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Caleb Boushley Signs With KBO’s KT Wiz

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The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization announced this week that they’ve signed former Brewers, Twins and Rangers righty Caleb Boushley to a one-year contract. He’ll be guaranteed $900K on the contract and can pick up an additional $100K via incentives.

Boushley, who turned 32 in October, has pitched in parts of three big league seasons, totaling 49 2/3 innings. He has an ugly 5.80 ERA to show for it despite generally solid rate stats. Boushley’s 21.1% strikeout rate is only about one percentage point shy of average, and his 8.1% walk rate is lower than the league average. He’s also yielded only 1.09 homers per nine innings pitched. However, Boushley has been dogged by a sky-high .367 average on balls in play, which has contributed to a 62% strand rate that’s more than 10 percentage points lower than the MLB average. Metrics like SIERA (3.95) and FIP (4.03) feel Boushley has pitched far better than his more rudimentary earned run average would suggest.

In parts of six Triple-A seasons, Boushley has totaled 512 innings with a 4.61 ERA. As in the majors, he’s displayed a lower-than-average strikeout rate but better-than-average command. Boushley has generally been a durable source of Triple-A innings. Though he spent most of the 2025 season in the Rangers’ bullpen, the lanky 6’3″, 190-pound Boushley averaged 25 starts and 130 innings per season from 2021-24, despite spending a portion of that time (2023-24) shuttling between the majors and minors.

This will be Boushley’s first work overseas and will easily be the largest guaranteed payday in what’ll be ten professional seasons. Boushley was a 33rd-round pick by the Padres out of Division-II University of Wisconsin La Crosse back in 2017. He signed for just $1,000 out of the draft. After years of middling minor league pay and shuffling back and forth between the majors and Triple-A, he’ll take home a salary that tops the MLB minimum by $120K and land a chance at the first seven-figure salary of his career (if he can max out his incentives package).

Rays, Brandon Hyde Discussing Advisor Role

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Former Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde is in talks with the Rays about taking a position within the organization, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. The two parties have been discussing a senior advisor role that would see Hyde work with both the major league club and various minor league affiliates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times adds. Murray indicates that while an agreement has not yet been finalized, Hyde is expected to end up working for the Rays for the upcoming season.

Hyde, 52, managed the Orioles from 2019-25. In his seven seasons with Baltimore, his clubs produced a 421-491 record. Judging any manager based on wins and losses alone is a frivolous endeavor, though, and that’s especially true of Hyde, whose first season in Baltimore coincided with a complete teardown and rebuild of the organization. Following the 2018 season, the Orioles dismissed general manager Dan Duquette, hiring current president of baseball operations Mike Elias in his place. Elias installed Hyde as his new skipper but also gutted the roster and spent several seasons tanking while working to rebuild the farm system and modernize the infrastructure of the organization.

Hyde oversaw winning teams each season from 2022-24 and was named 2023 AL Manager of the Year after the O’s won the American League East and piled up 101 victories. The Orioles went to the postseason in both 2023 and 2024 but were swept out of the playoffs both times — first in the ALDS by the eventual World Series champion Rangers and next by the Royals in the 2024 Wild Card round of play.

The Orioles entered 2025 with big expectations but floundered out of the gates thanks to a clear lack of starting pitching and a lineup that wasn’t performing as expected. By mid-May, the 15-28 Orioles had seen their season already slip away. Hyde was dismissed from his managerial post and replaced by third base coach Tony Mansolino on an interim basis.

Prior to his time at the helm in Baltimore, Hyde was a bench coach and first base coach with the Cubs. Before that, he spent two seasons as the Marlins’ bench coach plus several years as a manager, hitting coach and field coordinator in Miami’s minor league ranks. A catcher and first baseman in his playing days, Hyde also spent four years playing in the White Sox’ system before moving onto the coaching and managerial phase of his career.

Rockies, Parker Mushinski Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Rockies have agreed to a minor league contract with left-handed reliever Parker Mushinski, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He’s represented by the Ballengee Group. It’s not listed on the transaction log, but Mushinski will be in camp next spring as a non-roster invitee, MLBTR has confirmed.

