National League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25
Every National League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.
Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the NL, while the American League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
- The Braves announced that right-handers Alek Manoah and Carson Ragsdale were not tendered contracts. Both had been acquired earlier in the offseason via waivers, and both are now free agents. Manoah was projected to earn $2.2MM. Ragsdale was not arb-eligible.
- The Brewers tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
- The Cardinals chose not to tender contracts to lefty John King, catcher Yohel Pozo and righty Sem Robberse, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Jorge Alcala, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, was also non-tendered, John Denton of MLB.com adds. King and Alcala were both projected for a $2.1MM salary. The others were not arb-eligible.
- The Cubs non-tendered catcher Reese McGuire, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. He hit .226/.245/.444 through 140 plate appearances in a backup catcher role and was arb-eligible for the final time. He’d been projected to earn $1.9MM. Right-hander Eli Morgan, who was projected to earn $1.1MM, was also non-tendered, according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.
- The D-backs non-tendered left-hander Tommy Henry, who’d already been designated for assignment, and right-hander Taylor Rashi. Neither was eligible for arbitration. They tendered contracts to their entire arb class.
- The Dodgers did not tender a contract to closer Evan Phillips, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He was only under club control for one more season and projected for a $6.1MM salary but underwent Tommy John surgery in June. Dodgers righty Nick Frasso, who was not arb-eligible and finished the season on the 60-day IL, was also non-tendered, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
- The Giants non-tendered left-hander Joey Lucchesi, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Lucchesi pitched to a solid 3.76 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate and strong 7.3% walk rate in 38 1/3 innings and had been projected for a $2MM salary. San Francisco also non-tendered catcher Andrew Knizner, who was designated for assignment this afternoon when the Giants acquired Joey Wiemer from Miami.
- The Marlins tendered contracts to all of their eligible players, per Isaac Azout of Fish On First.
- The Mets are non-tendering right-hander Max Kranick, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Kranick, 28, posted a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings with the Mets this year. It was his first big league opportunity since a five-inning cameo with the Pirates back in 2022. Kranick’s season came to an abrupt end back in July due to flexor tendon repair surgery. Southpaws Jose Castillo and Danny Young were also non-tendered, Sammon adds. Young had Tommy John surgery back in May. Castillo was a waiver claim who pitched for four different teams in 2025.
- The Nationals tendered contracts to their entire roster, per a team announcement.
- The Padres announced that lefty Omar Cruz and righty Sean Reynolds were non-tendered. Neither was arbitration-eligible. They tendered contracts to every member of their arbitration class.
- The Phillies non-tendered righties Michael Mercado and Daniel Robert, neither of whom was arbitration-eligible. They’re both free agents. The Phils tendered contracts to all of their arb-eligible players otherwise.
- The Pirates non-tendered outfielders Alexander Canario and Ronny Simon, as well as righties Colin Holderman and Dauri Moreta. All four were designated for assignment earlier in the week. Holderman was projected for a $1.7MM salary and Moreta for $800K. The others weren’t arb-eligible.
- The Reds announced that catcher Will Banfield and right-handers Carson Spiers and Roddery Munoz were not tendered contracts. They’re all free agents. None of the three were arbitration-eligible, but by non-tendering them rather than designating them for assignment, Cincinnati bypasses the need to place them on waivers and can try to quickly re-sign any of the bunch to minor league deals, if the Reds are so inclined.
- The Rockies non-tendered first baseman Michael Toglia, the team announced. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week, making today’s non-tender all but a formality.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/21/25
The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is this afternoon at 4pm CT. Throughout the day, we’ll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.
These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.
Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.
All salary projections in this post come via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the day as deals are announced and/or reported. Salary figures are from The Associated Press unless otherwise noted.
- The Astros signed right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to a one-year deal and outfielder Taylor Trammell to a split deal, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, De Los Santos gets $1.6MM, plus a $100K bonus if he appears in 60 games, while Trammell $900K if in the majors and $500K in the minors. They were projected for $2.1MM and $900K respectively.
- The Athletics announced that they have signed right-hander Luis Medina and left-hander Ken Waldichuk to one-year deals. Medina gets $835K, while Waldichuk comes in at $825K.
