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Dodgers Designate Anthony Banda For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that they have designated left-hander Anthony Banda for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for their claim of catcher Ben Rortvedt, a move that was previously reported.

It’s a little bit of a surprise to see Banda losing his roster spot. He’s been a serviceable member of the Dodger bullpen for a couple of years now, even making multiple playoff appearances over the past two years. The Dodgers also tendered him a contract for 2026, agreeing to a $1.625MM salary last month.

But there were also some worrying trends in his 2025 performance. In 2024, he had given the Dodgers 49 2/3 innings with a 3.08 earned run average, 23.9% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 44.4% ground ball rate.

His ERA mostly held steady last year, climbing marginally to 3.18, but with more concern under the hood. His strikeout rate dropped to 22.8%. His walk rate shot up to 12.7%. He only induced grounders on 39.4% of balls in play. His ERA would have climbed more if not for a .227 batting average on balls in play and 83.1% strand rate, both very fortunate numbers. His 4.52 FIP and 4.39 SIERA suggested he deserved far worse. He then got lit up in the playoffs, allowing six earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

The Dodgers also have plenty of other lefty options. Banda probably wouldn’t have pitched in the playoffs so much if not for Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia being unavailable, Scott due to injury and Vesia due to a family matter. Both Scott and Vesia are expected to be back next year. The Dodgers have also seen young guys like Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski take steps forward.

On top of Banda’s performance and the other lefties on hand, Banda is also out of options, which surely helped nudge him off the roster. The Dodgers tendering him a contract perhaps suggests they are hoping to pass him through waivers unclaimed, which would therefore allow them to keep him as non-roster depth.

It wouldn’t be the first time they tried that this winter. They signed Ben Rortvedt and Andy Ibáñez to modest deals of just over $1MM then later put both on waivers, seemingly hoping that no other club would take on the modest salaries. It didn’t work in either case. Rortvedt was claimed by the Reds in November, though the Dodgers claimed him back today. Also earlier today, Ibáñez was claimed by the Athletics.

It seems likely that Banda would be claimed as well, despite his shaky 2025. He has some major league success and the salary is not massive. He could also be retained via arbitration for the 2027 season by any acquiring club. Given the weak bullpens of some clubs around the league, especially the rebuilding ones, it seems unlikely that 29 clubs would pass on him.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Dodgers could take five days to field trade interest. If the interest is decent enough, perhaps they can find a club willing to part with some cash considerations or a lottery-ticket prospect. If they plan to put him on waivers, they should probably do so sooner rather than later. The 60-day injured list opens up next week, which will give most clubs some extra roster flexibility for moves such as waiver claims.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Athletics Designate Max Schuemann For Assignment

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The Athletics announced that infielder/outfielder Max Schuemann has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to open a spot for their claim of Andy Ibáñez, a move that was previously reported.

Schuemann, 29 in June, has been on 40-man roster for almost two years now. The A’s selected him to the roster in April of 2024. Since then, he has appeared in 234 games and stepped to the plate 672 times. His combined line of .212/.306/.297 leads to a 78 wRC+.

That lack of offensive punch was clearly not doing it for the A’s. Upgrading the infield has been a target for them this winter. They acquired Jeff McNeil from the Mets and also had a deal in place for Nolan Arenado, although Arenado used his no-trade clause to get the Cardinals to trade him to the Diamondbacks instead. With Ibáñez available on the wire this week, they have grabbed him and bumped Schuemann into DFA limbo.

Despite the tepid offense, Schuemann might appeal to clubs for other reasons. He has stolen 21 bases in 23 attempts. He also provides defensive versatility, having played all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base. He also has a full slate of options, meaning he could be a longtime depth piece if some club is willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take five days to field trade interest. If they are hoping to get Schuemann through waivers unclaimed to keep him as non-roster depth, they will probably put him on the wire sooner. The 60-day injured list opens up next week, which will give most clubs extra roster space for marginal moves like waiver claims.

