Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mariners Avoid Arbitration With Arozarena, Gilbert

By | at

7:50pm: Seattle announced agreements with all seven players in their arbitration class. That includes a $10.927MM deal with Gilbert, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’d been projected at an even $10MM. Gilbert is coming off a 3.44 ERA showing across 25 starts. He’ll go through arbitration once more before reaching free agency.

12:37pm: The Mariners and slugging outfielder Randy Arozarena are in agreement on a one-year, $15.65MM contract, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. He’s entering his final season of arbitration control before becoming a free agent next winter.

Acquired from the Rays at the 2024 trade deadline, Arozarena has been an impactful source of power in the heart of Seattle’s lineup since that trade. He had a slow start to his Seattle tenure but in 2025 slashed .238/.334/.426 with a career-high 27 home runs and 31 steals (the second-highest mark of his career). By measure of wRC+, which weights for the pitcher-friendly confines in Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, Arozarena has been 22% better than average at the plate since landing in the Emerald City.

Heading into 2026, Arozarena will again play a key role near the top of manager Dan Wilson’s lineup. He’ll be joined by MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and the recently re-signed Josh Naylor atop what should be a quality Mariners lineup. The M’s have been continuing their search for more bats, looking particularly hard at adding another infielder to the mix. They’ve reportedly shown interest in trading for Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan and D-backs star Ketel Marte, and they haven’t yet closed the door on a reunion with slugger Eugenio Suarez.

Arozarena was the Mariners’ most expensive arb case this winter. They’ve also reportedly agreed to a deal with George Kirby ($6.65MM) and have pending cases with Logan Gilbert, Gabe Speier, Luke Raley, Matt Brash and Bryce Miller. Arozarena had been projected for a heartier $18.2MM salary by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. He’ll clock in about 14% lower than that mark, leaving the Mariners with more flexibility as they continue to look for additional help on the offensive side of things and in their bullpen.

Phillies To Meet With Bo Bichette

By | at

3:42pm: The meeting between the Phillies and Bichette is scheduled for next Monday, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

3:07pm: The Bo Bichette market apparently has a new entrant. Matt Gelb, Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic report that the Phillies have scheduled a meeting with the free agent infielder and his representatives at Vayner Sports that will take place within the next few days. Philadelphia’s interest “is legitimate,” per the report — borne out of Bichette’s willingness to move off of shortstop and a protracted stare-down between the Phils and free agent catcher J.T. Realmuto, who has yet to sign. Gelb and Stark note that a deal between the Phillies and Bichette would all but close the door on Realmuto’s time in Philly and could also lead to a trade of third baseman Alec Bohm.

Bichette, still just 27 (28 in March), not only enjoyed a rebound 2025 season after an injury-wrecked 2024 showing — he turned in what was arguably the best all-around season of his career. In 628 trips to the plate, he slashed .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs. His 6.4% walk rate, while still a couple points below league-average, was the best of his career in a full season, as was his 14.5% strikeout rate.

Bichette’s summer, in particular, was something to behold. He got out to a decent but fairly pedestrian start before heating up in May and catching absolute fire midsummer. From July 6 through season’s end, Bichette went supernova with a .381/.437/.591 slash in 238 plate appearances. He homered seven times, piled up an outrageous 24 doubles, walked at an 8.8% clip and fanned in only 11.3% of his plate appearances. Push back to mid-June, and Bichette closed out his season with 330 plate appearances of .350/.395/.538 production.

Of course, “season’s end” is a relative term in Bichette’s case. He suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament on Sept. 6 and did not return for the final three weeks of the regular season. Bichette spent the early rounds of the playoffs resting and rehabbing that balky knee. He was cleared for a return in the World Series, and while he was clearly moving at nowhere close to 100%, his bat remained unfazed. Bichette went 8-for-23 in 27 plate appearances and crushed what had the makings of an iconic, go-ahead, three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series — a no-doubter blast that would’ve proven to be a game-winner had the bullpen held onto Toronto’s lead.

Critically, Bichette played second base when he took the field during the World Series. It was his first appearance at the position since his minor league days, but the willingness to defer to a superior defender at shortstop (Andres Gimenez) undoubtedly helps Bichette’s case in free agency. The primary knock on him for some time has been that he’s a well below-average defender at shortstop.

