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Antoan Richardson Won’t Return To Mets’ Coaching Staff

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Mets first base coach Antoan Richardson will not return to the team in 2026, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. His contract is set to expire at the end of the month, and the two parties haven’t been able to come to terms on a new deal. SNY’s Andy Martino adds that the Mets very much wanted Richardson back on staff and made a strong effort to keep him. Martino further speculates that Richardson could well be eyeing another opportunity or two elsewhere in the league.

Richardson, who turned 42 last month, has been the Mets’ first base coach since 2024. He held the same role with the Giants from 2020-23 and was previously San Francisco’s minor league field coordinator and minor league outfield coordinator. Richardson, a former pro outfielder who appeared in a handful of major league games between the 2011 Braves and 2014 Yankees, also worked as an outfield and baserunning instructor while serving as the first base coach with both the Giants and Mets.

With one-third of the league set to head into 2026 with a new manager than the one they had in place on Opening Day 2025, Richardson ought to have plenty of opportunities to latch on with a new club. The Pirates (Don Kelly), Orioles (Craig Albernaz), Angels (Kurt Suzuki), Giants (Tony Vitello) and Rangers (Skip Schumaker) all have new full-time skippers in place. The Twins, Padres, Braves, Rockies and Nationals are still on the hunt for new managers. All of those newly installed managers will subsequently interview candidates to fill out their respective staffs.

The Mets aren’t making a change at manager, but there’s plenty of turnover on the coaching staff. Hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes have already been replaced by former Astros hitting coach Troy Snitker (son of longtime Braves manager Brian Snitker, who retired at season’s end) and Jeff Albert, who’d previously been the Mets’ in-house director of hitting development. Bench coach John Gibbons has been swapped out for former Guardians field coordinator Kai Correa. Assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel left after one season to go back to the Yankees, where he’d previously coached. Catching coach Glenn Sherlock retired.

Richardson’s departure is the latest in a broad-reaching slate of changes and creates yet another vacancy to be filled by manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Steve Adams

  • Good afternoon! And happy World Series. We'll get going at 3pm CT, but as always, feel free to submit questions ahead of time if you prefer.
  • Greetings! Let's begin

Eeyore

  • Lifelong Mariners fan here… also a big fan of Eugenio Suarez, especially what he brings to the clubhouse..  Wondering what it might take for the M’s to retain him and maybe use him at DH and 3rd.  Dreaming of an offseason where Naylor gets signed, a trade lands Brendan Donovan and Suarez is still in the fold… all with Colt Emerson getting called up at so e point.

Steve Adams

  • I don't think there's any chance they keep both Suarez and Naylor and then add someone like Donovan. Individually they're all fine fits, but Suarez is probably going to command $20MM+ annually over 2-3 years, and the Mariners aren't going to spend for a player in his mid-30s when they have Emerson waiting in the wings.Naylor reunion seems possible, particularly if they move some other pieces to make the financial aspect work (assuming ownership isn't going to green-light a major spending hike).

    Donovan fits the Mariners well, but he's versatile, cheap and good at just about everything on the diamond. He fits every contending club well. Mariners do have a better farm than a lot of (most of) the other teams who'll be looking into him, though.

walterj23

  • If Hoyer of the Cubs declined to bring Imanaga back could the Cubs have enough money to sign Cease and Woodruff  ?

Steve Adams

  • The Cubs have enough money regardless of Imanaga. They have about $162.5MM in luxury obligations next year, per RosterResource. They could pick up their option on Imanaga, their option on Kittredge and their option on Rea and still be under $200MM in tax considerations. That's enough room to sign Cease and Woodruff and keep under the line in all likelihood -- and that doesn't even consider possible non-tenders (Reese McGuire, Eli Morgan) or trades of any veterans on the roster.

Rangers13

  • What teams with a need for defensive help would be possible trade partners for AGarcia or Semien if the acquiring team thinks they might be able to return them to close to previous offensive form and who might be options back to the Rangers from those teams?

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Offseason Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pirates took a step back in 2025 and fired manager Derek Shelton early in the season. He was replaced by his bench coach, Don Kelly, who'll take over in the dugout into 2026 and beyond. General manager Ben Cherington's job status prompted plenty of speculation, but he'll be back for 2026 as well. Can the Pirates finally turn things around?

