Rays’ Edwin Uceta Experiencing Shoulder Inflammation
February 21: Uceta has inflammation and a slight impingement in his shoulder, per Rays manager Kevin Cash (link via Topkin). He received a cortisone shot and will start throwing next weekend, though it isn’t clear if he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
February 19: Rays right-hander Edwin Uceta is headed for testing after experiencing shoulder discomfort early in camp, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Uceta had been planning to pitch for his native Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, but those plans were nixed earlier in camp due to what manager Kevin Cash described as a “cranky” right shoulder. He’s been resting that shoulder and attempted to play catch today but “didn’t feel great” when he did so, per Cash.
Uceta, 28, pitched for four different organizations (Dodgers, D-backs, Mets, Cubs) before landing with the Rays on a minor league deal in the 2023-24 offseason. He’d posted a 5.80 earned run average in 40 1/3 big league innings prior to his time in Tampa Bay, but the Rays’ vaunted pitch lab immediately unlocked something in the hard-throwing righty.
In 2024, Uceta erupted with a 1.51 ERA across 41 2/3 innings, fanning a mammoth 35.8% of the batters he faced against a minuscule 5% walk rate. His 2025 follow-up wasn’t quite as dominant but still resulted in a team-leading 76 relief innings and a 3.79 earned run average. He didn’t quite replicate his sensational rate stats from the ’24 season, but his 32.1% strikeout rate was still excellent and his 8.4% walk rate was about average.
Overall, Uceta has a 2.98 ERA with terrific strikeout and walk rates in 113 2/3 innings with the Rays. His breakout has quickly thrust him into a high-leverage role. He’s saved six games and picked up 28 holds in his two years as a Ray.
With longtime closer Pete Fairbanks out the door, Uceta was among the favorites to take over ninth-inning duties for Cash. If this shoulder injury proves to be relatively minor, that could still be the case. For now, his spring ramp-up is on hold while the team awaits medical evaluation.
There are other potential implications for the Rays. They’ve been receiving recent interest in left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, who has also emerged as a quality late-inning option after being plucked from relative obscurity. However, if the Rays fear a prolonged absence for Uceta, that might make them more wary about parting with Cleavinger in any trade.
Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Greetings! Anthony and I flipped the Monday/Friday chats this week since I was off for the holiday, so you're stuck with me today. Apologies in advance!We'll get going around 3pm CT, but feel free to submit a question(s) ahead of time if you prefer!
- We'll get started a few minutes early today and go til a bit after 4
BaseballRadio
- Curious as to how the Cleveland Ownership can justify doing literally nothing to upgrade the offense, while dropping to around 70 million in payroll, pending the Clase/Ortiz situation… literally dead last in MLB ?
Steve Adams
- It's pretty inexplicable. The only significant move they made this winter was extending Ramirez on a deal that saved them $10MM in 2026. They re-signed Austin Hedges and bought a few cheap, one-year relievers.For me, they had far and away the worst offseason in baseball. There are so many glaring holes in that lineup, and they're content to just hope a club that produced an AL-worst .226/.296/.373 batting line (87 wRC+) will become serviceable from an offensive standpoint based solely on in-house improvement and promotions of Bazzana, DeLauter, etc.
- It's an indefensible offseason, and if I were a Cleveland fan, I'd be livid. I joked the other day with colleagues that maybe the Dolans are trying to force people to say "Look! See how badly MLB needs a floor!" ... and while I was mostly kidding, I wonder whether there's some partial truth to that sentiment.
Matt
- Now that Pablo Lopez is out any chance the Twins listen to offers for Byron Buxton?
J. Zoll
- So . . . a lot of Twins fans think trading Joe Ryan ASAP is the right thing to do in the wake of Pablo Lopez's need for TJ. This late in the winter, though, I'm wondering if a guy couldn't get more of a return closer to the deadline. Your thoughts?
