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Mariners Sign Connor Joe, Jhonathan Díaz To Minor League Deals

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that they’ve signed first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe and left-hander Jhonathan Díaz to minor league deals. Both players receive invitations to major league spring training. Díaz was outrighted by Seattle last week and briefly elected free agency but will return on a new minor league pact.

Joe, 33, briefly appeared with both the Padres and Reds last season but only totaled 42 plate appearances in the majors. He didn’t hit well in that time but from 2021-24 logged a respectable .244/.339/.395 batting line (99 wRC+) with 35 homers, 82 doubles, nine triples, an 11.2% walk rate and a 21.6% strikeout rate in 1566 plate appearances between Colorado and Pittsburgh. He spent most of last year in Triple-A, where he posted a disappointing .225/.346/.306 slash in 205 trips to the plate.

In 645 career plate appearances against lefties, the right-handed-hitting Joe is a .247/.344/.401 hitter, just a bit north of league-average by measure of wRC+. He’s logged 874 innings in right field, 944 innings in left field and 1089 innings at first base, with solid grades at first and in left field. Seattle already signed Rob Refsnyder to pair with lefty-swinging DH/corner outfielder Dominic Canzone, but Joe provides some depth in the event of an injury to Refsnyder.

The 29-year-old Díaz has pitched briefly in parts of five major league seasons but only has 46 1/3 MLB frames under his belt. He’s worked to a 4.66 ERA in that small sample, fanning 33 of 219 opponents (15.1%) against 27 walks (12.3%). He’s been a solid member of the Mariners’ Triple-A rotation in each of the past two seasons, starting at least 22 games in both seasons and keeping his ERA in the low 4.00s.

Díaz isn’t likely to crack Seattle’s Opening Day roster, but he’s a serviceable depth arm to have down in Tacoma and could be in line for additional opportunities in 2026 after right-hander Logan Evans underwent UCL surgery recently. Evans was likely Triple-A-bound himself but was sixth on Seattle’s rotation depth chart behind the quintet of Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller. Right-hander Emerson Hancock is probably the first man up in the event of an injury now, but Díaz joins him, Casey Lawrence and fellow non-roster invitee Dane Dunning in that conversation.

Tigers, Austin Slater Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers are in agreement with outfielder Austin Slater on a minor league contract that includes an invite to MLB Spring Training. The Ballengee Group client would reportedly earn a $2MM base salary if he makes the team and could collect another $500K in performance bonuses.

Slater is a right-handed bat who’ll compete for a fourth outfield role. The 33-year-old is coming off a rough season in which he hit .216/.270/.372 over 65 games between the White Sox and Yankees. The numbers were probably weighed down by injury, as he suffered an early-season meniscus tear in his right knee and missed a month after the trade deadline because of a left hamstring strain.

For most of his career, Slater has been a solid complementary piece who does his best work as a short-side platoon bat. He had four straight seasons of above-average offense on a rate basis as a member of the Giants between 2020-23. That’s in large part because San Francisco was aggressive in playing matchups and got Slater so many looks versus lefty pitching. He’s a career .267/.357/.430 hitter in more than 1000 plate appearances against southpaws. His .227/.311/.329 slash in 836 trips to the dish without the platoon advantage is a lot less imposing.

Detroit is also one of the more platoon-heavy teams in MLB under A.J. Hinch. The top of their outfield/designated hitter mix skews left-handed. Kerry Carpenter will get the majority of the DH work with some time in right field. Riley Greene is the left fielder, while Parker Meadows projects as the primary center fielder.

Slater is no more than an emergency option in center but should be a capable defender in the corners if called upon. Jahmai Jones, Matt Vierling and the switch-hitting Wenceel Pérez — who has been better from the right side of the plate — are all platoon possibilities off the bench. Vierling was banged up for most of last season, while Pérez had a terrible September that marked a sour finish to what had been shaping up as a potential breakout.

