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Angels, Albert Pujols Discussing Managerial Deal

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6:22pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes that the Angels have not yet made Pujols an official offer, though he confirms that the interview went well.

6:00pm: It seems the Angels have made up their mind about their next manager, though he still has to agree. According to a report from Sam Blum and Katie Woo of The Athletic, the job is going to go to Albert Pujols as long as he wants it. Per the report, Pujols met with general manager Perry Minasian last night and the meeting went well. Discussions on a deal are in the works but there’s not yet an agreement in place.

It was reported just over a week ago that Pujols would interview for the job and would be a frontrunner. That was just a few days after it was reported that neither Ron Washington nor Ray Montgomery would be back in the job. Washington opened the 2025 season as the skipper but was away for most of the year due to quadruple bypass surgery, with Montgomery covering for him on an interim basis. Torii Hunter has also been reported as a candidate but today’s reporting indicates that Hunter would only be a real consideration if things fall through with Pujols.

Per Blum and Woo, the Angels hope to make an official announcement before the World Series, though there are still some contractual things to work out. The report suggests that Pujols’s personal services contract could be a factor.

The ten-year, $240MM contract he signed with the Angels in 2011 included a ten-year, $10MM personal services contract for after his retirement as a player. He finished his playing career after the 2022 season. He had been released by the Angels and then spent some time with the Dodgers and Cardinals. In February of 2023, he rejoined the Angels as a special assistant to honor that personal services pact. Since he’s only three seasons into that deal, there are seven years left. It’s not clear how the existing contract would impact whatever is being negotiated for him to take the skipper job.

Pujols has previously expressed an interest in becoming a manager but has no experience in affiliated ball, either as a manager or as a coach. He managed Leones del Escogido, a Dominican winter ball team, last offseason. The Leones won the Serie Final over Tigres del Licey in seven games. Pujols is slated to manage the Dominican Republic national team in the upcoming World Baseball Classic but would presumably have to bow out of that gig if he signs with the Angels.

Assuming the sides are able to cross the T’s and dot the I’s, then Pujols will be in the Angels dugout yet again. It feels like a fait accompli at this point, as Blum and Woo report that the coaching staff negotiations are also already in motion. The report notes that former big leaguer Ramón Martínez, brother of Pedro Martínez, is Pujols’s top choice for pitching coach. Barry Enright has been the Halos’ pitching coach for the past two years but it’s fairly common for new managers to make some coaching changes.

The Halos haven’t had a winning season since 2015. Mike Scioscia had a long run as the club’s skipper, from 2000 to 2018. Since then, as the club has struggled, there has been a lot more turnover. Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Washington and Montgomery have been at the helm in recent years. It seems Pujols will likely be the next guy to get a chance to turn the ship around.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images

2025-26 Offseason Outlook Series

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MLB Trade Rumors’ annual Offseason Outlook series is back, as we break down what all 30 teams could have in store for their roster machinations this winter.  Going forward, the Outlook series is exclusive to Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, and that link provides details on how to sign up for an annual membership.

This post will be updated as more Outlooks are published.

AL West

  • Houston Astros
  • Los Angeles Angels
  • The Athletics
  • Seattle Mariners
  • Texas Rangers

AL Central

AL East

  • Baltimore Orioles
  • Boston Red Sox
  • New York Yankees
  • Tampa Bay Rays
  • Toronto Blue Jays

NL West

  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • Colorado Rockies
  • Los Angeles Dodgers
  • San Diego Padres
  • San Francisco Giants

NL Central

NL East

Poll: Will Ha-Seong Kim Opt Out?

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It wasn’t long ago that infielder Ha-Seong Kim looked like a strong bet to land a nine-figure deal in free agency. Last September, Kim was wrapping up a season in which he had hit .233/.330/.370, good for a league average wRC+ of 101. He combined that with strong defense at shortstop and 22 steals on the base paths, and it was actually the weakest of his last three seasons in the majors. Since the start of 2022, Kim had hit .250/.336/.385 with 72 steals, a 17.9% strikeout rate, and a walk rate of 11.0% with 13.0 bWAR and 10.5 fWAR accumulated.

