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The Opener: Spring Training, Extensions, 60-Day IL

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Baseball is back! Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into spring training:

1. Pitchers and catchers begin reporting:

The Cubs kicked off spring training officially yesterday when their pitchers and catchers reported to camp. With yesterday’s report date came a number of interesting comments from club officials, including president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell, about the state of the roster headed into the season and whether or not there may be more left to do as spring training begins. As the rest of the league begins to filter into camp throughout the week, starting with the Dodgers tomorrow, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more illuminating comments from other teams’ officials that help set the tone for the coming spring.

2. Extension season begins?

With the start of spring training also begins the start of extension season around baseball. While extensions can and do happen at any point in the calendar, spring training is generally regarded as the most natural time for those negotiations to occur and is frequently utilized as a window to hammer out those deals where club budgets are mostly set and players have not yet turned their attention fully to the day-to-day grind of the regular season. Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will get the most attention over the coming days after he set a deadline for contract talks with Toronto that is now just over a week away. The Rockies are reportedly weighing the possibility of extending center fielder Brenton Doyle, and the Phillies and J.T. Realmuto could discuss an extension sometime this spring as well. There will be dozens of negotiations around the league, and at least a few extensions are completed every spring. Last February/March brought long-term deals for Bobby Witt Jr., Jose Altuve, Mitch Keller, Zack Wheeler, Brayan Bello, Ezequiel Tovar, Will Smith and Ceddanne Rafaela, as shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker.

3. 60-Day injured list opens:

When each team’s pitchers and catchers first report to spring training, their club will also unlock access to the 60-day injured list. That “60-day” term is relative to Opening Day, not the point at which the player is placed on the IL (though teams can backdate the initial placement up the to maximum three days  allowed by league rules). Players on the 60-day injured list do not count toward a 40-man roster. That’s a hugely valuable roster construction tool for teams with full 40-man rosters. In the days/weeks ahead, several teams will move a player to the 60-day IL to finalize agreed-upon deals that have not yet become official (e.g. the Dodgers’ reunion with Enrique Hernandez). The presence of some 60-day IL candidates on a team’s roster can also allow that club to get more aggressive with waiver claims or signing remaining free agents. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently laid out a comprehensive list of likely 60-day IL candidates for each team, though of course it’s always possible more long-term injuries could pop up as players filter back into camp for the start of spring training.

Tanner Scott To Open Season As Dodgers’ Primary Closer

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The Dodgers signed arguably the two best closers available this winter when they landed both Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates in free agency last month. The pair of moves, along with their move to re-sign Blake Treinen earlier in the winter, bolstered an already excellent late-inning mix that included Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, and Alex Vesia. The moves raised the question, however, of who Los Angeles planned to lean on for the ninth inning. Manager Dave Roberts mostly put that question to bed when talking with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio this morning, however. In that conversation, Roberts said that Scott will receive the “brunt” of the club’s save opportunities to start the season.

That Scott would get the nod over Yates isn’t a complete surprise given the southpaw’s $72MM contract and his utterly dominant work over the past two seasons. The lefty has pitched to a 2.04 ERA in 150 innings of work with a 2.53 FIP over the past two seasons, picking up 34 saves in 40 chances along the way. He’s struck out 31.3% of his opponents in that time while walking 10%. Those dominant numbers should be good enough to close for just about any team, and that two-season track record can be argued to give Scott a leg up over Yates in terms of consistency, given that the right-hander pitched to a solid but unspectacular 3.28 ERA with a lackluster 4.63 FIP in 61 appearances for the Braves in 2023.

With that being said, however, it’s fair to note that Yates has more experience in the closer role that Scott does. The soon to be 38-year-old veteran racked up nearly as many saves last year (33) as Scott did over the past two seasons, and led the majors in saves with the Padres back in 2019. While both pitchers have been used outside of the closer role throughout their careers, Yates is more entrenched in the ninth inning than Scott is. After all, Scott was moved out of the closer role in deference to San Diego’s hard-throwing righty Robert Suarez down the stretch just last summer, and was only used in the ninth inning or later for about a third of his total appearances with the Marlins in 2023. Yates also arguably had an even more dominant 2024 campaign than Scott did, as he pitched to an eye-popping 1.17 ERA with a 2.50 FIP and 35.9% strikeout rate for the Rangers last year.

