Mariners Sign Colt Emerson To Eight-Year Extension
The Mariners announced the signing of top shortstop prospect Colt Emerson to an eight-year extension that includes a club option for the 2034 campaign. Emerson, an ACES client, is reportedly guaranteed $95MM — a record for a player who has yet to make his MLB debut. The signing comes with a full no-trade clause and includes another $35MM+ in escalators. There’s reportedly an $8MM signing bonus and salaries that range between $9MM and $18MM from 2028-33.
Emerson will remain in Triple-A, where he has nine games of experience. Seattle needed to select him onto the 40-man roster to finalize his major league contract but immediately optioned him back to the Triple-A level. The 20-year-old’s deal tops the previous record guarantee for a player without any MLB service time (previously held by Jackson Chourio) by $13MM.
It’s not hard to see why the Mariners are giving him a guarantee that nearly reaches nine-figures before even seeing him take a single MLB at-bat, however. The youngster is a consensus top-15 prospect in the sport and rocketed through the minors last year. After starting 2025 at the High-A level, he walked at an excellent 13.1% clip and swatted 32 extra-base hits in just 90 games. That forced the issue enough to earn him a promotion to the upper minors and, across 40 games between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma, Emerson slashed .293/.383/.470 in 188 plate appearances. That would be an impressive slash line for any player, but even more so for a 19-year-old who plays quality defense all over the infield.
The Mariners made the decision to let Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco depart in free agency over the offseason, and Emerson’s emergence was surely part of that calculus. For now, the club has an infield mix that appears full on paper, with J.P. Crawford at shortstop, Cole Young at second base, and the recently-acquired Brendan Donovan at third base.
Crawford is currently on the injured list with a bout of shoulder inflammation, but he’s expected to return relatively quickly from that injury. The Mariners preferred to use utilityman Leo Rivas as a fill-in rather than call Emerson up for a week or two only to option him back to Tacoma. With Crawford on track to hit free agency after the 2026 season, the position will probably belong to Emerson in the long term.
That’s not to say he’ll need to wait until 2027 to make his MLB debut. Young is a former top prospect himself and is well-regarded by the Mariners, but he’s ultimately unproven at the big league level and could open up playing time at the keystone if he struggles or sits against tough lefties. Donovan was acquired in no small part thanks to his elite versatility. The super-utility man is primarily an infielder but has plenty of experience on the outfield grass as well. Emerson could assume the regular third base job at some point this season. That would bump Donovan to right field, thereby displacing either Dominic Canzone or Luke Raley from the starting lineup.
While a spot could be made for Emerson in the majors, it’s understandable that the club is holding off on promoting him for now. This extension is a big bet on his ability and removes the consideration of service time from the equation, but Emerson’s development must still be considered. While MLB Pipeline notes that his defensive metrics last year suggested he was an above-average defender at short, he has just 111 1/3 innings of work at third base for his career and just 75 at the keystone, so it would be understandable if the team wanted to get him additional looks at those positions before giving him a full-time role in the majors.
As for his offense, Emerson has just 43 total games in the upper minors. That’s not a lot of time afforded for his development, and while some top prospects are able to jump right in at the big league level with minimal minor league experience, the Mariners should remember all too well the struggles that outfielder Jarred Kelenic faced when he was promoted to the majors after just 51 games in the upper minors (including 30 at Triple-A). The front office surely has no interest in risking Emerson’s development on calling him up before he’s ready, particularly given the fact that Emerson is now slated to receive the fourth-largest guarantee on Seattle’s entire roster behind Julio Rodriguez, Luis Castillo, and Cal Raleigh.
Regardless of when Emerson ultimately reaches the majors, this deal locks up a key piece of Seattle’s core for the future. With Emerson now under club control through the end of the 2034 season, he joins Raleigh, Rodriguez, Josh Naylor, and Young as key players under control through at least 2030. That positional core is complemented by impact pieces like Donovan, star closer Andres Munoz, and of course the club’s vaunted starting rotation of Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, and Bryce Miller. All five of those starters are set to hit free agency between the 2027-28 offseason and the 2029-30 offseason, so perhaps the club’s long-term planning can now focus on the future of the rotation now that key positional assets like Raleigh and Emerson are locked up for the long haul.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Emerson and the Mariners had agreed to an eight-year, $95MM contract with a club option, more than $35MM in escalators, and a no-trade clause. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Emerson would be optioned back to Triple-A. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times had the signing bonus and salary range.
Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.
Padres Notes: Arraez, Adam, Song
Luis Arraez made his return to San Diego yesterday for the first time since signing with the division rival Giants in free agency. Speaking to reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune), Arraez revealed that he “talked a lot” with the Padres during free agency before ultimately signing in San Francisco.
It’s a decision that Arraez chalks up to his desire to play second base, which wasn’t on the table in San Diego due to the presence of Jake Cronenworth. The Giants afforded him that opportunity, and Sanders notes that the $12MM salary he received from his new club was more than the Padres could offer. Considering that Michael King is San Diego’s only offseason addition making even $3MM in 2026, that certainly seems like a fair assessment.
Even if the team’s financial situation made a reunion all but impossible, Arraez’s strong desire to play second base this year does shed some light on his free agency. The soon-to-be 29-year-old posted the worst season of his career last year, hitting just .292 with a 104 wRC+. It seemed as though that left Arraez to sit through a very quiet offseason where his name rarely appeared in the rumor mill, if ever. Perhaps, however, Arraez’s desire to play second limited his market more than it otherwise would have. Teams like the Mariners, Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Diamondbacks, and the Padres themselves were all looking for help at first base this offseason, while teams on the hunt for second base help were far more limited. The Red Sox, Giants, and A’s were three of the only clubs looking to add at the keystone this winter, and Boston was known to be prioritizing defense.
That surely left Arraez with a very limited market in terms of teams willing to hand him the second base job, but that list could expand if he turns in a strong season this year. Of course, a tough season or even one where he doesn’t prove himself capable of handling the keystone could leave him looking at an even softer market next year. As Arraez himself pointed out to Sanders, his contract with San Francisco is for just one year.
“I don’t know what (will happen) later,” Arraez said of his future after the 2026 campaign (as relayed by Sanders).
In other Padres news, Sanders writes that right-hander Jason Adam threw 1 1/3 scoreless frames on a rehab assignment over the weekend and is making good progress as he looks to return from quadriceps surgery. The righty is poised to throw in a simulated game today before making back-to-back rehab appearances on Friday and Saturday. If those outings all go well, that could set him up for a return not long after his minimum IL stint date of April 8. When he does return, Adam will be a huge boon to the Padres’ bullpen. The veteran righty has been one of the best relief arms in baseball over the past few years, with a 2.07 ERA and 3.20 FIP since the start of the 2022 campaign. He’ll join a crowded high leverage mix alongside Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, and Jeremiah Estrada once he’s back in action.
Speaking of rehab assignments, infielder Sung Mun Song is rehabbing after opening the year on the shelf due to oblique tightness. MLB.com notes that he began a rehab assignment last week, and he’s appeared in three games since. That includes appearances at second base and shortstop, suggesting that he might not be too far from being healthy enough to return. The 29-year-old is waiting to make his big league debut after signing out of the KBO with the Padres on a four-year, $15MM pact over the offseason. He figures to factor heavily into the club’s bench mix once healthy, seeing time all over the infield and perhaps even in the outfield corners this year.
The Opener: McClanahan, Painter, Pratt
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. McClanahan makes long-awaited return:
Rays southpaw Shane McClanahan hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors since 2023 due to Tommy John surgery and nerve issues. After missing more than two full seasons, the lefty is finally ready to return to the major league mound. His first assignment will be a start against the Brewers and their own oft-injured ace, Brandon Woodruff (3.20 ERA in 12 starts last year). It’s easy to forget after such a long layoff, but McClanahan was among the most talented young starters in the sport when he first broke onto the scene in 2021. In 74 career starts to this point, the lefty sports a 3.02 ERA and 28.0% strikeout rate. Now just a month from his 29th birthday, McClanahan will have the opportunity to prove he can still be a high-end starter when healthy this year. His first game is scheduled for 6:40pm local time in Milwaukee.
2. Painter to make MLB debut:
Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter has been a highly-discussed name for years now, ever since he was on the cusp of making the majors with Philadelphia back in 2023. He wound up undergoing surgery on his UCL instead, and after missing two full seasons he return to the mound last year. Unfortunately his 22 starts at the Triple-A level came with lackluster results, including a 5.40 ERA. Despite that middling performance last year, Painter remains a consensus top-40 prospect in the sport and looked good during Spring Training with a 2.31 ERA in four starts. He didn’t strike out many of his opponents, but that was still enough to earn him a rotation job. He’ll finally make his big league debut today against the Nationals in Philadelphia. The game is scheduled for 6:40pm local time and will see him face off against D.C. lefty PJ Poulin.
