Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts
In the same way that players feel extra pressure to produce entering their last season before free agency, managers and front office bosses similarly feel the heat when entering the final year of their contracts. The difference is that even if a player has a rough season, they’re usually still in position to land at least a one-year deal in some fashion for the next year — a manager or a GM could find themselves fired in the wake of a bad year, with no guarantee about when (or even if) they’ll get another shot at leading a dugout or a front office.
This list details the baseball operations bosses (whatever their specific title) and managers who are entering the final year of their contracts, as well as the personnel whose contractual situations aren’t publicly known. Some clubs don’t publicize the terms of employee contracts, so it is entirely possible that some of these names signed extensions months ago but the teams have chosen to keep these new deals quiet for the time being. And, of course, the length of a contract doesn’t always correlate to job security. One bad season or even a poor start could suddenly threaten the status of a manager or head of baseball ops that seemingly seems safe right now.
As always, thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reference information on some of these contracts.
Angels: It’s pretty unusual to see a newly-hired manager already on this list, yet that is the situation Kurt Suzuki finds himself in after signing just a one-year guarantee to become the Halos’ new skipper. The deal has multiple club option years attached, and while one would imagine Suzuki wouldn’t be let go so quickly, the Angels’ manager’s office has been enough of a revolving door in recent years that it is hard to guess what owner Arte Moreno might do next. GM Perry Minasian is also entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, with a club option for the 2027 season. Ten consecutive losing seasons has led to a lot of discord in Anaheim, and an eleventh sub-.500 year might get both Suzuki and Minasian sent packing by next offseason.
Astros: GM Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada are each entering their final season under contract, with Brown hired in January 2023 and Espada in November 2023. Earlier this month, Astros owner Jim Crane didn’t entirely close the door on the possibility of an extension for either Brown or Espada, but said “I think we’ll go through this year like we always do, evaluate it and then make the decision at the end of the year.” Reading between the lines, it certainly seems like the spotlight will be on Brown and Espada, especially since the Astros are coming off their first non-playoff season since 2016. While the team’s laundry list of injuries is a valid excuse for their 2025 letdown, some personnel changes might well be coming if Houston can’t get back into the postseason hunt this year.
Athletics: General manager David Forst’s contract has already expired, as his most recent deal with the team was up following the 2025 campaign. Owner John Fisher has stated that “conversations are ongoing” about another extension, and since it has apparently been business as usual for the A’s this offseason, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before Forst formally extends his long stint in the team’s front office. Forst only officially took over the baseball operations department in the 2022-23 offseason, but he has been with the Athletics since 2000, first working as a scout and then becoming one of Billy Beane’s top lieutenants.
Blue Jays: GM Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider are both entering the final year of their contracts, as the Jays exercised their 2026 club option on Schneider’s deal back in November. This duo was facing heavy pressure heading into the 2025 season, yet Toronto’s AL pennant and near-miss in the World Series has entirely changed the narrative for both Atkins and Schneider. The Blue Jays already extended team president/CEO Mark Shapiro a few weeks ago, and extensions for Atkins and Schneider should follow before Opening Day.
Brewers: Pat Murphy is entering the final season of his three-year contract, but it is hard to believe the Brew Crew won’t have the manager soon locked up on another deal. Murphy has been named NL Manager of the Year in each of the first two seasons, won consecutive NL Central titles, and this October led the Brewers to their first NLCS appearance since 2018. October also saw Matt Arnold receive a promotion from GM to president of baseball operations, even though Arnold has already been the Brewers’ top baseball exec for the last three seasons. Arnold’s specific contract situation hasn’t been made clear for a few years now, but it would surely seem like Milwaukee’s continued success and his new job title probably landed the PBO an extension at some point. Regardless, Arnold seems in no danger of being fired even if 2026 is his last year under contract.
Cardinals: Oli Marmol is headed into his final year, but the manger and the Cardinals have already started discussing an extension to retain Marmol beyond the 2026 campaign. It seems like something should be finalized in due course, with St. Louis continuing to entrust Marmol with the reins as the team now moves into a full-on rebuild phase.
Diamondbacks: Torey Lovullo has quietly become one of baseball’s longer-tenured managers, as Lovullo has been running Arizona’s dugout since the 2016-17 offseason. He has signed multiple extensions (none for more than two guaranteed years) since his initial three-year pact, yet while 2026 represents the final year of Lovullo’s current deal, the Diamondbacks are reportedly going to let Lovullo enter the season without an extension in place. Owner Ken Kendrick did praise Lovullo’s efforts in keeping the D’Backs competitive amidst a swath of pitching injuries and a partial trade deadline selloff in 2025, but it is intriguing that the vote of confidence wasn’t backed up by another contract. This will be a storyline to watch as the Diamondbacks’ season progresses, and a change in the dugout might well be coming if the D’Backs can’t get back into the postseason.
