MLBTR’s Steve Adams hosted a live chat today at 2:30pm Central, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers!
12:40pm: Per a report from Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the Tigers are also in the Pressly talks but it “may be unlikely” for the righty to approve a trade to Detroit.
9:19am: The Astros have been shopping right-hander Ryan Pressly throughout the winter, but those efforts didn’t gain much traction until recently. That’s understandable in the sense that the free-agent market for relievers was largely frozen until the past couple of weeks. Now, with free agent bullpen arms flying off the board, interest in Pressly has seemingly picked up. The Cubs, Blue Jays and one yet-unknown club out west have all shown serious interest in Pressly over the past 24 hours.
Pressly, however, has full no-trade protection by virtue of his 10-and-5 rights (ten years of major league service, five-plus years with his current team). He can nix any trade to a location he doesn’t want. That’s of extra note for Pressly as a Texas native who’s playing his home games a bit more than 200 miles south of Dallas, where he was born and raised. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports this morning that Pressly has informed the Astros that he’s disinclined to approve a trade that’d send him too far east or west.
That would seemingly rule out both the Jays and any club on or near the west coast. It’s not yet clear which club out west is eyeing Pressly, though the D-backs have been vocal about their desire to add a closer. The A’s, Giants and Angels aren’t necessarily in the market for an experienced ninth-inning arm specifically, but all three could use another high-leverage arm in general.
All of that could be moot, however, if Pressly is wary of straying toward either coast and prefers to remain in Texas or somewhere in the country’s heartland. That could potentially bode well for the Cubs, though Heyman adds that Pressly has not yet made a decision one way or another on whether he’d approve a move to Wrigley Field. One swaying factor, speculatively speaking, could be that the Cubs would almost certainly use Pressly as their closer. That’s a role he filled — and filled quite well — in Houston from 2020-23, when he saved 102 games and pitched to a 2.99 ERA with a huge 31.5% strikeout rate in 198 2/3 innings. He was bumped to a setup role in 2024 after the Astros’ signing of Josh Hader on a five-year, $95MM contract.
Pressly’s 2024 season was solid all around but not quite up to his (lofty) prior standards. He logged a 3.49 earned run average over 56 2/3 innings and posted a 23.8% strikeout rate that stood as his lowest mark since the 2016 season. His 7.4% walk rate was comfortably better than league average but was still his highest mark in four years. His average fastball sat at 93.8 mph, per Statcast, marking his lowest number in more than a decade. Still, the right-hander’s broader track record is excellent. And, with the Astros potentially reengaging with Alex Bregman, there could be extra motivation for Houston to shed some payroll.
It’s hard to envision any scenario where the Astros re-sign Bregman and also dip beneath the luxury tax threshold, but shedding Pressly’s $14MM salary would lessen the sting of exceeding the tax line for what would be a second straight season. Per RosterResource’s projections, Houston is currently about $3MM north of the $241MM threshold.
The Padres have acquired right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio from the White Sox in exchange for cash, per announcements from both clubs. Chicago designated Marinaccio for assignment earlier in the week. San Diego’s 40-man roster is now up to 35 players.
Marinaccio, 29, has appeared in each of the past three big league seasons, with all his MLB time coming as a member of the Yankees. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in all three of those individual seasons, working to a composite 3.22 mark with a strong 28.2% strikeout rate but an ugly 12.6% walk rate. Marinaccio averaged 93.6 mph on his heater this past season and paired that offering with a changeup and slider, both of which reside in the low 80s.
The ChiSox claimed Marinaccio off waivers from the Yankees on Sept. 23. He didn’t make it into a game for the South Siders, but given the general state of disarray within their roster, he seemed like he’d have a chance to factor into the 2025 bullpen mix. General manager Chris Getz ultimately felt differently, as Marinaccio was bumped from the 40-man roster this week to open space for veteran innings eater Martin Perez.
Marinaccio’s track record in Triple-A is generally supportive of his output in the big leagues, making it something of a surprise that the White Sox moved on for next to no return. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons there and logged a 3.35 ERA in 91 1/3 innings, fanning 29.9% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate along the way. Marinaccio still has one minor league option year remaining, and he’s controllable through the 2028 season as things currently stand (though future optional assignments could change that calculus). He won’t be eligible for arbitration until next offseason at the earliest.
