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Padres To Sign Sung-Mun Song

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The Padres are in agreement with infielder Sung Mun Song on a contract, according to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided. According to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, it’s a three-year deal that guarantees Song around $13MM.

Song, 29, has broken out in a big way over his last two seasons playing for the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. After typically being a slightly below average hitter by that league’s standards in the early years of his career, Song exploded with a .340/.408/.518 (143 wRC+) slash line across 602 plate appearances during the 2024 season. He flashed 20/20 potential at the plate and walked at a career-high 10.6% clip while primarily playing third base for the Heroes. He followed up on that season with an even better year in 2025, as he slashed .315/.387/.530 (151 wRC+) with 26 homers, 25 steals, and 37 doubles in 646 trips to the plate.

Those dominant back-to-back campaigns in the KBO league were enough to convince Song to try his hand in the majors, and the Heroes made Song’s goal a reality when they posted him for MLB clubs last month. That opened a 30-day window (set to close on the 21st of December) for Song to negotiate with MLB clubs. Song has typically been viewed by scouts as a step below MLB Gold Glove winner Ha-Seong Kim, the best South Korean player to make the jump to the majors in recent years, and there’s been some debate about whether he’s more of a utility player or a proper starter at the big league level.

Song’s reported price tag is certainly affordable enough for the Padres to stomach in the event he’s more of a bench piece than a regular. A multi-year pact that pays Song less than $5MM annually figures to be quite affordable for San Diego; Jose Iglesias earned $3MM last year after being added to San Diego’s roster on a minor league deal to fill out the club’s bench mix. Song figures to fill a similar role this year to the one Iglesias held last season, chipping in around the infield and serving as a pinch-hitter.

While Song has primarily played third base throughout his career in the KBO league, that position is manned by Manny Machado in San Diego. Perhaps the Padres will look to get Machado occasional DH reps headed into his age-33 campaign, but aside from those occasional fill-in days Song figures to spend most of his time at first and second base, both of which are positions he logged significant time at in South Korea. Jake Cronenworth is currently slated to serve as San Diego’s second baseman next year, though his name has popped up in trade talks this winter. First base meanwhile, is unsettled after the departure of Luis Arraez. Gavin Sheets has some experience at the position but may be better suited for DH duties. As a result, first base could be Song’s best shot at regular reps, though it’s possible a trade of Cronenworth or the addition of a more traditional first base option like Paul Goldschmidt or Rhys Hoskins changes things.

The signing of Song comes just one day after the club agreed to reunite with right-hander Michael King on a three-year, opt-out laden contract. According to RosterResource, the Padres project for a payroll just under $217MM in 2026, with a payroll of nearly $258MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s before the addition of Song to the payroll, which at the currently reported numbers would push the team’s payroll up to around $221MM and around $262MM for luxury tax purposes. That would put them just barely below the second, $264MM luxury tax threshold for 2026.

If the Padres don’t want to go over that line, they would need to subtract salary from the roster to make virtually any more additions to the roster. That’s far from impossible, as rumors have percolated around not only Cronenworth but also players like right-hander Nick Pivetta and Ramon Laureano. A trade of Pivetta would save $20.5MM in 2026 and $13.75MM for luxury tax purposes. Cronenworth being dealt would save roughly $12.3MM in 2026 and $11.5MM for luxury tax purposes. Laureano wouldn’t save nearly as much money, as he’s due just $6.5MM next season on the final year of his contract.

Of course, it’s also possible the Padres simply stand pat from here, though doing so without adding another bat to the first base/DH mix would certainly be risky. Perhaps an addition on the trade market that comes with a lower financial cost could make some sense if San Diego neither wants to exceed the second luxury tax threshold nor trade salary to make room in the budget. Players like Triston Casas of the Red Sox and Mark Vientos of the Mets could potentially be available this winter and remain under affordable team control.

White Sox Expected To Hire Carlos Rodriguez As Assistant GM

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The White Sox are finalizing an agreement with Carlos Rodriguez to become an assistant general manager, reports James Fegan of Sox Machine. The team has yet to officially announce the news.

Rodriguez will join the Chicago organization after a 15-year run with the Rays. He had come up through  Tampa Bay’s international scouting ranks and eventually took the reins in that department. Rodriguez earned the AGM title over the 2021-22 offseason and had taken on a broader front office role over the past few years.