A player who was consistently worth three to five wins per season entering his age-29 season looked like a slam dunk for a sizable deal, but that was derailed when he underwent shoulder surgery 364 days ago. He wound up signing a $29MM guarantee with the Rays that spanned the 2025 and ’26 seasons, though it gave him the opportunity to opt out of the final year and $16MM of that deal if he so chose. Kim’s campaign this year was not an especially robust one, as he appeared in just 48 games and hit .234/.304/.345 in 191 plate appearances. The Rays were concerned enough about the possibility of having Kim on payroll in 2026 that they exposed him to waivers last month, at which point he was claimed by the Braves.

On paper, that might make the decision to opt in and try to bounce back next year an easy one for Kim. It’s hard to say that a 191 plate appearance sample size where he posted an 82 wRC+ with middling defensive grades would improve his stock in free agency much, after all. With that being said, it may not be an entirely foregone conclusion. Kim did manage to look much more like his former self down the stretch with Atlanta, hitting .253/.316/.368 (91 wRC+) with a 16.3% strikeout rate and some of the strongest expected numbers of his career. His overall production remained below average due in part to a BABIP of just .271, but it suddenly became much easier to see Kim returning to the average to slightly above average bat he once was after his performance in the Braves organization.

Of course, that time in Atlanta represents just 98 plate appearances, which makes it difficult to draw any significant conclusions. The Braves themselves certainly appear satisfied with Kim’s progress, though, as president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has made no bones about his desire to keep the infielder in the fold for next season. With a relatively barren market for shortstop-caliber players outside of Bo Bichette, it’s not hard to imagine other teams seeing Kim’s upside and being willing to spend a good bit more than the $16MM guarantee Kim would be opting out of, even if that would come in the form of a similarly short-term, opt-out laden arrangement as the one he signed last winter.

There’s certainly risk in opting out of a guaranteed $16MM payday coming off an injury-marred season, and it would be entirely understandable if Kim preferred to simply stick with the Braves and hope to bounce back enough in 2026 that he puts himself in line for a lucrative contract next winter. With that being said, it must be considered that Kim is represented by the Boras Corporation, and agent Scott Boras is known for preferring his clients to test free agency when possible. That’s not a hard-and-fast rule, however; Boras clients Cody Bellinger and Gerrit Cole both had the opportunity to test free agency via opt outs last winter and ultimately declined to do so, though Cole did initially opt out before mutually agreeing with the Yankees to remain in the organization on the terms of his original contract.

How do MLBTR readers expect Kim to handle his impending option? Will he test free agency and try to take advantage of a weak shortstop class, or is he more likely to stick with Atlanta on his current deal? Have your say in the poll below:

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Good afternoon everyone, hope you're well! Looking forward to another of these, let's get going

NY Reds

  • Would Benge Or Jett Williams be enough to get Lodolo? Mets must be in on Zach Littel right?

Anthony Franco

  • I think Benge would at least get their attention. Doubt the Reds would be super keen on moving Lodolo for a prospect but unless they're way down on him because he had a bad few weeks in Triple-A, Benge seems like the kind of talent who'd get their attention. Not as convinced on Williams, whose offensive ceiling seems lower
  • Littell for the Mets? Sure. He's kind of boring though, that'd need to be their second of two rotation acquisitions

RJ

  • Do the Angels bring back Moncada to play 3rd next season? Or do they look elsewhere?

Anthony Franco

  • Moncada has to be like Plan F. If he's the only option available in February for $5M again, sure. They'll probably make a run at Geno, could trade for Alec Bohm or wait and see if the Phils non-tender him

Glenn inSeattle

  • How are the Mariners going to fill their openings at 1st and 3rd?

Anthony Franco

  • I buy that they're going to try to keep Naylor. If he ends up at four years in the low-mid 70s, I could see them doing that. If it gets to five years and closer to $100M, not so much. I'd probably put them on a Ryan O'Hearn type fallback at that point
  • Not sure they need to as big at third. Emerson's not far off, Williamson can handle the position defensively if nothing else. If they bring Polanco back to rotate between 2B/3B/DH and still have Bliss and Young in the mix at second, I feel like that's enough to at least bide their time to see if Emerson can take the job in the second half

Dan S.

