Phillies Re-Sign Tim Mayza To MLB Deal, Return Zach McCambley To Marlins, Re-Assign Lou Trivino
4:47PM: The Phillies also re-assigned right-hander Lou Trivino to Triple-A. Like Mayza, Trivino is an Article XX(B) player with an opt-out in his minors contract this weekend. It isn’t yet clear if Trivino will trigger his clause and enter free agency, or if he’ll bide his time at Triple-A until his next opt-out date on May 1.
9:21AM: The Phillies announced this morning that left-hander Tim Mayza was re-signed to a major league contract after the lefty exercised his opt-out clause in his minor league deal and was granted his release by the organization yesterday. To make room for Mayza on the 40-man roster, right-handed Rule 5 selection Zach McCambley was returned to the Marlins. McCambley was evidently place on (and successfully cleared) waivers at some point prior to the move to return him to Miami.
Mayza, 34, is entering his ninth major league season. He’s spent the majority of his career to this point as a member of the Blue Jays, and after an uneven start to his career when he made his major league debut in 2017 through the end of the 2019 season, he emerged from a 2020 campaign lost to injury to become one of Toronto’s more steady relief arms. From 2021 through 2023, Mayza turned in high quality results for the Jays with a 2.67 ERA and a 3.20 FIP in 155 innings of work. Of course, it should be noted that those strong numbers came with a major platoon split. While his ERA against southpaws was just 0.67, his numbers against right-handers were far more pedestrian: he sported a 4.19 ERA, a 3.96 FIP, and a 24.7% strikeout rate across those three seasons.
Even factoring in those lesser numbers against righties, however, Mayza’s fall from grace in 2024 was a shocking one. Across 50 appearances, the lefty’s ERA ballooned all the way up to 6.33, and while his 4.50 FIP suggests some of that was due to poor fortune on batted balls and sequencing he still struck out a paltry 14.4%. Ugly as those season long numbers are, however, Mayza did show some signs of returning to form after he was shipped to the Yankees midway through the season; in 18 innings of work with the Bombers, Mayza turned in a 4.00 ERA with a 3.94 FIP, though his strikeout rate still sat at a well-below average 16.2%.
That left Mayza in an uncertain place headed into 2025, and while he landed a big league deal with the Pirates he spent most of the season on the injured list due to a lat strain. He pitched just 15 total innings in the majors last year between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia (who claimed him off waivers from the Pirates midseason). In that time, he posted a 3.78 ERA and 4.16 FIP that’s more or less in line with his work as a member of the Yankees. His strikeout rate did tick back up to a more respectable 20.3%, however, and that was enough to convince the Phillies to give him another shot on a minor league pact entering camp. Mayza’s 5.40 ERA in 8 1/3 spring innings isn’t exactly inspiring, but the big news from camp is that the strikeouts appear to be back. He’s punched out 27.0% of his opponents this spring, and that was enough to convince the Phillies to put him back on their roster for the 2026 season.
As for McCambley, the righty was a third-round pick by the Marlins back in 2020. Initially drafted as a starter, McCambley converted to relief during the 2022 season and climbed the rest of the minor league ladder as a reliever. He split the 2025 season between Triple-A and Double-A, and in that time posted a combined 2.90 ERA with a 33.1% strikeout rate in 62 innings of work. That was enough to catch Philadephia’s attention in the Rule 5 draft, but he walked (six) more hitters than he struck out (four) in his 7 1/3 innings of work with the Phillies during Spring Training. That lack of control was enough for the Phillies to decide to move on from McCambley, who now returns to the Marlins as a non-roster piece who could nonetheless be called upon to contribute out of the bullpen at some point this year.
Grayson Rodriguez To Begin Season On Injured List
TODAY: Suzuki told reporters (including Jack Janes) today that Rodriguez will indeed be placed on the IL. This sets Kochanowicz and Johnson up as rotation members, and Walbert Urena will also make the team in a long relief role. The 22-year-old Urena will be making his big league debut whenever he makes his first appearance for the Halos.
MARCH 19: Angels right-hander Grayson Rodriguez may begin the season on the injured list. Manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that Rodriguez has a “dead arm” and will be slowed down. With Opening Day now just a week away, that makes it possible Rodriguez starts the season on the 15-day injured list, depending on how things progress in the coming days.
At this point, it doesn’t appear to be a major issue. Rodriguez isn’t even being shut down, with Fletcher noting that he still threw today, but it’s concerning nonetheless. Injuries have been in the spotlight for Rodriguez in recent years. He made 43 starts for the Orioles in 2023 and the first half of the 2024 season. He hasn’t made an official start since July of 2024, primarily due to shoulder issues.