Of course, that’s not to say Yates couldn’t get into some save situations at some point this year. Roberts stopped short of fully anointing Scott as the club’s closer, leaving room for Yates or other experienced late-inning arms like Treinen, Phillips, and Kopech to come in for a save opportunity should a situation call for it. The Dodgers have rarely stayed closely wedded to a full-time closer in the years since Kenley Jansen departed the club during the 2021-22 offseason, with ten or more players recording at least one save for the club in each of the last three seasons. Given that willingness to play matchups late in games rather than rely on a set bullpen hierarchy, it would hardly be a surprise to see the Dodgers continue with that approach to some degree even after investing significant dollars into Scott as their top closing option.

Austin Voth Signs With NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines

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The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball announced today that they’ve signed right-hander Austin Voth (h/t Yakyu Cosmopolitan). Voth is expected to pitch out of the rotation for the Marines.

Voth, 33 in June, was a fifth-round pick by the Nationals back in 2013. He started his career with the Nats in 2018 but struggled with the club throughout his time in Washington. Despite a solid 2019 season where he pitched in 43 2/3 innings of 3.30 ERA (137 ERA+) ball backed up by a solid 3.79 FIP, he was never so much as league average for the rest of his time in D.C. before being shipped out to Baltimore partway through the 2022 campaign. Overall, Voth finished his Nationals career with a 5.70 ERA (75 ERA+) and a 5.12 FIP despite a fairly solid 22.1% strikeout rate.

Upon joining the Orioles, Voth managed to turn things around somewhat. He was quickly installed in the Baltimore rotation for the second half of 2022, making 17 starts and five relief appearances that totaled 83 innings. It was a strong performance as he struck out 20.7% of opponents while walking 7.2% en route to a 3.04 ERA (129 ERA+) and 3.96 FIP. That quality production at the back of the rotation helped to lift the Orioles to their first winning record since 2016 and all but guaranteed the righty a roster spot in Baltimore the following year. Unfortunately, Voth’s numbers took a nosedive in 2023 when he moved back to the bullpen, with a brutal 5.19 ERA (79 ERA+) in 34 2/3 innings of work. Voth’s peripherals largely matched that performance as well; his 21.3% strikeout rate was mostly stagnant as compared to the year prior, but Voth’s walk rate jumped to 9.3% and he gave up a whopping six homers in 25 relief outings.

The right-hander was outrighted off the club’s roster in September of 2023 and elected free agency following the season. He signed with the Mariners on a one-year, big league deal that guaranteed him $1.25MM and was a key part of the club’s bullpen mix throughout the 2024 season. After previously working as a starter and long reliever throughout his career, Voth was used almost exclusively in short relief by the Mariners to decent results. He posted a league average 3.69 ERA in 61 innings of work as his strikeout rate ticked up to 24.6% against a 7.3% walk rate, though home runs continued to be an issue for the righty.

Now that he’s headed to Japan, Voth figures to slot into the Marines’ rotation after the club parted ways with Roki Sasaki via the posting system last month. The Marines surely aren’t relying on Voth to replicate the production of their departing 23-year-old phenom, but his addition should offer them quality back-of-the-rotation innings nonetheless. Should the 32-year-old find success in NPB as a rotation piece this year, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility he could return to stateside ball in hopes of establishing himself as a starter in the majors as well.

