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Tigers Decline Club Option On Randy Dobnak

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The Tigers declined their $6MM club option on right-hander Randy Dobnak, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. He’ll receive a $1MM buyout and become a free agent.

It was the expected outcome for Dobnak, who came to the Tigers alongside fellow righty Chris Paddack in the trade sending catching prospect Enrique Jimenez to the Twins this past July. Dobnak, who was earning $3MM this year and had a $1MM buyout on that option (plus now-moot club options for 2027 and 2028), was included in the trade simply as a means of clearing salary for Minnesota. He wasn’t on the 40-man roster, having already been outrighted multiple times in the past, and never pitched in the majors with the Tigers.

The now-30-year-old Dobnak was a remarkable story back in 2017-19, going from an undrafted free agent playing in a tiny independent league (and driving Uber on the side to make ends meet) to pitching for the Twins in the postseason in less than two years’ time. After pitching for Division-II Alderson Broaddus University in his college days, Dobnak signed with the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore League. He started only six games before the Twins caught a look at him and signed him.

Dobnak was the Twins’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2019 after working to a combined 2.07 ERA across 135 innings. He logged a 1.59 ERA in his first nine MLB appearances that season, made the playoff roster, and gave the Twins 10 serviceable starts during the shortened 2020 season. Minnesota signed Dobnak to a five-year, $9.25MM contract in spring 2021. It hasn’t panned out, though obviously the financial risk was minimal, particularly given that the contract’s three option years bought out three free-agent seasons.

Unfortunately for both Dobnak and the Twins, his results tanked shortly after signing the extension. He was shelled for a 7.64 ERA in 50 2/3 innings in 2021 and has pitched only 15 big league innings since. Dobnak has now posted ERA marks north of 5.00 in three of the past four Triple-A seasons. He’s never missed many bats or thrown particularly hard, but his once-sterling walk rate has ballooned to around 12% over the past four seasons.

The Tigers were never going to pick up Dobnak’s option. They’ll pay him a $1MM buyout, and he’ll become a free agent who’ll look to latch on as a depth piece on a minor league deal — or perhaps garner some interest from a team overseas.

MLB Mailbag: Freddy Peralta, Sonny Gray, Bichette, Tucker, Cubs

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MLBTR's annual Top 50 Free Agents list comes out Thursday evening!  We'll also be launching our free agent prediction contest at that time.

This week's subscriber mailbag covers possible Freddy Peralta and Sonny Gray trades, how the 2026-27 lockout might affect free agency this winter, where Bo Bichette will sign if not Toronto, the chances the Dodgers land Kyle Tucker, and how the Cubs will approach the loss of Tucker as well as a rotation upgrade.

Morris asks:

What would a realistic trade with Milwaukee for Freddy Peralta look like for the Braves? While I would love to see Cease in a Braves' uni, I think he may get a much better deal elsewhere with Atlanta's seeming insistence on being "logical" with every free agent (cue Friedman's famous quote). Milwaukee has a penchant for really getting something extra out of pitchers, and Peralta is a finished product who will be too expensive for them to keep much longer. Would something like Bryce Elder (Milwaukee could absolutely figure out how to make him better), a top-15 pitching prospect, and a top-30 position-player-prospect get the deal done?

At one point in our free agent deliberations, we had Dylan Cease signing a three-year, $93MM deal with two opt-outs.  We were having a bit of a hard time giving Cease the long-term contract he's likely seeking, mostly because of his 4.55 ERA.  For the most part, we've gotten past those reservations and expect Cease to sign for perhaps seven years, as Aaron Nola did coming off a 4.46 regular season mark.

It should be noted that the Braves were competitive in the bidding for Nola, so we can't completely rule out Alex Anthopoulos going long for the Georgia-native Cease.  But it's also true that in eight years atop the Braves' front office, Anthopoulos' biggest free agent deal in both years and dollars was Marcell Ozuna's four-year, $65MM pact in February 2021.  I agree that Cease feels unlikely in Atlanta.

