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Cubs Sign Nicky Lopez To Minor League Contract

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The Cubs have signed infielder Nicky Lopez, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.  The deal is a minor league pact, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers (multiple links) reports, and Lopez will make $1.5MM if he cracks the Cubs’ active roster.  Lopez is represented by Octagon.

Lopez heads from one side of the Windy City to the other, as he spent the 2024 season with the White Sox as a regular starter in the middle infield.  Beginning the season as the primary everyday second baseman, Lopez was shifted over into the shortstop role for much of July and August, before playing a little more sparingly down the stretch.  The Sox put Lopez on waivers at the end of August to see if another team would claim him (and the last $700K remaining on his $4.3MM salary) away, but there weren’t any takers.

Heading into his final year of arbitration eligibility, Lopez found himself outrighted off Chicago’s 40-man roster in November, and he chose to become a free agent instead of accepting the assignment.  The move was essentially a non-tender, as Lopez was projected for a $5.1MM salary in 2025 and the Sox obviously didn’t see him as part of their plans (at least at that price).

Lopez’s 2021 campaign with the Royals was the clear high point of his six MLB seasons, as he hit .300/.365/.378 over 565 plate appearances while also playing excellent shortstop defense, resulting in a 5.5 fWAR that ranked 13th among all players in baseball.  That 104 wRC+ (perhaps aided by a .347 BABIP) now looks like an outlier compared to the rest of Lopez’s offensive output, as he has only a 68 wRC+ over 1187 PA in the last three seasons.  That includes a 77 wRC+ from his .241/.312/.294 slash line in 445 PA with the White Sox in 2024.

The glovework has also fallen off since 2021, at least as a shortstop.  Lopez had -9 Defensive Runs Saved and a -5.5 UZR/150 in 344 2/3 innings at short last season, but -1 DRS and a +2.4 UZR/150 in the larger sample size of 640 1/3 innings at second base.  (The Outs Above Average metric liked Lopez’s work at both position, with a +4 as a second baseman and +1 as a shortstop.)

This solid work at the keystone is most pertinent for Lopez’s possible role in Wrigleyville.  Nico Hoerner’s availability for the start of the season is still unclear after the second baseman underwent flexor tendon surgery in October.  As of two weeks ago, Hoerner said he hadn’t yet started any hitting or throwing programs, so it would certainly seem like a season-opening IL stint might be in order for Hoerner to have more time to fully ramp up.

The Cubs already signed utilityman Jon Berti to a guaranteed contract, so Lopez’s addition on a minors deal gives the team more depth in the infield department.  Vidal Brujan (who is out of minor league options) was also acquired in a trade with the Marlins, and Rule 5 pick Gage Workman will have to remain on the active roster lest he be offered back to the Tigers.  Top prospect Matt Shaw is expected to get the first shot at the third base job in his rookie season, and between Shaw’s inexperience and Hoerner’s injury concern, the Cubs are giving themselves plenty of infield coverage to evaluate during Spring Training.

Fay Vincent Passes Away

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Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent passed away yesterday due to complications of bladder cancer, according to a report from George Vecsey of the New York Times earlier today. He was 86 years old. Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement about Vincent’s passing this afternoon in the aftermath of the report.

“Fay Vincent played a vital role in ensuring that the 1989 Bay Area World Series resumed responsibly following the earthquake prior to Game Three, and he oversaw the process that resulted in the 1993 National League expansion to Denver and Miami,” the statement reads. “Mr. Vincent served the game during a time of many challenges, and he remained proud of his association with our National Pastime throughout his life.  On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Fay’s family and friends.”

Vincent took over as commissioner on September 13, 1989, in the aftermath of former commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti’s sudden death due to a heart attack. Vincent was deputy commissioner at the time and almost immediately faced a major crisis when, as Manfred’s statement referenced, the 1989 World Series between the Giants and Athletics was forced to halt due to a major earthquake that wreaked havoc on the Bay Area. The World Series was paused for a week while the surrounding area rebuilt, but resumed a week later under the guidance of Vincent.

