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White Sox Sign Sean Newcomb

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The White Sox announced this morning that they’re in agreement with left-hander Sean Newcomb on a one-year deal that guarantees the southpaw $4.5MM this morning. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Newcomb “will at least get the chance to start” for Chicago. Lefty Ryan Rolison was designated for assignment to make room for Newcomb on the 40-man roster. Newcomb is a client of Tidal Sports Group.

Newcomb, 32, was a first-round pick by the Angels back in 2012 and spent years as a consensus top-100 prospect in the minors. The lefty made his big league debut with Atlanta back in 2017 after previously coming over as part of the Andrelton Simmons trade. He spent the first two seasons of his career as a rotation piece, with a 4.06 ERA (103 ERA+) and a 4.16 FIP that gave him the look of a decent back-end starter. Unfortunately, in 2019 early season struggles led to him being demoted to Triple-A and moved into a bullpen role upon his return. He started four games for the Braves in 2020 but struggled badly across those starts as well, and ultimately did not start another game for the team before being designated for assignment by the club.

The lefty was traded to the Cubs shortly after his DFA and moved to the bullpen for the club, but struggled to put things together over the next few seasons. He pitched to an atrocious 6.61 ERA in 47 2/3 innings of work at the major league level between the Cubs and A’s over the next three seasons, held back primarily by a whopping 15.0% walk rate. Back in January, Newcomb latched on with the Red Sox on a minor league deal and found a path back to a big league rotation job between a strong performance in Spring Training coupled with injuries to rotation pieces like Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello that kept them off the Opening Day roster.

Newcomb’s performance once added to the rotation was a mixed bag. He made five starts for the Red Sox and posted a lackluster 4.43 ERA, but did so with strong peripherals. He struck out 25.7% of his opponents while walking 10.5%. After moving to the bullpen, he posted a much stronger 3.38 ERA in seven relief outings for Boston, though his strikeout rate cratered during those outings. That led the Red Sox to designate him for assignment in late May, and he found himself traded back to the A’s shortly thereafter.

The lefty remained with the Athletics for the remainder of the 2025 season and did extremely well for himself with the club. In a full-time relief role for the A’s, Newcomb pitched to a dazzling 1.75 ERA with a 2.69 FIP in 51 1/3 innings of work. That excellent performance was backed up by strong peripherals, as he struck out 24.9% of his opponents, walked just 7.0%, and posted a strong 48.9% ground ball rate. His 3.22 SIERA in West Sacramento would be good for 44th among relievers with at least 50 innings of work last year if separated from his time in Boston. He’d also rank fifth by ERA and 18th by FIP.

That performance is more than strong enough to justify offering Newcomb a solid one-year guarantee to be a lefty bullpen arm, and the 32-year-old likely could have landed a similar dollar amount from a more competitive team for 2026 based on contracts offered to comparable lefties this offseason like Caleb Thielbar, who re-upped with the Cubs on a $4.5MM guarantee earlier this month. With that said, those contenders would have presumably wanted to keep Newcomb in a full-time bullpen role. The White Sox, by contrast, don’t have expectations of contention headed into 2026 and therefore can afford to offer Newcomb the opportunity to earn a rotation spot this spring.

Fellow offseason signing Anthony Kay figures to join Shane Smith and Davis Martin in the front three rotation spots for the White Sox this year. That leaves Newcomb to compete with players like Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, and Chris Murphy for the last two spots in the club’s rotation. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Newcomb land that role, though it’s certainly possible that he could also be used in a late-inning role given that the Sox bullpen has only Mike Vasil and Jordan Leasure as leverage options at the moment, with Tyler Gilbert as the top lefty option.

As for Rolison, the southpaw was claimed off waivers from Atlanta earlier this month. Rolison made his MLB debut as a member of the Rockies this past year, but struggled badly to the tune of a 7.02 ERA in 42 1/3 innings of work at the big league level for Colorado this year. The lefty will now be put through the waiver wire again, unless the Sox work out a deal involving Rolison before then. Should he pass through waivers unclaimed, Rolison figures to be outrighted to Triple-A as non-roster depth for Chicago headed into the 2026 season.

Tigers Re-Sign Tyler Mattison To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have re-signed right-hander Tyler Mattison to a minor league deal, according to a report from Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Mattison was non-tendered by the Tigers last month but now returns to the organization on a non-roster pact that includes an invite to big league Spring Training and will pay him $835K in the majors.

