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Royals Sign Cole Ragans To Three-Year Deal

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The Royals are in agreement with ace Cole Ragans on a three-year, $13.25MM deal that covers this season and his first two years of arbitration eligibility, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The signing does not impact Kansas City’s window of team control. Ragans, a Wasserman client, remains controllable through the end of 2028.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports the specific breakdown. Ragans receives a $250K signing bonus and a $1MM salary for the upcoming season. He’ll make $4.5MM and $7.5MM for the following two seasons and would escalate his ’27 salary to $8MM if he wins the Cy Young in either of the next two years.

Ragans has a little over two years of major league service. He did not reach the cutoff necessary to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player. He would have played the upcoming season on a salary around the $760K league minimum before reaching arbitration next winter. This gives him a modest bump this year while allowing the Royals to lock in his earnings over what would have been his first two arbitration seasons. Barring another extension, he’ll go through the arbitration process one time during the 2027-28 offseason before hitting the open market.

Acquired from the Rangers in June ’23 for Aroldis Chapman, Ragans has blossomed into one of the sport’s top pitchers. He turned in a 2.64 earned run average over 12 starts after the trade. That came against a run of mostly soft competition, but the 6’4″ southpaw put to rest any questions about whether that was an aberration. He took a full 32 starts and posted a 3.14 ERA across 186 1/3 frames last year. He ranked fifth in MLB with 223 strikeouts and earned a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young balloting.

It’s an unconventional extension, as there’s little precedent for a player signing for two or three years in advance of their final pre-arbitration season. Ragans’ future salaries fall mostly in line with what quality starting pitchers can expect to earn in their first two trips through arbitration. As comparison points, Tanner Houck ($3.95MM) and George Kirby ($4.3MM) agreed to slightly less than $4.5MM for their first arbitration seasons this winter. Logan Gilbert is ticketed for a $7.625MM salary in his second trip through the process.

Ragans wasn’t at risk of being non-tendered barring a catastrophic injury, but he’ll lock in some security over the next couple seasons. The Royals have more clarity on their future budgets without running the risk of going to a hearing with their ace in either of the upcoming two offseasons. Having recently turned 27, Ragans is on track to hit free agency in advance of his age-31 campaign.

Image courtesy of Imagn

Phillies, J.T. Realmuto Interested In Discussing Extension

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Catcher J.T. Realmuto is entering the final year of his contract with the Phillies but it’s possible he’ll stick in Philadelphia beyond that. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the backstop and the club have mutual interest in an extension, though whether they can agree on a price point remains to be seen.

“Obviously I have interest in coming back to the Phillies,” Realmuto said recently, per Lauber. “I love being here. My wife loves it here, my family. Their friends are all in the organization. So, there’s certainly interest on our end. I would hope the Phillies have interest, as well.”

Realmuto was acquired from the Marlins ahead of the 2019 season. After two years with the Phils, he hit free agency, but the two sides reunited on a five-year, $115.5MM deal going into 2021. Over those six years in Philly, he’s been the best catcher in baseball. He has hit .266/.331/.463 for a wRC+ of 112 in that time with solid defense to boot. FanGraphs has credited him with 23.2 wins above replacement for that stretch. That’s almost five wins clear of the next-best catcher, with Will Smith at 18.5 fWAR.

The Phils would naturally love to keep that kind of production going but it’s now becoming a question as to whether Realmuto can keep it up. He turns 34 years old in March, meaning he would be 35 years old for the start of a new contract. There aren’t a lot of full-time catchers that age or older. Last year, 37-year-old Martín Maldonado was the oldest catcher in the league. He was released by the bottom-feeding White Sox in July. 36-year-old Yan Gomes was released by the Cubs that same month. Among a few 35-year-olds, Travis d’Arnaud got the most playing time with 79 starts behind the plate. 34-year-old Salvador Perez played 158 games last year but he’s started spending more and more time at first base in recent years.