The Braves finally made their first significant move of the offseason this week, coming to terms with Jurickson Profar on a three-year, $42MM contract that’ll install him as their new everyday left fielder. Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos confirmed in chatting with the Braves beat yesterday that Profar will be ticketed for regular work in left field, with Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz (who signed a split major league deal earlier this winter) competing for at-bats in right field (link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).
Profar told reporters via Zoom this morning that landing with the Braves is a near-ideal scenario. As a native of Curacao, he grew up idolizing countryman Andruw Jones and watching him with the Braves. He’ll now be united with friend and countryman Ozzie Albies with those same Braves. Profar indicated that as soon as free agency began, his top two preferences were to remain in San Diego or sign in Atlanta (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The Padres, who are dealing with a payroll crunch and ownership infighting, never came close to Atlanta’s offer at any point in free agency, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
With Profar slated for everyday work in left field and Michael Harris II in center, that leaves right field as the only place for Kelenic and De La Cruz to get playing time early in the season. Ronald Acuña Jr. will be back to man right field eventually but is expected to miss more than a month of the season as he finishes off rehabbing last year’s torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. A platoon is possible, but Anthopoulos made clear that Kelenic “will get a lot of reps in right field” this spring and “will have every opportunity to be that guy.”
Kelenic, 25, came to the Braves by way of a convoluted series of salary dump trades last year. The former No. 6 overall pick and top prospect was effectively purchased from the Mariners, with Atlanta taking on the underwater contracts of first baseman Evan White and lefty Marco Gonzales to get Kelenic to Atlanta. Gonzales was subsequently traded to the Pirates, who took on about $3MM of his $12MM salary. White was shipped to Anaheim in return for another pair of underwater contracts: David Fletcher and Max Stassi. The Braves quickly flipped Stassi to the White Sox for a player to be named later, agreeing to pay the bulk of Stassi’s salary. When factoring in the dead money they absorbed and the associated luxury tax hits, they spent around $32MM to acquire Kelenic.
Suffice it to say, year one of the gambit didn’t play out as hoped. Kelenic got out to a decent start in April, slumped in May, had a monster showing in June, and then tanked for the majority of the final three months. On the whole, he hit .231/.286/.393. His 15 homers were a new career-high, but he also fanned in almost 30% of his plate appearances while providing slightly below-average defense in the outfield and slashing only .206/.236/.279 against lefties.
That anemic performance against southpaws is where De La Cruz could come into play. The longtime Marlin and brief Pirate was non-tendered earlier this winter and quickly scooped by by Atlanta. De La Cruz makes for an odd platoon partner for Kelenic, however. His right-handed bat is very clearly more productive versus lefties than the lefty-swinging Kelenic, but De La Cruz has still been a below-average hitter against southpaws in his career: .270/.315/.390 (92 wRC+). Considering Kelenic has only been about average versus righties in his career, it’s an underwhelming platoon unless one or both players take a substantial step forward.
That shouldn’t be a long-term issue, of course. Acuña should be back sometime in May or June. At that point, the Braves can rely on a Profar-Harris-Acuña alignment from left to right. Kelenic, whom Anthopoulos praised as an option capable of playing all three outfield spots, could then slide into more of a fourth outfield role with De La Cruz serving as a depth option in Triple-A.
With the outfield largely settled, the question of what’s next for the Braves naturally arises. Anthopoulos said last night that he has the flexibility needed to add to the rotation and/or bullpen (via David O’Brien of The Athletic). No deal in either department is close, however, and the veteran baseball ops leader emphasized that any rotation arm that’s brought in would need to be a decisive upgrade over in-house arms like Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson. Both are out of minor league options and thus very likely ticketed for roster spots to begin the season. O’Brien speculates that Atlanta will add a reliever and forgo a prominent rotation acquisition.
The Braves currently have Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach in the top three spots of the rotation. Spencer Strider will return at some point in the season’s first half after undergoing UCL surgery last April. Depth options in Triple-A include Davis Daniel, Bryce Elder and prospects Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver. Once Strider returns, that’s a lot of arms for what’s effectively one rotation spot — assuming good health for each of Sale, Lopez and Schwellenbach.
