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Guardians Sign Carlos Santana

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The Guardians have reunited with a longtime veteran of the organization, announcing a one-year deal with first baseman Carlos Santana. The Octagon client is reportedly guaranteed $12MM. The signing comes on the heels of the club agreeing to a trade that sent first baseman Josh Naylor to Arizona on Saturday.

Santana, 39 in April, is a veteran of 15 MLB seasons who made his big league debut with Cleveland back in 2010. A catcher early in his career, Santana eventually moved to first base and has been defined throughout his career by phenomenal plate discipline. His walk rate has never fallen below 10.5% in a season across his lengthy big league career, and his strikeout rate surpassed 20% just once back in 2011. The one-time All-Star has spent ten seasons in Cleveland and will now suit up for an eleventh in year 16 of his big league career.

A career .251/.368/.450 (121 wRC+) hitter with the club, Santana has seen his bat decline somewhat since he last suited up for Cleveland back in 2020. He’s played for five teams over the past four seasons, including the Guardians’ division rivals in Kansas City and Minnesota. Santana has been more of a league average hitter in those stints away from Cleveland, hitting a collective .224/.320/.392 (99 wRC+) since he last played for the club. With that said, 2024 was a bit of a rebound season for Santana as he slashed a solid .238/.328/.420 (114 wRC+) in 150 games for the Twins while playing strong enough defense at first to earn his first career Gold Glove award. What’s more, even in his down years Santana has continued to hit well against left-handed pitching with a 125 wRC+ against southpaws across the last four seasons.

It’s hard to imagine the Guardians committing $12MM to a longtime face of the franchise coming off a three-win season just to make him a platoon player, and Santana surely figures to be the club’s regular first baseman in 2025. That leaves well-regarded youngster Kyle Manzardo, a top-100 prospect prior to the 2024 season who posted a 98 wRC+ in his first taste of big league action this year, likely relegated to a part-time role with appearances at DH while occasionally spelling Santana at first base. With that said, Manzardo’s presence offers the Guardians some insurance against Santana’s age catching up to him as well; pairing the lefty-swinging youngster with Santana’s switch-hitting bat that has long crushed lefties figures to be a solid way to get value out of the first base position even if Manzardo doesn’t take a step forward and Santana finds himself unable to replicate his excellent 2024 campaign.

Notably, Santana’s $12MM salary for 2025 is identical to the $12MM projection put forward by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for Naylor’s final year of arbitration eligibility. That makes Santana and Naylor a one-for-one swap from both a financial and team control perspective. Naylor (118 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR) was the slightly better hitter but slightly less productive overall in 2024, though the 11-year age gap between the two means he also projects better than Santana going forward. Even so, the addition of Santana allowed the Guardians to trade Naylor for right-hander Slade Cecconi and a pick in Competitive Balance Round B of the 2025 draft without losing much if anything in terms of on-the-field production for 2025.

That sleight of hand by the Guardians had the side effect of taking two more names off of a crowded first base market that has rapidly begun to thin out in recent days. Naylor and Santana are joined in having found their 2025 homes recently by Paul Goldschmidt, who signed with the Yankees on a one-year deal earlier today, and yesterday saw Christian Walker land a three-year deal with the Astros. Pete Alonso is the top free agent available at first base and remains on the market, with players like Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, Justin Turner, and Mark Canha still available in the lower tiers of the market. The trade market has fewer options who are clearly available, but Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers, Yandy Diaz of the Rays, and LaMonte Wade Jr. of the Giants are all at least plausible candidates to change hands.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Guardians and Santana were in agreement on a one-year, $12MM deal.

Diamondbacks Acquire Josh Naylor

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve acquired Josh Naylor from the Guardians for right-hander Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick.

An All-Star for the first time in 2024, Naylor hit a solid .243/.320/.456 (118 wRC+) with a career-high 31 homers in 152 games for the Guardians this past year. That continues a three-year run of solid production from Naylor in Cleveland, as he’s posted an even better .267/.330/.465 (121 wRC+) slash line since becoming a regular fixture of the Guardians’ lineup in 2022. In addition to that solid 20-to-30 homer power Naylor has displayed, he’s posted impressive contact numbers with a strikeout rate of just 15.6% across the past three seasons. He’s paired that low strikeout rate with an improving walk rate that reached 9.2% in 2024. In Arizona, the 27-year-old Naylor joins an offense that not only lost Christian Walker at first base when he landed in Houston on a three-year deal earlier this week but also figures to provide the left-handed pop the club lost when DH Joc Pederson elected free agency last month.

