Padres Sign Alex Verdugo To Minor League Deal
The Padres have signed outfielder Alex Verdugo to a minor league contract, the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee reports. Verdugo has been a free agent since he was released by the Braves last July.
Last offseason, Verdugo didn’t land his Atlanta contract (a one-year, $1.5MM guaranteed deal) until just a week before Opening Day. He’ll get a little more Spring Training prep time this year, and a chance to try and win himself a job on San Diego’s roster as a backup outfielder.
Verdugo must also be viewing this as an opportunity to turn around his career as he enters his age-30 season. Formerly an everyday player with the Red Sox and a key piece of the trade package Boston received from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts deal, Verdugo posted okay but unspectacular numbers (.281/.338/.424 with 43 home runs in 2071 plate appearances, for a 105 wRC+) over five seasons in a Sox uniform.
Over the last two seasons with the Yankees and Braves, however, Verdugo’s production has sharply dropped. Since Opening Day 2024, Verdugo has a modest 80 wRC+, while hitting .234/.292/.339 with 13 home runs over 834 PA. In each of those seasons, Verdugo got off to a hot start before badly tailing off.
Those struggles in the Bronx led to Verdugo’s extended stay in free agency last winter, and it took some injuries within the Braves’ outfield mix to allow him to land a Major League contract. Jurickson Profar‘s PED suspension came a little over a week after Verdugo’s signing, which suddenly created the possibility of an everyday role as Atlanta’s left fielder. Verdugo voluntarily spent the first few weeks of the regular season at extended Spring Training and in the minors to get himself in proper game condition, but once called up to the Show, he hit .239/.296/.289 over 213 PA.
Once Profar was eligible for reinstatement, the Braves designated Verdugo for assignment and then released him. No other minor league offers emerged over the remainder of the 2025 season, and there hasn’t been any buzz about Verdugo on the offseason rumor mill until today’s signing. However, the Padres have apparently long had Verdugo on their radar — Acee writes that San Diego had some trade talks involving Verdugo in the past, and explored signing him last winter.
Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Ramon Laureano are set as the Padres’ starting outfield. Miguel Andujar will also get some time in the corners, and Gavin Sheets and Nick Castellanos are technically also outfield options but the Padres will likely deploy both at first base and at DH. Bryce Johnson is a fourth-outfielder type who hasn’t shown much at the plate over parts of four MLB seasons, and the Padres plan to give Sung Mun Song some time in the outfield as they experiment with turning Song into a super-utility type in the majors.
The left-handed hitting Verdugo could spell Laureano (a righty swinger) against some right-handed pitchers, and he has more of a career track record as a hitter than Johnson, though Verdugo is best suited defensively as a corner outfielder. Since the Padres don’t have a set designated hitter, the team can rotate any number of players through the DH spot in order to give partial rest days to regulars and to help get at-bats for the bench crew.
There’s no risk for the Padres in seeing what Verdugo can do in camp, and the team has been stockpiling a lot of experienced MLB players as they evaluate their bench options. Ty France, Pablo Reyes, Jose Miranda, Nick Solak, and more are in camp on minor league deals battling it out for 26-man roster spots.
Josh Hader Still Uncertain For Astros’ Opening Day Roster
A bout of biceps inflammation in late January set Josh Hader back in his offseason prep, and has continued to limit the Astros closer during Spring Training. Hader’s throwing has been limited to games of catch, and Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that Hader would continue on this route through the week.
Espada didn’t provide any clarity on when Hader might start to increase his throwing progression, or whether or not the left-hander might not be available for Opening Day. “I think we still have a little bit more time. Once we start getting down to that we’ll talk more on that, but right now it’s still premature just to see where we’re at by March 26,” Espada said.
Because Hader is a relief pitcher built for a limited workload, he naturally doesn’t require as much ramp-up as a starter. In each of the last three years, however, Hader has made at least six appearances in Spring Training games, and matching that number may be difficult given that we’re less than a month away from Houston’s first regular-season contest.