Dodgers: President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman first came to Los Angeles on a five-year, $35MM pact covering the 2015-19 seasons, and he signed an extension back in November 2019. Terms of that deal weren’t known, yet it is clear that if Friedman hasn’t already signed another new deal in the last six years, the Dodgers are almost surely keen in retaining the executive. The Dodgers have reached the playoffs in every single season of Friedman’s tenure, have won three World Series championships under his leadership, and have become baseball’s dominant franchise due to both their record-high payrolls and their ability to draft and develop minor league talent.
Guardians: Chris Antonetti gets an obligatory mention since the Guardians haven’t publicly addressed his contract status since he signed an extension with the team back in 2013. Following the 2015 season, Antonetti was promoted to the president of baseball operations title, and his decade in charge has seen Cleveland make seven postseason appearances. As the Guards are coming off their sixth AL Central crown of Antonetti’s tenure, there is no sense ownership is looking to make a change, nor is there any sense Antonetti (who has turned down overtures from other teams in the past) is looking to leave.
Mariners: Dan Wilson’s contract terms weren’t made public when he was hired as manager in August 2024, and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s status hasn’t been addressed since he signed a contract extension of an unknown length back in September 2021. It may very well be that Dipoto has quietly signed another deal in the last four-plus years, but regardless, the Mariners’ success in 2025 very likely means neither Dipoto or Wilson are going anywhere, even if the M’s don’t feel the need to publicize any extensions.
Marlins: Previous Miami GM Kim Ng was signed to a three-year contract with a club option for the 2024 season, and the Marlins chose to pass on that option in order to hire Peter Bendix as the new president of baseball operations. Terms of Bendix’s contract weren’t disclosed, so given the length of Ng’s contract, it is possible Bendix could also be entering his final guaranteed year if Miami pursued the same structure with another first-time front office boss. While Ng’s dismissal caught many in baseball by surprise, Bendix’s job appears to be a lot safer, as the Marlins’ surprising surge to 79 wins in 2025 is a promising step forward for the team’s (latest) rebuild.
Mets: Carlos Mendoza is entering the final guaranteed year of his three-year contract, and New York holds a club option on the manager’s services for the 2027 season. The Mets have overhauled both Mendoza’s coaching staff and a good chunk of the roster in the wake of the slow-motion collapse that left the team outside the playoff picture in 2025, so far more is expected than just an 83-79 record this year. The club option probably means that the Mets will wait until after the season (if at all) to discuss an extension, and given the Mets’ high payroll and expectations, even a slow start might put Mendoza’s status in jeopardy.
Orioles: Mike Elias’ contract terms were never publicized when he was hired to lead Baltimore’s front office in November 2018, though he did receive a title change from general manager to president of baseball operations last offseason. Elias’ specific contract status remains unspecified, and it is possible he could be facing more heat if the O’s have another subpar season. Consecutive playoff appearances were followed by the thud of a 75-87 record in 2025, though ownership appears to have given Elias some support in the form of bigger budget, as the Orioles’ busy offseason has been highlighted by the blockbuster Pete Alonso signing.
Padres: Reports in early November suggested that A.J. Preller was close to signing a new extension to remain as San Diego’s PBO, though close to three months later, there hasn’t been any word of a deal between the two sides. It could be that a contract was signed but simply not publicly announced, or perhaps Preller and the team agreed to table the negotiations until after most of the Padres’ offseason business was complete. Considering all the reports of discord within the Padres’ ownership situation and some possible tension between Preller and team CEO Erik Greupner, a contract extension probably shouldn’t be considered a sure thing until a deal is actually done, though things still seem to be leaning in the direction of Preller getting re-upped. For all of the off-the-field drama that has frequently defined Preller’s long tenure in San Diego, the Padres are coming off their fourth playoff appearance in the last six seasons.
Reds: As Cincinnati is coming off its first playoff berth since 2020, president of baseball operations Nick Krall looks to have a decent amount of job security, and might be in line for an extension depending on his current contract status. Krall has been in charge of the Reds’ front office for the last five seasons, and he received an extension of an unspecified length when he was promoted to the president of baseball operations title following the 2023 campaign.
Tigers: Scott Harris has now finished three full seasons as Detroit’s PBO, so if a four-year contract might be considered the usual minimum for a first-time president of baseball ops, 2026 might be Harris’ final year under contract. It’s all speculative, of course, since Harris’ terms weren’t made public, and it might also be a moot point since Harris could be an extension candidate, if anything. The Tigers have made the second round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, though the team’s late-season collapse in 2025 and the uncertainty over Tarik Skubal’s future remain areas of concern.
Twins: Derek Falvey’s shocking decision to step down as Minnesota’s president of baseball (and business) operations has unexpectedly made GM Jeremy Zoll the top voice in the team’s front office. Zoll was promoted to the GM role in November 2024 to become Falvey’s chief lieutenant, and the length of Zoll’s contract isn’t known. It is fair to guess that Zoll might’ve gotten an extension after becoming general manager, so he probably remains under team control through at least 2027 even after this sudden elevation to the head of the baseball ops department.
