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Mets, Cristian Pache Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mets have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Cristian Pache, reports Pat Ragazzo of Mets On SI. He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee next spring. Pache is represented by the MVP Sports Group.

Pache, 27, was once considered one of the sport’s top outfield prospects during his earlier days in the division-rival Braves organization. He’s long been touted as a plus-plus defender in center field — a rangy outfielder with good speed and solid raw power but a shaky hit tool that didn’t allow him to get to that pop often enough.

That lack of hit tool has indeed held Pache back. Atlanta traded him to the Athletics as one of four players in return for first baseman Matt Olson, and he’s since bounced to the Phillies, Orioles and Marlins organizations. Pache hasn’t hit in the majors during any of his stops. He’s taken 610 plate appearances at the MLB level and carries just a .181/.243/.275 batting line with a troublesome 30.8% strikeout rate. He has indeed strong defensive grades, but Pache hasn’t hit enough to even profile as a viable fourth outfielder in the majors.

Pache’s numbers in the upper minors have been better but are still lackluster, particularly considering how hitter-friendly most of the environments in which he’s played have been. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, Pache carries a .257/.332/.397 batting line. He spent the 2025 season with the D-backs’ top affiliate in Reno, hitting .251/.351/.389 in 288 plate appearances. That looks decent on the surface, but in that exorbitantly hitter-friendly setting, it’s actually about 20% worse than league-average production, by measure of wRC+.

In many ways, Pache is an even more extreme version of Tyrone Taylor, who’s already on the Mets’ big league roster. Both are right-handed hitting center fielders with questionable bats and strong gloves, but while Pache is the better defender of the two, his bat is even lighter than that of Taylor (who hit .223/.279/.319 with the Mets in 2025).

Pache is out of minor league options, so if he’s added to the big league roster at any point, he’d need to stick or else be designated for assignment and passed through waivers. He gives the Mets some versatile outfield depth, but there are enough offensive question marks surrounding him that he profiles mainly as glove-first insurance in the event of multiple injuries at the big league level.

Twins To Sign Josh Bell

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9:39am: Bell’s 2026 salary will be $5.5MM, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He also receives a $250K signing bonus, and there’s a $1.25MM buyout on the mutual option.

9:25am: The Twins and free agent first baseman Josh Bell are reportedly in agreement on a one-year, $7MM contract that contains a mutual option for the 2027 campaign. Bell is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Bell, 33, has been at least an average bat in every season of his decade-long MLB career, with the exception of a poor showing in the shortened 2020 campaign. At times, the former second-round pick and top prospect has looked on the cusp of breaking out as a star-level slugger — most notably in 2019 and 2021 — but he’s never quite produced as the steady power bat one might expect from a hulking 6’3″, 260-pound first baseman.

That’s largely due to the switch-hitting Bell’s penchant for hitting the ball on the ground. Despite his sizable frame and clearly plus raw power, Bell has struggled to maintain a swing path that allows him to elevate the ball. He’s cut his grounder rate in recent seasons, to be fair; last year’s 45.7% mark was actually the second-lowest of his career, ahead of only the 44% mark he posted during a 37-homer campaign back in 2019. However, that 45.7% mark was still well above the 41.8% league average. For a hitter like Bell, whose average sprint speed ranked in just the seventh percentile of big league position players, per Statcast, that much contact on the ground is a clear detriment.

When Bell does elevate the ball, he does so with tremendous authority. Statcast ranked his 96.4 mph average exit velocity on liners/fly-balls 25th among 251 qualified hitters. Bell’s isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) of .507 on fly-balls isn’t elite but is well north of the .436 league average. He popped 22 round-trippers this past season and has averaged 26 homers per 162 games over the past seven seasons — despite his proclivity for hitting the ball into the ground. It’s long been thought that if Bell could consistently elevate the ball, he’d be a high-end slugger, but six teams have now tried to get him to do so consistently and been unable to make it happen.

The end result is typically above-average but not elite offense. Bell hit .237/.325/.417 this past season with the Nationals. His 10.7% walk rate was comfortably north of average and roughly in line with his career 11.2% mark. His 16.5% strikeout rate was the second-lowest of his career. Bell had uncharacteristic struggles with his right-handed swing last season but has traditionally been a solid hitter from both sides of the dish (albeit with better production from the left side). His 90.4 mph average exit velocity and 47% hard-hit rate were his best marks since a strong 2021 season (also spent with the Nats).