The Phillies, per The Athletic’s report, would likely use Bichette at third base. It’s fair to wonder whether he has the arm for the hot corner, given that Statcast pegged his arm strength in just the 36th percentile of big leaguers this past season. Bichette averaged 82.3 mph on his throws to first base, tying him with current Phillies shortstop Trea Turner in that regard. It’s a below-average mark but also not a death knell on his chances of playing a passable third base. That 82.3 mph average also ties fellow free agent Alex Bregman, and it’s actually a half-mile faster than Philadelphia’s incumbent third baseman, Bohm.

Most problematic for the Phillies would be how Bichette could fit into the payroll. RosterResource projects the Phils for a $266MM payroll. That’s down from their $284MM Opening Day mark from last year, but Bichette would push them beyond that point (barring some kind of backloaded or deferred contract). And while the actual cash payroll is down from last year, the team’s luxury tax payroll is not. The Phils have a projected $301MM of CBT obligations, per those same RosterResource estimates. That means they’d be taxed at a 95% rate for the first $3MM of Bichette’s average annual value and a 110% clip on the remainder.

In essence, Bichette would cost the Phillies close to double his annual salary — at least in year one of the contract. That number could decline in 2026, when Nick Castellanos, Taijuan Walker, Jesus Luzardo, Jose Alvarado, Adolis Garcia, Edmundo Sosa and Bohm (if he’s not traded) are all off the books. Philadelphia has “only” about $187MM of luxury tax obligations in 2027, but that’s before factoring in a notable arbitration class (headlined by Jhoan Duran and Bryson Stott) and before filling any of the vacancies created by that slate of departures. It’s easy to see that number ticking up in a hurry.

Still, the long-term payroll in Philadelphia is probably a bit cleaner than most would expect for a team with so many high-priced veterans. Zack Wheeler’s huge $42MM salary only runs through 2027. Harper’s annual salary is already relatively low for a player of his caliber, and it drops to $22MM in the final three seasons of his contract (2029-31). Harper, Turner, Cristopher Sanchez, Kyle Schwarber and Aaron Nola are the only players currently on long-term deals beyond the 2027 season, and Schwarber is the only member of that group who’ll be paid more than $27.5MM annually from 2028 onward. The Phillies have just over $117MM in guaranteed money on the books in 2028. Signing Bichette would really only inflate the 2026 payroll to problematic levels, and the Phils could backload or defer his contract to help offset some of that bloat.

Bichette landing with the Phillies would create a fascinating series of ripple effects. Teams that have been seeking help at third base (e.g. Pirates, D-backs, Mariners, Red Sox) might find a more willing trade partner in Philadelphia than they have in prior months, when Bichette was not under consideration by the Phillies’ front office. Bohm just agreed to a $10.2MM contract for the 2026 season and is a free agent next year.

Philadelphia would also need to make a catching acquisition. Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs are the only others on the roster. Gelb and Stark report that Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers — a free agent following the 2026 season — has been of interest to the Phillies in the past. However, the Twins have signaled that they’re aiming to be competitive in 2026 and won’t trade stars like Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton. Would they truly make Jeffers available, in light of that decision? Time will tell.

If not Jeffers (or Realmuto), the options are few and far between. Victor Caratini is a free agent and could be the most straightforward solution. The Phillies could try to pry Hunter Goodman from the rebuilding Rockies. Luis Campusano looks like an odd man out in San Diego, though he’s yet to prove he can be a passable catcher in the majors. The White Sox have received interest in young backstops Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, but both would come with a high asking price, given their recent top prospect status and half decade of club control. The Reds have some depth with Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino and Ben Rortvedt all on the books and top prospect Alfredo Duno coming in a couple years. If the Phillies do go the trade route, then how does the other club pivot to fill its newfound catching need? And where does Realmuto land? The ramifications of a Bichette signing in Philly stretch further than most would expect at first glance.

Diamondbacks, Thomas Hatch Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The D-backs and free agent righty Thomas Hatch are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports MLBTR’s Anthony Franco. Hatch, a client of Moye Sports Associates, will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Hatch turned 31 just a couple days after the season ended. He’s pitched in parts of five big league seasons between the Blue Jays, Pirates, Royals and Twins, ending the 2025 campaign with the latter of that quartet. In 103 MLB frames, the former third-round pick (Cubs, 2016) has a 5.24 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 46.3% ground-ball rate.

