Cardinals Have Received Trade Interest In Catching Depth
“Other teams have asked about” the many catchers in the Cardinals organization, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote as part of a lengthy chat with readers. No specific names are mentioned, yet since youngsters Jimmy Crooks, and Leonardo Bernal seem pretty untouchable at the moment, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, and Yohel Pozo are the likelier trade candidates, to varying degrees.
While the focus of the Cards’ offseason will be moving veteran talent and creating opportunities for young players, the wide-ranging nature of this rebuild means that president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is likely to explore every possible avenue for upgrading the roster. Given this youth movement, it is safe to assume that Bernal and Crooks aren’t going anywhere, unless Bloom swings a relatively rare prospect-for-prospect type of swap. The Cardinals could conceivably package one of their own prospects along with a higher-priced veteran (i.e. Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray) to convince a rival club to take on more salary, yet dealing a well-regarded prospect just to save money isn’t happening unless the other team also offers a good prospect package that can more broadly address the Cards’ needs.
MLB Pipeline ranks Bernal as the 92nd-best prospect in baseball, and the fourth-best prospect in the St. Louis farm system. As Goold notes, the Cardinals will have to add him to the 40-man roster to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, so Bernal’s inclusion would give the Cards five backstops on their 40-man. Goold suggests that Pozo will be the odd man out, perhaps designated for assignment and then re-signed by the Cardinals to a minor league contract. Such a move would allow St. Louis to free up a 40-man spot and keep Pozo all at once, though a trade or waiver claim is a possibility in that scenario.
Crooks was ranked as the sixth-best Cardinals prospect and outside Pipeline’s league-wide top-100, though he received some top-100 attention from Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs this year. Crooks also made his MLB debut this season, but did very little at the plate in batting .133/.152/.244 over his first 46 plate appearances in the Show. He has hit considerably better in the minors (including a .274/.337/.441 slash line in 430 PA in Triple-A), but Crooks is generally viewed as a glove-first type of catcher.
Beyond this duo, the Cardinals also have Rainiel Rodriguez, the 18-year-old who finished the season in high-A ball and who ranks 55th on Pipeline’s top-100 list. It isn’t hard to view Rodriguez, Bernal, and Crooks within a broad “catcher of the future” category, which naturally creates questions about how the Cards could approach the catchers currently on the big league roster.
It should be noted that none of Herrera, Pages, or Pozo are exactly seasoned vets. Herrera won’t become arbitration-eligible until next offseason and he is controlled through 2029, while Pages is controlled through 2030. If Pozo is possibly DFA fodder, that alone could clear up the catching backlog to some extent, but could the Cardinals go a step further and move Herrera or Pages to create playing time for Crooks?
Describing Herrera as a catcher is perhaps a topic of debate unto itself, as he suited up behind the plate in only 14 games this season. Herrera missed time due a bone bruise in his left knee and then a Grade 2 hamstring strain, plus he was slated for offseason surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow. These health issues led the Cardinals to make Herrera their primary DH, and he also made a few cameo appearances in left field.
The team’s plan is for Herrera to spend the offseason healing up, and then to return in Spring Training as a viable catcher once again. There were some questions about Herrera’s long-term ability to stick at catcher even before his injury-plagued 2025 season, but there’s no doubt he can hit. Herrera batted .284/.373/.464 with 19 home runs over 452 plate appearances this year, and his 137 wRC+ was the 16th-best of any player in the league with at least 450 PA.
Moving such a potent and controllable bat this early in the rebuild process doesn’t seem too likely for Bloom, unless a major asset could be obtained in return. If the Cardinals still have misgivings about Herrera’s defense, that could leave the door open a crack for a possible trade, yet it is fair to guess that Herrera is pretty far down the list of Bloom’s potential trade chips.
Pages ended up becoming the Cards’ primary catcher in 2025, and his profile is basically the opposite of Herrera. Pages has hit only .233/.275/.368 over 607 career PA in the majors, but he is a superb defender in every aspect of catching except his blocking work. This could appeal to clubs looking to improve their glovework behind the plate, though Yadier Molina‘s shadow runs long in St. Louis, and the Cardinals themselves have long prioritized having strong catcher defense.