Sam
- Hey Steve, thanks as always for the chat! What avenue do you see the Twins taking to address the Pablo replacement while he recovers? Sign Giolito/Littell/Scherzer/another FA, acquire a seasoned innings eater via trade, or work with what they have?
Steve Adams
- Lots and lots of Twins questions post-Pablo
- For starters, no they're not going to trade Ryan now. Demand is down -- though teams would still want him -- and Tom Pohlad has done nothing but talk about how he wants to be aggressive and win now since he took over the executive chair position. They're not going to be good (unless about 15 different things break their way), but it's pretty hard for an owner to pull that kind of about-face when his whole schtick so far has been "I'm going to be accountable, answer tough questions and win back the fans."I don't think that's going to happen, but I don't see any way they trade Ryan before Opening Day. Deadline? Sure. But not before then.
- Ditto Buxton on all that
- I do think there's a realistic chance the Twins give a one-year deal to Giolito or Littell. I guess they could throw a year at Tyler Anderson to bring in some cheaper, fairly durable innings as well.There aren't many teams left with much budget space, but the Twins made a late run at Framber Valdez, so Pohlad clearly isn't married to the payroll staying at its $108MM-ish current level. It wouldn't be exciting, but his comments keep saying he wants to show the fans they'll try and be aggressive under his watch, well ... Gio/Littell is about the closest he can come at this point.
- Even before the report on the Jays/Scherzer picking up talks, there was no way Max was signing in Minnesota. He wants a clear win-now contender.
Tribefan528
- Is it inevitable that Agustin Ramirez moves to 1B? How does his bat project at dh/1b?
Steve Adams
- Guys make crazy improvements all the time, but Ramirez would need seismic gains behind the plate to stay at catcher. He had one of the worst defensive seasons ever for a catcher... -14 DRS and -12 FRV per Statcast -- in only 605 innings!Even if you don't like/trust modern metrics, he had an 8.8% caught-stealing rate and allowed NINETEEN passed balls in 605 frames. Plus 36 wild pitches!
- He has enough power to be a 1B/DH, but he undercuts that power by chasing too much ... if you're going to be a RH 1B/DH, you need more than a 6% walk rate.
- He's only 24, but last season was pretty rough in all aspects, other than ripping 21 homers in 536 PAs.
john
- Why has Giolito to Atl not happened yet?
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Blue Jays In Talks With Max Scherzer
The Blue Jays have maintained some interest in Max Scherzer throughout the winter, and talks between the two sides have become more serious over the past week, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. There’s no deal in place, and there are still other clubs hoping to sign the future Hall of Famer, but Toronto has apparently hastened its efforts to get the three-time Cy Young winner back to the Rogers Centre.
Scherzer, 41, spent the 2025 season with the Jays after signing a one-year, $15.5MM deal in free agency last winter. Repeated injuries pertaining to his thumb and a nerve in his right arm limited him to 85 big league innings in the regular season, during which he posted a career-worst 5.19 ERA. However, Scherzer still fanned a roughly average 22.9% of opponents against a tidy 6.4% walk rate. His 10.7% swinging-strike rate was down about three ticks from his career mark but was closely aligned with the 11% league average.
Much of the damage against Scherzer came in one nightmare start, where he surrendered seven runs in two-thirds of an inning in his penultimate appearance of the season. He had a 4.48 ERA across his other 16 starts. Obviously, any pitcher looks better if you toss out his worst appearance of a season, and even that 4.48 mark isn’t great, but Scherzer was at least serviceable for much of the season and looked better in the playoffs, when he made three starts and posted a 3.77 ERA in 14 1/3 innings.
The Jays already have ample rotation depth. Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and KBO returnee Cody Ponce will open the season in the rotation, health permitting. Righty Shane Bieber is back on a one-year deal after forgoing free agency in favor of picking up his $16MM player option, but he’ll open the season on the injured list due to some forearm fatigue. The team is framing that as a matter of precaution after Bieber pitched 88 innings and worked deep into the postseason in his return from Tommy John surgery, but it’s still a notable development — as is the fact that one of the team’s top depth options, Bowden Francis, will miss the year due to Tommy John surgery.
