Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers, Tyler Wade Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent infielder/outfielder Tyler Wade, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. Presumably, the Paragon Sports International client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee next spring.

Wade, who turned 31 a couple weeks ago, has spent the past two seasons in the Padres organization. He’s a versatile but light-hitting utility player who posted a .212/.296/.245 batting line in 283 plate appearances with the Friars and carries a career .216/.294/.284 batting line (65 wRC+) in 992 turns at the plate in the majors. He has above-average speed but doesn’t get on base frequently enough to make great use of that speed. However, he did swipe 17 bags in just 145 plate appearances with the 2021 Yankees — albeit in part due to frequent use as a pinch-runner (7-for-8 in steals during 19 pinch-running appearances).

While Wade has been primarily a middle infielder in his career, he’s also spent plenty of time at third base and has at least 133 innings at each of the three outfield spots. He’s drawn solid marks for his glovework at second base but more tepid results at third base, shortstop and in the outfield.

Texas recently traded Marcus Semien to the Mets and non-tendered Adolis Garcia. While Brandon Nimmo — acquired for Semien — will step into the outfield alongside Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter, Wade provides some veteran depth as a potential backup outfielder and second baseman. He’ll vie for a bench job next spring, competing against Ezequiel Duran, Cody Freeman, Justin Foscue, Sam Haggerty and Michael Helman — among others.

Padres Sign Daison Acosta To Major League Contract

By | at

The Padres announced Monday that they’ve signed right-hander Daison Acosta to a one-year, major league contract. Their 40-man roster is now up to 37 players.

Acosta, 27, has never pitched in the majors but enjoyed a strong 2025 showing in the Nationals’ system, pitching to a combined 2.42 ERA with a 33% strikeout rate, 12.4% walk rate and 44.1% ground-ball rate across three levels in a total of 52 relief innings. He sits 94.5 mph on his four-seamer, coupling that heater with a splitter, sinker and slider to round out a four-pitch repertoire.

Originally an international signee with the Mets out of his native Dominican Republic way back in 2016, Acosta made his way to the Nats by way of the Rule 5 Draft’s minor league phase back in 2023. He spent two seasons with the Nationals organization and pitched well in both seasons, logging a sub-3.00 ERA while striking out just shy of one-third of his opponents. He’s posted gargantuan swinging-strike rates of 19.1% and 17.3%, respectively, across the past two minor league seasons.

Acosta hasn’t started a game since 2022, so it seems he’ll be a pure depth signing for the San Diego bullpen. It’s a low-cost pickup, presumably paying Acosta the MLB minimum for any time spent in the majors on a split deal. He still has a full slate of minor league options, so the Padres can send him to Triple-A next spring without first placing him on waivers.

Pete Alonso Meeting With Red Sox, Orioles At Winter Meetings

By | at

Free agent first baseman Pete Alonso is attending the Winter Meetings and will have in-person sit-downs with the Red Sox and Orioles, among other interested clubs, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Both the Red Sox and the O’s have already been at least loosely linked to the Polar Bear, but it’s nevertheless notable that Alonso is both attending the event himself — it’s located within driving distance of his Florida home — and that both are interested enough to meet with the player directly. Presumably, Alonso will be meeting with other clubs this week as well.

Boston has long stood as a logical fit. Triston Casas missed almost the entire 2025 season due to a knee injury. Replacements Romy Gonzalez, Abraham Toro and Nathaniel Lowe held their own, but Toro (outrighted, elected free agency) and Lowe (designated for assignment, non-tendered) are no longer with the club. The vast majority of Gonzalez’s production came against left-handed pitching. He was a below-average hitter versus righties — albeit not by that much, but with the help of a BABIP north of .370.

Casas is hoping to be ready for the beginning of the season, but chief baseball officer Craig Breslow sidestepped when asked after the season whether it was fair to expect Casas to be his first baseman in 2026. If the Red Sox want to go cheaper at the position, they could look at a Casas/Gonzalez platoon. But there’s been speculation about trading Casas going back more than a year now, and Gonzalez — who’s played every position on the diamond other than catcher — makes for a fine utility piece even if the Sox go with more of an everyday option at first. Alonso is also open to some DH work, though that’d come into play more if Boston could finally find a taker for what’s left of Masataka Yoshida’s ill-fated five-year contract.

The Red Sox already have about $178MM of payroll obligations for the upcoming season, per RosterResource, and their luxury-tax obligations total more than $224MM (putting about around $23MM shy of the first-tier threshold). Signing Alonso would very likely put Boston over that line, though trades of other veterans (e.g. Yoshida, Jarren Duran) could bring that number back down to an extent.