White Sox: Chris Getz has been the team’s GM since August 2023, and his tenure has included a record 121-loss season in 2024 and an improvement to “only” 102 losses in 2025. Getz’s contract term wasn’t publicized at the time of his hiring so this is just a speculative entry in case his first deal was only a three-year pact. There doesn’t appear to be any sense that ownership is displeased with the Pale Hose’s progress during the rebuild, so if Getz actually did sign a three-year deal, the Sox might look to extend him at some point this season.
Yankees: Brian Cashman is the longest-tenured front office boss in baseball, acting as the Yankees’ GM since February 1998. That remarkable 28-year run has included 28 winning records and four World Series titles, though the team hasn’t won the Series since 2009. Owner Hal Steinbrenner appears to trust Cashman as much as ever, so it seems very likely that Cashman’s tenure will stretch into a third decade barring an utter disaster of a 2026 season. Cashman’s last deal covered the 2023-26 seasons, but since the Yankees’ aversion to extensions also extends to personnel as well as players, he might not sign his next contract until after his current deal actually expires. It’s a sign of Cashman’s job security that he has waited until December to sign each of his last two contracts to remain with the club.
Is Anyone Even Trying To Win The AL Central?
Yet another offseason of hyperaggressive spending and mind-boggling CBT payrolls from the Dodgers and Mets (and, this winter, the Blue Jays) has led to increased talk of competitive balance ahead of the impending conclusion of the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement. Owners are again expected to push for a salary cap -- though that's a perpetual goal and would absolutely have been the case regardless of how the usual suspects spent in free agency this winter -- and they'll have plenty of fan support in that regard.
Fans, particularly those of small market teams, feel a clear sense of defeatism, knowing their clubs will rarely (or in some cases never) be players for the top names in free agency. The Dodgers were close enough to losing in the World Series that it's not fair to say they can freely buy themselves a championship -- the Mets spent more in 2025 and missed the postseason entirely -- but it's fair to say they're spending enough to give themselves something like a 95% chance of making the postseason and entering as the favorite.
The other side of the cap argument, of course, is that it would assuredly usher in the implementation of a salary floor -- a level at which teams must spend on payroll or else be subject to some degree of penalization. There's already a weak "floor" in place for revenue-sharing clubs, but it seems to lack any semblance of teeth. The A's felt compelled to spend enough to push their CBT payroll up to $105MM last year -- roughly 1.5 times the amount they receive annually from revenue-sharing -- but that was seemingly because they're the only club to have been actually stripped of revenue-sharing status in the past. The Marlins were supposedly in the same boat this winter, and they've thumbed their nose at the idea of spending, as evidenced by a CBT payroll in the $80MM range.
I can see the arguments for a cap/floor system. I'm skeptical that it would actually force the game's lowest-payroll clubs to spend in meaningful ways, but that's another topic -- and one that we'll surely debate ad nauseum in the year to come as CBA talks intensify.
But whether it's a salary floor, firm penalties for not spending revenue-sharing funds in tangible ways, or greater access to draft/international resources for non-playoff clubs who remain competitive, something has to give. Right now, there's at least one entire division content to sit on its hands as the five respective front offices seemingly embody that same level of defeatism felt by their small- and mid-market fan bases.
If the Dodgers are a budding dynasty, it's unequivocally fair to say that's in part because of their limitless spending capacity. But it's also because there are teams seemingly content to throw their hands up and ask, "why even bother?" At a certain point, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy -- and I'd argue that at least with regard to the AL Central, we've reached that point. Let's look at each AL Central club's offseason to date.
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Where Can The Guardians Spend The Money Saved On The Ramírez Deal?
The Guardians hammered out their third extension with José Ramírez over the weekend. While the team still hasn't announced the contract as of Wednesday evening, it reportedly runs through his age-39 season. It more or less confirms that Ramírez will be a one-team superstar, but the biggest impact in the short term is that it involved a restructure to give the team some spending room.
Ramírez will reportedly be paid $25MM annually over the next seven seasons. $10MM of each season's salary is deferred until 2036. He'd been slated for a non-deferred $21MM salary this season. They saved $6MM against the 2026 payroll and $8MM and $10MM, respectively, over the following two years.
Any mention of the Guardians spending money is going to be met with sarcasm and skepticism. That's warranted given their usual spending habits, but this year's payroll would be extreme even by their standards. There'll almost certainly be a notable acquisition or two before Opening Day.
Cleveland has 12 players, including their arbitration class, signed for the upcoming season. Their salaries break down as follows:
- Ramírez: $25MM ($10MM deferred)
- Steven Kwan: $7.725MM
- Emmanuel Clase: $6MM
- Shawn Armstrong: $5.5MM (including option buyout)
- Trevor Stephan: $4.75MM (including option buyout)
- Tanner Bibee: $4MM
- Austin Hedges: $4MM
- Nolan Jones: $2MM
- Colin Holderman: $1.5MM
- David Fry: $1.375MM
- Matt Festa: $1MM
- Connor Brogdon: $900K
They'll also pay the Blue Jays $2.75MM as a condition of the Myles Straw trade. It's a total of $66.5MM in commitments, and even that dramatically overstates how much they'll actually spend. Ramírez is being paid $15MM this year, dropping their short-term obligations to $56.5MM.
