Blue Jays Sign Kazuma Okamoto
TODAY: The Blue Jays officially announced Okamoto’s signing. Right-hander Paxton Schultz was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Okamoto.
JANUARY 3: The Blue Jays have finally made a big strike in the Japanese market, as Toronto has signed infielder Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60MM contract. It is a straight four-year deal without any opt-outs. The contract breaks down as a $5MM signing bonus and a $7MM salary for Okamoto in 2026, and then $16MM in each of the deal’s final three years. Okamoto is represented by the Boras Corporation.
Okamoto’s 45-day posting window was set to expire tomorrow at 4pm CT, so it was expected that the infielder would settle on his first Major League team today and finalize the agreement (i.e. complete a physical) before Sunday’s deadline. MLB Trade Rumors ranked Okamoto 19th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and our projection of a four-year, $64MM deal was just slightly above what Okamoto landed from the Jays.
Matching financial expectations is no small feat, given how Tatsuya Imai (three years/$54MM guarantee from the Astros with two opt-out clauses) and Munetaka Murakami (two years, $34MM from the White Sox) both had to settle for shorter-term deals in their trips through the posting window this winter. Evaluators and scouts didn’t quite view Okamoto, Imai, and Murakami in the same tier as other big-ticket NPB arrivals from past seasons, though Okamoto perhaps had fewer red flags, resulting in his nice payday.
Okamoto’s contract also translates to a $10.875MM posting fee for the Yomiuri Giants, the infielder’s now-former NPB team. As per the terms of the NPB/MLB posting system, the NPB team’s fee is 20% of the first $25MM of a player’s guaranteed MLB contract, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of all further spending.
It was a little under a month ago that Toronto was first linked to Okamoto, and the 29-year-old now projects to be the Jays’ regular third baseman. Okamoto also has experience playing first base (making him an overqualified backup option to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) and in the outfield, so he joins Addison Barger and Davis Schneider as Blue Jays players who can contribute in both infield and outfield roles.
For Barger in particular, it now seems like he’ll platoon with Okamoto at third base, while playing in the corner outfield when he isn’t at the hot corner. This could bump Ernie Clement into primarily a second base role, with Andres Gimenez expected to move from second base to an everyday shortstop role. The right-handed hitting Clement can also spell the lefty-swinging Gimenez at shortstop when a southpaw is on the mound, with Schneider (another righty bat) moving to second base in those circumstances.
All of these moving pieces don’t even factor in the possibility that Bo Bichette could still re-sign with the Blue Jays, even with Okamoto now in the fold. If Bichette returns to an everyday role at either shortstop or (perhaps more likely) second base, Barger or Okamoto could see more time in the outfield. On the flip side, if the Blue Jays were to land another rumored target in outfielder Kyle Tucker, Toronto would then likely have to trade from a crowded outfield mix that would include Tucker, Daulton Varsho, George Springer and Anthony Santander splitting DH duty and one corner outfield slot, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, Joey Loperfido, and Okamoto, Barger, and Schneider all available in a part-time outfield capacity.
However things play out, it adds to what has already been a fascinating offseason for a Blue Jays team that came within two outs of winning Game 7 of the World Series. The team’s efforts to add the final piece of the puzzle have mostly focused on pitching to date, with Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce signed to reinforce the rotation, and Tyler Rogers added to the relief corps.
Bichette and Tucker have naturally dominated the rumor mill when it came to possible lineup additions, and players like Cody Bellinger, Ketel Marte, Alex Bregman, and Yoan Moncada were also reportedly on Toronto’s radar. The Okamoto signing probably closes the door on Bregman and Moncada specifically since the two are third basemen, unless the Jays made the curious decision of using Okamoto primarily as a corner outfielder.
Okamoto’s third base defense was strong enough to earn Golden Glove awards when playing with Yomiuri Giants in 2021-22, though he has played an increased amount at first base in the last three years. Scouts generally view Okamoto as at least a decent defensive third baseman at the MLB level, and his ability to also capably handle first base and left field adds to his versatility around the diamond.
Moreso than his glovework, however, Okamoto’s biggest plus is his bat. One of the top hitters in Japan for most of the last decade, Okamoto has hit .277/.361/.521 with 248 home runs over 4494 plate appearances with the Giants. He had a run of six straight seasons of 30+ homers from 2018-23 before dropping to 27 long balls in 2024, and he hit 15 homers with a .322/.411/.581 slash line over 314 PA in 2025 in a season interrupted by an elbow injury that cost Okamoto roughly three months of the NPB campaign.
A six-time NPB All-Star and a member of Japan’s World Baseball Classic-winning team in 2023, Okamoto is known for his ability to generate power while still making a lot of hard contact without many strikeouts. This approach fits right into the offensive gameplan that worked so well for the Jays in 2025. Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins drew raves for his work in helping several Toronto hitters break out last season, and he could certainly aid Okamoto in making a smooth transition to MLB, perhaps particularly when it comes to adjusting to higher-velocity pitching. As noted by Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, Okamoto has been inconsistent against higher-velo (94mph+) pitches, but he already showed improvement in this department in 2025.
The signing also represents a breakthrough for the Jays in their efforts to land a high-profile Japanese star. The Blue Jays’ attempts to sign Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki during the previous two offseasons were all thwarted by the Dodgers, which added some extra sting when all three players (particularly World Series MVP Yamamoto) contributed heavily to Los Angeles’ narrow win over the Jays in the Fall Classic.
