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Rockies Have Spoken With Adam Ottavino About Top Front Office Job

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Rockies owner Dick Monfort has spoken with longtime big league reliever Adam Ottavino about the team’s top front office vacancy, reports Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. (That’ll presumably be a general manager but the title could change based on whomever they hire.) Meanwhile, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reports that Guardians’ assistant general manager Matt Forman and Diamondbacks’ AGM Amiel Sawdaye — previously reported to be finalists for the position — are now out of the running.

It’s unclear how seriously the Rockies are considering Ottavino as a candidate to run baseball operations. The 39-year-old not only has no front office experience of any kind, he’s still technically an active player. Ottavino pitched in the majors with the Yankees as recently as this past April. He made three appearances before electing free agency. He spent the rest of the season as a free agent but has not officially announced his retirement.

Ottavino has long been expected to find a front office or coaching role once he concluded his playing career. He was well-versed in using analytics as a pitching development tool. He’s also media savvy and has frequently appeared as a guest analyst on the MLB Network over the offseason. Still, it’d be shocking if a team hired him as their top decision-maker before he gets any kind of post-playing experience.

The Rockies have been one of the sport’s most insular organizations with front office and coaching hirings. They’ve already announced that they would not promote from within this time around. Ottavino would be an outside-the-box hire, but he also has close ties to the franchise and to Monfort. He has spent almost half of his MLB career in Denver. He posted a 3.41 earned run average over 361 appearances with the Rockies between 2012-18.

Ottavino is personally familiar with the challenges of pitching (and succeeding) at Coors Field. He discussed exactly that in an MLB Network appearance in May. It makes sense that the Rockies would want him in a front office role of some kind, yet a GM hire would obviously be a massive amount of responsibility.

There doesn’t appear to be a clear timetable for the Rockies to install anyone at the top of baseball operations. Forman and Sawdaye were the only two known remaining candidates coming into today. Ghiroli writes that they were indeed the only two finalists as of last week. It seems they’re now branching back out.

Tyler O’Neill Declines Opt-Out Chance; Orioles Decline Jorge Mateo’s Club Option

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Outfielder Tyler O’Neill is staying in Baltimore. He could have opted out of the final two years of his contract, walking away from $33MM, but Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reports that he will forgo that chance and stay with the Orioles. In other Baltimore contract news, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reports that the club will turn down their $5.5MM club option on infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, who will become a free agent.

Neither decision is a major surprise. O’Neill, 31 in June, signed a three-year, $49.5MM deal with the O’s last winter, with that deal giving him a chance to opt out after the first season. At the time, he was coming off a solid 31-homer season with the Red Sox. However, he had a lengthy injury history. The deal was hopefully going to give the O’s a potent bat while O’Neill could return to the open market if he had a healthy and productive season.

It did not work out as hoped. O’Neill had multiple IL stints due to neck, shoulder and wrist injuries. He only got into 54 games and put up a dismal .199/.292/.392 line in those. After that performance, he wasn’t going to top $33MM, so he’ll stay with the O’s for another two seasons.

Baltimore’s outfield picture should look different next year, as they traded Cedric Mullins and Ramón Laureano at the deadline. Going into next year, O’Neill is in the mix for playing time alongside Colton Cowser, Dylan Beavers, Jeremiah Jackson and others. It’s also possible the Orioles give O’Neill lots of time as the designated hitter to keep him off the IL, though they also might want to have catchers Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo sharing the DH spot. Basallo can play first but the O’s also have Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle in the mix there, unless Mountcastle is traded or non-tendered.

Mateo, 31 in June, has been with the O’s since 2021. He’s never been much of a hitter but has been a useful bench/utility piece thanks to his ability to steal bases and play multiple positions. 2025 was his final year of arbitration. He and the O’s avoided arb by agreeing to a $3.55MM salary with a $5.5MM club option for 2026.

However, 2025 was mostly a lost season for Mateo. He underwent left elbow surgery in August of 2024. Inflammation in that elbow put him back on the shelf in June of this year. While on a rehab assignment in July, he suffered a hamstring strain that kept him out of action until September.

Around all those injuries, Mateo got into 43 games and hit .177/.217/.266, so the O’s have made the easy decision to move on. He’ll become a free agent for the first time in his career. The O’s could bring him back at a lower price point or even on a minor league deal. Other clubs might also be interested in him as a depth add on a minor league pact or a modest big league deal for a utility role.

