NL Central Notes: Saggese, Grichuk, Steele, Urias
The Cardinals are known to be looking for outfield help, and preferably a right-handed bat given previous statements from president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Adding a free agent is still a possibility, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cards “have not expressed much interest in” Randal Grichuk, and target Austin Hays chose the White Sox over the Cardinals in part because Chicago was offering more playing time.
Rather than bring in a new player, the Cards are also exploring internal options by using Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin as outfielders this spring. This isn’t anything new for Fermin, who has played six MLB games and 19 minor league games as an outfielder in addition to his larger amount of playing time at second, third and shortstop. For career infielder Saggese, he told Goold that he hasn’t played in the outfield since he was 10 years old.
Nonetheless, adding to his defensive versatility should help Saggese in his bid for more playing time. Saggese drew some top-100 prospect attention prior to his big league debut in 2024, though he has hit only .250/.292/.336 over the small sample size of 347 Major League plate appearances. Sticking in the infield could be tricky with Masyn Winn at shortstop, top prospect JJ Wetherholt on the verge of his MLB debut (likely at second base), and Nolan Gorman penciled in for third base. It could be that St. Louis is trying to mold Saggese into a right-handed hitting version of the now-traded Brendan Donovan, as a super-utility option who can be bounced around the diamond.
More from around the NL Central…
- Justin Steele told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that his rehab work has progressed to 30-pitch bullpen sessions, and he is planning to return to the Cubs rotation in May or June. Steele underwent a UCL revision surgery last April that included the installation of an internal brace in his elbow, and “as I started throwing again, it felt the same. There was no difference — whereas the first Tommy John I had [in 2017], it felt like I had a new arm, I had to re-learn how to use it.” It remains to be seen if Steele can immediately recapture his old form once he returns, but having a former All-Star back should provide a nice boost for the Cubs in their request to return to the postseason.
- Before Luis Rengifo was signed to a one-year, $3.5MM guarantee on Friday, the Brewers also had interest in free agent infielder Ramon Urias, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Since Milwaukee apparently plans to use Rengifo primarily as a third baseman, Rosenthal notes that the signing was “somewhat curious” from a glovework perspective — Urias was the AL Gold Glove winner at third base in 2022, and his career defensive metrics at both second and third base are far superior to Rengifo’s numbers. The Brewers are the first team known to have interest in Urias since the Astros non-tendered him in November rather than pay a projected $4.4MM in arbitration salary. Urias had a 108 wRC+ (from a .262/.328/.408 slash line) over 1465 PA in part-time action with the Orioles from 2020-24, but he slumped to an 87 wRC+ and a .241/.292/.384 slash in 391 PA with Baltimore and Houston in 2025.
Dodgers Notes: Hernandez, Phillips, Diaz
Enrique Hernandez played through most of the 2025 season with a torn muscle in his left (non-throwing) arm, and he underwent surgery to address the problem back in November. Hernandez suggested during an offseason interview with Adam Ottavino (hat tip to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen) that his recovery process would cost him “a month or two” of the regular season, but Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes suggested a slightly longer timeline, telling The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters today that the team expected Hernandez closer to midseason.
The status of Hernandez’s elbow didn’t stop Los Angeles from re-signing the utilityman to a one-year, $4.5MM free agent contract. Hernandez hasn’t yet been placed on the 60-day injured list, so the Dodgers may think there is still some chance he might be able to return within the first two months of regular-season action. Gomes noted that Hernandez will soon start swinging, which should provide some data on the 34-year-old’s progress.
Some might argue that Hernandez only needs to be ready for October, given his history as a postseason performer. The veteran has a modest .236/.305/.403 slash line over 4152 plate appearances and 12 Major League seasons, but his postseason numbers (.272/.339/.486 in 328 PA) have made Hernandez a key part of the Dodgers’ three championship teams over the last six years.
Gomes also touched on Evan Phillips‘ recovery from Tommy John surgery, and his comparison to Phillips’ return as akin to a trade deadline acquisition suggests that the reliever should be back around late July. Since Phillips had his surgery in late May 2025, the timeline tracks with the usual TJ rehab period. Phillips himself told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times that he is aiming to be back with the Dodgers by August at the latest, with an eye towards being fully ready for playoff baseball.
