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Orioles Acquire Andrew Kittredge From Cubs

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The Orioles have reunited with Andrew Kittredge, as the team announced that the right-hander has been acquired from the Cubs in exchange for cash considerations.  While not mentioned in the Orioles’ press release, it can be assumed that the O’s will be exercising Kittredge’s $9MM club option for the 2026 season rather than swinging a trade for the reliever just to buy him out for $1MM.

Last January, Kittredge came to Baltimore for the first time when he signed a one-year deal worth $10MM in guaranteed money — a $9MM salary for 2025, and the $1MM in buyout money.  A debridement procedure in his left knee delayed Kittredge’s 2025 debut until late May, but he was in fine form afterwards, and he became an obvious trade candidate when the O’s fell out of contention.  The result was a deal to the Cubs at the trade deadline, with Baltimore netting infield prospect Wilfri De La Cruz in return.

Kittredge’s overall numbers were even better in Chicago after the trade, and he made five appearances for the Cubs in the postseason.  For 2025 as a whole, Kittredge posted a 3.40 ERA and a superb set of advanced metrics.  His 30.8% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate each sat in the 92nd percentile of all pitchers, his 49.2% grounder rate was far above average, and his 41.6% chase rate was the best of any pitcher in baseball.

Today’s trade means that the Orioles have now gotten Kittredge and De La Cruz in their organization, plus they saved roughly $2.8MM in salary when the Cubs took on the remainder of Kittredge’s 2025 salary.  Had everything gone to plan for Baltimore this season, the team surely had an eye towards exercising Kittredge’s club option anyway, so they’ll now get to make that decision after all and address a bullpen need.

Felix Bautista will miss most or all of the 2026 season recovering from shoulder surgery, plus Kittredge was one of several relievers dealt away by the Orioles at the deadline.  Even with Kittredge’s contributions, Baltimore’s bullpen was one of the weakest in the league in 2025, and rebuilding the relief core seems to be one of the club’s top priorities this offseason.

From the Cubs’ perspective, passing the buck (literally and figuratively) on Kittredge’s club option seems like an unusual move.  While Kittredge is entering his age-36 season and Chicago has traditionally been wary about overspending on relief pitching, $9MM seems like a fairly safe investment given how well Kittredge performed in 2025.  The Wrigleyville bullpen was quite solid this year, yet since many names from that group are free agents, exercising Kittredge’s club option would’ve been a way for the Cubs to partially solidify things early in the winter.

Since Shota Imanaga’s three-year club option was also declined by the Cubs earlier today, quite a bit of projected money has now been cleared off the team’s books between Imanaga and Kittredge.  As per RosterResource, Chicago has an estimated 2026 payroll of roughly $148.3MM and a luxury tax number of $164MM — well below their $206.4MM payroll and $227.3MM tax figure from 2025.  While Wrigleyville fans have a right to be concerned over how much ownership is willing to spend, this situation could mean that the Cubs are making room for a bigger-ticket acquisition or two this offseason.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Jarren Duran

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The Red Sox announced that they have agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Jarren Duran for the 2026 season.  MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith reports that Duran will earn $7.7MM in 2026, with another $75K available in bonus money.

The move technically counts as an arbitration-avoiding signing since Duran is under arb control through 2028, though the Red Sox signed him to a one-year deal last winter that contained an $8MM club option for 2026.  Boston has now declined that option, paid Duran a $100K buyout, and then inked this new deal that will ultimately save the club a bit of money.  The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reports that Duran will earn a $25K bonus if he reaches 450 plate appearances, and then another $25K for each of the 500-PA and 550-PA thresholds.

MLB Trade Rumors’ Matt Swartz projected Duran for an $8.4MM salary in his second winter of arb-eligibility, but going to a hearing never seemed likely due to the existence of Boston’s club option.  Duran is a Super Two player and thus has four arb years instead of the usual three, so he should continue to earn significant raises in his arbitration years if he keeps producing consistent results.

Duran hit .256/.332/.442 with 16 homers and 24 steals over 696 PA this season, and led the American League with 13 triples.  While a 111 wRC+ and 3.9 fWAR are more than respectable, it did represent a notable step back from the 131 wRC+ and 6.8 fWAR that Duran posted in 2024.