Photo courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images

Lucas Giolito Declines Mutual Option

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Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito has declined his end of a $19MM mutual option, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. He’ll be paid a $1.5MM buyout and return to the open market in search of a new opportunity. The Red Sox will have the right to make him a $22.025MM qualifying offer, as Giolito has not previously received a QO in his career.

Giolito signed a two-year, $38.5MM deal with the Red Sox on the heels of a disappointing platform with the White Sox. He’d posted excellent results from 2019-21 and cemented himself as one of the sport’s most durable starters before logging back-to-back ERAs near 5.00 in 2022-23. Giolito, 32 next July, had hoped to bounce back in Boston and take an opt-out in his contract last offseason.

Instead, the clock struck midnight on the durable right-hander’s arm. He tore the UCL in his pitching elbow during spring training 2024 and didn’t pitch a single inning inning that year. Giolito naturally forwent the opt-out in his contract and returned to Boston for the 2025 season. He stumbled out of the gate, struggling so badly that for a few starts it looked like his entire two-year contract would go down as a bust. By early June, he had an ERA north of 6.00 through seven starts.

Giolito rebounded in terrific fashion, however. Beginning with six shutout innings against the Rays on June 10, he took off on an extended hot streak. From June 10 through season’s end, Giolito posted a 2.51 ERA in 111 1/3 innings. His 20.3% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate in that stretch were both worse than average, and his .244 average on balls in play showed plenty of good fortune. Even with some expected regression in his ERA, Giolito looked like a solid mid-rotation starter who’d take a place in Boston’s postseason rotation — at least until the next roadblock arose.

On Sept. 29, manager Alex Cora announced that Giolito was dealing with an elbow issue and would not be on the team’s roster in the Wild Card round of postseason play. The next day, the team indicated that Giolito was unlikely to return at all in 2025, regardless of how deep the Sox advanced in the postseason field. While his surgically repaired UCL was intact, the veteran righty was hobbled by flexor irritation and a bone issue in his elbow.

The Sox had a $14MM club option on Giolito for the 2026 season that they might still have exercised even after the elbow troubles, but when he completed his 140th frame of the season — Giolito totaled 145 innings overall — that option vested instead as a $19MM mutual option. Players tend to make the first call with regard to mutual options, and Giolito is seemingly confident enough in his health that he’ll turn down a net $17.5MM to once again test free agency.

His decision to decline the mutual option also forces the Red Sox into a decision on whether to issue a qualifying offer. They exceeded the luxury tax line in 2025, so they’d only net a compensatory pick after the fourth round of the 2026 draft if Giolito declined and signed elsewhere. That minimal compensation, coupled with more elbow troubles for Giolito, might be enough for the Sox to forgo extending a QO in the first place. If they do, however, Giolito will again have a decision to make — this time on a sum that clocks in a bit over $3MM north of his prior option price. Add in the buyout he’s owed for declining, and a QO could at least net him $4.525MM over the value of the option he declined today.

With Giolito headed toward the market — or at least somewhat up in the air — the Sox project for a rotation including Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and a handful of question marks. Top prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early impressed late in the season but only have a handful of MLB starts between them. Kutter Crawford missed the entire season due to knee and wrist injuries (the latter of which required surgery). Patrick Sandoval didn’t pitch in 2025 after signing a two-year deal on the heels of his 2024 UCL procedure, but he’ll be in the mix next year. Tanner Houck had Tommy John surgery in August and is likely a nonfactor in 2026.

Given all the uncertainty in the ’pen, the Sox are expected to pursue rotation help this winter. That could include a reunion with Giolito, but there are plenty of options for them to peruse on both the free agent and trade markets.

Ha-Seong Kim Opts Out Of Braves Deal

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Middle infielder Ha-Seong Kim is opting out of his deal with the Braves, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He passes on a $16MM salary to return to the open market.

It’s a disappointing but not entirely unexpected development for Atlanta. The Braves claimed Kim off waivers from the Rays at the beginning of September. They weren’t competing but hoped to lock in their starting shortstop for the ’26 season. They instead wound up taking on the remaining $2MM of Kim’s 2025 salary for the final month of a lost season.

Maybe that’ll still turn out to be a worthwhile decision. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said in September he hoped that getting Kim acclimated with the Atlanta organization and clubhouse would give them a leg up even if the infielder decided to head back to free agency. They’ll certainly make an effort to bring him back, but Nick Allen is atop the depth chart at shortstop for the time being.