Mattison, 26, was a fourth-round pick by Detroit back in 2021. After spending most of his collegiate career as a starter, he moved to the bullpen upon joining the Tigers organization. While it took time for the righty to adjust to his new role, a strong performance in the Arizona Fall League at the end of his first pro season helped set him on course to take a bigger step forward during the 2023 campaign. In that year, Mattison reached the Double-A level and pitched to a sterling 1.62 ERA in 33 1/3 innings of work as a multi-inning reliever.

Unfortunately, Mattison’s ascent was put on hold when he underwent Tommy John surgery just before the 2024 campaign began. He missed the entire year and did not return to the mound until May 28 of this year. After two months of rehab, the right-hander was finally promoted to Triple-A on July 30 but posted middling results for the Mud Hens upon his arrival in Toledo. Across 20 appearances, Mattison posted a 3.79 ERA with an alarming 17.4% walk rate. That was enough to convince the Tigers to non-tender Mattison last month, even in spite of his previously strong results and solid 25.6% strikeout rate.

The decision to non-tender Mattison was largely motivated by a desire to no longer carry the righty on the club’s 40-man roster. As a player who has not yet made his big league debut, Mattison was of course not yet eligible for arbitration and wouldn’t be making more than the league minimum. Still, that roster spot was valuable and would have forced the Tigers to use one of Mattison’s option years to send him back to the minors. As a result, the team opted to risk him signing elsewhere in free agency for the chance to bring him back into the fold on a non-roster deal.

That gamble paid off, and it could wind up as a win/win scenario for both player and club should Mattison find his way back to the majors. The Tigers will have afforded themselves some additional roster flexibility for the offseason and early part of the 2026 campaign without losing an up-and-coming relief arm from their system, while Mattison will now enjoy a higher salary in the majors than he would have in the event he simply remained on the 40-man all offseason.

The Opener: Athletics, Mets, Outfield Market

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on throughout the day today:

1. Athletics add a bat:

Yesterday’s Jeff McNeil trade saw the A’s add a proven bat to a lineup that already had plenty of firepower. The 33-year-old veteran offers a substantially different look than the power-focused approaches of Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, and Brent Rooker, as McNeil is a contact-heavy player good for just ten to 15 homers per season. That should be no problem for an A’s team heavy on power, and alongside fellow contact-oriented middle infielder Jacob Wilson should allow the A’s to field a more diverse lineup during their second year in West Sacramento. Whether they’ll be able to add more talent to a roster that had a much larger need for pitching than additional hitting talent remains to be seen, but yesterday undoubtedly saw an already-competitive AL West get just a little bit stronger.

2. Mets continue restructuring their roster:

The McNeil trade was the latest move in the Mets’ roster overhaul following a deeply disappointing 2025 season. McNeil joined outfielder Brandon Nimmo in being traded away, while Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz were both allowed to walk in free agency. The additions of Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, Jorge Polanco, and Marcus Semien haven’t exactly inspired confidence in the future within the fan base so far, though president of baseball operations David Stearns surely isn’t anywhere close to done with the team’s offseason moves. New York has been known to be searching for a top of the rotation starter all offseason, and it seems as though at least one more bat for an outfield mix that has little certainty outside of Juan Soto also appears to be a must. What will be the team’s next addition?

3. Movement on the outfield market?

The outfield market saw some of its first movement of the offseason yesterday, though it wasn’t a top-of-the-market bat like Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger coming off the board. Instead, veteran bench bat Rob Refsnyder landed with the Mariners on a one-year deal. The addition of Refsnyder looks to be a savvy one for a Mariners club that figures to rely on platoon players like Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley in significant roles next year, and while it’s unlikely to make a significant difference at the top of the market it could spark some action in the lower tiers of the market. Refsnyder joins Lane Thomas as a notable right-handed outfield bat who has now signed, with players like Austin Hays and Harrison Bader still unsigned among a dwindling group of available options in free agency. Could one of those names follow suit before the holidays?

Padres Sign Sung-Mun Song

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December 22nd: The Padres officially announced their signing of Song today. The deal is actually a four-year pact worth $15MM, as per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, with the fourth year existing as a player option for Song.  There is also a $7MM mutual option for the 2030 season with a $1M buyout.  Song will get a $2.5MM salary in 2026, $3MM in 2027, $3.5MM in 2028, and (if he doesn’t opt out) $4MM in 2029.  The Padres will also pay Song a $1MM signing bonus broken up into a $500K installment in January, and then the other $500K coming in January 2027.

Song would also receive a $1MM bonus for winning NL Rookie of the Year honors, and there is a salary escalator if he achieves a top-five finish in MVP voting.  The Heroes will receive a $3MM posting fee from the Padres, representing the standard 20% posting fee attached to any contract worth $25MM or less for a KBO League player.

