Headlines

  • Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves
  • Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement
  • Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller
  • Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals
  • Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson
  • Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Angels Still Seeking Multiple Relievers

By Steve Adams | January 27, 2025 at 10:05am CDT

The Angels are positioned as well as any team to make some late-winter additions as free agents linger on the market — arguably even better-positioned than most. They’ve primarily been adding depth on minor league deals over the past couple weeks, but they’re still looking to improve the big league roster. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that they’ve told “at least one agent” that they have two or even three bullpen spots they’d still like to fill.

A look at the current composition of manager Ron Washington’s relief corps underlines that area of opportunity. Presumptive closer Ben Joyce is the game’s hardest-throwing pitcher by a wide margin, averaging 102.1 mph on his four-seamer. He enjoyed a breakout showing with a 2.08 ERA in 34 2/3 innings this past season and is all but assured a spot, barring injury. Veteran lefties Brock Burke, Jose Quijada and Jose Suarez are all out of minor league options and were all tendered contracts in arbitration. Health permitting, they’ll be on the Opening Day roster as well.

Beyond that quartet, there’s basically no certainty. Righty Chase Silseth, with 1.071 years of MLB service, is next up in terms of “experience.” The aforementioned trio of lefties are the only relievers on the Halos’ roster with even two years of MLB service time. Right-hander Robert Stephenson, signed to a three-year deal last winter, will of course take over one spot once he’s healthy, but he had Tommy John surgery on April 30. He could miss most or all of the season’s first half.

The Halos have their share of interesting candidates for relief spots. Righty Ryan Zeferjahn, acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for Luis Garcia, looked outstanding … in a sample of 17 big league innings. He’s had substantial command problems in the minors, however. Sam Bachman is a former top-10 pick with a sinker that sat nearly 97 mph in relief in 2023, but the Angels have continued to work him as a starter in the minors (to mixed results). Rule 5 pick Garrett McDaniels posted gaudy minor league numbers with the Dodgers last year but topped out in Double-A (where he only pitched three innings).

Suffice it to say, there’s room for multiple veterans to supplement the group — or at the very least for one more veteran arm. The Angels are nowhere close to the luxury tax barrier at the moment, sitting a bit under $206MM in CBT obligations, per RosterResource. That gives them more than $35MM, assuming the luxury tax is some form of hard barrier that owner Arte Moreno would prefer not to cross. The Angels have only paid the luxury tax once under Moreno’s ownership, which came way back in 2004 and saw the team pay out under $1MM in total penalties. The Angels were close to the tax threshold in 2023 but narrowly ducked under the line thanks to a massive late-August waiver purge after a failed deadline push for contention.

The relief market has been the slowest corner of free agency this winter, although it’s picked up steam in recent weeks with Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, A.J. Minter, Jose Leclerc, Andrew Kittredge, Paul Sewald and Chris Martin (among others) all coming off the board since Jan. 10. Kirby Yates and the Dodgers have reportedly been working to finalize their own deal, though as of yet nothing has been formally announced.

The remaining collection of free agents still features several notable names, headlined by Carlos Estevez, David Robertson, Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Tommy Kahnle, Phil Maton, Andrew Chafin and Tim Hill, among many others. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the Angels took a similar bulk approach to rounding out the bullpen last offseason, signing six relievers to big league deals — three of which came in mid-January or later. That didn’t work out as hoped, but it nonetheless seems they’ll take another run at using the late stages of the market to build out the bullpen this winter.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Los Angeles Angels

91 comments

Where Can The Rangers Find A Closer?

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 11:59pm CDT

The Rangers watched four key relievers hit the open market to begin the 2024-25 offseason. Closer Kirby Yates, who proved a bargain pickup on a one-year $4.5MM deal, reached free agency alongside David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin (who had a club option declined). Those four were the Rangers' top four late-inning options in the season's second half.