Photo courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images

Red Sox Claim Tsung-Che Cheng

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The Red Sox have claimed infielder Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from the Nationals, the team announced. The Sox had a vacancy on their 40-man roster, which is now full. They’ll need to open a spot to finalize this week’s reported agreement with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Cheng, 24, made his big league debut with the Pirates in 2025 but went hitless in seven plate appearances. He didn’t fare all that well in Triple-A last year either, hitting just .207/.305/.267 with one homer, 12 doubles and three triples in 410 turns at the plate. However, Cheng is a plus runner who swiped 20 bags despite that paltry OBP, and he’s also a capable defender at shortstop, second base and third base. The 5’8″ lefty swinger also has an excellent eye at the plate, evidenced by a career 12.5% walk rate in the minors.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been vocal about his desire to improve the club’s infield defense. Cheng isn’t going to secure a starting spot in the infield and may not even crack the Opening Day roster if he sticks with the Sox that long, as he has a minor league option remaining and can be sent to Triple-A without needing to be exposed to waivers. He’s a viable backup at any of shortstop, second base or third base who can work counts and run well, which makes him a potential bench option if he can improve his offense to some degree.

Then again, it’s far from certain Cheng will even be with the Red Sox at the end of camp. He’s been one of the most frequent riders of this offseason’s DFA carousel, bouncing from the Pirates, to the Rays, to the Mets, to the Nationals and now the Red Sox — all in the past month alone. The Red Sox are on the lookout for both a righty-swinging outfielder and another infielder (even after agreeing to terms with Kiner-Falefa), and if they bring in a veteran at either spot, Cheng could again find himself jettisoned into DFA limbo.

Angels Sign Brent Suter

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February 6th: The Angels officially announced their signing of Suter today.

February 5th: The Angels are closing in on a major league deal with free agent left-hander Brent Suter, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The Diamond Sports Management client would be the fourth veteran bullpen signing of the offseason for the Halos.

The 36-year-old Suter is a throwback in many ways — a soft-tossing, rubber-armed lefty who relies more on command and soft contact while often pitching multiple innings per outing. Last year’s 87.3 mph was the second-highest average velocity he’s posted on his four-seamer in any of his 10 big league seasons. His 89.1 mph average sinker was a career-high.

Obviously, Suter isn’t going to blow any hitters away with power stuff. However, he’s walked only 6.1% of his career opponents (6.2% in 2025) and perennially posts some of the league’s lowest exit velocity and hard-hit rates. Suter can still pick up some punchouts, but last year’s 18.2% mark was four percentage points shy of average. He hasn’t posted a league-average strikeout rate since 2021 and has an overall 18.8% mark in the four seasons since.

That hasn’t stopped Suter from being a generally effective relief option. Last year’s 4.52 ERA was a career-worst mark but was in part inflated by an abnormally low 69% strand rate. Playing his home games at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park didn’t help, as the 1.42 HR/9 he’s averaged over the past two seasons with the Reds is substantially higher than the 1.07 mark he carried into the 2024 season. That was surely a worthwhile trade-off for the Cincinnati native, who reportedly turned down some better offers to pitch for his hometown club the past couple seasons, but a move to Angel Stadium should bode well for the southpaw in terms of getting his home run rate back down.

Over the past seasons, Suter ranks 12th among all relief pitchers in innings pitched. He’s had just two IL stints along the way — three weeks for an oblique strain in ’23 and six weeks for a teres major strain in ’24 — and has logged a collective 3.76 ERA in that time. He’s typically been more of a long man or middle reliever but does have three saves and 24 holds in his career. He worked more than one inning in 22 of his 48 appearances with the Reds in 2025, topping out at 3 2/3 innings for his longest appearance of the season.

Despite restructuring the final season of Anthony Rendon’s contract such that it’ll defer his remaining salary over a five-year period, it’s been a quiet offseason for the Angels. They’ve added four relievers — Suter, Jordan Romano, Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates — on low-cost, one-year contracts. Yates ($5MM), Pomeranz ($4MM) and Romano ($2MM) will earn a combined $11MM. Suter’s deal will presumably be valued similarly to his three veteran counterparts. The team’s other moves include a buy-low trade of Rays outfielder Josh Lowe and re-signing Yoan Moncada for a year and $4MM.

That Lowe trade cost the Angels southpaw reliever Brock Burke. Signing Suter again gives the Angels a second lefty to pair with Pomeranz in a patchwork bullpen where the average reliever within is now about 33 and a half years old. Suter, Pomeranz, Yates and Romano will be joined by Robert Stephenson, Ryan Zeferjahn and out-of-options righty Chase Silseth. Recent waiver claim Kaleb Ort is out of options as well, so he’ll be in the Opening Day group unless he’s designated for assignment before that point; the Angels, notably, will need a 40-man move for Suter unless they wait until camp opens so they can move the aforementioned Rendon to the 60-day IL.