Mushinski, 30, has spent parts of three seasons in the majors — all of them as a member of the Astros. He’s pitched 33 big league frames and worked to a 5.45 ERA with a 17.4% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 45.2% ground-ball rate. Mushinski has done a nice job avoiding hard contact overall (average 88.4 mph exit velocity, 35.2% hard-hit rate), but much of the hard contact he’s allowed has been of the maximum-damage variety, especially against righties. He’s faced 83 right-handed opponents in the majors and served up five home runs.

Houston originally selected Mushinski out of Texas Tech in the seventh round of the 2017 draft. He spent his entire career in the Astros organization until this past season. Mushinski became a minor league free agent following the 2024 campaign and signed a minor league deal with the Guardians. The 6’0″, 225-pound southpaw spent last year in Triple-A Columbus, tossing 50 innings of 3.78 ERA ball. Mushinski fanned almost 30% of his opponents there but also walked nearly 15% of the batters he faced. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, Mushinski has a 3.71 ERA in 179 2/3 innings pitched.

Signing with the Rockies is a double-edged sword for any pitcher. On the one hand, the utter dearth of established big league arms on the staff creates plenty of opportunity, particularly for a non-roster player hoping to secure a bullpen spot. On the other hand, winning that roster spot means pitching home games at altitude and at the notoriously hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Mushinski becomes the second left-handed relief addition for Colorado in the past week. The Rox, under new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, acquired lefty Brennan Bernardino from the Red Sox last week. Bernardino, unlike Mushinski, is already on the 40-man roster. However, he’s the only established lefty reliever the Rockies have on the 40-man roster. Luis Peralta and Welinton Herrera are both on the 40-man, but Peralta has a 6.03 ERA in 31 MLB frames and Herrera has yet to pitch above Double-A.

Orioles To Hire Mike Shildt In Player Development Role

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The Orioles are hiring former Cardinals and Padres manager Mike Shildt as their new coordinator of instruction in the upper levels of the minor league system, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Samuel Vega, who had been the Orioles’ Latin American coordinator of instruction, will now be the organization’s coordinator of instruction in the lower levels of the system.

The 57-year-old Shildt surprisingly stepped down as Padres manager following the season, despite the fact that he had two years remaining on his contract. The decision was Shildt’s and did not come from the organization. In the wake of his decision, Shildt explained to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that the daily grind of managing a 162-game season (plus playoff appearances) had “taken a severe toll mentally, physically and emotionally.” Subsequent reporting painted a somewhat strained relationship between Shildt and some members of the organization.

Shildt has publicly voiced a desire to remain involved in baseball — ideally in a less-demanding player development role. He’ll land just such an opportunity in Baltimore under president of baseball operations Mike Elias, with whom he overlapped during the pair’s early days as scouts (and, in Shildt’s case, a minor league coach) in the Cardinals organization.

Shildt’s ties to the Orioles organization run far deeper than that early overlap with the team’s front office leader now, however. As MLB.com’s Anne Rogers wrote back in 2020, Shildt grew up around the O’s. His mother worked for the team’s Double-A affiliate and frequently brought her son to the park. He eventually became a bat boy, scoreboard attendant and clubhouse attendant in the organization.

A 12-year-old Shildt was helping out in the Double-A clubhouse at the same time a top Orioles prospect named Cal Ripken Jr. made his way to that level, and a couple decades later Shildt was in attendance when Ripken both tied and broke the major league record for consecutive games played. Readers are highly encouraged to check out Rogers’ piece in full for a fascinating, detailed breakdown of Shildt essentially growing up in the Orioles’ system.

In many ways, the new role is a homecoming for Shildt — a return to the organization where he helped out during his formative years and a return to his player development roots. Specifics regarding his duties and his schedule aren’t yet clear, but he’ll play a notable role in helping to finish off the development of the next wave of O’s stars as they progress toward big league readiness in Triple-A (and presumably in Double-A as well).