The Twins and their fans can perhaps find some optimism in the trajectory of Bell’s 2025 season. He was one of the worst hitters in either league through the end of April but busted out of that slump with a huge showing in May. He took a step back in June and then delivered terrific production over the final three months of the year. Setting aside Bell’s awful first 125 plate appearances of the season (when he had a bloated 50% grounder rate, it should be noted), he hit .278/.358/.462 with 17 homers, 16 doubles, an 11.1% walk rate and a 14.6% strikeout rate. In 250 plate appearances from July 2 onward, he slashed .284/.371/.486 (with a ground-ball rate sitting at 42%).

That’ll be the sort of production for which the Twins hope in 2025. Bell figures to be the primary first baseman for new manager Derek Shelton, who briefly overlapped with Bell during his first season as manager in Pittsburgh. Like most teams, the Twins don’t have a set designated hitter, so Bell could get some looks there, too, if the Twins want to free up some first base time to get Edouard Julien or Kody Clemens into the lineup there. Some additional DH reps for Bell would benefit the team defensively; he posted solid grades at first base back in 2021-22, but Bell has been dinged for -20 Defensive Runs Saved and -16 Outs Above Average over his past 1551 innings in the field. He’s not a skilled defender.

Even with those defensive shortcomings, Bell adds a legitimate bat to the middle of Minnesota’s order. He’s a durable veteran, having appeared in 91.5% of his teams’ possible games dating back to his first season as a full-time regular. That’s an average of better than 148 games per year, and it’s reasonable to expect at least 20 home runs based on his track record, with 25 to 30 not out of the question depending on the extent to which he can avoid falling into another grounder-heavy malaise.

Bell joins Byron Buxton, breakout rookie Luke Keaschall and catcher Ryan Jeffers in the top portion of a Twins lineup that’ll hope for better results from talented but inconsistent young hitters like Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, Brooks Lee and (if he’s not traded) Trevor Larnach. Top prospects Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper could force their way into the mix next season. Alan Roden will get another chance to prove his big Triple-A production can play in the majors, too.

The signing of Bell only reinforces the fact that despite a deadline fire sale, the Twins are intent on adding back to the roster in an effort to be as competitive as possible in 2026. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey plans to hold onto stars like Buxton, Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez rather than trade them. The Twins were reportedly shopping in the middle tiers of the free agent market at first base, and they’ll presumably use some of the modest budgetary space granted by ownership to add some low-cost relievers as well.

Bell adds $5.75MM to the 2026 payroll, boosting the Twins just north of $100MM in the process, per RosterResource. Dan Hayes of The Athletic has previously reported that the front office has about $20MM to spend this winter. That should mean Falvey, GM Jeremy Zoll and the rest of the front office still have a around $15MM to help deepen the bullpen and perhaps the bench. Given that the Twins shipped out a stunning five relievers at July’s deadline, it seems fair to presume they’ll bring in multiple arms (though they already added one with November’s acquisition of Eric Orze from Tampa Bay).

Overall, payroll will still be down considerably from last year’s $142MM Opening Day mark and certainly from 2023’s franchise-record $153MM. Major additions on either side of the ball shouldn’t be expected. If the Twins compete next season, it’ll be due to big steps forward from in-house talents like Lee, Keaschall, Jenkins, Roden, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and others. If they fall short of contending in a perennially competitive AL Central, then players like Bell and any of the forthcoming bullpen acquisitions could emerge as trade chips alongside Ryan, Lopez, Jeffers and others.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that the two sides had agreed to a one-year deal with a mutual option. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the $7MM guarantee.

Chris Young: Rangers “Are Not Shopping Corey Seager”

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TODAY: “We are not shopping Corey Seager, I want to make that very clear,” Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said today during an interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.  Reiterating many of his same statements to media from earlier in the week, Young today said the trade buzz on Seager was “a little bit overblown,” as interest from rival teams was more in the line of standard due diligence.  “Maybe they thought by trading Marcus [Semien], we’d be open on Corey….We call and check in on great players with other teams as well.  So teams are doing their job, I get it,” Young said.