Though he hasn’t found much in the way of consistent big league success, Hatch has been a solid starter in four Triple-A campaigns. He’s pitched 334 innings at the top minor league level and logged a serviceable 4.42 earned run average while punching out 22.3% of his opponents against a tidy 7.5% walk rate. Hatch also has brief experience pitching overseas in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, though he only made five appearances for the Hiroshima Carp during that 2024 stint.

Hatch has split his time in pro ball fairly evenly between starting and relieving. He’ll compete for a job this spring but would presumably be ticketed for a swingman role even if he secured a roster spot. Arizona’s rotation currently includes Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka. Kelly and Soroka signed as free agents this winter. Depth options beyond that group include Yilber Diaz, Cristian Mena, Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and Dylan Ray. All five are 25 years old or younger, but no one from that quintet has proven himself in the big leagues yet; the latter three have yet to even make their major league debuts.

White Sox Claim Drew Romo, Designate Ben Cowles

By | at

The White Sox have claimed catcher Drew Romo off waivers from the Mets, according to a club announcement. Chicago designated infielder Ben Cowles for assignment in order to open a spot for Romo on the 40-man roster.

The No. 35 overall pick by the Rockies back in 2020, Romo garnered some top-100 fanfare earlier in his prospect days but has seen his bat stall out after a nice 2023 season between High-A and Double-A. He’s still a quality defensive catcher with a rocket arm behind the plate, but Romo’s offensive output at Triple-A has declined in consecutive seasons. He hit .264/.329/.409 (75 wRC+) in an extremely hitter-friendly Triple-A Albuquerque setting in 2025 and saw his strikeout rate balloon from 17.8% in ’24 to 25.8%.

The Rockies gave Romo a couple brief looks in the majors, but he totaled only 56 plate appearances and logged a .167/.196/.222 slash with a sky-high 37.5% strikeout rate. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the South Siders some defensive-minded depth behind the plate.

The Sox have Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero on the big league roster already. Both were top-100 prospects this time a year ago. Quero held his own in his 2025 MLB debut (.268/.333/.356 in 403 plate appearances), and Teel excelled at the plate. In 297 trips to the batter’s box, Teel slashed .273/.375/.411 (125 wRC+) with a big 12.5% walk rate. Given that he not only outproduced Quero but also grades out as a vastly better defender, Teel staked his claim to the starting job in 2026 and beyond. Twenty-seven-year-old Korey Lee, who’s out of minor league options, will also have to break camp with the team (if he’s not traded first) or else be designated for assignment.

Both Teel and Quero have drawn offseason trade interest, though that doesn’t mean a move will come to fruition. Other clubs have called the White Sox about that catching tandem — not vice versa — which is only natural, given the scarcity of quality catchers in the game and the ever-increasing emphasis on cultivating young, controllable talent. Claiming another catcher doesn’t indicate that the Sox are more seriously considering a trade of either Teel or Quero; it’s more likely a mere matter of adding some depth (particularly some optionable depth, as Lee’s hold on his roster spot figures to be a bit tenuous).

As for Cowles, who’ll turn 26 next month, he’s a former tenth-round pick by the Yankees who has already twice changed teams in his pro career. New York shipped him to the Cubs alongside Jack Neely in the 2024 Mark Leiter Jr. trade, and the White Sox claimed him off waivers about 13 months later.

Cowles has yet to take a plate appearance in the majors. He split the ’25 season between the Triple-A clubs for the two Chicago teams, slashing a combined .235/.300/.371 with nine homers, 18 steals, a 7.2% walk rate and a 28.8% strikeout rate. He’s viewed as a serviceable defender at shortstop who can also handle second base and third base, giving him a chance to carve out a role as a utility player.

Although his 2025 numbers were ugly, Cowles hit .286/.372/.457 with nine homers, 14 steals, a 10.4% walk rate and a 17.7% strikeout rate in 92 Double-A games during the 2024 season. Between that production, his solid glove/speed combination, and a pair of remaining minor league option years, there’s a chance he’ll be picked up by another club hoping to secure some optionable infield depth.

