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Rangers Sign Shawn Armstrong To Major League Deal

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The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve signed right-hander Shawn Armstrong to a one-year, major league deal. In order to make room for Armstrong on the 40-man roster, catcher Sam Huff was designated for assignment.

Armstrong, 34, is a veteran of 10 major league seasons. He bounced between Cleveland, Seattle, Baltimore, and Miami as a roughly league average (99 ERA+) middle reliever before finally establishing himself with the Rays in 2022. The right-hander posted a 3.60 ERA with a 3.25 FIP in 55 innings of work for Tampa that season, with a 26% strikeout rate against a 5.4% walk rate. His strong walk rate was particularly notable given that Armstrong had struggled a bit with his command earlier in his career and entered the 2022 campaign with a career 9.2% walk rate.

That solid work earned Armstrong a role in the club’s bullpen the following year as well, and 2023 proved to be a career year for the righty. He pitched to a sparkling 1.38 ERA in 52 innings of work to go along with a 2.54 FIP, though he didn’t break into the club’s group of top high leverage options and instead was used more frequently as a multi-inning option. 16 of his 39 appearances saw him record more than three outs, including 12 where he recorded two full innings or more. Unfortunately, Armstrong did not manage to keep up those strong results in 2024. The right-hander bounced between the Rays, Cardinals, and Cubs this year but posted a below-average 4.86 ERA (84 ERA+) despite a solid 3.57 FIP. Despite that solid peripheral figure, there were some signs of regression for the right-hander as his strikeout rate dipped to just 22.4% against an 8.5% walk rate.

Now that he’s latched on with the Rangers, Armstrong will join a bullpen that the needs a major retool after losing Jose Leclerc, David Robertson, and Kirby Yates to free agency last month. He’s the fourth addition to the relief corps GM Chris Young has made this winter, joining Hoby Milner, Robert Garcia, and Jacob Webb. That quartet of signings should help to raise the floor in the bullpen, and Garcia in particular is a Statcast darling who profiles as a potential late-inning arm. With that being said, it seems likely the club will need to make at least one more addition with late-inning experience after losing its top three relievers simultaneously.

As for Huff, the 26-year-old was a seventh-round pick by the club back in 2016 and received some top-100 prospect buzz early in his career after tearing through the minors and hitting an incredible .355/.394/.742 in a ten-game cup of coffee during the shortened 2020 season. Impressive as that first taste of the majors was for Huff, he posted a roughly league average .244/.299/.409 in 65 games over the next three seasons and in 2024 made it into just three games. Huff’s numbers also took a major step backwards in Triple-A this past year, as he hit just .246/.310/.416 in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

With Jonah Heim and the newly-signed Kyle Higashioka seemingly locking up playing time at the big league level for the Rangers for the foreseeable future, the Rangers clearly felt Huff was expendable given that he’ll be out of options in 2025 and need to either be carried on the big league roster or passed through waivers. Typically the Rangers would have one week to either work out a trade involving Huff or attempt to pass him through waivers. With that said, that clock has put on pause over the holidays in previous seasons, so it’s possible that a resolution for Huff won’t ultimately be announced until the new year. Should Huff clear waivers, the Rangers would have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues as non-roster depth.

Pirates Re-Sign Andrew McCutchen

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1:12pm: The Pirates have officially announced the deal.

9:05am: The Pirates are in agreement with veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen, per the team’s social media account. The deal came together this morning. MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Andrew Destin were the first to report the terms of the contract: it’s a one-year deal that guarantees McCutchen $5MM.

McCutchen, 38, returns to Pittsburgh for his 12th season with the club and 17th season in the majors. Selected by the Pirates eleventh overall in the 2005 draft, McCutchen debuted with the club in 2009 and quickly established himself as a franchise player. He was the face of the Pirates throughout the 2010s until he was traded to the Giants prior to the 2018 season, and enjoyed an otherworldly five-year run in Pittsburgh where he slashed .302/.396/.509 (151 wRC+) en route to an MVP award, four Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, and five All-Star appearances.

