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Royals Sign Cole Ragans To Three-Year Deal

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The Royals are in agreement with ace Cole Ragans on a three-year, $13.25MM deal that covers this season and his first two years of arbitration eligibility, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The signing does not impact Kansas City’s window of team control. Ragans, a Wasserman client, remains controllable through the end of 2028.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports the specific breakdown. Ragans receives a $250K signing bonus and a $1MM salary for the upcoming season. He’ll make $4.5MM and $7.5MM for the following two seasons and would escalate his ’27 salary to $8MM if he wins the Cy Young in either of the next two years.

Ragans has a little over two years of major league service. He did not reach the cutoff necessary to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player. He would have played the upcoming season on a salary around the $760K league minimum before reaching arbitration next winter. This gives him a modest bump this year while allowing the Royals to lock in his earnings over what would have been his first two arbitration seasons. Barring another extension, he’ll go through the arbitration process one time during the 2027-28 offseason before hitting the open market.

Acquired from the Rangers in June ’23 for Aroldis Chapman, Ragans has blossomed into one of the sport’s top pitchers. He turned in a 2.64 earned run average over 12 starts after the trade. That came against a run of mostly soft competition, but the 6’4″ southpaw put to rest any questions about whether that was an aberration. He took a full 32 starts and posted a 3.14 ERA across 186 1/3 frames last year. He ranked fifth in MLB with 223 strikeouts and earned a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young balloting.

It’s an unconventional extension, as there’s little precedent for a player signing for two or three years in advance of their final pre-arbitration season. Ragans’ future salaries fall mostly in line with what quality starting pitchers can expect to earn in their first two trips through arbitration. As comparison points, Tanner Houck ($3.95MM) and George Kirby ($4.3MM) agreed to slightly less than $4.5MM for their first arbitration seasons this winter. Logan Gilbert is ticketed for a $7.625MM salary in his second trip through the process.

Ragans wasn’t at risk of being non-tendered barring a catastrophic injury, but he’ll lock in some security over the next couple seasons. The Royals have more clarity on their future budgets without running the risk of going to a hearing with their ace in either of the upcoming two offseasons. Having recently turned 27, Ragans is on track to hit free agency in advance of his age-31 campaign.

Image courtesy of Imagn

Royals’ James McArthur Recovering From Elbow Surgery

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Royals right-hander James McArthur underwent surgery to repair a fractured olecranon in his right elbow and is behind schedule this spring, per Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. McArthur, who had two screws installed in his pitching elbow, is just now beginning to throw. It’s not clear exactly when McArthur had the procedure, but he ended the 2024 season on the shelf with an elbow issue. The fact that he’s even cleared for light throwing at this stage indicates the procedure took place a fair bit ago.

The 28-year-old McArthur looked like a breakout candidate late in the 2023 season. Acquired in a minor trade after being designated for assignment in Philadelphia, McArthur erupted as one of the most dominant relievers in the sport in September of 2023. An out-of-nowhere but eye-popping run of 16 1/3 shutout innings with just five hits allowed, no walks and 19 punchouts thrust McArthur into the Royals’ late-inning mix and positioned him as the team’s closer early in 2024. That brilliant finish coincided with some changes to his pitch selection; after being optioned to Triple-A in mid-August, McArthur returned in September throwing far fewer sinkers but far more sliders and curveballs.

McArthur had a rough start in 2024, yielding four runs in his first three innings before finding his groove. He pitched to a 3.35 ERA from that point through the remainder of the first half and carried an overall 3.99 earned run average into the All-Star break. His strikeout rate wasn’t close to the prior year, but McArthur was boasting elite command and a massive 57% grounder rate. He looked very much like a nice diamond-in-the-rough find by the Kansas City front office.

Perhaps that’ll still prove to be the case long term, but McArthur stumbled immediately out of the gate in the second half, serving up nine runs (eight earned) in his first three appearances. The rest of his season proved to be a struggle. McArthur pitched to a 6.87 ERA in his final 18 1/3 innings. His walk rate spiked from 4.4% in the first half to 8% in the second half. After averaging 95 mph on his sinker through the break, McArthur’s velocity began to fade. He only topped a 95 mph average on that sinker in one of his final eight appearances. His grounder rate dipped from 57% to 50%, and he didn’t pitch again after Sept. 16.

