and I guess Elder as the fifth for now? Holmes I think can deliver a decent season but there’s a lot less confidence in Elder. Martin Perez isn’t a bad placeholder for the fifth spot, or maybe the Braves can use multiple pitchers to patch things up until (or if?) the injured guys are back.
Or, maybe the easiest solution is that Atlanta just signs a starter
Royals Fan
- Local sports radio saying anything short of the playoffs for the Royals would be a disappointment. I am not seeing it based on the lack of offseason movement. Thoughts?
Mark P
- The Tigers are the favorites in the ALC but I wouldn’t be shocked if the Royals won the division. That might be an easier path to the playoffs than a wild card, since there are lots of good teams battling for those extra AL slots.
The Royals have a good roster on paper, but I wish they’d gone bigger with their outfield upgrades.
Guards Fan
- How much does Rhys Hoskins move the needle for the Guardians offense?
Mark P
- Speaking of teams that should’ve done more to help their lineup…..
Hoskins has been decent over the last two years, with the caveats of injury rust and his thumb sprain perhaps preventing him from achieving greater heights. Cleveland’s not really asking him to be anything more than a platoon bat provided that Manzardo and Kayfus hit as expected, though even as a platoon specialist, Hoskins isn’t exactly a lefty-masher.
In short, don’t expect the Phillies version of Hoskins to suddenly re-emerge in 2026. He’s a logical signing for the Guardians but probably not a difference-maker for a lineup that really needs it
Is a 102 ops+
- Really that much better than a 98 ops +
Mark P
- /Nigel Tufnel voice
Yeah, it’s four better.
Lloyd Dobbins
- Suppose the Braves flop and miss the playoffs again in 2026. Does Alex Anthopoulus’s seat start to get warm?
Mark P
- Not likely. AA is under contract through 2031, and his track record with the team is strong enough to withstand even two rough seasons.
Brewers Not Yet Settled On Late-Game Bullpen Roles
The bullpen was again a strength for the Brewers in 2025, and closer Trevor Megill led the way with 30 saves, a 2.49 ERA over 49 innings, and an All-Star nod. As well as Megill has pitched in the ninth-inning role over the last two seasons, however, manager Pat Murphy was non-committal on the topic of who his closer will be in 2026.
“I feel like we’ll look at the matchups and see what’s best. We’ll look at the health of the pitcher. You might see other guys in that mix too,” Murphy told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. While noting that it is still early in Spring Training for such decisions, Murphy hinted at more of a committee approach by saying “I mean, that’s kind of like the message to the whole Milwaukee Brewers team, right? You have to be uncommon. That’s an uncommon mindset for us to thread the needle the way we want to.”
Megill’s status might’ve been more secure if it hadn’t been for a right flexor strain that sent him to the injured list late last August. Megill missed a little over a month of action and was able to return for one regular-season game before the postseason got underway, as well as five playoff appearances. Megill had a 2.25 ERA over his four postseason innings, but as Rosiak notes, the Brewers used him in non-closing leverage roles. This even included a perfect inning for Megill as the opener in the winner-take-all Game 5 of the NLDS. which ended up being a 3-1 Brewers victory over the Cubs.
While Megill was on the IL, fellow hard-throwing righty Abner Uribe stepped in to record five saves as the fill-in closer, adding to Uribe’s resume over a dominant season. Uribe posted a 1.67 ERA, 53.2% grounder rate, 30.2% strikeout rate, and 9.1% strikeout rate over 75 1/3 innings and 75 appearances. By comparison, Megill had a 2.49 ERA, 39.3% grounder rate, 31.3K%, and 8.9BB% across his 47 frames, and SIERA had the two pitchers as virtually equal — Uribe with a 2.89 and Megill with a 2.93.
Uribe’s 75 appearances tied him for the seventh-most games of any pitcher in 2025. This durability could mean that Megill ultimately ends up closing more games, if Milwaukee returns to Uribe as a heavily-used reliever for all sorts of leverage or set-up situations. The Brewers’ projected bullpen is unusually heavy on left-handed pitchers, so the right-handed Uribe and Megill could conceivably be used in more situational high-leverage scenarios, with a southpaw like Jared Koenig or Angel Zerpa deployed to lock down the ninth.