Beyond his on-field results, the most notable aspect of Duran’s 2025 campaign have been the persistent trade rumors that have followed the outfielder for a few years now.  With Roman Anthony emerging as a force in his rookie year, there has been even more speculation that the Sox might trade from their outfield surplus (i.e. Duran, Wilyer Abreu, or perhaps Ceddanne Rafaela) to address other roster needs, likely starting pitching.  The existence of the club option means that the Red Sox probably had to get some kind of resolution on Duran’s 2026 salary done relatively quickly, yet this early settlement might also hint that the Sox wanted to remove one wrinkle in advance of any upcoming trade talks.

Orioles Sign Josh Walker To Major League Contract

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The Orioles announced that left-hander Josh Walker has been signed to a one-year Major League contract.  Salary terms weren’t announced, but Walker (who was already in Baltimore’s organization) was slated to earn a minimum MLB salary as a pre-arbitration player.

Like recent deals with Rico Garcia and Luis Vazquez, Walker’s new contract is likely meant to give Baltimore a little extra control over their services, and give other teams a little more reason to pause should the O’s designate Walker or the other for assignment over the course of the winter.  A slightly larger salary beyond the big league minimum might deter some clubs, and since Walker is out of minor league options, the Orioles will have to DFA him whenever (or if ever) they want to try and get Walker off the 40-man roster.

Walker has appeared in each of the last three Major League seasons, amassing a 6.59 ERA over 27 1/3 innings with the Mets and Blue Jays.  All three of his 2025 appearances in the Show came with Toronto, and the Jays traded Walker to the Phillies in late May.  The southpaw spent the rest of the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Phillies and Orioles, as Baltimore claimed Walker off waivers in August.

Walker’s MLB numbers and his 4.39 career ERA over 174 1/3 Triple-A innings are nothing to write home about, but he does have a 25.67% strikeout rate at the Triple-A level.  The Orioles seem to have liked what they saw from Walker during his brief time in the organization, and this new contract gives him a bit of a better chance of winning a bullpen job in Spring Training.

Reds Sign Keegan Thompson

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The Reds announced that they have signed Keegan Thompson to a one-year contract.  It is a Major League deal for the 30-year-old right-hander, and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer specifies the contract is a split deal that will pay Thompson $1.3MM for his time in the majors.  Another $100K in incentive bonuses is also available in the contract.

A career Cub since being drafted by Chicago in the third round of the 2017 draft, Thompson will now head elsewhere in the NL Central.  Thompson was a pretty decent reliever and even an occasional starter for the Cubs during the 2021-24 seasons, at least in terms of bottom line numbers.  The righty posted a 3.64 ERA over his 227 1/3 career innings in the majors, and his 3.94 SIERA wasn’t much higher.  Thompson had a respectable 23% strikeout rate but control was a bigger issue, as he had an 11.3% walk rate.

The Cubs seemed to fall out of favor with Thompson in the spring, as he was designated for assignment and then outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster.  The result was a 2025 season spent entirely in the minors, as Chicago didn’t select Thompson’s contract back to the active roster even when the team was hunting for bullpen reinforcements.  Thompson’s 4.50 ERA over 64 innings at Triple-A Iowa didn’t really help his case for a promotion, but he had a strong 29.5% strikeout rate and his walk rate was a more manageable 8.9%.

Thompson selected minor league free agency at season’s end.  He is out of minor league options, so that means the Reds will have to DFA and outright Thompson when and if they bring him to the active roster and then want to send him to the minors.  Now that Thompson has been outrighted, he has the right to elect free agency if he is ever outrighted again, though he would have to forfeit any guaranteed salary in that circumstance.

There’s not much risk for the Reds in bringing in Thompson as a low-cost depth option to at least check out during spring camp.  The split contract also gives the team a bit more flexibility in moving Thompson to the minors at least on the financial side, apart from the out-of-options hurdle.  Thompson is also arbitration-controlled through the 2027 season.

