Latest On D-backs, Zac Gallen
As Zac Gallen continues to twist in the winds of free agency, there’s been growing speculation about a potential reunion with the D-backs. It still seems like a long shot, given Arizona’s desire to scale back payroll after record levels of spending in 2025, but Gallen himself voiced interest when asked about a potential reunion.
“I think people understand what Phoenix means to me,” said Gallen when asked about the possibility of returning (video link via Blake Niemann of FOX 10 Phoenix). “My wife is from here. I’m calling this home base now, so for us to be here would be awesome. It’s been really humbling that [fans] have come up me and would like me to come back — especially because I know how the first half of last year went, we didn’t make the playoffs, things like that. It gives you chills that people still want you to come back and be a part of the organization.”
As Gallen alluded to, the first half of his 2025 season was nightmarish. He tossed consecutive quality starts just twice over his first 22 appearances, pitching to a brutal 5.60 ERA through 127 frames. The right-hander’s strikeout and walk rates were both trending in the wrong direction, and he became more homer-prone than at any point in his career. Gallen served up 23 round-trippers through those first 22 starts — already more than in any full season in his career prior — despite being only two-thirds of the way through the year.
Over the final two months, Gallen turned things around, but not in overly convincing fashion. Gallen’s 3.32 ERA over his final 11 starts/65 innings was a major improvement, but his strikeout rate actually dropped by a couple percentage points. Gallen’s command improved and he dodged hard contact more effectively, but his 4.22 SIERA over his final 11 outings wasn’t materially different than the 4.24 SIERA he posted through his first 22 starts.
Put another way, Gallen was very similar on a rate basis in those first 22 and final 11 starts. However, he had more success stranding runners in the season’s final third (76.5%) than the first two thirds (64%) — in part due to a downturn in home runs allowed. Home run rate and homer-to-flyball ratio tend to be fairly volatile in smaller samples, so between that and some some modest improvements to his command, the final couple months looked like a much larger turnaround than may actually have been the case.
Even if Gallen can’t rebound to his 2019-24 form (3.29 ERA, 26.6 K%, 7.8 BB%), he’d still improve both the Diamondbacks’ rotation quality and depth. At the moment, the Snakes will go with the re-signed Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and free agent signee Michael Soroka to comprise the staff. Depth options beyond that group include Yilber Diaz, Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and Cristian Mena — a group with virtually no major league experience. One notable injury would leave the D-backs relying on a carousel of rookies to round out a staff that already has multiple pitchers in need of a rebound (Pfaadt, Rodriguez, Soroka).
John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports suggests that Gallen would prefer to be with a team by the time camp opens next week. That doesn’t leave much time for a deal to come together, whether with the D-backs or another club. The Diamondbacks, Gambadoro adds, are either at or very close to the top threshold of owner Ken Kendrick’s set payroll limits. He speculates that the Snakes could try to bring Gallen back on a two-year deal, the second season being a player option, just as they did late in the 2023-24 offseason when agreeing to their ill-fated deal with lefty Jordan Montgomery. In this instance, they might need a more creative structure and/or some deferred money to make it work.
The Montgomery deal, of course, didn’t pan out. Montgomery required Tommy John surgery midway through the 2024 season after pitching to an ERA north of 6.00. Kendrick publicly lamented the move late that season.
On the one hand, it’s hard to see Kendrick doubling down on that tactic after the Montgomery deal blew up so spectacularly. On the other, Gallen is a wholly different situation. He’s spent nearly his entire big league career in Arizona and is beloved by the fans and those within the organization. That includes Kendrick, who said of Gallen in an appearance on 98.7 shortly after the season ended:
“He’s a special young man who spent nearly seven years as a D-back. He definitely had an up-and-down season — performed better in the later part of the year, certainly, than earlier in the year. I think his actions the other evening… he didn’t want to take his uniform off. He’s loved being a Diamondback. I don’t want to say it’s out of the touch of reality that we’d work out an arrangement to bring him back. He’s been a great D-back. Last I recall, he was the guy who pitched seven or eight innings of no-hit ball in a World Series game for the Arizona Diamondbacks. … He’s the guy you want to root for.”