As of last week, Megill said he hadn’t heard anything about his role for the coming season. While he felt “I think we can probably roll the same way we rolled last year,” Megill stressed that he is happy in whatever job the Brewers see fit, and praised his partnership with his friend Uribe as “a great dynamic.” On the health front, Megill added that he had a PRP injection during the offseason to help address his right flexor.
The bigger-picture element of bullpen lineup is that Uribe may now be viewed as Milwaukee’s long-term closer of the future, if not the immediate present. Uribe doesn’t turn 26 until June and he is under team control through the 2030 season. Megill is entering his age-32 season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility before he hits free agency following the 2027 campaign.
Megill and the Brewers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $4.7MM salary for the 2026 season. It’s a healthy raise over the $1.94MM Megill earned in 2024, and reflective of how save totals can quickly boost a pitcher’s earning potential. Arbitration panels favor traditional counting stats like wins, strikeouts, or (in a reliever’s case) saves ahead of advanced metrics, so consistent ninth-inning work usually leads to bigger paydays through a closer’s arb years.
The Brewers could be looking to curb Megill’s 2027 salary potential by limiting his save totals in 2026, though there is probably a better possibility that Megill’s future salaries will be another team’s problem. The Brewers tend to trade higher-salaried players as they approach free agency, including past closers as Josh Hader and Devin Williams. Megill’s first extended taste of closing work came in 2024 when Williams was sidelined with stress fractures in his back, and while Milwaukee was likely always going to be trading Williams during the 2024-25 offseason, Megill’s success as the stopper certainly made the front office’s decision easier.
Megill was involved in some trade rumors of his own this winter, as such teams as the Yankees and Mets were reportedly interested in acquiring the right-hander. It’s not entirely out of the question that Megill is still dealt, which could be why the Brewers have been hesitant about naming a full-time closer. While Opening Day is still over a month away, however, the fact that camp has already started probably lowers the chance of a Megill trade. Moving your closer in Spring Training is far different than moving your closer at the trade deadline a la the Hader deal in 2022, but since trading Hader infamously disrupted the Brewers’ chemistry, the team is certainly more sensitive about how such transactions can shake up a clubhouse.
For Megill, he took the trade speculation in stride, saying “There’s always people calling and seeing what’s what. I’m sure they’re still doing it. But just knowing how the team is and the cycle of the closer here, you just see it more as business and it might happen at any time. Just have to be OK with that and be a good teammate until it happens.”
Torres, Flaherty Discuss Decision To Remain With Tigers
Both Gleyber Torres and Jack Flaherty could’ve tested the free agent market this winter, but the two veterans instead chose to stay with the Tigers, so Detroit had two major pieces of their roster finalized by mid-November. Torres was slated for free agency but instead chose to accept the Tigers’ one-year, $22.025MM qualifying offer, while Flaherty passed on an opt-out clause and instead exercised his $20MM player option for the 2026 season.
Torres first came to Detroit on a one-year, $15MM contract during the 2024-25 offseason, as the second baseman was only looking for one-year offers that winter. Coming off a pretty average 2024 season with the Yankees, Torres was intent on re-establishing his value with a bounce-back season and then seeking out a longer-term pact this winter. New York opted against issuing Torres a qualifying offer following the 2024 campaign, so getting a QO from the Tigers itself represented a symbolic win for the infielder.
“I’m really, really proud the organization gave me the opportunity with the qualifying offer,” Torres told MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “I mean, it’s not an easy offer, that type of money for one year. It’s another year to prove myself, to get better and help the team.”
Torres and his reps at Octagon “looked [around] the free-agent market, we touched base with a couple teams, we just tried to see how everything is.” After that initial due diligence, it was ultimately “an easy choice to come back here,” particularly given how Torres enjoyed playing for Detroit in 2025.
“Last year was a really good year for me. I felt at home from the first day,” Torres said. “I felt really good. I know the group. I know as an organization, they really want to compete. What happened last year showed us what we want in the future. They have a lot of opportunity to do a little bit better. Personally, I don’t feel good with my second half from the injury. I was in pain and everything.”
The injury in question was a sports hernia that required surgery at the end of October. Torres said he’d been playing through the pain for most of the season’s second half, which explains his rather stark splits. After hitting .281/.387/.425 in 359 plate appearances prior to the All-Star break, Torres slumped to a .223/.320/.339 slash line in his final 269 regular-season plate appearances, plus he hit only .235/.316/.382 over 38 postseason PA.