- The Braves announced that they have signed infielder Vidal Bruján, infielder Mauricio Dubón, outfielder Eli White and left-handers Joey Wentz and José Suarez for the 2026 season. Bruján’s deal was announced as a split contract; he’ll make $850K in MLB and $500K in the minors. Dubon will make $6.1MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, right around his $5.8MM projection. Suarez gets $900K, per Ari Alexander of 7 News, below his $1.5MM projection. White and Wentz also get $900K salaries.
- The Brewers announced that they have signed first baseman Jake Bauers for 2026. He’ll make $2.7MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He was projected for $2MM.
- The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander JT Brubaker, per Justice selos Santos of Mercury News. He commands a $1.82MM salary.
- The Guardians have agreed to one-year deals with outfielder Nolan Jones, catcher/designated hitter David Fry and right-hander Matt Festa, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. In a follow-up, Meisel also provides the salary figures. Jones will make $2MM, Fry $1.375MM and Festa $1MM. They were projected for $2MM, $1.2MM and $1MM respectively.
- The Mets and outfielder Tyrone Taylor have agreed at $3.8MM, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, right around his $3.6MM projection.
- The Nationals announced they have signed catcher Riley Adams to a one-year deal. It’s a split deal that pays $1MM in the big leagues and $500K in the minors.
- The Orioles and right-hander Félix Bautista have agreed to a $2.25MM contract, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He was projected for $2.1MM.
- The Padres announced they signed catcher Luis Campusano to a one-year deal. He’ll make $900K next year, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. He was projected for $1MM.
- The Phillies have agreed to a split deal with catcher Garrett Stubbs, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Stubbs will make $925K in the majors and $575K in the minors. The major league salary is an exact match for his projection. The Phils announced that they also signed catcher Rafael Marchán. He’ll make $860K, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. He was projected for $1MM.
- The Rangers announced they signed outfielder Sam Haggerty to a one-year deal. It’s a $1.25MM contract.
- The Rays and right-hander Cole Sulser have settled at $1.05MM, per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. Sulser was projected for $1.2MM. According to the AP, it’s a split deal that pays at a $600K rate in the minors.
- The Reds and left-hander Sam Moll have agreed at $875K, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He was projected for $1.2MM. His 2026 deal also has $150K in potential incentives — $50K each for 45, 55 and 65 appearances.
- The Royals and infielder Jonathan India agreed to an $8MM deal. You can read more about that in this post.
- The Tigers and infielder/outfielder Matt Vierling agreed at $3.225MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He was projected for $3.1MM. Detroit signed right-hander Beau Brieske at $1.1575MM, per Heyman, right around his $1.3MM projection. The Tigers signed catcher Jake Rogers at $3.05MM, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, right around his $2.9MM projection.
- The Twins signed right-hander Justin Topa to a one-year, $1.225MM deal. MLBTR covered that earlier in this post. The Twins turned down a $2MM club option for Topa, giving him a $225K buyout instead, but he remained under club control via arb. Between the buyout and next year’s salary, he’ll collect $1.45MM. Darren Wolfson of KSTP reported Topa’s 2026 salary. Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic adds that the guarantee is broken down into a $1MM salary in 2026 followed by a $225K buyout on a $5MM mutual option. The buyout can rise to $300K via unspecified incentives.
- The White Sox announced that they have agreed to terms on a $900K deal with outfielder Derek Hill. He was projected for $1MM.
- The Yankees and infielder Oswaldo Cabrera have agreed to a $1.2MM contract, per Jack Curry of Yes Network, an exact match for his projection. The Yanks have also signed right-hander Clarke Schmidt to a $4.5MM deal, per Robert Murray of FanSided, right around his $4.9MM projection.
Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images
Royals, Jonathan India Avoid Arbitration
The Royals have signed infielder Jonathan India to a one-year, $8MM deal for the upcoming season, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. India, projected for a $7.4MM salary by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, had been widely viewed as a non-tender candidate on the heels of a poor first season in Kansas City, but he’ll return and hope to rebound in 2026. He’ll be a free agent next offseason.
India, 29 next month, posted career-worst marks in most categories during his first season as a Royal. The former NL Rookie of the Year was traded to Kansas City alongside Joey Wiemer in a deal that sent right-hander Brady Singer back to Cincinnati. India’s .233 batting average, .323 on-base percentage, .346 slugging percentage, nine home runs and zero stolen bases (in four attempts) were all career-low marks — despite the fact that his 136 games played and 567 plate appearances were both the third-highest totals he’d tallied in five seasons.
