Orioles Made Gunnar Henderson An Extension Offer Last Spring
The Orioles made shortstop Gunnar Henderson an extension offer during last year’s Spring Training that wasn’t accepted, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes. It isn’t known if the two sides have revisited talks this year, though Heyman feels the chances of an agreement are a “long shot” at best. Henderson is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients usually eschew extensions in favor of eventually testing free agency.
Henderson is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and is set to become a free agent after the 2028 season at age 27. Between that relatively young age and the numbers he has already posted in his four big league seasons, Henderson and Boras may well have a record contract in mind for the shortstop’s entry into the open market, which could leave the Orioles priced out.
This isn’t to say that the O’s haven’t shown an increased willingness to spend since David Rubenstein bought the team in early 2024. Baltimore’s eight-year, $67MM deal with Samuel Basallo last August marked the team’s first long-term extension in over a decade, as the Orioles hasn’t yet locked up any of the other young talents amassed during their rebuilding period. This offseason, the O’s made a big splash in free agency by signing Pete Alonso (a Boras Corporation client, no less) to a five-year, $155MM deal that stands as the second-largest contract in franchise history.
It isn’t out of the question to suggest that it would take three times’ Alonso’s contract to extend or re-sign Henderson, given Boras’ penchant for pushing the market. Henderson would have to keep playing like a superstar, of course, and the 2025 season was a slight bump in the road since he hit a relatively modest .274/.349/.438 over 651 plate appearances, with 17 homers and 30 steals (in 35 attempts).
The shortstop still posted this 120 wRC+/4.8 fWAR production, however, while dealing first with an intercostal strain that sidelined him during Spring Training, and then a shoulder impingement that bothered him for most of the regular season. Returning to normal health should help Henderson regain his power in 2026, and perhaps he is gearing up for a season more akin to the 37 homers and .281/.364/.529 slash line he delivered in 2024.
Perhaps the Orioles want to see Henderson back at full strength before considering more extension talks, in order to determine if he is worth the kind of landmark investment it would take to keep him in the fold. Alonso and Basallo are the only long-term commitments on the Orioles’ books, so a mega-deal for Henderson perhaps isn’t out of the question if the O’s view him as their franchise cornerstone. As Heyman noted, however, the likelier scenario is that an extension isn’t reached. This would mean Henderson either walks in free agency, or Baltimore could conceivably look to trade him (maybe during the 2027-28 offseason) in order to gain a larger return.
Guardians Outright Nolan Jones; Hunter Gaddis, George Valera Likely Starting Season On IL
TODAY: Jones accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
MARCH 20: The Guardians outrighted outfielder Nolan Jones off the roster, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic. That indicates the Guards passed him through waivers in recent days. Their 40-man count drops to 39. Jones has the right to elect free agency but likely won’t do so because he would have to forfeit his $2MM salary. Meisel adds that right-hander Hunter Gaddis and outfielder George Valera are highly likely to begin the season on the injured list.
Jones, 28 in May, seemed to have a breakout season with the Rockies in 2023. He had a 20-20 season that year in just 106 games. His .297/.389/.542 batting line translated to a 137 wRC+. He got some help from a .401 batting average on balls in play but it would have been a strong campaign even with more neutral luck in that department. On the whole, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 3.7 wins above replacement that year.
He has been far less productive since then. His offense cratered in 2024. The Rockies traded him back to the Guardians, his original organization, ahead of the 2025 season. Returning to Cleveland didn’t help him get back on track. He has a .218/.307/.311 line and 71 wRC+ since the start of the 2024 season and his defensive metrics have also declined. Despite the diminished production and the fact that Jones is out of options, the Guards tendered him a contract this winter. Jones and the club avoided arbitration with a $2MM pre-tender deal in November.
Jones also hasn’t had a good spring, having hit .152/.222/.303 in 36 plate appearances. Given the downward trend with his performance, his out-of-options status and his salary, it’s unsurprising that no club claimed him via waivers.
Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. However, if they have less than five years of service, they have to walk away from their remaining salary commitments in doing so. Jones has three years and seven days of service. If he were to elect free agency, he would have to leave $2MM on the table. It seems highly likely that he’ll head to Triple-A and look to get back on track at that level.