The season-ending IL placement and subsequent offseason surgery rather emphatically prove that McArthur was pitching at less than 100% down the stretch. The hope for the Royals, clearly, will be that McArthur’s late downturn was a symptom of his elbow troubles. From the point of that repertoire change in late ’23 through the All-Star break in ’24, McArthur totaled 54 2/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA, 23% strikeout rate, 3.3% walk rate and 54.9% grounder rate. If he can come even close to those levels again, he’ll be a vital part of the Royals’ late-inning attack not only in 2025 but for several years to come. McArthur is under club control through 2029 and won’t be arbitration-eligible until the 2025-26 offseason, when he’ll be a Super Two player.

For now, the Royals’ bullpen will be headlined by free agent signing Carlos Estevez and 2024 deadline acquisitions Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey. That’s a formidable high-leverage trio in its own right, and the September-through-July version of McArthur would only further strengthen the group for second-year skipper Matt Quatraro.

Also worth noting, per Thompson, is that righty Alec Marsh is a bit behind schedule after battling some shoulder tightness during his offseason program. He’s seemingly past that issue now, as he’s progressed into a throwing program, but he’s not quite where he would be with a normal offseason. Health permitting, Marsh would be a part of a competition for the fifth rotation spot behind Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen. Marsh, Kris Bubic and Kyle Wright are presumably all in that mix. Bubic arguably should’ve been considered the favorite even before this news, but Marsh’s delay in facing hitters (while Wright hasn’t pitched since 2023 due to shoulder surgery) only strengthen Bubic’s case.

Royals Hire Ned Yost As Senior Advisor

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The Royals announced this afternoon that they’ve hired Ned Yost as a senior advisor to general manager JJ Picollo. Yost, the winningest manager in franchise history, returns to the organization six years after retiring as skipper.

“My deep love for the Royals, for Kansas City and for the people there never left,” the 69-year-old said in a press release. “So I just want to help, because I know I can help. I know what it takes to build a world championship club, and I think we’re getting close. I think we’re getting really close.”

Yost managed the Royals between 2010-19. His 10-year tenure is by far the longest of any manager in organizational history. While the team was in a rebuild at the bookends of that run, Yost guided them to consecutive pennants in 2014-15. He joined Dick Howser as the only skippers to lead the Royals to a title when they won the World Series in 2015. Yost finished with a 746-839 record. The Royals inducted him to their team Hall of Fame late in the ’23 season.

“Our fans remember Ned’s leadership helping produce some of the best moments in Royals history,” Picollo said. “He knows what winning a World Series here takes because he’s helped make it happen, and his experience both as a leader and with young players will help us make better decisions and keep pushing toward another championship.“

Tyler Beede Holds Showcase For Interested Teams

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Right-hander Tyler Beede threw for teams held a pro day for interested teams on Friday, per a report from Ari Alexander of KPRC2. Alexander adds that Beede’s fastball was in the range of 93-95mph and that the Astros and Royals both were represented at the righty’s showcase.

Beede, 32 in May, was selected in the first round of the MLB draft twice: first out of High School by the Blue Jays in 2011, then by the Giants out of Vanderbilt. He made his big league debut with San Francisco back in 2018 with a two-game cup of coffee before getting his first significant look with the club in 2019. Things did not go especially well for Beede that year, as he struggled to a 5.08 ERA (82 ERA+) with a nearly identical 5.03 FIP in 117 innings of work split between 22 starts and a pair of bullpen outings.

Tommy John surgery wiped out Beede’s 2020 season and the majority of his 2021 campaign as well, leaving him to record just one inning of work in the majors that year. Once he properly returned to the big leagues in 2022, Beede made just six appearances with the Giants before he was designated for assignment by the club. The right-hander eventually landed in Pittsburgh as a long reliever and swingman, though he struggled to a 5.23 ERA and 4.89 FIP in 51 2/3 innings of work for the club. That performance wasn’t enough to earn him a spot on the 2023 Pirates, but he did receive some overseas interest and wound up signing with the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2023 season.