He’s a solid fit for that role, though with free agency just one season away at an arbitration salary that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects to land at $12MM, he lacks the surplus value more attractive trade targets typically offer. That increasing price tag in arbitration combined with the presence of youngster Kyle Manzardo as an obvious successor at first made Naylor somewhat expendable for the Guardians, however, and this evening’s addition of veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to the Cleveland lineup on a one-year deal suggests that the Guardians may have preferred to reallocate Naylor’s projected salary and playing time to the 15-year MLB veteran.

In exchange for parting ways with the slugger, they’ve added some draft capital and an intriguing young arm in Cecconi. Competitive Balance Round B encompassed the 66th through 73rd picks in the 2024 draft. As noted by MLB.com’s Joe Trezza, the Guardians already had the first pick of Competitive Balance Round B in 2025. Now, the club will get a second pick in that same round as the Diamondbacks were slated to pick third behind Cleveland and Baltimore.

Meanwhile, Cecconi is a former first-round selection by the Diamondbacks who has pitched in parts of the last two seasons for the club but has yet to establish himself in the majors. He flashed league average numbers in an up-and-down role with Arizona in 2023, pitching to a 4.33 ERA (102 ERA+) with a 4.37 FIP in 27 innings spread between four starts and three relief appearances. Those numbers took a tumble in a longer stint with the big league club this year, however. Cecconi struggled to a 6.66 ERA (63 ERA+) in 77 innings of work. While his 5.02 FIP was substantially better, that figure was still well below league average. Cecconi enjoyed an excellent 5% walk rate in the majors last year, but his 18.9% strikeout rate was lackluster and he allowed an eye-popping 16 homers in just 20 games.

Disastrous as his 2024 season was, however, Cecconi will now get an opportunity to move to a club well-regarded for its ability to develop young pitchers. Still just 25, the right-hander’s 3.04 ERA and 29.5% strikeout rate in 47 innings at the Triple-A level this year offer some reason for optimism regarding his future in the big leagues, whether that winds up being out of the rotation or the bullpen. After losing Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb in free agency and with Shane Bieber expected not to pitch until midway through the 2025 season, Cleveland already added Luis Ortiz to their rotation earlier this winter. Cecconi may not be able to break a rotation that now projects to include Ortiz alongside Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, and Triston McKenzie on Opening Day, but he’ll provide depth for the club nonetheless.

Turning back to Arizona, the acquisition of Naylor brings the club’s estimated payroll to $160MM according to RosterResource. That leaves the club with some additional flexibility before they reach their 2024 figure of $173MM, which Diamondbacks brass has previously indicated the 2025 payroll will likely end up in the vicinity of. The club is known to be in the market for relief pitching and has previously expressed interest in a reunion with Pederson, though it’s possible they believe the addition of Naylor fills the void created by Pederson’s departure.

With Naylor now set to join Eugenio Suarez, Zac Gallen, and Merrill Kelly as key contributors slated for free agency next winter, it’s possible the club could also benefit from being in longer-term help for its lineup or rotation that can help preserve continuity alongside core pieces like Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Gabriel Moreno. Jordan Montgomery is also slated to reach free agency next winter, but the Diamondbacks haven’t been shy about looking to move him this winter and could free up additional payroll space by doing so.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the Diamondbacks were nearing a deal for Naylor. Jeff Passan of ESPN had the full trade terms.

Tigers Sign Matt Gage To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have signed left-hander Matt Gage to a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, per a report from Jon Heyman of The New York Post. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Gage will receive an $800K salary in the majors as part of the deal.

Gage, 32 in February, didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2024 after making brief appearances in the big leagues in each of the past two seasons. The lefty was a 10th-round pick by the Giants back in 2014 but didn’t make his big league debut until his age-29 season with Toronto. He pitched 13 innings with the club but was claimed off waivers by the Astros prior to the 2023 season. He made just five appearances for the club before once again being subjected to the waiver wire back in January.

After being put on waivers by Houston, Gage found himself riding the transaction carousel throughout the rest of the year. The lefty was claimed off waivers by the Yankees in January before traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Caleb Ferguson in February. He was then released by the Dodgers in April before being promptly re-signed to a minor league deal that allowed him to stick in the organization without taking up a 40-man roster spot. He was selected back onto the roster in July but was traded to the Mets just days later before being outrighted off the roster in New York back in November.