  • When will the MLBTR Top 50 come out? One of my favorite bookmarks every off-season.

Anthony Franco

  • Five days after the end of the World Series
  • That's the cutoff point for teams/players to make option decisions and teams to decide whether to issue qualifying offers. There aren't many guys who'll make the Top 50 if the team declines a club option (Imanaga this year would be the main candidate) but player option/QO decisions have a big impact on the market, so we wait until those are in
  • Also planning to do a top offseason trade candidates list (probably not 50 but at least 20-30) that we expect to drop the morning after the World Series ends

Baseball been very, very good to me.

  • Who do you think matches up better with the Dodgers in a seven game series, Cubs or Brewers and why? Who do you think will win tomorrow nights game 5, assuming the starters are Imanaga and Misirowski? Obviously, the starters are sppeculative and both would be on super sjhort leashes.

Hope

  • Any teams that have a good shot of beating the Dodgers? I am so worried by how they are ruining baseball. They are gonna go back to back

Anthony Franco

  • I'll still take Milwaukee but predicting any single MLB postseason game is 55-45 at best
  • I do think the Brewers have a better shot at beating the Dodgers. I'd consider L.A. the favorite over either of them but it's not like they're unbeatable with that bullpen
  • Sasaki being a lights out reliever has been huge so far. Their actual relievers aside from Vesia are pretty bad

Cat_Herder

  • You're Toronto.  Would you rather Detroit or Seattle win tonight?

Anthony Franco

  • Detroit. I think Seattle's a deeper overall team and the Jays wouldn't see Skubal until Game 3
  • Non-zero chance that they'd only have to face him once in the series, especially if they take the first two at home

Stockholm, AZ

  • Hey Anthony! I know pitching is top priority, but who will play the outfield for the Diamondbacks next year? Hard to believe they won’t at least try to trade McCarthy or Thomas. And who will be on the infield corners? Lawlar has looked lost so far.

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah I'm coming increasingly around on the idea that they'll dangle Lawlar for pitching. Another team that'd probably need to be in on Bohm or Josh Jung if they do that. Blaze Alexander's a utility guy
  • Agree that they also need to add an outfielder, though I think it'll probably be a lower-cost platoon type given the expected payroll rollback and their pitching needs
  • Carroll, Thomas and an Austin Hays type. Hope for Lourdes to make it back around the All-Star Break and/or that Ryan Waldschmidt hits his way to the majors quickly

Duffy S Cliff

  • What are potential landing spots for Munetaka Murakami? Could my Red Sox go after him? What do you think his ceiling is in MLB?

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MLB Disciplines Jose Iglesias, Xander Bogaerts

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Major League Baseball has announced that infielder Jose Iglesias has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his conduct towards umpires after Game Three of the Wild Card series against the Cubs last week. It does not say if Iglesias will appeal. If the suspension is either uncontested or upheld, Iglesias would serve the suspension next season. Fellow Padres infielder Xander Bogaerts has also received a fine for the same incident.

Bogaerts and the Padres were obviously upset by a strike call that was made as the club’s season was on the line. The best-of-three series was tied one game apiece and the Padres were trailing 3-0 going into the ninth inning. Jackson Merrill led off with a home run off Brad Keller to pull the Padres within two. Then Bogaerts worked a 3-2 count and took a pitch down and outside, as seen in this video from MLB.com. Had it been called ball four, Bogaerts would have drawn a walk, bringing the tying run to the plate for the Friars. Instead, home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn called it strike three.

The on-screen strike zone from the broadcast certainly made the pitch look like a ball. Some other pitch-tracking sources, such as Statcast, made it look like it clipped the bottom of the zone. Regardless, Bogaerts and the Padres certainly felt it was a ball. The Friars then got a couple of men on base via hit-by-pitches but fell 3-1, ending their season. Later, fan footage emerged of the umpires being berated as they left the field through the away dugout steps, per @padsfanatic.

With the Padres having been eliminated, Iglesias can’t serve his suspension now. He is an impending free agent. MLB’s announcement notes that, pending an appeal, he will serve his suspension “on his first day as an active player on a Major League roster during the 2026 regular season.”