Beyond the difficulty of retaining any group of coveted free agents and/or rebuilding an entire relief corps, Texas faced financial difficulties. Re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and improving a lineup that struggled badly against fastballs were both priorities. Eovaldi cost more than most would've anticipated entering the offseason, benefitting from the hyper-aggressive free agent market for starters to the tune of a three-year, $75MM deal. Slugger Joc Pederson similarly commanded a stout $18.5MM-per-season annual value on his two-year deal. As with Eovaldi, that topped expectations.

Texas did trim some payroll and replace a bullpen arm in one fell swoop, trading the final two years of club control over first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals in exchange for five seasons of control over lefty Robert Garcia. The 28-year-old's 4.22 ERA last season isn't particularly exciting, but a big 29.9% strikeout rate and sharp 6.4% walk rate portend improvements in the ERA department moving forward.

The rest of the Rangers' bullpen dealings have been cost-efficient in nature. Texas brought old friend Chris Martin back on a one-year, $5.5MM deal earlier this month. They had the advantage of being Martin's hometown club, which held appeal to him in the final season of his career; he's announced he expects to retire after the 2025 season and reportedly turned down more money elsewhere to pitch his final year close to home. Free agents Hoby Milner (another Fort Worth area native), Shawn Armstrong and Jacob Webb signed for $2.5MM, $1.25MM and $1.25MM, respectively.

Meanwhile, the free agents who've bid farewell to the Rangers seem to be in demand. Leclerc commanded a $10MM guarantee on a one-year deal with the A's. Yates has reached a tentative agreement with the Dodgers, though financial terms are not yet clear and he's not yet taken his physical. The aggressive market for late-inning arms figures to allow Robertson to cash in on an eight-figure salary. Chafin has garnered interest from the Yankees and Cubs at varying points this winter and is surely talking to other teams as the market for relievers heats up. In the past week alone, we've seen Tanner Scott, Yates, Paul Sewald and A.J. Minter reach free agent agreements. The markets for Carlos Estevez and Kyle Finnegan are picking up. The Cubs are talking to the Astros about Ryan Pressly.

Yates' agreement with the Dodgers rankled many Rangers fans who'd hoped they could bring the 37-year-old back as a finishing piece to the bullpen revamp. Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young, however, has indicated that while the door is still cracked for another acquisition, the bulk of the team's heavy lifting has likely been completed.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday that the Rangers never made a formal offer to Yates, recognizing where his market was headed while they faced payroll constrictions from ownership. Per Grant, if the Rangers add to the 'pen, it'd likely have to come via the trade market. They're about $6MM shy of the luxury-tax threshold, per Roster Resource, and staying under that $241MM cutoff is said to be a priority for the Rangers.

It's always possible they could strike gold on another Yates-sized reclamation project; Kendall Graveman and Scott Barlow are among the buy-low candidates with some track record as a successful late-inning reliever. Generally speaking, however, if the Rangers want to add a solid closing option, they're not going to find one for under $6MM in free agency.

With that in mind, let's run through some possible options for Young, GM Ross Fenstermaker and their staff as they peruse the market in hopes of adding one more high-leverage option.

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
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Front Office Originals MLBTR Originals Membership Texas Rangers

65 comments

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 12:57pm CDT

MLBTR’s Steve Adams hosted a live chat today at 2:30pm Central, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers!

 

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
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Front Office Originals MLBTR Chats Membership

4 comments

Latest On Ryan Pressly

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 12:40pm CDT

12:40pm: Per a report from Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the Tigers are also in the Pressly talks but it “may be unlikely” for the righty to approve a trade to Detroit.

9:19am: The Astros have been shopping right-hander Ryan Pressly throughout the winter, but those efforts didn’t gain much traction until recently. That’s understandable in the sense that the free-agent market for relievers was largely frozen until the past couple of weeks. Now, with free agent bullpen arms flying off the board, interest in Pressly has seemingly picked up. The Cubs, Blue Jays and one yet-unknown club out west have all shown serious interest in Pressly over the past 24 hours.