December 19th: The Padres are in agreement with infielder Sung Mun Song on a contract, according to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided. According to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, it’s a three-year deal that guarantees Song around $13MM.

Song, 29, has broken out in a big way over his last two seasons playing for the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. After typically being a slightly below average hitter by that league’s standards in the early years of his career, Song exploded with a .340/.408/.518 (143 wRC+) slash line across 602 plate appearances during the 2024 season. He flashed 20/20 potential at the plate and walked at a career-high 10.6% clip while primarily playing third base for the Heroes. He followed up on that season with an even better year in 2025, as he slashed .315/.387/.530 (151 wRC+) with 26 homers, 25 steals, and 37 doubles in 646 trips to the plate.

Those dominant back-to-back campaigns in the KBO league were enough to convince Song to try his hand in the majors, and the Heroes made Song’s goal a reality when they posted him for MLB clubs last month. That opened a 30-day window (set to close on the 21st of December) for Song to negotiate with MLB clubs. Song has typically been viewed by scouts as a step below MLB Gold Glove winner Ha-Seong Kim, the best South Korean player to make the jump to the majors in recent years, and there’s been some debate about whether he’s more of a utility player or a proper starter at the big league level.

Song’s reported price tag is certainly affordable enough for the Padres to stomach in the event he’s more of a bench piece than a regular. A multi-year pact that pays Song less than $5MM annually figures to be quite affordable for San Diego; Jose Iglesias earned $3MM last year after being added to San Diego’s roster on a minor league deal to fill out the club’s bench mix. Song figures to fill a similar role this year to the one Iglesias held last season, chipping in around the infield and serving as a pinch-hitter.

While Song has primarily played third base throughout his career in the KBO league, that position is manned by Manny Machado in San Diego. Perhaps the Padres will look to get Machado occasional DH reps headed into his age-33 campaign, but aside from those occasional fill-in days Song figures to spend most of his time at first and second base, both of which are positions he logged significant time at in South Korea. Jake Cronenworth is currently slated to serve as San Diego’s second baseman next year, though his name has popped up in trade talks this winter. First base meanwhile, is unsettled after the departure of Luis Arraez. Gavin Sheets has some experience at the position but may be better suited for DH duties. As a result, first base could be Song’s best shot at regular reps, though it’s possible a trade of Cronenworth or the addition of a more traditional first base option like Paul Goldschmidt or Rhys Hoskins changes things.

The signing of Song comes just one day after the club agreed to reunite with right-hander Michael King on a three-year, opt-out laden contract. According to RosterResource, the Padres project for a payroll just under $217MM in 2026, with a payroll of nearly $258MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s before the addition of Song to the payroll, which at the currently reported numbers would push the team’s payroll up to around $221MM and around $262MM for luxury tax purposes. That would put them just barely below the second, $264MM luxury tax threshold for 2026.

If the Padres don’t want to go over that line, they would need to subtract salary from the roster to make virtually any more additions to the roster. That’s far from impossible, as rumors have percolated around not only Cronenworth but also players like right-hander Nick Pivetta and Ramon Laureano. A trade of Pivetta would save $20.5MM in 2026 and $13.75MM for luxury tax purposes. Cronenworth being dealt would save roughly $12.3MM in 2026 and $11.5MM for luxury tax purposes. Laureano wouldn’t save nearly as much money, as he’s due just $6.5MM next season on the final year of his contract.

Of course, it’s also possible the Padres simply stand pat from here, though doing so without adding another bat to the first base/DH mix would certainly be risky. Perhaps an addition on the trade market that comes with a lower financial cost could make some sense if San Diego neither wants to exceed the second luxury tax threshold nor trade salary to make room in the budget. Players like Triston Casas of the Red Sox and Mark Vientos of the Mets could potentially be available this winter and remain under affordable team control.

White Sox To Sign Munetaka Murakami

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The White Sox have officially announced their signing of infielder Munetaka Murakami to a two-year deal worth $34MM.  ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to break the news. Murakami, a client of Excel Sports Management, will be officially introduced as a member of the Sox roster during a press conference tomorrow.

Beyond the $34MM in salary, the White Sox will also owe a $6.575MM posting fee to the Yakult Swallows, as per the rules of the MLB/NPB posting system. The fee is determined by the size of the player’s eventual Major League contract, so the $6.575MM figure is determined by 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, and then 17.5% of anything between $25MM and $50MM.

