Offseason In Review: Cleveland Guardians
Spring training is here, but it’s not clear the Guardians ever got the memo that the offseason began. Despite winning the AL Central in 2025, they made practically no additions and will enter the year with one of their lowest team payrolls — if not the lowest — in more than a decade.
Major League Free Agent Signings
- Shawn Armstrong, RHP: One year, $5.5MM (includes buyout of 2027 mutual option)
- Austin Hedges, C: One year, $4MM
- Colin Holderman, RHP: One year, $1.5MM
- Connor Brogdon, RHP: One year, $900K
Total spend: $11.9MM
Option Decisions
- Declined $6MM club option on LHP John Means
Trades and Waiver Claims
- Acquired LHP Justin Bruihl from Blue Jays for cash (later traded to Cardinals for cash)
- Acquired minor league RHP Franklin Gomez from Mets for international bonus pool space
- Selected RHP Peyton Pallette from White Sox in Rule 5 Draft
Extensions
- José Ramirez, 3B: Four years, $106MM (on top of preexisting three years, $69MM; contract includes $70MM in deferred money which actually lowers the amount Cleveland owes Ramirez in 2026)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Rhys Hoskins, Ben Lively (two-year minor league deal), Kolby Allard, Pedro Avila, Carter Kieboom, Stuart Fairchild, Codi Heuer, Dom Nunez
Notable Losses
- Jakob Junis, Lane Thomas, Will Wilson (outrighted), Matt Krook (outrighted), Sam Hentges (non-tendered), Will Brennan (non-tendered), Nic Enright (non-tendered), Zak Kent (lost on waivers), Jhonkensy Noel (lost on waivers), John Means
Cleveland went on an improbable run to its third AL Central title in four seasons in 2025, rattling off a blistering 20-7 record in September to edge out Detroit, who’d led the division for much of the summer. Strong play from the Guardians alone wouldn’t have gotten the job done; they needed the Tigers to also collapse in epic fashion. Detroit obliged, going 7-17 in September to squander what been an 11-game division lead as deep into the season as Sept. 4.
Entering the offseason, it was easy to presume that a Cinderella run of this nature, coupled with practically no long-term commitments and one of the lightest slates of 2026 financial obligations of any team in the sport would have emboldened the Guardians to add to what was an anemic offense. Any such presumptions have been proven incorrect.
The Guardians hit .226/.296/.373 as a team last season. The resulting 87 wRC+ (indicating their offense as a whole was 13% worse than average) ranked 28th in the majors. Cleveland ranked 28th in baseball with 643 runs scored and 29th in each of batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Superstar third baseman José Ramirez and and slugging first baseman Kyle Manzardo (who was heavily platooned) were the only members of the roster to manage even a league-average offensive line, by measure of wRC+. Left fielder Steven Kwan was short by the narrowest of margins, at 99. Outfield prospect George Valera hit fairly well but did so in a sample of 48 plate appearances.
Not only was no one else on Cleveland’s roster even a league-average hitter — virtually no one else was even close. First baseman/outfielder C.J. Kayfus hit .220/.292/.415 — good for a 96 wRC+ in 138 plate appearances. No one else on the roster was even within 10% of average. Cleveland gave a total of 2757 plate appearances to Angel Martinez, Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, Bo Naylor, Nolan Jones, Brayan Rocchio and Hedges. That’s 46% of their team-wide plate appearances. Those seven players combined for a .212/.280/.346 batting line (76 wRC+). They’re all back in 2026.
Cleveland does have some hope for better offense in 2026. They could receive a full year of outfield prospects Valera and Chase DeLauter, but betting on them to this extent is an immense risk. DeLauter was a first-round pick in 2022 and has been a top prospect since. He’s also been regularly injured. Since being taken in the draft three and a half years ago, he’s played all of 138 minor league games. His two playoff games with Cleveland in 2025 marked his big league debut. It’s a similar story with Valera, a former top prospect out of the Dominican Republic who has only once played 100 games in a season despite signing back in 2017. He played 60 regular-season games in 2025 between the big leagues and the minors.
The Guardians also have 2024’s No. 1 overall pick, second baseman Travis Bazzana, very likely to make his big league debut early in the 2026 season. Twenty-four-year-old infielder Juan Brito could also get a look, though he got into only 31 minor league games last season due to injury. Catching prospect Cooper Ingle could make his debut in 2026 as well, and he’d have only the lowest of bars to clear with the bat in order to be an upgrade over the current Naylor/Hedges tandem.
That group unequivocally gives Cleveland some near-term upside, but banking on them as the sole means of offensive improvement is the type of strategy one might see from a rebuilding club or a cost-conscious team whose payroll is already pushing franchise-record territory. Neither is the case in Cleveland. The Guardians are aiming to contend, despite their lack of investment in the club. And while projections will peg their payroll around $80MM or so, that doesn’t include the $10MM of deferred money for Ramirez or the $6MM they won’t be paying to closer Emmanuel Clase while he faces trial for rigging pitches in a gambling scandal that rocked the franchise (and also included starting pitcher Luis Ortiz).
Cleveland’s payroll is going to clock in around $65MM. Their franchise-record mark for Opening Day was about $70MM higher than that, back in 2018. They’ve been between $90-100MM in each of the past three seasons. The last time they trotted out a payroll this low was in 2021, the first year coming off the pandemic-shortened season when they’d just absorbed substantial losses. If we’re willing to set that aside due to unique circumstances, Cleveland hasn’t been this thrifty since 2011-12.
For a team coming off a division title and that type of late-season surge, it’s hard to reconcile. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said in a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that the Guardians need to leave space for young players to step up and that their clearest path to contending involves young hitters like Bazzana, DeLauter and Valera helping to carry the offense. There’s some truth behind those comments, but Antonetti surely didn’t want his priciest offensive addition of the winter to be a reunion with Hedges, either. It’s abundantly clear that this front office had little to no money to work with this winter, and that’s borne out when digging deeper into their slate of moves.