He stepped down at the end of the ’25 campaign to pursue other opportunities. The Rays promoted vice president of baseball process/strategy Hamilton Marx to fill the assistant GM vacancy. Marx will assume many of the international scouting responsibilities that Rodriguez had previously handled.

Fegan writes that Rodriguez is expected to have wide-ranging responsibilities. He’ll no doubt play a role in international operations but will also factor into the team’s decision-making on the MLB side. He’ll join Josh Barfield and Jin Wong as assistant general managers under front office leader Chris Getz.

Mets Re-Sign Kevin Herget To Minor League Deal

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The Mets are in agreement with reliever Kevin Herget on a minor league contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Paragon Sports International client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Herget returns to the organization after electing minor league free agency at the start of the offseason. The New Jersey native was on and off the roster a few times throughout the season. Herget pitched in six games as a Met and made one appearance for the Braves. He tossed 12 innings of five-run ball (four earned) with six strikeouts and three walks. The 34-year-old righty has worked 55 2/3 frames of 4.20 ERA ball over parts of four seasons.

A former 39th-round draftee, Herget has spent eight seasons in Triple-A. He turned in a 3.09 earned run average across 46 2/3 innings there between the New York and Atlanta affiliates in 2025. He struck out an above-average 26.1% of opponents with a sub-6% walk rate. He’s a sensible depth pickup who can compete for a long relief role in camp.

Herget has exhausted his minor league option years. If the Mets call him up at any point, they’d need to keep him on the MLB roster or designate him for assignment.

Pirates Finalize Coaching Staff

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The Pirates officially announced their coaching staff this morning. Most of the hirings had been previously reported, but the Bucs announced a few new additions. Most notable is the hiring of Thomas Whitsett as an assistant pitching coach under Bill Murphy.

Whitsett has ties to Murphy from the Houston organization. He had coached in the Astros system as a pitching coordinator and was most recently their Triple-A pitching coach in 2024. Whitsett had come through the college ranks after working at the University of Arizona. This is his first job on a big league staff.

Murphy and Whitsett are two of five new hires as Don Kelly enters his first full season as manager. The additions of bench coach Kristopher Negrón and third base coach Tony Beasley were reported last month. Pittsburgh also promoted Triple-A manager Shawn Bowman to the title of MLB field coordinator.

Chris Truby gets the title of infield coach after working with the generic title of major league coach for most of the 2025 season. Matt Hague (hitting coach), Christian Marrera and Jonny Tucker (assistant hitting coaches), Tarrik Brock (first base coach) and Miguel Perez (bullpen coach) are all back in their previous roles.

John Means Suffers Achilles Rupture

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Free agent left-hander John Means suffered an Achilles rupture while working out this week, he announced on social media. He underwent successful surgery yesterday. Means didn’t specify a recovery timeline but seems likely to miss the entire 2026 season.

It’s another devastating injury for a former All-Star whose career has been sidetracked by health issues. Means has made a total of 10 MLB appearances since the end of the 2021 season. He required Tommy John surgery early in ’22 and was sidelined until the following September. Means made it back for four regular season starts but missed the postseason because of renewed elbow soreness. That was an unfortunate precursor to a second elbow surgery, which he underwent after four starts in 2024.

Means has not appeared in the big leagues since then. He signed a $1MM contract with the Guardians last offseason. That came with a $6MM club option that gave Cleveland some upside if Means progressed well late in the season. He did make it onto the mound as part of a minor league rehab assignment but showed some understandable rust. Cleveland passed on the option and sent him back to free agency.

Making matters worse, Means said in his announcement that he was closing in on a contract with an unnamed team. That’s not going to go through now, though it’s possible his camp could look for a two-year minor league deal with an eye towards battling for a roster spot in Spring Training 2027. He’ll be approaching his 34th birthday by then and six years removed from his last mostly healthy season — a ’21 campaign in which he pitched to a 3.62 ERA across 26 starts for the Orioles.

Blue Jays To Sign Jorge Alcala To Minor League Deal

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The Blue Jays and right-hander Jorge Alcala have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH. The Nova Sports Agency client will also receive an invite to big league camp in spring training.