He underwent elbow debridement surgery in August of last year. He was flipped to the Angels early this offseason in a one-for-one-trade for outfielder Taylor Ward. After that deal, Rodriguez spoke about his health and seemed optimistic. He said that he had been dealing with bone spurs in his elbow for three or four years. He believed this was adding stress to his shoulder and causing his numerous problems with that part of his arm.
For Rodriguez to now be dealing with arm problems once again is less than ideal. Perhaps it will remain a fairly minor issue but the Angels don’t have a lot of margin for error. They came into camp with a rotation projected to include José Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi, Reid Detmers, Alek Manoah and Rodriguez. Soriano and Kikuchi are fine but the group is fairly questionable after that.
Detmers had a 3.96 ERA in relief last year but a 6.70 ERA as a starter the year prior. He has a 7.27 ERA in spring training so far. Like Rodriguez, Manoah is looking to bounce back after a lengthy injury absence, but he has a 9.39 ERA this spring.
If Manoah gets optioned or Rodriguez needs to spend some time on the IL, that could open a spot for Jack Kochanowicz. He’s having a good spring but posted a 6.81 ERA in the big leagues last year. Fletcher suggested yesterday that Ryan Johnson has a chance to earn a spot, getting an aggressive Opening Day nod yet again. The Angels gave him a spot in their bullpen to begin last season even though he hadn’t yet played a game as a professional. He posted a 7.36 ERA through early May, at which point he was optioned down to High-A.
It’s worth reiterating that there’s still nothing to indicate Rodriguez is dealing with any kind of major issue. He may still avoid the IL if he feels better in the coming days. Even if he lands on the shelf, Opening Day IL stints can be backdated three days, so he could be back in less than two weeks.
But the Angels are going into a season where they hope to contend but need a lot of things to go right in order to that to be possible. They went 72-90 last year and didn’t make strong moves to upgrade the roster this winter. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them just a 4.9% chance of cracking the postseason. The PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are even more pessimistic, giving the Halos just a 0.1% chance.
A minor setback for a club’s fourth starter wouldn’t always be a cause for worry but it looms larger for the Angels than with other clubs since any setback can further diminish already-slim those odds.
Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images
Guardians To Select Rhys Hoskins’ Contract
Rhys Hoskins will break camp with the Guardians, as the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that Cleveland will be selecting the first baseman’s contract prior to Opening Day. The Guards will have to make a corresponding move to create space for Hoskins on the 40-man roster.
For making the team, Hoskins will now earn a $1.5MM salary for 2026, as per the teams of the minor league contract he signed last month. It’s a nice late birthday present for Hoskins less than a week after his 33rd birthday, though it was widely expected that Hoskins would be part of Cleveland’s roster. As an extremely quiet Guardians offseason comes to a close, Hoskins projects to be the only new offensive addition to a lineup that was one of baseball’s worst in 2025.
While the Guardians are primarily counting on such youngsters Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo to generate more offense, the team will also see what Hoskins can bring in his ninth Major League season. Formerly a prominent power bat in the Phillies’ lineup, Hoskins hasn’t really been the same since missing the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL.
Hoskins hit .223/.314/.418 with 38 homers over 845 PA with the Brewers over the last two seasons, translating to a 104 wRC+ and 1.1 fWAR. Hoskins’ 2025 campaign was better than his 2024, as he seemed to wear down in the last half of his return year. Last season, Hoskins was hampered by a sprained thumb that limited him to 90 games for Milwaukee.
Once a lefty-masher, the right-handed hitting Hoskins has had more modest numbers against southpaws in 2024-25, akin to his overall lesser production. Since Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus are both left-handed hitters, Hoskins provides cover for both players in the first base/designated hitter mix. Hoskins has never been known as a great defender, but 2025 was one of his best years with the glove, as per the public defensive metrics (+2 Defensive Runs Saved, +1 Outs Above Average).
White Sox Sign Reese McGuire
The White Sox announced that catcher Reese McGuire, has been signed to a one-year, $1.2MM contract. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers was the first to report the signing shortly before the club’s official announcement. No additional roster move was needed since the Sox had an open spot on their 40-man roster. McGuire is represented by Apex Baseball.
