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A’s, Joey Meneses Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics are in agreement with first baseman Joey Meneses on a minor league contract, reports Francys Romero. The deal includes an invite to MLB camp, according to Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The MAS+ client spent this past season in Triple-A in the Mets organization.

Meneses is coming off a .265/.322/.447 line with 11 homers at the top minor league level. He put the ball in play but didn’t walk much and posted average batted ball marks. That wasn’t going to be enough to force his way onto the MLB roster behind Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos. He’ll have a similarly uphill path to a big league job with the A’s. They have Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker locked into first base and designated hitter, respectively.

The 33-year-old Meneses is likely to head to Triple-A Las Vegas. He’s a career .282/.338/.480 hitter over parts of five Triple-A seasons. Meneses played in the big leagues with the Nationals between 2022-24. He had a huge showing out of nowhere as a 30-year-old rookie, hitting .324 with 13 homers in his first 56 big league contests.

A rebuilding Washington team gave him a full year as a starting first baseman to see if they’d stumbled on a late-career breakout. That didn’t prove to be the case, as Meneses hit .261/.311/.370 in nearly 1000 trips to the plate in 2023-24. The Nationals dropped him from the roster at the beginning of last offseason.

Phillies Receiving Trade Interest In Lefty Relievers

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The Phillies have gotten trade calls on left-handed relievers Matt Strahm, José Alvarado and Tanner Banks, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Philadelphia could leverage their bullpen depth for help in a different area of the roster.

All three pitchers are affordable and above-average performers. Alvarado, who’ll make $9MM next season, is the most talented of the group. He’s the hardest-throwing lefty reliever in the game, averaging more than 99 MPH on his fastball. The 30-year-old dominated early in the season and took over the closer role until MLB suspended him for 80 games because of a failed performance-enhancing drug test. That made him ineligible for postseason play, but the Phillies welcomed Alvarado back for the end of the regular season and were confident enough in his ability to exercise a 2026 club option.

Jhoan Duran is locked into the ninth inning now. Alvarado projects as Philly’s top lefty setup arm. He’ll be eligible for the playoffs in future seasons, so it’s unlikely the Phillies are putting much stock in the PED suspension moving forward. Alvarado also finished the year on the injured list with a forearm strain but is expected to be fine going into Spring Training.

An Alvarado trade would be relatively surprising. It’s easier to see the Phils swapping one of Strahm or Banks for someone at a position of greater need. Strahm, who turned 34 on Wednesday, vested a $7.5MM salary for the upcoming season. He’s coming off a 2.74 ERA with an above-average 27.3% strikeout rate across 66 appearances. Strahm owns a 2.71 mark over three seasons in Philadelphia and led the team with 22 holds this year.

While Strahm remains a quality leverage option, the Phillies could have some concern about his trend lines. His strikeout rate dropped six percentage points relative to 2024, when he fanned a third of opponents. He averaged a career-low 92.3 MPH on his fastball and has seen his swinging strike rate dip in consecutive years.

Banks, also 34, is the least well known of the Phils’ lefty trio. He didn’t reach the big leagues until his age-30 season and spent his first couple seasons on a rebuilding White Sox team. Banks was an under-the-radar deadline pickup in 2024 and has turned in a 3.24 ERA with a league average 22.5% strikeout rate over 91 2/3 innings in Philadelphia.

His fastball sits in the low-90s, but he attacks the strike zone with a pair of breaking pitches and held lefty batters to a putrid .172/.213/.243 slash line this year. Banks has held his own against right-handed hitters as well, but he’s the kind of pitcher whom teams generally prefer in a middle relief/specialist role rather than as a true high-leverage arm. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $1.2MM salary in his first of three seasons of arbitration eligibility.

Teams seeking lefty relief help don’t have many free agent options. Gregory Soto is probably in line for the largest contract. He’s a power arm but has inconsistent command and has allowed more than four earned runs per nine in each of the past three seasons. Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner, Justin Wilson, Taylor Rogers and Danny Coulombe should be limited to one-year deals based on their age. Sean Newcomb or Caleb Ferguson could command a cheap two-year deal but aren’t ideal high-leverage options. Steven Matz, Ryan Yarbrough and NPB returnees Anthony Kay and Foster Griffin are swing types.

It’s a weak group, which could lead teams to turn to the trade market. The Cardinals are likely to move former Phillie JoJo Romero, who is going into his final season of arbitration. The rebuilding Nationals could hear teams out on grounder specialist Jose A. Ferrer. The Rays are down to two years of control on Garrett Cleavinger and would surely entertain offers, but they’re going to have a huge asking price. Every contender could evaluate the bullpen market. The Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Cubs are among the teams that could use another left-handed arm in particular.