Despite those downturns, India posted better-than-average walk, strikeout and contact rates. His 18.7% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. Unfortunately, he also popped up at the highest rate of his career, hit line-drives at the lowest rate of his career, and continued to post sub-par exit velocity and hard-hit marks.
The move to Kansas City and the spacious Kauffmann Stadium always seemed like a dubious fit for the former first-round pick. India hit .266/.364/.444 at the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park during his four years as a Red, compared to just .241/.341/.381 on the road. He hit 54% of his home runs at GABP despite the fact that only 48% of his plate appearances in that time came at home. India homered roughly once every 32 plate appearances at home compared to once every 39 on the road. Statcast ranks GABP as the second most homer-friendly park in the game for right-handed hitters; Kauffman Stadium is 19th.
Kansas City also gave India his first major league experience at positions other than second base, with 146 innings in left field and 149 at third base. (He’d played third base in college and in the minors.) Neither experiment went well. Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved panned his glovework at both spots and at his customary second base, where he’s never graded as even an average defender.
There’s clearly a track record of better results with India, who entered 2025 as a career .253/.352/.413 hitter. A disproportionate amount of his career production, however, came in a rookie season that now looks like an outlier. India was a deserving Rookie of the Year in ’21 when he hit .269/.376/.459 with 21 homers and 34 doubles in 651 plate appearances. But from 2022-24, that production slipped to .247/.343/.393 with 42 homers in 1597 plate appearances.
The Royals are betting on that track record and hoping that he can at least return to his 2023-24 form. There aren’t many positive trend lines on which to base that hope, when looking at his 2025 season, but the Royals believed in India enough to trade a solid mid-rotation starter and apparently haven’t soured on him after the poor season.
India’s return locks him in at second base and/or left field. Maikel Garcia has seized third base as his long-term home with a terrific 2025 breakout showing. Which of those positions India plays more regularly hinges on the remainder of the Royals’ offseason moves. They’ll be in the market for offensive upgrades both via free agency and trade, but keeping India around means they’ll have even fewer resources available to pursue that goal. The Royals’ projected $143MM payroll (per RosterResource) is already higher than last year’s mark.
Giants Acquire Joey Wiemer, Designate Andrew Knizner
The Giants acquired outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Marlins in exchange for cash, per the team. Miami designated the former top prospect for assignment earlier in the week when setting its roster ahead of the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. San Francisco designated catcher Andrew Knizner for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Now 26 years old, Wiemer was the Brewers’ fourth-round pick in 2020. He appeared on the back end of MLB.com’s top-100 prospect list in both 2022 and 2023 but has seen his stock dwindle since that time. Milwaukee flipped him to the Reds alongside Jakob Junis in the 2024 Frankie Montas trade, and Cincinnati subsequently dealt him to Kansas City with Jonathan India in exchange for right-hander Brady Singer. The Marlins scooped him up off waivers in early August, shortly following this year’s trade deadline.
Wiemer has appeared in parts of three major league seasons between the Brewers, Reds and Marlins. He popped 13 homers and swiped 11 bags as a rookie in ’23 but did so with poor rate stats. He’s a career .205/.279/.359 hitter through 499 trips to the batter’s box in the majors. That said, he’s shown plenty of pop against lefties, albeit with still-shaky OBP skills; in 173 plate appearances versus southpaws, the righty-swinging Wiemer is a .255/.298/.484 hitter (106 wRC+).
Beyond his above-average power versus lefties, Wiemer is capable of playing all three outfield spots and doing so at a fairly high level. Even bearish scouting reports on him over the years have labeled him as a potential plus defender. Defensive metrics bear that out. Wiemer has positive marks in all three spots individually and a collective 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 7 Outs Above Average in 1249 innings of outfield work at the big league level.
Wiemer is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to stay on San Francisco’s 40-man roster all offseason and break camp with the team or else be designated for assignment once again. He can’t be sent to the minors without first passing through waivers. For now, he projects as a possible bench option who could platoon with lefty-swinging Drew Gilbert in right field — if the Giants don’t make a larger-scale addition at the position. Former top prospects Luis Matos and Marco Luciano could compete for a similar role, but both hit poorly in 2025 and have seen their once lofty prospect stock crater in recent years. Like Wiemer, both Matos and Luciano are out of minor league options, so at least two of the three figure to be roster casualties between now and Opening Day.
