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The Opener: Red Sox, First Base, Arbitration Hearings

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

1. What’s next for the Red Sox?

The Red Sox swung a trade to clear space in their budget and on the 40-man roster when they shipped right-hander Jordan Hicks, pitching prospect David Sandlin and $8MM cash and two players to be named later in exchange for Gage Ziehl and a player to be named later. Getting the majority of Hicks’ salary for the next two seasons of the books has allowed them to squeak back under the second tier of the luxury, but the team has still yet to replace Alex Bregman on the infield. Marcelo Mayer poised to play either second or third base depending on where a new addition would play, but options are dwindling after both Luis Arraez and Eugenio Suarez signed over the weekend. How will Boston address its biggest remaining need?

2. First base market heating up?

While every hitter in our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list has signed after Suarez reached a deal with the Reds yesterday, there are still a number of interesting bats on the market. Specifically, the first base market has remained rather quiet throughout the winter, leaving players such as Paul Goldschmidt and Rhys Hoskins unsigned. Recently, that market has appeared to heat up. The Diamondbacks are reportedly interested in adding a first baseman, and yesterday they were connected to switch-hitting veteran Carlos Santana and also said to have interest in Ty France. Arizona’s division rivals in San Diego are also looking for help in their first/base DH mix and have interest in France, who is drawing interest from both New York clubs as well. Wilmer Flores, Nathaniel Lowe, and Rowdy Tellez are among the other noteworthy options still available. With Arraez and Suarez off the board, is the market heating up for some of these corner bats?

3. Arbitration hearings underway:

Arbitration hearings kicked off late last week, and the Associated Press reports two such hearings have occurred so far: one between right-hander Edwin Uceta and the Rays, and one between left-hander Dylan Lee and the Braves. The decision from those arbitration hearings is typically not immediately announced; Uceta’s is being withheld until other cases have resolved, while Lee’s is expected to be announced at some point next week. After first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino avoided arbitration last week, 12 more players are scheduled for arbitration hearings. The most notable among those is two-time AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, who is facing a massive $13MM gap between his filing figure and that of the Tigers. Arbitration hearings are scheduled to run through February 13.

Reds Sign Eugenio Suarez

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Eugenio Suarez is returning to Cincinnati, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the slugger has signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Reds that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season.  Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the option is worth $16MM, though mutual options are rarely triggered by both sides.  The deal will become official once the Reds clear a spot on their 40-man roster, and presumably when Suarez passes a physical.  Suarez is represented by Octagon.

Reports emerged last week that the Reds had interest in a reunion with the third baseman, who hit .253/.335/.476 with 189 homers over 3730 plate appearances during the 2015-21 seasons.  The continued uncertainty over the Reds’ broadcast deal with Main Street Sports was said to be a holdup for the team in how much money they had available to pursue Suarez or other targets like Austin Hays (who signed with the White Sox yesterday).

With an agreement now in place with Suarez, it could be that the Reds have gotten some clarity about how they’ll proceed with MSS or perhaps a new broadcasting agreement with Major League Baseball itself.  Alternatively, Suarez’s acceptance of just a one-year deal and arguably a discount price may be another reason why the two sides were able to line up on a contract.

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Suarez 20th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, and projected him for a three-year, $63MM deal.  The one-year, $15MM pact falls well short of that prediction in both years and average annual value, as it could be teams were wary of making a larger commitment to a strikeout-prone player who turns 35 in July.  Suarez’s third base glovework also dropped in 2025, as he posted -6 Defensive Runs Saved and -3 Outs Above Average.

With the bat, however, Suarez hit 49 home runs in 2025, matching his career high set with the Reds in 2019.  Suarez’s overall slash line of .228/.298/.526 reflects his power-heavy output, as he delivered a below-average walk rate for the second consecutive season.  Though Suarez’s 29.8% strikeout rate put him in the fifth percentile of all batters, he maxed out when he did make contact, with strong hard-contact and barrel rates.

It has been a strange two-season run for Suarez, who sandwiched a superstar-level campaign in between two mediocre half-seasons.  Suarez had only a .591 OPS over his first 315 PA of the 2024 season with the Diamondbacks, before he caught fire and hit .276/.336/.593 with 60 homers over 766 PA from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025.  Unfortunately, Suarez then drastically cooled off after he was dealt to the Mariners at the trade deadline, but he somewhat rebounded to get some key hits during Seattle’s postseason run to Game 7 of the ALCS.