In his five seasons away from the Pirates, McCutchen was no longer the impactful bat he was at his peak but nonetheless remained a solid, steadying presence in the lineup for the Giants, Yankees, Phillies, and Brewers. In 549 games for those clubs from 2018 to 2022, McCutchen hit a respectable .242/.343/.423 with a 110 wRC+. While he lacked the consistent power and high batting averages of his days in Pittsburgh, the veteran still provided value by getting on base at a strong clip thanks to a fantastic 12.7% walk rate during that span.

After the first below-average offensive season of his career with Milwaukee in 2022, he returned to Pittsburgh on a one-year, $5MM contract prior to 2023. He’s since signed identical contracts in the 2023-24 and now the 2024-25 offseasons, and the year-to-year arrangement seems to be working out quite well for both sides as the Pirates inch closer to a return to contention for the first time since McCutchen’s first stint with the team came to an end. Meanwhile, McCutchen has continued to age gracefully with solid production as the club’s regular DH over the past two seasons. His overall numbers in that time are remarkably similar to the five years he spent playing for other clubs, as he’s hit .243/.352/.403 with a wRC+ of 110. Since returning home to Pittsburgh, McCutchen has also reached a number of impressive career milestones including 2,000 hits, 1,000 walks, and 300 home runs.

Looking ahead to 2025, McCutchen figures to provide the Pirates with his typical steady production at DH. It’s the club’s second major move of the offseason after swapping Luis Ortiz to the Guardians in order to land Spencer Horwitz. McCutchen and Horwitz by themselves aren’t likely to dramatically alter an offense that finished third from the bottom in wRC+ with a figure of 86 that bested only the Rockies and White Sox, but there’s reason to believe the club plans to make additional moves as the offseason continues. Previous reports have connected the club to the corner outfield and bullpen markets this winter, and plenty of interesting players remain available in free agency and on the trade market at those positions. While the Pirates are hardly ever particularly big spenders, the club’s $79MM payroll projection for 2025 from RosterResource is $8MM below the club’s 2024 payroll, suggesting that there’s at least some room for additional moves even after bringing back McCutchen.

Cubs Sign Carlos Pérez To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have signed veteran catcher Carlos Pérez to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Pérez’s MLB.com profile page. The deal presumably includes an invite to MLB Spring Training.

Pérez, 34, should not be confused with his younger brother and fellow catcher Carlos Pérez, who is currently a free agent but played parts of two MLB seasons with the White Sox. The elder Pérez signed with the Blue Jays out of Venezuela before making his pro debut in 2008 and has spent parts of five seasons in the majors since then. A well-regarded defensive catcher, Pérez made his big league debut with the Angels back in 2015 but slashed just .224/.267/.332 (64 wRC+) in 595 plate appearances across 184 games and three seasons in Anaheim. Pérez split the 2018 season between the Braves and Rangers but made it into just 28 games while posting a ghastly -4 wRC+ in 75 trips to the plate.

After that lackluster showing in 2018, Pérez shuffled between the Orioles, A’s, and Rockies systems over the years before finally resurfacing in the majors last year at the age of 32. The 2023 campaign was arguably the best of Pérez’s career as he served as Oakland’s primary backup behind Shea Langeliers. His .226/.293/.357 slash line in 68 games for the A’s was well below league average (83 wRC+) overall but roughly on par with the expectations associated with a typical big league backup. Pérez returned to the A’s on a minor league deal last winter but did not ultimately crack the club’s big league roster this year despite hitting quite well at Triple-A. In 112 games with the club’s Las Vegas affiliate, Pérez slashed a strong .260/.344/.544 with 27 homers and 27 doubles. Those numbers are inflated by the offense-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, but even when adjusted for that environment are still good for a 114 wRC+ at the level.

