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Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | March 3, 2025 at 2:30pm CDT

MLBTR's Steve Adams hosted a live chat today at 2:30pm CT, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.

 

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Espada: Astros Plan For Altuve To Spend “Majority” Of Time In Left Field

By Steve Adams | March 3, 2025 at 2:05pm CDT

The concept of Jose Altuve moving from second base to left field first emerged when the Astros reengaged with Alex Bregman late in the offseason. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported at the time that there were talks of re-signing Bregman, sliding Isaac Paredes from third base to second base and shifting Altuve to the outfield. Many initially took that with a heavy dose of skepticism; Altuve, after all, has played all of six major league innings at a position other than second base — and they were all at shortstop.

As Houston brass continued to paint a Bregman reunion as a long shot, however, they kept getting Altuve work in left field. Both manager Joe Espada and GM Dana Brown spoke about wanting to get some looks at Altuve in left and wanting to reduce Yordan Alvarez’s time on the outfield grass. Even when Bregman signed in Boston, the Altuve/left field experiment continued to progress.

The position change seems less like an experiment and more like a reality by the day, and Espada’s latest comments only further that shift. Speaking to the Astros beat this morning, Espada left open the door for Altuve to get some playing time at second base but also suggested it will no longer be his primary position (via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle).

“Right now, the plan is for [Altuve] to play the majority of his games in left field,” Espada stated. “The days that he plays second base opens the door for [Alvarez] maybe getting a start in left field, someone getting a DH day. So this move allows us to be creative and do stuff like that.”

Espada added that frequently shuttling Altuve back-and-forth between the two positions “is something that I am going to avoid.” The second-year manager stopped short of outright proclaiming Altuve the Astros’ new everyday left fielder, but it certainly seems things are trending in that direction.

Altuve is a former Gold Glove winner at second base, but his defense has declined considerably as he’s entered his mid-30s. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged him at -13 or worse in each of the past three seasons. Statcast’s Outs Above Average isn’t as down on Altuve’s glovework during that three-year period but does agree he’s been a negative since 2023, including a particularly rough -8 mark in 2024.

That’s problematic in and of itself, but it’s particularly egregious when Houston has one of the best second base defenders in the sport (statistically speaking) on its roster already. Mauricio Dubon hasn’t even logged a full season’s worth of second base innings in his career, but in 1154 frames at the position he’s been credited with 12 DRS and 8 OAA. The Astros also inked longtime Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers, another plus defender at second base, to a minor league deal and invited him to camp.

At the very least, when ground-ball pitchers like Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown are starting games — Valdez is the top ground-ball starter in the sport over the past three seasons — it makes sense to have a superior defender in there. Either Dubon or Rodgers would fit the bill. Espada’s comments make it sound like Altuve is being pushed to left field more frequently than that, however.

Houston’s decidedly lackluster outfield mix is surely a factor as well. Owner Jim Crane seemed determined to dip under the luxury tax threshold after paying the tax in 2024, and as a result the outfield looks thinner than at any point in recent memory. The Astros traded their final season of control over Kyle Tucker to the Cubs in a deal netting new third baseman Isaac Paredes, rotation candidate Hayden Wesneski and new top prospect Cam Smith. With Tucker gone and Alvarez ticketed for more DH time in ’25, Altuve joins a mix of Jake Meyers, Chas McCormick and free agent signee Ben Gamel in the outfield. There are still a handful of interesting free agents out there — David Peralta or Alex Verdugo could fit the ’Stros — but Crane’s preference is to remain south of the $241MM tax threshold; the Astros are currently at $236.8MM, per RosterResource.

If Altuve’s outfield move yields early dividends, it’s easy enough to see it becoming a permanent arrangement. The nine-time All-Star is entering the first season of a five-year, $125MM extension signed 13 months ago. He’s owed $30MM each year from 2025-27 before his salary greatly reduces to $10MM per season in 2028-29. That extension also came with a $15MM upfront signing bonus that has already been paid out.