The end result was an overall set of numbers (.258/.358/.387 with 16 homers in 628 PA) that weren’t far off Torres’ numbers in his last Yankees season. Since the sports hernia provided a pretty clear reason for Torres’ downturn, the Tigers still felt comfortable making Torres the $22.025MM qualifying offer, and the club is confident that a healthy Torres will look a lot more like the first-half version from 2025. From Torres’ perspective, he still gets a healthy raise over his 2025 salary and returns to a familiar and welcome environment.
For Flaherty, he ended up choosing the Tigers for the third straight offseason. Flaherty inked a one-year, $14MM free agent pact with Detroit in December 2023, and he ended up winning a World Series ring with the Dodgers after the righty was dealt to Los Angeles at the trade deadline. Flaherty then returned to Motown on a two-year, $35MM guarantee, which broke down as a $5MM signing bonus, a $20MM salary in 2025, and then $10MM in 2026. However, Flaherty added an extra $10MM to his 2026 salary in the form of a bonus clause triggered when he made his 15th start of the 2025 season.
Since Flaherty’s previous forays into free agency came after in-season trades, he had never been eligible for a qualifying offer until last fall. Detroit therefore could’ve issued Flaherty a QO if he had opted out, and having draft compensation attached to his services may well have adversely impacted Flaherty’s market. Opting out and seeing if the Tigers floated a QO might’ve landed Flaherty an extra $2.025MM, but the safer move was just to stay in his present contract.
As with Torres’ camp, Flaherty said his reps at Wasserman checked out the market before he had to make his option decision, but ultimately, “not everything is about money. Especially when you are in a place you feel you have a chance to win,” the right-hander told Chris McCosky of the Detroit News.
“This is an unbelievable team in here,” Flaherty said. “It’s an unbelievable group of guys. It’s a group you want to be a part of….I’ve gotten a lot better the last two years being here. Another year working with [the coaching staff] and building those relationships through another offseason, to go back and forth with them, it pays dividends.”
Since Flaherty was only able to land that two-year, $35MM guarantee following a solid 2024 season, he might have found a less welcome market in the wake of a 2025 campaign that saw his numbers go backwards in most major statistical categories. Flaherty posted a 4.64 ERA over 161 innings last year, with an above-average 27.6% strikeout rate but a subpar walk rate (8.7%), hard-hit ball rate (43.8%), and barrel rate (10.3%). Flaherty’s 3.67 SIERA was almost a run superior to his real-world ERA, yet it was far from the kind of ideal platform year that would’ve guaranteed the 30-year-old a significant multi-year contract.
Retaining Torres and Flaherty, re-signing Kyle Finnegan, and signing Kenley Jansen and Drew Anderson stood as the Tigers’ most significant moves for much of the offseason. This relatively quiet winter suddenly sparked earlier this month, when Detroit made a pair of major rotation signings in Framber Valdez and team legend Justin Verlander. These additions bolstered the pitching staff to the point that Flaherty may now be the fifth starter, depending on how the team chooses to line up Flaherty, Verlander, and Casey Mize behind the top two of Tarik Skubal and Valdez.
As for the everyday mix, Torres and Spencer Torkelson are the most prominent right-handed bats within a lineup that still tilts heavily to the left side. Despite multiple rumors linking the Tigers to Alex Bregman and a few other position players, Detroit basically stood pat with its lineup, putting more pressure on Torres and the rest of the hitters to deliver a more consistent performance in 2026.
Rangers Notes: Foscue, Helman, Santos, Nimmo
Spring Training is the time for players to experiment at new positions, particularly when said players are fighting for spots on a 26-man roster. The Rangers’ camp is no exception, as manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News) that career infielder Justin Foscue will get some work as an outfielder.
Foscue has mostly been a designated hitter over his 19 career big league games, with a couple of appearances at first and second base. The bulk of his time over five seasons in Texas’ farm system has come at second base, with a good chunk of time at both corner infield slots, and exactly zero appearances as an outfielder.