Realmuto has had a huge workload in his career. He’s appeared in 1,120 games behind the plate over the past decade, with Maldonado a distant second on that list with 921. Perhaps that suggests Realmuto is capable of bucking the league-wide trends, though it’s also possible the grind is catching up to him. He required knee surgery in June and only played 99 games last year, his lowest full-season tally since his 2014 debut. His .258/.315/.442 batting line over the past two years has led to a 105 wRC+, still good but below his previous work.

Though the Phils have reportedly considered lowering Realmuto’s workload, getting into the first base/DH mix won’t be easy with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in those positions. That means getting him off his feet might require him to be out of the lineup altogether. Per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the Phils have had Realmuto shagging some balls in left field, though both the catcher and manager Rob Thomson characterized those drills as more experimental than any kind of real plan.

Zooming out to look at the rest of the roster, there are also arguments for and against an extension. On the one hand, the Phils don’t have a better solution in the system right now. Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs are also on the roster but they profile more as depth guys than everyday regulars. Baseball America lists three catchers on their list of the club’s top 30 prospects (Eduardo Tait, Alirio Ferrebus, Guillermo Rosario) but none of those three have even reached the High-A level.

On the financial side of things, they will have to consider a few alternatives. Schwarber and Ranger Suárez are both impending free agents as well, as are Max Kepler, Jordan Romano and Joe Ross. Matt Strahm and José Alvarado are entering the final guaranteed years of their respective contracts, though the Phils have club options on those two.

Going into 2026, the catcher position will surely be a focus, but other areas of the roster might need investment as well. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked into the possibility of a Suárez extension this week in a post for Front Office subscribers.  If the Phils keep Schwarber around, it would be harder to pivot Realmuto off the catcher position like Sal Perez, as Harper is locked in at first base.

It’s been a long time since a catcher got a big deal for his age-35 season or older, as shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker. Kyle Higashioka just got $13.5MM this offseason. The most recent deal to top that was a three-year, $60MM extension between the Cardinals and Yadier Molina back in 2017. The only deal close to that one in terms of guarantee was Jorge Posada’s $52.4MM deal way back in 2007.

Based on Realmuto’s track record, he’ll surely be looking for a notable deal. But if the Phils have hesitation about continuing to invest in him, they could consider other options. Next winter’s free agent class will feature guys like Danny Jansen and Jose Trevino alongside Realmuto.

There’s also the trade market. The Mariners have Cal Raleigh but also one of the top catching prospects in Harry Ford. It’s a similar situation in Baltimore, where the Orioles have Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. The Brewers have William Contreras with Jeferson Quero not far away. Ditto the Dodgers, Will Smith, Dalton Rushing, and potential logjams on other rosters as well.

All those alternatives will come with various degrees of uncertainty, whereas the Phillies clearly know and love Realmuto. It’s a tricky tightrope, as Realmuto is clearly valued by the club but there comes a point where it’s wiser to move on to other options. Two weeks ago, a poll of MLBTR readers resulted in roughly two thirds voting against the Phils giving Realmuto an extension.

Giants To Get LaMonte Wade, Marco Luciano More Time In Outfield

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LaMonte Wade Jr. has been the Giants’ primary first baseman in each of the past two seasons, leading the team in innings at the position. Wade’s 1631 innings at first base since 2023 more than double the 801 innings from Wilmer Flores, who’s been at first most days when Wade is out of the lineup or on the injured list. Together, Wade and Flores have accounted for nearly 85% of the team’s innings at first base.

The Giants could change that arrangement a bit this year. While Wade will still surely see plenty of time at first base, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Wade focused heavily on running and conditioning this offseason, because the Giants could use him in the outfield more frequently than in recent years. Wade isn’t the only Giant potentially moving from the infield dirt to the outfield grass. Justice de los Santos of the San Jose Mercury News writes that former top shortstop prospect Marco Luciano is headed to camp strictly as a corner outfielder.