With Toronto’s rotation depth taking those two hits in the past 10 days, it’s understandable if they’ve ramped up their efforts to bring in some further depth. An exact plan remains to be seen, assuming a deal comes together, that is. Nicholson-Smith suggests the Jays could possibly ease Scherzer up with a slow build, eyeing a season debut in late April or early May.
Price point will matter on any deal for Scherzer, particularly if the idea is for him to be on a slow progression early in the season. The Jays are in the top tier of luxury penalization and are exceeding the base threshold for a third straight season. They’ll pay a 110% tax on whatever money is paid out to Scherzer, which is a notable consideration for a team that’s already in line to establish a new franchise-record payroll by more than $30MM.
Still, there’s good reason to consider the depth in spite of the resulting tax bill. With Francis out for the season and Bieber opening on the IL, the sixth starter is Eric Lauer, who enjoyed a resurgent year with the Jays in 2025. He’ll open in a swing role, barring another injury to the top five arms, but depth options thereafter are murky.
Former top prospect Ricky Tiedemann should be healthy but hasn’t pitched since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2024 — a season in which he totaled only 17 1/3 innings. Prospect Adam Macko struggled with poor command and posted an ERA over 5.00 in Triple-A last year. Righty Lazaro Estrada made his big league debut last year but was hit hard in 7 1/3 frames and logged a 5.73 ERA in the minors. Righties Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles are also on the 40-man roster but are subject to Rule 5 restrictions. Bastardo was selected in 2024 but missed the 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He can’t be optioned to Triple-A before spending 90 days on the active roster. It’ll be hard for the Jays to carry either. Non-roster options in camp include Yariel Rodriguez, whom the Jays passed through waivers in December, and journeymen Connor Seabold and Michael Plassmeyer.
It’s not an especially deep or appealing set of depth options, and if Bieber winds up missing more time than expected and/or the Jays incur another injury on the big league staff, the depth will be tested in a hurry. In that sense, whether it’s a one-year reunion with Scherzer or a non-roster deal for a veteran like Anthony DeSclafani, bringing in some additional depth would be prudent for the Jays.
Which Clubs Could Provide A Landing Spot For The Top Remaining Starters?
Every offseason, at least a handful of free agents linger on the market well into spring training. At times, that's been true even of the top names on the market. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado both signed their free agent contracts in February. Blake Snell, Matt Chapman and Jordan Montgomery all signed contracts in March during the 2023-24 offseason.
Things are a bit different this winter. The very top names among this year's crop of free agents have all come off the board. Framber Valdez and, to a lesser extent, Zac Gallen were the remaining big-ticket items on the market before signing in Detroit and Arizona, respectively.
Though there's no marquee superstar left unsigned, there are still some good starters on the board. Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell and Max Scherzer top the remaining group. In Scherzer's case, it's not entirely clear whether he'll sign prior to Opening Day. Scherzer is healthy and ready to sign at any time, but he told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal late last month that he's being selective with his next home and would be content to wait to sign midseason if an opportunity on one of his preferred teams does not present itself. It stands to reason that Scherzer prefers a clear win-now club with realistic postseason aspirations. Any preferences beyond that -- be they geographic, monetary or otherwise -- are personal preferences that he has not divulged.
Giolito and Littell, however, are ready-made mid-rotation starters who, unlike their quadragenarian free agent counterpart, seemingly aren't lingering as a means of personal preference. Each has his flaws, certainly, but there's little doubt that either is a big league-caliber starter and that there are teams around the game who'd benefit from adding them to the rotation.
Let's take a look at each pitcher and which teams might have the remaining budget space and/or rotation need to make a play.