Pérez elected minor league free agency last month in search of greener pastures, which he seems to have found in Chicago. The Cubs appear mostly set at the big league level with a catching tandem of Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya, but it’s possible that Pérez could be the next man up in the event of an injury, earning a big league opportunity similar to the ones Christian Bethancourt and Tomás Nido got with the club last year. From Chicago’s perspective, meanwhile, Pérez offers a non-roster depth option behind the plate who can also serve as a mentor to young pitchers at the Triple-A level like Cade Horton as well as the club’s top catching prospect, Moisés Ballesteros. Ballesteros reached Triple-A at just 20 years old last year on the power of his exciting bat, but his defensive skills are questionable and it’s not yet clear whether he’ll be able to stick behind the plate in the majors.

Rays Notes: Littell, Outfield, Caballero, Front Office

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The Rays made a long-awaited trade from their rotation depth last week when they packaged left-hander Jeffrey Springs and reliever Jacob Lopez in a deal with the A’s that brought back right-hander Joe Boyle, two minor leaguers, and a pick in Competitive Balance Round A of the 2025 draft. Prior to that deal, Springs was viewed alongside right-hander Zack Littell as the two most likely Rays hurlers to be moved this winter. Now that Springs is off the board, however, ESPN’s Jeff Passan suggests that the Rays are “less likely” to part with Littell this winter.

That’s not exactly surprising. After all, while the Rays have a considerable rotation surplus with a number of excellent potential arms, those arms generally come with question marks. Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen will both have recently returned from elbow surgery and could see their innings managed, while youngsters like Shane Baz, Ryan Pepiot, and Taj Bradley have never even thrown 150 innings in a big league season before in their careers. That leaves Littell, who threw 156 1/3 innings of work across 29 starts for the Rays last year, as potentially the club’s most durable arm headed into 2025. Given the frequency with which pitchers get hurt in the modern game, having a sixth starter locked and loaded is hardly a bad idea in case of injuries for any club, to say nothing of the value it could provide a club with a rotation that sports as many injury risks as the Rays’ does.

Of course, it’s impossible to rule out a trade completely when discussing a player with just one year remaining before free agency on the Rays. The club’s front office typically attempts to cash in their players on the trade market before they reach free agency, and even if Littell starts the season with the Rays a midseason trade can’t be ruled out. With that said, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times recently suggested that the club might be more or less done making moves after dealing Springs and adding Danny Jansen in free agency. One place Topkin suggests the club could look to make an addition is in the outfield, particularly if a lefty bat were to fall into the club’s lap in free agency or via trade. Topkin makes particular mention of Joc Pederson and Jurickson Profar as hypothetical options, though he’s quick to note that either player would surely need to see their market in free agency crater before they’d become realistic options for the Rays as things stand.

A more likely outcome in Topkin’s view seems to be going with internal options. That could include giving infielder José Caballero a serious look in the outfield. With Josh Lowe locked into one starting outfield spot and some combination of Jonny DeLuca, Christopher Morel, and Richie Palacios slated to handle the rest of the playing time on the grass as things stand, mixing Caballero in would give the club additional depth in the outfield should they fail to make an external addition. It’s easy to imagine Caballero’s strong glove at shortstop translating fairly well to the outfield grass, and getting a speedster who stole an AL-best 44 bases in just 483 plate appearances last year into the lineup more regularly could help to spark the club’s offense. With that being said, Caballero’s .227/.283/.347 (83 wRC+) slash line last year likely isn’t enough to make it as an outfield regular unless he proves to be a plus defensive option in center.

Turning to off-the-field matters, Topkin also reports that the club currently has no plans to install a GM beneath president of baseball operations Erik Neander. Current Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix served as GM of the Rays under Neander before taking his current gig with Miami last winter, but Topkin suggests that the club’s current set up of two vice presidents and four assistant GMs serving as Neander’s top lieutenants suits the Rays just fine and that Bendix’s title will remain unfilled for the foreseeable future.

A’s Sign Ben Bowden To Minor League Deal

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The A’s have signed left-hander Ben Bowden to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Bowden’s MLB.com profile page.