Guaranteed Contracts

Total 2026 commitments: $30.5MM
Total long-term commitments: $130.5MM through 2030

Option Decisions

  • None

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Pirates have drawn increasing levels of praise for their excellent core of young pitching, headlined by likely NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, but the team's collection of bats is miles behind its impressive stable of arms. Anemic offense proved to be Pittsburgh's downfall yet again in 2025. The Pirates scored just 583 runs -- last in the majors and nearly 300 fewer than the MLB-leading Yankees' mark of 849. Pittsburgh hitters connected on just 117 homers -- a whopping 31 long balls behind the 29th-ranked Cardinals. The Pirates' lineup ranked 28th in batting average, 23rd in OBP and dead last in slugging percentage.

Addressing such widespread offensive deficiency isn't an easy task. Cherington's job security was the source of considerable speculation late in the year. He'll be back for 2026, but with Shelton out the door and owner Bob Nutting calling for "urgency" -- a rich declaration from an owner who hasn't signed a free agent to a multi-year deal in a decade -- there's mounting pressure for the sixth-year Pittsburgh GM to bolster the lineup in support of a strong pitching staff.

Even coming off a last-place finish, the Pirates seem far likelier to add to the roster than subtract. That doesn't mean there won't be some veteran Buccos available via trade -- there very likely will be -- but such trades will be aimed at acquiring young, MLB-ready hitters who can augment a lineup that's badly in need of an overhaul. Let's run through the roster and some possibilities.

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Brewers’ Connor Thomas Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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Brewers lefty Connor Thomas has cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency, the team announced.

Thomas, 27, was a Rule 5 pick out of the Cardinals organization last year. He had a strong spring showing, broke camp with Milwaukee, made his big league debut and pitched 5 1/3 innings across two appearances before hitting the injured list with an elbow injury. Thomas was tagged for an alarming 12 runs in his brief MLB look, though the elbow injury likely contributed to those troubles. He was shelved for nearly three months before undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.

At the time the Brewers announced the surgery, they noted that a UCL repair was possible as well. A formal announcement never followed, but MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy now reports that Thomas indeed underwent Tommy John surgery. That’ll sideline him until late into the 2026 season, if not all the way until the 2027 season.

Though Thomas’ 2025 season was rough, he’s a former fifth-round pick who’s had some success in the upper minors. That includes a tidy 2.89 ERA in 90 1/3 Triple-A frames with the 2024 Cardinals. He posted a below-average 20.6% strikeout rate but also recorded a sharp 6.3% walk rate and an excellent 55.3% ground-ball rate.

Thomas’ injury and lack of big league record will limit him to a minor league deal in free agency, but he figures to latch on as a depth option somewhere — possibly even back with the Brewers. Milwaukee’s decision to outright him doesn’t necessarily indicate that they no longer have interest in the southpaw, but they’d have had to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to him all winter since there’s no 60-day IL in the offseason.

Dodgers Announce World Series Roster

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The Dodgers announced their 26-man roster for their World Series showdown against the Blue Jays this morning. Among the notable omissions are Alex Vesia, Tanner Scott and Ben Casparius. Scott has been out since the NLDS after undergoing a lower body abscess excision. He was hopeful of returning for the World Series but has seemingly not been cleared. The Dodgers announced that Vesia is “away from the team as he and his wife Kayla navigate a deeply personal family matter.”

Los Angeles’ 26-man roster breaks down as follows:

The Dodgers will turn to Snell to start Game 1 of the World Series tonight against Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage. Yamamoto is lined up to start Game 2, which is expected to be started by Jays righty Kevin Gausman.

Glasnow and Ohtani figure to start Games 3 and 4 for L.A., while Toronto will have Shane Bieber and former Dodger Max Scherzer as options in those contests. Of course, specific matchups haven’t yet been finalized and are subject to change anyhow, given the all-hands-on-deck nature teams tend to employ in critical postseason series.