Phillies, Alec Bohm Avoid Arbitration

By | at

The Phillies and third baseman Alec Bohm are in agreement on a $10.2MM salary for the upcoming 2026 season, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. That lines up neatly with the $10.3MM projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz at the beginning of the offseason. Bohm is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Bohm, 29, will be playing out his final season of club control in 2026. The former No. 3 overall pick looked like a star early on, when he debuted with a sensational .338/.400/.481 slash in 44 games as a rookie back in 2020. He’s settled in as more of a league-average bat in the five years since that time, hitting a combined .275/.323/.411 (101 wRC+) in 2769 plate appearances dating back to 2021.

The Phillies figure to give Bohm everyday reps at the hot corner once again this season. He’s improved his glovework considerably since ranking as one of the worst third base defenders in the game back in 2021-22, although both Defensive Runs Saved (-3) and Outs Above Average (-2) had him a bit below par in 942 frames there in 2025. Bohm has also logged plenty of first base time over the years and could see time there in the event that Bryce Harper misses time due to injury.

Bohm has frequently been the subject of trade rumblings in the past. The Phillies seemed to more seriously consider moving him last offseason then this time around, however. He’s coming off a solid, if unspectacular .287/.331/.409 slash (105 wRC+) with 11 home runs in 504 turns at the plate in 2025. Historically, Bohm has carried pronounced platoon splits, but while he’s still been better against lefties than righties, he’s been closer to an average hitter against right-handers in 2024-25. Over the past three seasons, Bohm is an overall .280/.333/.430 hitter. With another season like that, he’ll position himself for a multi-year deal when he hits the open market next winter.

Mets Prefer Trade Market To Free Agency In Rotation Search

By | at

The Mets are still in the market for upgrades to their starting pitching group, but they prefer to bolster the rotation by way of a trade rather than via free agency, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report.

It’s not exactly a surprising revelation. We’re one month removed from initial reporting that the Mets were reluctant to sign a free agent pitcher to a long-term contract, and the Mets have since shown aversions to long-term deals for incumbent stars like Edwin Diaz and especially Pete Alonso — both of whom have now signed elsewhere. The Mets also traded the remaining five years of Brandon Nimmo’s contract for three of Marcus Semien. It seems there’s a real push to avoid clogging up the long-term books with many major deals beyond the lengthy commitments to Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.

It’s worth noting, too, that the Mets are deep in both top prospects and young big leaguers that could be marketed to other clubs. Their farm system is generally regarded as one of the ten best in the game. Following this year’s draft and trade deadline, Baseball America ranked the Mets’ system ninth in the game. MLB.com ranked it seventh. BA counts five Mets prospects (Carson Benge, Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, Jett Williams, Brandon Sproat) among the top 100 in the game. Young infielders Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña are all available in trade talks as well, per Rosenthal and Sammon.

One of the market’s most notable trade candidates, Miami righty Edward Cabrera, came off the board yesterday when he was traded to the Cubs for a three-player package headlined by top young outfielder Owen Caissie. Presumably, the Mets would’ve had to pay an even steeper price as a division rival, but Cabrera’s removal from the market only thins out the supply and creates more urgency among teams still looking for meaningful rotation upgrades (e.g. Mets, Yankees, Orioles, D-backs, Padres).

The Mets have been connected to a handful of possible trade targets this winter. They’ve reportedly spoken to the Padres about Nick Pivetta and to the Brewers about Freddy Peralta. They were also among the teams in on Cabrera and had some interest in Minnesota’s Joe Ryan before the Twins signaled that they’re not planning to move him (or rotation-mate Pablo Lopez). They’ve surely at least checked in on other prominent and under-the-radar names on the market alike.

The Mets went to three years to sign Devin Williams in free agency, acquired three years of Semien and (reportedly) were unwilling to go beyond three years for Pete Alonso. Their free-agent deals with infielder Jorge Polanco and righty Luke Weaver only span a two-year term. There’s been no firm indication that they’re wholly against surpassing three years for any free agent, but that certainly seems to be the team’s comfort zone with additions to the roster.

In fact, since being named president of baseball operations, David Stearns hasn’t committed more than three years to any free agent other than Soto, whose signing was more of an ownership-level move. Stearns’ largest signing after Soto was Sean Manaea, whose three-year, $75MM deal contains more than $23MM in deferred money. Currently, the Mets only have four players on guaranteed contracts in 2028 (Soto, Lindor, Williams, Semien). By 2029, Soto and Lindor are the only two players on the books.