Bowden, 30, was a second-round pick by the Rockies in the 2016 draft. A pure relief prospect dating back to his days in the SEC, the lefty missed the 2017 due to shoulder injuries but was a fast riser in the club’s minor league system once he got going. He reached Triple-A by the end of his second full professional season after dominating the Double-A level to the tune of a 1.05 ERA with a 46.2% strikeout rate in 26 appearances. The cancelled minor league season in 2020 further delayed Bowden’s ascent to the majors, but after posting 11 2/3 scoreless frames at the Triple-A level in 2021 he was promoted to the big leagues.

In the majors, unfortunately, Bowden struggled badly. His 23.7% strikeout rate was a far cry from the gaudy numbers he posted in the minors, and his 11.9% walk rate left much to be desired. In all, Bowden posted a 6.56 ERA in 35 2/3 innings of work for the Rockies during his rookie season. His 4.85 FIP indicated that he had pitched better than his results might indicate, but even that more charitable figure was below league average. Given his 6.19 ERA away from Coors Field, it’s also difficult to blame Bowden’s struggles on his offense-inflating home ballpark.

Those lackluster results led the Rockies to leave Bowden off their Opening Day roster in 2022. The southpaw struggled badly at Triple-A Albuquerque with an 8.22 ERA in 7 2/3 innings of work before the Rockies decided to expose the lefty to waivers in hopes of outrighting him off the 40-man roster. Instead, Bowden found himself claimed off waivers by the Rays who themselves later outrighted him off of their 40-man. The lefty’s stint in Tampa went quite well despite him not making it to the majors with the club. In 22 innings of work at Triple-A for the Rays, Bowden pitched to a 2.45 ERA with a 24.7% strikeout rate, though his 14.4% walk rate left much to be desired. Tampa eventually flipped Bowden to the Giants ahead of the 2022 trade deadline in a minor deal, though Bowden struggled in his return to the Pacific Coast League and elected free agency when the season concluded.

Since reaching free agency during the 2022-23 offseason, Bowden has pitched for the Phillies and Braves for stints at Triple-A without cracking the big league roster of either club. He’s posted a 30.4% strikeout rate in 81 1/3 innings of work across the last two seasons but posted an ERA north of 4.00 in both seasons. Now, he’ll hope to make it back to the big leagues with an Athletics club that has a much less crowded bullpen than either the 2023 Phillies or the 2024 Braves, though in order to do so he’ll likely need to get past his long-standing struggles performing in the PCL’s inflated offensive environment.

Phillies Designate Tyler Gilbert For Assignment

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The Phillies have designated left-hander Tyler Gilbert for assignment, per a team announcement. Gilbert’s 40-man roster spot will go to fellow southpaw Jesús Luzardo, who was acquired by the Phillies in a trade with the Marlins earlier today.

The news is an unwelcome birthday present for Gilbert, who turned 31 today. The lefty pitched just 8 1/3 innings for the Phillies this year after signing a minor league deal with the Reds last winter and being traded to Philadelphia back in May. He was selected to the active roster for the stretch run and pitched decently with a 3.24 ERA despite a 4.85 FIP. That brief stint with Philadelphia was actually something of a reunion, as the Phillies actually drafted Gilbert in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. He was surrendered to the Diamondbacks in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft, however, and spent parts of three seasons in Arizona after making his debut with the club back in 2021.

Gilbert’s 2021 campaign is actually what the lefty is best known for. After being added to the club’s roster in early August and making a handful of relief appearances, the lefty actually tossed a no-hitter against the Padres in his first career start. The lefty struck out five and walked three across those nine hitless innings of work and remained in the club’s rotation down the stretch. He struggled to a 4.61 ERA in his final five starts of the year, however, and did not crack the club’s Opening Day rotation in 2022. The southpaw pitched to a lackluster 5.23 ERA and 5.10 FIP over his final two years with the Diamondbacks before being outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster last November.

Traditionally, the Phillies would have one week to either work out a trade involving Gilbert or attempt to pass him through waivers. With that said, that clock has put on pause over the holidays in previous seasons, so it’s possible that a resolution for Gilbert won’t ultimately be announced until the new year. Should he clear waivers successfully, Gilbert would have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency after previously been outrighted in his career. Should he elect free agency, he’d be an interesting depth option from the left side for clubs in need of pitching depth but would likely be limited to minor league deals due to his limited track record of success at the big league level.

