Cubs Notes: Boyd, Outfield, Shaw
Left-hander Matthew Boyd returned to the Cubs after his stint with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and was promptly named the team’s Opening Day starter by manager Craig Counsell. He’ll take the ball and be followed by Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga in some order. Righties Javier Assad and Ben Brown are potential 40-man alternatives, and veteran Colin Rea will open the season in a swingman role in the bullpen.
Boyd, who turned 35 last month, tossed a career-high 179 1/3 innings with the Cubs last season. He worked to a strong 3.21 ERA with a slightly below-average 21.4% strikeout rate but a terrific 5.8% walk rate. Boyd is entering the second season of a two-year, $29MM contract. He already unlocked $500K of incentives last year based on his workload, and he’ll be paid $14.5MM in 2026 with the opportunity to earn another $500K via incentives (reaching 120 innings). He’s also owed a $2MM buyout on a 2027 mutual option that won’t be picked up by both parties.
In other Cubs news, the team announced its latest wave of cuts this morning. Lefties Luke Little and Ryan Rolison were optioned to Triple-A, as was fleet-footed outfielder Justin Dean. The Cubs also reassigned a handful of non-roster players to minor league camp — Vince Velasquez most notable among them.
By sending Dean to Triple-A to begin the season, the Cubs made it quite likely that they’ll open the season with a current non-roster veteran holding a bench spot as a reserve outfielder. Former top prospect Kevin Alcántara remains in big league camp and is on the 40-man roster, but he has an option year left and is currently 4-for-21 with nine strikeouts in 23 official spring plate appearances. The team would presumably prefer him to be playing every day in Iowa rather than sitting on the bench and grabbing a start or two per week anyhow.
The most notable non-roster outfielders in camp are Dylan Carlson, Michael Conforto and Chas McCormick. Carlson has been the most productive of the bunch and offers the bonus of being a switch-hitter who can handle all three outfield spots. Conforto is a pure lefty who’s not an option in center field, though he has the most prominent major league track record of this group (albeit not in the past couple seasons). McCormick is a righty-hitting center fielder who can handle all three spots and has crushed lefties in the past (but struggled against all opponents in 2025).
One player who clearly seems ticketed for a heavily used role off the bench: former top prospect Matt Shaw. The 24-year-old hit just .226/.295/.394 as a rookie but did have a nice showing over the season’s final three months. The Cubs’ signing of Alex Bregman displaced Shaw from last year’s home at third base, and he’s now moving into more of a utility role.
We’ve already seen Shaw get some reps in the outfield and at second base, but The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma writes that he’s now working first base into his repertoire as well. Shaw tells Sharma that he worked out at first base for about three days before making his debut at the position there during yesterday’s Cactus League game.
Getting some work in at first base is all the more important in the event of Tyler Austin‘s knee surgery, which will keep him sidelined for several months. Austin returned from Japan’s NPB this year, signing a one-year deal with the Cubs to serve as a righty-swinging complement to Michael Busch at first base and the provide some pop off the bench.
That role is obviously on hold for the time being, and with no clear option to step up and take it — right-handed-hitting corner infield prospect Jonathon Long has been slowed in camp by an elbow issue — Austin’s injury could create some additional at-bats for Shaw in the early portion of the season. Busch batted .207/.274/.368 against lefties last season and is a career .230/.295/.356 hitter in left-on-left settings. Shaw hit .250/.318/.490 versus left-handers last year and finished as a Gold Glove finalist at the hot corner, so he should have the athleticism and defensive acumen to handle a multi-position role.
Poll: Who Will Be The Odd Man Out In The Twins’ Rotation?
The Twins traded 11 players at least year’s deadline, shipping out several rental veterans and a series of controllable relievers that left them with one of the game’s worst pitching staffs in the second half. That hit to the team’s more immediate competitiveness came with the upside of adding to an already impressive cache of starting pitching talent, however. Spring injuries to Pablo López and David Festa have thinned the herd, but the Twins have more viable starters than they can fit into a five-man rotation.
Righties Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are locked into spots. Ryan has been one of the American League’s most consistent starters in recent seasons. Ober has been a solid third/fourth starter for the bulk of his career but saw his 2025 numbers tanked by a catastrophic June. Simeon Woods Richardson is a heavy favorite to land a rotation spot since he’s out of minor league options and pitched well down the stretch in 2025.
Looking at the team’s optionable starters, there are a few who seem unlikely to make the rotation at this point. Lefties Kendry Rojas and Connor Prielipp and righties John Klein and Andrew Morris have yet to make their MLB debuts. They’ll likely start off in Triple-A, though any of the bunch could fight his way into a rotation spot later in the year. Putting Woods Richardson in the rotation and eliminating the players who have yet to debut in the majors from the conversation leaves three arms — Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and Zebby Matthews — for two spots.
