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Tigers Trade Mason Englert To Rays

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The Rays announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired righty Mason Englert from the Tigers in exchange for minor league lefty Drew Sommers. Tampa Bay opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring southpaw Nate Lavender to the 60-day IL. Englert was designated for assignment in Detroit last week.

Englert, 25, was with the Tigers for the past two years. A Rule 5 pick from the Rangers, he stuck on the roster through the 2023 season. Once the Tigers had full control over his rights for 2024, he was shuttled between Triple-A and the majors. Over those two campaigns, he tossed 77 2/3 innings for Detroit, allowing 5.45 earned runs per nine. His 16.5% strikeout rate was subpar but he limited walks to a 6.4% clip.

Those numbers aren’t mind-blowing, but Englert was better in the minors last year. He tossed 49 2/3 innings on the farm over 32 appearances with a 3.08 ERA, 33% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate. Prior to his Rule 5 selection, he tossed 199 1/3 minor league innings over 2021 and 2022 with a 3.93 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate.

Englert is still fairly young and has a couple of options years remaining. The major league results haven’t been there yet but the minor league numbers seem to be intriguing enough that the Rays have brought him aboard. As a club that rotates pitchers through the roster fairly frequently, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Englert moves between Triple-A and the majors throughout the coming season.

Lavender, 25, was just taken in the most recent Rule 5 draft. He had Tommy John surgery in May and likely won’t be able to return until the second half. Today’s transfer officially rules him out of the first two months of the campaign.

Though the Tigers had to bump Englert off the roster, they are at least getting something in return. Sommers, 24, was an 11th-round selection of the Rays in 2022. In 2023, he tossed 43 Single-A innings with a 2.72 ERA, 34.7% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 53.3% ground ball rate. Last year, he got bumped up to High-A and tossed 54 innings with an ERA of 4.00, 27.9% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and massive 67.8% ground ball rate. He’s not considered a top prospect but will give the Tigers an intriguing lefty relief option to plug into their system.

Alex Cobb Unlikely To Be Ready For Opening Day

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Until the Tigers’ recent re-signing of Jack Flaherty, their one-year, $15MM deal with Alex Cobb had been their lone rotation add of the winter and was tied for their largest-scale pickup overall. The signing of Cobb came at a relative premium even though he was limited to just three regular season starts in 2024, with much of that layoff due to recovery from surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip. Now, it seems his other hip is hobbling him; the Tigers announced yesterday that Cobb received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right hip to alleviate inflammation that has “gradually” arisen during his throwing program. Per manager A.J. Hinch, Cobb will be set back by about a month and isn’t likely to be ready to slot into the Opening Day rotation (link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com).

It’s an immediate blow to the Tigers’ staff, though Detroit is better positioned than most clubs to handle an absence (be it short- or long-term). Reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is locked into the top spot on the staff. Flaherty is back to take the No. 2 spot. Righties Reese Olson and Casey Mize give Hinch a pair of reliable arms in the third and fourth spots on the staff.

Top prospect Jackson Jobe was already going to be in the mix for a possible rotation spot this spring, and he’ll now have an even clearer path. He’ll have competition both in the form of veteran arms and fellow up-and-comers. Righty Kenta Maeda is currently slated for a swingman role, but it’s feasible that a pitcher with his track record could pitch his way back into the mix with a big spring showing. Elsewhere on the 40-man roster are righties Keider Montero, Matt Manning and Ty Madden, as well as lefty Brant Hurter. All have at least some degree of big league experience. Former big leaguer Dietrich Enns is also in camp on a minor league deal after a decent showing in the Korea Baseball Organization last year.

Cobb, 37, pitched just 16 1/3 innings during the regular season last year. He added 5 2/3 frames of postseason ball and another 23 in the minors, bringing him to a combined 45 frames on the year. Beyond the hip issue, Cobb battled shoulder fatigue and some blisters on his pitching hand.

Injuries are common for Cobb, but he’s generally been effective when healthy — especially in the latter stages of his career. Up through 2016, Cobb worked primarily off a four-seamer/curveball/changeup repertoire. Whether due to struggles in his return from 2015 Tommy John surgery or another reason, he’s revamped that arsenal over the years and also found some extra life on his pitches.

