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The Opener: Orioles, Rockies, Padres

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Orioles introducing Albernaz:

The Orioles are poised to officially introduce Craig Albernaz as their new manager later today in a press conference at Camden Yards. Albernaz was serving as the associate manager in Cleveland under Stephen Vogt prior to being hired by Baltimore, and will now take over a club that entered 2025 with high expectations but left the year with a last place finish in the AL East. The press conference is scheduled for 11am local time this morning and will feature both president of baseball operations Mike Elias and club owner David Rubenstein in addition to Albernaz himself. The presser could provide Orioles fans a peek into their club’s plan for the offseason in addition to introducing Albernaz, given the presence of all the team’s top decision makers in one place.

2. Rockies back to square one in their GM search:

As the Rockies look for a new head of baseball operations, they’ve hit a bit of a roadblock as the two people previously viewed as finalists for the job (Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye and Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman) are no longer under consideration for the job. It’s unclear exactly where the club will go from here or under what timeline a decision is expected to be made at this point, but one surprise candidate could be Adam Ottavino. Ottavino pitched in the majors as recently as earlier this year, but reportedly spoke to the Rockies about the job despite having just exited his playing career. He’d certainly be an unconventional hire, however, and it remains to be seen how seriously he might be considered for the role.

3. Padres still on the hunt for a manager:

The Braves hired from within to replace Brian Snitker yesterday, promoting bench coach Walt Weiss to the top job. That leaves just one managerial vacancy left to be filled, at least until the Rockies hire a front office leader who can decide on interim manager Warren Schaeffer’s fate. That vacancy is in San Diego, where Mike Shildt made the decision to step away from the dugout shortly after the Padres were eliminated in the Wild Card series. It was just last week that a trio of finalists for that job were reported: pitching coach Ruben Niebla, Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. The possibility of a fourth finalist alongside those candidates wasn’t ruled out, as well. At the time, a hiring was expected to be made by the end of last week, so it’s at least possible that process has it an unexpected snag. The Padres are surely hoping to have a manager in place by the time the offseason gets into full swing, however, so a decision could be made any day now.

Braves Name Walt Weiss New Manager

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The Braves have a new manager and it’s an internal hire. The club announced today that Walt Weiss is the club’s new skipper. Weiss has been the club’s bench coach for many years but now gets a chance to take on a bigger role. Weiss reportedly signed a three-year contract with an option for 2029.

Weiss, 61, played in the majors from 1987 to 2000. The final three seasons of his playing career were spent in Atlanta. After hanging up his spikes, he pivoted into other roles with the Rockies, first as a special advisor to the front office. He then moved into the manager’s chair and was the skipper in Colorado for four years, beginning in 2013. The club had a losing record in all four of those campaigns, finishing each with between 66 and 75 wins, before Weiss resigned.

Going into the 2018 season, Atlanta hired Weiss to the bench coach position, working as top lieutenant to manager Brian Snitker. That was actually a few days before it was reported that Alex Anthopoulos would be the club’s new front office leader. Atlanta had been rebuilding for the previous few years but they emerged as contenders in that 2018 campaign. They went 90-72, their first of what would eventually be six straight National League East division titles. They won the World Series in 2021.

After the 2022 season, Weiss got some reported interest from the Marlins for their managerial vacancy, though he turned down an interview request. He stayed in Atlanta, continuing to work under Snitker. Snitker announced about a month ago, just before his 70th birthday, that he would not be returning for another season as manager. The club kept their managerial search pretty close to the vest, leading mostly to speculation about who might replace Snitker.

Weiss will now be tasked with turning the club around after a rough patch. After those aforementioned six straight division titles, they slipped to second place and a Wild Card berth last year. Here in 2025, they dropped all the way down to 76 wins and a fourth-place finish.

Expectations will continue to be high, as there is still a lot of talent on the roster. The poor results in 2025 involved several notable injuries and a PED suspension for Jurickson Profar. The club still has a core featuring Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Chris Sale and many others. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will surely look to bolster the club for a return to form in 2026.

Anthopoulos has surely gotten to know Weiss well over the past eight years and feels he is the man to skipper the club back to greatness. What remains to be seen is if Weiss will shake up the coaching staff, but hiring a new bench coach to replace himself should be one item on the to-do list.

David O’Brien of The Athletic reported the three-year deal with the option. Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Royals’ Alec Marsh Undergoes Labrum Surgery

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Royals starter Alec Marsh underwent labrum surgery, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The right-hander did not pitch at all this season because of recurring shoulder issues. He’s going to miss most or all of the 2026 season as well. Rogers suggests it could be a yearlong rehab process.

A second-round pick in 2019, Marsh debuted as a swingman four years later. He held a rotation spot for most of the ’24 season, tossing 129 innings over 26 appearances. The Arizona State product put up a 4.53 ERA with slightly better than average strikeout and walk rates. He averaged 94 MPH on a four-seam fastball that headlined a six-pitch mix. Marsh looked like a fine fifth starter and would have battled for a spot at the back of Matt Quatraro’s rotation had he been healthy.

The 27-year-old is now in line for a second straight mostly lost season. There’ll be uncertainty about how well he’ll bounce back until the team finally sees him on the mound. Marsh spent this past season on the 60-day injured list. Kansas City reinstated him — along with James McArthur and Kris Bubic — this afternoon. Their roster count sits at 38.

Marsh has a little over two years of major league service. He will not qualify for arbitration until the end of next season and wouldn’t have the body of work to rack up significant earnings, at least in year one. If the Royals keep him on the roster all winter, they can place him back on the 60-day IL at the beginning of Spring Training.

Kansas City will go into 2026 with Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo locked into rotation spots. Bubic will be in there as well unless the Royals trade him for a hitter. Noah Cameron projects as the fifth starter, while Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila are on the 40-man roster and have minor league options. Bailey Falter and Kyle Wright hold 40-man spots for now, but there’s a good chance the Royals non-tender them. It’s a talented group but one that was hit hard by injuries late in the season, so it’d make sense for K.C. to add an innings eater even if the offseason focus is on upgrading the outfield and second base.

Rays Hire Ozzie Timmons As Assistant Hitting Coach

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The Rays hired Ozzie Timmons as an assistant hitting coach on Monday, according to a club announcement. He replaces Brady North, who departed Kevin Cash’s staff at the end of the regular season.

Timmons is back on an MLB staff after spending the 2025 campaign in a special assistant role. The 55-year-old had been on Cash’s coaching staff as a first base coach/assistant hitting coach between 2018-21. The Brewers hired him as one of two co-hitting coaches over the 2021-22 offseason. Timmons spent three years in that position before parting ways with Milwaukee last winter.

A Tampa-area native, Timmons suited up for the Devil Rays in 2000 as part of a brief MLB playing career spread across four teams. He’d worked as their Triple-A hitting coach before getting his first crack on the MLB staff in 2018. He’ll work underneath lead hitting instructor Chad Mottola, who has been the club’s hitting coach for the past nine-plus seasons.

Astros, Peter Lambert Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Astros are in agreement with right-hander Peter Lambert on a minor league contract, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The 28-year-old returns stateside after a season in Japan with the Yakult Swallows.

Lambert made 21 starts in his only year in Nippon Professional Baseball. He allowed a 4.26 earned run average across 116 1/3 innings. That’s not an especially impressive number in a pitcher-friendly league. Lambert had the fifth-highest ERA among the 47 NPB pitchers to toss at least 100 frames. He fanned 20.5% of opponents — a solid mark in a league where hitters are more focused on putting the ball in play than they are in MLB — but issued walks at a 10.2% clip. That’s the highest rate among the aforementioned group of 47 pitchers.

A former second-round pick of the Rockies, Lambert pitched parts of four seasons with Colorado. He started 19 games as a rookie back in 2019 and worked in a swing role after that. Lambert’s most recent big league action came in 2024, when he allowed 5.72 earned runs per nine over 61 1/3 innings. He has a 6.28 ERA with a 16.4% strikeout rate over his big league career.

The Astros are likely to stockpile upper minors rotation depth. They’ll almost certainly non-tender Luis Garcia (who is again out for the season after another Tommy John procedure) and will have each of Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco and Brandon Walter on the injured list after they underwent elbow surgeries. They’re expected to let Framber Valdez walk and Lance McCullers Jr. shouldn’t be locked into a rotation spot. Houston already took a $1.35MM flier on former top prospect Nate Pearson to allow him to compete for a starting role. Lambert seems likelier to open the season at Triple-A Sugar Land.

Reds Bench Coach Brad Mills Retires

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The Reds announced a handful of changes to Terry Francona’s staff. Most notably, bench coach Brad Mills has retired. Mills was one of two bench coaches this year, so the Reds could stick with Freddie Benavides (who also has the title of field coordinator) without making an outside hire.

Cincinnati has made three additions to the staff. Mike Napoli gets the title of assistant bench coach after spending this past season in a nebulous “staff assistant” role. The Reds have also promoted Willie Harris to third base coach and hired Bill Haselman as their catching coach.

Mills, 68, has enjoyed a longtime relationship with Francona. He worked on Francona’s staffs in Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland going back to the 1990s. He spent most of that time as the bench coach. Mills got a two-plus year managerial run of his own with the Astros between 2010-12, though a rebuilding Houston team won only 38.4% of their games over his tenure. He had not been on an MLB staff for a few seasons before returning last offseason when Francona came out of retirement to take over in Cincinnati.

Harris spent this past season managing Cincinnati’s Low-A affiliate in Daytona. He’s back on a major league staff in the same position he held with the Cubs between 2020-24. Cincinnati’s previous third base coach, JR House, left to take the same position with the Diamondbacks last month. Haselman is a former MLB catcher whose coaching career began with Francona’s Red Sox in the mid-2000s. He has ample minor league managerial experience and was most recently on a big league staff with the Angels in 2023.

Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series. They aren't losing any major contributors to free agency, so they'll go into the winter with a really strong roster and the ability to bolster it further.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH: $560MM through 2033 ($68MM of salary deferred annually)
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP: $260MM through 2035 (deal includes multiple opt-out chances, beginning after 2029 or any season in which he is traded)
  • Mookie Betts, SS: $235MM through 2032 (includes $40MM of signing bonus still to be paid out; $10MM of salary deferred annually in 2026-27, $11MM annually 2028-32)
  • Blake Snell, LHP: $104MM through 2029 ($13.2MM of salary deferred annually; deal includes conditional club option for 2030)
  • Will Smith, C: $83.45MM through 2033 ($5MM of salary is deferred annually)
  • Tyler Glasnow, RHP: $81.5625MM through 2028 (2028 is either $21.5625MM player option or $30MM club option)
  • Tanner Scott, LHP: $56MM through 2028 (includes $15MM of signing bonus still to be paid out; $5.25MM of salary deferred annually; deal includes 2029 conditional option)
  • Freddie Freeman, 1B: $54MM through 2027 ($12MM of salary deferred annually)
  • Tommy Edman, IF/OF: $52MM through 2029 (includes $3MM buyout on $13MM club option for 2030; $6.25MM of salary deferred annually)
  • Teoscar Hernández, OF: $33MM through 2027 (includes $6.5MM buyout on $15MM club option; deal also includes conditional 2029 option; $8MM of salary deferred annually)
  • Blake Treinen, RHP: $13.5MM through 2026 (includes $2.5MM of signing bonus still to be paid out)
  • Hyeseong Kim, IF/OF: $9MM through 2027 (including $1.5MM buyout of $10MM two-year club option for 2028-29)

Other Financial Commitments

Option Decisions

  • Team has $10MM club option on 3B Max Muncy with no buyout
  • Team has $3.65MM club option on LHP Alex Vesia with $50K buyout (Vesia would remain controllable via arbitration even if option is declined)

2026 guarantees (assuming both options are picked up): $283.15MM ($127.7MM deferred)
Total future commitments: $1.559 billion ($792.55MM deferred)

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Graterol, Gonsolin, Phillips, Banda, Stewart, Rortvedt, Grove

Free Agents

The Dodgers have a strong willingness to bet on talent and not worry so much about injury concerns. That is partly due to their almost unlimited budget, which allows them to take risks other clubs may not be able to afford. It's also because the lineup is so good that they are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs each year, which gives them the wiggle room to let their players get healthy as opposed to rushing them back during the regular season.

This has led to some inconsistency in how things end up when October rolls around. In 2023, they were so banged up that they were swept out of the ALDS by the Diamondbacks. In 2024, the Dodgers had just enough of a rotation to win the title. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler were the three traditional starters as the club relied heavily on the bullpen. In 2025, that flipped. The bullpen had been stripped down by injuries but the rotation had Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani all healthy. Manager Dave Roberts tried to avoid his traditional relievers as much as possible. He often allowed his starters to pitch deep into games. In Game Seven of the World Series, he used all four of Ohtani, Glasnow, Snell and Yamamoto.

Going into 2026, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Dodgers target more pitching, but the rotation is actually in good shape. The four starters they were using in this year's playoffs are all healthy and under contract. Roki Sasaki wound up in the bullpen due to some shoulder trouble but he could be stretched back out next year. Guys like Emmet Sheehan, Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, Landon Knack, Bobby Miller and Justin Wrobleski worked both as starters and relievers in 2025 and could be in the mix for starts again next year. Each of Kyle Hurt, River Ryan and Gavin Stone spent 2025 recovering from surgery but should be factors next year. Top prospect Jackson Ferris now has 33 Double-A games under his belt and should be in Triple-A next year.

Nick Frasso finished 2025 hurt and his current status isn't clear. Tony Gonsolin will likely be non-tendered since he underwent internal brace surgery and will miss at least the first half of 2026, though the Dodgers could afford to pay him and hope for a late-season return if they wanted to. Michael Grove missed all of 2025 due to shoulder surgery and could also be non-tendered, though he can still be controlled for three more seasons.

However it plays out, it's an impressive collection of talent, even with Clayton Kershaw retiring. The club has been very active in adding pitching in recent offseasons. After their aforementioned rough ending in 2023, they added Ohtani. However, he wasn't an immediate upgrade to the staff since he was recovering from surgery at the time, so they also added Glasnow and Yamamoto. Coming into this year, they signed Snell.

With the depth suddenly looking overwhelming, the Dodgers may not be as aggressive on the free agent starting pitching market. In fact, there are so many names on the chart that they could probably trade some away, though they could also opt to hold and just have lots of depth on hand for the inevitable injuries that will arise.

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Giants Decline Club Option On Tom Murphy

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The Giants have turned down their $4MM club option on catcher Tom Murphy. He will get a $250K buyout and become a free agent. Justice delos Santos of Mercury News was among those to pass the news along.

It’s one of the least surprising option decisions of the year. Ahead of the 2024 season, the Giants signed Murphy to a two-year, $8.25MM deal. He made a $4MM salary last year and this year, then could have made the same salary in 2026 if the Giants had picked up the option.

Murphy only played 13 games in 2024 and didn’t play at all this year. Last year, a left knee sprain was the culprit. This year, it was an oblique strain, or least that was the initial thought. In August, Murphy spoke with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and expressed frustration with the fact that his injury was actually herniated disk which was misdiagnosed. Even with the correct diagnosis, things didn’t get better, as a clinic recommended by the team initially treated the wrong disk.

Though it seems this situation was out of Murphy’s hands, he had an injury-prone reputation before becoming a Giant. He had generally hit well when healthy but had never played more than 97 games in a season and only twice had he even reached 50 games in a season. The signing was a bit of a gamble on him being healthy enough to be a viable backup but that clearly didn’t work out.

The Giants turning down their option was therefore the expected outcome. Presumably, Murphy will be focused on getting as strong and healthy as possible before looking for bounceback opportunities for the 2026 season. The Giants go into next year with Patrick Bailey as their primary backstop, with Andrew Knizner and Jesús Rodríguez also on the 40-man.

Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images

Orioles, Dietrich Enns Agree To New Deal

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7:15pm: Per Kostka, this deal is worth a guaranteed $2.625MM. That breaks down as a $2.5MM salary in 2025 with a $125K buyout on a 2027 club option worth $3.5MM.

3:58pm: The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Dietrich Enns for the 2026 season. It contains a club option for the 2027 campaign as well. Baltimore previously held a $3MM club option over Enns, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council. This new contract overrides that deal, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner.

Enns, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers after a three-year run pitching in Asia (two years in NPB, one in the KBO). Enns pitched well enough in the Tigers’ Triple-A rotation to get a call to the big leagues in Detroit — his first MLB work since 2021 and just the third season in which he’s logged at least some MLB time. He struggled in 17 2/3 innings for manager A.J. Hinch’s club and was flipped to the Orioles for cash just prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

The change of scenery paid dividends. Enns thrived with the O’s, turning in 28 2/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball (17 relief appearances, one start). He fanned 27.6% of his opponents in Baltimore and only issued walks at an 8.9% clip. Enns showed plenty of bat-missing ability with both teams, logging matching 13.5% swinging-strike rates in his two stops and topping a 34% opponents’ chase rate with each club.

Enns is out of minor league options, making him likely to break camp with the club next year. It’s at least possible that the O’s could try to pass him through waivers and stash him in Triple-A as a depth option, knowing he wouldn’t elect free agency and forfeit the guaranteed money on his contract. They’ve made similar depth-driven signings in the past under the current front office regime. Given how well Enns pitched for them down the stretch, however, there’s a good chance he’d be claimed, so today’s deal simply seems like a means of locking in some cost certainty and establishing another year of club control at a fixed rate.

Rockies Turn Down Mutual Option With Thairo Estrada; Estrada Remains On Roster

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The Rockies have turned down their end of a mutual option with infielder Thairo Estrada, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. For now, Estrada remains on the roster and the Rockies technically could retain him for 2026 via arbitration, though that seems unlikely.

Estrada, 30 in February, had some good seasons with the Giants. However, in 2024, he struggled enough to get outrighted off the roster midseason and became a free agent afterwards. The Rockies signed him to a one-year, $4MM contract coming into 2025. That broke down as a $3.25MM salary this year, followed by a $750K buyout on a $7MM mutual option.

If Estrada had bounced back to his 2021-23 levels, it would have been a nice buy-low move. Unfortunately, it turned into mostly a lost season. Estrada made separate trips to the injured list for a right wrist fracture, a sprained left thumb and a right hamstring strain. He only got into 39 games and slashed .253/.285/.370 for a wRC+ of 66.

Given that performance, the Rockies obviously weren’t going to crank up his salary by picking up the option. He does not automatically become a free agent, however, as he is still shy of six years of major league service. The Rockies could retain Estrada for 2026 via arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Estrada for a $3.8MM salary through the arbitration process.

Even at that price point, the Rockies are probably planning to move on, since Estrada is now coming off two straight years of struggle. If the Rockies don’t tender him a contract, he will become a free agent later in the offseason. He would then be looking for another bounceback opportunity, which could be a minor league deal or perhaps a modest major league pact.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

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