When the Giants originally acquired Wade from the Twins, Brandon Belt was entrenched at first base in San Francisco. That led to considerable outfield time for Wade, who played 824 innings on the grass in 2021-22. Since Belt’s departure, he’s played just 154 innings in the outfield.

Moving Wade to the outfield more frequently could create some extra rest for Jung Hoo Lee as he returns from shoulder surgery or perhaps give young Heliot Ramos a day off against tough right-handed pitchers; Ramos hit .370/.439/.750 against lefties last year but just .240/.286/.387 versus fellow right-handers. Wade batted .253/.374/.377 against righties and is a career .251/.359/.431 hitter in those situations.

However, the larger motivation for getting Wade some renewed comfort in the outfield is surely the looming presence of top prospect Bryce Eldridge. The 2023 No. 16 overall draft pick is on a fast track through the Giants’ minor league system and may not be far from MLB readiness — despite only having turned 20 back in October. The towering 6’7″ Eldridge blitzed through four minor league levels in 2024, spending the bulk of his time in High-A, where he posted a comical .335/.442/.618 batting line in 215 plate appearances. Overall, he tallied 519 turns at the plate across his four minor league stops and batted .289/.372/.513 with 23 home runs, an 11.4% walk rate and a 25.3% strikeout rate.

Despite being limited to first base, Eldridge ranks 12th among all prospects on Baseball America’s top-100 ranking for the upcoming season. With just 17 games above A-ball under his belt, Eldridge doesn’t seem likely to make the jump right to the majors, though he’s a non-roster invitee in major league camp, so it’s at least possible he could mash his way into consideration.

With regard to Luciano’s move, the impetus is even more straightforward. The Giants signed Willy Adames to a club-record contract this offseason, guaranteeing him $182MM over seven years. With Matt Chapman also signed long term at third base and Tyler Fitzgerald lined up to handle second base after his 2024 breakout, there’s no real room in the infield for Luciano.

Of course, he’ll need to prove with his performance that he’s deserving of a big league spot at any position. The 23-year-old has batted just .217/.286/.304 in 126 major league plate appearances to this point in his career. He hit .250/.380/.380 in his second run at Triple-A last year but did so with an ugly 26.8% strikeout rate. That’s an improvement from the prior season’s 31.3% mark, but it’s still concerning to see so many punchouts in the upper minors.

Luciano candidly told de los Santos and other reporters that he felt “totally lost” at the plate in 2024. He’s spent the offseason working to identify and correct bad habits in his swing. Luciano conceded that he’s “a little bit uncomfortable” with the move to the outfield but took a team-first approach in embracing the position switch. He’s entering his final option year, so while this isn’t necessarily a make-or-break spring for him, he’ll need to show both strides at the plate and prove himself capable of handling the outfield in some capacity if he’s to carve out a long-term spot with the club.

Marlins Outright Xzavion Curry

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The Marlins have sent right-hander Xzavion Curry through waivers unclaimed, per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. He was designated for assignment earlier this week when the club claimed Ronny Henriquez off waivers. Curry has been outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville but will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Curry, 26, was once a notable prospect in the Guardians’ system. A seventh-round pick of the Guards in 2019, he tossed 219 2/3 minor league innings over 2021 and 2022. He had a 3.28 earned run average, 28.7% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. Baseball America ranked him as one of the club’s top 30 prospects going into 2022 and 2023.

He also made his MLB debut in 2022, though only made two appearances that year. He stuck in the majors in 2023 and was in a swing role for Cleveland, tossing 95 innings over nine starts and 32 relief appearances with a 4.07 ERA, 16.6% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.

In 2024, he was frequently shuttled between the majors and minors. His big league work with Cleveland last year resulted in a 5.84 ERA, 13.9% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate. He also had a 6.58 ERA in 53 1/3 Triple-A innings, so the Guardians designated him for assignment in August.