That was far from the only important moment during Vincent’s brief tenure as commissioner, however. Vincent took over as commissioner ahead of a fractious time for baseball when relations between the Players Association and ownership were more hostile than ever before. Vincent presided over a lockout in 1990 that delayed the start of the season but ultimately did not involve cancelled games, but in avoiding the loss of games Vincent lost the faith of the owners, who viewed him as too pro-player as he tried to mend relations between the league and the players’ union after the collusion scandal of the 1980s. The league’s owners gathered in September of 1992 and gave Vincent an 18-9 vote of no-confidence, and he was fired shortly thereafter before being replaced with then-Brewers owner Bud Selig. Famously, the sport went on to suffer through a protracted players’ strike and cancelled World Series in 1994 amid Selig’s attempts to implement a salary cap.

“I don’t want to work for these guys,” Vincent said of the owners in an interview with Tyler Kepner of The Athletic when reflecting on his time as commissioner in November 2024. “I know that there’s going to be cheating, and I don’t want to be the policeman without community support. I mean, it’s hopeless.”

Aside from labor issues and his handling of the 1989 World Series, Vincent’s tenure included a number of other notable moments. He suspended Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for paying $40K in exchange for damaging information regarding outfielder Dave Winfield, though Steinbrenner was later reinstated in 1993. He also created and served as the chairman for a committee on historical accuracy that more strictly defined no-hitters and removed the asterisk from the AL home run record held by Roger Maris. Notably, Vincent was the one to circulate a 1991 memo reaffirming that players were banned from taking performance-enhancing drugs and other illegal substances. That memo, of course, was not enforced due largely to resistance from the players’ union and the owners’ disinterest in pursuing mandatory drug testing at the time.

Although Vincent’s tenure at the helm of MLB was relatively brief, he made a number of key decisions during that short time and benefited the game by ensuring the continuation of the 1989 World Series and avoiding cancelled games in 1990. MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world in extending our condolences to Vincent’s friends and loved ones.

Padres Notes: Morejon, Machado, Ownership

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With Spring Training just around the corner, the Padres held their annual FanFest event yesterday and the impending return of baseball was a hot topic. With trade rumors surrounding right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King while veteran Joe Musgrove figures to miss the entire 2025 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October, the club’s rotation has been under particular scrutiny in recent weeks.

However, the Padres end up filling out their rotation come Opening Day, one potential candidate to start has been eliminated at this point: left-hander Adrian Morejon. According to a report from Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday, club manager Mike Shildt spoke about Morejon’s place on the roster yesterday and gave the lefty a vote of confidence in a relief role.

“Adrián has found a really nice niche in the bullpen,” Shildt said, as relayed by Sanders. “It’s a spot that we think he’s not only going to do as well as he did last year, but take the next step and he’s excited about remaining in the bullpen and just being a dominant guy in that spot.”

That’s a bit of a reversal from earlier this winter, when Morejon was among a handful of relievers identified by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller as potential rotation converts. Moving players from the bullpen to the rotation has become quite popular around the game in recent years, and Preller’s decision to sign Seth Lugo as part of the club’s rotation mix and Lugo’s subsequent transformation into a bona fide top-of-the-rotation arm was a catalyst for that growing popularity.

Morejon was as sensible a candidate for such a conversion as any given his history as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, though given that 2024 was Morejon’s first healthy season as a big leaguer it’s understandable that the club has decided to keep him in the bullpen rather than risk more injuries by stretching him out. Stephen Kolek and Bryan Hoeing have also been discussed as potential converts to the rotation, but it remains unclear whether that’s still on the table for them entering camp or if, like Morejon, the Padres plan to keep them in relief roles for 2025. It’s even possible those decisions have not yet been made given the uncertainty surrounding the club’s rotation amid rumors of the club trading Cease or King.

Turning to the positional side of things, veteran third baseman Manny Machado spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) yesterday about the progress his elbow has made since undergoing offseason surgery last winter. That surgery cost him the final days of the 2023 season and kept him from returning to his typical post as the Padres’ regular third baseman until May, and continued to mix in occasional DH days throughout the first half. Machado noted that he dealt with the “lingering effects” of his surgery throughout the 2024 campaign, but made clear that “everything” has been different for him this offseason as he’s now “back to normal” for the first time post-surgery.

Whether that will be enough to help catapult the 32-year-old back into the .280/.352/.504 (130 wRC+) form he showed during his first four seasons in a Padres uniform remains to be seen, but it’s surely an encouraging sign for Padres fans that Machado is feeling healthier than he was last season, when he posted a 122 wRC+ with 3.6 fWAR. The veteran slugger has nine years left on the 11-year, $350MM deal he signed prior to the 2023 season, so Machado’s ability to maintain star-caliber production into his mid-to-late 30’s will be key to the Padres’ success over the coming decade.

