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MLBTR Podcast: Bo Bichette’s Health, Kazuma Okamoto, And Dylan Cease’s Market

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

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

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • If the Blue Jays were to extend Addison Barger, would the Lawrence Butler deal be a good comp? (40:35)
  • If a veteran signs a minor league deal, are they eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft? (44:50)
  • Will the Red Sox trade Jarren Duran? (46:25)

Check out our past episodes!

  • The Phillies’ Outfield, Tarik Skubal, And Hiring College Coaches – listen here
  • Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More! – listen here
  • Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here

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

Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images

Anthony Kay Likely To Pursue MLB Opportunity This Offseason

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Former MLB pitcher Anthony Kay is expected to come back stateside in 2026, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The left-hander spent the past two seasons pitching for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan.

Kay, 30, was the Mets’ first-round draft pick in 2016. He was traded to the Blue Jays in 2019 as part of the deal that sent Marcus Stroman to New York. The Long Island native would debut later that year and spend four seasons in Toronto, maxing out at 33 2/3 innings in 2021. He then had brief stints with the Cubs and Mets in 2023, and he spent about two weeks with the Athletics following the 2023 campaign; the A’s claimed him off waivers in late October, but he elected free agency after they removed him from their 40-man roster in early November. Altogether, Kay pitched to a 5.59 ERA in 85 1/3 big-league innings from 2019-23, posting a 22.4% strikeout rate and a 12.0% walk rate.

He has seen better results in Japan in each of the past two years. In 2024, Kay posted a 3.42 ERA in 136 2/3 innings for the Bay Stars while striking out 20.2% of hitters and walking 9.0%. His 0.40 home runs allowed per nine innings (HR/9) was especially impressive. Only six Central League pitchers (min. 100 IP) gave up home runs at a lower rate. At the end of the year, Kay helped the BayStars to their first Japan Series victory since 1998, pitching seven scoreless innings and collecting the win in Game 4.

His first season in NPB was no doubt a success. With that said, it’s worth keeping in mind the lower run-scoring environment in Japan; the league average ERA in the Central League in 2024 was 2.88, well below Kay’s 3.42 mark. However, in 2025, his numbers spoke for themselves. He deployed a deep and diverse arsenal to post a 1.74 ERA in 155 innings, cutting his walk rate to 6.8%. The southpaw led all NPB starting pitchers with a 21.9% strikeout rate, while his ERA ranked second, and his 0.46 HR/9 was tied for fourth. He wasn’t just solid; he was dominant.

Following such a strong season, it makes sense that Kay would look to return to Major League Baseball. He may not have garnered much attention on the open market two years ago, but he’s bound to have more suitors now after proving he could thrive as a starting pitcher against high-level competition.

Kazuma Okamoto To Be Posted This Offseason

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NPB infielder Kazuma Okamoto will be posted for MLB clubs this offseason, according to an announcement made by the Yomiuri Giants and Okamoto himself during a press conference earlier today. Yahoo Sports Japan (Japanese language link) was among the outlets to report on the news, which comes on the heels of reporting last month that Okamoto was expected to be posted this winter.

Despite that previous reporting, the 29-year-old Okamoto’s was not viewed as a certain thing due in part to Yomiuri’s history of being reluctant to allow their star players to utilize the posting system. Okamoto certainly fits that description, seeing as he’s the club’s captain and a six-time All-Star with two Gold Gloves and three NPB home run titles to his name. He was limited to just 69 Central League games this year due to an elbow injury caused by a collision at first base, but in the 293 trips to the plate he managed to take he raked to the tune of a .327/.416/.598 slash line. He managed 15 homers, 21 doubles, and a triple in less than half a full season’s work with identical 11.3% strikeout and walk rates.