Beede looked solid in Japan with a 3.99 ERA in 49 2/3 innings of work, albeit while striking out just 16.4% of opponents. That solid performance overseas was enough to earn him another shot stateside, and he signed on with the Guardians on a minor league deal in January of last year. Beede was impressive enough to make the club’s Opening Day roster last year, but he struggled out of the gate and posted an ugly 8.36 ERA in 14 innings of work. While his 26.5% strikeout rate in that time was a strong one, lackluster control held him back as he walked 13.2% of his opponents.

It seems unlikely that a club would offer Beede more than a minor league deal given his previous struggles at the big league level, but the former first-round pick’s previous success in Japan and solid strikeout rate with the Guardians last year are both potentially interesting data points for clubs to consider. Given the constant need for pitching depth in the modern game, it would hardly be a surprise if a club took a chance on a player like Beede who’s comfortable pitching both in the rotation and in multi-inning relief as needed. Given that the Astros figure to start the season with four starting pitchers on the injured list, a depth addition like Beede who could help hold down the fort while the club’s other arms get healthy could make some sense in Houston, while Beede would likely join a number of potential starting and long relief options fighting for a roster spot in Kansas City this spring.

J.J. Picollo Discusses Royals Offseason Pursuits, Outfield Mix

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A year ago, the Royals had just put the finishing touches on an extension with budding superstar Bobby Witt Jr. that served as a capstone on the busiest and most aggressive offseason the club had put together in years. That strong offseason effort led to an 86-win season and a trip to the ALDS, where they ultimately fell to the AL champion Yankees in four games. After making the playoffs for the first time since they won the World Series back in 2015, the Royals entered this winter with heightened expectations.

The returns of Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen as well as the additions of Jonathan India and Carlos Estevez serve as the foundation of a strong offseason, but comments from owner John Sherman and GM J.J. Picollo relayed by Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star earlier today highlight that the club had bigger hopes for the offseason when it began. Sherman noted that the club made an effort to sign “marquee outfield bats” this winter and are continue to talk with some free agents, while Picollo elaborated further.

“That’s probably the one area in the two years we haven’t been able to reach our goal of getting that (offensive bat),” Picollo said, as relayed by Thompson. “It’s a little disappointing, but we can’t force teams to make trades they don’t want to make. We were active in the free-agent market; we just weren’t able to land the guys.”

Picollo and Sherman are alluding to the club’s failed pursuits of sluggers Jurickson Profar and Anthony Santander, who the club reportedly made two- and three-year offers to respectively before Profar went on to sign in Atlanta for three years while Santander headed to Toronto on a five-year pact. Either of those additions would’ve been a massive upgrade for an outfield mix that’s 79 wRC+ was tied with the White Sox for worst in the American League last year, but an external addition isn’t the only way the club can upgrade its offense in the outfield.

As Picollo notes, the addition of India can improve the offense, and it’s possible some of the club’s infielders can see regular time in the outfield this year as well. Picollo refers to sorting out where the club’s talent will play once the regular season begins as the “biggest challenge” facing the Royals as they head into Spring Training. Both India and Michael Massey are willing to play left field in 2025 and are under consideration for that role, while Maikel Garcia is under consideration for reps in center field as a potential platoon partner for Kyle Isbel. All three of those possible position changes have previously been reported, but Picollo’s comments made clear that a move to the outfield isn’t necessarily guaranteed for any one of those players.

“Jonathan (India) and Michael Massey both said they’re willing to play left field, which is great, but they are both infielders,” Picollo said. “So we need to see them out there in the outfield and see how they move around and figure out what is the best combination for us…it’s going to take time to figure out all the positions, which is different for us because we always valued the defense.”