Amid all those transactions, Gage never once made it to the big league mound despite having his contract selected by both the Dodgers and Mets. With that being said, he sports an excellent 1.83 ERA and a solid 3.97 FIP in 19 2/3 innings of work at the big league level from his time in Toronto and Houston. He followed that up with decent enough numbers at Triple-A for the Dodgers and Mets, combining for a 4.10 ERA and a 28.3% strikeout rate in 41 2/3 innings of work with the clubs’ affiliates in Oklahoma City and Syracuse. Clearly, Gage’s profile was intriguing enough for the Tigers to roll the dice on him this winter with a non-roster pact.

It’s been a relatively quiet offseason in Detroit after the club’s surprise run to the ALDS in the fall, and the addition of a depth piece for the bullpen won’t exactly move the needle for fans. With that being said, Gage does offer a lefty relief option behind Brant Hurter, Tyler Holton, and Sean Guenther for a Tigers club that relied on its left-handed relievers for more innings than any other MLB club last year, with 261 2/3 of its 694 bullpen innings thrown by left-handers.

Blue Jays, Diamondbacks Have Expressed Interest In Ryan Helsley

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As the Cardinals eye a reset focused on younger players in 2025, Mark Feinsand, John Denton, and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com report that the club has received interest from the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks regarding closer Ryan Helsley. A subsequent report from John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 confirms the interest in Helsley on the part of the D-Backs, though Gambadoro adds that the Cardinals do not appear to be interested in dealing their closer.

That apparent disinclination to deal Helsley meshes with a report from earlier this month that characterized St. Louis as unlikely to part ways with Helsley this winter, with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak suggesting at the time that they plan on Helsley remaining with the team for 2025. Given the perennial desire for high-end relief talent at the trade deadline each summer, it stands to reason that if Helsley pitches anything like he did in 2024 (2.04 ERA, 49 saves, 29.7% strikeout rate) in the first half of 2025 the Cardinals would still be able to land quite the haul for his services in the event they aren’t in position to push for a return to the playoffs.

Given that reality, it’s perhaps not a shock that the Cardinals have seemingly set an incredibly high bar for even considering moving on from the two-time All-Star. The 30-year-old has been among the league’s most dominant relievers in recent years, with a 1.83 ERA and 82 saves to go with a 34.6% strikeout rate in 167 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2022 campaign. That sort of dominant relief profile can net an impressive return even with just one year of team control remaining, as the Brewers demonstrated when they acquired Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin from the Yankees in exchange for star closer Devin Williams.

Considering a report earlier this week suggested that the Snakes had interest in Williams before he was ultimately traded to the Yankees, it’s perhaps no surprise that Arizona has made contact with the Cardinals regarding Helsley. Club brass has made plain their goal of adding high-leverage relief help this winter following the loss of Paul Sewald to free agency. The club’s current back-end trio of Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk, and Kevin Ginkel is a solid one, but it’s easy to see why the Diamondbacks would have interest in bumping a young arm like Martinez out of the closer role and bringing in someone more established.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, appear to be in the market for upgrades to virtually every area of their roster after a disappointing 2024 season that saw them finish dead last in the AL East. As star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. enters his final year of team control before free agency, Toronto appears to be focused on adding a bat to the lineup who can help offer him protection and bulking up a starting rotation that lost Yusei Kikuchi to a midseason trade and stands to lose Chris Bassitt to free agency next winter. In addition to those two issues, however, it can’t be ignored that the Jays non-tendered longtime closer Jordan Romano last month and currently figure to rely on Chad Green and the recently re-signed Yimi Garcia in the late innings. Adding a more proven closer to that mix would surely help turn around a Blue Jays club that saw its relievers struggle to the second-worst ERA and the worst FIP in baseball last year.

Other options beyond Helsley exist for strengthening either club’s bullpen corps, of course. It’s unclear whether either club would spend what it takes to land a top-of-the-market closing option like Tanner Scott or Jeff Hoffman, but veteran closers like Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates, and David Robertson are all available in free agency this winter and could be had on a shorter commitment. Sewald, José Leclerc, and Chris Martin are among the other relievers available who could impact a club’s late-inning mix and could be more affordable than other options available.