DECEMBER 10: The Rangers, as they look to address several areas of need on the roster while simultaneously scaling back payroll, have received numerous calls on star shortstop Corey Seager. However, while Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News lists the Red Sox (as was reported last night), Yankees and Braves as teams that have inquired, he adds that the Rangers are not at all motivated to move Seager and haven’t had any meaningful trade talks regarding the five-time All-Star.

On the surface, it sounds like a fairly similar situation to that of Ketel Marte in Arizona. Seager, like Marte, is an MVP-caliber talent on a weighty long-term contract whose current club is hoping to walk the line of simultaneously addressing multiple roster needs and scaling back the payroll. The Rangers aren’t expressly turning teams away but also aren’t shopping Seager and would surely need multiple controllable young big leaguers who could help immediately if they were to even entertain the idea of a trade.

Seager, 32 in April, was limited to 102 games last season thanks to multiple hamstring strains but continued to produce at an elite level when on the field. He hit .271/.373/.487 last season and touts a huge .294/.372/.544 batting line in his past 1514 plate appearances as a Ranger. That’s 52% better than league-average production after weighting for his home park, by measure of wRC+. Seager also walked at a career-best 13% clip in 2025 and notched the second- or third-best marks of his career in average exit velocity (92.9 mph), barrel rate (15.3%) and hard-hit rate (53.6%). He also posted a career-high 16 Defensive Runs Saved, while Statcast’s Outs Above Average credited him as a positive defender (+4) for the third time in the past four seasons.

The Rangers signed Seager to a 10-year, $325MM contract prior to the 2022 season. He’s lived up to that massive payday thus far but is still owed $186MM over the next six seasons (paid out evenly at $31MM per year). Adding that type of commitment would send the Yankees careening into the top tier of luxury penalization for a third straight season. They’re currently just shy of the third-tier cutoff ($284MM), per RosterResource. As soon as they cross that line, they’ll be subject to a 95% tax on subsequent additions and will see their top pick in next year’s draft dropped by 10 places. Effectively, Seager could cost them double the remaining commitment on his contract.

It’s not quite so extreme in Boston, where the Red Sox are about $20MM shy of the first luxury tier. Seager would push them into the first tier for a second straight season. They’d owe a 30% tax on the roughly $11MM of Seager’s contract that clocks in beyond that first penalty line. Once they’re more than $20MM over the limit, that’d jump to 42%. Crossing the threshold by more than $40MM would push the Red Sox’ top draft pick back 10 spots and bump the tax on subsequent additions to 72.5%.

The Braves are currently the furthest of this group from the luxury tax threshold, sitting about $33MM shy on RosterResource’s projections. They could technically add Seager without hitting the tax line, though acquiring him would effectively signal a willingness to pay the tax, as they’d be about $2MM away from the first-tier cutoff and have several other acquisitions they’d like to make. However, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last month that Atlanta is one of eight teams on Seager’s limited no-trade list. That only further reduces the likelihood of a deal. Seager will gain full no-trade protection after the 2026 season, by virtue of 10-and-5 rights.

It’s still not entirely clear what type of payroll figure Rangers ownership has in mind. Texas currently projects for a payroll around $169MM, which is about $47MM shy of last year’s Opening Day mark. They’re looking for help behind the plate, at first base and on the pitching staff. That’s a lot of boxes to check, clearly, but there should be at least some room for modest spending. There are also various trade avenues to explore that don’t involve shipping out their best all-around position player (or one of their best but expensive arms like Jacob deGrom or Nathan Eovaldi, for that matter).

It’s of at least moderate note that Texas didn’t outright dismiss the possibility of trading Seager, but it’s more notable that they’re not digging deeply into the possibility. If one of the interested parties presents a compelling enough offer, perhaps the Rangers would ponder such a switch, but this appears to be a very different scenario than, say, the Cardinals — a rebuilding club with motivation to shed several veteran contracts and a willingness to pay down some of that salary. Seager’s name may well continue to surface in rumors, just as we’ve seen with Marte in Arizona or Tarik Skubal in Detroit, but that doesn’t mean he’s all that available or that the Rangers are eager to deal him.

Sean Reynolds To Sign With NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars

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Former Padres right-hander Sean Reynolds is signing with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’ll be the first overseas stint for the Ballengee Group client.