Jed Hoyer, Craig Counsell Discuss Cubs’ Third Base Plans

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Pitchers and catchers reported to camp for the Cubs today, and as part of the start of camp president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell both spoke with the media about a number of topics. Third base was a particular focus of the media session after Chicago dealt incumbent third baseman Isaac Paredes to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker trade back in December. Notably, the Cubs have reportedly remained on the periphery of the market for longtime Astros third baseman Alex Bregman this winter as he’s lingered in free agency. While it does seem as though Chicago has interest in Bregman’s services, Hoyer made clear the club is currently focused on the players they already have internally in comments relayed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

“Unclear,” Hoyer said when asked if another major move was coming before Opening Day. “I think you always look for opportunity, but right now we’re going to focus on the guys we have in camp. That’s the plan.”

Nightengale reports that the Red Sox, Tigers, and Astros have all made offers of at least four years to Bregman at this point, and that’s largely consistent with previous reporting that has suggested Bregman has been presented with five- and six-year offers throughout the winter. As for the Cubs, Nightengale writes that there’s been “no indication” that the Cubs would be willing to offer more than a three-year deal, but added that they could be willing to offer Bregman the highest average annual value of any of his suitors should he settle for a short-term deal.

It’s a model that the club followed to re-sign Cody Bellinger last winter when they landed him on a three-year, $80MM pact in late February, and other high-profile free agents like Pete Alonso and Jack Flaherty have had to settle for similarly short-term offers previously this winter. Whether Bregman’s market will make it necessary for him to follow that same path remains to be seen, however, and it’s easy to imagine the Cubs simply going with their internal options at the position rather than committing to a lengthy contract with Bregman.

Of those internal options, the most exciting one for Cubs fans is surely top prospect Matt Shaw. The club’s 2023 first-round pick has done nothing but hit as a professional, with a .303/.384/.522 slash line across four levels of the minors to this point in his young career. That includes a fabulous 35-game stint at Triple-A late last year, where he hit .298/.395/.534 with a strikeout rate of just 19.7% in 152 trips to the plate. Shaw’s ascent has put him firmly on the big league radar headed into the 2025 season, and it seems as though (barring a surprise acquisition like Bregman) the 23-year-old will get every opportunity to open camp with the club this spring.

With that being said, Hoyer made clear (as relayed by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers) that Shaw will have to earn the position this spring and won’t just be handed the position. While Hoyer emphasized that they don’t plan to “anoint” the rookie, it’s worth pointing out that there isn’t a clear veteran option for the hot corner should they decide to pivot away from Shaw at this point. Vidal Brujan was acquired from the Marlins earlier this winter but has less than 100 innings of third base experience in the majors and is a career .189/.261/.270 hitter. Rule 5 pick Gage Workman is viewed as a plus defender at third base and hit well for the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate in Erie last year, but he hasn’t even played at the Triple-A level before making him arguably less experienced than Shaw himself.

Perhaps veteran utility man Jon Berti is the best internal third base candidate besides Shaw, though the 35-year-old is coming off a season where he was limited to just 25 games due to injuries and would be risky to rely on in an everyday role. He’s also reportedly under consideration to back up Michael Busch at first base, suggesting his best role may be one where his versatility is leveraged to allow him to fill in at multiple positions off the bench. Further complicating the Cubs’ infield mix is the uncertain timeline of second baseman Nico Hoerner. The Cubs revealed in late October that Hoerner had undergone flexor tendon surgery without providing a timeline for his return, and the latest update on his recovery process was that he had yet to begin throwing or hitting post-surgery and that his availability for the start of the season was in question.

Given all of that uncertainty around the infield, another infielder would certainly make sense for Chicago even if they aren’t willing to extend themselves to land Bregman. Free agent infield help is scarce at this point in the offseason, however. Aside from Bregman, the best third base options available are bench pieces like Paul DeJong and Luis Urias. It’s possible a trade could be had, with Brett Baty of the Mets, Oswaldo Cabrera of the Yankees, and Willi Castro of the Twins among speculative trade candidates who could still be available at this point in the winter, but the Cubs haven’t been tied to any of those names to this point.