3. Pratt extension incoming?
The Brewers and top shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt are reportedly working on an extension, though no deal appears to be finalized at this point. It’s a surprising move given that the 21-year-old is just three games into his Triple-A career, but with Caleb Durbin having been removed from the infield in Milwaukee over the offseason the Brewers might have interest in fast-tracking the youngster to the majors this year. The pact would guarantee him $50.75MM over eight years if finalized, and would have a pair of club options at the end as well. Assuming the deal gets done, Pratt will become the Brewer under team control for the longest period of time, beating out outfielder Jackson Chourio‘s own pre-debut extension. We’ll sure hear more about both the necessary corresponding move to add Pratt to the 40-man roster and the timeline for his arrival in the majors in fairly short order after the deal is completed.
Poll: Which Recent Cubs Extension Will Age Better?
The Cubs have made a huge splash on the extension front over the past week by locking up a pair of their core position players long-term. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and second baseman Nico Hoerner have signed extensions that will keep them in Chicago through the end of the 2032 season. It’s an exciting development for fans on the North Side. With the team’s recent addition of Alex Bregman plus players like Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson already under long-term control, the Cubs now have a core of position players to build around for the next several years.
That came at a price. Crow-Armstrong’s deal guarantees him $115MM and could climb another $18MM based on his MVP finishes. Hoerner’s deal is even more substantial, guaranteeing him $141MM (although deferred money lowers the net present value slightly to $137.5MM). Those are significant investments and big bets on the pair to continue performing after they turned in career years in 2025. Which one is more likely to live up to those expectations?
The case for Crow-Armstrong is one rooted in his youth and massive upside. His season-long stats in 2025 (including a 109 wRC+, 31 homers, 35 steals, and 6.0 bWAR/5.4 fWAR) could be argued to actually register as a bit of a disappointment based on what he did in the first half, when he was a legitimate early contender for the NL MVP award. 25 of those home runs and 27 of those steals came before the All-Star break, at which point he was slashing a sensational .265/.302/.544. A deep slump throughout August and September raised some concerns, however, as he hit just .188/.237/.295 over the season’s final two months. Crow-Armstrong’s speed and defense are enough to make him a viable major league player even when he’s flirting with the Mendoza line, but he’ll need to do a lot better than that to justify a nine-figure deal.
Can he find the consistency necessary to make the deal a good one? There’s certainly reasons to think so. While Crow-Armstrong struggled in terms of results down the stretch last year, he actually improved his plate discipline somewhat. His 35.6% out-of-zone swing rate and 86.2% in-zone contact rate since August 1 were both better than his season-long figures of 41.9% and 84.0%, respectively. Crow-Armstrong’s struggles late in the 2026 campaign were more about a power outage than an increase in poor swing decisions. If he can carry those improved swing decisions into the future while tapping into his first-half power, he’ll be a superstar. If his first-half power surge proves to be more of a flash in the pan than something sustainable, it’s possible the Cubs could wind up regretting the deal.
By contrast, Hoerner is a much more consistent player with a well-established track record. Since becoming an everyday player in 2022, Hoerner has hit .284/.339/.389 (105 wRC+) overall. He’s been remarkably consistent year-to-year, as well. His wRC+ has always fallen between 102 and 109, and he’s stolen at least 20 bases every season. After injury woes early in his career, he’s become a reliable presence on the field with at least 640 plate appearances in each of the past three years. He pairs that consistency and availability with superb defense that’s won him two Gold Gloves at the keystone and allowed him to post between 3.8 and 4.8 fWAR (3.7 and 6.2 bWAR) in each of his seasons as a regular.
That profile also comes with limited offensive upside, however. If there’s another gear to Hoerner’s game, it could be proving that his career-best 7.6% strikeout rate from 2025 is repeatable. Hoerner has a career strikeout rate of just 11.0%, so he’s a good bet to make contact at an elite rate in any year, but last season saw him punch out just 49 times total. Luis Arraez, Andrelton Simmons, and Kevin Newman are the only other players to strike out fewer than 50 times in a season where they recorded at least 550 plate appearances since 2015. Outside of that, however, Hoerner seems unlikely to take a step into MVP-candidate territory.