The Jays and Alcala will be looking for a bounceback. He has had some major league success but 2025 was a poor season for him. He bounced from the Twins to the Red Sox and Cardinals this year, tossing 55 innings between those three clubs, allowing 6.22 earned runs per nine. His 23.7% strikeout rate was decent but he walked 11.7% of batters faced and allowed 13 home runs.

The Cards could have retained him for 2026 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting Alcala for a $2.1MM salary next year. Unsurprisingly, his poor campaign prompted them to move on. He was non-tendered and became a free agent, which allowed the Jays to get him on this deal.

Looking further into the past, there are more reasons for optimism. Over 2020 and 2021, he tossed 83 2/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.55 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. He averaged over 97 miles per hour on his four-seamer. He recorded one save and 11 holds for the Twins.

The next two seasons were mostly washed out. Alcala spent significant time on the injured list due to various arm issues in 2022 and 2023. He only tossed 19 2/3 big league innings over those two years combined. He bounced back in 2024 by pitching 58 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.24 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate. His four-seamer averaged 98 mph as he recorded another 15 holds.

The Jays have made a few moves to add to their bullpen this offseason. They signed Tyler Rogers, acquired Chase Lee from the Tigers and selected Spencer Miles from the Giants in the Rule 5 draft. Alcala gives them a bit of extra depth without taking up a roster spot.

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

Padres To Sign Triston McKenzie To Minor League Deal

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The Padres and right-hander Triston McKenzie have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The Octagon client will receive an invite to big league camp in spring training.

McKenzie, 28, joins a new organization for the first time. He had spent his entire career with the Guardians until he became a free agent at the end of the most recent season. With Cleveland, he once looked like a budding ace. In 2022, he tossed 191 1/3 innings with a 2.96 earned run average. He struck out 25.6% of batters faced and only gave out walks at a 5.9% clip.

But he’s unfortunately been on a downward trajectory since then. In March of 2023, he was shut down due to a teres major strain. He returned a few months later but then was diagnosed with a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. He avoided surgery but hasn’t been able to get back to that 2022 form.

After missing most of 2023, he was back on the hill in 2024, but he averaged just 91.1 miles per hour on his fastball. That was a notable drop from the 92.5 he averaged two years prior. He posted a 5.11 ERA over 16 starts and spent the final few months of the season on optional assignment, posting a 5.23 ERA at the Triple-A level.

He came into 2025 out of options but the Guards didn’t want to give up on him. He and the club avoided arbitration in November of 2024 with a $1.95MM deal for 2025, a very slight bump over the $1.6MM he made in 2024. He held a bullpen spot to open this year but allowed seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment. The other 29 clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers.

After he was off the roster, the Guards sent him to the Complex League, presumably to try to unlock something that would get him back on track. He was sent to Triple-A Columbus in August. He tossed seven innings over eight relief appearances there, allowing six earned runs. He did strike out 11 opponents but also walked 17, hit one batter and threw five wild pitches.

For the Padres, there’s little harm in a minor league deal. They can’t bank on him providing anything of value but there’s nothing but upside on this kind of arrangement. He will presumably be making a very modest salary if he even makes the roster at some point. If things go especially well and he’s holding a roster spot at season’s end, he could be retained via arbitration for 2027 as well.

It’s unclear what role the Padres have in mind for McKenzie. He was mostly a starter until 2025. He was in relief this year but that may have been more due to circumstances, since he was out of options at the beginning of the year and then spent the summer just trying to find some kind of path out of his spiral.

The Padres have an excellent bullpen, even after losing Robert Suarez. They have bigger needs on the rotation side. Over a long season, injuries will pop up and fresh arms will be needed in both groups. Given how things have gone for McKenzie lately, he and the Padres would surely be happy with any kind of success, regardless of whether it’s out of the rotation or the bullpen.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Phillies Sign Brad Keller

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December 18th: The Phils have officially announced their signing of Keller. According to The Associated Press, he receives a $4MM signing bonus and a $7MM salary for 2026, followed by an $11MM salary in ’27.

December 17th: The Phillies and right-handed reliever Brad Keller are in agreement on a two-year, $22MM contract, reports ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The deal is pending a physical. Fansided’s Robert Murray first reported that the two parties were nearing an agreement. Keller, who is represented by Excel Sports Management, received some interest as a starter but will be used as a reliever in Philadelphia, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Keller, 30, was a solid starter with the Royals early in his career after being picked up from the D-backs in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. After a nice run of three seasons, his numbers took a sharp decline, due largely to the complete erosion of his command.