Dodgers Exploring Alternatives To Teoscar Hernandez

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Negotiations between the Dodgers and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez remain at an impasse, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. While L.A. and Hernandez have long expressed mutual interest in a reunion following a successful 2024 campaign that ended in a World Series championship, previous reporting indicated a “gap” remained between the sides in negotiations. Evidently, that gap remains, as Rosenthal reports that Los Angeles brass are “exploring” right-handed alternatives to Hernandez they could add to their lineup instead. The three names Rosenthal lists as potential options for the Dodgers are free agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim, Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, and White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Rosenthal emphasizes, however, that it’s not yet clear how serious the Dodgers are about those pursuits.

Of the three names floated, Suzuki is perhaps the best replacement for Hernandez from the Dodgers’ perspective. He hit .283/.366/.482 with 21 homers and 16 steals in 132 games for the Cubs last year. His high on-base percentage and lesser power make him a somewhat different flavor of hitter than Hernandez, but Suzuki’s 138 wRC+ actually has the edge over Hernandez’s own figure of 134. Both are generally regarded as below-average defenders in an outfield corner, but either one would provide the Dodgers with a big right-handed bat to add to their lineup and a regular for the outfield corner not occupied by Michael Conforto.

Good a fit as Suzuki would be, however, acquiring him may be easier said than done. Rosenthal reports that the Cubs are “not inclined” to trade Suzuki this winter. The club entered the offseason with something of a logjam in the outfield due to the presence of both Suzuki and Cody Bellinger, and that logjam only grew when the club added star right fielder Kyle Tucker in a trade with the Astros earlier this month. Since then, the Cubs dealt Bellinger to the Yankees. While that leaves them in a similar situation as the one they entered the winter in, with two right fielders on the roster and Suzuki likely relegated to regular DH duties, the club still seems to prefer keeping Suzuki rather than parting ways with the talented hitter.

Rosenthal suggests that the Cubs feel that Suzuki would be difficult to replace due to a thin market for impactful right-handed hitters. Aside from Suzuki, the middle of Chicago’s lineup is occupied by switch-hitter Ian Happ as well as lefty bats Tucker and Michael Busch, so Suzuki’s presence adds some much-needed right-handed thump to that mix. Suzuki also holds a no-trade clause, but his previously reported desire to avoid being a full-time DH could make the possibility of a trade that would make him L.A.’s regular right fielder a palatable option. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible that the Dodgers could include a talented right-handed bat such as Andy Pages in a package for Suzuki’s services in order to bridge that gap, though six seasons of team control over Pages would be a steep price to pay. Suzuki is under contract for two more seasons and will make $19MM in both 2025 and ’26 before hitting free agency.

Robert, meanwhile, certainly has the potential to match Hernandez’s offensive impact but has yet to demonstrate consistency in the majors. The 27-year-old endured the worst season of his career in 2024 as he hit just .224/.278/.379 (84 wRC+) while striking out at a 33.2% clip, but hit a much more palatable .287/.331/.511 (129 wRC+) over the prior three seasons and is just one season removed from a 4.9 fWAR 2023 campaign. Robert pairs that volatile but potentially impactful bat with impressive speed (he stole 23 bases in just 100 games this year) and quality defense in center field. He also comes with plenty of injury risk, as 2024 was just the second time in his career he played in even 100 games due to a number of trips to the injured list over the years.

Rosenthal suggests that if the Dodgers were to take a chance on the talented-but-inconsistent Robert, he’d slot into center field for Los Angeles. It’s unclear whether that would mean moving Mookie Betts back to right field and playing Tommy Edman at shortstop, or perhaps a move to second base for Edman that pushes Gavin Lux to the bench (or off the team via trade) and leaves right field open for some combination of Andy Pages and James Outman. Robert is guaranteed $17MM in the form of a $15MM salary and a $2MM buyout on a $20MM club option for 2026, but could be retained via club options through the end of the 2027 season if acquired. In terms of acquisition cost, it’s possible that Robert would be less pricey than Suzuki given that Rosenthal reports that the White Sox don’t expect to land multiple top prospects in exchange for Robert, though they would want a “meaningful piece” in return for the All-Star.