The Orioles are a less-obvious fit, at least at first glance. Baltimore is dead-set on adding prominent help to the starting rotation and is deep in young position players. However, Coby Mayo is the heir-apparent at first base and has yet to prove that he can hit major league pitching on a consistent basis. Signing Alonso could free the Orioles to more seriously explore trading some of its crop of young bats to bring in an arm via the trade market.

That’s a rather circuitous route to improving the rotation, but if the Orioles are more comfortable betting on Alonso’s bat holding up over the long run than they are a prominent pitcher’s elbow/shoulder, it’d be a sensible enough course of action. To date, the O’s seem to be casting a wide net. They’ve been linked to Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Tatsuya Imai and Michael King, to name a few. They’re also hoping to bring in a big bat to fill out the offense — even after acquiring Taylor Ward and his 36 home runs in last month’s trade with the Angels.

Payroll-wise, there’s basically nothing that should be off limits for Baltimore this winter. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill, young catcher Samuel Basallo and newly signed closer Ryan Helsley are the only players guaranteed anything beyond the current season. The 2027 season is a player option for Helsley, however, and Basallo’s extension carries an $8.375MM annual value. His salary doesn’t climb beyond $8MM until 2031.

Alonso enjoyed a much stronger 2025 season than he did in 2024, boosting his batting line from .240/.329/.459 (121 wRC+) to a stout .272/.347/.524 line (141 wRC+). He clubbed 38 homers, lopped two percentage points off his strikeout rate (down to a roughly league-average 22.8%) and saw massive bumps in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate and barrel rate. He also has the benefit of hitting free agency without a qualifying offer this time around, given that he rejected a QO following the 2024 season and players can only receive a QO once in their careers under the system’s current rules.

The Best Fits For Alex Bregman

By | at

Each offseason at MLBTR, we take a look at the potential markets for some of the top names in free agency. We've already taken a look at both Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette and Framber Valdez. Let's move onto star third baseman Alex Bregman, who opted out of the remaining two years and $80MM on his Red Sox contract earlier in the offseason. Bregman was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer, having gotten one previously in his career, so he can be signed without any draft forfeitures.

Bregman was a free agent last winter as well, but when the market didn't produce a $200MM+ deal to his liking, he signed for three years and $120MM (with plenty of deferred money) in Boston. That contract allowed him to opt out after each season.

Early in 2025, Bregman played like an MVP candidate. Through May 23, he was hitting .299/.385/.553 with 11 home runs, 17 doubles, an 18.6% strikeout rate and a 9.7% walk rate. He suffered a quad strain that sidelined him for nearly two months, throwing a wrench into one of the hottest starts of his career.

There's a narrative that Bregman struggled down the stretch after returning from injury. That's not entirely true. For the first 130 plate appearances post-injury, Bregman picked up right where he left off. He hit .325/.408/.518 with more walks (11.5%) than strikeouts (8.5%). His bat tanked for the next three weeks (.151/.223/.215, 103 plate appearances), and Bregman then finished out the season hitting .276/.417/.414 in his final 36 trips to the batter's box. The concept of his post-injury "swoon" is largely a misnomer. Bregman was healthy for the final 11 weeks of the season and really only struggled for three of them -- the extent of those struggles was just alarming. Unsurprisingly, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said after the season that Bregman probably came back a bit earlier and wasn't playing at 100%.

On the whole, Bregman hit .273/.360/.462 (125 wRC+) with a revitalized walk rate and improved batted-ball metrics. His defense, even with an ailing quadriceps, graded out better than average. Both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference peg him at 3.5 WAR in only 114 games. There’s a pretty easy case that Bregman is a bankable four- to five-WAR player, and while talk of veteran presence/clubhouse leadership/intangibles is often overstated, it seems genuine that front offices are captivated by his leadership skills and personality.

Bregman could have more demand than he did last winter. He's a year older now, but there's no QO attached to him and his plate discipline/approach rebounded after an uncharacteristic 6.9% walk rate and .315 OBP in 2024. Let’s run through Bregman's likeliest landing spots, based on roster composition and payroll outlook, and see if there are any viable dark horse candidates to bring him aboard.