Cobb’s primary offering is now a sinker that’s averaged 94.6 mph over the past three seasons — a notable uptick from the 91 mph he averaged on his four-seamer from 2011-16. He’s gone from a straight changeup in the mid-80s to a splitter that averaged 89.6 mph in 2022-24. He’s still relying on a knuckle curve, but the pitch now sits 83-84 mph rather than 79-80 mph like it did in his early days.

While Cobb’s injury is an unwelcome development early in camp, at this point there’s no indication it’ll be a long-term issue. And, if he’s truly set back by about a month, he could still get going in mid-March, perhaps setting him up for a mid-April team debut. As such, the Tigers don’t necessarily seem like they’ll need to dip back into the free agent market for rotation arms, though further setbacks from Cobb or additional injuries on the staff could always change the outlook.

Cubs Among Teams With Interest In Justin Turner

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The Cubs are considering Justin Turner as an alternative to Alex Bregman, write Patrick Mooney and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Turner will be limited to one year as he enters his age-40 season. Bregman has reportedly continued to seek a deal of six-plus years, while the Cubs seem to prefer a much shorter term.

Turner remains a quality offensive player. He combined for a .259/.354/.383 slash across 539 plate appearances between the Blue Jays and Mariners last season. His production improved after a deadline trade to Seattle, no small feat for a hitter adapting to the game’s most pitcher-friendly home park. It was the 11th consecutive season in which Turner has been an above-average hitter. While he doesn’t have the same power that he did during his peak years with the Dodgers, he’s still a strong on-base presence with very good strike zone discipline.

Chicago isn’t the lone team with interest in both Bregman and Turner. Mooney and Rosenthal write that the Tigers and Red Sox have also shown some level of interest in Turner. That comprises three of what appears to be the top four suitors — alongside the incumbent Astros — on Bregman. Houston has not been linked to Turner and wouldn’t make sense as a landing spot with Yordan Alvarez ticketed for DH work.

The Cubs could be a tough roster fit in their own right. Seiya Suzuki will get the majority of at-bats at designated hitter. He’s capable of playing right field but squeezed out of a starting outfield of Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker. Turner would be a target as a role-playing corner infield bat. The Cubs have lefty-swinging Michael Busch lined up for the bulk of the first base work. They don’t have any kind of established third baseman after including Isaac Paredes in the Tucker trade. Unless they make a late-offseason strike for Bregman, they’d very likely turn the hot corner to top prospect Matt Shaw.

Turner is not an everyday third baseman at this point of his career. He started four games there last season after logging seven starts in 2023. He hasn’t played more than half a season at the position since 2021. Turner has played more frequently at first base, where he started 40 games last year. He could take some at-bats from Busch against lefty pitching, though Busch had a respectable showing (.258/.330/.382 in 100 plate appearances) in unfavorable platoon situations as a rookie.

The Tigers and Red Sox have each been seeking a right-handed bat. Boston has limited flexibility to accommodate another player at the bottom of the defensive spectrum. The Sox have Rafael Devers and Triston Casas as their corner infield tandem. Masataka Yoshida is lined up for the bulk of the DH work going into the third season of his five-year deal. Boston would probably use Bregman at second base if they landed him. The Sox gave Turner himself four starts at the keystone when he played in Boston in 2023. He wouldn’t play second regularly but could rotate through the position alongside Vaughn Grissom and David Hamilton if top prospect Kristian Campbell opens the season in Triple-A.

Detroit signed Gleyber Torres to play second base. That kicked Colt Keith over to first base, squeezing righty-hitting Spencer Torkelson out of the starting lineup. Turner’s right-handed bat could play well in a lefty-heavy corner infield/DH mix. Keith and Jace Jung, the projected starter at third base if they don’t sign Bregman, each hit from the left side. Kerry Carpenter, who’ll split his time between right field and DH, is a lefty hitter who mashes when he holds the platoon advantage.

Seattle showed interest in a Turner reunion early in the offseason. That’s less likely now that they’ve added righty-hitting Donovan Solano on a $3.5MM free agent deal to platoon with Luke Raley at first base. Mooney and Rosenthal report that the Reds have also spoken with Turner this offseason, though it’s not clear if that interest is ongoing. Cincinnati acquired Gavin Lux to deepen the infield and could give righty hitters Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer a decent amount of run at first base.

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The AL Central?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of spring is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including seven of MLBTR’s Top 50) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. The Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers have decisively won the polls covering the National League’s three divisions, but things were much closer in the AL West with the Athletics squeaking past the Rangers by about 300 votes for the division’s best offseason. Will things be just as close in the AL Central?