L.A. non-tendered Phillips in November, but re-signed the former closer to a one-year, $6.5MM deal earlier this week. It’s a fairly steep price for a pitcher who may pitch around a third of the regular season, yet the Dodgers can obviously afford it, and are counting on Phillips to regain his past status as a key leverage reliever. Phillips posted a 2.14 ERA over 184 2/3 innings for Los Angeles from 2022-25, recording 45 saves during his time as the team’s closer.
Unsurprisingly for a pitcher coming off a Tommy John procedure, Phillips’ market was pretty quiet, as the Red Sox were the only team publicly known to have interest this winter. Phillips told Harris that he had “plenty of teams kick the tires and check in” during the offseason, and talks with the Dodgers only started to reignite in early February.
Phillips won’t be returning to the closer role upon his return, both due to his long layoff and the fact that the Dodgers have now signed Edwin Diaz to handle ninth-inning duties. The three-time All-Star became yet another marquee Dodgers signing when he inked a three-year, $69MM deal back in December, and the $23MM average annual value of his contract is a new record for a relief pitcher.
Diaz headed to Los Angeles after a successful six-year run with the Mets, and many expected New York to again re-sign the closer. The Mets reportedly made Diaz a three-year, $66MM offer, but Diaz accepted the Dodgers’ offer without giving the Mets “a chance to counter,” MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. A source tells DiComo that New York was open to spending beyond $66MM to retain Diaz, but another source “said Diaz’s camp didn’t expect the Mets to increase their offer in a meaningful way,” which is why the closer settled on the Dodgers’ $69MM contract.
Diaz’s decision struck Mets owner Steve Cohen as “perplexing,” as he told team broadcaster Howie Rose in an interview earlier this week. “Obviously, it’s a personal decision on his part, and I thought we made a pretty respectable bid.” Diaz didn’t directly respond to Cohen’s statement, but told reporters yesterday that “I think the Dodgers did a great job recruiting me. At the end of the day, I chose to be here. I have a lot of respect for the Mets organization, players, staff, ownership. They treated me really good. I don’t have anything bad to say about them. But at the end of the day, I’m here.”
Werner, Kennedy Discuss Red Sox Offseason, Bregman, Devers
Red Sox president/CEO Sam Kennedy spoke with reporters (including the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey and MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) today at the team’s Spring Training camp, while Sox chairman Tom Werner also took part in an interview with the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. The two executives covered many of the same topics, with much of the focus naturally centered around Boston’s offseason.
One of the matters discussed was Alex Bregman‘s decision to leave Fenway Park and sign with the Cubs for a five-year, $175MM contract. Reports indicated that the Sox offered Bregman a five-year, $165MM contract that (like Chicago’s offer) included a lot of deferred money, though Boston’s deferral plan covered multiple decades. The bigger issue seemed to be Bregman’s insistence on a full no-trade clause, which the Cubs were willing to give but Boston wasn’t, apparently due to an organizational policy.
Werner and Kennedy each pushed back on these reports, with Werner flatly saying that the Red Sox “don’t” have any policy against no-trade protection. Kennedy was more circumspect in saying that “we try not to talk about organizational policies and the finer points of negotiations because it just doesn’t serve you well if you do that,” but also said that “if Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately he’d be here.” Kennedy also essentially ducked the question of whether or not the Red Sox would’ve offered Bregman a no-trade clause if asked, saying “it’s theoretical. It’s hard to know.”
More than the no-trade clause or “the fact that he was offered a bit more money in Chicago,” Werner felt Bregman was “happy to be in Arizona [for Spring Training] where his family is. I have enormous respect for Alex, but it wasn’t meant to be and we moved on.” Likewise, Kennedy praised Bregman’s contributions over his one season in Boston, and said “he chose a different path, and we wish him well.”