Knizner, 31 in February, was eligible for arbitration and projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.3MM next year. The journeyman backstop hit .221/.299/.299 in 88 trips to the plate with the Giants this season. He’s improved upon formerly poor framing grades in recent seasons but struggles to block pitches in the dirt and control the run game. Knizner is a career .211/.281/.316 hitter in 975 plate appearances during his big league career.
The Giants can spend the next couple hours looking for a trade partner, though they’ve presumably already been doing so without success. If there’s no trade opportunity, he’ll be non-tendered prior to tonight’s 5pm ET deadline.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported that the Giants were acquiring Wiemer. Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Knizner’s DFA.
Phillies, Bryan De La Cruz Agree To Minor League Deal
The Phillies signed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to a minor league contract earlier this month, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Reporter Mike Rodriguez first mentioned the two sides were in agreement and noted that the client of Premier Talent Sports & Entertainment received an invite to major league camp next spring. The team hasn’t formally announced the pickup, though many clubs wait to announce their minor league deals and non-roster invitees in bulk later in the offseason.
De La Cruz showed promise early in his career with Miami, hitting .269/.318/.430 with 18 homers, 27 doubles and a pair of triples in his first 574 plate appearances from 2021-22. He popped 19 homers in 2023, but poor glovework and an OBP barely north of .300 made him a roughly replacement-level player. De La Cruz had a better start in ’24, connecting on 18 long balls through his first 454 turns at the plate. The Pirates, in need of affordable power as they hoped to make a Wild Card push, acquired him in a deal that immediately went south.
Pittsburgh, at the time, was acquiring a player with three-plus years of club control remaining. However, he hit so poorly with the Bucs (.200/.220/.294 in 168 plate appearances) that the Pirates simply moved on after the season. De La Cruz landed in Atlanta but struggled badly in 50 big league plate appearances and in 11 Triple-A games. He eventually went to the Yankees on a minor league deal and posted solid, if unspectacular numbers with their Triple-A club in Scranton: 368 plate appearances, 15 homers, eight steals, .271/.340/.456 (111 wRC+).
The righty-swinging De La Cruz has some power but an over-aggressive approach and suspect defensive skills in the corners. He also lacks the track record against left-handed pitching you’d prefer to see out of a corner outfielder. He decimated southpaws in a small sample during his rookie season, but dating back to 2022 he’s actually been slightly better versus righties (and well below-average against both overall).
There’s no harm in taking a non-roster look at an experienced outfielder who’ll play all of next season at 29, but De La Cruz is more of a depth signing than anything else. The Phils will be in the market for outfielders this winter, but it’d probably take multiple spring injuries and a big performance from De La Cruz for him to make the club. The likeliest scenario is that he heads to Triple-A Lehigh Valley next season with a shot to mash his way into the big league picture. If he’s able to do that, he’d be controllable through at least 2028, but there’s a long way to go before that future control is any kind of consideration.
Latest On Kyle Tucker’s Market
We’re still in the nascent stages of the MLB offseason, with only a handful of notable free-agent signings and trades thus far. Still, with the GM Meetings now in the rearview mirror, teams have laid a fair bit of groundwork for the weeks and months ahead, both on the free agent and trade markets. Kyle Tucker stands as the offseason’s top free agent, and while there’s no indication he’s close to signing, there are also some hints falling into place about his potential market.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote this week that some rival teams feel the Blue Jays are the likeliest landing spot for the four-time All-Star. They’ve been a popular speculative pick early on after a deep World Series run and with only one other major long-term commitment (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) on the books. Of course, Bo Bichette could be the priority, and it’s rare for any team to sign two free agents of that magnitude in a single offseason.
Tucker is a prominent enough star that some unexpected suitors figure to jump into the fray. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote this morning that while the Orioles are prioritizing pitching this winter, they haven’t ruled out a run at Tucker. Having already acquired Taylor Ward from the Angels, the addition of Tucker would free Baltimore to dangle young outfielders Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers on the trade market in hopes of securing some controllable arms. There are quite a few pitchers of note who could be on the block this winter, and both Cowser and Beavers would intrigue clubs looking to move arms. Both are former first-round picks. Cowser has four more seasons of club control, while Beavers only debuted late in 2025 and thus has a full slate of six years of club control remaining.
