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Red Sox Have Made “Aggressive” Offer To Alex Bregman

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While the Red Sox have spent most of the offseason focused on the trade market to augment their roster, they now appear to be turning their attention towards free agency. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported in an appearance on an episode of the podcast “First Up with Korolnek and Colaiacovo” (audio link courtesy of Foul Territory’s Robbie Hyde) that the Red Sox made an “aggressive” offer to Bregman before speculating that Bregman will ultimately return to Boston.

The market for position players has been fairly quiet since Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso signed during the Winter Meetings last month. While third baseman Kazuma Okamoto’s free agency wrapped up yesterday when he signed with the Blue Jays on a four-year deal, Bregman remains the top dog available at the position ahead of Eugenio Suarez, Ramon Urias, and Yoan Moncada. The best overall infield talent available this winter aside from Bo Bichette, Bregman lingered on the free agent market last offseason before signing a three-year, $120MM contract with Boston that included multiple opt outs and significant deferred money. That deal worked out quite well for both sides, as Bregman turned in a 125 wRC+ and 3.5 WAR in 118 games before returning to the open market this winter.

With that said, he’s once again struggled to find a market for the sort of long-term deal he’s been seeking. Boston has been known to have interest in a reunion, but there have been indications that the Red Sox are reluctant to go long-term on him (or any other free agent, for that matter). They’ve kicked the tires on plenty of alternative options this winter, ranging from trades for infield talents like Ketel Marte, Brendan Donovan, and Isaac Paredes to pivoting towards another player like Okamoto or Bichette in free agency. At this point, however, Okamoto is off the market and Marte appears unlikely to be dealt.

Perhaps the dwindling alternatives have led Boston to step up their pursuit of a Bregman reunion, though it should be noted that an “aggressive” offer does not necessarily mean a long-term one. It could certainly be argued that the $40MM average annual value (which dropped to just under $32MM after factoring in deferred money) deal Bregman signed with the Red Sox last year was an “aggressive” offer thanks to the high annual salary and player-friendly opt out structure, and that deal maxed out at just three seasons. So, too, could the Tigers’ best offer to Bregman from last winter be called aggressive, as the six-year, $171.5MM offer topped the winning bid by more than $50MM in terms of total guarantee and was the longest of the final offers Bregman received.

Regardless of what Boston’s offer to Bregman currently looks like, it seems as though market forces may be pushing the two sides back together. As previously mentioned, a few of the Red Sox’s potential alternatives to Bregman have started to come off the market or otherwise become less likely. Meanwhile, Bregman’s own alternatives to Boston could also be dwindling. Just as Okamoto signing in Toronto takes him off the table for the Red Sox, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that the deal makes Bregman signing with the Jays less likely despite mutual interest between the sides prior to Okamoto’s signing. Likewise, there have been connections drawn between Bregman and the Diamondbacks, but that could become less viable for Arizona to pull off financially if a Marte trade is taken off the table.

Even if the Jays and Diamondbacks aren’t the likeliest suitors at this point, other options are still available. The Cubs remain involved in Bregman’s market at least to some extent, though they (like the Red Sox) seem hesitant to commit to long-term deals for most players. The Tigers have seemingly remained on the periphery of Bregman’s market but don’t seem to be an especially aggressive suitor. The Phillies were recently reported to have at least some interest in Bichette and could theoretically fit Bregman as well, though they haven’t been tied to Bregman directly and even the Bichette connection seems to run in contrast with previous reporting suggesting that their room to spend is somewhat limited at this point.

Yankees Sign Paul DeJong To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees and Paul DeJong are in agreement on a minor league deal, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. DeJong will receive an invite to big league Spring Training next month as part of the deal. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that DeJong will receive a $1MM salary if he makes the team.

DeJong, 32, was a fourth-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2015. A fast riser through the minors, he made his MLB debut in 2017 and slugged 25 homers in 108 games en route to a second place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting that season. That led St. Louis to lock DeJong up long-term, signing him to a six-year extension that ran through the 2023 campaign and included club options for 2024 and ’25. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, regression almost immediately began to take hold for DeJong. After a few years as a league average hitter who still managed to offer solid power and good defense at shortstop, his offensive numbers began to fall off starting in the shortened 2020 season. After hitting just .196/.280/.351 over the 2020-22 seasons, DeJong bounced back to a roughly league-average level in 2023 across 81 games for the Cardinals.