The Marlins put in a claim at that time but have now passed him through waivers. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. He will therefore give the club a bit of extra depth without taking up a roster spot. His numbers haven’t been great over the past two years but he also hasn’t had a consistent role in that time. If the Fish get him back on track and put him back on the roster, he has another option year and less than two years of service time.

Dodgers Sign Michael Chavis To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed infielder Michael Chavis to a minor league contract, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The CAA client is in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Chavis, 29, was a first-round pick by the Red Sox in 2014 and once ranked among the better prospects in Boston’s system. He belted 18 homers as a rookie in 2019, batting .254/.322/.444 in 382 plate appearances that season. However, he also fanned in 33.2% of his plate appearances and, like all hitters, benefited from the juiced ball MLB used during that season, when leaguewide home run records were broken all around the sport. Chavis has struggled considerably since that debut campaign, combining for 804 plate appearances with a .231/.265/.382 output.

Chavis spent the 2024 season in Triple-A between the White Sox and Mariners organizations, hitting much better with the latter (.290/.366/.485, 191 plate appearances) than with the former (.234/.308/.414, 266 plate appearances). He hasn’t appeared in the majors since a 2023 run with the Nationals, where he struggled in a part-time role.

Defensively, Chavis has played all four corner positions and second base, drawing decent or better marks from Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average at first base and second base. He’ll give the Dodgers some right-handed power who can back up multiple positions around the diamond and be stashed in Triple-A, assuming he doesn’t break camp with the club.

Cubs, Dixon Machado Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs are bringing infielder Dixon Machado back on a minor league contract, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. It’ll be the Octagon client’s third stint with the organization. He also played for the Cubs in both 2019 and 2022, spending the interim two seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Machado, 32, spent the 2023-24 seasons in the Astros system but wasn’t called to the majors with Houston. He slashed .230/.369/.356 in 293 Triple-A plate appearances in 2023 and hit .228/.335/.305 in 202 minor league plate appearances last year.

Though Machado has twice been a part of the Cubs organization previously, he’s never played in a big league game for them. His most recent MLB work came with the 2022 Giants, and the rest of his MLB tenure has been spent in a Tigers uniform. The Venezuelan-born shortstop has played in 177 major league games and batted .226/.285/.292 in 522 turns at the plate. Though he’s never provided much value with the bat, he does have good contact skills, evidenced by an 18.4% strikeout rate in the majors and just a 14.4% rate in the minors last year.

Machado is a versatile defender who’s typically been capable of playing quality defense at any of shortstop, second base or third base. Since signing out of Venezuela as a teenager, he’s played more than 12,000 professional innings at shortstop (majors, minors and KBO combined). He’s also logged close to 1300 innings at second base and more than 300 at third.

The Cubs’ infield in 2025 figures to include Michael Busch at first base, Nico Hoerner at second, Dansby Swanson at short and top prospect Matt Shaw at third base. Veteran Jon Berti was signed to a big league deal to take a utility role. Rule 5 pick Gage Workman and out-of-options former top prospect Vidal Brujan are both on the 40-man roster, but neither is any kind of lock to make the team. Non-roster options for backup jobs in the infield include Nicky Lopez (who signed a minor league deal) and James Triantos, another top prospect in a loaded Cubs farm system.

Yankees Notes: Boone, Cousins, Loaisiga, Rice

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As the Yankees get camp underway, they’re likely to prioritize hammering out a new contract with Aaron Boone. Owner Hal Steinbrenner told the YES Network last month that the team planned to open extension talks with their eighth-year manager, whose deal expires at the end of the season. Those discussions have begun.

Boone revealed earlier this week that he and the Yankees have had some conversations about an extension (relayed by Brendan Kuty of The Athletic). General manager Brian Cashman confirmed that this afternoon, saying that negotiations are ongoing (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). It seems inevitable that they’ll work something out, with Cashman indicating a deal could get done before Opening Day (relayed by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic).