Hedges’ $4MM deal to return to the Guardians was surprising at the time and looks all the more confounding in the wake of an offseason devoid of activity. Cleveland seems to place a higher premium on catcher defense than just about any team in the game. In Naylor and Hedges, they’ll have one of the sport’s top defensive duos but also perhaps the least-productive catching tandem in baseball from an offensive standpoint. That pair is generally keeping the seat warm for the aforementioned Ingle, who slashed .260/.389/.419 with more walks than strikeouts as a 24-year-old in Double-A and Triple-A last season. Ingle should make his debut at some point in 2026.
The only other move to address the lineup was a late non-roster deal with first baseman Rhys Hoskins. The former Phillies standout had two pretty pedestrian seasons in Milwaukee in 2024-25 after returning from an ACL tear that cost him the 2023 season. He hit .223/.314/.418 with 38 homers in 221 games while calling the hitter-friendly American Family Field home. Hoskins was a perennial 30-homer threat in Philadelphia from 2018-22, hitting .241/.350/.483 with 130 round-trippers in 2665 plate appearances. He hasn’t approached that level of output since, which is why the market largely checked out on him this winter. He’ll make just $1.5MM if he cracks Cleveland’s roster. There’s obvious bargain potential there, but the 2024-25 version of Hoskins is more of a league-average bat than the difference-maker sorely lacked by Cleveland.
Whether ownership-driven or a conscientious decision by the baseball operations staff — the former seems much likelier — improvements in the lineup will have to come down to the Guardians’ young players. Beyond Ingle, names to watch include:
- Travis Bazzana, 2B (No. 1 pick in 2024): .245/.389/.424, 17.6% walk rate, nine homers, 17 doubles, five triples, 12 steals in 84 games between Double-A and Triple-A
- George Valera, OF (international free agent out of the Dominican): .220/.333/.415 in 48 MLB plate appearances, plus .318/.388/.550 in 170 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A
- Chase DeLauter, OF (2023 first-rounder): .264/.379/.473 with a matching walk and strikeout rates of 15.8% in 177 minor league plate appearances (mostly in Triple-A)
- Juan Brito, INF (acquired from Rockies in 2022 Nolan Jones trade): .243/.355/.437, 12.8% walk rate, 23.1% strikeout rate in 125 minor league plate appearances (mostly Triple-A)
- C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF (2023 third-rounder): .220/.292/.415 in 138 MLB plate appearances, plus .300/.390/.539 with 14 homers, an 11.9% walk rate and 25.2% strikeout rate in 369 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A
In addition to the lack of big league experience, one thing that stands out among that group is a lack of games played in 2025 — at any level. Valera (60 games in 2025) and DeLauter (42 games) have been consistently hurt throughout their minor league tenures. A pair of oblique strains limited Bazzana to 84 games in his first full season. Brito played 31 games due to thumb and hamstring surgeries. Kayfus logged 130 games — the only one of the bunch close to a full season.
Cleveland needs so much to go right that it’s hard to see this club being even an average MLB offense. DeLauter and Valera seem ticketed for Opening Day outfield roles but need to prove they can both stay healthy and hit big league pitching. The options behind them (Angel Martinez, Nolan Jones, Johnathan Rodriguez, Petey Halpin) don’t inspire much confidence. Bazzana is probably starting the year in Triple-A, meaning the Guardians will go with a combination of Gabriel Arias (.220/.274/.363 in 2025) and Brayan Rocchio (.233/.290/.340) in the middle infield.
The entire Guardians offense hinges on superstar third baseman José Ramirez, so perhaps it’s fitting that he was at the center of the only truly notable transaction Cleveland made this winter. Ramirez signed an extension that guaranteed him four years and $106MM in new money (on top of his preexisting three years). He’s now locked up through age 39. It’s fair to wonder whether this was really necessary. He was already under club control through his age-35 season. If Ramirez slows down and this turns into a Miguel Cabrera/Tigers situation, the Guardians could live to regret the deal.
In the short term, it seemed to pay some dividends. Ramirez agreed to defer $10MM annually over the seven years of his contract. He has a $25MM salary for the upcoming season, but only $15MM will be paid out this year. In theory, that should’ve given Cleveland more room to add to the roster, but that didn’t pan out. As such, the most consequential deal of their offseason actually subtracted from the 2026 payroll.
Ramirez might be the most singularly important player to his roster of any team in Major League Baseball. An injury to him would decimate Cleveland’s entire offense, but there’s no real fallback plan if he gets hurt. They’ve been fortunate to keep him as healthy as they have. Ramirez has missed only four games in each of the past two seasons. Dating back to 2020, he’s played in an incredible 96.5% of Cleveland’s games. He’s a true iron man, but he’s now 33 years old. If he were to incur an injury, the infield would likely include a combination of Brito, Rocchio, Arias and Bazzana to the left of Manzardo.
The Guardians’ pitching staff is in better shape, as is frequently the case, but it’s not as dominant as it was when the Guards were habitually churning out borderline Cy Young candidates. The sextet of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, Parker Messick, Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo gives manager Stephen Vogt six solid options, but no one from the group feels like a true No. 1 starter. Williams’ 3.06 ERA gives him that look on the surface, but he walked more hitters than any qualified pitcher in baseball last year. Metrics like SIERA (4.35) and FIP (4.39) are far more bearish.
There’s some depth, primarily in the form of righty Austin Peterson and lefty Doug Nikhazy. Both are on the 40-man roster. Peterson had a strong showing in the upper minors but has yet to debut at 26 and isn’t an especially touted prospect. Nikhazy struggled in the upper minors and in the majors last year. Non-roster options include Kolby Allard and old friend Pedro Avila. Former top prospect Daniel Espino is finally healthy again, but he’s pitched a total of 19 innings since the 2021 season ended. Anything he contributes will be a bonus, but it’s hard to rely on him given that injury track record.
The one area Cleveland made some small additions is in the bullpen. Veteran Shawn Armstrong is coming off a big year in Texas. His overall body of work since 2020 is strong, but it’s been a roller coaster in terms of year-to-year ERA marks; he’s ranged everywhere from 1.38 in 52 innings with the ’23 Rays to 6.75 in 36 frames with the O’s and Rays in ’21. On a cheap one-year deal, he’s a nice addition — particularly for a club that has a good track record of coaxing strong performances out of unheralded pitchers.