While the Phillies have a good group of southpaws, they could use a more reliable right-handed setup arm than Orion Kerkering in front of Duran. They’re also in the market for outfield help and potentially a depth starter/swingman with Harrison Bader and Ranger Suárez hitting free agency. They’re prioritizing re-signing Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. They’d need to go outside the organization for a catcher if Realmuto signs elsewhere, as a Rafael Marchán/Garrett Stubbs pairing would be one of the worst offensive duos in the game. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged at the GM Meetings that they’re evaluating an otherwise weak catching market as a backup plan in case Realmuto doesn’t return (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer).

Pirates Hire Kristopher Negron, Tony Beasley To Coaching Staff

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The Pirates will be hiring Kristopher Negron as their new bench coach and Tony Beasley as the third base coach, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Negron has been on the Mariners’ coaching staff for the last four seasons, while Beasley returns to the Pirates organization after spending over a decade with the Rangers.

After concluding his six-year MLB playing career, Negron took on an assistant role in Seattle’s player development department in 2020 and then was the manager at Triple-A Tacoma in 2021.  He was then promoted to the big league staff as the first base coach before acting as the Mariners’ third base coach in 2025.

Negron (who turns 40 in February) now takes on his highest-profile coaching job yet, as Don Kelly’s chief lieutenant.  Kelly was Pittsburgh’s bench coach himself when he was promoted to the manager’s job in May when Derek Shelton was fired, and though Gene Lamont essentially filled the bench coach role in a capacity as an advisor to Kelly, the position wasn’t officially filled until now.

Beasley is a familiar face in Pittsburgh, having spent six seasons with the Bucs as a minor league player and then several seasons as a manager, coach, and instructor at both the minor and Major League levels.  Beasley’s previous stint on Pittsburgh’s MLB staff came in 2008-10, when was the club’s third base coach.

Once that stint ended, Beasley moved on to four years in the Nationals’ farm system as a manager and instructor before he joined the Rangers as their third base coach prior to the 2015 season.  Beasley’s time in Texas included a World Series ring with the 2023 team and a 48-game stint as interim manager in 2022 after Chris Woodward was fired.

Negron and Beasley are the latest new faces on a revamped Pittsburgh coaching staff, as Bill Murphy was also hired as the new pitching coach a few weeks ago.  The Pirates liked enough of what they saw from Kelly to give him a contract extension at season’s end, and the skipper is now apparently getting some input in reshaping his staff.  In a sense there’s nowhere to go but up for a team that has endured seven straight losing seasons, and still hasn’t gotten out of rebuild mode despite the presence of Paul Skenes and an overall enviable amount of pitching depth.

Mariners Looking To Retain 2025 Roster, Add Bullpen Help

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After winning the AL West and reaching Game 7 of the ALCS, it isn’t surprising that the Mariners are looking to stick with a successful formula.  That means “ideally keeping as much of the group that we had last year, that we really believed in, together,” general manager Justin Hollander told the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish and other reporters at the GM Meetings this week.

“Our offseason is largely going to start with the guys who were on the team last year and try to bring as many back as possible,” Hollander said, with the M’s “then filling in the rest of the roster as required.”  To this end, Hollander said the team has been in contact with the agents for their six free agents — Josh Naylor, Jorge Polanco, Eugenio Suarez, Caleb Ferguson, Luke Jackson, and Mitch Garver.

“I think they know how we feel, and don’t really believe in progress or no progress,” Hollander said.  “When you get to a deal, you get to a deal, but I think everybody’s aware of where we’re at right now and that we do have interest, and we’ll just keep playing it day by day until we can get deals or have to pivot elsewhere.”

Hollander naturally didn’t give any hints about the details of these negotiations, though logic would dictate that the Mariners won’t be re-signing all six players.  The M’s have been open about their desire to retain Naylor, so the common belief is that Naylor and Polanco are the most likely internal free agents to re-up for new contracts, while the other four will probably be playing elsewhere in 2026.

The potential departures of Ferguson and Jackson coincide with Seattle’s desire to add to its bullpen, which Hollander said was another “area of focus for us this offseason.”  Led by star closer Andres Munoz, the Mariners’ relief corps was more solid than a surefire plus in 2025, as the club’s collective 3.72 ERA (ninth of 30 teams) was undermined by control problems and middling strikeout numbers.  Beyond these numbers, Hollander also acknowledged “the realities that our high-leverage group just worked really hard for an extra month of the season.  We would be silly not to expect that to take a toll over time….Making the bullpen deeper and longer is important.”