As a player with six years of service time who finished last season on New York’s major league roster, Slater hit the market as an Article XX(b) free agent. That means this deal comes with a trio of automatic opt-out dates under the collective bargaining agreement. He can trigger an out clause on any of March 21, May 1, or June 1. If he does, the Tigers would have two days to either promote him or grant him his release.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Tigers had an agreement with Slater. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported it was an NRI. Robert Murray of FanSided had the financials.

Cardinals, Nationals Swap George Soriano, Andre Granillo

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The Nationals and Cardinals announced a one-for-one swap of righty relievers. St. Louis acquires George Soriano while Washington picks up Andre Granillo. Washington placed starter Trevor Williams on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. The Nationals had designated Soriano for assignment last week when they claimed lefty Ken Waldichuk off waivers, so they needed to open a 40-man spot for Granillo.

Soriano will hopefully find some certainty after a hectic offseason. This is the fourth time he has changed organizations since November. The 26-year-old had spent his entire career with the Marlins until they placed him on waivers at the beginning of the offseason. He landed with Baltimore, Atlanta and Washington via successive waiver claims and designations.

A veteran of parts of three seasons, Soriano has an earned run average just under 6.00 over 118 big league innings. He has a league average 22% strikeout rate against a moderately concerning 10.3% walk percentage. The biggest issue is that he has been very homer-prone, surrendering 1.75 longballs per nine innings. Soriano works in the 95-96 mph range with his sinker and four-seam fastball while using a slider and changeup fairly frequently. He’s out of minor league options and either needs to break camp or be sent back into DFA limbo.

It’s a good sign for Soriano’s chances of sticking on a roster that St. Louis parted with an MLB reliever to jump the waiver order. Granillo, 25, is a former 14th-round draft choice who was called up for the first time last June. He was up and down from Triple-A Memphis for the rest of the season. Granillo got into 14 MLB games, posting a 4.71 ERA through his first 21 innings. He has posted high strikeout and walk rates throughout his minor league career but had more of a pitch-to-contact approach in his limited big league work.

Granillo leans most heavily on his slider while sitting 94-95 with the fastball. He sporadically mixes a changeup but is mostly a two-pitch reliever. He’s coming off an excellent season at Triple-A Memphis, where he turned in a 1.29 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate and a career-low 8.7% walk percentage across 42 innings. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining.

It’s surprising that the Cardinals parted with Granillo for a pitcher who was waived three times in an offseason. They’re evidently not bullish on Granillo’s chances of translating his Triple-A production into success at the highest level. It’s also worth noting that they never had an opportunity to grab Soriano off waivers. Offseason waiver priority is in inverse order of last season’s record, and St. Louis had a higher win percentage than each of Baltimore, Atlanta, or Washington did. The Cardinals and Nats each have plenty of opportunities in a wide open bullpen.

Williams’ IL move is a formality. He underwent an internal brace surgery to repair the UCL in his elbow last July. That’s a year-long recovery process. He’ll aim for a return sometime after the All-Star Break.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the trade shortly before the announcements.

Tyler Stephenson Wins Arbitration Hearing

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Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson won his arbitration hearing against the team, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He’ll earn the $6.8MM figure submitted by his reps at ACES rather than the $6.55MM figure submitted by the team. Stephenson is heading into his final season of club control and will be a free agent next winter.

Stephenson pulls in a 38.1% raise on last year’s $4.925MM salary on the heels of a season in which he slashed .231/.316/.421 with 13 homers and 18 doubles in 342 plate appearances. A broken left thumb and an oblique strain limited him to just 88 games in 2025, but he had another generally productive stretch while healthy. Since debuting in 2019, Stephenson has taken just shy of 2000 plate appearances and logged a combined .261/.338/.426 slash with 63 homers and 94 doubles.

Last year’s 33.9% strikeout rate was a career-worst by a wide margin, but his career-high 10.8% walk rate at least helped to mitigate that uptick in punchouts a bit. He actually chased balls off the plate less than the average hitter, but Stephenson’s contact rate on those chases was just 49.4% — well shy off the 55.6% league average. His contact rate on balls within the zone dropped by a concerning six percentage points.