Certainly, that doesn’t mean that the D-backs will tear up prior budget plans to bring Gallen back into the fold, but the longer he remains unsigned and the closer spring training gets, the more a soft landing at home seems to make sense. Gallen rejected a qualifying offer from the D-backs, so they’re the only team that wouldn’t have to forfeit a draft pick (or picks) in order to sign him (though they’re technically forgoing the compensatory pick they’d secure if he signed elsewhere)
Gallen has also drawn recent interest from the Orioles. At various points of the offseason, each of the Cubs, Angels, Giants and Tigers have reportedly inquired on the veteran righty. Many of those clubs have since added to the rotation, but Gallen still stands as a viable source of innings for any club seeking rotation help. And, for a team that believes it can get Gallen back to his previous heights, the current price point could prove to be a bargain.
Rangers, Mason Thompson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent righty Mason Thompson, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. It’s a homecoming for the Round Rock native, who’ll presumably be in big league camp with the club later this month.
A third-round pick by the Padres in 2016, Thompson has pitched in parts of four big league seasons between the Friars and the Nationals. The 6’6″, 240-pound righty has been tagged for a 5.21 ERA in 114 innings, with a gruesome 11.81 ERA (16 runs in 10 2/3 innings) this past season skewing that mark a bit. Though Thompson’s 2025 performance was rocky to say the least — he also posted an ERA over 6.00 in 16 minor league frames — it bears mentioning that this was his first time back on the mound following Tommy John surgery in spring of 2024.
Prior to his injury, Thompson pitched 103 1/3 major league frames with a more palatable 4.53 ERA. His 17.7% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate were both notably worse than league average, but his 51.1% ground-ball mark was excellent. The velocity on Thompson’s sinker was down a big in his return, but he still averaged a hearty 95 mph on the pitch, complementing it with a lesser-used four-seamer at the same velocity, a mid-80s slider and a very occasional upper-80s changeup.
Because they cobbled together their 2025 bullpen primarily via a series of low-cost, one-year contracts, the Rangers entered the 2025-26 offseason in need of nearly an entirely new relief corps. They’ve followed a similar path to the one they took last winter, adding veterans Chris Martin (who re-signed), Jakob Junis, Alexis Diaz and Tyler Alexander on one-year contracts and claiming righty Michel Otañez off waivers. Assuming he is indeed invited to camp, Thompson will be the most experienced bullpen arm among Texas’ collection of non-roster invitees.
Mickey Lolich Passes Away
The Tigers announced Wednesday that three-time American League All-Star and 1968 World Series MVP Mickey Lolich passed away this morning. He was 85 years old.
Debuting as a 22-year-old during the 1963 season, Lolich quickly seized a spot in Detroit’s rotation. He became a mainstay on the Tigers’ staff for the next decade-plus, calling greats like Hall of Famer Jim Bunning and two-time Cy Young winner Denny McLain teammates along the way.
After several years as a steady contributor, Lolich carved out a lasting legacy with a historic performance in the 1968 World Series. The left-hander started Game 2, Game 5 and the pivotal Game 7 against the Cardinals, not only securing three victories but going the distance in each of those wins. In one of the greatest individual World Series performances ever seen, Lolich hurled three complete games, held St. Louis to just five runs on 20 hits and six walks (1.67 ERA) and punched out 21 opponents. His final start during that year’s Fall Classic came on just two days’ rest, but he nonetheless held Lou Brock & Co. to one run on five hits and three walks in a 4-1 victory.
That performance alone would’ve cemented Lolich’s place in Tigers lore, but it’s just one of many highlights over his stellar career. The Portland native made the first of three All-Star appearances the following season in 1969 and, in 1971-72, enjoyed a pair of top-three finishes in American League Cy Young voting, losing out to legends Vida Blue and Gaylord Perry, respectively.