Blue Jays Add Bo Bichette To World Series Roster

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Bo Bichette is back. The Blue Jays announced their World Series roster today, and it includes the two-time All-Star infielder. Bichette has been sidelined since early September due to a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Manager John Schneider indicated yesterday that Bichette could see time at shortstop, second base and/or designated hitter if cleared to rejoin the roster. If he appears in a game at second base, it’ll be his first time playing there since the minor leagues in 2019.

The Jays dropped outfielder Joey Loperfido and righty Yariel Rodriguez from their roster, which contains 14 position players and 12 pitchers. It breaks down as follows:

Yesavage gets the ball opposite Blake Snell in Game 1, becoming the second-youngest Game 1 starter in World Series history (trailing Ralph Branca of the ’47 Dodgers (as noted by MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson). The Jays haven’t formally announced a Game 2 starter to take on righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but it’s expected to be Gausman. Bieber and Scherzer are likely up, in some order, for Games 3 and 4. The Dodgers figure to counter with Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.

Of course, all eyes will be on Bichette in his return to the diamond after an absence of roughly seven weeks. It’s not likely that he’s at 100%, but the Jays medical staff cleared him to take the field for the franchise’s biggest series in more than 30 years.

There’s an offseason component to consider as well, given Bichette’s status as an impending free agent. Any time at second base in the World Series could offer a potential glimpse of the future, too; Bichette’s glovework at shortstop has been perhaps the key knock on his free agent case, and it’s likely that some clubs will prefer to sign him and move him to second base. A small handful of appearances when he’s coming off a notable knee injury isn’t going to be indicative of how he’d look there at full strength in 2026 and beyond, but it’s still a source of intrigue both for the duration of the Fall Classic and for the broader, long-term picture.

Offseason Outlook: Minnesota Twins

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The Twins gutted their roster at the trade deadline, fired their manager after the season and still haven't divulged any information on their new limited partners who bought a heavy share of the club. To call morale "low" among fans would be an egregious understatement, and the looming offseason doesn't offer much reason for optimism.

Guaranteed Contracts

Other Financial Commitments

  • $30MM owed to Astros through 2028 as part of Carlos Correa trade ($10MM annually)

Total 2026 commitments: $46.5MM
Total long-term commitments: $118MM through 2028

Option Decisions

  • Justin Topa, RHP: $2MM club option with $225K buyout (Topa remains under control via arbitration if Twins decline)

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Cabrera, Tonkin, Larnach, Misiewicz

Free Agents

The Twins were in contention for much of the season's first half, even rattling off a 13-game winning streak from early May into the middle portion of the month. When things went south and the club fell below .500 with the deadline approaching, Minnesota emerged as a clear seller. It was originally expected to be a minor sale of pending free agents like Willi Castro, Chris Paddack and Harrison Bader. Instead, Minnesota traded a staggering 11 players, including several who were controlled beyond the current season -- in some instances (e.g. Louis Varland) as far out as 2030.

Whether that was due to the front office acting opportunistically in a market that lacked many pure sellers or (more likely) because ownership mandated further payroll cuts after being unable to find a buyer for the team due to a reported $400MM+ in outstanding debt, Minnesota's stunning deadline fire sale set the stage for what feels like a notable step back that will continue into the forthcoming offseason.

The large-scale changes didn't stop at the deadline. Manager Rocco Baldelli was the sacrificial lamb at season's end, getting fired with a year to go on his contract. Baldelli's tenure was far from perfect, as the Twins have had their share of disappointing seasons (including 2024's September collapse), but no manager could have succeeded in the wake of such a dramatic teardown, which included shipping out the five best relievers in what had been an excellent bullpen.

The Twins' offseason, accordingly, commences with a managerial search that has already seen them tied to names like former Mariners skipper Scott Servais, Red Sox bench coach Ramon Vazquez, and old friends Derek Shelton, James Rowson and (stretching much further back) Nick Punto. Change is coming in the Twins' dugout, but there's also still a fair bit of turnover possible on the roster itself.

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Mariners Expected To Prioritize Josh Naylor In Free Agency

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The Mariners’ season ended with heartbreak in Game 7 of the ALCS versus the Blue Jays, and they’ll now turn their focus to an offseason aimed at building upon what was clearly a World Series-caliber roster (even if they fell just short). They’ll be faced with several key free agent departures — Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor and Jorge Polanco chief among them. Per both Daniel Kramer of MLB.com and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Naylor is the team’s top priority among all of its potential free agents.