If defense is the primary concern for the Royals when considering a potential move to the outfield for their infielders, Garcia has a far steeper hill to climb than either India or Massey. Not only is center field higher up on the defensive spectrum than left, but Isbel is one of the league’s most impressive defenders at the position with +10 Outs Above Average. Of course, Isbel’s right-handed complement at the position last year was Dairon Blanco, who turned in -1 OAA at the position and should be much easier for Garcia to surpass. Garcia, for his part, has never appeared in the outfield as a professional but rates well with the glove at third base, with +2 OAA.

It should be much easier for India and/or Massey to prove themselves viable in left. Their primary competition at the position currently appears to be MJ Melendez, who was among the league’s worst defenders in left field last year with a -6 OAA that ranked in just the ninth percentile among qualifying fielders. Neither India nor Massey has significant experience in the outfield, but both rank as average to plus defenders at second base and it’s easy to imagine at least one of them being an upgrade defensively over Melendez in left.

One other note from Picollo’s comments today that Thompson relays is that the Royals “would’ve liked” to add another left-handed pitcher to their roster this offseason. With southpaws Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic both already in the a rotation mix that runs six pitchers deep, it seems likely that any such addition would come in the bullpen. Angel Zerpa, Sam Long, Daniel Lynch IV, Noah Cameron, and Evan Sisk are the club’s left-handed options currently on the 40-man roster, though of that group only Zerpa and the out-of-options Long currently appear to be in line for a spot on the Opening Day roster. It wouldn’t be hard for the club to add a veteran arm to that mix even at this stage of the offseason, with Drew Smyly, Andrew Chafin, Jalen Beeks, and Ryan Yarbrough among the southpaws who remain available on the free agent market.

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:

Royals Sign Thomas Hatch To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced Friday that they’ve signed righty Thomas Hatch to a minor league deal. The Moye Sports client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Hatch, 30, originally agreed to a one-year deal with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Doosan Bears back in November, but that deal fell through after the Bears raised some concerns about the right-hander’s physical. Since the Royals announced this deal, he’s already passed a physical with Kansas City.

Hatch spent the 2024 season with the Hiroshima Carp in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but logged more time with their farm team (72 1/3 innings) than their big league club (22 innings). He struggled in his brief run with the Carp, yielding 18 runs with an 18-to-10 K/BB ratio and five homers allowed in those 22 frames.

From 2020-23, Hatch pitched at least one major league game per season. He totaled 69 innings between the Blue Jays and Pirates, logging a 4.96 ERA with a 19.7% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate, 46.9% ground-ball rate and 1.17 homers per nine innings. A disproportionate amount of his struggles came in his lone 2022 appearance; the Jays left him on the hill to take his lumps in a blowout where he clearly didn’t have his best stuff, and he was torched for 10 runs in 4 2/3 innings. Any pitcher looks better if you’re setting aside his worst outing, but that one nightmarish performance balloons Hatch’s career ERA from 3.92 in 38 other appearances to its current 4.96 mark.

Hatch has pitched in parts of three Triple-A seasons and sports a 4.49 ERA in 242 1/3 innings there. He’s worked both as a starter and a reliever in the upper minors and in the majors as well. That could put him in competition to win a swingman role with the Royals, or he could simply be ticketed for Triple-A Omaha to serve as rotation depth.

At the moment, Kansas City’s rotation is quite full — even after trading Brady Singer to acquire Jonathan India from the Reds earlier this winter. Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen give K.C. an experienced quartet on which to lean. The Royals are moving lefty Kris Bubic from the bullpen (where he thrived in 2024 as he returned from Tommy John surgery) back to his more typical rotation role in 2025. Righty Alec Marsh (4.53 ERA in 129 innings last year) gives them a sixth candidate, though he has a minor league option remaining. Kyle Wright, returning from 2023 shoulder surgery, is another option. Daniel Lynch IV, Jonathan Bowlan, Noah Cameron and Luinder Avila are all on the 40-man roster as well, but Lynch is the only one of the bunch with any MLB experience of note.