Lolich finished top-10 in American League MVP voting in both of those Cy Young runner-up seasons and, in ’71, paced the American League with 45 games started and 376 innings pitched. He completed 29 games that year and did so while maintaining an ERA just shy of 3.00 (2.92). Both those 45 games started and 376 innings are the second-highest single-season marks for any pitcher in the past century; Lolich trails only Wilbur Wood in each category (376 2/3 innings, 49 games started).
Lolich spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Tigers before being traded to the Mets in a Dec. 1975 swap that sent six-time All-Star Rusty Staub back to Detroit. He briefly retired following his lone year as a Met before returning as a reliever with the Padres in 1978-79 and again calling it quits — this time for good.
All told, Lolich pitched in 16 major league seasons and compiled a 217-191 record with a 3.44 ERA over the life of 3638 1/3 innings. His 2832 career strikeouts rank 23rd all-time, just 33 behind his rookie teammate, the aforementioned Bunning. Lolich is one of just 122 pitchers to ever record 200 wins in his career and is tied with Freddie Fitzsimmons for 87th all-time. His 47.9 wins above replacement (per Baseball-Reference) tie him with another standout lefty, Ron Guidry, for 116th on the all-time list. We at MLBTR offer our condolences to Lolich’s family, friends and countless fans on the loss of one of his generation’s great talents.
Pirates Join Bidding For Framber Valdez
The Pirates have emerged as a surprise entrant in the Framber Valdez market, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who calls the Bucs “one of the most aggressive clubs” in their pursuit of the star left-hander. Valdez rejected a qualifying offer from the Astros at the start of the offseason and would cost the Pirates their third-highest selection in the 2026 draft if a deal were to come together.
It’s an unexpected development that seems illogical at first blush, given the team’s already enviable stock of starting pitching and need to bolster the lineup. But adding Valdez to the mix could make sense, as it’d allow Pittsburgh to further dip into its supply of up-and-coming rotation arms and leverage that depth to acquire another bat.
Trade targets have thinned out as the offseason has worn on, but the Pirates could always try to engage with the D-backs on Ketel Marte, the Red Sox on Jarren Duran (or Wilyer Abreu), or the Nationals on CJ Abrams, speculatively speaking. There are surely some other names who’d be available if the Pirates, depending on which young arms the Pirates were to make available. Paul Skenes, of course, is wholly off limits. General manager Ben Cherington plainly said as much just days into the offseason. But even beyond Skenes, the Pirates have Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler ticketed for big league innings. Jared Jones will be back from UCL surgery this season. Young arms like Hunter Barco, Thomas Harrington and Wilber Dotel are on the 40-man roster and close to MLB-ready. Pittsburgh selected high school righty Seth Hernandez with the No. 6 overall pick in last summer’s draft. It’s a deep collection of starters.
Pairing Valdez with Skenes would give the Pirates one of the best one-two punches in the entire game. The 32-year-old lefty has been an iron man in Houston’s rotation in recent years. He’s pitched 767 2/3 innings of 3.21 ERA ball with a 23.9% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and gargantuan 60% ground-ball rate across the past four seasons. Among qualified starters, only Logan Webb has pitched more innings in that time. Andre Pallante, Clay Holmes and Jose Soriano are the only starters with better ground-ball rates in that same span, and Valdez’s ERA is tied with Seattle’s Bryan Woo for 18th.
Signing Valdez would very likely require the Pirates to put forth the largest contract in franchise history, but they’ve shown a willingness to do that already this winter, reportedly offering Kyle Schwarber $120-125MM over a four-year term. Valdez has been seeking a long-term deal, but the manner in which he’s lingered on the market is a good reminder of the paucity of such contracts for pitchers aged 32 and up. As can be seen in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, there are only three instances of a free agent pitcher 32 or older commanding a five-year deal over the past 15 offseasons: Blake Snell, Jacob deGrom and Zack Greinke. All were former Cy Young winners with even stronger cases than Valdez currently has.