Until and unless the Cubs add another infielder to give Shaw more robust competition for the Opening Day third base job, it seems very likely he’ll be at the hot corner for the club when the season begins. That figures to be true even if Hoerner isn’t ready for Opening Day, as Counsell told reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com) that Shaw’s focus is on third base this spring when asked if Shaw could spend some time at second base this spring to make him an option at the keystone should Hoerner begin the season on the IL.

Rangers Have Had “Internal Discussions” About Jon Gray As Closer

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The Rangers are poised to enter Spring Training this year with a dilemma that they haven’t had in recent years: no experienced closers on their roster. Kirby Yates, David Robertson, and Jose Leclerc had a combined 313 saves under their belts when they departed Texas for free agency back in November after serving as the Rangers’ late-inning relief corps in 2024, and the year prior to that lefty Will Smith closed games for the Rangers despite a shaky 4.40 ERA thanks in part to the two 30+ save seasons he had under his belt before he arrived in Texas. This year, however, the club has no such experienced closer to lean on in the ninth inning.

Veteran reliever Chris Martin has the dominant relief numbers often associated with the closer role, but has just 14 career saves and has not recorded more than four in a single season before. Those 14 saves are still enough to make him the most experienced ninth-inning arm in the Rangers’ new-look bullpen, which added interesting pieces like Robert Garcia, Hoby Milner, and Jacob Webb who have pitched well in the past but never been used as a closer. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News noted that it’s possible the club won’t have clearly defined roles in the bullpen entering the season due to the lack of a clear top closing option, though he added that there have been at least “internal discussions” about the possibility of using veteran starter Jon Gray in the ninth inning.

Grant emphasizes that as things currently stand, Gray appears to be more valuable to the club as a starter given the innings he can provide. 2024 was the first 162-game season of Gray’s career where he posted less than 20 starts and 110 innings of work since his nine-start cup of coffee with the Rockies as a rookie back in 2013, and with 1216 2/3 innings of work (including 387 1/3 in a Rangers uniform) under his belt Gray is valuable source of steadiness in a Texas rotation mix filled with aging, oft-injured, or young and unproven arms. Given that, it would hardly be a surprise to see the club simply stick with Gray in the rotation and use Martin for the lion’s share of save chances, or perhaps simply play matchups in the ninth inning without anointing a closer at all.

Even so, the idea of Gray as a reliever is a somewhat intriguing one. Gray was used out of the bullpen four times in 2024, the most he’s ever pitched in relief in his career to this point. While Gray’s seven innings of work out of the bullpen are much too small of a sample size to draw any major conclusions from, his brief work in the role was nothing short of dominant: Gray pitched to a 1.29 ERA in those four appearances with a phenomenal 37% strikeout rate against a 7.4% walk rate. Those are the kind of numbers that could be truly game-changing for a Rangers club that has struggled to find production in the bullpen in recent years, making a potential role change for Gray at least worth considering.

While it seems unlikely that the Rangers would move Gray to the bullpen to start the season, perhaps it could become a more feasible option as the season develops. The Rangers have very little certainty in their rotation, but huge amounts of upside. Top draft picks Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter figure to try and force their way into the rotation with the club this year, and healthy seasons from Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle would be able to turn the club’s starting five from a question mark to a major strength quite suddenly. If things are looking up for the club in the rotation this summer, perhaps Gray’s 4.70 ERA in 19 starts last year becomes less attractive as a steady, back-end option and the club decides to see what the 33-year-old can do as a full-time reliever.

Rockies To Consider Young Pitchers For Starting Rotation

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There’s a likely scenario in which the Rockies enter the 2025 season with a rotation full of familiar faces: Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Ryan Feltner, Austin Gomber, and Antonio Senzatela. All five of those pitchers have been in Colorado’s Opening Day rotation multiple times before. Yet, general manager Bill Schmidt is not ruling out the possibility that one of the team’s young pitching prospects could supplant an established arm (per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). Accordingly, the GM says his team is open to the idea of moving a veteran starter to the bullpen to accommodate a fresh face in the rotation. On a similar note, manager Bud Black told Saunders he’s also open to some young pitchers making the team – as long as they’re ready.