The 28-year-old Naylor (29 next June) was outstanding after being acquired in a deal sending young pitchers Ashton Izzi and Brandyn Garcia back to Arizona. Already in the midst of a nice season with the D-backs (.292/.360/.447), Naylor found another gear in the Emerald City, erupting for a .299/.341/.490 slash (137 wRC+) and astonishingly stealing nearly as many bases (19) in 54 games as he had in his entire career prior (25).

In many ways, Naylor embodies the approach the Mariners have sought in recent offseasons where improving the club’s contact skills has been a goal (one that’s largely eluded them). He punched out in only 13.7% of his plate appearances this year (16.2% with the Mariners) and carries just a 15.2% strikeout rate dating all the way back to 2020. He’s not a traditional slugging first baseman, but Naylor is typically good for around 20 homers per seasons — he hit nine in his 54 games with the M’s — and does have a 31-homer campaign on his résumé with the 2024 Guardians.

Heading into his age-29 season and coming off a career-best year with no qualifying offer attached — he’s ineligible to receive one after being traded midseason — Naylor will be a hot commodity in free agency. In president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s nearly a decade running baseball operations in Seattle, he has only given out one multi-year deal to a free agent position player, that being Mitch Garver’s modest two-year, $24MM pact a couple offseasons ago. Clearly, that will need to change in order to retain Naylor.

That said, Dipoto told MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald on our podcast last month that the Mariners have definite interest in keeping Naylor long-term and believe the feeling is mutual. Dipoto noted that Naylor is “as good as anybody that’s played in the last handful of years at hitting [at T-Mobile Park]” — notoriously one of the most pitcher-friendly stadiums in the game. Naylor himself spoke about that to Jude’s colleague Ryan Divish last month, too, stating that as a visitor he “couldn’t wait” to come to T-Mobile Park and emphasizing how much he enjoys the stadium and the atmosphere created by the fan base. He used the word “awesome” multiple times in his more recent chat with Kramer and Jude about his experience in Seattle and the “ride-or-die” mentality of Seattle fans.

Even with mutual interest, the Mariners will have to extend well beyond their prior comfort levels in free agency to keep Naylor. At just 28 years old and coming off four straight seasons of well above-average offense, he should be in position to command a deal of at least four and possibly up to six years in length. In all likelihood, Seattle will need to more than triple and perhaps quadruple its investment to Garver in order to keep Naylor. Currently, the M’s have about $139MM on next year’s books (once Andres Munoz’s option is exercised), per RosterResource, though non-tenders and trades will surely impact that sum. They finished up the current season at about $166MM in payroll.

To be clear, the Mariners have signed players to lucrative long-term deals under Dipoto — just not specifically free agent position players. Left-hander Robbie Ray signed a five-year, $115MM deal in free agency following his Cy Young win back in 2021. The Mariners extended Luis Castillo on a five-year, $108MM deal after acquiring him from the Reds in a deadline swap. And of course, homegrown stars Cal Raleigh (six years, $105MM) and Julio Rodriguez (12 years, $210MM) signed nine-figure extensions to remain in Seattle for the long haul.

That the Mariners will prioritize Naylor over other free agents doesn’t necessarily make it a foregone conclusion that Polanco and Suarez will depart. Both Jude and Kramer suggest that with top prospect Colt Emerson and slick-fielding Ben Williamson in the mix at third base, re-signing Suarez on a weighty multi-year deal that covers his mid-30s is unlikely. However, both also note interest in retaining Polanco, who enjoyed a remarkable rebound campaign after re-signing on the heels of a 2024 season that was ruined by a knee injury.

Polanco underwent surgery last October and roared back into relevance this year with a .265/.326/.495 batting line (132 wRC+) and 26 homers during the regular season. He added three more postseason homers, including a pair of long balls against likely AL Cy Young winner (for the second consecutive season) Tarik Skubal.