There's also a strong chance they don't wind up paying anything to Clase. His criminal trial for alleged game-fixing won't begin until May, but it's possible MLB imposes its own discipline before the start of the season. It'd be a shock if the star reliever played another MLB game and Cleveland brass will obviously hope for the league to level a suspension that gets them off the hook for next year's salary.
If that happens, they'll be down to $50.5MM in guaranteed commitments. Filling out the roster with players on near league minimum salaries would push them into the $63-65MM range. According to The Associated Press, the Marlins were the only team with a season-opening payroll below $74.9MM last year. Cleveland ranked 25th in MLB with a $102.5MM mark.
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Guardians Agree To Extension With Jose Ramirez
Longtime Guardians star Jose Ramirez has agreed to another extension with the team, keeping the third baseman in Cleveland through his age-39 season in 2032. The new deal (which will be official pending a physical) both restructures the three years and $69MM remaining on Ramirez’s previous contract, and adds $106MM in new money covering the 2029-32 seasons. Ramirez is represented by Republik Sports.
The biggest new wrinkle in the extension is $70MM in deferred money. Ramirez will earn $25MM in each of the seven seasons from 2026-32, but with $10MM in deferrals each year. This means that the $69MM Ramirez was initially slated to earn from 2026-28 has now been bumped down to $45MM in upfront money, giving the Guardians some extra flexibility to perhaps make other short-term roster additions. The new deal also includes increased incentive bonuses, such as $500K for an MVP award.
Assuming the extension is finalized, it should ensure that Ramirez remains in a Guards uniform throughout the entirety of his career, only further cementing his place as a Cleveland baseball legend. Ramirez signed with the organization as an international free agent in 2009 at age 17, and has gone on to hit .279/.353/.504 with 285 home runs and 287 steals (out of 349 chances) over 6759 plate appearances. Between his strong offense and impressive glovework at third base, Ramirez has amassed 57.6 bWAR over his career — the fifth-highest total of any player in Indians/Guardians history.
Ramirez turned 33 last September but doesn’t appear to be slowing down, as he hit .283/.360/.503 with 30 homers and a career-best 44 steals over 673 PA. These big numbers and his leading role in the Guardians’ late-season surge to the AL Central title helped Ramirez earn a third-place finish in AL MVP voting. While the MVP trophy continues to elude Ramirez, he has now recorded a second-place finish (in 2020), three thirds, and three other top-six placements during his outstanding career.
While Ramirez continues to deliver elite production, committing $106MM to a player (especially through his age 36-39 seasons) is no small matter for a lower-payroll team like the Guardians. The new money included in Ramirez’s extension represents the third-highest guarantee Cleveland has ever given to a player, behind just Ramirez’s previous extension and their seven-year, $106.5MM extension with the since-traded Andres Gimenez in 2023. That said, the $70MM worth of deferred money will lower the current-day price tag of the extension, and allow some extra payroll flexibility for the front office.
This is the third extension Ramirez has signed with Cleveland, as his first multi-year pact with the team was a five-year, $26MM deal covering the 2017-2021 seasons that included a pair of club options. Obviously Ramirez vastly outperformed his paycheck in that deal, and after exercising their 2022 option to retain Ramirez, the Guardians and the third baseman worked out the second extension that saw five years and $124MM in new money added in April 2022.
It was known that the Guardians explored trade scenarios involving Ramirez prior to that 2022 extension, as it has long been the organization’s habit to trade star players before reaching free agency. While not every deal of a star has worked out, the Guards have hit on enough of these trades to replenish their system with younger (and cheaper) talent while avoiding the higher price tags associated with players nearing the end of their arbitration control.
Ramirez is the exception to the rule. The seven-time All-Star has been open about how much he enjoys playing in Cleveland, and he has backed up that stance by leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table to re-up with the Guards not once, but now twice. Of course, it remains to be seen how productive Ramirez will still be by the end of the 2028 season, yet this added $106MM could be viewed as something of a thank-you to a star player for his years of service, as well an investment in the idea that Ramirez will continue delivering big numbers.
The timing of the extension is interesting, as there was seemingly no huge rush to tack more years onto a deal that already ran through 2028. However, the Guards may have wanted to get something done in advance of the next collective bargaining agreement, as rumors persist that the league (as part of their overall desire to curb playing spending) may at least look into some kinds of restrictions against deferred money in contracts. The Dodgers have most famously included deferrals in many of their high-priced deals in recent years, though Cleveland’s new pact with Ramirez is the latest example of how both big-market and small-market teams frequently use deferred money to complete contracts.