As Saunders lays out, the three prospects most likely to wiggle their way onto the Opening Day roster are Chase Dollander, Carson Palmquist, and Sean Sullivan. Dollander, 23, is a consensus top-100 prospect and widely considered the best pitching prospect in the Rockies system. He looks like a future frontline starter with the upside to be a perennial Cy Young contender. However, it has been less than two years since Colorado drafted him, and he only has one year of professional experience under his belt. Thus, there’s a good chance the Rockies would like their star prospect to get some more reps in the high minors before they expose him to big league competition – at Coors Field, no less. To that point, Schmidt made it clear that the Rockies have no interest in rushing Dollander to the show. They will not consider calling him up to pitch out of the bullpen; he won’t be in Colorado until he’s ready for a role in the rotation.

However, director of player development Chris Forbes suggested that Palmquist, 24, could see his MLB debut out of the bullpen (per Saunders). The team still envisions him as a starter long-term, and he could still impress enough to earn a starting role this spring, but he could also see time as a multi-inning arm in the ’pen. The young left-hander is not as highly regarded of a prospect as Dollander – he looks more like a back-end starter than an ace – but he could be closer to the big leagues. The Rockies took him with the 88th overall pick in 2022, and he has quickly risen through the ranks of their minor league system. He has made 46 starts across four levels, including nine starts at Triple-A. In 27 starts between Double-A and Triple-A last year, he pitched to a 3.98 ERA and 4.43 FIP with an impressive 29.0% strikeout rate, although his 12.1% walk rate was rather high.

Sullivan, 22, was Colorado’s second-round pick in 2023. Most evaluators have doubts about his long-term prospects as a big league starting pitcher. Baseball America describes him as a “depth starter,” while FanGraphs sees him working in middle relief. However, the team at Baseball Prospectus included him on their list of the Rockies’ top 10 prospects, suggesting he could become a “highly efficient” number four starter. If his 2024 performance is anything to go off, that outcome certainly seems possible. Over 21 starts between High-A and Double-A, Sullivan tossed 115 1/3 innings with a 2.11 ERA and 2.83 FIP. Most impressive was his pinpoint control; he walked just 3.4% of the batters he faced. After a year like that, it’s not hard to understand why the Rockies will give him an extended look this spring.

As for which of Colorado’s veteran starting pitchers could wind up moving to the bullpen, Senzatela might be the most likely possibility. The oft-injured 30-year-old missed almost all of the last two seasons recovering from an ACL reconstruction and Tommy John surgery. His last productive season was in 2021, and even then, he failed to pitch enough to qualify for the ERA title. It would not be surprising to see him struggle in camp after so much time away, in which case it might be best for all involved to ease him back into an MLB role via the bullpen. Márquez is another name to keep an eye on this spring, considering he has also missed most of the last two seasons due to injury. He was durable and reliable for Colorado over the previous six years, so he is likely to have a much longer leash than his fellow Venezuelan right-hander. In other words, the Rockies are highly unlikely to move Márquez to the bullpen. However, if he needs to go back on the injured list, a spot in the rotation would open up.

Cardinals Sign Rob Kaminsky To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals have signed left-handed pitcher Rob Kaminsky to a minor league contract for the 2025 season, the team announced. This will be the 30-year-old’s third stint with the organization and his 12th professional campaign.

Kaminsky first signed with St. Louis in 2013 as the 28th overall pick in the draft. Despite his young age – he made his pro debut at 18 – the southpaw impressed right away. Over his first three years in the Cardinals system, he threw 217 1/3 innings between Rookie ball and High-A, pitching to a 2.15 ERA and 2.90 FIP.

St. Louis traded Kaminsky to Cleveland ahead of the 2015 trade deadline, in exchange for Brandon Moss. It was after the trade that Kaminsky began to struggle, and questions about his ability to stick in the rotation began to arise. Following a 2017 season almost completely lost to injury, he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in 2018 and ’19, compiling a 3.31 ERA and 4.01 FIP in 84 1/3 innings pitched. While his numbers were solid (if unspectacular), he had largely fallen off of top prospects lists by that time. He elected minor league free agency after the 2019 season.