$141MM is a lot to spend on a player who doesn’t make much of a power impact. The fact that Hoerner will finish his contract at the end of his age-35 season while Crow-Armstrong will be wrapping up his age-30 campaign offers additional reasons for skepticism that Hoerner will be able to outproduce Crow-Armstrong. Another question is about health. Crow-Armstrong has not suffered a major injury since arriving in the majors, while Hoerner (despite his iron man status in the past few seasons) dealt with forearm, hamstring, oblique, ankle, and knee issues early in his career that stand as warning signs as he enters his 30s.
What do MLBTR readers think of Chicago’s recent pair of extensions? Which deal will be looked back on as the better investment when all is said and done? Will Crow-Armstrong’s youth and upside lead to a big win for the Cubs, or will he be unable to match the stability and consistency that Hoerner figures to provide? Will Hoerner stay healthy and stave off age-related decline for long enough to provide that stability throughout the deal? Have your say in the poll below:
Which Cubs player will be more productive through the end of the 2032 season?
The Opener: deGrom, Murakami, Debuts
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. deGrom still waiting for season debut:
Rangers veteran Jacob deGrom was slated to make his season debut over the weekend, but was scratched from his scheduled start due to a neck issue. Via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, manager Skip Schumaker indicated that deGrom could still make his first start of the year during the club’s current series in Baltimore. Righty Jack Leiter has already been announced as today’s starter, but deGrom could start tomorrow’s game against Orioles righty Zach Eflin or pitch Wednesday versus lefty Trevor Rogers. The 37-year-old deGrom enjoyed his first full season of the decade in 2025, making 30 starts for the first time since winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2019. The righty’s 2.97 ERA and 3.64 FIP weren’t quite the same level as his peak, but that’s still clearly front-of-the-rotation production the Rangers are counting on as they look to return to the playoffs this year.
2. Murakami kicks off MLB career with homer streak:
Longtime NPB slugger and current White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami exploded onto the stateside scene over the weekend, hitting home runs in three consecutive games against the Brewers to kick off his MLB career. The corner infielder took a deal well below expectations with Chicago due to concerns about his contact rate and defensive ability. Those concerns will take a lot more than one series to fade, but there was never any doubt about his prodigious power. That’s absolutely played so far, and when the White Sox head to Miami to face Chris Paddack (5.35 ERA in 2025) Murakami will look to extend his career-opening homer streak to four games. That game is scheduled to take place at 6:40pm local time in Miami this evening, with Davis Martin (4.10 ERA in 2025) set to take the mound opposite Paddack.
3. Key starters making team debuts:
As the first turn through the rotation of the 2026 season continues, a number of impact starters will make their first starts with new teams today. Cubs right-hander Edward Cabrera (3.53 ERA in 2025) will take on the Angels at 6:40pm local time in Chicago, while the Red Sox will send southpaw Ranger Suarez (3.20 ERA in 2025) to the mound against the Astros at 7:10pm local time in Houston. Ryan Weathers (3.99 ERA in eight starts last year) will make his Yankees debut against the Mariners at 6:40pm Seattle time, while Paddack (Marlins), Walker Buehler (Padres), Nick Martinez (Rays), and Kyle Harrison (Brewers) are among the other starters making team debuts. It’s not quite a team debut, but Justin Verlander (3.85 ERA in 2025) is slated to make his first start for the Tigers since 2017 at 7:10pm local time in Phoenix against Diamondbacks righty Michael Soroka (who is making his own debut for the Snakes).
Twins Sign John Brebbia To Minor League Deal
The Twins have signed right-hander John Brebbia to a minor league deal, according to a report from Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic.
Brebbia, 36 next month, is coming off back-to-back down seasons. The righty made his big league debut with the Cardinals back in 2017 and was a solid reliever for the club immediately, with a 3.14 ERA and 3.39 FIP across his first three seasons in the majors. He struck out 27.4% of his opponents in 175 innings of work while walking just 7.5%. Brebbia went under the knife for Tommy John surgery in 2020, and that caused him to not only miss the 2020 campaign but also be non-tendered by St. Louis, bringing his time with the Cardinals to an abrupt end despite his success on the mound.