If there’s a reluctance to guarantee players anything into 2029 and beyond, as at least ostensibly seems to the be the case, that’ll make it quite difficult to land any of the top remaining free agent names. The Mets sat down with Framber Valdez back in November, and Rosenthal and Sammon indicate that there’s still some interest there. Of course, signing Valdez would surely require going beyond three years — likely to at least a five-year pact. Ranger Suarez, like Valdez, figures to be looking for at least a five-year deal in free agency. If either pitcher lingers into February or March, perhaps they’ll pivot to a shorter-term deal with opt-out opportunities. Beyond that, a match with the Mets seems hard to envision — at least based on the team’s recent tendencies under the current baseball operations regime.

RosterResource currently projects the Mets for a $294MM payroll and just over $296MM of luxury-tax obligations. That puts the Mets about $8MM shy of the top tier of penalization, which they’ve crossed in each of the past four seasons. They currently owe a 95% tax on any dollars spent up to $304MM worth of tax obligations. From that point on, they’ll be taxed at a 110% rate for every dollar spent.

Cubs Acquire Edward Cabrera

By | at

The Cubs and Marlins have completed one of the more notable trades of the offseason — a swap that’ll send righty Edward Cabrera from Miami to Chicago in exchange for top outfield prospect Owen Caissie and minor league infielders Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon.

Cabrera, 28 in April, is a former top prospect who has shown flashes of excellence in the past but wasn’t healthy enough to deliver on that potential until a breakout 2025 campaign. Though he still logged some IL time this past season, he turned in a career-high 137 2/3 innings with a strong 3.53 ERA and encouraging underlying numbers. Cabrera punched out 25.8% of opponents, logged a career-low 8.3% walk rate — far better than the 13.3% clip he carried into the season — recorded a 46.6% ground-ball rate and sat 97 mph on his four-seamer (and 96.8 mph on his sinker) in 2025.

Early in the 2025 season, Cabrera missed two weeks with blisters on his pitching hand — his second career IL trip due to blister troubles. His second IL trip in 2025 was more alarming, as it was prompted by an elbow sprain late in the year. That’s a far more worrying injury, but Cabrera returned after only three weeks and fired nine generally solid innings across his final two appearances, sitting 97.7 mph on his four-seamer and 97.9 mph on his sinker during that time. Given the trade interest in him this offseason and a deal now complete, it doesn’t appear there’s any current concern about a major elbow injury looming on the horizon.

Beyond his premium velocity and quality rate stats, Cabrera’s contractual situation always figured to hold broad-reaching appeal. He’s entering the second of four arbitration seasons as a Super Two player and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a highly affordable $3.7MM in 2026. He’s under club control all the way through 2028, and based on the fairly low starting point in his arbitration journey, those three seasons aren’t likely to cost much more than $20MM overall.

Cabrera will slot into a deep Cubs rotation mix, joining Rookie of the Year finalist Cade Horton and veterans Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga (who accepted a $22.05MM qualifying offer in November). Acquiring Cabrera likely pushes veteran swingman Colin Rea back into a long relief role to begin the season, though he’d be among the first men up in the event of an injury elsewhere on the staff.

Right-hander Javier Assad is also in the mix, though he missed nearly all of the 2025 season due to a severe oblique strain and posted a career-low 15% strikeout rate in the 37 innings he managed to tally late in the season. Assad still has minor league options remaining, so he could be sent to Triple-A to begin the year or else considered for a multi-inning relief role similar to the one Rea might occupy. Other options down in Triple-A include hard-throwing 26-year-old righty Ben Brown and former top prospect Jordan Wicks (also 26). Top prospect Jaxon Wiggins is not yet on the 40-man roster and has barely pitched in Triple-A, but he could be in line for a big league debut this coming season as well.

Of course, the Cubs will be eagerly awaiting the return of ace Justin Steele, ideally at some point in the season’s first half. The 30-year-old Steele was the team’s top starter from 2022-24, pitching a combined 427 innings of 3.10 ERA ball with plus strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates, but he made just four starts in 2025 before requiring UCL surgery in late April. Every rehab process is different, but it’s reasonable to expect that he could be back in June or July.