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Jordan Westburg Diagnosed With Partial UCL Tear
Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, president of baseball operations Mike Elias announced to reporters this morning (via Jake Rill of MLB.com). For now, Westburg will not undergo surgery. He’ll receive a platelet-rich plasma injection today in hopes of avoiding an internal brace or Tommy John procedure, either of which would sideline him for the majority or entirety of the year. Westburg will miss at least the month of April. A further timetable will hinge on how well the PRP injection works.
Given the timing of the injury, it makes sense that Westburg would opt for an injection, rest and rehab rather than immediately going under the knife. The recovery timetable for position players coming back from UCL surgery is shorter than for pitchers but still tends to take at least six months just to return as a designated hitter, though timelines vary depending on whether a full reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) or a less-invasive repair (internal brace) is required.
For instance, Bryce Harper had Tommy John surgery in Nov. 2022 and was on the field as a DH about five and a half months later. Trevor Story had an internal brace procedure in Jan. 2023 and made it back to the field as a shortstop seven months later. Every injury is different, and we don’t know the extent of the tear with which Westburg is dealing. Based on some recent precedents like Harper and Story, immediate surgery would probably have resulted in a best-case scenario of Westburg returning as a DH in August, with a chance of playing some third base very late in the regular season.
Of course, there’s also the strong possibility that undergoing surgery right now cost Westburg the entirety of the 2026 campaign. If the O’s and the medical experts with which Westburg consulted feel that was the likely outcome and that he’d be be sidelined until next spring anyhow, then this is a logical course of action. By going the PRP route, Westburg gives himself the best chance of being available for a decent chunk of the 2026 season — and if he has to undergo surgery in May, he’ll still be expected to be ready for next year’s spring training.
Elias detailed (via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner) that Westburg felt elbow discomfort while throwing during his rehab from the oblique injury that he was already known to have. Imaging revealed a partial tear in his elbow, which doctors now believe to have been there for some time. There’s no telling right now whether the PRP will prove sufficient, but Elias suggested that Westburg could return as a designated hitter first if the injection looks to be taking hold.
Even if Westburg “only” misses a couple months of the season rather than the entire year, it’s still a critical loss for Baltimore. The O’s will already be without second baseman Jackson Holliday on Opening Day following his recent surgery to address a hamate fracture, so they’ll be down 50% of their starting infield.
Westburg, 27, has been a well-rounded, productive player ever since debuting in 2023. He’s a career .264/.312/.456 hitter with 38 homers, 53 doubles and eight triples in 1027 career plate appearances. Injuries have far too frequently kept him off the field, however. He’s missed time due to a broken hand, a pair of hamstring strains and an ankle sprain in his two-plus seasons at the MLB level. He’s yet to top 107 games in a big league season, and today’s injury revelation casts some major doubt on whether he’ll be able to further that career-high mark in 2026.
With Westburg and Holliday both shelved, the Orioles’ Opening Day infield will have quite a different look than expected. Former top prospect Coby Mayo has been focusing his offseason and spring work on third base and figures to open the season there in place of Westburg. Trade acquisition Blaze Alexander can handle third base if Mayo struggles considerably, but he’s also one of the lead options to open the season at second base in place of Holliday. Utilityman Jeremiah Jackson could log time at either position.
It’s also feasible that the Orioles could bring in some veteran infield depth. Old friends Ramón Urías, Jose Iglesias and Emmanuel Rivera remain unsigned, as do veteran utility options like Luis Urías (Ramon’s younger brother) and Jon Berti. Spring training always leads to the placement of a few dozen players on waivers, as non-roster veterans or prospects make their clubs and are selected to the 40-man roster with their current team. Some of those non-roster vets who don’t make the cut with their current club could opt out or be granted their release later in camp, which could give Baltimore other options to consider.
Royals Sign Elias Díaz To Minor League Deal
The Royals have signed catcher Elias Díaz to a minor league contract, per a club announcement. The ACES client is expected to report to major league camp next week, the team added.