Coming off a season where they sent three teams to the ALDS and had a fourth club narrowly miss the postseason, the AL Central enters 2025 in its strongest position in years in spite of the White Sox breaking the single-season record for losses last year. That strength comes with heightened expectations, however, and clubs like the Tigers and Royals that have been mired in lengthy rebuilds in recent years are looked at as genuine contenders entering the season for the first time in a decade or more. Meanwhile, the Guardians and Twins hope to keep their perpetual playoff contention going and the White Sox will look to show signs of life despite being mired in what could be a lengthy rebuild of their own following their disastrous 2024 season.

Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Cleveland Guardians

It’s been a busy offseason in Cleveland with plenty of turnover on the roster. The club’s biggest free agent move was reuniting with longtime ace Shane Bieber on a two-year deal with an opt out after 2025, but they also reunited with longtime first baseman Carlos Santana for his third stint with the club and inked veteran reliever Paul Sewald to a one-year deal as well. Those three free agent moves have been supplemented by a number of notable trades. They shipped out the contracts of Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw to Toronto in separate deals and flipped first baseman Spencer Horwitz (acquired in the Gimenez deal) to the Pirates for Luis Ortiz to bolster the club’s rotation.

In addition to those roster upgrades, however, they’ve also made a handful of sell-side trades including a deal that sent first baseman Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks. The club also parted ways with right-hander Nick Sandlin as part of the Gimenez trade and shipped righty Eli Morgan to the Cubs in a separate deal. Overall, the Guardians managed to substantially upgrade their rotation after the unit struggled with depth in 2024 and cleared plenty of salary off their long-term books, but did so at the expense of an offense that loses two everyday players in Gimenez and Naylor as well as some of the club’s bullpen depth in Sandlin and Morgan.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals have followed up their breakout 2024 season by continuing to spend in free agency, and kicked off the winter’s free agent market by agreeing to a new three-year deal with veteran right-hander Michael Wacha. Wacha’s return to the rotation gave the club the starting depth they needed to trade right-hander Brady Singer to the Reds in order to acquire infielder Jonathan India and provide Bobby Witt Jr. with additional protection in the lineup.

Those early offseason moves were the most significant of the winter for Kansas City, though they’ve stayed busy by adding closer Carlos Estevez to their bullpen on a two-year deal and re-upping with swingman Michael Lorenzen to provide competition for youngsters Alec Marsh and Kris Bubic at the back of the rotation. It’s a strong group of offseason moves on paper, though it’s somewhat troubling that the Royals haven’t properly addressed an outfield group that was bottom-three in baseball by wRC+ last year.

Detroit Tigers

For much of the offseason, it appeared that the Tigers were largely standing pat as the club entered the holiday season with veteran starter Alex Cobb’s one-year deal as their only notable addition. Since then, however, they’ve added two more notable free agents who didn’t see their markets develop as much as expected. They’ve bolstered the lineup with Gleyber Torres on a one-year deal that kicked Colt Keith over to first base and Spencer Torkelson into a bench role, but most notable of all is the club’s reunion with Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal that includes an opt out after 2025.

After shipping Flaherty to Los Angeles last summer before catching fire down the stretch, plenty of fans have wondered what the Tigers’ run through the postseason last year might have looked like with Flaherty alongside Tarik Skubal at the front of the rotation. That question could now be answered in 2025, and with no significant subtractions from the club’s roster this winter it’s difficult to argue the Tigers haven’t improved headed into the coming season.

Minnesota Twins

It’s been a very quiet offseason in Minnesota. From the outset of the offseason, there’s been reports of the Twins’ payroll being more or less maxed out and the club needing to move salary in order to make notable additions. Those trades haven’t materialized to this point, despite rumors swirling around top players like Pablo Lopez as well as more ancillary pieces like Christian Vazquez and Chris Paddack.

That hasn’t completely stopped the Twins from making moves, however. In the past week, they’ve signed Harrison Bader to back up oft-injured star Byron Buxton in center field while adding southpaw Danny Coulombe to the bullpen as a replacement for Caleb Thielbar. They also managed to swing a trade for former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya with the Dodgers when he was squeezed off of the 40-man in Los Angeles, though Cartaya has yet to so much as make his debut in the big leagues to this point. Whether they can add a bat to the lineup who can help replace the production of Max Kepler and Carlos Santana, however, figures to depend on the club’s success at swinging a sell-side trade to clear salary.