Nationals Retain Mike DeBartolo; Part Ways With Assistant GMs Eddie Longosz, Mark Scialabba
12:21PM: DeBartolo will be staying on in Washington’s front office, Ghiroli reports in a follow-up.
12:19PM: Assistant general managers Eddie Longosz and Mark Scialabba won’t be returning to the Nationals in 2026, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports. These departures are two of what seems to be multiple changes made under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, as Ghiroli writes that “several scouts and members of the team’s staff in Florida” are also on the way out.
It isn’t surprising that Toboni’s hiring has triggered a staff overhaul, as some prominent names left the organization even before Toboni was hired two weeks ago. Since the start of September, former scouting director Danny Haas and senior director of amateur scouting Brad Ciolek each left the Nats for jobs with the Orioles and Tigers, respectively. It is fair to wonder exactly how many members of Mike Rizzo’s front office will continue on with the Nationals under Toboni — most prominently, assistant GM and former interim GM Mike DeBartolo’s role with the team remains unclear.
Rizzo himself shook up the front office and player development staffs a few years ago, but Longosz and Scialabba were two of the longtime Washington staffers who stayed put. Longosz started with the Nats in 2010 and worked as the club’s director of scouting operations for the eight seasons prior to his elevation to the AGM and vice-president role in 2023. Specifically, Longosz was the assistant general manager of player development and administration.
Scialabba’s ties to the organization stretch back even longer, as he first joined the team in 2006. Working as the Nationals’ director of minor league operations from 2009-13, Scialabba took over the player development department in 2013 before becoming the assistant GM of player development following the 2019 campaign.
Rockies Assistant GM Zack Rosenthal Resigns
Rockies VP of baseball operations and assistant general manager Zack Rosenthal has resigned from the organization, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports. Rosenthal has been in the assistant GM role since the 2014-15 offseason, and the VP position was added to his portfolio following the 2021 season, after Bill Schmidt was elevated from interim GM to the full-time job.
Schmidt is now out after a disastrous four-year run, as Colorado has won only 231 games since Opening Day 2022. This year’s squad was simply one of the worst teams in MLB history, with an astonishing 43-119 record and the worst rotation ERA (6.65) and run differential (-424) in baseball’s modern era. Ownership has already stated that the Rockies’ next front office boss will be someone from outside the organization, which seems like a long overdue step for a club often criticized for being too insular and not in touch with analytical and developments trends are commonplace in the sport.
With this in mind, it isn’t surprising that other longtime front office staffers like Rosenthal are on the way out, as the next top executive will likely have a wide berth to bring in their own personnel. Since Schmidt’s title was GM rather than president of baseball operations, Rosenthal was his de facto number two, as the Rockies’ only assistant general manager.
Rosenthal told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (multiple links) that he made his own decision to step away. “I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to stay with one single organization for 20-plus years,” Rosenthal said. “So many amazing experiences and memories. My first full-time season was the World Series year [in 2007]. That was magical…I want nothing but success for the Rockies. This city deserves a team that competes, because there’s nothing like Coors Field in October.”
Starting his baseball career as an account manager with the A’s and as an intern with the Red Sox, Rosenthal arrived in Denver in 2006 as a player development intern. From there, he became a baseball ops assistant and then the director of baseball operations. Beyond just the baseball-specific duties, Rosenthal was also the Rockies’ assistant general counsel for much of his time with the club, dealing with legal matters related to front office matters and the team’s business operations.
Astros To Retain Dana Brown, Joe Espada
Coming off their first non-playoff season since 2016, the Astros will hold off on any major organizational overhauls. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports that both general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada will be back with the club in 2026, for Brown’s fourth season and Espada’s third season in their respective roles.