Bradley, acquired last summer for Griffin Jax, is the most experienced at the big league level of the three. Once a consensus top-25 prospect in the sport, he made it to the majors with Tampa Bay in 2023 and has mostly stuck in their rotation since. He’s not yet enjoyed much in the way of results as a big leaguer, however, as demonstrated by his 4.86 ERA in 75 appearances (73 starts).
Bradley’s ERA+ peaked at 97 in 2024 and sits at just 85 for his career. His peripherals are better than his results, and his career 4.00 SIERA does offer some confidence about his ability to perform at the big league level. He won’t turn 25 until next month. Bradley is still young enough to be capable of breaking out in a big way, but he’s also young enough that spending time at Triple-A is hardly outlandish.
Matthews is about ten months older than Bradley but is less experienced in the majors. The right-hander has a similar resume in a smaller sample. He’s made just 25 big league starts, and while his 5.92 ERA is ugly, a 4.41 FIP and 3.80 SIERA both offer some reason for optimism.
Matthews has a career 24.7% strikeout rate against a 6.6% walk rate. That’s good for a K-BB% on par with high-end arms like Kevin Gausman and Freddy Peralta. Much of his struggles in terms of results surely has to do with an incredibly high .359 BABIP, which figures to come down across a larger sample. He also took a notable step forward in 2025 relative to 2024, as his barrel rate plummeted from 14% down to a more acceptable 9.9%, while his hard-hit rate dropped to 38.8%. Matthews’ struggles at the big league level might be enough to keep him out of the rotation to start the year, but the underlying metrics on the former top-100 prospect could warrant a longer look.
As for Abel, the right-hander is by far the least experienced in the majors. He made his MLB debut just last year and won’t turn 25 until August. He posted a 6.23 ERA in a 39 inning cup of coffee last year between the Phillies and Twins. That would make it easy to write Abel off for the Opening Day roster, but he has considerable pedigree as a recent top-100 prospect and has opened eyes this spring with a dominant performance. Abel has fired off ten scoreless innings in three starts with 13 strikeouts, good for a 39.4% clip. Bradley (seven runs in 14 innings, 19-to-5 K/BB) and Matthews (seven runs in six innings) haven’t been as sharp. Spring numbers only count for so much, of course, but Abel has made a stronger case for himself than his competition.
How do MLBTR readers expect the Twins to decide who gets left out of the Opening Day rotation? Will they leave off Abel due to his lack of experience, overlook Matthews’ strong peripherals, or not be swayed by Bradley’s experience? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will be the odd man out in the Twins' rotation?
-
Zebby Matthews 54% (1,435)
-
Mick Abel 35% (916)
-
Taj Bradley 11% (288)
Total votes: 2,639
Latest On Athletics’ Rotation
The A’s optioned righty Joey Estes to Triple-A yesterday, thinning the field of pitchers vying for spots on the big league staff. Estes seemed like a long shot to make the club after being summoned to the majors for only 11 innings last year and otherwise pitching to a 5.51 ERA in 15 Triple-A starts (and two relief appearances). He tossed only 2 2/3 innings in formal Cactus League play.
Estes, 24, came to the A’s alongside Shea Langeliers, Cristian Pache and Ryan Cusick in the trade sending Matt Olson to Atlanta. Estes has now pitched in parts of three major league seasons but been tagged for a 5.51 ERA (matching last year’s Triple-A mark) with just a 16.3% strikeout rate in 148 1/3 big league innings. He has good command (career 5.4% walk rate), but he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher who doesn’t throw hard or miss bats. As such, he’s been far too susceptible to home runs. Estes has been used primarily as a starter to this point in his career, but he’s entering his final minor league option year, so perhaps the A’s will want to see what he’d look like in a bullpen role.
Entering camp, there were two spots up for grabs in manager Mark Kotsay’s rotation. Kotsay acknowledged back when pitchers and catchers reported that Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs and free agent signee Aaron Civale had spots locked down, while the other spots would be sorted out in camp. Hard-throwing righty Luis Morales hasn’t exactly dominated this spring (eight runs in 16 hits and seven walks with 10 strikeouts in 12 innings), but Martin Gallegos of MLB.com writes that Morales is more or less a lock to open the season in the rotation.