As O’Brien suggested then, a bullpen addition makes a bit more sense. The Braves will likely be without Joe Jimenez all season after the right-hander underwent knee surgery, subtracting a key piece of their late-inning relief group. With Raisel Iglesias, Aaron Bummer, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee all on board, there’s still a strong high-leverage foundation, but there’s plenty of room to add a reliever and still remain under the luxury tax threshold, if that’s a goal.
RosterResource currently projects the Braves for a bit more than $230MM of tax obligations, leaving them nearly $11MM from the $241MM threshold. Notable unsigned relievers who could fit into that budget include Kyle Finnegan, Phil Maton, Andrew Chafin, Danny Coulombe, Tim Hill and injury rebound candidates such as Kendall Graveman, Lou Trivino and Keynan Middleton. If the Braves are willing to cross the tax threshold for a third straight season (or engineer a trade to clear up a bit more breathing room), names like Carlos Estevez and David Robertson remain available on the market.
With the month of February now just a week away, Alex Bregman remains a free agent. That has led to speculation that he may have to pivot his focus and try to secure a short-term pact, but that doesn’t seem to have happened yet. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports today that Bregman has received offers of five years or longer from at least three teams this offseason, including the Astros. It’s not specified which clubs made these offers or when.
Bregman came into the winter as one of the top free agents available. He has hit .260/.349/.449 over the past three years while also getting strong grades for his third base defense. There was a bit of concern in 2024, as he got out to a slow start, slashing just .216/.283/.294 through the end of April. He eventually corrected and finished the year with a .260/.315/.453 line but his 6.9% walk rate was a career low.
Despite a less-than-perfect walk year, Bregman still came into free agency with a strong profile and justification to secure a strong deal. MLBTR predicted him for a seven-year, $182MM pact. Many observers expected him to return to the Astros and various reports indicated that the club made him an offer of $156MM over six years. Bregman and his reps, however, were looking to get to the $200MM plateau.
Today’s report indicates that some other clubs may have been willing to get into somewhat similar range as the Astros. It isn’t known which clubs made these offers or exactly how much money was on the table, but Bregman has been connected to teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays, Mets and Phillies throughout the offseason.
Though that points to a decent market, it seems none of them were quite strong enough to get Bregman to put pen to paper. Though the Astros seemed to blink in their staredown with Bregman by acquiring Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, recent reporting has suggested the club has kept its offer on the table and is still somewhat open to a reunion. Such a scenario would involve Bregman returning to the hot corner, Paredes going to second base and Jose Altuve to left field.
Whether that will end up happening or not likely depend on the other offers and if any club is willing to budge. If they are all somewhat similar and no club meaningfully separates itself from the pack, perhaps Bregman will choose to remain with the only club he’s ever known.
It’s also possible that some of Bregman’s suitors are no longer interested, even if they may have made strong offers earlier in the winter. The Tigers signed Gleyber Torres, reducing their need for an infield addition somewhat. They have remained engaged with Bregman but have reportedly hit a standstill. The Red Sox would perhaps have to move Rafael Devers to first base to fit Bregman in, making things awkward. Second base is more open at the moment but they may prefer to leave that spot open for Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer or Vaughn Grissom. The Blue Jays added Anthony Santander recently, who isn’t an infielder but should make the team less desperate for an offensive upgrade. The Mets and Pete Alonso are seemingly playing hardball with each other but could still reunite, though the Jays seem to be somewhat involved there as well. The Phillies appear to have tried to trade Alec Bohm in conjunction with pursuing Bregman but never seemed to gain much traction there. The Cubs seemed to only be interested if Bregman were willing to pivot to a short-term pact. Jon Heyman of The New York Post says today that the Cubs are “believed” to be showing “significant interest” in Bregman alongside the Astros, though with the Red Sox and Tigers also involved.
Though the offers haven’t been strong enough for Bregman to sign anywhere, it’s perhaps understandable why he hasn’t done a short-term pivot. That’s a path that many other free agents have taken, including Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger last winter. But if Bregman has had somewhat decent offers in the five- or six-year range, perhaps he doesn’t feel the need to go that way just yet. Just over a week ago, Bregman’s agent Scott Boras said there interest on long-term deals has been strong enough that changing course wouldn’t be necessary, matching this week’s reporting.