While the Padres have been preparing for the coming season on the field and in the front office, a squabble between ownership stakeholders has been going on in the background. While the Padres announced back in December that Peter Seidler’s brother John Seidler was poised to take over as the franchise control person, that was seemingly put on hold when Peter’s widow, Sheel Seidler, filed a lawsuit against Peter’s other two brothers (and trustees of The Peter Seidler Trust) Matt and Bob Seidler. Matt Seidler subsequently filed a response to that lawsuit last week, and as the legal battle surrounding the role of Padres control person continues plenty of speculation has gone on among fans and media members about the future of the franchise.

As noted in a column by Matt Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times yesterday, however, one thing the Seidler brothers are resolute on is their commitment to owning the Padres. Shaikin notes that the brothers have “no plans to sell the Padres to anyone.” That apparently includes Sheel Seidler, whose legal counsel Dane Butswinkas, Shaikin reports, refused to answer whether or not she is attempting to buy her former brothers-in-law out of the franchise.

“Ideally, we would like to resolve this with the brothers,” Butswinksas said, as relayed by Shaikin. “However, for that to occur, it would take some level of cooperation from them. So far, we have seen no signs of that happening. The current path towards resolution, unfortunately, is through litigation, which we know can drag on for years and would be in no one’s interest.”

The possibility of a sale comes up in Shaikin’s piece, which MLBTR readers are encouraged to read in full, as part of a larger discussion about recent legal disputes between stakeholders within ownership groups in instances of divorce, illness, or death affecting a club’s primary owner. Those disputes, as Shaikin notes, have a history of being resolved through the sale of the team. Former Padres owner John Moores and, more recently, the Angelos family that formerly owned the Orioles are among previous owners who have sold their teams amid legal battles within the team’s ownership structure.

Rays Granted Fourth Option Year On Jonathan Aranda

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The Rays have been granted a fourth option year on infielder Jonathan Aranda, according to a report from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Typically, players have three option seasons with one used each season during which the player spends at least 20 days on optional assignment in the minor leagues. A player is considered to be on optional assignment when on a club’s 40-man roster but sent to the minor leagues while not on a rehab assignment. Aranda, 27 in May, was added to the club’s 40-man prior to the 2022 season and has been optioned to the minor leagues in each of the past three campaigns, with at least 20 days in the minors each season. Under normal circumstances, that would leave him out of options headed into the 2025 campaign, meaning the Rays would have to expose him to waivers before attempting to return him to the minor leagues.

Occasionally, however, teams are granted a fourth option year on certain players, typically due to the player missing significant time with injury. MLB.com explains that players with less than five full professional seasons (defined as at least 90 days on a major or minor league active roster) are eligible for a fourth option year. That applies to Aranda, who played full-season ball for the first time during the 2021 season. Fourth option years are typically granted to teams on players who have missed significant time due to injury during their option years, which also applies to Aranda after he spent three months on the IL last year between multiple trips to the injured list.

The fourth option year affords the Rays additional flexibility regarding their positional mix this year as they look to bounce back from a difficult 2024 season. Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, Danny Jansen, and Ben Rortvedt are the only players locked into Opening Day roster spots for the Rays who cannot be optioned to the minors, though that group will also include non-roster slugger Eloy Jimenez if he makes the team out of camp. With a number of intriguing youngsters in the upper levels of the minors like infielders Curtis Mead and Osleivis Basabe as well as outfielders Kameron Misner and Jake Magnum, it’s easy to imagine the Rays trying to maximize their roster by shuffling between those youngsters and their optionable major leaguers. Aranda is now included in that group, and with just 333 big league plate appearances under his belt to this point in his career it’s certainly feasible that the Rays utilize that fourth option year in the event he faces the sorts of struggles that many players do early in their big league careers.

That’s not to say Aranda doesn’t figure to be a key part of the club’s lineup, of course. The infielder currently figures to serve as the club’s Opening Day DH given the presence of Diaz and Lowe at first and second base respectively, but his solid .234/.308/.430 slash line (113 wRC+) in 44 games for the Rays last year was promising even for that role. More exciting than Aranda’s slash line was the improvements he made relative to 2023, as he cut his strikeout rate from 30.1% to just 22.4% while also hitting for more power has his barrel rate jumped from 5.3% to a fantastic 16.5%. That massive barrel rate would have been fifth in the majors last year if he had enough plate appearances to qualify and may not be entirely sustainable over a full season, but it’s simultaneously easy to imagine last year’s .264 BABIP coming up significantly given that it was a drop of more than 60 points relative to 2023.