McGuire just opted out of a minor league deal with the Brewers yesterday and had 72 hours to explore the market for a new club. It took him about a day to land in a familiar location, as McGuire previously had a 53-game stint with the White Sox in 2022 (and he played on the other side of Chicago with the Cubs in 2025).
Signing a catcher didn’t seem any kind of priority for a Sox team that had Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, and Korey Lee all lined up behind the plate, with Teel and Quero projected to get at-bats from both the catching position and the DH slot. However, Teel suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain during the World Baseball Classic that will keep him out of action for about 4-6 weeks, or roughly mid- to late April.
Teel told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin yesterday that he is “progressing fast,” and hoping to miss only about four weeks of time. Even with this positive update and the presence of both Quero and Lee, the White Sox apparently wanted to reinforce their catching depth, and perhaps retain the three-catcher plan they intend to deploy for the rest of the season. Lee is out of minor league options and sending either Teel or Quero down to Triple-A doesn’t seem to be in Chicago’s long-term interest (unless either is really struggling), so it creates an interesting question as to what will happen when Teel is healthy and the Sox are juggling four backstops.
For now, McGuire will suit up for his former team and look to provide his usual solid glovework. A top prospect back during his time in the Pirates’ farm system, McGuire has settled into a journeyman/backup type of career, playing for six different organizations during his career. McGuire has hit .248/.293/.374 with 25 homers over 1178 career plate appearances, with nine of those home runs coming last year with the Cubs (as part of a .226/.245/.444 slash line in 140 PA).
Mariners To Add Mitch Garver To Opening Day Roster
The Mariners are adding Mitch Garver to their Opening Day roster as their backup catcher, according to a report from Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. That seemingly leaves catcher Andrew Knizner without a spot on the club’s roster headed into the season. He’s on a $1MM contract for 2026 and cannot be optioned to the minors, so he’ll need to be traded or designated for assignment sometime before Opening Day if he isn’t making the team.
Garver, 35, is a veteran of nine MLB seasons and has spent the past two years in Seattle. The former Silver Slugger has spent much of his career on the injured list, but in his younger years often showed flashes of elite power when healthy coupled with a hefty dose of strikeouts. From 2019 to 2023, Garver appeared in 325 games (averaging just 65 per season) but in that time slashed a phenomenal .250/.346/.508 with 75 home runs, a 26.6% strikeout rate, and an 11.8% walk rate. Perhaps the most impressive of those five seasons was his 2023 campaign with the Rangers, where he made it into 87 games and clubbed 19 homers with a strikeout rate of just 23.8% against an impressive 12.8% walk rate.
It was a platform season strong enough that the Mariners decided to take a chance on Garver, signing him to the club’s first multi-year deal for a position player in years. Unfortunately, that contract did not go well. Garver’s offense has taken a big step back over the past two years as the strikeouts have returned while his power has dipped substantially. In 201 games with Seattle, he’s hit just .187/.290/.341 with a 29.6% strikeout rate and a wRC+ of 88, indicating he’s been 12 points worse than league average at the plate. He’s combined that with lackluster defensive numbers behind the plate, and the Mariners were widely expected to move on from the veteran this offseason.
Despite that, Garver re-signed with the club on a minor league deal at the outset of Spring Training. Contact has remained an issue for him this spring, as he’s gone just .182/.308/.227 with 11 strikeouts in 26 trips to the plate during camp. That lackluster performance both in Seattle and during camp this spring makes the decision to go with Garver as the backup a somewhat surprising one. That’s particularly true given that Knizner is not only on a major league contract but also has the five years of service time required to reject an outright assignment and retain his full salary even if he passed through waivers unclaimed following a DFA.
Of course, it should be remembered that Knizner is hardly an impact player in his own right. The veteran has appeared in parts of seven MLB seasons but is a career .211/.281/.316 hitter whose 2025 season was even less productive at the dish than Garver’s. Knizner is younger at 31 years old and has been viewed in some circles as a superior defender to Garver, but his metrics have actually been similar to Garver’s work in 2025 throughout much of his career. Given that Raleigh figures to play the overwhelming majority of games behind the plate, perhaps the Mariners are prioritizing bringing back a veteran leader from a club that fell just one game short of the World Series last year who Raleigh himself helped to bring back into the organization over the offseason.
Regardless of the reasoning, Garver now figures to serve as Raleigh’s backup, while Knizner is likely to be either traded or exposed to waivers before the season begins. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll have the opportunity to return to free agency and sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs. Given the dearth of catching depth around the league in recent years, Knizner could conceivably find a big league job somewhere, though it’s also possible he’ll have to settle for a minor league pact at this point and begin the season at Triple-A.