This rather extreme streakiness could be another reason Suarez’s market never really took off this winter, as teams were justifiably not sure exactly which version of Suarez they’d get in his 13th big league season.  The Mariners had some interest in a reunion, and other teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, and Pirates were also linked to the slugger.

Pittsburgh was the other finalist for Suarez’s services, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.  As per MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates were willing to offer a $15MM average annual salary to Suarez and also offered him a second guaranteed year.  In taking just a one-year contract, Suarez seems to be hoping to fully re-establish his market by having a big season in 2026 and then re-entering free agency next winter.  It was also very likely to Cincinnati’s benefit that Suarez is already very familiar with the organization from his previous seven-year run in the Queen City.

While the Pirates are on the way up, Suarez may have been more interested in joining a Reds team that actually did make the playoffs in 2025.  Cincinnati reached the postseason on the strength of its rotation, as the lineup was average at best in most offensive categories, and 21st of 30 teams in home runs.  Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer combined for 43 homers as the Reds’ top two home-run hitters in 2025, so Suarez alone tops that total.

Suarez steps right into an everyday role in the Reds’ lineup, though it will be interesting to see where exactly Suarez is deployed.  Ke’Bryan Hayes is arguably the best defensive third baseman in the game, so Suarez is more likely to see a lot of action as a DH and possibly at first base.  Suarez’s MLB history as a first baseman consists of just three late-game appearances, all of which came last year.  The Reds will surely give Suarez plenty of time at the position this spring to see how Suarez fares at the cold corner, and Steer and Sal Stewart will also receive at-bats in the first base/DH mix.  Stewart can also play some second base and Steer could play left field, with Steer’s right-handed bat complementing the left-handed hitting JJ Bleday on the grass.

Bleday and Dane Myers were the only notable offensive adds the Reds made prior to today, with the two outfielders more or less replacing Hays and Gavin Lux (who was dealt to the Rays as part of the three-team deal with the Angels that brought reliever Brock Burke to Cincinnati).  Suarez now represents a major boost to the Reds’ lineup, and a source of stability on a team that is still waiting to see what it has in players like Steer, Stewart, Matt McLain, or Noelvi Marte.  Even De La Cruz was more good than great in 2025, but EDLC figures to benefit with Suarez providing protection behind him in the lineup.

RosterResource estimates a $126.1MM payroll for the Reds at the moment, which is a minor increase over their $118.7MM figure from the 2025 season.  President of baseball operations Nick Krall said in early November that the Reds would be spending at “around the same” levels as 2025, so it could be that the team is essentially done with significant offseason moves unless they can unload some salary.

This could again change depending on what happens with the Reds’ broadcast deal, or ownership might potentially green-light some more spending either now or during the season (perhaps once some ticket revenue starts rolling in).  The Reds seem to be well-positioned to make another run at a postseason berth in 2026, even though within the NL Central alone, the Pirates will be better and the Brewers and Cubs each figure to keep battling for the division crown.

Inset photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear — Imagn Images

Multiple Teams Interested In Ty France

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The Diamondbacks, Mets, Padres, and Yankees are among the teams who have shown interest in Ty France, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.  The free agent first baseman won the AL Gold Glove Award last season, though he hit only .257/.320/.360 with seven homers over 490 plate appearances with the Twins and Blue Jays.

After batting .285/.355/.443 over 1418 PA during the 2020-22 seasons, France went from a 129 wRC+ over those three years to a 106 wRC+ in 2023, and a 93 wRC+ over the last two seasons.  France has still been making contact at an above-average rate, but his hard-contact rates are middling at best and he has never taken many walks.  Defensively, France’s glovework had cratered in the view of public metrics before he rebounded out of nowhere to post +10 Outs Above Average and +9 Defensive Runs Saved over 976 2/3 innings at first base in 2025, resulting in his first Gold Glove.

France is a right-handed hitter without a platoon split, as his numbers against right-handed and left-handed pitching are basically identical over his career.  Teams in the market for a right-handed hitting first base complement might prefer more of a clear-cut righty masher, though France’s newfound defensive capability is a bonus.