Dylan Cease Discusses Trade Rumors

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For the second consecutive season, right-hander Dylan Cease is the most talked about player in trade rumors as the winter gives way to Spring Training. The then-White Sox hurler was shipped to the Padres in mid-March of last year, just before San Diego started their season in Seoul. It remains to be seen if the club will turn around and deal him during the spring themselves one year later, but AJ Cassavell of MLB.com notes that Cease made clear he isn’t bothered by the rumors swirling around him at yesterday’s FanFest event.

“You just focus on the task at hand,” Cease said, as relayed by Cassavell. “It’s just part of the business, really.”

Cease went on to note how much he loves San Diego and added that he would “definitely” like to stay in town. It certainly remains possible that he’ll be a Padre in 2025 even if it’s difficult to imagine him returning to San Diego upon hitting free agency this offseason. As Cassavell notes, however, a trade might be the most sensible path for the Padres as they navigate a budget crunch with multiple significant holes in their projected 2025 lineup. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Cease bring back the sort of significant return that could address multiple needs for the Padres while also getting his $13.75MM salary off the books to clear the way for further additions.

With that being said, getting the right deal for Cease may be easier said than done. The Cubs, Twins, and Mets are among the teams that have been connected to Cease in recent days, but there have been some indications from both Minnesota and New York that a trade could be difficult to work out. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported earlier this weekend that the Padres are asking for “significant major-league value” in Cease talks, adding that rival executives believe the club is “emboldened” by the exceptional return they received from the Yankees in last winter’s Juan Soto deal. Meanwhile, Hayes reports that the Twins are unwilling to part with top prospects like Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Luke Keaschall at this time and prefer to offer a package of big leaguers who can help address San Diego’s needs in the lineup and rotation.

That might sound like the teams match up well at first glance, but Hayes adds that the specifics of the return package figure to be a sitcking point. He suggests that the Padres are likely to ask for one of Joe Ryan or Bailey Ober as the centerpiece of a deal, which is an ask that it’s hard to imagine Minnesota agreeing to given that both are established, quality mid-rotation arms with three years of team control remaining. Hayes notes that the Twins would prefer to offer a package headlined by a young starter like Zebby Matthews or Simeon Woods Richardson that would also include Trevor Larnach and Willi Castro. Woods Richardson posted solid back-of-the-rotation production for the Twins in his rookie season last year, with a 4.17 ERA in 28 starts, while Matthews struggled in nine starts at the big league level but remains the club’s top pitching prospect and is generally believed to project as a #4 starter in the majors long-term.

The value discrepancy between players of Ryan and Ober’s caliber and the likes of Matthews and Woods Richardson is significant, and the sides would need to move significant off their current stances in order for a deal to come together. It appears to be a similar story with the Mets, as Will Sammon of The Athletic recently described Cease coming to Queens as “unlikely” due to the expected acquisition cost. Whether that’s due to a lack of willingness to part with a high-end package in order to land Cease or if the club simply lacks the pieces necessary to get a deal done is unclear, however, as Sammon goes on to mention the club’s failed pursuit of Garrett Crochet earlier this winter. The Mets were among a number of teams interested in Crochet, but he ultimately was dealt to the Red Sox because, as Sammon writes, Boston was able to offer “higher-quality prospects” than the Mets were.

Sammon goes on to suggests that the Mets could swing a deal if the Padres’ asking price comes down through the spring or revisit talks at the trade deadline, when Cease would be less valuable due to an acquiring club no longer being able to extend him the Qualifying Offer. Of course, a Cease trade may be far less likely by the time the summer rolls around. The Padres will have to fill their vacancies in the lineup one way or another before the season begins, and if they manage to do so without dealing Cease it’s difficult to imagine the club then shifting gears and shipping Cease out in the middle of a pennant race unless they’ve fallen out of contention.

Felix Pena Signs With CPBL’s Uni-Lions

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Right-hander Felix Pena has signed on with the Uni-Lions of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (h/t to CPBL Stats).