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Houston Astros Newsstand Jose Altuve Mauricio Dubon

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Nationals Re-Sign Kyle Finnegan

By Darragh McDonald | March 3, 2025 at 1:02pm CDT

March 3: Finnegan’s $6MM salary has $4MM of deferrals, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. This seems to drop the net present value to $5.7MM.

February 27: The Nats made it official today, signing Finnegan with Stone Garrett designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

February 25: The Nationals are bringing back Kyle Finnegan, with Robert Murray of FanSided reporting that the two sides have agreed to a one-year contract. The Warner Sports Management client gets a $6MM guarantee, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The Nats have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this official.

Finnegan, 33, spent the past five years with the Nats. He made 291 appearances for the club in that time, allowing 3.56 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 23.5% of batters faced, gave out walks at a 9.5% clip and got grounders on 47.5% of balls in play. He also took over the closer’s job in that time. He earned 11 saves in both 2021 and 2022, then got that number to 28 in 2023 and 38 last year.

The Nats could have retained Finnegan for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a salary of $8.6MM, a bump from the $5.1MM he made in 2024. They somewhat surprisingly decided to walk away instead, non-tendering him back in November.

Though that move initially raised some eyebrows, there were some concerning numbers under the hood. His ERA has held fairly steady recently but his strikeout rate has been ticking down. He struck out 26.1% of batters faced in 2022, but that number fell to the 22% range in each of the past two seasons. His 2024 campaign was also fairly lopsided. He had a 2.45 ERA and 26.1% strikeout rate in the first half but a 5.79 ERA and 16.4% strikeout rate in the second.

He has also been susceptible to some loud contact in his career, especially lately. His 91.3 mile per hour exit velocity last year was considered by Statcast to be in the first percentile of qualified pitchers. His 48.1% hard hit rate was in the second percentile. In 2023, he allowed a 92.2 mph average exit velo (first percentile) and 47.5% hard hit rate (fourth percentile).

In hindsight, the decision not to tender him a contract looks like a wise one for the Nats. Though the righty received interest from some other clubs this winter, the Nats stayed in contact with Finnegan and were able to bring him back while saving a few million bucks relative to his projected price range.

The Nats have been rebuilding for the past few years and their offseason has mostly been about adding solid short-term veterans to their young core. Those vets can stabilize the roster and will ideally turn themselves into deadline trade chips if Washington isn’t contending in July.

In the bullpen, they have signed Jorge López and Lucas Sims to one-year deals, with Finnegan now joining them in that category. Derek Law is back for his final season of club control, retained via arbitration. Colin Poche is in camp as a non-roster invitee and is just about two months shy of six years of big league service time. If he’s added to the roster, the Nats would have five experienced bullpen arms slated for free agency after the season, making them logical summer trade candidates.

In the interim, there will be opportunities for younger arms to pitch around those guys. Jose A. Ferrer has just 66 big league innings but has posted huge ground ball rates in that time. Rule 5 pick Evan Reifert has to hold a spot or else be offered back to the Rays. Perhaps one of the club’s many starting candidates will end up in the bullpen as a long reliever. Eduardo Salazar, Zach Brzykcy and Orlando Ribalta are also on the 40-man but each has less than a year of big league service and can be optioned to the minors.

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Newsstand Transactions Washington Nationals Kyle Finnegan

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Pirates Claim Justin Lawrence

By Steve Adams | March 3, 2025 at 12:23pm CDT

The Pirates have claimed right-hander Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Rockies, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Colorado placed Lawrence on waivers over the weekend. The Bucs haven’t formally announced the claim and will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Lawrence once the transaction becomes official.

Lawrence, 30, agreed to a $975K salary earlier this offseason when he avoided arbitration. The Pirates will take on that salary and hope to coax a rebound effort out of the right-hander. Lawrence was roughed up for a brutal 6.49 earned run average in 2024 but was a quality late-inning arm for the Rox in 2023, saving 11 games and picking up 11 holds en route to a 3.72 ERA.