While the Dodgers weren’t publicly known to be in on Okamoto, such teams as the Red Sox, Pirates, Cubs, Angels, Mariners, and Padres were all linked to his market. Earlier this afternoon, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand indicated that San Diego “could be the frontrunner,” but instead it was Toronto who ended up sealing the deal.
Okamoto’s $60MM contract represents another big expenditure for a Blue Jays organization that has already taken spending to team-record heights in recent years, and now put the club in the upper echelons of league-wide spending. RosterResource estimates a $286MM payroll for the Jays in 2026, and a luxury tax number of around $308.8MM.
This puts Toronto over the highest tax threshold of $304MM, meaning the team will again see their first-round pick in the 2027 draft dropped back 10 places, plus they’ll face a 90% surcharge on any further spending. It’s clear that the Jays and Rogers Communications (the team’s ownership group) are ready to flex their financial muscle more than ever in pursuit of a World Series banner, so more splurges on Bichette or Tucker can’t be ruled out.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report the signing, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the contract’s length and value. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand added the details about the $5MM signing bonus and the lack of opt-outs, and the Associated Press had the annual salary breakdown.
Kona Takahashi To Return To NPB For 2026 Season
2:20PM: Feinsand reports that Takahashi had offers from three Major League clubs. 7 News Boston’s Ari Alexander heard during the Winter Meetings that the Astros were interested in Takahashi, but it isn’t known if Houston was one of the teams who made the righty a formal offer.
1:30PM: Kona Takahashi‘s 45-day posting window for finding a contract with MLB teams closes tomorrow, but The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports that the right-hander will instead return to Japan and the Seibu Lions.
There wasn’t much buzz about Takahashi’s bid to join a big league team, and reports began to emerge a few days ago that returning to Nippon Professional Baseball was a distinct possibility for the 28-year-old. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and Brian Murphy reported that Takahashi received just one offer from a Major League team, and it apparently wasn’t enticing enough for the righty to make the jump.
Takahashi doesn’t yet qualify for full international free agency. Feinsand and Murphy suggested that he could pursue a multi-year deal with the Lions that includes an opt-out clause next winter, so Takahashi could freely pursue another contract with a Major League team. Sammon writes that Takahashi and the Lions are indeed discussing such a contract — though the Lions still control Takahashi’s rights, the club was already willing to post him this offseason, so a longer-term deal with opt-outs somewhat formalizes the situation. It does mean that the Lions wouldn’t be able to receive a posting fee, which would’ve been 20% of any contract worth $25MM of less in guaranteed money.
The general expectation was that Takahashi’s foray into the posting system was going to result in a low-level guarantee at best, or perhaps even a contract without any guaranteed money. Takahashi has a solid 3.39 ERA over 1199 career innings with the Lions, and achieved success by inducing grounders at roughly a 50 percent rate and limiting walks. The big red flag for MLB scouts was undoubtedly Takahashi’s lackluster 17.17% career strikeout rate.
It might take a particularly strong 2026 NPB season for Takahashi to elevate his stock in the eyes of big league scouts, but he’ll still be relatively young (turning 30 in February 2027) in advance of what would be his first MLB campaign. With another year of good results and eating innings, Takahashi might draw more attention as a back-end rotation arm or perhaps as a multi-inning reliever next winter, should he end up opting out of his next contract.
Astros Sign Tatsuya Imai
The Astros officially announced the signing of right-hander Tatsuya Imai to a three-year contract that allows him to opt out after each of the first two seasons. It’s reportedly a $54MM guarantee for the NPB star, who’ll collect a $2MM signing bonus and $16MM salary next year. He’s owed respective $18MM salaries between 2027-28. Imai, a client of the Boras Corporation, would reportedly escalate his 2027 salary by $2MM apiece at reaching 80, 90 and 100 innings next year. His ’28 salary would also climb by $1MM at each of those thresholds, meaning the total value can jump another $9MM.
Meanwhile, the Lions will receive a posting fee based on Imai’s $54MM guarantee. The current system for international postings gives the original club 20% of the first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of anything over $50MM. That works out to $9.975MM, so the Astros are on the hook for just under $64MM between the contract’s guaranteed money and the posting fee. If Imai opts out next season, Houston will have committed $27.975MM for one year of his services. The Astros would also owe a 15% posting fee to the Lions on any escalators that Imai unlocks if he doesn’t opt out.
Imai was one of the top starters available in free agency and coming off a career-best 1.92 ERA season with the Saitama Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. It was reported several days ago that he was meeting with teams in-person in advance of his January 2 signing deadline. The Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Phillies, and Orioles were among the clubs interested in signing him, so the Astros are a bit of a surprise destination.
We at MLBTR ranked Imai No. 7 on our Top 50 Free Agents list and projected him for a six-year, $150MM contract. This deal with Houston comes in at half the length of that projection, with around a third of the guaranteed money. It appeared that Imai had other offers on the table for longer terms but lower AAVs (link via Mark Feinsand of MLB.com). The opt-outs in his deal with Houston allow him to try for a bigger contract in future offseasons if he can prove himself in MLB.
