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Reds, Yunior Marte Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds are in agreement with reliever Yunior Marte on a minor league contract with an invite to big league Spring Training, reports Francys Romero. The righty would lock in a $1.05MM base salary if he breaks camp.

Marte is back in affiliated ball after spending the 2025 season in Japan. The Dominican-born hurler signed with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons last winter. He divided his time between the top level and their minor league club. Marte managed a 1.95 earned run average with a pair of saves and 11 holds over 32 1/3 innings for the NPB team. That came with a modest 19.1% strikeout rate and was heavily reliant on a .213 average on balls in play against him.

The 30-year-old (31 in February) pitched in the big leagues each year from 2022-24. Marte made 39 appearances for the Giants as a rookie and spent the next two seasons as an up-and-down middle reliever for the Phillies. He has a big arm, sitting in the 96-98 MPH range with his sinker. Marte missed a decent number of bats in the minors but has a below-average 20.1% strikeout percentage over 102 big league appearances. He owns a 5.64 ERA in 113 1/3 career frames.

Cincinnati has a solid late-inning group led by re-signed closer Emilio Pagán, Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft, Connor Phillips and Caleb Ferguson. They have a few openings in the middle innings and don’t have a ton of minor league depth. Tejay Antone is their only other currently healthy non-roster invitee who has MLB experience, though they’ll presumably try to get Keegan Thompson through waivers after he was designated for assignment last week.

Tatsuya Imai Meeting With Teams In Advance of Friday’s Signing Deadline

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The next couple days will see at least two big-ticket free agents come off the board. Japanese stars Tatsuya Imai and Kazuma Okamoto are nearing the end of their respective 45-day posting windows. Imai has until Friday at 4:00 pm Central to sign; Okamoto’s contract must be finalized by the same time on Sunday.

Reporting out of Japan over the weekend revealed that Okamoto was traveling to the U.S. for a final round of in-person meetings. Imai is evidently doing the same. Katie Woo and Will Sammon of The Athletic wrote last night that Imai had spoken with multiple teams and would continue to do so throughout the week. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relays that Imai and Okamoto — both of whom are represented by the Boras Corporation — are conducting in-person interviews in Los Angeles (link via MLB.com’s Brian Murphy). Scott Boras is based out of Southern California, so the location of the meetings shouldn’t be viewed as an indication that the Dodgers or Angels are favorites.

Imai has been publicly tied to the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Phillies and Orioles since his posting period began. While a recent Yahoo! Japan article listed the White Sox as another possibility, MLB.com’s report downplays the likelihood of the White Sox landing the right-hander. Chicago shockingly added Munetaka Murakami last week, but that only came after the slugger’s market cratered because of concerns about his strikeout rate. Murakami wound up settling for a two-year, $34MM contract. Imai is expected to do far better given the cost of high-upside starting pitching.

The 5’11” righty has been one of Japan’s best pitchers over the past two seasons. He’s coming off a 1.92 ERA showing with 178 strikeouts across 163 2/3 innings. Imai has an NPB-best 27% strikeout rate since the start of 2024. He sits in the mid-90s with a promising slider. Command was an issue earlier in his career, but his strike-throwing has progressed as he has gained experience. This past season’s 7% walk rate was a personal low and better than the MLB average.

Imai is headed into his age-28 season. His contract needs to be finalized by Friday, so it’s likely he’ll agree to terms by tomorrow or Thursday. That’d leave time for a standard physical. The team that signs him will owe a posting fee to the Seibu Lions. That’s proportional to the contract value: 20% of the first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of all further spending.

A’s, Nick Hernandez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The A’s are in agreement with reliever Nick Hernandez on a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. The righty celebrates his 31st birthday with a new landing spot after electing free agency at the beginning of the offseason. The A’s also added Brooks Kriske on a minor league deal earlier this month, according to the MLB.com transaction log.

Hernandez is a Houston-area native who played his college ball with the Cougars. He was drafted by his hometown club in the eighth round in 2016 and pitched parts of seven seasons with the organization. He topped out at Triple-A and qualified for minor league free agency over the 2022-23 offseason. Hernandez signed a minor league deal with the Padres and cracked the majors at the end of the ’23 campaign. San Diego traded him back to the Astros the following year.