The Yankees have Ben Rice (a lefty bat) lined up as the starting first baseman and Giancarlo Stanton is locked into the DH role.  Some more at-bats could be available on the days when Rice is playing catcher, but France would be used in a strict part-time capacity if he went to the Bronx.  The same would be true in Queens, as the Mets plan to use Jorge Polanco as the starting first baseman, plus Mark Vientos and Brett Baty will be either at DH, or in the field when Polanco or any of the other Mets veterans are getting a DH day.  Having an experienced first baseman like France would be helpful for the Mets, considering that Polanco has played only one MLB game at first base.

The left-handed hitting Pavin Smith will get the bulk of Arizona’s first base work, but between a platoon first base role and an open DH spot, France would have more opportunity for playing time with the Diamondbacks.  Such names as Paul Goldschmidt and Carlos Santana have also been linked to the D’Backs this winter as part of the team’s ongoing search for first base help.

Signing with the Padres would be a homecoming moment for France, a SoCal product who played college ball at San Diego State.  France began his pro career as a 34th-round pick for the Padres in the 2015 draft, and he spent parts of his first two MLB seasons with the Friars before he was dealt to the Mariners as part of a seven-player trade at the 2020 deadline.

Returning to San Diego at age 31 would line France up as a right-handed complement within a surplus of left-handed bats vying for time on the right side of the Padres’ infield.  Jake Cronenworth, Sung Mun Song, Will Wagner, and Gavin Sheets are all lefty swingers, and the Padres have no set DH.  Sheets is projected to be the starting first baseman with Cronenworth perhaps being the favorite for DH duty and Song bouncing around to multiple positions, but there’s plenty in flux as the Padres figure things out.  Song is getting his first taste of Major League action after nine seasons in the KBO League, and an oblique injury could delay the start of his inaugural MLB campaign.

Orioles Acquire Bryan Ramos, Designate Weston Wilson

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The Orioles have acquired infielder Bryan Ramos from the White Sox, according to reporter Francys Romero.  Baltimore has officially announced the trade, and the Sox will get cash considerations in return.  To open up a 40-man spot for Ramos, the Orioles designated Weston Wilson for assignment.

Ramos was designated for assignment three days ago when the Sox themselves needed to create 40-man space for the newly-signed Seranthony Dominguez.  Ramos’ stint in DFA limbo didn’t last long, and he’ll now change organizations for the first time in his career, as the infielder was an international signing for the White Sox back in 2018.  He started to make waves as a prospect during the 2022-23 seasons, and he made his MLB debut in 2024, posting a .586 OPS over 108 plate appearances for Chicago.

This uninspiring performance seemed to drop Ramos down the depth chart, even on a rebuilding White Sox team.  He appeared in just four big league games in 2025, bringing his overall slash line to .198/.244/.333 in 120 PA against Major League pitching.  While Ramos’ numbers (.235/.321/.404 in 705 PA) at Triple-A Charlotte are more respectable, they’re underwhelming considering that Charlotte plays in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the minors.

Ramos has played only third base in the majors, and the hot corner has also been his primary position during his minor league career.  However, Ramos has increased his versatility by playing some second base and a handful of games as a first baseman and left fielder, as becoming more of a utilityman will help Ramos in his attempts to return to the majors.

Wilson is a more established utilityman who has seen some time at first base, second base, third base, and all three outfield positions over his 100 career Major League games, all with the Phillies from 2023-25.  Wilson has also shown more at the plate, with a .242/.328/.428 and nine homers over 245 PA.  Most of that production came in Wilson’s first two seasons, and since he had only a .652 OPS over 125 PA in 2025, the Phils decided to move on by DFA’ing Wilson in late January.

The Orioles made a claim a few days later, but have now sent Wilson back to the waiver wire in relatively short order.  This is something of the way of life for players like Wilson or Ramos who are out of minor league options, and Baltimore is particularly aggressive in constantly churning the back end of its 40-man roster, with the idea that the O’s can add minor league depth by sneaking enough players through the outright process.  Assuming Wilson isn’t claimed again, the Orioles can outright him to Triple-A since Wilson doesn’t have enough service time to reject an outright assignment.

Diamondbacks Interested In Carlos Santana

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As the Diamondbacks continue to look for first base help, the club has shown interest in Carlos Santana, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports.  John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Arizona Sports adds more detail, saying that Santana is just one of multiple first basemen the Snakes are exploring, and no deal appears to be close.

