Notes

Blue Jays Notes: Helsley, Berrios, Management Extensions

By Mark Polishuk | November 30, 2025 at 9:30pm CDT

The Blue Jays had “at least preliminary interest” in Ryan Helsley before the right-hander signed with the Orioles, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reports. Toronto has shown past interest (both last offseason and at the trade deadline) in trading for Helsley when he was still a member of the Cardinals, so it tracks that the Jays would’ve again considered Helsley in free agency. As it turned out, the Blue Jays will now have to deal with Helsley pitching for a division rival while Toronto’s own search for bullpen help continues.

Such pitchers as Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Phil Maton, Edwin Diaz, and Pete Fairbanks have been linked to the Jays thus far, and the first three of those names have already come off the board. Given how Ross Atkins’ front office is known for casting a wide berth in its free agent explorations, it’s probably safe to guess that the Jays have called about most or all of the top relievers on the market, ranging from set-up men to proven closers like Diaz. Atkins said after the season that the team was open to the possibility of moving Jeff Hoffman into a set-up role, thus opening the door for Toronto to seek out another top saves candidate.

Of course, the Jays’ biggest winter moves to date have come in the rotation, not the bullpen. Shane Bieber made the first move himself when he decided against opting out of the final year of his contract, and then the Jays made the priciest free agent signing in franchise history by inking Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210MM contract. Within less than a month after the end of the World Series, the Blue Jays rotation suddenly went from a question mark to all but settled.

The projected starting five looks like Cease, Bieber, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios, with Eric Lauer on hand as a swingman. Adam Macko, Ricky Tiedemann and Bowden Francis are further depth options. It’s a deeper group with a higher ceiling than the starting pitching mix that got the Jays to the World Series, though it’s possible another starter could still be added.

To make room in the rotation for a higher-caliber arm, the Jays could consider trading Berrios. Bannon (in a piece for the Athletic) and the Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm each floated the concept, as Berrios ended up being the odd man out of the starting mix even before a bout of elbow inflammation kept him sidelined for the Blue Jays’ entire playoff run. The Jays planned to transition Berrios to bullpen work prior to the postseason, and Berrios made all of one relief appearance before hitting the injured list.

Trading Berrios would be tricky for a few reasons — his eight-team no-trade clause, the three years and $66MM remaining on his contract, and the opt-out clause Berrios holds after the 2026 season. There’s also the fact that Berrios was pretty unspectacular in 2025, posting a 4.17 ERA and a set of below-average Statcast numbers across 166 innings. Any Berrios suitor would be counting on a bounce-back, naturally, but primarily might be interested in the veteran righty as a durable source of innings.

Berrios’ ability to eat innings makes him valuable to the Jays as well, considering how their pitchers added more mileage during an extended postseason run. Moving Berrios would open up some payroll space for Toronto as well, though in limited fashion. It’s pretty unlikely that the Jays would find a team willing to take the entirety of Berrios’ $66MM salary, plus spending capacity might not really be a concern for a Blue Jays club that already shown it is willing to stretch its payroll even further in search of a championship.

Turning to other topics from Chisholm’s mailbag piece, he believes the Blue Jays might’ve already finalized extensions for Atkins, team president Mark Shapiro, and manager John Schneider if the club hadn’t still been playing on November 1. Regardless, it just seems like a matter of time before the trio are all officially retained. Shapiro’s contract is already technically up, and Atkins and Schneider’s deals are up after the 2026 season (the Jays already exercised their club option on Schneider for 2026).

AL East Notes: Bellinger, Tucker, Maton, Campbell

By Mark Polishuk | November 29, 2025 at 11:26am CDT

As usual, the Yankees have been linked to many of the top names on the free agent market, with Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger noted as two of the more prominent players on New York’s radar. How exactly the front office is ordering their internal wish list remains to be seen, but Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that Tucker “appears to be a backup plan” to Bellinger. Familiarity and defensive flexibility are the key elements, as Heyman notes that the Yankees already know Bellinger can handle playing in the pressurized environment of the Bronx. Tucker is primarily a right fielder who would have to move over to left field in New York due to Aaron Judge’s presence, while Bellinger brings more defensive utility as a player capable of playing all three outfield positions and first base.