Yankees Claim Braden Shewmake

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The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed infielder Braden Shewmake off waivers from the Royals. He’ll bring their 40-man roster to capacity, meaning New York will now need to make a roster move once lefty Tim Hill’s deal is finalized. Kansas City designated Shewmake for assignment last week. They’d claimed him off waivers from the White Sox earlier in the season.

The 27-year-old Shewmake spent the 2024 season with the White Sox after being acquired in the trade that sent left-hander Aaron Bummer from Chicago to Atlanta. The former first-round pick has appeared in parts of two big league seasons but has posted a bleak .118/.127/.191 batting line in 71 plate appearances between the Braves and Sox. He hasn’t offered much more offense in the upper minors, where he’s a .240/.299/.395 hitter in 866 Triple-A plate appearances.

Shewmake clearly doesn’t hit much, but he’s regarded as a surehanded infielder with strong defensive tools at multiple positions. He’s spent the bulk of his career at shortstop but has experience at second base and third base as well. Statcast credits him with better-than-average sprint speed and arm strength, though he’s not plus in either regard.

The addition of Shewmake is a depth play for the Yankees and surely not intended to address the hole in their lineup at either second base or third base (depending on where Jazz Chisholm Jr. plays). Shewmake has a minor league option remaining and could provide depth at multiple spots around the diamond if he sticks on the 40-man roster into the season. However, with a move needed to open space for the aforementioned Hill, Shewmake could find himself designated for assignment once again, with the Yankees hoping to pass him through waivers and keep his glove in Triple-A as a non-roster depth piece.

What Other Competitive Balance Round Draft Picks Could Be Traded This Winter?

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The Competitive Balance Rounds are a pair of bonus rounds within the MLB draft, designed to give an extra pick to the game’s smaller-market teams.  Teams that fall within either the bottom 10 in revenues and market size are eligible, and since 2017, the league determined the eligible teams based on a formula involving market score, revenues, and winning percentage.  The first of the two Competitive Balance Rounds (CBR-A) comes right before the start of the second round, and CBR-B comes right after the second round.  For the 2025 draft, a total of 15 teams will gain an extra pick, and their order within their respective round is determined by their win totals in the 2024 season.

With that explanation out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff — these picks can be traded.  Specifically, a CBR selection can traded exactly once, and to any team in the league.  Since these are the only MLB draft picks that are eligible to be dealt, it has become increasingly common to see teams move these extra selections as part of larger trade packages for established talent.

Three CBR picks in the 2024 draft changed hands due to trades, most prominently the Orioles’ inclusion of the 34th overall selection as part of the trade package sent to the Brewers for Corbin Burnes.  This offseason has already seen three CBR picks in the 2025 draft dealt, and this post will explore the possibility that some other teams with CBR selections might move these picks to fill a more immediate need.

To cover the broad reason why any of these teams might not make a trade, it’s simply that draft picks are a very valuable asset unto themselves.  Controllable young talent is particularly important for lower-revenue clubs that usually don’t splurge on expensive free agents or trade targets, which is part of the reasons why the Competitive Balance Rounds exist in the first place.  Clubs are naturally pretty reluctant to move these CBR picks unless the right opportunity presents itself on the trade market.

(First, some notes on the draft order.  The first 75 places in the 2025 draft have largely been established, since the remaining free agents who rejected qualifying offers all played for teams who were either luxury-tax payors in 2024, or aren’t revenue-sharing recipients.  That means that if Nick Pivetta signs elsewhere, the Red Sox will get their compensation pick after CBR-B.  If Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman sign elsewhere, the Mets’ and Astros’ compensation picks will fall after the fourth round.  Also, because the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers all exceeded the second luxury-tax tier in 2024, their first-round picks were dropped by 10 spots in the draft order.  This means that these three big spenders are all technically selecting within CBR-A, but obviously these aren’t official CBR picks.  The only potential change would be if a team that signs Alonso, Bregman or Pivetta surrenders its second-round pick to do so.)

Onto the selections….