The right-hander caught on with the Giants on a big league deal during the 2020-21 offseason. His 2021 season was lackluster as he worked his way back from surgery, and in his 18 appearances that year he struggled to a 5.89 ERA. He remained with the Giants despite that poor performance, however, and San Francisco was rewarded for its faith by a pair of much more successful relief seasons. Brebbia posted a 3.47 ERA and 3.54 FIP across 106 1/3 innings of work from 2022 to ’23, though his strikeout rate dipped to 22.5%.
Following his three-year stint with the Giants, Brebbia returned to free agency and eventually caught on with the White Sox. Chicago offered him a one-year, $5.5MM deal during the 2023-24 offseason, and Brebbia jumped at the healthy payday. Unfortunately, the deal didn’t work out well for either side. Brebbia struggled badly as the club’s top veteran reliever and was torched to the tune of a 6.29 ERA in 54 appearances for the White Sox. That’s in spite of a perfectly strong 26.9% strikeout rate and an acceptable 7.7% walk rate. Brebbia’s issues with the White Sox came down to the long ball, as he allowed a whopping nine homers in 48 2/3 innings of work. That’s nearly one home run per five innings pitched, and so it was hardly a shock when the White Sox opted to cut ties with the veteran.
Brebbia caught on with Atlanta to finish the 2024 season and pitched quite well for the down the stretch, but upon returning to free agency found a smaller one-year deal with the Tigers in February of last year. Unfortunately, Brebbia wound up appearing in just 18 games for the Tigers after being sidelined by a triceps strain and struggling to a 7.71 ERA when he did return to the mound. He once again was scooped up by Atlanta after being released, but this time his struggles continued and he finished the year with an identical 7.71 ERA to the one he had in Detroit.
That left Brebbia to settle for a minor league deal this winter, and he initially signed with the Rockies in free agency before failing to make their roster out of camp. His 7.00 ERA in nine innings of work during camp wasn’t exactly something to write home about, but the Twins are in need of bullpen depth after dealing away Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louis Varland last summer. Brebbia figures to head to Triple-A and attempt to break into a bullpen that currently relies on Taylor Rogers and Cole Sands in the late innings.
Orioles Acquire Jayvien Sandridge
The Orioles are acquiring left-hander Jayvien Sandridge from the Angels in exchange for cash, per an announcement from both teams. The Orioles had open space on their 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary to complete the transaction. Sandridge was designated for assignment by the Halos just before Opening Day.
It’s the second cash trade of the year that Sandridge has been a part of, as the Angels acquired him from the Yankees back in January. This trade is actually something of a homecoming for Sandridge, as he was a 32nd-round pick by the Orioles back in 2018 and spent parts of two seasons in the Orioles organization. He was released during the pandemic-cancelled minor league season in 2020 and took a brief stint in college ball before signing with the Reds and returning to pro ball. He climbed the minor league ladder with the Reds, Padres, and Yankees over the years before finally making his big league debut in 2025.
Sandridge’s debut with New York saw him record just two outs while surrendering two runs. It’s not exactly an auspicious start to his big league career, although with such a small sample size it’s hard to draw any substantial conclusions about the lefty’s viability as a big league arm. His work at Triple-A with the Yankees last season was generally more middling than impressive, as he posted a 4.55 ERA despite a 33.1% strikeout rate. Those big strikeout totals clearly caught the eye of the Angels over the offseason, leading them to acquire him this offseason. Sandridge’s Spring Training performance did him few favors, however, as he was torched for five runs in just two innings of work during camp.
Now, he returns to the Orioles organization as an optionable depth arm for the club’s bullpen. Baltimore has Dietrich Enns and Grant Wolfram as their only lefties in the bullpen at the moment with Keegan Akin on the shelf, and Sandridge is now the only other lefty on the 40-man roster. That could put him in position to get a look in the majors at some point this year, particularly if he can get his elevated walk rate (12.0% in Triple-A last year) under control more reliably. Josh Walker is the only other southpaw relief arm with big league experience in the organization, but he’s on a non-roster deal and would require a 40-man roster move to bring to the majors. That could put Sandridge ahead of him on the depth chart, though lefty starter Cade Povich could also pose a threat to Sandridge’s chances of making the majors if the Orioles are willing to use him in relief at some point.
