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National League Non-Tenders: 11/22/24

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The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on National League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

  • The Braves non-tendered outfielder Ramón Laureano, left-hander Ray Kerr, as well as right-handers Griffin Canning, Huascar Ynoa and Royber Salinas, which you can read more about here.
  • The Brewers parted ways with lefty reliever Hoby Milner, who’d been projected at $2.7MM for his final arbitration season. The typically reliable southpaw was tagged for a 4.73 ERA in 64 2/3 innings this year.
  • The Cardinals have non-tendered right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (Bluesky link). The righty only just made his major league debut in 2024 and was not yet arb-eligible. He immediately becomes a free agent without being exposed to waivers.
  • The Cubs have non-tendered infielder Nick Madrigal, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). Madrigal has hit .251/.304/.312 for a 76 wRC+ over the last three seasons with the Cubs and was projected for a $1.9MM salary next year. Chicago also announced they non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, which comes as a bit of a surprise after he reached base at a .357 clip this year. Patrick Wisdom, Adbert Alzolay, Brennen Davis and Trey Wingenter — all of whom were designated for assignment earlier this week — were also dropped.
  • The Diamondbacks non-tendered lefty reliever Brandon Hughes, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old southpaw allowed 16 runs over 17 2/3 big league innings this year. He wasn’t eligible for arbitration but would’ve occupied a 40-man roster spot if offered a contract.
  • The Dodgers are non-tendering right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. and left-hander Zach Logue, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link). Both pitchers are still in their pre-arbitration years, so this was more about the Dodgers sending them to free agency without exposing them to waivers, as opposed to cost cutting. Perhaps the club will look to re-sign them on minor league deals.
  • The Giants only made two non-tenders, parting with lefty Ethan Small and righty Kai-Wei Teng. Teng had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Small, who was in his pre-arbitration years, spent the season in the minors or on the injured list.
  • The Marlins had zero non-tenders. They offered contracts to everyone on the 40-man roster.
  • The Mets dropped a trio of players from the 40-man roster: relievers Grant Hartwig and Alex Young and outfield prospect Alex Ramirez. Young was the only member of that group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The southpaw pitched well in a depth role, but the Mets didn’t want to keep him around at a $1.4MM projection. Hartwig made four appearances this year, while the 21-year-old Ramirez (a former top prospect) had a .210/.291/.299 showing in Double-A.
  • The Nationals announced that they have non-tendered right-hander Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey, which you can read more about here.
  • The Padres dropped four players from the roster: righties Luis Patino and Logan Gillaspie, outfielder Bryce Johnson and infielder Mason McCoy. Patino, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, was the only member of the group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The other three cuts are simply about roster maintenance. The Padres could try to bring anyone from that group back on minor league deals.
  • The Phillies will not be tendering a contract to outfielder Austin Hays, which MLBTR covered earlier today.
  • The Pirates are expected to non-tender first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com (Bluesky link). They are also non-tendering right-hander Hunter Stratton, per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). Joe was projected for a salary of $3.2MM next year and De La Cruz $4MM. Stratton had not yet qualified for arbitration. Joe has been around league average at the plate in his career but doing more damage against lefties. De La Cruz has hit .253/.297/.407 in his career for a wRC+ of 90. Startton had a 3.58 ERA this year but his season was ended by knee surgery, giving him an uncertain path forward.
  • The Reds have non-tendered right-hander Ian Gibaut, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Bluesky link). The righty was projected for a salary of $800K. He spent the vast majority of 2024 on the injured list due to arm trouble and only made two appearances on the season.
  • The Rockies moved on from starter Cal Quantrill and second baseman Brendan Rodgers, which MLBTR covered here.

Reds Notes: Martinez, Offseason, De La Cruz

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Nick Martinez accepted the Reds’ $21.05MM qualifying offer this week, making him the lone player of the 13 who received a QO to accept that one-year deal. The two parties talked about a potential multi-year deal before the 34-year-old righty accepted, and while talks on a multi-year deal are reportedly on hold for now, Martinez suggested that he’s still open to such an arrangement and has received no indication from the club that talks won’t pick up down the line (links via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic).

