Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Poll: Who Had The Best Deadline In The AL West?

By | at

The trade deadline has come and gone. While trade season was slow to get started this year, when all was said and done, there were several dozen trades made in a flurry of movement over the final few days before the deadline arrived. The full impact of these trades won’t be known for years to come, but that doesn’t mean we can’t analyze the deals and decide whose haul looks the best right now. Over the next week-plus, MLBTR will be running a series of polls asking which club in each division had the best deadline. So far, the Phillies, Reds, and Padres have each come out on top in their respective divisions. Today, we’ll be moving on to the American League with the AL West. A look at each of the five clubs, listed from best to worst record in 2025:

Houston Astros

The Astros made one of the most shocking moves of the deadline when they brought Carlos Correa home in a trade with the Twins. Adding Correa back to the mix creates something of a positional logjam on the infield for the club in the long-term, but with third baseman Isaac Paredes unlikely to return this season due to a severe hamstring injury, Correa shores up the infield in a big way and cost the club virtually nothing other than money. Two more players were acquired to help round out the club’s position player mix: infielder Ramon Urias and outfielder Jesus Sanchez.

All three are controlled beyond the 2025 season, and while Sanchez cost the Astros rookie right-hander Ryan Gusto, no upper-level prospects changed hands in the club’s trio of deals. That ability to add long-term talent without surrendering the best prospects in the system was impressive, though the roughly $70MM they’ll be paying Correa over the life of his contract is a significant outlay and they failed to add the starting pitcher they were hoping could fill out the middle of the rotation behind Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown.

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners’ moves at the deadline were arguably even splashier than those in Houston. While the club acquired three rental players without any team control beyond the current campaign, it’s hard to argue against the fact that they’ve significantly upped their chances of winning both the AL West and even the World Series this year. Adding Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor to the infield corners in separate deals with the Diamondbacks represents a sizable upgrade over Luke Raley and Ben Williamson.

Meanwhile, the return (Tyler Locklear and a quartet of pitching prospects outside of Top 100 consideration) was lighter than what was required to bring in high-end controllable talents at this deadline. The Caleb Ferguson trade with the Pirates follows a similar path. The swap gives a club in need of left-handed help in the bullpen a steady, capable setup man who throws from the left side and can partner with Gabe Speier. That deal cost only Class-A pitching prospect Jeter Martinez, who has a 6.18 ERA in 16 starts this year. The Mariners opted to maximize short-term impact while doing so on a budget, and if they can overtake Houston in the West down the stretch, it would be hard to argue with them as the winners of the deadline.

Texas Rangers

With one-and-a-half games currently sitting between the Rangers and a postseason berth, it’s understandable that they acted quite aggressively this trade season. The focus of their haul was a trio of veterans: starter Merrill Kelly, setup lefty Danny Coulombe, and relief arm Phil Maton. Kelly stands out as arguably the best starting pitcher traded this summer, and the high cost (by the standards of a rental player) reflects that. The Rangers had to surrender their #5, #9, and #13 prospects according to MLB.com to get the deal done. Coulombe and Maton weren’t quite that expensive, but cost Texas a trio of prospects led by southpaw Garrett Horn, who was recently added to the club’s top 30 prospects list over at Baseball America at #25.

Shelling out significant prospect talent in order to make a serious run at a Wild Card berth is understandable, but what’s worth noting is that the Rangers also blew past the luxury tax in order to make those additions. Texas had worked meticulously throughout the season in order to stay below the first threshold and reset their penalties, but all of that work has now been thrown out in an effort to maximize their odds at making the postseason in 2025. The potential impact is clearly significant, but was that worth it for a team not even in playoff position on deadline day?

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels had a quiet deadline that was somewhat incongruent with their status as fringe (at best) contenders. The Halos are currently six games out of an AL Wild Card spot with a middling 55-60 record, but that didn’t stop them from doing some light buying this summer. Adding former top prospect Oswald Peraza in a minor swap with the Yankees made some sense, given the club’s long-term needs on the infield, Peraza’s many years of remaining team control and a low cost of acquisition.