Imai is 27 years old (28 in May) and has pitched to a 3.15 ERA in 963 2/3 career NPB innings. He debuted in 2018 at age 20 and made 16 appearances (15 starts), but struggled with a 4.97 ERA. Those early struggles continued from 2019-20. In the pandemic season, Imai had a 6.13 ERA in 61 2/3 innings and walked more batters than he struck out, which resulted in him temporarily being moved to the bullpen. He rebounded in 2021, posting a 3.30 ERA in 158 1/3 innings with an improved strikeout rate, and he has stuck as a starting pitcher ever since.
That kicked off a run of dominance from 2022-25. After posting a 2.41 ERA in nine starts with the Lions in 2022, Imai followed up with a 2.30 ERA and a 24.4% strikeout rate in 133 innings in 2023. While he did walk 11.4% of hitters that year, his strikeout and walk numbers improved year over year from 2023-25. This year, he struck out 27.8% of hitters (highest among qualified NPB starters) and walked just 7.0%. His 20.7% K-BB rate was third-best in that league. Imai also did very well at keeping the ball in the yard, allowing just six home runs all season (0.33 HR/9) and inducing groundballs 48.3% of the time. Overall, he enters the majors with a higher ceiling and much-improved control compared to his early career.
In terms of stuff, Imai profiles as a mid-rotation starter in the majors. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and can reach 99 mph, and he also throws a slider, splitter, and changeup. His excellent performance from 2022-25 made him an attractive target in free agency, although some evaluators were concerned about his secondary stuff and past struggles with control. It seemed that industry opinion was mixed on whether he could succeed as a big-league starter, which resulted in the lower-than-expected guarantee.
At the time of his posting, a $150MM deal seemed like a real possibility. These days, teams value youth and upside and are willing to pay a premium to get it. Recent offseasons have seen players like Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sign for over a decade and at least $500MM in guaranteed money. Among Asian players, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and outfielder Jung Hoo Lee came to the majors after their age-24 seasons and earned $100M+ deals. Imai is several years older than Yamamoto was when he signed and has a shorter track record as a front-of-the-rotation arm. While he was never going to match Yamamoto’s deal, Imai’s year-over-year improvement and relative youth were enough for the Astros to want him in their rotation.
Houston’s interest was not widely known, though it makes sense that they wanted another starting pitcher. Longtime ace Framber Valdez is currently a free agent. The team has had some discussions with Valdez’s camp, though the expectation is that he will sign elsewhere on a pricier contract. Hunter Brown was phenomenal in 2025, totaling 185 1/3 innings with a 2.43 ERA. That figure was third-best among qualified starters, trailing only Cy Young winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal. He also posted an 85th-percentile strikeout rate and a 77th-percentile groundball rate. Altogether, he was worth 4.6 fWAR and finished third in AL Cy Young voting. He’ll return as the staff ace in 2026.
Behind Brown, the rotation looks shaky. Cristian Javier currently projects as the No. 2 starter. He owns a 3.66 ERA in 538 career innings, but he pitched just 71 2/3 innings from 2024-25 due to Tommy John surgery. In just 37 innings this year, Javier had a 4.62 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate and a 9.6% walk rate. He is under contract through 2027. Meanwhile, Lance McCullers Jr. has had his own injury troubles, pitching just 103 innings in the past four years and missing 2023-24 entirely. Even if he performs well in 2026, the team will monitor his workload carefully. The recently-acquired Mike Burrows will play some role. He had a 3.94 ERA in 96 innings this year with an impressive 16.4% K-BB rate, though his overall track record is fairly minimal.
The addition of Imai gives the Astros a durable No. 2 or 3 starter at an affordable rate. It remains to be seen how his strikeout and groundball potential will translate against major-league hitting, though the club is surely hoping he can maintain his performance from Japan. The signing brings the Astros’ projected payroll to $242MM, according to RosterResource. The club was a second-time luxury tax payor this year and is hoping to avoid paying it for a third time. The first luxury tax threshold for 2026 is $244MM, so the club will likely need to shed payroll if it wants to add to other areas of the roster.
With Imai now off the board, any clubs in need of a starter will need to look elsewhere. Dylan Cease was the top free agent pitcher entering the offseason and has since signed with the Blue Jays. Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, and Lucas Giolito are still available in free agency. Valdez and Suarez are front-of-the-rotation options, while Gallen, Bassitt and Giolito are cheaper, mid-rotation arms.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Astros and Imai had agreed to a deal. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers was first on the three-year term with opt-outs after the first two seasons. Heyman reported the $54MM guarantee and $9MM in escalators at 80-100 innings, while Ronald Blum of The Associated Press was first on the signing bonus and specific escalator breakdown.
Yankees Have Reportedly Made Offer To Cody Bellinger
The Yankees made a formal contract offer to Cody Bellinger this week, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Specifics of the proposal aren’t known.
General manager Brian Cashman has made no secret of the team’s desire to keep Bellinger. The former MVP’s first year in the Bronx was excellent. He hit .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs, his most in a season since 2019. Bellinger’s bat played very well at Yankee Stadium, where he put up a .302/.365/.544 line with 18 longballs.