The news isn’t hugely surprising, as Brown said during the Astros’ end-of-season press conference last week that Espada would return, and the GM believed he would also remain in his position. There has been no indication that team owner Jim Crane is dissatisfied with the job performance of either man, whereas by comparison, there were rumors for months in 2022 that Crane was clashing with ex-GM James Click (Brown’s predecessor). Sure enough, the Astros parted ways with Click shortly after the 2022 season, despite the fact that Houston had just won the World Series.
Since winning that championship, the Astros’ win totals and finishes have gradually gone in reverse. Houston won 90 games and the AL West in 2023 but fell just short of another pennant, losing to the Rangers in a seven-game ALCS. In 2024, the Astros won 89 games and another division crown, but their streak of ALCS appearances was snapped when they were upset and swept by the Tigers in the wild card series.
This season saw the Astros win 87 games, the most of any club that didn’t reach the postseason. The Tigers were again their nemesis, also winning 87 games and edging out the Astros for the final AL wild card berth due to the tiebreaker advantage (Detroit had a 4-2 record against Houston this year). Even with the Tigers in full collapse mode for much of September, the Astros came undone in the final stretch, going 3-6 in their last nine games.
In this sense, Brown and Espada are somewhat victims of their own success — naturally, most teams would love to have a three-season run that included two division titles and 265 wins. For this season in particular, there was also a clear reason for the Astros’ relative struggles, as Houston was absolutely ravaged by injuries. Only four Astros players had more than 500 plate appearances, and Framber Valdez (192 IP) and Hunter Brown (185 1/3 IP) were the only hurlers to log more than 86 innings pitched. Within this context, Espada found himself garnering some buzz as a Manager Of The Year candidate before the bottom finally fell out on his injury-riddled club.
It isn’t hard to imagine that the Astros would’ve made the playoffs if their team had been even reasonably healthy. However, just counting on fewer injuries in 2026 might not be enough, plus the Astros have a big pair of potential holes to fill if Valdez or productive backup catcher Victor Caratini leave in free agency.
Going forward, Brown and Espada are both under contract through at least the 2026 season, though the specific terms of either man’s contract aren’t publicly known. If 2026 is the last year of their deals, Crane could explore at least a brief extension just to make sure that neither is a lame duck, or the owner might want to see if the Astros can firmly get things turned around before making a further commitment.
Offseason Outlook: Kansas City Royals
An 82-80 record is nothing to sneeze at in Kansas City, as it represented just the sixth time in the last 31 years that the Royals topped the .500 mark. Still, the Royals took a step back after reaching the playoffs in 2024, and will again be looking to bolster their lackluster offense.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS: $272MM through 2034 (Witt can opt out after each of the final four years of the contract; Royals can trigger $89MM club option for 2035-37 seasons if Witt triggers all player options)
- Seth Lugo, SP: $43MM through 2027 (includes $3MM buyout of $17MM club/vesting option for 2028)
- Michael Wacha, SP: $33MM through 2027 (includes $1MM buyout of $14MM club option for 2028)
- Carlos Estevez, RP: $12MM through 2026 (includes $2M buyout of $13MM club option for 2027)
- Cole Ragans, SP: $12MM through 2027 (Royals hold arbitration control over Ragans for 2028 season)
Option Decisions
- Salvador Perez, C: $13.5MM club option ($2MM buyout)
- Michael Lorenzen, SP: $12MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
- Randal Grichuk, OF: $5MM mutual option ($3MM buyout)
2026 financial commitments (assuming only Perez's option is exercised): $79MM
Total future commitments (assuming only Perez's option is exercised): $385.5MM
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Taylor Clarke (5.148): $1.9MM
- Kris Bubic (5.135): $6MM
- John Schreiber (5.027): $3.8MM
- Jonathan India (5.000): $7.4MM
- Kyle Wright (4.151): $1.8MM
- Kyle Isbel (4.043): $2.7MM
- Bailey Falter (3.138): $3.3MM
- Daniel Lynch IV (3.136): $1.3MM
- Sam Long (3.121): $950K
- Vinnie Pasquantino (3.101): $5.4MM
- Angel Zerpa (3.082): $1.2MM
- Michael Massey (3.068): $2MM
- MJ Melendez (3.016): $2.65MM
- Maikel Garcia (2.168): $4.8MM
- James McArthur (2.150): $800K
- Non-tender candidates: India, Wright, Falter, Long, Massey, Melendez, McArthur
Free Agents
- Lorenzen, Grichuk, Mike Yastrzemski, Hunter Harvey, Adam Frazier, Luke Maile
The Royals got an early jump on their offseason work when they agreed to a contract extension with Seth Lugo just before the trade deadline. Lugo's previous deal allowed him to opt out of the contract's final year and enter free agency this winter, and the Royals seemed to at least test the trade market just in case an extension couldn't be finalized. As it turned out, the veteran righty will now be staying in K.C. through at least the 2027 campaign, further solidifying the Royals' starting corps.