Morales’ middling spring showing hasn’t emphatically earned that spot, but he’s coming off a rookie showing in which he tossed 48 2/3 innings with a 3.14 ERA. He averaged 97.3 mph with his four-seamer, struck out a respectable (albeit slightly below average) 21.6% of his opponents and issued walks at a 9% clip. Prior to that solid debut, he’d pitched in 23 games (14 starts) between Double-A and Triple-A and notched a combined 3.73 ERA, 29.2% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.
Morales still has a full slate of three minor league option years remaining, so if he struggles badly in the final weeks of camp or is hit hard early in the season, he can be sent down without first needing to pass through waivers. The A’s can control him for at least six full seasons.
Gallegos writes that lefty Jacob Lopez might be the favorite for the fifth and final starting gig on Kotsay’s staff. The 28-year-old southpaw was acquired in the same trade that brought Springs to the A’s. He pitched 92 2/3 innings of 4.08 ERA ball with a strong 28.3% strikeout rate and a 9.3% walk rate last year. Seventeen of his 21 appearances were starts.
Lopez was slowed by a forearm issue early in camp but made his spring debut a few days ago. It didn’t go especially well (three runs in two innings), but he’ll have two more weeks to show that he can be trusted with a rotation spot to begin the season. Lopez still has one minor league option year remaining, though the A’s presumably prefer not to burn that unless his performance makes it absolutely necessary.
One name not to sleep on entirely: top prospect Gage Jump. The 22-year-old lefty hasn’t yet pitched in Triple-A, but Baseball America’s Ian Cundall writes that Jump has already seen his average fastball climb 1.6 mph this spring. He’s sitting 96 mph and topping out around 98.5 mph — up from last year’s average of 94.4 mph and max of 97 mph.
Jump, 23 next month, was the No. 73 pick in the 2024 draft. He dominated in High-A and Double-A last season, combining for 112 2/3 frames with a 3.28 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate, 41.8% ground-ball rate and just 0.56 homers per nine frames. He’s widely regarded as one of the game’s 100 best overall prospects and is more specifically one of the very best left-handed pitching prospects in the sport.
Though Jump isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, he doesn’t necessarily face fierce competition. His ceiling is as high or higher than anyone else in the Athletics’ rotation at the moment, and the final two spots haven’t been claimed in convincing fashion. Jump has pitched 6 2/3 spring innings and allowed a pair of runs on five hits and three walks with four punchouts. The A’s technically don’t have to add him to the 40-man roster until the 2027-28 offseason (when he’d need to be selected to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft), but a 2026 debut seems likely, so long as Jump can remain healthy and pick up where he left off last season. It’d be a modest surprise if he broke camp with the club, but doing so would position the A’s to potentially pick up a future draft pick through MLB’s prospect promotion incentive program.
The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Priester, Tigers, Yankees
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. World Baseball Classic exits pool stage:
Yesterday, the WBC wrapped up its pool stage as the eight teams advancing to the next round were finalized. The biggest wins of yesterday’s games were Aaron Nola and Team Italy’s victory over Javier Assad and Team Mexico, as well as Cal Quantrill and Team Canada’s victories over Team Cuba. Canada (3-1) and Puerto Rico (3-1) made it out of Pool A, while Italy (4-0) and the United States (3-1) are the victors in Pool B. Japan (4-0) and Korea (2-2) made it through Pool C, and Pool D saw the Dominican Republic (4-0) and Venezuela (3-1) emerge. Those eight teams are now set to travel to the continental United States (if they weren’t already here) for the quarterfinals and beyond, which will take place in Houston and Miami. While the quarterfinalists travel and prepare for the next round, no games are on the schedule for today. The knockout round begins on Friday with Korea facing the Dominican Republic and Canada squaring off against the United States.
2. Brewers await news on Priester:
Brewers righty Quinn Priester is poised to start the year on the injured list due to soreness in his wrist. The righty reportedly went to visit a specialist yesterday, and the feedback from that visit could shed some light on the injury for Milwaukee and provide them with a more specific diagnosis. While the soreness has been intermittent and hasn’t stopped him from playing catch this spring, ruling out a more significant injury could give Priester and the club some confidence as he builds up towards his return to the big league mound. Kyle Harrison, Brandon Sproat, Chad Patrick, and Logan Henderson are all vying for spots in the rotation, with only Brandon Woodruff and Jacob Misiorowski locked into spots come Opening Day with Priester headed for the IL.