Keller walked a staggering 45 batters in 45 1/3 innings in 2023 and was subsequently diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. He underwent surgery to alleviate the issue. A comeback effort in 2024 didn’t pan out well, as he pitched to a 5.44 ERA in 41 1/3 frames between the Red Sox and White Sox, but Keller completely remade himself as a high-end bullpen weapon with the Cubs in 2025 after signing a minor league contract.

In 69 2/3 innings this past season, Keller was dominant. His 2.07 ERA tied him for 13th-best among 147 qualified relievers. The 6’5″, 255-pound righty set down 27.2% of his opponents on strikes and notched a sharp 8% walk rate. Keller had sat 92-94 mph as a starter and even in bullpen work with the White Sox and Red Sox in ’24, but his sinker averaged a career-best 96.7 mph in 2025 and his four-seamer clocked in even higher at 97.2 mph. His 56.1% ground-ball rate was a career-best mark, and opponents had an extremely rough time squaring up any of his pitches. His 86.7 mph average exit velocity and 30.6% hard-hit rate were far and away the lowest marks of his career.

There are at least some modest red flags with regard to Keller. His 10.8% swinging-strike is actually below the league average and doesn’t support his well above-average strikeout rate. The quality of his stuff clearly improved, just as the quality of his opponents’ contact deteriorated, but it’s still unlikely that he’ll sustain a .243 average on balls in play over the course of a full season. However, even with some regression in terms of BABIP and strikeout rate, Keller still looks the part of a quality bullpen arm who’ll support an improved late-inning relief contingent for the next two seasons.

Keller should operate as a setup man to deadline acquisition Jhoan Duran, who came over from Minnesota in exchange for top prospects Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel. He’ll join righty Orion Kerkering and southpaws Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks in what should be a formidable setup corps for manager Rob Thomson. There’s still room for the Phils to add another reliever if a deal to their liking presents itself, but they’re six-deep in largely established relief arms with Keller now in the fold.

The $11MM annual value of the contract pushes the Phillies from the third tier of luxury tax penalization to the fourth and final bracket, per RosterResource’s projections. They were already paying a 95% tax on subsequent additions and were about $7MM from the top tier. Keller places them about $4MM over that line. They’ll pay about $22MM for him this season (assuming an even $11MM per year distribution) rather than that $11MM surface value. Any subsequent additions to the payroll at this point will be taxed at the maximum 110% rate.

The Phillies have done a fair bit of offseason work already. They added outfielder Adolis Garcia on a one-year contract just yesterday and, prior to that, re-signed slugger Kyle Schwarber on a huge five-year, $150MM contract. The Phils could still poke around the bullpen market or look for a complementary right-handed bat to pair with Brandon Marsh in left field. Rotation depth could be an issue as well, depending on Zack Wheeler’s recovery from his own thoracic outlet procedure, so some modest depth adds could be on the horizon. The most notable issue for the club, however, is at catcher, where they’re still hoping to retain longtime backstop J.T. Realmuto. That’ll be top of mind until Realmuto signs, be it in Philadelphia or elsewhere.

Phillies Notes: Outfield, Castellanos, Rotation

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Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke with the media this week and said that the club was mostly set with their outfield after the Adolis García signing. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the club is looking for a right-handed platoon bat to add into the mix.

That’s a sensible target, given the current setup. García should have right field spoken for with Brandon Marsh in left. The Phils want to give Justin Crawford a chance to take over the center field job. Both Marsh and Crawford are lefties. Marsh has notable career splits, with a .213/.278/.303 line and 61 wRC+ against southpaws in his career. Crawford actually fared slightly better against lefties in the minors this year but in a tiny sample of just 91 plate appearances against southpaws.

Having another righty bat who hits lefties well would make sense, particularly to platoon with Marsh. Crawford is more of a speed-and-defense guy anyway. He has hit well in the minors but with a high-contact, low-power approach that might be harder to pull off when facing better pitching and better defense in the majors. Time will tell how it plays but the Phils might be willing to live with whatever offense he can provide against lefties if he’s stealing bases and running the ball down on the grass.