“Accepting the qualifying offer doesn’t limit us from talking, so I’m definitely still open to it if that helps mitigate costs for this year or sign more guys,” Martinez said yesterday (via Rosecrans). Via Sheldon (on BlueSky), he added: “To my understanding, [discussing a multi-year deal] is still on the table.”

Martinez’s $21.05MM salary puts the Reds right back at their 2024 payroll level, per RosterResource’s projections. Reds COO Doug Healy said last week that the 2025 payroll would be “at or above” last year’s roughly $100MM level. A $21MM salary for Martinez doesn’t leave tons of wiggle room, and the Reds haven’t divulged just how far “above” that $100MM level they’d be comfortable spending. Working out a two- or three-year deal with Martinez that might reduce his 2025 salary would give the Reds more flexibility and also allow them to further extend their control over a player who president of baseball ops Nick Krall called a “great team guy” and a “lead-by-example guy.”

Prior to the Reds’ surprise decision to tender a QO to Martinez, MLBTR had penciled Martinez in for a three-year, $39MM contract on our annual Top 50 Free Agent rankings. The Athletic’s Tim Britton offered a very similar three-year, $40MM prediction. A deal in that range could allow the Reds to trim several million off Martinez’s 2025 salary — perhaps even more, if the team is willing to backload the deal so Martinez’s salaries are greater in 2026-27, when other contracts will be coming off the books. Emilio Pagán is earning $8MM in 2025 but is a free agent at season’s end. Jeimer Candelario is signed for two more years and earning more in ’25 ($15MM) than in ’26 ($12MM).

Among the Reds’ other goals in free agency are adding a bat to the lineup, deepening the bullpen and, per Sheldon, improving the team’s overall defense. Landing a corner outfield bat has long seemed like a viable target for the Reds, with Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill, Jurickson Profar, Michael Conforto and Max Kepler among the non-Soto tier of free agent possibilities. Again, bringing Martinez back at a weighty price point complicates the pursuit of such hitters, but all should sign contracts that are within reasonable proximity to the Reds’ prior free agent thresholds. Cincinnati has in the past signed both Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas to four-year, $64MM free agent deals, for instance. Santander will very likely command a larger guarantee than that, but the others should come in at or below (well below, for Conforto and Kepler) that type of total commitment and/or annual value.

One other area of focus for the Reds this winter will be making incremental improvements to Elly De La Cruz’s already impressive game, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. One of the game’s most dynamic talents and still just 22 years old, the 6’5″ De La Cruz wowed with 25 homers, 67 steals and a .259/.339/.471 batting line while playing 160 games and spending every inning he was in the lineup at shortstop. Krall specifically voiced a desire to work with De La Cruz on whittling away at his 31.3% strikeout rate — a mark that’s already down a bit from his 33.7% rate as a 21-year-old in 2023.

Interestingly, Krall noted that “a lot of our guys” are in that same boat, perhaps foreshadowing one of the traits he’ll look for as he looks to bolster his lineup this winter. With regard to De La Cruz, however, both Krall and GM Brad Meador emphasized to Wittenmyer that even with a crowded infield mix and prospect Edwin Arroyo on the rise, De La Cruz is the team’s shortstop for the foreseeable future. Krall and Meador spoke of working with De La Cruz to tighten up his defense on routine plays and scale back outs made on the basepaths, though the team is surely thrilled with the overall quality of their budding star shortstop’s performance. De La Cruz is under club control for at least five more seasons and likely won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason.

MLBTR Podcast: The Rays’ Stadium Plans, Diamond Sports, And Some Offseason Rumors

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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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • If the Red Sox acquire Garrett Crochet from the White Sox, will they still go after top free agents? (13:15)
  • Could the Reds and Royals line up on a trade involving Jonathan India and Brady Singer or some other Kansas City pitching? (17:25)
  • On the Top 50, none of the writers predicted the Orioles to sign top free agents. Are you underestimating David Rubenstein’s intention to speed up the timeline? (26:05)

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!