The rotation was more good than elite this season, as injuries played a role. Lugo himself missed about a month and a half due to back and finger issues, Kris Bubic's All-Star season was ended by a rotator cuff strain in late July, and 2024 All-Star Cole Ragans was limited to 13 starts and 61 2/3 innings due to a rotator cuff strain of his own. The silver lining to these health issues was that Noah Cameron got the opportunity to break into the rotation, as the rookie delivered a 2.99 ERA over his first 138 1/3 frames in the majors.
Better health is obviously no guarantee for 2026, yet assuming the Royals deal with just an average amount of injury misfortune, their rotation looks like one of the more solid on-paper units in baseball. The Royals have fewer questions about their starting pitching than most clubs, due to both a high talent floor and plenty of depth. Mutual options are almost always declined anyway, but Michael Lorenzen probably would've been moving on regardless considering all of the other pitching options on hand.
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Brett Phillips Retires
Outfielder Brett Phillips has announced his retirement after seven Major League seasons. In an Instagram reel released today, Phillips credited his career to his family, his faith, and to many people in and out of baseball that helped him achieve his success. Beyond those named in his speech, the 31-year-old Phillips also had a whiteboard full of names of many former teammates and executives who played key roles in his career.
Phillips hit .187/.272/.347 with 31 homers over 971 plate appearances and 393 games during his MLB career, while playing for five different clubs at the big league level. Phillips’ speed was his chief offensive weapon, as he stole 39 bases on 45 career attempts. That speed also helped him deliver outstanding defense at all three outfield positions — over his 2321 1/3 innings as a big league outfielder, Phillips amassed +41 Defensive Runs Saved, +31 Outs Above Average, and a +13.0 UZR/150.
The Astros made Phillips a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft, though before he could make his debut in the Show, Houston dealt Phillips as part of the huge trade at the 2015 deadline that brought Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers from Milwaukee. Phillips was one of four pieces of the very prominent trade package acquired by the Brew Crew, as Josh Hader, Adrian Houser, and Domingo Santana were the other members of the haul. Not to be overshadowed at the time of the trade, Phillips was drawing top-100 prospect attention heading into the 2016 season and for a couple of years afterwards.
Phillips got his first taste of the majors in 2017, and he appeared in 52 games for the Brewers over the next two seasons before the outfielder was moved to the Royals in another notable deadline deal that saw Mike Moustakas shipped from K.C. to Milwaukee. This tenure in Kansas City stretched over parts of three seasons before Phillips was dealt again to the Rays partway through the abbreviated 2020 season, which set the stage for the most memorable moments of Phillips’ career.
Tampa Bay won the AL pennant that year, with Phillips chipping in as a defensive specialist during the rest of the regular season and then as a defensive sub and pinch-runner throughout the playoffs. He had just three plate appearances during the postseason, and his one hit during that stretch couldn’t have been bigger. With the Dodgers holding a 7-6 lead over the Rays with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4, Phillips lined a single that tied the game, and ended up as the walkoff hit when Randy Arozarena also scored on the play due to a Will Smith catching error. Beyond the hit itself, Rays fans will always remember the image of Phillips’ celebratory airplane-style sprint around the outfield.