3. Game Preview: Tigers vs Yankees:
While the World Baseball Classic is on hold for the day, attention turns back towards Spring Training for fans looking to follow baseball today. Spring Training games are much lower-stakes, but there are still some things worth watching for clubs nonetheless. In today’s game between the Yankees and Tigers, for example, future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander will simply be getting his work in ahead of his 21st year in the big leagues. Even so, he’d surely like to turn in a stronger performance than he did in his first outing of the spring, where he struck out four in two innings but also allowed two runs on two hits (including one homer) and two walks. He’ll be pitching today opposite Will Warren, who will spend both Spring Training and the early part of the regular season looking to earn a more permanent spot in the rotation with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon expected back from the injured list during the first couple months of the season. On the positional side of things, Ryan McMahon has been trying his hand at shortstop throughout camp for the Yankees, while top Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle has been trying to force his way onto the MLB roster.
MLB Mailbag: Pirates, Shortstops, Okamoto, Ponce
This week's mailbag gets into the Pirates' third base situation, the best shortstop of 2026, projections for Kazuma Okamoto and Cody Ponce, and thoughts on the Nationals, Cardinals, and Mets.
Don asks:
Is Isaac Paredes the Pirates' best option for a trade upgrade at third base? What might that cost be in prospects/players?
John asks:
I think the Pirates should give some serious prospects up to acquire CJ; the Bucs seem to be one bat short. What do you think? Will Jared Jones do it?
Jared Triolo is the projected starter at the hot corner for the Pirates. The 28-year-old won a utility player Gold Glove in 2024 and will play a strong third base. It's a position where a 96 wRC+ at the plate is average, and Triolo projects around 90. He was able to cut his strikeout rate last year, but hasn't really shown any power since A-ball.
Triolo is a 2-WAR guy per 650 PA. Total value-wise, he's arguably on par with offensive-minded additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O'Hearn. It's just easier to get excited about a 30-homer bat like Lowe, even when he gives a ton of his value back as one of the worst defensive second basemen in the game. And Triolo is making near the league minimum, not eight figures.
I went into this exercise thinking Triolo would be one of the game's worst regular third basemen, but I didn't realize how bleak that landscape is. On a per 650 PA basis - which is quite generous to injury-prone "regulars" such Royce Lewis and Yoan Moncada - Triolo's 2.0 WAR projection from The Bat X ranks 18th. There's no real reason to think guys like Caleb Durbin or Nolan Arenado will out-perform Triolo this year.
Of the three players directly ahead of Triolo - so close as to be considered a wash - two of them are Alec Bohm and Paredes. They both seemed somewhat available this winter, and they make a lot more money than Triolo, but they're not clearly better.
I'd say 14 third basemen represent a clear upgrade on Triolo for 2026. Here they are along with thoughts on whether the Pirates could've acquired them:
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
MLBTR Podcast: Jesús Luzardo’s Extension, Atlanta’s Depth, And Zack Littell
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Phillies and Jesús Luzardo signing an extension (1:55)
- Johan Rojas reportedly testing positive for a PED and how that impacts the Phillies (16:55)
- The Braves losing Jurickson Profar to yet another PED suspension and Joey Wentz to a season-ending injury (22:15)
- The Nationals signing Zack Littell (36:25)
- The Pirates trading Kyle Nicolas to the Reds for Tyler Callihan (43:40)
- The Rangers signing Andrew McCutchen to a minor league deal (48:45)
- The Astros dealing with a Jeremy Peña injury and how that impacts the ongoing Isaac Paredes trade rumors (53:30)
Check out our past episodes!
- Max Scherzer, The Red Sox’ Lineup, Spring Extension Candidates, And More! – listen here
- Twins And Orioles’ Injuries, The Guardians And Angels’ Quiet Offseasons, And Chris Sale’s Extension – listen here
- The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
Brewers Notes: Priester, Henderson, Quero
Quinn Priester has battled lingering wrist soreness throughout the spring. The Brewers will place him on the 15-day injured list to begin the season. The timeline beyond that isn’t entirely clear, but Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that Priester will visit a specialist on Wednesday to try to identify the source of the problem.
Priester described the injury last week as intermittent soreness rather than any acute injury. It traces back to the second half of last season. Priester has been able to continue playing catch but hasn’t pitched in a game this spring. They’ll hope that tomorrow’s evaluation can give them a clearer path forward. There’s no indication yet it’s a serious injury. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, the team is still hoping he’ll make his season debut at some point in April.
Manager Pat Murphy said last week that Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick were the only locks for the Opening Day rotation. Brandon Woodruff will obviously be in there as well if he’s sufficiently built up from last year’s lat issue. He threw two innings and 32 pitches in his Spring Training debut over the weekend. Priester would have been a lock if healthy after turning in a 3.32 ERA across 157 1/3 innings last year.
His injury leaves at least two spots up for grabs to begin the season. Logan Henderson has a good chance to win one of them after pitching to a 1.78 ERA while striking out a third of opponents over his first five career starts.