It’s that blend of power and discipline that has led teams to scout Okamoto for the past several years in anticipation of his eventual move stateside. Since his rookie age-22 season back in 2018, Okamoto has hit 274 home runs in 1,039 Central League games. He’s homered once every 16.2 plate appearances in that eight-year stretch with a 17.7% strikeout rate and a walk rate of 10.8%. It’s certainly an impressive resume, and his career .277/.361/.521 slash line in NPB compares quite favorably to the NPB slash lines of current big league sluggers Shohei Ohtani (.286/.358/.500) and Seiya Suzuki (.315/.414/.570). That Suzuki was a better hitter in NPB than Ohtani was should demonstrate the fact that NPB stats don’t always perfectly reflect how a player will perform in the majors.

Much of that is due to the lack of high-end velocity in NPB, which creates uncertainty about how hitters will handle the improved velocity in the majors. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs notes that Okamoto’s numbers against heaters greater than 94 mph “fall off a cliff,” which could be a problem seeing as the average four-seam fastball velocity in MLB this season was 94.4 mph. Of course, some of those struggles could simply be due to limited exposure; Longenhagen notes that Okamoto saw only around 200 fastballs at that velocity all season last year. It’s entirely possible his numbers could improve against high-end velocity with more experience facing those types of pitchers, but it’s nonetheless a concern interested clubs will need to consider as they weigh a pursuit of Okamoto’s services.

Another consideration is where Okamoto will be able to play. He’s played around 60% of his NPB games at third base, but has also received plenty of time at first base with an increased workload at that position in recent years plus occasional starts in the outfield corners. One of the corner infield spots seems most likely to be his defensive home in the majors, and while it’s certainly possible there are MLB clubs that view Okamoto as a capable third baseman, Jeff Passan of ESPN suggests that at least some teams view him as better suited for first base, where he’s drawn rave reviews defensively for his work in Japan.

Now that Okamoto is poised to be posted, he’s sure to draw significant multi-year interest in the majors. He’ll face competition from fellow NPB corner infielder Munetaka Murakami in the posting market this winter, who is four years younger than Okamoto with a .270/.394/.557 NPB slash line that’s even more impressive. In terms of stateside players, the biggest names on the first base market are Pete Alonso, Josh Naylor, and Luis Arraez while the third base market is headlined by Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez. The Mets, Red Sox, Mariners, Angels, and Padres are among the teams who need help at at least one corner infield spot this winter, while teams like the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Phillies, and Tigers could also make sense depending on how the rest of their roster decisions play out.

Okamoto won’t be officially posted for some time yet, as that process typically begins between late November and mid December. Once he’s been posted, MLB teams will have 45 days to negotiate a contract with Okamoto. The club that ultimately lands him with owe the Yomiuri Giants a posting fee on top of Okamoto’s contract. That fee adds up to 20% of the first $25MM spent on Okamoto, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of any spending over $50MM. As an example, when the Cubs signed Suzuki during the 2021-22 offseason, the posting fee on that $85MM deal came in at roughly $14.6MM. The posting fee on Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325MM contract with the Dodgers, meanwhile, came in at approximately $50.6MM.

Franmil Reyes Re-Signs With NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters On One-Year Deal

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Former big leaguer Franmil Reyes has re-signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan).  Reyes’ agent has posted on X that it’s a one-year contract, so he will be a free agent after the 2026 season.

It is easy to see why the Fighters wanted to lock Reyes up, as he has provided some big pop over his two NPB seasons.  Reyes has hit .282/.347/.535 with 57 home runs over 899 plate appearances with the Kitahiroshima-based club, helping carry the Fighters to second-place finishes in the Pacific League in each of the last two seasons.  The Fighters’ 240 home runs over the last two seasons is the most of any NPB team, with Reyes’ power bat leading the way.

This slugging ability was evident over most of Reyes’ six Major League seasons, as he posted 108 big flies and a .264/.310/.464 slash line over 2078 PA with the Padres, Guardians, Cubs, and Royals from 2018-23.  Unfortunately for Reyes, his production suddenly cratered in 2022, leading Cleveland to option him to Triple-A and then designate him for assignment that summer.  Subsequent stints with the Cubs, Royals, and (on a minor league contract) Nationals didn’t see Reyes regain his stroke, so he opted to head overseas following the 2023 season.