Teams typically prefer to avoid having managers or top front office personnel working on expiring contracts. The Yankees bucked that trend in 2021, when they allowed Boone to manage as a lame duck for nearly the entire season. With his deal set to expire at the conclusion of that year’s World Series, the sides hammered out a three-year extension in the middle of October. That included a ’25 club option on which Boone is currently set to manage. It doesn’t appear we’ll get a repeat of that scenario.

As is the case for many teams, the start of Spring Training also brought a few injury and position battle updates. Most notably, Boone revealed that righty reliever Jake Cousins suffered an offseason forearm strain (link via Greg Joyce of The New York Post). He is midway through a 3-4 week period where he’s completely shut down from throwing. Cousins could start a throwing program as soon as next week, but the delay raises the possibility of a season-opening injured list stay.

New York acquired Cousins in a trade with the White Sox just after last year’s Opening Day. The righty had signed a minor league deal with Chicago but didn’t break camp. The Yankees immediately called him up and were rewarded with a career-best season. Cousins pitched to a 2.37 ERA with a massive 34.2% strikeout rate across 38 innings. Initially consigned to mop-up work, he pitched his way into increasingly higher-leverage spots in the final couple months of the season.

Cousins has missed a lot of bats throughout his four-year big league career, which he has split between Milwaukee and New York. He’s been held back somewhat by scattershot command, but his injury history has been the biggest obstacle. Cousins missed time in 2023 with shoulder inflammation and lost a good chunk of the ’22 season to an elbow effusion. That required a platelet-rich plasma injection and an extended shutdown, though he didn’t need surgery.

If Cousins opens the season on the IL, he’ll be one of at least two Yankee relievers to start the year on the shelf. Jonathan Loáisiga is still rehabbing from the UCL procedure that he underwent last April. The Yankees knew he wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day but nevertheless brought him back on a $5MM free agent deal in December. Pitching coach Matt Blake said at the time that the team was targeting a return sometime in late April or early May.

It seems that timeline has been slightly pushed back. Loáisiga told reporters via an interpreter yesterday that he’s shooting for a return in late May or the beginning of June (via Joyce). That makes it likely he’ll land on the 60-day injured list once the Yankees need to create a 40-man roster spot. Injuries have kept Loáisiga to 20 appearances over the last two seasons. He’s a hard-throwing grounder specialist when he’s healthy and owns a 3.44 ERA across 219 2/3 career innings.

In one non-injury related camp note, Boone said this week that the Yankees will get Ben Rice catching reps during the spring (relayed by Hoch). A bat-first player, Rice played almost exclusively first base during his 50-game rookie season. He started 31 games behind the dish in the minors last season. Rice has nearly 1000 career minor league innings as a catcher, though most scouting reports question whether he can stick there.

Austin Wells will get the majority of the catching work. The Yanks have an open battle for the backup job after dealing Jose Trevino to Cincinnati. J.C. Escarra, who turns 30 in April and has yet to play in the majors, is the top depth option on the 40-man roster. The Yanks have Alex Jackson and former top prospect Ronaldo Hernández in camp as non-roster invitees.

Poll: Should The Cardinals Trade A Starter?

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The Cardinals’ offseason has been defined by their attempts to trade third baseman Nolan Arenado. The club allowed key players like Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, and Andrew Kittredge to head into free agency this winter and did nothing to replace them as they focused on cutting payroll and starting a youth movement at the major league level. The club seemingly wanted to pair that with trades of some of its most expensive veteran players, but Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras both quickly made it clear that they weren’t interested in waiving their no-trade clauses.

That left Arenado as the most prominent trade candidate on the roster, but the third baseman vetoed a trade to the Astros at the eleventh hour back in December and his market began to dry up rapidly after that. The final nail in the coffin appeared to be the Red Sox, Arenado’s last serious known suitor, signing Alex Bregman to round out their infield mix. Now, with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak admitting it’s likely Arenado remains in St. Louis to start the season, the Cardinals are poised to enter 2025 with the most notable change as compared to last year’s team being a lack of Goldschmidt at first base.