That ability will be pivotal with the Guardians’ other big league signing in the ‘pen, too. Connor Brogdon had a nice run with the Phillies from 2020-23 (3.55 ERA in 142 innings) but has struggled since. He still sat better than 95 mph with his heater and notched an impressive 13.2% swinging-strike rate in 47 innings with the Angels last year, even while limping to a 5.55 earned run average. If the Guardians can help to curb his susceptibility to home runs (2.11 HR/9 with Anaheim), he could be a nice bullpen piece both in 2026 and 2027, as he’d be arbitration-eligible next winter.
Antonetti & Co. also rolled the dice on a $1.5MM guarantee for hard-throwing former Pirates righty Colin Holderman. He can be optioned, so he’s not a clear lock to make the roster, however. The 30-year-old righty, who sits 97.4 mph with his sinker, notched a 3.52 ERA while fanning nearly one-quarter of his opponents in 2023-24. His strikeout rate plummeted in 2025, however, as he was rocked for a 7.01 ERA in 25 2/3 big league frames.
There’s no sugarcoating the fact that this was an immensely disappointing offseason for Cleveland fans. Their 2026 chances rest entirely on Ramirez continuing his iron-man ways and several oft-injured prospects simultaneously staying healthy and breaking out in their first extended looks of major league action. The pitching staff should be solid or better once again, but the depth beyond the top six rotation arms isn’t great.
Cleveland’s blank-slate payroll (aside from Ramirez and Bibee) seemed to set the stage for at least a modest addition or two in the lineup. Instead, their offseason will be remembered more for its inactivity than anything else. It’s a huge bet on in-house improvements, and there’s little to no safety net if those prospects fall to injuries or struggle to adjust to major league pitching.
How do MLBTR readers grade Cleveland’s offseason?
How would you grade the Guardians' offseason?
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D 37% (645)
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F 37% (640)
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C 19% (323)
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B 5% (78)
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A 2% (42)
Total votes: 1,728
Offseason In Review: San Francisco Giants
The Giants checked a few boxes this offseason, adding a pair of back-end starting pitchers and everyday players at second base and in the outfield. Their biggest splash might be in the manager’s office, as they stayed away from the top of the free agent market.
Major League Signings
- RHP Adrian Houser: Two years, $22MM (including buyout of ’28 club option)
- CF Harrison Bader: Two years, $20.5MM
- 2B Luis Arraez: One year, $12MM
- RHP Tyler Mahle: One year, $10MM
- RHP Jason Foley: One year, $2MM (eligible for arbitration through ’28)
- LHP Sam Hentges: One year, $1.4MM (eligible for arbitration through ’27)
- RHP Rowan Wick: One year, $880K (including buyout of ’27 club option)
- RF Will Brennan: One year split contract (eligible for arbitration through ’29)
2026 spending: $44.95MM
Total spending: $68.78MM
Trades and Claims
- Claimed LHP Reiver Sanmartin off waivers from Reds
- Claimed OF Justin Dean off waivers from Dodgers (later lost on waivers to Cubs)
- Traded RHP Mason Black to Royals for minor league RHP Logan Martin
- Acquired OF Joey Wiemer from Marlins for cash (later lost on waivers to Nationals)
- Acquired Rule 5 selection C Daniel Susac from Twins for minor league C Miguel Caraballo
- Traded RHP Kai-Wei Teng to Astros for minor league C Jancel Villarroel
Option Decisions
- Team declined $4MM option on C Tom Murphy in favor of $250K buyout
Notable Minor League Signings
- Michael Fulmer, Eric Haase, Brent Honeywell Jr., Buddy Kennedy, Caleb Kilian, Nick Margevicius, Jared Oliva, Wilkin Ramos, Gregory Santos
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Justin Verlander, Wilmer Flores (still unsigned), Dominic Smith, Joey Lucchesi (non-tender), Andrew Knizner (non-tender), Marco Luciano (lost via waivers), Kai-Wei Teng, Mason Black, Tom Murphy, Wade Meckler (lost via waivers)
Before the offseason got underway, president of baseball operations Buster Posey identified the priority. “Our focus is going to be on pitching, to try to fortify our starting staff. The same goes with the bullpen,” he told Alex Pavlovic and Laura Britt of NBC Sports Bay Area in early October.
Posey had acted decisively in pursuing star players during his first year running baseball operations. He’d signed Willy Adames to a franchise-record contract the previous offseason and made the biggest trade of the 2025 season when he took on the Rafael Devers contract from the Red Sox in June. The Giants were naturally a popular pick to land one of free agency’s top arms — ranging from Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez in the rotation to Edwin Díaz at the back of the bullpen.
That was not to be. Not long after Posey’s comments, high-ranking team personnel began to downplay expectations. General manager Zack Minasian told John Shea of The San Francisco Standard they’d focus more on depth arms. CEO Greg Johnson made similar comments to Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle, noting that they were wary of making extended free agent commitments. None of that contradicted Posey’s identification of the focus, but it pointed to the more quiet offseason that would follow.
Indeed, one could argue the Giants’ biggest move didn’t involve the roster at all. San Francisco fired manager Bob Melvin at the end of the season. That was at least moderately surprising, as the Giants had exercised their 2026 option on Melvin’s services just three months earlier. The team’s 29-36 record in the second half was apparently the impetus for the change, but the Giants played at the same .500 level they had for most of the season after August despite selling multiple pieces (e.g. Mike Yastrzemski, Trevor Rogers, Camilo Doval) at the deadline.
In any case, the front office felt a change was necessary enough that they ate Melvin’s reported $4MM salary. They’d go on to make one of the boldest managerial hires in recent memory. After considering more traditional candidates like Kurt Suzuki, Nick Hundley, and Vance Wilson, the Giants wooed college baseball’s best coach.
They hired Tony Vitello away from the University of Tennessee, paying a premium to do so. Vitello is reportedly making $3.5MM annually on a three-year contract. The Giants also paid a $3MM buyout to the university. They’re committing $10.5MM to the managerial position this year all told, which is probably the most in MLB. Teams don’t publicly disclose managerial salaries, but Dave Roberts’ extension with the Dodgers pays an $8.1MM average annual value that is believed to be the most in the league.
Vitello built what had been a floundering Tennessee program into a national powerhouse during his eight years in Knoxville. It’s nevertheless a virtually unheard of hire for an MLB team. Vitello made the jump directly to major league managing without any previous experience in pro ball.