The 6’3″ Lawrence has shown the ability to miss bats and generate grounders in the past, though command has long been an issue. He fanned 24% of his opponents and posted a 48.5% ground-ball rate for Colorado during that strong 2023 season while sitting 95.4 mph on his sinker and 83.8 mph on his slider. Both pitches lost 0.8 mph in 2024, however, and Lawrence saw his strikeout rate plummet to 16.1% while his already problematic 11% walk rate crept up to 11.8%.

Lawrence did post a career-high 53.1% ground-ball rate, and he was far better on the road than at Coors Field, as most would expect. He was tagged for a disastrous 8.49 ERA in Denver compared to a more palatable 4.50 mark on the road. He had pronounced home-road splits in 2023 as well: 5.40 at Coors Field and 1.62 when the Rockies were away. Over the past two seasons, Lawrence has a 6.69 ERA at Coors Field and a 2.98 mark on the road.

The Pirates won’t be able to send Lawrence to Triple-A. He’s out of minor league options. As such, he’s now a virtual lock to make the Opening Day bullpen, barring an injury. With last year’s poor results and several other arms ahead of him on the bullpen pecking order, Lawrence probably won’t jump right into high-leverage work. He could certainly pitch his way into that role, as he did in ’23, but Pittsburgh will likely hope for a David Bednar rebound in the ninth inning with Colin Holderman, Dennis Santana and Carmen Mlodzinski all setting up. Lefties Caleb Ferguson and Tim Mayza, both signed as free agents, give skipper Derek Shelton at least two southpaw options. Joey Wentz, Kyle Nicolas, Chase Shugart and Peter Strzelecki are all on the 40-man roster as well. Wentz and Strzelecki are out of options. Notable non-roster invitees to camp include Ryan Borucki, Tanner Rainey, Burch Smith and Hunter Stratton.

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Colorado Rockies Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Justin Lawrence

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Submit Your Questions For A Mailbag Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast

By Darragh McDonald | March 3, 2025 at 10:15am CDT

On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the major free agents all now off the board, there’s less big news to discuss, giving us more pod time to focus on digging through the mailbag.

If you have a question about a past transaction, a look ahead to the rest of the spring, the upcoming 2025 season or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Sean Murphy Out Four To Six Weeks With Cracked Rib

By Steve Adams | March 3, 2025 at 9:56am CDT

Braves catcher Sean Murphy has a cracked rib on the left side of his ribcage and will be out for the next four to six weeks, manager Brian Snitker announced this morning (link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). He sustained the injury when he was hit by a pitch during a Grapefruit League game this past Friday.

The injury opens the door for top prospect Drake Baldwin to potentially make his big league debut on Opening Day, though Baldwin is not yet on the 40-man roster and will likely still need to earn the job with a nice showing in camp. Since Atlanta surprisingly declined Travis d’Arnaud’s option at the start of the offseason and let him walk in free agency, the other in-house options include Chadwick Tromp (who’s on the 40-man roster) and veteran non-roster invitees Curt Casali and Sandy Leon.

Murphy, 30, is entering his third season with the Braves and will miss the beginning of the season for a second consecutive year. An oblique strain suffered on Opening Day last year sent Murphy to the injured list on March 30 and sidelined him into late May. That was the first major league IL placement of Murphy’s career, but with the season set to open in just over three weeks, he’ll all but assuredly start the 2025 campaign with his second career IL stay.

The 2024 season was the worst of Murphy’s career. It clearly didn’t start on a high note with that early oblique injury, but upon activation from the injured list he didn’t hit anywhere near his prior standards, slashing just .193/.284/.352 in 264 plate appearances. He still smacked 10 homers and graded as a strong defender, but Murphy’s strikeout rate climbed to its highest point since 2021 (25.4%).