As for the injuries, Meisel didn’t provide specifics but both players have been slowed by minor issues in recent weeks. Gaddis made just one in-game appearance this spring, which was back in late February. He then experienced some forearm tightness and underwent imaging, which came back clean, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. His timeline still isn’t clear. A season-opening stint on the 15-day IL can be backdated three days, so he could be back less than two weeks into the season, though that scenario is obviously dependant on him building back up to readiness in that time frame.
Gaddis has been a key setup arm for the Guards in recent years, with 68 holds since the start of 2024. He posted a 3.11 earned run average last year while striking out 26.6% of opponents and limiting walks to a 7.7% clip. For whatever time Gaddis misses, guys like Shawn Armstrong and Erik Sabrowski will move up to leverage roles in front of closer Cade Smith.
Valera was diagnosed with a mild left calf strain about a week ago, per Stebbins. Assuming he hits the 10-day IL to start the year, that subtracts him from the Opening Day outfield mix. If the injury proves to be mild, perhaps he could be back a week into the season with the three-day backdating, but his timeline from a health perspective isn’t clear.
Meisel notes that Steven Kwan will play at least some center field this year. He had primarily been a left fielder in recent seasons, with just one inning in center since 2022. Time will tell how often they’ll put Kwan in the middle spot but that should give them greater flexibility to work in other guys. Valera will be in that outfield rotation when he’s healthy. For now, Chase DeLauter, Ángel Martínez, C.J. Kayfus and Daniel Schneemann appear to be jockeying for the outfield playing time. Petey Halpin was optioned today, per Meisel, so he’ll start the season in Triple-A.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Phillies’ Daniel Robert Released From Hospital After Cardiac Event
Daniel Robert collapsed following a bullpen session this morning, after the Phillies right-hander suffered his second cardiac event in the last five months. As the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes writes, Robert had just completed his throwing session when he fell to the ground, with trainers and medical staff immediately at his side to monitor the situation.
Robert reportedly remained consciousness for around five minutes before leaving the field under his own power. He was taken to a local hospital for further testing and a check of his implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and Robert was released from the hospital later that day.
Last Halloween, a similar incident occurred when Robert had finished his final bullpen session of the 2025 campaign, and and Robert might have lost his life if the Phillies training staff hadn’t quickly acted by using CPR and a defibrillator. Robert had the ICD implanted in his chest in the aftermath of that event, and today marked his first bullpen session of the spring.
It is anyone’s guess as to when Robert might get back onto a mound, since his condition will surely be heavily re-evaluated by doctors and the team’s own medical staff. It is fair to wonder if Robert’s career could be in jeopardy if there is no way to properly manage what now looks like a recurring health situation.
The 31-year-old Robert was a 21st-round pick for the Rangers in the 2017 draft, and he made his big league debut with Texas by throwing 5 2/3 relief innings during the 2024 season. Philadelphia acquired Robert in a trade last May, and he posted a 4.15 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate, and 16.9% walk rate across 13 innings and 15 appearances for his new club before his season was prematurely ended by a forearm strain. He was cut loose by the Phillies in November at the non-tender deadline but re-signed in February to a minor league contract.
White Sox Re-Sign Lucas Sims
The White Sox have re-signed right-hander Lucas Sims to a new minor league contract, according to 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine. Sims was released after exercising an opt-out clause in his previous minors deal with the Sox two days ago, but he has quickly rejoined the fold and will even pitch in tonight’s Spring Training game against the Mariners.
A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Sims didn’t see much big league action in 2025, as he was rocked to the tune of a 13.86 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Nationals bullpen. Though Sims signed a one-year, $3MM free agent deal with Washington last winter, his struggles were so extreme that the Nats released him in May. Sims caught on with the Phillies on a minors deal but didn’t perform well at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, delivering a 5.56 ERA across 34 innings.
Control has always been an issue for Sims, but things reached a point of absurdity last year when he issued 43 walks (against 49 strikeouts) over his 46 1/3 total innings at the Major League and Triple-A levels, as well eight wild pitches and 16 hit batters. Sims issued three free passes during his five innings of Cactus League work with the White Sox this spring, though he’d also recorded seven strikeouts in those five scoreless frames.
This lack of command has inevitably led to volatility in Sims’ results, but he has always been able to miss bats. At his best, Sims was able to overcome his control problems to deliver some quality results during his days in the Reds, including a 3.10 ERA across 61 innings. Sims appears to be ticketed for Triple-A Charlotte to see if he can finally harness his control at least enough to manage a return to the majors, and the White Sox could turn to Sims at some point if a need develops in their bullpen.