The Pirates currently project for a $95MM payroll in the upcoming season, per RosterResource. That, somewhat remarkably, is only a few million shy of their franchise-record. However, the pursuit of Valdez and unsuccessful bids for Schwarber and slugger Eugenio Suárez demonstrate a clear willingness to push the budget to previously unseen levels.
There’s been speculation about Valdez acquiescing to a shorter-term deal with opt-outs, as we’ve seen from various high-end free agents both this winter and in recent offseasons. It’s not yet clear whether he’s amenable to such a structure, nor is it clear whether Pittsburgh is considering that type of offer or a more conventional multi-year deal to lock Valdez into place for the foreseeable future. The Orioles have been the team most prominently linked to Valdez throughout the winter, but the Blue Jays are still in the mix and he’s been at least loosely connected to the Braves, Giants, Mets and Red Sox in recent weeks.
Pirates Interested In Marcell Ozuna
Having missed out on several higher-profile big bats, the Pirates are showing some interest in veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, per Katie Woo and Will Sammon of The Athletic. There’s no indication anything is close to fruition at the moment, but it’s notable in that the Bucs are the first team prominently connected to Ozuna all winter.
Ozuna, who turned 35 in November, turned in a down showing by his standards in 2025 but was still a better-than-average offensive performer overall. He hit .232/.355/.400 with a career-high 15.9% walk rate, a 24.3% strikeout rate, 21 homers and 19 doubles in 592 turns at the plate with Atlanta in the final season of his six-year run there. Ozuna raced out to a scorching start in April and May, was one of the league’s worst hitters in June, and then settled in as a slightly above-average hitter for the season’s final three months.
While he’d be a clear upgrade to the team’s run-production capabilities, Ozuna isn’t exactly a clean fit in Pittsburgh. Beyond the fact that PNC Park is perhaps the worst environment in MLB for right-handed power, the Buccos’ roster isn’t well constructed to accommodate an everyday designated hitter. Spencer Horwitz and Ryan O’Hearn are lined up to share time at first base and designated hitter. Horwitz, after a slow start to his season in 2025, finished the year out on a blistering .314/.402/.539 tear in his final two-plus months of play. He’s locked into an everyday role. O’Hearn can play in the outfield corners, but Bryan Reynolds has one of those two spots locked down.
Signing Ozuna would push O’Hearn into a primary outfield role. He’s graded out as a quality first baseman in recent seasons with Baltimore but has below-average grades in the outfield corners. Slotting O’Hearn into left field with any sort of regularity could also cut into playing time for fleet-footed Jake Mangum and serve as a roadblock for top prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to push his way onto the big league roster; the Pirates acquired Garcia earlier this winter in the trade sending righty Johan Oviedo to Boston.
Of course, there’s an argument to be made that the perennially punchless Pirates ought to be willing to sacrifice some defense in the name of adding thump to the lineup. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff is the backbone of the roster, with Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft all boasting well above-average strikeout capabilities (and, in the case of Skenes and Ashcraft, plus ground-ball rates that slightly lessen concerns regarding a shakier outfield defense). The lineup, meanwhile, has been one of the weakest — if not the weakest — in Major League Baseball for more than a decade. The last time Pittsburgh fielded even an average offensive club by measure of wRC+ was back in 2014.
An outfield with O’Hearn in left, Oneil Cruz in center and Reynolds in right would be ugly from a defensive standpoint, but a lineup including Reynolds, O’Hearn, Horwitz, Ozuna, trade acquisition Brandon Lowe and, eventually, the top prospect in all of baseball (shortstop Konnor Griffin) would be more formidable than anything the Pirates have trotted out in recent seasons.