It’s possible that becomes somewhat notable as Opening Day nears. Iglesias, 36 in January, has been a minor league deal guy for a while now. He’s had to settle for a minors pact in three straight winters. He didn’t get called up in 2023. Last year, he returned to the big leagues and had a phenomenal run with the Mets, hitting .337/.381/.448. Despite that excellent season, he still had to settle for a minor league deal with the Padres coming into 2025.

With the Friars this year, he wasn’t nearly as effective, finishing with a .229/.298/.294 line. He will likely be receiving minor league offers again this winter. If he is in the running for a job come March or at any point next year, the signing club would have to be willing to select his contract and play short-handed on Opening Day or whatever day they give him a 40-man spot.

Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images

Orioles’ Albert Suarez Expected To Avoid Surgery

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Orioles righty Albert Suarez’s season ended with an elbow injury, and the 36-year-old underwent an MRI earlier this week to determine whether there was any structural damage that would necessitate surgery. The team announced to its beat that Suarez has been diagnosed with a “mild” strain of the flexor tendon in his right forearm (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). The expectation is that he’ll be cleared to begin a throwing program within the next several weeks.

It’s a sigh of relief for both Orioles and Suarez, who seems like he’ll avoid surgery barring any notable setbacks once he begins that throwing progression. A shoulder strain limited him to just 11 2/3 innings this season, but Suarez was an out-of-the-blue key contributor for the 2024 Orioles, tossing 133 2/3 innings with a 3.70 ERA between the rotation and bullpen. That marked his first big league action since 2017; Suarez spent the 2019-23 seasons pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and in the Korea Baseball Organization — throwing quite well in each league.

Suarez’s success overseas piqued the Orioles’ interest enough to bring him aboard as a minor league signee at age 34 in the 2023-24 offseason. He’s since given the team a total of 145 1/3 innings with a 3.59 ERA, 19.4% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. The Orioles figure to be on the hunt for ways to bolster a rotation that right now includes Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer at the very least. Righty Tyler Wells looked sharp in four late starts this season after returning from Tommy John surgery. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is in the mix, too, though he didn’t pitch in 2025 after undergoing an elbow debridement procedure. Right-hander Brandon Young and former top prospects Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott could factor into the rotation as well.

The top trio of Bradish (who, like Wells, returned from Tommy John surgery this season), the steadily reliable Kremer and the revitalized Rogers makes for a solid top three. Between Wells, Rodriguez, Povich, McDermott, Young and Suarez, the O’s have some decent depth, but most of that group has had some recent health concerns and/or struggles in the majors.

Suarez is the only one of that bunch who doesn’t have minor league options remaining, however, making him a strong favorite to open the 2026 season in a swing capacity — health permitting. Baltimore controls him for another three seasons, and he’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $900K salary for the right-hander.

Baltimore is expected to be active in both the free agent and trade markets this offseason. President of baseball operations Mike Elias told MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald in last week’s podcast appearance that the Orioles “don’t want to take that off the table, by any means” when asked about his club’s willingness to invest multiple years in a free agent starting pitcher.

Offseason Outlook: Cincinnati Reds

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The Reds made the postseason in a 162-game schedule for the first time in 12 years. They looked overmatched against the Dodgers and were swept out of the Wild Card Series. This year was a nice stepping stone, but the Reds need to add a couple bats to pull alongside the true best teams in the National League.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Hunter Greene, RHP: $41MM through 2028 (including buyout of ’29 club option)
  • Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B: $36MM through 2029 (including buyout of '30 club option)
  • Jose Trevino, C: $11.25MM through 2027 (including buyout of '28 club option)

Other Financial Commitments

Option Decisions

  • Team, OF Austin Hays hold $12MM mutual option ($1MM buyout)
  • Team holds $6.5MM option on RHP Scott Barlow ($1MM buyout)
  • Team holds $3MM option on LHP Brent Suter ($250K buyout)

2026 financial commitments: $37.5MM
Total future commitments: $105.5MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Lux, Espinal, Gibaut, Moll, Benson

Free Agents

The Reds ranked 14th in MLB with 4.42 runs per game. That's an underwhelming mark for a team that plays in one of the league's most favorable hitter's parks. They'll need to improve upon a .245/.315/.391 batting line. The offense should be the offseason priority, but their first couple decisions are in the bullpen.