Murakami, 26 in February, arrives in the majors as perhaps the most anticipated NPB hitter to move stateside since Shohei Ohtani. The slugger set an NPB record with 56 home runs in a single season at 22 years old, and he continued to make an international name for himself with Team Japan during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. A career .270/.394/.557 hitter across 892 Central League games for the Swallows, Murakami boasts true 80-grade power that could completely change an up-and-coming White Sox lineup that already includes highly regarded youngsters like Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel.

That combination of power and unusual youth for a free agent led many to believe that Murakami would be able to secure one of the most lucrative contracts of the offseason. On MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list published at the outset of the offseason, Murakami landed as the #4 free agent available with a predicted contract of $180MM over eight years. It was easy to imagine at least one team being willing to roll the dice on Murakami’s tantalizing upside in order to lock him up for his entire prime, but teams were more hesitant to commit to Murakami than expected. Few teams were publicly connected to the slugger, and reports from all corners of the baseball world indicated that teams were feeling gun-shy about his contact rate in NPB, which would’ve been the lowest in baseball in the majors last year if carried over.

While teams weren’t willing to go to the high levels expected when Murakami was first posted, it does appear that he may have left some guaranteed money on the table in taking this deal. Passan reports that some teams did try to get involved in Murakami’s market by offering long-term deals with lower annual salaries. That sort of deal would have guaranteed Murakami a longer runway to work things out at the big league level, but would have limited the financial upside available to him. Instead, he took a short-term deal that will offer him a healthy annual guarantee that’s on par with the AAV of the five-year deal Murakami’s countryman Seiya Suzuki signed with the Cubs across town five years ago.

That comes with just two guaranteed years in the majors, but if Murakami is able to establish himself he’ll head into free agency ahead of his age-28 season. That should leave him in line for a far more substantial payday during the 2027-28 offseason, should he prove himself capable as the sort of middle-of-the-order power bat he has the potential to be. For a player looking to adjust to the majors, it’s hard to imagine a more forgiving environment than the south side of Chicago. The White Sox have average 108 losses per season over the last three years and posted arguably the worst season in MLB history back in 2024. While young players like Montgomery and Teel have begun to impact the major league roster, expectations for the club could hardly be lower at this point.

While any dreams Murakami may have had of hoisting a World Series trophy in his rookie season as a big leaguer are likely to be dashed by his decision to sign with the White Sox, playing on a team with low expectations for this year should allow him a low-pressure environment to make any adjustments to his game that might be necessary in order to maximize his success without the risk of losing his spot in the lineup to another player in the midst of a pennant race.

The White Sox seem to want Murakami to be able to focus on maximizing his offense as much as possible, as the longtime NPB third baseman will be moving to first base in Chicago. Scouts nearly universally expressed skepticism about is ability to handle the hot corner at the big league level, so a move to first base should put less pressure on Murakami to prove himself as a defender and allow him to focus more fully on his work at the plate.

Should Murakami successfully prove himself in the majors, he would help anchor a budding core of young hitters for the White Sox. Montgomery and Teel both enjoyed excited seasons at up-the-middle positions last year, and they’ll be joined in the lineup by players like third baseman Miguel Vargas, second baseman Chase Meidroth, and catcher/DH Edgar Quero who enjoyed seasons last year that made them look like solid complementary pieces for the future. Luis Robert Jr. also figures to offer the Sox some star power alongside Murakami if he’s healthy enough to handle something close to a full slate of games in center field and remains on the team amid persistent trade rumors.

Taken together, it’s easy to see Murakami as the centerpiece of an offseason that has seen the White Sox take small steps towards a return to competitiveness at the big league level. The NPB star isn’t the only player the White Sox have deigned to add to the roster this winter; lefty Anthony Kay signed a two-year deal worth $12MM after his own successful stint in Japan, and the club is reportedly among the teams interested in former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, as well. Those moves are unlikely to vault Chicago into a playoff spot by themselves, especially in a competitive AL Central where the Tigers and Guardians made it to October with Kansas City putting together a very aggressive offseason in their own right.

Immediate playoff contention, however, isn’t likely to be the expectation. Instead, these additions should allow the White Sox to foster a more competitive environment for their young core as they reach the majors and build towards playoff contention in 2027 and beyond. There’s also the plus of reinvigorating fans who have been left wanting by the team’s latest rebuild, which saw the club part with beloved players like Lucas Giolito and Garrett Crochet.

These steps forward allow the White Sox to pull their payroll out of the league’s basement. Following the Murakami signing, RosterResource projects the club for an $84MM payroll in 2026, a figure that jumps up to nearly $102MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s more or less in line with last year’s $85MM payroll and pulls the White Sox just out of the bottom five in the majors at this point. Of course, that figure is still extremely modest and leaves plenty of room for a team in a large market like Chicago to add additional salary, whether that’s a late-inning arm like Fairbanks or perhaps a veteran starting pitcher who can help anchor the club’s rotation.