Baltimore stands as a fascinating fit. President of baseball operations Mike Elias was the Astros’ scouting director when Tucker was selected with the No. 5 overall pick. The O’s don’t have anything on the books long-term, other than Samuel Basallo‘s eight-year, $67MM extension. That $8.375MM annual value isn’t going to be stand in the way of any other long-term deals. Beyond Basallo, Tyler O’Neill is the only other player signed to a guaranteed deal beyond the 2026 season. His three-year, $49.5MM contract runs through 2027.
The Orioles’ long-term financial outlook is so clean that there’s no true impediment to them signing Tucker and a notable a free agent starter. That’s not to say such a scenario is likely, of course, but Baltimore’s 2026 payroll currently projects for about $105MM, per RosterResource, and that’s before potential non-tenders or trades of Ryan Mountcastle ($7.8MM projected salary), Keegan Akin ($3MM projection), Yennier Cano ($1.8MM projection) and/or Alex Jackson ($1.8MM projection) prior to tomorrow’s 5pm ET non-tender deadline.
Depending on what happens with the Orioles’ arbitration class, they could realistically see next year’s projected payroll drop into the $93-100MM range by tomorrow evening. The opened the 2025 season with a payroll around $164.5MM. We’re certainly not accustomed to seeing Baltimore spend like this, but this is also only the second offseason under new owner David Rubenstein. Elias has already publicly stated that he is “fully prepared” to sacrifice draft picks by signing free agents who rejected qualifying offers, and for all the focus on pitching, it was reported more than a month ago that the O’s also covet an impact bat — likely in the outfield.
None of this is intended to frame the Orioles as any sort of favorite to sign Tucker, to be clear. Far from it. However, the fit and logic behind it are probably more sensible than one might think at first glance.
Other clubs will still loom in the market. Passan cites the Phillies as a possible landing spot, should Kyle Schwarber sign elsewhere. The Yankees have been linked to both Tucker and a Cody Bellinger reunion. GM Brian Cashman indicated this week that Trent Grisham‘s decision to accept his qualifying offer will not impact the team’s pursuit of Bellinger. Presumably, then, that thinking extends to Tucker as well. The Dodgers have also been linked to Tucker, though Passan doubles down on his prior reporting that their interest would “likely” be on a shorter-term but high-AAV deal — the type we rarely see taken by the consensus top free agent in a given offseason.
Red Sox, Connor Wong Avoid Arbitration
The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve signed catcher Connor Wong to a one-year contract for the 2026 season, thereby avoiding arbitration. He’ll be paid $1.375MM next year, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports. Ari Alexander of 7News adds that Wong would earn $25K for reaching each of 250, 300 and 350 plate appearances, bringing his maximum earnings to $1.45MM.
Wong, 29, had a breakout 2024 showing at the plate when he hit .280/.333/.425 with 13 homers in a career-high 487 plate appearances. He wasn’t able to replicate that production in 2025, however, and wound up posting a career-worst .190/.262/.238 slash (39 wRC+). That came in a smaller sample of 188 turns at the plate. As Wong struggled, he also lost his grip on the starting job to rookie Carlos Narvaez, who’ll head into 2026 atop Boston’s depth chart behind the dish.
Though Wong’s bat cratered this past season, he did make some notable improvements in his framing and blocking — at least in the eyes of Statcast. He’s still not a plus defender, but those gains and the promise he showed at the plate in 2024 will be enough to keep him with the Sox as a backup to Narvaez. Wong also has a minor league option remaining, so if the Sox want to bring in some additional catching help for the MLB roster, they could option Wong without needing to place him on waivers.
This was Wong’s first offseason of arbitration eligibility. He’s under club control through the 2028 season, though that’ll only come into play if he’s able to bounce back in 2026. If last year’s struggles persist into next season, Wong’s hold on his roster spot will be tenuous.
Astros Aiming To Stay Under Luxury Threshold
For a second straight offseason, Astros owner Jim Crane is “wary” of exceeding the luxury tax threshold, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports. Dipping under the tax line was a clear priority for Houston last offseason as well.