As outlined by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Foscue isn’t being viewed as a full-time candidate for a position change, but the Rangers want to be able to use Foscue in a corner outfield slot if necessary. The starting outfield alignment of Brandon Nimmo, Evan Carter, and Wyatt Langford is set, but the right-handed hitting Foscue could spell the lefty-swinging Nimmo in right field, or other lefty bats like Josh Smith at second base or Joc Pederson at DH.
“If I do what I’m supposed to do offensively, it should take care of itself, regardless [of position],” Foscue told Grant. “But having the ability to play outfield gives me some versatility with whatever matchups they want to throw out there, and it makes my game better. So I’m obviously open to that.”
The 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Foscue has posted impressive numbers (.266/.379/.471 with 46 home runs) over 1235 Triple-A plate appearances, but he hasn’t yet shown anything during his brief time in the majors. Foscue has only three hits over 53 PA in the Show, translating to a pitcher-like .059/.094/.098 slash line. More consistent playing time could help Foscue find a groove, but by the same token, it is hard for the Rangers to justify giving chances to a player who has thus far looked totally overmatched against Major League pitching.
Foscue, Michael Helman, Ezequiel Duran, Sam Haggerty, and minor league signings such as Mark Canha, Tyler Wade, Nick Pratto, and Jonah Bride are among the candidates competing for jobs on the Rangers’ bench. Cody Freeman was part of this mix before being sidelined for 4-6 weeks by a lower back fracture. Helman is also dealing with an injury of an apparently much less serious nature, as Schumaker told McFarland and company that Helman was scratched from today’s game due to soreness in his hip and groin area.
In other injury news from the Texas camp, right-handed pitching prospect Winston Santos will miss roughly four weeks after sustaining a fracture in his left hand. MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry was among those to report the news that Santos suffered the injury during a live batting practice session, when Santos’ non-throwing hand was struck by a Kyle Higashioka comebacker.
Santos (who turns 24 in April) is no stranger to injuries, as back problems limited him to 17 1/3 total innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2025. His 6.75 ERA in this small sample can probably be attributed to his bad back and an incredibly unlucky .528 BABIP, as Santos still had impressive secondary metrics like a 33.3% strikeout rate and a nine percent walk rate.
MLB Pipeline ranks Santos as the third-best prospect in the Rangers’ farm system, with Baseball America ranking him seventh (behind infielder Sebastian Walcott and five other right-handed pitchers). The two outlets are split as to whether Santos’ changeup or slider is his second-best offering, but his 97mph fastball with a ton of break is seen as a plus pitch. There’s a decent chance Santos will make his Major League debut at some point in 2026 as at least a bullpen arm, though missing a big chunk of Spring Training is an unfortunate setback for the young righty.
On the flip side of the injury coin, Nimmo’s first spring in a Rangers uniform has allowed the team to get its first look at Nimmo’s purposely limited Spring Training regimen. Evan Grant details how Nimmo played in only 37 total spring games with the Mets from 2022-25, as the outfielder has focused more on workouts and live at-bats in controlled situations (like live BP sessions) rather than in-game action.
The change may have contributed to Nimmo’s increased durability. Plagued by injuries in the early portion of his Mets career, Nimmo went from player who had trouble staying on the field to a veritable workhorse, as he has played in 609 of a possible 648 regular-season games over the last four seasons. While Nimmo hasn’t been entirely healthy during this time, the results speak for themselves, as Nimmo has hit .259/.346/.434 with 88 homers over 2670 PA since Opening Day 2022. He’ll look to continue that production in his first season in Texas after being dealt for Marcus Semien in a one-for-one swap back in November.
Blue Jays Notes: Schneider, Varsho, Jimenez
John Schneider has “had some discussions about” a long-term extension with the Blue Jays, the manager told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. Schneider is entering the final year of his current contract, and “if there’s a way to do [an extension] for both sides that makes sense, that’d be great….We’ll continue to talk and there’s no place I’d rather be than with this group.”
Promoted from bench coach to interim manager after Charlie Montoyo was fired midway through the 2022 season, Schneider led that year’s Jays team to a wild card berth, which earned him a three-year deal to remain as the team’s full-time skipper. That contract included a club option for the 2026 season, which the Jays naturally exercised last November in the wake of Toronto’s run to Game 7 of the World Series.