Phillies, Blue Jays Among Teams To Inquire On Ketel Marte’s Availability

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Ketel Marte’s name continues to pop up on the offseason rumor mill as teams check in with the D-backs on the star second baseman. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen has already plainly indicated that a trade is “unlikely,” and reports out of Arizona generally suggest that the Snakes are loath to part with Marte but will at least hear interested parties out as a matter of due diligence. About one-quarter of the league had already inquired as of two weeks ago.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, playing up the chances of a trade in a recent on-air segment, noted that the Phillies and Blue Jays are among the teams that have contacted the D-backs about Marte. That clearly doesn’t indicate anything is close, nor does it suggest that Marte specifically is a top target for either party. Nevertheless, it’s of modest note that they’ve at least gauged Marte’s availability and perhaps put out some feelers on the potential cost of acquisition.

The Phillies are largely set in the infield, with Bryce Harper at first base, Bryson Stott at second base, Trea Turner at shortstop and Alec Bohm at third base (though Bohm is once again an offseason trade candidate himself). Marte has plenty of experience in the outfield, which is a more prominent area of need for the Phils, but he graded poorly as a center fielder over 1292 innings there earlier in his career (-11 Defensive Runs Saved, -7 Outs Above Average).

It’s a stretch to think that Marte, whose average sprint speed has fallen to the 29th percentile of big leaguers, could handle a move back to center field ahead of his age-32 season. The Phils have little set in place in the outfield aside from Brandon Marsh, though, so perhaps they’d consider plugging Marte into left field. Right fielder Nick Castellanos is widely expected to be traded or released this winter.

The focus in adding Marte wouldn’t be on his glove anyhow, but rather on his bat. The switch-hitting, multi-time All-Star is perennially excellent at the dish, evidenced by a .279/.360/.498 batting line (133 wRC+) dating back to 2021. Marte has been particularly dominant in the batter’s box over the past two seasons, slashing a combined .288/.374/.549 with 64 home runs in 1139 plate appearances.

The fit with the Jays is even more interesting, due to their expected run at retaining franchise icon Bo Bichette. Toronto already moved Andres Gimenez to Bichette’s shortstop position during the playoffs, when Bichette was originally sidelined with a sprained PCL. Even when Bichette returned in the World Series, he did so as a second baseman. Gimenez is a vastly superior shortstop defender, so if the Jays do plan to re-sign Bichette, they could well do so with a permanent switch to second base in mind.

Marte is four years older than Bichette, but he’d also be markedly more affordable. He’s signed through 2031 for a total of $102.5MM, though the final season on his contract is an $11.5MM player option. Marte would be 37 for that 2031 season.

It bears emphasizing that the Jays doing a bit of groundwork on a potential second base alternative — one who may not even be truly “available” in trade talks, save for an overwhelming offer — in no way suggests a shift in priorities. Toronto brass has voiced a desire to keep Bichette, and the resources to do so would’ve been present even without a deep World Series run further filling the team’s coffers.

If the D-backs were to move Marte, the goal would surely be to acquire controllable, MLB-ready young pitching to plug into the rotation. That’s not exactly a core area of strength for either Philadelphia or Toronto.

The Phils, of course, have top prospect Andrew Painter on the cusp of MLB readiness, but they’ve been staunchly against trading him in any deal over the past few seasons, even while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Righty Moises Chace, another touted righty in the system, underwent Tommy John surgery last June. Mick Abel was traded to the Twins in July’s Jhoan Duran deal.

In Toronto, there’s even less high-end pitching near the majors. Trey Yesavage obviously isn’t going anywhere. Ricky Tiedemann missed all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Like the Phils, the Jays traded one of their next-best young arms, Kendry Rojas, to Minnesota as part of a win-now push at the deadline (netting Louis Varland). Another, Khal Stephen, went to the Guardians in the Shane Bieber trade.

There’s at least some modest intrigue in the fact that a pair of World Series hopefuls of this magnitude has looked into Marte, but to this point there’s little in the way of smoke suggesting a trade is actually plausible. Even if the D-backs become more serious about trading Marte, the Phillies and Jays would face steep competition in bidding to acquire him — presumably from contending clubs with more controllable pitching to spare. For now, it’s worth revisiting what Hazen said when prompted on Marte earlier in the month, telling the Burns & Gambo Show on 98.7 FM:

“It’s what happens. Everyone checks in on your better players. They’re coming after your better players. … [Marte is] one of our best players. We have some of the top position players in all of baseball on our roster and we need those players to be good next year.”