Pressly, however, has full no-trade protection by virtue of his 10-and-5 rights (ten years of major league service, five-plus years with his current team). He can nix any trade to a location he doesn’t want. That’s of extra note for Pressly as a Texas native who’s playing his home games a bit more than 200 miles south of Dallas, where he was born and raised. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports this morning that Pressly has informed the Astros that he’s disinclined to approve a trade that’d send him too far east or west.

That would seemingly rule out both the Jays and any club on or near the west coast. It’s not yet clear which club out west is eyeing Pressly, though the D-backs have been vocal about their desire to add a closer. The A’s, Giants and Angels aren’t necessarily in the market for an experienced ninth-inning arm specifically, but all three could use another high-leverage arm in general.

All of that could be moot, however, if Pressly is wary of straying toward either coast and prefers to remain in Texas or somewhere in the country’s heartland. That could potentially bode well for the Cubs, though Heyman adds that Pressly has not yet made a decision one way or another on whether he’d approve a move to Wrigley Field. One swaying factor, speculatively speaking, could be that the Cubs would almost certainly use Pressly as their closer. That’s a role he filled — and filled quite well — in Houston from 2020-23, when he saved 102 games and pitched to a 2.99 ERA with a huge 31.5% strikeout rate in 198 2/3 innings. He was bumped to a setup role in 2024 after the Astros’ signing of Josh Hader on a five-year, $95MM contract.

Pressly’s 2024 season was solid all around but not quite up to his (lofty) prior standards. He logged a 3.49 earned run average over 56 2/3 innings and posted a 23.8% strikeout rate that stood as his lowest mark since the 2016 season. His 7.4% walk rate was comfortably better than league average but was still his highest mark in four years. His average fastball sat at 93.8 mph, per Statcast, marking his lowest number in more than a decade. Still, the right-hander’s broader track record is excellent. And, with the Astros potentially reengaging with Alex Bregman, there could be extra motivation for Houston to shed some payroll.

It’s hard to envision any scenario where the Astros re-sign Bregman and also dip beneath the luxury tax threshold, but shedding Pressly’s $14MM salary would lessen the sting of exceeding the tax line for what would be a second straight season. Per RosterResource’s projections, Houston is currently about $3MM north of the $241MM threshold.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Toronto Blue Jays Ryan Pressly

44 comments

White Sox Trade Ron Marinaccio To Padres

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 12:40pm CDT

The Padres have acquired right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio from the White Sox in exchange for cash, per announcements from both clubs. Chicago designated Marinaccio for assignment earlier in the week. San Diego’s 40-man roster is now up to 35 players.

Marinaccio, 29, has appeared in each of the past three big league seasons, with all his MLB time coming as a member of the Yankees. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in all three of those individual seasons, working to a composite 3.22 mark with a strong 28.2% strikeout rate but an ugly 12.6% walk rate. Marinaccio averaged 93.6 mph on his heater this past season and paired that offering with a changeup and slider, both of which reside in the low 80s.

The ChiSox claimed Marinaccio off waivers from the Yankees on Sept. 23. He didn’t make it into a game for the South Siders, but given the general state of disarray within their roster, he seemed like he’d have a chance to factor into the 2025 bullpen mix. General manager Chris Getz ultimately felt differently, as Marinaccio was bumped from the 40-man roster this week to open space for veteran innings eater Martin Perez.

Marinaccio’s track record in Triple-A is generally supportive of his output in the big leagues, making it something of a surprise that the White Sox moved on for next to no return. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons there and logged a 3.35 ERA in 91 1/3 innings, fanning 29.9% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate along the way. Marinaccio still has one minor league option year remaining, and he’s controllable through the 2028 season as things currently stand (though future optional assignments could change that calculus). He won’t be eligible for arbitration until next offseason at the earliest.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox San Diego Padres Transactions Ron Marinaccio

88 comments

Braves Notes: Profar, Kelenic, De La Cruz, Pitching Staff

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 11:33am CDT

The Braves finally made their first significant move of the offseason this week, coming to terms with Jurickson Profar on a three-year, $42MM contract that’ll install him as their new everyday left fielder. Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos confirmed in chatting with the Braves beat yesterday that Profar will be ticketed for regular work in left field, with Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz (who signed a split major league deal earlier this winter) competing for at-bats in right field (link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).

Profar told reporters via Zoom this morning that landing with the Braves is a near-ideal scenario. As a native of Curacao, he grew up idolizing countryman Andruw Jones and watching him with the Braves. He’ll now be united with friend and countryman Ozzie Albies with those same Braves. Profar indicated that as soon as free agency began, his top two preferences were to remain in San Diego or sign in Atlanta (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The Padres, who are dealing with a payroll crunch and ownership infighting, never came close to Atlanta’s offer at any point in free agency, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

With Profar slated for everyday work in left field and Michael Harris II in center, that leaves right field as the only place for Kelenic and De La Cruz to get playing time early in the season. Ronald Acuña Jr. will be back to man right field eventually but is expected to miss more than a month of the season as he finishes off rehabbing last year’s torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. A platoon is possible, but Anthopoulos made clear that Kelenic “will get a lot of reps in right field” this spring and “will have every opportunity to be that guy.”

Kelenic, 25, came to the Braves by way of a convoluted series of salary dump trades last year. The former No. 6 overall pick and top prospect was effectively purchased from the Mariners, with Atlanta taking on the underwater contracts of first baseman Evan White and lefty Marco Gonzales to get Kelenic to Atlanta. Gonzales was subsequently traded to the Pirates, who took on about $3MM of his $12MM salary. White was shipped to Anaheim in return for another pair of underwater contracts: David Fletcher and Max Stassi. The Braves quickly flipped Stassi to the White Sox for a player to be named later, agreeing to pay the bulk of Stassi’s salary. When factoring in the dead money they absorbed and the associated luxury tax hits, they spent around $32MM to acquire Kelenic.

Suffice it to say, year one of the gambit didn’t play out as hoped. Kelenic got out to a decent start in April, slumped in May, had a monster showing in June, and then tanked for the majority of the final three months. On the whole, he hit .231/.286/.393. His 15 homers were a new career-high, but he also fanned in almost 30% of his plate appearances while providing slightly below-average defense in the outfield and slashing only .206/.236/.279 against lefties.

That anemic performance against southpaws is where De La Cruz could come into play. The longtime Marlin and brief Pirate was non-tendered earlier this winter and quickly scooped by by Atlanta. De La Cruz makes for an odd platoon partner for Kelenic, however. His right-handed bat is very clearly more productive versus lefties than the lefty-swinging Kelenic, but De La Cruz has still been a below-average hitter against southpaws in his career: .270/.315/.390 (92 wRC+). Considering Kelenic has only been about average versus righties in his career, it’s an underwhelming platoon unless one or both players take a substantial step forward.

That shouldn’t be a long-term issue, of course. Acuña should be back sometime in May or June. At that point, the Braves can rely on a Profar-Harris-Acuña alignment from left to right. Kelenic, whom Anthopoulos praised as an option capable of playing all three outfield spots, could then slide into more of a fourth outfield role with De La Cruz serving as a depth option in Triple-A.

With the outfield largely settled, the question of what’s next for the Braves naturally arises. Anthopoulos said last night that he has the flexibility needed to add to the rotation and/or bullpen (via David O’Brien of The Athletic). No deal in either department is close, however, and the veteran baseball ops leader emphasized that any rotation arm that’s brought in would need to be a decisive upgrade over in-house arms like Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson. Both are out of minor league options and thus very likely ticketed for roster spots to begin the season. O’Brien speculates that Atlanta will add a reliever and forgo a prominent rotation acquisition.

The Braves currently have Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach in the top three spots of the rotation. Spencer Strider will return at some point in the season’s first half after undergoing UCL surgery last April. Depth options in Triple-A include Davis Daniel, Bryce Elder and prospects Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver. Once Strider returns, that’s a lot of arms for what’s effectively one rotation spot — assuming good health for each of Sale, Lopez and Schwellenbach.

As O’Brien suggested then, a bullpen addition makes a bit more sense. The Braves will likely be without Joe Jimenez all season after the right-hander underwent knee surgery, subtracting a key piece of their late-inning relief group. With Raisel Iglesias, Aaron Bummer, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee all on board, there’s still a strong high-leverage foundation, but there’s plenty of room to add a reliever and still remain under the luxury tax threshold, if that’s a goal.

RosterResource currently projects the Braves for a bit more than $230MM of tax obligations, leaving them nearly $11MM from the $241MM threshold. Notable unsigned relievers who could fit into that budget include Kyle Finnegan, Phil Maton, Andrew Chafin, Danny Coulombe, Tim Hill and injury rebound candidates such as Kendall Graveman, Lou Trivino and Keynan Middleton. If the Braves are willing to cross the tax threshold for a third straight season (or engineer a trade to clear up a bit more breathing room), names like Carlos Estevez and David Robertson remain available on the market.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves San Diego Padres Bryan De La Cruz Grant Holmes Ian Anderson Jarred Kelenic Jurickson Profar

89 comments

Red Sox, Mark Kolozsvary Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 9:56am CDT

The Red Sox and catcher Mark Kolozsvary have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. It’ll be his second straight season with the Red Sox organization, as he was with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester in 2024.

Kolozsvary, 29, has technically appeared in two big league seasons, though he played in only one game for the 2023 Orioles and didn’t log a plate appearance. He tallied 10 games with the 2022 Reds and came to the plate 21 times, going 4-for-20 with a homer and two doubles (.200/.238/.450).

In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Kolozsvary owns just a .176/.297/.312 batting line. He’s yet to provide much in the way of offense in his big league career, but Kolozsvary is regarded as a strong defender with quality minor league marks for framing, blocking balls in the dirt and controlling the running game. He’s thrown out 29% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in his minor league career.

Kolozsvary is the latest depth addition for a Red Sox club that doesn’t have much certainty behind starting catcher Connor Wong. Trade acquisitions Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol are both on the 40-man roster, but neither has established himself in the majors yet. Narvaez has just six big league games to his credit. Sabol is a .243/.313/.392 hitter (95 wRC+) in 382 MLB plate appearances with the Giants but has fanned in one-third of his trips to the plate and struggled defensively at catcher. Boston also brought in veteran Seby Zavala as a non-roster invitee, giving them another strong defender with a shaky track record at the plate.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Boston Red Sox Transactions Mark Kolozsvary

21 comments

Angels, J.D. Davis Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 8:43am CDT

The Angels and infielder J.D. Davis are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The ALIGND Sports client will be in big league camp with the Halos as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Davis, 32 in April, scuffled through his worst season since establishing himself as a big leaguer in 2024. In 46 games and 157 plate appearances between the A’s and Yankees, he hit just .218/.293/.338 — a notable drop-off for a player who from 2019-23 slashed .268/.352/.443 between the Mets and Giants. Davis actually cut his strikeout rate to 24.8% — three points lower than in 2023 and nearly nine percentage points shy of his 2022 mark — but his walk rate fell below average and his batted-ball profile eroded. From ’19-’23, Davis averaged 91.2 mph off the bat and hit 47.1% of his batted balls at least 95 mph; in 2024, he averaged 89.1 mph off the bat and had a 43.7% hard-hit rate.

Davis has played both infield corners and left field in his career, though the majority of his time has come at the hot corner. He hasn’t graded well there or in left field but has more passable defensive marks in 465 innings at first base. With the Angels, he’ll compete for a bench job and provide some depth behind oft-injured third baseman Anthony Rendon and young first baseman Nolan Schanuel.

The Halos’ bench is mostly full right now, with backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud, utilityman Kevin Newman and fourth outfielder Mickey Moniak all seemingly locked into spots. Infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery and non-roster invitee Tim Anderson could vie for that final spot alongside Davis and others. Kingery is on the 40-man roster but has minor league options remaining. None of d’Arnaud, Newman or Moniak can be optioned.

An exact timeline on shortstop Zach Neto, who underwent shoulder surgery following the season, isn’t yet known. However, there’s a chance he could start the season on the injured list. That’d give Davis and other non-roster players in camp a better chance at winning a spot. If Neto indeed opens the year on the injured list, one of Newman or Anderson would presumably get the nod at shortstop to begin the season.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Los Angeles Angels Transactions J.D. Davis

78 comments

Latest On Kyle Hart

By Steve Adams | January 23, 2025 at 8:24pm CDT

Thirty-two-year-old lefty Kyle Hart isn’t a household name but nonetheless stands as an interesting free agent for clubs seeking rotation depth this winter. The southpaw has pitched in just one big league season, yielding 19 runs in 11 innings for the Red Sox during the shortened 2020 season. Hart, however, has a decent Triple-A track record and just tore through the Korea Baseball Organization in 2024, logging 157 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. He was awarded the Choi Dong-won Award — the KBO equivalent of MLB’s Cy Young Award — for those efforts.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports today that Hart has some level of interest from six big league clubs, one of whom has been trying to free up some payroll space before adding Hart or another free agent. At the very least, that’s indicative of a team (or teams) being willing to put forth a big league offer to sign the lefty. Though there hasn’t been much reporting on Hart’s ongoing free agency this winter, he was linked to the Orioles, Astros, Twins, Brewers and Yankees in late December. More than half the league is reported to have at least checked in, though that obviously doesn’t indicate serious interest from all those parties.

Hart’s breakout overseas is reminiscent of recent KBO success stories like Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen and Merrill Kelly, among others. That said, he’ll pitch all of next season at 32. That’s a notable difference from recent KBO-to-MLB arms. Fedde returned ahead of his age-31 season and had the benefit of being a former first-round pick and top prospect. Kelly was 30 when he signed a modest two-year deal with Arizona on the back of a terrific four-year run in South Korea. Flexen’s lone season in the KBO was his age-25 campaign. He returned on a two-year deal with the Mariners at just 26 years old. Of the bunch, Fedde’s $15MM guarantee over two years is the largest contract.

Hart is older than the rest of that group and lacks the prospect pedigree Fedde had. Like many of those pitchers, however, he’s benefited from demonstrable changes to his pitching repertoire since heading to the KBO. He added a new sweeper this season, began throwing his four-seamer up in the zone/above the zone to get some chases, and has used his changeup more heavily. His heater isn’t the type of power offering that modern teams covet, sitting low-90s and peaking around 94 mph, but it’s generally easier for a lefty to get by with lesser velocity than a righty.

Whether that’s enough to sell a major league front office on his viability as a big league rotation cog remains to be seen. Fedde, the most successful of the group in the KBO, won the Choi Dong-won and was named KBO MVP after posting a flat 2.00 ERA with better strikeout and walk rates (29.5% and 4.9%, respectively) than Hart turned in this past season.

If not a return to Major League Baseball, Hart will still have ample opportunity to earn money in Asia. He’s drawn interest from both KBO clubs and teams in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, per Dierkes.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Korea Baseball Organization Nippon Professional Baseball Kyle Hart

29 comments

Report: Astros Still Not Ruling Out Alex Bregman Reunion

By Steve Adams | January 23, 2025 at 3:41pm CDT

The Astros’ chances of retaining Alex Bregman seemingly went up in smoke when he declined their reported six-year, $156MM offer earlier this winter. Houston pivoted quickly, first trying to engineer a trade for Nolan Arenado, which the current Cardinals third baseman nixed by way of his no-trade clause. The ’Stros pivoted again, signing first baseman Christian Walker for three years and $60MM. In doing so, they pushed Isaac Paredes — acquired from the Cubs as part of the Kyle Tucker return — across the diamond to third base. Or, so it seemed.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Astros are still “keeping the door ajar” for Bregman. It’s a long-shot pairing in light of the new-look corner infield in Houston, but the team has at least considered a scenario where they’d move Paredes to second base and play Jose Altuve in left field, should Bregman ultimately return. It’s an out-of-the-box solution, but the Astros have been (unsuccessfully) hunting for outfielders in free agency and trade. Nightengale adds that the Astros “aren’t optimistic” about their chances, however, adding that Bregman presently has at least two serious offers in hand.

Beyond the roster considerations, there’s the financial aspect to consider. Owner Jim Crane has publicly stated that he has the “wherewithal” to match last year’s $244MM payroll and $262MM worth of luxury obligations, though the team’s actions this winter have suggested otherwise, to an extent. Houston traded its best player, Tucker, to the Cubs in exchange for Paredes, righty Hayden Wesneski and top prospect/2024 first-rounder Cam Smith. They’ve also reportedly been shopping Ryan Pressly, who’s owed $14MM but has full no-trade protection.

That said, Crane suggested when making his comments about 2025 spending that the extent to which the club did or not spend would depend on the specific players available to them. Pushing to a $260MM CBT number again for a free agent who’d be new to the organization and doing so for a longtime cornerstone player whose entire career has been spent with the ’Stros are quite different. One trait Bregman has drawn consistent praise for both from the Astros and in reports citing anonymous coaches and executives around the league is his fiery leadership and clubhouse demeanor. The Astros are more familiar with that than any team, and logic dictates that they’d likely be most willing to pay a premium for it. Currently, RosterResource projects the Astros aout $3MM north of the $241MM luxury barrier. Signing Bregman would put them over with minimal chance of ducking back underneath.

A move to the outfield for Altuve would register as a major surprise, but it’s not exactly hard to see why Houston might ponder it. Altuve’s defensive grades have cratered in the decade since he won his lone career Gold Glove. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged him at -13 in both of the past two seasons. Statcast’s Outs Above Average had him at -8 this past season. Altuve made only five errors on the season, but that seems largely due to his inability to get to balls he might’ve had a play on several years ago; Statcast graded Altuve’s range in just the third percentile this past season. His arm strength was similarly panned, landing in the seventh percentile.

There are other alignments that could be considered. The Red Sox, among other teams, have been rumored to view Bregman as a second base option. (Skipper Alex Cora recently spoke on the record about his belief that Bregman could be a plus defender there.) Houston could also leave Bregman and Altuve at their customary spots and move Paredes to left field. However, he’s notably slower than Altuve and has below-average arm strength himself. Altuve still has nearly average speed, and Houston’s left field is smaller than most thanks to the short left field porch at the newly renamed Daikin Park. The Astros have reportedly been in the market for corner outfield upgrades but have not yet found a deal to their liking.

Bregman has reportedly drawn interest from the Red Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays and to a lesser extent the Cubs, although Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently indicated he feels next year’s third baseman is “likely” already in the organization. At least to this point, Bregman hasn’t been open to the sort of short-term pacts to which many top free agents acquiesce late in the winter. As of this writing, it’s not clear whether Bregman has received any long-term offers other than the original six-year proposal from Houston. The Tigers have been cast as perhaps the other top landing spot, but talks between the two sides reportedly reached a “standstill” this week.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Houston Astros Newsstand Alex Bregman Isaac Paredes Jose Altuve

67 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
    Top Stories

    Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves

    Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement

    Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller

    Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals

    Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson

    Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

    Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

    2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Astros Promote Brice Matthews

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Recent

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Minnesota Twins

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Cleveland Guardians

    Rays Agree To Deal With First-Round Pick Daniel Pierce

    Yankees To Designate Rico Garcia For Assignment

    Blue Jays Agree To Terms With First-Rounder JoJo Parker

    Brewers Place Sal Frelick On Injured List

    Reds Sign First-Round Pick Steele Hall

    Mets Interested In Danny Coulombe

    Rangers Select Cody Freeman

    Diamondbacks Sign Sergio Alcántara, Place Ketel Marte On Restricted List Due To Personal Matter

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    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

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version