Henderson, who finished last season on the injured list with elbow inflammation, reported minor elbow discomfort over the weekend. Fortunately, the Brewers don’t seem concerned. McCalvy relays that the 24-year-old is feeling better and scheduled to return to mound work tomorrow. He could be back in Cactus League action as soon as this weekend. Henderson has pitched four innings of two-run ball with one strikeout across two spring appearances. It’s a situation to monitor but one that isn’t currently trending towards an IL stay.
Offseason trade acquisitions Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison are probably competing with Henderson and lefty Robert Gasser for the rotation jobs. Murphy has also left open the idea of using Aaron Ashby or DL Hall as starters, though they profile better in relief roles.
Hall and Harrison — each of whom has only logged three Spring Training innings so far — are the respective scheduled starters for the next two games. Sproat has surrendered three runs despite striking out seven of 21 opponents. Gasser has been hit around for seven runs on a trio of homers across 6 1/3 frames.
The Brewers also made a few camp cuts this week, most notably optioning catching prospect Jeferson Quero. He’ll begin the season back in Triple-A, where he hit .255/.336/.412 across 250 plate appearances last season. That was the expectation after the Brewers signed Gary Sánchez to a cheap one-year deal to work behind William Contreras.
Non-roster invitee Reese McGuire is also in camp but has an uphill path to a roster spot barring injury. He has gone 2-14 with a homer and six strikeouts. Sánchez has also struggled, hitting .208 without an extra-base knock in 27 trips to the plate. Contreras, Sánchez and Quero are the three catchers on the 40-man roster. McGuire, who cannot be sent to the minors without his consent if he secures a 40-man spot, could attract interest from another team with more flexibility in the backup role later in camp.
Latest On Angels’ Rotation Mix
The Angels entered camp with three-fifths of their rotation set. Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano and Reid Detmers were locked in. Offseason reclamation pickups Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah started the spring as the favorites for the final two spots.
Neither has made a great first impression. Rodriguez has allowed seven runs with a 7:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through eight innings. He has at least had encouraging velocity, averaging 95 mph on his fastball. He’s a wild card after missing the past season and a half to shoulder issues.
Manoah has had an even tougher time, giving up five runs with eight walks and only four strikeouts through 7 1/3 frames. The former Cy Young finalist, who also hasn’t made an MLB appearance since 2024, has been in the 91-92 mph range with his fastball. His velocity was in a similar spot last season in the minor leagues. Manoah threw 93-94 on average before undergoing elbow surgery two seasons ago.
Both pitchers still have a pair of minor league option years remaining. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes that Manoah’s struggles, in particular, have opened the door to him beginning the season in the minors. That’d obviously open a rotation spot for someone else. Jack Kochanowicz and Sam Aldegheri seemingly represent the top two challengers.
Kochanowicz was arguably the worst regular starter in MLB last season. Among pitchers with 100+ innings, no one had a higher earned run average than his 6.81 mark. Only Erick Fedde had a lower strikeout/walk rate differential. Kochanowicz finished the season on optional assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake.
The sinkerballer has put a stronger foot forward in camp. Kochanowicz has only allowed two runs in 8 2/3 innings spanning three appearances. He has recorded five strikeouts with one walk while keeping the ball on the ground at a 60% clip. That shouldn’t outweigh last year’s struggles, but it could be enough to jump the struggling Manoah on the depth chart.
Aldegheri is one of the team’s more talented pitching prospects. He has been knocked around for a 6.41 ERA in his first seven big league appearances but is coming off a 3.78 ERA season in Triple-A. Aldegheri has only made two Spring Training outings for the Halos. His most impressive performance to date came for the surprisingly undefeated Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Aldegheri struck out eight over 4 2/3 scoreless frames against Brazil (admittedly one of the worst teams in the tournament).
Mitch Farris has had a slight velocity uptick this spring, but he has been rocked for 12 runs in six innings. Caden Dana is behind in camp after an offseason mononucleosis diagnosis. Walbert Ureña has made one career Triple-A start, while Victor Mederos has already been optioned out of MLB camp. Prospect George Klassen leads their group of non-roster invites. The 24-year-old has only made one Triple-A start but has bigger stuff than any of the depth pitchers on the 40-man roster.
It’s a rough group, but the Angels showed little interest in making a significant free agent upgrade. That’s essentially off the table at this point. Lucas Giolito, whose previous brief stint as an Angel couldn’t have gone worse, is the only unsigned starter who’s guaranteed to command a big league contract. Patrick Corbin and old friend Tyler Anderson are probably looking at minor league deals as they enter their respective age-36 seasons.