Hazen doubled down when asked on 98.7’s Wolf & Luke Show:

“Ketel is one of, if not our best player. He’s a superstar in this league. You win with superstars in this league. Yes, I do know it’s a team game and putting a team together to win baseball games is also equally important. That’s on us to figure out what the right mix of players is.”

KBO’s Kia Tigers Re-Sign James Naile

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The Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced this week that they’ve re-signed righty James Naile to a one-year deal. The Sports One client will be guaranteed $1.8MM with an additional $200K available via incentives.

It’s one of the more lucrative one-year deals we’ve seen for a foreign player re-upping in the KBO, though it’s not hard to see why. The 32-year-old Naile (33 in February) has spent the past two seasons pitching for Kia in the KBO, working to a combined 2.38 ERA across 53 starts — a total of 313 2/3 innings. He’s fanned 22.2% of his opponents and only yielded a walk to 5.8% of the batters he’s faced — all with a ground-ball rate around 56%. Despite the hitter-friendly nature of the KBO, he’s surrendered only 17 home runs in his 313 2/3 frames (0.49 HR/9). Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency points out that Naile is the only qualified starter in the KBO with a sub-3.00 ERA across the past two seasons.

A former 20th-round pick by the Athletics, Naile appeared in parts of two major league seasons — both with the Cardinals. From 2022-23, he pitched a tiny sample of 24 1/3 MLB innings, during which he was tagged for 20 runs (7.40 ERA) on 35 hits and 11 walks with 12 punchouts. Though Naile never got much of a look in the majors, he’s a veteran of six Triple-A seasons. He pitched to a 4.15 ERA across 357 2/3 innings in that time and logged a 17.6% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate in that time.

Naile is now up to $3.95MM in guaranteed earnings since signing overseas. He’s cleared $4MM when you factor in incentives on his prior contracts and could end up around $4.5MM in total over his first three seasons in the KBO with another strong performance in 2026. Readers curious about the lifestyle of an American player overseas may be interested in Naile’s 2024 vlog about his experience in Gwangju, where he and then-teammate Cam Alldred (a former Pirates farmhand who very briefly saw the majors in Pittsburgh) took some fans through their daily routine.

There’s certainly a chance that Naile could eventually look to return to North American ball, but he’ll be entering his age-34 campaign next offseason and has never been an especially hard thrower, sitting 91.7 mph with his sinker in his brief MLB looks. Both traits could give MLB clubs some pause. Regardless of whether Naile pursues a big league return, he ought to have plenty of opportunity to continue being paid handsomely to pitch in the top leagues in Asia for the next few seasons.

Tommy Pham Aiming To Play Several More Years

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Free agent outfielder Tommy Pham struggled early in 2025 with the Pirates before a torrid stretch over the season’s final few months. He’ll turn 38 next March, but Pham is fully intent on playing in 2026 and appears to be eyeing multiple more seasons in his big league career. The well-traveled outfielder tells Katie Woo, Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that he hopes to cross both the 200-homer and 200-steal threshold before retiring. He’s currently 51 homers and 69 steals away from reaching those lofty goals.

Notably, Pham tells The Athletic that he has played through plantar fasciitis dating back to late in the 2023 season. That, Pham contends, has hindered him on the basepaths. He’s swiped just 12 bags total over the past two seasons but stole 22 times in 2023. He’s gone through stem cell treatment to address his plantar fasciitis and now feels confident he can get back to being more of a threat on the bases.

Overall, Pham’s 2025 season in Pittsburgh was pedestrian. He finished out the year with a tepid .245/.330/.370 batting line — about six percent worse than league-average offense, by measure of wRC+. Defensive Runs Saved pegged him as a strong left fielder (+5), while Statcast’s Outs Above Average was more bearish and had him slightly worse than average (-2) in 925 innings.

It bears mentioning, however, that Pham’s modest batting line includes a middling stretch of two-plus months to begin the year. Over the final three months of the 2025 campaign, Pham came to the plate 273 times and turned in a hefty .278/.363/.468 slash (128 wRC+) with 10 home runs, 13 doubles, a triple, an 11.7% walk rate and just a 17% strikeout rate. He averaged 92.7 mph off the bat and turned in a huge 51.8% hard-hit rate in that time. Any team would love to have that type of output in its outfield mix.