Reds Select Tyler Callihan, Luis Mey

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The Reds announced that they have selected infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan and right-hander Luis Mey to their 40-man roster, protecting both players from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft. The 40-man roster count climbs to 39.

Callihan, 25 in June, was a third-round pick of the Reds in 2019. Due to the pandemic and Tommy John surgery in 2021, he didn’t play much in the years following his draft. He is coming off a season in which he posted some pretty strong numbers. He got into 73 games this year, 69 of those in Double-A and four in Triple-A. In that time, he slashed .276/.359/.429 for a wRC+ of 133.

Given his small amount of experience at the top minor league level, he will probably head back to that level next year. He has experience at the three non-shortstop infield positions and left field as well, so he can give the club some depth at a variety of spots around the diamond.

Mey, 23, has great stuff but hasn’t really been able to harness it yet. Over the past four years, he has thrown 123 2/3 innings with a 4.66 earned run average. He struck out 26.1% of batters faced in that time and got plenty of ground balls but also walked 17.5% of batters faced.

He has yet to reach Triple-A and has just 19 Double-A appearances. Given that and his lack of control, he seems to be a bit of a long-term project for the Reds. If they can develop him in the coming years, he could factor into their big league bullpen down the line.

Nick Martinez Accepts Qualifying Offer From Reds

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Nov. 18: Martinez has now formally accepted the QO, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He adds an update to a prior report, adding that talks on a multi-year deal are not expected to continue.

Nov. 17: Veteran right-hander Nick Martinez is planning to accept the qualifying offer from the Reds, according to a report from Francys Romero. Martinez will remain with Cincinnati for the 2025 season on a one-year, $21.05MM deal.

Martinez, 34, was a somewhat surprising recipient of the QO after a strong inaugural season with the Reds. The right-hander joined the club on a two-year, $26MM guarantee last winter after both he and the Padres opted out of their simultaneous options for the 2024 campaign, making him a free agent. The deal with Cincinnati proved to be something of a coup for the Reds, as Martinez turned in an excellent 3.10 ERA and 3.21 FIP over 142 1/3 innings of work in a season that saw him split his time between the starting rotation and the bullpen.

While the righty posted utterly dominant numbers in relief, sporting a 1.86 ERA in 53 1/3 frames out of the bullpen, his 3.84 ERA across 16 starts saw him flash the ability to be a quality rotation piece. A closer look at Martinez’s work this season reveals that he struggled badly out of the rotation early in the year, with a 5.46 ERA through the end of April. He ended the year on a dominant note after returning to the rotation in early August, however, with a 2.42 ERA in 63 1/3 innings across 11 starts down the stretch. That excellent late-season performance could inspire more confidence in Martinez’s abilities as a rotation piece looking ahead to 2025, although it’s worth noting that his strikeout rate (22.5% vs 19.1%) and groundball rate (42.8% vs 33.7%) were both better out of the bullpen than the rotation this year.

Of course, part of Martinez’s value since returning to MLB following a four-year sojourn to Japan (where he posted a 3.02 ERA in 378 1/3 NPB innings) is his ability to shift from the rotation to the bullpen based on the needs of his team. The right-hander has worked as a swingman in each of the last three seasons, logging 184 innings across 35 starts in the rotation and and 175 innings over 117 relief outings. On the heels of a season that saw Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott all miss time due to injury, it’s easy to imagine the Reds placing additional value on Martinez’s flexibility as they attempt to map out a plan for their young rotation arms. That’s especially valuable given the presence of top prospect Rhett Lowder, who looked dominant in a late-season call-up but may not be ready to jump straight into a wire-to-wire big league season in 2025.