There’s one way the Cardinals could inject some more youth into the roster and create space in the payroll: trading from the rotation. Both Gray and veteran righty Miles Mikolas have no-trade clauses and appear unlikely to waive them, but veteran starters Erick Fedde and Steven Matz are both pending free agents who lack no-trade protection. Both players reportedly received interest from rival clubs earlier this offseason, and while the Cardinals at the time appeared focused on dealing Arenado rather than from the rotation, the unlikelihood of an Arenado trade could change that calculus.

As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored for Front Office subscribers earlier this week, there are a number of teams around the league that could still use starting pitching help. Fedde in particular could likely bring back an enticing return as a relatively affordable rental starter who posted a 3.30 ERA and 3.86 FIP in 31 starts last year. The right-hander will make just $7.5MM in 2025, a sum that virtually any team could afford even during this late stage of the offseason. Matz is less likely to bring back significant talent in return given his up-and-down trajectory over the years, but shedding some of his $12MM salary for 2025 would allow the Cardinals to add a veteran reliever to set up for closer Ryan Helsley or even take on a bit more money to try and facilitate the Arenado deal with a cash-strapped club like the Yankees. (The Cardinals’ reluctance with regard to trading Helsley, also an impending free agent, is another curious decision, as highlighted by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco last month.)

In addition to the prospects and/or salary relief trading a veteran starter could net, the Cardinals would also more clearly make way for their young arms to get work at the big league level. Top prospect Tink Hence has yet to make his Triple-A debut but dominated Double-A last year and should be on the big league radar later this year. In the meantime, Michael McGreevy is already knocking on the door of the majors after posting a 1.96 ERA in 23 innings as a starter for the club last year. Sem Robberse, Quinn Mathews and Tekoah Roby are among the potential starting options the Cardinals have at their disposal that don’t currently have a path to major league starts.

On the other hand, none of those options has proven himself in the majors. With Arenado now seemingly unlikely to move, the Cardinals may feel they’re better off trying to contend this year, at least in the first half when they still have the opportunity to pivot back towards selling at the trade deadline. After all, the Cardinals won 83 games last year despite their flawed roster, and a healthy season from Contreras, better batted ball luck from Gray, and a resurgence from Arenado could allow them to contend in an NL Central division that still looks relatively soft even after teams like the Cubs and Reds have made notable moves.

It’s also worth noting that, even without trading Arenado or a starter, the club has made at least some room for a legitimate youth movement to take place. Kicking Willson Contreras over to first base has opened up the catcher position for youngsters Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages, while the departures of Gibson and Lance Lynn from the rotation have opened up a spot for Andre Pallante after he impressed in a rotation role last year. Other players like Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker figure to get more consistent playing time in 2025, and all it takes is an injury or two to get players like Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott II more regular playing time in the majors as well.

With Opening Day just six weeks away, how do MLBTR readers think the Cardinals should proceed? Should they double down on their youth movement and deal a starter like Fedde or Matz to salvage their offseason of inaction, or should they hold onto their veteran rotation pieces through the early days of the season in hopes that internal improvements could make them a legitimate contender? Have your say in the poll below:

How should the Cardinals proceed?
Trade a starting pitcher to jump start the youth movement. 60.12% (2,367 votes)
Keep the roster intact for the start of the season and reassess at the trade deadline. 39.88% (1,570 votes)
Total Votes: 3,937

Padres Looking To Add Another Hitter

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The Padres were dormant for much of the offseason but sprang to life recently. In the past week, they’ve bolstered the pitching staff with Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart, as well as bringing Jason Heyward and Connor Joe into the position player mix. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that they would still like to add one more bat, either via trade or free agency.