Rays Bullpen Notes: Uceta, Gómez, Rock
The Rays have had a fairly uneventful camp so far. They haven’t lost anyone to what appear to be major injuries. Their expected rotation is on schedule, while the majority of their projected starting lineup has been locked in since the beginning of camp.
The bullpen is the one area of the roster that’s more in flux. They announced a couple weeks ago that middle reliever Steven Wilson will begin the season on the injured list with a back issue. Meanwhile, righty Edwin Uceta has yet to pitch this spring after being delayed by shoulder inflammation.
Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times unsurprisingly writes that Uceta is not expected to be ready by Opening Day. The 28-year-old doesn’t appear to be facing a long-term absence, however. Uceta has been playing catch without issue. It’s not clear if he’ll make it into an exhibition game before camp closes. He shouldn’t need a ton of time to build up for regular season game readiness after that.
A season-opening injured list stint for Uceta would open another middle relief spot. Tampa Bay has three locks for high-leverage relief roles: Garrett Cleavinger, Griffin Jax and Bryan Baker. No one else is firmly locked into the Opening Day mix. Righties Cole Sulser and Yoendrys Gómez are out of minor league options. They need to break camp or be exposed to waivers.
Gómez was an offseason trade pickup alongside Wilson in a deal that sent outfielder Everson Pereira to the White Sox. The Rays wouldn’t have made that trade if they didn’t expect Gómez to have a strong chance of breaking camp. His case for a roster spot is bolstered by his ability to work multiple innings.
Topkin writes that the Rays plan to carry multiple long relievers to begin the season. That’ll give them some cover for starters Shane McClanahan and Steven Matz. McClanahan hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since 2023 because of various injuries. Matz is building back to rotation work after pitching out of the bullpen for the Cardinals and Red Sox last year. He only threw 76 2/3 innings. They’ll be in the rotation, but the Rays will exercise caution with their workloads early on.
Gómez made nine starts in 21 appearances a season ago, tossing 62 2/3 innings overall. He threw five innings of two-run ball over his first four appearances this spring. Gómez stepped away from the team to pitch for Venezuela during pool play of the World Baseball Classic. He tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Nicaragua on Monday.
Although Venezuela qualified for the quarterfinals, Gómez returned to Rays camp this week as he tries to nail down a roster spot. Ian Seymour and Joe Boyle are also capable of shouldering multiple innings out of the bullpen or working as rotation depth at Triple-A Durham.
Left-hander Joe Rock worked as a multi-inning depth arm last season. The 25-year-old tossed 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball over his first three big league appearances. He had shakier numbers in Triple-A, where he allowed a 5.21 earned run average across 96 2/3 innings.
Rock will begin this season back in Durham after being optioned out of MLB camp this afternoon. He’ll do so in a different role, as Adam Berry of MLB.com writes that the Rays are converting the former second-round pick to short relief. Rock worked exactly one frame in each of his five Spring Training appearances. He struck out nine and only allowed three hits and one run, though he walked six of the 23 hitters he faced.
Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates went into the winter with a lot of pitching and almost no hitting. They spent the offseason smoothing out that imbalance and the team looks better going into 2026. Is it enough to get them back to the playoffs for first time in over a decade?
Major League Signings
- 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn: Two years, $29MM
- DH Marcell Ozuna: One year, $12MM (includes $1.5MM buyout on $16MM mutual option for 2027)
- LHP Gregory Soto: One year, $7.75MM
- RHP José Urquidy: One year, $1.5MM
2026 spending: $35.25MM
Total spending: $50.25MM
Trades and Claims
- Claimed RHP Dugan Darnell from Rockies (later lost to Tigers via waivers)
- Acquired OF Jhostynxon García and RHP Jesus Travieso from Red Sox for RHP Johan Oviedo, LHP Tyler Samaniego and C Adonys Guzman
- Claimed OF Marco Luciano from Giants (later lost to Orioles via waivers)
- Acquired RHP Jaiker Garcia from Rangers for Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler
- Acquired 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and LHP Mason Montgomery from Rays in three-team trade, with RHP Mike Burrows going from Pirates to Astros
- Acquired IF Francisco Loreto from Phillies for RHP Chase Shugart
- Acquired IF/OF Tyler Callihan from Reds for RHP Kyle Nicolas
Option Decisions
- None
Notable Minor League Signings
- Joe La Sorsa, Noah Murdock, Beau Burrows, Ronny Simón, Davis Wendzel, Dominic Fletcher, Chris Devenski, Noah Davis, Mike Clevinger, Carson Fulmer
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Pham, Jack Little (waivers), Ji Hwan Bae (waivers), José Castillo (waivers), Liover Peguero, Cam Devanney (released and signed in Japan), Colin Holderman (non-tendered), Dauri Moreta (non-tendered, still unsigned), Alexander Canario (non-tendered and signed in Japan), Johan Oviedo, Mike Burrows, Chase Shugart, Jack Suwinski (waivers), Kyle Nicolas
The Bucs have been stuck in a rebuilding pattern for a while. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2015 and haven’t topped 82 wins in any season since then. They flirted with contention in recent seasons, though in the era of the expanded playoffs, that just means they floated near .500 for parts of the summer.