The Mariners have a high-upside long-term option at second base in former first-round pick and top prospect Cole Young, but the 22-year-old Young hit just .211/.302/.305 in his first 77 MLB games this year. Even if Young is the long-term answer at second base — and some early struggles in fewer than 300 plate appearances hardly erodes the chances of that happening — Seattle could bring Polanco back as a primary designated hitter and part-time infielder. That’s the role he filled in 2025, tallying 88 games at DH, 38 at second base, five at third base and even one at first base.

As with Naylor, Polanco would require the Mariners to commit a multi-year deal, although not nearly on the same scale. Polanco will turn 33 early next July. A deal for him seems likely to be capped at three years, particularly when considering his recent injury troubles. He’d still require a more sizable commitment than the one made to Garver in free agency two years ago, but not by an especially large margin.

Mariners brass is set to talk with the media at an end-of-season press conference later this morning (1oam PT), and they’ll surely touch on this and a broad range of topics as they look ahead to the offseason, so there could be a fair bit of Mariners news emerging in the very near future.

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Steve Adams

  • Good morning! We'll get going at 2pm CT today, but feel free to submit questions ahead of time, as always.
  • Good afternoon! Sorry to be a couple minutes late. Let's begin!

Tx Ranger stuff

  • With what’s out there and what he’s gonna cost would you keep Adolis García and hope he hits? And what about Jonah Heim.

Steve Adams

  • I think both are as good as done in Arlington. Garcia is going to make around $12MM after consecutive disappointing seasons at the plate. Heim took a huge step back and is going to earn around $6MM after a pair of ugly years. Chris Young alluded to payroll uncertainty when talking about Bochy's departure.
  • At catcher, there isn't a ton out there in free agency beyond JT Realmuto, but the Rangers could try for Minnesota's Ryan Jeffers via trade or go more direct and sign Victor Caratini. I just don't think spending $6MM or so to hope Heim returns to his 2023 levels is where they'll go.
  • In the outfield, they've got Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter. There'll be plenty of trade options even if the limited slate of corner OF bats in free agency doesn't appeal to them ... Lars Nootbaar, Taylor Ward, Brendan Donovan, Brenton Doyle, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, JJ Bleday, Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach ... any of those names could be out there in trade talks.

Buster Posey

  • Outside of 2B and RF, where can I look to improve this club other than trying to stockpile quality arms?

Steve Adams

  • Second base and right field are the primary avenues to bolstering the lineup in San Francisco, but they could also look at first base/DH and see if Bryce Eldridge can headline a package for a notable starter (e.g Joe Ryan, Andrew Abbott, etc.)Could also look into some of those same OF options I listed for the Rangers -- plus Tucker, Bellinger, Grisham, etc. -- and plug Heliot Ramos into more of a DH role.

Luis Arraez

  • Am I playable at 3B anymore? Boston would be nice... Hell it's not like Casas will be healthy, I can play 1B by Memorial Day after Triston ruptures a fingernail or something

Steve Adams

  • Cannot fathom someone signing Arraez to play third base. He's just a poor defender wherever he's at ... first base, maybe you could get something close to average, but even that's a stretch. I think Arraez is going to sign a contract that makes a lot of fans say "Uh, that's it?" But he's basically just a (very good) singles hitter with a middling OBP ... He's the type of guy I can see ending up with a boring one-year deal or maybe a cheap two/opt-out in February if he goes out looking for a notable long-term contract.

For Love of the Game

  • Given that Scott Boras advises his clients to test the free agent waters, no team is really going to drain their top prospect ranks by offering so much for Skubal that the Tigers would write off contending in 2026 (and likely 2027) for a chance to be even better in later years, right?  If I'm wrong, what would that offer look like?

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Phillies Notes: Schwarber, Realmuto, Suarez

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The Phillies are keeping manager Rob Thomson in place for the 2026 season, but there are still some potentially notable changes coming to the roster. Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez and J.T. Realmuto are among the team’s most notable free agents. Zack Wheeler’s health outlook is a question mark after he required thoracic outlet surgery. With Suarez and Wheeler’s status uncertain at best and Aaron Nola coming off an ERA north of 6.00, Philadelphia’s rotation isn’t the typical powerhouse to which we’ve become accustomed in recent seasons.