More damaging was a huge spike in both Murphy’s ground-ball rate (career-high 53.9%) and infield fly rate. Among the 324 players who tallied 250 plate appearances in 2024, only 12 hit a higher rate of grounders than Murphy. For a player ranked in the eighth percentile in Statcast’s average sprint speed, that’s clearly suboptimal. Beyond the influx of ground-balls, roughly one in six of Murphy’s fly-balls was a hapless pop-up to the infield. He entered the 2024 season with only 9% of his flies being of the infield variety (and just 3.8% in 2023).

Murphy’s struggles really date back to September of 2023. The first five months of his Braves tenure could scarcely have gone better. He slashed .271/.379/.520 with 20 homers in 383 plate appearances, making the All-Star team and looking every bit like the star catcher Atlanta envisioned when trading for and extending him. Murphy hit just .111/.273/.178 in 55 September plate appearances in ’23, but given his track record that seemed like little more than a late slump.

Perhaps that was indeed the case, but with Murphy’s rough 2024 season now tacked onto that poor finish the year prior, he’s running a pretty lengthy stretch of struggles at the plate. In his past 329 plate appearances — including ten in the playoffs — he’s lugging a .181/.280/.319 batting line.

Of course, any talk of Murphy’s recent struggles should mention that they’re short-lived relative to his longstanding all-around production. From the time of his 2019 debut through August 2023, Murphy hit .237/.333/.434 with premium defense. By measure of wRC+, he was 16% better than an average hitter at the plate, which is even more impressive for his position, as the average catcher in that span tended to be around 12% worse than average with the bat. From 2019-23, Murphy ranked third among all catchers in FanGraphs’ wins above replacement, trailing only J.T. Realmuto and (much more narrowly) Will Smith.

He’ll look to get back on track once he’s past this rib injury, but Murphy’s looming IL stint does give the aforementioned Baldwin an opportunity at his MLB debut. The 23-year-old is widely considered among the sport’s top 100 prospects. Atlanta’s third-round pick in 2022 split the 2024 season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .276/.370/.423 with 16 homers, a 13.1% walk rate and a 17.2% strikeout rate. He’s not considered the super-premium defender that Murphy is, but scouting reports have credited him with improving defense. Baseball America credits his ability to manage a pitching staff as a particular plus element of his defensive game.

The Braves aren’t going to want to have Baldwin up on the big league roster without regular at-bats available to him. It’s possible that he hits well enough this spring to break camp and then forces the issue further by getting out to a hot start in the majors. In that scenario, perhaps Murphy and Baldwin could shoulder a roughly even split of the workload behind the plate. That’d keep both fresh and would mirror many other catching situations around the league, as several clubs have moved away from one iron man catcher and a seldom-used backup (as was more common in prior generations). If Baldwin struggles, though, he could always be sent to Triple-A for further development. He’s still less than three years from being drafted, after all, and has all of 141 games above A-ball under his belt.

The Braves have Murphy signed at $15MM per season through 2028, plus a club option over the former All-Star’s 2029 campaign. Baldwin has yet to debut, meaning he has six years of club control — or nearly seven, if the team keeps him in the minors for more than a couple of weeks in 2025 but bring him to the majors for the remainder of the year.

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Atlanta Braves Chadwick Tromp Curt Casali Sandy Leon Sean Murphy

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The Opener: Yankees, Lawrence, Tigers

By Nick Deeds | March 3, 2025 at 9:02am CDT

On the heels of a busy morning around the league, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on today:

1. Yankees await imaging results:

The Yankees and their fans are waiting with bated breath for news on a pair of potentially key players for the 2025 club: right-hander Luis Gil and veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu. Gil underwent an MRI on his shoulder over the weekend after feeling what the club described as “tightness” in the area, while LeMahieu underwent imagining of his own after he “tweaked” a calf muscle on the basepaths during his first Spring Training game of the year. LeMahieu appeared to be the favorite to handle third base entering the season for the Yankees, while Gil was all but assured of the final spot in the rotation behind Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt.