Gelb mentions Rob Refsnyder as the kind of profile the Phillies are looking for, a righty bat who has mashed lefties in his career. He is one of many free agents to fit this profile, alongside guys like Miguel Andujar, Randal Grichuk, Austin Hays, Tommy Pham, Austin Slater and others. Old friend Harrison Bader would be a nice fit but he can probably get an everyday center field job elsewhere.

The Phils also have a potential solution already on the roster in Nick Castellanos. His offense has tailed off in recent years but he has largely stayed effective with the platoon advantage. He didn’t hit well against pitchers of either handedness in 2025 but still hit lefties as recently as 2024, when he had a .269/.324/.506 line and 124 wRC+ in the split.

Gelb reported back in October that the Phils would likely trade or release Castellanos. He re-asserted that position in this week’s column, linked above. It’s an interesting dynamic for the Phils as Castellanos is potentially the profile they are looking for but it seems they will look elsewhere. Perhaps that’s due to his defensive shortcomings or the fact that he hit just .243/.293/.387 against lefties in 2025 for an 87 WRC+.

It’s also theoretically possible that it’s due to off-the-field dynamics. Castellanos and manager Rob Thomson don’t seem to have the best relationship. Castellanos was benched in June for some kind of inappropriate comment made to the skipper, per ESPN. Castellanos also publicly criticized Thomson for his communication skills. With the apparent friction, perhaps things would get even worse if Castellanos were bumped into a part-time, short-side platoon role.

Whatever the reasoning, it seems the Phils are in a strange position. Castellanos is still owed $20MM next year. If they can’t find a trade partner, they could end up releasing him. It appears they will also look for a replacement, probably spending another $5MM or so on some new guy. The Phillies are a repeat tax payor and are over the top line, meaning that they pay a 110% tax on any additional spending. In the end, it’s possible they give Castellanos $20MM to go away, then spend a few million more on his replacement, plus taxes.

On the pitching side, Gelb reports that the Phils are looking for rotation depth but don’t appear to be looking for any guys on multi-year contracts. That makes some sense with what they have in place already, as they have a few questions but might have enough arms.

Zack Wheeler is recovering from surgery to address venous thoracic outlet syndrome. He is expected to begin the season on the injured list but could rejoin the rotation fairly early in the campaign. While he’s out, the Phils should start the season with a rotation consisting of Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and Andrew Painter.

There’s an argument for the club to sign another starter but things could theoretically get tight once Wheeler is back. If they did sign a big free agent, then there’s a scenario fairly early in the season where this free agent, Wheeler, Sánchez, Luzardo and Nola have the five rotation spots. That would bump Walker to long relief and Painter to Triple-A.

The Phils might actually want to have a path open for Painter in case 2026 is his breakout year. His 5.40 earned run average in Triple-A this year wasn’t pretty but that was mostly due to a home run spike, unusual for him. 17.6% of his fly balls allowed went over the fence, whereas he was at just 5.6% in 2022 before getting hurt. This year’s 23.7% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate were pretty close to average.

While Wheeler is out, the Phils can give Painter a chance to hold a rotation spot. By the time Wheeler gets back, the Phils can decide whether Painter needs more Triple-A time or if he’s ready to take off.

This all assumes everyone is healthy at the same time. Given the likelihood of injuries to the pitching staff, perhaps the Phils should bolster the group anyway. With Walker and Luzardo impending free agents, signing a multi-year deal now would also help the club in 2027.

However, the club’s 2026 payroll is already pretty close to where they were in 2025. According to RosterResource, they are within $14MM of where they finished the most recent season. If they re-sign J.T. Realmuto as hoped, they would end up making up most or all of that difference. In terms of CBT, as mentioned, they are already over the top line and facing a 110% on further spending. Rather than go after a big splash for the rotation, they will add some depth but will mostly be hoping that the guys they already have can step up.

Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images

Marlins Sign Christopher Morel

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December 18th: The Marlins have officially announced the Morel signing.

December 13th: Morel’s deal pays him $2MM, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports.

December 12th: The Marlins and infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel have agreed to a major league deal, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez. It’s a one-year deal, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, though Morel can be controlled beyond 2026 via arbitration. The salary for the ISE Baseball client hasn’t yet been publicly reported. Morel is expected to mostly play first base for the Fish, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Marlins have an open roster spot but this will fill the 40-man once it’s official.