Known/Likely Suitors (listed alphabetically)

Cubs: Pitching is the Cubs' primary focus this winter, even after Shota Imanaga accepted his qualifying offer and will now return for the 2026 season. However, the Cubs were in on Bregman last offseason and have already been linked to him again. The fit is clear. Top prospect Matt Shaw didn't solidify himself as an everyday option at the hot corner when handed the reins at the position in 2025. Shaw is still only 24 years old and did have an encouraging month following the All-Star break ... before cratering once again in his final 133 plate appearances (.220/.293/.373). Shaw hit .226/.295/.394 overall. He's still a promising young player, but promising young players don't always become solid big leaguers.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Rockies Could Add Short-Term Help At First Base, Listen On Outfielders

By | at

The Rockies are starting from scratch, and new baseball ops leaders Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes have a long list of issues to address. It’ll be a yearslong process, but in the short term, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that it’s “likely” the team will bring in some short-term help at first base or second base. Saunders adds, as has been previously suggested, that the Rockies could listen on their young outfielders as they look to bring in controllable starting pitching. Center fielder Brenton Doyle was Colorado’s most sought-after player at this summer’s deadline, Saunders adds.

Both first base and second base are clear areas of need in Denver (as is third base, for what it’s worth). Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar is a solid everyday option who’s affordably signed through at least 2030 (with a club option for 2031). The rest of the infield is up in the air. Last year’s leader in reps at first base, Michael Toglia, was already non-tendered after a poor season. Second basemen Kyle Farmer and Thairo Estrada both struggled and became free agents. Prospect Adael Amador hit well in Triple-A but struggled immensely in 41 big league games. It’s a similar story with 23-year-old Kyle Karros at the hot corner.

The top end of the Rockies’ system does include recent high draft picks like Ethan Holliday and Charlie Condon, who could be options at the infield corners in the long run. Neither Amador nor Karros is as highly regarded, but both (Amador in particular) have drawn favorable scouting reports and placed well within public rankings of the Rockies’ minor leaguers. Both have hit well in the upper minors, and it’s easy to imagine both getting a further look in 2026.

With first base standing as a particular area of need (and one that lacks an in-house solution), the free-agent market possesses plenty of lower-cost names. Veterans like Nathaniel Lowe, Rhys Hoskins, Josh Bell and Paul Goldschmidt are all coming off relatively down seasons. More versatile options who could handle first as well as another infield spot include Wilmer Flores, Donovan Solano and perhaps Ty France. Someone like Jeimer Candelario could be had on a minor league pact, most likely.

With regard to the team’s outfielders, Doyle is the most obvious trade candidate. He’s entering his first season of arbitration eligibility and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a highly affordable $3.2MM in 2026 as a Super Two player. The Rockies control him for another four seasons, all the way through 2029.

Doyle, 28 in May, is coming off a down year at the plate (one in which his family went through an awful tragedy). Doyle still connected on 15 homers and swiped 18 bags in 20 attempts, though his rate stats dropped. His .233/.274/.376 slash came out to a dismal 65 wRC+ (35% worse than league-average, when weighting for home park), but he turned in a solid .260/.317/.446 slash with 23 round-trippers and 30 steals as recently as 2024. He’s also drawn superlative grades for his defensive acumen in center field dating back to his 2023 MLB debut.

It’s an extremely thin market for center fielders in free agency this winter. Cody Bellinger has really only played the position part-time in recent seasons and will cost well over $100MM in free agency, taking him off the table for some smaller-payroll clubs. Harrison Bader is coming off a career year at the plate and reported to be looking for a three-year deal that some teams might find steep, given his inconsistent track record at the plate. The trade market includes names like Luis Robert Jr., Jarren Duran and Alek Thomas; the Twins are reportedly planning to keep Byron Buxton (and starters Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez).

Few center fielders in the sport possess Doyle’s blend of speed, power and defensive acumen. An above-average strikeout rate and below-average walk rate might mean he’ll always have fairly low marks in batting average and on-base percentage, but he’s extremely toolsy and was worth about four wins above replacement in that 2024 season. For the Rockies, it’s a question of whether to move him now or to hold and see if his value increases in subsequent seasons. With a big first half, he could be one of the prizes of the summer trade market. On the other hand, if Doyle incurs an injury or sees his offensive doldrums continue, it could further sap his value.

There’s no perfect solution, but with teams like the Royals, Marlins, Phillies, Guardians and Angels (among others) all potentially on the hunt for some center field help, it’s possible Doyle could draw strong enough interest to sway DePodesta and Byrnes as soon as this winter.