That has some precedent in other sports but hasn’t really been done in MLB, where college staffers making the move have usually begun their careers as coaches or in player development roles. He’ll have the advice of some experienced voices. The Giants added Ron Washington to the coaching staff while bringing Bruce Bochy back to the organization as a special advisor (joining Dusty Baker in that regard)
Fascinating as the hire is, Vitello will have more constraints as an MLB manager than he did as a college coach. College coaches are also primarily responsible for putting their rosters together via recruiting and the transfer portal. That’s obviously not the case in MLB, where the front office was tasked with addressing the pitching staff and fixing two obvious holes in the lineup.
As the aforementioned comments from Johnson and Minasian suggested, the front office seemingly didn’t have much long-term payroll flexibility. They’d signed three nine-figure contracts (Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman and Adames) in the previous two offseasons. They took on close to $215MM in future commitments on the Devers deal — including the money saved by attaching Jordan Hicks as a salary offset. They also paid $17MM to division rival Blake Snell in January as a deferred signing bonus from his 2024 free agent deal.
Although the Giants would take aim at a few high-impact trade targets, they limited themselves to the third and fourth tiers in free agency. That began with a two-year, $22MM deal for right-hander Adrian Houser. It’s a hefty price for a pitcher who was playing on a minor league pact as recently as last May. Houser pitched very well in 11 starts for the White Sox but struggled to a near-5.00 ERA over 10 outings following a deadline trade to Tampa Bay. He slots into the back half of the rotation as an innings eating grounder specialist.
The Giants made a similar move with a one-year, $10MM flier for Tyler Mahle. There’s maybe a little more upside with Mahle, who is coming off a 2.18 ERA across 16 starts for the Rangers. That’s driven largely by an elevated strand rate and minimal batting average on balls in play that covered for a mediocre 19.1% strikeout rate.
Mahle missed bats early in his career with the Reds but hasn’t had the same caliber of stuff since then due to injury. He pitched a total of 107 MLB innings from 2023-25. A May ’23 Tommy John surgery was the most significant injury, but he also lost chunks of time in each of the past two seasons to shoulder problems. His average fastball speed has dropped two ticks from a 94 mph high back in 2021. Mahle still has excellent command and enters camp healthy, but he has back-of-the-rotation stuff despite last year’s impressive earned run average.
Signing Houser and Mahle all but ensured the Giants wouldn’t re-sign Justin Verlander, who’d been their only free agent of much note. Verlander pitched well down the stretch, but the Giants evidently preferred the other veteran arms to betting on a player entering his age-43 season. San Francisco also traded away depth arms Mason Black and Kai-Wei Teng in minor deals.
The free agent pickups slot behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Having one of the 10 best pitchers in MLB anchor the group is an excellent start. Ray shows the ability to pitch at a legitimate #2 level at times but can also battle his command and had a rough second half. Landen Roupp is the in-house favorite to round out the starting five. He’s a quality back-end arm.
It’s not a bad group, though it’s lacking the ceiling behind Webb that’d compete with the upper tier of rotations in MLB. That might need to come from an unexpected step forward from an internal arm. The Giants have some intriguing depth pieces on the 40-man roster. Hayden Birdsong, Trevor McDonald, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, and Carson Seymour are all optionable starters with modest big league experience.
Individually, no one from that group projects as a high-end starter. There’s enough volume the Giants can hope someone takes an unexpected step forward with a velocity jump or new pitch. Birdsong has the best raw stuff but disappointed when given a rotation opportunity a year ago. He simply didn’t throw enough strikes.
Although Birdsong enters camp as a starter, the Giants should probably focus him on a relief role this year. They’re likely to need more than one of the rotation depth pieces in the bullpen — which they did puzzlingly little to address over the offseason. They not only stayed away from the Díaz/Devin Williams price range but also opted not to bring in any middle-tier relievers (e.g. Kyle Finnegan, Kenley Jansen).
Free agent bullpen prices were high. The Giants may have simply thought that playing in that area was bad value. However, it leaves them with one of the thinner bullpens of any team that expects to contend. In addition to the Rogers and Doval trades, they lost breakout closer Randy Rodríguez to Tommy John surgery as they were playing out the string.
San Francisco’s only acquisitions were reclamation projects. They signed Jason Foley and Sam Hentges to cheap one-year deals. Both pitchers are coming off shoulder surgery and headed for season-opening injured list stints. Rowan Wick is essentially a 2027 version of the same idea. San Francisco brought him back from Japan for barely more than the league minimum. He’ll miss the entire season after recently undergoing Tommy John surgery but could be kept around via minimal club option next year if he’s recovering smoothly.
An already thin group has taken a couple more hits in camp. Waiver pickup Reiver Sanmartin tweaked his right hip in an exhibition game for Colombia in the World Baseball Classic. Hard-throwing righty Joel Peguero was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain just last night.
Ryan Walker feels like the closer by default despite an up-and-down 2025 season. Righties JT Brubaker and José Buttó can’t be optioned and will make the team. Erik Miller and the out-of-options Matt Gage lead an uninspiring group of left-handers. Minor league signees Gregory Santos and Michael Fulmer have a clear path to middle relief spots. Aside from the general difficulty in predicting relief pitching, there’s not much reason for excitement unless someone like Birdsong or McDonald gets a bullpen job and runs with it.
Can the Giants outhit their pitching concerns? This was a league average lineup a year ago, a disappointing result for one that should be better than that on talent. They entered the offseason with two obvious potential problem areas: second base and right field. Tyler Fitzgerald floundered at the former position, leaving Casey Schmitt to hold the job in the second half. He’s a low-end regular who profiles better as a utilityman. Right field was an even bigger issue, as they got nothing out of the position after the Yastrzemski trade.
San Francisco addressed both positions via free agency. They added Harrison Bader on a two-year, $20.5MM contract in their second-biggest investment of the winter. The front office successfully waited out Bader’s push for a third year to add an impact defender coming off a career-best .277/.347/.449 showing. They’ll expect some regression offensively — Bader dramatically outperformed his batted ball metrics thanks to an inflated .359 BABIP — but he’s an ideal fit for the spacious Oracle Park outfield.