A veteran of 16 MLB seasons, Santana has a reputation as a clubhouse leader, which Gambadoro says adds extra appeal for the D’Backs on top of Santana’s contributions on the field.  Santana is a strong defensive first baseman who finally won his first career Gold Glove in 2024, and that same season saw him hit .238/.328/.420 with 23 homers over 594 plate appearances for the Twins.

That solid 113 wRC+ campaign was followed, however, by an 82 wRC+ performance over 474 PA with the Guardians and Cubs in 2025.  Santana inked a one-year, $12MM free agent contract to return to his old stomping grounds, but this third stint in Cleveland didn’t work out, as Santana was released in late August.  The Cubs signed Santana as bench depth heading into the playoff stretch, but he had just two hits over 19 PA in a Chicago uniform and wasn’t part of the postseason roster.

Over 474 total PA in 2025, Santana hit .219/.308/.325, with his OBP and slugging percentage each representing new career lows.  His 11% walk rate was still very good and he avoided strikeouts at an above-average rate, yet the near-total evaporation of Santana’s power was hard to ignore, especially for a player in his age-39 season.

The switch-hitting Santana had a big dropoff against left-handed pitching, which was noteworthy since Santana has been much more productive hitting from the right side of the plate than the left side in recent years.  Since the left-handed hitting Pavin Smith would be Santana’s platoon partner in Arizona, Santana would almost exclusively be facing southpaws, which might help him get back on track.

The D’Backs are the first team publicly linked to Santana’s market this winter, which isn’t surprising as he enters his age-40 season looking for a bounce-back performance.  Santana previously rebounded from down years in 2020-21 to deliver more respectable numbers in 2022-23, but the question is naturally how much longer than the first baseman keep avoiding Father Time.  Beyond his career track record, Santana’s strong glove does give him some advantage over other first basemen still on the market, which might help him with a team like Arizona that only needs a part-time first base bat.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

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Mark P

  • The Weekend Chat is here!  /trumpet sounds

    We’ll start taking questions once a few file into the queue…

AstrosFAN

  • How big of a left handed bat do you think the Astros will get? Abreu tier? Tauchman tier? What do you think?

Mark P

  • Tauchman tier seems more likely.  It feels like (gamesmanship notwithstanding) that the Sox are viewing Abreu more as an everyday player than as trade bait, so something like a trade package centered around Abreu and Paredes may be less likely, if not impossible.

Ben

  • Did the Giants materially improve with Bader and Arreaz?

Mark P

  • Yes, since there’s a ton of value in putting Bader in CF and (just as importantly) getting Lee out of CF.  The outfield defense should be enormously improved by having Bader in CF and Lee in RF, which in turns makes the rotation better.  If Bader hits anything like he did in Philadelphia, that’s just icing on the cake.

    Arraez I’m not really sure brings more to the table overall than Schmitt, but Arraez does have more of a track record.

Jason

  • The Cardinals need a veteran starter, no question, is a 1 year Scherzer worth the price to them since they are shedding money?

Mark P

  • Scherzer’s not going to sign with a rebuilding team.

Rick

  • Snell’s injury doesn’t really affect the dodgers right? Just an improved role for wrobleski?

Mark P

  • Snell at this point isn’t a realistic candidate to throw a full season.  The Dodgers probably knew this before they acquired him in the first place, and are trying to manage his health and innings so he’ll be good to go for the end of the season and the playoff stretch.

Sam

  • Eugenio is confirmed as going to Cincinnati, why did the Mariner’s allow him to sign elsewhere, leaving them with Williamson whom I think is not ready to play 3B everyday?

Mark P

  • Williamson is an everyday player in terms of defense, though I agree that his bat is very much a work in progress at best.  The M’s may feel Suarez’s best days are behind him, or is just too inconsistent a player for a big financial commitment.

    That said, I wonder if Suarez’s willingness to take one year and $15MM was limited to just the Reds due to his past familiarity, because if that offer was also a possibility for Seattle, the M’s should’ve jumped

Dan

  • Verlander to Detroit at 1 year 10 million?

Mark P

  • His deal with the Giants was one year and $15MM, and I’m sure he doesn’t feel the need to take a $5MM paycut after delivering a quality season

Oldgfan

  • Will the Twins rethink trading Ryan now that the PBO left ?