Frankie Montas Won’t Opt Out Of Final Year Of Mets Contract

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The Mets announced their full slate of option decisions, including the previously-unreported (but completely unsurprising) news that Frankie Montas won’t be triggering the opt-out clause in his contract.  The two-year, $34MM contract Montas signed last offseason allowed the right-hander to walk away from the deal after the first season, but Montas will stay put and earn another $17MM salary in 2026.

Shoulder surgery wiped out almost all of Montas’ 2023 season, and he returned to action to post a 4.84 ERA over 150 2/3 innings with the Reds and Brewers in 2024.  Despite the high ERA and some lackluster peripherals, Montas still landed the $34MM guarantee in free agency, with the Mets investing in their belief that Montas could fully rebound to his past status as a front-of-the-rotation arm with the A’s.

Instead, Montas delivered only a 6.28 ERA over 38 2/3 innings in 2025.  Things got off to a rough start in Spring Training when Montas suffered a lat strain that delayed his season debut until June, and he then pitched so poorly that the Mets moved him to the bullpen.  More major injury problems then emerged in late August, when Montas underwent a UCL-related surgery.  The specific type of the surgery isn’t known, but Montas will be out until August 2026 at the earliest if he underwent “only” a brace procedure, and a full Tommy John procedure will sideline him the entirety of the 2026 campaign.

Needless to say, it was a pretty easy call for Montas to remain in his Mets contract.  Regardless of his health, he might have thrown his last pitch in a New York uniform anyway since the Mets may very well release the righty now that his option decision has been made.  The Mets can’t put Montas on the 60-day injured list until Spring Training begins, and the team could decide that having an open 40-man roster spot is more valuable than keeping Montas around.

Mariners Exercise Andres Munoz’s 2026 Club Option

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The Mariners exercised their $6MM club option on Andres Munoz’s services for the 2026 season, according to reporter Francys Romero.  The total value of the option is actually $7MM, as Munoz unlocked four $250K bonuses based on his number of games finished in 2025.

There was zero suspense in the Mariners’ decision, as Munoz has become one of baseball’s top closers.  An All-Star in each of the past two seasons, Munoz posted a 1.73 ERA and 32.7% strikeout rate over 62 1/3 innings while recording 38 saves.  While he has a penchant for issuing walks, that’s the only blemish on an otherwise excellent resume for the hard-throwing righty.

The four-year, $7.5MM extension Munoz signed with the Mariners back in November 2021 has proven to be quite a bargain for the team.  The guaranteed portion of the extension is now through, but the M’s still control Munoz through 2028 via three club option years.  The 2027 option is worth $8MM and the 2028 option is worth $10MM, with more bonus money available based on games finished.

Between exercising Munoz’s option and declining their end of Mitch Garver’s mutual option yesterday, the Mariners have already completed a pretty easy slate of club-related options.  The one remaining option outside of the team’s hands is Jorge Polanco’s $6MM player option for 2026, and it is expected that Polanco will choose to re-enter free agency on the heels of a strong season.

Mets Exercise Club Option On Brooks Raley, Decline Drew Smith’s Club Option

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The Mets have exercised their $4.75MM club option on left-hander Brooks Raley for the 2026 season, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.  New York also declined its $2MM club option on right-hander Drew Smith for 2026, as per an MLBPA media release that listed Smith as a new entry to the free agent market.

Raley and Smith were each working on one-year contracts with the Mets in the wake of Tommy John surgeries.  Raley underwent his procedure in May 2024 and didn’t officially sign until last April, inking a deal that paid him $1.5MM in salary for 2025 plus the $4.75MM club option for 2026 (with a $300K buyout).  Smith’s deal from last February paid him $1MM for the 2025 season, and there was no buyout on his $2MM club option.

Raley also earned himself a $250K roster bonus for making it back to New York’s active roster before the 2025 campaign was out, as the southpaw was able to return just after the All-Star break.  In even better news for all parties, Raley looked sharp in posting a 2.45 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, and a 6.1% walk rate over 25 2/3 innings out of the Amazins’ bullpen.

While a .212 BABIP contributed to Raley’s success and his K% was below the 29% mark he’d posted in five seasons with the Mets, it was still a very good showing for a 37-year-old pitcher coming off such a major arm surgery.  As such, it was expected that New York would exercise Raley’s option to officially bring the reliever back into the fold.  The Mets will have to address a lot of rotation and bullpen needs this winter, but Raley’s return at least checks off one box.