Bader will play every day in center field, pushing Lee to right. Lee is coming off a .266/.327/.407 season that’d be fine even with the higher offensive bar to clear in a corner outfield spot. Despite above-average speed and an excellent arm, Lee occasionally had some trouble tracking balls in center field. Bader will be a notable upgrade, while Lee’s athleticism should remain an asset with the amount of ground to cover in the right-center gap.
They’ll be joined in the outfield by Heliot Ramos, a 2024 All-Star who underwhelmed last season. Ramos had a huge May (.347/.407/.600) but had a sub-.720 OPS in every other month. He batted .248/.316/.358 in the second half. Ramos still topped 20 homers with slightly above-average offensive numbers overall, but left field could be a position to monitor at the deadline if his late-season form carries into 2026. Former Guardian Will Brennan could factor in there as a left-handed complement but seems likelier to begin the season in Triple-A after an offseason split deal.
The Giants’ biggest pursuits came at second base. Bay Area native Nico Hoerner would have been an ideal fit, but the Cubs never had much motivation to trade him. The Giants made a run at landing Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals; he wound up traded to Seattle instead. Talks with the Nationals about CJ Abrams reportedly stalled when Washington balked at a prospect package built around shortstop Josuar Gonzalez.
They ended up turning back to free agency. In a weak middle infield class beyond Bo Bichette, they opted to give Luis Arraez another opportunity at second base. It’s difficult to quibble with the price, as the three-time batting champion settled for one year and $12MM. The risk is that comes with the promise of moving Arraez back to the keystone after two years working mostly as a first baseman in San Diego.
Fans are familiar with Arraez’s skillset. He’s the most difficult player in MLB to strike out and one of a handful of hitters who can reasonably be expected to bat .300. The all-contact approach doesn’t leave much room for walks or any kind of power. Last season’s .292/.327/.392 batting line came out to roughly league average overall, by measure of wRC+.
Arraez’s career numbers are better than that (.317/.363/.413), and he should certainly be an offensive upgrade over Schmitt. They’ll probably need to live with well below-average defense in the process despite expressing hope that working with Washington can turn things around. Arraez doesn’t move especially well and has been a below-average defender from the time he reached the majors.
Schmitt is a much better defensive player and should stick around as a utility piece and potential late-game substitute. Schmitt’s name has been floated in trade rumors, but there probably aren’t many teams that view him as a clear everyday player. If most other clubs also see him as a utility piece, he’s more valuable to the Giants as an Arraez complement than netting a fairly modest trade return. Fitzgerald was a non-factor in the second half and doesn’t have much of a path back to playing time in San Francisco. A change of scenery trade for a low-level prospect could make sense.
Chapman and Adames will play almost every game on the left side of the infield. Devers will divide his work between first base and designated hitter. Top first base prospect Bryce Eldridge is trying to break camp after a brief 2025 debut. He’d play regularly alongside Devers if he’s on the roster. If the Giants have him open the season in the minors, that’d increase the odds of an out-of-options Luis Matos or Jerar Encarnación sticking around.
There’s also a camp battle for the backup catcher job. Patrick Bailey is such a good defender that he’ll remain the primary catcher despite providing very little at the plate. Prospect Jesus Rodriguez is competing with Rule 5 selection Daniel Susac and minor league signee Eric Haase for a bench spot.
The Giants hit most of the obvious needs they had entering the offseason — though the bullpen stands as a curious exception. They did so mostly with moves to raise the floor rather than upside plays, seemingly because of payroll restrictions. Did they do enough to jump the Padres and Diamondbacks as the second-best team in the NL West and at least snag a Wild Card berth?
How would you grade the Giants' offseason?
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C 48% (980)
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B 27% (554)
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D 18% (372)
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F 4% (90)
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A 3% (59)
Total votes: 2,055
Dodgers Outright Jack Suwinski
The Dodgers sent Jack Suwinski outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. The team had not previously designated Suwinski for assignment, so this drops their 40-man roster tally to 39.
Los Angeles claimed the lefty-hitting outfielder off waivers from Pittsburgh last month. They assumed his $1.25MM salary and an accompanying $1.375MM luxury tax commitment in the process. It always seemed like a depth move. Suwinski is out of minor league options and didn’t have a great chance to break camp with the two-time defending champions.
The Dodgers pay a few million dollars to get him into the organization without occupying a 40-man roster spot. Suwinski showed promise a few seasons ago but hasn’t performed well over the past two years. He hit 26 homers with a .224/.339/.454 slash line for the Pirates in 2023. He has been well below the Mendoza line with an on-base percentage under .300 in the two years since then.
Since the start of ’24, Suwinski carries a .169/.271/.297 mark across 455 plate appearances. He has gone down on strikes at a 30% clip and only combined for 12 home runs. Suwinski had a much more impressive .283/.389/.565 showing in Triple-A last year. That also came with a concerning number of strikeouts, though, and he needed to go through waivers before a team could assign him back to the minors.
Suwinski will remain in big league camp as a non-roster invitee. The Dodgers have Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages and Kyle Tucker left to right in the outfield. Alex Call has a decent shot to win a bench job as a righty platoon bat, while Ryan Ward and Michael Siani occupy spots at the back of the 40-man roster.
Roberts: “Hard To Imagine” Espinal Not Making Dodgers’ Roster
Veteran infielder Santiago Espinal is in Dodgers camp as a non-roster invitee, but it seems he’s already positioned himself as a favorite to break camp with the club. Manager Dave Roberts said this morning that it’s “hard to imagine [Espinal] not being on the team” (via Jack Harris of the California Post). Plenty can change over the final few weeks of camp, but it’s still notable that Espinal already has caught the attention of his new skipper. Roberts spoke highly of Espinal when players reported to camp, and the veteran infielder has since gone 8-for-14 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base in his first handful of Cactus League plate appearances.
Espinal is a versatile, righty-swinging infielder with considerable experience at both third base (1794 MLB innings) and second base (1621 innings). He’s also logged 343 major league frames at shortstop (most coming back in 2020), chipped in 114 innings in the outfield corners and logged another 16 at first base. It’s the sort of defensive flexibility that the Dodgers tend to prioritize with their bench players.