The biceps injury comes on the heels of a more serious injury setback for Hader, as a left capsule sprain prematurely ended his season last August. Surgery wasn’t required, and after completing a throwing program in November, Hader said that he expected to be ready for Spring Training. That might have well been the case, if it wasn’t for the biceps inflammation that again put Hader on the sidelines.
Bryan Abreu covered the majority of save chances when Hader was on the injured list last season, so Abreu would probably be Houston’s top choice as interim closer if Hader needs a 15-day IL stint to begin the 2026 campaign. While Abreu has more than proven himself capable of high-leverage work, obviously removing a star closer like Hader from the equation weakens the bullpen depth chart as a whole.
If Hader is absent, it will put more of a spotlight on the rest of the Astros’ relief corps, from both a quality and health perspective. To the latter point, Enyel De Los Santos has started throwing again and Espada said the right-hander should start working off the mound by next week.
De Los Santos picked up a right knee strain early in camp, but it appears as though the strain ended up being fairly minor. The missed time in camp may not have much impact on De Los Santos’ availability for Opening Day, as Espada said that since De Los Santos pitched in winter ball, the righty might be able to rebuild his arm strength in fairly short order.
De Los Santos signed with Houston last August and pitched pretty well down the stretch, posting a 4.03 ERA, 6.6% walk rate, and 26.4% strikeout rate over 22 1/3 innings in an Astros uniform. He avoided arbitration with the Astros by agreeing to a one-year, $1.6MM deal for the 2026 season, giving the 30-year-old a bit of stability after already playing for eight different teams over the course of his seven MLB seasons.
Mariners Notes: Miller, Crawford, Labrada
General manager Justin Hollander updated reporters (including Seattle Sports’ Shannon Drayer and MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer) about some injury situations in the Mariners’ camp, including some side soreness for Bryce Miller. The right-hander reported some discomfort on his left side on Thursday, and a subsequent MRI revealed inflammation. Miller received a PRP shot and will be fully re-evaluated in about a week, though he could begin playing catch in a few days.
Drayer described Miller’s shutdown as “very precautionary,” and the soreness was mild enough that Miller might not have even told the team if the issue has arisen during the regular season. That said, there obviously isn’t any reason for Miller or the Mariners to push things during Spring Training. It isn’t out of the question that Miller could start the season on the 15-day injured list as a further precaution, or if he isn’t able to get back onto the mound in a week’s time to continue his normal spring ramp-up.
Miller is already coming off an injury-marred season that saw him limited to 90 1/3 regular-season innings. Bone spurs in his throwing elbow twice sent Miller to the IL, though he returned in the last half of August to make eight more starts, and then posted a 2.51 ERA over three starts and 14 1 1/3 innings in the playoffs.
Rather than undergo surgery to address the bone spurs, Miller has opted for such non-surgical treatments as a cortisone shot, a PRP shot, and a Synvisc injection to try and avoid a procedure. It was just over a week ago that Miller stated he had been able to have essentially a normal offseason, though this seemingly minor bout of side soreness is surely unwelcome.
If things developed to the point that Miller did need an IL trip, Emerson Hancock would probably be Seattle’s top choice as a rotation fill-in. Blas Castano and long man Cooper Criswell are also on the 40-man roster, or the Mariners could opt to select the contract of a non-roster invite like Casey Lawrence or Dane Dunning.
Turning to the diamond, J.P. Crawford is expected to play in his first Cactus League game of the spring on Tuesday. The veteran shortstop will be in Tuesday’s lineup as the DH, as Crawford is still recovering from a shoulder issue that has slowed his progress in camp. Hollander said the plan is for Crawford to return to shortstop the following week, which should give him plenty of time to be ready for Opening Day.
There has never been any concern that Crawford would miss any regular-season action, as the M’s were simply easing Crawford into his spring work. He is taking part in a live batting-practice session today to get some at-bats against actual pitchers under his belt before his debut game.