The Jays have a 303-257 record under Schneider, and the team has reached the postseason three times in his four seasons. The one non-playoff year came in 2024 when the Blue Jays struggled to a 74-88 record, and there was plenty of speculation heading into the 2025 campaign about whether or not Toronto needed a change in the dugout and/or in the front office. Winning the AL pennant naturally changed that conversation in a hurry, leaving Schneider and GM Ross Atkins looking like extension candidates.
It wouldn’t at all be a surprise if Schneider and Atkins both had new deals signed before Opening Day, though it would be a real eye-opener if Daulton Varsho was extended as he heads into his final season before free agency. This isn’t a reflection on how the Jays feel about Varsho, but rather the fact that Varsho is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients almost always test the open market rather than opt for extensions.
Atkins has said in the past that the Jays have interest in extending Varsho, though the outfielder didn’t even confirm that any talks had taken place when speaking with the Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm and other reporters earlier this week.
“I stay out of those [extension] conversations, I don’t want to be in them,” Varsho said, noting that he leaves such business to his representation. Varsho did express an interest in remaining with the Jays, saying “I love being here. They treat families really well and they do everything to kind of keep players here…I’ve enjoyed my time. I’m going to keep enjoying it.”
Another obstacle between Varsho and an extension could be the fact that signing a deal now might result in a lot of money left on the table. As Chisholm notes, a healthy and consistent 2026 campaign could put Varsho in line for a major free agent payday next winter, so it could be in his interest to use 2026 as a platform year.
Varsho is arguably the best defensive center fielder in baseball, and he has hit 85 homers over the last four seasons. However, his .225/.292/.432 slash line since the start of the 2022 season translates to an exact 100 wRC+, as Varsho’s lack of walks and penchant for strikeouts have offset his power potential. He was also limited to 71 games in 2025 — Varsho missed time due to recovery from a September 2024 rotator cuff surgery, and then a hamstring strain that cost him two months of regular-season action.
In other news around the Blue Jays’ spring camp, MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson writes that minor league signing Eloy Jimenez “has been spending a lot of time at first base.” Jimenez never played first base during his first big league seasons with the White Sox and Orioles from 2019-24, but he logged seven games at the position in 2025 when playing in the Blue Jays’ and Rays’ farm system, and he also saw some first base action in Winter League ball.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is obviously locked into the starting first base job in Toronto and the Jays added some more depth at the position by signing Juan Yepez to a minors deal last week. However, the Jays don’t have a set backup in place behind Guerrero, as Kazuma Okamoto is expected to primarily play third base. Becoming a regular first baseman could help Jimenez’s slim chances of cracking the Blue Jays’ roster, and a move to first base is a logical career path anyway given how Jimenez’s defensive struggles in the outfield led to an increased amount of DH at-bats during his time in Chicago.
Jimenez hit .270/.321/.469 with 94 home runs over 2026 PA with the White Sox from 2019-24, as this solid production nevertheless didn’t live up to the high expectations placed on Jimenez as a top prospect and a ballyhooed international signing. Injuries and a lack of consistency caught up to Jimenez, and he is now looking to reignite his MLB career as he enters his age-29 season.
Freddie Freeman Hopes To Play Four More Seasons, Retire With Dodgers
Even though Freddie Freeman‘s bat remains as dangerous as ever, it isn’t surprising that the veteran is starting to consider the potential end of his career as he enters his age-36 season, and his 17th season as a Major League player. Freeman isn’t planning to hang up his cleats any time soon, as he told MLB.com’s Sonja Chen and other reporters that he would like to play four more seasons, and then retire at age 40 while still playing for the Dodgers.
Freeman still has two years remaining on the six-year, $162MM free agent deal he signed with the Dodgers during the 2021-22 offseason. His desire to play through his 40th birthday would therefore require another contract following his current deal, and the future Hall-of-Famer isn’t worried about his status with his local team.
“I love being here. I’m from Southern California,” Freeman said. “I’ve had a great time with fans. You guys treat me great. Everyone’s treating my family good….I’m not worried about another contract, not going to bring it up, not going to talk about it. I got two years left. I’m just an employee. I just do my job, and if they want me back, they want me back. But I think Andrew [president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman] and everyone knows that I love being here.”
Freeman only plays first base and Shohei Ohtani is locked into the Dodgers’ DH spot, so having both positions occupied for four more years might present some roster-building difficulties down the road. Besides that minor issue, it is hard to imagine the Dodgers wouldn’t have interest in continuing their relationship with Freeman if he stays healthy and keeps hitting anywhere close to his current pace.