That was enough to make him a trade asset for the rebuilding Cards, and he was swapped to the Blue Jays in a minor trade just before the trade deadline as protection against injury for shortstop Bo Bichette. Unfortunately, DeJong went an atrocious 12-for-93 over the final two months of the season while playing in Toronto and San Francisco. That .129/.128/.183 slash line in a nearly 100 plate appearance sample tanked whatever value he might have recouped prior to free agency, and DeJong wound up signing with the White Sox on a $1.75MM guarantee. DeJong managed to put together a decent season for Chicago (and Kansas City) in 2024, with 24 homers and a 96 wRC+ across 139 games that saw him split time between third base and shortstop.

While DeJong’s numbers improved, his prospects in free agency did not. Last offseason he was once again relegated to signing with a rebuilding club, and his $1MM guarantee from the Nationals clocked in even lower than the one he received from the White Sox the previous year. This time, however, DeJong’s season was derailed by an errant pitch that struck him in the face, fracturing his nose and causing him to miss ten weeks. He returned to the Nats’ bench mix in July but did not turn in especially inspiring results. The veteran ended 2025 with a 76 wRC+ in 208 trips to the plate and returned to free agency looking for a chance to bounce back.

Now that he’s with the Yankees, DeJong figures to compete for a spot in what could be a crowded bench mix for the Yankees. Amed Rosario and backup catcher J.C. Escarra figure to fill two of the four spots on the club’s bench, meaning DeJong will compete with Oswaldo Cabrera, Jorbit Vivas, and Braden Shewmake for those last two spots on the bench. The Yankees’ bench figures to get squeezed even more with time. After all, if the team winds up re-signing Cody Bellinger or otherwise adding an outfielder to the roster, that would push Jasson Dominguez to the bench. Likewise, the eventual return of Anthony Volpe to the roster when he completes his shoulder rehab figures to push Jose Caballero into a bench role. That leaves a relatively narrow window for DeJong to make the Yankees’ roster, though injuries and trades could theoretically create space for DeJong to find a role.

Angels To Sign Tayler Saucedo

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The Angels are signing left-hander Tayler Saucedo, as Saucedo himself indicated recently on his personal Instagram account. The exact details of Saucedo’s contract aren’t yet known, but it’s likely to be a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training.

Saucedo, 32, made his big league debut as a member of the Blue Jays back in 2021 but got the majority of his work over the years with the Mariners after Seattle picked him up off waivers prior to the 2023 season. Saucedo proved to be a viable middle relief arm for the Mariners across two seasons, pitching to a 3.54 ERA in 86 1/3 innings of work with a 21.7% strikeout rate against a walk rate of 11.0%. That latter figure is elevated relative to Saucedo’s strikeout ability, but the lefty was able to make up for it by generating an excellent 55.0% ground ball rate. Saucedo’s 3.79 FIP and 4.05 SIERA were more pedestrian than elite, but there was still reason for optimism regarding the southpaw’s profile.

That’s because Saucedo’s combination of strikeouts and grounders was very encouraging. Among relievers with a ground ball rate of 55.0% or higher between 2023 and ’24, the lefty’s strikeout rate ranked tenth. That combination of strikeouts and grounders is hard to come by, and among those who fit that bill are high-end closers like Andres Munoz and Jhoan Duran. Saucedo was held back from reaching those elite levels primarily by a his penchant for allowing free passes. While ground ball pitchers like Camilo Doval and Aaron Bummer have managed to make walk rates in the 11-12% range work in high leverage situations, they do so with a much healthier helping of strikeouts than Saucedo can muster.

Despite his flaws, Saucedo entered 2025 figuring to be a key piece of the Seattle bullpen. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out as the lefty struggled in ten MLB appearances this year. His 7.43 ERA across 13 1/3 innings in the majors this season left him to spend most of the season at Triple-A Tacoma. After being optioned to the minors, he was sidelined for two months by a lat strain that sent his season further off the rails. The lefty looked good for Tacoma upon his return to action, with a 2.75 ERA overall across 22 appearances at the level to go with a 27.9% strikeout rate. That performance wasn’t enough to convince the Mariners to keep him in the fold, however, and he was non-tendered back in November as a result.