Some of that could be due to his broken thumb, of course. Hand injuries can linger and impact a player’s swing even after he’s cleared to return to action, and it’s worth noting that Stephenson’s bat speed dropped by nearly a mile per hour over the prior season. It’s not unreasonable to think that with better health, he could regain some of that contact. Either way, his quality of contact remained strong; Stephenson averaged 90.5 mph off the bat with an excellent 49.2% hard-hit rate and an even better 14.4% barrel rate.

Heading into the 2026 season, Stephenson will again be the Reds’ primary catcher, teaming with defensive-minded Jose Trevino to handle the majority of Cincinnati’s catching duties. He could also mix in at first base and designated hitter. A healthy platform season should put Stephenson in line for a nice multi-year deal as he heads to the open market ahead of his age-30 campaign next winter.

Following Stephenson’s victory, players have gone 6-1 against teams in this offseason’s slate of arbitration hearings.

Francisco Lindor Could Need Surgery For Hamate Injury

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Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is being evaluated for a hamate bone injury, per president of baseball operations David Stearns. The five-time All-Star would face a six-week absence if the injury requires surgery. Steans told reporters, including Jorge Castillo of ESPN, that he’s confident Lindor would be back for the beginning of the season even if he has surgery.

Lindor underwent a debridement procedure on his right elbow early in the offseason. Insurance coverage issues related to the injury kept the Team Puerto Rico captain out of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The announcement from Stearns is the first mention of the hamate injury. Lindor is set to be examined to determine the next steps. The Mets open the season against the Pirates on March 26.

The 32-year-old Lindor missed a month with an oblique strain in the middle of his first season with the Mets in 2021. Since then, he’s been the picture of health. Lindor has played in at least 152 games in four straight seasons. He’s piled up 680+ plate appearances each year in that stretch, including a league-leading 732 this past year. Lindor hasn’t been on the IL since the 2021 oblique issue.

The six-week timeframe would leave little breathing room for Lindor to recover in time for Opening Day, if he were to undergo surgery. The shortstop has been dealing with the stress reaction in his hamate bone over the past few days, Stearns said (relayed by Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com). Hamate bone issues have a history of sapping power from hitters. Lindor has been a 30-homer hitter for three straight years.

The Mets have a handful of in-house options available to replace Lindor if he misses any time. Free agent acquisition Bo Bichette was ticketed for third base, but could move back to his natural position of shortstop. Bichette’s declining skills at the position narrowed his list of suitors and led to him landing with a team that didn’t need him up the middle, but he could survive at short until Lindor ramped back up.

Ronny Mauricio spent the majority of his minor league career at shortstop. He’s been mostly a third baseman in the big leagues, though that’s mostly due to Lindor’s stranglehold on shortstop. Vidal Bruján is the only other player with recent shortstop experience on the 40-man roster.

Losing Lindor’s bat for any amount of time would be significant for an offense that will look quite different in 2026. Mainstays Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso have departed, along with midseason acquisition Cedric Mullins. Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Robert Jr. are now in the mix, along with Bichette.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Tigers Sign Justin Verlander

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It’s homecoming season in Detroit. After years of Tigers fans hoping for a reunion with future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, the team announced Tuesday that Verlander has been signed to a one-year contract for the 2026 season. The ISE client is guaranteed $13MM, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, though $11MM of that sum will be deferred and paid out beginning in 2030.

Though he’ll turn 43 later this month, Verlander has voiced no desire to call it quits. Rather, he’s previously said he hopes to pitch well into his mid 40s. He’s coming off a solid season at age 42 — one that started slowly but by the end saw Verlander again pitching like a high-quality big league starter. The right-hander pitched 152 innings for the Giants last season, logging a 3.85 ERA, a 20.7% strikeout rate, a 7.9% walk rate and a 34.5% ground-ball rate.