Since arriving in L.A., Freeman has hit .310./391/.516 with 96 home runs, with a 149 wRC+ that ranks fifth among all players since the start of the 2022 season. He has been an All-Star in all four of his Dodgers seasons, and Freeman has a pair of top-four finishes in NL MVP voting. In the postseason, Freeman’s resume includes the 2024 World Series MVP trophy, and a pair of iconic walkoff homers — his grand slam to end Game 1 of the 2024 Series, and his solo shot to end the 18-inning marathon that was Game 3 of the 2025 Series.
The 2025 championship capped off another successful year for Freeman, who hit .295/.367/.502 with 24 homers over 627 plate appearances. Freeman posted these numbers despite playing on a surgically-repaired ankle that was “never really in a good spot” all year.
This offseason was normal from a health perspective, however, and Freeman is looking forward to an even more productive 2026, from both a hitting and defensive perspective. Freeman’s goal is to play in all 162 games, though he acknowledges that the team will give him some rest days to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
During his 11-plus seasons as the Dodgers’ PBO, Friedman has been proactive in extending and/or re-signing several cornerstone players (i.e. Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy, Will Smith), so a new deal for Freeman certainly seems plausible. This could take the form of an extension next year, or Freeman could even play out his current contract and enter free agency, still with the understanding that a new deal with the Dodgers would still happen once the team accesses other offseason business.
Joe Ryan Scratched From Start, Undergoing MRI
Twins ace Joe Ryan was a late scratch from his planned start in today’s Grapefruit League game with the Red Sox. As per a pair of announcements from the Twins, Ryan is dealing with lower back tightness on his right side, and is undergoing an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
More will be known once the tests are complete, and it is entirely possible this just a case of early-camp soreness as Ryan starts to ramp up his throwing progression. Still, Ryan’s back issue merits some obvious concern given that Pablo Lopez‘s 2026 season is already a wash due to a Tommy John surgery. Losing Lopez was a huge blow to a Minnesota team that looked like a fringe contender at best, and if Ryan is now sidelined with any sort of notable injury, the Twins’ season might be ruined before it even gets underway.
Beyond the impact on the Twins, Ryan is slated to be part of the United States’ roster during the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Even if the back problem ends up being relatively minor, the Twins might well pull Ryan out of the WBC as a pure precaution, and if he needs to make up for any lost innings in Spring Training.
Ryan is coming off the first All-Star season of his career, as the right-hander posted a 3.42 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate, and 5.7% walk rate across 171 innings. While Ryan has a penchant for allowing hard contact and is a little homer-prone, his numbers over the last four seasons (3.78 ERA, 5.7% walk rate, 27.5K% over 614 2/3 IP) have established him as a front-of-the-rotation arm. Ryan has been relatively durable over that four-year span with the Twins, apart from a teres major strain that ended his 2024 season in August.
There has been plenty of trade speculation surrounding Ryan over the last year, but the Twins held onto Ryan amidst their large-scale selloff at last summer’s trade deadline. Ryan isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2027 season, so these two years of inexpensive arbitration control make him a particular bargain for the budget-conscious Twins. If Minnesota is out of contention again at this year’s deadline, expect the trade rumors to again swirl around Ryan, assuming he’s healthy and still in good form.
Mariners Notes: Garver, Arroyo, Miller
After the Mariners declined their end of Mitch Garver‘s $12MM mutual option last fall, Garver took his $1MM buyout and then sat through a “super slow offseason. Never really got any good offers or formal offers,” as the catcher told the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude. Garver’s long wait in free agency ended two days ago when he re-signed with the M’s on a minor league deal, and Garver credited his fellow backstop Cal Raleigh with helping get the ball rolling on the reunion.
Earlier this week, Garver said “Cal reached out and said, ‘Maybe you should try calling the Mariners.’ So we called Justin [Hollander, the Mariners’ GM]. Within 24 hours, we were able to work something out.” Reports from December indicated that Seattle had some interest in bringing Garver back, and though Andrew Knizner was signed to a one-year, $1MM guaranteed deal, Garver’s return gives the M’s some more depth behind the plate.