MLBTR’s post initially indicated that Reyes signed a multi-year contract. We apologize for the error.

Foster Griffin Looking To Return To MLB In Free Agency

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Left-hander Foster Griffin’s Major League resume consists of seven games and eight innings of 6.75 ERA ball with the Royals and Blue Jays during the 2020 and 2022 seasons.  Looking for a change of scenery, Griffin signed with the Yomiuri Giants prior to the 2023 season, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the 30-year-old southpaw is now looking to return to North American baseball after three successful years in Japan.

While Griffin hadn’t shown much in his few cups of coffee in the majors, he posted a 2.10 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate, and 7.1% walk rate over 51 1/3 relief innings with the Royals’ and Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliates in 2022.  Griffin had started almost all of his pro games prior to the 2022 campaign, but the move to full-time bullpen work seemed to unlock something for Griffin after some inconsistent results as a starter.

Injuries also played a role in Griffin’s career. Griffin’s tore his UCL in his very first big league game in 2020, resulting in a Tommy John procedure and a long stint on the shelf.  His good numbers in 2022 seemed to indicate that he’d covered well from his surgery, but his decision to head overseas may have been inspired by a desire to get another crack at starting.

The decision to bet on himself looks to have paid off.  Griffin had a 2.57 ERA, 25.07% strikeout rate, and 5.52% walk rate across 315 2/3 innings and 54 games with the Giants.  His debut year in 2023 was so impressive that the Giants inked him to a two-year extension, which is notable since foreign-born players in NPB are usually given just one-year deals.  Griffin’s work helped the Giants reach the postseason in each of the last two NPB seasons.

FanSided’s Robert Murray mentioned back in July that MLB teams had taken notice of Griffin’s numbers in Japan, so with his contract with the Giants now completed, it isn’t surprising that Griffin is aiming to get back to the bigs.  Merrill Kelly or Erick Fedde are among the recent example of pitchers who reinvented themselves in foreign leagues and returned to land multi-year free agent commitments, and the same could be true for Griffin despite his thin track record in the Show.  Teams are forever looking to add starting pitching, and Griffin is an interesting lower-cost option for any club in need of rotation help.

NPB’s Rakuten Eagles Re-Sign Luke Voit

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After an outstanding start to his career in Japan, Luke Voit is sticking around for another year, as the Rakuten Eagles announced that they have re-signed the first baseman to a new contract for the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball season. (Hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan.)

Voit signed with the Eagles in June and made a quick impact with his new team.  Over 276 plate appearances and 67 games as a DH and first baseman, Voit hit .300/.384/.498 with 13 home runs.  Despite his late entry to the 2025 campaign, Voit still led the Eagles in homers, and had the second-most RBI (39) on the team.  Retaining Voit was a logical move for the power-starved Eagles, whose 70 homers were the fewest of NPB’s 12 clubs.

A veteran of seven Major League seasons, Voit last appeared in the Show in May 2023 playing with the Brewers.  He has spent the last two seasons outside of affiliated ball entirely with stints in the Mexican League and Nippon Professional Baseball, and that sojourn now looks to extend into 2026.

Voit led the majors with 22 home runs during the shortened 2020 season, and hit a very impressive .271/.363/.520 with 68 homers over 1133 PA with the Yankees from 2018-21.  An injury-plagued down year for Voit in 2021 led New York to deal him to the Padres that offseason.  The slugger’s last bit of real notoriety in the majors came when San Diego included him as the only experienced piece of the prospect-heavy trade package sent to the Nationals for Juan Soto at the 2022 trade deadline.

Yomiuri Giants Interested In Kenta Maeda

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The Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball have interest in acquiring veteran right-hander Kenta Maeda, according to a report from Yahoo Sports Japan. Maeda, 37, indicated back in August that he plans to leave MLB and return to Japan for the 2026 season, where he hopes to find a role in NPB.

The veteran’s decision to leave MLB behind isn’t exactly a surprise given how difficult the past two seasons have been for him. After he struggled to a 6.09 ERA in 112 1/3 innings of work with the Tigers in 2024, he failed to make the club’s rotation out of Spring Training and opened the season as a long relief option out of the bullpen. He ultimately wound up making just seven appearances, however, and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits, six walks, a home run and three hit batsmen while striking out eight across eight innings of work. He was ultimately released in early May, bringing the two-year, $24MM contract between the sides to a disappointing end.

Since being released by Detroit, Maeda has pitched in the minor leagues for both the Cubs and Yankees this year. In 20 starts between those two organizations, he pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 100 innings at the Triple-A level, with a 19.5% strikeout rate against a 9.2% walk rate. With that said, he did improve a bit during his stint with the Yankees’ affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as he posted a 4.64 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate and a 7.9% walk rate over his final eight starts of the season. He ended his stateside career on a positive note when he threw five scoreless innings against the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and struck out five batters.

Weak as Maeda’s results at the big league level have been over the past two years, one shouldn’t forget that he was a quality starter for several years for the Dodgers and Twins after making his big league debut back in 2016. Through the end of his age-35 campaign in 2023, Maeda had posted a career 3.92 ERA and 3.74 FIP in 866 1/3 regular season innings in the majors to go along with a strong postseason resume that saw him pitch to a 3.24 ERA and strike out 26.8% of his opponents in 41 2/3 playoff innings.

That solid track record in the majors, of course, came after eight seasons with NPB’s Hiroshima Carp. After breaking out during the 2010 season at the age of 22, Maeda posted six consecutive seasons with an ERA of 2.60 or lower across 175 innings or more for the Carp, including an eye-popping 1.53 ERA in 206 1/3 innings across 29 starts during the 2012 season. He made five All-Star games for Hiroshima, but now it’s possible that he’ll join a new club in his return to NPB next year given Yomiuri’s interest in his services. Of course, it’s also possible that the Carp (or another club) could express interest in Maeda’s services once the NPB offseason begins later this month.

Munetaka Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason

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Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami is going to be posted by the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It has long been expected that this would be the case, as it was reported three years ago that the plan was for Murakami to make the MLB move after 2025, but this report confirms that Murakami will be a key free agent to watch this winter.

The timing of the posting is not a coincidence. Under major league baseball’s international free agency rules, a player is considered an “amateur” if he is under the age of 25. These “amateur” players are subject to the international bonus pool system, wherein teams are hard-capped by annual budgets of roughly $4MM to $9MM. This was the case when Roki Sasaki was posted prior to his age-23 season. He eventually signed with the Dodgers and received a $6.5MM signing bonus, far less than he would have received with more open bidding. He is also treated like a minor leaguer, in that he will be making around the league minimum until he qualifies for arbitration and will be under club control until he accrues six years of big league service time.

Murakami won’t be in the same situation as Sasaki. He turned 25 in February will therefore be considered a professional under the current rules. Once he is officially posted, he will be free to negotiate with all 30 clubs for a period of 45 days and will have no restrictions on the kinds of offers he can receive. This situation is more analogous to that of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who also signed with the Dodgers. His 12-year, $325MM deal was in a far different stratosphere compared to Sasaki.

Sasaki was eager enough to come to Major League Baseball that he came young, despite the clearly lesser earning power with that path. Murakami has understandably waited until after his 25th birthday and should be in line for a nice payday.

What remains to be seen is exactly how strong his market will be. In his NPB career, he has shown massive power potential but also real strikeout concerns. He has generally been good for 30 to 40 homers per year, though he had a massive 56-homer season in 2022. This year, he missed a large chunk of the season due to an oblique injury and only got into 56 games, but he managed to launch 22 balls over the fence in that small sample.

He was also punched out 64 times in 224 plate appearances this year, a rate of 28.6%. He had that down to 20.6% during his amazing 2022 season but he’s been above 28% for three straight years now. Overall, he has hit .270/.394/.557 in his NPB career. Since MLB pitching features greater velocity and generally higher quality than NPB pitching, it’s possible his strikeout rate would increase with the move. For reference, the MLB average was 22.2% this year and there were only nine qualified hitters above 28%.

Murakami has primarily been a third baseman during his time with the Swallows. He has also dabbled at first base and even got a brief look in left field this year. Scouting reports have generally pegged him as a middling fielder who will likely end up at first base in the long run.

That will put more pressure on his bat but some clubs may be more comfortable with him playing third base for a few years. Teams will also have varying opinions about how he will be able to adapt to MLB pitching.

For players coming over from Japan, there have been all sorts of different results. As mentioned, Yamamoto had so much strong interest that he was able to secure a 12-year pact with opt-outs. Shota Imanaga got a creative four-year guarantee with a multi-year club option and player option structure after two seasons. Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida got straight five-year deals worth $85MM and $90MM respectively. Both of those hitters had better NPB batting averages than Murakami but without the same power ceiling.

Since the Dodgers have landed many Japanese stars, many fans expect that to be the outcome here. However, it’s not a perfect roster fit. The Dodgers have Freddie Freeman at first base and Shohei Ohtani in the designated hitter spot. They have an affordable $10MM club option to keep Max Muncy around as their third baseman next year. Signing Murakami can’t be totally ruled out but it may require them to move on from Muncy, who has been a cornerstone of the club for years and is still putting up good numbers, or perhaps try Murakami as an outfielder. Even if Muncy’s option is picked up, he’s slated for free agency after 2026, with Freeman only signed through 2027, so the long-term fit is better than in the short term.

The Red Sox would be a cleaner fit now, since Alex Bregman is likely to opt out of his deal and the club has questions at first base. The Mets have first base open with Pete Alonso set to opt out and they don’t have a clear answer at third base either. The Yankees could put him at first base, with Paul Goldschmidt becoming a free agent and Ben Rice capable of catching. The Cubs have Matt Shaw at third but almost signed Bregman last winter, so perhaps they are still willing to go after an external option there. The Tigers currently have Zach McKinstry at third but he’s capable of playing elsewhere. The Angels don’t have a long-term third base solution due to the ongoing injuries of Anthony Rendon. The Mariners are about to lose Eugenio Suárez to free agency. The Reds don’t have a definite answer at first base.

Over time, his market will become more clear. Whichever club signs him will also owe a posting fee to the Swallows. The posting fee is calculated as 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of spending above $50MM.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Mike Greenwell Passes Away

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Former big leaguer and member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame Mike Greenwell has passed away at the age of 62, according to multiple sources. It was revealed in August that he had been diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer, per Emma Healy of The Boston Globe.

Greenwell was born in Kentucky but raised in Florida. In the latter state, he did some alligator wrestling, which eventually led to his nickname Gator. He was drafted by the Red Sox in 1982 and spent his entire career with that franchise, apart from a late jaunt to Japan. He got called up to the big leagues in 1985 for a brief cup of coffee and then got another cup the season after.

Though he only played 31 regular season games in 1986, he was a part of Boston’s playoff run. The Sox beat the Angels in the ALCS, sending them to the World Series against the Mets, though they eventually lost in seven games. Greenwell got six postseason plate appearances that year, going one for five with a single, a walk and two strikeouts.

He finally got a more proper debut in 1987, when he got into 125 games playing both outfield corners. He hit 19 home runs and slashed .328/.386/.570. He finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting, behind Mark McGwire, Kevin Seitzer and Matt Nokes.

He was even better in 1988. He settled in as the club’s everyday left fielder and slashed .325/.416/.531 while hitting 22 home runs and stealing 16 bases. He made his first All-Star team. He finished second in A.L. Most Valuable Player voting, trailing only José Canseco, who had just engineered the first ever 40/40 season. The Sox won the A.L. East that year but Canseco and the Athletics swept them out of the ALCS. Greenwell would later express frustration about the MVP vote when it was revealed that Canseco was using steroids during his playing career.

That year was essentially Greenwell’s peak, but he continued to be a solid player for the Sox for many years after that. When healthy, he was usually good for 10-15 home runs, almost as many steals and a batting average near .300.

Injuries cut into his performance and his playing time throughout the ’90s. He signed with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the 1997 season but injured himself again after just seven games and retired for good.

He appeared in 1,269 regular season games for the Red Sox and stepped to the plate 5,166 times. He tallied 1400 hits, including 275 doubles, 38 triples and 130 home runs. He scored 657 runs and drove in 726. He stole 80 bases. His career batting line was .303/.368/.463. He made two All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger award.

In his post-playing days, he did some minor league coaching, some stock car racing, operated a construction company and an amusement park, and also served as a county commissioner in Florida. We at MLB Trade Rumors join the rest of the baseball world in sending our condolences to all of Greenwell’s family, friends, loved ones and fans.

NPB’s Takahiro Norimoto Mulling Potential Move To MLB

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Right-hander Takahiro Norimoto of the Rakuten Eagles in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball is planning to exercise his international free agent rights and gauge interest from both MLB and NPB teams this winter, per a report from Yahoo Japan (hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan). He’s hired the Wasserman agency to represent him in talks with major league teams, per the report. The now-34-year-old righty moved to the bullpen in 2024 after a lengthy and successful run as a starting pitcher. He’s spent the past two seasons as the Eagles’ closer.

Norimoto is older than most players making the transition from NPB to MLB. He’ll turn 35 in December. The right-hander is coming off a nice year with the Eagles, having pitched to a 3.02 ERA with 16 saves, four holds and only two blown saves. His 17.2% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate don’t exactly stand out, though Norimoto has still shown the ability to run his heater up in the 97 mph range since moving to the bullpen last season. He kept nearly 50% of his opponents’ batted balls on the ground this past season as well.

Norimoto hasn’t had issues missing bats in the past. He led NPB in strikeouts for five straight years, from 2014-18, while working out of the Eagles’ rotation. He’s pitched 1838 career innings in NPB and recorded a 3.12 ERA while winning 120 games, saving another 48 and punching out nearly 24% of his opponents (against a 6.3% walk rate).

Due to the fact that Norimoto is at least 25 and has at least six full seasons of professional experience, he’s exempt from Major League Baseball’s international bonus pool structure. The fact that he has more than nine seasons of service in NPB means he is also exempt from the posting system. If he indeed exercises those international free agent rights, he’d be free to sign with any club on a big league or minor league deal — provided MLB teams have sufficient interest in the former Pacific League Rookie of the Year and six-time NPB All-Star.

While we don’t see too many players jump to MLB in their mid-30s, Orioles right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano did just that in 2025. This past year was Sugano’s rookie season in MLB and came in his own age-35 campaign. Sugano, of course, did so as a starter. Former Red Sox righty Hirokazu Sawamura and former D-backs/Mariners righty Yoshihisa Hirano are more recent examples of relievers making relatively successful moves to MLB in their mid-30s; the former signed with Boston ahead of his age-33 season in 2022, while the latter signed with Arizona ahead of the 2018 campaign, his age-34 season.

Big league clubs are always on the lookout for affordable bullpen help, so there could still be interest in Norimoto even if he’s not as coveted at 35 as he might’ve been in his physical peak. As a rotation-mate of former Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka for Tanaka’s first three seasons back in Japan after his run in the Bronx, Norimoto has surely picked the former MLB All-Star’s brain about moving to the majors in the past. It’s not entirely certain he’ll be pitching in North America next year, but he’s an interesting wild card entrant into the offseason bullpen market.

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