Acquiring a pair of rental veterans for their bullpen in the form of Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia was a bit more questionable, but the cost do so was low. Former 13th-round pick Sam Brown and 26-year-old lefty Jake Eder (whom the Angels had picked up off waivers earlier in the year) went back to the Nats in that swap.

The Angels didn’t really damage the farm, but they missed an opportunity to listen on players like Yoan Moncada, Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo, and maybe even Reid Detmers. Selling even some short-term pieces could have helped restock a farm system that’s been viewed as below-average for quite some time. The urge to push in during a rare, mostly-healthy season for Mike Trout is an understandable one, but it’s hard to say with confidence that doing so was the right move.

The Athletics

Unlike the rest of the division, the Athletics were sellers this summer. They made just two trades. Shipping Miguel Andujar to the Reds wasn’t a major move but netted a 2022 fourth-rounder (right-hander Kenya Huggins) who now sits 25th among their prospects at MLB.com.

The vast majority of their deadline focused on the single biggest blockbuster that happened this July: the deal that sent closer Mason Miller and lefty starter JP Sears to the Padres. Acquiring a consensus top-five prospect in the sport by bringing in Leo De Vries is arguably enough to win the deadline by itself, but he was also joined by well-regarded prospects Braden Nett and Henry Baez, Double-A starters who could be part of the rotation mix in West Sacramento sometime next year.

Rounding out the package is rookie reliever Eduarniel Nunez, who struggled in his first appearances with the A’s but could bolster their bullpen in the future. It was a very strong return, with De Vries in particular standing out as the sort of elite prospect that almost never gets dealt at all, much less in a deadline trade for a reliever. On the other hand, giving up Miller with four-plus years of team control remaining (not to mention the possibility he could be converted into a rotation role in the future to further raise his value) could make this deal a tough pill to swallow, particularly if the 18-year-old De Vries does not blossom into an All-Star caliber player.

A number of different approaches characterized this deadline for the AL West. The Rangers and Mariners were very aggressive on bringing in short-term additions, while the Astros focused on bringing in controllable talent, the A’s brought in a haul for the future and the Angels largely stood pat. Who had the best deadline of that quintet? Have your say in the poll below:

Astros Sign Enyel De Los Santos, Designate Luis Contreras For Assignment

By | at

The Astros have signed right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to a major league deal. Fellow righty Nick Hernandez has been optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding active roster move. Righty Luis Contreras has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was among those to relay the moves.

De Los Santos, 29, was designated for assignment by Atlanta just over a week ago. He had signed a minor league deal with that club in the winter and cracked the Opening Day roster. He tossed 43 2/3 innings this year with a 4.53 earned run average, 20.1% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate.

Thanks to those lackluster results and his out-of-options status, he was bumped off the roster when Atlanta acquired Tyler Kinley from the Rockies. According to De Los Santos’ transactions tracker at MLB.com, he cleared waivers and elected free agency.

The Astros presumably feel there’s a way to get the righty back on track to his pre-2024 form. With Cleveland in 2022 and 2023, he tossed 119 innings with a 3.18 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. He earned one save and 19 holds in that span.

Last year, he bounced around the league and posted a combined 5.20 ERA for three different clubs, mostly due to a massive home run spike. He had allowed 21 home runs in his career from 2018 to 2023 but then allowed 17 in 2024 alone. Those struggles led him to be non-tendered by the White Sox, which allowed Atlanta to scoop him up on a minor league deal.

Houston will try to help him correct course. He is out of options, as mentioned, so his grip on a roster spot may be tenuous. However, if things go well and he sticks around through the end of the year, he could be retained for 2026 via arbitration.

Contreras, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Astros ahead of the 2024 season and was added to their 40-man roster in June of last year. He has served as an optionable depth arm for the Astros since then, tossing 18 big league innings with a 7.50 ERA.