On September 30th, Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote, "The Braves could use another reliable veteran — someone in the mold of Charlie Morton as a pitcher who can provide steadiness, leadership and consistent innings."  The thinking is that with Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Spencer Strider locked in, the Braves need reliability more than they need a front of the rotation guy.  In my Top 50 picks, I've got the Braves signing Chris Bassitt.  I also find the idea of a paid-down Sonny Gray acquisition to be plausible.

But there's nothing that precludes Anthopoulos from thinking bigger and renting Peralta for a year, regardless of whether they can eventually extend him.

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Yu Darvish Undergoes UCL Surgery, Will Miss Entire 2026 Season

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The Padres announced that right-hander Yu Darvish underwent surgery last Wednesday to fix a damaged right UCL and flexor tendon.  The procedure was an internal brace surgery instead of a full Tommy John surgery, yet the outcome is still the same — Darvish will miss the entire 2026 season while recovering.

This will be the second entirely lost year of Darvish’s career, as he missed all of 2015 due to a Tommy John procedure.  He has had some bouts of elbow soreness in the decade since that surgery, most prominently a stint on the 60-day injured list this season stemming from a bout of elbow inflammation that arose during Spring Training.

It wasn’t until July 7 that Darvish finally made his season debut for the Padres, and he clearly didn’t look 100 percent while posting a 5.38 ERA over 15 starts and 72 innings.  Small sample size notwithstanding, Darvish’s 23% strikeout rate was the lowest of his 13 MLB seasons, and his chase and whiff rates were far below average.  His 6.4% walk rate was still quite strong and Darvish did a very good job of limiting hard contact overall, but batters tended to thrive when actually squaring up on the veteran, as Darvish allowed 14 homers over his 72 frames.

Beyond these statistics, perhaps the most prominent numbers are 39 (Darvish’s age) and 3119.  The latter figure is the total number of innings Darvish has amassed over 20 total seasons pitching in the Major League regular season and postseason, as well as seven seasons in Japan with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.  Darvish will be 40 years old on Opening Day 2027 and it is anyone’s guess how he could perform after such a long layoff.

Last month, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune addressed the possibility of Darvish’s retirement, writing that “there has been talk for more than a year about the possibility he could retire at any time,” and that “Darvish has not made any assurances about completing his contract.”  The fact that Darvish has undergone this surgery would surely indicate that he wants to keep pitching, though any setbacks in rehab could perhaps create fresh doubt in the right-hander’s mind.

Darvish signed a contract extension with the Padres in April 2023, and he is still owed $43MM over the course of the 2026-28 seasons.  The $15MM owed to him in 2026 is now a wash, and retiring outright would mean that Darvish is voluntarily walking away from his remaining two years of salary.  The likelier outcome in the event that Darvish is unable to keep playing is that some kind of deferred buyout agreement is made with the Padres so that Darvish will still get his money over a longer period of time.

Given Darvish’s injury history, he was already viewed as a question mark for San Diego’s rotation heading into 2026.  Now that the question has been answered in the most unfortunate way possible, the Padres will go into next season with just two (Nick Pivetta and Randy Vasquez) of the seven pitchers who made the most starts for the team in 2025.  Dylan Cease and Michael King are free agents, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert were traded to the Royals at the deadline. and now Darvish has been sidelined by his UCL repair.

Next year’s rotation projects as Pivetta, Vasquez, deadline pickup JP Sears, Joe Musgrove in his return from Tommy John surgery, and a fifth starter role that could be contested between Matt Waldron, Kyle Hart, or (more intriguingly) star relievers Mason Miller or Adrian Morejon.  San Diego was already expected to add at least one starter to this mix even before Darvish’s injury news surfaced, so the team’s search for rotation help will now be even more pronounced.

Inset image courtesy of Denis Poroy — Imagn Images

Rockies Decline Mutual Option On Kyle Farmer

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The Rockies have declined their end of a $4MM mutual option on infielder Kyle Farmer for the 2026 season, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports.  Farmer will instead get a $750K buyout and head into free agency.