Now with the Angels, Saucedo figures to enter Spring Training with an opportunity to grab a spot in a mostly unsettled Angels bullpen. Robert Stephenson, Drew Pomeranz, and Kirby Yates figure to handle the late innings, while Ben Joyce will be a factor later in the year upon his return from last year’s shoulder surgery. If Saucedo finds a role in Anaheim, it figures to be in the middle innings. Besides Pomeranz, the only other lefty in the team’s current projected bullpen is Brock Burke. Burke turned in a dominant 2022 season as a member of the Rangers but has been less impressive in the years since; he posted 3.36 ERA with a 4.16 FIP in 69 appearances for the Angels last year. That’s solid enough production for a middle relief lefty, but there could still be room for Saucedo to join Burke (as well as righty Jordan Romano) in the middle innings.

The Opener: Posting Windows, Astros, DFA Limbo

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:

1. Posting Windows closing for Okamoto, Takahashi:

The posting windows for infielder Kazuma Okamoto and right-hander Kona Takahashi are both set to reach their conclusion on Sunday at 4pm CT. That means both players will need to sign before then if they’re going to make the jump from NPB to MLB this year. Okamoto is the bigger name of the pair and is all but certain to sign a contract; he’s been connected to the Padres, Angels, Pirates, Cubs, Blue Jays, and Red Sox to this point in the offseason and could make sense for plenty of clubs as a corner infielder who has shown off an impressive blend of power and discipline throughout his NPB career. As for Takahashi, the righty reportedly has at least one MLB offer on the table but might still choose to return to NPB rather than play in the majors, which would be an understandable course of action if said MLB offer is for less than what he would make by remaining in Japan. Takahashi is viewed as more of a back-of-the-rotation arm in the majors, with less upside than countryman Tatsuya Imai.

2. Astros 40-man move incoming:

Speaking of Imai, the right-hander reportedly reached an agreement with the Astros yesterday on a three-year deal that guarantees $54MM and affords him the opportunity to opt out after the 2026 and ’27 seasons. That deal has yet to be made official, but is all but certain to go through later today given that Imai’s posting window closes at 4pm CT. Before the deal can be finalized, however, Houston will need to create room for Imai on the 40-man roster. This could be done by simply designated a player for assignment, and that’s the most likely course of action in order to do so. With that said, however, the Astros could theoretically also try to work out a minor trade that creates 40-man roster space, as the Dodgers did earlier this week when they traded outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Marlins for a prospect not yet on the 40-man.

3. DFA limbo coming to a close:

The New Year has passed, and the baseball world figures to start kicking back into normal offseason form in the coming days. That means the waiver wire freeze that took place over the holidays should be coming to a close in the near future. As such, ten players who have been in DFA limbo will see their situations resolved in the coming days, whether that’s by way of an outright to the minors, the opportunity to elect free agency, or a waiver claim by another club. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald took a look at all ten players in limbo last week, including former top prospect Marco Luciano and 2024 Guardians playoff hero Jhonkensy Noel. What’s next for this collection of players?

Poll: Will The Braves Add A Starter This Winter?

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The Braves have been very aggressive to this point in free agency. They kicked off their offseason by re-upping with closer Raisel Iglesias on a one-year deal ahead of his age-36 season. From there, they bolstered their bullpen further by bringing in veteran flamethrower Robert Suarez on a three-year deal. In addition to those moves, the offense has been tweaked in some significant ways. Mike Yastrzemski was brought in to shore up the team’s outfield depth following Marcell Ozuna’s departure in free agency. Ha-Seong Kim re-signed with the club to become the everyday shortstop in 2026, and the team even brought in Mauricio Dubon to offer depth in a utility capacity.

Coming off a 76-86 season, it’s understandable for Atlanta to be aggressive as they look to get back into contention and make the most of Ronald Acuna Jr.’s remaining years under club control. Bringing back Iglesias and adding Suarez to a bullpen that already had Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer in the late-inning mix is sure to give Atlanta one of the more intimidating bullpens in the league, and a full season from Kim should also be very impactful given that the Braves relied on Nick Allen as their shortstop for most of the 2025 season. That could be enough of a facelift for the offense by itself if Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Ozzie Albies play closer to their potential than they did last year, but the additions of Yastrzemski and Dubon should be able to to offer more established backup plans than the team had last year to keep the offense afloat.