For the second straight winter, Kim hits free agency with significant questions. He had an outside shot at a nine-figure deal over the 2024-25 offseason until he suffered a labrum tear in his right shoulder in August. Kim required season-ending surgery, leading the Padres to decline to issue him a qualifying offer. He signed a two-year deal with the Rays that guaranteed $29MM and allowed him to retest the market after one year.

Kim’s rehab from the shoulder procedure carried into July. He’d wind up going back on the injured list twice more as he battled lower back issues. Those stints were brief, but his time in Tampa Bay consisted of 24 games with a .214/.290/.321 batting line. It’s certainly not what the Rays wanted for what amounted to nearly $11MM on their part. They were happy to shed the contract in the final month, getting them off the hook for the ’26 option.

The brief stint in Atlanta was a little more encouraging. Kim played 24 games with the Braves. He hit three homers with a .253/.316/.368 slash in 98 trips to the plate. That included a 10-game hit streak in the middle of September, though he recorded only two hits in 25 plate appearances in the final week of the season. He concluded with a .234/.304/.345 line across 191 trips to the plate.

Kim’s camp nevertheless feels he’ll be able to find a multi-year contract that is preferable to the $16MM option. They’ll be aided by the lack of middle infield alternatives on the open market. Assuming Trevor Story doesn’t opt out of the two years and $55MM remaining on his contract with Boston, Kim would be the second-best free agent shortstop after Bo Bichette.

He’ll hit the market without any draft compensation, as the Braves are not permitted to make a qualifying offer because he changed teams midseason. Kim could try to max out on a three-year deal or look for another two-year pact with an opt-out similar to the one he got from Tampa Bay. His old team in San Diego could look for a shortstop to push Xander Bogaerts back to second base. The Giants, Tigers, Royals, Pirates and Brewers are other clubs that look for help at one or both middle infield positions.

Wandy Peralta Will Not Opt Out Of Padres Deal

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Veteran reliever Wandy Peralta will forgo the opt-out in his contract, reports Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Peralta’s four-year, $16.5MM contract contained opt-out opportunities after each season. He’s exercising a $4.45MM player option for the 2026 season and will have one final player option for the same amount next offseason.

Peralta effectively has two years and $8.9MM remaining on his contract, with an opt-out at the midway point. He might’ve had a chance to beat that in free agency on the back of a 3.14 ERA in a career-high 71 2/3 innings, but it’s far from a sure thing. The 34-year-old doesn’t exactly have age on his side, and this year’s 20.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate were both a fair bit worse than the league average.

Peralta still throws hard, sitting 95-96 mph with his sinker, and piles up grounders at a near-60% clip, but he’s worked primarily in low- and medium-leverage spot since signing with San Diego. He’ll stay put and once again be a heavily used piece of the Friars’ bullpen picture.

The Padres boast a deep bullpen, headlined by deadline acquisition Mason Miller. Closer Robert Suarez opted out of the remaining two years on his contract earlier today. Assuming they keep Miller in the ’pen — they’ve reportedly at least considered moving him into the rotation — he’ll be supported by Peralta, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada and standout rookie David Morgan. The Padres will have a notable decision to make on excellent setup man Jason Adam, who is projected for a $6.8MM salary in arbitration but suffered a ruptured quadriceps tendon in September, which required season-ending surgery.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Exercises Player Option

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Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has triggered his player option, per Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Gurriel will return to the Diamondbacks next year and will make a $13MM salary. His deal also contains a $14MM club option for 2027 with a $5MM buyout, so he’d have to have topped $18MM in free agency to come out ahead in an opt-out scenario. Given that Gurriel tore his ACL in early September and is staring down a recovery period of nine or ten months, there’s no way that was going to happen.

As such, Gurriel will return for what’ll be a fourth season in Arizona. The former Jays outfielder was traded to the D-backs prior to the 2023 season, his final year of contractual control, and returned to the Snakes on a three-year, $42MM deal with an opt-out. He had a solid 2024 showing and a lackluster 2025 campaign prior to his injury. Overall, in three seasons as a Diamondback, Gurriel has taken 1691 turns at the plate and logged a .263/.309/.439 batting line (103 wRC+) with 61 homers, 81 doubles, six triples and 22 steals (in 27 attempts). He won’t be an option for them until next summer, based on the provided timetable for his recovery.