Smith underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery/brace procedure in July 2024 that ended up costing him the entirety of the 2025 campaign.  The righty’s rehab process went as far as some live batting-practice sessions, but Smith didn’t log any game action even in the minors.  Given the timing of Smith’s surgery and the fact that it is the second TJ procedure of his career, it isn’t surprising that Smith wasn’t able to make it back onto the field before season’s end.

It could be that another health issue has emerged that will delay Smith’s return even further, or the declined option could represent the Mets wanting a bit of extra flexibility.  Even if $2MM is a drop in their payroll bucket, the Mets might prefer keeping a 40-man roster spot open for now, and exploring another contract with Smith later in the winter.  Other teams could swoop in to negotiate with Smith in the interim, of course, but it could that Smith and the Mets have some sort of handshake deal to revisit talks once the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline is passed.

Smith has spent all six of his Major League seasons in a Mets uniform, posting a 3.48 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, and 9.3% walk rate over 196 1/3 career innings.  His control was becoming an issue over his last two seasons, yet in general, the 32-year-old Smith has been a solid bullpen arm capable of eating innings and providing reliable results.

Mets Acquire Joey Gerber

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The Mets have acquired right-hander Joey Gerber in a trade with the Rays, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports.  Tampa Bay will receive cash in return for Gerber, who was one of six players the Rays designated for assignment yesterday.

After making his big league debut in the form of 17 games and 15 2/3 innings of 4.02 ball with the Mariners in 2020, Gerber then missed virtually all of the next three seasons due to back surgery and a Tommy John surgery.  He resurfaced to pitch in the Yankees’ farm system in 2024, and a subsequent minor league deal with the Rays last winter paved the way for his return to the Show.  Gerber appeared in two games (4 1/3 innings) for the Rays in September, posting a 2.08 ERA.

There is still a bit of a “work in progress” aspect to Gerber’s performance in the wake of such an extended layoff, as reflected by his 6.23 ERA over 43 1/3 innings with Durham last season.  An inflated .351 BABIP and a lot of home run problems contributed to Gerber’s ERA, but he has a 26.74% strikeout rate over 57 1/3 total frames at the Triple-A level.

It was enough to pique the Mets’ interest, and president of baseball operations David Stearns has long had a reputation for seeking out undervalued relievers with intriguing stuff.  Gerber has a minor league option remaining, which gives the Mets some extra roster flexibility if he does happen to make the team.

Diamondbacks Decline Elvin Rodriguez’s Club Option

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The Diamondbacks declined their $1.35MM club option on right-hander Elvin Rodriguez for the 2026 season.  A press release from the MLBPA broke the news by adding Rodriguez to its updated list of free agents, and reporter Francys Romero added the detail that Rodriguez is already receiving interest from teams in Asia.

Rodriguez is no stranger to playing overseas, having already spent parts of the 2023-24 seasons in Japan with the Yakult Swallows.  He delivered a 2.77 ERA over 78 innings in Nippon Professional Baseball, which led to a one-year split contract with the Brewers last winter to mark his return to MLB.  The deal contained both the club option and a $900K salary for Rodriguez’s time in the majors in 2025, which ended up being 19 2/3 innings of 9.15 ERA ball with the Brewers and Orioles.

Milwaukee was dealing with a ton of rotation injuries early in the season, which opened the door for Rodriguez to make the Opening Day roster and make two starts over his six total appearances for the Brew Crew.  After being designated for assignment in July, the O’s claimed Rodriguez but DFA’ed him as well in early September, upon which Arizona stepped in for another waiver claim.  The Diamondbacks didn’t give Rodriguez any looks on their active roster, and his time in the organization will now end after four Triple-A appearances.

Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2022, and his total resume in the bigs consists of a 9.40 ERA over 52 2/3 total innings.  The righty allowed a whopping 21 homers within that small sample size, and keeping the ball in the park has been a consistent issue for Rodriguez even in his minor league career.  Notably, Rodriguez allowed just a single home run over 45 innings with the Swallows in 2024, which may be why he could again be considering leaving North American ball.  A deal with an international team would surely represent more guaranteed money for Rodriguez than a contract with an MLB team, as Rodriguez is likely facing just minor league offers this winter.