Kaminsky re-joined the Cardinals on a minor league pact that winter and made his MLB debut the following summer. He pitched 4 2/3 innings in 2020, striking out three and walking two. He gave up three runs, although only one was earned. Despite his serviceable results, the Cardinals DFA’d him after his fifth appearance in September. He has not returned the to major leagues since.

From 2021-24, Kaminsky bounced from the Phillies to the Mariners to the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League and back to the Mariners. He dealt with various injury issues in that time and struggled to make much of an impact when he did take the mound. That being said, it’s worth noting that he made eight starts at Triple-A Tacoma in 2024. It was the first time he had made more than two starts in a season since 2016. Kaminsky is highly unlikely to make the Opening Day roster, but he will offer the Cardinals some left-handed depth for the bullpen, and possibly the rotation, too. Perhaps a return to his former club will help him get back on track as he strives to return to the majors in 2025.

Padres, Gavin Sheets Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Padres and Gavin Sheets have come to terms on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal includes an invitation to big league spring training. Sheets was non-tendered by the White Sox earlier this offseason.

A second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Sheets slugged his way to the majors in 2021. His bat stayed hot throughout the year, and he finished his debut season with 11 home runs, an .830 OPS, and a 123 wRC+ in 54 games. Unfortunately, the big lefty batter has struggled to make an impact at the plate ever since. Over 381 games from 2022-24, Sheets produced a .659 OPS and an 84 wRC+ with just 35 home runs in more than 1,200 trips to the plate. His walk and strikeout rates hovered relatively close to league average, but he just wasn’t impacting the ball the way he needed to – and the way he once seemed like he could, as a promising, power-hitting prospect. On the contrary, his hard-hit rate ranked in the bottom third of the league each year from 2022-24.

As a corner outfielder/first baseman who doesn’t contribute with his legs or his glove, Sheets needs to hit to offer value to his club. Thus, it wasn’t exactly surprising when the White Sox non-tendered him rather than pay his projected $2.6MM salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility. Even for a pitiful White Sox club, Sheets has been a disappointment. His -2.2 FanGraphs WAR over the last three seasons ranks last on the team in that time. Meanwhile, none of the well-known projection systems see him bouncing back. ZiPS, Steamer, and PECOTA all agree that Sheets is more likely than not to be a below-average hitter once again in 2025.

All of that explains why Sheets was unable to land a guaranteed contract entering his age-29 season. Instead, he will head to spring training and look to make a good impression. While the Padres recently addressed a weakness in the corner outfield by adding Jason Heyward and Connor Joe to form a platoon in left field, their designated hitter spot remains wide open. If Sheets earns a job on the Opening Day roster, he and Luis Arraez could share duties at first base and DH. Given the way Sheets has played lately, that’s a huge “if.” Then again, it’s not as if San Diego currently has a glut of better options. The Padres are desperately seeking upside as they try to replace hitters like Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim on a shoestring budget. Barring further additions, they have no reason not to give Sheets every opportunity to prove himself in camp.

Jon Berti Could See Time As Backup First Baseman For Cubs

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Jon Berti doesn’t match the profile of your typical first baseman. Listed at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Berti is best known for his speed. From 2018-23, his sprint speed consistently ranked in the 95th percentile or higher. In 2024, his age-34 season, he still ranked within the top 10% of baserunners with a sprint speed of 29.0 feet per second. Meanwhile, his average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate all would have ranked among the bottom 10% if he had enough batted balls to qualify. He managed just one extra-base hit in 74 trips to the plate. Since his debut in 2018, only 10 players (min. 1,500 PA) have a worse isolated power than Berti’s career .107 mark.