The other outfielders on the Rockies’ roster carry less value. Mickey Moniak belted 24 homers and hit .270/.306/.518 last season but did so with bottom-of-the scale defensive grades in the outfield (-23 Defensive Runs Saved, -8 Outs Above Average). Jordan Beck and Zac Veen were both top prospects at one point, but neither has solidified himself in the majors yet. Beck hit .258/.317/.416 with 16 homers and 19 steals but needed a .351 BABIP to get there, thanks largely to his near-30% strikeout rate. Veen struggled in his first 37 big league plate appearances and has yet to hit sufficiently in a pair of seasons at Triple-A. Either could be swapped out for a former top pitching prospect with similar struggles, speculatively speaking, but neither is going to bring back someone the Rockies can confidently plug into their rotation from the jump.

Royals Hoping To Add Multiple Outfielders

By | at

The Royals are known to be evaluating the trade market for outfielders, with president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo recently signaling a willingness to trade from his rotation depth to bring in some outfield help. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Kansas City is looking to acquire multiple outfielders this offseason — ideally one via trade and another via free agency. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that free agent center fielder Harrison Bader is a target for the Royals. Austin Hays is also on the team’s radar, per Heyman.

While Heyman suggests that the Royals are particularly keen on adding some right-handed help to the lineup, manager Matt Quatraro downplayed any desire for specific handedness in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (video clip).

“Right-handed, left-handed — it’s who can give us the professional at-bats,” Quatraro said when asked about his team’s approach as it shops for upgrades this winter. “I don’t think it has to be one or the other. It’s who wants to be there, who can provide the most upside for us within the lineup to lengthen it out.” Quatraro did go on to call Bader a “great name” and a “top-notch free agent this offseason” when asked specifically about Heyman’s report, but he naturally sidestepped commenting on any specific interest from his club.

Unsurprisingly, Rosenthal suggests that the Royals aren’t pursuing top-end free agents like Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, both of whom will command nine-figure contracts that exceed Kansas City’s preferred price range. He also implies that there’s some reluctance to bet too heavily on rebound candidates, given that the team will already be banking on meaningful contributions from young players like catcher Carter Jensen and first baseman/outfielder Jac Caglianone.

Bader, according to Rosenthal, is seeking a three-year deal in free agency. Whether that proves too steep for the Royals remains to be seen, but the ask is understandable coming off a terrific season. The 31-year-old slashed a career-best .277/.347/.449 (122 wRC+) and also notched career-high marks in home runs (17), doubles (24) and plate appearances (501) in 146 games between the Twins and Phillies. Bader played more left field than usual, in deference to Byron Buxton during his time with the Twins, but provided his usual brand of plus defense in both spots.

Glove-first outfielders of this nature generally haven’t been able to command three-year contracts in free agency, typically settling for two-year arrangements, at best. Bader could be helped out by a thin and frankly bleak market for center field help, although recent offseasons with a similar lack of options at the position haven’t yielded overpays for the few credible candidates available.

Bader’s ability to land a three-year deal (or his lack thereof) will hinge on whether teams buy the offensive breakout. There are reasons to be skeptical. Bader’s production was buoyed by a huge .359 average on balls in play. Last year’s 27.1% strikeout rate, meanwhile, was his highest since 2020.

The uptick in power and overall production isn’t really supported by an increase in batted-ball quality; Bader’s 87.2 mph average exit velocity is well below the league-average and an exact match for his 2024 mark — a season in which he batted .236/.284/.373. Bader did barrel more balls than usual this season and enjoy a slight bump in hard-hit rate, but the uptick in whiffs and a career-high 45.7% ground-ball rate make it more than fair to question whether he can sustain this type of offense.

Hays, 30, would be another righty-swinging addition, albeit one who is coming off a lesser season at the plate and is not an option in center field at this stage of his career. He popped 15 homers for the Reds in 2025 while hitting .266/.315/.453 overall (105 wRC+). As usual, a disproportionate amount of Hays’ production came against left-handed pitchers, whom he crushed at a .319/.400/.549 clip. Against right-handers, Hays mustered a more tepid .249/.286/.422 output.

Hays has generally been a fine defensive left fielder. He does have some experience in center but hasn’t played there since 2023 and only has 483 total big league innings at the position (compared to more than 3600 in left field and more than 900 in right field). He’s battled myriad injuries in recent seasons, including calf, hamstring and foot ailments in 2025 and, far more concerningly, a severe kidney infection in 2024 that sapped every aspect of his game. Hays played last season on a one-year, $5MM deal in Cincinnati and is probably looking at another affordable one- or perhaps two-year deal in free agency.