Strong as the bullpen and offense appear to be at this point, they weren’t the part of the team that most significantly hampered the Braves last year. It’s hard to argue against the team’s biggest weakness last year being the starting rotation, despite the elite talent it boasts on paper. Chris Sale won a Cy Young award in 2024 and spent much of 2025 looking poised to repeat. Spencer Strider was widely considered perhaps the game’s most exciting young arm just a couple of years ago. Spencer Schwellenbach has done nothing but deliver since making his big league debut, and Reynaldo Lopez has been brilliant since returning to the rotation after years in the bullpen.

Unfortunately, each of those pitchers spent significant time on the injured list last year. Lopez made just one start, while Schwellenbach and Sale combined for a measly 37 more. Strider made 24 starts but didn’t look quite like himself in his return from UCL surgery, with a below-average 4.45 ERA and a 24.3% strikeout rate far below his usual norms. That middling production still made Strider one of the more reliable pitchers in the Atlanta rotation for much of the year, as injuries required more and more starts be afforded to depth arms like Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, and Joey Wentz.

That’s a lot to go wrong for one rotation in a single year. With as much talent loaded into that rotation as the Braves have, it wouldn’t be a shock if their starters were among the best in baseball next year. Sale remains a likely future Hall of Famer who should be elite when healthy. Schwellenbach has a career 3.23 ERA with peripherals to match. Strider could easily regain his Cy Young caliber form as he moves further away from surgery, and Lopez received Cy Young votes himself in 2024 for his work as a starter. At the same time, the health of starting pitchers is less reliable than ever, and assuming any of those players will make 30 starts could prove foolhardy. It hardly seems like a coincidence that Atlanta’s starting rotation lacked consistency in its first year after losing Max Fried, one of the most reliable top-of-the-rotation innings eaters in the entire sport. While depth types like Holmes and Elder remain on the roster to pick up the slack, they certainly weren’t enough last year.

That makes the addition of a quality, reliable starter seem like an obvious choice. The market for starters has been fairly quiet so far outside of a big signing for Dylan Cease back in November, and plenty of options remain on the market. Someone like Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez could provide a reasonable facsimile to the stability Fried offered for years at the top of the Braves’ rotation, but Atlanta needn’t necessarily aim that high. Even adding an arm like Zac Gallen or Lucas Giolito would go a very long way to providing reliable innings to the rotation, and that sort of deal could be more affordable than the nine-figure contracts players like Valdez and Suarez figure to command.

While signing a starter would make plenty of sense, there’s some opportunity cost to doing so. That’s because right-hander Hurston Waldrep has the chance to be a major x-factor if given the opportunity to start. After a rocky debut in 2024, the team’s top pitching prospect enjoyed a strong run of ten appearances in 2025 where he pitched to a 2.88 ERA across 56 1/3 innings of work. Waldrep won’t turn 24 until March and could be an exciting addition to the rotation if given the chance, but that opportunity may only be available to him if the team doesn’t sign a starter. Of course, the team’s uncertain health outlooks in the rest of the rotation provide a reasonable counterargument to that; Waldrep may not need to wait very long to grab a rotation spot even if he’s pushed out of the team’s starting five on paper.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the team bringing in a reliable starter is payroll. Atlanta is currently projected for a $256MM luxury tax payroll, according to RosterResource. That’s a jump of around $40MM relative to last year, though it’s actually around $20MM less than Atlanta put forward in 2024. If the Braves are willing to stay aggressive and spend to that 2024 level, perhaps adding someone like Giolito to the mix could be feasible. Failing that, however, the Braves would likely have to turn to the trade market to add an impactful starter. Doing so would likely mean surrendering young talent (such as Waldrep or infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr.) that the team appears reluctant to part with. Lower-tier starters like Jose Quintana and Zack Littell could be options as well, but it’s an open question whether they’d be substantially more effective than internal options like Waldrep or even Holmes.

How do MLBTR readers think Atlanta will put their rotation together headed into the 2026 season? Will they make a surefire addition like Valdez or Giolito, or will they instead go into the season with more or less the same group they have now? Have your say in the poll below:

The Opener: Imai, A’s, Giants

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Happy New Year from MLB Trade Rumors! Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world as we kick off 2026:

1. Imai countdown continues:

The posting window for NPB right-hander Tatsuya Imai is set to close tomorrow at 4pm CT. With just over 30 hours to go before the deadline for Imai to sign a contract, the rumor mill has remained fairly quiet regarding Imai’s market. While early connections were drawn between the right-hander and the Mets, Yankees, Cubs, Phillies, and Orioles, it’s been nearly a month since many of those rumors began percolating with minimal updates from there. Imai reportedly began in-person meetings with teams earlier this week, and while no new rumors have percolated as a result of those meetings, the right-hander figures to be in the final stages of his decision-making process at this point. Where will the 27-year-old righty land? MLBTR’s Anthony Franco took a look at the best fits for Imai in a post for Front Office subscribers yesterday.