Chicago White Sox

As a firmly rebuilding club, the goals of the White Sox offseason look quite different to the other clubs in the AL Central. With that being said, however, they’ve generally done quite well in achieving those goals. Their most notable move, of course, was shipping southpaw Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox in a Winter Meetings blockbuster reminiscent of the Chris Sale trade following the 2016 season. In exchange for Crochet’s services, Chicago landed a pair of top-100 prospects in catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery as well as infielder Chase Meidroth and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez.

That excellent return for two years of Crochet aside, the club’s offseason has mostly been defined by adding shorter-term ancillary pieces who could potentially be flipped at the trade deadline in July. Matt Thaiss, Cam Booser, Mike Tauchman, Austin Slater, Bryse Wilson, Josh Rojas, and Martin Perez all fit this category to one degree or another, with the latter five names all being signed to inexpensive one-year deals that should make them easily affordable for even budget-conscious contending clubs this summer should any of them play well enough to justify a trade.

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Despite having the lowest cumulative payroll of any division in the majors, the AL Central has had a fairly busy offseason with every team having made at least a couple of noteworthy additions. The Guardians have continued their eternal balancing act of the present and future by improving the roster’s biggest weakness in 2024 while shedding significant salary, while the Royals and Tigers both made notable (if somewhat modest) additions to the rosters that catapulted them to surprise contention last year. The Twins have made a handful of minor moves as they hope their deep roster can rebound from the steps backward some key players took in 2025, while the White Sox jump-started their rebuild with a major trade and added a number of low-cost veterans with an eye towards more trades this summer.

Of the five NL Central clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Tigers Designate Mason Englert For Assignment

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The Tigers have designated right-hander Mason Englert for assignment, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. He’s the corresponding move for Detroit’s re-signing of Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal, which the team agreed to earlier in the week and formally announced this morning.

Englert, 25, came to the Tigers as a Rule 5 pick out of the Rangers’ system back in 2022. He stuck on the big league roster all season in 2023 in a seldom-used long relief role. He appeared in only 31 of Detroit’s games that season and was roughed up for a 5.46 ERA. His results didn’t improve in 21 2/3 big league innings last year. The righty yielded a 5.40 ERA with very similar strikeout, walk, ground-ball and home run rates.

Though Englert has been hit hard in his 77 2/3 big league frames, he was excellent in the minors last year. The Tigers moved him to more of a short relief role, and in 41 2/3 Triple-A innings, Englert turned in a very strong 3.08 ERA with a massive 35.3% strikeout rate, an 8.2% walk rate and a 49.5% ground-ball rate. At a time when power arms are particularly en vogue, Englert’s 92.7 mph average on his four-seamer isn’t going to garner massive fanfare, but the results in the minors stand out nevertheless.

Add in that Englert still has two minor league option years remaining, and it seems like there’s a good chance another club’s interest could be piqued on a minor trade — or at the very least on a waiver claim. Englert’s blend of strikeouts, command and grounders in Triple-A last year is a general recipe for success. That he’s the roster casualty for Flaherty’s return speaks to the level in which the Tigers’ overall 40-man roster has deepened. It’s true that he lacks big league success, but his recent Triple-A work is far more interesting than that of most players who find themselves on the wrong end of a DFA. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris seems to agree; asked during today’s media availability about the decision to designate Englert, he replied:

“I would love to keep him. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to. … I think Mason has really grown up as a pitcher since we drafted him in the Rule 5. He’s able to move his (pitch) shapes all around the zone. He’s very confident on the mound, and he is comfortable in any situation, so if we can find a way to keep him, I would love to keep him. I just don’t know that we’re going to be able to, because I imagine there’ll be interest around the league on him.”

The Tigers will have five days to work out a trade of Englert. After that, he’ll need to be placed on waivers (a 48-hour process) in order for his DFA to be resolved within the allotted window of one week.

Tigers Sign Jack Flaherty

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Feb. 7: The Tigers have formally announced Flaherty’s two-year deal.