The 35-year-old Díaz is a veteran of 11 big league seasons split between the Pirates, Rockies and Padres. He’s a career .247/.300/.383 hitter in exactly 2800 plate appearances but batted just .204/.270/.337 (74 wRC+) in 283 plate appearances with the Padres in 2025.
Despite his struggles on a rate basis, Díaz still popped nine homers last year. He’s logged three double-digit homer totals in his big league career, including a career-best 18 round-trippers in 371 plate appearances with the 2021 Rockies, for whom he slashed .246/.310/.464.
From a defensive perspective, Díaz has long drawn average or better marks for his ability to block balls in the dirt and for his throwing. He sports a hearty 26.8% caught-stealing rate in his career, and last year’s 24% mark was effectively right in line with the 23.8% league average. His framing grades drew anywhere from poor to bottom-of-the-scale marks earlier in his career, but he’s made significant strides over the past couple years, with Statcast now crediting him as slightly above average in both 2024 and 2025.
The Royals don’t have an immediate, pressing need behind the plate. Franchise icon Salvador Perez, of course, is still in the fold. He’ll spend some time at DH and first base, but top prospect Carter Jensen is likely to get the nod behind the dish on days when Perez isn’t back there. The 2021 third-round pick made his big league debut in 2025 after hitting .290/.377/.501 between Double-A and Triple-A, and he didn’t miss a beat in the big leagues; Jensen appeared in 20 MLB games (69 plate appearances) and slashed .300/.391/.550 with three homers.
Díaz is the third veteran catcher to sign a minor league deal/non-roster invite with the Royals, joining Luke Maile and Jorge Alfaro in that regard. However, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported last week that Maile was removed from the camp roster so he could tend to a personal matter. Kansas City remains open to welcoming him back, but that ball seems to be in Maile’s court.
A’s Hire Bob Melvin For Baseball Operations Role
The A’s are bringing longtime manager Bob Melvin back to the organization, albeit in a new role. The team announced Thursday that Melvin is returning as a special assistant in the baseball operations department. Details regarding these types of roles are typically vague but often include working with young players in camp and serving as an in-season resource for both the front office and coaching staff.
Melvin, 64, managed the Athletics from 2011-21, leading the then-Oakland club to the postseason on six occasions. Despite perennially working with one of the lowest payrolls in the league — oftentimes the lowest — Melvin led the A’s to an 853-764 record during his 11 seasons at the helm (.528 winning percentage). He was voted the American League Manager of the Year in both 2012 and 2018, and he also won NL Manager of the Year honors with Arizona back in 2007.
The 2026 season will be the first year since 2010 — and just the second year since 2003 — that Melvin has not been a big league manager. Despite Melvin still being under contract in Oakland, the A’s allowed him to interview with the Padres and take the managing job in San Diego following the 2021 season. That was a largely financial decision by the A’s. Melvin was reportedly earning around $4MM per season, and the A’s were aggressively cutting payroll as they both rebuilt the farm system and prepped for a potential relocation.
Melvin spent two years in San Diego, taking the Padres to the NLCS in 2022 before missing the playoffs entirely in 2023. Melvin and Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller reportedly clashed at various points, however, and the tension between the two grew to the point that Melvin was granted permission to interview with the division-rival Giants despite being under contract through 2024. The Giants hired Melvin, while the Padres replaced him with former Cardinals skipper Mike Shildt.
As was the case in San Diego, Melvin stayed two years but departed while still under contract for an additional season. Farhan Zaidi was San Francisco’s president of baseball operations when Melvin was hired, but as is often the case, a new front office regime eventually gave way to new dugout leadership.
Giants ownership fired Zaidi following the 2024 campaign and installed franchise icon (and board member) Buster Posey as the new baseball operations leader. Posey exercised a 2026 club option on Melvin back in July, but less than three months later Posey announced that Melvin had been fired. The Giants went outside the box and hired University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello to replace Melvin.