Mark P

  • It is anyone’s guess as to how the Twins might process in the wake of Falvey’s surprising departure.  But, the fact that the team wants to make some effort at competing in 2026 probably means Ryan stays put.  Ryan, after all, is still inexpensive and in his arb years.

Prince

  • I am disappointed that the Dbacks didn’t add Suarez for such a good price, Their offense seems very light to me, Does this make the Dbacks a longer shot to make playoffs?

Mark P

  • Now this would’ve been a creative way for Arizona to add a RHH first baseman.  Re-sign Suarez and use him primarily as a DH, but also in a platoon at 1B.  Again, however, not sure if the price was right for the D’Backs or any other team besides the Reds, especially if Suarez was turning down a larger offer from the Pirates

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Angels Sign Jose Siri To Minors Deal

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The Angels have signed outfielder Jose Siri to a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports.  Siri will be invited to the Halos’ big league spring camp, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, and he’ll earn $1.6MM if he makes Los Angeles’ 26-man roster.  Siri has opt-out dates at the end of Spring Training and on June 1 if the Angels haven’t already selected his contract, as per Ari Alexander of 7 News.

The Mets designed Siri for assignment in late September and then outrighted him off their 40-man roster, and Siri opted for minor league free agency following the season.  He’ll now head to Anaheim in search of a rebound following a disastrous and injury-plagued year in New York.

Siri fouled a ball off his left leg in April, fracturing his left tibia and keeping him out of any Major League action until September 9.  Initially projected to miss 8-10 weeks in recovery, Siri’s leg soreness lingered to the point that he played in only 16 games in a Mets uniform (and had just a .292 OPS over 36 plate appearances).  It was a brutal turn of events for a player who was acquired in a trade from the Rays in November 2024 with the idea that Siri could bolster the Mets’ center field position at least from a defensive standpoint.

Public defensive metrics loved Siri’s glovework in center field from 2022-24, when Siri played for the Astros and Rays.  He also has excellent speed (which has translated to 45 career steals in 58 attempts), though it remains to be seen how the broken leg may impact Siri’s speed going forward.  Siri was a good source of power in hitting 43 homers over the 2023-24 seasons, but his overall production at the plate was limited by a lack of walks and a preponderance of strikeouts.  Over 1222 PA at the MLB level, Siri has struck out 442 times, while hitting .206/.263/.400.

Whatever Siri can provide on offense might be a bonus for the Angels, who are surely looking at Siri as a glove-first option within an outfield that has lot of defensive question marks.  Jo Adell projects as Los Angeles’ regular center fielder even though he posted -13 Defensive Runs Saved and -8 Outs Above Average up the middle in 2025.  Josh Lowe (acquired in a trade from Tampa) has respectable defensive metrics over the small sample of 156 career innings as a center fielder, but is better suited for a corner outfield slot.  Jorge Soler and Mike Trout will split time between left field and DH, with the defensively-challenged Soler somewhat forced into the field due to the Angels’ need to keep Trout healthy with plenty of DH work.

Bryce Teodosio is the Angels’ current fourth outfielder, and while Teodosio is a strong defender, he also has only 55 MLB games on his resume.  Kyren Paris and Matthew Lugo also doesn’t have much big league experience and Paris is more of a middle infielder anyway, so the Siri signing gives the Halos a veteran depth option to compete for a bench job in Spring Training.

Latest On Derek Falvey’s Departure From Twins

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The Twins shocked the baseball world this past week when they announced that the team was parting ways with team president Derek Falvey in what was framed as a mutual decision between Falvey and executive chair Tom Pohlad. More details have come out in the aftermath of that announcement on the circumstances surrounding Falvey’s departure that offer additional insight into the motivations behind that decision.

The move was surprising to fans, media, and rival clubs around the game for a number of reasons. Falvey had been promoted from his seat as president of baseball operations to also handle business operations in a dual president role in November of 2024, just over a year prior to his departure from the organization. That Falvey went from so thoroughly entrenched in the Twins’ present and future plans to out the door in a matter of months was shocking to outside observers, and Dan Hayes of The Athletic suggests it was met with equal shock internally, with staffers describing the news as a “haymaker.” Even more shocking is the timing of the move, which comes just a matter of weeks before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training with the large majority of offseason maneuvering already done.