Kim is somewhat unique as a potential target for multiple reasons. As a free agent, he’d cost the Dodgers nothing but money as opposed to a trade for Suzuki or Robert that would require some sort of player or prospect return headed the other way. He’s also an infielder who derives much of his value from being a plus defender all across the infield dirt. That makes him a tricky positional fit for a Dodgers club that already figures to juggle Betts, Lux, and Miguel Rojas up the middle. While the club could simply move Betts back to right field, it’s possible they’d prefer to keep him on the dirt and play him alongside Kim with one at shortstop and the other at second base. That would leave Lux without a position, however, and also leave a hole in the outfield left to be internal options or another external addition.

Kim is also by far the weakest hitter of the three at the plate and an undeniable downgrade from Hernandez offensively. While Kim has improved leaps and bounds at the plate after a lackluster rookie season, he’s still more or less a league average hitter with a 101 wRC+ in 2024 and a .250/.336/.385 (106 wRC+) line overall since becoming a regular in 2022. It’s also worth noting that he seems ticketed for the injured list to start the season after undergoing shoulder surgery back in September, though Rosenthal reports that he’s targeting a return to the diamond “early” in the 2025 season. Even so, that would leave the Dodgers utilizing their internal options to fill out the lineup card until Kim is ready to return to action.

White Sox Acquire Cam Booser

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6:06pm: The trade has now been announced, with Booser headed to Chicago in exchange for right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo. To make room for Booser on the club’s 40-man roster, the White Sox designated Corey Julks for assignment. Fajardo, 18, posted a 3.91 ERA in 13 starts during the Dominican Summer League this year. Julks, 28, hit .214/.275/.306 in 66 games with the White Sox this year.

4:01pm: The White Sox and Red Sox are in agreement on a deal that will send left-hander Cam Booser to Chicago, according to a report from Robert Murray of Fansided. The return headed to Boston in exchange for Booser’s services is not yet clear, though James Fegan of Sox Machine reports that a minor league player is the return and Chris Cotillo of MassLive further clarifies that the return is expected to be a minor league pitcher.

Booser, 33 in May, made his big league debut with the Red Sox back in April. After kicking off his professional career with the Twins in 2013, he climbed the minor league ladder but hit a wall in High-A during the 2017 season. He eventually resurfaced in independent ball in 2021 and bounced between indy ball and the minor leagues for the Diamondbacks until joining the Red Sox organization for the 2023 season.

Once he finally made his big league debut last year, he pitched quite well for the club with a 3.38 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work with a 23.5% strikeout rate with an 8.7% walk rate. That was good for a solid 3.80 FIP, though an elevated 80% strand rate and a low 8.3% home-run-to-fly-ball ratio suggest the possibility of some regression in Booser’s profile as represented by a 3.92 SIERA and a 4.40 xFIP. Despite his somewhat questionable peripherals and an unusual path to the big leagues, however, Booser profiled as a quality middle relief option from the left side.

With Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson already added to the bullpen from the left side in Boston and Brennan Bernadino in the fold as a more established lefty option as well, Booser had become somewhat expendable for the Red Sox. That’s evidently led him to join the White Sox bullpen, where he joins former Yankees reliever Ron Marinaccio among external additions this winter. Booser figures to be much higher on the lefty relief depth chart in Chicago than he would’ve been in Boston, as he trades the competition of established veterans like Chapman and Wilson out for less established arms like Jared Shuster and Fraser Ellard.

John Seidler To Take Over As Padres’ Control Person

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Just over a year after the sudden passing of Padres owner Peter Seidler, the organization has its new control person. While Seidler’s business partner Eric Kutsenda took over as interim control person in the immediate aftermath of Seidler’s death, he’ll now be succeeded more permanently by John Seidler according to a report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Kutsenda will remain part of the organization and the rest of the team’s senior leadership will remain in their current roles. Seidler’s ascent to title of control person will need to receive the approval from the league before it becomes official.

Seidler, 65, is the brother of the Padres’ previous owner and is among the members of the Seidler family who collectively hold what Acee notes is believed to be a 45% stake in the team. Previous reports have indicated that Peter Seidler intended for his family to maintain ownership of the Padres for generations to come and that the club intended to proceed with that plan following his death. John Seidler taking the reins of the organization appears to be the latest move toward making that plan a reality, and Acee added that a source familiar with the family’s plans confirmed to him that the Seidler family intends to own the Padres for “a long time.”

“Since Peter’s passing, Eric Kutsenda has served as our interim control person,” the Padres said in a statement provided to Acee. “Peter’s youngest brother Matt, as trustee of Peter’s trust, is pleased to announce that John Seidler, Peter’s oldest sibling, an accomplished entrepreneur and business executive, will be the Padres’ next control person, pending approval by Major League Baseball.