His minor league work has declined this year, relative to 2024. Last year, he logged 46 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.74 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate. This year’s 3.34 ERA doesn’t look awful, especially in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but his 21.4% strikeout rate and 15.1% walk rate are both far worse than last year. He’s benefited from a .253 batting average on balls in play and 3.4% home run to fly ball rate.

With the trade deadline having passed, the Astros will have to put Contreras on waivers in the coming days. He is still optionable and has less than a year of service time, so perhaps he could appeal to a club looking for some cheap pitching depth.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

White Sox Select Jacob Amaya, Designate Gus Varland For Assignment

By | at

The White Sox announced today that infielder Chase Meidroth has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 4th, with a right thumb contusion. Infielder Jacob Amaya has been selected to take his place on the roster. To open a 40-man spot for Amaya, right-hander Gus Varland has been designated for assignment.

Meidroth’s injury actually dates back over a week. On July 30th, he was hit on the hand by a pitch from Taijuan Walker, as seen in this clip from MLB.com. The club evidently didn’t think it was a serious issue, as they didn’t put him on the IL right away. However, he hasn’t started a game since then. He did play on Sunday, entering as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning.

Presumably, the thumb hasn’t healed as hoped, so the Sox will give him some more rest. IL stints can be backdated by three days if the player hasn’t played in that time frame, which the Sox have done here, so Meidroth could be back in a week if his condition improves.

While he’s been out, Colson Montgomery has moved over from third to shortstop, with Brooks Baldwin taking over at the hot corner. Curtis Mead, Lenyn Sosa and Josh Rojas have been splitting first and second base duties.

Amaya gives them an extra infielder to have on hand. He has 62 games of big league experience, mostly having played shortstop but also with some second base sprinkled in. He’s also played some third base in the minors. He’s considered a good defender but hasn’t hit much, with a .144/.176/.158 line in the big leagues. He is out of options and got passed through waivers earlier this year. Since then, he’s been hitting well in Triple-A, with a .291/.402/.464 line in 132 plate appearances. He struck out in 28.8% of those trips to the plate but also walked at a 15.2% pace.

He’ll try to carry some of that over to the big leagues. His out-of-options status may give him a tenuous hold on a roster spot. On the other hand, Mead can still be optioned while Rojas is having a terrible season and is on pace for a non-tender at season’s end. When Meidroth returns, perhaps Amaya could stick around since he’s still relatively young and years away from qualifying for arbitration.

As for Varland, he was optioned to the minors in mid-March, ahead of Opening Day. He made two Triple-A appearances before landing on the minor league IL due to a forearm strain, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. He started a rehab assignment in June but that lasted just six appearances before he was shut down. James Fegan of Sox Machine says Varland is out for the year.

The trade deadline has passed and injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Sox will have no choice but to release Varland. Though he’s hurt now, he could garner interest from other clubs based on his past results. He tossed 20 1/3 innings for the Sox last year with a 3.54 earned run average, 28.2% strikeout rate, 4.7% walk rate and 40.4% ground ball rate. He will still have one option season after this year and has just under a year of service time.

Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images

Kenley Jansen Aiming To Pitch “At Least” Four More Years

By | at

Kenley Jansen will turn 38 in September, but the Angels righty isn’t planning on calling it a career anytime soon. The big righty tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that his hope is to pitch for “at least” four additional seasons beyond the current campaign. That’d take Jansen into his early 40s and would also give him a clear runway to achieve some historic saves totals.

Jansen is currently fourth all-time with 467 saves. He’s just 11 saves behind Lee Smith for third-most in baseball history. He could theoretically reach that threshold this season, and if he finds his way into closing gigs in subsequent seasons, he’ll climb further into rarefied air. As things stand, Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman are the only two pitchers in MLB history to reach 500 and 600 saves. Jansen could realistically join the 500 club next year. A run at 600 would be unlikely but not completely implausible if he can continue pitching at his current level.