If Pham can continue anywhere close to that pace, he’ll have a chance to get to the 200-homer threshold with another three seasons in the majors. Reaching 200 steals feels like a loftier goal, but Pham quipped that he’s “seeing all these guys that can’t run like me steal 30 and 40 bases now” and feels that with better health in his feet he can get back to running at higher levels. Both Josh Naylor and Juan Soto topped 30 steals in 2025 despite ranking in the second and 13th percentile of average sprint speed among big leaguers, per Statcast. Pham was in the 45th percentile even with his plantar fasciitis issues; back in 2023, he sat in the 61st percentile.

Working in Pham’s favor is that it’s a thin market for teams seeking outfield help in free agency this winter — particularly from the right side of the plate. Harrison Bader, Miguel Andujar and Austin Hays are all coming off productive seasons. There are a couple of notable rebound candidates in Lane Thomas and Adolis Garcia, the latter of whom was non-tendered by the Rangers last week. But most of the market’s top outfield options this offseason swing from the left side of the dish, and even in that regard, the supply of established veterans coming off healthy, productive seasons is limited. Clubs like the Guardians, Twins, Reds, Brewers, Marlins, A’s and Rockies all have fairly left-handed outfield groups and could look to balance things out with a righty, speculatively speaking.

There’s also one oddball record at least loosely in play for Pham, who in 2025 suited up for the tenth team of his major league career. He’s still four teams shy of the record 14 that’s jointly held by Rich Hill and Edwin Jackson, but Pham has added five teams to his list in the past three seasons alone. That’s probably not a consideration for the veteran corner bat, but those 200 milestones clearly are. “I don’t have an All-Star appearance or anything like that,” Pham tells The Athletic. “But getting to that number, I could look back at my career, and me, personally, I can be proud of myself.”

Cardinals Trade Sonny Gray To Red Sox

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The rebuild is underway in St. Louis. The Cardinals and Red Sox announced a trade sending right-hander Sonny Gray and cash considerations to Boston in exchange for righty Richard Fitts, left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Clarke and a player to be named later or cash. The Cardinals are reportedly including $20MM to help offset Gray’s salary.

Gray, who turned 36 earlier this month, opted not to waive his full no-trade clause last offseason when the Cardinals laid out their plan to take a step back and focus on player development rather than their typical win-now mantra. Following the team’s playoff miss in 2025, however, Gray publicly acknowledged that he would “definitely” consider trade scenarios as the Cardinals lean even further into a multi-year rebuilding effort. “I signed here two years ago with the expectation of winning and trying to win, and that hasn’t played out that way,” he said in September. “I want to win.”

He’ll get that opportunity to win in Boston, joining a Red Sox rotation headlined by Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet and an offense anchored by budding superstar Roman Anthony. Boston secured a Wild Card berth in the American League this past season, and though they fell to the Yankees two games to one in that series, they’re a clear win-now club with postseason aspirations. The same cannot be said for the Cardinals.

Gray was heading into the final guaranteed season of a three-year, $75MM contract originally signed in St. Louis, when he was coming off his own Cy Young runner-up performance with the 2023 Twins. It was a heavily backloaded contract, paying the right-hander $35MM in 2026 plus a $5MM buyout on a $30MM club option for the 2027 season. The contract stipulated that even if the option was picked up, Gray could opt out and head back into free agency.

That deal has been slightly restructured. The new arrangement pays Gray $31MM in 2026 and includes a $10MM buyout on a $30MM mutual option for 2027. The amended deal reinforces the fact that Gray is a one-year rental — it’s been more than a decade since a mutual option was exercised by both parties in MLB — but it also comes with some perks for him.

Gray is now guaranteed an extra million dollars — likely a kicker for him to waive his no-trade protection — and he’ll now receive the full buyout on his 2027 option. Under the previous contract, if the Red Sox had picked up Gray’s option, he’d have forfeited the $5MM buyout by opting back into free agency. Now, he’ll receive a fully guaranteed $41MM for one year.

Because the Cardinals are kicking in $20MM, only $21MM of Gray’s $41MM guarantee will count against the Red Sox’ luxury tax total. Gray has already received a qualifying offer in the past (from the Twins in ’23), so he won’t be eligible to receive one from the Red Sox at season’s end.