Adding relief help of any kind is the priority, yet Divish feels the Mariners might make a point of adding a southpaw.  Gabe Speier is currently the only left-hander projected to be part of Seattle’s bullpen, and minor leaguers Jhonathan Diaz and Tayler Saucedo are the only other southpaws on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.

Angels Seeking Multiple Starters, Left-Handed Bat

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The Angels have quite a bit to achieve this offseason. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes that the club would like to add multiple starting pitchers and bullpen help. General manager Perry Minasian said from the GM Meetings that they’re also looking for offense, with preference for a left-handed bat.

“Is (a lefty hitter) the No. 1 pressing need? Is that ‘A’ on the checklist of things to do? No,” Minasian told reporters (link via Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). “But it is something we’ve talked about a ton. We want to be a more balanced offense. … There are some really attractive right-handed hitters that I’d love to have, that are just good hitters, that I don’t necessarily think anyone cares if they’re right-handed or left-handed. So does it have to be left-handed? No. Apples to apples? Of course, you choose left hand over right-handed.”

The Halos have three pitchers penciled into the Opening Day rotation: Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano and Reid Detmers. They don’t have much beyond that with none of Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Jack Kochanowicz or Mitch Farris securing a rotation spot. They’re likely to push 2025 second overall pick Tyler Bremner quickly, but it’d be surprising if the Angels were willing to carry him in the Opening Day rotation before he pitches in the minors at all. They skipped 2024 second-rounder Ryan Johnson right to the big leagues as a reliever this past season, but he struggled and was optioned in early May. Johnson built back as a starter and pitched well in High-A but still has no starting experience in the upper levels.

The bullpen could lose its two most reliable arms. Detmers, last season’s top setup man, is moving back to the rotation. Closer Kenley Jansen is a free agent. The Angels presumably would like to bring Jansen back after an excellent season. The four-time All-Star went 29-30 in save chances. He turned in a 2.59 ERA across 59 innings. Even that was inflated by one nightmare appearance against the Tigers in which he gave up six of the 17 earned runs he allowed all season. Jansen is probably limited to one-year deals at this stage of his career, though he could match last winter’s $10MM guarantee.

Left-hander Brock Burke enters the offseason as the Angels’ only reliable reliever. Minasian provided a positive update on talented but oft-injured righty Robert Stephenson, who finished the season on the shelf with elbow inflammation. Stephenson will not require surgery and is expected to be ready for Spring Training, Bollinger relays. Stephenson has the talent to pitch late in games, but his durability issues make him a wild card. The Angels clearly need to add multiple leverage arms.

While pitching figures to be the priority, the Halos have a few questions in the lineup. They don’t have an everyday center fielder or third baseman. Christian Moore projects as the starting second baseman, but he struggled as a rookie after being quickly pushed through the minors. There’s arguably a corner outfield glut with Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Jorge Soler and Jo Adell — who is miscast in center field and should stay in right, where he spent the final month of the ’25 season. Ward and Adell have already come up in trade rumors. One of them could be swapped for a player at a position of greater need, but that’d be nowhere close to all the work for the front office to accomplish.

The club’s preference would be to add a lefty hitter at one or two of those positions. No team gave fewer plate appearances to left-handed batters this year. Only the Astros leaned more heavily on pure righty bats. The Angels had an MLB-worst .224 batting average against righty pitching. They were 28th in on-base percentage (.299) and 24th in slugging (.394). Switch-hitters Luis Rengifo and Yoán Moncada hit free agency, leaving first baseman Nolan Schanuel as their only lefty hitter set for a significant role.

If they go into free agency for that need, it’d make most sense to focus on center field. Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger are available at the higher ends of the market. Cedric Mullins is a rebound candidate who’ll probably sign for one year.

There are far fewer lefty bats who could play second or third base. If neither Rengifo nor Moncada are retained, the best free agent options are Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez and Willi Castro. Polanco can play either position but saw a lot of DH work with the Mariners this year because of knee issues. Arraez hasn’t played second base regularly in two years because of limited range. Castro is a bat-first utility player who started the season well but went downhill after a deadline trade to the Cubs.

Players like CJ Abrams, Brendan Donovan or Brandon Lowe could be available in trade. That’d require the Angels to deal from an already bad farm system for short-term help on the heels of a 72-90 season. As Minasian noted, that could leave them to pursue a superior righty-hitting infielder even if it’s not ideal for lineup balance. Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suárez, Kazuma Okamoto, Ha-Seong Kim and Gleyber Torres are all right-handed hitting free agents who can play second and/or third.