New York acquired Bellinger from the Cubs last winter in what amounted to a salary dump. They parted with journeyman righty Cody Poteet while assuming all but $5MM of the remaining two years and $52.5MM on Bellinger’s contract. As he ended up opting out, the Yankees paid $27.5MM for that excellent year. It might require a five- or six-year commitment to bring him back as he enters his age-30 season.
The Yankees have had a quiet first couple months of the offseason. Their only move of significance was issuing the qualifying offer to Trent Grisham. He surprisingly accepted and is back in center field on a one-year deal at $22.025MM. Bellinger was ineligible to receive the QO after getting one from the Cubs over the 2023-24 offseason.
Grisham’s salary accounts for the majority of the $29.025MM they’ve spent in free agency so far. The remaining $7MM has been divided among a trio of one-year deals to bring back Paul Blackburn, Amed Rosario and Ryan Yarbrough. Their only MLB acquisition from outside the organization has been Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest.
That certainly won’t be the Yankees’ entire offseason. They presumably expected Bellinger’s free agency to carry well into the winter. The top two free agent hitters, Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette, each make sense on paper if Bellinger heads elsewhere. Signing one of Tucker or Bellinger would allow them to rotate their outfielders through the designated hitter spot if Giancarlo Stanton spends any time on the injured list. Bellinger could spell Ben Rice at first base and/or take playing time in left field from Jasson Domínguez, who still has a pair of options remaining.
An outfielder isn’t an absolute necessity, but it’s probably the cleanest path to adding an impact position player. Shortstop would be the primary alternative. Bichette is the only real solution there and faces questions about his defensive fit. He could be an option to handle shortstop for a season and move over to second base once Jazz Chisholm Jr. hits free agency a year from now. The Yankees have reportedly made Chisholm available in trade conversations, but that’d swap out one of their better all-around position players in the process.
The other option would be to make a rotation splash with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt opening the season on the injured list. Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen are the best remaining free agent starters now that NPB righty Tatsuya Imai is off the board on a three-year deal with Houston. The Yankees were one of the teams linked to Imai when he was a free agent, but both Heyman and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote after the signing that the Yanks were not seriously involved in the bidding.
RosterResource projects the Yankees for a $286MM luxury tax number. Owner Hal Steinbrenner has spoken generally about a desire to stay below the $300MM mark in the past, though Cashman suggested in November that’s not a firm limit this offseason. The Yankees had a $320MM luxury tax payroll at the end of the 2025 season.
Cubs Sign Hunter Harvey
Dec 31: The team has officially announced the Harvey signing.
Dec. 30: Harvey can earn an additional $1.5MM via incentives, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Dec. 28: The Cubs and right-hander Hunter Harvey are reportedly in agreement on a one-year contract that’ll guarantee him $6MM. Harvey, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, still needs to complete a physical before the deal becomes official.
Harvey is looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2025 season that saw the reliever make just 12 appearances out of the Royals bullpen. A teres major strain in early April kept Harvey out of action until late July, and he pitched in just six more games before being sidelined for good by a Grade 2 adductor strain. The frustration of these two significant injuries was compounded by the fact that Harvey was looking great when healthy — he didn’t allow a run over his 10 2/3 innings pitched, while issuing one walk against 11 strikeouts.
Between these injuries and the back problems that marred the end of his 2024 campaign, Harvey ended up pitching only 16 1/3 innings in a Royals uniform after Kansas City acquired the righty from Washington in July 2024. Unfortunately, health concerns are nothing new for Harvey, as his time as a top-100 prospect in the Orioles’ farm system was frequently interrupted by stints on the injured list.
It wasn’t until the 2022 season that Harvey (now with the Nationals) finally got an extended taste of MLB playing time. He proceeded to post a 3.17 ERA, 27.83% strikeout rate, and 6.36% walk rate over 145 relief innings during his time in D.C., working in a high-leverage role and occasionally as a closer with the Nats.
Harvey has been prone to allowing a lot of hard contact, but his control and strikeout ability has allowed him to get out of jams when allowing baserunners. Harvey has always been a hard thrower, though his 96.1 mph fastball in 2025 was the slowest velocity he has posted in his MLB career. Of course, it’s hard to draw conclusions from that sample size of 10 2/3 IP, and it is certainly possible that Harvey will regain a tick or two on his heater once healthy.
Availability is the lingering question for Harvey, yet there is plenty of upside for the righty as he enters his age-31 season. He is an ideal fit for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who has traditionally shopped for lower-cost bullpen arms who can (if everything works out) provide plenty of bang for the buck.
Chicago’s two-year, $14.5MM deal with Phil Maton counts as a relative splurge by Hoyer’s bullpen spending standards, but the Cubs have now signed Maton, Harvey, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and old friend Caleb Thielbar in what has quietly become a pretty extensive remodel of the relief corps. Daniel Palencia remains as the Cubs’ first choice for saves, but Harvey now provides some backup as a reliever with some ninth-inning experience.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team pursue more veteran relievers on relatively inexpensive contracts, in order to give the Cubs as much depth as possible in advance of what Chicago hopes is a deeper postseason run. The Cubs have been linked to a number of bigger-ticket position players and starting pitchers, but Maton’s deal remains their largest investment in a new player this offseason.
Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic first reported the agreement between the two sides. Jon Heyman of the New York Post added the contract’s length, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the salary.