Over the past two seasons, Hernandez got into 15 MLB games. He was tagged for 13 runs across 18 2/3 innings. He posted consecutive sub-3.00 ERA showings in Triple-A. That included a 2.12 mark behind an excellent 33.7% strikeout rate over 46 2/3 minor league innings this year. The Astros never gave him much of a look at the big league level, though, largely because of his middling velocity.

Hernandez averages around 91 MPH on his fastball. He also features a low-80s slider and splitter. Hernandez has missed a lot of bats in the minors but doesn’t have the pinpoint control generally needed to succeed with below-average velocity. He walked nearly 12% of Triple-A opponents for the second straight year. Hernandez has given up eight home runs in 21 2/3 career MLB innings, magnifying the damage of giving away too many free passes. Houston designated him for assignment in the final weekend of the season and cut him loose after he went unclaimed on waivers.

Kriske, 32 in February, divided the 2025 season between the Cubs and Twins. He combined for 18 innings of 7.50 ERA ball. Kriske walked 15 of the 88 hitters he faced and has issued free passes at a near-17% clip over 39 2/3 career innings. Like Hernandez, he missed bats at a huge rate in Triple-A. Kriske fanned more than 34% of opponents while leaning mostly on a 93-94 MPH fastball and a low-80s splitter. He was around the strike zone in Triple-A this year but has had well below-average command throughout his career, as issue that again cropped up in his MLB work. He was outrighted by Minnesota in September and qualified for minor league free agency at year’s end.

The A’s entered the offseason with almost no experienced arms in their bullpen. They’ve added Mark Leiter Jr. on a cheap big league contract while stockpiling non-roster depth with minor league deals for Joel Kuhnel, Nick Anderson, Wander Suero, Matt Krook, Geoff Hartlieb and Ben Bowden. Kriske and Hernandez join the mix and figure to get invitations to big league camp. Sutter Health Park is a difficult venue in which to pitch but the lack of established relievers on the roster makes the A’s a solid landing spot for depth arms trying to impress in Spring Training.

Hazen: Ketel Marte Trade Talks Won’t Last All Offseason

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The big question of the D-Backs offseason has been whether to trade Ketel Marte. They’ve reportedly fielded calls from upwards of a third of the league with teams like the Mariners, Red Sox and Reds most prominently linked. Although general manager Mike Hazen called a trade of a star hitter “mostly unlikely” at the GM Meetings in early November, they’ve kept the line of communication open given their needs around the roster.

According to Hazen, they’re not going to maintain that posture for the entire offseason. “We’re very likely to put an end to (Marte trade talks) shortly,” the GM told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. When pressed for specifics on the timeline, Hazen said that he “(hasn’t) figured that out yet” but said they can’t afford to remain in a holding pattern for much longer. He implied they were likelier to take Marte firmly off the table rather than nearing agreement on a deal.

“We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that (a trade) wasn’t going to happen, and I think it seems likely that that’s the case and we want to focus on other things we need to do,” Hazen said. The GM added that talks to date haven’t gotten “anywhere near” the significant asking price they’ve set to move their star second baseman.

On one hand, it’s easy enough to write this off as a general manager trying to pressure interested clubs to raise their offers. Even if Hazen isn’t setting a public deadline, the Snakes could do so internally to get teams to make their best and final trade proposals. At the same time, this generally aligns with the GM’s stance on Marte trade rumors dating back to the summer. Speculation has abounded since August when multiple reports emerged about some of Marte’s teammates being frustrated with the number of off days that he took.

Hazen spoke with Wolf & Luke of Arizona Sports at the time and was naturally asked about the possibility of a trade. “Ketel is one of, if not our best player,” the GM said then. “He’s a superstar in this league. You win with superstars in this league. Yes, I do know it’s a team game and putting a team together to win baseball games is also equally important. That’s on us to figure out what the right mix of players is.

We went to the World Series with this player on our team (in 2023). … So this mindset of where he is on our team and his inability or ability to help us win is hard for me to just take that. … Where this lays down at his feet and where it’s coming from now is a little bizarre to me. I’m not ignoring the inconsistencies with some of the things that have happened. He’s addressed those things. We’ve addressed those things with him.