The Royals’ 2026 payroll comes in at a projected $139MM, per RosterResource. That’s already considerably higher than the $126MM mark at which they opened the 2025 season. They’re within a few million dollars of the franchise-record $143MM — a mark that was set under the late David Glass, who sold the club to current owner John Sherman back in Nov. 2019.

That number could change a bit, depending on the type of outfielder the club targets via trade and whether they trade a somewhat established starter for said outfielder. Lefty Kris Bubic, for instance, has been the subject of trade talks and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $6MM next year. If he’s traded and the return includes a pre-arbitration outfielder, the Royals would trim more than $5MM off that expected payroll.

However it takes shape, upgrading the outfield is the clear priority for Kansas City this winter. Royals outfielders were far and away the least-productive group in Major League Baseball last year, slashing a combined .225/.285/.348. The resulting 73 wRC+ ranked last in the game. Kansas City’s 37 home runs from its outfield were the second-fewest of any team in the sport. None of the Royals’ best and/or most MLB-ready prospects play the outfield naturally. Caglianone is a first baseman who’s learning right field due the presence of Vinnie Pasquantino at his natural position. In addition to Bader and Hays, the Royals are also said to be interested in re-signing deadline acquisition Mike Yastrzemski.

Padres Listening To Offers On Nick Pivetta, Jake Cronenworth

By | at

As the Padres continue to try to build a competitive roster with minimal payroll wiggle room, they’re at least entertaining offers on righty Nick Pivetta, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic. They’re also listening on second baseman Jake Cronenworth, Lin writes, though the two are in different spots in terms of trade candidacy. Pivetta, despite an opt-out in his contract at season’s end, would presumably still be coveted by numerous clubs. Cronenworth, with five years and $60MM remaining on his contract as he heads into his age-32 season, has considerably less trade value. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote yesterday that San Diego isn’t merely listening but has been actively shopping Cronenworth.

The 32-year-old Pivetta (33 in January) is coming off a terrific season in which he logged a career-low 2.87 ERA over a career-high 181 2/3 innings. It was just the sort of season for which the Padres hoped when signing Pivetta to a four-year contract — a bet made on his durability and typically strong strikeout/walk rates. Pivetta had never posted an ERA under 4.00, but metrics like SIERA (3.78) and xFIP (3.92) liked him far better than the 4.33 ERA he’d posted across the four prior seasons.

San Diego found itself in a similar situation last winter to the one in which president of baseball operations A.J. Preller now resides. The team is still intent on going for it in a competitive NL West division, but payroll has been reduced since the untimely passing of late owner Peter Seidler back in 2023. Preller & Co. drew up a four-year, $55MM deal for Pivetta that paid him just $4MM in year on ($3MM signing bonus, $1MM salary) and then jumped to $19MM in 2026, $14MM in 2027 and $18MM in 2028. Pivetta also has the right to opt out of the final two years and $32MM on his contract following the current season. That seems like all but a given, provided he’s still healthy and even reasonably effective.

That unique contract structure complicates trade scenarios surrounding Pivetta. While he’s sure to command interest, teams will view him more as a one-year rental than as a long-term pickup. They’ll also need to price in the downside of Pivetta potentially sustaining a serious injury and/or performing so poorly that he forgoes that opt-out opportunity and thus saddles them with an unwanted two-year, $32MM commitment. Pivetta could probably still bring back a prospect or lower-cost big leaguer of some note, but the return wouldn’t be as strong as many might think for a sixth-place Cy Young finisher who is technically signed for three more affordable seasons.

All of that makes the trade calculus surrounding Pivetta more difficult for Preller and his staff. The Friars are hoping to add to their rotation, not subtract from it. Trading Pivetta for a strong return and reallocating the $19MM he’ll make this coming season sounds good in theory but would be harder to execute in practice. Perhaps a team with more financial flexibility would acquire Pivetta with an eye toward restructuring his contract (extending him but also removing the opt-out opportunities), though that’s a purely speculative scenario and not one that is typical throughout MLB as a whole.

With regard to Cronenworth, he’s coming off a productive season, but his contract is still generally underwater. The lefty-swinging infielder hit .246/.367/.377 in 2025, with the bulk of his offensive value coming via a career-high 13.4% walk rate and a whopping 15 hit-by-pitches, both of which inflated his on-base percentage to career-best levels. On a rate basis, Cronenworth’s power was at the lowest point of his career, however (.131 ISO). Statcast pegged his “expected” batting average at .227 and his “expected” slugging percentage at just .348.