This year’s first-tier luxury threshold lands at $244MM. Per RosterResource, the Astros are currently about $25MM shy of that mark. Their DFA of Ramon Urias and last night’s trade of fellow utilityman Mauricio Dubón (for lower-priced utility option Nick Allen) trimmed a net $8.7MM off that payroll projection, which uses MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s projected arbitration salaries.
Houston’s current $218.9MM luxury tax projection could — and very likely will — dip further over the next 36 hours. The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is tomorrow at 5pm ET. The ‘Stros have several plausible non-tender candidates, including outfielder Jesus Sanchez ($6.5MM projected salary), reliever Enyel De Los Santos ($2.1MM projection) and outfielder Taylor Trammell ($900K projection). If the Astros move on from that trio, they’d trim a net $7.15MM from the current $218.9MM projection.
The Astros are known to be in the market for rotation help — they already took a cheap one-year flier on former top prospect Nate Pearson, guaranteeing him $1.35MM — and have been working to balance out a heavily right-handed lineup for the better part of the past calendar year. Framber Valdez is a free agent, leaving Hunter Brown atop a starting staff with more question marks than reliable contributors.
Cristian Javier is a quality mid-rotation arm when healthy, but 2026 will be his first full year back from Tommy John surgery. Lance McCullers Jr. returned from a two-year injury absence in 2025 but struggled badly. Spencer Arrighetti missed most of the season with a broken thumb. Jason Alexander was a surprise contributor in 2025, but he’s a journeyman 33-year-old with no prior MLB success who’d struggled in Triple-A from 2023-24. J.P. France pitched just four MLB frames and was hit hard in Triple-A after spending the first two-thirds of the season rehabbing from shoulder surgery. Left-hander Colton Gordon was tagged for a 5.34 ERA in 19 starts as a rookie. Righty AJ Blubaugh impressed in his first 32 big league innings but was tagged for a 5.27 ERA in a much larger Triple-A sample. Each of Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter underwent Tommy John surgery. Prospect Miguel Ullola could factor in, but he’s yet to pitch in the majors and has poor command.
Suffice it to say, the need for starting pitching is acute, but the means to acquire it aren’t exactly plentiful. The Astros can certainly add one free agent starter at a notable salary, but that’d eat up a good chunk of the space they have between their current standing and the first luxury tier. Adding a left-handed bat to a lineup where Yordan Alvarez and rookie outfielder Zach Cole are the only current options (assuming Sanchez is non-tendered or traded) will also cut into the gap. Houston would presumably prefer to add another catcher, too; current backup Cesar Salazar hit just .213/.353/.353 in Triple-A this past season and has just 67 career plate appearances in the majors. He’ll turn 30 in March. And of course, most teams prefer to maintain at least a little financial wiggle-room for in-season dealings.
The trade market always presents alternative options, but Houston’s farm system is in dire straits. The Astros have long shown a knack for coaxing strong performances out of pitchers who weren’t considered top-tier talent throughout the industry (though the team clearly stalled in that regard this past season). However, that doesn’t mean other clubs will be lining up to surrender established talent in exchange for minor leaguers from what’s widely regarded as a bottom-five system in the game.
It’s feasible that further trades could be engineered to create more spending power, but GM Dana Brown has downplayed the possibility of moving first baseman Christian Walker (owed $40MM through 2027) and flatly said that he has “no interest” in trading infielder Isaac Paredes ($9.3MM projected salary). As things stand, the Astros have limited spending power to address their needs and an even more limited stock of minor league talent to peddle if they try to upgrade via trade. There are never any “easy” answers when trying to assemble a competitive roster with sufficient depth to navigate a 162-game season, but Brown & Co. are staring at their most complicated puzzle in recent memory.
Angels Hoping To Add Center Fielder, Third Baseman
The Angels crossed one item off their winter to-do list last night, adding some potential rotation help by landing righty Grayson Rodriguez in a trade sending Taylor Ward to the Orioles. There’s still plenty of work to be done. The Halos were known to be seeking at least two starting pitchers this winter, and while Rodriguez technically counts toward that end, he’s coming off a season lost to injury and hasn’t pitched in a big league game since July 2024. He’s said to be healthy now, but even if that’s the case, the Angels can’t simply pencil him in for 30 starts next year.