We’re not blind to having an imperfect clubhouse and an imperfect roster. … I’m also in a job and position to put players on the field that can win you baseball games, because ultimately that’s what this comes down to. We are going to put the best team on the field every single day we can.”

The D-Backs have nevertheless heard teams out as the clearest way to acquire controllable starting pitching. They’re expected to scale back payroll from this past season’s franchise-record $195MM mark. RosterResource currently projects them for $168MM in spending. Marte is set for a $15MM salary next season, but $6MM of that is deferred until 2036. They’re not under any financial pressure to move him, nor are they entering even a soft rebuild. The goal in trade talks would be to acquire multiple MLB or near-ready pieces who could deepen the overall roster.

Despite the payroll limitations, Arizona has addressed the rotation with a pair of free agent pickups. They brought back Merrill Kelly on a two-year, $40MM deal and added swingman Michael Soroka for a $7.5MM guarantee. They could certainly still upgrade a rotation comprising Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Soroka. It’s not as pressing a need as it was two months ago, however.

The bigger focus now should be the bullpen, which was decimated by injuries last summer and is still without top two arms Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk. The Snakes also need to decide whether they’re content with Jordan Lawlar as an everyday player (either at third base or in the outfield) and could upgrade in center field or at first base. The Marte trade rumors have come alongside reporting that the Snakes could make a surprise run at Alex Bregman.

“We’re going to need to start focusing on our position player group at some point a little more specifically,” Hazen noted to Gilbert. “That’s the other reason to finalize what we’re doing with other players, so we have a little more direction on what we can do and what it might look like.” Readers are encouraged to check out the MLB.com column for the full scope of Hazen’s comments.

Braves, Jose Azocar Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves are in agreement with José Azocar on a minor league contract, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The fleet-footed outfielder will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Azocar had a brief stint on Atlanta’s MLB roster this year. He signed a big league deal on May 30 and spent a little over two weeks on Brian Snitker’s bench. He was limited to two appearances, both as a late-game substitute, and flew out in his only at-bat. The Venezuela native also got into 12 games with the Mets earlier in the year. He made five starts and went 5-18 (all singles) with a pair of walks and a stolen base.

Aside from his couple weeks on Atlanta’s bench, Azocar spent the rest of the year in the Mets organization. He returned to New York on a minor league contract after the Braves cut him loose in mid-June. He played out the season at Triple-A Syracuse, batting .241/.314/.352 in just under 300 plate appearances. Azocar stole 17 bases in the minors but had his third consecutive below-average offensive season. He owns a .276/.318/.416 line over parts of five Triple-A campaigns and is a career .244/.290/.319 hitter in 418 MLB plate appearances.

Azocar isn’t going to provide much at the plate, but he’s a plus-plus runner who can play all three outfield positions. Defensive Runs Saved has rated him as an average defender in a little more than 1000 career innings. Statcast’s Outs Above Average is a little more bullish, grading him four runs above par. Most of the defensive value comes from his 2022 rookie season in San Diego, when he appeared in a career-high 98 games.

Atlanta has four established outfielders in Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Mike Yastrzemski and Jurickson Profar. They have a few out-of-options players (Mauricio Dubón, Eli White and Vidal Bruján) who could provide some speed off the bench if they make the team. Bruján’s split contract makes him a candidate to run through waivers at some point, but Azocar would remain sixth on the outfield depth chart. He’s unlikely to break camp barring an injury to someone ahead of him during Spring Training. It’s likely he’ll head to Triple-A Gwinnett to start the season.

Angels To Sign Kirby Yates

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2:13pm: Yates is guaranteed $5MM, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

1:17pm: The Angels have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent reliever Kirby Yates, reports Ari Alexander of 7News. The right-hander’s agreement is still pending a physical. Yates is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Yates gives the Angels yet another veteran reliever with some closing experience who’s in need of a rebound — in his case, ahead of what’ll be his age-39 season. The Halos will hope to finally get a full workload out of Robert Stephenson in the final season of his three-year, $33MM contract. They’ve also signed former Jays closer Jordan Romano and veteran reliever Drew Pomeranz to low-cost, one-year contracts this offseason as well.