It can also be assumed that the Yankees would prefer paying Bellinger’s lower price tag — MLBTR projects Tucker to land an 11-year, $400MM deal, whereas Bellinger is projected for a relatively more modest $140MM over five years. Signing Tucker would also cost the Yankees draft picks and international bonus money, whereas those qualifying offer-related penalties don’t apply if Bellinger is re-signed.

Here’s some more from around the AL East…

The Blue Jays had interest in Phil Maton before the veteran reliever signed with the Cubs, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports. This tracks with the Jays’ previous interest in the righty, as Toronto was previously linked to Maton when he was a free agent last winter and at the trade deadline before Maton was dealt from the Cardinals to the Rangers. Toronto is known to be looking for a reliever to supplement or even replace Jeff Hoffman in the closer’s role, but Maton also would’ve been a good addition as a bullpen workhorse who has shown an ability to handle higher-leverage work in the past.
Kristian Campbell will be playing winter ball, the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reports, as the Red Sox continue to look to get Campbell on track after a shaky debut season in the majors. A meteoric rise in his first two pro seasons earned Campbell a spot on Boston’s Opening Day and an eight-year, $60MM extension shortly thereafter, but he hit only .223/.319/.345 over 263 plate appearances as pitchers adjusted quickly to Campbell after his hot start. Demoted to Triple-A Worcester in June, Campbell hit decently well at Triple-A but with little power, and he also was toggled around the diamond seeing time at first base, second base, and all three outfield positions. Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told Speier and other reporters earlier in November that Campbell was focused on regaining some weight and becoming stronger to better handle the grind of a full season. The pricey contract along will keep Campbell involved in Boston’s plans, though it remains to be seen how he’ll fit into a 2026 team that has a crowded outfield, and has been linked to multiple major free agent infielders.

Marlins Notes: Cabrera, Alcantara, King

By Nick Deeds | November 28, 2025 at 10:20pm CDT

The Marlins are gearing up for what could be their busiest offseason in years, as all indication point to at least some willingness to spend in free agency this winter coming off a 79-win campaign in 2025 where the team enjoyed the emergence of players like Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee as valuable pieces. At the same time, they’ve got plenty of holes that could make it difficult to compete in what figures to be a stacked NL East next year with the Mets, Phillies, and Braves all expected to try and improve this winter.

That leaves Miami in a difficult spot where they figure to simultaneously try and improve while also building for the future. That could leave the team hesitant to deal away some players that were looked at as likely trade assets even a few months ago. According to Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout of Fish on First, right-handers Edward Cabrera and Sandy Alcantara are hardly locks to be traded this winter. Alcantara, in particular, is someone that the organization “expects” to still be in Miami on Opening Day.

There’s certainly some logic in that, as the 2022 NL Cy Young award winner was one of the league’s best pitchers in the not-too-distant past. A season where Alcantara pitched to a 5.36 ERA across 31 starts surely lowered his value, but if the Marlins still believe in the 30-year-old there’s no reason to sell low. That’s especially true because he’s one of the few players on the Marlins’ roster making significant money. There have been some indications recently that the Marlins could be worried about a potential grievance from the MLBPA due to their lack of spending, and trading Alcantara away would be counterproductive to any efforts to prove that the club is using revenue sharing dollars on the on-field product.

That leaves 27-year-old Cabrera as the more likely piece to move of the pair, though Barral and Azout both note that the Marlins would need to receive an “overwhelming return” to pull the trigger on a trade. That’s a sensible stance to take. Cabrera enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, with a 3.53 ERA and 3.83 FIP across 26 starts. He struck out 25.8% of his opponents against a walk rate of just 8.3% this year, and his fastball average 97.0 mph on the radar gun, the fastest velocity of his career so far. A young starter on the upswing with three years of team control would surely be one of the hottest commodities on the trade market, and the Marlins have no reason to rush a trade for that reason. The Mets and Cubs were among the teams connected to Cabrera when he was on the market over the summer, and both appear to be in the market for rotation help again this winter.

Trading an impact starter may not necessarily be in the cards for Miami this winter, and if they don’t they’ll retain a frightening on-paper rotation of Alcantara, Cabrera, Eury Perez, Braxton Garrett, and Ryan Weathers with players like Max Meyer, Robby Snelling, Janson Junk, and Ryan Gusto providing depth behind that group. There’s enough health questions within that group of arms that it’s not impossible to fit another starter into the mix, and there’s been previous connections drawn between the Marlins and right-hander Michael King. Barral and Azout suggest that a reunion with the club’s 12th-round pick from the 2016 draft is “highly unlikely,” however.