Anaheim figures to add at least one more starting pitcher, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, who adds that GM Perry Minasian is also on the hunt for upgrades in center field and at third base. A second base addition hasn’t been squarely ruled out, either. Minasian has already suggested that, all else equal, he’d prefer a new bat in the lineup to be left-handed. Following last night’s trade, he also suggested that moving Ward — and his projected $13.7MM salary — could allow the Angels to swim deeper free agent and/or trade waters.
“It’s not only acquiring somebody we feel like can impact the rotation, but freeing up money to maybe get into areas where we wouldn’t have been able to before,” Minasian said. Rodriguez, notably, is not yet arbitration-eligible and will thus make scarcely more than the league minimum in 2026.
At least one prominent name that fits with the Angels has already come off the board; Trent Grisham, the lefty-swinging center fielder, accepted his qualifying offer and will return to the Yankees next season. The free agent market still includes at least a pair of reasonably affordable names to consider in the infield and in center field: Jorge Polanco and Cedric Mullins. Both hit left-handed — Polanco is a switch-hitter — and both ought to be available for annual rates comparable to, if not lower than what Ward might’ve commanded in free agency.
If the Angels look to take a bigger swing, then Japanese star Munetaka Murakami stands as an option at third base, while Cody Bellinger looms as a viable center field candidate. Neither is a perfect fit. Murakami has significant swing-and-miss issues and is viewed as someone who’ll eventually need to move to first base. The Angels’ 27.1% team strikeout rate was already easily the highest in MLB last year. The Rockies (25.9%) were the only other team north of 25%. Bellinger doesn’t come with those same strikeout concerns (just a 13.7% rate in ’25), but he’s also been more of a part-time center fielder in recent years. He hasn’t played center regularly since 2022 with the Dodgers.
The trade market ought to present other opportunities. Boston’s Jarren Duran has plenty of experience in center field, though he’s primarily played left recently in deference to defensive wizard Ceddanne Rafaela. Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan is no stranger to third base. If the Angels want to follow the Rodriguez mold and add a former top prospect whose stock is down at the moment, someone like D-backs center fielder Alek Thomas or Cardinals third baseman/second baseman Nolan Gorman could likely be had. (Gorman, again, comes with major strikeout concerns, though.)
Whichever path Minasian and his lieutenants opt to pursue, the payroll space should be there. With Ward no longer factoring into next year’s budget, RosterResource projects the Angels for a payroll around $166MM. That’s nearly $50MM shy of last year’s Opening Day mark. They’re also down to one more year of Anthony Rendon‘s ill-fated contract. After the 2026 season, the only players guaranteed anything are Mike Trout (signed through 2030) and Yusei Kikuchi (signed only through 2027).
While the Angels’ recent history of long-term deals is checkered at best, there’s room for the club to be aggressive both in terms of offers to free agents and taking on salary in trades. There’s no firm indication yet that they’ll pursue marquee names like Bellinger, Murakami, Alex Bregman, Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, etc. — but there’s also no real reason to think they can’t make competitive bids for at least one free agent from that bunch, based on the current state of the payroll.
Marlins To Hire Craig Driver As First Base Coach
The Marlins are hiring Dodgers catching coordinator Craig Driver away as their new first base coach, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid. He’ll replace Tyler Smarslok, who held that role in 2025 but is leaving the organization to become the new field coordinator for the division-rival Nationals, per a report from Andrew Golden and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
Driver is plenty familiar with Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough, with whom he worked during on the Dodgers’ 2024 coaching staff. Driver spent the 2024-25 seasons as L.A.’s catching coordinator. McCullough was the Dodgers’ first base coach from 2021-24. Prior to his time with the Dodgers, Driver spent several seasons as the Cubs’ first base coach and catching coach. He was a bullpen catcher and “receiving coach” with the Phillies for a couple years before heading to Chicago.
A catcher during his NCAA days, Driver went undrafted and jumped into the college coaching ranks upon graduation. His final stint in college ball was in 2016-17, when he was the catching coach at Yale. He’s been working in pro ball since 2018.
Miami’s coaching staff isn’t turning over all that much in 2026. Driver is one of three known newcomers at present, joining newly hired assistant hitting coaches Chris Hess and Corbin Day, who came over from the Red Sox and Twins organizations, respectively, where they’d been minor league coaches/instructors. Last year’s assistant hitting coach, Derek Shomon, left the Fish to take the lead hitting coach job with the White Sox.