Gray tossed 180 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball in 2025 and had a more encouraging 26.7% strikeout rate and 5% walk rate. Metrics like SIERA (3.29) and FIP (3.39) feel he was far better than his earned run average.

By today’s standards, Gray is a workhorse. With the exception of the shortened 2020 season (when he made 11 of 12 possible starts), the former first-round pick has started at least 24 games every year since 2019, averaging 29 starts per 162-game season in that time. Gray hasn’t gotten back to the level of performance he displayed in that second-place Cy Young finish with Minnesota, but he posted a 4.07 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate and 43.2% grounder rate in 347 innings across his two seasons in St. Louis.

Gray will join Crochet and Brayan Bello in the top three spots of manager Alex Cora’s rotation. The remaining two places will be sorted out either later this offseason or next spring. Rotation candidates include veteran Patrick Sandoval (who signed a two-year deal last offseason while rehabbing Tommy John surgery), righty Kutter Crawford (who didn’t pitch in ’25 owing to oblique and wrist injuries, the latter requiring surgery), Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kyle Harrison, Hunter Dobbins and Luis Perales.

The Sox have several other starting pitchers on their 40-man roster, including a few just-added names (David Sandlin, Tyler Uberstine, Shane Drohan) ahead of the Rule 5 protection deadline. It’s a deep crop of arms that positions Boston well, both in terms of navigating inevitable injuries next year and in exploring the trade market for further roster upgrades.

Of course, the Red Sox don’t have to exclusively shop on the trade market for upgrades. Including Gray’s $21MM, the Sox are now projected for about $176.75MM in 2026 payroll, per RosterResource. That’s more than $30MM shy of last year’s spending, and it’s certainly feasible that ownership would push the envelope even further. Boston has trotted out Opening Day payrolls as high as $236MM in the past. The addition of Gray leaves them about $21MM shy of the first tier of luxury tax penalization. The Red Sox have paid the luxury tax in two of the past four seasons, including 2025. Simply put, there’s ample room for additional spending.

For the Cardinals, the trade trims $20MM off the books and brings in a pair of promising arms. Fitts is big league ready and could step right into the St. Louis rotation. The 25-year-old (26 next month) made 11 appearances for the Red Sox in 2025, including 10 starts. He was tagged for a 5.00 ERA in that time due to an extreme susceptibility to home runs (11 homers, or 2.20 HR/9). However, Fitts posted a respectable 20.5% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate in the majors, and he was solid in the minors as well (3.60 ERA, 21.3 K%, 8.7 BB% in 30 innings).

Originally a sixth-round pick by the Yankees back in 2021, Fitts landed in Boston by way of the 2023 Alex Verdugo trade. (Though new Cardinals president of baseball ops Chaim Bloom formerly ran the front office in Boston, he’d already been replaced by Craig Breslow by the time of that trade, so there’s no prior connection between Fitts and Bloom.) Fitts ranked 11th among Red Sox farmhands in 2024 and 12th in 2025, per Baseball America, whose scouting report pegged him as a back-of-the-rotation starter or multi-inning reliever.

Fitts averaged a hearty 95.9 mph on his four-seamer in 2025 and complemented the pitch with a slider, curveball and newly implemented sinker. BA’s scouting report on the righty noted that he struggles to miss bats within the zone, and the numbers have thus far borne that out. Fitts missed bats off the plate with his sweeper/slider, but opponents made contact on 87.5% of his pitches within the strike zone — a couple percentage points higher than the 85.4% league average. The addition of that sinker/two-seamer looks to have helped Fitts bolster his ground-ball rate, as it enjoyed a nice bump both in Triple-A and the majors, now sitting at 43.6% — just north of the 41.8% league average.

Whether Fitts settles in as a fourth starter or moves into a bullpen role, he should pitch plenty of innings in St. Louis this season. He’s controllable for a full six seasons, as he finished the year eight days shy of one full year of major league service. Fitts also still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, which only gives the Cardinals more flexibility with him in the years ahead.