It’s been a tumultuous few years for Melvin, but he’ll now return to the organization that provided him stability for more than a decade. He’ll be an experienced voice with plenty of perspective for general manager David Forst to consult and can also offer various insights to the Athletics’ young core and a coaching staff that’s now run by fifth-year skipper Mark Kotsay.
Dodgers, Yency Almonte Agree To Minor League Deal
The Dodgers are bringing right-handed reliever Yency Almonte back on a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports. The Wasserman client will presumably be in big league camp.
It’s the second stint with the Dodgers for the 31-year-old Almonte. He was with Los Angeles in 2022-23, combining for 83 1/3 innings with a 3.35 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate out of manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen. That production came in quite uneven fashion, however; Almonte delivered 35 1/3 innings of immaculate 1.02 ERA ball in 2022 but was roughed up for a 5.06 mark in 48 innings in 2023. The Dodgers traded Almonte to the Cubs alongside Michael Busch in a 2024 swap that brought prospects Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris back to Los Angeles. (Neither has made his MLB debut yet, but Hope currently sits No. 63 on Baseball America’s Top 100 list.)
Almonte’s two years in Chicago didn’t go as either he or the team hoped. He posted a 3.45 ERA in 2024 but was limited to just 15 2/3 innings due to a shoulder strain that wiped out the bulk of his season. The Cubs passed Almonte through outright waivers in November 2024. He subsequently elected free agency but returned on a minor league contract. Injuries again derailed his season, as he pitched just 19 1/3 frames in Chicago’s minor league ranks in 2025.
In 223 major league innings, Almonte carries a 4.44 ERA, 22.5% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 43.5% ground-ball rate. He struggled with the Rockies earlier in his career (5.30 ERA in four seasons) but carries a more encouraging 3.36 mark in 99 innings since moving away from Coors Field. Almonte sat at or just shy of 96 mph with both his four-seamer and sinker during his time with the Dodgers but was down about two miles per hour on each pitch with the Cubs prior to hitting the injured list with that shoulder strain.
The Dodgers don’t have a clear need for another arm in a deep bullpen that’s headlined by Edwin Diaz, Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia, but Almonte could fight for a job in camp and, failing that, provide some experienced depth with their Triple-A club in Oklahoma City.
Jordan Westburg Undergoes Imaging For Potential Elbow Injury
Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg has been slowed by an oblique injury in camp and was already expected to miss the first few games of exhibition play as a result. However, it appears there’s greater concern than just a mild oblique strain. Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner reports that Westburg was sent for imaging on his elbow. The results have not yet been disclosed. O’s podcaster Brooks Rothschild suggested yesterday that Westburg could miss significant time due to an elbow issue.
Asked today whether Westburg was dealing with an elbow issue in addition to that oblique injury, manager Craig Albernaz told reporters (via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko): “Right now, he’s physically unable to participate. So he’s getting evaluated by a medical team and also outside people to make sure we have a plan in place and see what’s going on with Jordan and get him going.”
Baltimore’s infield is already banged up. Second baseman Jackson Holliday suffered a hamate fracture recently and is expected to open the season on the injured list. Westburg has typically been Baltimore’s third baseman but has plenty of experience at second base and could have filled in for Holliday while Coby Mayo, Blaze Alexander or Jeremiah Jackson handled the hot corner. Now, it seems there’s a chance Westburg will instead join Holliday on the injured list.
Since his 2023 MLB debut, the now-27-year-old Westburg has been a consistently productive, well-rounded player when healthy. The “when healthy” caveat has proven critical, however. Westburg has never topped 107 games or 447 plate appearances in the majors. Since his initial call to the big leagues, he’s seen IL time for a broken hand, a pair of hamstring strains and an ankle sprain. Westburg carries a .264/.312/.456 batting line in 1027 major league plate appearances, but he’s played in only 341 games (majors and minors combined) across the past three seasons.