Nationals Designate Griff McGarry For Assignment
The Nationals announced today that they’ve designated right-hander Griff McGarry for assignment. The move clears a spot for Jorbit Vivas on the 40-man roster, whose previously reported acquisition from the Yankees is now official. McGarry was the Nationals’ Rule 5 draft pick back in December and now will be available to any of the league’s other clubs who are willing to claim him with Rule 5 stipulations attached. If he goes unclaimed, he must be offered back to the Phillies for $50K. If the Phillies pass on reacquiring McGarry, he can be outrighted off the roster into the Nationals’ farm system.
McGarry, 26, was a fifth-round pick by the Phillies back in 2021 and got some top-100 prospect attention earlier in his career. That was before his career took a turn for the worse in 2023, when he posted an ugly 6.00 ERA in 17 starts thanks to lackluster command. Those command issues caused the organization to move McGarry to the bullpen for the 2024 season, but his already-high 18.5% walk rate from 2023 ballooned to a whopping 24.0% when he moved into a relief role. That led the Phillies to return the right-hander to the rotation for 2025, and he turned in decent numbers across 21 starts, most of which were at the Double-A level. He still walked too many batters, with 13.9% of his opponents getting a free pass, but he managed to make up for that elevated walk rate with a sensational 35.1% strikeout rate.
That improvement was enough for the Nationals to roll the dice on McGarry back in December, but his signature command issues once again resurfaced during Spring Training. While he managed a decent 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 innings of work, he walked (five) nearly as many batters as he struck out (six) in that time, leaving him with an 18.5% walk rate that would be difficult to justify carrying on a big league roster even for a rebuilding club. With optionable youngsters like Brad Lord and Ken Waldichuk capable of offering multi-inning relief with considerable upside and no Rule 5 restrictions, it’s not necessarily a surprising decision that the Nationals would opt for those arms rather than McGarry as they fill out their roster.
Should he go unclaimed on waivers, his upside is still considerable enough that it would be a surprise if the Phillies didn’t jump at the opportunity to reacquire him and continue his development throughout the 2026 campaign. Of course, it’s not impossible that he could be claimed; after all, McGarry was just the third-overall selection in the draft, meaning a number of teams later in the draft may well have considered drafting him themselves if he had fallen to them. Of course, it’s also a lot easier to draft a Rule 5 pick in December than it is to actually carry that player on their roster come March, so McGarry’s trip through the waiver wire will be one to watch over the coming days.
Dodgers Option Hyeseong Kim; Alex Freeland To Make Roster
The Dodgers announced a round of camp cuts today, headlined by their decision to option utility man Hyeseong Kim to Triple-A. Infielder Nick Senzel, outfielder Jack Suwinski, and catcher Seby Zavala were also re-assigned to minor league camp. That leaves the door open for infield prospect Alex Freeland to make the team’s Opening Day roster, and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic confirms that Freeland has been informed that he’s done just that.
Freeland, 24, was a third-round pick by the Dodgers in 2022 and made his big league debut last year. A consensus top-50 prospect in the sport last season, the infielder hit quite well at Triple-A with a .263/.384/.451 (115 wRC+) slash line across 106 games for Oklahoma City. Freeland swatted 16 homers and 30 doubles while walking at a whopping 16.3% clip and striking out 21.9% of the time. Those strong numbers didn’t translate to a 29-game cup of coffee with Los Angeles this last year, however, as he hit just .190/.292/.310 across 97 trips to the plate.
Despite that tough start to his MLB career, Freeland will round out a Dodgers bench that already includes Santiago Espinal, Dalton Rushing, and Alex Call. Call and Rushing figure to serve in pure bench roles, backing up the outfield and catcher Will Smith respectively. As for Freeland and Espinal, however, they appear likely to share playing time at second base with veteran Miguel Rojas to open the season, while also filling in for Mookie Betts and Max Muncy on the left side of the infield as needed. With both Enrique Hernandez and Tommy Edman on the injured list to open the season, there’s plenty of room in the club’s infield mix for Freeland to earn himself playing time in the early days of the 2026 campaign.