That combination of production and versatility convinced the Reds to extend Martinez the QO, even though $21.05MM constitutes a raise of more than $7MM over his 2024 salary. The sides reportedly discussed a multi-year extension in the days leading up to the QO deadline earlier this month, but did not ultimately come together on a deal. Given Martinez’s age, it’s likely that his earning power on the open market would be tamped down in any multi-year pact. That reality surely made accepting the QO an attractive option for Martinez, and that’s exactly what MLBTR predicted he would do in our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list.

While adding Martinez to the club’s pitching staff for 2025 is sure to improve the team, that hefty raise might cause some complications for the club’s budget. RosterResource estimates the club’s current payroll for 2025 to be just under $81MM. While the Reds are committed to a payroll “at or above” their 2024 level, the club spent just $100MM on payroll last year and the addition of Martinez’s $21.05MM salary would push the Reds to $102MM, just over that mark. Potential non-tender candidates like Santiago Espinal and Jake Fraley could help the club save a few million dollars here and there, but it seems as though Cincinnati will need to exceed their 2024 payroll by a notable amount in order to make further additions this winter.

As for the free agent market overall, this winter’s market remains deep in interesting mid-to-back of the rotation options even with Martinez off the board. Yusei Kikuchi, Nathan Eovaldi, and Nick Pivetta are among the mid-rotation arms expected to pursue multi-year deals in free agency this winter, while bounce-back candidates like Walker Buehler and Max Scherzer could provide significant upside as they look to re-establish themselves on one-year, high-AAV deals similar to Martinez’s.

Reds, Royals Reportedly Discussing Jonathan India Trade

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The Reds and Royals are discussing a trade that would send second baseman Jonathan India to Kansas City in exchange for right-hander Brady Singer, according to a report from C. Trent Rosencrans and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal adds that a deal between the sides is not considered close and that India is one of “several” hitters the Royals are looking at as they consider dealing from their rotation depth.

India, 28 next month, is coming off something of a rebound campaign in 2024. After averaging just 111 games per season in each of the past two years with below average offensive numbers while dealing with hamstring issues and a bout of plantar fasciitis in his left foot, he posted his best season since winning the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year award this past year. In 637 trips to the plate across 151 games this year, India slashed a respectable .248/.357/.392 (108 wRC+) while slugging 15 homers and stealing 13 bases. He also struck out just 19.6% of the time while walking at a 12.6% clip, making him one of just three players (alongside Freddie Freeman and Juan Soto) to strike out in less than 20% of his plate appearances with a walk rate of at least 12%.

That impressive discipline at the plate makes India a valuable asset even as his power and speed numbers fall short of 20/20 potential. Just five qualified second basemen posted better offensive seasons by measure of wRC+ than India did last year, and his 2.8 fWAR ranks seventh at the position. On the surface, losing that production would seem to be debilitating for a Reds offense that was bottom-five in baseball by measure of wRC+ in 2024. With that being said, it’s worth noting that India appeared likely to enter 2024 without a clear position to call home until 2023 Rookie of the Year finalist Matt McLain missed the entire 2024 campaign due to shoulder surgery and top prospect Noelvi Marte missed the first half of the season due to an 80-game PED suspension.

Marte struggled badly (31% strikeout rate, 46 wRC+) in 66 games with the Reds this year after returning from his suspension, but McLain proved to be a dynamic offensive force for the club in his 89-game rookie campaign back in 2023. Then just 23 years old, the youngster slashed an excellent .290/.357/.507 (127 wRC+) with 16 homers and 14 steals in just 403 plate appearances. If he can produce anything close to that level of offensive firepower over a full season in 2025, that would more than make up for the loss of India’s bat from the lineup. It’s possible the club could find a way to keep both second basemen in the lineup—McLain has gotten a handful of reps at third base and in center field during his recent stint in Arizona Fall League— but with TJ Friedl just one season removed from a 3.9-win campaign in center and the Reds unlikely to give up on Marte after less than half a season in the majors, it could make sense for the club to cash in on India now.