If Gil ends up missing time, it appears likely the Yankees would turn to veteran Marcus Stroman to round out the rotation after coming up empty in their efforts to trade him this winter. At third base, a platoon of Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza seems to be the most likely outcome if LeMahieu misses time and no external additions make their way into the conversation.

2. Lawrence on waivers:

Over the weekend, it was reported that right-hander Justin Lawrence was placed on waivers by the Rockies in a somewhat unusual move for this juncture of the calendar. If Lawrence is claimed by a rival club, they’ll assume his $925K salary for 2025 and he’ll depart the Rockies for that organization. If he goes unclaimed, Colorado would have the option to outright him off the 40-man roster but could also simply keep him in the fold in his current role. Lawrence, 30, is an intriguing potential rebound candidate after struggling badly in 2024 but flashing past success at Coors Field despite the difficult conditions for pitching. Given the 48-hour window associated with waivers, a resolution to Lawrence’s placement on waivers should be coming in relatively short order.

3. Tigers reeling after outfield injuries:

It’s been a tough few days for the Tigers, as what once looked like an excess of potential position player options has been picked apart by injuries. Friday saw infielder/outfielder Matt Vierling ruled out for Opening Day due to a rotator cuff strain. Shortly thereafter, center fielder Parker Meadows had his own status for the start of the season thrown into question by a nerve issue in his right arm. Meadows has not been ruled out for Opening Day at this point, and the ailment could prove to be a relatively short-term issue. Even so, Detroit will now have to plan as though their starting right fielder and their starting center fielder will both miss the beginning of the 2025 campaign.

Frustrating as that is for Vierling, Meadows, and the Tigers, it does open up opportunities for other young players. Notably, outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy and slugger Spencer Torkelson could now have the opportunity to force their way back into the lineup as the club’s top right-handed bats who can help step in for Vierling. Malloy could simply replace Vierling in the outfield, or the club could shift Kerry Carpenter to right field, thereby opening the DH spot for either Malloy or Torkelson.

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The Opener

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Braves Sign Hector Neris To Minor League Deal

By Nick Deeds | March 3, 2025 at 8:19am CDT

The Braves have signed right-hander Hector Neris to a minor league deal with a non-roster invitation to big league Spring Training, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Toscano adds that Neris will be in camp today with the club.

Neris, 36 in June, signed with the Phillies as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic and made his big league debut back in 2014. That was a cup of coffee that lasted just one inning, however, and he’d have to wait for the 2015 season to get a more substantial look in the majors. He did well enough with the opportunity, posting a roughly average 3.79 ERA in 32 relief appearances despite some lackluster peripheral numbers. It was still enough to earn Neris a regular role with the Phillies the following year, however, and the 2016 season kicked off the best stretch of the right-hander’s entire career.

From 2016 to 2019, Neris pitched to a 3.23 ERA (133 ERA+) with a 3.68 FIP in 270 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 31.3% of opponents during that time and also handled ninth inning duties for Philadelphia on a semi-regular basis, collecting 67 saves along the way. Those are all strong numbers, but a deeper look reveals an interesting twist to Neris’s performance in that stretch; he was a well below-average pitcher in 2018. While 2016, ’17, and ’19 all saw Neris post seasons that were between 43% and 63% better than league average by ERA+, that final year actually saw him pitch to a 5.10 ERA that was 19% worse than league average.

It wasn’t all bad for Neris in 2018, as his 37.4% strikeout rate was incredible and paired with a very manageable 7.8% walk rate, but injuries limited him to just 47 2/3 innings of work and an inflated .354 BABIP combined with an eye-popping 22.9% home-run-to-fly-ball ratio held him back from success that year. All of that combines into a much stronger season when looking at advanced metrics than Neris may get credit for on paper: despite his well below-average ERA, his FIP was actually slightly above average, while metrics like xERA (3.81) and SIERA (2.28) were even more bullish on the righty’s performance.