Morel, 26, has occasionally thrust himself into the spotlight with his ability to put the ball over the fence. However, he also strikes out a lot and hasn’t been able to find a true defensive home. The end result has been a clearly talented player struggling to fully establish himself as a viable big league regular.

Coming up as a prospect, Morel played a lot of shortstop and third base, with some time in the outfield and at second base also mixed in. He debuted with the Cubs in 2022 and showed off his power by hitting 16 home runs in 425 plate appearances. However, he also struck out in 32.2% of those trips to the plate. In 2023, he added another 26 homers in just 429 plate appearances, an even better rate than the previous year. His strikeout rate dropped a bit but stayed quite high at 31%.

Defensively, the Cubs bounced him around the diamond but without him fully taking hold of any one spot. His glovework was graded as subpar at shortstop, third base and in the outfield. He was more passable at second but the Cubs didn’t have regular playing time there due to the presence of Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson up the middle.

At last year’s deadline, the Cubs acquired Isaac Paredes from the Rays, with Morel being one of three players going back to Tampa. The Cubs later flipped Paredes to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker deal. The Rays still have Ty Johnson and Hunter Bigge from that swap but the Morel pick-up did not work out for them.

From the time of the trade through the end of 2025, Morel took 495 plate appearances as a Ray. He was punched out in 165 of those, exactly one third, also known as 33.3%. He hit just 14 home runs and produced a .208/.277/.355 batting line. That translated to a 78 wRC+, indicating he was 22% worse than the league average hitter in that time. The Rays mostly kept him in left field, where he received poor grades for his defense.

Morel crossed three years of service time in 2025, qualifying him for arbitration for the first time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $2.6MM salary next year. The Rays decided to move on and non-tendered him, sending him to free agency.

It was reported back in October that the Marlins would be looking for a lineup upgrade this winter. The team had some positive developments in their position player group in 2025 but no one took hold of the first base position. Seven different players lined up at the position during the season but Eric Wagaman was the only one to get more than 100 plate appearances at a first baseman. He finished the year with a .250/.296/.378 line and 85 wRC+.

Upgrading at first base was a sensible goal for the offseason. No one expected them to make a run at Pete Alonso but there had been some rumblings that the club could be more aggressive in free agency than in years past. Going after someone like Ryan O’Hearn or Rhys Hoskins seemed within the realm of possibility.

Instead, they are taking a shot on Morel, who has no professional experience at the position. First base is generally considered the least-demanding position on the diamond, so perhaps Morel can be more viable there than at the other spots he has tried, but there’s still risk in going with an unproven option.

There’s also risk within the bat, as mentioned. Though Morel has power, he has yet to prove he can strike out at rate less than 30% for a meaningful stretch of time. It is possible to strike out that much and still be good. Guys like James Wood and Riley Greene did so in 2025. Morel himself had a combined 115 wRC+ with the Cubs in the 2022-23 seasons, but his production tailed off more recently.

It’s a fairly low-risk move for the Marlins. Salary figures haven’t been reported but he’s surely not being paid much above the league minimum. It was reported yesterday by Edwin Hernández Jr. that Morel was getting interest from clubs in Japan. It’s unclear if he gave serious consideration to going overseas but the calls coming from Asia are perhaps a sign that his MLB interest was muted.

Though the Fish aren’t going to break the bank with this move, it’s perhaps disappointing for any fans who may have dreamt bigger after a somewhat encouraging 2025 campaign. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that no significant payroll increase is likely forthcoming. He adds that the Marlins will be looking to add another bat this winter but most likely via the trade market.

Morel is probably not guaranteed anything in terms of playing time. If he doesn’t thrive with his chance in Miami, they could go back to Wagaman and also have guys like Connor Norby, Agustín Ramírez, Liam Hicks, Griffin Conine, Graham Pauley, Deyvison De Los Santos and others in the mix. If Morel doesn’t pan out, he is out of options. If it does work, he could theoretically be retained through 2028 via arbitration.

It’s a defensible enough signing in a vacuum but seems to be an omen of another frugal offseason for the Marlins, which has become a habit under president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. Two years ago, their biggest deal was $5MM for Tim Anderson. Last winter, it was $3.5MM for Cal Quantrill. This is their first free agent deal of the 2025-26 offseason. Time will tell if they have anything bigger in the works.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Katie Stratman, Imagn Images

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