Time will tell if Bregman circles back to Houston or ends up elsewhere. The Astros made him a qualifying offer at season’s end and would receive a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere, while the signing club would be subject to the associated penalties. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in just over two weeks.
The Red Sox and catcher Mark Kolozsvary have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. It’ll be his second straight season with the Red Sox organization, as he was with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester in 2024.
Kolozsvary, 29, has technically appeared in two big league seasons, though he played in only one game for the 2023 Orioles and didn’t log a plate appearance. He tallied 10 games with the 2022 Reds and came to the plate 21 times, going 4-for-20 with a homer and two doubles (.200/.238/.450).
In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Kolozsvary owns just a .176/.297/.312 batting line. He’s yet to provide much in the way of offense in his big league career, but Kolozsvary is regarded as a strong defender with quality minor league marks for framing, blocking balls in the dirt and controlling the running game. He’s thrown out 29% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in his minor league career.
Kolozsvary is the latest depth addition for a Red Sox club that doesn’t have much certainty behind starting catcher Connor Wong. Trade acquisitions Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol are both on the 40-man roster, but neither has established himself in the majors yet. Narvaez has just six big league games to his credit. Sabol is a .243/.313/.392 hitter (95 wRC+) in 382 MLB plate appearances with the Giants but has fanned in one-third of his trips to the plate and struggled defensively at catcher. Boston also brought in veteran Seby Zavala as a non-roster invitee, giving them another strong defender with a shaky track record at the plate.
Jan. 24: Scott’s deal also contains a conditional club option for the 2029 season, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports. That option, valued at $5MM plus incentives, would only be available if Scott suffers a “qualifying injury” and is not traded throughout the four-year term of his contract.
In essence, it’s likely a safety net for the Dodgers (and only the Dodgers) in the event of a major injury. Specifics regarding this option aren’t yet clear, though prior instances of conditional options such as this one typically revolve around UCL injuries. Scott does not have a no-trade clause, but he’d receive a $3MM assignment bonus if traded to another team, Ardaya adds.
Jan. 23: The Dodgers’ spending blitz formally continued Thursday, as they announced the signing of left-hander Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72MM deal. Scott, a client of the MVP Sports Group, reportedly receives a $20MM signing bonus on the contract, which contains $21MM of deferred money.
Scott was ranked as the #14 free agent in this winter’s class in MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, where we predicted that the lefty would land a four-year, $56MM deal. His deal with L.A. comes in well above that mark, but that’s not necessarily surprising given reports earlier this month that indicated Scott could land a deal with an average annual value in the $20MM range. Ultimately, this deal doesn’t go quite that far, though his $18MM AAV is still quite the premium for his position. According to MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, Scott is tied for the third-highest AAV for a reliever in free agent history alongside Liam Hendriks’s deal with the White Sox with the pair trailing only Edwin Diaz and Josh Hader. Meanwhile, it’s the fifth-highest total guarantee a reliever has ever landed in free agency behind only Diaz, Hader, Aroldis Chapman, and Kenley Jansen.
The $21MM in deferred money in the deal could lower the contract’s net present value below this tier of elite closer, but it’s hard to deny that Scott belongs in that elite company based on his incredible numbers the past two seasons. He was among the very best relievers in the sport last year with a 1.75 ERA, 2.92 FIP, and a 28.6% strikeout rate. His peripheral numbers were even stronger in 2023, as he struck out an eye-popping 33.9% of opponents and posted a 2.31 ERA with a 2.17 FIP. Among qualified relievers over the past two seasons, Scott ranks fourth in ERA and fifth in FIP. Only Félix Bautista of the Orioles and Cade Smith of the Guardians rank above Scott in both categories, and neither pitched in both the 2023 and ’24 seasons at the big league level.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Scott is necessarily completely infallible. The southpaw struggled badly with his command earlier in his career, and those issues were a key factor in the lefty surrendering a pedestrian 4.61 ERA and 3.91 FIP over his first six seasons in the majors. That’s left Scott without the lengthy track record of many of his peers in late-inning relief, and even this past season saw Scott walk 12.2% of his opponents. Scott managed to stay elite despite that hefty number of free passes by keeping the ball in the park the past two seasons, and the changes he’s made to improve his batted ball outcomes appear to be sustainable. Opponents barreled up 5.4% of their batted balls off Scott prior to the 2023 season, but the past two campaigns have seen that number drop to just 4.0%. Likewise, Scott’s Hard-Hit rate dropped from 36.2% in his career prior to 2023 down to just 26.7% over the past two seasons.