Angels Select Shaun Anderson
The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Shaun Anderson. In a corresponding move, right-hander Victor Mederos was designated for assignment.
Anderson, 31, is entering what will be his 7th season as a big leaguer. A third-round pick by the Red Sox in 2016, he didn’t make his big league debut until 2019, at which point he was a member of the Giants after being part of the return for the Eduardo Nunez trade. Anderson came up to the majors as a swing man and struggled somewhat, with a lackluster 5.44 ERA in 96 innings of work. He moved to the bullpen full-time after that, and while he pitched to a solid 3.52 ERA in 18 appearances during the abbreviated 2020 season, questionable peripherals left his role uncertain headed into 2021.
Ultimately, Anderson didn’t even make it onto the Giants roster that year. He was traded to the Twins in the LaMonte Wade Jr. deal and spent the rest of the year riding the waiver wire. Ultimately, he split time between the Twins, Orioles, and Padres during the 2021 campaign and pitched to a rough 8.49 ERA across 23 1/3 innings during that rollercoaster year. He’s pitched just 28 2/3 innings total at the big league level since then, splitting time between the Jays, Rangers, Angels, and Marlins to post a 9.42 ERA across 14 outings.
The right-hander doesn’t have the most exciting profile as a big leaguer, to say the least. His career 6.39 ERA in 163 1/3 innings of work is certainly lackluster, and a 4.35 ERA at the Triple-A level for his career doesn’t offer much reason for further excitement. A 14-game stint in the KBO did yield some interesting results, as he pitched to a 3.76 ERA in 14 starts, but that was three years ago now and it’s hard to see that as indicative of future stateside success at this point. Still, he could help contribute to an Angels pitching staff that will need help covering innings with Grayson Rodriguez, Alek Manoah, Kirby Yates, Robert Stephenson, and Ben Joyce all opening the season on the injured list.
Making room for Anderson on the 40-man roster is Mederos. A sixth-round pick by the Angels back in 2022, the club wasted no time in promoting him to the majors, allowing him to make his big league debut the following year. Despite his quick rise to the big leagues, Mederos was never quite able to stick at the level. He has just 25 1/3 innings across 12 appearances in the show, and during that time he’s looked completely over-matched with an 8.52 ERA and a 6.95 FIP. A career 3.96 ERA in 20 career starts at the Triple-A level offers a bit more room for optimism about his long-term prospects, and Mederos won’t turn 25 until June. That wasn’t enough to save his roster spot with the Angels, but perhaps another club will be intrigued enough by his profile to take him on as a more of a long-term project. If Mederos passes through waivers unclaimed, the Angels will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues as non-roster depth for their pitching staff.
Alex Cora Discusses Red Sox’ Outfield Plans
The Red Sox have one of the most crowded outfield mixes in all of baseball. Jarren Duran is an All-Star who has averaged more than 5.0 WAR per season over the last two years. Wilyer Abreu has two Gold Glove awards on his mantle and a career 116 wRC+. Ceddanne Rafaela is the best defensive outfielder in the American League. Roman Anthony has a career .401 on-base percentage just 73 games into his major league career. A crowd of outfielders that impressive leaves little room for veteran DH Masataka Yoshida to fight his way into the starting lineup, and manager Alex Core spoke to reporters (including Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic) about the outfield situation yesterday.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” Cora said, as relayed by McCaffrey. “JD is gonna play center soon, the day Ceddanne doesn’t play, and we got Thursday off. It’s not easy. Whoever thinks this is easy to move them around, they’re wrong… It’s not easy, but I’ll make it work.”
Cora went on to note that Yoshida figures to play three of the club’s next five games, as the team feels comfortable having Yoshida play left field in Houston’s Daikin Park. Cora noted that while the club will “need” Yoshida to play some outfield in order to get him into the lineup, the team’s other defensive outfielders (Rafaela, Duran, Anthony, and Abreu) are all a cut above Yoshida defensively. That would seemingly indicate he’ll get most of his time at DH, though Cora did express concerns about taking one of the other four outfielders out of the lineup. From Cora’s comments, it seems as though Duran is least likely to sit on any given day this year. Cora indicated that getting each of Anthony, Abreu, and Rafaela days off could be beneficial, but made no such pronouncement about Duran.