The decision is not a surprise. Farmer, 35, has long been a glove-first utility guy in the majors. The Rockies signed him just under a year ago to provide a veteran boost to their young infield. The deal guaranteed him $3.25MM in the form of a $2.5MM salary plus the aforementioned $750K option buyout.

Farmer got into 97 games for Colorado this year, stepping to the plate 300 times. He slashed .227/.280/.365 for a wRC+ of 65. Even though he’s never been a huge threat at the plate, that was a drop from the .250/.310/.391 line and 89 wRC+ he carried into the year.

The Rockies, with no current front office leader, have made the easy decision to move on. They could perhaps bring Farmer back to serve as a multi-positional bench piece again, but they will have a few months to consider other available options as well. Farmer will look for his next opportunity, which could be a minor league deal or a major league pact at a lower price point.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

Braves Release Nathan Wiles

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The Braves have released right-hander Nathan Wiles, according to Lindsay Crosby of the Braves Today podcast. The righty will become a free agent once he clears release waivers, if he hasn’t already.

Wiles, 27, came to Atlanta’s organization in a trade from the Rays back in March. He was added to Atlanta’s 40-man roster on April 22nd and tossed one inning that day, allowing three earned runs in his major league debut. He was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett the next day. He was recalled a few times over the remainder of the season but was always optioned back down without making an appearance, so he still has just the one big league game on his track record.

Throughout his time in the minors, he has generally produced cromulent results without a ton of strikeouts but also without many free passes. Over 438 minor league innings in his career, he has allowed 4.48 earned runs per nine with a 21% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate. That includes 112 2/3 innings in 2025 over 19 starts and six relief appearances with a 3.04 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate.

This release frees up a roster spot for Atlanta. RosterResource pegs the club for a 40-man count of 37, once all free agents officially hit the open market and guys are reinstated from the injured list. They have club options on Chris Sale, Tyler Kinley, Ozzie Albies and Pierce Johnson, so they’ll need to open one more spot if they plan to pick up all those options. They will presumably want to add some players before the Rule 5 protection deadline, in addition to signing free agents or making trade acquisitions, so more moves may be over the horizon. Wiles, meanwhile, will look for his next opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Jordan Godfree, Imagn Images

Orioles Acquire Andrew Kittredge From Cubs

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The Orioles have reunited with Andrew Kittredge, as the team announced that the right-hander has been acquired from the Cubs in exchange for cash considerations.  While not mentioned in the Orioles’ press release, it can be assumed that the O’s will be exercising Kittredge’s $9MM club option for the 2026 season rather than swinging a trade for the reliever just to buy him out for $1MM.

Last January, Kittredge came to Baltimore for the first time when he signed a one-year deal worth $10MM in guaranteed money — a $9MM salary for 2025, and the $1MM in buyout money.  A debridement procedure in his left knee delayed Kittredge’s 2025 debut until late May, but he was in fine form afterwards, and he became an obvious trade candidate when the O’s fell out of contention.  The result was a deal to the Cubs at the trade deadline, with Baltimore netting infield prospect Wilfri De La Cruz in return.

Kittredge’s overall numbers were even better in Chicago after the trade, and he made five appearances for the Cubs in the postseason.  For 2025 as a whole, Kittredge posted a 3.40 ERA and a superb set of advanced metrics.  His 30.8% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate each sat in the 92nd percentile of all pitchers, his 49.2% grounder rate was far above average, and his 41.6% chase rate was the best of any pitcher in baseball.

Today’s trade means that the Orioles have now gotten Kittredge and De La Cruz in their organization, plus they saved roughly $2.8MM in salary when the Cubs took on the remainder of Kittredge’s 2025 salary.  Had everything gone to plan for Baltimore this season, the team surely had an eye towards exercising Kittredge’s club option anyway, so they’ll now get to make that decision after all and address a bullpen need.

Felix Bautista will miss most or all of the 2026 season recovering from shoulder surgery, plus Kittredge was one of several relievers dealt away by the Orioles at the deadline.  Even with Kittredge’s contributions, Baltimore’s bullpen was one of the weakest in the league in 2025, and rebuilding the relief core seems to be one of the club’s top priorities this offseason.