The Dodgers are clearly betting on his performance to remain as elite as it has been the past two seasons. L.A. got an up-close look at Scott’s dominance during last season’s NLDS, when he pitched three scoreless innings against the club for the Padres and garnered five strikeouts- four of which were against Shohei Ohtani. Looking ahead to the 2025 season, they’ll add Scott’s high-octane arm to an already strong bullpen that also features Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, and Alex Vesia in the late innings. With Scott presumably taking over as the club’s closer, the Dodgers will now have the flexibility to use those leverage arms earlier in the game. That’s particularly useful in the case of Vesia, as he was the Dodgers’ only late-inning relief option from the left side last season.
Per RosterResource, the signing of Scott has pushed the Dodgers’ payroll for 2025 up to just under $369MM, with a nearly matching luxury tax payroll of just under $371MM. Those figures don’t factor in the deferred money in Scott’s contract, but that still puts the Dodgers’ payroll for 2025 more than $40MM higher than 2024, which was already a franchise record. They’re the only team spending even $300MM in payroll this year, and one of just three teams (alongside the Phillies and Yankees) with a luxury tax payroll above that marker. The upper limit on the club’s payroll capacity is unknown, but signing Scott (and Roki Sasaki last week) appear to have checked the final boxes the Dodgers were known to be pursuing upgrades for this winter. While further upgrades to the roster certainly can’t be ruled out, the club’s roster has very little uncertainty and it would hardly be a surprise if the Dodgers mostly stood pat over the final weeks before Spring Training beyond perhaps a long-anticipated deal to bring franchise stalwart Clayton Kershaw back into the fold.
With Scott off the market, right-handers Carlos Estévez and Kirby Yates are perhaps the two best options still available in free agency for clubs on the hunt for bullpen help. Jansen, David Robertson, Kyle Finnegan, and Tommy Kahnle are among the other late-inning relief arms available. The Red Sox, Braves, and Cubs were among the other teams that have been connected to Scott throughout the winter, while the Rangers and Diamondbacks are among other clubs known to be in the market for late-inning relief help at this point in the offseason.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the agreement and the terms. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and Robert Murray of FanSided added details about the signing bonus and deferrals.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
The Angels and infielder J.D. Davis are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The ALIGND Sports client will be in big league camp with the Halos as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Davis, 32 in April, scuffled through his worst season since establishing himself as a big leaguer in 2024. In 46 games and 157 plate appearances between the A’s and Yankees, he hit just .218/.293/.338 — a notable drop-off for a player who from 2019-23 slashed .268/.352/.443 between the Mets and Giants. Davis actually cut his strikeout rate to 24.8% — three points lower than in 2023 and nearly nine percentage points shy of his 2022 mark — but his walk rate fell below average and his batted-ball profile eroded. From ’19-’23, Davis averaged 91.2 mph off the bat and hit 47.1% of his batted balls at least 95 mph; in 2024, he averaged 89.1 mph off the bat and had a 43.7% hard-hit rate.
Davis has played both infield corners and left field in his career, though the majority of his time has come at the hot corner. He hasn’t graded well there or in left field but has more passable defensive marks in 465 innings at first base. With the Angels, he’ll compete for a bench job and provide some depth behind oft-injured third baseman Anthony Rendon and young first baseman Nolan Schanuel.
The Halos’ bench is mostly full right now, with backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud, utilityman Kevin Newman and fourth outfielder Mickey Moniak all seemingly locked into spots. Infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery and non-roster invitee Tim Anderson could vie for that final spot alongside Davis and others. Kingery is on the 40-man roster but has minor league options remaining. None of d’Arnaud, Newman or Moniak can be optioned.
An exact timeline on shortstop Zach Neto, who underwent shoulder surgery following the season, isn’t yet known. However, there’s a chance he could start the season on the injured list. That’d give Davis and other non-roster players in camp a better chance at winning a spot. If Neto indeed opens the year on the injured list, one of Newman or Anderson would presumably get the nod at shortstop to begin the season.