The 31-year-old Espinal has spent the past two seasons in Cincinnati, struggling at the plate both years. He hit a combined .245/.294/.322 in 719 plate appearances as a Red but provided some solid defensive chops at the hot corner in particular. He’d be more of a second base option with the Dodgers — a potential right-handed complement to lefty-hitting Hyeseong Kim, who’s entering the second season of a three-year contract.
Kim played superlative second base defense last season but was largely shielded from left-handed pitching. He hit well in the 21 left-on-left plate appearances the Dodgers allowed him to take (8-for-21 with a double and a homer), but Kim also fanned at a near-31% clip in 170 plate appearances overall and posted poor batted-ball metrics. Espinal is a career .291/.344/.409 hitter versus left-handed pitching. Back in 2021-22, he slashed a combined .282/.340/.382 in 737 plate appearances for the Blue Jays.
Second base is eventually earmarked for the versatile Tommy Edman, but he’s expected to begin the season on the injured list as he continues recovering from November ankle surgery. Kim’s stellar defense gives him a strong chance to secure regular work at second base in the interim, though veteran Miguel Rojas is on hand as an alternative, as is well-regarded prospect Alex Freeland.
Breaking camp with Espinal on the roster would allow the Dodgers to more easily get Freeland everyday at-bats back in Triple-A. The switch-hitting 24-year-old was L.A.’s third-round pick in 2022 and is a year removed from ranking among baseball’s top-100 prospects at Baseball America and MLB.com. He turned in a nice .263/.384/.451 batting line in Triple-A last season (115 wRC+) but hit .190/.292/.310 with 35 strikeouts in 97 MLB plate appearances.
How Could The Braves Pivot Following Another Profar Suspension?
The Braves opened camp in 2026 hoping for a full season from outfielder/designated hitter Jurickson Profar. He'd missed 80 games in 2025 following a PED suspension but was productive upon returning. With designated hitter Marcell Ozuna out the door, Profar and newly signed outfielder Mike Yastrzemski had plenty of runway to frequent playing time.
Of course, we now know that Profar isn't likely to play a single game in 2026. He's staring down yet another PED-related suspension, and the punishment for second-time offenders jumps from 80 games to 162 games. Profar and the MLBPA appear intent on appealing the ban, but there's no precedent for a suspension being completely overturned.
At best, Profar can probably hope for a slight reduction, and even instances like that are rare. Right-hander Michael Pineda saw a 2019 suspension reduced from 80 to 60 games, but only after providing sufficient evidence that the banned diuretic he took was not used as a masking agent for PEDs. Profar didn't test positive for a masking agent but rather exogenous testosterone.
Assuming Profar's season-long ban is upheld, Atlanta will have some decisions to make. The Braves are already down their shortstop and two rotation arms this spring. Ha-Seong Kim required surgery to repair a tendon in his hand after slipping on some ice in the offseason. Righties Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent elbow surgery to remove loose bodies and/or bone spurs.
The Braves are now also without Profar, who'd been in line for regular at-bats and was hoping to build off the sound .248/.358/.446 batting line (126 wRC+) he logged in 355 plate appearances upon returning from last year's suspension. The veteran switch-hitter walked at a huge 13.2% clip and only struck out in 15.8% of his plate appearances. He connected on 14 home runs, 16 doubles and a triple while contributing nine steals (in 11 tries) on the bases.
Losing Schwellenbach, Profar, Kim and Waldrep before the halfway point in spring training is a rough way to begin the season for an Atlanta club hoping for better health than in an injury-decimated 2025 campaign. If there's a silver lining for Braves fans, however, it's that Profar's suspension sends him to the restricted list and mandates that he will not be paid his $15MM salary. The Braves are not only off the hook for that $15MM -- they're also spared $3MM of associated luxury taxes they'd have paid to the league.
There's obviously no guarantee that Atlanta reinvests the full freight of the money they're now spared. The Braves could opt to lean on in-house solutions to plug their newfound roster gaps, then readdress when the trade deadline rolls around. That's a defensible strategy, though the counterpoint would be that spending some of those funds on immediate additions would bolster the team's chances of making it to late July as a contender.
Much of free agency and the trade market has been picked over, but there are some options for president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos to explore with his unexpected $15MM of payroll flexibility late in the winter. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes more briefly touched on this topic in yesterday's mailbag, but let's take a look at some more possibilities.
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The Opener: WBC, Peña, Spring Debuts
Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on around the baseball world today…
1. WBC play continues:
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is officially underway! The first two games of the tournament saw South Korea topple Czechia by an 11-4 margin and Australia blank Chinese Taipei in a 3-0 victory. Highlights from those games include Guardians top prospect and 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana clobbering a deep home run to right field as part of a multi-hit day for Team Australia (video link) and Astros utilityman Shay Whitcomb belting a pair of homers (video) for Team Korea.
Tonight, it’ll be Australia taking on Czechia at 10pm ET here in North America. Former Phillies farmhand Josh Hendrickson takes the mound for Australia against Czechia’s Tomas Ondra. That’s the only official game still to come today, though Japan and Chinese Taipei will square off in Tokyo at 5am ET tomorrow morning in North America for those who want to watch some early-morning ball. Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the ball for Japan and faces against Taiwanese right-hander Hao-Chun Cheng, who actually pitched briefly in the Dodgers’ system in 2021 but has spent the past few seasons with the CTBC Brothers in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Injuries limited Cheng to 11 starts last year, but he posted a pristine 1.49 ERA in 54 1/3 frames when healthy.
2. Astros dealing with Peña injury scare:
Star Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña was lifted from yesterday’s WBC exhibition after a taking a hard grounder off his finger. Peña’s Dominican club has pushed back on early speculation of a fracture, stating that he is undergoing X-rays and meeting with a hand specialist, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The Astros provided a few more details this morning, explaining that Peña took a hard shot off his right ring finger and cracked his fingernail (via MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart). He wanted to remain in the game despite his bloodied hand but was sent for testing. They’ll have a further update this afternoon.
Peña’s injury scare is a reminder that Houston’s infield “logjam” could be cleared up with just one injury, whether it occurs in WBC play or back in Grapefruit League play. If Peña were to require any sort of absence, Carlos Correa would slide over to shortstop, freeing up third base for Isaac Paredes. Jose Altuve and Christian Walker would then handle second and first base, with Yordan Alvarez manning the DH spot on a regular basis.