Z101 Digital’s Hector Gomez was the first to report about the agreement and described it as complete, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post added that Ramirez and the Guardians were still “working on” the agreement. Gomez reported the $106MM in new money, Heyman added the detail about the $70MM in deferrals, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal had the year-to-year financial breakdown over the seven years. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the deal had been agreed upon, pending a physical.
Inset image courtesy of Matt Krohn – Imagn Images
Rich Hill Not Planning To Play In 2026
Left-hander Rich Hill doesn’t want to use the word but it seems to be leaning towards retirement. Appearing on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, Hill was asked by host Rob Bradford if he was retiring and said “I don’t have any plans on playing next year.” The situation is somewhat analogous to that of Joe Kelly, who announced on the same podcast last month that he didn’t want to use the word “retire” but wasn’t planning on playing anymore.
“I’m looking for open possibilities to stay in the game of baseball and be a contributory factor,” Hill continued. “I enjoy the work aspect of whatever it might be that’s next. I think that’s one thing that… why athletes get hired in other positions and other… outside of sports is because they are highly-driven people that want to succeed. And that’s something that I’m looking forward to.”
It’s not shocking that Hill is slowly wafting into the next stage of his career. Though he did pitch in the 2025 season, he was easily the oldest player in the league. He was 45 years old when he suited up for the Royals and will turn 46 in March. Though he has continued pitching to an age when most other players have called it quits long ago, he did so with some unconventional approaches. He waited until midseason to sign in 2024 in a deliberate attempt to be more fresh for a stretch run.
If this is indeed the end, it will wrap up one of the more unique arcs of a player in recent history. Hill was drafted by the Cubs way back in 2002 and made his major league debut in 2005. He didn’t find immediate success but had a really good season in 2007, posting a 3.92 earned run average over 32 starts.
But from there, he went into a really challenging period of his career. He struggled with results and health for many years, leading him to be bounced between the majors and minors and between various different organizations. From 2008 to 2014, he tossed a total of 153 innings split between the Cubs, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, the Angels and Yankees. He posted a 5.41 ERA over that stretch.
2015 would turn out to be an incredible comeback season. He started the year on a minor league deal with the Nationals. He opted out of that contract in June and signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He made just two starts for that club but struck out 21 opponents in 11 innings. That was enough to get him back into affiliated baseball via a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
Boston called him up in September and he made four starts as the season was winding down. In those, he logged 29 innings with a 1.55 ERA. He had a mammoth 34% strikeout rate, a tiny 4.7% walk rate and a strong 48.4% ground ball rate. That was a tiny sample size but the Athletics made a bet on it, signing Hill to a one-year, $6MM deal for 2016. That wager paid off handsomely, with Hill giving the A’s 14 starts with a 2.25 ERA.
At that year’s deadline, he was traded to the Dodgers alongside Josh Reddick, with the A’s getting Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton in return. Hill gave the Dodgers six starts with an ERA of 1.83 and then three postseason starts with a 3.46 ERA.
The Dodgers were happy enough with that showing to bring Hill back via a three-year, $48MM contract. That was a pretty staggering deal for a 37-year-old who was not too far removed from being in indy ball but it worked out well. He logged 327 innings over those three seasons with a 3.30 ERA, plus 37 postseason innings with a 2.43 ERA.
After that deal ran its course, Hill went into his 40s and mercenary mode. He signed a series of one-year deal with the Twins, Rays, Red Sox and Pirates. In 2023, he seemed to wear down as the season went along, not surprising for a 43-year-old. His 4.76 ERA with Pittsburgh was still respectable but he collapsed after a deadline deal to the Padres, posting an 8.23 ERA after the swap.
As mentioned, he then tried to think outside the box to continue as an effective big league pitcher. He planned to intentionally sign at midseason in 2024 in order to spend more time with his family and also save his bullets for the second half and postseason. He stayed unsigned until inking a minor league deal with the Red Sox in August. He did get called up but only for four relief appearances before being released. In 2025, he signed a minor league deal with the Royals in May. He got called up in July but was designated for assignment after just two starts.
Given the unusual shape of his career and his willingness to buck conventions, it’s possible he’ll change his mind and find his way back to the mound. But if Hill doesn’t make it back to the majors, he will finish with 1,418 innings tossed over 388 games for 14 different clubs. In that time, he posted a 4.02 ERA but will likely be best remembered for the 2015-2021 run which saw him post a 3.15 ERA in his late 30s and early 40s. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings over $75MM, most of that coming to Hill in his late-career surge. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute him on a fine career, which may or may not be done, and wish him the best on whatever is next.
Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images
Guardians Acquire Franklin Gomez From Mets
The Guardians have acquired minor league left-hander Franklin Gomez from the Mets, according to announcements from both clubs. The Mets receive international bonus pool space in return. The pool space changing hands is $1.5MM, reports Mike Mayer of Metsmerized. Gomez does not have a 40-man roster spot, so no corresponding moves are necessary.