The following season saw Phillips deliver his best year at the plate, as he hit .206/.300/.427 with 13 homers and 14 steals (out of 17 attempts) in 292 PA while playing in a part-time outfield role in Tampa Bay. His numbers dropped off sharply in 2022, however, and the Rays designated him for assignment and then dealt Phillips to the Orioles.
Phillips moved on to play 39 games with the 2023 Angels in what proved to be his last MLB campaign, as subsequent minor league deals with the White Sox and Yankees didn’t result in any more calls to the Show. His stint with the Yankees saw the start of a new career path for Phillips, as he attempted to convert to pitching. Phillips’ final stop of his career came with Kane County of the independent American Association this year.
Beyond his energy and contributions on the field, Phillips became a fan favorite and social media darling due to his outgoing personality. “Baseball Is Fun” became Phillips’ unofficial catchphrase, and he finished his retirement announcement by repeating his mantra one more time. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Phillips on a fine career and we wish him plenty of more fun in his post-playing endeavors.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Mark P
- The Weekend Chat (postseason edition) is here! We’ll take a minute for some questions to stack up, and then pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er
Phillie Phanatic
- If Phils lose does Thomson get fired?
Mark P
- I’m not sure there’s anything that be pointed at as Thomson’s fault, in relation to why the Phillies aren’t able to get over the hump and win a title. But, with relatively little roster flexibility, it’s possible a managerial change might be viewed as a step that can be taken to try and shake things up.
If Thomson wanted to continue managing, I suspect he might find another job as early as this offseason, given his track record and how many teams are looking for new dugout bosses
Ca$hman
- Did Devin Williams late season resurgence get him into qualifying offer territory and if so does he accept it?
Mark P
- He would absolutely accept it, but there’s no chance the Yankees would float $22MM to a reliever coming off such an inconsistent season.
Joe
- Do the Reds trade for a middle of the order bat or sign one? What would they have to trade?
Mark P
- Given their payroll limitations, a trade seems more likely, though the Reds should or could be able to find a decent hitter at a reasonable price. Martinez and Pagan both coming off the books frees up a big chunk of payroll space that Cincinnati can re-invest towards a big bat.
On the trade front, the Reds technically have a pitching surplus. But, like I say about any team that seemingly has “too much” pitching, trading one arm and then running into an injury or two can very quickly put a team into a rotation hole. So, if the Reds go this route, they’ll have to be very careful about who they’d trade.
Boomington
- Christian Walker a good fit for Reds?
Mark P
- If the Reds are going to trade for someone, probably not the guy entering his age-35 season, who is owed $40MM over the next two seasons, and is coming off a 99 wRC+ year
AL East Notes: ALDS, Rodriguez, Weaver, Orioles
The Blue Jays hold a 2-0 lead in the ALDS after a 13-7 win over the Yankees today. Toronto has torched the Yankees for 23 runs over the two games, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3-for-5 with a grand slam) and Daulton Varsho (4-for-5 with two homers and two doubles) doing the most damage today with four RBI apiece. Max Fried was charged with seven earned runs over three-plus innings in a disastrous outing for the Yankees ace.
New York’s lineup came to life with seven late runs against Toronto’s bullpen, after Jays starter Trey Yesavage was nothing short of dominant. In just his fourth career outing in the majors, Yesavage allowed only a walk over 5 1/3 hitless innings, with 11 strikeouts — the most K’s from any Blue Jays pitcher in a postseason game. The decision to pull Yesavage after 78 pitches seemed to be based on a desire to keep Yesavage from facing Yankees batters a third time, and to potentially keep Yesavage fresh for usage later in the series. Of course, the Yankees can only hope that there will even be a “later in the series,” as the Jays are just one win away from advancing to the ALCS. Game 3 is on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
More from around the AL East…
- Rays assistant general manager and VP Carlos Rodriguez officially announced on Wednesday that he is leaving the organization. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Rodriguez “had been talking about [departing] for a while,” so the move has nothing to do with the Rays’ new owners, as it is believed that the incoming ownership group won’t be making any major changes to the baseball ops group. Rodriguez was one of four AGMs under president of baseball operations Erik Neander, and Topkin believes the club will fill Rodriguez’s spot by promoting from within. Rodriguez has been in his VP/AGM role for the last four seasons, and a member of Tampa’s organization for the last 15 seasons. Beginning as a scout, Rodriguez had many roles as he worked his way up the front office ladder, including multiple years running the Rays’ Latin American scouting and international scouting operations.