That’s perhaps not too much of a surprise. While King is coming off a down season where he made just 15 starts due to shoulder issues, MLBTR predicted that he’d land a four-year, $80MM contract in free agency this offseason. That would be quite a step up for a Marlins team that hasn’t spent much beyond the $53MM contract they gave to Avisail Garcia back in 2021 in recent years, at least via free agency. Adding a player like King at that sort of price tag would be a bold move, especially given the fact that the starting rotation is already a strength for the club. The Cubs and Orioles have both been tied to King in free agency this offseason already, and more teams are surely interested in the right-hander after he flashed ace-level potential with the Padres in 2024.

Reds Notes: Lineup, Free Agent Pursuits, De La Cruz

By Nick Deeds | November 27, 2025 at 11:03pm CDT

The Reds enter this offseason on the heels of a playoff berth that ended almost as quickly as it came, having been swept by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in two games during the NL Wild Card series. There’s still reason for optimism headed into next year thanks to a fantastic rotation led by Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, but Cincinnati’s offense could clearly use some help. It can be hard for a team with the Reds’ small market budget to make substantial upgrades via free agency, but Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon, and Katie Woo of The Athletic write that the club can be flexible as it tries to upgrade the lineup thanks to their existing players’ significant positional versatility.

According to Rosenthal et al., the Reds’ lineup only has three truly locked down positions as things stand: recently acquired third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and star shortstop Elly De La Cruz are locked into the left side of the infield, and Noelvi Marte appears to be set as the club’s everyday right fielder going forward. Setting catcher (where the trio of Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino, and Ben Rortvedt seem fairly entrenched) aside, that leaves two outfield spots, two infield spots, and the DH slot for a host of players to jockey for playing time in. Spencer Steer, Sal Stewart, Matt McLain, Gavin Lux, TJ Friedl, Will Benson, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand makes seven players currently on the roster for five spots in the lineup, before any external additions. Steer and Friedl seem like the best bets of that group to be locked into regular playing time, though Stewart will surely get an extended opportunity as well coming off an impressive cup of coffee in the big leagues down the stretch.

Friedl has been one of Cincinnati’s best hitters in recent years. While he was limited to just 85 games by injuries in 2024, he earned some down-ballot MVP consideration for a four-win 2023 season where he hit 18 homers, stole 27 bases, and posted a 117 wRC+ in 138 games. This past year saw him look more or less recovered from his injury-plagued 2024, hitting .261/.364/.372 with less power and speed than he flashed in 2023 but a career-best 11.8% walk rate to make up for it. Friedl’s .364 on-base percentage ranked 17th in the majors among all qualified hitters this year, and he’s sure to be an asset to the Reds’ offense whether he ultimately ends up in left field or center field. Steer, meanwhile, has been more of a league average hitter in the past two seasons after enjoying a strong 2023 season, but has average 21 homers and 16 steals over the past three seasons.

Rosenthal et al. suggest that Steer could wind up at either first base or in left field, while Stewart could play either first or second base. With Friedl capable of playing either open outfield spot, Lux experienced at both second base and in left field, and McLain able to handle both the keystone and center, there’s plenty of room for moving parts in the Reds’ lineup. That’s good news for a team that needs to add offense, as the Reds can afford to be opportunistic and not worrying as much about positional fit. If an infielder like Jorge Polanco becomes available, it would be easy enough for the Reds to simply plug him into second base, leaving McLain and Lux to move around the diamond in utility roles while Stewart takes over first base, Steer slides to left and Friedl handles center. Alternatively, a first baseman like Ryan O’Hearn could push Stewart over to second, or an outfielder like Cedric Mullins could push Steer to first base.

Speculatively speaking, that would appear to leave McLain, Lux, Benson, and Encarnacion-Strand without a position headed into 2026, although Rosenthal et al. did suggest the possibility that Benson could platoon with an outfielder acquired in free agency, which could be sensible if the Reds were to land a right-handed bat with significant platoon splits like Rob Refsnyder. Keeping those players in the fold as depth to protect against injuries and under-performance would be a valid path to take for the Reds, though it’s also possible that a trade or two could be made at some point this winter that would help to thin the glut of positional talent jockeying for playing time.