From the Cubs’ perspective, passing the buck (literally and figuratively) on Kittredge’s club option seems like an unusual move.  While Kittredge is entering his age-36 season and Chicago has traditionally been wary about overspending on relief pitching, $9MM seems like a fairly safe investment given how well Kittredge performed in 2025.  The Wrigleyville bullpen was quite solid this year, yet since many names from that group are free agents, exercising Kittredge’s club option would’ve been a way for the Cubs to partially solidify things early in the winter.

Since Shota Imanaga’s three-year club option was also declined by the Cubs earlier today, quite a bit of projected money has now been cleared off the team’s books between Imanaga and Kittredge.  As per RosterResource, Chicago has an estimated 2026 payroll of roughly $148.3MM and a luxury tax number of $164MM — well below their $206.4MM payroll and $227.3MM tax figure from 2025.  While Wrigleyville fans have a right to be concerned over how much ownership is willing to spend, this situation could mean that the Cubs are making room for a bigger-ticket acquisition or two this offseason.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Jarren Duran

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The Red Sox announced that they have agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Jarren Duran for the 2026 season.  MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith reports that Duran will earn $7.7MM in 2026, with another $75K available in bonus money.

The move technically counts as an arbitration-avoiding signing since Duran is under arb control through 2028, though the Red Sox signed him to a one-year deal last winter that contained an $8MM club option for 2026.  Boston has now declined that option, paid Duran a $100K buyout, and then inked this new deal that will ultimately save the club a bit of money.  The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reports that Duran will earn a $25K bonus if he reaches 450 plate appearances, and then another $25K for each of the 500-PA and 550-PA thresholds.

MLB Trade Rumors’ Matt Swartz projected Duran for an $8.4MM salary in his second winter of arb-eligibility, but going to a hearing never seemed likely due to the existence of Boston’s club option.  Duran is a Super Two player and thus has four arb years instead of the usual three, so he should continue to earn significant raises in his arbitration years if he keeps producing consistent results.

Duran hit .256/.332/.442 with 16 homers and 24 steals over 696 PA this season, and led the American League with 13 triples.  While a 111 wRC+ and 3.9 fWAR are more than respectable, it did represent a notable step back from the 131 wRC+ and 6.8 fWAR that Duran posted in 2024.

Beyond his on-field results, the most notable aspect of Duran’s 2025 campaign have been the persistent trade rumors that have followed the outfielder for a few years now.  With Roman Anthony emerging as a force in his rookie year, there has been even more speculation that the Sox might trade from their outfield surplus (i.e. Duran, Wilyer Abreu, or perhaps Ceddanne Rafaela) to address other roster needs, likely starting pitching.  The existence of the club option means that the Red Sox probably had to get some kind of resolution on Duran’s 2026 salary done relatively quickly, yet this early settlement might also hint that the Sox wanted to remove one wrinkle in advance of any upcoming trade talks.

Orioles Sign Josh Walker To Major League Contract

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The Orioles announced that left-hander Josh Walker has been signed to a one-year Major League contract.  Salary terms weren’t announced, but Walker (who was already in Baltimore’s organization) was slated to earn a minimum MLB salary as a pre-arbitration player.

Like recent deals with Rico Garcia and Luis Vazquez, Walker’s new contract is likely meant to give Baltimore a little extra control over their services, and give other teams a little more reason to pause should the O’s designate Walker or the other for assignment over the course of the winter.  A slightly larger salary beyond the big league minimum might deter some clubs, and since Walker is out of minor league options, the Orioles will have to DFA him whenever (or if ever) they want to try and get Walker off the 40-man roster.

Walker has appeared in each of the last three Major League seasons, amassing a 6.59 ERA over 27 1/3 innings with the Mets and Blue Jays.  All three of his 2025 appearances in the Show came with Toronto, and the Jays traded Walker to the Phillies in late May.  The southpaw spent the rest of the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Phillies and Orioles, as Baltimore claimed Walker off waivers in August.