2. A’s continue extension talks:

The A’s inked slugger Tyler Soderstrom to a seven-year extension last week that was first reported on Christmas Day. Soderstrom, 24, was a first-round pick by the A’s back in 2020 and is coming off a breakout season where he slashed .276/.346/.474 with 60 extra-base hits (including 25 homers) in 158 games while primarily playing left field for the club. Soderstrom joins Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker among the players who have already extended with the A’s long-term, but reporting has indicated that they’re not done yet. Extension talks are reportedly ongoing with other players, and while it’s unclear whether those deals will get done or who exactly the team is pursuing a long-term deal with, the idea of signing Jacob Wilson, Nick Kurtz, or Shea Langeliers to a long-term contract is surely exciting for fans of the team. Will any more deals get done?

3. Giants bring in Mahle:

It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the Giants so far, but yesterday they made a significant addition to their rotation when they signed right-hander Tyler Mahle to a one-year deal. Mahle’s signing has not yet been made official and his salary has not been reported at this point, but the move figures to significantly bolster the team’s rotation headed into 2026. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander returned to free agency after one year in San Francisco, leaving little certainty in the Giants’ rotation behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Mahle should help offer some of that certainty alongside fellow righty Adrian Houser, who signed on a two-year deal just two weeks ago.

With Houser and Mahle now in the fold, it seems likely that the Giants are done with rotation additions at this point and will simply fill out the fifth spot in their rotation with internal options like Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong. Could they turn towards addressing the lineup next? The club has reportedly shown interest in Cody Bellinger during his free agency, while Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner and Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan have both caught the club’s attention on the trade market.

Blue Jays Sign Nic Enright To Two-Year Minor League Deal

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a two-year minor league deal with right-hander Nic Enright, according to a report from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.

Enright, 28, has had a difficult career to this point despite solid results. A 20th-round pick by Cleveland back in 2019, the righty made his way up the organizational ladder to reach Triple-A with excellent results in 2022. That seemingly put him on the radar for a call-up to the majors, but was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in December of that year. The diagnosis came shortly after Enright was selected by the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft and severely limited him throughout the 2023 campaign, although he did eventually begin a rehab assignment while undergoing treatment. He struggled before being returned to the Guardians, but by 2024 was back to posting excellent numbers in the minors.

That earned Enright the opportunity to make his MLB debut this year, and he made the most of the opportunity with a sterling 2.03 ERA and a 23.7% strikeout rate in 31 innings of work. Enright had the look of a quality bullpen piece when on the mound, but his health derailed things once again when the righty underwent Tommy John surgery in October. The timing of that injury will cost Enright the entire 2026 season, which led the Guardians to non-tender him last month despite his status as a pre-arbitration player. That sent Enright into minor league free agency for the first time in his career, and he’s now managed to catch on with the reigning AL champions.

The deal between Toronto and Enright is for both the 2026 and ’27 seasons. While minor league deals are typically for just one year, two-year deals are somewhat common for talented players who are rehabbing from significant surgery. They serve as a way for the acquiring club to take control of the player’s rehab process with the assurance that they’ll be the organization with the first crack at reaping the benefits once the player returns to health. From the player’s perspective, the two-year guarantee offers some security that otherwise would not be afforded to them, saving them from having to go back into minor league free agency coming off a season lost to rehab.

While Enright won’t have an impact on the Blue Jays in 2026, it would hardly be a surprise to see him join the Toronto bullpen at some point in 2027 given his previous results and obvious talent when healthy. The Blue Jays’ pitching staff figures to look very different in 2027, as Shane Bieber and Kevin Gausman will depart the rotation for free agency after the 2026 campaign while Eric Lauer and Yimi Garcia figure to leave a hole in the bullpen when they hit the open market. It’s hard to know exactly how open the competition for Toronto’s 2027 pitching staff will be more than a year in advance, but it’s certainly plausible that those impending departures could help create an opportunity for Enright to join players like Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers, and Louis Varland in the team’s relief corps once he’s healthy.