These statements probably won’t do much to soothe Red Sox fans still upset that Bregman is playing elsewhere, after the third baseman’s leadership and on-field production (at least prior to a right quad strain) was so widely acknowledged as a key factor in Boston’s return to the postseason. Signing Bregman last winter to take over at third base also sparked the chain reaction of events that led to Rafael Devers being traded to the Giants last June, following a lot of hard feelings from Devers over first being pushed off the hot corner into a DH role, and then being asked to learn first base once Triston Casas went down with what ended up being a season-ending knee injury.
Kennedy expressed regrets over how the Devers situation played out, saying better communication was needed between both sides, and that “Would we have done things differently leading into it? Absolutely.” Werner’s statement (his public comments since Devers was dealt) may again spark more controversy, as while Werner said that Devers is “a wonderful person,” the chairman found it “extremely discouraging” that Devers wasn’t willing to take over at first base.
“It was a discouraging episode. Just pick up a glove,” Werner said.
While the Devers trade and Bregman’s departure may be talking points in Boston for years to come, the Red Sox are more concerned with how the team will fare in 2026. Trades (for the likes of Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, and Caleb Durbin) have been a big part of the team’s roster remodel, and the Sox made a big free agent strike by signing Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130MM contract.
Kennedy described the winter as “a successful offseason…long, arduous, lots of scenario planning, but excited that we improved the club in many ways.” Werner was similarly positive, pointing to the team’s improvements on defense and a pitching staff that “I think…is elite.” In regards to further upgrades at the trade deadline, Werner said the team is still open to more spending, saying “we actually have the powder to execute some more moves during the season.”
After completing the 2025 season with a roughly $208.9MM payroll and a $246.5MM luxury tax number, the Red Sox are projected (via RosterResource) for $195.5MM in payroll and a $263.7MM tax figure. The latter puts the Sox just a hair under the second luxury tax penalty threshold of $264MM, so it would seem like Boston will probably finish in the second tier of tax penalization for the first time since the 2019 season, assuming the team indeed contends and bolsters the roster throughout the year.
Rays’ Garrett Cleavinger Drawing Trade Interest
Teams interested in left-handed bullpen help have been calling the Rays about Garrett Cleavinger, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes. There isn’t any indication that a deal is close, and Rosenthal didn’t specify any clubs in pursuit of Cleavinger’s services.
Cleavinger (who turns 32 in April) is entering his seventh MLB season, and his fourth full season in a Rays uniform. Tampa Bay acquired the southpaw from the Dodgers at the 2022 trade deadline, and while Cleavinger showed some promise in the early stages of his big league career, he became one of many pitchers to hit another level of production after joining the Rays. Cleavinger has a 2.96 ERA over 152 relief innings since arriving in Tampa.
In 2025, Cleavinger enjoyed his best season yet, posting a 2.35 ERA, 33.7% strikeout rate, and a 7.4% walk rate over 61 1/3 innings. Just about all of his Statcast metrics were solidly above average or (in the case of his strikeout and whiff rates) elite, plus Cleavinger enjoyed some good luck in the form of a .244 BABIP and a whopping 91.6% strand rate. Cleavinger has delivered strong results against both left-handed and right-handed batters over his career, and 2025 was no exception — righty-swingers had a .602 OPS against Cleavinger, while left-handed hitters did slightly better with a .620 OPS.
There wasn’t much that seemed fluky in Cleavinger’s 2025 performance, so even if the Rays feel they would be selling high on the lefty, there’s no reason to believe Cleavinger wouldn’t still be a valuable reliever in 2026 or beyond. Broadly speaking, the Rays are always open for trade talks on any player, so it wouldn’t be entirely shocking if Cleavinger was dealt prior to Opening Day. However, there doesn’t seem to be any real pressing reason for Tampa to move on from Cleavinger right now, given both his importance to the Rays’ bullpen and his modest salary situation.
Cleavinger is earning $2.4MM in 2026 and has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining before he qualifies for free agency following the 2027 campaign. Even though Tampa Bay is forever looking to limit its budget, Cleavinger is a bargain at $2.4MM if he duplicates anything close to last year’s numbers, and an arbitration raise next winter may be limited due to a relative lack of saves.