If healthy — a major caveat, given the injury history in question here — Yates could be the best of the bunch. The two-time All-Star led the NL with 41 saves back in 2019 and has twice posted full seasons with an ERA shy of 1.20, including as recently as the 2024 season with Texas.

Since an age-30 breakout with the Padres, the late-blooming Yates has pitched 355 innings with a 2.84 earned run average, 97 saves, 65 holds and only 13 blown save opportunities. He’s fanned a whopping 35.1% of his opponents along the way (backed by a huge 15.7% swinging-strike rate) and walked 9.6% of the batters he’s faced. Coincidentally enough, the Angels were the team from which the Padres claimed Yates off waivers. They’d picked Yates up themselves via waivers the prior October. He pitched only one inning as an Angel and was tagged for two runs.

Yates now returns for a second stint with the Angels. The signing reunites him with veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux, who was Yates’ pitching coach with the ’24 Rangers. Yates saved 33 games and posted an immaculate 1.17 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate that season.

That performance was enough to land him a hearty $13MM guarantee on a one-year deal with the Dodgers. But while Yates landed the first World Series ring of his career, the marriage didn’t go particularly well. He was thrice placed on the injured list — twice for hamstring strains and once due to a lower back injury — and pitched only 41 1/3 innings. The veteran righty’s 5.23 earned run average was one of the worst marks of his career, and his 92.8 mph average four-seam velocity was his lowest since 2013. Yates still punched out an excellent 29.6% of his opponents, but he was doomed by home runs, yielding an average of 1.96 round-trippers per nine frames.

While Yates has typically been excellent when healthy, he’s had his share of injuries. He pitched only 4 1/3 innings in 2020 due to bone spurs in his elbow. He signed with the Blue Jays in free agency that offseason but never pitched an inning for Toronto. He required Tommy John surgery at the end of spring training. From 2020-22, Yates pitched only 11 1/3 innings in the majors.

The Angels will bet on Yates’ track record and hope for better help. Between Yates, Stephenson, Romano and Pomeranz, they certainly aren’t lacking talent at the back end of the bullpen — but there’s a clear lack of consistency and durability. They’ll hope to add flamethrower Ben Joyce to that mix at some point this season, though his timetable for a return from last May’s surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder remains murky.

It’s not entirely clear where the Yates signing takes the Angels’ payroll. RosterResource projected them for a payroll around $172MM this morning, but that was before the Angels and Anthony Rendon agreed to defer the payment of the final year and $38MM on his contract for a reported three to five seasons. Details surrounding that still-fresh arrangement have yet to surface in full, but it’s clear that the Angels are quite a bit south of the roughly $206MM payroll figure at which they ended the 2025 campaign.

Yankees Re-Sign Amed Rosario

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Dec. 30: The team has now formally announced Rosario’s new contract.

Dec. 13: The Yankees are re-signing infielder Amed Rosario to a one-year contract.  The deal pays Rosario $2.5MM in salary, plus another $225K is available in incentive bonuses.  Rosario is represented by Octagon.

Acquired from the Nationals at the trade deadline, Rosario hit .303/.303/.485 over 33 plate appearances and 16 games for New York, and his playing time was further limited by a 10-day injured list stint due to a left SC joint sprain.  Still, Rosario lived up to expectations by chipping in at second base, third base, and in right field, while providing the Yankees with a productive right-handed hitting bat.

That righty-swinging balance is a plus within a New York lineup that is heavy in left-handed batters, and having Rosario back will give the Yankees some platoon flexibility with either Ryan McMahon at third base or even Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base.  McMahon is a superb defender but a much lesser hitter than Chisholm, so Rosario will probably get most of his playing time spelling McMahon at least against southpaws.

Once regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects during his time in the Mets’ farm system, Rosario posted some okay offensive numbers as a regular with the Mets and Guardians.  His overall effectiveness was limited by a lack of walks, struggles against right-handed pitching, and subpar defending at the shortstop position.

Though he is only entering his age-30 season, Rosario now looks to have settled into a role as a part-time player who can fill in at multiple positions, though he doesn’t provide much defensive value anywhere.  His biggest plus is his ability to hit southpaws, as Rosario has a career .298/.336/.464 slash line in 1196 PA against left-handed pitching.