Pena, 35 later this month, signed with the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic as an international amateur and made his pro debut all the way back in 2009. He gradually climbed the minor league ladder until he made his MLB debut back in 2016, when he debuted for Chicago and pitched decently in a brief cup of coffee at the big league level. The right-hander posted a 4.00 ERA (108 ERA+) in nine innings that season, striking out 37.1% of opponents in his limited playing time at the major league level en route to a 2.70 FIP. He was used in a similarly minor role with the Cubs in 2017, but that second trip to the majors left something to be desired in terms of results as he posted a lackluster 5.24 ERA (84 ERA+) in 34 1/3 innings of work thanks in part to a bloated 11.6% walk rate.

Those struggles in 2017 led the Cubs to designate Pena for assignment shortly after the 2017 season came to a close. He shipped to the Angels shortly thereafter, and wound up pitching for his new club as a starting pitcher for much of the 2018 season. His results were decent enough, as well: in 92 2/3 innings of work split between 17 starts and two relief outings, Pena surrendered a 4.18 ERA (101 ERA+) with a 4.04 FIP. He struck out a decent 21.9% of opponents and, more importantly, got his walk rate under control and allowed free passes at a 7.2% clip. That appeared to set Pena up for a crack at a full-season rotation job with the Halos in 2019, and he was part of the club’s Opening Day rotation at the beginning of the year.

Unfortunately for Pena, however, his first four starts of the 2019 season left much to be desired. While his 4.15 ERA was decent enough, Pena allowed four homers, surrendered seven walks, and hit three batters in just 17 1/3 innings of work while his strikeout rate dipped to 19.2%. That led the Angels to move him into a bulk role behind an opener, and he initially excelled in the role with a 3.03 ERA and 3.18 FIP over his next seven outings where he struck out 28.5% of opponents in 32 2/3 frames. Things took a turn for the worse during a disastrous month of June, however, as his issues with the long ball resurfaced and he posted a ghastly 7.97 ERA in five appearances totaling 20 1/3 innings. He pitched better (4.15 ERA, 3.48 FIP) once the calendar flipped to July and even played a key role in a combined no-hitter against the Mariners but saw his season cut short by a torn ACL.

By the time baseball resumed in late July of 2020 after the pandemic shutdown, Pena had recovered from his ACL tear and was back on the mound with the Angels. He was confined to a short relief role in 2020 but made the most of the role, posting a 4.05 ERA (113 ERA+) in 26 2/3 innings with excellent peripheral numbers including a 3.00 FIP and a 25.2% strikeout rate against a 7% walk rate. That performance figured to earn Pena another shot with the Angels in 2021, but a hamstring strain delayed his start to the season and he was torched to the tune of seven runs in less than two innings of work upon his return, prompting the Angels to outright him to the minor leagues.

That was Pena’s last time appearing in the majors. After struggling badly at Triple-A through the remainder of the 2021 season, the right-hander began the 2022 season with the Mets on a minor league deal but eventually headed overseas to sign with the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles. He spent parts of three seasons with the Eagles, posting a 3.98 ERA in 54 starts for the club, but struggled to a 6.27 ERA in his final nine KBO starts earlier this year. That prompted Hanwha to release Pena back in May, but now he’ll get a fresh start in Taiwan where he can provide veteran innings to a club that employed former big leaguers Hector Perez and Logan Ondrusek last season.

Barry Larkin Joins Group Attempting To Get MLB Franchise In Orlando

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The Orlando Dreamers announced earlier this week that Hall of Famer Barry Larkin has joined the organization, which has the goal of getting an MLB franchise in the city. Larkin, who now lives in Orlando, has the title of MLB ambassador with the Dreamers. Pat Williams, the late former executive for the NBA’s Orlando Magic, co-founded the Dreamers in 2019 as an effort to get an MLB franchise. While Williams passed away last summer, the organization has continued that goal.

“I spent considerable time talking to key people in Major League Baseball, including Commissioner Manfred, before committing to join the Orlando Dreamers’ effort,” Larkin said in the press release. “There were many phone calls to (co-founder Jim Schnorf), asking detailed questions concerning the approach, the accomplishments to date, and the strategies moving forward. It became immediately apparent that Orlando has the most compelling market in the country to be the next MLB franchise location. … At this stage in my career, nothing could be more exciting than being a key part of this effort in my adopted home of Orlando, Florida.”