The Rays don’t have a set closer heading into the 2026 season, as Cleavinger, Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax, and Bryan Baker are all expected to earn save opportunities. It is possible one of these pitchers emerges from the committee to become more of a full-time closer, but Cleavinger’s status as the only left-handed reliever projected to be part of Tampa’s bullpen could make him more suited for situational work rather than save situations. The relative lack of left-handed relief depth is another reason the Rays would be hesitant to deal Cleavinger for anything less than a superb offer.
Speaking of the Rays’ bullpen mix, Uceta is dealing with some shoulder soreness, manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other reporters. “We’re totally not concerned at all and have every intention of him being ready for Opening Day,” Cash said, though as a precaution, Uceta won’t pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. Cleavinger and Jax are both slated for WBC duty as part of the United States team’s bullpen.
Braves’ Hurston Waldrep Dealing With Elbow Soreness
Braves right-hander Hurston Waldrep is dealing with soreness in his throwing elbow, and will visit Dr. Keith Meister tomorrow in Dallas for a consultation, manager Walt Weiss told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). Waldrep has already undergone an MRI that didn’t reveal any structural damage, though the scan did reveal some “loose bodies,” as Weiss described the matter.
“There’s some things in there that shouldn’t be there, I guess. I think it’s fairly common with pitchers,” Weiss said. “I don’t want to elaborate on the loose bodies, because I’m not totally sure, but it probably needs to be dealt with. I don’t know what that looks like as far as procedure or anything, but I guess Dr. Meister will let us know.”
Selected 24th overall in the 2023 draft, Waldrep made his MLB debut less than a year after his draft date, though he was tagged for a 16.71 ERA over his first two starts and seven innings. The righty was then placed on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation and spent about six weeks on the shelf before he was activated and optioned back to Triple-A for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Waldrep didn’t return to the Show until last August, and made a much better impression the second time around. Waldrep started nine of his 10 appearances, delivering a 2.88 ERA, 49.7% grounder rate, 24% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate over 56 1/3 innings. While the lack of control left something to be desired, Waldrep did an excellent job of limiting big contact (4% barrel rate) and both his splitter and 95.9mph sinker were plus pitches.
This solid performance didn’t guarantee Waldrep a spot in the 2026 rotation, as the Braves were seemingly set with a projected top five of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes, and Spencer Schwellenbach. There was also an expectation that Atlanta would pursue more starting pitching this winter in a nod to the injury concerns that their incumbent starters dealt with in both 2025, and throughout their careers.
Though Spring Training has just gotten underway, the injury bug has already made an unwelcome return to the Braves’ camp. Schwellenbach has already been placed on the 60-day IL due to elbow inflammation, and now Waldrep looks to probably be facing some kind of IL stint. Even if the visit to Dr. Meister doesn’t lead to any major developments, the Braves will probably shut Waldrep down until his discomfort lessens, and a season-opening stint on at least the 15-day IL seems likely so Waldrep can complete his pre-season ramp-up.
With Waldrep out of the picture, Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz, Didier Fuentes, and minor league signings Martin Perez and Carlos Carrasco remain in the competition for Atlanta’s fifth starter job. On paper, the Braves still have a good amount of rotation depth, though the argument that the team could or should acquire more starting pitching has only gotten louder in the wake of these latest injury concerns.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said on Friday that the team remained on the hunt for more of a front-of-the-rotation type that could start a playoff game, rather than a pure depth starter. Looking at the list of remaining free agent starters, Lucas Giolito (who has been linked to the Braves on the rumor mill), Max Scherzer, or Zack Littell could potentially fit the bill, though it might be hard seeing any of that trio displace a healthy Sale, Strider, or Lopez as Atlanta’s top choices in a playoff rotation. Obviously, the first concern for the Braves in the wake of a 76-86 season is just to get into the postseason altogether, and a lack of healthy pitching was one of the key reasons behind Atlanta’s disappointing 2025 campaign.
Padres, Nick Castellanos Agree To Contract
The Padres and outfielder Nick Castellanos have agreed to a Major League deal, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post (multiple links). Castellanos will earn $780K on the contract, which is the MLB minimum salary for the 2026 season. The Padres have an open spot on their 40-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required once the deal is finalized by Castellanos passing a physical. Castellanos is represented by Mato Sports Management.