Today marks the start of the 2026 international signing period. Ben Badler of Baseball America is tracking all of the signings as they become known. Under this pool system, each team has a finite amount of money they can spend on international amateurs. This year’s pools are all between $5MM and $9MM. Broadly speaking, the smaller-market clubs get bigger pools and the larger-market clubs get smaller pools.
The Mets were initially allocated a pool of $5.44MM and the Guardians $8.03MM. Teams are allowed to trade pool space in $250K increments, but a team can’t increase its initial pool size by more than 60%.
Adding pool space was important for the Mets. Most teams make verbal agreements with prospects years in advance of the official signings, so they have usually agreed to allocate most of the pool space ahead of time. The Yankees had a verbal agreement in place with Wandy Asigen, an infielder from the Dominican Republic, but reports emerged in December that he was going to sign with the Mets instead. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR and Badler covered the development at the time. Asigen officially signed with the Mets today for $3.9MM.
That signing bonus would have taken up the majority of the Mets’ initial pool. That may have necessitated the Mets breaking their verbal agreements with other prospects. Mayer suggests this deal with Cleveland allowed the Mets to have enough pool space to also sign Venezuelan outfielder Cleiner Ramirez as part of this year’s class.
For the Guardians, it seems they would rather have Gomez than the pool space. The 20-year-old Venezuelan was himself an international signee a few years ago, securing a bonus of just $10K from the Mets in 2022. He has raised his stock since then. Matt Eddy of Baseball America just recently wrote about Gomez earlier this month, noting that his fastball velo ticked up in 2025, going from the 89-90 mph range in 2024 to 92-93 last year. His other pitches also made similar jumps.
He finished the year having thrown 71 2/3 innings split between Single-A and High-A, allowing 2.76 earned runs per nine. He struck out 22.1% of batters faced, gave out walks at an 11.1% clip and induced grounders on 48.4% of balls in play. BA recently listed him as the #22 prospect in the Mets’ system, noting that he has a chance to be a future starter, with a relief role as a fallback.
The Guards have undercut their ability to use this year’s pool of unsigned players but Gomez should have more ability to help them in the near term. Most international signees today are 16 years old whereas Gomez is four years older than that and has already climbed a few rungs of the minor league ladder.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Guardians Sign Carter Kieboom To Minor League Deal
The Guardians announced Tuesday that they’ve signed former top prospect Carter Kieboom to a minor league contract. The ACES client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Now 28 years old, Kieboom was a first-round pick by the Nationals back in 2016 and has previously ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects. He never made good on that billing in parts of four seasons with Washington, however, slashing just .199/.297/.301 in 508 major league plate appearances. He spent the 2025 season with the Angels after signing as a minor league free agent. Kieboom batted .319/.368/.449 in an extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting and went 2-for-8 with a pair of singles in three games with the major league club. The Angels outrighted him following the season.
Kieboom has played third base and shortstop extensively in pro ball, logging more than 2100 innings at each position. He’s also played nearly 600 innings at second base. At the height of his prospect status, Kieboom was regarded as a safe bet to hit thanks to good pitch recognition, strong plate discipline and a quality all-fields approach at the plate. That hasn’t played out in the majors, but he’s a career .288/.380/.439 hitter in 1597 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Cleveland is set at third base with Jose Ramirez and has one of the top prospects in baseball, 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana, likely to make his debut at second base this coming season. Kieboom is presumably viewed as a bench/depth option with a tinge of upside remaining who could compete for a role in which he backs up multiple positions. If he doesn’t make the club, he’ll head to Triple-A Columbus as a depth piece.
How Will The Guardians’ Middle Infield Play Out?
The Guardians have had a quiet offseason, only re-signing backup catcher Austin Hedges and acquiring a handful of relievers on one-year deals. They’ve yet to add anyone to a lineup that ranked 28th in scoring. They were the only team in the bottom 10 that made the postseason, so it’s unlikely they’ll get back to October without improving the offense.
Cleveland’s budgetary restrictions mean they’re never going to accomplish much via free agency. They’re unlikely to often package top prospects for marquee trade chips. The Guardians should make a smaller move or two in the back half of the offseason. They opened last season with a $103MM payroll, and RosterResource calculates their ’26 obligations around $78MM. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com wrote as part of a reader mailbag over the weekend that he expected some kind of lineup acquisition on a short-term deal. Adding a complementary right-handed outfield bat would make sense with Lane Thomas departing via free agency.
That said, the majority of the necessary offensive improvements will have to come internally. That’s especially true in the middle infield, where serviceable free agent options are slim. Cleveland middle infielders combined for a .225/.289/.359 slash line with a 27.6% strikeout rate that was 29th in MLB (marginally better than the Angels’ 27.8% mark). That’s clearly an area for upgrade as the 2024 first overall pick gets closer to making his debut. How will things shake out?