First and foremost, it sounds as though retaining Schwarber will be one of the top’s top priorities — if not the very top item on president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s to-do list. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that executives with other clubs expect owner John Middleton to do whatever it takes to keep Schwarber in the City of Brotherly Love. Matt Gelb of The Athletic suggests that Schwarber, who’ll turn 33 next spring, is planning to seek a five-year contract in free agency.

That’d be unheard of for a designated hitter at his age, but Schwarber’s 2025 season was the best of his career. He clubbed an NL-best 56 home runs en route to a .240/.365/.563 slash. Schwarber topped the century mark in both runs scores and runs driven in for a third consecutive season.

Schwarber’s 14.9% walk rate was 6.5 percentage points higher than the 8.4% league average, and while Schwarber’s 27.2% strikeout rate was also considerably higher than average (22.2%), it was also his lowest since 2021. The NL home run leader has also made immense gains against left-handed pitching in recent seasons, shedding platoon concerns that followed him earlier in his career. Schwarber was actually better against lefties than righties, hitting same-handed opponents at a .252/.366/.598 against clip.

If one were to set MLBTR’s Contract Tracker to show the number of position players commanding a five-year free agent deal beginning in their age-33 season, well … there aren’t any. In fact, the only free agent hitters in the past decade to sign even a four-year deal beginning at age 33 or later are Ben Zobrist ($56MM), Starling Marte ($78MM) and Josh Donaldson ($92MM). All are at least four years old now (10, in Zobrist’s case), and Schwarber is coming off such a prodigious offensive showing that he should top all of them with ease.

Gelb also suggests that Realmuto is expected to seek a three-year deal — a hefty ask considering he’ll turn 35 next spring. Again, looking to our Contract Tracker to find catchers who signed for three or more guaranteed years beginning with their age-35 season (or older) reveals only two: Carlos Ruiz’s three-year, $26MM deal to return to the Phillies all the way back in 2013 and Yadier Molina’s three-year, $60MM extension back in 2017.

Realmuto showed in 2025 that there’s still plenty left in the tank, but his days as a premium all-around catcher also look to be in the past. His .257/.315/.384 batting line was 6% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+, but still checked in a bit better than that of the average catcher, specifically. He’s still plus when it comes to controlling the run game (29.7% caught-stealing rate), but Realmuto has now registered negative blocking grades (according to Statcast) in consecutive seasons and has seen his once-vaunted framing grades decline sharply.

The market offers little in the way of starting-caliber catchers, which could work to Realmuto’s benefit. Victor Caratini and Danny Jansen are arguably the most notable alternatives on the open market. The former has posted nice rate stats in the batter’s box but has primarily operated as a backup. The latter has now had back-to-back poor seasons at the plate. Potential non-tenders (e.g. Jonah Heim, Joey Bart) could add some change-of-scenery candidates to the list of options, and the trade market will surely offer a few names to ponder (e.g. Ryan Jeffers, Jake Rogers, Ivan Herrera).

Turning to Suarez, he made no secret of his hope to remain in Philadelphia. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes that the left-hander was among the last players to leave the clubhouse after the 2025 season ended. He told reporters at the time: “I don’t want it to be the last year with the team.”

The 30-year-old Suarez has been a rock in the Philly rotation, averaging 26 starts per season across the past four years and pitching to a 3.59 ERA in that time. He’s been even better in the playoffs, with a sub-2.00 ERA in his postseason career. Suarez doesn’t throw especially hard, sitting 91-92 mph with his sinker, but he still consistently posts better-than-average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates.

As it stands, the Phillies’ rotation will include Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo. The team hasn’t yet provided a timetable for Wheeler’s recovery from his thoracic outlet procedure. Taijuan Walker is signed for $18MM in 2026, but the Phillies would probably welcome the opportunity to shed the some or all of that remaining sum. Top prospect Andrew Painter could make his long-awaited debut next year, but he posted uneven minor league results in his return from Tommy John surgery. Mick Abel was traded to the Twins in the Jhoan Duran swap.

Retaining Suarez would go a long way toward solidifying a rotation with an atypical number of red flags, but the Phillies already project for a nearly $228MM payroll before making any additions or bringing back any potential free agents (via RosterResource). It’s hard to imagine them keeping all three of those prominent impending free agents — particularly when there are other needs elsewhere on the roster.

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