By the season’s second half, the Cubs could be looking at a rotation led by Steele, Horton and Cabrera, with veterans Taillon, Boyd, Imanaga and Rea among the options for the final couple spots. Injuries will almost always disrupt any team’s best laid plans, but that’s a quality group of arms that doesn’t even factor in Wiggins, who posted a 2.19 ERA and 31% strikeout rate in 18 starts (and one relief appearance) between Double-A and Triple-A last year.

On the Marlins side of things, Cabrera stood as an obvious trade candidate — but one who’d come at a fairly hefty price, given that salary and remaining club control. He landed on the back end of MLBTR’s Top 40 Offseason Trade Candidate list back in November.

It’s obviously not a financially driven move, but the Fish are deep in rotation options — with multiple top prospects nearing readiness — and have various holes in the lineup to fill. Swapping out Cabrera for a package headlined by Caissie works toward that end.

Even with Cabrera departing, Miami can roll out a rotation including Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Ryan Weathers and Braxton Garrett in the top four spots. Journeyman Janson Junk had a surprisingly nice showing with the Fish in 2025 and is an option either in the fifth spot or long relief. The same can be said for righty Ryan Gusto, whom the Marlins acquired in the deadline trade sending Jesus Sanchez to Houston. Former top prospects Max Meyer, Dax Fulton and Adam Mazur are all on the 40-man roster, too. Current top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling could both debut this coming season. White, in particular, is regarded as one of the top prospects in the entire sport.

Caissie should step right into the Marlins’ outfield next season. The 23-year-old slugger made his big league debut this past season, struggling in a tiny sample of 27 plate appearances, but is a former second-round pick and longtime top prospect who has shredded minor league pitching. That includes a 2025 campaign in which he slashed .286/.386/.551 (139 wRC+) with 22 homers, 28 doubles and a pair of triples in 99 games/433 plate appearances of Triple-A work.

Caissie is a lefty-swinging corner outfielder with big power and big swing-and-miss tendencies. He fanned in nearly 28% of his Triple-A plate appearances last year. He’s regularly been able to offset the damage of those strikeouts by walking at high clips, however. He drew a free pass in 13.2% of his Triple-A plate appearances last year and has an overall 13.6% walk rate in five minor league seasons.

Scouting reports on Caissie praise his plus throwing arm but predict he’ll be limited to corner work (despite some early-career experience in center field). He has the makings of a prototypical three-true-outcomes right fielder. The Marlins could go with 2025 breakout slugger Kyle Stowers in left field and Caissie in right, thus giving them a pair of high-powered bats to plug into the heart of their order for the foreseeable future.

Because Caissie only made a brief MLB debut this past season, he still has six full seasons of club control remaining. He’s still rookie-eligible, so the Marlins could potentially pick up a draft pick for him via MLB’s prospect promotion incentive program, depending on when he’s brought up for his Marlins debut and (of course) on how he fares in awards voting early in his big league tenure. Caissie was only selected to the major league roster last offseason, meaning he’s only exhausted one minor league option year and still has two remaining.

Caissie joins Stowers and breakout center fielder Jakob Marsee in comprising a talented and intriguing outfield core. The Marlins’ lineup, in general, has gotten more interesting over the past couple years, thanks largely to the emergence of Xavier Edwards alongside those young outfielders. Former top catching prospect Agustin Ramirez hit for power in his rookie campaign this past season but struggled to get on base and played extremely poor defense behind the plate. Marlins president Peter Bendix has emphasized that the club hopes to continue developing Ramirez behind the plate, but he could see time at first base and DH in 2026, especially once top catching prospect Joe Mack debuts.

Hernandez, 22, is a speed-and-defense shortstop who spent the 2025 season with the Cubs’ High-A affiliate. Baseball America recently ranked him 16th among Cubs farmhands heading into the 2026 season, noting that he has plus raw power but hits the ball on the ground far too frequently to ever tap into that pop. (This past season’s seven home runs were a career-high.) BA’s report notes that Hernandez has the tools to be an above-average defender but is often inaccurate with his throwing despite good arm strength.

Improving the accuracy on Hernandez’s throws seems like a more attainable goal than overhauling his offensive approach to get more loft without compromising his lower-than-average strikeout rate, but if the Marlins can fix both those traits, it’s possible they’ll have a starting-caliber shortstop on their hands. Those are big “ifs,” of course, particularly considering that Hernandez just hit .252/.329/.365 as a 21-year-old in his second stint with the Cubs’ High-A affiliate. He’s a project, but a capable shortstop coming off a 52-steal season (61 attempts) is a nice secondary piece to add to the system.