3. Spring debuts for several players:
Thursday will also see a handful of notable pitchers make their 2026 spring debuts. Cardinals fans can get their first official look at righty Dustin May when they host the Pirates and Mitch Keller in a game slated for a 1:05pm ET first pitch. May became a free agent for the first time this winter and signed a one-year, $12MM deal with St. Louis in hopes of putting together a healthy season in a new environment after an injury-marred run in Los Angeles and (briefly) Boston.
Over in the Cactus League, another former Dodgers mainstay will be taking the mound for a division rival. Walker Buehler‘s Padres debut is set for 3:10pm ET, when he and the Friars will host the Mariners and right-hander Luis Castillo. Buehler hasn’t been the same since missing the 2023 season with his second career UCL reconstruction. His memorable 2024 World Series performance notwithstanding, Buehler has been tagged for a 5.10 ERA with sub-par strikeout and walk rates in 40 starts since returning in 2024. After consecutive poor showings in 2024-25, he settled for a minor league deal with San Diego this winter.
One more outing worth watching with a particularly careful eye will be today’s Orioles-Rays tilt, where Baltimore righty Zach Eflin will be pitching in an official game setting for the first time since undergoing back surgery (a lumber discectomy) last August. Eflin was a free agent at season’s end but re-upped with the O’s on a one-year, $10MM contract in hopes of rebounding from a disastrous 2025 performance (5.93 ERA in 71 1/3 innings). Eflin’s poor results were obviously impacted by his health (or lack thereof). As recently as 2023-24, he rattled off 343 innings of 3.54 ERA ball with a sharp 23.1% strikeout rate and an elite 3.5% walk rate between Tampa Bay and Baltimore.
Pirates, Reds Swap Tyler Callihan For Kyle Nicolas
The Pirates announced they’ve traded relief pitcher Kyle Nicolas to the Reds for left fielder/second baseman Tyler Callihan. Both players were on the 40-man roster, so there’s no corresponding move.
It’s a swap of talented but largely unproven players between the NL Central rivals. Nicolas, 27, has the more significant MLB experience of the two. A second-round pick by the Marlins in 2020, he was traded to Pittsburgh as one of two prospects the following year for Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings. Nicolas was a starting pitcher at the time but always projected to a bullpen future because of spotty command.
Nicolas debuted as a September call-up in 2023. The Ball State product has opened each of the following two seasons on optional assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis. Nicolas has posted below-average numbers at the MLB level but remains an intriguing depth piece with big stuff.
In 98 MLB innings, Nicolas carries a 4.68 earned run average. He has struck out a league average 22% of opponents while issuing walks at a lofty 12.2% rate. He split his time evenly between the majors and Triple-A last year. While he allowed nearly five earned runs per nine at the MLB level, he posted a 3.79 ERA with an excellent 31% strikeout rate against minor league opposition. Nicolas walked more than 12% of Triple-A opponents and has posted double digit walk rates at almost every stop of his professional career.
The command will probably keep Nicolas in middle relief. He’d have the raw stuff to pitch at the back of a bullpen if he can find a way to throw more strikes. Nicolas sits in the 97-98 mph range with his heater and has a pair of power breaking balls: a 90-91 mph slider and mid-80s curveball.
He also uses his 6’3″ frame to get down the mound and generate a lot of extension, though the long levers have also seemingly held him back from finding consistency in his delivery. Nicolas commanded the ball better down the stretch last season. He walked only 8.4% of opponents while posting a 3.46 ERA in 26 innings after the All-Star Break. It’s a small sample but perhaps something to build off as he tries to earn a permanent bullpen spot.
Nicolas has a little over one year of service time. He’s at least two years away from arbitration and five years from reaching free agency. He has one minor league option remaining, so the Reds can send him to Triple-A Louisville without exposing him to waivers. Nicolas tossed two scoreless innings this spring before joining Team Italy for the World Baseball Classic. (He’s from Ohio but has a family link to Italy that made him eligible to participate.)
Cincinnati doesn’t have a ton of roster flexibility in the bullpen, where six of their relievers cannot be optioned. Graham Ashcraft has options but is a lock to begin the season in the late innings. Unless the Reds move on from Sam Moll, they’d only have one bullpen spot available between Nicolas, Luis Mey, Connor Phillips and Zach Maxwell. The latter four pitchers all have big arms but come with strike-throwing questions.
The Pirates subtract from their bullpen depth to take a flier on an intriguing hitter who hasn’t found a position. The 25-year-old Callihan was an overslot third-round signee out of high school in 2019. Scouts have praised the lefty hitter’s offensive aptitude while panning his defense. The Jacksonville native has a career .262/.332/.417 batting line over six minor league seasons.
Callihan’s performance in the low minors was a little inconsistent. He has posted better numbers as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. Callihan hit .271/.345/.413 in Double-A two seasons ago and was out to a .303/.410/.528 start over 24 Triple-A contests last year. The Reds called him up at the end of April.
Unfortunately, Callihan didn’t get a chance to establish himself as a rookie. He suffered a gruesome injury just six days into his big league career.
Callihan was playing left field against the Braves on May 5. Matt Olson hit a line drive that sliced away from him down the left field line. Callihan slid to try to catch the ball and was unable to brace himself before hitting the wall with his outstretched glove hand. The collision broke his arm and forced him to undergo season-ending surgery. (Adding insult to injury, Olson trotted around for an inside-the-park home run because Callihan had touched the ball in fair territory.)
That ended his debut campaign after six at-bats, in which he collected his first career hit and run batted in. Callihan entered Spring Training without any restrictions and has gotten into seven exhibition contests, going 2-9 with a home run.
Baseball America ranked Callihan the #20 prospect in the Cincinnati system over the offseason, while Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted him 29th in the organization. Callihan has improved his plate discipline and has above-average raw power, but his strikeout rate has climbed in the upper minors.
He’s a below-average defender at second base who probably fits better in left field or at first base. There are some similarities to last winter’s Spencer Horwitz pickup in that regard, though Horwitz had a much longer track record of hitting in Triple-A than Callihan does.