Peter never viewed the Padres as ‘his’ team. Instead, he saw the team as an asset of the community of which he was a faithful steward. John shares Peter’s vision and will continue to strengthen and nurture this great franchise, its players, fans and employees, and the entire San Diego community.”

Importantly, Acee notes that the upcoming changing of the guard at the top of the Padres organization is not expected to impact the club’s plans on the field in terms of payroll. In its final years under Peter Seidler, the Padres organization had operated hefty payrolls in hopes of speeding up the club’s timeline for contention, but starting last offseason began to lower payroll to something closer to the middle of the pack. Acee adds that the Padres believe that their current model for payroll is “more sustainable” and that it figures to continue going forward with John Seidler now at the helm.

For the 2025 season, that likely means the club’s payroll will need to come down as compared to current projections. RosterResource projects a $210MM payroll for the club next season as things stand, which is $41MM higher than last year’s $169MM figure. While previous reporting has indicated that the club has room to increase the budget beyond its 2024 level, that increase is expected to be marginal and leave the club to ponder trading pricey arbitration-level players such as Dylan Cease and Luis Arráez.

Tigers, Guardians Interested In Erick Fedde, Steven Matz

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As reported by John Denton, Mark Feinsand, and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the Tigers and Guardians have both expressed interest in trading for Cardinals starting pitchers Erick Fedde and Steven Matz. Both pitchers seemed to be likely trade candidates entering the offseason, but this is the first report to link either pitcher to specific suitors.

As the Cardinals look to shed payroll and kickstart a retooling effort, just about all of their veteran players look like possible trade chips. Nolan Arenado has generated much of the buzz so far, but his contract isn’t the only one St. Louis could look to offload. After Arenado, the next highest-paid players on the roster are Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, and Willson Contreras. However, all three have no-trade clauses in their contracts, and all three have expressed a desire to stay in St. Louis. Thus, Matz and Fedde could be the next players who president of baseball operations John Mozeliak looks to flip. Those trades wouldn’t come with quite as much salary relief – Matz will make $12.5MM and Fedde will make $7.5MM in 2025 – but they might be easier to pull off. Not only is less money involved, but neither Matz nor Fedde has the right to reject a trade.

Any trade involving Matz would likely be a salary dump. In other words, the Cardinals should not expect to get any notable players back in return. As he enters his age-34 campaign, Matz is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. In 12 games (seven starts), he pitched to a 5.08 ERA and 4.63 SIERA. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was the lowest it’s ever been. To make matters worse, he missed four months of the year nursing a lower back strain.

While Matz has been a productive starting pitcher in the not-so-distant past, he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency throughout his career. He has spent time on the IL in every season since his rookie year and has never thrown enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. His 3.86 ERA and 4.19 SIERA over 105 innings in 2023 are a reminder that he can be a valuable contributor to a big league rotation. Yet, as Matz enters his mid-thirties, concerns about his durability and potential decline will only increase. All that to say, his $12.5MM salary is probably more than he could command on the open market. If the Cardinals want another team to take on that salary, they won’t be able to ask for much in return.

As for Fedde, the Cardinals wouldn’t get as much salary relief in a trade, but they could bring back some talent to help in 2025 and beyond. Although Fedde has had injury and inconsistency problems of his own, he is two years younger than Matz and coming off of two consecutive strong seasons. He also comes $5MM cheaper.

Fedde was little more than an innings eater for the Nationals from 2017-22. However, he reinvented himself in the KBO in 2023, winning the MVP Award and signing a two-year, $15MM deal with the White Sox last winter. While he wasn’t an MVP-caliber player in 2024, he produced what was easily the best season of his MLB career, pitching 177 1/3 innings with a 3.30 ERA and 4.19 SIERA. He didn’t excel in any one area, but he limited walks and hard contact at better-than-average rates and tossed at least five innings in 27 of his 31 starts. If he repeats that performance in 2025, he’d be an upgrade for just about every contending team’s starting rotation.

As far as contending teams go, Cleveland and Detroit have two of the weaker rotations. With Shane Bieber still recovering from Tommy John surgery, the Guardians only have three locks for the rotation: Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Ben Lively. The Tigers are in a similar position with several question marks after Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, and Alex Cobb. With that said, it’s still surprising to see these two teams linked to Fedde and Matz. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported during the Winter Meetings that the Tigers were not “planning to pursue additional starting pitchers” after signing Cobb. He quotes general manager Jeff Greenberg, who said “I think we’re probably done for now.”