The Incumbents
Of the five players who logged any middle infield action for Stephen Vogt’s club last year, only Will Wilson is off the roster. Last year’s middle infield usually involved a three-player rotation: Gabriel Arias mostly at shortstop, Daniel Schneemann in a multi-position role with a lot of second base work, and Brayan Rocchio bouncing between the up-the-middle spots.
Angel Martínez also started 25 games at second base but was more frequently used in center field. The Guardians could push him back into a utility role this year depending on their outfield performance. Chase DeLauter made the ALDS roster and should be ticketed for his regular season MLB debut on Opening Day. They could add a center fielder in free agency. Harrison Bader would be an excellent fit but might be out of their price range. Even if that’s the case, taking a buy-low flier on Chas McCormick as a fourth outfielder makes sense.
None of Arias, Rocchio, Schneemann or Martínez contributed much offensively. By measure of wRC+, they were all between 21 and 26 points below league average. Rocchio led the pack with a subpar .233 batting average and .290 on-base percentage. He hit five home runs in 115 games. Schneemann, Martínez and Arias each had 11 or 12 longballs.
The season trend lines were most favorable to Rocchio. He was at least within range of league average in the second half, batting .257/.313/.376 over his final 241 plate appearances. Arias (.203/.247/.356), Schneemann (.194/.268/.309), and Martínez (.207/.283/.313) all had terrible numbers after the All-Star Break. Arias and Rocchio were the starters in the postseason, though Vogt was quick to hit for Arias and use Schneemann off the bench.
Rocchio is probably on the strongest ground of the group, yet he remains a .222/.293/.327 hitter in more than 900 career plate appearances. He turns 25 tomorrow and is out of minor league options. He’ll break camp but shouldn’t be a lock to remain on the roster all season if he doesn’t build off the second half promise. Public metrics have been divided on his defense, grading him highly in 2024 but looking less favorably on last year’s work.
Arias, 26 in February, is also out of options. He has huge physical tools: plus bat speed and raw power, a solid glove, and an excellent arm. That’s undercut by an untenable approach. Arias chases tons of pitches off the plate and too frequently gets beat within the strike zone. He had the fourth-highest strikeout rate among hitters with 300+ plate appearances. No one missed more often on a per-pitch basis. Aside from occasionally running into a fastball for a homer, he’s not going to provide any offense.
Schneemann is a utility player who is a couple weeks away from his 29th birthday. He’ll work some walks and pop a few home runs against right-handed pitching, but there’s also too much swing-and-miss in his game to be a regular. He’s a .210/.290/.358 hitter with 17 homers and a 29% strikeout rate in 643 career plate appearances. Schneemann has a full slate of minor league options and could therefore be the first one sent down if/when the Guardians bring up a higher-upside player from the minor leagues.
The Prospects
Guards fans have eagerly awaited the arrival of second baseman Travis Bazzana since the club announced his selection with the top pick in the ’24 draft. It has become increasingly common for top college draftees to get to the big leagues before the end of their first full professional season. Bazzana didn’t move that quickly, at least in part because of recurring oblique issues. The Oregon State product had decent numbers between the top two minor league levels (.245/.389/.424 including seven rehab games in the Complex League), but he was limited to 84 games by a pair of IL stints.
Bazzana will be one of the most important players to watch in Spring Training. He remains one of the better offensive talents in the minors. He has 26 games of Triple-A experience. The Guardians could justify sending him back there to begin the season but should leave the door open to him breaking camp. Bazzana’s minor league approach probably tipped over the line from patient to passive, leading both to a ton of walks (17.6%) and a decent amount of strikeouts (24.3%). He’s not a finished product, but there’s a good chance he’s already a better hitter than Arias or Schneemann would be.
Vogt said at the Winter Meetings that Rocchio would get a lot of shortstop work during Spring Training (link via Zack Meisel of The Athletic). That’d leave the door open for Bazzana at second with Arias and/or Schneemann in a utility role. It also magnifies camp’s importance for 24-year-old second base prospect Juan Brito.
Brito has held a spot on the 40-man roster for three years but has yet to make his MLB debut. He would have gotten that opportunity last year but for thumb and hamstring injuries that both required surgery. He was limited to 24 Triple-A contests. The Guardians were granted a fourth option year, so they’re not forced to carry Brito on the MLB roster.
If they give the Opening Day second base job to Bazzana, Brito probably needs an injury or the more highly-regarded prospect to struggle in order to find his way into the lineup. He’s not a great athlete and unlikely to be all that effective as a multi-positional defender. Yet Brito has hit throughout his career, posting an OPS above .800 at every stop. That includes a .255/.366/.442 mark across nearly 800 Triple-A plate appearances over parts of three seasons. That’s an appealing profile for a lineup that had far too many wasted at-bats.