Those are solid overall numbers but mask the strength of Verlander’s finish. Over his final 13 trips to the mound, he totaled 72 2/3 innings with a terrific 2.60 ERA, a 22.8% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate. Verlander limited hard contact better than the average pitcher, checked in with a 93.9 mph average on his four-seamer and turned in an 11% swinging-strike rate that was an exact match for the league average. He only picked up four wins during his time as a Giant, hindering his quest to chase down the 300-victory milestone, but that was due more to poor run support and shaky bullpen work behind him than anything Verlander specifically did.

Verlander returns to what now looks like a stacked Detroit rotation. He’ll reunite with former Astros teammate Framber Valdez, who agreed to a three-year, $115MM contract with Detroit just last week. That pair will join ace Tarik Skubal as he looks to join Verlander as a three-time Cy Young winner. The rotation will be rounded out by right-handers Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize,

A healthy Reese Olson would be among Detroit’s top five starters, even with Verlander in tow, but Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press suggested last week that the 26-year-old righty may not be ready for Opening Day. Olson made only 13 starts last season due to a shoulder strain that apparently is still an issue. There’s no indication he’s looking at a significant absence, but the addition of Verlander provides some depth and pushes Olson into a vastly overqualified sixth starter/depth role.

In all likelihood, there’ll be plenty of starts to go around for Olson and other rotation candidates, including promising righty Troy Melton. Injuries are inevitable for any team, so there probably won’t be too many stretches of the season where all six of Skubal, Valdez, Verlander, Mize, Flaherty and Olson are all at full strength. Top prospect Jackson Jobe could factor into the mix late in the season as well, but he’ll miss the majority of the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer. Even still, simply having someone of Verlander’s stature around to watch and learn from during spring training is an opportunity that Jobe (and other young arms in Tigers camp) will undoubtedly relish.

Whether coincidence or otherwise, Verlander’s $13MM guarantee matches the $13MM gap the Tigers faced in last week’s arbitration hearing with Skubal. The reigning AL Cy Young winner won that hearing. Perhaps the Tigers wouldn’t have gone quite so deferral-heavy on the contract had the arbitration panel ruled in favor of the team, but that’s a moot point. Either way, Verlander is back with the team that originally drafted him with No. 2 overall pick out of Old Dominion back in 2004, and he’ll continue his longshot quest to become MLB’s 25th 300-game winner.

Verlander currently sits at 266 wins in his illustrious career, tied with Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for 37th-most in the game’s history. He’ll probably need three more seasons to have a chance at reaching the 300 mark, but he’s previously said he hopes to pitch until he is at least 45. Based on last year’s strong finish and his overall rate stats, he still has something left in the tank as he works toward that lofty goal.

The late additions of Valdez and Verlander will thrust the Tigers into luxury tax territory for the first time. RosterResource’s estimates currently have Detroit about $12MM over the $244MM threshold. That means they’ll pay a 20% tax on the net-present value of Verlander’s deal. It’s more than the Tigers have ever spent. Those late moves have positioned the Tigers as a clear front-runner in an AL Central that’s been characterized primarily by inertia this offseason. They took their time, but the Tigers have made it emphatically clear that their sights are set on winning the Central and pushing for a World Series win in Skubal’s final season before free agency.

White Sox To Trade Bryan Hudson To Mets

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The White Sox are trading reliever Bryan Hudson to the Mets, first reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. It’s a cash deal. Chicago designated the lefty for assignment last week to make room for outfielder Austin Hays. New York placed right-hander Reed Garrett on the 60-day IL in a corresponding move. The Mets have officially announced both transactions.

Hudson split last season between the Brewers and the White Sox. He broke camp with Milwaukee, but struggled with control over the first month of the season. After piling up nine walks in 8 2/3 innings, Hudson found himself back in Triple-A. He’d make it back up for one more appearance with the club in May. The Brewers designated the 28-year-old lefty for assignment in July. Chicago scooped him up, and he pitched in four games with the team.