One sensible way for the club to do that would be targeting a quality rotation arm like Singer. Both Singer and India are under control through the end of the 2026 season, making the swap a fairly clean one from a team control perspective. India is guaranteed a $5MM salary for 2025 and is arbitration eligible for 2026, while MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Singer for an $8.8MM salary in his penultimate trip through arbitration this winter. That slight net increase in salary commitment likely wouldn’t be a problem for a Reds club that plans to run a payroll “at or above” 2024 levels next year, giving them some breathing room financially for next season.

In Singer, the Reds would receive a quality mid-rotation arm to pair with Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo behind staff ace Hunter Greene. The 28-year-old righty pitched to a solid 3.71 ERA (114 ERA+) with a 3.94 FIP in 179 2/3 innings of work across 32 starts last year. That’s a major step forward from a disastrous 2023 season that saw him post a 5.52 ERA in 159 2/3 frames, but not quite at the level of his 153 1/3 innings of 3.23 ERA ball the year prior. Overall, Singer has pitched to a 4.15 ERA (103 ERA+) with a 3.94 FIP over the last three seasons, which sets up a solid floor for the right-hander looking forward even if he doesn’t return to the level of production he flashed in 2022.

With Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, and Michael Wacha all locked into the club’s rotation for 2025, it makes plenty of sense for the Royals to explore trades from their crop of back-end arms that includes not only Singer but also Kyle Wright, Alec Marsh, and Kris Bubic. Those latter two names have already found themselves in the rumor mill this winter, and Rosenthal’s report confirms the Royals are still “entertaining” the possibility of moving either Marsh or Bubic instead of Singer, though he adds that Lugo, Ragans, and Wacha are all understood to be “essentially off-limits.” With that being said, he notes that teams interested in contending immediately prefer Singer to both Marsh and Bubic and the Royals would likely have to settle for a younger, less established hitter if they were to deal either of their lesser arms.

Bringing India would be a somewhat complicated fit for the Royals, however, as it would likely displace incumbent second baseman Michael Massey. Massey enjoyed the best season of his career in 2024, slashing .259/.294/.449 with 14 homers and a 102 wRC+ in 356 trips to the plate while playing around back issues early in the season. Both Massey and India have played second base almost exclusively in their careers to this point, though Massey has one appearance at the hot corner and the Reds toyed with the idea of playing India at first base or in left field last year before losing McLain for the season. It’s certainly feasible to imagine the Royals finding appropriate playing time for both players by utilizing the DH on days where Salvador Perez is catching, especially if India can also mix into the outfield on occasion.

Reds COO: Payroll To Be “At Or Above 2024” Level

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The Reds recently severed ties with Diamond Sports Group and will go into 2025 with MLB handling their broadcasts. The club’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer Doug Healy spoke with Mark Sheldon of MLB.com about all the changes, most notably stating that there’s no payroll reduction coming.

“We will maintain payroll levels at or above 2024,” Healy said. “And we will continue to give Nick Krall, Terry Francona and the entire Reds baseball operations the resources they need to field a championship caliber team at the major league level.”

That’s a notable development for the Reds and their fans as it was fair to wonder if a payroll drop was coming. As the regional sports network (RSN) model is decaying amid cord cutting, many clubs have reduced or plan to reduce spending. The Padres went from a $249MM payroll in 2023 to just a $165MM figure in 2024, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The Twins went from $154MM to $127MM. The Cardinals and Rangers are reportedly looking to scale back in 2025.

As of a couple of years ago, all of those clubs had deals with Diamond, just like the Reds. Diamond dropped the Padres in 2023 as part of their bankruptcy proceedings, leading MLB to step in and take over. The Twins struck a new deal for 2024 but with reduced fees. For 2025, they will be following the Padres in having the league take over. The Cardinals are still going forward with Diamond next year, though with the fees reportedly about 23% below the prior contract. The Rangers are looking into creating their own streaming service, as opposed to going with the league, but they won’t be back with Diamond.

The Reds are now following the Padres, Twins and other clubs in going with the league-run broadcasts. While the direct-to-consumer model cuts out the RSN middleman, it does require more active uptake than the cable model. Many people over the years have ordered cable packages that included these RSNs, even if they didn’t intend to watch much or any baseball. That gave MLB clubs a source of passive income that won’t be a part of streaming services.