De Leon is the furthest from MLB-ready. He’s an 18-year-old who signed as part of Chicago’s 2024 international class. The 6′, 170-pound De Leon played with the Cubs’ Dominican Summer League club in 2024, hitting .277/.431/.433 in 181 plate appearances. He moved up to their Rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate in 2025 and slashed .276/.353/.500 in 153 turns at the plate. BA’s Geoff Pontes listed him as a sleeper prospect to watch heading into the 2026 season, citing his encouraging exit velocities and plus raw power.

With just 334 professional plate appearances under his belt and his 19th birthday still six weeks away, De Leon is a pure development project for Miami. He’s been a productive hitter in each of his two pro seasons, though, even with some moderately worrying swing-and-miss tendencies (28.8% strikeout rate in 2025). He’ll probably head to the Marlins’ Low-A affiliate to begin the 2026 season and doesn’t seem likely to be a potential major league factor until 2028 or 2029 at the earliest.

The Marlins remain a work in progress and will most likely enter 2026 as something of a playoff long shot, but there are a number of upward-pointing arrows on the roster, making it an encouraging time for Miami fans.

Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami first reported that a Cabrera trade between the two teams was near completion. Kevin Barral of Fish On First reported Caissie as the likely headliner. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com and Craig Mish of SportsGrid broke the news of the other two prospects in the deal. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that the medical review process had been completed and that the trade was official.

Royals Exploring Trade Market For Relievers

By | at

The Royals are still in the market for relief help and appear likelier to find another bullpen arm via the trade market than via free agency, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. Kansas City’s preference is to add another lefty, per the report. Leaning toward the trade market rather than free agency is due to a desire to create some roster flexibility that the current group lacks.

None of Carlos Estevez, Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, Nick Mears or Bailey Falter can be optioned to Triple-A. Lucas Erceg has a full slate of options but isn’t going to be sent down, given his status as one of the team’s top bullpen arms. Daniel Lynch IV and offseason signee Alex Lange are the only relievers who could plausibly be optioned right now. Since players with more than five years of service cannot be optioned without their consent, signing a free agent would further restrict the team’s moves with regards to shuffling pitchers between Kansas City and Triple-A Omaha.

Kansas City currently has three lefties projected for its Opening Day bullpen: Strahm, Lynch and Falter. Only Strahm, whom they acquired from the Phillies earlier this winter, seems like a lock for leverage innings. While Lynch pitched to a tidy 3.06 ERA in 67 2/3 frames this past season, he did so with the third-lowest strikeout rate among all qualified relievers in MLB (leading only grounder specialist Tim Hill and swingman Kolby Allard). Metrics like SIERA (4.62) and FIP (4.76) are far more bearish on the former top prospect. Falter, meanwhile, was rocked for 15 earned runs in 12 innings after coming over from the Pirates in a July trade.

Those are the only three left-handed relievers on Kansas City’s 40-man roster. The rotation contains three southpaws in Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron, but they’re all ticketed for starting gigs. Angel Zerpa has been one of the team’s go-to options from the left side, but he was traded to the Brewers in the swap that netted both Collins and Mears.

It can be difficult to identify obvious trade targets when it comes to controllable relievers. Jose A. Ferrer had been one such lefty, but the Nats already shipped him to the Mariners this offseason. The Cardinals have a left-handed reliever who’s clearly available in trade, but JoJo Romero has five years of big league service and can’t be sent to Triple-A without his consent. He doesn’t fit the mold of controllable, optionable reliever the Royals are seeking.

Speculatively speaking, Dylan Dodd doesn’t have a clear path to innings in Atlanta’s bullpen. The Brewers are deep in lefties (Jared Koenig, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall) and are typically willing to engage in conversation on anyone. The Cubs have signed five free agent relievers this offseason, leaving a trio of lefties on the 40-man roster ticketed for Triple-A work (Luke Little, Jordan Wicks, Riley Martin).

As shown with the Lange signing, the lower tiers of free agency tend to offer bullpen possibilities with options still remaining. John King, non-tendered by the Cardinals, might be a sensible depth lefty, although he’ll hit five years of service with just 24 more days on a big league roster, at which point he’d no longer provide the flexibility apparently sought by Kansas City. He would, however, be a potential multi-year option, given that he’d have an extra year of arbitration control remaining.