Walker’s MLB numbers and his 4.39 career ERA over 174 1/3 Triple-A innings are nothing to write home about, but he does have a 25.67% strikeout rate at the Triple-A level.  The Orioles seem to have liked what they saw from Walker during his brief time in the organization, and this new contract gives him a bit of a better chance of winning a bullpen job in Spring Training.

Reds Sign Keegan Thompson

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The Reds announced that they have signed Keegan Thompson to a one-year contract.  It is a Major League deal for the 30-year-old right-hander, and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer specifies the contract is a split deal that will pay Thompson $1.3MM for his time in the majors.  Another $100K in incentive bonuses is also available in the contract.

A career Cub since being drafted by Chicago in the third round of the 2017 draft, Thompson will now head elsewhere in the NL Central.  Thompson was a pretty decent reliever and even an occasional starter for the Cubs during the 2021-24 seasons, at least in terms of bottom line numbers.  The righty posted a 3.64 ERA over his 227 1/3 career innings in the majors, and his 3.94 SIERA wasn’t much higher.  Thompson had a respectable 23% strikeout rate but control was a bigger issue, as he had an 11.3% walk rate.

The Cubs seemed to fall out of favor with Thompson in the spring, as he was designated for assignment and then outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster.  The result was a 2025 season spent entirely in the minors, as Chicago didn’t select Thompson’s contract back to the active roster even when the team was hunting for bullpen reinforcements.  Thompson’s 4.50 ERA over 64 innings at Triple-A Iowa didn’t really help his case for a promotion, but he had a strong 29.5% strikeout rate and his walk rate was a more manageable 8.9%.

Thompson selected minor league free agency at season’s end.  He is out of minor league options, so that means the Reds will have to DFA and outright Thompson when and if they bring him to the active roster and then want to send him to the minors.  Now that Thompson has been outrighted, he has the right to elect free agency if he is ever outrighted again, though he would have to forfeit any guaranteed salary in that circumstance.

There’s not much risk for the Reds in bringing in Thompson as a low-cost depth option to at least check out during spring camp.  The split contract also gives the team a bit more flexibility in moving Thompson to the minors at least on the financial side, apart from the out-of-options hurdle.  Thompson is also arbitration-controlled through the 2027 season.

Frankie Montas Won’t Opt Out Of Final Year Of Mets Contract

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The Mets announced their full slate of option decisions, including the previously-unreported (but completely unsurprising) news that Frankie Montas won’t be triggering the opt-out clause in his contract.  The two-year, $34MM contract Montas signed last offseason allowed the right-hander to walk away from the deal after the first season, but Montas will stay put and earn another $17MM salary in 2026.

Shoulder surgery wiped out almost all of Montas’ 2023 season, and he returned to action to post a 4.84 ERA over 150 2/3 innings with the Reds and Brewers in 2024.  Despite the high ERA and some lackluster peripherals, Montas still landed the $34MM guarantee in free agency, with the Mets investing in their belief that Montas could fully rebound to his past status as a front-of-the-rotation arm with the A’s.

Instead, Montas delivered only a 6.28 ERA over 38 2/3 innings in 2025.  Things got off to a rough start in Spring Training when Montas suffered a lat strain that delayed his season debut until June, and he then pitched so poorly that the Mets moved him to the bullpen.  More major injury problems then emerged in late August, when Montas underwent a UCL-related surgery.  The specific type of the surgery isn’t known, but Montas will be out until August 2026 at the earliest if he underwent “only” a brace procedure, and a full Tommy John procedure will sideline him the entirety of the 2026 campaign.

Needless to say, it was a pretty easy call for Montas to remain in his Mets contract.  Regardless of his health, he might have thrown his last pitch in a New York uniform anyway since the Mets may very well release the righty now that his option decision has been made.  The Mets can’t put Montas on the 60-day injured list until Spring Training begins, and the team could decide that having an open 40-man roster spot is more valuable than keeping Montas around.

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