Feb. 2: Jack Flaherty is returning to the Motor City, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan (multiple links) reports that the right-hander has signed a two-year deal with the Tigers worth $35MM in guaranteed money.  The frontloaded deal pays Flaherty $25MM in 2025, and he can opt out of the second year of the contract this fall to re-enter free agency.  Flaherty will earn at least $10MM in 2026, though he can unlock up to an additional $10MM in incentive bonuses if he makes 15 starts this season.  The deal will become official once Flaherty passes a physical, and the right-hander is represented by CAA Sports.

The new contract is a healthy increase over the one-year, $14MM deal Flaherty signed with Detroit in December 2023, as the righty was looking to rebuild his value after a few injury-marred and inconsistent seasons with the Cardinals and Orioles.  Flaherty got himself back on track in impressive fashion, delivering a 2.95 ERA over 18 starts and 106 2/3 innings for the Tigers before he was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline.

Now pitching for his hometown team, Flaherty had a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 regular-season innings for L.A. and had a couple of big moments in the playoffs, most notably seven shutout innings against the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS.  After capturing his first World Series ring, Flaherty headed into the open market in search of a lucrative long-term deal, bolstered by his 2024 production and unencumbered by a qualifying offer.

MLBTR rated Flaherty eighth on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, projecting that he’d land a five-year, $115MM contract as he entered his age-29 season.  Even as other pitchers exceeded salary expectations, Flaherty’s market remained relatively cold, and he said in an interview on the Foul Territory podcast just over a week ago that he had received little in the way of formal contract offers.  A couple of weeks ago, reports suggested that Flaherty was open to the type of shorter-term deal with an opt-out that he ended up signing for his second stint in a Tigers uniform.

The Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, Giants, Blue Jays, and Orioles were all linked to Flaherty at various points during the offseason, and reports of Detroit’s interest in a reunion first surfaced back in early December.  Flaherty noted during his Foul Territory interview that he “wanted to stay in Detroit” before the deadline trade, and “loved” his previous time with the team, particularly pitching alongside Tarik Skubal in the rotation.

It could be that Flaherty lingered this long on the open market because teams wanted to see more than just his 2024 season before being sold on a longer-term commitment.  Injury concerns may have been a factor, as the Yankees pulled out of a planned deal to acquire Flaherty at the deadline after looking at his medical records.  Apart from one skipped start due to a bad back, Flaherty was otherwise pretty healthy in 2024, avoiding the injured list and tossing 184 combined innings during the regular season and postseason.  His average fastball velocity was a modest 93.3mph, however, and he lost some velo later in the season after the trade.

Looking elsewhere on the Statcast page, Flaherty posted an excellent 29.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate, along with strong hard-contact and chase rates to go along with his 3.17 combined ERA with Detroit and Los Angeles.  It was the kind of form that Flaherty hadn’t shown over a full season since 2019, when he finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting while pitching with the Cardinals.

It is relatively uncommon to see a player get dealt by a team at the trade deadline and then re-sign with that same team the following offseason, yet the way this scenario played out, the Tigers’ decision to move Flaherty couldn’t have worked out much better.  Detroit received prospects Trey Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo from the Dodgers, and Sweeney already made an impact by becoming the Tigers’ regular shortstop down the stretch.  Unlike most deadline sellers, the Tigers caught fire late in the season and made an improbable playoff run, going 31-13 over their last 44 games to win a wild card berth, and Detroit then upset the Astros in the Wild Card Series before taking the Guardians to the full five games in the ALDS.

After relying on the “pitching chaos” strategy for much of that run, the Tigers’ rotation looks a lot more stable heading into 2025.  Flaherty and fellow new signing Alex Cobb join Skubal, Reese Olson as pitchers with set rotation spots, and the list of fifth starter candidates includes the likes of Kenta Maeda, Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe and Matt Manning.  Detroit might well keep this entire group to guard against injuries, but there’s enough depth here that the Tigers could consider trading a starter to address another primary need, like relief pitching or a right-handed bat.

Among Detroit’s primary free agent signings this winter, Cobb, Gleyber Torres, and Tommy Kahnle all signed one-year contracts and Flaherty’s deal might also end up as a one-year pact should he exercise his opt-out clause.  Even if Flaherty passes on his opt-out, all these signings fit president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ preferred model of shorter-term contracts.  This isn’t to say that the Tigers haven’t at least explored longer-term deals (i.e. their ongoing pursuit of Alex Bregman), but focusing on just short-term upgrades has allowed the club to keep its financial powder dry for a bigger splash in the future.  Flaherty, Colt Keith, and Javier Baez are the only Tigers players guaranteed money beyond the 2025 season.