Phillies Acquire Jesus Luzardo

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The Phillies made a big acquisition to their rotation, announcing they’ve acquired Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins. It’s a two-for-two trade sending Luzardo and minor league catcher Paul McIntosh to Philadelphia for shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba and outfield prospect Emaarion Boyd.

Luzardo, 27, is coming off something of a lost season but was among the most coveted starters available on the trade market as recently as last winter. The southpaw made just 12 starts in 2024 due to a lumbar stress reaction and struggled when he was healthy enough to take the mound with a 5.00 ERA (91 ERA+) in 66 2/3 innings of work. While Luzardo maintained a solid 8% walk rate, his 21.2% strikeout rate was far below his career norms and his fastball velocity was more than a tick below where it was in 2023.

Even with those warts, however, it’s easy to see why Luzardo would be an attractive addition to the rotation for the Phillies. In 279 innings of work for the Marlins between 2022 and ’23, Luzardo dominated to the tune of a 3.48 ERA (129 ERA+) with a 3.40 FIP. His 96.7 mph average fastball velocity was near the top of the scale for left-handed starting pitchers, and his 28.7% strikeout rate ranked eighth among starters with at least 250 innings of work in that time, sandwiched between Dylan Cease and Shane McClanahan.

While there’s no guarantee Luzardo will be able to recapture that ace-level production he flashed prior to his injured 2024 season, the Phillies won’t need to rely on him for front-end production. Instead, Luzardo joins an incredibly deep Phillies rotation that already features Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez. Even a fully healthy and effective Luzardo would slot in as the #2 starter in that rotation between Wheeler and Nola, and even if the southpaw merely pitches to the peripherals (4.23 FIP, 4.33 SIERA) he posted during his injury-marred 2024 campaign he’d be a noticeable upgrade over Taijuan Walker, who pitched to an ugly 7.10 ERA in 83 2/3 innings of work this past season.

The Phillies have been known to have interest in adding rotation help this winter, though that was generally expected to come in the form of a depth piece who could pitch out of the bullpen or give Walker competition for the fifth starter spot, not unlike the club’s signing of right-hander Spencer Turnbull last winter. The acquisition of a player with Luzardo’s talent and pedigree obviously goes well beyond that, however, and surely pushes Walker into a long relief role to open the season assuming the rest of the rotation is healthy.

Adding Luzardo also eases the club’s long-term need for rotation help, as he’s under team control for the next two seasons. With Suarez scheduled to hit free agency following the 2025 season, it’s possible that the addition of Luzardo allows the Phillies to rely on some combination of Walker and top prospect Andrew Painter to round out their 2026 rotation. That would push the need for an additional starter off to the 2026-27 offseason, at which point both Walker and Luzardo himself will be eligible for free agency.

For now, though, Luzardo is a cost-controlled addition to the Phillies’ rotation who figures to raise the group’s already impressive ceiling considerably. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Luzardo for an arbitration salary of just $6MM in 2025, a figure that pushes the Phillies’ payroll to the $285MM range and their luxury tax payroll up to $304MM per RosterResource. Notably, that pushes them past the highest $301MM tax threshold for next season, at which point the club is taxed at a 110% rate on any overages beyond $301MM in addition to their highest pick in the 2026 draft being pushed back ten spots.

In terms of the actual financial cost, then, bringing Luzardo into the fold figures to cost the Phillies something closer to $10.5MM between the southpaw’s salary and the tax bill that comes with it. It’s an unprecedented level of spending for the Phillies, and it’s not clear how much more room the club will have to manuever as it seeks to make further upgrades. Perhaps that’s why president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested the club was unlikely to make further major additions earlier this week, with a swingman for the pitching staff and a bench piece for the lineup highlighted as the club’s remaining priorities. The addition of Luzardo likely eliminates the need for a swingman by pushing Walker into that role, of course.