White Sox, Red Sox Among Teams With Interest In Munetaka Murakami

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NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami’s posting window closes at 4pm CT time on December 22. With just over a day left for Murakami to sign with an MLB club, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the White Sox are among the teams that are presently engaged in talks with the slugger’s camp. Chris Cotillo of MassLive adds that the Red Sox have “kicked the tires” on Murakami, as well as fellow NPB infielder Kazuma Okamoto. Okamoto’s posting window closes on January 4.

Murakami’s time on the market has been unusually quiet for a player of his status. These reports of interest on the part of Chicago and Boston are the first significant reports tying Murakami to any of MLB’s 30 teams, as his representation has seemingly played things very close to the vest regarding his market. The 25-year-old has surely received interest from other clubs as well that has simply gone unreported, of course, but Murakami’s market doesn’t seem to be quite as strong as expected even when factoring in that reality.

Geoff Pontes of Baseball America suggested in an appearance on Foul Territory this past week that the slugger’s market has been “softer” than he and his representation were expecting entering the offseason. MLBTR ranked Murakami as the #4 free agent on the market this winter, predicting an eight-year, $180MM contract for the young slugger as part of our Top 50 MLB Free Agents list. That ranking accounts for Murakami’s top-of-the-scale power and extreme youth heading into free agency; Yoshinobu Yamamoto was just six months younger than Murakami when he landed a $325MM contract from the Dodgers, while the fact that Juan Soto was headed into his age-26 season was a key factor in him landing a record-shattering $765MM deal last winter.

With that said, Murakami’s low contact rates have raised some eyebrows around the baseball world since his posting, and it’s not hard to see why. The Athletic’s Eno Sarris illustrated the concerns with Murakami’s lack of contact in NPB by sharing a list of players with comparable contact rates and exit velocities in the majors in recent years. The resulting group includes some stars like Nick Kurtz (and Shohei Ohtani if the parameters adjusted to be somewhat more favorable to Murakami), but it includes a far larger group of middling players, ranging from decent regulars like Matt Wallner to early-career flame-outs like Aristides Aquino. There’s certainly reasons to believe Murakami will be a great deal better than those players, of course; his raw production in NPB is nothing short of otherworldly. Even so, the risk in the young slugger’s profile is real, and it’s not necessarily a shock that teams might shy away from giving him a massive contract until and unless he can prove his style of play works at the big league level.

Turning to the clubs with reported interest in Murakami, the White Sox are a very interesting fit. The slugger is certainly young enough to be part of the next competitive team on the south side; he’s just two years older than star rookies Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel. That makes him an intriguing fit for the Sox, especially if he signs with the club on a long-term deal. Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa are the club’s projected starters at the infield corners at the moment, but neither player is locked in strongly enough to prevent the addition of Murakami.

A short-term deal could also be possible, as well; the White Sox signed Erick Fedde to a two-year deal two winters ago and rode a strong first half to secure a three-way trade involving Fedde that brought back Vargas. A similar approach could be employed here as well, at least in theory. Chicago might be a particularly appealing destination for the young slugger given their lack of competitive expectations this year; it could allow him the opportunity to make necessary adjustments at the big league level without the pressure of a pennant race, and perhaps the White Sox would be more comfortable than most clubs trying Murakami at third base despite widespread concerns about his ability at the position.

As for the Red Sox, Murakami could provide the sort of elite slugger than the Red Sox lost when they traded away Rafael Devers over the summer. That makes the fit between the sides plausible, but there are certainly questions and obstacles as well. For one, the Red Sox are entering a clear win-now window after making the playoffs last year, and might not be willing to play Murakami through any struggles that could come with his adjustment to the majors. For another, the Red Sox are already extremely left-handed and have Triston Casas in-house as a first base/DH option with plenty of upside in his own right. Boston would need to be confident that Murakami would be a substantial upgrade over Casas in order to commit significant dollars to him for the same role.

While a pursuit of Murakami from Boston can’t be ruled out, the quote from Cotillo about Boston “kicking the tires” on the slugger suggests more of a reserved approach to his market. That’s an understandable path to take, particularly given that Okamoto could be a better fit. Okamoto is older than Murakami and lacks his countryman’s elite power, but he’s enjoyed a much more steady career in NPB without contact rate concerns, offers more playable defensive skills at third base, and is a right-handed hitter who more effectively complements the Red Sox lineup. That solid fit is part of why the Red Sox have been linked to Okamoto on occasion throughout the winter, even as they pursue a reunion with third baseman Alex Bregman.

Mariners Sign Brennen Davis To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have signed outfielder Brennen Davis to a minor league deal, as reported by Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The deal includes an invite to MLB Spring Training.

Once a consensus top-20 prospect in baseball, the 26-year-old Davis has yet to make his MLB debut. A second-round pick by the Cubs back in 2018, Davis broke out at the age of 19 in 2019 with a with a .305/.381/.525 slash line in 50 games at the Single-A level. Following the cancelled minor league season in 2020, Davis got the bump to High-A to start the 2021 season but lasted just eight games at the level before being promoted to Double-A. After hitting a solid .252/.367/.474 for the Cubs’ Tennessee affiliate in 76 games, Davis got his second promotion of the year with a late-season cup of coffee at Triple-A, where he impressed with a .268/.397/.536 slash line in 16 games.

All of that was enough to position Davis as one of the game’s most exciting prospects, and he seemed poised to make his MLB debut during the 2022 season as the Cubs began a rebuilding phase following their fire sale the prior year that shipped out core players like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez. Unfortunately for Davis, however, those dreams of an early debut were scuttled when he struggled badly in the early weeks of the season before undergoing back surgery in early May of that year. While he returned before the end of the year from that surgery and posted solid on-base numbers, a lack of power kept him from earning a coveted September call-up.

By 2023, the Cubs were once again trying to make the playoffs and had a mostly full outfield thanks to the offseason addition of Cody Bellinger. That made Davis’s path to the big leagues a bit harder, and he was unable to force the issue due to continued injury woes. Core surgery and a fractured ankle limited him over the next two seasons, and even when he did play the field results at Triple-A were mixed. That led Chicago to non-tender Davis last November, cutting him from the 40-man roster and sending him into free agency.

He found a minor league pact with the Yankees this past year. He didn’t debut with his new organization until late May as he rehabbed the aforementioned fractured ankle, and suffered another injury over the summer that caused him to miss two months. In all, he made it into just 36 games with New York’s Triple-A affiliate, but when he did so he raked with an excellent .271/.324/.576 slash line including 12 home runs in just 142 trips to the plate.

While injuries have led him to stop stealing bases as he had when he was a top prospect vaunted for his speed, the 26-year-old still offers intriguing power and could be an impactful addition to the Mariners organization if he can finally remain healthy for a full season for the first time in half a decade. Seattle’s outfield mix currently features Julio Rodriguez in center, flanked by Randy Arozarena and Victor Robles in the corners. If Davis can prove himself healthy and remain as effective as he’s looking in short bursts the past two years, it wouldn’t be hard to see him pushing for a call-up to the majors at some point this year.

Pirates Hoping To Add “Proven Bat” Following Lowe Trade

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The Pirates made a major addition to their offense yesterday when they swung a three-team trade with the Astros and Rays that saw them ship out right-hander Mike Burrows and acquire second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum, and left-hander Mason Montgomery. Lowe is the major prize of that trade as a former All-Star with eight years in the majors under his belt and a career wRC+ of 123, but even after bringing Lowe into the fold GM Ben Cherington told reporters (including Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) that the team hopes to add another “proven bat” to the roster this offseason beyond Lowe.

Bringing in offense to help support a rotation led by superstar righty Paul Skenes has long been the goal of Pittsburgh’s offseason. The Pirates finished 28th in the majors with a wRC+ of just 86 last year, and while bringing in a bat like Lowe to join Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds as a locked-in, everyday player should help, it won’t be enough to turn things around on its own. Lowe isn’t the only viable bat the team has brought in, of course; Mangum posted a decent 95 wRC+ in his rookie season with the Rays last year and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him and freshly-acquired prospect Jhostynxon Garcia split time in left for the Pirates this season. The possibility of top prospect Konnor Griffin making an impact as the team’s everyday shortstop can’t be ruled out, either.

Even with those youngsters potentially ready to help Lowe, Reynolds, Cruz, Spencer Horwitz, and Joey Bart fill out the lineup, however, questions remain. Lowe figures to get the majority of the reps at second base, pushing Nick Gonzales off of the position. Griffin’s eventual ascent to the MLB roster could, too, push Jared Triolo off the shortstop position. Cherington noted that both players are working out at second base and shortstop this offseason, with Triolo also taking reps at third base. With Triolo and Gonzales being joined by Lowe and (eventually) Griffin, the team’s middle infield mix seems fairly well-set for the time being.