With Gurriel on the shelf to begin the year, Arizona’s outfield mix includes Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy and Blaze Alexander. McCarthy is a non-tender candidate, and Thomas stands as a change-of-scenery candidate after part of four underwhelming seasons for the former top prospect. The Snakes have been getting longtime infield prospect Jordan Lawlar some reps in center field, and he could be considered for outfield work next year as a result.

Of course, the Diamondbacks will be on the lookout for some outfield additions this winter as well. Starting pitching and bullpen help will presumably be a larger focus, but the struggles of McCarthy and Thomas, coupled with Gurriel’s injury, create enough uncertainty that some external help feels all but certain.

Looking longer-term, if Gurriel returns to form whenever he’s reinstated next summer, he’ll have the chance to set himself up for a fifth year in Phoenix. The $5MM buyout on that $14MM option makes it a net $9MM decision for the team. That’s an affordable rate if Gurriel can approximate the .276/.322/.442 batting line he posted in 540 games between Toronto and Arizona from 2021-24.

Pete Alonso Opts Out Of Mets Contract

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Pete Alonso has officially opted out of his contract with the Mets, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He declines a $24MM player option and heads back to free agency.

Alonso announced that he’d be doing this as soon as the season ended. There was never much intrigue anyhow. Last offseason’s two-year pillow deal was always designed to get him back to the market this winter. He collected $30MM for the first season — a $10MM signing bonus and $20MM salary — and now takes another shot at finding the long-term deal that didn’t materialize last winter.

The five-time All-Star should be better positioned this time around. He’s coming off a .272/.347/.524 showing with 38 home runs and an NL-leading 41 doubles across 709 plate appearances. Alonso’s 2024 had been a relative down season by his standards, as he’d hit .240/.329/.459 with 34 round-trippers. Last winter also saw his market dragged down by the qualifying offer. That’s not on the table this time. The collective bargaining agreement prevents a player from receiving more than one QO in his career.

Alonso will slot behind Kyle Schwarber and probably NPB superstar Munetaka Murakami as the best power bats in the class. He’s atop the list of free agent first basemen, which also includes Josh Naylor, Ryan O’Hearn, Luis Arraez, Josh Bell, Paul Goldschmidt and Rhys Hoskins. There’ll be teams that prefer Murakami as a first baseman rather than at third base, which has been his primary home with the Yakult Swallows in Japan. Another NBP corner infielder, Kazuma Okamoto, is also coming over via the posting system.

Alonso’s opt-out is one of three resolved option decisions for the Mets so far. Edwin Díaz is also opting out, while A.J. Minter exercised his $11MM player option as he works back from lat surgery. They’re still awaiting official word from Frankie Montas, but he’s obviously going to lock in his $17MM player option after undergoing elbow surgery in August. The Mets could simply release Montas at that point to open a roster spot, but there’s no escaping the money. The team still has to decide on options for Brooks Raley ($4.75MM or a $350K buyout) and Drew Smith ($2MM).

Marlins Promote Gabe Kapler To General Manager

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The Marlins announced a series of promotions in their baseball operations department today. Most notable among them was assistant general manager Gabe Kapler being promoted to general manager, making him the front office’s #2 behind president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. In addition, scouting director Frankie Piliere was promoted to vice president of amateur forecasting and player evaluation initiatives, while Vinesh Kanthan was promoted from director of baseball operations to senior director of baseball operations.

Kapler, 50, has had one of the more unique baseball trajectories. He played in the majors from 1998 to 2010, with a brief stint in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in there as well. He pivoted to coaching in 2007, serving as a minor league manager in the Red Sox’ system, before resuming his playing career for a few more years.

In 2014, officially done his playing days this time, he joined the Dodgers as director of player development. A few years later, going into 2018, the Phillies hired him to be their new manager. He took over a rebuilding club and got them up to around the .500 level but was fired after two years. He then quickly got the managerial gig in San Francisco, again taking over a club that had been losing for years. The Giants went 29-31 in 2020 but then had a miraculous 107-win season in 2021, which led to Kapler winning Manager of the Year honors. Then the Giants slumped back down to the .500 level in the next two seasons. He was fired towards the end of the 2023 campaign.

It was then that the Marlins brought Kapler aboard as assistant general manager. The Marlins had just snuck into the playoffs in 2023 but Bendix clearly didn’t have faith in the sustainability of that roster. When they got out to a slow start in 2024, he quickly pivoted to sell mode. The Fish have had losing records in each of the past two seasons but with some progress shown in 2025. They went from 62 wins in 2024 to 79 this year.