Dodgers Claim Ben Rortvedt

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The Reds announced that catcher Ben Rortvedt has been claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. Cincinnati designated him for assignment when they signed Eugenio Suárez earlier this week. The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster and will need to open a spot for Rortvedt.

The Dodgers clearly like Rortvedt as a depth catcher. They acquired him at last year’s deadline and he got some playing time down the stretch when Will Smith was hurt. After the season, he and the Dodgers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.25MM salary for 2026.

They then tried to sneak him through waivers, hoping that the salary would be enough to make other clubs pass, therefore allowing Rortvedt be in the minors as non-roster depth. They tried a similar move with infielder Andy Ibáñez, signing him to a $1.2MM deal and then putting him on the wire. It didn’t work in either case. The Reds claimed Rortvedt in November and the Athletics claimed Ibáñez today.

The Dodgers are taking this chance to bring Rortvedt back again. For now, he appears to be the clear #3 catcher behind Smith and Dalton Rushing. They could option Rushing to the minors but seemingly don’t think he has anything left to prove there, which is why they called him up last year and moved on from Austin Barnes.

Assuming Rortvedt is indeed third on the chart, he could be bound for the waiver wire again in the future. He is out of options and would have to be nudged off the 40-man if he’s not going to be on the active roster.

Time will tell how that plays out. For now, he’s back with the champs. His performance has been up and down in recent years. With the Rays in 2024, he posted a .228/.317/.303 line in 328 plate appearances. His 87 wRC+ indicated he was 13% below league average but that’s not bad for a part-time catcher. Thanks to some solid defense, FanGraphs credited him with 1.4 wins above replacement in that role.

Things turned sour in 2025. He slashed .095/.186/.111 and got outrighted to the minors. As mentioned, he was traded to the Dodgers and got some time filling in for Smith. In his 58 plate appearances, he hit .224/.309/.327, somewhat similar to his 2024 production. Teams clearly view him as a useful depth catcher but what remains to be seen is if he can hold onto a roster spot or if he can be passed through waivers.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Cardinals Claim Bryan Ramos

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The Cardinals have claimed infielder Bryan Ramos off waivers from the Orioles, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. There wasn’t any previous indication that Ramos had been designated for assignment but it seems the O’s tried to quietly sneak him through waivers. Their 40-man count will drop to 39. The Cards have had an open 40-man spot since trading Brendan Donovan to the Mariners earlier this week and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

Ramos had spent his entire professional career with the White Sox until getting designated for assignment last week. The Sox then flipped him to the Orioles for cash. It might seem odd that Baltimore sent out cash to get Ramos and then put him on waivers a few days later, but there’s logic at play.

Most teams currently have full 40-man rosters but the 60-day injured list opens up next week, which creates some extra flexibility for fringe roster moves. Getting a player through waivers is therefore easier now than it will be next week. Baltimore also bolstered their infield after getting Ramos by acquiring Blaze Alexander from the Diamondbacks yesterday.

Ramos is out of options is was going to have a tough time cracking Baltimore’s roster. He would have been a better fit as a non-roster guy, providing some minor league depth. The Cardinals have swooped in and prevented that from happening for the O’s.

For St. Louis, they had an open roster spot and also have a more open infield. They have traded away Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Donovan this winter. They currently project to have Masyn Winn at short and Alec Burleson at first, with guys like Nolan Gorman, JJ Wetherholt, Thomas Saggese, José Fermín and others in line for playing time at second and third base.

Ramos has only been a third baseman in his big league career, with some minor league time at first and second base. He was once a notable prospect but is coming off a few down years. He has hit .198/.244/.333 in 120 big league appearances and also has a .228/.314/.392 slash in the minors over the past two years.

As mentioned, Ramos is out of options. Even though St. Louis has some open playing time in their infield, they will probably try to get Ramos through waivers at some point. He has less than three years of service time and doesn’t have a previous career outright, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency if he were to clear waivers.

Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images

Graham Ashcraft Wins Arbitration Hearing

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Reds right-hander Graham Ashcraft won his arbitration hearing against the team, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. He and his reps at the Bledsoe Agency filed for a $1.75MM salary, while the team filed at $1.25MM. Ashcraft will receive the larger of those two figures in 2026. Players have won all five arbitration hearings that have been decided thus far in 2026.

Ashcraft, 28 next week, had a breakout season in the bullpen for Cincinnati. The former starter took to his new relief role, logging 65 1/3 innings with a 3.99 ERA. A forearm strain late in the season may have helped beef that ERA up a bit; he missed two weeks in late August/early September and was immediately tagged for five runs in his first two innings back on the mound, though he righted the ship thereafter, rattling off 5 1/3 shutout innings to end the year.

The 6’2″, 245-pound Ashcraft already threw hard as a starter, but his heater jumped to an average of 97.1 mph in relief. He paired that offering with a slider sitting 89.8 mph and showed more bat-missing ability than his 22.5% strikeout rate would otherwise indicate. That mark is right in line with league average, but Ashcraft’s 13.2% swinging-strike rate is more than two percentage points north of par. He also posted a solid 8.8% walk rate and a huge 55.9% ground-ball rate.

Ashcraft began the season working in lower-leverage spots but was one of manager Terry Francona’s top options in tight situations by season’s end. By measure of leverage index, Tony Santillan worked in the most pressure-packed spots, but Ashcraft was only a bit behind him, ranking slightly ahead of closer Emilio Pagan, who was more typically reserved for more traditional ninth-inning work.

The Reds re-signed Pagan to a two-year deal this winter, the second season of which is a player option. Ashcraft, alongside Santillan, will reprise his role as one of Pagan’s top setup men. If Pagan opts out after the season and signs elsewhere, Ashcraft could be in the mix for closing opportunities in 2027. This was his first trip through arbitration. Ashcraft is controllable through 2028 and is owed two more raises in arbitration over the next couple offseasons.

Edwin Uceta Wins Arbitration Hearing

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Right-hander Edwin Uceta won his arbitration hearing against the Rays, Ari Alexander of 7News reports. He’ll be paid the $1.525MM salary figure he and his agent at Nova Sports submitted rather than the $1.2MM sum submitted by the team. Players have now won the first four arbitration hearings of the 2026 season.

The 28-year-old Uceta is the latest success story for Tampa Bay’s pitch lab. The Rays were the journeyman right-hander’s fifth organization in three years when they got their hands on him in 2024. He came to the Rays organization with a career 5.80 ERA in 40 1/3 frames across parts of three seasons.

Tampa Bay near immediately unlocked something in the hard-throwing righty. Uceta exploded for 41 2/3 innings of 1.51 ERA ball with a mammoth 35.8% strikeout rate against a minuscule 5% walk rate in 2024. He followed that by tossing a team-leading 76 innings out of the ’pen in 2025. His 3.79 ERA was up from the year prior but still plenty serviceable. His rate stats trended in the wrong direction — 32.1 K%, 8.4 BB% — but were still strong marks overall, particularly the strikeout rate.

Overall, Uceta has a 2.98 ERA with terrific strikeout and walk rates in 113 2/3 innings with the Rays. His breakout has quickly thrust him into a high-leverage role. He’s saved six games and picked up 28 holds in his two years as a Ray, and with longtime closer Pete Fairbanks out the door, Uceta could find himself stepping into Tampa Bay’s ninth-inning vacancy before long. That role, coupled with this week’s arbitration win, would position him nicely for future raises moving forward.

This is Uceta’s first trip through the arbitration process. He’s a Super Two player (2.150 years of service), meaning he’s controllable through 2029 and will be arb-eligible four times instead of the standard three.

Braves, Kyle Farmer Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Kyle Farmer, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The BHSC client will be in camp as a non-roster player this spring, where he’ll compete for a bench job.

Farmer, 35, was the Reds’ starting shortstop in 2021-22 and had a nice 2023 showing with the Twins. Across those three seasons, he slashed a collective .258/.316/.402 (94 wRC+) while playing solid defense at shortstop, third base and second base (the latter two more so in Minnesota than in Cincinnati). He’s never been great against right-handed pitching but sports a career .279/.341/.464 batting line (117 wRC+) in 792 plate appearances against lefties.