In comments following Falvey’s departure, both Falvey himself and Pohlad have indicated that there was a difference in personalities between the two that led to the change. Pohlad described himself and Falvey (as relayed by Hayes) as “two people that were suddenly thrust into working together.” Falvey’s comments offered some additional insight into those differences.

“[Former Twins executive chair] Joe [Pohlad] and I had a different plan and working dynamic,” Falvey said of his departure, as relayed by Hayes. “Tom wants to run it a little differently. … Sometimes it’s just a feel that you get where both sides kind of sit there and say, ‘OK, is this the right match for what we need going forward?’ And if you get to a place where you don’t think it (fits) perfectly, you have to have really honest conversations and dialogue about it and we did.”

Given those comments about conflicting personalities and changing plans, it’s worth zooming out to consider the larger context of the Twins organization in recent years. After breaking the club’s lengthy drought of playoff victories in 2023, ownership slashed payroll during the 2023-24 offseason. Things have gone downhill since then on the field, and after a collapse in 2024 led to an 82-80 season and missing the playoffs, the team took an even bigger step back and lost 90 games in 2025.

Entering this offseason, all signs appeared to be pointing towards a rebuild coming to Minnesota. Players like Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, and even Byron Buxton were widely viewed as trade chips who would be available to rival teams this winter, and a tear-down of the roster had already gotten underway at the trade deadline back in July. In addition to the move to shed Carlos Correa’s contract in a salary dump with the Astros, the Twins traded away a number of pieces, including controllable impact bullpen pieces like Louis Varland, Jhoan Duran, and Griffin Jax.

In the background of those struggles on the field, the Pohlad family looked to move on from their ownership of the Twins franchise. The team announced their exploration of a sale in October of 2024, just one month before Falvey was promoted to his dual president role. Efforts to sell the family’s majority share in the club eventually fell through, however, and they instead ended up bringing on additional minority stakeholders to help address the team’s debt, which had complicated efforts to sell. After the details of that partial sale of the club were ironed out, Tom Pohlad (who had not been involved with the Twins’ operations until the effort to sell the club began) took over the executive chair position from younger brother Joe Pohlad and became the team’s control person back in December.

Given that Falvey had launched the start of what clearly seemed to be a rebuild under Joe Pohlad, much of Tom Pohlad’s rhetoric surrounding the team and it’s near-term competitive future makes a disconnect seem somewhat clear. Hayes reports that Tom Pohlad plans to be more proactive in steering the team as compared to the more laid-back approaches of former executive chairs Joe and Jim Pohlad, who Falvey had worked under in the past. Tom Pohlad’s planned direction for the team seems to be a quick return to contention, which goes against the plan Falvey had been in the midst of putting into place when Pohlad took over as Minnesota’s control person.

That planned return to contention might come with additional financial flexibility, but it’s unclear exactly how much. Pohlad has told reporters (including Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic) that he believes there is “room for investment” in the roster between now and Opening Day, which suggests there could be at least some additional spending to come to help round out a roster with a number of noticeable holes. With that said, however, Pohlad also downplayed the importance of the team’s payroll in those same comments.

“Yes, our payroll is down from last year,” Tom Pohlad said, as relayed by Gleeman. “I think there are still some investments to be made between now and Opening Day. I’d also say, at some point, I’d love to get off this payroll thing for a second. Let’s judge the success of this year on wins and losses, and on whether we’re playing meaningful baseball in September.”

Given that the team’s new control person has indicated a desire to be more hands-on than his predecessors and push the franchise in a more aggressive direction than it was previously on while also hesitating about the importance of raising payroll, it’s not hard to see where a conflict between Pohlad and Falvey could have arisen. Had Falvey been operating under a directive to return to contention in 2026, it’s easy to imagine him handling last year’s trade deadline differently, particularly when it comes to controllable, low-cost relief arms like Varland.

A departure at this point in the calendar still registers as a surprise, but Hays reports that one source described Falvey’s decision to leave now as a way to create an opportunity for the rest of his personnel to “create [their] own history” with the new control person. It’s not hard to imagine the possibility of tension down the road between Falvey and Pohlad creating a difficult situation for lower-level personnel in the front office, and Falvey removing himself from that equation immediately could help to avoid any potential issues between ownership and the front office going forward.