There’s a broad range of possibilities to consider, but it seems fair to expect that the Royals could look to put together a trade for an under-the-radar lefty or at the very least try to actively work the waiver wire or DFA market to bring in some additional depth in the next few weeks.

Royals, Josh Rojas Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Royals have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder/outfielder Josh Rojas, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The MVP Sports client will receive a non-roster invitation to major league camp this spring.

Rojas, 31, will compete for a bench spot in camp. He’s a left-handed hitter who has experience at second base, third base, shortstop and in the outfield corners, although metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have heavily panned his glovework at shortstop and at third base.

A former 26th-rounder out of the University of Hawaii who signed just a $1000 bonus in the draft, Rojas climbed to the majors with the 2019 D-backs and had a couple seasons as a solid regular in Arizona. From 2021-22, he totaled 1060 plate appearances and slashed .266/.345/.401 (106 wRC+) while splitting his time between second base, third base and left field.

Rojas got out to an awful start in 2023 and wound up being traded to Seattle alongside Dominic Canzone and Ryan Bliss that summer in the trade sending Paul Sewald from Seattle to Arizona. He hit .236/.308/.351 during a season and a half with the Mariners before being non-tendered last offseason. The White Sox then signed Rojas to a one-year deal, but his .180/.252/.259 output in 211 plate appearances was poor enough that the Sox designated him for assignment and released him in August.

Kansas City has been on the lookout for a utility player to deepen its bench mix, and while Rojas isn’t going to be viewed as a definitive answer in that regard, he can compete for that sort of role in spring training if the Royals don’t wind up landing a veteran on a guaranteed deal or bringing someone in via trade. Kansas City has Jonathan India at second base, Maikel Garcia at third base, Isaac Collins in left field and will hope for a Jac Caglianone breakout in right field this year. Rojas can provide some depth at all those spots, but he’ll have to hit his way onto the club once Cactus League play commences in a couple months.

Cubs Claim Ryan Rolison

By | at

The Cubs have claimed left-hander Ryan Rolison off waivers from the White Sox, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The Sox designated Rolison for assignment when they needed to open a 40-man roster spot for free agent signee Sean Newcomb. The Cubs currently have four vacancies on their 40-man, so a corresponding move isn’t needed.

A first-round pick by the Rockies back in 2018, Rolison didn’t make his major league debut until the 2025 season, as injuries significantly derailed his trajectory to the majors. He wound up tossing 42 1/3 frames for Colorado — 31 relief appearances, one start —  and being tagged for a grim 7.02 earned run average in that time. He pitched well out of the bullpen in Triple-A, however, notching a 3.34 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 48.8% ground-ball rate.

Rolison previously sat in the upper 80s and low 90s with his four-seamer while working as a starter, but his average fastball jumped to 93 mph this season while working in short relief. Home runs were a major issue for him in his debut campaign (2.34 HR/9), but despite that penchant for serving up the long ball, he actually induced a large amount of weak contact. When opponents did manage to barrel Rolison, those balls left the yard too often, but hitters still averaged a measly 87.5 mph off the bat against him.

It’s been some time since the former Ole Miss standout was a prospect of real note, but big league clubs clearly still see something in Rolison now that he’s healthy. He’s bounced from the Rockies, to the Braves, to the White Sox, to the Cubs now since his original DFA in Colorado. Following his DFAs with the Rockies and Braves, he didn’t even make it to waivers. The Braves and Cubs acquired him via small trades. And even in spite of those rough-looking numbers in his debut, he still wasn’t able to be passed through waivers by the South Siders.

Rolison has a minor league option remaining, so the Cubs don’t necessarily need to carry him on the Opening Day roster. He’s been used more in relief than as a starter in recent seasons, which isn’t a huge surprise for a former starter who lost about two years of his still-young career to a torn labrum in his left shoulder, which required surgery. The Cubs are quite deep in rotation options — particularly with a trade for Marlins righty Edward Cabrera reportedly in its final stages — and have deepened their bullpen this winter with signings of Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner and Caleb Thielbar. Rolison joins lefties Luke Little and Riley Martin as southpaw bullpen options who seem likely to begin the year in Triple-A Iowa.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top