Callihan has less than one year of service and has two minor league options remaining. He’ll battle for a bench job in camp but seems likelier to begin the season in Indy. He can factor in as a bat-first utility type throughout the season if he’s hitting well in the minors.
Respective images via Jordan Godfree and Sam Greene, Imagn Images.
MLB Mailbag: Braves, Profar, White Sox, Mariners
This week's mailbag gets into Jurickson Profar's PED suspension and how the Braves might compensate for it, a potential embarrassment of infield riches for the White Sox, the Mariners' rotation depth, and much more.
Jeff asks:
Where do the go after the Profar suspension news? Who is available and what will the trade price be?
Morris asks:
Thank you again for doing a reader mailbag. I wish my question was coming under better circumstances. Let's get the Braves' elephant out of the way: Jurickson Profar.
We don't need to get into the weeds about the suspension. I'm choosing to be an optimist here, so, I'm going to be polite and talk around the situation. I see this development as lineup flexibility. The Yaz signing looks great, and I think Eli White as the primary bench and LHH platoon-bat is not as bad as some might worry.
But it's also payroll flexibility. We just "saved" $18M in commitments and taxes for this season. How should AA allocate that money? Could we get Giolito or Littell for something around 1-year and $10M? Or is that money now dry powder for a possible trade?
Lastly, should we cut Profar this coming offseason? I'm assuming he's probably done in MLB after this, but I know he'd still be owed for the 2027 part of his deal, but, if I'm AA, I'd happily eat that money to have an opening for a dependable guy who won't present this sort of clubhouse issue.
I remember finding the Braves' signing of Mike Yastrzemski a bit superfluous when it occurred in December, but the move is looking wise given Profar's suspension. Yaz's projected platoon partner looks to be Eli White.
White spent all of 2025 in the Majors, winning a utility role with the Braves out of camp. The 31-year-old tallied 271 plate appearances, getting regular duty for about a month until Ronald Acuña Jr. returned from the IL. About 35% of those PA came against lefties, against whom White managed a league average 100 wRC+ even accounting for five homers against lefties Brent Suter, Jeffrey Springs, Shota Imanaga, Colton Gordon, and Jose A. Ferrer in those 96 PA.
White logged more time in the minors in 2023 and '24. Baseball-Reference has unfortunately decided to stop providing minor league splits, so I can only tell you how White hit against lefties across all levels combined. He managed a .281/.337/.494 line against southpaws in 98 PA in 2024, and .258/.365/.581 in 74 PA in '23. So there's a little bit of data suggesting White can maybe be a decent short side platoon partner for Yastrzemski. How about outside options?
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Tigers Notes: Montero, Rotation, Lee
The Tigers optioned right-hander Keider Montero to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday afternoon. That takes him out of consideration for the Opening Day roster.
It’s a moderate surprise that Montero was demoted this early in camp. The 25-year-old finished last season on the MLB roster and added 5 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run over three playoff appearances. Detroit’s offseason additions of Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander and Drew Anderson left him without a path to a season-opening rotation job.
Rather than keeping Montero in the mix for a swing role, they’ll have him stay stretched out in Triple-A. Montero is away from the team pitching for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. Manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic) that the plan is for Montero to make one or two bulk appearances in the tournament. He’ll continue to build to a starting workload with Toledo after that.
Detroit has a front five of Tarik Skubal, Valdez, Verlander, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize. Anderson is out of options and needs to be on the MLB roster. He’ll start the season in long relief assuming no injuries for the rest of camp. He’d presumably step into the rotation if anyone gets hurt.
Montero, who turned in a 4.37 ERA across 90 2/3 innings a year ago, is seventh on the rotation depth chart with Troy Melton likely to open the season on the injured list. He has one minor league option year remaining. Assuming he spends at least 20 days in the minors over the course of the regular season, he’d be out of options going into 2027.
While Montero will be playing in the WBC, another Detroit player has pulled out of the tournament due to injury. Chinese Taipei announced that second/third base prospect Hao-Yu Lee strained his left oblique (relayed by Evan Woodbery of MLive). He had been with the Taiwanese team in Tokyo for pool play but is headed back to the Tigers’ spring complex for evaluation.
The 23-year-old Lee spent all of last season in Toledo. He hit 14 homers with a .243/.342/.406 batting line across 579 trips to the plate. Lee, whom Baseball America ranked as the #6 prospect in the organization over the winter, was added to the 40-man roster in November.
Lee wasn’t likely to receive consideration for the Opening Day roster, but the injury is a small hit to Detroit’s infield depth. Even less severe oblique strains typically require multiple weeks, meaning he’s probably headed for the minor league injured list to begin the season. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei was blanked 3-0 by Australia in the first game of the WBC tonight.
Giants’ Joel Peguero Diagnosed With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain
Giants reliever Joel Peguero has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring, the team announced. The team didn’t provide a return timeline, but it seems likely the hard-throwing righty will begin the season on the 15-day injured list.
A Grade 2 strain means there’s some degree of tearing. The injury can have different timelines. Yankees reliever Scott Effross was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain around this time last year. He was on the injured list until May 18. Back in 2023, Nestor Cortes suffered the same injury in the middle of February. He was back in time to avoid a season-opening IL stay.
Those are only illustrative of the different possible timelines. The Giants will surely provide more details on a treatment plan in the coming days and weeks. Effross, for instance, received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat his injury. It’s unclear if Peguero will do the same.
The 28-year-old Peguero had a good chance to break camp for the first time in his career. San Francisco called him up last August. Peguero impressed down the stretch, turning in a 2.42 earned run average through his first 22 1/3 innings. He only struck out 20% of opponents but got ground-balls at a 53.3% clip behind a blistering heater. Peguero averaged 99.9 mph on his sinker, the seventh-highest velocity in MLB.
Peguero’s huge arm could even make him a candidate for saves in a wide open San Francisco bullpen. Ryan Walker is the favorite to close as their only healthy reliever with much experience in that regard. Walker had an uneven 2025 season, though, so his hold on the job wouldn’t be super strong even if he wins it out of camp. First-year manager Tony Vitello will be looking for various unproven arms to step into high-leverage work in what is arguably the weakest area of the roster.