After an oblique strain and a fractured right hand limited Crawford to 105 games in 2024, he rebounded for a healthy 2025 campaign and a .265/.352/.370 slash line with 12 homers over 654 plate appearances (translating to a 113 wRC+). Crawford is now entering both his age-31 season, and the final year of the five-year, $51MM extension he signed with the Mariners in April 22. With star shortstop prospect Colt Emerson on the verge of his MLB debut, Crawford’s future in Seattle could be in doubt, so he’ll need a strong season to impress the M’s or potential other suitors as free agency looms.
Prospect Victor Labrada made his Triple-A debut in 2025 and could be on the radar for his first big league call-up at some point in 2026, but his season could be delayed by an oblique strain. Hollander said Labrada hurt his oblique yesterday while swinging in the batting cage, and an MRI today will determine the extent of the injury.
Labrada hit .265/.397/.376 over 235 plate appearances with Triple-A Tacoma, and he has an overall .267/.365/.402 slash line across 2155 PA in his minor league career. The 26-year-old doesn’t have much power, but he has terrific speed, with 172 steals out of 222 attempts. This speed and solid glovework at all three outfield positions could make Labrada at least a backup outfielder at the MLB level, and his ability to stick as a regular will depend on how well he can reach base and capitalize on what Baseball America describes as “solid bat-to-ball skills to hit the ball to the alleys.” BA ranks Labrada as the 26th-best prospect in the Mariners’ farm system.
Phillies Notes: Wheeler, Kerkering, Stott
Zack Wheeler threw a 21-pitch bullpen on Thursday, making the first time that the Phillies ace had thrown a BP since undergoing thoracic outlet surgery in September. Wheeler and Phils manager Rob Thomson each told reporters (including The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes) that Wheeler threw only fastballs and sinkers at about 85 percent effort, which is normal for any pitcher’s first bullpen session following an injury layoff. Everything went well enough that Wheeler is slated for another bullpen on Sunday, as for now, the right-hander is on a standard ramp-up plan.
It is still early enough in the process that neither Wheeler or the team is putting any kind of timeline on when the three-time All-Star could potentially make his return to Philadelphia’s rotation. TOS surgeries and their associated recovery periods are, as Thomson put it, “new stuff, and it’s different than a lot of other injuries. So, we really can’t pin it down to a day or a week.”
Still, it would seem like the early optimism that Wheeler could be back at some point in the first half of April has yet to abate. Wheeler was given a broad timeframe of 6-8 months in the wake of his surgery, so at the very least, it would seem like he’ll be able to return in the earlier end of that two-month window. A season-opening IL stint is definite, but Thomson said it is possible Wheeler could pitch in a Spring Training game before camp is over.
The Phillies surely aren’t going to rush Wheeler’s process, of course, since simply having him back pitching isn’t nearly as important as having him back in good form, both health-wise and results-wise. It is anyone’s guess as to whether or not Wheeler will able to recapture his superstar level of production immediately or even at all, given how many (but not all) pitchers dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome have never been the same after their surgeries. The fact that Wheeler is thus far feeling normal in his prep work is a great sign that the righty can again be a force in the rotation.
In other injury news, Orion Kerkering was sidelined by a Grade 1 hamstring strain right at the start of the Phillies’ camp, but the right-hander is set to throw a bullpen session today. Assuming no setbacks in Kerkering’s ramp-up, he should be on track for the Opening Day roster, as his arm will require less build for a relief role.
Kerkering will return to a high-leverage assignment in Philadelphia’s bullpen, though the addition of Brad Keller may push Kerkering a rung lower on the depth chart. Kerkering’s 2025 season will unfortunately be remembered for his game-ending and series-ending throwing error in Game 4 of the NLDS, but he delivered another solid campaign overall, with a 3.30 ERA and 24.4% strikeout rate over 60 innings. That strikeout rate was a dropoff from his 28.8K% in 2024, however, plus Kerkering’s walk rate spiked upwards.