Orioles Injury Notes: Akin, Kjerstad, Vazquez, Beavers, Kittredge
The Orioles are suddenly dealing with a flurry of injury concerns less than a week before Opening Day, as left-hander Keegan Akin, outfielder Heston Kjerstad, and utilityman Luis Vazquez will all undergo imaging on Monday. (MLB.com’s Jake Rill and Paige Leckie were among those to report the news.) Akin suffered an adductor issue while warming up in the bullpen on Saturday, Kjerstad has been sidelined with right hamstring tightness for a few days, and Vazquez was hit by a pitch on his right thumb in today’s game with the Nationals.
More will be known once the testing takes place, and of the trio, Akin was the only one assured of a place on the Opening Day roster. With the exception of an injury-marred 2023 season, Akin has become a valued member of the Orioles’ pen over the last four years, able to both eat innings and deliver in high-leverage situations.
The 2024 season was Akin’s most effective campaign, and while he still had a 3.41 ERA over 63 1/3 innings in 2025, Akin’s strikeout rate (22%) and walk rate (12.3%) both declined from his previous season. Akin’s 4.44 SIERA was over a run higher than his real-world ERA, and the lefty might’ve benefited quite a bit from a .267 BABIP.
These concerns notwithstanding, Akin was still projected to be the top left-handed option in Baltimore’s relief corps. Dietrich Enns and Grant Wolfram are the team’s other left-handers, though if Akin has to miss time on the injured list, the Orioles wouldn’t necessarily replace Akin with another southpaw.
The bullpen already took a significant hit this spring with the news that Andrew Kittredge would be starting the season on the 15-day IL due to some shoulder inflammation. Though it has been almost a month since the righty’s lone game of Spring Training, Kittredge told the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka that he believes he’ll miss just the minimum 15 days, as a rehab stint with Triple-A Norfolk will hopefully be enough to get Kittredge fully ramped up.
Kjerstad was expected to start the season in Triple-A, though naturally a possible stint on the IL doesn’t do him any good in terms of cost development time, as Kjerstad is still struggling to establish himself as a big leaguer. The second overall pick of the 2020 draft had a promising .248/.336/.411 slash line over 147 plate appearances with the O’s in 2023-24, but he took a step back with a .192/.240/.327 slash in 167 PA last season.
Vazquez has only a .404 OPS over 67 career PA in the majors (with the 2024 Cubs and 2025 Orioles), but his ability to play all over the infield and at least hold his own as a corner outfielder was putting him in the running to win a backup job on Baltimore’s bench. With Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg starting the season on the injured list, the Orioles’ infield depth has already been stretched, opening the door for Vazquez to potentially break camp with the team.
A thumb injury, of course, would make Vazquez’s endeavors all for naught. Even if the x-rays are negative, Vazquez may need a few days or even a 10-day IL stint to fully heal up, so bench candidates like Jeremiah Jackson, Weston Wilson, or others may stand a better chance of making the 26-man roster.
The position-player mix could be shaken up further if Dylan Beavers‘ right knee discomfort becomes anything serious. Beavers was a late scratch from Friday’s lineup due to his sore knee, but both Beavers and manager Craig Albernaz told Rill the outfielder was feeling improvement yesterday, so there doesn’t seem to be any concern yet that Beavers will miss any time during the regular season.
White Sox Won’t Include Korey Lee On Opening Day Roster
Catcher Korey Lee won’t be breaking camp with the White Sox, according to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Since Lee is out of minor league options, the Sox would first have to designate Lee for assignment and hopes that he clears waivers in order to outright him off their 40-man roster and send him to Triple-A. Or, if the White Sox are ready to move on from Lee entirely, the team could shop Lee to any catcher-needy teams who might be interested in a trade.
As of a few weeks ago, Chicago was seemingly ready to go into 2026 with three catchers on the active roster. Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero would get at-bats both as a catcher and as a designated hitter, and Lee would be kept as more of a traditional backup so the Sox wouldn’t run into any issues by having Teel and Quero in the lineup at the same time. Teel then sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain during the World Baseball Classic, putting the catcher on the shelf for 4-6 weeks and at best a return around the middle of April.