Reportedly, the Reds were getting $60MM annually as part of their deal with Diamond. It’s unclear how much they can expect to receive in 2025 with this new paradigm, but it seems fair to expect that it will be less than that number.

Regardless, that loss of revenue doesn’t seem to be leading to payroll cuts, assuming that Healy can be taken at his word. That’s surely nice news for fans of the club as well as president of baseball operations Nick Krall. The Reds showed some encouraging signs in 2023, promoting a large number of prospects to the majors. That created some optimism for 2024 and the front office tried to spend some money in bolstering the roster, giving eight-figure deals to Jeimer Candelario, Nick Martinez, Frankie Montas and Emilio Pagán.

Unfortunately, the Reds were bit hard by the injury bug this past season, with most of the players on their roster missing some or all of the campaign. The result was a lackluster 77-85 season that saw them fall well short of a postseason berth. Krall and his staff are now going to be tasked with getting the train back on the tracks in 2025. A payroll cut would have made that more challenging, but it appears that won’t be something he has to deal with.

RosterResource projects the club for $79MM of spending in 2025, which is $11MM shy of their $90MM mark that Cot’s has for Opening Day 2024. The 2025 number doesn’t account for Martinez. The club gave him a $21.05MM qualifying offer, with November 19 being the date for him to accept or decline. Perhaps he will take it or maybe he and the club can work out a longer deal with a lower average annual value, though there will be more clarity in the coming days.

Assuming Martinez is back on the roster in some way, the club won’t have a ton of wiggle room relative to last year’s levels. A few non-tenders of their arbitration-eligible players could make some more space but they might require a payroll bump to be able to make any significant moves. It seems as though that might actually possible, which should count as at least mildly good news, as many other clubs in this situation have gone in the other direction.

MLB To Take Over Reds’ Broadcasts In 2025

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MLB announced today that it will take over the distribution of local broadcasts for the Reds in 2025. Fans of the club will still be able to watch on television as they have in the past but there will also be a direct-to-consumer streaming option with no blackouts.

Largely due to cord cutting, the regional sports network (RSN) model has been collapsing in recent years. Several clubs have seen their TV deals dropped or expire without being renewed. In some of those cases, Major League Baseball has stepped in to keep things running more or less as before, keeping those teams on TV while also adding the streaming option.

In 2024, MLB handled the broadcasts of the Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies. Fans of those clubs who watched them on cable could continue to do so, but it was also possible for people without cable subscriptions to simply pay for the ability to stream the games directly without blackouts for $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the year.

Two of those clubs (San Diego and Arizona) were previously with Diamond Sports Group, the owners of the FanDuel Sports networks, which were previously under the Bally Sports brand. DSG filed for bankruptcy in March of 2023 and it was reported earlier today that they will be able to emerge from the bankruptcy process, though with their portfolio reduced to just six teams.

In early October, it was reported that DSG planned to cut ties with all but one club, the Atlanta Braves. They were open to new deals with other clubs, but with the fees renegotiated down to lower levels. MLB announced shortly thereafter that it would be taking over the broadcasts of the Twins, Guardians and Brewers, bringing them up to six clubs for whom they were handling the broadcasting.

The Cardinals, Marlins, Angels, Tigers, and Rays subsequently agreed to new deals with DSG, giving them the rights for six clubs going into 2025. But it was reported earlier this week that the Reds could not come to terms with DSG on a new deal. Today’s announcement revealed that they will go with MLB, so the league is now handling the broadcasts of seven clubs.

For fans, the biggest change is the streaming option. The league has been streaming games for years through MLB.TV, but fans were blacked out from watching clubs in their area as part of those RSN deals. Watching the club on cable was previously the only legal option but streaming is now on the table as well. Details and pricing of the streaming option will surely be forthcoming in the coming weeks and months.