Cronenworth’s versatility is a point in his favor, but he’s primarily played second base and first base — two positions that typically aren’t compensated especially well on the modern MLB market (with the exception of the game’s truly elite bats at either position). It’s feasible that Cronenworth could command something similar to his $12MM annual value if he were a free agent right now, but it certainly wouldn’t come over a five-year term. He’d be limited to a much shorter contract on the open market, and teams will price that into any trade offers. In all likelihood, San Diego would need to pay down a fair bit of Cronenworth’s contract or take back another unwelcome contract.

Broadly speaking, the circumstances surrounding both players serve as a portent for the type of moves the Padres will have to explore this offseason. Preller is always one of the most frenetic baseball operations leaders in the game, and his need to address multiple roster holes — two starters, at least one bat, perhaps some help at catcher — with minimal payroll flexibility amid a changing ownership landscape suggest that we’re in for another slate of creative, difficult-to-predict transactions for the Padres in the weeks ahead.

Cubs, Giants, Angels, Tigers Among Teams Interested In Zac Gallen

By | at

TODAY: Both The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale expanded on Feinsand’s link between Gallen and the Cubs, writing that Chicago indeed has interest in the free agent.  Giving up draft compensation to sign Gallen isn’t a deal-breaker for the team, Mooney notes, as the Cubs have shown interest in other players (i.e. Ranger Suarez, Michael King) who rejected qualifying offers.

DECEMBER 5: Right-hander Zac Gallen didn’t have the platform season he envisioned heading into free agency, but the former Cy Young finalist and All-Star nevertheless turned down a qualifying offer from the D-backs and hit the open market last month. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants have had conversations with Gallen’s camp (video link). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand adds the Angels and Tigers to the list of teams with interest in Gallen. He also indicates that the Orioles, Cubs and Braves have at least looked into Gallen. Meanwhile, John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports recently suggested a D-backs reunion was unlikely.

Gallen, who turned 30 in August, struggled through four brutal months to begin the 2025 season but ended with a flourish. Through the time of the trade deadline, the right-hander was lugging a 5.60 ERA toward the finish line. That ugly ERA came despite roughly average strikeout and walk rates (22.1% and 8.6%, respectively). He was getting hammered by the long ball, yielding 23 homers in his first 127 frames of the season (1.63 HR/9).

From August onward, Gallen looked more like his typical self. His strikeout rate dipped two percentage points, to a below-average 20.3%, but his walk rate improved to 7.1%. Most importantly, he cut back on the home runs. Gallen yielded just eight round-trippers in his final 65 innings — a rate of 1.11 per nine innings, which falls far more closely in line with his career mark (1.05).

Even with a 3.32 earned run average over his final 11 starts, Gallen closed out the year with an unsightly 4.83 ERA overall. It’s not a strong mark, but Gallen and Boras are surely hoping that track record and impeccable durability will carry his market. Gallen started 33 games in 2025 and is tied with Jose Berrios for the fourth-most starts in MLB (126) dating back to 2022. His 734 innings rank third in the sport during that time, trailing only Logan Webb and Framber Valdez. Gallen has only been on the major league injured list three times in his career — a pair of short stints due to hamstring strains in 2024 and 2021 and a month-long IL stay for a mild elbow sprain back in ’21.

The Giants are a sensible fit. They’re looking for rotation help but not keen on handing out the type of six- and seven-year deals we’ll see for many of the market’s top names. Giants brass has seen him more than most pitchers over the years, as an ultra-durable stalwart in a division rival’s rotation. President of baseball operations Buster Posey even personally faced Gallen eight times, going 2-for-6 with a pair of walks and a home run.

San Francisco has the aforementioned Webb atop the rotation and signed through 2028. No. 2 starter Robbie Ray is signed only through the 2026 season. Right-hander Landen Roupp positioned himself for a rotation spot with a nice showing through 22 starts in his age-26 season. Other candidates at the moment include Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Kai-Wei Teng, Trevor McDonald and Carson Seymour. It’s a fine collection of depth, but there’s also plenty of uncertainty (hence the focus on rotation upgrades).

Gallen wouldn’t need to be the Giants’ ace but would give them a reliable source of innings and a big track record on which to dream. The Giants’ projected payroll, per RosterResource, is a bit under $169MM. That’s right about the same level at which they opened the 2025 season, but Giants ownership has topped $200MM payrolls in the past — even as recently as 2024. There’s room to add to the budget.