Rather than just stick with Quero and Lee until Teel is healthy, the White Sox signed Reese McGuire to a one-year, $1.2MM guarantee earlier today, a day after McGuire opted out of a previous minor league deal with the Brewers. It is possible Lee might’ve been an odd man out even if Teel hadn’t gotten hurt and the Sox just wanted to stick with two catchers, but McGuire’s addition mean that some kind of decision about the catching depth chart was inevitable.
It was a “really hard decision” to make, as manager Will Venable told Merkin (multiple links). “Korey Lee was outstanding this camp. He’s a really important member of this organization, great relationships in the clubhouse. Someone I personally love and have grown to respect,” Venable said. As to what is next for Lee, the Sox skipper said “we’re going to work it out over the next couple of days, see what transpires. There will be a process in place.”
Lee was selected 32nd overall by the Astros in the 2019 draft, and drew some top-100 prospect attention during his time in Houston’s farm system. The Astros seemed to prefer Martin Maldonado‘s steady defense and game-calling abilities, and then Yainer Diaz emerged as the team’s next catcher of the future, making Lee expendable enough to be dealt to Chicago for Kendall Graveman prior to the 2023 trade deadline.
The 2024 season represented Lee’s only real extended stint of Major League playing time, as 394 of his 530 career plate appearances came during a season that saw the White Sox post a 41-121 record. Lee’s lack of production contributed to the struggles, as he hit .210/.244/.347 with 12 home runs over his 394 PA, getting the majority of catching duties while Chuckie Robinson and his old Astros teammate Maldonado served in backup roles.
Heading into 2025, Lee was relegated behind Teel (acquired from the Red Sox as part of the Garret Crochet blockbuster) and Quero (also acquired at the 2023 deadline in a trade with the Angels). The White Sox resisted trade offers for Teel and Quero as teams looked to capitalize on this apparent logjam, as the Sox wanted more time to evaluate both players as potential building blocks.
Though Lee hasn’t shown much at the plate and his framing skill has been called into question, Lee is considered a solid defensive catcher overall, good at throwing out baserunners and working with pitchers. Because teams are frequently short on catching depth, Lee is a good candidate to be claimed if the White Sox DFA him, which provides incentive for any interested teams to work out a trade now rather than take their chances on the waiver wire.
Red Sox Reliever Vinny Nittoli Undergoes Internal Brace Procedure
TODAY: In an update from earlier this month, Ari Alexander of 7News reports that Nittoli underwent an internal brace procedure. Nittoli’s rehab is expected to last 12-13 months, so he should be ready for most or perhaps even all of the 2027 season.
MARCH 5: Red Sox reliever Vinny Nittoli is weighing Tommy John or internal brace surgery, reports Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. The righty has been diagnosed with ligament damage in his elbow and is seemingly headed for a season-ending operation.
Nittoli is in camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a minor league contract last month. He made three appearances this spring, allowing four runs over 2 2/3 innings. Manager Alex Cora told Mac Cerullo of The Boston Herald on Wednesday that the team was awaiting imaging results after Nittoli reported elbow discomfort during his most recent appearance. The news obviously wasn’t what he had been hoping.
The 35-year-old Nittoli is on the 12th organization of a decade-long professional career. He has pitched at the highest level for five teams. His career high in MLB appearances with one team is seven, as he threw eight innings for the Athletics in 2024. Nittoli has had cups of coffee with the Mariners, Phillies, Mets and Orioles as well. He has logged 18 2/3 major league innings, striking out 13 against five walks while allowing five runs.
A former 25th round pick, Nittoli has spent six seasons at the Triple-A level. He owns a 4.76 earned run average in 223 innings despite a strong 28.3% strikeout rate. Nittoli combined for a 4.58 ERA with a 26% strikeout percentage and 8% walk rate between Baltimore’s and Milwaukee’s top affiliates last year.
Joe La Sorsa To Trigger Upward Mobility Clause In Pirates Deal
TODAY: La Sorsa has been told he won’t be breaking camp with the Pirates, so he’ll be triggering his clause tomorrow, Ari Alexander reports.
MARCH 17: Left-hander Joe La Sorsa has an upward mobility clause at the end of spring training in his minor league deal with the Pirates, reports Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston. If he triggers that clause, he’ll be offered up to the other 29 clubs. If any of them are willing to give him a roster spot, then the Pirates have to either give him a roster spot themselves or trade him to another club that will. If no club offers him a roster spot, then he can be sent to the minors as non-roster depth.