For the club, it’s probably not good news in the short term. The RSN model was a solid source of revenue for a long time, as many people signed up for cable packages even if they didn’t watch baseball. The Reds reportedly got about $60MM annually as part of their deal with DSG. The direct-to-consumer streaming option cuts out the middleman but also requires fans to actively sign up, cutting out the passive part of the cable money.

Perhaps the streaming model will gain momentum over time but the short-term impact has clearly been negative for clubs. The Padres and Twins have already scaled back payroll while the Cardinals and Rangers are planning to do so for the coming season. How the Reds proceed will remain to be seen. RosterResource projects them for a $79MM payroll next year, $21MM below last year’s $100MM figure.

Reds Hire Brad Mills As Bench Coach

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The Reds announced today the coaching staff that will be working under new manager Terry Francona. One new hire that was not previously reported is Brad Mills in the bench coach position. Freddie Benavides, who got Cincinnati’s bench coach gig going into 2019, is listed today as bench coach/field coordinator.

Mills, 68 in January, is a familiar face for Cincinnati’s new skipper. Francona managed in Philadelphia from 1997 to 2000, in Boston from 2004 to 2011 and then Cleveland from 2013 to 2023. Mills was first base coach for the Phillies during those years and bench coach for the Red Sox during most of Francona’s time there. Mills left to manage the Astros from 2010 to 2012, but then reunited with Francona in Cleveland in 2013.

He started his Cleveland tenure as third base coach but moved to bench coach in 2014. He stayed in that role through 2019 but then sat out the 2020 season, which was played in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Mills actually stepped away from the game due to the tragic drowning of his 18-month-old grandson. For the 2021 season, Mills was reassigned to some unspecified non-coaching role with Cleveland, so this will be his first stint in the dugout in many years.

Francona himself was away from baseball in 2024 as he focused on his health. He will return in 2025 by taking over the managerial job for the Reds and has filled in the staff with some old friends. Chris Valaika had been the hitting coach in Cleveland from 2022 to 2024 but was whisked away to Cincinnati last month. Now Mills will be brought in to return to Francona’s side, with Benavides also sticking around, though perhaps in an altered role.

Angels Reach New Broadcast Deal With Diamond Sports Group

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November 11: The Angels’ deal with Diamond is a three-year contract, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

November 9: The Angels reached a local broadcasting/streaming contract with Diamond Sports Group yesterday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The team will remain on the FanDuel Sports Network, the same organization that previously operated under the Bally Sports name. The Angels have not made an official announcement.

Terms of the deal remain unreported. For fans, the biggest development is the introduction of the streaming agreement. Fans in the Anaheim area can access Halos games on the FanDuel Sports app even if they don’t have a television provider that carries the network. The Cardinals reached a similar arrangement, which should dramatically reduce the number of blackouts, with Diamond earlier this week.

Diamond abandoned 11 of its 12 existing TV deals last month. They’ve renegotiated new terms with the Marlins, Cardinals and Angels. Diamond plans to honor its initial arrangement with the Braves. It’ll carry at least four teams next season. The Twins, Guardians and Brewers have announced that they’ll allow MLB to handle in-market broadcasts. The Rangers are still exploring options but do not intend to renegotiate with Diamond.

The Reds are taking that path as well. The Cincinnati franchise revealed in court on Friday that it was unable to come to terms with Diamond (link via Evan Drellich of the Athletic). The Reds gave up their stake in what had been a joint venture with Diamond covering FanDuel Sports Network Ohio. They’ll look for other arrangements. The Rays, Royals and Tigers remain in limbo and could still hammer out new contracts.

That all presupposes that Diamond continues to exist. The corporation still needs approval from the bankruptcy court to embark on a reorganization plan at all. The confirmation hearing is set for next Thursday and Friday. MLB and the Braves leveled formal objections yesterday, expressing their belief that Diamond has “a substantial likelihood” of going under again if the court approves reorganization. In the event the court overrules those objections, the Angels will be back on FanDuel Sports Network for at least another season.

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