Angels, Anthony Rendon Restructure Contract; Rendon Will Not Return To Team
The Angels and Anthony Rendon have agreed to a restructured version of his contract that will defer the $38MM he is still owed for the next three to five seasons, reports Sam Blum of The Athletic. Rendon will not return to the team. His tenure with the Angels is over.
Rendon is not officially “retiring,” Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register adds. He’ll still count against the team’s roster for the time being, although with the two sides agreeing to part ways, it stands to reason that the Angels could release him at any point. He’ll be paid regardless.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported in late November that the two parties were working on a buyout of sorts regarding the final year and $38MM on the seven-year, $245MM contract Rendon signed following his monster 2019 season. It proved to be a catastrophic misstep for the Halos — one of the least-productive major signings in the sport’s history. Rendon played in only 257 games for Anaheim, slashing just .242/.348/.369 with 22 home runs in 1095 plate appearances. Of a possible 1032 games he could have played with the Angels, Rendon will wind up appearing in just under one-quarter of them.
It’s easy to forget, but Rendon’s Angels tenure started out quite well. He played in 52 of 60 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and slashed a robust .286/.418/.497 with nine homers, 11 doubles, a triple and more walks (16.4%) than strikeouts (13.4%). It was precisely the type of star-level output for which the Angels hoped when signing the 2019 postseason standout after a sensational run in Washington; from 2017-19, Rendon had slashed .310/.397/.556 with the Nationals.
Everything fell apart after that first season in Anaheim. Rendon’s 2021 season was cut short by hip surgery. His 2022 season ended early due to wrist surgery. He missed all of the 2025 season following a second hip surgery. Even in the 2023-24 seasons, when he avoided undergoing any kind of surgical procedure, Rendon was limited to just 90 games due to the combination of a fractured tibia (suffered when fouling a ball into his leg), a torn hamstring and an oblique strain.
As one would expect, as those injuries piled up, Rendon’s production wilted. Following his terrific 2020 campaign, he played in just 202 games with the Angels and hit .231/.329/.336 with poor defense. He was effectively a replacement-level player — and a frequently injured one at that. Rendon also sparked controversy off the field as well in 2023, when he was captured on video grabbing an A’s fan by the shirt after he’d been cussed at while leaving the field. Rendon swore at the fan and took a swipe at him after releasing his shirt. He was suspended for four games and fined by the league.
The Angels weren’t counting on any contributions from Rendon in 2026 anyhow, but the restructure and deferral of his weighty $38MM salary gives the team some extra spending power this winter. Details surrounding the nature of the deferrals and how much — if anything — they’ll pay Rendon in 2026 are unclear. Blum, however, suggests that the Angels could use the newfound financial freedom to pursue a higher-profile free agent this winter. That doesn’t necessarily have to be at third base, although in Alex Bregman and NPB star Kazuma Okamoto, there are a pair of notable options at the position.
Many of the top names on the free agent market remain unsigned to this point. In addition to Bregman and Okamoto, none of Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez or Tatsuya Imai have signed yet. Imai’s 45-day posting window closes on Jan. 2. Okamoto’s posting window closes two days later.
Prior to the Rendon buyout/restructure, RosterResource projected the Angels’ payroll at about $172MM, which is roughly $34MM shy of their 2025 level. Depending on how the new arrangement has been structured, the Angels could be anywhere from $40-70MM shy of last year’s season-ending mark, which would give general manager Perry Minasian and his staff plenty of room to further augment the club.
Hazen: Ketel Marte Trade Talks Won’t Last All Offseason
The big question of the D-Backs offseason has been whether to trade Ketel Marte. They’ve reportedly fielded calls from upwards of a third of the league with teams like the Mariners, Red Sox and Reds most prominently linked. Although general manager Mike Hazen called a trade of a star hitter “mostly unlikely” at the GM Meetings in early November, they’ve kept the line of communication open given their needs around the roster.
According to Hazen, they’re not going to maintain that posture for the entire offseason. “We’re very likely to put an end to (Marte trade talks) shortly,” the GM told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. When pressed for specifics on the timeline, Hazen said that he “(hasn’t) figured that out yet” but said they can’t afford to remain in a holding pattern for much longer. He implied they were likelier to take Marte firmly off the table rather than nearing agreement on a deal.
“We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that (a trade) wasn’t going to happen, and I think it seems likely that that’s the case and we want to focus on other things we need to do,” Hazen said. The GM added that talks to date haven’t gotten “anywhere near” the significant asking price they’ve set to move their star second baseman.
On one hand, it’s easy enough to write this off as a general manager trying to pressure interested clubs to raise their offers. Even if Hazen isn’t setting a public deadline, the Snakes could do so internally to get teams to make their best and final trade proposals. At the same time, this generally aligns with the GM’s stance on Marte trade rumors dating back to the summer. Speculation has abounded since August when multiple reports emerged about some of Marte’s teammates being frustrated with the number of off days that he took.
Hazen spoke with Wolf & Luke of Arizona Sports at the time and was naturally asked about the possibility of a trade. “Ketel is one of, if not our best player,” the GM said then. “He’s a superstar in this league. You win with superstars in this league. Yes, I do know it’s a team game and putting a team together to win baseball games is also equally important. That’s on us to figure out what the right mix of players is.
We went to the World Series with this player on our team (in 2023). … So this mindset of where he is on our team and his inability or ability to help us win is hard for me to just take that. … Where this lays down at his feet and where it’s coming from now is a little bizarre to me. I’m not ignoring the inconsistencies with some of the things that have happened. He’s addressed those things. We’ve addressed those things with him.
We’re not blind to having an imperfect clubhouse and an imperfect roster. … I’m also in a job and position to put players on the field that can win you baseball games, because ultimately that’s what this comes down to. We are going to put the best team on the field every single day we can.”
The D-Backs have nevertheless heard teams out as the clearest way to acquire controllable starting pitching. They’re expected to scale back payroll from this past season’s franchise-record $195MM mark. RosterResource currently projects them for $168MM in spending. Marte is set for a $15MM salary next season, but $6MM of that is deferred until 2036. They’re not under any financial pressure to move him, nor are they entering even a soft rebuild. The goal in trade talks would be to acquire multiple MLB or near-ready pieces who could deepen the overall roster.
Despite the payroll limitations, Arizona has addressed the rotation with a pair of free agent pickups. They brought back Merrill Kelly on a two-year, $40MM deal and added swingman Michael Soroka for a $7.5MM guarantee. They could certainly still upgrade a rotation comprising Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Soroka. It’s not as pressing a need as it was two months ago, however.
The bigger focus now should be the bullpen, which was decimated by injuries last summer and is still without top two arms Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk. The Snakes also need to decide whether they’re content with Jordan Lawlar as an everyday player (either at third base or in the outfield) and could upgrade in center field or at first base. The Marte trade rumors have come alongside reporting that the Snakes could make a surprise run at Alex Bregman.
“We’re going to need to start focusing on our position player group at some point a little more specifically,” Hazen noted to Gilbert. “That’s the other reason to finalize what we’re doing with other players, so we have a little more direction on what we can do and what it might look like.” Readers are encouraged to check out the MLB.com column for the full scope of Hazen’s comments.
Orioles Re-Sign Zach Eflin
The Orioles have reunited with Zach Eflin on a one-year, $10MM deal with a mutual option for the 2027 season. The team has officially announced the signing, and designated outfielder Will Robertson for assignment in a corresponding move to create room on the 40-man roster. Eflin is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.
The $10MM guarantee breaks down as a $5MM salary, a $3MM signing bonus, and then a $2MM buyout on the mutual option. As a reminder, mutual options are virtually never exercised by both parties, so Eflin’s deal is for all intents and purposes just a one-year pact. There is some significant bonus money involved, as both Eflin’s buyout and option will increase by $1MM if he makes at least 15 starts, then by $1.5MM if he makes at 20 starts, and one final increase of $2.5MM if he hits the 25-start threshold. The mutual option’s buyout can therefore max out at $7MM.
Baltimore has been linked to several top-tier free agent pitchers this winter, and the O’s also just swung a notable trade to land a hurler with frontline potential in Shane Baz. The 32-year-old Eflin might settle into the back of the rotation, especially given his uncertain injury status. Eflin underwent a back surgery in August that came with a rather broad recovery timeline of 4-8 months, so the fact that he has now signed a contract after four months perhaps hints that his rehab is going smoothly.
The Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich hears from a source that the Orioles are hoping Eflin can “make his season debut early in the year,” with his ramp-up process starting “early in Spring Training.” Once Eflin is ready, he’ll slot in as the fourth or fifth starter in a projected rotation that includes Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, and Baz. Tyler Wells had a line on a rotation spot but might move into a bullpen or swingman role once Eflin returns. Albert Suarez is another swingman candidate, plus Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott, and Brandon Young are further rotation depth options in the upper minors.
If Baltimore still wanted to make a splash by signing or trading for more of a proven ace, the Eflin signing likely isn’t an obstacle. Given how many injuries the Orioles rotation suffered in 2025, it is no surprise that the team wants as much depth as possible to both cover innings and deliver quality results going forward.
Eflin’s own injury woes contributed to the Orioles’ health problems, as lat and back injuries resulted in three separate stints on the injured list for the righty last year. Eflin was limited to just 71 1/3 innings over 14 starts, and he struggled to a 5.93 ERA and a 16.2% strikeout rate. The righty’s 4.2% walk rate was still excellent, however, and since a lot of the damage off Eflin came via a spike in his homer rate, his 4.49 SIERA was more respectable than his real-world ERA.
This isn’t the first time Eflin was plagued by injuries, as persistent knee issues bothered the right-hander earlier in his career with the Phillies, though he posted solid results when healthy. In what counted as a significant outlay for the low-budget Rays, Tampa Bay inked Eflin to a three-year, $40MM contract during the 2022-23 offseason, and he ended up delivering the highest two innings totals of his career over the first two seasons of the deal — 177 2/3 IP in 2023, 165 1/3 IP in 2024.
The durability was backed up by a 3.54 ERA, 3.5% walk rate, and 23.1% strikeout rate over those 343 innings, though Eflin’s K% dropped off considerably from 26.5% in 2023 to 19.6% in 2024. Since the Rays are always looking to trim the budget and reload with younger talent, Tampa dealt Eflin to the Orioles at the 2024 deadline, with the O’s absorbing all of the money remaining on Eflin’s $11MM salary for the 2024 season and his $18MM salary for 2025. While his 2025 campaign was a wash, Eflin did pitch well down the stretch for the Orioles in 2024 to help the team reach the postseason.
Tampa Bay was the only team publicly linked to Eflin’s market this winter, but he’ll now instead return to one of his other former teams in his attempt at a rebound season. The Orioles know better than any other club about the right-hander’s health situation, and the upside is obvious if Eflin can return to his old form. At the time of his season-ending surgery, Eflin was also quite vocal about his desire to return to Batlimore in free agency, and now his wish has come true.
Eflin’s $10MM commitment brings the Orioles’ 2026 payroll up to roughly $147.3MM, as per RosterResource. Since the O’s finished the 2025 campaign with a payroll of approximately $160.1MM, there’s still more room to spend for a team that already made one of the winter’s blockbuster signings in the Pete Alonso contract. Baltimore could further spend on a free agent starter like Ranger Suarez or Framber Valdez, or perhaps again tip into its minor league depth for another significant trade.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was the first to break the news on Eflin’s one-year pact with the Orioles. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman had the $10MM guaranteed, and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner reported the detail of the mutual option. FanSided’s Robert Murray had the salary breakdown and the information about the bonus structure.
Inset photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher — Imagn Images
Marlins Sign Pete Fairbanks
December 28: The Marlins have officially announced the Fairbanks signing. His Christmas Eve deal was pending a physical, which he seems to have passed. Miami had room on the 40-man roster after trading Dane Myers to Cincinnati yesterday. With Fairbanks now on board, the Marlins 40-man is back up to 40.
December 24: The Marlins and reliever Pete Fairbanks are in agreement on a contract, according to Will Sammon of the Athletic. It is a one-year, $13MM contract for the Republik Sports client, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the deal includes a $1MM signing bonus and another $1MM in incentives based on appearances. Fairbanks will also receive a bonus of $500,000 if he is traded. The deal is pending a physical. The Marlins have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this official.
Fairbanks, who turned 32 last week, is coming off a 2.83 ERA in 60 1/3 innings for the Rays in 2025. Tampa held an $11MM club option on his services for 2026, but they instead paid him a $1MM buyout. We at MLBTR ranked him No. 44 on our Top 50 Free Agents list and projected a two-year, $18MM contract. He now heads to the Marlins on a shorter deal with a higher annual salary and figures to be the team’s closer next year.
The right-hander debuted in 2019 and has pitched 265 1/3 innings with a 3.19 ERA in his seven seasons with the Rays. In that time, Fairbanks has struck out 30.0% of hitters against a 9.3% walk rate thanks to an upper-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider which he uses 44.1% of the time. He also gets groundballs at an above-average 45.1% rate and generally keeps the ball in the park, allowing just 0.81 HR/9.
He has also frequently dealt with injuries, making seven trips to the injured list from 2021-24. He had better health luck this year, as he avoided the injured list and set a career high with 60 1/3 innings pitched. When he’s healthy, Fairbanks is a dominant back-end reliever. In 151 innings as the Rays’ closer from 2023-25, he had a 2.98 ERA while posting a 18.9% K-BB rate and earning 75 saves, which was 12th-highest in the league in that span.
That largely continued in 2025, albeit with a drop in Fairbanks’ advanced metrics. After striking out 37.0% of hitters as recently as 2023, that has fallen to 23.8% in 2024 and 24.2% in 2025. That is still plenty effective, especially as he has lowered his walk rate from 10.9% in 2023 to 7.4% this year. However, it has also come with an uptick in average exit velocity. Hitters averaged 85.7 mph off the bat against Fairbanks in 2023, but that rose to 90.2 mph in 2025. Meanwhile, his four-seamer now sits at 97.3 mph after averaging 98.9 mph in 2023.
Nonetheless, the fact that the current version of Fairbanks has better-than-average strikeout and walk rates with 90th-percentile fastball velocity means that he is still an effective reliever. If anything, the move by the Rays to decline his option was financially motivated. Tampa Bay’s payroll usually ranks near the bottom of the league (29th out of 30 in 2025). They previously signed Fairbanks to a three-year, $12MM extension in January 2023. While $4MM was a comfortable price range for the team, $11MM may have simply been too high a price to commit to one reliever, even one as effective as Fairbanks.
Indeed, the club tried to trade Fairbanks after the season ended, but they couldn’t find any takers. That ended up being a moot point, as he garnered plenty of interest from teams around the league. The Marlins, Diamondbacks, White Sox, and Tigers were publicly known to be interested in the right-hander. Miami always seemed like a logical fit, given the connection between Fairbanks and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix from their time with the Rays.
With the addition of Fairbanks, the Marlins have fortified a bullpen which ranked 23rd in the league with a 4.27 ERA and 17th with a 14.1% K-BB rate in 2025. The best performer of the bunch was right-hander Ronny Henriquez. The 25-year-old pitched 73 innings over 69 appearances this year with a 2.22 ERA and a 32.3% strikeout rate. His 1.3 fWAR was a team high for relievers, while his peripheral stats were slightly higher than his ERA but still excellent. He also earned seven saves throughout the season. It was the best possible outcome for the Marlins, who acquired Henriquez as a waiver pickup last offseason. Unfortunately, news broke two days ago that the righty underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow. As a result, he will miss the entire 2026 season.
Including Henriquez, the team got a good amount of volume from its bullpen in 2025. Seven Marlins relievers pitched at least 50 innings, with Tyler Phillips‘s 77 2/3 innings leading the group. He pitched to a 2.78 ERA and got groundballs at a well-above-average 55.6% rate, albeit with just a 16.6% strikeout rate and middling peripherals. Calvin Faucher and Lake Bachar had ERAs of 3.28 and 3.78, respectively, but with expected values in the mid-4.00s. Meanwhile, Anthony Bender, Cade Gibson, and Valente Bellozo had solid groundball rates but below-average strikeout numbers. The signing of Fairbanks upgrades the group with more velocity, strikeouts, and groundballs while covering for Henriquez’s injury and taking pressure off the younger arms.
According to RosterResource, the signing of Fairbanks brings the Marlins’ projected payroll to $73MM, a slight bump from $70MM in 2025. That figure includes just over $15MM for eight arbitration-eligible players, with $2MM of that going to the recently-signed Christopher Morel (previously non-tendered by the Rays). So far, Morel and Fairbanks have been the club’s only big-league free agent signings, though the club is reportedly willing to spend more than usual this offseason.
Photos courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck and Kim Klement, Imagn Images
White Sox Sign Sean Newcomb
The White Sox announced this morning that they’re in agreement with left-hander Sean Newcomb on a one-year deal that guarantees the southpaw $4.5MM this morning. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Newcomb “will at least get the chance to start” for Chicago. Lefty Ryan Rolison was designated for assignment to make room for Newcomb on the 40-man roster. Newcomb is a client of Tidal Sports Group.
Newcomb, 32, was a first-round pick by the Angels back in 2012 and spent years as a consensus top-100 prospect in the minors. The lefty made his big league debut with Atlanta back in 2017 after previously coming over as part of the Andrelton Simmons trade. He spent the first two seasons of his career as a rotation piece, with a 4.06 ERA (103 ERA+) and a 4.16 FIP that gave him the look of a decent back-end starter. Unfortunately, in 2019 early season struggles led to him being demoted to Triple-A and moved into a bullpen role upon his return. He started four games for the Braves in 2020 but struggled badly across those starts as well, and ultimately did not start another game for the team before being designated for assignment by the club.
The lefty was traded to the Cubs shortly after his DFA and moved to the bullpen for the club, but struggled to put things together over the next few seasons. He pitched to an atrocious 6.61 ERA in 47 2/3 innings of work at the major league level between the Cubs and A’s over the next three seasons, held back primarily by a whopping 15.0% walk rate. Back in January, Newcomb latched on with the Red Sox on a minor league deal and found a path back to a big league rotation job between a strong performance in Spring Training coupled with injuries to rotation pieces like Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello that kept them off the Opening Day roster.
Newcomb’s performance once added to the rotation was a mixed bag. He made five starts for the Red Sox and posted a lackluster 4.43 ERA, but did so with strong peripherals. He struck out 25.7% of his opponents while walking 10.5%. After moving to the bullpen, he posted a much stronger 3.38 ERA in seven relief outings for Boston, though his strikeout rate cratered during those outings. That led the Red Sox to designate him for assignment in late May, and he found himself traded back to the A’s shortly thereafter.
The lefty remained with the Athletics for the remainder of the 2025 season and did extremely well for himself with the club. In a full-time relief role for the A’s, Newcomb pitched to a dazzling 1.75 ERA with a 2.69 FIP in 51 1/3 innings of work. That excellent performance was backed up by strong peripherals, as he struck out 24.9% of his opponents, walked just 7.0%, and posted a strong 48.9% ground ball rate. His 3.22 SIERA in West Sacramento would be good for 44th among relievers with at least 50 innings of work last year if separated from his time in Boston. He’d also rank fifth by ERA and 18th by FIP.
That performance is more than strong enough to justify offering Newcomb a solid one-year guarantee to be a lefty bullpen arm, and the 32-year-old likely could have landed a similar dollar amount from a more competitive team for 2026 based on contracts offered to comparable lefties this offseason like Caleb Thielbar, who re-upped with the Cubs on a $4.5MM guarantee earlier this month. With that said, those contenders would have presumably wanted to keep Newcomb in a full-time bullpen role. The White Sox, by contrast, don’t have expectations of contention headed into 2026 and therefore can afford to offer Newcomb the opportunity to earn a rotation spot this spring.
Fellow offseason signing Anthony Kay figures to join Shane Smith and Davis Martin in the front three rotation spots for the White Sox this year. That leaves Newcomb to compete with players like Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, and Chris Murphy for the last two spots in the club’s rotation. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Newcomb land that role, though it’s certainly possible that he could also be used in a late-inning role given that the Sox bullpen has only Mike Vasil and Jordan Leasure as leverage options at the moment, with Tyler Gilbert as the top lefty option.
As for Rolison, the southpaw was claimed off waivers from Atlanta earlier this month. Rolison made his MLB debut as a member of the Rockies this past year, but struggled badly to the tune of a 7.02 ERA in 42 1/3 innings of work at the big league level for Colorado this year. The lefty will now be put through the waiver wire again, unless the Sox work out a deal involving Rolison before then. Should he pass through waivers unclaimed, Rolison figures to be outrighted to Triple-A as non-roster depth for Chicago headed into the 2026 season.