La Sorsa, 28 in April, agreed to a minor league deal with the Bucs right as free agency was beginning in early November. He hasn’t spent much time in camp because he joined the Italian team for the World Baseball Classic. The Azzurri went on a Cinderella run that just ended last night when they were eliminated by Venezuela in the semifinals. The lefty made four appearance for Italy, logging 2 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs via two hits and one hit-by-pitch while striking out four.
His major league track record consists of 57 innings thrown for the Rays, Nationals and Reds over the past three years. In that time, he has a 5.21 ERA, 17.5% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 39.2% ground ball rate. In 2025, he only made five appearances in the majors. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, posting a 2.59 ERA in 48 2/3 innings. His 21.2% strikeout rate and 42.1% ground ball rate at that level were close to average but he walked 13% of batters faced.
With the upward mobility clause, La Sorsa will get a major league roster spot as long as one of the 30 clubs is willing to give him one, whether that’s the Pirates or not. The Bucs should have Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery as their two primary lefties in the bullpen. Evan Sisk is also on the roster but he has already been optioned, so he should start the season in Triple-A. If La Sorsa does get a roster spot somewhere, he still has a minor league option remaining.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
RJ Petit Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Rockies right-hander RJ Petit underwent Tommy John surgery with an internal brace on Friday, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He will miss the entire 2026 season and likely part of 2027 as well.
Petit, 26, was the top pick in the most recent Rule 5 draft. The Tigers left him unprotected even though he had just finished a strong 2025 season. He tossed 66 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.44 earned run average, 29.5% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 42.1% ground ball rate. While Petit was doing that, the Rockies were losing 119 games, therefore getting the top Rule 5 pick.
The righty made a few spring training appearances but it was revealed a couple of weeks ago that he had suffered a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament. It seems that Petit and the Rockies took some time to consider the options before it was decided that surgery was necessary.
Petit should be placed on the 60-day injured list whenever the Rockies need a 40-man roster spot. He’ll spend the 2026 season earning big league pay and service time. The 60-day IL goes away five days after the World Series, so the Rockies would need to give him a spot at that time or else put him on waivers. If he clears waivers, he would have to be offered back to the Tigers.
Normally, a team gains full control of a Rule 5 player after holding him for a full season. However, the player has to be active for at least 90 days. If the Rockies want to keep Petit, they would have to keep him on the roster throughout the 2026-27 offseason. They could theoretically put him on the injured list to start the 2027 campaign and then activate him once he’s healthy. If were healthy in time to be active for 90 days in 2027, they would then gain his full rights. That would end the Rule 5 parameters and the Rockies could then option him to the minors.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Giants Release Joey Lucchesi
The Giants have released left-hander Joey Lucchesi, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports. Lucchesi was non-tendered by San Francisco last November and then re-signed to a minor league deal a couple of weeks ago, but the recent signing of southpaw Ryan Borucki apparently made Lucchesi again expendable. Heyman wrote that Lucchesi was “granted his release,” so it could be that the team agreed to Lucchesi’s request to be let go, or the left-hander might have triggered an out clause in his contract if he learned he wasn’t making the Opening Day roster.
Lucchesi first landed in San Francisco on a minors deal last offseason, and posted a 3.76 ERA, 7.3% walk rate, and 18.8% strikeout rate over 38 1/3 innings out of the Giants’ bullpen after his contract was selected in mid-June. The bottom-line ERA was respectable and Lucchesi had a strong 53% grounder rate, but the Giants still decided to pass on tendering a contract rather than pay Lucchesi a projected $2MM arbitration salary.
2025 marked the first time in Lucchesi’s seven MLB seasons that he worked exclusively out of the bullpen, and he went longer than an inning in only seven of his 38 Giants appearances. Rather than acting as a swingman or even a true long reliever, Lucchesi could be settling into more of a traditional relief role, though it certainly can’t hurt that he looks capable of slightly longer stints. Left-handed hitters have rarely been able to do much against Lucchesi, as he has held lefty swingers to a .219/.296/.301 slash line over his career.
Lucchesi is out of minor league options, which adds another hurdle in his quest to land with a new team. Unless he sticks in the majors and delivers particularly solid results, Lucchesi could find himself in DFA/waiver wire limbo, as the proverbial 26th man on the roster. That said, teams are always in need of left-handed depth, so Lucchesi may not have to wait long before he finds another contract.