Reynolds, 27, was non-tendered by the Padres last month. He pitched parts of two seasons with the Friars after coming over alongside first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper in the trade that sent lefty Ryan Weathers back to the Marlins. Reynolds was outstanding in a small sample with the ’24 Padres, yielding only one run while piling up 21 punchouts in 11 innings (42.9% strikeout rate). He was hit hard in 2025, however, surrendering 16 runs on 20 hits and 17 walks in 27 frames. The resulting 5.33 ERA was an eyesore, and Reynolds saw his massive 2024 strikeout rate quite literally halved (21.4%).

Health may have played some role in Reynolds’ 2025 struggles. He opened the year on the shelf due to a stress reaction in his right foot and was promptly tagged for five runs in only 1 2/3 innings upon returning from the injured list. Reynolds then settled in with a tidy 2.14 earned run average over his next 21 frames before being optioned to Triple-A El Paso. He pitched well for the Chihuahuas for the next couple months and was recalled in September — only to be tagged for six runs (with nine walks) in his final 4 1/3 big league innings.

Reynolds has been a pure reliever throughout his professional career and will presumably be used in that same role over in Japan. The righty sat 96 mph with his four-seamer this past season and coupled the pitch with a slider clocking in at an average of 86.1 mph. He won’t turn 28 until April, so with a strong year or two pitching in Asia, there’s potential for him to eventual return to North American ball.

Red Sox Showing Interest In Willson Contreras

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After missing out on both Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber, the Red Sox continue to pursue upgrades for their lineup. One target they’re recently looked into, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, is Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras.

Of course, the Red Sox and Cardinals already completed one trade sending a notable veteran to Boston; right-hander Sonny Gray was traded to the Sox in exchange for righty Richard Fitts and minor league lefty Brandon Clarke earlier in the offseason. (The Cardinals included $20MM in cash to help facilitate the swap.) Like Gray, Contreras is a veteran on a pricey contract with a full no-trade clause who St. Louis would like to move in order to clear payroll and create opportunities for younger players.

However, while Gray was very clear about his willingness to waive his no-trade clause this winter, Contreras has been more on the fence. The catcher-turned-first-baseman said at season’s end that he would consider certain scenarios but preferred to remain in St. Louis. Contreras has reportedly warmed a bit to the idea of approving a trade as the offseason has progressed, but he’s still going to be particular about his potential destination. It’s not yet clear to which teams Contreras would be willing to approve a trade, but he’d presumably prefer a contender. Boston clearly checks that box.

The fit in Boston is a natural one. First base was a question mark throughout the 2025 season. Young slugger Triston Casas struggled through a cold spell for the first three weeks and then suffered a season-ending knee injury just as he was beginning to show signs of emerging from that slump. Boston turned to Romy Gonzalez, Abraham Toro and eventual free agent pickup Nathaniel Lowe for much of the season. Gonzalez thrived against left-handed pitching but was below-average against righties, as is typical for him. Toro struggled and was eventually outrighted off the roster. Lowe performed decently down the stretch but was non-tendered due to a hefty arbitration price and a poor four months to begin the season.

Acquiring Contreras, who’s batted .256/.356/.461 (130 wRC+) across the past four seasons, would add an everyday option to the lineup and allow Gonzalez to be deployed in more of a utility role. Though he’s new to first base, Contreras made a smooth transition to the position in 2025. The longtime catcher had a poor defensive reputation behind the dish but turned in solid marks for his glovework at his new defensive home. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric pegged him as a positive defender (+6), and Defensive Runs Saved had him as a nearly average defender (-1). Those numbers could feasibly improve a bit as he takes even more reps at the position.

Contreras is earning $36.5MM over the next two seasons and has a $5MM buyout on a $17.5MM club option for the 2028 season. That remaining $41.5MM in guaranteed money is roughly in line with market value — at least in terms of average annual value — for a first baseman who’ll turn 34 next May. Christian Walker landed a three-year, $60MM contract covering his age-34 through age-36 seasons just last winter, for instance.

For the Red Sox, the $20.75MM in remaining AAV would put them over the luxury tax threshold, though given their pursuit of so many notable free agents and trade targets, that doesn’t seem like it’ll be a big impediment this time around. If the Sox don’t want to go too far beyond the tax line, the Cardinals’ inclusion of $20MM in the Gray trade shows a clear willingness to pay down salary in exchange for a better return. Those prior talks surely gave both parties an idea of which remaining players in Boston’s system would be of interest. And while it may not be a deciding factor in Contreras’ decision, the familiarity of having former teammates like Gray and Aroldis Chapman already on the roster could be somewhat of a perk.