It’s at least somewhat surprising that opportunity won’t go to Kim. The 27-year-old hit a solid .280/.314/.385 (95 wRC+) across 170 trips to the plate in a bench role for the Dodgers last year while handling second base, shortstop, and center field as needed. It seems as though production during Spring Training didn’t factor into L.A.’s decision regarding their final bench spot, either; Kim slashed an incredible .407/.448/.519 in 30 spring plate appearances, while Freeland struggled during camp with a paltry .116/.286/.233 slash line across 56 plate appearances. Jack Harris of the California Post notes, however, that the Dodgers felt Freeland’s discipline (with 11 walks and 11 strikeouts) was impressive and that Kim struggled with his mechanics during and after his stint with South Korea in the World Baseball Classic.
It’s also plausible that the decision to roster Freeland is about getting him an opportunity while there’s a relatively clear shot at regular playing time. Edman is expected to begin the year on the injured list, and while his stay may not be very long it could still allow Freeland to get consistent MLB playing time for a couple weeks. That could be hard to come by on the club’s roster once Edman returns from the shelf, and the Dodgers have at times had prospects struggle to break through due to lack of opportunities in this past. If that’s the case, it’s not hard to imagine Kim being the next man up for a bench role in the event Espinal or Rojas either struggles or heads to the injured list. Whatever the Dodgers’ exact reasoning may be, Kim will open the season at Triple-A for the second season in a row and look to stay ready for when a big league opportunity eventually does arrive.
Nationals To Acquire Jorbit Vivas
The Nationals are acquiring infielder Jorbit Vivas from the Yankees, according to a report from Andrew Golden of The Baltimore Banner. Pitching prospect Sean Paul Linan is headed back to New York in exchange for Vivas’s services.
Vivas, 25, made his big league debut with the Yankees last year. He hit .161/.266/.250 for the club across 66 plate appearances last year while splitting time between second and third base in a bench role for the club, though there’s reason to believe he’s a good bit better than that small sample might suggest. His xwOBA of .304 is much closer to league average, and a lackluster .190 BABIP surely limited his production in the majors last year. He hit quite well for the Yankees when at Triple-A last season as well, with a .270/.389/.364 (110 wRC+) line in 100 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The youngster is now headed to the Nationals, where he should have a much better opportunity to get playing time at the big league level. With Amed Rosario, Jose Caballero, Ryan McMahon, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all on the roster, Anthony Volpe set to return from the injured list early in the year, and players like Oswaldo Cabrera and Paul DeJong at Triple-A, it seems likely that Vivas would have wound up buried on the Yankees’ infield depth chart this year. There’s no such fear with the Nationals, who are in the midst of a rebuild and will be relying on Brady House, Nasim Nunez, and Jose Tena to cover second and third base with CJ Abrams locking down shortstop.
In return for Vivas’s services, the Yankees pick up the right-handed Linan. The 21-year-old Colombia native signed with the Dodgers as an amateur back in 2022 and was acquired by the Nationals as part of the Alex Call deal at last year’s trade deadline. Linan had an up-and-down season with the Dodgers and Nationals in the minors last year, with a 3.03 ERA across three levels of the minors, but he finished well enough with five innings of one-run ball in the Arizona Fall League. Linan seems likely to begin the 2022 season at Double-A for the Yankees and has served mostly as a starter throughout his career, but the 27th-ranked prospect in the Nationals’ farm per MLB Pipeline lacks a second standout offering to pair with his elite changeup and struggled with control in brief looks at both Triple-A and the AFL. That could portend a move to relief in Linan’s future, which might be able to help him advance to the upper levels of the minors more quickly.
Guardians Select Codi Heuer, Re-Sign Pedro Avila To MiLB Deal
The Guardians announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Codi Heuer and optioned him to Triple-A. The Guardians had space available on their 40-man roster, so a corresponding move was not necessary to complete the transaction. In addition, the club announced that they’ve re-signed right-hander Pedro Avila to a minor league deal.
Heuer, 29, was a sixth-round pick by the White Sox back in 2018. He made it to the majors with Chicago during the shortened 2020 campaign and impressed with a 1.52 ERA in 21 appearances, but struggled early in the 2021 season. He was ultimately shipped across town to the Cubs as part of the Craig Kimbrel/Nick Madrigal trade at the 2021 trade deadline, and seemed to regain some of his earlier success upon arriving in Chicago with a 3.14 ERA in 25 appearances down the stretch. Heuer was in strong position to be a key piece of the bullpen on the north side of Chicago as they entered their rebuild.