Even as the team looks for external help in the lineup, there’s reason to believe improvements could be on the horizon internally next year, as well. Manny Randhawa and Mark Sheldon of MLB.com recently relayed comments from club GM Nick Krall regarding De La Cruz’s health this offseason. While Krall had previously suggested that De La Cruz played through a “partial tear” of his quadriceps late in the 2025 season, he later clarified that it was actually a quad strain that De La Cruz was dealing with. Quad strains are defined as a partial tear of the muscle, but Krall noted that his wording suggested the injury was more severe than it actually was.

Whatever the specifics of De La Cruz’s injury may have been, the fact that he was playing through something helps to explain his repeated defensive miscues at shortstop in the final months of the 2025 campaign, as well as his lackluster .236/.303/.363 slash line after the All-Star break this season. That creates some reason for optimism that De La Cruz will be able to rebound and turn in a performance closer to his 2024 form (when he hit 25 homers, stole 67 bases, and finished 8th in NL MVP voting) next year. For a Reds club that seems unlikely to broach the top of the market for hitters like Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber, having De La Cruz performing at a star level to anchor the lineup is all the more important.

Cardinals Notes: Donovan, Gorman, Nootbaar, Burleson, Pirates, Pitching

By Mark Polishuk | November 27, 2025 at 9:27am CDT

Brendan Donovan has been drawing as much trade interest as any player in baseball, owing both to Donovan’s value as a left-handed hitter with defensive versatility and to the Cardinals’ rebuilding status. The Astros, Pirates, Royals, and Guardians have been publicly linked to Donovan’s trade market, and with these and more clubs in pursuit of the All-Star, the timing seems right for the Cards to cash in while Donovan’s value is at its peak.

That said, St. Louis isn’t required to move Donovan this offseason, since he still has two seasons remaining of arbitration eligibility. As The Athletic’s Katie Woo frames the situation, if the Cards can’t find the big return they want for Donovan, the team “will pivot to moving at least one of” Lars Nootbaar or Nolan Gorman. In another piece from Woo, Will Sammon, and Ken Rosenthal, Alec Burleson is another player the Cardinals won’t move “unless…blown away by an offer.”

All four of these hitters mentioned are lefty-swingers, so trading any of them would help balance out the St. Louis lineup and perhaps clear some room for another left-handed hitter in shortstop prospect JJ Wetherholt. Since Masyn Winn is an elite defensive shortstop, the Cardinals’ plan for Wetherholt seems to be to break him into the big leagues as a second or third baseman, so moving Donovan or Gorman in particular would clear a path in that regard. Trading Nolan Arenado would obviously also open up third base, though Arenado’s contract and no-trade protection makes moving him a trickier proposition than any of these other players, even though Arenado has expressed more of an openness to be dealt than he did last winter.

On the surface, the Cardinals’ stance is obvious. Donovan and Burleson were both much more productive than Gorman or Nootbaar in 2025, so naturally the latter two players seem to have less of a role in the Cards’ future plans. Formerly a top prospect in his own right, Gorman seemed to be figuring things out with a 27-homer season in 2023, but he has hit just .204/.284/.385 with 33 homers in 804 plate appearances over the last two seasons, with a whopping 287 strikeouts underlying Gorman’s contact problems. Nootbaar had been a more consistent performer before his numbers fell off during an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. The biggest obstacle to a Nootbaar trade seems to be his health, as he may not be ready for Opening Day following surgery to correct Haglund’s deformities on both his heels.

Moving Gorman or Nootbaar would obviously bring back less of a trade return than Donovan or Burleson. The Rangers were one team known to have interest in Nootbaar before word of his surgery became public, and the club’s subsequent trade for Brandon Nimmo would seemingly indicate that Texas has moved on from Nootbaar. The Pirates have shown interest in all of Nootbaar, Gorman, and Donovan, and Woo reports that Pittsburgh has also asked the team about Burleson.

Donovan and Nootbaar are controlled through the 2027 season, while Gorman and Burleson are arbitration-eligible for just the first time this winter and won’t be eligible free agency until the 2028-29 offseason. Burleson is coming off the best of his four MLB seasons, as he won Silver Slugger honors (from the NL utility position) after hitting .290/.343/.459 with 18 home runs over 546 PA in 2025. Burleson split his time between first base and both corner outfield slots this year, and while he is only passable defensively, his ability to play multiple positions gives the Cardinals some lineup flexibility. The appeal is obvious for a Pirates team looking for help all over the diamond, and for offensive help in general.

While the two NL Central rivals have rarely lined up on trades over the last few decades, the Pirates’ young pitching depth carries obvious trade appeal to a St. Louis team looking to restock their system with such arms. This week’s trade of Sonny Gray to the Red Sox not only cleared $20M off the Cardinals’ books, but it brought back pitchers who can help the Cards in 2026 (Richard Fitts) and further in the future (prospect Brandon Clarke).

Speaking with Woo, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold and other reporters after the trade, Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said his team is aiming to add more pitching over the course of its offseason moves. This could include more experienced arms to eat innings and act as mentors to the younger hurlers, though Bloom indicated that such veterans might be more shorter-term additions.

“Not to put them in the way of any of our youth, but to make sure we have the right insulation up and down that rotation,” Bloom said. “We want to create some competition. We want to make sure we have options. And that we allow our young guys to flourish while making sure that next wave that we hope is coming doesn’t get pressed into service before it’s their time. We want to make sure they’re ready for the highest level of baseball before we throw them into the fire. So we will look to add to our rotation — whether it’s more youth or a veteran — as the winter goes on.”

Angels Notes: Ward, Rodriguez, Bellinger

By Steve Adams | November 23, 2025 at 3:51pm CDT

The Angels’ trade of outfielder Taylor Ward for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez stands as one of the most notable and most surprising deals of the young offseason. The swap caught Ward himself off guard, as he told Sam Blum of The Athletic, but the outfielder expressed gratitude to the Halos and had nothing but good things to say about his experience with the organization. Ward is a free agent after the season, and he noted to Blum that he’d be open to re-signing in Anaheim if the team shows interest next winter — though obviously a lot can happen between now and then. Said Ward:

“I had a wonderful time being in Anaheim, playing in Anaheim, getting to know the guys and getting to play next to Hall of Fame players too. I’m just very thankful for that time period, and it’s something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

General manager Perry Minasian said after the trade that he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add four years of a viable rotation arm in exchange for one year of Ward, even if there’s severe injury risk with Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched since July 2024. Via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Minasian called Rodriguez “a gamble worth taking” and noted that when healthy, the former first-round pick and top prospect “can beat anybody on any given night.”

For the 2026 season, Rodriguez will surely be on some form of innings limit. Between that and the general uncertainty behind Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano in the rotation, the Angels remain in the market for further starting pitching upgrades. They’re also known to be on the hunt for help at third base and in center field. Whatever additions are (or aren’t) made in the outfield will impact any chances of the return referenced by Ward. Jorge Soler is a free agent next offseason. Jo Adell is under club control through 2027.

The free agent market is thin on center fielders, but Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Angels have at least checked in on the top name available: Cody Bellinger. Given the Halos’ need in center, it’s only natural that they’d perform some due diligence. (It’d almost be more noteworthy to hear that they weren’t planning to at least gauge the price on Bellinger.) Heyman notes that a match between the two parties is viewed as a long shot, which shouldn’t come as a great surprise. Bellinger figures to finally command a nine-figure deal in free agency, likely for five or even six years.

While the Angels have the payroll capacity to make that type of addition — Mike Trout is the only player guaranteed anything beyond the 2027 season — it’s an open question as to whether Bellinger can truly be considered an everyday center fielder anymore. He hasn’t played the position on a full-time basis since 2022 and logged only 306 innings there with the Yankees in 2025.

Bellinger’s sprint speed hasn’t really dipped since that time, but Bellinger still has drawn negative grades from Defensive Runs Saved (-4) and Statcast (-1 OAA) in just over 700 innings of center field work across the past two seasons. He’d certainly be better there than Adell was when forced into the position in ’25 (-13 DRS, -8 OAA), but Bellinger will draw significant interest from contenders who are a cleaner fit — the Yankees certainly among them. After playing on teams with clear postseason aspirations throughout his entire career, he may also be skeptical of joining an Angels club that’s a long shot to contend.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

NL Notes: Gallen, Pozo, Nationals, Aydt

By Mark Polishuk | November 22, 2025 at 2:50pm CDT

“I would love to be back here. I would love to be here for the rest of my career,” Zac Gallen told Arizona Sports’ Alex Weiner and other reporters during a recent community event in Phoenix. As to whether a new contract with the Diamondbacks is possible, Gallen was more circumspect, saying “I think what sometimes gets lost in translation is that’s not necessarily always up to the player. If the opportunity is there and it’s something that we deem is the right fit for us, as myself as a player and for me and my soon-to-be wife as a family, then yeah, we’ll explore that. But right now we’re just going through the process and we’ll see what happens.”

Gallen is one of the more intriguing free agent pitchers available, as a former Cy Young candidate and top-of-the-rotation who is hitting the market on the heels of the worst season of his career. Though Gallen finished strong over the last two months of 2025, his 4.83 ERA and 21.5% strikeout rate were career lows, and batters took Gallen yard to the tune of 31 home runs.

MLBTR still projects Gallen for a four-year, $80MM free agent deal, yet it is possible he and agent Scott Boras might explore a shorter-term contract with opt-outs attached, so Gallen could potentially re-enter the market as early next winter after a better platform season. Such a contractual scenario might make a reunion with the pitching-needy D’Backs more plausible, though it remains unclear exactly how much Arizona might have to spend this offseason.

Astros Notes: Hader, Alvarez, Arrighetti

By Mark Polishuk | November 16, 2025 at 4:51pm CDT

Astros general manager Dana Brown shared some injury updates earlier this week at the GM Meetings, including the rather troubling news that Isaac Paredes is no guarantee to be ready for Opening Day. Brown provided some more positive news with Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle (multiple links) on some of the many other Astros players who missed significant time during the club’s injury-plagued 2025 campaign, as all of Josh Hader, Yordan Alvarez, and Spencer Arrighetti are expected to be ready for Spring Training.

Hader’s season was ended in early August by a right capsule sprain in his right shoulder. There was some initial hope that Hader could potentially return during the playoffs, but he still hadn’t started throwing by season’s end, so it seemed unlikely that the closer would’ve been available even if Houston had reached the postseason.

Brown didn’t yet have a timetable on Hader’s recovery at his end-of-season press conference, but said this week that Hader has now thrown off a mound three times. The plan is for Hader to have his regular winter throwing program and “hopefully, we’ll get him ramped up sometime early to mid-February…he’s on course to come back and be there for Opening Day,” Brown said.

As Rome noted, losing Hader ended up devastating Houston’s relief corps. Hader had been the anchor of the bullpen, posting a 2.05 ERA, 36.9% strikeout rate, and 7.8% walk rate across 52 2/3 innings while closing down 28 of 29 save opportunities. While Bryan Abreu performed respectably well in Hader’s place, losing a star closer further thinned out a bullpen that was already missing other arms due to injury, and it added to Houston’s mountain of health woes.

Having Alvarez for only 48 games was perhaps the most impactful of all the Astros’ injuries. The three-time All-Star was sidelined mostly by a hand sprain that was eventually revealed as a finger fracture, and persistent hand discomfort kept Alvarez out of action from early May to late August. While he posted great numbers upon his returning, Alvarez was shut down again by a left ankle sprain in mid-September that left him unable to even resume basic running or hitting drills by the end of the season.

The good news is that Brown said Alvarez should have “a normal offseason,” and is back to running at around “65-70 percent” of his usual capability. Speed is not exactly a huge aspect of Alvarez’s game and he should continue to be Houston’s primary DH in 2026, but keeping an elite bat healthy is naturally a huge factor in the Astros’ hopes of future success.

Arrighetti was limited to seven starts and 35 1/3 innings in 2025, as he missed four months of action after his right thumb was fractured by a batted ball during batting practice. That fluky injury was followed up by a bout of elbow inflammation that shut Arrighetti down for good in early September. There was some concern raised when Arrighetti was set to go for a second opinion on his elbow, but it would appear as though he has gotten a clean bill of health for regular offseason prep.

For now, Arrighetti is penciled into a spot in Houston’s Opening Day rotation, though Brown has been open about the Astros’ desire to add to their pitching staff. With Framber Valdez potentially leaving in free agency and several other Astros pitchers besides Arrighetti also on the mend, acquiring another starter would help clear up some of the uncertainty surrounding the pitching staff.

Mariners Notes: Ford, Right Field, Hancock

By Nick Deeds | November 16, 2025 at 1:55pm CDT

With Mitch Garver headed into the open market, the Mariners have a hole to fill on their roster without a clear backup for Cal Raleigh behind the plate. As noted by Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, GM Justin Hollander indicated at the GM Meetings this past week that, as the roster is currently constructed, that backup catching job would go to longtime top prospect Harry Ford.

“As of today, Harry would definitely be the backup,” Hollander said, as relayed by Divish. “I think that Harry’s in a great spot. He has checked all the boxes along the way that you would want from a high school catcher coming through the draft. He’s performed at every level.”

It’s not hard to see why Hollander feels positively about Ford, who has been a consensus top-100 prospect for years and got a brief taste of the majors late in the season with eight games down the stretch this year. Ford hit .283/.408/.460 in 97 games at the Triple-A level this year, an impressive slash line that was good for a 125 wRC+ even in the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment. He struck out just 19.2% of the time while sporting a massive 16.2% walk rate, and while he didn’t run as often as he had in the lower minors (just seven steals on the year) he did slug a career-high 16 home runs. Overall, it was a strong showing for the 22-year-old and clearly sets him up to be ready for more exposure to major league pitching in 2026.

Whether that comes in Seattle or elsewhere has not entirely been decided yet, however. Divish notes that while the Mariners do seem comfortable having Ford join the roster as the backup to Raleigh, they remain open to trade offers that involve Ford. That’s a sensible position to take, given that Raleigh has cemented himself as baseball’s best catcher after posting perhaps the best season at the position in MLB history this past year. With the Mariners surely intent on continuing to play Raleigh (who has started at least 114 games behind the dish in each of the past three seasons) as much as possible, the role of backup catcher isn’t quite as important for Seattle as it is for other teams.

While there are no obvious alternatives in the organization to Ford at the moment, Divish points out that a number of viable backup options figure to be available on minor league or low-cost big league deals. Many of those options could surely offer similar production to Garver in the spot. Given the scarcity of quality catching options around the league, if another team views Ford as a plug-and-play starter behind the dish they might value him enough to make the return for his services worth the downgrade from Seattle’s perspective. A weak catching market in free agency that is highlighted by J.T. Realmuto and Victor Caratini should only further bolster Ford’s value if the Mariners were to decide to shop him this offseason.

Turning away from Ford, Hollander also expressed confidence in the group of players they already have in the organization when it comes to filling out the outfield next season. Randy Arozarena is locked in as the club’s everyday left fielder (barring a move that sees him traded, at least), while Julio Rodriguez has cemented himself as a franchise cornerstone in center. Right field was handled by a hodgepodge of different players throughout 2025, and in 2026 Hollander points to three names who could factor into the mix: Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone, and Victor Robles.

Even though none of them were impact players in 2025, it’s not hard to see why the Mariners would want to give that trio a run at the position rather than pursuing an external addition. Raley is just one year removed from back-to-back seasons where he slashed .246/.326/.476 while totaling 41 homers and 42 doubles across 255 games. While Raley has never been successful against left-handed pitching, it’s not at all difficult to imagine that he could rebound enough to be worth affording regular playing time to when a right-handed starter is on the mound for the opposing team. Robles, meanwhile, missed all but 32 games this past year due to injury and was someone the Mariners believed in enough that they afforded him an extension just two months into his tenure with the organization.

Canzone has the weakest overall track record of the three, but actually delivered by far the best results this year. In 82 games as a part-time player for the Mariners, Canzone raked to the tune of a .300/.358/.481 slash line with 11 homer and 11 doubles while he struck out at a reasonable 21.9% clip. A tough postseason where he went just 3-for-28 with a walk and ten strikeouts saw him leave 2025 on a sour note, but the 28-year-old clearly had a 2025 worth building on next season. Perhaps adding a second right-handed hitter to the mix alongside Robles could allow the Mariners to maximize matchups and create depth in the event of injury, but an everyday starter in the outfield does seem unnecessary given the far more significant holes around in the infield.

Another place where it seems the Mariners could look to go internal is with starting pitching depth. Divish reports that right-hander Emerson Hancock is expected to prepare this winter and enter Spring Training as a starting pitcher. Hancock has served as a swingman with below average results (4.81 ERA, 5.23 FIP) across his three seasons and 162 2/3 innings of work in the majors, but looked quite good in short relief down the stretch for Seattle this year. That made some wonder if he would stick in the bullpen full-time going forward, but it seems as though the Mariners value Hancock’s versatility given their lack of upper-level starting pitching depth. Beyond their starting five pitchers, only Logan Evans has spent significant time starting at the big league level aside from Hancock.

Yankees Notes: Chisholm, Lombard, Rice

By Darragh McDonald | November 13, 2025 at 3:46pm CDT

Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. is one year away from free agency. He has expressed his desire to stay with the club via an extension. However, general manager Brian Cashman told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic at the general managers meetings this week that he has yet to approach Chisholm’s reps about extension talks.

“Not sure how that would play out,” Cashman said. “But we have not had any conversations outside of he’s looking forward to playing next year, he loves playing here, and, if we’re open (to), if you want to have a legitimate conversation about value, (he’s) open to a longer-term conversation as well.”

The Yankees don’t do many extensions in general. According to MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, which has data going back to the start of 2006, the Yankees have done six extensions in that almost-20-year time frame. There have been none since 2019, when they did three deals for Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks and Aroldis Chapman. None of those three deals worked out especially well for the club, so it’s perhaps not surprising that they haven’t gone back to that well.

Chisholm is coming off a good season. His 27.9% strikeout rate was on the high side but he increased his walk rate to 10.9%, the best of his career. He also hit 31 home runs and stole 31 bases. His .242/.332/.481 batting line translated to a 126 wRC+. His third base defense wasn’t strong but the Yankees acquired Ryan McMahon and moved Chisholm to second, where he graded out better. Put it all together and FanGraphs credited him with 4.4 wins above replacement.

It’s possible the Yankees are content to let Chisholm play his final arbitration season, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $10.2MM salary, and then let him walk. Assuming he has another season like he did in 2025, he would easily turn down a qualifying offer in search of a strong multi-year pact beginning with his age-29 season.

By that time, it’s possible that prospect George Lombard Jr. has arrived and pushed his way into the middle infield conversation. Lombard, 21 in June, was the club’s first-round pick in 2023. He has been climbing the minor league ladder and reached Double-A in May. He got into 108 games at that level this year and should reach Triple-A in 2026, maybe even right out of camp. He only hit eight home runs and had just a .215 batting average at that level, but he drew walks at a strong 13.6% clip. His .215/.337/.358 line translated to a 111 wRC+.

Though that offense isn’t overwhelming, Lombard was young for the level. He’s still regarded by most outlets as one of the top 50 prospects in the league. His defense is considered strong enough for him to stick at shortstop. Per Kuty, Cashman said this week that Lombard could reach the majors in 2026 but 2027 is more likely. “Defensively, he’s ready to go,” the GM said. “And offensively, it looks like he needs more time, and we’re looking to drive that time and those reps. So I wouldn’t think ’26 is on the horizon, but I wouldn’t (rule out) ’26 at the same time.”

The Yankees can control Anthony Volpe via arbitration through 2028 and José Caballero through 2029. Perhaps they feel that Chisholm’s departure and Lombard’s arrival can sync up fairly nicely so that the middle infield can be addressed internally, allowing them to commit their resources towards pitching or the outfield. Then again, it’s also possible they could circle back to Chisholm later, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Volpe’s shoulder injury and poor performance in 2025. The most common time for extension talks is in the spring, after a club has spent the offseason focusing on external additions.

As for Ben Rice, his fit isn’t locked down but he’ll be in there one way or another. As relayed by Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News, Cashman didn’t firmly declare whether Rice would be catching or at first base, but he said first base was more likely. One way or another, Cashman confirmed he would be be an everyday player.

That’s not surprising, as Rice hit 26 home runs this year, helping him produce a .255/.337/.499 slash line and 133 wRC+. He did a bit of catching but spent more time at first. With Paul Goldschmidt now a free agent, it’s possible Rice could just take up that spot on an everyday basis. Like most lefty hitters, he was better against righties in 2025, but his work against southpaws was passable. His batting average wasn’t great in the split but he hit seven homers in 119 plate appearances without the platoon advantage, leading to a .208/.271/.481 slash and 104 wRC+.

Phillips also notes that Cashman spoke of a desire to add a catcher who swings from the right side, since each of Austin Wells, Rice and J.C. Escarra are lefty bats. Cashman described the market as “very thin” but there are righty bats out there. J.T. Realmuto is too good for a short-side platoon job and the same is likely true of Victor Caratini, but guys like Danny Jansen, James McCann, Luke Maile, Mitch Garver and old friend Gary Sánchez are available.

Photo courtesy of Albert Cesare, Imagn Images

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