Dodgers Sign Cole Irvin To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed left-hander Cole Irvin to a minor league contract, Just Baseball Media’s Aram Leighton reports.  Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds that Irvin’s deal includes an invitation to the Dodgers’ big league spring camp.  It’s a late birthday present for Irvin, who just celebrated his 32nd birthday yesterday.

Irvin makes his return to North American ball after spending the 2025 season in Seoul with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League.  Over 28 starts and 144 2/3 innings with the Bears, Irvin posted a 4.48 ERA, 19.7% strikeout rate, and 12.2% walk rate.  For comparison’s sake, Irvin had a 4.54 ERA, 17.1 K% and 5.6 BB% over 593 innings at the Major League level from 2019-24, so the lack of control is a sudden red flag.  Irvin did display a severe lack of control over a handful of games with the Twins in 2024 and with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, but over a small sample size.

The southpaw had his usual strong command over the bulk of the 2024 season, though that was pretty much the only high point of a year that saw Irvin post a 5.11 ERA across 111 innings with Baltimore and Minnesota.  The O’s designated Irvin for assignment in September 2024, and he finished the season with a few outings for the Twins following a waiver claim.

Back in 2021-22, Irvin posted a 4.11 ERA over 359 1/3 innings for the Athletics, seemingly establishing himself as a durable starter who could eat innings and deliver quality results.  Irvin’s lack of strikeouts or high velocity made his production perhaps a bit of a high-wire act, however, and a trade to the Orioles prior to the 2023 resulted in some struggles as a starter before he righted the ship and became an effective reliever out of the O’s pen.

It is fair to guess that the Dodgers could use Irvin in any variety of roles as the club continues to stockpile as much pitching depth as possible.  After two World Series runs and with every expectation of another championship in 2026, Los Angeles is building a pitching staff built for seven months of baseball, not six.  If Irvin is able to recapture any of his old form, he could be a useful source of innings as a long man or spot starter to help L.A. manage its arms over the regular-season grind.  Given the Dodgers’ track record at pitching development, it is also possible that Irvin can unlock something and achieve a new level of consistent success at the MLB level.

White Sox Designate Drew Romo, Jairo Iriarte For Assignment

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The White Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve designated catcher Drew Romo and right-hander Jairo Iriarte for assignment. The moves make room for Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin on the club’s 40-man roster after Chicago acquired the pair from Boston earlier today.

Romo, 24, is a former first-round pick by the Rockies. Drafted 35th overall back in 2022, Romo eventually received some buzz on top-100 prospect lists but so far has just 19 games total under his belt in the major leagues. All of those came in Colorado, for whom he slashed just .167/.196/.222 with a 37.5% strikeout rate and a wRC+ of 3, indicating he was 97% worse than league average. Those numbers come as part of a sample size of just 56 trips to the plate, meaning that it’s hard to draw any major conclusions from them. Even so, it’s hardly an exciting performance that does little to offer confidence in Romo’s talents going forward.

Last year saw his Triple-A numbers take a tumble as well, as he hit just .264/.329/.409 with Albuquerque last year. That’s good for a wRC+ of just 75 in the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment. Romo’s struggles at Triple-A and in the majors led the Rockies to designate him for assignment. He’s bounced around the league in the months since then and was claimed off waivers by the White Sox last month. He remained in the organization for just a few weeks, and now will once again be subject to the waiver wire unless the White Sox can work out a trade involving Romo in the coming days. If Romo passes through waivers successfully, the White Sox will have the opportunity to stash him in Triple-A as catching depth behind the club’s current trio of Kyle Teel, Korey Lee, and Edgar Quero.

As for Iriarte, the right-hander signed with the Padres out of Venezuela as an amateur and spent most of his career in the San Diego system. He was acquired by the White Sox as part of the return for Dylan Cease prior to the 2024 season and made his big league debut with Chicago later that year. He posted a 1.50 ERA in six innings of work, albeit with more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six). He didn’t make an appearance for the White Sox in the majors last year amid deep struggles at Triple-A, where he posted a 7.24 ERA in 46 innings with a 16.7% walk rate. That wildness has now cost Iriarte his spot on the team’s 40-man roster. Like Romo, the White Sox will have one week to either trade Iriarte or try to pass him through waivers. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he’ll head to Triple-A as a non-roster depth option for Chicago headed into 2026.

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