The Angels’ projected payroll is in a near-identical spot to that of the Giants, but the Angels trotted out a $203MM Opening Day mark just this past season. Mike Trout and Yusei Kikuchi are the only players signed beyond the 2026 season, and only Trout is signed beyond 2027.

In Anaheim, Gallen would join a rotation currently fronted by Kikuchi and Jose Soriano. Beyond that duo, the Angels are likely to give former top prospect Reid Detmers, who had a strong season in the bullpen in ’25, another look in the rotation next season. They’ve also acquired Grayson Rodriguez from the Orioles and signed Alek Manoah to a one-year deal this winter. Former top prospect Caden Dana headlines the depth options — a group also including Mitch Farris, Sam Aldegheri, Walbert Urena, Jack Kochanowicz and prospect George Klassen, who has not yet been added to the 40-man roster. There are some talented arms in the mix, but as with the Giants, the Halos simply lack stability behind a pair of generally established veterans atop the rotation.

Over in Detroit, the Tigers have some more stability but less depth. Having the best pitcher on the planet on the roster is a nice start, of course, and the Tigers can follow Tarik Skubal with Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson and sophomore Troy Melton. Adding Gallen would push Melton to the top depth option, presumably in Triple-A, alongside Keider Montero, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ty Madden and prospect Jaden Hamm (not yet on the 40-man roster).

The Tigers have one of the cleanest long-term payroll sheets of any club in MLB. Javier Baez’s six-year contract runs through 2027. He and Colt Keith — playing on a six-year, $28.6425MM extension — are the only two players guaranteed anything beyond the 2026 season. Adding Gallen would give the Tigers some 2026 stability and protect them in the event that Skubal, Flaherty and/or Mize all depart in free agency next winter.

The other clubs listed by Feinsand are all known to be in the market for rotation help, too, so none of the bunch is particularly surprising. It’d be out of character for the Braves to sign Gallen, unless his market collapses and he signs a short-term pillow deal (either one year or two years with an opt-out). Atlanta hasn’t given more than $30MM to a free agent starting pitcher under president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos. The Orioles are likely searching for ceiling over stability, so unless they’re confident they can get Gallen back to his 2022-23 form, he’s probably not Plan A or B in Baltimore. The Cubs are already counting on one bounceback from a notable starter (Shota Imanaga), though Gallen fits the spending profile they’ve pursued in offseasons more than the other names at the top of the market.

Even coming off a down year, Gallen will likely find a multi-year pact. Even if he prefers to bet on himself with a shorter-term deal, he’s precisely the type of former All-Star for whom the Boras Corporation has frequently negotiated two-year deals with opt-out pacts. We predicted a four-year deal for Gallen on our annual ranking of the sport’s Top 50 free agents, believing that the market will value his durability and track record enough to get him paid nicely — albeit not to the extent he’d have enjoyed coming off a more typical season. Gallen will presumably be presented a variety of contract structures, many of which will have opt-out opportunities or convoluted multi-year player and club options alike. The deal he ultimately accepts will hinge on his personal level of risk aversion.

Cardinals Claim Zak Kent

By | at

The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Zak Kent off waivers from the Guardians. The Cards already had a pair of 40-man vacancies and are now up to 39 players on the roster.

Kent, 28 in February, made his big league debut in Cleveland this past season. He tossed 17 2/3 innings out of the Guards’ bullpen and yielded nine earned runs (4.58 ERA) with a 21.1% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Kent averaged 92.6 mph on his four-seamer and 93.6 mph on a sparsely used sinker. His breaking offerings include a mid-80s slider and a low-80s curveball.

Though Kent didn’t show much in his relatively limited run at the MLB level, he turned in a sharp 2.84 ERA in 38 Triple-A frames last year. Command issues still plagued him, evidenced by 13.2% walk rate, but he also set down more than 31% of his opponents on strikes. He’s long been credited as having a pair of plus breaking pitches, but his sub-par fastball velocity and poor command have undercut the quality of both those breaking pitches.

Kent is out of minor league options, so the Cardinals can’t send him to Triple-A Memphis next season without first passing him through waivers. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Kent is eligible for a fourth option, so perhaps the Cards will apply for that and be granted another option for Kent. There’s no guarantee he makes it to spring training on the 40-man roster, but if he does stick on the roster all winter, Kent should have an opportunity to win a job in what should be a wide-open competition for at least four bullpen spots (five, if the Cardinals trade JoJo Romero, as expected).

Rangers Likely To Fill Second Base Internally

By | at

Last month’s Marcus Semien-for-Brandon Nimmo swap created a hole at second base in Arlington, but the Rangers don’t plan on going outside the organization to find help at the position. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports reports that Texas currently plans to fill that void internally.