Raleigh made 38 starts at DH last season, as the Mariners wanted to give the slugger a break from catching duties while still keeping his power bat in the lineup. Since a fresh and productive Raleigh is critical to Seattle’s hopes, the team figures to use this same tactic again in 2026, opening the door for plenty of time for a backup catcher. It perhaps isn’t out of the question that both Garver and Knizner are on the 26-man roster, though the M’s are probably more likely to stick with Raleigh and one backup as the catching corps.
Elsewhere at the Mariners’ camp, Adam Divish of the Seattle Times writes that infield prospect Michael Arroyo will get some looks as a third baseman and left fielder once Arroyo returns from national team duty with Colombia during the World Baseball Classic. Arroyo has never played in the outfield as a pro, and played in a handful of games at the hot corner when playing with the Mariners’ Dominican Summer League team in 2022. Otherwise, Arroyo has played exclusively as a middle infielder, and was only a second baseman and DH in the minors in 2025.
Heading into 2026, Baseball Prospectus ranks Arroyo as the 36th-best minor leaguer in the sport, and The Athletic’s Keith Law (49th), ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (62nd), and MLB Pipeline (67th) all have Arroyo within their preseason top-100 rankings. The consensus on Arroyo’s defense is that he could end up as a decent big league second baseman, though between offseason acquisition Brendan Donovan and a bunch of other infield prospects, it makes sense that the Mariners would want to expand Arroyo’s versatility.
2027 is probably the likeliest date for Arroyo’s Major League debut. He just turned 21 last November, and had a modest .255/.376/.341 slash line over 250 PA with Double-A Arkansas in 2025. Arroyo’s approach at the plate is well-regarded by scouts, but he’ll need some bigger numbers in the minors (and probably an injury or two ahead of him on the depth chart) to get himself on the radar for a big league call-up this year.
In a longer piece from Ryan Divish, Bryce Miller reported good health and a normal offseason routine in the wake of an injury-plagued 2025 season. Miller was limited to 18 starts and 90 1/3 innings in 2025 due to a pair of stints on the injured list, as Miller battled bone spurs in his throwing elbow. Rather than a surgical option, Miller received a cortisone shot and a PRP shot to help his recovery, and he finished his tough year on the high note of a 2.51 ERA over three starts and 14 1/3 innings during Seattle’s postseason run.
Following the season, Miller said he got a Synvisc injection, which is “like a gel, like a joint lubricant.” This allowed him to proceed as normal this winter, and he may be able to avoid surgery altogether.
“[Dr. Keith] Meister was like, ‘Don’t touch it [Miller’s elbow]. If it feels good, don’t touch it’,” Miller said. ” ‘Now that we know kind of how to help it, if you feel anything in the offseason or anything in Spring Training or anything during the year, just get another injection, to get back rolling again now that we know how to fix it.’ He advised against doing anything until I feel something and I haven’t felt anything.”
Miller is already up to 98mph in his live batting-practice sessions, and he has added 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason. Now entering his fourth MLB season, Miller looked like a breakout star when he had a 2.94 ERA over 180 1/3 innings with the Mariners in 2024, before his bone spurs hampered his progress last year.
NL West Notes: Adam, Matsui, Hentges, Rushing
Padres reliever Jason Adam underwent surgery to fix a ruptured left quad last September, and as of November, Adam wasn’t sure if he’d be fully recovered in time for Opening Day. However, the early days of Spring Training have been promising for the right-hander. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Adam pitched a live batting practice for the first time today, and Adam is making slow but steady progress in fielding drills.
“Pitching-wise, we’re…beyond on pace. It’s just a matter of being cleared” by San Diego’s medical staff, Adam said. In terms of Opening Day readiness, Adam said the team’s trainers “haven’t told me ‘no’ yet.”
One of baseball’s top relievers over the last four seasons, Adam has a 1.66 ERA over 92 innings since the Padres acquired the righty from the Rays at the 2024 trade deadline. While the Padres still have an elite bullpen even without Adam, getting the All-Star back and healthy as early as possible in 2026 will be a huge boost to San Diego’s chances of both returning to the postseason and making a deeper run into October.