The Friars lost several hitters to free agency at the end of the 2024 season, with each of Kyle Higashioka, Ha-Seong Kim, Jurickson Profar, Donovan Solano and David Peralta hitting the open market. Kim was the primary shortstop last year and Profar the left fielder. Higashioka took over the catching job during the season. Solano and Peralta each became key part-time players, with the former getting into 96 games and the latter 91.

With seemingly almost no payroll space to work with this winter, the club has had to look for low-cost solutions to fill those holes. Heyward and Joe each got very modest $1MM guarantees and are likely to form a platoon in left, replacing Profar. Elias Díaz was signed a couple of weeks ago to help the catching group, with a $3.5MM guarantee that’s broken up into a $1.5MM salary and $2MM buyout on a mutual option, with that buyout not to be paid until after the season.

At shortstop, the solution was already on the roster. Xander Bogaerts had moved from short to second early in 2024 in deference to Kim, but he moved back to short late in the year when Kim hurt his shoulder. He’ll now stick at short in 2025. That will allow Jake Cronenworth to move from first to second and Luis Arráez, who got a lot of starts as the designated hitter in the second half of 2024, to be the regular first baseman. Manny Machado will be back as the regular third baseman.

Arráez isn’t an amazing defender at first, which raises the possibility of him being a regular designated hitter this year, but it seems the club isn’t viewing it that way. “Our infielder guys — with Louie, Croney, Bogey, Manny — they’re everyday guys,” manager Mike Shildt said, per Acee. “All those guys will have an opportunity to take a DH. But I don’t view Louie and Croney being like some rotation of DH. I think they’re everyday guys that’ll be on the field. Will they get opportunities to get off their feet and DH and create other opportunities to get guys on the field? Yes. But I don’t see that being anything other than those guys are everyday guys, and we expect them to go out and play really good defense and help us win games.”

With that arrangement, and Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill in the other two outfield spots, there’s no obvious designated hitter. Guys like Tirso Ornelas, Eguy Rosario and Brandon Lockridge are on the roster but fairly lacking in experience. Oscar González, Gavin Sheets, Trenton Brooks and others are in camp as non-roster invitees but they each have their flaws, which is why they had to settle for minor league deals.

In terms of the roster, it’s easy to see the Padres fitting another bat in there, pushing those depth options to the bench of Triple-A. Presumably, any addition will be made on a tight budget, like all of their other moves this winter. As mentioned, Heyward, Joe and Díaz were cheap, with the Díaz deal even being semi-backloaded via that option buyout. The same was true of their pitching additions. Hart gets a $1MM salary this year and a $500K buyout. Though Pivetta got $55MM over four years, he’ll only get a $3MM signing bonus and $1MM salary in 2025. Even Michael King’s $7.75MM guarantee to avoid arbitration was broken into a $3MM signing bonus, $1MM salary and $3.75MM buyout on a mutual option.

The free agent market does still feature some bats, with Justin Turner and J.D. Martinez the most notable. Turner got a $13MM deal last offseason but is now 40 years old. Since he’s unsigned in mid-February, perhaps he’s not getting offers at that level again for 2025, despite a solid performance last year. Martinez got $12MM from the Mets last winter but with heavy deferrals and a salary of just $4.5MM. Peralta, who joined the Padres via a minor league deal in May last year, is still out there and won’t cost much. Mark Canha, Yuli Gurriel, Miguel Sanó, Anthony Rizzo, Rowdy Tellez and others are also on the market with limited earning power.

On the trade market, Spencer Torkelson doesn’t have an amazing path to playing time in Detroit and is still in his pre-arbitration years. LaMonte Wade Jr. is only making $5MM this year and could perhaps be pried away from the Giants, though the intra-divisional trade is always tougher to pull off. Starling Marte is going to make $19.5MM this year but the Mets are reportedly willing to pay down his salary in order to facilitate a deal.

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