It’s impossible to say how much credit Kapler deserves for the progress in Miami but Bendix presumably is happy with his contributions. Bendix will continue running the front office but there are other reasons for Kapler’s promotion. Kapler’s bump presumably comes with a pay raise. It also makes it so other organizations can’t poach him by offering him the general manager title. Teams generally let their employees pursue promotions but not lateral moves.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images

Cody Bellinger Opts Out Of Yankees’ Deal

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Outfielder Cody Bellinger has opted out of his contract with the Yankees, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Bellinger had one year and $25MM remaining on his deal. He’ll take the $5MM buyout instead.

Bellinger signed a three-year, $80MM contract with the Cubs ahead of the 2024 season. The deal included opt-outs after each year. Bellinger did not opt out after 2024. He was traded to the Yankees for Cody Poteet that offseason. Chicago also sent cash in the deal, paying $2.5MM of Bellinger’s 2025 salary and another $2.5MM that will now go toward the $5MM buyout.

Bellinger bounced back from a pedestrian season with the Cubs to post a strong 2025 in New York. The friendly confines of Yankee Stadium helped the lefty launch 29 home runs, his most since his 2019 NL MVP season. Bellinger slashed .272/.334/.480 while also grading out as a strong defender.

The standout season in the Bronx made Bellinger’s opt-out decision an easy one. He’ll hit the market as a 30-year-old still capable of playing all three outfield positions and first base. His camp is likely looking for at least a five-year commitment with an asking price above $100MM. Bellinger is not eligible to receive a qualifying offer, since he received one from the Cubs following the 2023 season. The Yankees can’t extend the QO and will not receive compensation if he signs with another team.

Bellinger joins Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso as top bats entering the market after opting out of their current contracts. His next foray into free agency is likely to be more fruitful than his previous attempts. After a pair of injury-plagued years, the Dodgers cut him loose following the 2022 season. Bellinger latched on with the Cubs on a one-year deal for 2023. He earned NL Comeback Player of the Year honors, but the market remained skeptical. Bellinger returned to the Cubs on the aforementioned three-year deal, and didn’t perform well enough in 2024 for an opt-out to be a logical choice. Chicago’s acquisition of Kyle Tucker made a trade seem inevitable, and New York was able to acquire him for a minimal return.

New York’s outfield could look quite different in 2026. Bellinger is joining Trent Grisham in free agency, leaving the Yankees with Aaron Judge, Jasson Dominguez, and then plenty of question marks. Top prospect Spencer Jones is a candidate to earn a job next season. The young lefty could provide the power/speed element that New York would be losing with the Bellinger departure. Grisham is a candidate to receive a qualifying offer, and the roughly $22MM could be enough to entice him back after a career-high 34 home runs.

Edwin Díaz Opts Out Of Mets’ Deal

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Right-hander Edwin Díaz has opted out of his deal with the Mets, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He was still guaranteed two years and $38MM but will head to the open market in search of more. Díaz becomes the second premier closer to opt out on Monday, joining Robert Suarez.

Díaz signed a five-year, $102MM contract with the Mets following the 2022 season. A knee injury in the World Baseball Classic cost him all of 2023, but he returned to deliver elite results over the past two seasons, tallying 48 saves with a strikeout rate above 38%. Díaz earned his third All-Star nomination this past season.

New York acquired Díaz and second baseman Robinson Cano from Seattle in a December 2018 trade. He was coming off a league-leading 57 saves with the Mariners. Díaz’s first campaign with the Mets was rocky, as he scuffled to a 5.59 ERA over 58 innings. The underlying numbers (3.22 xERA, 3.07 xFIP) suggested he pitched better than the final results. Díaz got back on track in the shortened 2020 season, though the Mets’ last-place team didn’t afford him many save chances. He closed out exactly 32 games in each of the next two seasons. Díaz piled up 96 saves in his first four years with the Mets.

Díaz landed a nine-figure deal in his first taste of free agency. The 31-year-old enters a jam-packed reliever market that includes Suarez,  Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley, and Raisel Iglesias as the top options, plus a slew of capable veterans.

The Mets have a handful of internal options to replace Díaz if they aren’t able to re-sign him this time around. A.J. Minter is exercising his player option to remain with the team. He’s been solid when healthy, though he’s undergone season-ending surgery in consecutive years. Adbert Alzolay saved 22 games for the Cubs in 2023, but had Tommy John surgery in 2024 and missed all of the 2025 season.

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