For the Marlins, the prize in this deal is Caba. Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s #81 prospect in the game and #54 at Baseball America, Caba just celebrated his 19th birthday earlier this month and looked solid in complex league play this year with a .254/.427/.335 slash line. While he offered little power, he walked more than he struck out and stole 37 bases in 45 attempts across 225 plate appearances at the level. Caba was promoted to Single-A down the stretch and struggled badly with a .179/.304/.190 slash line in 115 trips to the plate, though he still recorded more walks (16) than strikeouts (15). While he’s roundly projected for below-average power by prospecting services, he’s regarded as having the potential to be a special defender at shortstop and his impressive knack for plate discipline should give him a solid offensive floor.

Boyd, meanwhile, was the Phillies’ 11th-round pick in the 2022 draft. The 21-year-old hit just .239/.317/.331 in 400 trips to the plate at the High-A level in 2024, though he’s stolen 83 bases over the past two seasons due to elite speed and is regarded as a potentially plus defender in center field due to his wheels. That was enough to make him the #23 prospect in the Phillies organization, according to Pipeline. That said, Boyd currently offers minimal power and has a below average hit tool, though his contact-heavy approach and potential to grow into a little more power as he physically matures is enough to keep him on the radar as a potential big league contributor.

Also in the deal is McIntosh, who joins Luzardo in heading from Miami to Philadelphia. The 26-year-old isn’t considered to be much of a prospect, having been selected by the Marlins in the 34th round of the 2018 draft. He slashed .246/.340/.385 in 117 games with the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate in Pensacola this past season. For the Phillies, McIntosh should offer a solid glove-first option behind the plate to help guide the club’s young pitchers in the upper minors and perhaps provide some depth behind the club’s big league catching corps.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Phillies were acquiring Luzardo. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald was first to report that Miami was acquiring Caba and Boyd. Matt Gelb of the Athletic had McIntosh’s inclusion.

Tigers Re-Sign Brendan White To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have re-signed right-hander Brendan White to a minor league deal, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. White, who was non-tendered by Detroit last month, receives a non-roster invitation to big league Spring Training as part of the deal and will earn $765K when in the majors.

White, 26, got his start in the Tigers organization as a 26th-round pick in the 2019 draft. After making his pro debut shortly after being drafted, White didn’t pitch during the cancelled minor league season in 2020 but returned to the mound in 2021 for the club’s High-A affiliate. In 26 appearances (18 starts) at the level, White posted a solid enough 4.17 ERA in 101 1/3 innings of work with a 23.9% strikeout rate against a 6% walk rate. Despite those solid results, White was moved to the bullpen upon his arrival in Double-A the following year. That change in role came with excellent results as he dominated opposing hitters to the tune of a 2.67 ERA in 67 1/3 innings of work. His walk rate held steady at 6.3%, but his strikeout rate ticked up to 27.1% in the new role.

That not only earned him a promotion to Triple-A Toledo in 2023, but also opened the door for White to make his big league debut. The right-hander split his time between the majors and Triple-A in 2023 and totaled 77 2/3 innings of work between the two levels. At Triple-A, White posted an excellent 30.9% strikeout rate while walking 6.8% of opponents despite a rather pedestrian 4.14 ERA. In the majors, White struggled to a 5.09 ERA (86 ERA+) despite excellent peripherals. He punched out 24.9% of opponents against an 8.5% walk rate. On top of that, White also floated an impressive 51.9% groundball rate in the majors.

The right-hander’s strong peripherals seemed likely to earn him a spot in the Tigers’ bullpen mix for the 2024 season, but elbow inflammation kept him off the mound for almost the entirety of 2024. He pitched just 7 1/3 innings total last year across four levels of the minors before being placed on the 60-day IL in the majors back in August. Following White’s lost season, the Tigers opted to designate him for assignment and subsequently non-tender him last month. That made him a free agent eligible to sign with any of the league’s 30 organizations, but he ultimately will return to Detroit on a non-roster pact and attempt to work his way back to the majors.