Brewers (33rd overall, CBR-A): Milwaukee is actually making consecutive picks in the draft, as they received a compensatory pick when Willy Adames rejected the team’s qualifying offer and signed with the Giants.  Owning the 32nd overall pick might make the Brew Crew slightly more opening to trading the 33rd overall pick, perhaps to add pitching or to the infield in the wake of Adames’ departure.  The Brewers could considering adding their CBR pick as a sweetener to try and move Rhys Hoskins’ contract, yet it’s less likely that the team moves a valuable draft selection just as part of a salary dump.

Tigers (34th overall, CBR-A): The Tigers are considered to be one of the top suitors remaining for Alex Bregman, and signing a qualified free agent would cost the Tigers their third-highest pick in the 2025 draft.  Losing the 63rd overall pick means the Tigers almost surely wouldn’t also deal their CBR pick.  If Bregman signed elsewhere, it’s more plausible that Detroit could consider trading its CBR pick for a big right-handed bat, but still probably on the unlikely side.

Mariners (35th overall, CBR-A): It was almost exactly a year ago that the M’s traded their CBR-B pick in the 2024 draft to the White Sox as part of the Gregory Santos deal.  Santos’ injury-plagued first season in Seattle could make the Mariners more hesitant to an even higher CBR selection, yet this tradable pick might an asset the M’s can use within an overall difficult offseason market for the team.  The Mariners are working with limited payroll space and most every team in baseball would prefer win-now help over prospects, seemingly leaving the M’s dealing with a lot of offers for their starting pitchers.  With Seattle so reluctant to deal from its excellent rotation, offering up the 35th overall pick in trade talks might help get things moving.

Twins (36th overall, CBR-A): Speaking of front offices without much financial flexibility, Minnesota has had a very quiet offseason, with most of the headlines focused on a potential sale of the franchise rather than any significant roster moves.  With reportedly around only $5MM or so in payroll space, the Twins might have to make some trades just to free up more money for more trade possibilities.  Moving the CBR-A pick could be added to the Twins’ list of possibilities, but the team has enough potential trade candidates on the active roster that moving a big league-ready player is probably their preference over dealing away a draft pick.

Rays (37th overall, CBR-A): It might not come as much surprise that Tampa is the team that has acquired the most CBR picks over the last seven seasons.  As you’ll see shortly, the Rays added to that total with the 42nd overall pick of the 2025 draft.  Like with the Brewers and the Adames compensatory selection, having an “extra” pick in a sense might make the Rays more open to dealing this pick here, but that hasn’t been Tampa Bay’s style.

Reds (now Dodgers, 41st overall, CBR-A): This pick was already moved, as Cincinnati traded its selection along with outfield prospect Mike Sirota to Los Angeles in exchange for Gavin Lux.

Athletics (now Rays, 42nd overall, CBR-A): Another swapped pick, as the A’s moved the 42nd overall pick to Tampa Bay as part of the Jeffrey Springs trade.  This move in particular highlights the speculative nature of this post, since going into the offseason, the Athletics seemingly wouldn’t have been on the radar as a team likely to trade its CBR pick.

Marlins (43th overall, CBR-A): There’s basically zero chance the Fish move a draft pick in the midst of their extensive rebuild.

Guardians (70th overall, CBR-B): The reigning AL Central champs have generally gone chalk with their CBR selections, not acquiring or trading any picks until this year.  Adding an experienced outfielder or middle infielder for the 70th pick might work on paper, as the Guards are another team with two CBR selections and not much spending capacity to address its roster needs.

Orioles (71st overall, CBR-B): The idea for this post came about after writing another piece yesterday about how the O’s might be well-suited to trade this pick.

Diamondbacks (now Guardians, 72nd overall, CBR-B): Arizona sent the 72nd pick and Slade Cecconi to Cleveland to bring Josh Naylor to the desert.

Royals (73rd overall, CBR-B): Kansas City traded its CBR-A selection just hours before the 2024 draft began, moving the 39th overall pick and third base prospect Cayden Wallace to the Nationals for Hunter Harvey.  While Harvey battled injuries and wasn’t much of a help in the Royals’ run to the ALDS, the fact that the team made such an aggressive midseason deal in pursuit of a playoff spot might hint that the front office is willing to make another bold swap involving this pick.  Outfield help remains the Royals’ biggest need at this point in the winter.