White Sox, Jarred Kelenic Agree To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox are signing outfielder Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal, according to a report from Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Kelenic’s deal includes a non-roster invitation to big league Spring Training in February.

Kelenic, 26, was drafted sixth-overall by the Mets back in 2018 and exploded to become a top-five prospect in the entire sport early in his pro career. Kelenic’s prospect status saw him shipped to the Mariners as part of the deal that brought Edwin Diaz to Queens, and at the time the deal was viewed as a coup for Seattle thanks to Kelenic’s star power. Unfortunately, the outfielder is now five years into his MLB career and has yet to put it all together at the major league level.

After hitting at a well below average level in 147 games across the 2021 and ’22 seasons, Kelenic finally seemed to be steadying himself in 2023. That year, he slashed a respectable .253/.327/.419 with a 110 wRC+ in 105 games. He swatted 11 homers with 25 doubles and swiped 13 bags in 18 attempts. While that combination of decent power and speed with a respectable 9.9% walk rate was encouraging, Kelenic was held back in a big way by strikeouts. His 31.7% strikeout rate would’ve been the fourth-highest in the majors that year if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, just ahead of Teoscar Hernandez and Eugenio Suarez for the team lead. That led the Mariners to try and retool their lineup with a larger focus on contact during the 2023-24 offseason, and part of that effort was a deal that shipped Kelenic to Atlanta that winter.

Joining the Braves offered Kelenic an opportunity for a fresh start, but he didn’t make much of an impact even in spite of receiving the lion’s share of playing time in left field. With Atlanta, Kelenic reached a career high in games played (131) and plate appearances (449) but managed a wRC+ of just 87 as his walk rate and BABIP both declined significantly while his strikeout rate remained at a much too high 29.6%. A .286 on-base percentage is hard to justify for a regular no matter how much power they provide, but Kelenic’s 15 homers and 35 total extra-base hits in 2024 certainly wasn’t going to cut it.

That led Atlanta to pivot away from using Kelenic in a starting role this past year, instead signing players like Jurickson Profar and Alex Verdugo to try and fill the hole in left field. A PED suspension for Profar and deep struggles from Verdugo were enough to get Kelenic another shot in the majors, but he struggled with that opportunity and hit just .167/.231/.300 in 24 games with a 47 wRC+ and a 35.7% strikeout rate. Those numbers were essentially unplayable at the major league level and left Kelenic to spend most of his time in the minors last year. Unfortunately, he also struggled for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett. For the Stripers, Kelenic hit just .213/.286/.309 in 95 games. While Kelenic’s strikeout and on-base woes persisted last year, his power completely evaporated.

All of those struggles led the Braves to designate Kelenic for assignment earlier this year, and he elected minor league free agency back in October. The outfielder is more of a project than a surefire piece at this point in his career, but given that he’s still just 26 years old, it’s understandable for the rebuilding White Sox to take a gamble on a talent once so well-regarded. If Kelenic shows he has more in the tank, he’d likely compete for a job in right field with Brooks Baldwin as Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi cover center field and left field respectively. A trade of Robert or even Benintendi can’t be ruled out given Chicago’s status as one of the league’s few rebuilding clubs, and a deal sending either of those two out of town would create a more substantial opportunity for Kelenic to get work in on the grass in the majors.

The Opener: Marte, Angels, Imai

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

1. Marte talks nearing their conclusion?

Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte has been one of the most talked about players on the trade market this offseason. GM Mike Hazen made waves yesterday in that corner of the market, however, when he noted that he plans to put an end to conversations regarding a Marte trade in the near future. Hazen’s suggestion was that the club simply pulling Marte off the table for negotiations was a more likely outcome than a trade coming together at this point. That’s been Hazen’s stance all throughout the offseason, as he has long said he didn’t foresee Arizona dealing a star player this winter. Even so, a deal remains at least possible as long as Hazen and the Arizona front office continue to be willing to entertain trade talks on Marte.

Whether he’s traded or not, it figures to shake up the market in a big way when Marte ultimately comes off the market. That would leave Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan as the clear top trade chip on the infield this offseason, barring a surprise deal involving someone like Isaac Paredes or Nico Hoerner. It would also remove an alternative to free agent infielders like Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez who have lingered are the market to this point. If Marte is dealt, it would remove a possible suitor for those players but also leave the Diamondbacks hungry for a middle-of-the-order bat to replace him.