After signing Miguel Andujar to a one-year, $4MM guarantee a few days ago, San Diego has now added another veteran right-handed bat to its list of DH or bench candidates. Castellanos will also be in the first base mix, as per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, which is noteworthy since Castellanos has never played the position during his pro career. Given how Castellanos has struggled badly in the field as a third baseman and corner outfielder over his career, a move to first base is seemingly long overdue, though Castellanos has been blocked at the position throughout pretty much the entirety of his 13-year MLB tenure.
The left-handed hitting Gavin Sheets is lined up as the Padres’ top choice at first base, so Castellanos makes sense as a platoon partner. Ramon Laureano figures to get most of the time in left field, so Andujar will be used primarily as a DH, providing competition for Castellanos at another spot. Castellanos’ old position of right field is filled by Fernando Tatis Jr., so Castellanos probably won’t be getting much or any time in right unless Tatis is hurt or is getting a DH day.
Given the Padres’ stated need for hitting depth, they were seen as a potential candidate to acquire Castellanos during the Phillies’ winter-long attempts to find a trade partner, and Lin reports that the two teams did indeed have some trade talks before Castellanos was released two days ago. It would seem like the Padres (and other teams) were willing to just wait the Phillies out on a Castellanos release rather than give up anything in value, as the Phils didn’t exactly have much leverage given how open the front office has been for months about their desire to move on from Castellanos.
The Padres’ $780K commitment will be subtracted from the $20MM owed to Castellanos in 2026, leaving the Phillies on the hook for $19.22MM in the final season of the five-year, $100MM deal the slugger signed during the 2021-22 offseason. That nine-figure investment translated to 0.8 fWAR and a perfectly average 100 wRC+ over four seasons and 2477 plate appearances, with Castellanos hitting .260/.306/.426 and 82 home runs in a Philadelphia uniform.
This so-so offense was paired with very subpar right field defense, as Castellanos was locked into an outfield position due to Kyle Schwarber‘s presence at DH, and Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper acting as the starting first basemen. Castellanos’ lack of production on the field led to some tension off the field, as detailed by The Athletic’s Matt Gelb two days ago. Castellanos bristled at suggestions that he should alter his swing or be removed from games for defensive purposes, and he clashed with manager Rob Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long.
The low point came last June 16, when Castellanos was removed for a late-game sub and Castellanos had to be prevented by teammates from drinking a beer in the dugout as a public protest of Thomson’s decision. Castellanos addressed this incident and apologized in a post on his Instagram page, but he’ll surely face plenty of questions about his controversial Phillies stint when he arrives at the Padres’ spring camp.
It remains to be seen if Castellanos can play first base at a passable level, or if he’ll be able to adjust to more of a part-time role after taking such pride in being an everyday regular throughout his career. The simple fact is that Castellanos has no choice but to adjust, as he is now entering his age-34 season and is looking to revive his career following his disappointing run in Philadelphia.
A bounce-back performance would go a long way towards reviving Castellanos’ value for future contracts following the 2026 campaign. He’ll get that chance on another NL contender in San Diego, and there is some irony in the fact Castellanos is joining a Padres team that has seen more than its share of clubhouse tumult over the last few years. A revolving door in the manager’s office has contributed to the Padres’ issues behind the scenes, and new hire Craig Stammen will be San Diego’s fourth different skipper since Opening Day 2020.
Latest On Zack Thompson
A torn lat muscle last March ended up costing Zack Thompson the entirety of his 2025 season, though the Cardinals left-hander was also dealing with another injury. According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Thompson had an arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder in August, described as “a cleanup procedure.” The recovery from this surgery has delayed Thompson’s mound work at the start of Spring Training, though he is playing catch and planning to ramp up his throwing.
It seems like this means Thompson will begin the 2026 season on the injured list, though the fact that he hasn’t already been put on the 60-day IL is perhaps a good sign. A 60-day IL placement prior to Opening Day automatically rules Thompson out of action until at least late May, so the Cardinals might feel optimistic that Thompson will be ready to go at some point within the season’s first two months.