The elephant in the room is that it’d be difficult to fit both Ozuna and franchise icon Andrew McCutchen onto the same roster. Both are right-handed hitting outfielders who’ve moved primarily into DH status — Ozuna in particular. He didn’t play a single inning in the field in 2024 or 2025 and only logged 14 innings in 2023. McCutchen played only 16 games in the outfield last season. They’d hold similar roles on this version of the Pirates, but the Bucs would probably feel more confident in Ozuna’s abilities versus right-handed pitching after he hit .235/.347/.415 against righties to McCutchen’s .228/.326/.358.
When McCutchen returned to the Pirates three years ago, he signaled that his intent was to close out his career in Pittsburgh, where he still lives. The team clearly felt similarly, welcoming him back in each subsequent offseason. He’s signed a trio of one-year, $5MM contracts as he continues that full-circle final chapter of his career. But the 39-year-old McCutchen recently voiced some frustration with the manner in which talks have (or have not) progressed this winter. Ken Rosenthal and Stephen Nesbitt of The Athletic reported this week that McCutchen met personally with team owner Bob Nutting last Thursday.
[Related: Where Can The Pirates Turn For Another Bat?]
Whether it’s Ozuna, McCutchen or another target entirely, it seems clear that the Bucs are still intent on adding to the lineup despite various high-profile misses. They had interest in Josh Naylor before he re-signed with the Mariners and were reportedly willing to offer him upwards of $80MM. They put forth a reported $120-125MM offer to Kyle Schwarber, which would’ve been the largest contract in franchise history. The Pirates had interest in both Kazuma Okamoto and Eugenio Suárez before the pair signed in Toronto and Cincinnati, respectively. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Alex Stumpf of MLB.com both reported after the Suárez signing that the Pirates were willing to (or perhaps did) offer an extra year at the same annual value, but Suárez preferred to return to an organization he already knew — particularly given the Reds’ hitter-friendly park and last season’s playoff berth.
There’s still a week before pitchers and catchers report and about seven weeks until Opening Day. The Pirates’ $95MM projected payroll, per RosterResource, is up a bit from last year’s levels, but their pursuits of Suárez and especially Schwarber suggest a willingness to push things considerably higher. It’s likely they’ll add at least one more bat, but their options have dwindled considerably.
Royals Sign Brandon Drury
The Royals announced Wednesday morning that they’ve signed infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury to a minor league contract. The Wasserman client will be in big league camp with Kansas City this spring as a non-roster invitee.
Drury, 33, put on a show in spring training with the White Sox last year when he hit .410/.439/.821 with three homers and seven doubles in only 41 plate appearances. He looked to have secured a spot on Chicago’s Opening Day club but suffered a broken thumb in the final days of camp, sinking any hope of cracking the roster. The veteran utilityman struggled in the minors upon returning and was eventually cut loose by the ChiSox. He didn’t fare much better on a minor league deal with the Angels. Drury didn’t play in the majors last year and closed out the season with a disappointing .214/.338/.323 slash in 228 minor league plate appearances following that ill-timed hand injury.
Of course, Drury has plenty of track record in the big leagues. It’s been an up-and-down career for the righty-swinging slugger, but at his best he’s shown the ability to pop 25 homers in a season, albeit typically with a low on-base percentage.
Drury’s most recent big league work came in 2024, when he struggled through a career-worst year and hit just .169/.242/.228 with sub-par defense in 97 games for the Angels. In the two preceding seasons, however, he was terrific. From 2022-23, Drury slashed .262/.313/.495 with 54 home runs, 64 doubles, five triples, a 5.8% walk rate and a 24% strikeout rate in 1091 plate appearances between the Reds, Padres and Angels.
A bat-first utility player, Drury has extensive experience at all four corner positions and second base, though he hasn’t been considered a strong defender at any of those five spots. That’s not likely to change as he progresses into his mid-30s, but there’s still some value in even being a below-average option at multiple spots in the diamond if his bat can get back on track.