Diamondbacks Sign Michael Soroka

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December 12th: The Diamondbacks made it official today, announcing they signed Soroka to a one-year deal with a mutual option. Fellow righty Bryce Jarvis has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

December 8th: The Diamondbacks and free agent right-hander Michael Soroka are in agreement on a one-year deal that will reportedly pay the ISE Baseball client a guaranteed $7.5MM. Soroka can tack on an additional $2MM worth of incentives. The deal is pending a physical. Once complete, he’ll be penciled into the team’s rotation.

Soroka, still just 28 years old, is already signing the second free-agent contract of his career. He inked a one-year, $9MM deal with the Nats last offseason after an uneven year with the White Sox, wherein he struggled immensely as a starting pitcher before posting huge numbers as a reliever down the stretch. Washington plugged Soroka back into a starting role in 2025, eventually flipping him to the Cubs at the trade deadline. Soroka posted a middling 4.52 ERA in 89 2/3 innings (17 starts, six relief appearances) but continued to intrigue with sharp rate stats: 25.1% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate, 44.1% ground-ball rate.

Arizona is in need of help both in the rotation and in the bullpen, so even though Soroka is bound for the starting staff, he could be a fallback in the bullpen if the initial plan doesn’t work out. For now, he’ll join the trio of Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt as one of manager Torey Lovullo’s starters.

It still wasn’t that long ago that Soroka looked like one of the game’s most promising young arms. The 2015 first-round pick ranked as one of baseball’s top prospects prior to his debut with Atlanta, and the first two seasons of his career more than justified that billing. In 200 1/3 innings from his late-2018 callup through the end of the 2019 season, Soroka pitched to a sparkling 2.79 earned run average. His 20% strikeout rate was below-average, but he compensated for that with an excellent 5.9% walk rate, a 50.2% grounder rate and plenty of weak contact.

Injuries decimated the next several years of Soroka’s career and eventually pushed him out of the Braves’ plans. He’s twice torn his Achilles tendon and also missed time due to multiple shoulder injuries and a biceps strain. Soroka hasn’t reached even 100 innings in a major league season since that outstanding 2018-19 run; in fact, he’s pitched only 215 1/3 big league innings total since that time — just 15 more than he pitched in that initial MLB run.

Soroka will be one of multiple additions in general manager Mike Hazen’s rotation. The D-backs entered the offseason in dire need of pitching depth. Of the aforementioned trio of starters, only Nelson (3.39 ERA, 154 innings) posted quality bottom-line results last year. Both Rodriguez and Pfaadt posted ERAs north of 5.00, though each (Pfaadt in particular) was viewed more favorably by fielding-independent metrics.

Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has already indicated that payroll will decline after last year’s mark topped $200MM for the first time in franchise history. However, he’s also made clear that the team is fully intent on striving to contend despite that reduction. It’s not clear exactly where the ultimate budget lies, but Hazen and his staff should have plenty of spending room even with the budget scaling down. The addition of Soroka pushes next year’s projected payroll to just over $151MM, per RosterResource.

Arizona has also been looking into a reunion with righty Merrill Kelly, whom they traded to the Rangers in July ahead of his free agent departure this offseason. There’s mutual interest there, though Kelly’s annual salary will likely more than double what Soroka just commanded. Pete Fairbanks is a known target on the bullpen side of things, though he’s surely just one of many. The D-backs are also at least hearing out other clubs who inquire on star second baseman Ketel Marte, though a trade is seen as unlikely, and they’re listening to offers on lefty-swinging outfielders Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy.

Suffice it to say, it’ll be a busy few days for the D-backs in Orlando at this week’s Winter Meetings, though it’s unlikely the check off every item on their to-do list before MLB’s premier offseason event concludes.

Jesse Rogers and Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the one-year agreement between the two parties. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the salary terms, incentives and Soroka’s role.

Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt Signed Multi-Year Extension

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When the Guardians originally hired Stephen Vogt as their new manager following the 2023 season, it was announced that he’d signed a three-year contract covering the 2024-26 seasons. Vogt, however, isn’t coming up on the final year of his contract as it might have seemed. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Guardians quietly signed Vogt to a multi-year extension following the 2024 campaign. The new contract was never announced, nor was it reported at the time.