The shoulder surgery adds to this extended setback to Thompson’s career. Now entering his age-28 season, the southpaw has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons since St. Louis selected him with the 19th overall pick of the 2019 draft. After not playing anywhere in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, Thompson has played only with Triple-A Memphis and in the majors, without much success at either level.
Thompson has a 4.50 ERA over 118 innings in the Show, along with a 23.5% strikeout rate and a 9.3% walk rate. It seemed like he was making headway in his first two MLB seasons, but then struggled to a 9.53 ERA across 17 frames in 2024. In Memphis, Thompson has a 5.92 ERA, 23.94K%, and an even higher 13.9% walk rate. The lefty has worked mostly as a starter at Triple-A, but he has started only 12 of his 52 big league games.
Getting healthy is the first priority for Thompson, but once is ready to resume his career, it remains to be seen if the Cardinals will continue to utilize him as a starter or if he might be entirely slotted into relief work. Given how the Cards are in a rebuild phase, there’s not much risk for St. Louis in giving him more looks in the rotation, to see if Thompson can still be a late bloomer who factors into the longer-term plan. Thompson has one remaining minor league option, as since he spent all of 2025 on the big league injured list, he was never sent to the minors (and thus didn’t qualify for minor league free agency).
Marlins Win Arbitration Hearing Against Calvin Faucher
The Marlins have won their arbitration hearing with right-hander Calvin Faucher, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports. The panel ruled that Faucher will receive an $1.8MM salary in 2026, rather than the $2.05MM salary he was seeking.
Faucher finished the 2025 season with two years and 156 days of Major League service time, thus qualifying for an extra year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player. While Faucher and his reps at ACES are undoubtedly disappointed that the arbiters didn’t rule in their favor, the $1.8MM figure will now serve as the base for what the righty hopes will be steadily escalating salaries over his three remaining arb years.
Arbitration panels tend to look more at traditional counting stats than advanced metrics, so Faucher’s camp surely highlighted the righty’s 15 saves in 20 opportunities in 2025, as Faucher was the Marlins’ top choice at closer. Faucher posted a 3.28 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, and 9.4% walk rate over 60 1/3 innings. While the K% wasn’t anything special and the walk rate was below average, Faucher did a tremendous job of inducing soft contact, which helped him generate outs with his 45.8% grounder rate.
While Faucher pitched well, the Marlins still made a point of upgrading their pen by bringing in Pete Fairbanks on a one-year, $13MM contract. Fairbanks figures to get the bulk of save opportunities, so a move back to a set-up role will hamper Faucher from an arbitration standpoint, as holds aren’t held in as high regard as saves. With two solid seasons under his belt since arriving in Miami, Faucher has now established himself as a quality Major League reliever, and will again be a key piece of the Marlins’ relief corps.
Faucher’s case was the last arbitration hearing of the 2025-26 offseason. It was a successful year for the players, as they went 8-4 in the 12 cases that actually went to a hearing.
Braves Like Current Rotation, Open To Adding “Playoff Starter”
Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said in November that starting pitching was one of the areas “we’re going to focus on” this winter, and such hurlers as Freddy Peralta, Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, and Lucas Giolito were linked to the team over the last few months. Apart from a few veterans on minor league deals (i.e. Martin Perez, Carlos Carrasco), however, Atlanta has yet to bolster its rotation in any meaningful way, and the internal mix took a hit since Spencer Schwellenbach will begin the year on the 60-day injured list due to elbow inflammation.
Speaking with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chad Bishop and other reporters yesterday, Anthopoulos said his club continues to search “for a playoff starter,” as in a pitcher who can be comfortably penciled into a postseason rotation right now. “You can always make room for a front-line starter, right? That’s the one commodity or the one asset in this game that is not blocked. If you have five guys and you have someone that’s gonna slot in the top three, you make room for those guys. That was always the goal for us,” Anthopoulos said.