2. Angels, Rendon parting ways:

The Angels and veteran infielder Anthony Rendon brought Rendon’s fraught tenure with the organization to an end yesterday when they restructured the final year of his contract ahead of his expected retirement. Rendon technically remains on the roster for the time being but does not figure to resume his playing career, whether for the Angels or another club. While Rendon’s retirement doesn’t change much for the Angels on the field due to his injury history and lack of production, it could still have an impact. The restructured deal takes a large chunk of money off the books for Anaheim headed into 2026, and club officials have made clear their desire to bring in help at third base and in center field this winter. This influx of financial flexibility could allow the team to make a splash at one of those positions, or at the very least add a reliable bat at one or both of those spots in the lineup.

3. Imai meeting with teams:

The sweepstakes for right-hander Tatsuya Imai is nearly at its conclusion. The right-hander has begun conducting in-person interviews with teams in the U.S. and figures to continue talking to teams over the coming days. With just over 48 hours remaining until his posting window closes at 4pm CT on January 2, the right-hander has limited time to find a deal. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Imai’s contract come together sooner rather than later, in order to allow Imai the time needed to undergo a physical with his new club before the impending deadline. The right-hander’s youth and recent track record in NPB have made him one of the more intriguing arms available this offseason in the eyes of both fans and teams. The Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Phillies, and Orioles have all been connected to the righty at one point or another, but it’s certainly possible more teams outside of that group of five could be involved in the righty’s market.

Padres Sign Blake Hunt To Minor League Deal

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The Padres have signed catcher Blake Hunt to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Hunt’s MLB.com profile page. Hunt’s deal was first reported by MadFriars earlier this month.

Hunt, 27, was a second-round pick by the Padres back in 2017. He was a piece of the Blake Snell trade during the 2020-21 offseason and spent several years climbing up the Rays’ minor league system. Hunt hit quite well for the Rays’ Double- and Triple-A affiliates in 2023, slashing a combined .256/.331/.484 with 12 homers in 67 games, but ultimately was not added to the club’s 40-man roster during the 2023-24 offseason with minor league free agency looming. That led the Rays to deal Hunt to the Mariners, who did add him to their 40-man roster and were willing to give up minor league catcher Tatem Levins in order to do so.

After making the jump to Seattle, Hunt hit extremely well in the first month of the season at Triple-A with a .293/.372/.533 slash line in 24 games. That was a strong enough performance that the Orioles decided to take a chance on him and acquired him from Seattle in the deal that sent Mike Baumann to the Mariners in May 2024. He was called up to the majors in July of 2024 but did not make his big league debut before being designated for assignment by Baltimore. He remained with the Orioles through the end of the year in the minor leagues but hit just .179/.219/.278 across 42 games with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk.

During the 2024-25 offseason, the Mariners re-acquired Hunt and stashed him at the minor league level as depth behind their big league duo of Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver. Raleigh, of course, went on to have an MVP-caliber season in 2025 as he broke the single season record for home runs by a catcher. That left little room for Hunt to make it to the majors this past year, but his minor league slash line did manage to recover after a tough year in Baltimore. Across 62 games this year, Hunt slashed .272/.368/.452. That slash line is inflated due to the offensive environment in the Pacific Coast League, where Seattle’s Tacoma affiliate plays, but Hunt’s performance was still good for an above-average 108 wRC+.

After the 2025 campaign, Hunt became a minor league free agent and hit the market as an intriguing, bat-first depth option for a catching-needy club. He’s now found a home back with his first professional organization and figures to be the top depth option with Triple-A El Paso headed into 2026. The Padres have a fairly weak catching tandem as things stand, as Freddy Fermin profiles best as a part-time player while Luis Campusano figures to serve as the club’s backup at the moment after getting just 27 plate appearances at the big league level last year. That leaves a fairly open path for Hunt to force his way onto the MLB roster and perhaps make his big league debut after years of sitting on the cusp of doing so. If the Padres don’t make further additions behind the plate, it’s easy to imagine Hunt challenging Campusano for the job of backing up Fermin this spring with longtime top prospect Ethan Salas still likely to be years away from his own big league debut.

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