The hot corner is perhaps the most unsettled position on the roster for the Pirates after Ke’Bryan Hayes was traded to Cincinnati last summer. That would be a logical place for the club to look for an addition, and so it’s perhaps no surprise that the club has been attached to players like Jorge Polanco (who has since signed with the Mets) and Kazuma Okamoto in free agency. The trade market offers fewer obvious options than free agency, though the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan is certainly flexible enough defensively to handle the hot corner and it’s not impossible to imagine the Phillies dealing away Alec Bohm. Internally, Triolo and perhaps Nick Yorke are options at the position, though the latter has only token experience there.

If adding a third baseman isn’t in the cards, that certainly doesn’t mean there’s no other way to add a bat. Andrew McCutchen’s departure via free agency leaves the DH spot wide open. Perhaps the Pirates could look to add a DH outright to replace McCutchen as the simplest way to inject life into their offense. The club previously made a significant effort to pursue Kyle Schwarber, and while he’s now off the market Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently connected the Pirates to veteran slugger Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna, who posted a respectable 114 wRC+ even in a down season last year, would be a big upgrade to the Pirates lineup but would leave them with minimal versatility. Perhaps, then, adding an outfielder or first baseman to the mix who could pitch in defensively in addition to taking DH reps like Ryan O’Hearn could make more sense.

Perhaps the trade market could be an avenue to upgrade even if the club isn’t looking for a third baseman, as well. The Red Sox are known to be open to trading one of their controllable outfielders like Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu, although the rumored price tag is sky-high. The Mets are seemingly open to offers on infielder Mark Vientos, who has experience at third base but profiles better at first, and players like Steven Kwan and Alec Burleson could at least theoretically be available as well.

The problem with taking a big swing on the trade market, however, is that Cherington appears hesitant to deal more from the club’s rotation depth after already trading away Burrows and Johan Oviedo. As Alex Stumpf of MLB.com notes, even Cherington indicated an openness to adding a back-of-the-rotation starter to the mix as he expressed reluctance to trade away more of the club’s depth.

“You don’t ever wanna say never,” Cherington said, as relayed by Stumpf. “Don’t want to cut ourselves off to something that just really makes sense for the Pirates short term and long term. But it would have to clear a bar for sure. At this point it seems unlikely we would do that unless we saw a player coming back that was an immediate fit for the lineup and also with some confidence that we can add a starter back in a different way whether that was through trade or free agency. I think that’s possible.”

That’s not fully shutting the door on a trade of someone like Mitch Keller or Carmen Mlodzinski from the rotation, but it certainly appears to indicate there are real obstacles to pulling off that sort of move. If the Pirates were able to add more depth via free agency, that could more clearly open the door to a trade that sends a controllable pitcher out in exchange for an impact player like Duran or Donovan. Zack Littell, Jose Quintana, and Tyler Mahle are among the interesting rotation options available who could be within Pittsburgh’s price range, should they go hunting for an arm in free agency.

Guardians Sign Stuart Fairchild To Minor League Deal

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The Guardians announced this afternoon that they’ve signed outfielder Stuart Fairchild to a minor league deal. The deal includes a non-roster invite to MLB Spring Training.

Fairchild, 30 in March, was a second-round pick by the Reds back in 2017. He was traded to Arizona as part of the Archie Bradley deal back at the 2020 trade deadline and made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2021, but made his way back to Cincinnati (after brief pit stops in Seattle and San Francisco) by the end of the 2022. He’d spend the next few years in the Reds’ outfield mix and ultimately appeared in 223 games across parts of three seasons.

The outfielder hit fairly well during his time in Cincinnati, with a .232/.316/.403 slash line that was good for a 94 wRC+ overall. He split time between all three outfield spots with the Reds and managed to go a respectable 23-for-29 on the base paths during his time in the organization. While his overall production was slightly below league average, his ability to handle center field and swipe bases was valuable enough to keep him on the roster in a part-time role. Fairchild’s main draw was his ability to hit left-handed pitching as his .256/.354/.424 (114 wRC+) slash line against southpaws made him a solid complement to the team’s lefty outfield bats like Jake Fraley and Will Benson.

Headed into the 2025 season, however, the Reds lacked a clear path to a roster spot for Fairchild following the club’s acquisition of Austin Hays as well as the decision to move Spencer Steer into the outfield. With those righty bats in the club’s outfield plans, Fairchild became expendable and was designated for assignment. With a need for additional outfield depth while Ronald Acuna Jr. was on the injured list, the Braves traded for him not long afterwards. Between Acuna’s injury rehab and the early-season suspension of Jurickson Profar, there was plenty of playing time to be had in the Atlanta outfield mix. Fairchild took on some of that load, ultimately appearing in 28 games for the club where he hit a paltry .216/.273/.333 with a 27.3% strikeout rate across 55 plate appearances.