Bryson Stott is another Phillie looking for more consistency in 2026, but the fact that the second baseman ended last season on a high note gives him lots of optimism for the coming season. As Stott told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, some brutal numbers in the first half led Stott to overhaul his approach on the fly at midseason, with adjustments that included lowering his hands and standing closer to the plate. The left-handed hitter also simplified things by just trying to pull the ball and make solid contact, rather than focus on trying to hit to all fields.
“If you just take your swing and it’s an outside pitch, it’s going to go to left, instead of trying to guide it to left,” Stott said. “For example, I’ll get an inside heater and I’m like, ‘Well, I want to hit the ball to left this at-bat,’ and then I try to finagle the barrel around and that’s when I get myself in trouble. The second half was more of just letting the ball dictate where it’s going to go rather than me trying to dictate where it’s going to go.”
Stott enjoyed a hot start in April before sinking into a deep slump, as he batted just .196/.266/.274 over 243 plate appearances from May 1 through July 22. From that point onwards, the swing changes starting clicking, as Stott hit .307/.376/.508 over his final 202 PA of the 2025 campaign.
Most of Stott’s season-long damage came against right-handed pitchers, as he batted only .225/.287/.228 in 123 PA against southpaws. Stott posted at least decent numbers against lefties in his first two MLB seasons, but his splits have cratered over the last two years, which has threatened his role as Philadelphia’s everyday second baseman. The team’s plan is to give Edmundo Sosa a big chunk (and maybe all) of the second base playing time when a left-hander is on the mound, though Stott believes he can perform well enough against southpaws to protect his spot in the lineup.
Latest On Brendan Rodgers’ Shoulder Injury
Brendan Rodgers left Wednesday’s Red Sox/Twins game due to right shoulder soreness, and has since undergone both an MRI and a CT scan. Rodgers is now considering his options in the wake of these tests, and the situation “doesn’t look great,” Sox manager Alex Cora told the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey and other reporters.
The implication is that Rodgers might again be facing a significant shoulder surgery, which would be the third of his career. Rodgers’ rookie season with the Rockies was cut short by a season-ending surgery on that same right shoulder in July 2019, and some recurring issues in his shoulder resulted in another IL stint in 2020. Exactly three years ago today, Rodgers dislocated his left shoulder while diving for a ball during a Spring Training game, and a subsequent surgery delayed his 2023 season debut until the very end of July.
At the very least, Rodgers seems ticketed for a season-opening stint on the injured list. The veteran infielder doesn’t have any roster security since he is in Boston’s camp on a minor league contract, so it is as least possible the Red Sox could take the harsh step of cutting Rodgers entirely if he isn’t healthy. The likelier scenario is that Rodgers passes on at least the March 22 opt-out clause in his contract and is stashed on the minor league IL if he is indeed facing a long-term recovery.
The 29-year-old Rodgers was non-tendered by the Rockies following the 2024 season, and then signed a minors deal with the Astros last offseason that led to a spot on Houston’s Opening Day roster. Rodgers hit only .191/.266/.278 over 128 plate appearances and 43 games with the Astros, however, before a variety of injuries ended his season. An oblique strain led to Rodgers’ initial IL placement last June, and he suffered both a concussion and a nasal fracture after colliding with a teammate during a minor league rehab game. Back problems then cropped up for Rodgers when he next attempted to take the field during a minor league game in August.
Rodgers faced relatively steep odds of breaking camp with the Red Sox anyway, though Boston now finds itself down two middle infielders since Romy Gonzalez is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day due to shoulder problems of his own. Marcelo Mayer is slated to be Boston’s regular second baseman this season, though Rodgers was brought in as even more veteran depth at the keystone beyond the options already on hand (i.e. Gonzalez, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andruw Monasterio, Nate Eaton, Anthony Seigler).
Rays’ Steven Wilson To Begin Season On Injured List
Steven Wilson‘s ongoing back problems will prevent the right-hander from being part of the Rays’ Opening Day roster, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). According to the Rays’ official injury update page, Wilson received an injection in his back, and it will be at least another week before he takes the mound.