Since the Braves have yet to find anyone who presents a clear-cut upgrade over their current starters, the team has stood pat, since Anthopoulos feels comfortable with at least his rotation’s top four starters. Anthopoulos named Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez, and Grant Holmes as “four guys [who] are set in our rotation,” and with Schwellenbach sidelined, the team will have various internal candidates like Perez, Carrasco, Hurston Waldrep, Bryce Elder, or Didier Fuentes all competing for the fifth starter’s role.
The situation is still fluid if Anthopoulos can find an acceptable trade for a pitcher who raises the rotation’s ceiling, but there’s enough depth on hand that the PBO isn’t too interested in adding another depth starter to just raise the floor. This is in part because Anthopoulos is loyal to his current starters and excited to see what they can bring to the table following an injury-marred season for most of the team. The health uncertainty that centered around Lopez and Holmes in particular has dissipated to some extent, Anthopoulos said, so the rotation needs that seemed like a must in November are less critical now that Spring Training is underway.
“We’re so much more removed now [from November],” Anthopoulos said. “We’re sitting here in the middle of February with those guys specifically, and we just know more about Holmes and Lopez, who we were checking on all offseason.”
Shoulder surgery limited Lopez to just one start in 2025. Holmes pitched well over 115 innings (starting 21 of 22 games) last season, but his year was ended in late July by a partial UCL tear, and Holmes is attempting to pitch through the injury without a Tommy John or internal brace surgery. Since Sale and Strider also have notable injury histories, adding even a depth arm would still seem like a worthwhile endeavor for the Braves, especially since acquiring a front-of-the-rotation arm is always difficult.
Anthopoulos is known for swinging surprise trades out of the blue, so we can’t close the door on the Braves’ chances of finding a prominent arm. That said, it’s particularly tricky at this stage of the offseason to think of pitchers who might both be realistically available in trade talks, and who might be the kind of postseason-caliber starters Anthopoulos is seeking. It is also fair to think that Anthopoulos is engaging in some gamesmanship by downplaying his team’s need for a back-end rotation type, if he is in discussions with rival clubs about such types of pitchers.
Of the aforementioned names on Atlanta’s target list, Giolito is still available, but Gallen has re-signed with the Diamondbacks, Bassitt signed with the Orioles, and the Brewers traded Peralta to the Mets. Gallen and Bassitt just joined their new teams within the last few days, and it isn’t known if the Braves were still pursuing either of those pitchers right down to the wire.
Twins Sign Andrew Chafin To Minor League Contract
11:55AM: Chafin will earn $2MM if he makes the Twins’ active roster, according to SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson. Chafin’s contract also has another $1.25MM available in bonus money.
7:05AM: The Twins signed left-hander Andrew Chafin to a minor league deal, according to multiple team beat writers. Chafin’s contract includes an invitation to attend Minnesota’s big league Spring Training camp.
As Chafin prepares for his 13th Major League season, the Twins will become the ninth team the southpaw has pitched for at the MLB level if Chafin can win a spot on the active roster. The 35-year-old added two more clubs to his list by appearing for the Nationals and Angels in 2025, posting a 2.41 ERA and a solid 25.2% strikeout rate over 33 2/3 innings, but also with a 13.3% walk rate.
Between the inflated walk rate and an 81.9% strand rate, Chafin’s SIERA was 4.11 — far higher than his real-world ERA. Most of his other underlying metrics were quite good, though Chafin’s biggest issue last season was staying healthy. He had a pair of stints on the injured list due to a right hamstring strain and then left triceps inflammation, resulting in a little over five weeks’ worth of missed time.
This is the second straight winter that Chafin has had to settle for a minor league deal, as he also inked a non-guaranteed contract with the Tigers last February. He opted out of that deal at the end of April and quickly landed a MLB contract with Washington, then pitched in 26 games for the Nats before the Angels acquired Chafin at the trade deadline.
Chafin’s lack of control continues to be a concern and his strikeout rate dropped from 28.5% in 2024, though his other numbers suggest he still has something left in the tank even at this later stage in his career. Chafin is the latest relief addition for a Twins team that has brought Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda, and Eric Orze into the fold, not to mention a long list of NRIs with experience on big league pitching staffs. Rogers, Banda, and Kody Funderburk are all left-handers, so Chafin provides some more depth in that area as well.