Neris spent two more years with the Phillies after that, though the results (a combined 3.84 ERA and 3.73 FIP in 98 appearances) were fairly unremarkable. The righty enjoyed a renaissance after signing with the Astros in free agency, however. Between the 2022 and ’23 campaigns, Neris posted a brilliant 2.69 ERA (150 ERA+) with a 3.10 FIP in 133 2/3 innings of work. He struck out 29.1% of opponents, walked 9%, and maintained strong numbers according to both xERA and SIERA. While he collected just five saves in that time due to the presence of closer Ryan Pressly, the right-hander returned to free agency last winter in line to receive a strong contract.

He wound up getting a one-year, $9MM guarantee from the Cubs last winter. Unfortunately for both Neris and Chicago, it proved to be an up-and-down season for the right-hander. Though he stepped into the club’s closer job when incumbent Adbert Alzolay went down with Tommy John surgery, Neris struggled with his command throughout his time with the Cubs. The right-hander walked a whopping 13.3% of his opponents in Chicago while striking out just 23.5% of them. While his 3.89 ERA and 4.10 FIP in 44 innings of work were more or less league average, it was hardly a surprise when the Cubs ultimately designated the veteran for assignment due to the wildness.

Neris was picked back up by the Astros for the stretch run and seemed to get his command under control for the most part with a 28.1% strikeout rate and a 3.1% walk rate. Unfortunately, his on-field production actually got substantially worse, as he was torched to the tune of a 4.70 ERA and 4.80 FIP in 15 1/3 innings of work after giving up four home runs in just 16 games. The lackluster season led Neris to linger on the free agent market this winter, and now he’ll ultimately have to battle his way back into a big league bullpen in camp this spring.

He’ll get the opportunity to do that in Atlanta, for a club that lost a key piece of its late-inning mix back in November when it was announced that right-hander Joe Jimenez would miss 8-12 months after undergoing knee surgery. That left a void in the Braves’ bullpen by removing the club’s top right-handed set-up man for closer Raisel Iglesias, and a return to form could see Neris challenge Pierce Johnson for that role in 2025. Even if he can’t recapture the production he flashed during his first stint in Houston, however, Neris could provide quality veteran depth to a Braves bullpen without much of it after losing Jimenez to injury and Grant Holmes to the starting rotation.

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Hector Neris

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Cora: Garrett Whitlock “100 Percent” Slated For Opening Day Roster

By Mark Polishuk | March 2, 2025 at 11:01pm CDT

Garrett Whitlock underwent an internal brace procedure last May 30, which ended the right-hander’s season and seemingly ensured that he would miss some time at the start of the 2025 campaign.  However, Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated that Whitlock is on pace to rather handily beat the initial recovery timeline, as Cora told MLB.com’s Ian Browne and other reporters that Whitlock is “100 percent” going to be part of Boston’s roster on Opening Day.

Cora’s statement comes before Whitlock has even pitched to live batters this spring, though Whitlock is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session tomorrow.  The reliever has thrown multiple bullpen sessions already, in line with the deloading rehab strategy the Red Sox have used with Whitlock this offseason.  As detailed by The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey last week, the plan saw Whitlock alternate between “weeks of heavy throwing” and “weeks of recovery.”  This portion of Whitlock’s rehab is now over, and he is expected to have a normal ramp-up for the rest of Spring Training.

The work seems to be paying off, if Whitlock is already viewed as a lock to break camp.  Internal brace procedures are a relatively new variant on the traditional Tommy John surgery, and can be performed in certain cases when the UCL damage isn’t quite as severe.  The benefit is that brace surgeries come with a slightly shorter timeline — whereas pitchers who get TJ procedures usually face 13-14 months of recovery, internal brace surgeries have a timeline of roughly 11-12 months.

Because this procedure has only become more common in the last few years, there isn’t yet quite such thing as a “normal” timeline for a brace procedure, or at least the rehab process is more fluid than the more established recovery time associated with Tommy John surgeries.  Still, the fact that Whitlock is on pace to return to action just 10 months after his surgery is rather eye-opening, particularly since he has a history of past elbow problems.  Whitlock underwent a Tommy John surgery in 2019, and elbow-related issues sent him to the injured list twice during the 2023 season.