While naturally Flaherty would’ve preferred to have locked down a pricey long-term deal already, another quality season will surely line up nicely for such a contract next winter, even if a full year with the Tigers would make him eligible for a qualifying offer.  In the interim, he’ll bank at least a $25MM payday, and pitch in a comfortable and familiar environment on what looks to be a contending team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

MLBTR Podcast: Jack Flaherty Back To Detroit, Max Scherzer, And What’s Next For The Padres

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, most clubs have a report date of February 12th or 13th. The Cubs and Dodgers are a bit earlier than most, on the 9th and 11th, respectively. That’s due to the fact that those clubs are heading to Tokyo, with exhibition games in mid-March, followed by regular season games against each other on March 18th and 19th. All the other teams have Opening Day scheduled for March 27th.

It’s worth pointing out that the 60 days don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.

There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, as well as Nick Pivetta, Andrew Heaney, David Robertson, Randal Grichuk, Kenley Jansen, Harrison Bader, Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana and many more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon.

Angels: Robert Stephenson

Stephenson underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery with internal brace in late April. Given the 14-plus months required to recovery from such a procedure, he’s not likely to be ready in the early parts of the 2025 season.

Astros: Cristian Javier, J.P. France, Bennett Sousa

Javier underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is targeting a return in the second half of 2025. France is recovering from shoulder surgery and hoping to return in July. Sousa’s timeline is less clear but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in April. Other possibilities include Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., who are expected to start the season on the IL but returning in April or May still seems possible.

Athletics: Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk

Medina underwent Tommy John surgery in August and Waldichuk in May. Medina might miss the entire season while Waldichuk is likely to miss a few months at least.

Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo, Alek Manoah

The Jays grabbed Bastardo from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December, even though he had Tommy John surgery in June. Manoah also had Tommy John around that time and is hoping to be back by August.

Braves: Joe Jiménez

Jimenez had knee surgery in November with a timeline of eight to twelve months, so he might miss the entire season. Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are also possibilities, though those will be more borderline. Strider had internal brace surgery in April, so returning in May is somewhat possible. Acuña is recovering from a torn ACL last year and it’s possible he’ll miss the first month or so of the season. Given how important both of those players are, Atlanta probably won’t put them on the 60-day IL unless it’s 100% certain that they can’t come back in the first 60 days of the season.

Brewers: Robert Gasser

Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and will be looking at a late 2025 return even in a best-case scenario.

Diamondbacks: Kyle Nelson

Nelson’s timeline is unclear, but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in May and missed the remainder of the 2024 season.

Dodgers: Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan

Stone underwent shoulder surgery in October that will cause him to miss the entire year. Graterol also underwent shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until the second half of 2025. Each of Ryan, Hurt and Sheehan required Tommy John surgery in 2024: Ryan in August, Hurt in July and Sheehan in May.

Guardians: Sam Hentges, David Fry, Shane Bieber, Trevor Stephan

Hentges required shoulder surgery in September, with an expected recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. Fry underwent UCL surgery in November with a more fluid timeline. He won’t be able to throw at all in 2025 but could be cleared for designated hitter action six to eight months from that surgery. Bieber is perhaps a borderline case, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Given his importance, the Guards may not transfer him to the 60-day IL until it’s assured that he won’t be back in the first 60 days of the season. Stephan underwent Tommy John surgery in March and perhaps has a chance to avoid the 60-day IL, depending on his progression.

Mariners: Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar

Brash underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Given the typical 14-month recovery timeline from that procedure, he would be looking at a midsummer return. However, it was reported in November that he’s ahead of schedule and could be back by the end of April. That’s an optimistic timeline but the Mariners will probably hold off moving him to the 60-day IL until the door is closed to an early return. Kowar underwent Tommy John in March, so an early return in 2025 is possible for him, depending on how his recovery is going.

Marlins: Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez

Garrett just underwent UCL surgery last month and is going to miss the entire 2025 season. Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will miss at least part of the beginning of the 2025 campaign.

Mets: Christian Scott

Scott required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in September and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.

Nationals: Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson

Gray required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in July, meaning he’ll miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 season. Thompson required Tommy John surgery in March, so he has a better chance to make an early-season return if his recovery is going well.

Orioles: Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells

Bradish and Wells each required UCL surgery in June, so they’re both slated to miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.