Vogt, 41, has been named American League Manager of the Year in each of his two seasons as Cleveland’s skipper. Under his watch, the Guardians have twice enjoyed late-season rallies to force their way into the postseason. The ’24 Guardians won 88 games and topped the Tigers in the ALDS before falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. In 2025, Cleveland won 92 games but lost to the Tigers in a 2-1 Wild Card series defeat. Overall, Vogt is 180-143 as a big league manager.

It’s not entirely clear how long Vogt’s new contract runs, but he’s likely signed through at least the 2028 season now. He’ll continue overseeing a club that’s anchored by perennial MVP candidate José Ramirez and is on the cusp of welcoming a new wave of top prospects who could comprise the Guardians’ long-term core.

Outfield prospect Chase DeLauter made his big league debut in 2025. He’ll be joined by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana at some point in 2026, and fellow top prospects like infielder Angel Genao and catcher Cooper Ingle could make their debuts this coming season as well. Bazzana and Ingle both reached Triple-A in 2025; Genao held his own as a 21-year-old in Double-A. Pitching prospect Khal Stephen, acquired from the Blue Jays in the deadline deal sending Shane Bieber to Toronto, dominated up through the Double-A level in ’25 and could be an option to join Vogt’s rotation in 2026.

Though the Guardians are unlikely to ever field a payroll that’s consistently in the top half of the league, the presence of Ramirez, some quality arms (e.g. Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee), looming young prospects and a perennially successful player development department should continue to put Vogt and the Guardians organization in position for success within the American League Central.

Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro Signs Five-Year Extension

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Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro has signed a five-year contract extension, Rogers Communications (which owns the Jays) announced Friday.

“The opportunity to lead the Blue Jays organization over the past 10 years has been incredibly fulfilling,” Shapiro said in a statement within today’s announcement. “Together we have built an organization with people who care deeply about baseball and take immense pride in being Canada’s team. I am grateful and honoured to be able to continue that work.”

Shapiro, 58, has spent the past decade as the Blue Jays’ president and CEO. He’d previously been the general manager and, eventually, team president in Cleveland. His past contract ran through the end of the calendar year. Current Jays general manager Ross Atkins was hired away from Cleveland by Shapiro; he’d previously been their vice president of player personnel.

Both Shapiro and Atkins have now signed multiple long-term extensions to remain in place as the top decision-makers for the Jays. Shapiro is now locked in through the 2030 season. Atkins signed a five-year extension back in 2021 and is currently signed through the end of the 2026 campaign.  Given the Jays’ run to Game 7 of the World Series, it stands to reason that Atkins could be in line for an extension of his own at some point in the coming months.

Under Shapiro and Atkins, the Jays have won 89 or more games in four of the past five seasons. They hadn’t had any playoff success — save for the 2016 season, though that was a largely inherited club from the prior regime — but broke through in a major way in 2025 when they toppled the Yankees and Mariners in the ALDS and ALCS before coming just two outs away from the franchise’s first World Series victory since the 1992-93 repeat.

While the Jays have often been runners-up for prominent free agents in recent seasons (e.g. Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani), this year’s World Series push and the team’s $500MM investment in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have perhaps helped to establish the Jays as more of a free agent destination. Right-hander Dylan Cease just inked a seven-year contract, and Toronto has shown interest in both Kyle Tucker and in re-signing star infielder Bo Bichette, who reached the open market for the first time in his career this offseason. Ownership’s decision to commit to another extension with Shapiro is both a vote of confidence in the team’s current core and vision, as well as a signal that Toronto will be continuing in win-now mode for the foreseeable future.

Braves Sign Robert Suarez

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The Braves further solidified the back of their bullpen Thursday, announcing the signing of former Padres closer Robert Suarez on a three-year, $45MM contract. Suarez, a client of Primo Sports Group, became a free agent at season’s end when he opted out of the final two years and $16MM on his five-year contract with San Diego. He’ll be paid $13MM in 2026 and $16MM in both 2027 and 2028, per the team. There are reportedly no deferrals in the contract. Atlanta designated lefty Ryan Rolison for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster (more on that move here).

The 34-year-old Suarez (35 in March) went directly from Mexico to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball late last decade and, after establishing himself as one of the top relievers in NPB, has broken out as a top-tier reliever in the majors. Originally signed on a two-year deal with the Padres, he opted out after one year and inked a five-year, $46MM extension that afforded him another opt-out provision after the third year, which he took last month.