The Royals have Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia entrenched at first base and third base, respectively. They added Isaac Collins in an offseason trade with the Brewers and figure to give the late-blooming switch-hitter the bulk of the playing time in left field. Former top pick and top prospect Jac Caglianone will get the first crack at right field, with free agent pickup Lane Thomas perhaps serving as a platoon partner. Jonathan India will aim for a rebound campaign at second base.
The presence of that quintet — plus catcher Salvador Perez, who figures to spend a chunk of time at DH and first base this year — makes for a crowded outlook at Drury’s positions. He could still compete for a bench job, and having him on hand provides some depth in the event of injuries to the primary options currently on the roster.
Dodgers Claim Michael Siani, Designate Andy Ibanez
The Dodgers announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed outfielder Michael Siani off waivers from the Yankees. Infielder Andy Ibanez, who just signed a one-year $1.2MM deal with L.A. earlier in the offseason, has been designated for assignment to open a roster spot. As is relatively common around the league, they’ll now hope that guaranteed salary helps sneak Ibanez through waivers unclaimed, so he can be stashed in Triple-A as a depth piece.
To call the 2025-26 offseason a whirlwind for Siani, an over-slot fourth-round pick of the Reds back in 2018, would be an understatement. He began the offseason as a Cardinals but has since bounced to the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and now back to the Dodgers via a series of DFAs and waiver claims.
With pitchers and catchers slated to report to spring training next week, Siani could finally have a path to stick on a 40-man roster. Once camp opens, teams will be able to place injured players on the 60-day IL, even if it’s not with the Dodgers. Los Angeles could need a 60-day spot for Brock Stewart, depending on his recovery from September shoulder surgery. That could give him a little bit of cushion, but if L.A. needs to open a 40-man spot and once again designates him, Siani could land with another team that has more 60-day IL candidates and thus more flexibility to keep him on the 40-man.
Siani, 26, has spent his entire big league career with the Reds and Cardinals. In parts of four major league seasons, he carries a tepid .221/.277/.270 batting line (58 wRC+). However, he’s drawn excellent grades for his defense and baserunning. He’s played 1014 major league innings in the outfield — primarily in center but with fleeting corner appearances mixed in — and been credited with outstanding marks from Statcast’s Outs Above Average (16) and from Defensive Runs Saved (7). He’s also gone 21-for-26 in stolen base attempts, giving him a success rate of nearly 81%.
Siani has a minor league option remaining, which helps to explain why teams continue to claim him; if he ever makes it to the season with one club, he’s a nice fourth or fifth outfielder who can be stashed in the minors without needing to pass through waivers.
The 32-year-old Ibanez signed a major league deal in mid-January. It’s rare to see a player sign as a free agent and then be designated for assignment three weeks later, but since he’s out of options and signed a low-cost deal, Ibanez always felt like a candidate for this sort of move. Other clubs might be reluctant to claim him when he’s making more than the league minimum and rosters around the game are generally at capacity. If he clears waivers, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of any guaranteed money, so he’d surely accept.
Ibanez has played in parts of five major league seasons, all as a Ranger or Tiger. He’s a .254/.304/.389 hitter overall but a .280/.372/.452 hitter against left-handed pitching, specifically. Add in that he can capably handle first base, second base, third base or left field, and he’s a nice bench piece for a contender (particularly if he can be stashed as Triple-A depth). Ibanez did have a down season in 2025, even against left-handed pitching, slashing a roughly average .258/.311/.403 when holding the platoon advantage.
Since he signed as a free agent on a major league deal, Ibanez can’t be traded without his consent before June 15. He’ll very likely be placed on waivers at some point within the next five days, at which point he’d go through a 48-hour waiting period before learning whether he was claimed by another club or outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Kyle Bradish Wins Arbitration Hearing
Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish won his arbitration hearing over the Orioles, the Associated Press reports. He’ll be paid the $3.55MM that he and his camp at All Bases Covered Sports Management submitted rather than the $2.875MM figure submitted by the team.