Hudson was a key contributor in a Brewers bullpen that led the National League in ERA in 2024. He provided a pristine 1.73 ERA across 62 2/3 innings. Hudson finished second on the team with 14 holds and also found his way to six wins. A .148 BABIP was sure to regress, as was a 94.2% left on base rate, but Hudson seemed to establish himself as an important cog in Milwaukee.

Finding the zone was a major problem for Hudson last season. He posted a 57.9% strike rate across 16 big-league appearances. The lefty also saw his arsenal take a step back. Hudson’s four-seamer, which was already on the softer side, averaged just 90.5 mph in 2025. His sweeper and cutter also lost velocity. Hudson’s Stuff+ fell from 100 to 94 this past year.

As Sherman notes, there’s an opening in New York’s bullpen for a left-handed arm if A.J. Minter isn’t ready for Opening Day. Minter is recovering from surgery to repair a torn lat. His status is uncertain to begin the season. The Mets have Brooks Raley as a southpaw option in the later innings, but the rest of the current projected bullpen is right-handed.

Garrett underwent Tommy John surgery in October. He’s expected to miss the entire 2026 season, so his transition to the 60-day injured list doesn’t come as a surprise.

Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images

Rockies Sign Tomoyuki Sugano, Place Kris Bryant On 60-Day IL

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The Rockies have added some veteran innings to their rotation, signing right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year contract that’s worth a reported $5.1MM. He’s represented by the VC Sports Group. Kris Bryant was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Sugano, 36, was a star in Japan prior to last season’s major league debut — one of the most durable and successful starting pitchers of the current generation in Nippon Professional Baseball. He contemplated a move to MLB earlier in his career but opted to remain with the Yomiuri Giants on a four-year, $40MM deal in the 2020-21 offseason rather than make the jump to North America.

He finally opted to commit to an MLB opportunity last offseason, signing a one-year, $13MM deal with the Orioles. He was one of several one-year additions to the Baltimore rotation, and Sugano panned out better than either Charlie Morton or Kyle Gibson did after signing a short-term deal with Baltimore.

It wasn’t a dominant debut effort by any means, but Sugano made 30 starts and piled up 157 innings with a 4.64 earned run average. His 5.3% walk rate was excellent, but the right-hander’s 15.1% strikeout rate was among the lowest in Major League Baseball. That lack of missed bats and pedestrian velocity on his fastballs (92.7 mph average four-seamer, 92.9 mph average sinker) led to too many barrels and far too many home runs. Sugano was tagged for 33 round-trippers — most in the American League and third-most in all of MLB — or an average of 1.89 homers per nine frames.

Certainly, that home run susceptibility is cause for some concern as Sugano signs on to play his home games at Coors Field. Then again, the Rockies entered the offseason in dire need of rotation help and are always going to have a hard time selling free agent starters on pitching at elevation. They managed to sway Michael Lorenzen earlier in the offseason and will now add Sugano, at the very least giving the rotation a pair of veteran options to eat innings and take some pressure off some still-developing young arms.

Sugano joins a rotation slated to include Lorenzen, Kyle Freeland and Ryan Feltner. Top prospect Chase Dollander, the No. 9 pick from the 2023 draft, was hit hard as a rookie in 2025 but probably has the inside track on the No. 5 spot. Nearly all of his 2025 struggles came at Coors Field; he posted a 3.46 ERA, 22.4% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate on the road (compared to a 9.98 ERA at home). Other candidates for the fifth spot include Tanner Gordon, McCade Brown and Carson Palmquist, among others.

The $5.1MM salary bumps Colorado to about $114.5MM in actual cash payroll and $132MM worth of luxury tax obligations, per RosterResource. Neither is close to the club’s respective franchise-record marks, though that’s to be expected as the Rockies embark on what’ll likely be a yearslong rebuilding effort under new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and new general manager Josh Byrnes. If Sugano and/or Lorenzen can put together decent first halves of the season, either could find himself as a deadline option for contending clubs looking to add rotation depth, but if nothing else, they’re affordable innings eaters to help navigate a long season.