Shortstop prospect Angel Genao is the only other middle infielder on the 40-man roster. He’s a 21-year-old who has yet to play a Triple-A game. Genao is coming off a solid but unspectacular .259/.323/.359 showing over 77 Double-A contests. Scouting reports peg him as a potential everyday player, but he remains a work in progress on both sides of the ball. While he’ll hopefully be an upgrade over Rocchio and Arias down the line, there’s little to no chance that he’s on the Opening Day roster. A second half debut is plausible but not guaranteed.
Guardians Re-Sign Dom Nuñez To Minor League Deal
The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed catcher Dom Nuñez to a minor league contract. The ALIGND Sports client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Nuñez, 31 later this month, has spent the past two seasons with the Guardians, mostly with their Triple-A affiliate. He briefly appeared in majors in 2025, going 2-for-7 with a pair of singles in two games, but has taken 561 plate appearances and caught nearly 900 innings with their Columbus club dating back to 2024. He became a free agent after the season when Cleveland passed him through outright waivers.
Originally a sixth-round pick by the Rockies back in 2013, Nuñez has appeared in parts of four big league seasons but owns just a .182/.280/.371 slash (58 wRC+) in 354 trips to the plate. He hasn’t hit much in five Triple-A seasons either (.206/.333/.383, 27.6% strikeout rate) but has shown a knack for drawing walks and has some pop in his bat when he does make contact.
Nuñez, however, has a sound defensive reputation. He’s posted solid framing and blocking marks in the minors and majors alike, and he’s nabbed a strong 29% of would-be thieves on the bases in his minor league career. Cleveland clearly places immense value on catcher defense — hence the team’s repeated re-signings of Austin Hedges — and Nuñez will give them a quality defender to plug into the depth chart in the upper minors.
On the big league side of things, Hedges will reprise his role as backup to Bo Naylor (another plus defender with a light bat), but that pair increasingly looks like a placeholder for top prospect Cooper Ingle. The 23-year-old Ingle hit .260/.389/.419 with more walks than strikeouts in 510 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Ingle played only 28 games in Triple-A last season, so the Guards seem likely to send the 2023 fourth-rounder back to Columbus for a bit more seasoning, but a debut in 2026 seems likely as long as he stays healthy.
Cardinals Acquire Justin Bruihl, Designate Zak Kent For Assignment
The Cardinals have acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. Bruihl had been designated for assignment by Cleveland last month. Right-hander Zak Kent has been designated for assignment by the Cards today in a corresponding 40-man roster move.
It’s the second cash deal of the winter for Bruihl, who will turn 29 in June. The lefty began the offseason with the Blue Jays but was bumped off the roster when Toronto signed right-hander Tyler Rogers last month. The Guardians sent some cash north of the order to grab Bruihl but then designated him for assignment three days later when they signed Shawn Armstrong. DFA limbo normally lasts a maximum of one week but there are different rules around the holidays, so Bruihl was hanging out there for almost three weeks.
He now finally has some resolution and it could be a good spot for him to carve out some big league playing time. Bruihl posted good numbers in 2025 but exhausted his final option season, which pushed him to the fringes of Toronto’s roster. The Jays have been busy upgrading their pitching staff for another run at competing in 2026 and bumped Bruihl off. Cleveland had one of the best bullpens in the league last year and was also going to have a tough time keeping the southpaw around for long.
But the Cardinals are rebuilding and should therefore have a bit more breathability in their relief group. JoJo Romero is currently the top lefty in their projected bullpen but he is one year away from free agency, making him likely to be traded in the coming weeks. If Romero is dealt, that would leave Bruihl and Nick Raquet as the two lefty relievers on the St. Louis 40-man roster. Raquet was called up late in the 2025 season and has just two big league innings under his belt.
Bruihl has thrown 89 2/3 innings over multiple seasons between the Dodgers, Rockies and Blue Jays. Toronto only let him throw 13 2/3 big league innings in 2025 but he fared decently, despite posting a 5.27 earned run average. His 10.8% walk rate was a bit high in that small sample but his 27.7% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate were both a few ticks better than average. He also logged 42 Triple-A innings last year with a 3.43 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 58.4% ground ball rate.
The Cards could perhaps sign some veterans before Opening Day but it’s a decent landing spot for Bruihl to get some more time in the majors. If he succeeds with the Cardinals in 2026, they could keep the relationship going. He currently has one year and 112 days of service time, meaning he’s five years away from free agency. He would also be affordable for the rebuilding club, as he is still in his pre-arbitration years.
Kent, 28 in February, has never pitched for the Cardinals. He was just claimed off waivers from the Guardians a month ago. He made his major league debut with the Guards last year, posting a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. His 21.1% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 37.3% ground ball rate were all a bit worse than league average.
He does have some interesting minor league numbers. He tossed 38 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.84 ERA. He got grounders on 54% of balls in play at that level and struck out 31.4% of batters faced, though he also gave out walks at a high clip of 13.2%.
Like Bruihl, Kent is out of options, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last month that he is eligible for a fourth option year. Perhaps that will help him latch on somewhere else. The Cards will now have seven days of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Kent. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they will have a maximum of five days to field trade interest.
Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images