Padres: Joe Musgrove

Musgrove had Tommy John surgery in October and will therefore miss the entire 2025 season. However, the Padres only have 36 guys on their 40-man roster at the moment, so they’ll need to fill those spots before moving Musgrove to the 60-day IL.

Pirates: Dauri Moreta

Moreta required UCL surgery in March, so an early-season return is possible if his rehab is going well, though he could end up on the 60-day if the club goes easy with his ramp-up or he suffers any kind of setback.

Rangers: Josh Sborz

Sborz underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to miss the first two to three months of the upcoming season.

Rays: Nate Lavender, Ha-Seong Kim

The Rays took Lavender from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft, even though he had Tommy John in May and will miss the start of the season. Kim’s status is more up in the air after he had shoulder surgery in October. Various reports have suggested he could return anywhere from April to July. The Rays made a sizable investment in Kim, their largest ever for a position player, so they probably won’t shelve him until they get more clarity on his status.

Red Sox: Patrick Sandoval, Garrett Whitlock, Chris Murphy

Sandoval had internal brace surgery in June of last year and should miss the first half of the season. Whitlock had the same surgery in May, so he could have a bit of a better chance to return in the first 60 days of the season. Murphy underwent a fully Tommy John surgery in April and will certainly miss the beginning of the upcoming season. Another possibility is Lucas Giolito, who had internal brace surgery in March, though he expects to be ready by Opening Day.

Reds: Julian Aguiar, Brandon Williamson

Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery in October and Williamson in September, so both are likely slated to miss the entire 2025 season.

Tigers: Sawyer Gipson-Long

Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April. On top of that, he underwent left hip labral repair surgery in July, with the club hoping to address both issues at the same time. It seems likely that he’ll miss some of the early 2025 schedule, but his IL placement will depend on how he’s been progressing.

White Sox: Jesse Scholtens

Scholtens underwent Tommy John surgery in early March. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend on how he’s progressed since then and when the White Sox expect him back.

Yankees: Jonathan Loáisiga

Loáisiga underwent internal brace surgery in April, so he could potentially be back on the mound early in the 2025 season. It was reported in December that the Yankees are expecting him to be in the bullpen by late April or early May, so he’ll only end up on the 60-day IL if he suffers a bit of a setback.

Rays Acquire Alex Faedo

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The Rays have acquired right-hander Alex Faedo from the Tigers, per announcements from both clubs.  Faedo had been designated for assignment by the Tigers last week when they signed Tommy Kahnle. The Rays are sending minor league catcher Enderson Delgado and cash to Detroit. Infielder Osleivis Basabe has been designated for assignment by the Rays in a corresponding move, which MLBTR covered here.

Getting Faedo, 29, is a buy-low move for the Rays. The Tigers grabbed him with the 18th overall pick in 2017 and Baseball America ranked the righty as the #50 prospect in the entire league going into 2018.

But the big league results haven’t matched up to that prospect billing just yet. Faedo has thrown 175 2/3 innings for the Tigers over the past three seasons, allowing 4.51 earned runs per nine. His 20.9% strikeout rate and 9.7% have both been a bit below league average. He is now out of options and would have had a hard time holding a roster spot in Detroit all year, so he got bumped off.

The Rays are seemingly more willing to carry Faedo on the roster, since they are giving up a prospect and cash to get him. Perhaps the hope is that Faedo is in the process of finding a home in the bullpen. He has worked as a starter and a reliever in his big league career, but with a 5.00 ERA out of the rotation and 3.44 ERA from the bullpen. His 22.6% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate as a reliever aren’t outstanding numbers, but better than his 20.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate as a starter.

Though he hasn’t had huge punchout stuff, he’s had some intriguing numbers in terms of limiting damage. His 34.4% hard hit rate allowed last year was in the 82nd percentile of qualified pitchers, according to Statcast. His barrel rate was in the 76th percentile and his average exit velocity 65th. His 2023 numbers in those categories were fairly similar.

His out-of-options status will make things a bit challenging for the Rays, a club that normally likes to rotate pitchers on and off the roster with regularity. RosterResource projects the club to run a six-man rotation of Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen. That leaves a seven-man bullpen consisting of Pete Fairbanks, Edwin Uceta, Garrett Cleavinger, Manuel Rodríguez, Mason Montgomery, Mike Vasil and Faedo. Montgomery is the only one of that relief group that can be optioned and RR has the out-of-options Cole Sulser listed in Triple-A as of this writing.