The 2025 season hasn’t been the best of Jansen’s career by any means, but he’s still an effective endgame option in Anaheim. He’s pitched 42 innings with a 2.79 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate and gone 20-for-21 in save opportunities. Playing for a sub-.500 Angels club hasn’t afforded him the same number of closing opportunities he might expect on a winning roster, but he’s maximized the chances he’s received.

Based on his 2025 performance, there’s little reason to think Jansen can’t keep going for at least another year or two. Four-plus is ambitious, of course, but he’s shown minimal signs of slowing down. The 92.8 mph Jansen is averaging on his cutter isn’t demonstrably slower than peak levels. He sat 93 mph with the pitch from 2013-17. Jansen has given up more hard contact this season, with a career-high average exit velocity (92.3 mph) and hard-hit rate (43.7%).

Most of that hard contact came earlier in the year, though. He’s on an otherworldly run right now, with 18 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings and an 18-to-4 K/BB ratio along the way. He’s yielded only nine hits in that span, and opponents are averaging just 89.4 mph off the bat with a 39.3% hard-hit rate. His cutter isn’t moving as much as it used to, so he’s missing fewer bats, but he’s still sporting a league-average strikeout rate and swinging-strike rate. Coupled with good command and more than a decade of experience pitching the ninth inning, that’s been plenty to keep Jansen effective even if he isn’t the utterly dominant bullpen powerhouse he once was.

Jansen spoke highly of his time with the Angels when chatting with Fletcher and sounded amenable to a reunion. In a separate piece, Fletcher wrote that GM Perry Minasian lauded Jansen’s leadership and clubhouse presence when discussing the decision not to trade his closer prior to the deadline:

“He’s somebody that affects everybody, not only our pitchers in the bullpen, but our young rotation, our young position players. His pedigree, his desire to win games, I think, is more than welcomed, obviously, in this place and in this clubhouse.”

There’s no clear ninth-inning heir for the Halos — particularly not with flamethrower Ben Joyce on the shelf following May shoulder surgery — and owner Arte Moreno is loath to ever entertain the idea of going into any kind of rebuild. All of that would seem to bode well for a potential return in 2026, though Jansen should have plenty of other clubs interested if he ends up getting back to the open market. The Mets, Tigers, Cubs and Blue Jays were among the other teams that looked into him during free agency this past offseason.

The Opener: Marlins, Reds, Encarnacion

By | at

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Pérez on a hot streak:

The Marlins suffered their first series loss in a month when they dropped two of three against the Astros this week, though they avoided a sweep with yesterday’s victory. They’ll send their best starting pitcher to the mound today in hopes of starting a new streak of series wins. Most think of Sandy Alcantara or Edward Cabrera when thinking of the Miami rotation, but it’s 22-year-old right-hander Eury Pérez who increasingly looks like the staff leader for the Fish. The towering 6’8″ righty was regarded as the top pitching prospect in baseball prior to his 2023 debut, and he’s picked up right where he left off after missing 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. Pérez has roared back with a 2.70 earned run average, 26% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate in 50 innings.

That’s impressive in and of itself, but it includes a handful of short and uninspiring performances as he eased back into the league. Over his past six turns, Pérez has been borderline untouchable. He’s pitched 34 innings and held opponents to four runs (1.06 ERA) on just 15 hits and eight walks with 37 strikeouts. Pérez squares off against an underperforming Braves lineup that has lost Austin Riley and Ronald Acuña Jr. to the injured list within the past ten days. A win today would get Miami back to .500, but the Marlins are still six back in the Wild Card chase.

2. Reds push for Wild Card:

The Reds took a step forward in the NL Wild Card this week when they took two of three from the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Chicago is the top Wild Card team, but that series win coincided with a four-game slide in Queens that leaves Cincinnati just three games behind the Mets entering play today. New York is off today, meaning that the Reds have an uncontested opportunity to make up ground as they push towards a potential spot in the postseason. In order to capitalize on that opportunity, however, they’ll need to take down the Pirates during a game started by superstar Paul Skenes. The righty has a 2.02 ERA and 2.41 FIP in 138 innings of work this year.