The past two seasons haven’t gone nearly as well for Farmer. He hit .214/.293/.353 during his second season with Minnesota in 2024, prompting the Twins to decline an option and make him a free agent. Farmer signed a big league deal with the Rockies last offsseason but slashed just .227/.280/.365 despite the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field.

Even coming off a pair of down seasons, he’s a sensible pickup for a Braves club that thought it had its shortstop situation settled when re-signing Ha-Seong Kim on a one-year, $20MM contract. Kim suffered a freak injury last month when he slipped on some ice, landed on his hand and suffered a torn tendon, however. That injury required surgery that could keep him out for the first couple months of the season. Atlanta quickly pivoted to bring Jorge Mateo in on a one-year deal, and Farmer now joins the infield group on as a non-roster invitee.

The Braves have Mauricio Dubon lined up to start at shortstop in Kim’s absence, though the versatile Dubon can play all over the diamond and could spell free agent signee Mike Yastrzemski in the outfield against lefties. On those days — or when Yastrzemski is lifted for a pinch-hitter — Farmer could step into shortstop as Dubon slides to the outfield.

Of course, Farmer will have to play well enough this spring to break camp with the club. The presence of Mateo already gives Atlanta at least one shortstop alternative to Dubon, Mateo can play multiple positions, including the outfield, but like Farmer he’s a righty-swinging veteran who can’t be optioned, so the two of them could be seen as redundant when the Braves are making their final roster decisions. For now anyway, Farmer provides some depth and would seem to have a real chance to make the club.

Red Sox Still Looking To Add To Infield

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The Red Sox have been connected to infielders all winter and and reportedly agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa this week. That doesn’t mean they’re done, with Sean McAdam of MassLive reporting the club is still in the market for another infielder.

That aligns with Kiner-Falefa’s skill set. He’s a strong defender at many positions but has never offered much with the bat. His best role would be a utility player, providing cover at multiple positions. The Sox have an injury-prone shortstop in Trevor Story. They will seemingly give Marcelo Mayer a chance to carve out an everyday role somewhere but he has just 44 games of big league experience. Kiner-Falefa gives the club a fallback if Story gets hurt or Mayer struggles.

That still leaves the Sox with a hole somewhere. Mayer could be at either third or second base. The Sox seemingly prefer him at third but they would need to find a second base upgrade. Currently, they have a mix that includes Kiner-Falefa, Romy González, David Hamilton and others. González has value but is mostly a short-side platoon guy who can beat up lefties. Hamilton is a speed-and-defense guy somewhat like Kiner-Falefa. Kristian Campbell seems to be considered an outfielder now.

Upgrading on that group with a clear everyday second baseman makes a lot of sense but there are fewer options available at this stage of the offseason. The top remaining free agents are arguably not better than Kiner-Falefa, with Ramón Urías, Luis Urías and Adam Frazier some of the guys still out there. The trade market should be Boston’s best bet at this point. They have been connected to guys like Isaac Paredes of the Astros as well as Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw of the Cubs.

The Astros have a bit of an infield logjam but have thus far held onto Paredes. He has some second base experience but hasn’t played there since 2023. Putting him back at the keystone might not align with Boston’s stated desire to improve defensively but he would certainly add thump, as he’s generally been good for 20-plus homers per season. It’s also possible the Sox like the bat enough that they would be willing to acquire him and put him at third with Mayer at second, despite their apparent preference for Mayer to be at the hot corner.

A trade with the Astros could also make a lot of sense from Houston’s perspective as well, as that club is looking to add a left-handed bat, preferably in the outfield. That’s something the Sox can offer, with Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida all on the roster.

Hoerner is perhaps the best defensive second baseman in the majors, so he would certainly fit in with Boston’s desires. The only problem would be convincing the Cubs to part with him. Shaw is less established and has less of a role on the Cubs right now. However, with Hoerner only signed for one more year, they may cling tightly to Shaw as well with the idea that he will take over for Hoerner a year from now.

Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen has said he’s not going to consider Ketel Marte trades any longer but that was before Boston signed Ranger Suárez. Maybe now that pitching prospects like Payton Tolle and Connelly Early have been pushed down the depth chart, perhaps Boston would be more willing to put them on the table in an effort to change Hazen’s mind.

Time will tell if chief baseball officer Craig Breslow can pull something off at this late stage of the offseason. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training next week.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images

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