Cincinnati holds options on relievers Scott Barlow and Brent Suter. It's an easy call to move on from Barlow, who'll receive a $1MM buyout. They'll probably also opt for a $250K buyout on Suter, as the Cincinnati native struggled to a 7.36 ERA after the All-Star Break. Closer Emilio Pagán hits the market following one of the best seasons of his career. Nick Martinez will again be a free agent after playing this year on a $21.05MM qualifying offer salary.

If Pagán walks, the Reds could be in the market for a closer. They're not going to spend at the level it'd take to bring in Edwin Díaz, nor does a splash for Robert Suarez seem advisable given their needs on offense. Old friend Raisel Iglesias will be available on a one or two-year deal at age 36, though he pitched well enough with Atlanta to command an eight-figure salary. Kenley Jansen will sign a decent one-year deal, while Ryan Helsley and Michael Kopech are probably looking for pillow contracts. Devin Williams, Brad Keller, Luke Weaver, Kyle Finnegan and Pagán himself should all be looking at multi-year contracts -- though it'd be a surprise if Pagán commands more than two guaranteed years entering his age-35 season.

Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft and Connor Phillips are Cincy's top returning leverage arms. Santillan has a little bit of closing experience, while Phillips has shown wipeout stuff with hit-or-miss command. If the Reds find the prices too high on free agent closers, perhaps they'll let Santillan and Phillips compete for the ninth inning while pursuing a setup type like Tyler Rogers or Phil Maton. In any case, they should bring in at least one back-end arm.

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The Opener: ALDS, NLDS, Phillies

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

1. ALDS to conclude:

The ALDS will wrap up tonight as the Tigers and Mariners head back to Seattle for a decisive Game 5. The game is scheduled for 5:08pm local time and will see the Tigers send ace Tarik Skubal (2.21 ERA) to the mound opposite righty George Kirby (4.21 ERA). Skubal is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and likely to win it again this season after another dominant campaign. That excellence has extended into the postseason, as he’s posted a 1.84 ERA with an eye-popping 41.8% strikeout rate in two starts so far.

Elite as Skubal has been, he’s not completely unbeatable. The Mariners themselves managed put together a win in Game 2 of the ALDS when Skubal threw seven innings of two-run ball thanks to a slip by the Tigers bullpen. Kirby, meanwhile, surrendered two runs in five innings while striking out eight when he faced Detroit in Game 1 of this series. The winner of tonight’s game will go on to face the Blue Jays in ALCS, which kicks off Sunday. Toronto would have home field advantage over either club for the series.

2. NLDS wrapping up in Milwaukee:

Though the Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the NLDS, the Cubs battled back and won two straight elimination games at Wrigley Field to take the series back to Milwaukee. The decisive Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday at 7:08pm local time. Neither team has announced their starter, though the Cubs would have southpaw Shota Imanaga (3.73 ERA) on regular rest while the Brewers figure to have both Jacob Misiorowski (4.36 ERA) and Quinn Priester (3.32 ERA) available for what’s sure to be an all-hands-on-deck game for both teams. The winner of the series will head into the NLCS, where they’ll face the Dodgers with Game 1 scheduled for Monday. The Brewers would hold home field advantage in the NLCS if they advance, while the Dodgers would have it over the Cubs.

3. Phillies head into the offseason:

The Phillies’ season ended last night on a heartbreaking walk-off error by Orion Kerkering, and with the end of the season comes the start of the club’s offseason. It would be a surprise to see the Phillies move on from the generally successful partnership of Rob Thomson and Dave Dombrowski, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some real potential for change this winter. Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, and Ranger Suarez are all ticketed for free agency. Reuniting with or replacing those players, and Schwarber in particular, figures to be the main storyline of Philadelphia’s offseason. Between Suarez’s free agency, Zack Wheeler’s thoracic outlet surgery and Aaron Nola’s 2025 struggles, the Philadelphia rotation is facing some uncharacteristic uncertainty this winter, too. Like most clubs, the Phillies should be expected to hold an end-of-season presser at some point in the coming days that could provide hints to their offseason plans.