Indeed, up until this past October, Berti had never played first base – at least not professionally. The keystone was his primary home in the minor leagues. In the majors, he had split his time between second base, third base, and shortstop, while also filling in, on occasion, in all three outfield positions. However, in Game 2 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Royals, New York skipper Aaron Boone penciled Berti into the lineup at first base. The veteran utility man would end up starting two more games at first throughout the playoffs; all 12 of his 2024 postseason plate appearances (and all but one of his defensive innings) came at this brand new position.

The Yankees asked Berti to play first base out of desperation. Anthony Rizzo was unavailable for the ALDS, while DJ LeMahieu missed the entire postseason. Set to face the dominant southpaw Cole Ragans in Game 2, Boone decided he’d rather have the righty-batting Berti in the lineup over Ben Rice or Oswaldo Cabrera, both of whom have had their struggles against left-handed pitching. Yet, it seems as if Berti’s new club, the Cubs, could enter the 2025 season with Berti as their go-to backup at first base. Discussing the crop of position players who will suit up for the Cubs in the Cactus League this spring, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic suggested Berti could be “the primary backup” at first base this year.

Michael Busch will return as Chicago’s everyday first baseman in 2025 after a strong rookie campaign. Over 152 games, he popped 21 home runs, walked 11.1% of the time, and finished with a 119 wRC+ – well above the league average, even at a position with high offensive standards. After Busch, however, the team doesn’t have many options to cover the right-most bag. None of the other Cubs players who spent time at the position in 2024 (Cody Bellinger, Patrick Wisdom, Garrett Cooper, and Matt Mervis) remain in the organization. Other than Busch, the only player on their 40-man roster with more MLB experience at first base than Berti is Ian Happ (61 innings from 2018-20). Needless to say, the Cubs aren’t going to play their three-time Gold Glove-winning left fielder in the infield unless it’s as a last resort.

Two of the four spots on the Cubs’ bench are spoken for; one belongs to Berti and one belongs to whichever catcher, either Miguel Amaya or Carson Kelly, isn’t in the starting lineup. Top candidates for the remaining bench spots include utility man Gage Workman, a Rule 5 draft pick; utility man Vidal Bruján, an offseason trade acquisition; utility man Nicky Lopez, a minor league signing; and utility man Ben Cowles, whom the Cubs protected from the Rule 5 draft. Oh, and they’ll need at least one bona fide outfielder, too. Alexander Canario is already on the 40-man roster, so he could have the inside track on that job. Simply put, that doesn’t leave much room in the mix for a true first baseman, even if the Cubs had one to consider. First base prospect Jonathon Long will be in camp, but the 23-year-old has played less than half a season above High-A, and his chances of earning a spot on the Opening Day roster are slim to none.

The Cubs could think about adding someone like Mark Canha or Justin Turner, but they don’t have the playing time to offer to make such a signing seem appealing for either side. Alternatively, they could bring another first baseman into camp on a minor league deal (names like Rowdy Tellez or Yuli Gurriel come to mind), but players of that caliber might not move the needle enough to be worth pursuing.

So, it seems as if Berti will be Chicago’s best bet to spell Busch at first base on occasion. That might not be the best use of Berti’s skill set – his bat is well below average at first, while his plus glove is wasted at a low-impact defensive position. That said, it’s not as if first base is a position that necessarily requires a strong backup. If Busch can play another 152 games (or more), Berti’s job at first will be minimal. His primary responsibilities will still be at second base, third base, and/or shortstop. He proved last October that he could play first base in a pinch, and that could very well be all he needs to do for the Cubs in 2025.

Giants Could Hold Competition For Backup Catcher Role

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When the Giants signed Tom Murphy to a two-year, $8.25MM deal last offseason, the contract came with the clear expectation that he would serve as the backup to young defensive star Patrick Bailey over the next two seasons. Murphy’s veteran experience and power bat would surely pair nicely with Bailey’s youth and glove-first skill set. Unfortunately for Murphy and San Francisco, he ended up spending most of the first year of his deal on the injured list nursing a sprained left knee. Meanwhile, the Giants needed six different catchers to get through the season, including two – Curt Casali and Andrew Knapp – who weren’t in the organization as of Opening Day. With the 2025 campaign fast approaching, Murphy is another year older and another year removed from his last healthy season. So, it stands to reason that the Giants would at least consider all their options before giving him the backup job once again.  Indeed, according to Andrew Baggarly and Grant Brisbee of The Athletic, you can expect the team to hold “an open competition” for their second-string catcher job this spring. 