Larkin is a Cincinnati native who spent his entire 19-year big league career with his hometown Reds. He won the 1995 NL MVP award behind a .319 average and Gold Glove defense at shortstop. Larkin made 12 All-Star teams, won the Silver Slugger award on nine occasions, and collected a trio of Gold Glove awards. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 2012, his third year on the ballot.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said on multiple occasions that he hopes to finalize plans for expansion from 30 to 32 teams by the end of his tenure. He plans to retire when his current contract expires in January 2029. While it’s highly unlikely that expansion teams would be on the field by the ’29 season, it’s possible that host cities could be settled by that point with the league moving to 32 teams early in the 2030s. Manfred has suggested that expansion would be on the back burner until the A’s and Rays’ stadium situations were finalized.

The A’s plan to be in Las Vegas in time for the 2028 season. The Rays seemed to have a long-term stadium plan in St. Petersburg, but the devastating hurricane in the area last fall has thrown those plans into question. That combined with a changed county council makeup after Election Day led the county to delay approval of bonds that’d finance the stadium. The Rays have claimed that makes it impossible to have the new stadium complete for the 2028 season. The team is responsible for cost overruns on the project, which it says will be exorbitant with construction going until 2029.

While Pinellas County approved the bonds last month, the Rays reiterated that the delay has proven too costly. They’re pushing for more public funding as a result, which the county has indicated it is unwilling to approve. The Rays have until March 31 to meet various construction benchmarks on the project or the bond agreement will automatically be nullified. They are committed to play at Tropicana Field through the 2028 season. The Trop was severely damaged by the hurricane and it is unclear whether it’ll be playable by 2026. The Rays will play their ’25 home games at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, home of the Yankees’ Low-A affiliate.

Larkin said at his introductory press conference that the Orlando group is open to pursuing both an expansion franchise or a potentially relocated one (alluding to the Rays’ situation). Manfred was asked about the possibility of relocating the Rays in November. He replied that MLB remained “focused on our franchise in Tampa Bay.”

A.J. Preller: Padres Plan To Add “A Bat Or Two,” “An Arm Or Two”

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Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller spoke to the crowd at today’s FanFest event about the state of the club’s roster and his plans for the remainder of the offseason, as relayed by MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. In his comments, Preller indicated that he plans for San Diego to enter the start of the season with a “championship-caliber ballclub” and that in order to reach that goal the club will need to add “a bat or two” and “an arm or two” before the season begins.

It’s hardly a surprise that Preller plans to make additions to the club given the state of the roster. The only move of note the club has made this winter was re-signing Elias Diaz earlier this week. Diaz’s return removes one question mark from the positional mix, as he’ll solidify things behind the plate alongside Luis Campusano for the time being while Padres fans eagerly await the arrival of top prospect Ethan Salas, who reached Double-A late last year during his age-17 season but is far from guaranteed to be ready for any sort of big league exposure in 2025.

With the catcher position more or less sorted out, the Padres can now turn their attention to the rest of the lineup. Luis Arraez appears likely to be the club’s everyday starter at either first base or DH, but the club will need to add at least one other player to that mix alongside him. Additionally, the club has no clear successor to Jurickson Profar in left field after the fan favorite signed in Atlanta last week. Given those two holes in the lineup, Preller acknowledging that the club is in need of an additional bat or two before Opening Day rolls around late next month is to be expected.

His comment about adding another arm or two is more interesting, however. The Padres have a well-stocked bullpen as things stand and seem unlikely to make a significant addition there, but there have been some questions surrounding the club’s plans regarding their rotation. As things stand, the front of the rotation figures to be anchored by a one-two punch of right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King with veteran righty Yu Darvish slotting in third. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, however, appear to be up for grabs. Matt Waldron, Randy Vasquez, and Jhony Brito could all be in the mix for starts, as could relievers like Stephen Kolek or Bryan Hoeing who have been floated as potential rotation converts.

That’s certainly on the thinner side in terms of a rotation mix, but it’s not substantially thinner than the 2024 rotation. Joe Musgrove won’t pitch in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in October, but he made only 19 starts for the club last year. A full season from Darvish, who made 16 starts last year due to injury and a personal leave of absence, would make up those lost starts almost entirely. That’s made the rotation a less obvious target for upgrades than the lineup this winter, and has even led to questions about whether the club could look to deal from its rotation in order to upgrade other areas of the roster. Both King and Cease are poised to become free agents following the 2025 season, with Cease in particular drawing plenty of buzz in the rumor mill.