As the start of Spring Training creeps ever closer, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on headed into the weekend:
1. Bregman’s market heating up?
After Houston acquired Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes to handle the infield corners earlier this winter, it seemed difficult to imagine Alex Bregman returning to the only club he’s known to this point in his career. That door may not be closed, however. The Astros have not only not ruled out a reunion with third baseman but have actually kept their previous six-year, $156MM offer on the table as the offseason has progressed. Adding Bregman back to the mix would create a bit of a logjam in the infield, but it’s possible that could be addressed by moving either Paredes or even Jose Altuve to the outfield.
Renewed rumors of a reunion between Bregman and the Astros could increase the pressure on other teams interested in the infielder to make a move. The Tigers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays have all shown real interest in Bregman’s services at various points in the offseason, though in recent weeks Boston has been connected as much to Nolan Arenado as to Bregman, Toronto signed Anthony Santander to ease their need for a big bat, and Detroit’s negotiations with the third baseman have seemingly begun to stall out. Will all of that be enough to keep Bregman in Houston?
2. Movement on Alonso’s market?
Conflicting reports emerged yesterday regarding the status of contract talks between the Blue Jays and first baseman Pete Alonso. SNY’s Andy Martino and Newsday’s Tim Healey both indicated that talks have begun to advance, while Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet suggested there hadn’t been noteworthy movement. Toronto’s interest in Alonso isn’t new, as there were reports connecting the two sides earlier this month alongside other clubs like the Red Sox, Giants, and Angels. The Jays and other alternative suitors for Alonso began to get more attention last week when Alonso declined a three-year offer from the Mets, prompting them to begin to pivot to other additions as they braced for Alonso to sign elsewhere.
Adding Alonso to the lineup alongside Santander and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would improve Toronto’s offense in a hurry, although even with the DH available it’s easy to imagine the Jays’ defense suffering if Guerrero moves over to third on days where Santander or another player is DHing and Alonso plays first base. Notably, it seems likely that the Blue Jays would only be able to fit one of Alonso or Bregman into their lineup. With some signs from both markets that things could be heating up, will Toronto be able to add another significant bat?
3. Rockies Fest this weekend:
The Rockies are hosting their annual Rockies Fest fan event tomorrow at Coors Field. A number of the organization’s top players are expected to be present for the event including Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, and Ryan McMahon as well as top prospects Chase Dollander and Zac Veen. Recently retired outfielder Charlie Blackmon is also set to be in attendance. Those players will be available for autographs and Q&A sessions, with other attractions including access to clubhouses and broadcast booths. A Q&A session regarding the team’s outlook is also on the schedule, though top club personnel such as manager Bud Black and GM Bill Schmidt have not been specifically announced as appearing at tomorrow’s event. For more information (including ticket pricing), you can visit the event website here.
The Braves announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal. The MVP Sports Group client will make $12MM this year and then $15MM in each of the next two seasons. Atlanta designated right-hander Connor Gillispie in a corresponding move.
Profar, 32, has been wildly inconsistent in his career but is coming off his best season. Once a top prospect with the Rangers, he made it to the majors as a 19-year-old but struggled in his first few seasons. He eventually showed some promise but frustratingly alternated between good and bad seasons.
He had one of those down seasons in 2023, which is why the Padres were able to sign him last offseason for just $1MM, barely above the league minimum. The Padres probably couldn’t have dreamed about the return on investment they would eventually get from that.
Profar got into 158 games and stepped to the plate 668 times. His 15.1% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate were both strong numbers but fairly normal for him. He managed to do more damage when he connected, without sacrificing any of his trademark plate discipline. His 24 home runs were a career high. The three numbers in his .280/.380/.459 slash line were all personal bests as well, apart from a .471 slugging percentage in his nine-game debut back in 2012. His 139 wRC+ easily eclipsed his previous personal high of 113 and was also put him in the top 15 among qualified hitters last year. The switch-hitter did that damage from both sides of the plate, with a 137 wRC+ as a lefty and 147 as a righty.
Given his capricious production over the years, it would be fair to be a bit skeptical that he could keep that kind of performance going. However, there are some encouraging numbers under the hood. Profar’s 44.8% hard hit hate rate, 91.1 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and 7.2% barrel rate were all significantly better than anything he had done before. His .302 batting average on balls in play was a career high but just a bit above the .291 league average.