Cardinals (74th overall, CBR-B): Outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has spoken about wanting to leave a “clean slate” for new PBO Chaim Bloom.  Between that and the Cardinals’ stated goal of refocusing on player development, it seems unlikely St. Louis would look to move its CBR pick.

Pirates (75th overall, CBR-B): The Bucs have had a relatively quiet offseason, with the team’s typical lack of big spending.  In theory, trading a CBR pick might be a helpful way for the Pirates to add talent without breaking the budget, though Ben Cherington has yet to explore this tactic during his time as Pittsburgh’s general manager.

Rockies (76th overall, CBR-B): While the Rockies aren’t technically in an official rebuild, they’re not exactly building up after losing 204 games over the last two seasons.  Using this pick to add another young player to the farm system seems far more likely than the Rox trading the pick away.

Royals Made Three-Year Offer To Santander Before Jays Deal

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The Royals have been searching for a middle-of-the-order bat throughout the offseason. Anthony Santander was evidently one such target. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Kansas City made Santander a three-year, $66MM offer that included unspecified deferrals and would’ve allowed him to opt out after the second season.

Of course, Santander declined that proposal in favor of a five-year deal with the Blue Jays. That was initially reported as a $92.5MM contract, though extreme deferrals dramatically cut the net present value. For luxury tax purposes, Santander’s deal with Toronto was valued just below $68.6MM. He can opt out of that contract after three seasons, though the Jays could override that by preemptively exercising a 2030 club option.

The deferrals in Kansas City’s offer would have also trimmed its net present value to some extent. Without specifics, it’s impossible to know the exact NPV. However, it’s likely that K.C.’s offer would have had a stronger average annual value than the approximate $13.7MM mark on his contract with Toronto. Santander’s decision to go to Toronto could be a matter of timing more than anything else. Rosenthal writes that the switch-hitting slugger was already “committed” to the Jays once Kansas City made its strongest offer.

A few days after Santander came off the board, Jurickson Profar inked a three-year deal with the Braves. He received a $42MM guarantee. The Royals had been tied to Profar as far back as November. Rosenthal writes that the Royals were unwilling to go to three years on Profar, who turns 32 next month. Santander and Profar were the two big remaining unsigned outfielders.

Kansas City reallocated some of the money they were prepared to invest in the outfield to the bullpen. The Royals finalized a two-year, $22MM deal with back-end reliever Carlos Estévez this evening. That pushed their projected Opening Day payroll to roughly $132MM, according to the RosterResource calculations. RosterResource estimated last year’s season-ending payroll around $114MM, though Rosenthal writes that it was closer to $118MM. In either case, the Royals have added around $15-20MM to their books. They’ve also re-signed Michael Wacha for $51MM over three years, re-signed Michael Lorenzen on a $7MM pact, and swapped Brady Singer for Jonathan India.

The pitching staff looks excellent. K.C. had one of the best rotations in MLB last season. That should be the case again with Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Wacha returning at the front end. Kyle Wright should be back from shoulder surgery, while they could get a full season out of Kris Bubic after he pitched in relief upon his return from Tommy John surgery. Estévez pairs with last year’s big deadline pickup, Lucas Erceg, at the back of what should be a stronger bullpen.

There’s less depth in the lineup. India will be an upgrade over Maikel Garcia at the top of the order. Kansas City hasn’t found the big bat they’d hoped to plug behind Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino. They again have one of the weakest outfields on paper. MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe project as their starters in the corners, while Kyle Isbel will get the bulk of the center field work.

India and Michael Massey will divide time at second base and could each see some action in left field. Rosenthal writes that the Royals plan to give the righty-hitting Garcia reps in center field against left-handed pitching, essentially as a platoon partner for the lefty-swinging Isbel. Garcia has never started a major league game in the outfield. He’s a plus athlete with good speed, though, so it’s not all that surprising that the Royals are open to letting him roam the outfield on occasion.

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