Baltimore has been giving former top prospect Coby Mayo plenty of reps at third base during spring training and will presumably continue to do so. Mayo has said that the focus of his early spring work is his defense at the hot corner. He was drafted as a third baseman, but scouts have long questioned whether he can handle the position, and the O’s have given him the majority of his major league work at first base. However, between the Pete Alonso signing and injuries elsewhere in the infield, it’s only logical to get Mayo some more work at third base to see if he can help out there on at least a semi-regular basis.
Mayo’s name was bandied about the rumor mill throughout the winter. Even as recently as this weekend, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggested that Baltimore has continued to discuss the 24-year-old in potential trade scenarios. If there’s now concern surrounding Westburg’s availability, one would imagine that will lessen any such talks (unless, speculatively speaking, Mayo is shipped out for a more established veteran infielder).
If Westburg is sidelined for any significant period of time, there are possibilities outside the organization. Old friends Ramón Urías, Jose Iglesias and Emmanuel Rivera remain unsigned, as do veteran utilitymen Jon Berti and Luis Urías (Ramón’s younger brother). None of those players could be reasonably expected to match the offense of a healthy Westburg, but any of the three would deepen the infield mix and — specifically for Urias and Berti — provide a fair bit of defensive versatility. Myriad trade possibilities abound, even beyond the obvious names still on the market. The aforementioned Alexander certainly wasn’t a frequently discussed trade candidate when the O’s sent Kade Strowd and a pair of prospects to Arizona to pry him loose.
That swap looked a bit surprising at the time but will now pay considerable dividends. Alexander can handle either second base or third base. He hit .230/.323/.383 in 74 games last year but closed out the season on a more impressive .239/.338/.415 stretch following the D-backs’ trade of Eugenio Suárez, at which point Alexander took over as the primary third baseman.
Brusdar Graterol Won’t Be Ready For Opening Day
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed to the team’s beat this morning that setup man Brusdar Graterol won’t be ready for the beginning of the season (via Katie Woo of The Athletic). Roberts said earlier in camp that Graterol would be “slow-played” this spring as he works back from shoulder surgery that cost him the entire 2025 season. Until now, the team had not yet ruled the big righty out for the Opening Day roster.
Graterol didn’t pitch at all in 2025 after undergoing shoulder surgery in Nov. 2024. The 6’1″, 260-pound flamethrower only tossed 7 1/3 big league innings and another 9 2/3 minor league rehab frames in 2024 due to troubles in that shoulder. He last enjoyed a healthy season in 2023, when he rattled off a career-high 67 1/3 innings with a masterful 1.20 ERA. Graterol’s 18.7% strikeout rate was far lower than one would anticipate for a pitcher who routinely hits triple digits with his sinker, but he offset the lack of whiffs with a tiny 4.7% walk rate and a massive 64.4% ground-ball rate.
The 27-year-old Graterol came to the Dodgers in the 2019-20 offseason trade that shipped righty Kenta Maeda to the Twins. The Dodgers were keenly aware that the right-hander had already battled injury troubles in his young career at the time. He’s been terrific in L.A. when healthy (2.69 ERA, 11 saves, 38 holds) but has managed to pitch only 181 innings across the past five seasons due to persistent health troubles.
There’s still no definitive timetable on the right-hander’s return. Graterol had the labrum in his right shoulder repaired 15 months ago and hoped to be back in the second half of the 2025 season, but his rehab didn’t progress as swiftly as hoped. Despite having pitched just 181 innings in five seasons with Los Angeles, he’s now entering his final year of club control before free agency. It’d obviously behoove the hard-throwing young righty to get back on the mound sooner than later, but with the Dodgers looking to defend their World Series crown and Graterol hoping to land a nice contract in free agency next offseason, there’s incentive for both parties to make sure he’s at full strength and “slow play” his progression in the early stages of camp, as Roberts suggested last week.
Presumably, Graterol will head for the 15-day injured list when the season begins. There’s no indication he’s suffered any form of setback that would necessitate a monthslong absence. Whenever he does get the go-ahead to return, Graterol will join a high-leverage mix that also features Edwin Diaz, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen.