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Compete With Your Crew: The Winfield Game Launches Group Leaderboards (Sponsored)

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As the MLB hot stove heats up, there’s another daily challenge baseball fans are trying to solve: The Winfield Game.

Sharing a name with Dave Winfield – the only athlete ever drafted in the first round of the MLB, NBA, and NFL drafts – The Winfield Game is a free daily sports trivia puzzle. Each day’s answer is a current or former MLB All-Star, NBA All-Star, or NFL Pro Bowler from the Super Bowl era forward. Your job is to identify that player in as few guesses as possible.

If you’ve ever played Wordle, the structure will feel familiar. One puzzle per day, limited guesses, and feedback after each attempt that helps you zero in on the answer. The difference is simply the subject matter — instead of letters, you’re narrowing down decades, teams, positions, and accolades to uncover a single sports star.

You start by typing in any player. Each guess returns a set of clues: the decades they played, the teams they suited up for, their position, and key achievements. Those clues gradually narrow the field until you land on the correct player… or run out of guesses trying.

In the above example, a user first guessed Royce Clayton – a sneaky good starting player for The Winfield Game due to having played for 11 teams during his career. Clayton gave a match on sport and an indication the player played in Chicago, though not for the White Sox. And importantly Clayton did not match on the answer’s decades of play.

The next guess was Anthony Rizzo, which turned out to be a great choice. Rizzo gave matches on the Cubs and Yankees, but neither was the answer’s main team. Which led the user to guess correctly with one of this winter’s biggest free agents – Cody Bellinger.

If you get stuck, you can optionally burn a guess on a hint, which might reveal an extra team, decade, or award to help you zero in on the right name. After you finish, you’ll see your score, streak, and that day’s average across all players. Newly added, you can also check out your own Group Leaderboard.

New this winter: Group leaderboards

The Winfield Game is rolling out group leaderboards!

In addition to the leaderboard for the best lifetime average score and the Cal Ripken Jr. Ironman Streak Leaderboard, you can now create private groups and see how you stack up against:

  • Friends and family
  • Coworkers in the office pool
  • Your fantasy league
  • Discord / Slack communities
  • Team-specific fan groups

Setting up a group is simple:

  1. Go to winfieldgame.com and create a free account (or log in).
  2. Start a new group and share the invite link with whoever you want to compete against.
  3. Everyone plays the same daily puzzle — but now you can see your group’s leaderboard and compare scores within your own circle.

Group leaderboards track performance over time, so a single lucky guess won’t carry you forever. Over weeks and months, the best puzzle solvers rise to the top… and even if you aren’t the best, you can still top the streak leaderboard for your group.

Other Insider Tips

If you are looking to put your best foot forward in The Winfield Game, here are some insider tips to help you get started:

  • Learn a “glue guy” in every sport – someone who played for a ton of teams. Rich Hill and Edwin Jackson are great names to leverage in baseball, while Ish Smith (NBA) or Josh Johnson (NFL) could help in the other sports.
  • Refine your starting player – multi-sport players like Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson will nail down the sport with just one guess, while players like Rickey Henderson or Ryan Fitzpatrick had long careers with several teams.

Play today

The Winfield Game updates daily at midnight EST, and group leaderboards are available for anyone who wants to track results with friends or colleagues.

Rays Trade Shane Baz To Orioles

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The Orioles bolstered their rotation with an intradivision swap netting them right-hander Shane Baz from Tampa Bay, the teams announced Friday. In return, the Rays receive outfielder Slater de Brun, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick. Baltimore designated lefty Josh Walker for assignment to open a roster spot for Baz (more on that move here).

Baz, 26, will step right into Baltimore’s rotation. As is the case with the recently traded Grayson Rodriguez, Baz once ranked as one of the sport’s top pitching prospects. In fact, a look back at Baseball America’s top 100 prospects of the 2022 season shows Rodriguez at No. 6 and Baz right behind him at No. 8.

Baltimore, of course, traded Rodriguez and his remaining four years of club control to the Angels in exchange for the final year of club control over slugging corner outfielder Taylor Ward. Rodriguez hasn’t pitched in a big league game in nearly 18 months due to injuries. Baz has his own lengthy injury history but pitched a career-high 166 1/3 innings across 31 starts for Tampa Bay last season. The two are different pitchers with different skill sets and different levels of risk, and both are projects (to varying extents). But it’s nevertheless notable that the O’s shipped out one former top-10 pitching prospect and just weeks later effectively replacedd him by acquiring another.

In 2025, Baz worked to a 4.87 earned run average but drew more favorable reviews from metrics like SIERA (3.95) and FIP (4.37). He fanned 24.8% of his opponents, issued walks at a 9% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a better-than-average 46.7% rate. Home runs were the biggest problem for Baz, who saw 15.6% of the fly-balls against him clear the outfield fence and allowed an overall average of 1.41 homers per nine innings pitched.

Specifically, Baz was homer-prone in right-on-right matchups. The Rays played last year’s “home” games at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field (the Class-A affiliate for the Yankees) while Tropicana Field was undergoing repairs after significant damage at the hands of Hurricane Milton. Steinbrenner Field played as the second most homer-friendly venue in MLB for right-handed hitters, per Statcast’s Park Factors; Baltimore’s Camden Yards was still homer-friendly to righties, but not nearly to the same extent.

If Baz can rein in the home run woes and continue to stay healthy, he has the makings of a mid-rotation starter. Those aren’t trivial caveats, however — particularly the health one. Baz had arthroscopic elbow surgery prior to the 2022 season, returned to pitch 27 innings that summer, and then went back on the injured list due to an elbow sprain. He underwent Tommy John surgery that September and missed all of the 2023 season and the first half of the 2024 campaign.

Injury concerns notwithstanding, Baz sat 97 mph with his four-seamer this past season and got strong results on a new knuckle curveball that he hadn’t previously used in the majors. Opponents hit just .214 and slugged .321 against that newly implemented breaking pitch. Baz also works off a changeup and a cutter (getting better results with the former in 2025), rounding out a four-pitch arsenal.

The Orioles will control Baz for another three seasons. He’s a Super Two player who’s eligible for the second of his four arbitration raises this offseason. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected an eminently affordable $3.1MM salary for the right-hander. That bumps the Orioles’ projected payroll, per RosterResource, north of $140MM and gives them more than $178MM of luxury tax considerations. They’re still nearly $70MM from the first tax threshold.

Baltimore entered the offseason in clear need of rotation help. Baz adds a capable arm with some yet-untapped upside but isn’t the clear playoff-caliber starter Baltimore has sought (though he has the potential to become that). He joins Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer as rotation locks. Tyler Wells, Cade Povich, Brandon Young and Chayce McDermott are all candidates for the fifth spot who are already on the 40-man roster.

That’s solid depth, but the Orioles’ rotation still feels like it’s one veteran arm short. The team’s aggressive signing of Pete Alonso (plus acquisitions of Ward and Baz) are clear signals of a win-now mindset as they look to put an ugly 2025 season behind them. Adding a proven starter would go a long way toward realizing that goal. Baltimore has been linked to prominent free agents like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez and Tatsuya Imai — all of whom remain unsigned. Even after adding Alonso, Baz, Ward and free agent closer Ryan Helsley, their projected payroll is more than $20MM shy of last season’s Opening Day mark. There should be room to make another splash on the starting pitching front.

In exchange for the final three years of control over Baz, Tampa Bay is getting several of the Orioles’ top-30 prospects and a well-placed pick in the 2026 draft. Baseball America recently re-ranked the top-10 prospects in Baltimore’s system, placing Forret eighth among the bunch and calling him a potential No. 3 or 4 starter. The 21-year-old righty has strong command and a deep repertoire of six pitches, highlighted by a pair of above-average to plus breaking balls (curveball, sweeper). He split the 2025 season between High-A and Double-A, logging a combined 74 innings with a pristine 1.58 ERA, a huge 32.3% strikeout rate and a tidy 7.4% walk rate.

Forret is the only of the four prospects ranked inside BA’s top 10, though both de Brun and Bodine were top-10 names in the system on MLB.com’s midseason re-ranking of the bunch. The 18-year-old de Brun, in particular, is a big addition. He was selected with the No. 37 overall draft pick — coincidentally enough, a Competitive Balance Round A selection — just this past summer. De Brun didn’t play professionally following that lofty selection. He’ll head to the low minors in Tampa Bay’s system and make his professional debut there in 2026.

Baseball America called de Brun the top high school outfielder in last year’s draft class, lauding his plus-plus speed, above-average hit tool, strong throwing arm and good instincts in center field. He’s listed at just 5’9″ and has below-average power. He’ll be a yearslong development project, but if all goes well, the end result could be a table-setting center fielder with plus base-stealing ability and plus defense.

Bodine, 22, was selected seven picks ahead of de Brun in last summer’s draft. The former Coastal Carolina University standout got his feet wet with 11 games for the Orioles’ Class-A affiliate following the draft and hit well in that small sample. He’s a 5’10”, 200-pound, switch-hitting catcher who draws praise for a plus hit tool and good defensive skills. Like de Brun, he has below-average power. And, as one might expect for a catcher, his speed gets below-average ratings as well. Bodine hit .337/.440/.528 with nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts during his three NCAA seasons and began his pro career with a 14-for-43 showing (13 singles, one double), five walks and eight strikeouts in 49 A-ball appearances.

As with both Bodine and de Brun, Overn is another recent, lofty draft pick for the Orioles. Selected out of USC with the No. 97 pick in 2024, he’s a blistering runner with good defensive skills but fringe power and strikeout concerns. Overn hit .249/.355/.399 between Baltimore’s Class-A and Double-A affiliates in 2025, connecting on 13 homers, 13 doubles and four triples. He also went 64-for-72 in stolen base attempts over just 114 minor league games. MLB.com ranked him 30th in Baltimore’s system following this year’s trade deadline, tabbing him as a potential fourth outfielder or, in a best-case scenario, a speed- and defense-oriented regular. He’ll likely need to improve his hit tool and/or add some more power to get to that ceiling.

The Rays also add a notable draft pick. Baltimore won the fifth pick in Competitive Balance Round A during this month’s lottery. The exact draft order isn’t set yet — draft compensation surrounding free agents who rejected qualifying offers could still impact it — but in 2025 that was the No. 37 overall selection. Coincidentally, that’s the very pick that the Rays traded to the O’s in exchange for reliever Bryan Baker. Baltimore used that pick to select de Brun. It now trades de Brun back to Tampa Bay alongside what could very well end up being the No. 37 pick in the subsequent season’s draft. Last year’s No. 37 pick had a $2.63MM slot value, though de Brun signed for an over-slot $4MM. The Rays are likely adding around $2.7MM in pool space to next year’s draft budget with the acquisition of this pick.

Subtracting Baz depletes a Rays rotation that already looked like it might be one arm short. At the moment, Tampa Bay’s rotation figures to include Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane McClanahan and Steven Matz. Joe Boyle, Joe Rock, Ian Seymour and top prospect Brody Hopkins are among the internal candidates to step into the five spot. The first three are already on the 40-man roster.

However, the Rays will also surely have McClanahan on an innings limit after he missed the past two full seasons due to UCL and nerve surgeries. They’ll need to add some more innings to this group one way or another. By shipping out Baz and second baseman Brandon Lowe in separate trades this morning, the Rays trimmed more than $14MM off their projected payroll for the upcoming season. Per RosterResource, they now sit at about $78MM. That’s right in line with last year’s Opening Day mark.

Coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs and played their home games in a minor league park, the Rays may not be anxious to add a starter making $10MM+ per year. But Tampa Bay ran an Opening Day payroll of $98MM as recently as 2024 and is now under new ownership. It stands to reason that there could be some room to add a modestly priced starter in free agency. Alternatively, the trades of Baz and Lowe have only revitalized a perennially solid Tampa Bay farm system. The Rays could turn to the trade market to bring in some more help in the weeks ahead.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported that the Orioles were nearing a deal to acquire Baz. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and the Rays’ return.

Rays Claim Osvaldo Bido

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The Rays have claimed right-hander Osvaldo Bido off waivers from Atlanta, according to announcements from both clubs. Atlanta designated him for assignment earlier this week when they signed  Ha-Seong Kim. Tampa Bay had 40-man space and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Atlanta had only claimed Bido off waivers last week. The 30-year-old righty had spent the 2025 season with the A’s. Bido made Mark Kotsay’s season-opening rotation. He was hit hard over nine starts and pushed to Triple-A in the middle of May. The A’s brought him back up a couple weeks later but used him in long relief for the remainder of the season. He only made one more start, a three-inning appearance against the Tigers in which he gave up four runs.

Bido didn’t pitch especially well in either role. He struggled to a 5.87 earned run average across 79 2/3 innings spanning 26 appearances. He did manage to strike out an impressive 27% of batters faced after the All-Star Break, but even that promise was undercut by a massive 2.30 home runs allowed per nine innings. Bido has a little under 200 career big league innings between the A’s and Pirates. He owns a 5.07 ERA with a 20.9% strikeout rate.

The Rays traded Shane Baz this afternoon. They have a top three in the rotation of Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot and Shane McClanahan. They signed Steven Matz with an eye towards building him back as a starter. Ian Seymour and Joe Boyle would compete for the fifth starter role as things stand, though it’s possible they reinvest some of the money they cleared in the Baz and Brandon Lowe trades into another free agent pickup in the Matz mold.

Bido isn’t likely to win a rotation spot out of camp. He could have an uphill battle to securing a long relief role either, as the Rays have the out-of-options Yoendrys Gómez lined up for multi-inning work. Bido himself is out of options, so the Rays would either need to carry him on the MLB roster or send hm back into DFA limbo.

Orioles Designate Josh Walker For Assignment

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve designated lefty Josh Walker for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to newly acquired right-hander Shane Baz, whose previously reported acquisition from the division-rival Rays is now official.

It’s the third DFA this offseason for Walker. Baltimore claimed him back in August and signed him to a major league contract in November. The club tried to get him through waivers on the guaranteed deal, but Atlanta claimed him anyway. The Braves then designated him for assignment in early December, and the Orioles snapped him up.

Walker has pitched in parts of three big-league seasons with the Mets and Blue Jays. He has a 6.59 ERA across 27 1/3 innings. The lefty has a decent 24.2% strikeout rate as a big leaguer, but it comes with a double-digit walk rate.

The 31-year-old Walker has shown some promise in the upper levels of the minors, particularly in the strikeout department. He struck out 33.3% of Triple-A hitters in 2023 while in the Mets’ system, then maintained a mark above 30% between two organizations in 2024. A 31.4% strikeout rate with Buffalo helped Walker earn a spot in Toronto’s bullpen this past season, and he picked up eight punchouts over five innings with the Blue Jays.

Baltimore has made a pair of notable additions to the bullpen this offseason, trading for Andrew Kittredge and signing Ryan Helsley. The club also worked out a new deal with Dietrich Enns. As things currently stand, Enns and Keegan Akin will serve as the primary lefties in the bullpen. Left-hander Grant Wolfram is also on the 40-man roster.

Cardinals Outright Matt Koperniak

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December 19th: The Cards announced that Koperniak has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Memphis.

December 17th: The Cardinals announced that outfielder Matt Koperniak has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for right-hander Dustin May, whose signing is now official.

Koperniak, 28 in February, has been with the Cards since signing with them as an undrafted free agent in 2020. From 2021 to 2023, he produced pretty solid results as he climbed the minor league ladder. Across those three seasons, he stepped to the plate 1,399 times. His 10.1% walk rate and 16.1% strikeout rate were both solid figures. He produced a combined line of .293/.375/.441, which translated to a wRC of 112, indicating he was 12% better than league average at the plate.

He seemed to find a new gear in 2024, his first full season at Triple-A. He hit 20 homers and slashed .309/.370/.512 for a 128 wRC+. That may have been a bit fluky, as he got some help from a .351 batting average on balls in play, but the Cards seemed to believe in him. They added him to the 40-man roster in November of that year to keep Koperniak out of the Rule 5 draft.

He spent 2025 back at Triple-A on optional assignment and his results backed up. His home run tally dropped to 14, despite taking 23 extra plate appearances. His BABIP dropped to a more average-ish .283. He finished the season with a .246/.317/.382 line and 85 wRC+.

The Cards are rebuilding and will be giving playing time to younger players in 2026 but Koperniak wouldn’t have been at the front of the line after that performance. He’s instead been bumped off the roster and into DFA limbo. The Cards will now see if there’s any trade interest in him. If not, he’ll be put on waivers. He does still have a couple of options remaining and is considered a strong defensive outfielder, with experience at all three spots. If some club out there likes him, they could acquire him and keep in Triple-A as depth as they hope for a bounceback at the plate.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Phillies Acquire Kyle Backhus

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The Phillies announced that they have acquired left-hander Kyle Backhus from the Diamondbacks. Minor league outfielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu goes in the other direction. The move opens a 40-man spot for Arizona, which should allow them to make their agreement with Merrill Kelly official. Philly’s 40-man count goes from 37 to 38.

Backhus debuted for the Diamondbacks this past season. The 27-year-old scuffled to a 4.62 ERA across 32 appearances. Arizona’s ever-changing mix of late-inning options allowed Backhus to factor into high-leverage situations, and he recorded a pair of saves and 10 holds. He notched a one-out save in his final appearance with the big-league club, coaxing a flyout with the bases loaded to finish off a 6-4 victory in mid-September. He was sent back to Triple-A Reno shortly after.

Arizona added Backhus as an undrafted free agent in 2021. After posting middling results in a half-season of professional ball, he began to gain traction as a backend reliever. Backhus posted a hefty 34.5% strikeout rate between High-A and Double-A in 2022, earning three saves at each level. He locked down 10 more saves at Double-A the following season, leading to a promotion to Triple-A. Injuries limited Backhus to 35 2/3 innings in 2024. He received an invite to Spring Training this year, and while he didn’t break camp with the club, a strong couple of months at Reno saw Backhus get the call to Arizona.

Backhus is a sinkerballer who doesn’t light up the radar gun, but comes from a unique slot. Statcast had his arm angle at nine degrees, which was among the lowest in the league. Backhus also ranked in the 96th percentile for extension. Interestingly, the low arm slot and sinker-heavy approach didn’t lead to many ground balls. Backhus had a below-average 37.8% ground ball rate. He did a decent job limiting hard hits, but gave up an elevated amount of contact in the air to the pull side.

The Backhus addition comes on the heels of a trade that sent fellow lefty Matt Strahm to Kansas City. Strahm led the Phillies with 22 holds in 2025. Jose Alvarado will likely step into the lefty setup role vacated by Strahm, with Tanner Banks on hand as a lower-leverage southpaw option. Backhus will serve as a depth option who could step in if injuries or poor performance afflict Philly’s bullpen.

Philadelphia took Owusu-Asiedu in the ninth round of the 2023 draft. He delivered nine home runs and 17 stolen bases at Single-A in 2024, but it came with a .192 batting average and a 36.1% strikeout rate. Owusu-Asiedu was able to trim his strikeout rate to 24% between Single-A and High-A this past season. He also racked up 33 steals in 107 games.

The 22-year-old Owusu-Asiedu has experience at all three outfield positions. He made at least six starts in left field, center field, right field, and DH with High-A Hillsboro.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Hey everyone, hope you've had a good week!
  • Will need to keep this one right around an hour because Steve's not feeling well and this afternoon has been crazy. Let's get rolling

Bucs fan

  • Please evaluate the trade from the Pirates perspective

Ben Cherrington

  • WAIT!  WAS THAT REALLY ME?

Anthony Franco

  • Might as well start with thoughts on the trades since they're top of mind
  • I really like the three-team deal for everyone involved. Probably most favorable for it on Pittsburgh's end though. Lowe's a massive offensive upgrade and I'm still very much in on Montgomery even though this year was a disappointment
  • There's probably only a 20% chance that Montgomery throws enough strikes to click to his full potential, but if he does, it's top 10 reliever in MLB type stuff. As a developmental second piece, absolutely in on that
  • Mangum's a fine extra outfielder. Never really been in on him as a prospect but he's already carved out a better pro career than I assumed he'd have based on the limited physical tools
  • I like Burrows quite a bit but they needed to trade a starter for offense and he was always the one who offered the best blend of real trade value without the huge ceiling of Ashcraft, Jones, Chandler etc.
  • The Astros needed a cheap mid-rotation arm and got it without giving up Meyers or Cam Smith. I'm lowest on it from the Rays perspective relatively speaking, but they'll be able to get an immediate look at Melton and must love Brito, since he reportedly came up when they were kicking around Baz with Houston. I think it works for all involved

MattStats5

  • Orioles need arms, and Baz is a solid pick up. Seems like an overpay to me, though. Your thoughts?

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah, this one I just prefer from Tampa Bay's end. I get the appeal with three years of control over Baz but the inconsistency, middling command, and injury history give me enough pause that I would not have gone as far as Baltimore did
  • Baltimore needed a starter who has upper mid-rotation ceiling and Baz provides that. I don't know what the ask would have been with Miami on Cabrera or if Gore was feasible given the organizational history, but I'd rather have either of those pitchers than Baz

Mariners

  • Do you think this happened because Pittsburgh was told they were out on either Marte or Donovan?

Anthony Franco

  • They could still make either of those guys work by using Lowe at DH or kicking Donovan around the diamond, but I never felt like Pittsburgh was the top landing spot for either one
  • You've got the intra-division complications with STL. I still remain skeptical that the D-Backs are trading Marte despite all the smoke and even if they do, that's a pretty big contract by Pirates standards to take on while giving up a ton of young pitching talent

Philly A's

  • The Phillies trading Strahm is confusing, $7.5m isnt really that much of a salary dump.

Anthony Franco

  • Agreed. Felt like they were determined to trade one of the lefty reliever (ideally him) for reasons that were never entirely clear to me
  • The velocity has trended down so maybe they just think he's cooked, but like you mentioned, the $7.5M salary is fine. Bowlan was pretty good this year and maybe they build him back into a swing role?

Al

  • How likely is it that Jordan Walker will be traded?

Anthony Franco

  • I don't see the point of doing it this winter, value is way down. I'd give him one more shot

Bob T.

  • It appears that the Angels are following the same script as the last ten plus years. They are still in the same boat as before the Winter Meetings. They still need a CF, 2B, 3B another starter or more and a closer.
    will Arte loosen the purse strings or is this the team he intends to field. I can see 100 losses this season. Thoughts?

Anthony Franco

  • They've got enough payroll space even relative to last season that I think they'll at least come away with a third baseman and another leverage reliever
  • That's still not enough but I'll say that within those restrictions, I'm a little more bullish on the Rodriguez, Manoah and Grissom dice rolls than I have been on their buy-low candidates of the previous few years

Bill

  • All of the Braves projected needs seem  to have been addressed except for a starter, whom do you think is likely in the remaining group?

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Padres Re-Sign Michael King

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December 19th: The Padres officially announced their deal with King today.

December 18th: The Padres have an agreement to re-sign Michael King to a three-year contract with opt-outs after the first two seasons. The Excel Sports Management client is reportedly guaranteed $75MM.

He’ll receive a $12MM signing bonus and a $5MM salary for the 2026 season. He’d collect a $5MM buyout if he opts out of the remaining two years and $53MM. King would make $28MM in 2027 if he opts in and would then have a $30MM player option for the ’28 campaign. While the Padres have yet to announce the deal, he has reportedly already passed his physical.

It’s a surprise strike for a San Diego team that had seemed likely to lose King and Dylan Cease in free agency. It wasn’t clear whether they’d have the short-term spending capacity to keep either pitcher. While they were never expected to come close to the $210MM guarantee which Cease received, they’ll bring King back on a short-term deal to help a rotation that was their top priority.

The 2026 season will be the righty’s third in San Diego. The Padres acquired King as the centerpiece of their Juan Soto return over the 2023-24 offseason. He had run with a limited rotation opportunity late in his final season as a Yankee after years of strong work out of the bullpen. San Diego committed to him as a full-time starter and was rewarded with a career season.

King pitched to a 2.95 earned run average with 201 strikeouts over 173 2/3 innings. He finished seventh in NL Cy Young balloting and entered his walk year as a candidate for a nine-figure contract. He looked on his way to a $150MM+ deal after getting out to an even better beginning to the ’25 campaign. He turned in a 2.59 ERA while striking out 28.4% of batters faced over his first 10 starts.

The Padres scratched King from his outing on May 24 with stiffness in his throwing shoulder. Then-manager Mike Shildt initially framed it as a minor issue that arose when the pitcher slept awkwardly. It proved a much bigger problem. King went on the injured list with what the team called inflammation. They subsequently determined it was a nerve injury that came with a nebulous timeline. He wound up missing almost three months.

King made his return on August 9. He made one start before going back down with left knee inflammation. That cost him another month, and he wasn’t as effective when he made it back for good in September. King didn’t get beyond five innings in any of his final four starts. He gave up 10 runs over 15 2/3 innings. Most of the damage came in an eight-run drubbing at the hands of the Mets on September 16. King’s final two appearances were scoreless, but those came with an uninspiring 7:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Padres didn’t fully trust King going into October. They opted for Nick Pivetta, Cease, and Yu Darvish to start in their Wild Card Series loss to the Cubs. King’s only playoff action was one scoreless inning of relief in the decisive Game 3. He struck out three of four batters while averaging 95.6 MPH on his fastball. That was his highest single game velocity of the season. That’s to be expected during a one-inning appearance with the heightened adrenaline of a must-win game, but it was an encouraging sign for the health of his shoulder.

San Diego issued the $22.025MM qualifying offer. It was an easy call for King to decline in search of a multi-year deal. This arrangement functions as a bit of a pillow contract but with a much higher floor than the one-year QO would have provided. King would make $22MM if he opts out after one year. That result would be the same as if he’d accepted the qualifying offer.  The extra two guaranteed seasons afford him a lot more injury protection.

King’s guarantee technically falls just shy of MLBTR’s four-year, $80MM prediction. However, the higher average annual value and the opt-outs make this a stronger overall deal for the player. He’ll have a chance to return to free agency in advance of his age-32 season and cannot be tagged with another qualifying offer. A healthier season could position him for a four- or five-year contract.

Health is no small caveat. The ’24 campaign is the only time King has reached even 105 innings in a season. While that’s in part because the Yankees used him as a reliever, King missed extended stretches in 2021 (finger contusion) and ’22 (elbow fracture) in addition this year’s shoulder woes. The Padres are taking on some injury risk but get the upside of a potential top-of-the-rotation arm on a short-term deal.

King and Pivetta project as their top two starters. San Diego has reportedly discussed the latter in trade conversations but would need a huge return to move him. Joe Musgrove is back from Tommy John surgery and slots into the #3 rotation spot. They’ll be without Darvish for the entire season, so the final two starting jobs are up for grabs. Randy Vásquez and JP Sears lead the internal options, but the Padres could look for a cheaper back-end/swing type later in the winter. They’ll surely kick the tires on controllable arms in trade, as well, as both Pivetta and King can opt out.

San Diego’s projected payroll climbs to $218MM, as calculated by RosterResource. The backloaded nature doesn’t change the $25MM AAV used for luxury tax purposes. They’re up to a projected $259MM in tax commitments. They’ll exceed the $244MM base threshold for the second straight season. Repeat payors are taxed at a 30% rate for their first $20MM in overages. Re-signing King costs around $4.5MM in taxes.

The more significant development is that it moves them closer to the $264MM second tier, at which the rate climbs to 42%. The Padres had nearly $280MM in luxury tax commitments this year, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Their actual salary obligations were around $209MM, though, so it’s unclear how much more flexibility the front office has at its disposal. In addition to the need for a back-end starter, they should acquire another bat to plug in at first base or designated hitter and could use a better utility infielder than Will Wagner and Mason McCoy.

King’s deal is the second-largest of the offseason in what has been a slowly developing market for free agent starting pitchers. Cease is the only other starter who has signed for more than $40MM so far. The rotation market should pick up in the next few weeks. NPB star Tatsuya Imai needs to sign before his 45-day posting window closes on January 2. Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen join Imai as the top unsigned arms.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was first on the agreement, contract terms, and the note that the physical is already complete. Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images.

Giants Sign Adrian Houser

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December 19th: The Giants have officially announced the Houser signing but haven’t yet announced a corresponding move.

December 16th: The Giants and righty Adrian Houser are in agreement on a two-year, $22MM contract, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. There’s a club option for a third season. Houser, a client of the BBI Sports Group, will presumably step right into San Francisco’s rotation next season after a rebound showing in 2025. The Giants, who also announced a one-year deal with former Tigers closer Jason Foley less than an hour ago, will need to free up a pair of 40-man roster spots, as they were already at capacity prior to either of those two agreements.

Houser, who’ll turn 33 in February, was a steady presence in the Milwaukee rotation for several years. From 2021-23, Houser started 68 games for the Brewers (in addition to five relief outings) and logged a 3.94 ERA. His 17.6% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate were both worse than average, but Houser piled up grounders at a 51.3% rate and managed to consistently avoid the long ball (0.83 HR/9).

The Brewers traded Houser to the Mets in the 2023-24 offseason, ahead of what was set to be his final season of club control. He struggled through his lone year in Queens (5.84 ERA in seven starts and 16 relief outings) before being designated for assignment and cut loose. He wound up settling for a minor league contract with the Rangers in free agency last winter. Texas didn’t bring him up to the big leagues prior to an opt-out date, so Houser returned to the market and signed a big league deal with the White Sox — a decision that now stands as a turning point in his career.

Houser hit the ground running and never looked back. In 11 starts with the ChiSox, he pitched 68 2/3 innings of 2.10 ERA ball. As was the case in Milwaukee, Houser posted a strikeout rate well shy of the 22% league average (17.1%), but he did so with better command (8% walk rate) and even fewer round-trippers (0.39 HR/9). Houser’s home run suppression didn’t seem sustainable; only 4.6% of the fly-balls he surrendered with the Sox turned into homers — miles south of the league-average 11.9% mark and his own career mark of 11.5%.

Following a trade to Tampa Bay, Houser indeed saw his home run luck run out. His homer-to-flyball rate jumped to 11.9%, and he averaged 1.12 homers per nine frames. The resulting 4.79 ERA was pretty closely in line with his 4.62 SIERA with Chicago. Still, Houser proved a durable source of innings down the stretch for the Rays, pitching 56 1/3 frames across 10 starts. Overall, he finished out the season with a 3.31 ERA, 17.8% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate, 48.9% ground-ball rate and 0.73 HR/9.

Houser will slot into new skipper Tony Vitello’s rotation behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp. The Giants have a host of candidates for the fifth and final spot on the staff, including (but not limited to) Blade Tidwell, Carson Seymour, Kai-Wei Teng, Trevor McDonald, Hayden Birdsong and well-regarded prospect Carson Whisenhunt.

The Giants have been on the hunt for rotation help this winter, and while they’ve been connected to some of the more prominent names on the market, ownership has publicly expressed a reluctance to commit long-term to a starting pitcher. That’s made fits with pitchers like Tatsuya Imai, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez seem unlikely, though it’s at least plausible that the Giants could look to further augment their starting staff via the trade market or another shorter-term deal such as today’s Houser agreement.

Given Houser’s inconsistent track record, lack of missed bats and generally unsustainable level of home run suppression with the White Sox, it’s a fairly steep price for the Giants to pay. Then again, San Francisco’s Oracle Park is one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in the sport. Oracle Park is particularly tough on left-handed home run power, which dovetails nicely with Houser’s skill set. He held right-handers to an awful .249/.293/.320 batting line in 2025 (.234/.296/.339 career) but was tagged by lefties for a .274/.356/.456 batting line last season (and .282/.367/.456 for his career).

The addition of Houser pushes San Francisco to about $203MM of luxury tax obligations, per RosterResource. The Giants are more than $40MM shy of the $244MM first-tier threshold. However, while they’ve paid the tax in the past — doing so as recently as 2024 — it’s not clear whether they’re comfortable doing so in 2026. Ownership comments downplaying the possibility of adding additional long-term deals would suggest at least some trepidation about spending to those heights.

The Giants are still looking for help in the outfield, at second base and/or in the bullpen. While the top-end free agents to whom they were loosely linked earlier in free agency (e.g. Imai, Valdez) don’t seem like realistic targets, barring an about-face from ownership on the team’s stance regarding long-term commitments, there are still various avenues to pursue. Free agency offers no shortage of veteran hitters and relievers available on short-term deals, and San Francisco is reportedly among the teams most aggressively pursuing Cardinals infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey presumably has several more moves up his sleeve, and while the addition of Houser doesn’t necessarily raise the team’s ceiling much, it does boost the floor of a rotation that was pretty rife with question marks beyond the veteran Webb/Ray tandem up top.

Orioles Interested In JoJo Romero

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The Orioles have shown interest in Cardinals left-hander JoJo Romero, reports Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The O’s join the Yankees and Mariners as club connected to Romero this month.

Romero, 29, is one of the most straightforward trade candidates of the offseason. He is slated for free agency after the upcoming campaign. With the Cardinals rebuilding, there’s little sense in hanging onto him. They could wait to trade him at the deadline but that path carries risks, as the Cards know. They held onto Erick Fedde and Ryan Helsley going into 2025 and saw both pitchers decrease their respective trade values with poor performances. Even if Romero keeps performing, any pitcher can get hurt at any time, which is another reason to cash him in now.

Since being acquired from the Phillies in 2022, Romero has tossed 171 innings for the Cards, allowing exactly three earned runs per nine. His 23.4% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate in that time are both pretty close to typical league averages but his 53.7% ground ball rate is quite strong. He averages around 94 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker while also mixing in a slider, cutter, curveball and changeup. He has recorded 12 saves and 64 holds.

Romero isn’t an overpowering bullpen arm by today’s standards but his results have been consistently solid. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $4.4MM salary next year, very affordable in the current landscape.

The Baltimore bullpen has changed a lot in the past six months. They fell out of contention this year and went into seller mode at the deadline. They flipped Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez and Andrew Kittredge to other clubs. In August, Félix Bautista required shoulder surgery, a procedure with an estimated recovery time of 12 months. This offseason, they have re-acquired Kittredge from the Cubs and signed Helsley.

They currently have four lefty relievers on the 40-man roster, in Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns, Grant Wolfram and Josh Walker. Akin has had some solid years with the Orioles but had an uncharacteristic 12.3% walk rate this year. Enns is about to turn 35 and worked as a swingman in 2025 after a few years pitching in Asia. Wolfram and Walker each have fewer than 30 big league innings pitched. Romero would immediately jump to the top of that group if the O’s were able to acquire him.

The lefty relief market has been surging a bit lately. In the past two weeks, Soto, Hoby Milner, Tyler Alexander, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Ferguson and Caleb Thielbar have signed free agent deals. On the trade market, Jose A. Ferrer, Ángel Zerpa and Matt Strahm have been flipped. Free agency still features guys like Sean Newcomb, Justin Wilson, Danny Coulombe, Andrew Chafin, Brent Suter and others. There are many theoretical trade candidates but Romero is the most obvious one.

Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images

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