It’s far from ideal for a club with the stated goal of being a championship-caliber team to deal a front-line starter like Cease, but considering trades of players like Cease, King, and even Arraez is the reality San Diego’s front office faces as it tries to navigate a major budget crunch. San Diego doesn’t appear to be under a mandate to cut payroll below its current levels this winter, but they still appear to have little to no room in the budget for upgrades without first clearing payroll space elsewhere. Trading a rental player with a larger salary like Cease ($13.75MM) or Arraez ($14MM) would go a long way to improving the club’s ability to sign a player or two in free agency, to say nothing of the return package which could also be used to directly supplement the roster.

As shown by the club’s creative deals with King and Diaz in the past week, the Padres are willing to think outside-the-box on contract structures and could use that in order to bring in a handful of veteran role players even within the confines of what is clearly an extremely tight budget crunch. Those role players could either be used to supplement the roster’s needs directly, as was the case last year when the Padres signed and got significant production from extreme budget options like Profar, Donovan Solano, and David Peralta who lingered on the free agent market before landing in San Diego, or could instead be used to help replace the production of a player who was traded for a return that addresses other areas of the roster.

It’s difficult to speculate on specific players the Padres could target without knowing which player(s) will be traded and where they’ll be traded to, but free agency has a number of interesting veterans still available who could be fairly affordable or in some cases may even consider signing non-roster deals. Anthony Rizzo, J.D. Martinez, Jason Heyward, Mark Canha, and Alex Verdugo are among the many free agents who could be at least speculative fits for San Diego’s current needs and are unlikely to break the bank. As for the rotation, starting pitchers can often garner high annual salaries even late in free agency. That could make adding to the rotation difficult to accomplish without a trade that frees up payroll, though it’s possible that a swing man such as Jakob Junis or Jose Urena could linger on the market and sign at a discount as Michael Lorenzen did last winter.

Dodgers Notes: Freeman, Glasnow, Rojas, Sheehan

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Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman led his team to the World Series championship in 2024, with series MVP honors to prove it. That postseason run came at the expense of his health, however, as he played through a bone bruise and sprain in his right ankle that eventually required him to undergo surgery in early December. At the time, the Dodgers suggested that Freeman would be able to “participate in baseball activities” during Spring Training, but that vague timeline did not set a date for when he would be ready to participate in games again.

Freeman himself offered a bit of clarity on the situation to reporters during the Dodgers FanFest event today. As noted by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Freeman has resumed swinging a bat again but has yet to start running to this point. With the start of Spring Training a matter of weeks away, it’s hardly a surprise that Freeman indicated he won’t be available for the first games of Cactus League play this spring. Freeman did say that he “expects” to be ready for the start of the Dodgers’ season in Tokyo on March 18, though of course with that just six weeks away a setback in his recovery could alter that timeline.

That Freeman should be ready for the start of the season is surely a relief for Dodgers fans, though it would hardly be a surprise if the club opted to be as careful with him as possible in order to ensure he starts the season on the right foot with as good of health as possible. The slugger’s .282/.378/.476 slash line in 147 games for the Dodgers in his age-34 campaign last year was a modest step back from his back-to-back top-4 MVP finishes in 2022 and ’23 but was still more than enough to put him on the shortlist for the very best first basemen in the sport last year. Freeman once again figures to help anchor the Dodgers lineup alongside fellow former MVPs Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani in 2025. It’s a lineup that largely looks the same as last year, though Michael Conforto has replaced Jason Heyward in the outfield mix while Hyeseong Kim has taken over for Gavin Lux at the keystone.

Aside from Freeman, however, the club appears to be generally healthy headed into Spring Training when looking at players who are expected to impact the 2025 team on Opening Day. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow was shut down in August due to an elbow sprain, but Dodgers Insider relays that Glasnow spoke at today’s fan event as well. The right-hander revealed that he’s resumed throwing and is feeling “as good as [he’s] ever felt.” The 31-year-old is one of the most dominant hurlers in the sport when healthy, but his 22 starts last year were a career high as he’s constantly battled injury woes throughout his career. With Glasnow seemingly poised to be ready for the start of the season, the Dodgers will surely hope that their plans to use a six-man rotation this year in order to accommodate Ohtani in his return to pitching can help Glasnow stay healthy enough to pitch for them in the postseason this year after he missed last year’s World Series run.