The Yankees clearly liked what they saw in Rosario last year, and after bouncing around to six different teams since the start of the 2023 season, Rosario probably appreciates some stability in returning to the Bronx for a full season in the pinstripes.  He receives a slight raise over the $2MM deal he received from Washington last winter.

With Rosario back in the fold, the Yankees have brought some experienced depth back into the infield mix.  Anthony Volpe will miss the start of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, so if Jose Caballero ends up getting a lot of the shortstop time in Volpe’s absence, Rosario’s presence helps fill the utility void on New York’s bench.  Brendan Donovan is another versatile player known to be on the Yankees’ trade radar, plus the club has also been more loosely linked to All-Star Bo Bichette, in what would be an even more seismic shake-up of the Bronx infield.

Jack Curry of YES Network was the first to report that Rosario was re-signing with the Yankees on a one-year deal.  Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Rosario’s $2.5MM salary, and ESPN’s Jorge Castillo added the news about the incentive bonuses.

Red Sox Notes: Giolito, Bullpen

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Despite declining his end of a mutual option for the 2026 season, right-hander Lucas Giolito was and is very open to returning to the Red Sox, the pitcher himself told WEEI’s Rob Bradford in a guest appearance on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast. However, Giolito also was realistic about the slim chances of that happening in the wake of Boston’s acquisition of Sonny Gray (and Johan Oviedo). Asked if the trades for Gray and Oviedo were a signal that the team plans to move on, Giolito replied, “That’s what I think,” adding that the “writing is on the wall” with regard to the fact that a reunion is unlikely.

Giolito delved further into his free agent experience a second time around, explaining that he’s more focused on what he can control this time around instead of stressing over the day-to-day of the process. He’s upped his workout regimen and is experimenting with reincorporating a sinker into his repertoire. He hasn’t thrown a two-seamer since the 2018 season but is working out at Cressey Performance Center this winter and working on an updated version of the pitch.

Though Giolito will likely be taking that new-look sinker to another club, the Red Sox don’t figure to be done on the pitching front. Tim Healey of the Boston Globe breaks down the team’s bullpen, highlighting the lack of established options beyond Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert while noting that at least one, if not two external additions could be in the cards for Breslow in the final few months of the offseason.

The Red Sox are paying Jordan Hicks $12MM in each of the next two seasons, so he’ll surely have a leash of some note, but he’s coming off a lost season in which he was rocked for a 6.59 ERA while posting a career-worst 18.5% strikeout rate. Manager Alex Cora talked up Jovani Moran as a potential left-handed option, but the 28-year-old has struggled through injury and poor performance since a promising rookie campaign with the Twins back in 2022.

While Boston is lacking in established southpaw options, much of the free agent market has thinned out considerably in recent weeks. A reunion with veteran Justin Wilson would make sense, speculatively speaking, but each of Steven Matz (Rays), Gregory Soto (Pirates), Hoby Milner (Cubs), Caleb Thielbar (Cubs), Caleb Ferguson (Reds), Drew Pomeranz (Angels) and Sean Newcomb (White Sox) has already signed this winter. Wilson, Danny Coulombe, Taylor Rogers, Andrew Chafin and Brent Suter are all still available. JoJo Romero is the most obvious name on the trade market, if the Red Sox want to circle back for what would be a third trade with the Cardinals.

Padres Sign Blake Hunt To Minor League Deal

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The Padres have signed catcher Blake Hunt to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Hunt’s MLB.com profile page. Hunt’s deal was first reported by MadFriars earlier this month.

Hunt, 27, was a second-round pick by the Padres back in 2017. He was a piece of the Blake Snell trade during the 2020-21 offseason and spent several years climbing up the Rays’ minor league system. Hunt hit quite well for the Rays’ Double- and Triple-A affiliates in 2023, slashing a combined .256/.331/.484 with 12 homers in 67 games, but ultimately was not added to the club’s 40-man roster during the 2023-24 offseason with minor league free agency looming. That led the Rays to deal Hunt to the Mariners, who did add him to their 40-man roster and were willing to give up minor league catcher Tatem Levins in order to do so.