Despite his status as a frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award, Skenes enters today looking to bounce back from a rough start at Coors Field where he surrendered four runs in five innings of work against the Rockies. The Reds will counter with Brady Singer, who has a 4.36 ERA in 22 starts but is coming off back-to-back gems against Tampa Bay and Atlanta where he struck out 18 batters in 13 1/3 innings of one-run ball.

3. Encarnacion to undergo MRI:

It sounds as though Jerar Encarnacion’s stretch of poor injury luck is continuing. Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that the slugging outfielder will miss some time after suffering a hamstring injury in yesterday’s game. He’s scheduled to undergo an MRI today to determine the severity of the issue. Encarnacion has made it into just ten games this year due to a broken hand, an oblique strain and now this hamstring issue. The 27-year-old made an improbable return to the majors in 2024 after demolishing Mexican League pitching, signing with the Giants and going on a similar tear through Triple-A. He’s belted seven homers in 149 plate appearances since reaching the bigs late last year, though a lack of walks (3.4%) and plenty of strikeouts (27.5%) has left him with an overall .231/.255/.420 slash.

Read The Transcript Of Nicklaus Gaut’s Fantasy Baseball Chat

By | at

Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central Time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Red Sox Extend Roman Anthony

By | at

The Red Sox locked up another budding star, signing outfielder Roman Anthony to an eight-year extension covering the 2026-33 seasons with a club option for 2034. The Frontline Athlete Management is reportedly guaranteed $130MM on a deal that also includes significant escalators based on Rookie of the Year, MVP and All-Star voting.

Anthony receives a $5MM signing bonus. The salary breaks down as follows:

  • $2MM in 2026
  • $4MM in 2027
  • $8MM in 2028
  • $15MM in 2029
  • $19MM in 2030
  • $23MM in 2031
  • $25MM in 2032
  • $29MM in 2033
  • $30MM club option (no buyout) in 2034

The escalators apply to the 2032 and 2033 seasons. They would also apply to the 2031 season if he finishes top two in Rookie of the Year voting in 2025. Anthony’s salaries will increase by $1MM if he comes first or second in Rookie of the Year voting. The salaries would also increase by $2MM for each MVP win in any previous year, $1MM for coming second or third in MVP voting, $750K for a fourth or fifth in MVP voting, $500K for finishing sixth through tenth in MVP voting and $200K for any All-Star appearance. Those same escalators would apply to the club option except the top-two ROY finish would add $2MM instead of $1MM.

As things stand, the deal buys out all six of Anthony’s initial seasons of club control, plus two free-agent years with an option over a third free-agent season. However, if Anthony finishes top two in American League Rookie of the Year voting, he’d receive a full year of service for the current season, thus meaning the deal would lock in three free-agent years with a club option over a fourth.

Regardless of the exact number of free-agent years being bought out, the Sox now control Anthony all the way through 2034 — what will be his age-30 season. He’ll still be able to become a free agent ahead of his age-31 campaign, positioning him for another potential nine-figure contract down the road.

Anthony’s deal draws plenty of parallels to the eight-year, $111MM extension Corbin Carroll signed with the D-backs in January of 2023. Both outfielders were regarded as the top prospect in the sport when they debuted in their age-21 seasons. Both found immediate success and quickly signed eight-year deals beginning with their age-22 seasons.

As can be seen in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, Anthony’s contract becomes the third-largest guarantee ever given out to a player with under one year of major league service time. Julio Rodriguez’s $210MM deal with the Mariners currently tops the list, though that agreement came when Rodriguez was much further into what would eventually be a Rookie of the Year-winning campaign in 2022.