While there isn’t yet any indication that the injury is overly serious, Wilson has yet to pitch during Spring Training, so he’ll need to make up for lost time in rehab work once he has recovered. An absence of longer than the 15-day minimum on the injured list certainly seems possible, though obviously such timeline projections won’t be known until later in March.
This isn’t the first time Wilson has dealt with a bad back, as a pair of back strains cost him close to two and a half months of the 2024 season when Wilson was pitching with the White Sox. The second of those back strains wound up prematurely ending Wilson’s season in mid-August, though it could be that he was shut down in part because there was no reason to hurry back for the end of Chicago’s record 121-loss season.
It’s a tough start to Wilson’s Rays tenure, as Tampa Bay just acquired the reliever as part of a four-player trade with the White Sox in November. Wilson has generally posted solid results over his four MLB seasons (apart from a 5.71 ERA over 34 2/3 innings during his injury-riddled 2024 campaign), including a 3.42 ERA over 55 1/3 innings out of the Sox bullpen last year. The sweeper is Wilson’s plus pitch and he induces a lot of soft contact, even though both his walk and strikeout rates were below average last season.
KBO’s Si Hwan Roh Could Explore MLB Posting In 2026-27 Offseason
The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization announced an 11-year extension with third baseman Si Hwan Roh that covers the 2027-37 seasons. The contract is the longest deal in KBO history and the most expensive, as Roh is set to earn up to $30.7 billion won (a little over $21.3MM in USD). Some options are included in the deal, including the intriguing possibility that the extension might not take place at all — following the 2026 KBO season, Roh is allowed to explore a move to Major League Baseball via the posting system.
If Roh is posted next winter and he doesn’t agree to a deal with a big league team within the 30-day posting window, he’ll return to the Eagles and enter into his 11-year commitment. If Roh does sign with a MLB club, the Eagles would be in line for a posting fee. The fee would be worth 20% of the first $25MM of Roh’s contract, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and $15% for anything beyond $50MM.
With $21.3MM already waiting for Roh, any interested Major League teams would likely have to significantly top that figure to lure Roh away from the Eagles. The likelihood that MLB locks out the players next winter is another chief factor for Roh and other international talents, as they may prefer to remain in their own leagues rather than come to the big leagues at a time of labor turmoil.
There’s also the fact that Roh may not trigger his posting clause out of sheer loyalty to the Eagles. “I want to share the beginning and the end with Hanwha. I have never once thought about leaving the team, so I don’t even want to imagine it,” Roh told ChosunBiz and other outlets. The length of the extension held particular appeal for Roh, as “the number 11 resonates with me more than the figure of 30.7 billion won. It motivates me and makes me proud. Joining the Hanwha Eagles and being able to play for a single team for a long time as a baseball player is an enormous source of pride and was my dream.”
With all this in mind, Roh’s contract might be nothing more than transactional footnote as it relates to fans of Major League Baseball, if he indeed remains with the Eagles for the remainder of his career. The nature of the contract perhaps could be a precedent for international teams (from the KBO or Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball) to entice some top talents into staying put, rather than seeking out a contract in North America. Should a team put a concrete contract and figure on the table, the player now has a clear price point to take across the pond when negotiating with MLB teams.
Fans will get a chance to see Roh in action for South Korea’s team during the World Baseball Classic, and he has an impressive resume over his seven seasons with the Eagles. Roh has hit .264/.352/.449 with 124 home runs over 3347 career plate appearances, and he hit a career-best 32 homers in 2025 while helping the Eagles reach the Korean Series for the first time since 2006. Roh has played exclusively at third base for the last two seasons, and he saw some action at shortstop and first base earlier in his career.
Roh is entering his age-25 season, so he’d be 26 if and when he is posted for big league teams in the offseason. This young age surely informed the Eagles’ decision to make such a lengthy commitment to Roh, and his youth may hold particular appeal (though obviously not in the form of 11 years) to any interested MLB teams.
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.