They have graduated a lot of exciting pitching prospects to the majors in recent years but have struggled to hit. The 2025 team scored 583 runs, lowest in the majors. The team had a combined .231/.305/.350 batting line, which translated to an 82 wRC+, indicating the squad was collectively 18% worse than league average. The only guy on the team with a wRC+ greater than 101 was Spencer Horwitz, who started the season on the injured list due to wrist surgery and did most of his damage in the second half.
Despite the clear deficiencies on the roster, there was a case for making a strong push this offseason. Paul Skenes has just four years of club control remaining and may not spend all of that in Pittsburgh. His salary will increase via arbitration in 2027 and he may not sign an extension, so he could be traded before reaching free agency, currently slated for the 2029-30 offseason. Konnor Griffin became the top prospect in baseball in 2025 and put himself in position to make a major league debut in 2026. If you’re not going to invest around these stars, then when?
The club has not been active in free agency historically. They have never given a free agent $40MM in franchise history. Since Ben Cherington took over as general manager in 2019, he had never signed a free agent to a multi-year deal or signed a one-year deal worth as much as $11MM. But in the early offseason, Cherington suggested they could add $30-40MM to the payroll. That wouldn’t be too exciting for a lot of clubs but would be an increase for the Bucs. There was also the trade market, as they appeared to have enough starting pitching that flipping some for offense seemed possible.
Given the weakness of the lineup, the Bucs had the freedom to target almost any bat, regardless of position. Quickly, it became clear that Cherington’s words weren’t completely hollow, as he went after some of the top available guys. It was reported in mid-November that the club had made a strong offer to Josh Naylor before he had re-signed with the Mariners and they were also in the mix for Kyle Schwarber. Signing either would have required shattering their $39MM franchise record for a free agent deal. They were also connected to guys like Kazuma Okamoto and Jorge Polanco in the early offseason.
Their first notable move wasn’t for a surefire lineup boost, but it did feature the pitching-for-hitting framework that was expected. There were five players in the deal but the headline was that the Bucs sent righty Johan Oviedo to the Red Sox for outfield prospect Jhostynxon García. Oviedo had shown some promise in 2023 when he posted a 4.31 earned run average over 32 starts. He missed 2024 due to surgery, returned in 2025 and put up a 3.57 ERA with more strikeouts but also more walks.
Oviedo has two years of club control remaining and may have some upside but the Pirates had enough starting pitching talent to part ways with him. By doing so, they added an intriguing but unproven outfielder to their roster. García has been on some top 100 prospect lists but has just five big league games under his belt. He should have a chance to earn some playing time but his path would eventually be crowded by the rest of Pittsburgh’s offseason moves.
The Schwarber dream died on December 9th, when he returned to the Phils on a five-year, $150MM deal. The Bucs reportedly offered him a four-year deal in the $120MM range. That obviously wasn’t enough but it signaled that there was indeed some change in the pocket.
On the same date that the Schwarber news dropped, the Bucs did get a deal done, but with a reliever. They agreed to a one-year deal with Gregory Soto worth $7.75MM. Soto had a 4.40 ERA over the past three years but with perhaps more interesting numbers under the hood. His 9.4% walk rate was around average for a reliever, while his 25.9% strikeout rate and 48.4% ground ball rate were a few ticks better than par. A .325 batting average on balls in play and 67.7% strand rate seemed to hurt him, which is why his 3.55 FIP and 3.55 SIERA were more optimistic. If his ERA trends closer to those other metrics, it could be a nice bit of business for the Pirates.
A little over a week later, the Pirates made their first surefire upgrade to the lineup. Like the Oviedo-García swap, this one would see the Bucs trading from their rotation depth. In a three-team trade, they sent Mike Burrows to the Astros in order to receive infielder Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery from the Rays. Burrows was a steep price to pay, as he has six years of club control remaining. But the Pirates had several such arms in their rotation mix and didn’t have room for all of them.