As for the Guardians, it’s a question of money as usual. It’s especially rare to see this team spend significant money on pitching because they have done such a good job of developing talented arms internally. Thus, Matz, in particular, seems to be an unexpected target; he would become the highest-paid pitcher on the roster. However, a deal with Cleveland could make more sense if St. Louis is willing to eat some salary to receive a more talented return package.

Royals, Junior Fernández Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Royals have signed right-handed pitcher Junior Fernández to a minor league deal, the team announced. He last pitched in MLB during the 2022 season.

Fernández signed with the Cardinals as an international free agent in 2014 and made his MLB debut in St. Louis five years later. Unfortunately, he was never able to establish himself in the Cardinals bullpen. Over parts of four seasons with the club, he pitched to a 5.51 ERA and 4.78 SIERA in 50 2/3 innings of mostly low-leverage work.

The Cardinals designated Fernández for assignment in 2022, and the Pirates scooped him up off of waivers. He made three scoreless appearances for Pittsburgh at the end of the year, but it wasn’t enough to save him from another DFA. After a brief stint in the Yankees organization that offseason, Fernández was DFA’d once again. The Blue Jays were the next team to claim him, and, as he surely came to expect, the next team to DFA him just a few weeks later. This time, however, Fernández passed through waivers. The Blue Jays sent him outright to the minors, where he pitched to a 5.69 ERA and 5.92 FIP in 42 games with Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto released him before the year was up, and he spent the final weeks of the season pitching at Triple-A in the Nationals organization. His 2.79 ERA in 9 2/3 innings was more impressive, but his matching 13.6% strikeout and walk rates were ugly.

Following the 2023 campaign, Fernández elected free agency and signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of NPB. Unfortunately, his career overseas was short-lived. An injury limited him to just two appearances in Japan before the Marines released him.

Now entering his age-28 season, Fernández will look to get back to the majors with the Royals. Whether or not he succeeds will likely depend on his arm health and velocity. In 2022, Fernández was averaging close to 99 mph and regularly hitting triple digits with both his sinker and his four-seam fastball. Despite his control issues, velocity like that is enough to make him an intriguing arm. However, his velocity was down a tick while he was pitching at Triple-A in 2023. Now, his mostly lost 2024 season makes it hard to predict what to expect from his arm in 2025. That said, the Royals presumably scouted him in the Dominican League, where he’s been pitching this winter. Despite his 6.43 ERA and 16.2% walk rate in 14 innings of work, they must have liked what they saw enough to bring him on board as bullpen depth for the 2025 season.

Marlins Make Two Additions To Coaching Staff

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The Marlins are in the process of filling several vacancies on manager Clayton McCullough’s coaching staff. Earlier this week, they reportedly hired Tyler Smarslok to be their new first base coach. They also promoted Brandon Mann from the position of pitching strategist to bullpen coach. Both moves were reported by Isaac Azout of Fish On First. The team has not yet confirmed the news.

Smarslok, 32, spent several years working with college teams before the Twins organization hired him in 2020. He coached for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints over the past four seasons. In addition, he managed the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League earlier this year. His job with the Marlins will be his first major league gig. Smarslok replaces previous first base coach Jon Jay.

Mann, 40, enjoyed a long professional pitching career. A southpaw, he played parts of 12 seasons in the minors with the Rays, Dodgers, Pirates, A’s, and Rangers organizations and made a handful of big league appearances with Texas in 2018 – 16 years after he was taken in the 27th round of the draft. He also spent time in NPB, the CPBL, the Atlantic League, and the American Association. Following his retirement from playing, he briefly served as minor league pitching coordinator for the Lotte Giants of the KBO before returning stateside to work at Driveline Baseball. After two years at Driveline, he took a job as the pitching strategist for the Marlins for the 2024 season. He will now take over for Wellington Cepeda as Miami’s bullpen coach.

Back in October, the Marlins announced they would not bring back any of their coaches for the 2025 season. Since hiring McCullough to lead the squad, they have brought on Carson Vitale as bench coach, Pedro Guerrero as hitting coach, Daniel Moskos as pitching coach, and Derek Shomon as assistant hitting coach. Smarslok and Mann are the newest additions to the staff.

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