Torres, who is weighing a qualifying offer from the Tigers, was apparently a target of the Angels last winter. Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic report that Torres rejected a multi-year offer from the Halos during the 2024-25 offseason because he doubted the team could contend. He signed a one-year, $15MM contract with Detroit. The Tigers made the playoffs for a second consecutive season and the Angels still have one of the worst rosters in the American League on paper.

Braves, Chadwick Tromp Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves and catcher Chadwick Tromp agreed to a minor league contract earlier this week, according to the MiLB.com transaction tracker. The BSE Agency client will probably get a non-roster invite to Spring Training and open the season at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Tromp qualified for minor league free agency last week after finishing the year in the Red Sox’s farm system. The Aruban-born catcher had hit just .135/.183/.167 in 28 games for Boston’s top affiliate. That predictably did not get him an MLB look. Tromp had made eight big league appearances earlier in the season, splitting that time between Atlanta and Baltimore. He’d begun the season as Atlanta’s backup catcher behind eventual Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, as Sean Murphy was sidelined by a broken rib for the first couple weeks.

Once Murphy returned, the Braves pushed the out-of-options Tromp off the roster. He elected free agency and signed with Baltimore on a minor league deal. Tromp didn’t hit well at any level last season, and he’s a career .245/.318/.398 batter over parts of eight Triple-A seasons. He owns a .221/.230/.390 line in 178 major league plate appearances spread across six years.

The Braves aren’t going to expect Tromp to provide much at the plate. They clearly like him as a defender and clubhouse presence, so he’s a fine depth add. Baldwin and Murphy are the only two catchers on the 40-man roster. The latter is coming off season-ending hip surgery. He’s expected to be fully ready for Spring Training. Tromp wouldn’t have a great path to the active roster if Baldwin and Murphy are healthy, though the team could opt to carry three catchers if they plan to DH one of Murphy or Baldwin on an everyday basis. Tromp is the only other catcher in the organization with MLB experience.

Bob Seymour To Sign With NPB’s Orix Buffaloes

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November 14: Seymour is in agreement with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Francys Romero.

November 12: The Rays announced that first baseman Bob Seymour has been released to pursue an opportunity in Asia. No details were provided about which team or country he is heading to. He was already off the 40-man roster, as he was designated for assignment last week.

Seymour, 27, has spent his entire professional career with the Rays thus far. A 13th-round pick from the 2021 draft, he crushed homers throughout his minor league career but also struck out quite a bit. In 2024, he launched 28 long balls in 123 games, split between Double-A and Triple-A. He slashed .281/.351/.523 for a 139 wRC+ but was also punched out in 30.6% of his plate appearances. In 2025, he hit 30 homers in just 105 Triple-A games. He had a .263/.327/.553 line and 122 wRC+ while striking out at a 25.7% pace.

He got called up in mid-August and spent about the final six weeks of the season in the big leagues. He stepped to the plate 83 times but struck out in 32 of those, a 38.6% pace, leading to a rough .205/.253/.282 line.

Despite the obvious power, Seymour has never really ranked as a notable prospect. He only plays first base and doesn’t have wheels, which means he has to hit to provide value. Given how often he strikes out, it was going to be hard for him to be a viable big league bat.

He still has a full slate of options. Even if he were claimed off waivers after being designated for assignment this week, he was likely destined for another year of riding the bus in Triple-A. Instead, he’ll head overseas somewhere, presumably for a bigger paycheck and a better opportunity. If he finds success wherever he is going, perhaps he will return to North America someday.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images

Astros Interested In Brendan Donovan

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The Astros are back in the mix for Brendan Donovan, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. That’s not surprising, as Houston’s interest in the St. Louis utility player has dated back to at least the trade deadline.

Donovan is an obvious target. The Astros skew very right-handed. They tried to balance the lineup with the deadline trade for Jesús Sánchez from the Marlins. Sánchez was terrible down the stretch and is probably going to be traded or non-tendered within the next week. That leaves the Astros with only Yordan Alvarez as an everyday left-handed bat. Rookie outfielders Zach Cole or Jacob Melton could play their way into the mix, but it’s clear that adding a lefty hitter will be a priority.

There are few better ones known to be available in trade than Donovan. The 28-year-old (29 in January) is coming off a .287/.353/.422 slash across 515 plate appearances. He’s a career .282/.361/.411 hitter over four seasons. Donovan has enough power for 10-15 home runs and 30+ doubles, while he’s a safe bet to hit for average because of his excellent contact skills. Like most lefty hitters, he’s far better against right-handed pitching, but he has reached base at a reasonable .325 clip against southpaws in his career. He fits at the top of a lineup against righties and is playable if unspectacular against same-handed pitchers.