Clarke, 22, was Boston’s fifth-round pick in 2024. He sat fourth among Red Sox prospects (and 86th in the game overall) on the midseason rankings from FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen. Clarke ranked fifth among Red Sox prosects on MLB.com’s midseason rankings. He was not included in Boston’s top 10 on yesterday’s latest prospect rankings from Baseball America.

Though he was drafted in ’24, Clarke didn’t make his pro debut until ’25. He split this past season between the Red Sox’ Low-A and High-A affiliates, working to a combined 4.03 ERA in 38 innings (14 starts). Clarke sits 97 mph with his heater and draws praise for a plus-plus (70-grade) slider. He currently lacks an average third pitch, however, and his command is clearly a work in progress. That velocity and slider combo blew hitters away in the low minors (34.5% strikeout rate), but Clarke also walked a whopping 15.5% of his opponents — including an 18.1% walk rate in High-A against more advanced hitters.

Listed at 6’4″ and 220 pounds, Clarke has a starter’s build and two potent weapons in his arsenal. The new Bloom-led Cardinals will be tasked with refining Clarke’s command and perhaps incorporating a third pitch to help him more capably combat right-handers, who drew a walk in nearly 18% of their plate appearances against Clarke. If Clarke can’t find a third pitch or hone his command any further, it’s easy to imagine that fastball/slider combo playing up in a late-inning relief role.

Overall, it’s a nice return for the Cardinals, who secure an MLB-ready arm and a high-risk but high-upside prospect — all while trimming $20MM off the books. Today’s trade only further cements that the Cardinals are shifting their focus to the future. Further trades are sure to follow, with Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Lars Nootbaar among the possibilities.

As for the Red Sox, they’ll pay a relatively steep price (both in terms of dollars and talent) to add a durable veteran starter with plus rate stats and a nice postseason résumé (3.26 ERA in 30 1/3 innings). Gray clearly makes them better, and the Boston front office seems comfortable paying a higher short-term price to maintain some long-term flexibility. Whether they pursue further upgrades in the rotation or now turn their attention to the infield corners, the bullpen or their oft-discussed outfield logjam, the Red Sox have payroll space and a nice stock of young pitching to give them plenty of options in further augmenting their 2026 roster.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Gray was being traded to Boston. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Cardinals’ return. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported specifics surrounding the slight restructuring of Gray’s contract. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported the specific amount of cash Boston was receiving from St. Louis.

Rays Sign Jake Fraley

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The Rays announced the signing of outfielder Jake Fraley to a one-year deal. It’s reportedly a $3MM guarantee for the CAA client, who can earn an additional $400K in bonuses — $100K apiece for 85, 115, 145 and 175 days on the active roster. The Rays non-tendered him last week but were reported to be interested in bringing Fraley back at a lesser rate than his projected arbitration price tag (which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz pegged at $3.6MM).

Fraley, 30, was originally drafted by the Rays with the No. 77 overall pick back in 2016. He wound up in Seattle, where he’d go on to make his MLB debut, after being included in the trade that brought catcher Mike Zunino to Tampa Bay. Fraley played parts of three seasons with the M’s before again being traded, this time to Cincinnati as part of the return for Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker.

In parts of four seasons with the Reds, Fraley hit .260/.336/.421 with 38 homers, 54 doubles and a pair of triples in 1202 plate appearances. Calf, shoulder and oblique injuries combined to limit him to just 76 games and 217 plate appearances this season, during which he batted .241/.332/.382. The Reds placed Fraley on waivers in August, at which point he was claimed by the Braves. Atlanta waived Fraley after the season, and the Rays claimed him — only to non-tender him last week. He’s now back on what are surely more favorable terms for the team.

Fraley doesn’t hit lefties whatsoever (.175/.271/.237 in 240 career plate appearances), but he’s a .261/.344/.432 hitter in more than 1300 attempts versus right-handed pitching. He runs well — this season’s average sprint speed of 28.4 ft/sec sat was a career-high and sat in the 77th percentile of big leaguers — and is a capable defender in either outfield corner. His arm strength checked into the 86th percentile of big league outfielders in 2025, per Statcast.