The biggest upgrade for 2026 is Lowe, though he is just a rental, since there is one year left on his contract. But he’s one of the top power bats at the second base position. He has 81 home runs over the past five years. Only four primary second baseman have more. The four guys ahead of him all played a larger sample of games in that span, which speaks to some injury trouble Lowe has had, which is the main knock against him. Though he doesn’t count as a free agent, the Bucs are taking on his contract and will pay him $11.5MM this year.
Mangum and Montgomery are more complementary pieces of the trade but still potentially impactful. Mangum’s first year in the big leagues saw him steal 27 bases and get strong grades for his glovework. His bat was a bit below par but he was still useful on the whole. He has five years of club control and a full slate of options. Even if he’s just a fourth outfielder type, he has value. If his bat finds a new gear, then that’s even better. Montgomery has huge strikeout stuff but poor control. He’s a project but one with upside if things break right. He also comes with five years of club control and has options.
The Bucs were clearly not content to stop after Lowe. In the coming days, they would be connected to guys like Eugenio Suárez and Yoán Moncada. Just before the holiday break, they pulled the trigger on a free agent addition, a two-year deal with Ryan O’Hearn worth $29MM. While a notch below the Schwarber/Naylor pursuits, it was still somewhat notable as the biggest free agent deal of Cherington’s tenure.
O’Hearn isn’t a superstar but has been solidly above average at the plate. Over the past three years, he has 46 home runs, a .277/.343/.445 line and 121 wRC+. He has some ability to play the outfield but is more of a first baseman. It initially seemed like he and Horwitz would share first base and the designated hitter spot, but this would change in the coming months.
The Pirates were still hunting for more offense, getting connected to various bats throughout January. They also showed some interest in Framber Valdez as he lingered unsigned, though that seemed like an odd fit and he eventually landed with the Tigers.
They did apparently have room for one arm in the rotation after their recent trades, as they landed José Urquidy on a one-year deal worth $1.5MM. The Bucs usually sign a cheap left-hander late in the offseason. Since PNC Park is so tough on righty power, those lefties can usually outperform their contracts. Urquidy is right-handed but is basically filling that role since he has reverse splits in his career.
There was one more clear lineup boost to come, as the Pirates signed Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12MM deal in February. It’s a bit risky since Ozuna is 35 years old and coming off a down year, by his standards. His season was weighed down by a summer slump which coincided with him battling a hip injury. Perhaps he can bounce back with a full season of health but that’s no guarantee at his age.
In addition to the risk, the addition also gummed up the lineup a little bit. Ozuna is just a designated hitter at this point in his career. He didn’t play the field at all in 2024 or 2025 and was in the outfield for just 14 innings in 2023. If he’s in the DH spot most days, Lowe is at second and Horwitz is at first, that means O’Hearn will have to be in the outfield almost every day. He’s never started more than 23 games on the grass in any season of his career, so that will be new for him, but it seems the Bucs are willing to make that compromise as they try to add as much thump to the lineup as possible.
In addition to displacing O’Hearn, there are other ripple effects. With Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz in the other two outfield spots, guys like García and Mangum will be pushed to fourth outfielder roles or maybe even the minors. It also effectively closed off any chance of another reunion with Andrew McCutchen. He seemed frustrated by the situation but eventually moved on, signing a minor league deal with the Rangers.
The Bucs added one more guy into the depth picture with a spring trade. They sent reliever Kyle Nicolas to the Reds in exchange for infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan. Nicolas is almost like a righty version of Montgomery, with big stuff but poor control. If he puts it together in Cincinnati, this one could sting, but it’s also possible that doesn’t happen. Callihan has just four big league games under his belt but strong minor league numbers. He played first base, second base and left field last year, so he provides depth in a few spots.
It was a busy offseason and it feels like there’s more optimism surrounding the Pirates than there has been for quite some time. When combining free agents and the money they took on in the Lowe deal, they added roughly $50MM to the 2026 payroll.
Despite trading away several arms, they project to have a rotation including Skenes, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler and Urquidy. Jared Jones will return from his surgery rehab at some point, perhaps as early as late May. Prospects Thomas Harrington and Hunter Barco will be lurking in Triple-A.
The lineup will need incumbent guys like Reynolds and Cruz to bounce back but the Bucs have added Lowe, O’Hearn and Ozuna as three everyday upgrades. Guys like Garcia, Mangum and Callihan will be pushing for jobs over time. The left side of the infield feels like a weak spot but Griffin should be up to take over shortstop at some point, maybe as soon as Opening Day. That would leave guys like Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales and others fighting over third base.
Is this enough to get them over the hump? The National League Central is in fairly healthy shape. The Cardinals are rebuilding but the Brewers, Cubs and Reds all made the playoffs last year. Did the Pirates add enough to leapfrog someone?
How would you grade the Pirates' offseason?
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images