As for the Bryant side of the move, the news is unfortunate but hardly surprising. The 34-year-old played only 11 games last season and has suited up for only 170 games over the first four seasons of his seven-year deal with Colorado. He’s been diagnosed with a degenerative lumbar condition in his lower back that has made it unclear precisely when — or whether — the Rockies can count on him returning to the field.

The team will surely have more updates on Bryant as camp progresses. The 60-day minimum for his IL placement doesn’t kick in until Opening Day. All IL placements can be backdated by a maximum of three days, so at minimum, Bryant will be out for the first 57 days of the 2026 season.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reported this morning that the Rockies were working to bring in some additional rotation help. Thomas Harding of MLB.com first reported the one-year agreement. ESPN’s Jeff Passan added financial terms.

Diamondbacks Sign Carlos Santana

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Feb. 10: The Diamondbacks officially announced the Santana deal on Tuesday afternoon. Left-hander Andrew Saalfrank was placed on the 60-day IL in a corresponding move. Saalfrank had shoulder surgery on Monday and is expected to miss the entire 2026 season.

Feb. 3: The Diamondbacks and free agent first baseman Carlos Santana are in agreement on a deal, according to various sources. It is reportedly a one-year, $2MM pact. The Snakes have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move once Santana completes his physical and the deal becomes official.

Santana, 40 in April, made his major league debut back in 2010. While he’s never really been a star player, he has carved out a long career as a reliably strong contributor. He has always had strong strikeout and walk numbers while flashing a bit of pop with strong first base defense to boot. In over 9,000 career plate appearances, he has a 14.4% walk rate, 16.6% strikeout rate, .241/.352/.425 line and 114 wRC+. In almost 13,000 innings at first, he has racked up 48 Defensive Runs Saved and 45 Outs Above Average.

As one would expect, his production has declined as he has pushed closer to his 40th birthday. He still gets rave reviews for his glovework but his offense hasn’t been as robust in recent seasons. Dating back to the start of 2020, he has a combined line of .222/.321/.378 and a 96 wRC+. With the Guardians and Cubs in 2025, his 11% walk rate and 19.2% strikeout rate were still good numbers but down from his career levels. He slashed .219/.308/.325 on the year for a wRC+ of 82.

Despite the trend lines and the poor 2025 season, there are some reasons why Santana could be a good fit for the Arizona roster. A switch-hitter, he has always fared better against left-handed pitching. In 2025, he wasn’t great against pitchers of either handedness, with a .231/.318/.346 line and 89 wRC+ against southpaws. But as recently as 2024, he was able to put up a huge .286/.356/.578 line and 160 wRC+ in that split.

The Diamondbacks had Josh Naylor as their first baseman to begin 2025 but they traded him to the Mariners at the deadline. Coming into this offseason, they had Pavin Smith and Tyler Locklear atop the depth chart, but with question marks there.

Locklear, who came over from the Mariners in the Eugenio Suárez trade last summer, hasn’t yet found success against big league pitching. He also might not be ready for Opening Day this year. In a September game against the Red Sox, he was attempting to corral an errant throw from third baseman Jordan Lawlar when he made contact with batter-runner Connor Wong. He suffered a ligament tear in his elbow and a labrum injury in his shoulder and required surgery in October.

As for Smith, he has shown flashes of potential at times but with a heavy platoon split. A left-handed batter, he slashed .270/.348/.547 for a 140 wRC+ in 2024 but with most of that damage coming against righties. Last year, he had big splits again and also faded as the season went along, dealing with injuries in the second half. For the whole year, he hit .265/.361/.456 against righties but just .167/.375/.167 against lefties. He had a combined .261/.371/.446 line in the first half and .227/.261/.318 line in the second half. He spent time on the injured list due to an oblique strain and a quad strain and only played 87 games on the year.