It probably helps that Whitlock is being brought back strictly as a relief pitcher, so his arm strength doesn’t have to be built up to handle a starter’s workload.  The Red Sox used Whitlock on-and-off as a starting pitcher over the last three seasons, but the right-hander’s greatest success came out of the bullpen in his 2021 rookie season, when he posted a 1.96 ERA over 73 1/3 innings as a multi-inning relief weapon.

His production from 2022-24 was more erratic, with a 4.01 ERA over his 168 1/3 innings during those three seasons.  Injuries certainly hampered Whitlock’s performance on the whole, but he still generally pitched better as a reliever than as a starter.  This planned return to the bullpen might well help Whitlock stay healthy and return to his old consistent form, which would give Boston’s relief corps a major boost.

Whitlock will slot in behind closer Liam Hendriks, who is making his own return from a lengthy absence after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2023.  The Red Sox also added Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to reinforce a bullpen that underwhelmed last season.

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Boston Red Sox Garrett Whitlock

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NL Injury Notes: Smith, Gomber, Minter

By Mark Polishuk | March 2, 2025 at 9:49pm CDT

Will Smith has been dealing with a bone bruise in his left ankle for almost nine months, as the Dodgers catcher revealed to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters this weekend.  Smith hurt his ankle while sliding into second base to try and break up a double play in the Dodgers’ 11-3 win over the Yankees on June 8, and he has been dealing with some level of discomfort ever since, though Smith didn’t go on the injured list or even miss really any time in the aftermath of the injury.  The issue has persisted even after an offseason of rest, resulting in Smith being held out of Spring Training games until last Friday.

Smith said his ankle is only sore when he runs, and he is otherwise able to catch and hit normally.  As Ardaya notes, Smith’s post-injury numbers imply otherwise — Smith hit .292/.361/.498 in 238 plate appearances though June 8, and then only .213/.301/.382 in 306 PA afterwards, plus a .568 OPS over 65 more trips to the plate during the playoffs.  Los Angeles GM Brandon Gomes implied that the team might be more open to giving Smith extra off-days to keep him healthy and more well-rested in general for what the Dodgers hope is another deep postseason run.

This might not be the most prominent Will Smith-related news item to ever arise on an Oscar night, but let’s move onto some other notes from around the National League…

  • Austin Gomber was scratched from a scheduled start today due to some soreness in his throwing shoulder, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes.  Testing revealed no structural damage, though Rockies manager Bud Black wasn’t sure when Gomber might be back on the mound.  While Gomber isn’t a high-velocity pitcher, his fastball was also down a tick during his first Spring Training start last week, so the matter didn’t solely arise today.  Gomber viewed the situation as “a reset” rather than anything too serious, saying “maybe I would have tried to push it a little bit more if we were in a different spot on the calendar.  But it being so early in the year, I just felt like I wanted to take a few days to try to get a touch better and not have something that’s like nagging throughout the year.”  The veteran southpaw has been part of Colorado’s rotation for the last four seasons, and he posted a 4.75 ERA in 165 innings in 2024.
  • A.J. Minter underwent season-ending hip surgery last August, and he hit a big checkpoint in his rehab process by throwing 20-25 pitches during a live batting practice session.  Minter told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters that he “felt good” in the aftermath, and figures he’ll have at least one more live BP session before taking part in a proper Spring Training game setting.  Despite Minter’s injury, his track record as a reliable bullpen arm led to plenty of interest on the free agent market, and he joined the Mets on a two-year, $22MM deal (with an opt-out after the first year).  His progress hints that he might be able to be part of New York’s roster on Opening Day, but “we’re going to be smart about this.  If I have to miss a few days or a couple weeks, my goal is to help this team at the end of the season.”
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Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets Notes A.J. Minter Austin Gomber Will Smith (Catcher)

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