The addition of Fraley gives the Rays an even more crowded outfield mix. He’s a third pure lefty swinger joining Chandler Simpson and Josh Lowe, as well as the right-handed-hitting Jonny DeLuca and switch-hitting Jake Mangum in the mix for playing time. Lefties Tristan Peters and Richie Palacios are also on the 40-man roster. The exact manner in which playing time shakes out will hinge on subsequent moves and spring performance, but Fraley should see time in both corners and at designated hitter against right-handed pitching. He’s a good enough fielder and runner to profile as a late-game substitute, whether that’s as a defensive replacement, a pinch-runner or a pinch-hitter against a tough righty.

Tampa Bay currently projects for a $94MM payroll, per RosterResource. Fraley will obviously push that number north a bit. That’s already higher than the payroll in 2025, a season spent in a minor league park wherein the Rays ranked second-to-last in the majors in attendance. The Rays already made the somewhat surprising option to decline their $11MM club option on closer Pete Fairbanks, and it stands to reason that further veteran pieces could be moved. Brandon Lowe and his $11.5MM salary are available on the trade market, and speculatively speaking, Josh Lowe (projected $2.9MM salary) could be easier to part with now that Fraley is on board.

Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times first reported the agreement and the $3MM salary with $400K in bonuses. The Associated Press reported the bonus specifics.

Cardinals’ JoJo Romero Generating Trade Interest

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The Cardinals moved the first of what’ll surely be several veterans earlier today when they traded right-hander Sonny Gray (and $20MM) to the Red Sox for a pair of younger pitchers and a player to be named later (or cash). There’s no telling right now the order in which their offseason dominos will fall, but Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports that left-handed reliever JoJo Romero has been drawing trade interest throughout the first few weeks of the offseason.

Romero is about as straightforward as trade candidates get. He’s a productive, affordable reliever on a rebuilding club who’ll be a free agent this time next year. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.4MM salary in 2026, which is Romero’s final season of club control.

The 29-year-old Romero came to the St. Louis from Philadelphia in 2022 and established himself as a staple in the Cardinals’ bullpen beginning in 2023. Over the past three years, he’s worked 156 2/3 frames with a 2.93 ERA and roughly average strikeout and walk rates (22.9 K%, 8.5 BB%). He sat 93.7 mph with his sinker this past season and kept 53% of his opponents’ batted balls on the ground en route to a sparkling 2.07 ERA.

Romero has been one of the Cardinals’ top leverage relievers, evidenced by a dozen saves and 57 holds across the past three seasons. He also posted career-best numbers against righties in 2025, limiting them to just a .220/.327/.315 batting line.

[Related: Top 40 Trade Candidates of the 2025-26 MLB Offseason]

The Cardinals’ case for trading Romero is bolstered by a generally weak class of left-handed relievers on the free agent market. There are some relatively solid options out there, including Caleb Ferguson, Danny Coulombe, Hoby Milner, Justin Wilson, Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz and Sean Newcomb (who quietly enjoyed a career-best season in the bullpen). Most of those southpaws will pitch next season in their mid-to-late 30s, however. Ferguson is 29, but Coulombe, Milner, Wilson, Pomeranz and Thielbar are all 35 or older. Newcomb is 33 but has minimal track record in recent seasons.

Romero is younger and more consistent than most of the options available in free agency. His projected $4.4MM price tag is probably less than what the majority of those free agent options will command, too. The Cardinals found themselves in a similar situation with closer Ryan Helsley last offseason but bizarrely opted to hang onto him, hoping that demand for Helsley would increase and net a larger return in July, when the supply of impact relievers was more limited. Instead, Helsley had a first half that was solid but not quite up to his elite standards the two prior seasons. The Mets still swung a trade to acquire him, but it’s fair to wonder whether the Cards would have done better had they flipped him last winter.

It doesn’t seem likely that the Cardinals, under new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, will repeat the approach that predecessor John Mozeliak took with Helsley. Bloom has already shipped out Gray, and the general tone in all of his offseason media sessions has been one of improving the player development department and taking a long-term approach to building the Cardinals back up. The return for Romero isn’t going to be franchise-altering, but he ought to command a prospect or two that the Cards can plug into their minor league ranks. Holding onto him runs the risk of an injury or poor first-half performance tanking Romero’s stock; a trade at some point this offseason feels quite likely.

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