Selected with the No. 79 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Anthony stormed through the minor leagues, breaking out with a huge performance in High-A as a 19-year-old and never looking back. By measure of wRC+, he was at least 40% better than league-average with the bat at every stop from High-A through Triple-A, and he’s carried over his outstanding production through his first 46 major league games.

In 190 plate appearances as a big leaguer, Anthony is hitting .283/.400/.428 with a pair of homers, 15 doubles, a triple, two stolen bases, a 13.7% walk rate and a 24.7% strikeout rate. He’s averaged a scorching 94.1 mph off the bat and seen a whopping 58% of his batted balls exit the bat traveling at least 95 mph. His overall power output has been muted by a 55.4% ground-ball rate, but Anthony elevated the ball more in the minors and figures to do so as he continues to acclimate to big league pitching, at which point he’ll get to more of his plus-plus power. For now, the walk-heavy approach and plethora of doubles is getting the job done just fine; Anthony has been 33% better than average in the batter’s box since arriving in the big leagues.

Anthony doesn’t possess elite contact skills but does make excellent swing decisions. His 73.1% overall contact rate and 81.6% contact rate on pitches within the zone are both four points below league-average, but Anthony’s chase rate on balls off the plate (just 20.1%) is eight percentage points lower than average. Among the 292 hitters with at least 190 plate appearances in the majors this year, he’s tied for the 19th-lowest chase percentage, per Statcast.

On the defensive side of things, Anthony has split his time between the two outfield corners but spent more time in right. He’s seen time in center field in the minors, but scouting reports on Anthony typically pegged him for a long-term home in one of the corners. His arm isn’t elite but is at least average, if not a tick better. Anthony has drawn strong defensive grades for his work thus far (+5 Defensive Runs Saved, +4 Outs Above Average). He gives the Sox another talented defender to join the trio of Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, all of whom are plus defenders in their own right.

That glut of outfield talent — plus Masataka Yoshida’s presence at DH — has long prompted speculation about a potential trade from the group. Duran and Abreu have seen their names kicked around the rumor mill dating back to the offseason. Boston would surely welcome the opportunity to escape some of the final two-plus years on Yoshida’s five-year contract, which runs through 2027, but with $18.5MM salaries in each of the next two seasons, doing so is a tall order. Anthony was never going to be traded, and this new long-term arrangement only further solidifies him as a foundational piece for the Red Sox.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Red Sox and Anthony were finalizing an eight-year, $130MM deal with a club option for 2034. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the $30MM option value. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe had the specific salary and escalator structure.

MLBTR Podcast: Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to go over the various deadline dealings, including…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Chadd Cady, Imagn Images

MLB Mailbag: Schwarber, Braves, Story, Naylor, Tucker, Rockies

By | at

This week's mailbag covers Kyle Schwarber's impending free agency, what the Braves should do in the offseason, whether Trevor Story could opt out, why MLB killed August waiver trades, how Josh Naylor will fare in free agency, the potentially weak 2026-27 free agent class, the chances the Dodgers sign Kyle Tucker, the Rockies' young bats, and more.

Fred asks:

I can't believe that John Middleton will let Kyle Schwarber play anywhere else but Philly next year, especially with the overall drop in the Phillies' non-Schwarber power output this year. Does a 4/125 extension keep him away from free agency?

Schwarber turns 33 in March.  He's mashing this year like never before.  Schwarber has already reached his first 4 WAR season, should fly past 5 WAR, and won't be far off 6 WAR.  His previous career-high was 3.3 last year.  The bar is very high for offense when you have no defensive value.

Regarding the term, only two DHs age 33 and up have achieved four years in free agency: Nelson Cruz and Victor Martinez within a month of each other in December 2014.  They were actually age 34 and 36, respectively, so I guess that's a (weak) case to actually go to five years on Schwarber.

To Fred's question, yes - four years at $31.25MM per year should definitely keep Schwarber away from free agency.  The Phillies have a $185MM CBT payroll for next year at the moment, given Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suarez, Jordan Romano, and others coming off the books.  There would be room to give Schwarber a contract with a $30MM AAV, and it was Dave Dombrowski who did that ill-fated V-Mart deal with the Tigers.  But would this type of contract with Schwarber be a good idea?