Turning back to the position player side of things, veteran infielder Miguel Rojas joined Freeman in playing through injury during the postseason and underwent sports hernia surgery after the season concluded. As noted by Ardaya, Rojas spoke about his recovery process during today’s fan event and revealed that he suffered from a post-surgery infection that delayed his ability to rehab for a couple of weeks. Fortunately, that now appears to be behind him as Rojas indicated he remains on track to be fully ready for Spring Training when it begins later this month. The addition of Kim in conjunction with Betts’s move back to the infield leaves Rojas without an everyday role headed into 2025, but he managed to carve out a role for himself in 103 games under similar circumstances last year despite a trip to the injured list.

As for players who aren’t expected to be ready for Opening Day, Ardaya notes that right-hander Emmet Sheehan provided an update on his recovery from Tommy John surgery for the first time since he went under the knife last May. The right-hander has resumed throwing off a mound at this point in his rehab and added that he hopes to start pitching in rehab games come May or June. That timeline would put him on the mound for those games just over a year after his surgery, putting him more or less on track for a normal recovery and to be a depth option out of the rotation or bullpen for L.A. in the second half this year.

No Extension Talks Between Padres, Michael King

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Yesterday, the Padres and right-hander Michael King avoided an arbitration hearing with a creative deal that guarantees King $7.75MM. The deal splits that guarantee between a signing bonus and the buyout on a 2026 mutual option in addition to his 2025 salary in order to slightly ease some of the financial issues facing San Diego as they look to upgrade their roster this winter. Despite the sides’ ability to come together on an unusual solution to their dispute over King’s salary for this year, however, the right-hander told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune) at the Padres’ FanFest event today that he has not been approached regarding a long-term extension that would keep him in San Diego beyond the 2025 season.

That there apparently has not yet been a conversation between the two camps about a long-term deal is an interesting development given previous reports that the club believes King to be more amenable to the possibility of an extension than fellow walk year righty Dylan Cease. Those rumors have led to a belief throughout the offseason that San Diego would prefer to deal Cease rather than King if they end up trading one of their two front-of-the-rotation arms amid their pursuit of pitching depth and lineup upgrades. That appears to still be the case, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the club is “not actively shopping” King in the aftermath of the sides reaching an arbitration agreement. Acee is quick to note that the new contract doesn’t necessarily preclude a trade from occurring, but it appears clearer than ever that the Padres’ preference is for the departing pitcher to be Cease if they wind up dealing one of their top arms.

As for King, the righty spoke to reporters (including Sanders) about the swirling trade rumors today, saying that he would be “shocked” if he were to be traded before adding that hearing your name in the rumor mill is “part of the business.”

“Obviously anything can happen,” King said, as relayed by Sanders. “I didn’t think I was going to get traded over here that offseason last year. Anything can happen.”

While it’s unclear whether King’s confidence that he’ll be in a Padres uniform on Opening Day and the club’s apparent preference for dealing Cease if one of the pair is traded will actually lead to King remaining in San Diego, it should be noted that the sides not yet having discussed an extension does not preclude them from doing so in the coming weeks. Extension negotiations between players and clubs frequently open after the start of Spring Training, and the Padres have been among the most prolific clubs in the sport when it comes to springtime extensions in recent years.

It was just two years ago that San Diego signed Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado, and Yu Darvish to a trio of lengthy extensions over the course of Spring Training 2023, and two years before that the club famously agreed to a massive $340MM contract with Fernando Tatis Jr. during Spring Training 2021. They’ve at least explored extensions with other players during the spring in recent years as well, such as Jackson Merrill last winter. Whether King will join the list of Padres player to put pen to paper on extensions just before reaching free agency remains to be seen, but even with no talks between the sides to this point the possibility of some discussions between the sides this spring can’t be ruled out.

Aside from San Diego’s hefty payroll commitments that have limited their flexibility in recent years, one potential obstacle for any King extension would surely be his unusual history. The right-hander posted an excellent season in 2024 with a 2.95 ERA in 173 2/3 innings of work, but that was his first season pitching as a full-time starting pitcher since 2018, during his age-23 season in the minor leagues. While King’s 39 starts since being put back in the rotation by the Yankees down the stretch last year have been electric, his ability to keep up with a 150+ inning workload for a second consecutive season will surely have a major impact on his value in free agency. Given the importance of his platform season, it wouldn’t be a shock if the sides struggled to reach an agreement on what fair value looks like even if they do engage in extension talks at some point before Opening Day.

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