More from around the NL West…
- While things are looking positive for Adam, fellow Padres reliever Yuki Matsui is day-to-day with groin tightness after his injury cut short a live BP session on Thursday. Manager Craig Stammen told Acee and other reporters that the groin issue doesn’t appear to be serious enough to impact Matsui’s readiness for Opening Day, but it may well prevent the reliever from playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Since signing a five-year, $28MM deal with the Padres in the 2023-24 offseason, Matsui has a solid but unspectacular 3.86 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, and 11.3% walk rate across 126 relief innings.
- Sam Hentges has thrown multiple 40-pitch bullpen sessions in the Giants‘ camp thus far, but he tells MLB.com’s Maria Guardado that he doesn’t have a set throwing progression in place, and it isn’t clear if he’ll be part of San Francisco’s Opening Day roster. The Giants signed the left-hander to a one-year, $1.4MM contract in December, even though Hentges hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 2024 (or in the minors since August 2024). A shoulder surgery was responsible for most of that layoff, but Hentges also underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this past September, which delayed his offseason prep and the final stages of his shoulder rehab. Hentges acknowledged that his long absence played a role in the Giants’ decision to take it slowly with his spring work, though he is hoping to pitch in some games before Spring Training is over.
- Dalton Rushing‘s short-lived turn as an outfielder could be over, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic’s Katie Woo and other reporters that Rushing will be used this season as a backup catcher and occasional first baseman. Rushing played in 31 minor-league games as an outfielder in 2024, but was on the grass just twice with Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2025, and he didn’t see any outfield work after making his MLB debut with Los Angeles. The former top prospect’s positional future has been a question mark ever since L.A. signed Will Smith to a ten-year extension in March 2024, locking Smith up as the Dodgers’ catcher for the foreseeable future. Between Smith’s extension, Shohei Ohtani set as the DH, and Freddie Freeman at first base, Rushing could be limited to part-time duty perhaps for the next two seasons, until Freeman’s contract is up following the 2027 campaign. While there has been plenty of speculation that the Dodgers could swing a trade, the team seems to still have designs on Rushing (who turns 25 tomorrow) as a key piece of their roster.
Yimi Garcia Won’t Be Ready For Blue Jays’ Opening Day Roster
Yimi Garcia‘s 2025 season was prematurely ended last September by surgery to fix scar tissue in his throwing elbow. The right-hander’s recovery progress will stretch into at least the first bit of the 2026 campaign, as Garcia told Sportnet’s Shi Davidi that he will “100 percent” not be ready to pitch when the Blue Jays begin play on March 27.
It doesn’t appear as though Garcia will miss too much time, even if he does start the season on the 15-day injured list. “I feel good right now, I feel better than last season,” Garcia said, and he expects to start throwing off a mound perhaps as early as this week. Still, since the veteran reliever is “a little behind” in his throwing progression, it appears Garcia and the Jays are playing the long game in making sure he is fully ready for the coming season, even if that means some missed time in March and April.
To his chagrin, Garcia has been a frequent visitor to the IL in the last two seasons, as a variety of injuries have limited the righty to 61 appearances and 60 innings pitched for the Blue Jays and Mariners in 2024-25. Garcia missed time in 2024 with both neuritis and inflammation in his right elbow, and he was limited by a shoulder impingement (leading to a 60-day IL stint) and a sprained left ankle in 2025. Garcia hasn’t pitched since July 2, as his elbow issues resurfaced while he was rehabbing his ankle sprain.
All of these injuries would be a concern for any pitcher, especially a veteran like Garcia who is turning 36 this August. Garcia has still been pretty effective when he has been able to pitch, posting a 3.60 ERA and 30.5% strikeout rate over his last 60 IP. His walk rate did take a big leap upwards from 7.8% in 2024 to 13.3% in 2025, which could be viewed as an injury-related outlier given how Garcia’s previous career high BB% was 8.3%, and that came over 15 innings during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The Blue Jays dealt Garcia to the Mariners at the 2024 trade deadline, and despite his elbow issues, Toronto felt comfortable enough to bring the reliever back on a two-year, $15MM free agent deal last winter. It is quite possible that having a healthy Garcia in the bullpen might’ve put the Blue Jays over the top in the World Series, and the team is again viewing him as a key piece of the late-game mix. When healthy, Garcia will join postseason workhorse Louis Varland and new signing Tyler Rogers as the top set-up options to closer Jeff Hoffman.