It’s not especially hard to see why Duran would be the least likely to sit on any given day. Abreu and Anthony both suffered from injuries last year that limited their playing time, while Duran has appeared in 317 of Boston’s 324 regular season games over the past two years. Rafaela, meanwhile, is by far the least accomplished hitter in the team’s outfield mix, and Duran is the next-best option in center defensively. With the Red Sox likely looking to avoid injury for Abreu and Anthony and Duran being needed to cover center on any day’s Rafaela is out of the lineup (or, perhaps, covering the infield), Duran once again figures to be part of the lineup on almost an everyday basis to start the year.
Of course, those plans could change in a hurry depending on performance. Anthony looks to be one of the brightest young stars in the game, and there may come a point where his value is simply too high to ever sit when he’s healthy. Abreu is the only one of the team’s four primary outfielders who can’t play center, but he also showed more ability to hit left-handed pitching than Duran has to this point in 2025 and could be a preferable choice against lefties if that trend continues in 2026. Even Rafaela has shown the ability to be a well-above average hitter when he gets hot, and at just 25 years old could certainly take his game to another level this year.
Cora’s public acknowledgment of the difficulties that come with having more outfielders than he can play on a regular basis is sure to keep conversations about the Red Sox potentially trading from their outfield glut in the rumor mill. The club has been heavily rumored to be considering doing so for years now, but they’ve yet to pull that trigger. Perhaps that could change when the right offer comes along, but with the season now underway it would be a surprise if that happened until closer to this year’s trade deadline.
If the team’s outfield logjam reaches a breaking point without a trade taking place, that could spell the end of Yoshida’s time on the roster. Cutting ties with the veteran DH is another move that’s been long speculated about for the Red Sox. While 47% of MLBTR readers believed Yoshida would not make the club’s Opening Day roster in a poll conducted when camp opened up back in February, he was able to earn a spot on the team’s roster to begin the year.
Still, his hold on a roster spot could prove tenuous if he doesn’t perform in his current part-time role. Yoshida is limited to DH and left field defensively, and his bat doesn’t compare to that of Anthony, Abreu, or Duran even when at his best. Last season he was a below-average offensive player in 55 games, and if he can’t turn things around this season it might be tempting for the Red Sox to carry a younger, more versatile player like Kristian Campbell on the roster instead. Even someone like Triston Casas, who is currently on the injured list but could pitch in at first base and offers intriguing power off the bench, could be a viable alternative if Yoshida struggles this year.
Cubs Outright Jack Neely
The Cubs have outrighted right-hander Jack Neely to Triple-A, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Neely was designated for assignment by the club prior to Opening Day in a move that made room for Michael Conforto on the team’s 40-man roster.
Neely, 25, was acquired from the Yankees at the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for Mark Leiter Jr. alongside Ben Cowles. The right-hander made his big league debut with Chicago down the stretch that year but struggled with a 9.00 ERA in six appearances despite a respectable 25.0% strikeout rate. His work in the minors during the 2023 and ’24 seasons had the look of a future staple of a big league bullpen, as his strikeout rate pushed 40% at the Double-A level. Unfortunately, his numbers fell off in a big way during the 2025 season. Neely struggled badly at the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa and surrendered a 5.94 ERA in 33 1/3 innings of work. His 27.7% strikeout rate was solid, but it was overshadowed by a loss of control that resulted in a massive 18.1% walk rate.
Those numbers were unplayable enough that the Cubs did not turn to Neely in the majors at any point during the 2025 campaign, but his youth and prior minor league success was enough to convince them to keep him on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason. He looked much better in camp than he had during the prior year at Triple-A. He struck out 46.7% of batters faced in four scoreless appearances. That ultimately wasn’t enough to break camp in a crowded Cubs’ bullpen picture, however. At first, he seemed likely to head back to Triple-A as a depth option like Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Ryan Rolison and others, but when the team’s 40-man roster was squeezed by the need to add an extra bench bat following Seiya Suzuki‘s knee injury, Neely was the victim.
Now that the right-hander has cleared waivers unclaimed, the Cubs have outrighted him back to Triple-A. He’ll likely remain there for the rest of the season as non-roster bullpen depth for the Cubs, unless he gets added back to the 40-man roster and called up. Perhaps the 25-year-old will be able to post numbers more like his 2023-24 self and do just that, but if he fails to make the 40-man roster before the end of the year he’ll have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency following the season and sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs.