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D-backs Among Teams With Interest In Kirby Yates

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The D-backs have been in the market for a high-leverage reliever throughout the offseason, and they’re among the clubs with interest in right-hander Kirby Yates, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Snakes have checked out several options on the trade market but balked at the asking price for Devin Williams — since traded to the Yankees — and their interest in Cardinals stopper Ryan Helsley might be moot if St. Louis ultimately opts to hold him.

Arizona GM Mike Hazen has left no doubt about his team’s desire to add a closing option this offseason. “I still feel like a back-end bullpen guy to help out with [Justin Martinez] and with [A.J. Puk] and those guys, I still see that,” Hazen said in a radio appearance back in early November. “I thought when [Paul Sewald] was closing, we had the best version of who we were, frankly. … But, we know [Martinez and Puk] can close, too, so we’ll see.

Yates, 38 in March, is fresh off a dominant rebound campaign with the Rangers, for whom he saved 33 games while pitching to a 1.17 ERA over the life of 61 2/3 innings. Yates earned his second career All-Star nod, fanned 35.9% of the opponents he faced, and issued walks at a 9.6% clip (higher than average but generally offset by the gaudy strikeout rate).

The 2024 season was Yates’ second consecutive year with 60-plus innings pitched, but injuries have hindered the righty at various points in his career. He threw only 11 1/3 big league innings from 2020-22; he was limited to six appearances in 2020 thanks to an elbow injury — one that wound up requiring Tommy John surgery a year later in 2021 (his second TJS operation). That procedure wiped out his entire 2021 season and the majority of his 2022 campaign.

When healthy, Yates has been a lights-out late-inning option in recent years. He’s the epitome of a late bloomer, as he didn’t truly solidify himself as a quality big league reliever until his age-30 season and didn’t break out in full until his age-31 campaign with the Padres, in 2018. Since that breakout, Yates boasts a scintillating 2.21 ERA with 93 saves, 30 holds, a 35.5% strikeout rate and a 10% walk rate.

Yates would (clearly) fit the Diamondbacks’ desire for a bona fide stopper at the end of the bullpen. The question is whether he’ll fit into the budget. After last year’s brilliant showing, he’s in position to command an eight-figure salary, perhaps even over a multi-year deal if a team isn’t scared off by offering two years to a 38-year-old who’s twice required UCL surgery.

Hazen said in the aforementioned radio appearance that he expected payroll to be in the general vicinity of 2025’s $173MM mark. RosterResource currently projects a $160MM payroll for the Diamondbacks. Yates could command the bulk or perhaps even the entirety of the remaining budget, though it’s always possible that other trades will impact the payroll. The D-backs have received trade interest in their young outfielders and in their starting rotation. The club surely still hopes to shed at least a portion of the $22.5MM owed to Jordan Montgomery.

A multi-year deal for Yates would be nearly unprecedented for a reliever this old. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the only free agent relievers in the past decade to sign multi-year deals beginning in their age-38 season are Jason Grilli and Darren O’Day, both of whom signed for a total of $8MM or less. The only real comp for a pitcher of this age commanding a multi-year deal at a premium rate is Daniel Bard’s two-year, $19MM extension with the Rockies back in July 2022 — a deal that obviously did not pan out.

Exploring A Potential Pablo Lopez Trade

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It's been a quiet offseason for the Twins as the front office faces payroll constraints for a second straight offseason. Minnesota's signing of Carlos Correa and extension for Pablo Lopez in the 2022-23 offseason -- among other moves -- pushed the club's payroll up into the $150-160MM range. Both deals came just months after owner Jim Pohlad took a step back as his nephew, Joe Pohlad, took on a far more prominent role. That ownership shuffle, coupled with the long-term nature of those deals, made it look like there'd be a lasting bump in payroll.

Clearly, that hasn't been the case. Amid uncertainty regarding the team's television broadcast rights, ownership slashed payroll back down to the $130MM range for the 2024 season. The Twins largely sat out the 2023-24 offseason, with their largest moves coming via the trade market (dealing Jorge Polanco to Seattle) and in the bargain aisle of free agency (a $5.25MM deal for Carlos Santana being their most expensive). At the end of the 2024 season, Joe Pohlad announced his intent to explore a potential sale of the team.

That's led to even more uncertainty and inflexibility with the budget this offseason, as evidenced by the Twins' complete lack of activity. RosterResource projects the Twins' payroll at about $142MM. Ownership would like that back into the $130MM range again. It's expected that at some point they'll trade righty Chris Paddack, whose $7.5MM salary looks quite affordable when juxtaposed with the aggressive market for starters this winter. They'll shop Christian Vazquez but would need to eat some of his $10MM salary. A trade of their excellent utilityman, Willi Castro, could also be explored.

Speculation regarding the possibility of larger-scale deals was inevitable, but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said early in the offseason that the team views Correa, Lopez and Byron Buxton as "key" players to the team's 2025 outlook. Falvey has emphasized that the Twins are intent on contending in 2025, even as it looks like he'll be forced to find ways to trim player payroll before making a single addition.

A Correa trade always seemed far-fetched. He's owed $128MM over the next four years and has a full no-trade clause. Buxton also has full no-trade protection. However, the recent report from ESPN's Jeff Passan that the Twins have at least listened to offers on Lopez presents a far more compelling thought exercise. Lopez's contract is teeming with surplus value in a way that isn't true -- or isn't as true, anyway -- of the Twins' other most expensive players.

Trading Lopez would ignite swift backlash from an already frustrated and put-off fanbase. At the same time, the huge return and the potential avenues for restructuring the team in the wake of such a surprising deal are compelling enough that it's understandable if the Twins perform due diligence to at least see what the market might bear.

Let's dive into an admittedly very hypothetical look at why a Lopez trade could actually appeal to the Twins, who could be involved, and how the Twins could proceed (and possibly improve) in the aftermath.

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Astros Sign Christian Walker

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December 23: The Astros have officially announced Walker’s signing. According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the deal includes a limited no-trade clause and will pay Walker an even $20MM annually per season.

December 20: A new-look Astros club will have a new first baseman in 2025, as the team has reportedly agreed to terms on a three-year, $60MM contract with free agent Christian Walker. The CAA client’s deal is still pending a physical.

Walker’s deal with Houston seems to shut the door on the possibility of a reunion with Alex Bregman. Houston recently acquired Isaac Paredes from the Cubs as part of the trade sending Kyle Tucker to Chicago, and while Paredes could’ve played first base with Bregman in the fold, he’ll be slotted in at third base with Walker now on board. Similarly, this effectively eliminates any chances of Nolan Arenado landing in Houston — an outcome that was all but at the finish line before Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to nix the deal.

Walker, 34 in March, has been a target of the Astros for some time now, dating back to the trade deadline when was reportedly at the top of their wishlist. A deal didn’t get done then, obviously, but Houston still has a need at first base after their three-year deal with Jose Abreu almost immediately imploded on them. Houston first basemen — led by Abreu and Jon Singleton — turned in an awful .226/.291/.360 batting line on the season in 2024. Walker, meanwhile, hit .251/.335/.468 — almost an exact match for the .253/.333/.464 line he carries through 3171 plate appearances dating back to the 2019 season.

On top of his quality results at the plate, Walker has emerged as arguably the premier defensive first baseman in MLB. He’s won three straight Gold Glove Awards in the National League and leads all first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved (33) and Outs Above Average (39) over the past three seasons. Matt Olson (27) and Carlos Santana (20) are second in those respective metrics. Walker’s defensive excellence at his position has essentially been unmatched.

Both Walker and the recently acquired Paredes are strong fits for the Astros, given the short left field porch at the newly renamed Daikin Park. That’s more true of Paredes, who’s one of the game’s most dead-pull and prominent fly-ball hitters. Walker has more of an all-fields approach, but when isolating his splits on pulled batted balls, he ranks 15th among qualified hitters in fly-ball rate (32.2%). Put more simply, Walker may spray the ball around a bit more than Paredes, but when he does pull the ball, he lifts it far more often than the vast majority of big league hitters. For a right-handed hitter with plenty of pop in his bat, that should play quite nicely with a 314-foot left field porch.

It’s been a bull market for free agents this offseason, and Walker had accordingly been hoping to land a four-year deal. He’ll “settle” for a year less than that on a deal that aligns with early expectations. His three-year, $60MM deal is an exact match for our predicted contract back on MLBTR’s annual ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.

The $20MM annual salary on the contract puts the Astros north of the luxury tax threshold for what would be a second straight season. RosterResource now projects them at $244MM of luxury obligations — $3MM north of the $241MM tier-one threshold for the coming season. Their bottom-line payroll will depend on how that $60MM is divided over the three years of the deal, but if it’s evenly distributed, Houston would be just over $225MM in terms of actual player salary. (The luxury tax is calculated separately and based on the average annual value of all the team’s contracts.)

It’s still possible the Astros could duck back under the tax threshold. They’re reportedly telling teams they don’t intend to trade top starter Framber Valdez, but they’ve been exploring the trade market for reliever Ryan Pressly, who’s set to earn $14MM in 2025. More speculatively, they could also gauge interest in backup catcher Victor Caratini and his $6MM salary, then turn that role over to Cesar Salazar, who hit well in Triple-A and the majors this past season.

Dropping back under the tax line, however, doesn’t appear to be any kind of mandate. Owner Jim Crane said earlier in the winter that he “had the wherewithal” to cross that line and match his 2024 levels of spending if the right scenario presented itself. At the time, few envisioned that would entail trading Tucker and letting Bregman walk, but the Astros have been averse to the types of long-term megadeals both players — Tucker in particular — are expected to command. Houston hasn’t given out a contract longer than Yordan Alvarez’s six-year, $115MM contract or Jose Altuve’s six-year, $157.5MM extension under Crane’s ownership, the latter also being the largest guarantee in franchise history.

As a result, the Astros will give out their second three-year deal to a mid-30s first baseman in the past three years. Houston signed the aforementioned Abreu to a $58.5MM deal in the 2022-23 offseason and will still be paying Abreu $19.5MM this coming season after releasing him at the contract’s halfway point. That deal was negotiated by Crane himself and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell, as it came in the lull between the team’s dismissal of former GM James Click and the hiring of current GM Dana Brown. Astros fans may feel some trepidation about another multi-year deal for a first baseman well past his 30th birthday, though it bears mentioning that Abreu was 36 in year one of his contract; Walker will be 36 in the final season of this deal.

Walker declined a $21.05MM qualifying offer from the D-backs at the end of the season. As such, he’ll cost the Astros their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2025 draft, as well as $1MM of space from their league-allotted bonus pool for international amateur free agency. That’s the steepest penalty possible for signing a qualified free agent, but the Astros find themselves in that tier as a result of exceeding the luxury tax threshold in 2024. The fact that they exceeded the tax threshold also means they’d only receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round in the now-likely event that Bregman signs elsewhere.

As for the D-backs, they’ll receive a comp pick after the first round, because Walker’s agreement is for more than $50MM guaranteed. It’ll be a nice parting gift, but Walker’s production will be tough to replicate with in-house options. Former top-10 draft pick Pavin Smith hit well in 158 plate appearances last season, but that was his first big league success in parts of five seasons and came in a small sample. The Snakes can hope for a similar late-bloomer trajectory to the one taken by Walker, but odds are against that. They could look to affordable alternatives in free agency (e.g. Carlos Santana, Justin Turner, a Josh Bell reunion) or sift through a deep trade market of first base options that includes Yandy Diaz, Josh Naylor, Nathaniel Lowe and perhaps Triston Casas (though the asking price on Casas would be extreme and surely cost the D-backs some coveted young pitching).

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that the two sides were in advanced talks and closing in on a deal. Jim Bowden of The Athletic and MLB Network Radio reported that an agreement was in place, pending physical. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the terms.

Red Sox Sign Patrick Sandoval

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The Red Sox announced the signing of lefty Patrick Sandoval to a two-year free agent deal. The Wasserman client is reportedly guaranteed $18.25MM. He’ll make $5.5MM in 2025 and $12.75MMM in 2026. Boston’s 40-man roster is now full. Sandoval is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, performed in June. He’ll miss at least the first half of the 2025 season, if not a bit more, but could be a late-season option in Boston and should be a member of their 2026 rotation.

Sandoval’s two-year guarantee makes the Angels’ decision to non-tender him and his $5.9MM projected salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) look all the more dubious. Even if Sandoval had missed all of the 2025 season, he’d have been in line to merely repeat that $5.9MM salary — a total of $11.8MM. There’s no way he would’ve secured a nearly $6.5MM raise on that projected 2025 salary heading into the 2026 season.

The Angels presumably shopped Sandoval around prior to cutting him loose, and market circumstances have changed since that time. Still, recent two-year deals for Tommy John rehabbers on similar timelines (e.g. Tyler Mahle, German Marquez) show that there could eventually have been trade interest in the lefty, but the Halos instead opted for immediate salary flexibility. Perhaps that made it easier for them to sign Yusei Kikuchi on a three-year pact, but Sandoval’s deal with the Red Sox shows that he’d very likely have had at least modest trade value had the Halos tendered him a contract and continued to explore the market for his services.

Though his exact timetable for a return to a big league mound can’t be known this far along in the rehab process, Sandoval is a quality arm who’ll slot into the middle of the Boston rotation whenever he’s cleared. Just days prior to his injury, I took a look at the statistical similarities between Sandoval and another lefty — popular trade target Jesus Luzardo. Dating back to 2021, Sandoval carries a 3.80 ERA with roughly average strikeout numbers (22.6%) and somewhat heavy 10.2% walk rate.

Sandoval’s command isn’t great and never has been, but that number is skewed a bit by an 11.3% mark from 2023 that looks like a clear outlier. Sandoval posted a 9.3% walk rate in 2021, 2022 and 2024. It’s still not good, but it’s only about one percentage point north of league average. He sits 93-94 mph with his four-seamer and sinker alike, complementing those fastballs with a slider that misses bats and a changeup that helps him keep righties at bay. He does still carry a notable platoon split, but right-handed hitters haven’t exactly crushed him (.263/.344/.391) and lefties practically shouldn’t bother swinging (.195/.274/.324).

Sandoval isn’t a star but has proven himself to be a capable third or fourth starter, even in a contending rotation. He’ll obviously open the season on the injured list but will eventually give Boston another arm to join a starting mix that includes Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and, at some point, Lucas Giolito. Like Sandoval, Giolito is on the mend from UCL surgery, but his was performed last March so he should be back a few months sooner. Garrett Whitlock gives the Sox another potential rotation arm who’s on the mend from a Tommy John procedure, though he could factor into either the ’pen or the rotation.

The Red Sox could very well add another starting pitcher. They’ve been tied to Corbin Burnes on the free agent market and have also reportedly looked into the availability of Mariners righty Luis Castillo and Padres righty Dylan Cease. With several arms on the mend from surgery and a number of starters with only one full season of rotation experience under their belts (Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Bello), another arm feels prudent — even if it’s not a front-of-the-rotation type.

With Sandoval now in tow, RosterResource projects the Red Sox for a $155MM payroll and about $191MM worth of luxury tax obligations. They’re nowhere close to the $241MM tax threshold, thanks in no small part to going the trade route for their first impactful rotation addition of the winter (Crochet). That leaves ample opportunity for the Sox to bring in another arm and continue to poke around the markets for Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernandez and other high-profile targets.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Red Sox and Sandoval had agreed to a two-year, $18.25MM contract. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier had the salary breakdown.

Reds, Bryan Shaw Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have agreed to a minor league deal with free agent reliever Bryan Shaw, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Shaw, a client of CAA, will reunite with former Cleveland skipper Terry Francona in Cincinnati and head to major league camp in spring training, where he’ll compete for a bullpen spot.

The 37-year-old Shaw has pitched in the majors in each of the past 14 seasons, albeit only for four innings with the 2024 White Sox. He spent roughly half that time pitching for Francona in Cleveland, where Shaw enjoyed a stretch as one of the American League’s most durable and effective setup men.

From 2013-17, Shaw piled up 358 1/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball with a 22.5% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. He tallied a hefty 110 holds along the way — the third-most in all of Major League Baseball in that five-year span (trailing the since-retired Tony Watson and Tyler Clippard).

Shaw parlayed that run of excellence into a three-year deal with the Rockies, but as with so many pitchers at Coors Field, things didn’t pan out. Shaw posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of his two seasons with Colorado before being cut loose. He had a brief cameo with the Mariners during the shortened 2020 campaign but didn’t pitch well there, either.

In the four years since, Shaw has had an up-and-down run but has been serviceable on the whole. He’s pitched 185 1/3 frames dating back to Opening Day 2021 and sports a 4.37 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. He spent most of the 2024 season with the Angels’ Triple-A club, posting a 4.14 ERA in 41 1/3 innings.

The Reds have several bullpen spots already spoken for. Alexis Diaz, Fernando Cruz, Emilio Pagan, Sam Moll, Brent Suter and Tony Santillan are all likely to open the season on the active roster, health permitting. Roansy Contreras, claimed off waivers earlier this week, will need to make the Opening Day roster or else be traded or passed through waivers prior to Opening Day. Cincinnati will likely make some additional non-roster pickups at the very least, but Shaw is a clear favorite of Francona’s, which could give him an inside track on a bullpen job if he shows well during spring training.

Christian Walker Reportedly Seeking Four-Year Deal

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Christian Walker has been a popular target in free agency thus far in the offseason, drawing interest not only from the incumbent Diamondbacks but also the Yankees, Mariners, Astros and Nationals, among other clubs. ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that interested teams have been unwilling to extend their offers beyond three years but that Walker’s camp “would love to get a fourth year.”

Widespread interest in Walker is only logical. He’s been among the most underrated players in the sport for several seasons. The 33-year-old slugger’s .251/.335/.468 slash from 2024 is a near mirror image of the broader .253/.332/.464 line he carries in nearly 3200 plate appearances dating back to 2019. At the time, it would’ve seemed utterly nonsensical to think that the Diamondbacks would be able to successfully replace perennial All-Star Paul Goldschmidt with a journeyman waiver claim, but Arizona did just that and has been rewarded handsomely.

Not only has Walker been consistently productive at the plate — 13% better than average overall, including 20% better over the past three seasons — he’s emerged as one of the game’s best defenders at his position. Walker has won three straight Gold Gloves for his work at first base. Walker’s 33 Defensive Runs Saved over the past three seasons lead all big league first baseman by a wide margin. Matt Olson is second, at 27. Statcast is even more bullish, crediting Walker with 39 Outs Above Average — nearly double that of second-ranked Carlos Santana (20). He’s made only eight errors since 2022.

Quietly excellent as Walker has been, however, a four-year deal is a lofty ask when considering his age. He’ll turn 34 in March. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, only four position players in the past decade have secured a four-year deal beginning in their age-34 season or later: Josh Donaldson (four years, $92MM with the Twins), Ben Zobrist (four years, $56MM with the Cubs), Nelson Cruz (four years, $57MM with the Mariners) and Victor Martinez (four years, $68MM with the Tigers. Donaldson’s deal, now almost five years old, is the most recent of the bunch. Of the four, only Cruz’s contract played out well.

Suffice it to say, four years would break any recent precedent for a position player of this age. Speculatively speaking, he could go the route some other veterans have in the past to secure the additional years they seek on longer-term deals: throw in (in this instance) the fourth year at a discounted rate. General expectations for Walker have been that he’ll command something in the vicinity of $20MM per year. If he were to tack on a fourth year at, say, $8-10MM, that’d get him his fourth season and also lower the luxury-tax hit for the signing club. For many of Walker’s reported suitors, that won’t be a factor, as they’re not CBT payors anyhow. For a team like the Yankees or Astros, it could prove significant.

Walker’s asking price is likely one of the reasons that the Yankees “appear increasingly likely to go with a more inexpensive option at first base,” as reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The others include the qualifying offer that’d cost them an additional two draft picks (after already punting two for Max Fried) and the plethora of options available on the free agent market  (Santana, Justin Turner, Goldschmidt) and trade market (Josh Naylor, Yandy Diaz, Nathaniel Lowe).

Orioles, Jordyn Adams Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles and outfielder Jordyn Adams are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The CAA client and former top prospect will head to major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Adams, who turned 25 in October, was selected by the Angels with the No. 17 overall draft pick back in 2018. At the time, he was viewed as one of the best athletes in the entire draft class — a two-sport high school star who’d committed to play both football (as a wide receiver) and baseball at North Carolina. Pre-draft scouting reports touted Adams’ 80-grade speed (on the 20-80 scale) and a projectable frame that carried the potential to grow into more power.

While the speed has been on full display in the minors throughout his career — he’s gone 144-for-176 (82%) in stolen base attempts — Adams has yet to hit much at any stop. He’s a career .252/.333/.377 hitter in 2425 minor league plate appearances and, in 78 big league trips to the plate, mustered only a .176/.205/.216 slash with a 35.9% strikeout rate.

The speed is legitimate, as Statcast ranked him in the 98th percentile of big leaguers with a blazing sprint speed of 29.7 ft/sec. Even as he tumbled down the Angels’ prospect rankings at Baseball America, from No. 3 in 2020 to No. 23 this past season, BA called him a plus defender in center who “tracks fly-balls like a wide receiver” while showing elite closing speed.

In almost every other sense of the word, Adams is a project for the Orioles. However, he’s heading into only his age-25 season. He’s also joining an Orioles organization that has been far more successful than the Angels (and than most of the league, for that matter) when it comes to developing young position players. Adams may not ever be a star, but if the O’s can coax a bit more out of his bat, his speed and defense give him a path to at least being a viable fourth outfielder. Encouragingly, the righty-hitting speedster does have an OPS well north of .800 against lefties over the past three seasons in the minors.

Latest On Josh Naylor

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10:36pm: Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reports that while the Mariners and Guardians have indeed discussed Naylor, it’s not expected that Cleveland will deal him to Seattle after offloading the Gimenez contract. That aligns with Lloyd’s earlier reporting that Cleveland seemed increasingly likely to hold Naylor.

1:26pm: As the Mariners search for first base upgrades this winter, they’ve had some talks with the Guardians about Josh Naylor, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. There’s no indication the two parties are in any sort of advanced negotiations, but the fit is a natural one for an M’s club looking to improve its offense and a Guardians squad that has been open to offers on Naylor and outfielder Lane Thomas as they enter their final seasons of club control.

Naylor, 27, is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $12MM this coming season before reaching free agency next winter. He’s fresh off a career-high 31 homers and a .243/.320/.456 batting line (118 wRC+) with a 9.2% walk rate and just a 16.6% strikeout rate. The Mariners have been vocal over the past year-plus about wanting to scale back on their teamwide strikeout rate. Adding power and simultaneously reducing strikeout rate are often at odds with one another, but Naylor is the type of bat who can help them achieve both goals simultaneously.

A trade of Naylor for a Cleveland club that just re-signed Shane Bieber and is clearly intent on contending in 2025 might seem counterproductive at first glance, but the perennial tightrope walk of trading quality veterans for young talent while still trying to field a winning club is nothing new for the Guards. They just unloaded Andres Gimenez and his contract in what amounted to a three-team trade bringing hard-throwing righty Luis Ortiz to Cleveland from Pittsburgh. That dropped their expected payroll to around $97MM, per RosterResource. Shedding Naylor would scale that back to $85MM while opening time for Kyle Manzardo at first base (and perhaps creating more room for some smaller-scale free agent additions).

At the same time, it should be noted that a trade of Naylor isn’t a foregone conclusion. The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd wrote recently that he’d gotten the sense a trade of the slugging first baseman was becoming less likely, as the Guards weren’t impressed with anything offered up by other clubs. (A single text or phone call can change that, of course.) Understandably, Cleveland isn’t going to move a player of Naylor’s ability just to shed payroll; they’d need to feel they’re getting legitimate value in return — especially since with a season comparable to his 2022-24 showings, a then-28-year-old Naylor will be a qualifying offer candidate next offseason.

For the Mariners, Naylor would provide a boost to a club that saw Justin Turner reach free agency at season’s end. Turner was the club’s primary first baseman down the stretch last year after a deadline trade bringing him to Seattle. The M’s have Luke Raley as an option at first base, but he could also mix into the outfield and at designated hitter. Prospect Tyler Locklear is ready for a big league look, but a postseason hopeful like the Mariners might not want to just hand first base to an unproven 24-year-old who posted league-average numbers in Triple-A last season and slashed .156/.224/.311 with a 41% strikeout rate in his first 49 MLB plate appearances.

The M’s also have interest in bringing either Turner or veteran Carlos Santana back to Seattle. (Santana played with the M’s in 2023.) The team’s top priority at the moment seems to be upgrading at first base, then adding help at either third or second base — likely the former. In-house options like Dylan Moore, Ryan Bliss and (eventually) top prospect Cole Young could factor in at second base if the end result is upgrading at both corners.

Naylor’s projected salary likely fits within the Mariners’ reported budget — about $15MM to spend, give or take, per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times — but probably doesn’t leave room for another notable addition. The Mariners would surely love to find a way to unload the contracts of Mitch Haniger $15.5MM in 2025) and/or Mitch Garver ($12.5MM in 2025), but either would be a tall task. The presence of those cumbersome contracts, coupled with a second offseason headlined by a tight budget from ownership, make another round of trades from the ever-active Seattle front office likelier than a series of free-agent splashes aimed at once again revamping an offense that has struggled to produce in a highly pitcher-friendly setting.

Diamondbacks, Cristian Pache Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs and outfielder Cristian Pache have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Pache, a client of MVP Sports Group, will head to spring training as a non-roster invitee and compete for a bench job.

The 26-year-old Pache split the 2024 season between the Phillies, Orioles and Marlins. A lights-out defender with an anemic bat, Pache posted a combined .200/.273/.279 batting line with an alarming 35% strikeout rate in 183 plate appearances on the season. He’s out of minor league options, so none of those clubs ever had the chance to send Pache down for additional work.

Once one of the game’s top prospects with the Braves, Pache was always regarded as an elite defender whose future would hinge on whether the bat would come around. That’s still yet to happen. He’s seen 610 plate appearances between the Braves, A’s, Phillies, Orioles and Marlins but managed only a .181/.243/.275 line (46 wRC+). Injuries have perhaps contributed — he had both elbow and knee surgery in 2023 — but that alone can’t explain away the extent of his struggles in the majors.

Though he’s never shown that he can hit in the majors — or even all that much in Triple-A — Pache has posted superlative defensive grades. Scouts and defensive metrics agree that he’s sensational in the field, evidenced by career marks of 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 17 Outs Above Average in just 1503 big league innings.

Pache’s glove alone would make him a sensible enough depth pickup for any team, particularly on a minor league deal like this one. He fits the D-backs better than most, however, as he offers a right-handed complement to Jake McCarthy, Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll. Pache can play any of the three outfield spots, and while he’s not really a true platoon option, his career .230/.299/.370 (87 wRC+) against lefties at least makes him playable when there’s a southpaw on the bump.

The D-backs have drawn trade interest in outfielders like McCarthy and Thomas, though it seems unlikely there’s any correlation at play. Rather, the Snakes likely pounced on the opportunity to bring in a plus-plus defender who could complement their existing outfield nicely and do so at a negligible cost without any real risk.

Brewers, Bruce Zimmermann Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers have agreed to a minor league deal with left-hander Bruce Zimmermann, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The Ballengee client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this coming spring.

Zimmermann, 29, has appeared in parts of four seasons. All four of those came with the Baltimore native’s hometown club. From 2020-23, he pitched 158 1/3 frames for the Orioles, mostly out of the rotation, posting a 5.57 ERA along the way. He regularly showed plus command (career 5.2% walk rate), but Zimmermann’s 89-91 mph fastball proved too hittable and led to troubles keeping the ball in the park (2.27 HR/9).

While Zimmermann’s big league results have clearly been sub-par, he’s logged a more palatable 4.20 ERA in 306 1/3 innings across parts of five Triple-A seasons. Despite the lack of velocity, he’s punched out a solid 22.8% of his opponent at that level and coupled that with a similarly sound 8% walk rate. The 2024 season was the first since 2019 in which Zimmermann did not appear in the majors. He pitched 80 minor league innings with a 4.16 ERA on the year, splitting his time between the rotation and bullpen.

Zimmermann will give the Brewers some more affordable rotation depth behind the projected starting five of Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale and Tobias Myers. Southpaws Aaron Ashby and DL Hall are both on the 40-man roster and could get looks in the ’pen or as starters.

Other rotation candidates include Carlos Rodriguez, Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick, though the latter two have yet to actually make their MLB debuts. Top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski had a nice season between Double-A and Triple-A last year, and 2022 second-rounder should be in line for his MLB debut at some point during the 2025 campaign. Milwaukee has been on the hunt for extra rotation stability this offseason but doesn’t have much money to work with as they work toward that goal.

The Brewers picked up a plug-and-play mid-rotation arm, Cortes, in the trade sending closer Devin Williams to the Yankees, but they’re still likely to be in the mix for some more low-cost arms.

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