The first step in that process figures to be getting healthy, a box which Petzold reports is already checked. He notes that the right-hander underwent a procedure to address a right radial nerve injury back in August and was back throwing off a mound the following month, allowing him to participate in a normal offseason throwing program. Assuming he stays healthy going forward, it’s not at all difficult to imagine White pitching his way back onto the Tigers’ roster at some point in 2025, and perhaps even in time for Opening Day 2025.

Guardians Sign Carlos Santana

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The Guardians have reunited with a longtime veteran of the organization, announcing a one-year deal with first baseman Carlos Santana. The Octagon client is reportedly guaranteed $12MM. The signing comes on the heels of the club agreeing to a trade that sent first baseman Josh Naylor to Arizona on Saturday.

Santana, 39 in April, is a veteran of 15 MLB seasons who made his big league debut with Cleveland back in 2010. A catcher early in his career, Santana eventually moved to first base and has been defined throughout his career by phenomenal plate discipline. His walk rate has never fallen below 10.5% in a season across his lengthy big league career, and his strikeout rate surpassed 20% just once back in 2011. The one-time All-Star has spent ten seasons in Cleveland and will now suit up for an eleventh in year 16 of his big league career.

A career .251/.368/.450 (121 wRC+) hitter with the club, Santana has seen his bat decline somewhat since he last suited up for Cleveland back in 2020. He’s played for five teams over the past four seasons, including the Guardians’ division rivals in Kansas City and Minnesota. Santana has been more of a league average hitter in those stints away from Cleveland, hitting a collective .224/.320/.392 (99 wRC+) since he last played for the club. With that said, 2024 was a bit of a rebound season for Santana as he slashed a solid .238/.328/.420 (114 wRC+) in 150 games for the Twins while playing strong enough defense at first to earn his first career Gold Glove award. What’s more, even in his down years Santana has continued to hit well against left-handed pitching with a 125 wRC+ against southpaws across the last four seasons.

It’s hard to imagine the Guardians committing $12MM to a longtime face of the franchise coming off a three-win season just to make him a platoon player, and Santana surely figures to be the club’s regular first baseman in 2025. That leaves well-regarded youngster Kyle Manzardo, a top-100 prospect prior to the 2024 season who posted a 98 wRC+ in his first taste of big league action this year, likely relegated to a part-time role with appearances at DH while occasionally spelling Santana at first base. With that said, Manzardo’s presence offers the Guardians some insurance against Santana’s age catching up to him as well; pairing the lefty-swinging youngster with Santana’s switch-hitting bat that has long crushed lefties figures to be a solid way to get value out of the first base position even if Manzardo doesn’t take a step forward and Santana finds himself unable to replicate his excellent 2024 campaign.

Notably, Santana’s $12MM salary for 2025 is identical to the $12MM projection put forward by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for Naylor’s final year of arbitration eligibility. That makes Santana and Naylor a one-for-one swap from both a financial and team control perspective. Naylor (118 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR) was the slightly better hitter but slightly less productive overall in 2024, though the 11-year age gap between the two means he also projects better than Santana going forward. Even so, the addition of Santana allowed the Guardians to trade Naylor for right-hander Slade Cecconi and a pick in Competitive Balance Round B of the 2025 draft without losing much if anything in terms of on-the-field production for 2025.

That sleight of hand by the Guardians had the side effect of taking two more names off of a crowded first base market that has rapidly begun to thin out in recent days. Naylor and Santana are joined in having found their 2025 homes recently by Paul Goldschmidt, who signed with the Yankees on a one-year deal earlier today, and yesterday saw Christian Walker land a three-year deal with the Astros. Pete Alonso is the top free agent available at first base and remains on the market, with players like Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, Justin Turner, and Mark Canha still available in the lower tiers of the market. The trade market has fewer options who are clearly available, but Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers, Yandy Diaz of the Rays, and LaMonte Wade Jr. of the Giants are all at least plausible candidates to change hands.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Guardians and Santana were in agreement on a one-year, $12MM deal.

Diamondbacks Acquire Josh Naylor

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve acquired Josh Naylor from the Guardians for right-hander Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick.