Shota Imanaga Becomes Free Agent

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Left-hander Shota Imanaga has become a free agent, according to a report from Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The Cubs declined their three-year, $57MM club option on Imanaga’s services for 2026-28, and Imanaga subsequently declined his $15MM player option for 2026.

It’s an outcome that would’ve seemed unthinkable just a few months ago. Signed out of Japan to a deal that was on paper a four-year, $53MM contract during the 2023-24 offseason that had the aforementioned complex option structure set to kick in after the 2025 campaign, Imanaga was nothing short of sensational for Chicago in his first year as an MLB pitcher last year. In 29 starts, he pitched to a 2.91 ERA with a 25.1% strikeout rate across 173 1/3 innings of work that earned him an All-Star appearance and a fifth-place finish in NL Cy Young award voting last year.

While that strong rookie campaign seemed to portend a long stay near the front of Chicago’s rotation for Imanaga, things started to unravel this year. Early in the season, he managed to get strong results despite shoddy peripherals, with a 2.82 ERA through eight starts despite a 4.59 FIP and a strikeout rate that had plummeted to just 18.8%. His season was abruptly put on hold by a hamstring injury that cost him nearly two months, and when he returned his strikeout rate continued to dip. He did manage to fire off seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts during his first start after the All-Star break, but from there he began a downward spiral where his results started to match his lackluster peripherals.

From July 25 through the end of the season, Imanaga made 12 starts where he surrendered a 5.17 ERA with a 5.42 FIP across 69 2/3 innings of work. His strikeout rate actually recovered a bit during this stretch, creeping back up to 23.2%, but he allowed an eye-popping 20 home runs in that stretch. Imanaga has always had trouble with the long ball, and even in his excellent 2024 campaign he allowed the tenth-most homers among qualified starters. This year, his 31 homers allowed were the fourth-most in all of baseball despite him pitching just 144 2/3 frames. That’s fewer innings than anyone else in the top 20 besides Tyler Anderson, who allowed 28 homers in 136 1/3 innings of work.

In spite of his lackluster season, a poll of MLBTR readers on September 10 suggested that more than 91% believed the Cubs should exercise his club option. From that point onward, what seemed at the time like a borderline call became more clear as he posted an 8.04 ERA in his final three regular season starts before posting an 8.10 ERA in the postseason and ultimately being passed over for a winner-take-all Game 5 start against the Brewers in the ALDS despite him being on regular rest. By that time, this outcome seemed far more likely. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes took a guess at Imanaga’s future in our Offseason Outlook coverage of the Cubs on October 22, and settled on the sides both declining their options and Imanaga heading into free agency.

From the Cubs’ perspective, moving on from Imanaga is understandable for a handful of reasons. By picking up his option, the Cubs would be counting on Imanaga to rebound into at least mid-rotation form for his age-32, -33, and -34 seasons. That might not seem like a bad bet to make, but it’s worth noting that Wrigley Field is notoriously fickle in terms of park factors thanks to the wind. In 2024, when Imanaga was at his best with the Cubs, Wrigley suppressed home runs at the fifth-highest rate in all of baseball according to Statcast. This year, that inverted to make the Friendly Confines the 11th-friendliest ballpark in baseball to home run hitters.

Perhaps Imanaga will be able to return to form elsewhere, particularly if he signs in a park with more consistent homer-suppressing tendencies, but it’s not hard to see why the Cubs wouldn’t want to commit to him long-term given that reality. That doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility that he’ll return to the Cubs at all; Rogers reports that it’s not yet clear if Chicago intends to extend Imanaga the qualifying offer. Recouping draft pick compensation for Imanaga if he departs would surely be attractive to the Cubs, and him accepting the QO may be preferable to having kept him on a three-year deal at a lower annual cost due to the short-term nature of the arrangement. With that said, the market has plenty of mid-rotation or better starters available this winter, and the Cubs might prefer to not risk Imanaga accepting the offer so they can reallocate those dollars to a starter they feel better fits their roster.

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