A dislocated pinkie finger cost Fairchild around a month of the 2025 season, and between that injury and poor performance when healthy he found himself DFA’d by Atlanta back in July. He was scooped up by the Rays in a minor trade but did not make an appearance for the MLB club before being designated for assignment once again at the outset of the offseason. He cleared waivers successfully and elected free agency, leading to the Guardians being able to add him on this non-roster pact.

For Cleveland, Fairchild’s addition means they’ve found a decent right-handed depth option for an outfield that lost Lane Thomas to the Royals in free agency this year. The Guardians have a heavily left-handed outfield mix as things stand, with Steven Kwan in left field, Chase DeLauter in center, and George Valera in right. Johnathan Rodriguez and Angel Martinez should serve as decent right-handed complements, but Fairchild offers some additional depth behind that group and protection against the possibility that the Guardians, whose 87 wRC+ in the outfield ranked 26th in the majors last year, don’t make a more significant addition on the grass.

Padres Notes: King, Kelly, Darvish

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The Padres reunited with Michael King this past week on a three-year deal that offers him the opportunity to opt out in each of the next two offseasons. As noted by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune, however, negotiations between the two sides didn’t kick into gear until very recently.

Sanders notes that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller instructed manager Craig Stammen and pitching coach Ruben Niebla to message King less than two weeks ago to see if King was interested in returning to San Diego. At the outset of the offseason, the right-hander initially preferred a return to the east coast, where he pitched for years with the Yankees after growing up in Rhode Island and going to college in Boston. King indicated to reporters (including Sanders) that while some teams had “blown [him] away” with strong offers, he didn’t believe those teams had the roster and commitment to winning necessary to field a World Series contender in 2026. King added that he was prioritizing winning “for the duration of the contract,” and that he was willing to take less in order to make that happen.

It seems that ended up being what he did with San Diego, which Sanders adds was the only west coast team King had interest in playing for. While King’s $75MM guarantee came in just shy of the $80MM guarantee MLBTR predicted for the right-hander at the outset of the offseason, it’s nonetheless a strong deal given the higher average annual value and opt-out opportunities after each season. With that said, King clearly was trending towards a nine-figure contract prior to his injury woes this past season. It’s not inconceivable that there was a team willing to look past the medical concerns and offer him that sort of deal this winter, given King’s comments. The Marlins, Cubs, Orioles, Yankees, and Red Sox were among the teams known to have interest in King’s services this winter, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees ultimately never made an offer to the righty.

With King in the fold alongside Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, Preller indicated that he’s satisfied with the front of the club’s rotation. It seems the Padres had a strong desire to add to the front of their rotation this winter, however, as Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports that San Diego made a “competitive” offer to right-hander Merrill Kelly before landing King. Kelly ultimately landed with the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $40MM deal. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently reported that Kelly received a three-year offer from a west coast team that would’ve guaranteed the right-hander “more than $50MM,” and it’s not clear if the Padres were the team references in Rosenthal’s report, it certainly wouldn’t be a shock if the “competitive” offer Lin reports that San Diego made to Kelly was in that ballpark. A three-year offer in that range could theoretically have been similar to the four-year, $55MM contract the team signed Pivetta to last winter.

Perhaps Preller’s desire to add a front-of-the-rotation arm this winter in part stems from uncertainty surrounding Yu Darvish’s future. The veteran right-hander underwent UCL surgery last month that will keep him out of commission for at least the entire 2026 campaign. What’s more, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported earlier this week that Darvish is not certain if he’ll pitch again following his rehab process. The 39-year-old hurler was limited to 15 starts this past year due to injury and struggled when he did take the mound, with a 5.38 ERA in 72 innings of work. Given that he’ll celebrate his 41st birthday during the 2027 season, it’s perhaps not a shock that Darvish is uncertain about his ability to return to a major league mound after this latest health-related setback.

Of course, the possibility of Darvish stepping away from baseball is complicated by his contract situation. The veteran righty is under contract for $16MM in 2026 and is set to make $15MM per year in both 2027 and 2028. If Darvish were to retire, as Acee has reported he’s contemplating, he would stand to lose out on at least some of that money. It’s also possible that Darvish and the Padres could negotiate a buyout, not unlike the process the Angels and Anthony Rendon are reportedly in the midst of ahead of the final year of his contract with the organization. Perhaps that sort of buyout could help create financial flexibility for the budget-conscious Padres, who have had to get creative with their contracts in recent years in order to remain competitive and continue spending in free agency.

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