That should be good news for 28-year-old Josh Smith, who’s bounced all over the diamond in a utility role over the past few seasons but now looks like a strong candidate for regular work at second base — at least against right-handed pitching. The lefty-swinging former second-round pick was a roughly average hitter in 2025 and a fair bit better than that in 2024. Over the past two seasons, he’s slashed a combined .254/.336/.380 (107 wRC+) with 23 homers, 53 doubles, three triples and 23 stolen bases in 1155 plate appearances (293 games).

Second base has actually been Smith’s least-frequent position of the many in which he’s dabbled at the MLB level. He’s played just 41 innings there, although part of the reason for that is Semien’s iron man status at the position. Semien missed a total of four games over his first three seasons in Texas, leaving few opportunities for anyone else at second base. He “only” appeared in 127 games this season, but Texas was also using Smith at the hot corner and in the outfield to help cover for other injuries, so he appeared in just four games at second base. Cody Freeman, Dylan Moore and Ezequiel Duran were more frequent options there in place of Semien.

Duran and Freeman both remain with the organization and are on the 40-man roster. That’s also true of former first-round pick Justin Foscue. Anyone from that group could step up and grab a more prominent role at second base, but none of that group has hit nearly as well as Smith in the majors.

Duran showed some promise in 2023 but has hit just .237/.278/.309 in 504 plate appearances dating back to 2024. Freeman had a terrific showing in Triple-A last year, hitting .336/.382/.549 with just an 8.7% strikeout rate in 97 games. That didn’t carry over to the majors, though. Freeman hit .228/.258/.342 with a 15.7% strikeout rate in 121 turns at the plate. Foscue posted league-average offense in Triple-A this past season but has a bleak .059/.094/.098 slash in an admittedly tiny sample of 53 plate appearances. He’s also long faced defensive questions and has been splitting time between second base and first base in recent seasons.

The most exciting option is likely still a ways down the road. Sebastian Walcott is widely regarded as one of the ten best prospects in the sport. He’s just 19 years old but already held his own against much more advanced Double-A pitching last year, hitting .255/.355/.386 with 13 homers, 32 steals, a 12.7% walk rate and an 18.9% strikeout rate. Walcott, who’ll turn 20 in March, is a shortstop but could move to second base with Corey Seager entrenched at shortstop.

Regardless of exactly what shape it takes, it seems the Rangers will avoid bringing in free agents or trade candidates of note to plug that gap at second base. Given the team’s stated goal of reducing payroll, signing someone like Bo Bichette never seemed viable, but this latest report also strongly suggests that second-tier infield targets like Jorge Polanco and trade targets like Brendan Donovan or Brandon Lowe aren’t going to be a priority.

Adding some additional depth on minor league deals and/or an opportunistic one-year deal for a bargain-bin pickup late in the offseason don’t seem out of the question. Wilson notes that GM Ross Fenstermaker said the club will be opportunistic on that front. For now, however, a splash of any real note doesn’t appear to be in the cards.

In a smaller but notable bit of Rangers news, president of baseball operations Chris Young made clear that he hopes to re-sign reliever Josh Sborz after non-tendering him last week, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Young said his team is “extremely” interested in bringing Sborz back but prefers it to be on a minor league deal.

Sborz didn’t pitch this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in November 2024. The hope was that he’d make his way back to the mound at some point in 2025. He set out on a minor league rehab stint in mid-July but struggled both with results and velocity; Sborz’s fastball was down more than three miles per hour. Texas started and stopped his rehab stint multiple times before shutting him down entirely in early September.

The 31-year-old Sborz (32 in a couple weeks) had a bizarre campaign in 2023, pitching well for much of the season (3.83 ERA through mid-August) before being torched for 13 runs in 7 2/3 frames down the stretch, thereby ballooning his ERA to 5.50. Sborz then bounced all the way back — and then some — in the playoffs, serving as one of then-manager Bruce Bochy’s most trusted relievers. He pitched a dozen innings and allowed only one run (0.75 ERA) on four hits and four walks. He fanned 13.

If another club is willing to put Sborz on its 40-man roster — or offer him a larger salary on a non-guaranteed contract — the Rangers might be hard-pressed to retain the right-hander. Coming off a lost season, however, that’s far from a sure thing. If Sborz does ultimately re-sign on a minor league pact, his track record and familiarity with the organization could give him an inside track on winning a roster spot — provided his shoulder is back up to full strength.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top