After making the jump to Seattle, Hunt hit extremely well in the first month of the season at Triple-A with a .293/.372/.533 slash line in 24 games. That was a strong enough performance that the Orioles decided to take a chance on him and acquired him from Seattle in the deal that sent Mike Baumann to the Mariners in May 2024. He was called up to the majors in July of 2024 but did not make his big league debut before being designated for assignment by Baltimore. He remained with the Orioles through the end of the year in the minor leagues but hit just .179/.219/.278 across 42 games with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk.

During the 2024-25 offseason, the Mariners re-acquired Hunt and stashed him at the minor league level as depth behind their big league duo of Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver. Raleigh, of course, went on to have an MVP-caliber season in 2025 as he broke the single season record for home runs by a catcher. That left little room for Hunt to make it to the majors this past year, but his minor league slash line did manage to recover after a tough year in Baltimore. Across 62 games this year, Hunt slashed .272/.368/.452. That slash line is inflated due to the offensive environment in the Pacific Coast League, where Seattle’s Tacoma affiliate plays, but Hunt’s performance was still good for an above-average 108 wRC+.

After the 2025 campaign, Hunt became a minor league free agent and hit the market as an intriguing, bat-first depth option for a catching-needy club. He’s now found a home back with his first professional organization and figures to be the top depth option with Triple-A El Paso headed into 2026. The Padres have a fairly weak catching tandem as things stand, as Freddy Fermin profiles best as a part-time player while Luis Campusano figures to serve as the club’s backup at the moment after getting just 27 plate appearances at the big league level last year. That leaves a fairly open path for Hunt to force his way onto the MLB roster and perhaps make his big league debut after years of sitting on the cusp of doing so. If the Padres don’t make further additions behind the plate, it’s easy to imagine Hunt challenging Campusano for the job of backing up Fermin this spring with longtime top prospect Ethan Salas still likely to be years away from his own big league debut.

The Opener: Imai, Okamoto, Orioles

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

1. Imai’s posting deadline approaches:

NPB right-hander Tatsuya Imai is entering the final days of his posting window and figures to sign with an MLB club any day now. Imai, 27, is among the more intriguing starters on the market this offseason coming off back-to-back seasons for the Seibu Lions where he posted dominant numbers. The righty was connected to the Cubs, Mets, Phillies, and Yankees among other clubs in the early weeks of the offseason but the rumor mill has been relatively quiet in the aftermath of the Winter Meetings earlier this month. How his market has developed in the weeks since that early interest from teams is unclear, but it seems reasonable to expect more information on the bidding for Imai’s services to become available any day now with his posting window set to wrap up at 4pm CT on January 2.

2. Okamoto begins meeting with teams:

The posting deadline for NPB infielder Kazuma Okamoto isn’t coming up quite as soon as Imai’s, as Okamoto doesn’t have to sign until January 4. Even so, rumors regarding the infielder’s future have been far more common in recent weeks as he comes off an elite (albeit injury-shortened) campaign with the Yomiuri Giants in 2025. Okamoto has been tied to the Pirates frequently this offseason, though connections have also been drawn between the 29-year-old and teams like the Angels, Padres, Red Sox, and Blue Jays. The latest reporting on Okamoto indicates that he’s headed to the U.S. for in-person meetings with teams, and a deal figures to come together quickly from there with less than a week remaining in his posting window.

3. Orioles continue to bolster rotation:

The Orioles re-signed right-hander Zach Eflin to a one-year deal over the weekend, and yesterday reporting indicated that a return to the mound by Opening Day is on the table for the righty even after he underwent season-ending back surgery back in August. That’s notable news not only because it suggests Eflin’s recovery from that procedure is going well, but also because it leaves Baltimore with a potential Opening Day rotation of Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Shane Baz, Eflin, and Dean Kremer with further depth behind those five arms. That’s a playable rotation that figures to be a significant upgrade over last year’s Opening Day quintet, but it lacks the sort of surefire front-of-the-rotation addition many expected from Baltimore this offseason. The addition of a more proven arm like Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez from here could certainly still be in the cards, but at this point it’s at least feasible that Baltimore will walk away from the offseason with only modest rotation upgrades and first baseman Pete Alonso as their big addition.

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