Now Atlanta-bound, Suarez has consistently posted quality numbers in high-leverage spots for the Friars. Dating back to his 2022 MLB debut, he’s posted a 2.91 ERA with a 26.5% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in 210 innings. Suarez sits just under 99 mph with his four-seamer and complements the pitch with a changeup that got great results in ’22-’23 but has been hit hard the past two seasons. It hasn’t led to poor results, however, because Suarez’s fastball and sinker both grade out as dominant offerings.

Suarez joins right-hander Raisel Iglesias, who re-upped on a one-year, $16MM contract earlier in the offseason, to form a potent one-two punch at the back of new manager Walt Weiss’ bullpen. Notably, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Iglesias will continue to serve as the closer in Atlanta. Suarez will operate as his primary setup man (and, of course, can handle save opportunities in the event that Iglesias is unavailable or suffers an injury). Setup work is nothing new for Suarez, who in 2022 helped set up for Taylor Rogers and in 2023 was a key setup arm for Josh Hader.

On the surface, a three-year, $45MM contract for a high-end reliever feels fairly well in line with contractual norms around the game. However, Suarez’s camp did quite well to get him the third guaranteed year. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, this is the first deal of three or more years for a 35-year-old (or older) reliever since Will Harris signed for $24MM with the Nationals prior to the 2020 season. Before that, you’d have to go all the way back to Ryan Madson’s three-year pact with the A’s back in 2015 to find another example of a bullpen arm being paid for this long of a term at Suarez’s age.

Adding Suarez brings Atlanta’s 2026 payroll up to about $241MM. RosterResource estimates that the team is carrying more than $236MM worth of luxury-tax considerations, which places them within $8MM of the 2026 season’s $244MM first-tier luxury threshold. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has already checked several items off his winter to-do list, though Atlanta still figures to be open to additions at shortstop, on the bench and/or on the pitching staff. That said, re-signing Iglesias, acquiring utilityman Mauricio Dubon and bringing in both Suarez and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski (on a two-year, $23MM deal) has removed some of the urgency to make further additions.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and the terms of the contract. The Athletic’s Will Sammon first reported the year-to-year breakdown.

Elvin Rodriguez Signs With KBO’s Lotte Giants

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Free agent right-hander Elvin Rodriguez has signed with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization, the team announced. He’ll receive $1MM for the 2026 campaign. Lotte also announced the re-signing of outfielder Victor Reyes at $1.4MM and the signing of right-hander Jeremy Beasley for $1MM.

Rodriguez, 27, spent the 2023-24 seasons with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, parlaying that into a big league deal with the Brewers last winter. He wound up pitching 19 2/3 innings in the majors between Milwaukee and Baltimore but was tagged for 20 runs in that time. The 2025 season was Rodriguez’s second with at least some MLB work. He also briefly appeared with Detroit back in 2022. He’s surrendered 55 runs in 52 2/3 MLB frames but notched a sub-2.00 ERA in 45 1/3 innings as a reliever during his 2024 season in NPB.

Reyes, another former Tiger, is entering his third season with the KBO’s Giants. The 31-year-old has slashed .339/.390/.493 in 1275 plate appearances without missing a game during his first two KBO campaigns. Reyes previously played in parts of five seasons with Detroit from 2018-22, hitting a combined .264/.294/.379 in a nearly identical sample of plate appearances (1280) to his KBO workload thus far. While he didn’t carve out a role as a big league regular, this year’s deal with Lotte brings him up to $3.35MM worth of guaranteed earnings during his three years in South Korea (not including some incentives that he’s surely unlocked along the way).

Beasley, 30, pitched in the majors with the D-backs and Blue Jays from 2020-22, tossing a combined 24 2/3 innings with a 5.84 ERA. The right-hander has a solid track record in Triple-A and has spent the past three seasons pitching for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He’s pitched to a 2.82 ERA in his three seasons with Hanshin but spent the bulk of this past season with the Tigers’ farm club. As with Rodriguez and Reyes, Beasley never really found his footing in the majors but has carved out a nice living pitching professionally overseas. He’s still young enough that an eventual MLB comeback can’t be entirely ruled out, but he’ll need to take a step forward after last year’s rocky showing in Japan.

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