The 29-year-old Bradish returned from UCL surgery late in the 2025 season and tossed 32 innings with a 2.53 ERA, 37.3% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate. The sinker that sat 95 mph prior to surgery clocked in at a near-identical average of 94.8 mph. Bradish can’t be reasonably expected to continue punching out 37% of his opponents over a larger sample, but the former Halos fourth-rounder — acquired in the trade sending Dylan Bundy from Baltimore to Anaheim — has proven himself to be a high-end starter when healthy enough to take the ball.
Dating back to 2023, Bradish carries a terrific 2.78 ERA in 240 innings. He has a 3.47 mark in his 357 2/3 frames overall. Beyond those solid baseline run-prevention numbers, he’s set down just under 26% of his opponents on strikes and walked only 7.8% of the batters he’s faced. The right-hander’s 2025 success was buoyed by an outstanding 14.6% swinging-strike rate and a 30.5% opponents’ chase rate on pitches off the plate — both career-best marks.
As a Super Two player, Bradish earned $2.35MM in 2025, his first of four arbitration seasons. Today’s win secures him a 51% raise over his 2025 salary, as opposed to the team’s proposed 22% raise. Bradish will be eligible for arbitration twice more before qualifying for free agency in the 2028-29 offseason.
Heading into the 2026 campaign, Bradish currently projects as either the No. 1 or No. 2 starter in Baltimore. He’ll former a one-two punch with the resurgent Trevor Rogers, who rebounded from a nightmare 2024 season to record a dominant 1.81 ERA in 109 2/3 frames. Rogers’ 24.8% strikeout rate doesn’t stack up to that of Bradish over his past two seasons, and the former Marlins hurler was surely aided by a microscopic .226 average on balls in play. He still boasted better-than-average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates, just as Bradish has throughout his career. There are some health and workload questions regarding both pitchers, but they should form a high-end rotation pairing so long as they remain healthy.
Of course, the Orioles also remain in the market for further rotation reinforcements. They acquired righty Shane Baz from the division-rival Rays earlier in the offseason but continue to show interest in lingering free agents like Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen and Lucas Giolito. An addition at some point feels likely, but for now, Bradish will be in the mix to start one of Baltimore’s first two games of the 2026 season as the O’s try to shake off an ugly 2025 season and return to postseason play under new manager Craig Albernaz.
Bloom: Cardinals Still Seeking Outfield Addition
The Cardinals’ offseason has primarily focused on subtracting veterans from the big league roster as the club embarks on a rebuild, but with yesterday’s Brendan Donovan trade now complete, most of the heavy lifting on the sell side of things has been complete. And although the main goals for president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom have been to restock the farm and trim payroll, the Cards could still have a few smaller-scale acquisitions in them. Bloom indicated at today’s press conference regarding the Donovan trade that he’s still hoping to add to his outfield, be it via free agency or trade (via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat).
It’s not the first time that Bloom has signaled a desire to add to his outfield. He voiced a desire to add a righty-swinging outfielder prior to the holidays, but those comments are now six weeks old, so it’s of at least some note that he’s still publicly stating that interest. Austin Hays, Harrison Bader, Rob Refsnyder, Willi Castro and Jorge Mateo have all signed elsewhere since Bloom’s past statements. St. Louis had some interest in Hays before he signed with the White Sox, and just this week they agreed to a minor league deal with righty-swinging Nelson Velazquez, who at least provides some righty-hitting depth.
Bloom didn’t specify the “right-handed” portion of that desire this time around, but with an outfield group including lefty swingers Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II and Nathan Church, it’d be a sensible pursuit. Right fielder Jordan Walker hits from the right side of the plate, as do infield/outfield options like Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin, but the Cardinals don’t have any form of somewhat established right-handed-hitting presence in their outfield.