Locklear hits from the right side, so a platoon with Smith is potentially a good arrangement at first. But Locklear is fairly unproven and also has the uncertain health status. Smith appears to be a good bat against righties but without an especially long track record of success. His first base defense also hasn’t received strong marks.

The Diamondbacks didn’t have a strict designated hitter in 2025, with various players rotating through that spot. It’s possible they could rotate Locklear, Smith and Santana based on various situations throughout the season. Santana provides stronger glovework than Smith and with better numbers against lefty pitchers. Locklear still has an option and could be sent to Triple-A but he could earn more playing time, with the DH spot allowing the club to spread some more at-bats around.

There’s also the financial component. Owner Ken Kendrick said in September that the payroll would likely be dialed back relative to 2025. General manager Mike Hazen has tried to downplay the payroll concerns but also recently implied that making a flashy bullpen signing would have closed the door to reuniting with Merrill Kelly.

With an uncertain first base situation and little money to spend, the Snakes were connected to right-handed-hitting first basemen who weren’t likely command high salaries. That included Santana but also Ty France and old friend Paul Goldschmidt. While a reunion with Goldy would have been fun, the Santana deal seems to make it far less likely, if not completely impossible.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the sides were close to a deal. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that an agreement was in place. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported that it would be a one-year deal. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reported the $2MM figure. Photos courtesy of David Richard, Katie Stratman, Imagn Images

Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On 60-Day Injured List

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The Braves opened camp this morning with an unwelcome update on talented young righty Spencer Schwellenbach. He’s been placed on the 60-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

The team’s hope is that the 25-year-old is dealing with bone spurs and not something more nefarious. Regardless, since the “60-day” term begins on Opening Day (and can only be backdated a maximum of three days), Schwellenbach will miss at least two months of action to begin the season. His IL placement should open space on the roster for catcher Jonah Heim, who agreed to a one-year deal with Atlanta earlier today.

Injuries to the pitching staff were the hallmark of Atlanta’s 2025 season, and their 2026 campaign isn’t starting out much differently. The Braves have already been on the lookout for rotation help — perhaps already knowing that Schwellenbach would be sidelined — with reported interest in Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito, among others. Atlanta has already had to make one late-offseason pivot, signing Jorge Mateo and Kyle Farmer (the latter on a minor league deal) after Ha-Seong Kim suffered a torn tendon in his hand when he slipped on some ice and fell in a fluke off-field injury. He’ll need four to five months to recover from the subsequent surgery. Schwellenbach’s injury seems to set the stage for another late addition.

The Braves had already been facing workload and health concerns in the rotation. Chris Sale missed significant time with a ribcage fracture last season and has a lengthy injury history. Spencer Strider’s return from UCL surgery produced results that were nowhere close to his star-caliber performance prior to injury. Schwellenbach missed months due to an elbow fracture. Reynaldo Lopez only made one start last year due to shoulder surgery. Promising young righty AJ Smith-Shawver was shelved after a handful of starts due to his own Tommy John procedure.

Entering the year, the Atlanta rotation figured to include Sale, Strider, Schwellenbach, Lopez and one of Hurston Waldrep, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, Didier Fuentes or an external addition such as Giolito or Bassitt. The Braves are down to three established veterans (Sale, Strider, Lopez), none of whom is coming off a peak season in terms of both health and performance. There ought to be a fair bit of urgency to add another starter to help keep pace in a perennially competitive National League East.

How much space the Braves do or don’t have to make that rotation addition happen isn’t fully clear. RosterResource projects an actual cash payroll around $268MM and a CBT payroll about $10MM less than that. That puts the Braves around $6MM shy of the second tier of luxury tax penalization. They’d owe a 20% tax on any dollars up to the $264MM luxury mark and a 32% tax on anything from $264MM to $284MM. That’s presumably the point at which Atlanta would prefer to halt its spending, given that crossing the $284MM third-tier threshold is the point at which a team’s top draft pick is dropped by 10 places.

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