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Braves Notes: Jimenez, Holmes, Sale

By | at

Joe Jiménez has been out all season after undergoing left knee surgery last November. The Braves reliever is now nine months removed from a procedure that came with an 8-12 month timeline. Jiménez had been throwing but was shut back down after experiencing soreness in his knee, manager Brian Snitker said yesterday (relayed by Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan).

It now seems there’s a good chance Jiménez won’t pitch at all this season. This is a lost year for Atlanta. There’s little incentive to push Jiménez through discomfort. The 30-year-old righty would surely love to get back on the mound so he can go into the offseason with some normalcy, but the Braves aren’t going to take any chances.

Jiménez had the best year of his career in 2024. He threw a personal-high 68 2/3 innings with a 2.62 ERA. He recorded a career-best 27 holds while striking out nearly 30% of batters faced. It was an excellent start to his three-year, $26MM free agent deal. The injury unfortunately robbed him of most (potentially all) of year two. He’s signed for $9MM next season.

Atlanta is likely to see Raisel Iglesias depart in free agency. They’ll exercise their $7MM club option to retain Pierce Johnson, barring a late-season injury. Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee will also be back. The rest of the relief group is in question. Daysbel Hernández has a 2.25 ERA but has walked almost 20% of opponents. Atlanta acquired Tyler Kinley from Colorado last week. That suggests they’ll at least consider bringing him back on a $5MM team option, but he hasn’t managed particularly good numbers since 2022. The Braves will likely need two or three external bullpen pickups on top of a healthy return from Jiménez.

While the Braves haven’t officially ruled Jiménez out for the season, starter Grant Holmes is definitely done for the year. Atlanta almost immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list when he went down with an elbow injury before the trade deadline. The Braves later diagnosed the issue as a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. That has the potential to be a precursor to surgery, but Holmes told reporters (including David O’Brien of The Athletic) that he’ll attempt to rehab without going under the knife.

“If I can avoid the knife as long as possible, that’s the route I want to take,” the 29-year-old righty said. “I haven’t had any surgeries yet, thankfully, and I’m trying to keep it that way.” Holmes added that he’ll be on a no-throw program for at least six weeks and expressed his hope that he could resume throwing simulated games in November. He pointed out that undergoing Tommy John or internal brace surgery now would almost certainly cost him the entire 2026 season regardless. Holmes therefore felt he didn’t have much to lose in trying a non-surgical approach and evaluating how his elbow feels in a few months. If it doesn’t progress as hoped, he could undergo surgery early in the offseason and still set a goal of coming back at the start of the ’27 campaign.

Before the injury, Holmes was a bright spot in Atlanta’s nightmare season. He turned in a 3.99 ERA while striking out a quarter of opponents across 22 appearances. Holmes had impressed last season as a rookie but worked more often in long relief. He showed this season that he can be a capable mid-rotation starter as long as he’s healthy. Holmes is one of five Atlanta starters dealing with a long-term injury. They already lost AJ Smith-Shawver to Tommy John surgery, and it’d be a surprise if Spencer Schwellenbach returns from a broken elbow this year. Reynaldo López has been out almost all year after undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery.

Chris Sale, out since mid-June with a ribcage fracture, is the only one of that quintet who seems very likely to make it back this season. Sale is set to throw a live batting practice session on Thursday (via the MLB.com injury tracker). He’s not far off a minor league rehab assignment and could return from the 60-day IL before the end of the month. That’d allow the reigning NL Cy Young winner to make five or six starts to close the season. It won’t mean anything in the standings, but it’d give the Braves some confidence entering an offseason in which they’ll face questions about everyone in the rotation aside from Spencer Strider. Atlanta will retain Sale on an $18MM club option for what’ll be his age-37 season.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top