Murphy played just 13 games in 2024, going 4-for-34 with one double, one home run, and four walks. When he landed on the IL in early May, Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Baggarly) that he would need approximately four to six weeks to recover. Yet, weeks turned into months and Murphy still could not squat behind the plate without pain. Eventually, a second MRI scan after the All-Star break showed that his sprained ligament had not healed at all (per Evan Webeck of the Bay Area News Group). A PRP injection seemed to help the healing process, but by that point, Murphy’s 2024 season was lost. On the bright side, he told Webeck in September that he hoped to be back at full strength by spring training, and there’s no reason to believe that timeline has changed.

It’s easy to see what the Giants liked about Murphy when they signed him. At his best (and his healthiest), he is a legitimate power threat, especially against left-handed pitching. He hit well when he was on the field in 2022 and ’23, batting .292 with nine home runs in 61 games. Particularly impressive were his .879 OPS and 148 wRC+ in 201 trips to the plate; no catcher (min. 200 PA) had a higher OPS or wRC+ in that span. Murphy also showed off his unusual power for a catcher in 2019 with the Mariners, a year in which he hit 18 home runs and put up a 126 wRC+ in 281 PA.

Of course, 201 PA and 281 PA are both small sample sizes, and small sample sizes have been a problem for Murphy throughout his career. He has never played more than 97 games or taken more than 325 PA in a season. As he enters his age-34 campaign, he has only crossed the 200 PA threshold in a season twice, the 100 PA threshold three times, and the 50 PA threshold four times. He has spent at least six weeks on the IL in four of the past five years. And of all the injuries he has suffered, his knee sprain last season might be the most troubling yet. Knee injuries are always worrisome for catchers, and the fact that he took so long to recover is another cause for concern. Even in a best-case scenario where Bailey stays healthy throughout this coming season and takes on as much of the catching duties as he possibly can, the Giants will still need 400 or so innings from their backup. Murphy has only caught 400 innings in a season twice, and it’s more than fair to wonder if he can handle that kind of workload in 2025.

With all that said, it works in Murphy’s favor that the Giants don’t necessarily have a better option. In January, Brisbee laid out a few of Murphy’s potential competitors, including Sam Huff, Max Stassi, and Logan Porter. Huff, who is already on the 40-man roster, was once a relatively well-regarded prospect in the Rangers organization. However, the 27-year-old has never been able to establish himself at the big league level, and he’s coming off a poor offensive season at Triple-A. Stassi, meanwhile, has plenty of MLB experience, but he hasn’t played in the majors since 2022 and has not been a productive major league since 2021. He’s the same age as Murphy and comes with even more question marks. Finally, Porter has some offensive upside, but there’s a reason he’s 29 years old and only has 11 big league games under his belt. Unlike Murphy, Huff, or Stassi, Porter has minor league options, which makes him a potential candidate to shuttle back and forth between the majors and minors as needed in a third-string catcher role.

If the Giants are willing to look outside the organization, they could make this competition a little more interesting by signing another veteran catcher like James McCann, Luke Maile, or Yan Gomes to a minor league contract and inviting them to camp. Ultimately, however, Murphy still seems like the favorite to be Bailey’s backup come Opening Day. For one thing, the $4.25MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract isn’t nothing, and the Giants aren’t going to want to eat that unless they feel they have no other choice. What’s more, if he can stay healthy, his powerful righty bat could be a genuinely valuable weapon for San Francisco’s bench. Still, the team will at least do their due diligence this spring. If Murphy struggles in camp, and another catcher stands out, the Giants will have to make a difficult decision before Opening Day.

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