[Related: Top 40 Trade Candidates]

Donovan has the multi-positional versatility to fit any number of teams. He’s already been linked to the Guardians and Royals this offseason. The Yankees and Dodgers have shown interest in the past. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk examined various other possibilities last month. Houston would use him mostly at his natural second base position, where they don’t really have an everyday player. They’re still planning to move Jose Altuve between second and left field, where he and Alvarez would divide time when the other isn’t at designated hitter. Donovan can play both corner outfield positions as well, and some teams could feel he’s capable of holding his own at either spot on the left side of the infield.

The Cardinals are committing to a retool under first-year president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Donovan is down to his last two seasons of club control. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $5.4MM salary. That’ll likely jump into the $8-10MM range for 2027. There’s no indication the Cards will seriously pursue an extension, so an offseason trade seems likely given the amount of interest they’ll receive from teams currently in contention windows. Among their realistic trade candidates (i.e. not including Masyn Winn), Donovan has the best chance of netting an impactful prospect return.

Twins Hire Mark Hallberg As Bench Coach

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The Twins finalized their 2026 coaching staff. Most of the moves had been previously reported, but Minnesota revealed the hiring of Mark Hallberg as bench coach. They’ve also added Mike Rabelo as an assistant bench coach and Toby Gardenhire as field coordinator.

The rest of Derek Shelton’s first staff in Minnesota was already known: pitching coach Pete Maki, hitting coach Keith Beauregard, bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins, base coaches Grady Sizemore and Ramon Borrego, assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez, and assistant hitting coaches Rayden Sierra and Trevor Amicone. There are five holdovers from Rocco Baldelli’s staff.

Hallberg, 39, heads to the Twin Cities after eight seasons in the Giants organization. He coached and managed in the minor league system for a couple years before joining the MLB staff in 2020. Hallberg has spent the past four seasons as a base coach in San Francisco and interviewed for their managerial vacancy over the 2023-24 offseason. (The job went to Bob Melvin.) Hallberg coincidentally steps into the job that had been filled by Jayce Tingler for the past four seasons. Tingler left the Twins to join Tony Vitello’s first staff in San Francisco.

Rabelo was part of the Pirates’ coaching staff between 2020-25. Shelton was the manager in Pittsburgh for most of that time. The 45-year-old had a three-year run in the big leagues as a part-time catcher. He has also coached in the Detroit organization and was most recently Pittsburgh’s third base coach.

Gardenhire, as one can probably infer, is the son of longtime Minnesota skipper Ron Gardenhire. Toby, 43, had a brief minor league playing career in the organization and has managed in their farm system since 2018. He has spent the past five seasons leading their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul. He now gets the promotion across town to join an MLB staff for the first time.

Reds, Tejay Antone Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds and right-hander Tejay Antone have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Presumably, the righty will receive an invite to big league camp when the deal is made official.

Antone, 32 in December, was establishing himself as a key piece of the Cincinnati bullpen a few years ago. Over 2020 and 2021, he tossed 69 innings with a 2.48 earned run average. His 10.8% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 32.3% of batters faced and got grounders on 48% of balls in play.

Unfortunately, his career has been derailed by a number of injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2021. That was actually the second such procedure of his career, the first coming back in 2017 when he was in the minors. The second surgery wiped out his entire 2022 season. In 2023, a flexor strain in spring training set him back. He didn’t get back on a big league mound until September. He made five appearances before going back on the IL due to elbow discomfort. In 2024, he made four appearances early in the season before being bit by the injury bug again. He tore a tendon off his bone and suffered a ligament tear, requiring surgery.

Antone spent the rest of 2024 on the injured list. At the end of the season, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster. He was still with the Reds in 2025, but in a non-roster capacity, beginning the season on the minor league injured list. He eventually got healthy enough to make 15 appearances in August and September, logging 15 innings. He allowed 17 earned runs on 23 hits, nine walks and five hit-by-pitches while striking out 15 opponents.

The righty became a free agent at season’s end but he and the Reds have quickly reunited. His numbers in 2025 weren’t good but it was a small sample of work and some rust is understandable after multiple surgeries and so much missed time. For the Reds, there’s no harm in bringing him back on this non-roster deal to see if he can find a new gear as he gets further removed from his most recent surgery.

Photo courtesy of David Kohl, Imagn Images

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