An All-Star for the first time in 2024, Naylor hit a solid .243/.320/.456 (118 wRC+) with a career-high 31 homers in 152 games for the Guardians this past year. That continues a three-year run of solid production from Naylor in Cleveland, as he’s posted an even better .267/.330/.465 (121 wRC+) slash line since becoming a regular fixture of the Guardians’ lineup in 2022. In addition to that solid 20-to-30 homer power Naylor has displayed, he’s posted impressive contact numbers with a strikeout rate of just 15.6% across the past three seasons. He’s paired that low strikeout rate with an improving walk rate that reached 9.2% in 2024. In Arizona, the 27-year-old Naylor joins an offense that not only lost Christian Walker at first base when he landed in Houston on a three-year deal earlier this week but also figures to provide the left-handed pop the club lost when DH Joc Pederson elected free agency last month.

He’s a solid fit for that role, though with free agency just one season away at an arbitration salary that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects to land at $12MM, he lacks the surplus value more attractive trade targets typically offer. That increasing price tag in arbitration combined with the presence of youngster Kyle Manzardo as an obvious successor at first made Naylor somewhat expendable for the Guardians, however, and this evening’s addition of veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to the Cleveland lineup on a one-year deal suggests that the Guardians may have preferred to reallocate Naylor’s projected salary and playing time to the 15-year MLB veteran.

In exchange for parting ways with the slugger, they’ve added some draft capital and an intriguing young arm in Cecconi. Competitive Balance Round B encompassed the 66th through 73rd picks in the 2024 draft. As noted by MLB.com’s Joe Trezza, the Guardians already had the first pick of Competitive Balance Round B in 2025. Now, the club will get a second pick in that same round as the Diamondbacks were slated to pick third behind Cleveland and Baltimore.

Meanwhile, Cecconi is a former first-round selection by the Diamondbacks who has pitched in parts of the last two seasons for the club but has yet to establish himself in the majors. He flashed league average numbers in an up-and-down role with Arizona in 2023, pitching to a 4.33 ERA (102 ERA+) with a 4.37 FIP in 27 innings spread between four starts and three relief appearances. Those numbers took a tumble in a longer stint with the big league club this year, however. Cecconi struggled to a 6.66 ERA (63 ERA+) in 77 innings of work. While his 5.02 FIP was substantially better, that figure was still well below league average. Cecconi enjoyed an excellent 5% walk rate in the majors last year, but his 18.9% strikeout rate was lackluster and he allowed an eye-popping 16 homers in just 20 games.

Disastrous as his 2024 season was, however, Cecconi will now get an opportunity to move to a club well-regarded for its ability to develop young pitchers. Still just 25, the right-hander’s 3.04 ERA and 29.5% strikeout rate in 47 innings at the Triple-A level this year offer some reason for optimism regarding his future in the big leagues, whether that winds up being out of the rotation or the bullpen. After losing Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb in free agency and with Shane Bieber expected not to pitch until midway through the 2025 season, Cleveland already added Luis Ortiz to their rotation earlier this winter. Cecconi may not be able to break a rotation that now projects to include Ortiz alongside Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, and Triston McKenzie on Opening Day, but he’ll provide depth for the club nonetheless.

Turning back to Arizona, the acquisition of Naylor brings the club’s estimated payroll to $160MM according to RosterResource. That leaves the club with some additional flexibility before they reach their 2024 figure of $173MM, which Diamondbacks brass has previously indicated the 2025 payroll will likely end up in the vicinity of. The club is known to be in the market for relief pitching and has previously expressed interest in a reunion with Pederson, though it’s possible they believe the addition of Naylor fills the void created by Pederson’s departure.

With Naylor now set to join Eugenio Suarez, Zac Gallen, and Merrill Kelly as key contributors slated for free agency next winter, it’s possible the club could also benefit from being in longer-term help for its lineup or rotation that can help preserve continuity alongside core pieces like Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Gabriel Moreno. Jordan Montgomery is also slated to reach free agency next winter, but the Diamondbacks haven’t been shy about looking to move him this winter and could free up additional payroll space by doing so.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the Diamondbacks were nearing a deal for Naylor. Jeff Passan of ESPN had the full trade terms.

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