That wasn’t meant to be, however, as Spring Training 2022 set off a series of injury-marred campaigns for the right-hander. Heuer underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 and followed that up by suffering a broken elbow midway through the 2023 season, while he was still rehabbing from surgery. He made just 15 appearances total from 2022-24 before finally returning to health as a member of the Rangers in 2025. Between the Rangers and Tigers organizations, Heuer posted a 3.14 ERA in 48 2/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level and struck out 30.5% of his opponents. The results at the major league level didn’t return right away, however, and the righty surrendered three runs, all earned across 4 2/3 innings in the majors last year.
He returned to the open market this offseason and caught on with the Guardians on a minor league deal. He struggled this spring, with a 9.00 ERA in eight innings of work, but did strike out 11 against five walks. It was an intriguing enough performance to Cleveland that they decided to add him to their 40-man roster before the season begins, though Heuer will still begin the year at Triple-A as an up-and-down depth option rather than as part of the Opening Day roster. If Heuer can produce at a level similar to what he offered at Triple-A last year, it seems like a safe bet to expect to see him in the majors with the Guardians sometime this year.
In other Guardians bullpen news, right-hander Pedro Avila is returning to the club on a minor league pact after previously being released by the club to pursue other opportunities when he did not make the roster. Avila evidently decided that his best opportunity to make it back to the majors is with Cleveland on a minor league pact, and so he’ll head to Triple-A alongside Heuer and wait for a big league opportunity as a non-roster veteran. Avila has five years of major league experience under his belt, mostly with the Padres, but joined the Guardians during the 2024 season and posted a solid 3.25 ERA across 50 appearances for the club. He spent 2025 with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yakult Swallows before returning to the Guardians on a split contract back in December. He pitched solidly in Spring Training, with a 3.24 ERA across 8 1/3 innings of work, but his paltry 11.8% strikeout rate likely stopped the Guardians from including him in their Opening Day roster mix.
Mike Tauchman To Undergo Surgery After Meniscus Tear
Veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman has suffered a meniscus tear, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. The injury will require surgery, though a timeline for his return to action has not yet been announced.
It’s devastating news for the 35-year-old, who signed with the Mets this offseason on a minor league deal. Tauchman entered camp as the primary competition for top prospect Carson Benge as the club’s starting right fielder, but played so well in Spring Training (with a .241/.371/.448 slash line across 13 spring games) that he was in serious consideration for a roster spot even as Benge began to prove he was ready for the majors. Now, any hope of contributing to the Mets (or any other club) this year will be put on hold for the foreseeable future. Meniscus surgery can require only a few weeks of recovery for minor procedures, but more significant injuries often take months of recovery and can even be season-ending. With minimal information about the severity of Tauchman’s injury known, it’s possible a more clear timeline for his return won’t be clear until he goes under the knife.
A tenth-round pick by the Rockies back in 2013, Tauchman made it to the majors in 2017 but first received widespread attention as a member of the Yankees during the 2019 season. Tauchman burst onto the scene alongside other little-known players like Gio Urshela and Luke Voit to help carry New York to a 103-win season, though they ultimately lost the ALCS to the Astros in six games. Tauchman’s performance that year was one to remember, as he slashed an incredible .277/.361/.504 with 13 homers and 18 doubles in just 87 games. When Tauchman struggled during the 2020 and ’21 seasons, it was easy to view his strong 2019 campaign as little more than a blip. He departed stateside ball in 2022 to play for the KBO’s Hanhwa Eagles, and that year went well enough for him that the Cubs decided to take a shot on him with a minor league deal.
Tauchman’s tenure with the Cubs revived his MLB career headed into his mid-30s. The then-32-year-old aptly filled in for Cody Bellinger in center field when the star was injured and wound up making himself a key piece of Chicago’s offense for the 2023-24 seasons. He hit .250/.360/.372 (109 wRC+) across 217 games on the north side, but saw his role shrink in 2024 with the emergence of star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and ultimately found himself squeezed off the roster by the addition of Kyle Tucker during the 2024-25 offseason. After being non-tendered by the Cubs, Tauchman headed to the south side to play for the White Sox and managed to continue his resurgence there. While injuries limited Tauchman to just 93 games with the White Sox, he hit an impressive .263/.356/.400 (115 wRC+) and was a surprising non-tender for Chicago this past offseason.
Tauchman seemed to be in good position to impact an outfield-needy club this offseason for a relatively low cost, and while the Mets were the team to take advantage of his availability it seems they won’t be able to benefit from his on-base skills and steady bat for at least the start of the season. With Tauchman sidelined, utility man Vidal Brujan could be the favorite to take the last spot on the Mets’ bench headed into Opening Day while Benge will surely get every opportunity to establish himself in right field for New York.