- Luke Weaver retired the only batter he faced in a mop-up appearance for the Yankees today, providing some small hope that the right-hander is turning things around. After an inconsistent regular season, Weaver has had a nightmarish postseason, as he hadn’t recorded a single out from six batters faced in two prior outings against the Jays (in Game 1 of the ALDS) and Red Sox (in Game 1 of the wild card series). Weaver discussed his struggles with MLB.com’s Jake Rill and other reporters before today’s game, suggesting that he may have been over-correcting in an attempt to keep from tipping his pitches. “I’m at a point where I’m just, ‘Full send,’ and none of that’s going to matter anymore. So I’m going to be what I think is best for me, and I’m going to go out there and attack the way I need to do,” Weaver said.
- After a disappointing season for the Orioles and their core of young players, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko opines that the team should go big in adding both experience and quality by signing Cody Bellinger this winter. To be clear, this is a speculative opinion on Kubatko’s part, rather than a suggestion that Bellinger might be on the Orioles’ radar this winter. Baltimore hasn’t been linked to Bellinger when he has been a free agent or trade candidate in the past, and signing Bellinger would represent far and away the team’s biggest financial splash of the Mike Elias era. Tyler O’Neill‘s three-year, $49.5MM contract from last winter is the only multi-year free agent signing Elias has made, though the Orioles’ eight-year, $67MM extension with Samuel Basallo from the summer indicates that the club may be getting a bit more comfortable with larger spending.
Jackson Chourio Day-To-Day After “Inconclusive” MRI
Right hamstring tightness forced Jackson Chourio out of Game 1 of the NLDS in the second inning, though Chourio had already logged three hits by that point in the Brewers 9-3 win over the Cubs. In the aftermath, Chourio told reporters “I feel good, and I feel I’m in a position where I’m ready to keep going and ready to keep competing,” though he underwent an MRI to check for any sort of serious injury.
That MRI didn’t come back entirely clean, as Brewers manager Pat Murphy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Curt Hogg and other media that the MRI was “inconclusive. It’s not a serious hamstring strain, but it’s not necessarily something that won’t limit him. We’re going to kind of see how he feels. He’s going to go through some testing, and if he feels anything, we’re going to shut it down.”
As Hogg describes it, Chourio’s work today was limited to some runs from home plate to first base, with the outfielder moving “at roughly 50 percent.” Chourio “appeared to move gingerly but did not seem to be in any pain during or after the running,” Hogg writes.
The off-day between Game 1 and Game 2 of the series gave Chourio and the Brewers extra time to monitor the situation, and kept alive the chance that Chourio might yet be able to play in the next contest. There is also an off-day between Game 2 and Wednesday’s Game 3, so the Brewers could conceivably rest Chourio for Monday and then not make a final determination on his status until prior to Wednesday’s game.
Isaac Collins took over for Chourio in Game 1, and Murphy said Collins will remain as the Brewers’ left fielder if Chourio indeed can’t play. As Hogg noted, Collins cooled off drastically over the last six weeks of the season, bringing a quiet end to an otherwise strong rookie season that saw Collins finish with a .263/.368/.411 slash line and nine homers over 441 plate appearances (122 wRC+).
If Chourio has to be removed from the NLDS roster for injury purposes, the Brewers would get to add a replacement to their roster, but Chourio wouldn’t be eligible to return to action until the World Series (if Milwaukee advanced through both the NLDS and NLCS). Outfielders Blake Perkins and Brandon Lockridge are already on the 26-man roster, so the Brew Crew wouldn’t necessarily summon another outfielder in Chourio’s place.
Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Bo Bichette Left Off Blue Jays’ ALDS Roster
12:30PM: Manager John Schneider provided Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling (multiple links) and other media with some context on the roster decisions. Beyond the lack of running, Bichette has yet to face higher-velocity or pitches with movement in his cage work. Bassitt wasn’t quite stretched out enough to be ready, whereas Scherzer was omitted because Schneider didn’t like how he matched up with New York specifically; Scherzer would likely have been included had the Red Sox defeated the Yankees in the wild card series.
9:20AM: The Blue Jays announced their official 26-man roster for their AL Division Series matchup with the Yankees that begins today. Toronto will take 13 pitchers and 13 position players into action against New York, with the following breakdown…
Catchers: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Infielders: Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andres Gimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Outfielders: Nathan Lukes, Anthony Santander, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Myles Straw, Daulton Varsho
Left-handed pitchers: Justin Bruihl, Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Brendon Little
Right-handed pitchers: Shane Bieber, Seranthony Dominguez, Braydon Fisher, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Tommy Nance, Yariel Rodriguez, Louis Varland, Trey Yesavage
The roster notably doesn’t include three players battling injuries (Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Ty France) and one prominent name in Max Scherzer. Omitting Scherzer and Bassitt from the roster means that the Blue Jays seem to be locking into rookie Yesavage to start one game of the series, and then perhaps turning to a bullpen game in Game Four.
It wasn’t long ago that the Jays seemed to have almost a surplus of postseason rotation candidates, between Gausman, Bieber, Scherzer, Bassitt, Lauer, Jose Berrios, and Yesavage waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Toronto moved Lauer into a relief role at the start of September and also tapped Berrios for bullpen work late in the month, though a case of elbow inflammation sidelined Berrios and left his postseason availability up in the air.
Bassitt also hit the 15-day injured list on September 19 due to lower back tightness, but seemed to be on pace to be part of the ALDS roster. It isn’t yet known if Bassitt might’ve had some sort of setback in his ramp-up work, or if perhaps he or the Jays had enough uncertainty over his health that the team didn’t want to take the risk of issuing Bassitt a roster spot. If a player has to be removed from a postseason roster due to injury, the player is ineligible to play in the following series, so it could be that the Blue Jays didn’t want to take the chance of losing Bassitt for the ALCS if the Jays defeat New York.
For Scherzer, his two World Series and 143 career playoff innings didn’t carry as much weight to the Jays as the veteran’s recent form. The right-hander posted a 9.00 ERA over his final six starts and 25 innings in the regular season, and Scherzer only completed six innings in one of those outings. One of those tough starts came against the Yankees on September 7, when Scherzer allowed four runs on three hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings in a 4-3 New York victory.
Scherzer ended up with a 5.19 ERA over 85 innings in 2025, as he missed most of the first half dealing with injuries. Just prior to his rough final six starts, it seemed like Scherzer was locking into form with a string of five consecutive quality starts and a 2.25 ERA over 32 innings. The Jays signed Scherzer to a one-year, $15.5MM contract last winter in the hopes that he could turn back the clock and provide veteran depth and experience to the rotation, particularly if Toronto happened to advance into the playoffs. While it is possible he could return for the ALCS, Scherzer will be limited to spectator duty for at least the first leg of the Blue Jays’ postseason run.
It isn’t surprising that Bichette isn’t participating, since as of Wednesday, Bichette had yet to start running drills as part of his rehab from a left PCL sprain. Bichette hurt his knee almost exactly a month ago, on an awkward slide into home plate on September 6 in another game against the Yankees. Bichette has been able to take swings in the batting cage, but until he is able to run whatsoever, his status for the rest of the playoffs remains unclear if the Jays manage to advance deeper into October.
Ty France is another noteworthy player left off the roster, as France may still be bothered by the oblique inflammation that has kept him sidelined since September 21. France’s absence will leave the Jays without some right-handed hitting bench depth, and Guerrero is now the only true first baseman on the roster, though naturally Guerrero isn’t expected to leave the lineup at any point in the series.