Options at this point are limited, regardless of handedness. If a right-handed bat remains the goal, then any of Miguel Andujar, Austin Slater or old friends Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham remain available. Trade options are tougher to nail down, particularly with so many names off the board already, but the Cardinals aren’t likely to take on any notable veteran salaries (e.g. Nick Castellanos). Speculatively speaking, the Rays (Jonny DeLuca), Blue Jays (Jonatan Clase), Phillies (Johan Rojas) and Royals (Drew Waters) have some outfield options who have fallen down their depth charts this winter.
It’s still possible that any outfield needs in St. Louis could expand further, too. Nootbaar underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels following the 2025 season and might not be ready for Opening Day, but he’s in the same service class as Donovan (two years of team control remaining) and has drawn interest not only this offseason but at the ’25 deadline and in the 2024-25 offseason. He could boost his stock with a big first half, thus making him a more desirable target for other teams at the ’26 deadline, but hanging onto him also inherently runs the risk of Nootbaar incurring another injury or simply struggling in the wake of that dual procedure on his heels.
Astros, Isaac Paredes Avoid Arbitration
1:37pm: There’s also a 2027 club option on the deal worth $13.35MM, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. If Paredes finishes top ten in MVP voting, the club option converts to a mutual option. Even if the club/mutual option is eventually not picked up, Paredes will still be under club control for 2027 via arbitration. Most teams have a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning they won’t negotiate one-year deals after the filing deadline. Most post-deadline agreement have an option tacked on to nominally adhere to this policy.
12:13pm: The Astros have avoided an arbitration hearing with infielder Isaac Paredes, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The two parties settled on a one-year deal worth $9.35MM, landing right at the midpoint of the team’s $8.75MM submission and the $9.95MM sum submitted by Paredes’ camp at CAA. Houston and catcher Yainer Diaz had their arbitration hearing yesterday, per the Associated Press. A result is expected today.
Paredes, 27 in a few weeks, came to Houston as part of last winter’s Kyle Tucker blockbuster and enjoyed a solid year in the Astros’ infield. He missed nearly two months due to a hamstring injury but still popped 20 homers while batting .254/.352/.458 over 438 plate appearances when healthy.
While Paredes was on the shelf, Houston reacquired Carlos Correa in a deadline salary dump deal with the Twins. The ‘Stros installed Correa at the hot corner in deference to standout shortstop Jeremy Pena. Since Paredes was sidelined into late September, the Astros didn’t have to deal much with the sudden glut of position players they had, but that won’t be the case heading into 2026.
Paredes appears to be a man without a position. Correa and Pena will again man the left side of the infield. The left field experiment for Jose Altuve didn’t prove all that fruitful, and Altuve is expected back at second base for the bulk of 2026. Christian Walker‘s first year as an Astro was a disappointment, but he’s signed for two more years and owed another $40MM, so he’ll be back at first base. Yordan Alvarez will see occasional time in left field but will still take the majority of the Astros’ DH at-bats. Prospect Brice Matthews, a natural middle infielder, will likely be pushed to the outfield by the infield logjam.
All of that has led to plenty of speculation about a potential trade, though general manager Dana Brown has said repeatedly that he doesn’t feel obligated to trade from the group. Were there any interest in the remainder of Walker’s deal, perhaps that’d change things, but other clubs have understandably been unwilling to take on that $40MM on the heels of a down season for the 35-year-old.
While there’s no immediate spot for regular at-bats for Paredes, that doesn’t necessarily matter. It takes all of one injury for him to have an everyday spot in the lineup, after all, and even if the entire group stays healthy, he can play fairly regularly by spelling Correa at third, Walker at first, Altuve at second and Alvarez at DH. Correa and Alvarez, in particular, have lengthy injury histories and are prone to missing chunks of time.
This was the third of four trips through the arbitration process for Paredes, a Super Two player. He’s controlled through the 2027 season and will be owed one more arbitration raise next winter. The 27-year-old Diaz is arb-eligible for the first time this winter. He and his reps at PRIME submitted a $4.5MM figure, while the team countered at $3MM.