Mike Greenwell Passes Away

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Former big leaguer and member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame Mike Greenwell has passed away at the age of 62, according to multiple sources. It was revealed in August that he had been diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer, per Emma Healy of The Boston Globe.

Greenwell was born in Kentucky but raised in Florida. In the latter state, he did some alligator wrestling, which eventually led to his nickname Gator. He was drafted by the Red Sox in 1982 and spent his entire career with that franchise, apart from a late jaunt to Japan. He got called up to the big leagues in 1985 for a brief cup of coffee and then got another cup the season after.

Though he only played 31 regular season games in 1986, he was a part of Boston’s playoff run. The Sox beat the Angels in the ALCS, sending them to the World Series against the Mets, though they eventually lost in seven games. Greenwell got six postseason plate appearances that year, going one for five with a single, a walk and two strikeouts.

He finally got a more proper debut in 1987, when he got into 125 games playing both outfield corners. He hit 19 home runs and slashed .328/.386/.570. He finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting, behind Mark McGwire, Kevin Seitzer and Matt Nokes.

He was even better in 1988. He settled in as the club’s everyday left fielder and slashed .325/.416/.531 while hitting 22 home runs and stealing 16 bases. He made his first All-Star team. He finished second in A.L. Most Valuable Player voting, trailing only José Canseco, who had just engineered the first ever 40/40 season. The Sox won the A.L. East that year but Canseco and the Athletics swept them out of the ALCS. Greenwell would later express frustration about the MVP vote when it was revealed that Canseco was using steroids during his playing career.

That year was essentially Greenwell’s peak, but he continued to be a solid player for the Sox for many years after that. When healthy, he was usually good for 10-15 home runs, almost as many steals and a batting average near .300.

Injuries cut into his performance and his playing time throughout the ’90s. He signed with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the 1997 season but injured himself again after just seven games and retired for good.

He appeared in 1,269 regular season games for the Red Sox and stepped to the plate 5,166 times. He tallied 1400 hits, including 275 doubles, 38 triples and 130 home runs. He scored 657 runs and drove in 726. He stole 80 bases. His career batting line was .303/.368/.463. He made two All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger award.

In his post-playing days, he did some minor league coaching, some stock car racing, operated a construction company and an amusement park, and also served as a county commissioner in Florida. We at MLB Trade Rumors join the rest of the baseball world in sending our condolences to all of Greenwell’s family, friends, loved ones and fans.

Nick Burdi Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Nick Burdi has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The reliever had been removed from the 40-man roster in July when he hit the 60-day IL with a hip injury. The Red Sox sent him outright to Triple-A Worcester in mid-August, and he was not added back to the 40-man roster before the end of the season. Since Burdi has more than three years of Major League service time, he was able to choose minor league free agency.

Burdi appeared in four games with the Red Sox in 2025. He tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings from late May into early June, but went down with a foot injury. Burdi then picked up the hip issue on his rehab assignment and was transferred to the 60-day IL. Masataka Yoshida took his spot on the 40-man roster when he returned from a shoulder injury.

Burdi has pitched for four teams in parts of six big-league seasons. He debuted with Pittsburgh in 2018. Burdi made 16 appearances across three seasons with the Pirates. He was designated for assignment following the 2020 season and landed with San Diego on a minor league deal. Burdi spent 2021 and 2022 in the Padres’ minor league system. He made his MLB return in 2023 with the Cubs after coming over in the offseason via waiver claim, though he made just three appearances in Chicago. Burdi headed to the Yankees on a minor league pact in 2024. His tenure in New York was his most successful as a big leaguer, as he posted a 1.86 ERA over 12 outings. Hip inflammation ultimately ended his season early.

Injuries have been the story of Burdi’s career. In addition to the aforementioned hip and foot injuries, he’s had Tommy John surgery twice (2017, 2020) and thoracic outlet surgery (2019). Burdi also missed a huge chunk of the 2023 season with appendicitis.

Burdi will be 33 next season. He’s been able to parlay minor league deals into big-league work in each of the past three seasons, so there’s a chance he can find his way onto an MLB roster in 2026.

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