Though Profar has played all over the diamond in his career, he’s mostly a left fielder now. He’s barely played the other outfield slots in his career. He hasn’t really been an infield regular since 2019. He logged just 18 innings at first base last year, the only place he played apart from left field during the campaign.
Profar’s work in left hasn’t been especially well regarded. Last year, he was given a grade of -8 from Defensive Runs Saved and -6 from Outs Above Average. Despite that, thanks to his huge offense and ten stolen bases, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 4.3 wins above replacement on the season.
That production was huge for the Padres, given that they had notable financial restraints, which is why they took that $1MM flier on Profar. They surely would have welcomed him back, given the longstanding ties between Profar and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. However, their financial situation is perhaps even more grim now than it was a year ago. They reportedly need to make significant cuts to the budget while also looking for solutions on the roster. In addition to Profar’s absence in left, they have question marks behind the plate, in the rotation and at shortstop.
Profar has also expressed a fondness for San Diego and probably wanted to go back, but he also probably recognized that this is probably his best chance at a free agent payday. He had previously signed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Padres going into 2021 but opted out of that pact after two years. He settled for modest one-year deals in the past two offseasons but has now secured himself a strong three-year deal. MLBTR predicted a three-year, $45MM deal for him at the start of the offseason.
For Atlanta, outfield has stood out as a clear area for improvement this winter. Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last year and missed the second half of the season. He’ll be back in right field at some point in 2025 but probably not on Opening Day. Players like Ramón Laureano and Jorge Soler were used to cover for Acuña’s absence but jettisoned after the season. Soler was flipped to the Angels while Laureano was non-tendered. The club’s acquisition of Jarred Kelenic last offseason also didn’t go especially well. He struck out 29.6% of the time and hit .231/.286/.393 for a wRC+ of 86.
Time will tell how the club plans to play it once everyone is healthy. Michael Harris II will be in center but Atlanta has its designated hitter spot committed to Marcell Ozuna. Profar and Kelenic can flank Harris for now but Acuña will eventually be back. The lefty-swinging Kelenic has better numbers against righties but the club presumably isn’t giving the Profar $42MM to be a short-side platoon guy.
Perhaps Kelenic will eventually get pushed into a fourth outfielder role once Acuña is back, though he may have a bit of time to prove himself worthy of more. Ozuna is an impending free agent, so perhaps the foursome of Harris, Acuña, Profar and Kelenic can better co-exist in 2026 and beyond. Kelenic does have an option remaining, so some time in the minors is possible as well.
With Profar now in the fold, RosterResource calculates Atlanta’s payroll at $212MM and their competitive balance tax number at $230MM. The latter is $11MM shy of this year’s base threshold. They opened last year at $223MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has previously said that he expects payroll to rise and that the club is willing to pay the tax again this year. However, most of his moves have been focused on adding financial breathing room. As mentioned, Soler was flipped in a salary dump and Laureano was cut. Travis d’Arnaud had his club option turned down. The club restructured the contracts of Aaron Bummer and Reynaldo López to kick some money down the road.
If there is still some powder dry, then perhaps Atlanta will pivot to adding some pitching in the coming weeks. They were connected to Nathan Eovaldi earlier in the winter and reportedly had an agreement in place with Jeff Hoffman, with Hoffman to be stretched out as a starter, before they grew concerned by something they saw in his shoulder during his physical. They were also connected to reliever Tanner Scott earlier in the winter. All those guys have signed elsewhere but the interest indicates Atlanta is looking to add to the staff.
For clubs still looking for outfield help, the market is essentially out of everyday players now. Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill and Profar are now all off the board. The best remaining outfielders are role players like Harrison Bader, Randal Grichuk and Alex Verdugo. Clubs like the Royals, Astros and Blue Jays have been connected to Profar this winter, though the Jays signed Santander earlier this week.
Gillispie, 27, just signed a non-guaranteed contract with Atlanta in November. He made his major league debut with Cleveland last year but only logged eight innings and was non-tendered at season’s end. In his minor league career, he has thrown 426 1/3 innings with a 4.01 earned run average, 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. Atlanta will have one week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for him. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, any potential trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.
Robert Murray of FanSided was first with the agreement between Atlanta and Profar.
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