The roster might not shake out exactly like that, as spring performance and health can certainly change things, but there’s not a ton of flexibility in the relief group at the moment. But if the Rays manage to keep Faedo in the mix, there will be a long-term payoff. He has just under two years of service time at the moment, meaning he can be controlled for five seasons if he continues to hang onto his roster spot and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration.

For the Tigers, losing Faedo probably stings a little bit, but at least they were able to recoup some potential future value out of a guy who got squeezed off the fringes of the roster. Delgado, 20, was an international signing of the Rays out of Venezuela. Back in July, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs ranked Delgado as the #37 prospect in the Rays’ system. That report suggests Delgado could carve out a future backup catching role based mostly on his defense, particularly his throwing arm.

The FanGraphs report gives less praise for his offense. He has slashed .215/.337/.322 over three minor league seasons, though he showed some improvement last year with a line of .259/.382/.400. Given his age and that he still hasn’t climbed higher than Single-A, he’ll be a long-term play for the Tigers.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Faedo was going to the Rays for Delgado and cash, prior to the official announcements.

Tigers Still Pursuing Bregman After Flaherty Agreement

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The Tigers made their biggest strike of the offseason last night, agreeing to terms with right-hander Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal that allows him to opt back into free agency at season’s end. He’ll be paid $25MM in 2025 and has a $10MM player option for the 2026 season (that increases to $20MM if he makes 15 starts). Even with that fairly pricey pact in place, the Tigers aren’t closing the door on the other marquee free agent they’ve been chasing. ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Detroit still in pursuit of third baseman Alex Bregman even after signing Flaherty. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press hears the same, writing that the Tigers have “conducted their offseason moves around their interest in signing Bregman,” ultimately passing on several right-handed bats in whom they also had interest (Christian Walker, switch-hitter Anthony Santander, and Ha-Seong Kim).

With Flaherty on the books, the Tigers’ 2025 payroll projects out to about $142MM, per RosterResource’s estimates. They’re up to $156MM in luxury obligations. That leaves them more than $50MM shy of the franchise-record $200MM player payroll and $85MM shy of the $241MM tax threshold. There’s room to accommodate Bregman, be it on a higher-annual value short-term deal with opt-outs or on the type of long-term, six- or seven-year pact he’s been seeking throughout free agency. The only Tigers guaranteed any salary beyond the 2025 season are Flaherty and infielders Colt Keith and Javier Baez. It’s possible — if not likely — that Flaherty will turn down that player option and head back to the market. Baez owed $25MM in 2025 and $24MM in both 2026-27. Keith is owed just over $24MM total through the 2029 season.

Suffice it to say, there’s ample long-term payroll space available if the Tigers decide that a late agreement with Bregman is the optimal finishing piece to an active winter. Adding Bregman would likely mean optioning top prospect Jace Jung to Triple-A Toledo to begin the season, but he’d be a depth option at either third or second in the event of an injury to Bregman or fellow free agent signee Gleyber Torres. Matt Vierling would presumably spend the bulk of his time in right field, though he could spell Bregman at the hot corner when he needs a breather or perhaps gets a rest day at designated hitter.

Any deal between the Tigers and Bregman would surely be the largest pact ever issued under president of baseball operations Scott Harris. In two-plus years on the job — a portion of it still at least partially in rebuild mode — Harris hasn’t gone beyond a two-year guarantee for a free agent. Flaherty and Kenta Maeda are the only two free agents Detroit has signed for two years under Harris, and no free agent has received more than Flaherty’s $35MM guarantee. The Tigers went six years on their extension with Keith, but he’d yet to even make his MLB debut and received a $28.6425MM guarantee.

Bregman reportedly has multiple six-year offers — one from the Astros (valued at at least $156MM) and one from another interested party that is said to contain an opt-out after year one. The Blue Jays have been suggested as the other team, though it’s not expressly clear that they’ve done so (nor is the value of the other six-year offer known). Beyond the Astros, Tigers and Jays, both the Cubs and Red Sox have been involved in Bregman’s market. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago reports that as of yesterday afternoon, the Cubs are still in active talks with Bregman’s camp as well. That’s not really a new development, of course, but it’s further indication that none of the five clubs reported to be in pursuit of Bregman has fully backed down as of yet.

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